1 O ye children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a sign of fire in Bethhaccerem: for evil appeareth out of the north, and great destruction.
2 I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman.
3 The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her; they shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall feed every one in his place.
4 Prepare ye war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe unto us! for the day goeth away, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out.
5 Arise, and let us go by night, and let us destroy her palaces.
6 For thus hath the LORD of hosts said, Hew ye down trees, and cast a mount against Jerusalem: this is the city to be visited; she is wholly oppression in the midst of her.
7 As a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth out her wickedness: violence and spoil is heard in her; before me continually is grief and wounds.
8 Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited.
9 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall throughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine: turn back thine hand as a grapegatherer into the baskets.
10 To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.
11 Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD; I am weary with holding in: I will pour it out upon the children abroad, and upon the assembly of young men together: for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days.
12 And their houses shall be turned unto others, with their fields and wives together: for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD.
13 For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.
14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
15 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.
16 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.
17 Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.
18 Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them.
19 Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.
20 To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me.
21 Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will lay stumblingblocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; the neighbour and his friend shall perish.
22 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, a people cometh from the north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth.
23 They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion.
24 We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail.
25 Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every side.
26 O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us.
27 I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way.
28 They are all grievous revolters, walking with slanders: they are brass and iron; they are all corrupters.
29 The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away.
30 Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the LORD hath rejected them.
1 O ye children H1121 of Benjamin, H1144 gather yourselves to flee H5756 out of the midst H7130 of Jerusalem, H3389 and blow H8628 the trumpet H7782 in Tekoa, H8620 and set up H5375 a sign H4864 of fire in Bethhaccerem: H1021 for evil H7451 appeareth H8259 out of the north, H6828 and great H1419 destruction. H7667
2 I have likened H1820 the daughter H1323 of Zion H6726 to a comely H5116 and delicate H6026 woman.
3 The shepherds H7462 with their flocks H5739 shall come H935 unto her; they shall pitch H8628 their tents H168 against her round about; H5439 they shall feed H7462 every one H376 in his place. H3027
4 Prepare H6942 ye war H4421 against her; arise, H6965 and let us go up H5927 at noon. H6672 Woe H188 unto us! for the day H3117 goeth away, H6437 for the shadows H6752 of the evening H6153 are stretched out. H5186
5 Arise, H6965 and let us go H5927 by night, H3915 and let us destroy H7843 her palaces. H759
6 For thus hath the LORD H3068 of hosts H6635 said, H559 Hew ye down H3772 trees, H6097 and cast H8210 a mount H5550 against Jerusalem: H3389 this is the city H5892 to be visited; H6485 she is wholly oppression H6233 in the midst H7130 of her.
7 As a fountain H953 casteth out H6979 her waters, H4325 so she casteth out H6979 her wickedness: H7451 violence H2555 and spoil H7701 is heard H8085 in her; before me H6440 continually H8548 is grief H2483 and wounds. H4347
8 Be thou instructed, H3256 O Jerusalem, H3389 lest my soul H5315 depart H3363 from thee; lest I make H7760 thee desolate, H8077 a land H776 not inhabited. H3427
9 Thus saith H559 the LORD H3068 of hosts, H6635 They shall throughly H5953 glean H5953 the remnant H7611 of Israel H3478 as a vine: H1612 turn back H7725 thine hand H3027 as a grapegatherer H1219 into the baskets. H5552
10 To whom shall I speak, H1696 and give warning, H5749 that they may hear? H8085 behold, their ear H241 is uncircumcised, H6189 and they cannot H3201 hearken: H7181 behold, the word H1697 of the LORD H3068 is unto them a reproach; H2781 they have no delight H2654 in it.
11 Therefore I am full H4392 of the fury H2534 of the LORD; H3068 I am weary H3811 with holding in: H3557 I will pour it out H8210 upon the children H5768 abroad, H2351 and upon the assembly H5475 of young men H970 together: H3162 for even the husband H376 with the wife H802 shall be taken, H3920 the aged H2205 with him that is full H4390 of days. H3117
12 And their houses H1004 shall be turned H5437 unto others, H312 with their fields H7704 and wives H802 together: H3162 for I will stretch out H5186 my hand H3027 upon the inhabitants H3427 of the land, H776 saith H5002 the LORD. H3068
13 For from the least H6996 of them even unto the greatest H1419 of them every one is given H1214 to covetousness; H1215 and from the prophet H5030 even unto the priest H3548 every one dealeth H6213 falsely. H8267
14 They have healed H7495 also the hurt H7667 of the daughter H1323 of my people H5971 slightly, H7043 saying, H559 Peace, H7965 peace; H7965 when there is no peace. H7965
15 Were they ashamed H3001 when they had committed H6213 abomination? H8441 nay, H1571 they were not at all H954 ashamed, H954 neither H1571 could H3045 they blush: H3637 therefore they shall fall H5307 among them that fall: H5307 at the time H6256 that I visit H6485 them they shall be cast down, H3782 saith H559 the LORD. H3068
16 Thus saith H559 the LORD, H3068 Stand H5975 ye in the ways, H1870 and see, H7200 and ask H7592 for the old H5769 paths, H5410 where is the good H2896 way, H1870 and walk H3212 therein, and ye shall find H4672 rest H4771 for your souls. H5315 But they said, H559 We will not walk H3212 therein.
17 Also I set H6965 watchmen H6822 over you, saying, Hearken H7181 to the sound H6963 of the trumpet. H7782 But they said, H559 We will not hearken. H7181
18 Therefore hear, H8085 ye nations, H1471 and know, H3045 O congregation, H5712 what is among them.
19 Hear, H8085 O earth: H776 behold, I will bring H935 evil H7451 upon this people, H5971 even the fruit H6529 of their thoughts, H4284 because they have not hearkened H7181 unto my words, H1697 nor to my law, H8451 but rejected H3988 it.
20 To what purpose cometh H935 there to me incense H3828 from Sheba, H7614 and the sweet H2896 cane H7070 from a far H4801 country? H776 your burnt offerings H5930 are not acceptable, H7522 nor your sacrifices H2077 sweet H6149 unto me.
21 Therefore thus saith H559 the LORD, H3068 Behold, I will lay H5414 stumblingblocks H4383 before this people, H5971 and the fathers H1 and the sons H1121 together H3162 shall fall H3782 upon them; the neighbour H7934 and his friend H7453 shall perish. H6
22 Thus saith H559 the LORD, H3068 Behold, a people H5971 cometh H935 from the north H6828 country, H776 and a great H1419 nation H1471 shall be raised H5782 from the sides H3411 of the earth. H776
23 They shall lay hold H2388 on bow H7198 and spear; H3591 they are cruel, H394 and have no mercy; H7355 their voice H6963 roareth H1993 like the sea; H3220 and they ride H7392 upon horses, H5483 set in array H6186 as men H376 for war H4421 against thee, O daughter H1323 of Zion. H6726
24 We have heard H8085 the fame H8089 thereof: our hands H3027 wax feeble: H7503 anguish H6869 hath taken hold H2388 of us, and pain, H2427 as of a woman in travail. H3205
25 Go not forth H3318 into the field, H7704 nor walk H3212 by the way; H1870 for the sword H2719 of the enemy H341 and fear H4032 is on every side. H5439
26 O daughter H1323 of my people, H5971 gird H2296 thee with sackcloth, H8242 and wallow H6428 thyself in ashes: H665 make H6213 thee mourning, H60 as for an only son, H3173 most bitter H8563 lamentation: H4553 for the spoiler H7703 shall suddenly H6597 come H935 upon us.
27 I have set H5414 thee for a tower H969 and a fortress H4013 among my people, H5971 that thou mayest know H3045 and try H974 their way. H1870
28 They are all grievous H5493 revolters, H5637 walking H1980 with slanders: H7400 they are brass H5178 and iron; H1270 they are all corrupters. H7843
29 The bellows H4647 are burned, H2787 the lead H5777 is consumed H8552 of the fire; H800 H784 the founder H6884 melteth H6884 in vain: H7723 for the wicked H7451 are not plucked away. H5423
30 Reprobate H3988 silver H3701 shall men call H7121 them, because the LORD H3068 hath rejected H3988 them.
1 Flee for safety, ye children of Benjamin, out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and raise up a signal on Beth-haccherem; for evil looketh forth from the north, and a great destruction.
2 The comely and delicate one, the daughter of Zion, will I cut off.
3 Shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her; they shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall feed every one in his place.
4 Prepare ye war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe unto us! for the day declineth, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out.
5 Arise, and let us go up by night, and let us destroy her palaces.
6 For thus hath Jehovah of hosts said, Hew ye down trees, and cast up a mound against Jerusalem: this is the city to be visited; she is wholly oppression in the midst of her.
7 As a well casteth forth its waters, so she casteth forth her wickedness: violence and destruction is heard in her; before me continually is sickness and wounds.
8 Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul be alienated from thee; lest I make thee a desolation, a land not inhabited.
9 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, They shall thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine: turn again thy hand as a grape-gatherer into the baskets.
10 To whom shall I speak and testify, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of Jehovah is become unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.
11 Therefore I am full of the wrath of Jehovah; I am weary with holding in: pour it out upon the children in the street, and upon the assembly of young men together; for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days.
12 And their houses shall be turned unto others, their fields and their wives together; for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith Jehovah.
13 For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.
14 They have healed also the hurt of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
15 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall; at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith Jehovah.
16 Thus saith Jehovah, Stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way; and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls: but they said, We will not walk `therein'.
17 And I set watchmen over you, `saying', Hearken to the sound of the trumpet; but they said, We will not hearken.
18 Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them.
19 Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words; and as for my law, they have rejected it.
20 To what purpose cometh there to me frankincense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt-offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices pleasing unto me.
21 Therefore thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will lay stumbling-blocks before this people; and the fathers and the sons together shall stumble against them; the neighbor and his friend shall perish.
22 Thus saith Jehovah, Behold, a people cometh from the north country; and a great nation shall be stirred up from the uttermost parts of the earth.
23 They lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea, and they ride upon horses, every one set in array, as a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Zion.
24 We have heard the report thereof; our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, `and' pangs as of a woman in travail.
25 Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy, `and' terror, are on every side.
26 O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; for the destroyer shall suddenly come upon us.
27 I have made thee a trier `and' a fortress among my people; that thou mayest know and try their way.
28 They are all grievous revolters, going about with slanders; they are brass and iron: they all of them deal corruptly.
29 The bellows blow fiercely; the lead is consumed of the fire: in vain do they go on refining; for the wicked are not plucked away.
30 Refuse silver shall men them, because Jehovah hath rejected them.
1 Strengthen yourselves, sons of Benjamin, From the midst of Jerusalem, And in Tekoa blow ye a trumpet, And over Beth-Haccerem lift ye up a flame, For evil hath been seen from the north, And great destruction.
2 The comely and the delicate one I have cut off, The daughter of Zion.
3 Unto her come do shepherds and their droves, They have stricken tents by her round about, They have fed each `in' his own station.
4 Sanctify ye against her the battle, Rise, and we go up at noon. Wo to us, for turned hath the day, For stretched out are the shades of evening,
5 `Rise, and we go up by night, And we destroy her palaces.'
6 For thus said Jehovah of Hosts: Cut down her wood, And pour out against Jerusalem a mount, She `is' the city to be inspected, Wholly -- she is oppression in her midst.
7 As the digging of a well, is `for' its waters, So she hath digged `for' her wickedness, Violence and spoil is heard in her, Before My face continually `are' sickness and smiting.
8 Be instructed, O Jerusalem, Lest My soul be alienated from thee, Lest I make thee a desolation, a land not inhabited.
9 Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: They surely glean, as a vine, the remnant of Israel, Put back thy hand, as a gatherer to the baskets.
10 To whom do I speak, and testify, and they hear? Lo, their ear `is' uncircumcised, And they are not able to attend. Lo, a word of Jehovah hath been to them for a reproach, They delight not in it.
11 And with the fury of Jehovah I have been filled, (I have been weary of containing,) To pour `it' on the suckling in the street, And on the assembly of youths together, For even husband with wife are captured, An elder with one full of days,
12 And their houses have been turned to others, Fields and wives together, For I stretch out My hand against the inhabitants of the land, An affirmation of Jehovah.
13 For from their least unto their greatest, Every one is gaining dishonest gain, And from prophet even unto priest, Every one is dealing falsely,
14 And they heal the breach of the daughter of my people slightly, Saying, `Peace, peace!' and there is no peace.
15 They were ashamed when they did abomination! Yea, they are not at all ashamed, Yea, blushing they have not known, Therefore they do fall among those falling, In the time I have inspected them, They stumble, said Jehovah.
16 Thus said Jehovah: Stand ye by the ways and see, and ask for paths of old, Where `is' this -- the good way? and go ye in it, And find rest for yourselves. And they say, `We do not go.'
17 And I have raised up for you watchmen, Attend ye to the voice of the trumpet. And they say, `We do not attend.'
18 Therefore hear, O nations, and know, O company, That which `is' upon them.
19 Hear, O earth, lo, I am bringing evil on this people, The fruit of their devices, For to My words they gave no attention, And My law -- they kick against it.
20 Why `is' this to Me? frankincense from Sheba cometh, And the sweet cane from a land afar off, Your burnt-offerings `are' not for acceptance, And your sacrifices have not been sweet to Me.
21 Therefore thus said Jehovah: Lo, I do give to this people stumbling blocks, And stumbled against them have fathers and sons together, The neighbour and his friend do perish.
22 Thus said Jehovah: Lo, a people hath come from a north country, And a great nation is stirred up from the sides of the earth.
23 Bow and javelin they take hold of, Fierce it `is', and they have no mercy, Their voice as a sea doth sound, And on horses they ride, set in array as a man of war, Against thee, O daughter of Zion.
24 `We have heard its sound, feeble have been our hands, Distress hath seized us, pain as of a travailing woman.
25 Go not forth to the field, And in the way walk not, For a sword hath the enemy, fear `is' round about.
26 O daughter of My people, Gird on sackcloth, and roll thyself in ashes, The mourning of an only one make for thee, A lamentation most bitter, For suddenly come doth the spoiler against us.
27 A watch-tower I have given thee, Among My people a fortress, And thou knowest, and hast tried their way.
28 All of them are turned aside by apostates, Walking slanderously -- brass and iron, All of them are corrupters.
29 The bellows have been burnt, By fire hath the lead been consumed, In vain hath a refiner refined, And the wicked have not been drawn away.
30 `Silver rejected,' they have called to them, For Jehovah hath kicked against them!
1 Flee for safety, ye children of Benjamin, out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a signal in Beth-haccerem; for evil appeareth out of the north, and a great destruction.
2 The comely and delicate one do I cut off, the daughter of Zion.
3 Shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her; they shall pitch [their] tents against her round about; they shall feed every one in his place.
4 Prepare war against her. Arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe unto us! for the day hath declined, for the shadows of the evening are lengthening.
5 Arise, and let us go up by night, and let us destroy her palaces.
6 For thus hath Jehovah of hosts said: Hew ye down trees, and cast a mound against Jerusalem. She is the city to be visited; she is wholly oppression in the midst of her.
7 As a well poureth forth her waters, so she poureth forth her wickedness: violence and destruction are heard in her; before me continually are grief and wounds.
8 Be thou instructed, Jerusalem, lest my soul be alienated from thee; lest I make thee a desolation, a land not inhabited.
9 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: They shall thoroughly glean like a vine the remnant of Israel: turn back thy hand, as a grape-gatherer unto the baskets.
10 To whom shall I speak and testify, that they may hear? Behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of Jehovah is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.
11 And I am full of the fury of Jehovah, I am weary with holding in. Pour it out upon the children in the street, and upon the assembly of young men together: for even the husband with the wife shall be taken; the aged with him [that is] full of days.
12 And their houses shall be turned unto others, [their] fields and wives together; for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith Jehovah.
13 For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them, every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest, every one dealeth falsely.
14 And they have healed the breach of the daughter of my people lightly, saying, Peace, peace! when there is no peace.
15 Are they ashamed that they have committed abomination? Nay, they are not at all ashamed, neither know they what it is to blush. Therefore they shall fall among them that fall; at the time that I visit them they shall stumble, saith Jehovah.
16 Thus saith Jehovah: Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the ancient paths, which is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk [therein].
17 Also I have set watchmen over you: -- Hearken ye to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.
18 Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O assembly, what is among them.
19 Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, the fruit of their thoughts; for they have not hearkened unto my words, and as to my law, they have rejected it.
20 To what purpose should there come to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? Your burnt-offerings are not acceptable, nor are your sacrifices pleasing unto me.
21 Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will lay stumbling-blocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall over them; the neighbour and his friend shall perish.
22 Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, a people cometh from the north country, and a great nation is stirred up from the uttermost parts of the earth.
23 They lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as a man for the battle, against thee, daughter of Zion.
24 We have heard the report thereof: our hands are grown feeble; anguish hath taken hold of us, pain as of a woman that travaileth.
25 Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for [there is] the sword of the enemy, terror is on every side.
26 Daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and roll thyself in ashes: make mourning, [as] for an only son -- bitter lamentation; for the spoiler cometh suddenly upon us.
27 I have set thee among my people as an assayer, a fortress, that thou mayest know and try their way.
28 They are all the most rebellious of rebels, going about with slander: they are bronze and iron; they are all corrupters.
29 The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed by the fire; they have melted, and melted in vain; and the bad are not plucked away.
30 Reprobate silver shall they call them, for Jehovah hath rejected them.
1 Flee for safety, you children of Benjamin, out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and raise up a signal on Beth Haccherem; for evil looks forth from the north, and a great destruction.
2 The comely and delicate one, the daughter of Zion, will I cut off.
3 Shepherds with their flocks shall come to her; they shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall feed everyone in his place.
4 Prepare you war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe to us! for the day declines, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out.
5 Arise, and let us go up by night, and let us destroy her palaces.
6 For thus has Yahweh of Hosts said, Hew you down trees, and cast up a mound against Jerusalem: this is the city to be visited; she is wholly oppression in the midst of her.
7 As a well casts forth its waters, so she casts forth her wickedness: violence and destruction is heard in her; before me continually is sickness and wounds.
8 Be instructed, Jerusalem, lest my soul be alienated from you; lest I make you a desolation, a land not inhabited.
9 Thus says Yahweh of Hosts, They shall thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine: turn again your hand as a grape-gatherer into the baskets.
10 To whom shall I speak and testify, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they can't listen: behold, the word of Yahweh is become to them a reproach; they have no delight in it.
11 Therefore I am full of the wrath of Yahweh; I am weary with holding in: pour it out on the children in the street, and on the assembly of young men together; for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him who is full of days.
12 Their houses shall be turned to others, their fields and their wives together; for I will stretch out my hand on the inhabitants of the land, says Yahweh.
13 For from the least of them even to the greatest of them everyone is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even to the priest everyone deals falsely.
14 They have healed also the hurt of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
15 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, says Yahweh.
16 Thus says Yahweh, Stand you in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way; and walk therein, and you shall find rest for your souls: but they said, We will not walk [therein].
17 I set watchmen over you, [saying], Listen to the sound of the trumpet; but they said, We will not listen.
18 Therefore hear, you nations, and know, congregation, what is among them.
19 Hear, earth: behold, I will bring evil on this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not listened to my words; and as for my law, they have rejected it.
20 To what purpose comes there to me frankincense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices pleasing to me.
21 Therefore thus says Yahweh, Behold, I will lay stumbling-blocks before this people; and the fathers and the sons together shall stumble against them; the neighbor and his friend shall perish.
22 Thus says Yahweh, Behold, a people comes from the north country; and a great nation shall be stirred up from the uttermost parts of the earth.
23 They lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roars like the sea, and they ride on horses, everyone set in array, as a man to the battle, against you, daughter of Zion.
24 We have heard the report of it; our hands wax feeble: anguish has taken hold of us, [and] pangs as of a woman in travail.
25 Don't go forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy, [and] terror, are on every side.
26 Daughter of my people, gird you with sackcloth, and wallow yourself in ashes: make you mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; for the destroyer shall suddenly come on us.
27 I have made you a tester of metals [and] a fortress among my people; that you may know and try their way.
28 They are all grievous rebels, going about with slanders; they are brass and iron: they all of them deal corruptly.
29 The bellows blow fiercely; the lead is consumed of the fire: in vain do they go on refining; for the wicked are not plucked away.
30 Refuse silver shall men them, because Yahweh has rejected them.
1 Go in flight out of Jerusalem, so that you may be safe, you children of Benjamin, and let the horn be sounded in Tekoa, and the flag be lifted up on Beth-haccherem: for evil is looking out from the north, and a great destruction.
2 The fair and delicate one, the daughter of Zion, will be cut off by my hand.
3 Keepers of sheep with their flocks will come to her; they will put up their tents round her; everyone will get food in his place.
4 Make war ready against her; up! let us go up when the sun is high. Sorrow is ours! for the day is turned and the shades of evening are stretched out.
5 Up! let us go up by night, and send destruction on her great houses.
6 For this is what the Lord of armies has said: Let trees be cut down and an earthwork be placed against Jerusalem: sorrow on the false town! inside her there is nothing but cruel ways.
7 As the spring keeps its waters cold, so she keeps her evil in her: the sound of cruel and violent behaviour is in her; before me at all times are disease and wounds.
8 Undergo teaching, O Jerusalem, or my soul will be turned away from you, and I will make you a waste, an unpeopled land.
9 This is what the Lord of armies has said: Everything will be taken from the rest of Israel as the last grapes are taken from the vine; let your hand be turned to the small branches, like one pulling off grapes.
10 To whom am I to give word, witnessing so that they may take note? see, their ears are stopped, and they are not able to give attention: see, the word of the Lord has been a cause of shame to them, they have no delight in it.
11 For this reason I am full of the wrath of the Lord, I am tired of keeping it in: may it be let loose on the children in the street, and on the band of the young men together: for even the husband with his wife will be taken, the old man with him who is full of days.
12 And their houses will be handed over to others, their fields and their wives together: for my hand will be stretched out against the people of the land, says the Lord.
13 For from the least of them even to the greatest, everyone is given up to getting money; from the prophet even to the priest, everyone is working deceit.
14 And they have made little of the wounds of my people, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
15 Let them be put to shame because they have done disgusting things. They had no shame, they were not able to become red with shame: so they will come down with those who are falling: when my punishment comes on them, they will be made low, says the Lord.
16 This is what the Lord has said: Take your place looking out on the ways; make search for the old roads, saying, Where is the good way? and go in it that you may have rest for your souls. But they said, We will not go in it.
17 And I put watchmen over you, saying, Give attention to the sound of the horn; but they said, We will not give attention.
18 So then, give ear, you nations, and ...
19 Give ear, O earth: see, I will make evil come on this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not given attention to my words, and they would have nothing to do with my law.
20 To what purpose does sweet perfume come to me from Sheba, and spices from a far country? your burned offerings give me no pleasure, your offerings of beasts are not pleasing to me.
21 For this reason the Lord has said, See, I will put stones in the way of this people: and the fathers and the sons together will go falling over them; the neighbour and his friend will come to destruction.
22 The Lord has said, See, a people is coming from the north country, a great nation will be put in motion from the inmost parts of the earth.
23 Bows and spears are in their hands; they are cruel and have no mercy; their voice is like the thunder of the sea, and they go on horses; everyone in his place like men going to the fight, against you, O daughter of Zion.
24 The news of it has come to our ears; our hands have become feeble: trouble has come on us and pain, like the pain of a woman in childbirth.
25 Go not out into the field or by the way; for there is the sword of the attacker, and fear on every side.
26 O daughter of my people, put on haircloth, rolling yourself in the dust: give yourself to sorrow, as for an only son, with most bitter cries of grief; for he who makes waste will come on us suddenly.
27 I have made you a tester among my people, so that you may have knowledge of their way and put it to the test.
28 All of them are turned away, going about with false stories; they are brass and iron: they are all workers of deceit.
29 The blower is blowing strongly, the lead is burned away in the fire: they go on heating the metal to no purpose, for the evil-doers are not taken away.
30 They will be named waste silver, because the Lord has given them up.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Jeremiah 6
Commentary on Jeremiah 6 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
The Judgment is Irrevocably Decreed. - A hostile army approaches from the north, and lays siege to Jerusalem, in order to storm the city (Jeremiah 6:1-8). None is spared, since the people rejects all counsels to reform (Jeremiah 6:9-15). Since it will not repent, it will fall by the hands of the enemy, in spite of the outward sacrificial service (Jeremiah 6:16-21). The enemy will smite Zion without mercy, seeing that the trial of the people has brought about no change for the better in them (Jeremiah 6:22-30).
Jeremiah 6:1-2
The judgment breaking over Jerusalem. - Jeremiah 6:1. "Flee, ye sons of Benjamin, out of the midst of Jerusalem, and in Tekoa blow the trumpet, and over Beth-haccerem set up a sign; for evil approaCheth from the north, and great destruction. Jeremiah 6:2. The comely and the delicate - I lay waste the daughter of Zion. Jeremiah 6:3. To her come shepherds with their flocks, pitch their tents about her round about, and devour each his portion. Jeremiah 6:4. Sanctify war against her; arise, let us go up at noon. Woe unto us! for the day declineth; for the shadows of evening lengthen. Jeremiah 6:5. Arise, let us go up by night, and destroy her palaces. Jeremiah 6:6. For thus hath Jahveh of hosts spoken, Hew down wood, and pile up against Jerusalem a rampart; she is the city that is (to be) punished, she is all full of oppression in her midst. Jeremiah 6:7. As a fountain pours forth its water, so pours she forth her wickedness: violence and spoiling is heard in her; before my face continually, wounds and smiting. Jeremiah 6:8. Be warned, Jerusalem, lest my soul tear herself from thee, lest I make thee a waste, a land uninhabited."
In graphic delineation of the enemy's approach against Jerusalem, the prophet calls on the people to flee. As regarded its situation, Jerusalem belonged to the tribe of Benjamin; the boundary between the tribal domain of Judah and Benjamin passed through the valley of Ben-hinnom on the south side of Jerusalem, and then ran northwards to the west of the city (Joshua 15:8; Joshua 18:16.). The city was inhabited by Judeans and Benjamites, 1 Chronicles 9:2. The summons is addressed to the Benjamites as the prophet's fellow-countrymen. Tekoa lay about two hours' journey southwards from Bethlehem, according to Jerome, on a hill twelve Roman miles south of Jerusalem; see on Joshua 15:59. This town is mentioned because its name admits of a play on the word תּקעוּ . The alarm is given in the country south of Jerusalem, because the enemy is coming from the north, so that the flight will be directed southwards. Beth-haccerem, acc. to Jerome, was a hamlet ( vicus ) between Jerusalem and Tekoa, qui lingua Syra et Hebraic Bethacharma nominatur, et ipse in monte positus , apparently on what is now called the Frank's Hill, Jebel Fureidis ; see on Nehemiah 3:14. משׂאת , the lifting up, that which raises itself up, or is raised; here a lofty beacon or signal, the nature of which is not further made known. The meaning, fire-signal, or ascending column of smoke, cannot be made good from Judges 20:38, Judges 20:40, since there עשׁן is appended; nor from the statements of classical authors (in Ros.), that in time of war bodies of troops stationed in different places made their positions known to one another by masses of rising flame during the night, and by columns of smoke in the day time. As to the last clause, cf. Jeremiah 1:14. "Great destruction," as in Jeremiah 4:6. - In Jeremiah 6:2 the impending judgment is further described. It falls on the daughter of Zion, the capital and its inhabitants, personified as a beautiful and delicately reared woman. נוה , defectively written for נאוה , contracted from נאוה , lovely, beautiful. The words are not vocatives, O fair and delicate, but accusatives made to precede their governing verb absolutely, and are explained by "the daughter of Zion," dependent on "I destroy:" the fair and the delicate, namely, the daughter of Zion, I destroy. דּמה as in Hosea 4:5. The other meaning of this verb, to be like, to resemble, is wholly unsuitable here; and, besides, in this signification it is construed with אל or ל . Ew.'s translation, I mean the daughter of Zion, is not justifiable by the usage of the word, the Piel only, and not the Kal, being capable of this interpretation.
Jeremiah 6:3
The destruction comes about by means of shepherds with their flocks, who set up their tents round the city, and depasture each his portion. We need hardly observe that the shepherds and their flocks are a figure for princes, who with their peoples besiege and sack Jerusalem; with this cf. Jeremiah 1:15. The figure does not point to a nomad swarm, or the Scythian people, as Ew. supposes. "Each his hand," i.e., what lies to his hand, or next him.
Jeremiah 6:4-7
The description passes from figure to reality, and the enemies appear before us as speaking, inciting one another to the combat, encouraging one another to storm the city. To sanctify a war, i.e., prepare themselves for the war by religious consecration, inasmuch as the war was undertaken under commission from God, and because the departure of the army, like the combat itself, was consecrated by sacrifice and other religious ceremonies; see on Joel 3:9. עלה , to go up against a place as an enemy, not, go up upon, in which case the object, them (the city or walls), could not be omitted. It is plainly the storming or capture of the town that is meant by the going up; hence we may understand what follows: and we will destroy her palaces. We have a rousing call to go up at noon or in clear daylight, joined with "woe to us," a cry of disappointment that they will not be able to gain their ends so soon, not indeed till night; in these we see the great eagerness with which they carry on the assault. יום פּנה , the day turns itself, declines towards its end; cf. Psalms 90:9. The enemies act under a commission from God, who has imposed on them the labour of the siege, in order to punish Jerusalem for her sins. Jahveh is here most fittingly called the God of hosts; for as God of the world, obeyed by the armies of heaven, He commands the kings of the earth to chastise His people. Hew wood, i.e., fell trees for making the siege works, cf. Deuteronomy 20:20, both for raising the attacking ramparts,
(Note: Agger ex terra lignisque attollitur contra murum, de quo tela jactantur . Veget. de re milit. iv. 15.)
and for the entire apparatus necessary for storming the town. עצה is not a collective form from עץ , like דּגה from דּג ; but the ה is a suffix in spite of the omission of the Mappik, which is given by but a few of the codd ., eastern and western, for we know that Mappik is sometimes omitted, e.g., Numbers 15:28, Numbers 15:31; cf. Ew. §247, d . We are encouraged to take it so by Deuteronomy 20:19, where עצה are the trees in the vicinity of the town, of which only the fruit trees were to be spared in case of siege, while those which did not bear eatable fruit were to be made use of for the purposes of the siege. And thus we must here, too, read עצה , and refer the suffix to the next noun (Jerusalem). On "pile up a rampart," cf. 2 Samuel 20:5; Ezekiel 4:2, etc. הפקד is used as passive of Kal, and impersonally. The connection with העיר is to be taken like חנה in Isaiah 29:1 : the city where it is punished, or perhaps like Psalms 59:6, the relative being supplied: that is punished. כּלּהּ is not to be joined, contrary to the accents, with הפקד (Ven., J. D. Mich.), a connection which, even if it were legitimate, would give but a feeble thought. It belongs to what follows, "she is wholly oppression in her midst," i.e., on all sides in her there is oppression. This is expanded in Jeremiah 6:7. lxx and Jerome have taken הקיר from קרר , and translate: like as a cistern keeps its water cool ( ψύχει , frigidam facit ), so she keeps her wickedness cool. Hitz. has pronounced in favour of this interpretation, but changes "keep cool" into "keep fresh," and understands the metaphor thus: they take good care that their wickedness does not stagnate or become impaired by disuse. But it would be a strange metaphor to put "keep wickedness cool," for "maintain it in strength and vigour." We therefore, along with Luth. and most commentators, prefer the rabbinical interpretation: as a well makes its water to gush out, etc.; for there is no sufficient force in the objection that מקור from קוּר , dig, is not a spring but a well, that הקיר has still less the force of making to gush forth, and that בּור wholly excludes the idea of causing to spring out. The first assertion is refuted by Jeremiah 2:13, מקור , fountain of living water; whence it is clear that the word does mean a well fed by a spring. It is true, indeed, that the word בּור , a later way of writing בּאר (cf. 1 Chronicles 11:17. 22 with 2 Samuel 23:15. 20), means usually, a pit, a cistern dug out; but this form is not substantially different from בּאר , well, puteus , which is used for בּור in Ps. 55:24 and Psalms 69:16. Accordingly, this latter form can undoubtedly stand with the force of בּאר , as has been admitted by the Masoretes when they substituted for it בּאר ; cf. the Arab. bi'run . The noun מקור puts beyond doubt the legitimacy of giving to הקיר , from קוּר , to dig a well, the signification of making water to gush forth.
The form הקרה is indeed referable to קרר , but only shows, as is otherwise well known, that no very strict line of demarcation can be drawn between the forms of verbs ' עע and ' הקיר ; עו , again, is formed regularly from קוּר . Violence and spoiling; cf. Jeremiah 20:8, and Amos 3:10; Habakkuk 1:3. "Before my face," before mine eyes, corresponds to "is heard," as wounds and smitings are the consequences of violence. On that head, cf. Psalms 55:10-12.
Jeremiah 6:8
If Jerusalem cease not from these sins and crimes, the Lord must devote it to spoliation. Let thyself be corrected, warned; cf. Psalms 2:10; Leviticus 26:23. תּקע from יקע , tear oneself loose, estrange oneself, as in Ezekiel 23:17. "A land uninhabited" is an apposition giving greater expressiveness to "a waste," Jeremiah 22:6.
This judgment will fall unsparingly on Jerusalem, because they listen to no warning, but suffer themselves to be confirmed in their shameless courses by false prophets and wicked priests. - Jeremiah 6:9. "Thus hath Jahveh of hosts said: They shall have a gleaning of the remnant of Israel as of a vine: lay thine hand again as a vine-dresser on the soots. Jeremiah 6:10. To whom shall I speak, and testify, that they may hear? Behold, uncircumcised is their ear, and they cannot give heed: behold, the word of Jahveh is become to them a reproach; they have no pleasure in it. Jeremiah 6:11. But of the fury of Jahveh am I full, am weary with holding it in. Pour it out upon the child on the street, and upon the group of young men together; for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the old man with him that is full of days. Jeremiah 6:12. And their houses shall pass unto others, fields and wives together; for I stretch out mine hand against the inhabitants of the land, saith Jahveh. Jeremiah 6:13. For great and small are all of them greedy for gain; and from the prophet to the priest, all use deceit. Jeremiah 6:14. And they heal the breach of the daughter of my people lightly, saying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace. Jeremiah 6:15. They are put to shame because they have done abomination, yet they take not shame to themselves, neither know they disgrace; therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall stumble, hath Jahveh said."
The threatening of Jeremiah 6:9 is closely connected with the foregoing. The Lord will make Jerusalem an uninhabited waste, because it will not take warning. The enemy will make a gleaning like vine-dressers, i.e., they will yet search out eve that which is left of the people, and crush it or carry it captive. This still sterner threat does come into contradiction with the repeated pledge, that Israel is not to be wholly extirpated, not to be made an utter end of (Jeremiah 4:27; Jeremiah 5:10, Jeremiah 5:18). For even at the gleaning odd clusters are left, which are not noticed or set store by. The words convey the idea that the enemy will not have done with it after one devastating campaign, but will repeat his inroads. עולל is construed with the accus. of the vineyard in Leviticus 19:10. The "remnant of Israel" is not the kingdom of Judah at large, but Judah already reduced by judgments. In the second clause the idea of the first is repeated in the form of a command to the gleaners. The command is to be looked on as addressed to the enemy by God; and this turn of the expression serves to put the thought with a positiveness that excludes the faintest doubt. To bring back the hand means: yet again to turn it, stretch it out against a person or thing; cf. Amos 1:8; Isaiah 1:25. סלסלּות is not baskets, like סלּים , Genesis 40:16, but like זלזלּים , Isaiah 18:5, vine-shoots, prop. waving twigs, like תּלתּלּים , Song of Solomon 5:11, from סלל = זלל and תּלל , wave (Ew., Hitz.).
Jeremiah 6:10-11
Well might Jeremiah warn the people once more (cf. Jeremiah 6:8), in order to turn sore judgment away from it; but it cannot and will not hear, for it is utterly hardened. Yet can he not be silent; for he is so filled with the fury of God, that he must pour it forth on the depraved race. This is our view of the progress of the thought in these verses; whereas Hitz. and Graf make what is said in Jeremiah 6:11 refer to the utterance of the dreadful revelation received in Jeremiah 6:9. But this is not in keeping with "testify that they may hear," or with the unmistakeable contrast between the pouring out of the divine fury, Jeremiah 6:11, and the testifying that they may hear, Jeremiah 6:10. Just because their ear is uncircumcised to that they cannot hear, is it in vain to speak to them for the purpose of warning them; and the prophet has no alternative left but to pour out on the deaf and seared people that fury of the Lord with which he is inwardly filled. The question: to whom should I speak? etc. ( על for אל , as Psalms 111:2 and often), is not to be taken as a question to God, but only as a rhetorical turn of the thought, that all further speaking or warning is in vain. "Testify," lay down testimony by exhibiting the sin and the punishment it brings with it. "That they may hear," ut audiant , the Chald. has well paraphrased: ut accipiant doctrinam . Uncircumcised is their ear, as it were covered with a foreskin, so that the voice of God's word cannot find its way in; cf. Jeremiah 5:24; Jeremiah 4:4. The second clause, introduced by הנּה , adduces the reason of their not being able to hear. The word of God is become a reproach to them; they are determined not to hearken to it, because it lashes their sins. Jeremiah 6:11 comes in adversatively: But the fury of the Lord drives him to speak. חמת יהוה is not a holy ardour for Jahveh (Graf and many ancient comm.), but the wrath of God against the people, which the prophet cannot contain, i.e., keep to himself, but must pour out. Because they will not take correction, he must inflict the judgment upon them, not merely utter it. The imper. שׁפך is to be taken like השׁב , Jeremiah 6:9, not as an expression of the irresistible necessity which, in spite of all his efforts against it, compels the prophet to pour forth, in a certain sense, the wrath of the Lord on all classes of the people by the very publishing of God's word (Graf); but it is the command of God, to be executed by him, as is shown by "for I stretch out mine hand," Jeremiah 6:12. The prophet is to pour out the wrath of God by the proclamation of God's word, which finds its fulfilment in judgments of wrath; see on Jeremiah 1:10. Upon all classes of the people: the children that play in the street (cf. Jeremiah 9:20), the young men gathered together in a cheerful company, the men and women, old men and them that are full of days, i.e., those who have reached the furthest limit of old age. כּי tells why the prophet is so to speak: for upon the whole population will God's wrath be poured out. ילּכד , not, be taken captive, but, be taken, overtaken by the wrath, as in Jeremiah 8:9; cf. 1 Samuel 14:41.
Jeremiah 6:12-14
Jeremiah 6:12 gives the result of being thus taken: their houses, fields, and wives will be handed over to others, descend to others. Wives are mentioned along with houses and fields, as in the commandment, Exodus 20:17; cf. Deuteronomy 5:18. The loss of all one's possessions is mentioned in connection with reproof, following in Jeremiah 6:13, of greed and base avarice. The threatening is confirmed in Jeremiah 6:12 by the clause: for I (Jahveh) stretch my hand out, etc. Then in Jeremiah 6:13 and Jeremiah 6:14 the cause of the judgment is adduced. The judgment falls upon all, for all, great and little, i.e., mean and powerful (cf. Jeremiah 6:4, Jeremiah 6:5), go after base gain; and the teachers, who ought to lead the people on the true way (Isaiah 30:21), sue deceit and dishonesty. They heal the breach of the daughter of my people, i.e., the infirmities and injuries of the state, after a light and frivolous fashion ( נקלּה is partic.Niph. faem ., and על is of the thing that covers another); - in this, namely, that they speak of peace and healing where there is no peace; that they do not uncover the real injuries so as to heal them thoroughly, but treat them as if they were trifling and in no way dangerous infirmities.
Jeremiah 6:15
For this behaviour they are put to shame, i.e., deceived in their hope. The perf. is prophetic, representing the matter as being equally certain as if it had been already realized. It cannot bear to be translated either: they should be ashamed (Ros., Umbr. after the Chald.), or: they would be ashamed (Ew.). The following grounding clause adduces the cause of their being put to shame: because they have done abomination; and the next clauses bring in a contrast: yet on the contrary, shame and disgrace they know not; therefore on the day of visitation they will fall with the rest. When these verses are repeated in Jeremiah 8:12, the Niph. הכּלם is used in place of the Hiph. הכלים . It does not, however, follow from this that the Hiph. has here the force of the Niph., but only thus much, that the Hiph. is here used, not in a transitive, but in a simply active meaning: to have shame or disgrace. For פּקדתּים with the relative omitted, time when I visit, we have in Jeremiah 8:12 the simpler form of the noun פּקדּת , as in Jeremiah 10:15; Jeremiah 46:21, and often. Such divergencies do not justify the accommodation of the present passage to these others, since on occasions of repetitions the expression in matters of subordinate importance is often varied. The perf. of the verb has here the force of the fut. exact .
The judgment cannot be turned aside by mere sacrifice without a change of heart. - Jeremiah 6:16. "Thus hath Jahveh said: Stand on the ways, and look, and ask after the everlasting paths, which (one) is the way of good, and walk therein; so shall ye find rest for your souls. But they say, We will not go. Jeremiah 6:17. And I have set over you watchmen, (saying): Hearken to the sound of the trumpet; but they say, We will not hearken. Jeremiah 6:18. Therefore hear, ye peoples, and know, thou congregation, what happens to them. Jeremiah 6:19. Hear, O earth! Behold, I bring evil on this people, the fruit of their thoughts; for to my words they have not hearkened, and at my law they have spurned. Jeremiah 6:20. To what end, then, is their incense coming to me from Sheba, and the good spice-cane from a far land? Your burnt-offerings are not a pleasure, and your slain-offerings are not grateful to me. Jeremiah 6:21. Therefore thus hath Jahveh said: Behold, I lay stumbling-blocks for this people, that thereon fathers and sons may stumble, at once the neighbour and his friend shall perish."
Jeremiah 6:16
The Lord has not left any lack of instruction and warning. He has marked out for them the way of salvation in the history of the ancient times. It is to this reference is made when they, in ignorance of the way to walk in, are called to ask after the everlasting paths. This thought is clothed thus: they are to step forth upon the ways, to place themselves where several ways diverge from one another, and inquire as to the everlasting paths, so as to discover which is the right way, and then on this they are to walk. נתיבות עולם are paths that have been trod in the hoary time of old, but not all sorts of ways, good and bad, which they are to walk on indiscriminately, so that it may be discovered which of them is the right one (Hitz.). This meaning is not to be inferred from the fact, that in Jeremiah 18:15 everlasting paths are opposed to untrodden ways; indeed this very passage teaches that the everlasting ways are the right ones, from which through idolatry the people have wandered into unbeaten paths. Thus the paths of the old time are here the ways in which Israel's godly ancestors have trod; meaning substantially, the patriarchs' manner of thinking and acting. For the following question, "which is the way," etc., does not mean, amongst the paths of old time to seek out that which, as the right one, leads to salvation, but says simply thus much: ask after the paths of the old time, so as thus to recognise the right way, and then, when ye have found it, to walk therein. דּרך הטּוב , not, the good way; for הטּוב cannot be an objective appended to דּרך , since immediately after, the latter word is construed in בּהּ as faem . "The good" is the genitive dependent on "way:" way of the good, that leads to the good, to salvation. This way Israel might learn to know from the history of antiquity recorded in the Torah. Graf has brought the sense well out in this shape: "Look inquiringly backwards to ancient history (Deuteronomy 32:7), and see how success and enduring prosperity forsook your fathers when they left the way prescribed to them by God, to walk in the ways of the heathen (Jeremiah 18:15); learn that there is but one way, the way of the fear of Jahveh, on which blessing and salvation are to be found (Jeremiah 32:39-40)." Find (with ו consec.), and find thus = so shall ye find; cf. Ew. §347, b ; Ges. §130, 2. To "we will not go," we may supply from the context: on the way of good.
Jeremiah 6:17
But God does not let the matter end here. He caused prophets to rise up amongst them, who called their attention to the threatening evil. Watchers are prophets, Ezekiel 3:17, who stand upon the watch-tower to keep a lookout, Habakkuk 2:1, and to give the people warning, by proclaiming what they have seen in spirit. "Hearken to the sound," etc., are not the words of the watchmen (prophets), for it is they who blow the trumpet, but the words of God; so that we have to supply, "and I said." The comparison of the prophets to watchmen, who give the alarm of the imminent danger by means of the sound of the trumpet, involves the comparison of the prophets' utterances to the clang of the signal-horn-suggested besides by Amos 3:6.
Jeremiah 6:18
Judah being thus hardened, the Lord makes known to the nations what He has determined regarding it; cf. Micah 1:2. The sense of "Know, thou congregation," etc., is far from clear, and has been very variously given. Ros., Dahl., Maur., Umbr., and others, understand עדה of the congregation or assembly of the foreign nations; but the word cannot have this meaning without some further qualifying word. Besides, a second mention of the nations is not suitable to the context. the congregation must be that of Israel. The only question can be, whether we are by this to think of the whole people (of Judah), (Chald, Syr., Ew., and others), or whether it is the company of the ungodly that is addressed, as in the phrase עדת קרח (Hitz.). But there is little probability in the view, that the crew of the ungodly is addressed along with the nations and the earth. Not less open to debate is the construction of את־אשׁר־בּם . In any case little weight can be attached to Hitz.'s assumption, that את is used only to mark out the אשׁר as relative pronoun: observe it, O company that is amidst them. The passages, Jeremiah 38:16 ( Chet .), and Ecclesiastes 4:3, where את seems to have this force, are different in kind; for a definite noun precedes, and to it the relation את־אשׁר is subjoined. And then what, on this construction, is the reference of בּם , amidst them ? Hitz. has said nothing on this point. But it could only be referred to "peoples:" the company which is amidst the peoples; and this gives no reasonable sense. These three words can only be object to "know:" know what is amongst (in) them; or: what is or happens to them (against them). It has been taken in the first sense by Chald. (their sins), Umbr., Maur.: what happens in or amongst them; in the second by Ros., Dahl.: what I shall do against them. Ewald, again, without more ado, changes בּם into בּא : know, thou congregation, what is coming. By this certainly a suitable sense is secured; but there are no sufficient reasons for a change of the text, it is the mere expedient of embarrassment. All the ancient translators have read the present text; even the translation of the lxx: καὶ οἱ ποιμαίνοντες τὰ ποίμνια αὐτῶν , has been arrived at by a confounding of letters ( דעי עדה with רעי עדר ). We understand "congregation" of Israel, i.e., not of the whole people of Judah, but of those to whom the title "congregation" was applicable, i.e., of the godly, small as their number might be. Accordingly, we are not to refer את־אשׁר בּם to "peoples:" what is occurring amidst the peoples, viz., that they are coming to besiege Jerusalem, etc. (Jeremiah 6:3.). Nor is it to be referred to those in Judah who, according to Jeremiah 6:16 and Jeremiah 6:17, do not walk in the right way, and will not give ear to the sound of the trumpet. The latter reference, acc. to which the disputed phrase would be translated: what will happen to them (against them), seems more feasible, and corresponds better to the parallelism of Jeremiah 6:18 and Jeremiah 6:19, since this corresponds better to the parallelism of Jeremiah 6:18 and Jeremiah 6:19, since this same phrase is then explained in Jeremiah 6:19 by: I bring evil upon this people.
(Note: So that we cannot hold, with Graf, that the reading of the text is "manifestly corrupted;" still less do we hold as substantiated or probable his conjectural reading: וּדעוּ אשׁר הע , and know what I have testified against them.)
Jeremiah 6:19
In Jeremiah 6:19 the evil is characterized as a punishment drawn down by them on themselves by means of the apposition: fruit of their thoughts. "Fruit of their thoughts," not of their deeds (Isaiah 3:10), in order to mark the hostility of the evil heart towards God. God's law is put in a place of prominence by the turn of the expression: My law, and they spurned at it; cf. Ew. §344, b , with 309, b .
Jeremiah 6:20
The people had no shortcoming in the matter of sacrifice in the temple; but in this service, as being mere outward service of works, the Lord has no pleasure, if the heart is estranged from Him, rebels against His commandments. Here we have the doctrine, to obey is better than sacrifice, 1 Samuel 15:22. The Lord desires that men do justice, exercise love, and walk humbly with Him, Micah 6:8. Sacrifice, as opus operatum , is denounced by all the prophets: cf. Hosea 6:6; Amos 5:21., Isaiah 1:11; Psalms 50:8. Incense from Sheba (see on Ezekiel 27:22) was required partly for the preparation of the holy incense (Exodus 30:34), partly as an addition to the meat-offerings, Leviticus 2:1, Leviticus 2:15, etc. Good, precious cane, is the aromatic reed, calamus odoratus (Exodus 30:23), calamus from a far country - namely, brought from India - and used in the preparation of the anointing oil; see on Exodus 30:23. לרצון is from the language of the Torah; cf. Leviticus 1:3., Jeremiah 22:19., Exodus 28:38; and with לא : not to well-pleasing, sc. before Jahveh, i.e., they cannot procure for the offerers the pleasure or favour of God. With לא ערבוּ לי cf. Hosea 9:4.
Jeremiah 6:21
Therefore the Lord will lay stumbling-blocks before the people, whereby they all come to grief. The stumbling-blocks by which the people are to fall and perish, are the inroads, of the enemies, whose formidableness is depicted in Jeremiah 6:22. The idea of totality is realized by individual cases in "fathers and sons, neighbour and his friend." יחדּו belongs to the following clause, and not the Keri , but the Cheth . יאבדוּ , is the true reading. The Keri is formed after the analogy of Jeremiah 46:6 and Jeremiah 50:32; but it is unsuitable, since then we would require, as in the passages cited, to have נפל in direct connection with כּשׁל .
A distant, cruel people will execute the judgment, since Judah, under the trial, has proved to be worthless metal. - Jeremiah 6:22. "Thus hath Jahveh said: Behold, a people cometh from the land of the north, and a great nation raises itself from the furthermost sides of the earth. Jeremiah 6:23. Bows and javelins they bear; cruel it is, and they have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and on horses they ride, equipped as a man for the war against thee, daughter of Zion. Jeremiah 6:24. We heard the rumour thereof: weak are our hands: anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail. Jeremiah 6:25. Go not forth into the field, and in the way walk not; for a sword hath the enemy, fear is all around. Jeremiah 6:26. O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and besprinkle thee with ashes; make mourning for an only son, butter lamentation: for suddenly shall the spoiler come upon us. Jeremiah 6:27. For a trier have I set thee among my people as a strong tower, that thou mightest know and try their way. Jeremiah 6:28. They are all revolters of revolters; go about as slanderers; brass and iron; they are all dealing corruptingly. Jeremiah 6:29. Burned are the bellows by the fire, at an end is the lead; in vain they melt and melt; and wicked ones are not separated. Jeremiah 6:30. Rejected silver they call them, for Jahveh hath rejected them."
In Jeremiah 6:22 the stumbling-blocks of Jeremiah 6:21 are explained. At the end of this discourse yet again the invasion of the enemy from the far north is announced, cf. Jeremiah 4:13 and Jeremiah 5:15, and its terribleness is portrayed with new colours. The farther the land is from which the enemy comes, the more strange and terrible he appears to the imagination. The farthest (hindmost) sides of the earth (cf. Jeremiah 25:32) is only a heightening of the idea: land of the north, or of the far distance (Jeremiah 5:15); in other words, the far uttermost north (cf. Isaiah 14:13). In this notice of their home, Hitz. finds a proof that the enemies were the Scythians, not the Chaldeans; since, acc. to Ezekiel 38:6, Ezekiel 38:15, and Ezekiel 39:2, Gog, i.e., The Scythians, come "from the sides of the north." But "sides of the earth" is not a geographical term for any particular northern country, but only for very remote lands; and that the Chaldeans were reckoned as falling within this term, is shown by the passage Jeremiah 31:8, according to which Israel is to be gathered again from the land of the north and from the sides of the earth. Here any connection with Scythia in "sides of the earth" is not to be thought of, since prophecy knows nothing of a captivity of Israel in Scythia, but regards Assur and Babylon alone as the lands of the exile of Israelites and Jews. As weapons of the enemy then are mentioned bows (cf. Jeremiah 4:29; Jeremiah 5:16), and the javelin or lance ( כּידון , not shield; see on 1 Samuel 17:6). It is cruel, knows no pity, and is so numerous and powerful, that its voice, i.e., the tumult of its approach, is like the roaring of the sea; cf. Isaiah 5:30; Isaiah 17:12. On horses they ride; cf. Jeremiah 4:13; Jeremiah 8:16; Habakkuk 1:8. ערוּך in the singular, answering to "cruel it is," points back to גּוי or כּאישׁ . is not for כּאישׁ אחד (Ros.), but for כּאישׁ מלחמה , cf. 1 Samuel 17:33; Isaiah 42:13; and the genitive is omitted only because of the למלחמה coming immediately after (Graf). "Against thee" is dependent on ערוּך : equipped as a warrior is equipped for the war, against the daughter of Zion. In Jeremiah 6:24-26 are set forth the terrors and the suspense which the appearance of the foe will spread abroad. In Jeremiah 6:24 the prophet, as a member of the people, gives utterance to its feelings. As to the sense, the clauses are to be connected thus: As soon as we hear the rumour of the people, i.e., of its approach, our hands become feeble through dread, all power to resist vanishes: cf. Isaiah 13:7; and for the metaphor of travail, Isaiah 13:8; Micah 4:9, etc. In v. 28 the inhabitants of Jerusalem, personified as the daughter of Zion, are warned not to go forth of the city into the field or about the country, lest they fall into the enemies' hands and be put to death. מגור מסּביב , often used by Jeremiah, cf. Jeremiah 20:3, Jeremiah 20:10; Jeremiah 46:5; Jeremiah 49:29, and, as Jeremiah 20:10 shows, taken from Psalms 31:14. Fear or terrors around, i.e., on all sides danger and destruction threaten.
Sorest affliction will seize the inhabitants of Jerusalem. As to "daughter of my people," cf. Jeremiah 4:11; on "gird thee with sackcloth," cf. Jeremiah 4:8. To bestrew the head with ashes is a mode of expressing the greatest affliction; cf. Ezekiel 27:30; Micah 1:10. אבל as in Amos 8:10; Zechariah 12:10.
The closing verses of this discourse (Jeremiah 6:27-30) are regarded by Hitz. as a meditation upon the results of his labours. "He was to try the people, and he found it to be evil." But in this he neglects the connection of these verses with the preceding. From the conclusion of Jeremiah 6:30, "Jahveh hath rejected them," we may see that they stand connected in matter with the threatening of the spoiler; and the fact is put beyond a doubt when we compare together the greater subdivisions of the present discourse. The Jeremiah 6:27-30 correspond in substance with the view given in Jeremiah 5:30-31 of the moral character of the people. As that statement shows the reasons for the threatening that God must take vengeance on such a people (Jeremiah 5:29), so what is said in the verses before us explain why it is threatened that a people approaching from the north will execute judgment without mercy on the daughter of Zion. For these verses do not tell us only the results of the prophet's past labours, but they at the same time indicate that his further efforts will be without effect. The people is like copper and iron, unproductive of either gold or silver; and so the smelting process is in vain. The illustration and the thing illustrated are not strictly discriminated in the statement. בּחון is adject. verb . with active force: he that tries metal, that by smelting separates the slag from the gold and silver ore; cf. Zechariah 13:9; Job 23:10. מבצר creates a difficulty, and is very variously understood. The ancient comm. have interpreted it, according to Jeremiah 1:18, as either in a fortress, or as a fortress. So the Chald., changing בחון for בחור : electum dedi te in populo meo, in urbe munita forti. Jerome : datur propheta populo incredulo probator robustus, quod ebraice dicitur מבצר , quod vel munitum juxta Aquil., vel clausum atque circumdatum juxta Symm. et lxx sonat . The extant text of the lxx has ἐν λαοῖς δεδοκιμασμένοις . Following the usage of the language, we are justified only in taking מבצר as apposition to בּחון , or to the suffix in נתתּיך ; in which case Luther's connection of it with עמּי , "among my people, which is so hard," will appear to be impossible. But again, it has been objected, not without reason, that the reference of "fortress" to Jeremiah is here opposed to the context, while in Jeremiah 1:18 it falls well in with it; consequently other interpretations have been attempted. Gaab, Maur., Hitz., have taken note of the fact that בּצר occurs in Job 36:19, like בּצר in the signification of gold; they take מבצר as a contraction for מן בצר , and expound: without gold, i.e., although then was there no gold, to try for which was thy task. To this view Graf has objected: the testing would be wholly purposeless, if it was already declared beforehand that there was no noble metal in the people. But this objection is not conclusive; for the testing could only have as its aim to exhibit the real character of the people, so as to bring home to the people's apprehension what was already well known to God. These are weightier considerations: 1. We cannot make sure of the meaning gold-ore for בּצר by means of Job 36:19, since the interpretation there is open to dispute; and בּצר , Job 22:24, does not properly mean gold, but unworked ore, though in its connection with the context we must understand virgin gold and silver ore in its natural condition. Here, accordingly, we would be entitled to translate only: without virgin ore, native metal. 2. The choice of a word so unusual is singular, and the connection of מבצר with עמּי htiw is still very harsh. Yet less satisfactory is the emendation defended by J. D. Mich., Dahl, Ew., and Graf, מבצּר : "for a trier have I made thee among my people, for a separater;" for בּצר has in Heb. only the meaning cut off and fortify, and the Pi. occurs in Isaiah 22:10 and Jeremiah 51:53 in the latter meaning, whereas the signif. separate, discriminate, can be maintained neither from Hebrew nor Arabic usage. The case being so, it seems to us that the interpretation acc. to Jeremiah 1:18 has most to be said for it: To be a trier have I set thee amid my people "as a strong tower;" and to this Ges., Dietr. in Lex. s.v. , adhere.
Jeremiah 6:28 gives a statement as to the moral character of the people. "Revolters of revolters" is a kind of superlative, and סרי is to be derived from סרר , not from סוּר , perverse of perverse; or, as Hitz., imitating the Heb. phrase, rebels of the rebellious. Going about as slanderers, see on Leviticus 19:16, in order to bring others into difficulties; cf. Ezekiel 22:9. To this is subjoined the figurative expression: brass and iron, i.e., ignoble metal as contrasted with gold and silver, cf. Ezekiel 22:18; and to this, again, the unfigurative statement: they are all dealing corruptingly. משׁחיתים , cf. Isaiah 1:4; Deuteronomy 31:29. There is no sufficient reason for joining כּלּם with the preceding: brass and iron, as Hitz. and Graf do in defiance of the accents.
The trial of the people has brought about no purification, no separation of the wicked ones. The trial is viewed under the figure of a long-continued but resultless process of smelting. נחר , Niph. from חרר , to be burnt, scorched, as in Ezekiel 15:4. מאשׁתּם is to be broken up, as in the Keri , into two words: מאשׁ and תּם (from תמם ). For there does not occur any feminine form אשּׁה from אשׁ , nor any plural אשּׁת (even אשּׁה forms the plur. אשּׁים ), so as to admit of our reading מאשּׁתם or מאשּׁתם . Nor would the plur., if there were one, be suitable; Ew.'s assertion that אשּׁות means flames of fire is devoid of all proof. We connect מאשׁ with what precedes: Burnt are the bellows with fire, at an end is the lead. Others attach "by the fire" to what follows: By the fire is the lead consumed. The thought is in either case the same, only תּם is not the proper word for: to be consumed. Sense: the smelting has been carried on so perseveringly, that the bellows have been scorched by the heat of the fire, and the lead added in order to get the ore into fusion is used up; but they have gone on smelting quite in vain. צרף with indefinite subject, and the infin. absol. added to indicate the long duration of the experiment. In the last clause of the verse the result is mentioned in words without a figure: The wicked have not been separated out (prop., torn asunder from the mass).
The final statement of the case: They call them (the whole people) rejected silver, i.e., they are recognised as such; for Jahveh has rejected them, has given over trying to make anything of them.