3 O My mountain in the field -- thy strength, All thy treasures -- for a prey I give, Thy high places for sin in all thy borders.
Thy strength and thy treasures For a prey I do give -- not for price, Even for all thy sins, and in all thy borders.
`Micah the Morashtite hath been prophesying in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and he saith unto all the people of Judah, saying: Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: Zion is a plowed field, and Jerusalem is heaps, And the mountain of the house is for high places of a forest.
And he saith, `What saw they in thy house?' and Hezekiah saith, `All that `is' in my house they saw; there hath not been a thing that I have not shewed them among my treasures.' And Isaiah saith unto Hezekiah, `Hear a word of Jehovah of Hosts: Lo, days are coming, and borne hath been all that `is' in thy house, and that thy fathers have treasured up till this day, to Babylon; there is not left a thing, said Jehovah;
And thou hast said: Mountains of Israel, Hear ye a word of the Lord Jehovah: Thus said the Lord Jehovah To the mountains, and to the hills, To the streams, and to the valleys, Lo, I, I am bringing in against you a sword, And I have destroyed your high places.
For the transgression of Jacob `is' all this, And for the sins of the house of Israel. What `is' the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what the high places of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem? And I have set Samaria for a heap of the field, For plantations of a vineyard, And poured out into a valley her stones, And her foundations I uncover. And all her graven images are beaten down, And all her gifts are burnt with fire, And all her idols I make a desolation, For, from the hire of a harlot she gathered, and unto the hire of a harlot they return.
And I have given thee into their hand, And they have thrown down thine arch, And they have broken down thy high places, And they have stript thee of thy garments, And they have taken thy beauteous vessels, And they have left thee naked and bare.
As to the beauty of his ornament, For excellency He set it, And the images of their abominations, Their detestable things -- they made in it, Therefore I have given it to them for impurity, And I have given it into the hand of the strangers for a prey, And to the wicked of the land for a spoil, And they have polluted it. And I have turned My face from them, And they have polluted My hidden place, Yea, come into it have destroyers, and polluted it.
For this hath our heart been sick, For these have our eyes been dim. For the mount of Zion -- that is desolate, Foxes have gone up on it.
His hand spread out hath an adversary On all her desirable things, For she hath seen -- Nations have entered her sanctuary, Concerning which Thou didst command, `They do not come into the assembly to thee.'
And of the poor of the people, and the remnant of the people who are left in the city, and those who are falling away, who have fallen unto the king of Babylon, and the remnant of the multitude, hath Nebuzar-Adan chief of the executioners, removed; and of the poor of the land hath Nebuzar-Adan, chief of the executioners, left for vine-dressers and for husbandmen. And the pillars of brass that `are' to the house of Jehovah, and the bases, and the brasen sea that `is' in the house of Jehovah, have the Chaldeans broken, and they bear away all the brass of them to Babylon; and the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the bowls, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass with which they minister, they have taken away; and the basins, and the fire-pans, and the bowls, and the pots, and the candlesticks, and the spoons, and the cups, the gold of that which `is' gold, and the silver of that which `is' silver, hath the chief of the executioners taken. The two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve brazen oxen that `are' beneath the bases, that king Solomon made for the house of Jehovah, there was no weighing of the brass of all these vessels.
On all high places in the plain have spoilers come in, For the sword of Jehovah is consuming, From the end of the land even unto the end of the land, There is no peace to any flesh.
Therefore by this is the iniquity of Jacob covered, And this `is' all the fruit -- To take away his sin, in His setting all the stones of an altar, As chalkstones beaten in pieces, They rise not -- shrines and images.
And it hath come to pass, In the latter end of the days, Established is the mount of Jehovah's house, Above the top of the mounts, And it hath been lifted up above the heights, And flowed unto it have all the nations. And gone have many peoples and said, `Come, and we go up unto the mount of Jehovah, Unto the house of the God of Jacob, And He doth teach us of His ways, And we walk in His paths, For from Zion goeth forth a law, And a word of Jehovah from Jerusalem.
And the pillars of brass that `are' in the house of Jehovah, and the bases, and the sea of brass, that `is' in the house of Jehovah, have the Chaldeans broken in pieces, and bear away their brass to Babylon. And the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass with which they minister they have taken, and the fire-pans, and the bowls that `are' wholly of silver, hath the chief of the executioners taken. The two pillars, the one sea, and the bases that Solomon made for the house of Jehovah, there was no weighing of the brass of all these vessels;
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Jeremiah 17
Commentary on Jeremiah 17 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Judah's sin is ineffaceably stamped upon the hearts of the people and on their altars. These four verses are closely connected with the preceding, and show why it is necessary that Judah be cast forth amidst the heathen, by reason of its being perfectly stepped in idolatry. Jeremiah 17:1. "The sin of Judah is written with an iron pen, with the point of a diamond graven on the table of their hearts and on the horns of your altars. Jeremiah 17:2 . As they remember their children, so do they their altars and their Astartes by the green tree upon the high hills. Jeremiah 17:3 . My mountain in the field, thy substance, all thy treasures give I for a prey, thy high places for sin in all thy borders. Jeremiah 17:4 . And thou shalt discontinue, and that of thine own self, from thine inheritance that I gave thee, and I cause thee to serve thine enemies in a land which thou knowest not; for a fire have ye kindled in mine anger, for ever it burneth."