11 Therefore thus saith H559 the LORD, H3068 Behold, I will bring H935 evil H7451 upon them, which they shall not be able H3201 to escape; H3318 and though they shall cry H2199 unto me, I will not hearken H8085 unto them.
Therefore will I also deal H6213 in fury: H2534 mine eye H5869 shall not spare, H2347 neither will I have pity: H2550 and though they cry H7121 in mine ears H241 with a loud H1419 voice, H6963 yet will I not hear H8085 them.
Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, H7121 and they would not hear; H8085 so they cried, H7121 and I would not hear, H8085 saith H559 the LORD H3068 of hosts: H6635
Then shall they cry H2199 unto the LORD, H3068 but he will not hear H6030 them: he will even hide H5641 his face H6440 from them at that time, H6256 as they have behaved themselves ill H7489 in their doings. H4611
They cried, H7768 but there was none to save H3467 them: even unto the LORD, H3068 but he answered H6030 them not.
Thus saith H559 the LORD, H3068 Behold, I will bring H935 evil H7451 upon this place, H4725 and upon the inhabitants H3427 thereof, even all the words H1697 of the book H5612 which the king H4428 of Judah H3063 hath read: H7121
For the LORD H3068 of hosts, H6635 that planted H5193 thee, hath pronounced H1696 evil H7451 against thee, for H1558 the evil H7451 of the house H1004 of Israel H3478 and of the house H1004 of Judah, H3063 which they have done H6213 against themselves to provoke me to anger H3707 in offering incense H6999 unto Baal. H1168
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.
Fear, H6343 and the pit, H6354 and the snare, H6341 are upon thee, O inhabitant H3427 of the earth. H776
Strive G75 to enter in G1525 at G1223 the strait G4728 gate: G4439 for G3754 many, G4183 I say G3004 unto you, G5213 will seek G2212 to enter in, G1525 and G2532 shall G2480 not G3756 be able. G2480 When once G575 G3739 G302 the master of the house G3617 is risen up, G1453 and G2532 hath shut G608 to the door, G2374 and G2532 ye begin G756 to stand G2476 without, G1854 and G2532 to knock G2925 at the door, G2374 saying, G3004 Lord, G2962 Lord, G2962 open G455 unto us; G2254 and G2532 he shall answer G611 and say G2046 unto you, G5213 I know G1492 you G5209 not G3756 whence G4159 ye are: G2075 Then G5119 shall ye begin G756 to say, G3004 We have eaten G5315 and G2532 drunk G4095 in thy G4675 presence, G1799 and G2532 thou hast taught G1321 in G1722 our G2257 streets. G4113 But G2532 he shall say, G2046 I tell G3004 you, G5213 I know G1492 you G5209 not G3756 whence G4159 ye are; G2075 depart G868 from G575 me, G1700 all G3956 ye workers G2040 of iniquity. G93 There G1563 shall be G2071 weeping G2805 and G2532 gnashing G1030 of teeth, G3599 when G3752 ye shall see G3700 Abraham, G11 and G2532 Isaac, G2464 and G2532 Jacob, G2384 and G2532 all G3956 the prophets, G4396 in G1722 the kingdom G932 of God, G2316 and G1161 you G5209 yourselves thrust G1544 out. G1854
And G2532 said G3004 to the mountains G3735 and G2532 rocks, G4073 Fall G4098 on G1909 us, G2248 and G2532 hide G2928 us G2248 from G575 the face G4383 of him that sitteth G2521 on G1909 the throne, G2362 and G2532 from G575 the wrath G3709 of the Lamb: G721 For G3754 the great G3173 day G2250 of his G846 wrath G3709 is come; G2064 and G2532 who G5101 shall be able G1410 to stand? G2476
Who G3739 being G5607 the brightness G541 of his glory, G1391 and G2532 the express image G5481 of his G846 person, G5287 and G5037 upholding G5342 all things G3956 by the word G4487 of his G846 power, G1411 when he had G4160 G2512 by G1223 himself G1438 purged G4160 G2512 our G2257 sins, G266 sat down G2523 on G1722 the right hand G1188 of the Majesty G3172 on G1722 high; G5308
Thus saith H559 the LORD, H3068 Behold, I will bring H935 evil H7451 upon this place, H4725 and upon the inhabitants H3427 thereof, even all the curses H423 that are written H3789 in the book H5612 which they have read H7121 before H6440 the king H4428 of Judah: H3063
I saw H7200 the Lord H136 standing H5324 upon the altar: H4196 and he said, H559 Smite H5221 the lintel of the door, H3730 that the posts H5592 may shake: H7493 and cut H1214 them in the head, H7218 all of them; and I will slay H2026 the last H319 of them with the sword: H2719 he that fleeth H5127 of them shall not flee away, H5127 and he that escapeth H6412 of them shall not be delivered. H4422 Though they dig H2864 into hell, H7585 thence shall mine hand H3027 take H3947 them; though they climb up H5927 to heaven, H8064 thence will I bring them down: H3381 And though they hide H2244 themselves in the top H7218 of Carmel, H3760 I will search H2664 and take them out H3947 thence; and though they be hid H5641 from my sight H5869 in the bottom H7172 of the sea, H3220 thence will I command H6680 the serpent, H5175 and he shall bite H5391 them: And though they go H3212 into captivity H7628 before H6440 their enemies, H341 thence will I command H6680 the sword, H2719 and it shall slay H2026 them: and I will set H7760 mine eyes H5869 upon them for evil, H7451 and not for good. H2896
Therefore the flight H4498 shall perish H6 from the swift, H7031 and the strong H2389 shall not strengthen H553 his force, H3581 neither shall the mighty H1368 deliver H4422 himself: H5315 Neither shall he stand H5975 that handleth H8610 the bow; H7198 and he that is swift H7031 of foot H7272 shall not deliver H4422 himself: neither shall he that rideth H7392 the horse H5483 deliver H4422 himself. H5315
Thus saith H559 the Lord H136 GOD; H3069 An evil, H7451 an only H259 evil, H7451 behold, is come. H935
And I will punish H6485 him and his seed H2233 and his servants H5650 for their iniquity; H5771 and I will bring H935 upon them, and upon the inhabitants H3427 of Jerusalem, H3389 and upon the men H376 of Judah, H3063 all the evil H7451 that I have pronounced H1696 against them; but they hearkened H8085 not.
Therefore thus saith H559 the LORD H3068 God H430 of hosts, H6635 the God H430 of Israel; H3478 Behold, I will bring H935 upon Judah H3063 and upon all the inhabitants H3427 of Jerusalem H3389 all the evil H7451 that I have pronounced H1696 against them: because I have spoken H1696 unto them, but they have not heard; H8085 and I have called H7121 unto them, but they have not answered. H6030
Wherefore their way H1870 shall be unto them as slippery H2519 ways in the darkness: H653 they shall be driven on, H1760 and fall H5307 therein: for I will bring H935 evil H7451 upon them, even the year H8141 of their visitation, H6486 saith H5002 the LORD. H3068
Thus saith H559 the LORD H3068 of hosts, H6635 the God H430 of Israel; H3478 Behold, I will bring H935 upon this city H5892 and upon all her towns H5892 all the evil H7451 that I have pronounced H1696 against it, because they have hardened H7185 their necks, H6203 that they might not hear H8085 my words. H1697
And say, H559 Hear H8085 ye the word H1697 of the LORD, H3068 O kings H4428 of Judah, H3063 and inhabitants H3427 of Jerusalem; H3389 Thus saith H559 the LORD H3068 of hosts, H6635 the God H430 of Israel; H3478 Behold, I will bring H935 evil H7451 upon this place, H4725 the which whosoever heareth, H8085 his ears H241 shall tingle. H6750
And it shall come to pass, if they say H559 unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? H3318 then thou shalt tell H559 them, Thus saith H559 the LORD; H3068 Such as are for death, H4194 to death; H4194 and such as are for the sword, H2719 to the sword; H2719 and such as are for the famine, H7458 to the famine; H7458 and such as are for the captivity, H7628 to the captivity. H7628
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Jeremiah 11
Commentary on Jeremiah 11 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Judah's Faithlessness to Covenant Obligations, and the Consequences Thereof - Jeremiah 11-13
In the first part of this compilation of discourses (Jer 11:1-17) Judah is upbraided for disloyalty to the covenant, on account of which people and kingdom are threatened with sore disaster. In the second part (11:18-12:17), the murderous attempt of the people of Anathoth against the prophet's life (Jeremiah 11:18-23) gives occasion for a description of Judah's irreclaimable perverseness; while Jeremiah's expostulation with God as to the prosperity of godless men, and the reproof therefor received by him from God (Jeremiah 12:1-6), call forth an announcement that, in spite of God's long-suffering, judgment on Judah and all nations will not be for ever deferred (Jeremiah 12:7-17). Finally, in the third part, Jer 13, we have first a further account, by means of a symbolical action to be performed by the prophet, of the abasement of Judah's pride in banishment to Euphrates (Jeremiah 11:1-11); and next, an account of the judgment about to fall on Judah in the destruction of Jerusalem, and this both in figurative and in direct language (Jeremiah 11:12 -27).
From the contents of the discourses it appears unquestionable that we have here, gathered into the unity of a written record, various oral addresses of Jeremiah, together with some of the experiences that befell him in the exercise of his calling. There is no foundation for the assertion, that Jeremiah 12:7-17 is a self-complete prophetic discourse (Hitz.), or a supplement to the rest, written in the last years of Jehoiakim (Graf); nor for the assumption of several commentators, that the composition of c. 13 falls into the time of Jehoiachin - as will be shown when we come to expound the passages referred to. The discourse throughout contains nothing that might not have been spoken or have happened in the time of Josiah; nor have we here any data for determining precisely the dates of the several portions of the whole discourse.
Judah's Disloyalty to the Covenant, with the Consequences Thereof
In Jeremiah 11:2-8 is a short summary of the covenant made with the fathers; in Jeremiah 11:9-13 is an account of the breaking of this covenant by Judah, and of the calamity which results therefrom; and in Jeremiah 11:14-17 further description of this calamity.
Jeremiah 11:1-8
"The word which came to Jeremiah from Jahveh, saying: Jeremiah 11:2. Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Jeremiah 11:3. And say thou to them: Thus hath Jahve, the God of Israel, said: Cursed is the man that heareth not the words of this covenant, Jeremiah 11:4. Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the iron furnace, saying: Hearken to my voice, and do them according to all which I command you; so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God; Jeremiah 11:5. That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. And I answered and said: So be it, Jahveh. Jeremiah 11:6. Then said Jahveh to me: Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying: Hear ye the words of this covenant and do them. Jeremiah 11:7. For I have testified to your fathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt unto this day, testifying from early morning on: Hearken to my voice! Jeremiah 11:8. But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked each in the stubbornness of their evil heart; and so I brought on them all the words of this covenant which I have commanded them to do, and they have not done them."
The form of address, Jeremiah 11:2 : hear ye ( שׁמעוּ ), and speak ye ( דּבּרתּם ), is noteworthy since we are not told who are to hear and speak; while at Jeremiah 11:3, in ואמרתּ Jeremiah receives the commission to declare the words of the covenant to the people, and to make known in the cities of Judah, etc. (Jeremiah 11:6). The difficulty is not removed by the plan adopted by Hitz. and Graf from the lxx, of changing ודבּרתּם into ודבּרתּם , "and speak them;" for the שׁמעוּ remains to be dealt with. To whom then, is it addressed? Schleussner proposed to change it into שׁמעה - a purely arbitrary change. In Jeremiah 11:4 "hearing" is used in the sense of giving ear to, obeying. And in no other sense can it be taken in Jeremiah 11:1. "The words of this covenant" are, as is clear from the succeeding context, the words of the covenant recorded in the Pentateuch, known from the reading of the Torah. The call to hear the words thereof can only have the meaning of: to give ear to them, take them to heart. Hence Chr. B. Mich. and Schnur. have referred the words to the Jews: Listen, ye Jews and ye citizens of Jerusalem, to the words of the covenant, and make them know to one another, and exhort one another to observe them. But this paraphrase is hardly consistent with the wording of the verse. Others fancied that the priests and elders were addressed; but if so, these must necessarily have been named. Clearly it is to the prophets in general that the words are spoken, as Kimchi observed; and we must not take "hear ye" as if the covenant was unknown to the prophets, but as intended to remind the prophets of them, that they might enforce them upon the people. Taken thus, this introductory verse serves to exalt the importance of the truths mentioned, to mark them out as truths which God had commanded all the prophets to proclaim. If it be the prophets in general who are addressed in Jeremiah 11:2, the transition to "and say thou" is easily explained. Jeremiah, too, must himself do that which was the bounden duty of all the prophets, must make the men of Judah and Jerusalem call to mind the curse overhanging transgressors of the covenant. The words: Cursed is the man, etc., are taken from Deuteronomy 27:26, from the directions for the engagement to keep the covenant, which the people were to solemnise upon their entry into Canaan, and which, acc. to Joshua 8:30., they did solemnise. The quotation is made freely from memory. Instead of "that heareth not the words of this covenant," we find in Deut. l.c .: "the confirmeth not ( יקים ) the words of this law to do them." The choice there of the word יקים is suggested by its connection with the act of solemnisation enjoined. The recitation and promulgation of the law upon Mount Gerizim and Ebal (Deut 27) had no other aim than that of solemnly binding the people to keep or follow the law; and this is what Jeremiah means by "hearing." The law to be established is the law of the covenant, i.e., the covenant made by Jahveh with Israel, and spoken of in Deuteronomy 28:68 and Deuteronomy 29:8 as the "words of this covenant." This covenant, which Moses had made with the sons of Israel in the land of Moab (Deuteronomy 28:68), was but a renewal of that solemnly concluded at Sinai (Ex 24). And so Jeremiah speaks of this covenant as the one which Jahveh commanded the fathers in the day, i.e., at the time, of their leaving Egypt. "In the day that," etc., as in Jeremiah 7:22. "Out of the iron furnace:" this metaphor for the affliction endured by Israel in Egypt is taken from Deuteronomy 4:20. The words: hearken unto my voice and do them (the words of the covenant), suggest Deuteronomy 27:1-2; and the words: so shall ye be my people, suggest Deuteronomy 29:12, a passage which itself points back to ex. Jeremiah 6:7 (Jeremiah 19:5.), Leviticus 27:12; Deuteronomy 7:6, etc. That I may establish, i.e., perform, the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, i.e., the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Deuteronomy 7:8, etc.), promising to give them a land flowing, etc. The frequently repeated description of the promised land; cf. Exodus 3:8, Exodus 3:17; Deuteronomy 6:3, etc. כּיּום , as in Deuteronomy 2:30; Deuteronomy 4:20, etc., is not: at this time, now (Graf), but: as this day, meaning: as is even now the case, sc. that ye still possess this precious land. The assenting reply of the prophet: אמן יהוה , yea, or so be it ( γένοιτο , lxx), Lord, corresponds to the אמן with which the people, acc. to Deuteronomy 27:15., were to take on themselves the curses attached to the breaking of the law, curses which they did take on themselves when the law was promulgated in Canaan. As the whole congregation did on that occasion, so here the prophet, by his "yea," expresses his adherence to the covenant, and admits that the engagement is yet in full force for the congregation of God; and at the same time indicates that he, on his part, is ready to labour for the fulfilment of the covenant, so that the people may not become liable to the curse of the law.
Jeremiah 11:6-8
Having set forth the curse to which transgressors of the law are exposed, God commands the prophet to proclaim the words of the covenant to the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem, and to call upon them to do these. "All these words" are those subsequently specified, i.e., the commandments of the law (cf. Jeremiah 11:2). Jeremiah is to proclaim these, because, in spite of unremitting exhortation to hear and give heed to the voice of the Lord, the fathers had paid no regard thereto. קתא , not: read aloud (Hitz., Graf), but: proclaim, make known, as in Jeremiah 2:2; Jeremiah 3:12, etc. העיד with בּ , to testify against any one, equivalent to: solemnly to enforce on one with importunate counsel and warning; cf. Deuteronomy 30:19; Psalms 50:7, etc. On השׁכּם והעד , see at Jeremiah 7:13. - But they have not hearkened, Jeremiah 11:8 , running almost literally in the words of Jeremiah 7:24. "And I brought upon them," etc., i.e., inflicted upon them the punishments with which transgressors of the law were threatened, which curses had been, in the case of the greater part of the people, the ten tribes, carried to the extreme length, i.e., to the length of their banishment from their own land into the midst of the heathen; cf. 2 Kings 17:13.
Jeremiah 11:9-13
The people's breach of the covenant, and the consequences of this. - Jeremiah 11:9. "And Jahveh said unto me: Conspiracy is found among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Jeremiah 11:10. They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to give ear to my words, and they are gone after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers. Jeremiah 11:11. Behold, I bring evil upon them, from which they cannot escape; and though they cry to me, I will not hear them. Jeremiah 11:12. And the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall go and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense, but they shall not help them in the time of their trouble. Jeremiah 11:13. For as many as are thy cities, so many are thy gods become, O Judah; and as many as are the streets of Jerusalem, so many altars have ye set up to Shame, altars to offer odours to Baal."