1 The word H1697 that came to Jeremiah H3414 concerning all the Jews H3064 which dwell H3427 in the land H776 of Egypt, H4714 which dwell H3427 at Migdol, H4024 and at Tahpanhes, H8471 and at Noph, H5297 and in the country H776 of Pathros, H6624 saying, H559
2 Thus saith H559 the LORD H3068 of hosts, H6635 the God H430 of Israel; H3478 Ye have seen H7200 all the evil H7451 that I have brought H935 upon Jerusalem, H3389 and upon all the cities H5892 of Judah; H3063 and, behold, this day H3117 they are a desolation, H2723 and no man dwelleth H3427 therein,
3 Because H6440 of their wickedness H7451 which they have committed H6213 to provoke me to anger, H3707 in that they went H3212 to burn incense, H6999 and to serve H5647 other H312 gods, H430 whom they knew H3045 not, neither they, ye, nor your fathers. H1
4 Howbeit I sent H7971 unto you all my servants H5650 the prophets, H5030 rising early H7925 and sending H7971 them, saying, H559 Oh, do H6213 not this abominable H8441 thing H1697 that I hate. H8130
5 But they hearkened H8085 not, nor inclined H5186 their ear H241 to turn H7725 from their wickedness, H7451 to burn no incense H6999 unto other H312 gods. H430
6 Wherefore my fury H2534 and mine anger H639 was poured forth, H5413 and was kindled H1197 in the cities H5892 of Judah H3063 and in the streets H2351 of Jerusalem; H3389 and they are wasted H2723 and desolate, H8077 as at this day. H3117
7 Therefore now thus saith H559 the LORD, H3068 the God H430 of hosts, H6635 the God H430 of Israel; H3478 Wherefore commit H6213 ye this great H1419 evil H7451 against your souls, H5315 to cut off H3772 from you man H376 and woman, H802 child H5768 and suckling, H3243 out H8432 of Judah, H3063 to leave H3498 you none to remain; H7611
8 In that ye provoke me unto wrath H3707 with the works H4639 of your hands, H3027 burning incense H6999 unto other H312 gods H430 in the land H776 of Egypt, H4714 whither ye be gone H935 to dwell, H1481 that ye might cut yourselves off, H3772 and that ye might be a curse H7045 and a reproach H2781 among all the nations H1471 of the earth? H776
9 Have ye forgotten H7911 the wickedness H7451 of your fathers, H1 and the wickedness H7451 of the kings H4428 of Judah, H3063 and the wickedness H7451 of their wives, H802 and your own wickedness, H7451 and the wickedness H7451 of your wives, H802 which they have committed H6213 in the land H776 of Judah, H3063 and in the streets H2351 of Jerusalem? H3389
10 They are not humbled H1792 even unto this day, H3117 neither have they feared, H3372 nor walked H1980 in my law, H8451 nor in my statutes, H2708 that I set H5414 before H6440 you and before H6440 your fathers. H1
11 Therefore thus saith H559 the LORD H3068 of hosts, H6635 the God H430 of Israel; H3478 Behold, I will set H7760 my face H6440 against you for evil, H7451 and to cut off H3772 all Judah. H3063
12 And I will take H3947 the remnant H7611 of Judah, H3063 that have set H7760 their faces H6440 to go H935 into the land H776 of Egypt H4714 to sojourn H1481 there, and they shall all be consumed, H8552 and fall H5307 in the land H776 of Egypt; H4714 they shall even be consumed H8552 by the sword H2719 and by the famine: H7458 they shall die, H4191 from the least H6996 even unto the greatest, H1419 by the sword H2719 and by the famine: H7458 and they shall be an execration, H423 and an astonishment, H8047 and a curse, H7045 and a reproach. H2781
13 For I will punish H6485 them that dwell H3427 in the land H776 of Egypt, H4714 as I have punished H6485 Jerusalem, H3389 by the sword, H2719 by the famine, H7458 and by the pestilence: H1698
14 So that none of the remnant H7611 of Judah, H3063 which are gone H935 into the land H776 of Egypt H4714 to sojourn H1481 there, shall escape H6412 or remain, H8300 that they should return H7725 into the land H776 of Judah, H3063 to the which they have H5375 a desire H5315 to return H7725 to dwell H3427 there: for none shall return H7725 but such as shall escape. H6405
15 Then all the men H582 which knew H3045 that their wives H802 had burned incense H6999 unto other H312 gods, H430 and all the women H802 that stood by, H5975 a great H1419 multitude, H6951 even all the people H5971 that dwelt H3427 in the land H776 of Egypt, H4714 in Pathros, H6624 answered H6030 Jeremiah, H3414 saying, H559
16 As for the word H1697 that thou hast spoken H1696 unto us in the name H8034 of the LORD, H3068 we will not hearken H8085 unto thee.
17 But we will certainly H6213 do H6213 whatsoever thing H1697 goeth forth H3318 out of our own mouth, H6310 to burn incense H6999 unto the queen H4446 of heaven, H8064 and to pour out H5258 drink offerings H5262 unto her, as we have done, H6213 we, and our fathers, H1 our kings, H4428 and our princes, H8269 in the cities H5892 of Judah, H3063 and in the streets H2351 of Jerusalem: H3389 for then had we plenty H7646 of victuals, H3899 and were well, H2896 and saw H7200 no evil. H7451
18 But since we left off H2308 to burn incense H6999 to the queen H4446 of heaven, H8064 and to pour out H5258 drink offerings H5262 unto her, we have wanted H2637 all things, and have been consumed H8552 by the sword H2719 and by the famine. H7458
19 And when we burned incense H6999 to the queen H4446 of heaven, H8064 and poured out H5258 drink offerings H5262 unto her, did we make H6213 her cakes H3561 to worship H6087 her, and pour out H5258 drink offerings H5262 unto her, without H1107 our men? H582
20 Then Jeremiah H3414 said H559 unto all the people, H5971 to the men, H1397 and to the women, H802 and to all the people H5971 which had given him that answer, H1697 H6030 saying, H559
21 The incense H7002 that ye burned H6999 in the cities H5892 of Judah, H3063 and in the streets H2351 of Jerusalem, H3389 ye, and your fathers, H1 your kings, H4428 and your princes, H8269 and the people H5971 of the land, H776 did not the LORD H3068 remember H2142 them, and came H5927 it not into his mind? H3820
22 So that the LORD H3068 could H3201 no longer bear, H5375 because H6440 of the evil H7455 of your doings, H4611 and because H6440 of the abominations H8441 which ye have committed; H6213 therefore is your land H776 a desolation, H2723 and an astonishment, H8047 and a curse, H7045 without an inhabitant, H3427 as at this day. H3117
23 Because H6440 H834 ye have burned incense, H6999 and because ye have sinned H2398 against the LORD, H3068 and have not obeyed H8085 the voice H6963 of the LORD, H3068 nor walked H1980 in his law, H8451 nor in his statutes, H2708 nor in his testimonies; H5715 therefore this evil H7451 is happened H7122 unto you, as at this day. H3117
24 Moreover Jeremiah H3414 said H559 unto all the people, H5971 and to all the women, H802 Hear H8085 the word H1697 of the LORD, H3068 all Judah H3063 that are in the land H776 of Egypt: H4714
25 Thus saith H559 the LORD H3068 of hosts, H6635 the God H430 of Israel, H3478 saying; H559 Ye and your wives H802 have both spoken H1696 with your mouths, H6310 and fulfilled H4390 with your hand, H3027 saying, H559 We will surely H6213 perform H6213 our vows H5088 that we have vowed, H5087 to burn incense H6999 to the queen H4446 of heaven, H8064 and to pour out H5258 drink offerings H5262 unto her: ye will surely H6965 accomplish H6965 your vows, H5088 and surely H6213 perform H6213 your vows. H5088
26 Therefore hear H8085 ye the word H1697 of the LORD, H3068 all Judah H3063 that dwell H3427 in the land H776 of Egypt; H4714 Behold, I have sworn H7650 by my great H1419 name, H8034 saith H559 the LORD, H3068 that my name H8034 shall no more be named H7121 in the mouth H6310 of any man H376 of Judah H3063 in all the land H776 of Egypt, H4714 saying, H559 The Lord H136 GOD H3069 liveth. H2416
27 Behold, I will watch H8245 over them for evil, H7451 and not for good: H2896 and all the men H376 of Judah H3063 that are in the land H776 of Egypt H4714 shall be consumed H8552 by the sword H2719 and by the famine, H7458 until there be an end H3615 of them.
28 Yet a small H4962 number H4557 that escape H6412 the sword H2719 shall return out H7725 of the land H776 of Egypt H4714 into the land H776 of Judah, H3063 and all the remnant H7611 of Judah, H3063 that are gone H935 into the land H776 of Egypt H4714 to sojourn H1481 there, shall know H3045 whose words H1697 shall stand, H6965 mine, or theirs.
29 And this shall be a sign H226 unto you, saith H5002 the LORD, H3068 that I will punish H6485 you in this place, H4725 that ye may know H3045 that my words H1697 shall surely H6965 stand H6965 against you for evil: H7451
30 Thus saith H559 the LORD; H3068 Behold, I will give H5414 Pharaohhophra H6548 king H4428 of Egypt H4714 into the hand H3027 of his enemies, H341 and into the hand H3027 of them that seek H1245 his life; H5315 as I gave H5414 Zedekiah H6667 king H4428 of Judah H3063 into the hand H3027 of Nebuchadrezzar H5019 king H4428 of Babylon, H894 his enemy, H341 and that sought H1245 his life. H5315
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Jeremiah 44
Commentary on Jeremiah 44 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 44
Jer 44:1-30. Jeremiah Reproves the Jews for Their Idolatry in Egypt, and Denounces God's Judgments on Them and Egypt Alike.
1. Migdol—meaning a "tower." A city east of Egypt, towards the Red Sea (Ex 14:2; Nu 33:7).
Noph—Memphis, now Cairo (Jer 2:16).
Pathros—Upper Egypt (Isa 11:11).
2. evil … upon Jerusalem—If I spared not My own sacred city, much less shall ye be safe in Egypt, which I loathe.
3. they went—implying perverse assiduity: they went out of their way to burn incense (one species of idolatry put for all kinds), &c.
4. (2Ch 36:15).
7. now—after so many warnings.
commit … this … evil against your souls—(Jer 7:19; Nu 16:38; Pr 8:36). It is not God whom you injure, but yourselves.
8. in … Egypt—where they polluted themselves to ingratiate themselves with the Egyptians.
ye be gone—not compelled by fear, but of your own accord, when I forbade you, and when it was free to you to stay in Judea.
that ye might cut yourselves off—They, as it were, purposely courted their own ruin.
9. Have you forgotten how the wickednesses of your fathers were the source of the greatest calamities to you?
their wives—The Jews' worldly queens were great promoters of idolatry (1Ki 11:1-8; 15:13; 16:31).
the land of Judah—They defiled the land which was holy unto God.
10. They … you—The third person puts them to a distance from God on account of their alienating themselves from Him. The second person implies that God formerly had directly addressed them.
humbled—literally, "contrite" (Ps 51:17).
neither … feared—(Pr 28:14).
11. Behold, I will set my face against you for evil—(See on Le 17:10).
and to cut off all Judah—that is, all the idolaters; Jer 44:28 shows that some returned to Judea (compare Jer 42:17).
14. none … shall escape … that they should return, &c.—The Jews had gone to Egypt with the idea that a return to Judea, which they thought hopeless to their brethren in Babylon, would be an easy matter to themselves in Egypt: the exact reverse should happen in the case of each respectively. The Jews whom God sent to Babylon were there weaned from idolatry, and were restored; those who went to Egypt by their perverse will were hardened in idolatry, and perished there.
have a desire—literally, "lift up (their) soul," that is, their hopes (compare Jer 22:27, Margin; De 24:15, Margin).
none shall return but such as shall escape—namely, the "small number" (Jer 44:28) who were brought by force into Egypt, as Jeremiah and Baruch, and those who, in accordance with Jeremiah's advice, should flee from Egypt before the arrival of the Chaldeans (see on Jer 42:17). Calvin less probably refers the words to the return of the exiles in Babylon, which the Jews in Egypt regarded as hopeless.
15. their wives—The idolatry began with them (1Ki 11:4; 1Ti 2:14). Their husbands' connivance implicated them in the guilt.
16. we will not—(Jer 6:16).
17. whatsoever … goeth … out of our … mouth—whatever vow we have uttered to our gods (Jer 44:25; De 23:23; Jud 11:36). The source of all superstitions is that men oppose their own will and fancies to God's commands.
queen of heaven—(See on Jer 7:18); Ashtaroth or Astarte.
we … fathers … king, &c.—The evil was restricted to no one class: all from the highest to the lowest shared the guilt.
then had we plenty—Fools attribute their seeming prosperity to God's connivance at their sin: but see Pr 1:32; Ec 8:11-13. In fact, God had often chastised them for their idolatry (see Jud 2:14); but it is the curse of impiety not to perceive the hand of God in calamities.
victuals—Men cast away the bread of the soul for the bread that perisheth (De 8:3; Joh 6:27). So Esau (Heb 12:16).
18. They impute their calamities to their service of God, but these are often marks of His favor, not of wrath, to do His people good at their latter end (De 8:16).
19. make … cakes to worship her—Maurer translates, "to form her image." Crescent-shaped cakes were offered to the moon. Vulgate supports English Version.
without our men—The women mentioned (Jer 44:15); "a great multitude" here speak: we have not engaged in secret night orgies which might justly be regarded unfavorably by our husbands: our sacred rites have been open, and with their privity. They wish to show how unreasonable it is that Jeremiah should oppose himself alone to the act of all, not merely women, but men also. The guilty, like these women, desire to shield themselves under the complicity of others. Instead of helping one another towards heaven, husband and wife often ripen one another for hell.
21. The incense … did not the Lord remember—Jeremiah owns that they did as they said, but in retort asks, did not God repay their own evil-doing? Their very land in its present desolation attests this (Jer 44:22), as was foretold (Jer 25:11, 18, 38).
23. law—the moral precepts.
statutes—the ceremonial.
testimonies—the judicial (Da 9:11, 12).
25. Ye … have both spoken with … mouths, and fulfilled with … hand—ironical praise. They had pleaded their obligation to fulfil their vows, in excuse for their idolatry. He answers, no one can accuse you of unsteadiness as to your idolatrous vows; but steadfastness towards God ought to have prevented you from making, or, when made, from keeping such vows.
ye will surely accomplish … vows—Jeremiah hereby gives them up to their own fatal obstinacy.
26. I have sworn—I, too have made a vow which I will fulfil. Since ye will not hear Me speaking and warning, hear Me swearing.
by my great name—that is, by Myself (Ge 22:16), the greatest by whom God can swear (Heb 6:13, 14).
my name shall no more be named—The Jews, heretofore, amidst all their idolatry, had retained the form of appeal to the name of God and the law, the distinctive glory of their nation; God will allow this no more (Eze 20:39): there shall be none left there to profane His name thus any more.
27. watch over … for evil—(Jer 1:10; Eze 7:6). The God, whose providence is ever solicitously watching over His people for good, shall solicitously, as it were, watch for their hurt. Contrast Jer 31:28; 32:41.
28. small number—(see on Jer 44:14; and Jer 42:17; Isa 27:13); compare "all-consumed" (Jer 44:27). A band easily counted, whereas they were expecting to return triumphantly in large numbers.
shall know—most of them experimentally, and to their cost.
whose words … mine, or theirs—Hebrew, "that from Me and them." Jehovah's words are His threats of destruction to the Jews; theirs, the assertion that they expected all goods from their gods (Jer 44:17), &c. "Mine"; by which I predict ruin to them. "Theirs"; by which they give themselves free scope in iniquity.
shall stand—(Ps 33:11).
29. this … sign unto you—The calamity of Pharaoh-hophra (see on Jer 44:30) shall be a sign to you that as he shall fall before his enemy, so you shall subsequently fall before Nebuchadnezzar (Mt 24:8) [Grotius]. Calvin makes the "sign" to be simultaneous with the event signified, not antecedent to it, as in Ex 3:12. The Jews believed Egypt impregnable, so shut in was it by natural barriers. The Jews being "punished in this place" will be a sign that their view is false, and God's threat true. He calls it "a sign unto you," because God's prediction is equivalent to the event, so that they may even now take it as a sign. When fulfilled it would cease to be a sign to them: for they would be dead.
30. Hophra—in Herodotus called Apries. He succeeded Psammis, the successor of Pharaoh-necho, who was beaten by Nebuchadnezzar at Carchemish, on the Euphrates. Amasis rebelled against, and overcame him, in the city Sais.
them that seek his life—Herodotus, in curious accordance with this, records that Amasis, after treating Hophra well at first, was instigated, by persons who thought they could not be safe unless he were put to death, to strangle him. "His enemies" refer to Amasis, &c.; the words are accurately chosen, so as not to refer to Nebuchadnezzar, who is not mentioned till the end of the verse, and in connection with Zedekiah (Eze 20:3; 30:21). Amasis' civil war with Hophra pioneered the way for Nebuchadnezzar's invasion in the twenty-third year of his reign [Josephus, Antiquities, 10.11].