11 A partridge hatching, and not bringing forth, `Is' one making wealth, and not by right, In the midst of his days he doth forsake it, And in his latter end -- he is a fool.
There is a painful evil I have seen under the sun: wealth kept for its possessor, for his evil. And that wealth hath been lost in an evil business, and he hath begotten a son and there is nothing in his hand! As he came out from the belly of his mother, naked he turneth back to go as he came, and he taketh not away anything of his labour, that doth go in his hand. And this also `is' a painful evil, just as he came, so he goeth, and what advantage `is' to him who laboureth for wind?
Do not these -- all of them -- against him a simile taken up, And a moral of acute sayings for him, And say, Wo `to' him who is multiplying `what is' not his? Till when also is he multiplying to himself heavy pledges? Do not thy usurers instantly rise up, And those shaking thee awake up, And thou hast been for a spoil to them? Because thou hast spoiled many nations, Spoil thee do all the remnant of the peoples, Because of man's blood, and of violence `to' the land, `To' the city, and `to' all dwelling in it. Wo `to' him who is gaining evil gain for his house, To set on high his nest, To be delivered from the hand of evil, Thou hast counselled a shameful thing to thy house, To cut off many peoples, and sinful `is' thy soul. For a stone from the wall doth cry out, And a holdfast from the wood answereth it. Wo `to' him who is building a city by blood, And establishing a city by iniquity.
your gold and silver have rotted, and the rust of them for a testimony shall be to you, and shall eat your flesh as fire. Ye made treasure in the last days! lo, the reward of the workmen, of those who in-gathered your fields, which hath been fraudulently kept back by you -- doth cry out, and the exclamations of those who did reap into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth have entered; ye did live in luxury upon the earth, and were wanton; ye did nourish your hearts, as in a day of slaughter;
Wo `to' those devising iniquity, And working evil on their beds, In the light of the morning they do it, For their hand is -- to God. And they have desired fields, And they have taken violently, And houses, and they have taken away, And have oppressed a man and his house, Even a man and his inheritance.
Thy princes `are' apostates, and companions of thieves, Every one loving a bribe, and pursuing rewards, The fatherless they judge not, And the plea of the widow cometh not to them. Therefore -- the affirmation of the Lord -- Jehovah of Hosts, the Mighty One of Israel: Ah, I am eased of Mine adversaries, And I am avenged of Mine enemies,
As a cage full of fowls, So their houses are full of deceit, Therefore they have been great, and are rich. They have been fat, they have shone, Yea, they have overpassed the acts of the evil, Judgment they have not judged, The judgment of the fatherless -- and they prosper, And the judgment of the needy they have not judged.
A bribe they have taken in thee to shed blood, Usury and increase thou hast taken, And cuttest off thy neighbour by oppression, And Me thou hast forgotten, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah! And lo, I have smitten My hand, Because of thy dishonest gain that thou hast gained, And for thy blood that hath been in thy midst.
Canaan! in his hand `are' balances of deceit! To oppress he hath loved. And Ephraim saith: `Surely I have become rich, I have found wealth for myself, All my labours -- they find not against me iniquity that `is' sin.'
Hear this, ye who are swallowing up the needy, To cause to cease the poor of the land, Saying, When doth the new moon pass, And we sell ground corn? And the sabbath, and we open out pure corn? To make little the ephah, And to make great the shekel, And to use perversely balances of deceit. To purchase with money the poor, And the needy for a pair of sandals, Yea, the refuse of the pure corn we sell.
And they for their own blood lay wait, They watch secretly for their own lives. So `are' the paths of every gainer of dishonest gain, The life of its owners it taketh.
Are there yet `in' the house of the wicked Treasures of wickedness, And the abhorred scanty ephah? Do I reckon `it' pure with balances of wickedness? And with a bag of deceitful stones? Whose rich ones have been full of violence, And its inhabitants have spoken falsehood, And their tongue `is' deceitful in their mouth.
`Thus spake Jehovah of Hosts, saying: True judgment judge ye, And kindness and mercy do one with another. And widow, and fatherless, Sojourner, and poor, ye do not oppress, And the calamity of one another ye do not devise in your heart. And they refuse to attend, And they give a refractory shoulder, And their ears have made heavy against hearing. And their heart they have made adamant, Against hearing the law, and the words, That Jehovah of Hosts sent by His Spirit, By the hand of the former prophets, And their is great wrath from Jehovah of Hosts. And it cometh to pass, as He called, And they have not hearkened, So do they call, and I do not hearken, Said Jehovah of Hosts.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Jeremiah 17
Commentary on Jeremiah 17 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 17
Jer 17:1-27. The Jews' Inveterate Love of Idolatry.
The the Septuagint omits the first four verses, but other Greek versions have them.
1. The first of the four clauses relates to the third, the second to the fourth, by alternate parallelism. The sense is: They are as keen after idols as if their propensity was "graven with an iron pen (Job 19:24) on their hearts," or as if it were sanctioned by a law "inscribed with a diamond point" on their altars. The names of their gods used to be written on "the horns of the altars" (Ac 17:23). As the clause "on their hearts" refers to their inward propensity, so "on … altars," the outward exhibition of it. Others refer "on the horns of … altars" to their staining them with the blood of victims, in imitation of the Levitical precept (Ex 29:12; Le 4:7, 18), but "written … graven," would thus be inappropriate.
table of … heart—which God intended to be inscribed very differently, namely, with His truths (Pr 3:3; 2Co 3:3).
your—Though "their" preceded, He directly addresses them to charge the guilt home to them in particular.
2. children remember—Instead of forsaking the idolatries of their fathers, they keep them up (Jer 7:18). This is given as proof that their sin is "graven upon … altars" (Jer 17:1), that is, is not merely temporary. They corrupt their posterity after them. Castalio less probably translates, "They remember their altars as (fondly as) they do their children."
groves—rather, "images of Astarte," the goddess of the heavenly hosts, represented as a sacred tree, such as is seen in the Assyrian sculptures (2Ki 21:7; 2Ch 24:18). "Image of the grove." The Hebrew for "grove" is Asherah, that is, Assarak, Astarte, or Ashtaroth.
by the green trees—that is, near them: the sacred trees (idol symbols) of Astarte being placed in the midst of natural trees: "green trees" is thus distinguished from "groves," artificial trees. Henderson, to avoid taking the same Hebrew particle in the same sentence differently, "by … upon" translates "images of Astarte on the green trees." But it is not probable that images, in the form of a sacred tree, should be hung on trees, rather than near them.
3. mountain—Jerusalem, and especially Zion and the temple.
in the field—As Jerusalem was surrounded by mountains (Ps 125:2), the sense probably is, Ye rely on your mountainous position (Jer 3:23), but I will make "My mountain" to become as if it were in a plain (field), so as to give thy substance an easy prey to the enemy [Calvin]. "Field" may, however, mean all Judea; it and "My mountain" will thus express the country and its capital. (Gesenius translates, "together with," instead of "in"; as the Hebrew is translated in Jer 11:19; Ho 5:6; but this is not absolutely needed), "the substance" of both of which God "will give to the spoil."
thy high places—corresponding in parallelism to "My mountain" (compare Isa 11:9), as "all thy borders," to "the field" (which confirms the view that "field" means all Judea).
for sin—connected with high places" in English Version, namely, frequented for sin, that is, for idolatrous sacrifices. But Jer 15:13 makes the rendering probable, "I will give thy substance … to … spoil … on account of thy sin throughout all thy borders."
4. even thyself—rather, "owing to thyself," that is, by thy own fault (Jer 15:13).
discontinue from—be dispossessed of. Not only thy substance, but thyself shall be carried off to a strange land (Jer 15:14).
5. Referring to the Jews' proneness to rely on Egypt, in its fear of Assyria and Babylon (Isa 31:1, 3).
trusteth—This word is emphatic. We may expect help from men, so far as God enables them to help us, but we must rest our trust in God alone (Ps 62:5).
6. heath—In Ps 102:17; Isa 32:11; Hab 3:9, the Hebrew is translated, "bare," "naked," "destitute"; but as the parallel in Jer 17:8 is "tree," some plant must be meant of which this is the characteristic epithet (Jer 48:6, Margin), "a naked tree." Robinson translates, "the juniper tree," found in the Arabah or Great Valley, here called "the desert," south of the Dead Sea. The "heath" was one of the plants, according to Pliny (13.21; 16.26), excluded from religious uses, because it has neither fruit nor seed, and is neither sown nor planted.
not see … good—(Job 20:17).
salt land—(De 29:23), barren ground.
7. (Ps 34:8; Pr 16:20; Isa 30:18). Jeremiah first removed the weeds (false trusts), so that there might be room for the good grain [Calvin].
8. (Ps 1:3).
shall not see—that is, feel. Answering to Jer 17:6; whereas the unbelievers "shall not see (even) when good cometh," the believer "shall not see (so as to be overwhelmed by it even) when heat (fiery trial) cometh." Trials shall come upon him as on all, nay, upon him especially (Heb 12:6); but he shall not sink under them, because the Lord is his secret strength, just as the "roots spread out by a river" (or, "water-course") draw hidden support from it (2Co 4:8-11).
careful—anxious, as one desponding (Lu 12:29; 1Pe 5:7).
drought—literally, "withholding," namely, of rain (Jer 14:1); he here probably alludes to the drought which had prevailed, but makes it the type of all kinds of distress.
9. deceitful—from a root, "supplanting," "tripping up insidiously by the heel," from which Jacob (Ho 12:3) took his name. In speaking of the Jews' deceit of heart, he appropriately uses a term alluding to their forefather, whose deceit, but not whose faith, they followed. His "supplanting" was in order to obtain Jehovah's blessing. They plant Jehovah for "trust in man" (Jer 17:5), and then think to deceive God, as if it could escape His notice, that it is in man, not in Him, they trust.
desperately wicked—"incurable" [Horsley], (Mic 1:9). Trust in one's own heart is as foolish as in our fellow man (Pr 28:26).
10. Lest any should infer from Jer 17:9, "who can know it?" that even the Lord does not know, and therefore cannot punish, the hidden treachery of the heart, He says, "I the Lord search the heart," &c. (1Ch 28:9; Ps 7:9; Pr 17:3; Re 2:23).
even to give—and that in order that I may give (Jer 32:19).
11. partridge—(1Sa 26:20). Hebrew, korea, from a root, "to call," alluding to its cry; a name still applied to a bustard by the Arabs. Its nest is liable, being on the ground, to be trodden under foot, or robbed by carnivorous animals, notwithstanding all the beautiful manoeuvres of the parent birds to save the brood. The translation, "sitteth on eggs which it has not laid," alludes to the ancient notion that she stole the eggs of other birds and hatched them as her own; and that the young birds when grown left her for the true mother. It is not needful to make Scripture allude to an exploded notion, as if it were true. Maurer thinks the reference is to Jehoiakim's grasping cupidity (Jer 22:13-17). Probably the sense is more general; as previously He condemned trust in man (Jer 17:5), He now condemns another object of the deceitful hearts' trust, unjustly gotten riches (Ps 39:6; 49:16, 17; 55:23).
fool—(Pr 23:5; Lu 12:20); "their folly" (Ps 49:13). He himself, and all, shall at last perceive he was not the wise man he thought he was.
12. throne—the temple of Jerusalem, the throne of Jehovah. Having condemned false objects of trust, "high places for sin" (Jer 17:3), and an "arm of flesh," he next sets forth Jehovah, and His temple, which was ever open to the Jews, as the true object of confidence, and sanctuary to flee to. Henderson makes Jehovah, in Jer 17:13, the subject, and this verse predicate, "A throne of glory, high from the beginning, the place of our sanctuary, the hope of Israel is Jehovah." "Throne" is thus used for Him who sits on it; compare thrones (Col 1:16). He is called a "sanctuary" to His people (Isa 8:14; Eze 11:16). So Syriac and Arabic.
13. me—"Jehovah." Though "Thee" precedes. This sudden transition is usual in the prophetic style, owing to the prophet's continual realization of Jehovah's presence.
all that forsake thee—(Ps 73:27; Isa 1:28).
written in the earth—in the dust, that is, shall be consigned to oblivion. So Jesus' significant writing "on the ground (probably the accusers' names)" (Joh 8:6). Names written in the dust are obliterated by a very slight wind. Their hopes and celebrity are wholly in the earth, not in the heavenly book of life (Re 13:8; 20:12, 15). The Jews, though boasting that they were the people of God, had no portion in heaven, no status before God and His angels. Contrast "written in heaven," that is, in the muster-roll of its blessed citizens (Lu 10:20). Also, contrast "written in a book," and "in the rock for ever" (Job 19:23, 24).
living waters—(Jer 2:13).
14-18. Prayer of the prophet for deliverance from the enemies whom he excited by his faithful denunciations.
Heal … save—not only make me whole (as to the evils of soul as well as body which I am exposed to by contact with ungodly foes, Jer 15:18), but keep me so.
my praise—He whom I have to praise for past favors, and therefore to whom alone I look for the time to come.
15. Where is the word?—(Isa 5:19; Am 5:18). Where is the fulfilment of the threats which thou didst utter as from God? A characteristic of the last stage of apostasy (2Pe 3:4).
16. I have not refused Thy call of me to be a prophet (Jon 1:3), however painful to me it was to utter what would be sure to irritate the hearers (Jer 1:4, &c.).; therefore Thou shouldest not forsake me (Jer 15:15, &c.).
to follow thee—literally, "after thee"; as an under-pastor following Thee, the Chief Shepherd (Ec 12:11; 1Pe 5:4).
neither … desired—I have not wished for the day of calamity, though I foretell it as about to come on my countrymen; therefore they have no reason for persecuting me.
thou knowest—I appeal to Thee for the truth of what I assert.
that which came out of my lips—my words (De 23:23).
right before thee—rather, "was before Thee"; was known to Thee—(Pr 5:21).
17. a terror—namely, by deserting me: all I fear is Thine abandoning me; if Thou art with me, I have no fear of evil from enemies.
18. destroy … destruction—"break them with a double breach," Hebrew (Jer 14:17). On "double," see on Jer 16:18.
19-27. Delivered in the reign of Jehoiakim, who undid the good effected by Josiah's reformation, especially as to the observance of the Sabbath [Eichorn].
gate of … children of … people—The gate next the king's palace, called the gate of David, and the gate of the people, from its being the principal thoroughfare: now the Jaffa gate. It is probably the same as "the gate of the fountain" at the foot of Zion, near which were the king's garden and pool (Jer 39:4; 2Ki 25:4; Ne 2:14; 3:15; 12:37).
20. kings—He begins with the kings, as they ought to have repressed such a glaring profanation.
21. Take heed to yourselves—literally, "to your souls." Maurer explains, "as ye love your lives"; a phrase used here to give the greater weight to the command.
sabbath—The non-observance of it was a chief cause of the captivity, the number of years of the latter, seventy, being exactly made to agree with the number of Sabbaths which elapsed during the four hundred ninety years of their possession of Canaan from Saul to their removal (Le 26:34, 35; 2Ch 36:21). On the restoration, therefore, stress was especially laid on Sabbath observance (Ne 13:19).
Jerusalem—It would have been scandalous anywhere; but in the capital, Jerusalem, it was an open insult to God. Sabbath-hallowing is intended as a symbol of holiness in general (Eze 20:12); therefore much stress is laid on it; the Jews' gross impiety is manifested in their setting God's will at naught, in the case of such an easy and positive command.
23. (Jer 7:24, 26).
24. A part put for the whole, "If ye keep the Sabbath and My other laws."
25. kings … in chariots—The kingdom at this time had been brought so low that this promise here was a special favor.
remain—Hebrew, "be inhabited" (Jer 17:6; Isa 13:20).
26. plain mountains … south—(Jos 15:1-4). The southern border had extended to the river of Egypt, but was now much curtailed by Egyptian invasions (2Ch 35:20; 36:3, 4). The Hebrew for "south" means dry; the arid desert south of Judea is meant. The enumeration of all the parts of Judea, city, country, plain, hill, and desert, implies that no longer shall there be aught wanting of the integrity of the Jewish land (Zec 7:7).
sacrifices—As in Jer 17:22, one constituent of Judea's prosperity is mentioned, namely, its kings on David's throne, the pledge of God being its guardian; so in this verse another constituent, namely, its priests, a pledge of God being propitious to it (Ps 107:22).
27. burden … in … gates … fire in the gates—retribution answering to the sin. The scene of their sin shall be the scene of their punishment (Jer 52:13; 2Ki 25:9).