11 For I have known the thoughts that I am thinking towards you -- an affirmation of Jehovah; thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give to you posterity and hope.
For not My thoughts `are' your thoughts, Nor your ways My ways, -- an affirmation of Jehovah, For high have the heavens been above the earth, So high have been My ways above your ways, And My thoughts above your thoughts. For, as come down doth the shower, And the snow from the heavens, And thither returneth not, But hath watered the earth, And hath caused it to yield, and to spring up, And hath given seed to the sower, and bread to the eater, So is My word that goeth out of My mouth, It turneth not back unto Me empty, But hath done that which I desired, And prosperously effected that `for' which I sent it. For with joy ye go forth, And with peace ye are brought in, The mountains and the hills Break forth before you `with' singing, And all trees of the field clap the hand.
Declaring from the beginning the latter end, And from of old that which hath not been done, Saying, `My counsel doth stand, And all My delight I do.' Calling from the east a ravenous bird, From a far land the man of My counsel, Yea, I have spoken, yea, I bring it in, I have formed `it', yea, I do it.
For thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I -- even I, have required My flock, And I have sought it out. As a shepherd's searching of his drove, In the day of his being in the midst of his scattered flock, so I do seek My flock, And have delivered them out of all places, Whither they have been scattered, In a day of cloud and thick darkness. And brought them out from the peoples, And have gathered them from the lands, And brought them unto their own ground, And have fed them on mountains of Israel, By streams, and by all dwellings of the land. With good pasture I do feed them, And on mountains of the high place of Israel is their habitation, There do they lie down in a good habitation, And fat pastures they enjoy on mountains of Israel. I feed My flock, and cause them to lie down, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah. The lost I seek, and the driven away bring back, And the broken I bind up, and the sick I strengthen, And the fat and the strong I destroy, I feed it with judgment. And you, My flock, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I am judging between sheep and sheep, Between rams and he-goats. Is it a little thing for you -- the good pasture ye enjoy, And the remnant of your pasture ye tread down with your feet, And a depth of waters ye do drink, And the remainder with your feet ye trample, And My flock the trodden thing of your feet consumeth, And the trampled thing of your feet drinketh? Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah to them: Lo, I -- even I, have judged between fat sheep and lean sheep. Because with side and with shoulder ye thrust away, And with your horns push all the diseased, Till ye have scattered them to the out-place, And I have given safety to My flock, And they are not any more for prey, And I have judged between sheep and sheep. And have raised up over them one shepherd, And he hath fed them -- my servant David, He doth feed them, and he is their shepherd, And I, Jehovah, I am their God, And My servant David prince in their midst, I, Jehovah, have spoken. And I have made for them a covenant of peace, And caused evil beasts to cease out of the land, And they have dwelt in a wilderness confidently, And they have slept in forests. And I have given them, and the suburbs of my hill, a blessing, And caused the shower to come down in its season, Showers of blessing they are. And given hath the tree of the field its fruit, And the land doth give her increase, And they have been on their land confident, And they have known that I `am' Jehovah, In My breaking the bands of their yoke, And I have delivered them from the hand of those laying service on them. And they are no more a prey to nations, And the beast of the earth devoureth them not, And they have dwelt confidently, And there is none troubling. And I have raised for them a plant for renown, And they are no more consumed by hunger in the land, And they bear no more the shame of the nations. And they have known that I, Jehovah, their God, `am' with them, And they -- the house of Israel -- My people, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah. And ye, My flock, the flock of My pasture, Men ye `are' -- I `am' your God, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah!'
Go, and thou hast proclaimed these words toward the north, and hast said, Turn back, O backsliding Israel, An affirmation of Jehovah! I cause not Mine anger to fall upon you, For I `am' kind, an affirmation of Jehovah, I watch not to the age. Only, know thine iniquity, For against Jehovah thy God thou hast transgressed, And thou dost scatter thy ways to strangers, Under every green tree, And to My voice thou hast not hearkened, An affirmation of Jehovah. Turn back, O backsliding sons, An affirmation of Jehovah. For I have ruled over you, And taken you one of a city, and two of a family, And have brought you to Zion, And I have given to you shepherds According to Mine own heart, And they have fed you with knowledge and understanding. And it hath come to pass, when ye are multiplied, And have been fruitful in the land, In those days -- an affirmation of Jehovah, They say not any more, `The ark of the covenant of Jehovah,' Nor doth it go up on the heart, Nor do they remember concerning it, Nor do they inspect, nor is it made again. At that time they cry to Jerusalem, `O throne of Jehovah,' And gathered unto her hath been all the nations, For the name of Jehovah, to Jerusalem, Nor do they go any more after the stubbornness of their evil heart. In those days do the house of Judah Go unto the house of Israel, And they come together from the land of the south, unto the land That I caused your fathers to inherit. And I have said, How do I put thee among the sons, And give to thee a desirable land, A beauteous inheritance of the hosts of nations, And I say, My father -- ye do call to Me, And from after Me ye do not turn back.
At that time, an affirmation of Jehovah, I am for God to all families of Israel, And they -- they are to Me for a people. Thus said Jehovah: Found grace in the wilderness Hath a people remaining from the sword Going to cause it to rest -- Israel. From afar Jehovah hath appeared to me, With love age-during I have loved thee, Therefore I have drawn thee `with' kindness. Again do I build thee, And thou hast been built, O virgin of Israel, Again thou puttest on thy tabrets, And hast gone out in the chorus of the playful. Again thou dost plant vineyards In mountains of Samaria, Planters have planted, and made common. For there is a day, Cried have watchmen on mount Ephraim, `Rise, and we go up to Zion, unto Jehovah our God; For thus said Jehovah: Sing, O ye to Jacob, `with' joy, And cry aloud at the head of the nations, Sound ye, praise ye, and say, Save, O Jehovah, thy people, the remnant of Israel. Lo, I am bringing them in from the north country, And have gathered them from the sides of the earth, Among them `are' blind and lame, Conceiving and travailing one -- together, A great assembly -- they turn back hither. With weeping they come in, And with supplications I bring them, I cause them to go unto streams of waters, In a right way -- they stumble not in it, For I have been to Israel for a father, And Ephraim -- My first-born `is' he. Hear a word of Jehovah, O nations, And declare ye among isles afar off, and say: He who is scattering Israel doth gather him, And hath kept him as a shepherd `doth' his flock, For Jehovah hath ransomed Jacob, And redeemed him from a hand stronger than he. And they have come in, And have sung in the high place of Zion, And flowed unto the goodness of Jehovah, For wheat, and for new wine, and for oil, And for the young of the flock and herd, And their soul hath been as a watered garden, And they add not to grieve any more. Then rejoice doth a virgin in a chorus, Both young men and old men -- together, And I have turned their mourning to joy, And have comforted them, And gladdened them above their sorrow, And satisfied the soul of the priests `with' fatness, And My people with My goodness are satisfied, An affirmation of Jehovah. Thus said Jehovah, A voice in Ramah is heard, wailing, weeping most bitter, Rachel is weeping for her sons, She hath refused to be comforted for her sons, because they are not. Thus said Jehovah: Withhold thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears, For there is a reward for thy work, An affirmation of Jehovah, And they have turned back from the land of the enemy. And there is hope for thy latter end, An affirmation of Jehovah, And the sons have turned back `to' their border. I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself, `Thou hast chastised me, And I am chastised, as a heifer not taught, Turn me back, and I turn back, For thou `art' Jehovah my God. For after my turning back I repented, And after my being instructed I struck on the thigh, I have been ashamed, I have also blushed, For I have borne the reproach of my youth. A precious son is Ephraim to Me? A child of delights? For since My speaking against him, I do thoroughly remember him still, Therefore have My bowels been moved for him, I do greatly love him, An affirmation of Jehovah. Set up for thee signs, make for thee heaps, Set thy heart to the highway, the way thou wentest, Turn back, O virgin of Israel, Turn back unto these thy cities. Till when dost thou withdraw thyself, O backsliding daughter? For Jehovah hath prepared a new thing in the land, Woman doth compass man. Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, Still they say this word in the land of Judah, And in its cities, In My turning back `to' their captivity, Jehovah doth bless thee, habitation of righteousness, Mountain of holiness. And dwelt in Judah have husbandmen, and in all its cities together, And they have journeyed in order. For I have satiated the weary soul, And every grieved soul I have filled.' On this I have awaked, and I behold, and my sleep hath been sweet to me. Lo, days are coming, an affirmation of Jehovah, And I have sown the house of Israel, And the house of Judah, With seed of man, and seed of beast. And it hath been, as I watched over them to pluck up, And to break down, and to throw down, And to destroy, and to afflict; So do I watch over them to build, and to plant, An affirmation of Jehovah. In those days they do not say any more: Fathers have eaten unripe fruit, And the sons' teeth are blunted. But -- each for his own iniquity doth die, Every man who is eating the unripe fruit, Blunted are his teeth. Lo, days are coming, an affirmation of Jehovah, And I have made with the house of Israel And with the house of Judah a new covenant, Not like the covenant that I made with their fathers, In the day of My laying hold on their hand, To bring them out of the land of Egypt, In that they made void My covenant, And I ruled over them -- an affirmation of Jehovah. For this `is' the covenant that I make, With the house of Israel, after those days, An affirmation of Jehovah, I have given My law in their inward part, And on their heart I do write it, And I have been to them for God, And they are to me for a people.
Take with you words, and turn to Jehovah, Say ye unto Him: `Take away all iniquity, and give good, And we do render the fruit of our lips. Asshur doth not save us, on a horse we ride not, Nor do we say any more, Our God, to the work of our hands, For in Thee find mercy doth the fatherless.' I heal their backsliding, I love them freely, For turned back hath Mine anger from him. I am as dew to Israel, he flourisheth as a lily, And he striketh forth his roots as Lebanon. Go on do his sucklings, And his beauty is as an olive, And he hath fragrance as Lebanon. Return do the dwellers under his shadow, They revive `as' corn, and flourish as a vine, His memorial `is' as wine of Lebanon. O Ephraim, what to Me any more with idols? I -- I afflicted, and I cause him to sing: `I `am' as a green fir-tree,' From Me is thy fruit found. Who `is' wise, and doth understand these? Prudent, and knoweth them? For upright are the ways of Jehovah, And the righteous go on in them, And the transgressors stumble therein!
And it hath come to pass afterwards, I do pour out My Spirit on all flesh, And prophesied have your sons and your daughters, Your old men do dream dreams, Your young men do see visions. And also on the men-servants, and on the maid-servants, In those days I do pour out My Spirit. And I have given wonders in the heavens, and in the earth, Blood and fire, and columns of smoke. The sun is turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, Before the coming of the day of Jehovah, The great and the fearful. And it hath come to pass, Every one who calleth in the name of Jehovah is delivered, For in mount Zion and in Jerusalem there is an escape, As Jehovah hath said, And among the remnants whom Jehovah is calling!
Therefore, lo, I am enticing her, And have caused her to go to the wilderness, And I have spoken unto her heart, And given to her her vineyards from thence, And the valley of Achor for an opening of hope, And she hath responded there as in the days of her youth, And as in the day of her coming up out of the land of Egypt. And it hath come to pass, in that day, An affirmation of Jehovah, Thou dost call Me -- My husband, And dost not call Me any more -- My lord. And I have turned aside the names of the lords from her mouth, And they are not remembered any more by their name. And I have made to them a covenant in that day, with the beast of the field, And with the fowl of the heavens, And the creeping thing of the ground, And bow, and sword, and war I break from off the land, And have caused them to lie down confidently. And I have betrothed thee to Me to the age, And betrothed thee to Me in righteousness, And in judgment, and kindness, and mercies, And betrothed thee to Me in faithfulness, And thou hast known Jehovah. And it hath come to pass in that day, I answer -- an affirmation of Jehovah, I answer the heavens, and they answer the earth. And the earth doth answer the corn, And the new wine, and the oil, And they answer Jezreel. And I have sowed her to Me in the land, And I have pitied Lo-Ruhamah, And I have said to Lo-Ammi, My people thou `art', and it saith, My God!'
And leaders of Judah have said in their heart, `Strength to me `are' the inhabitants of Jerusalem, In Jehovah of Hosts their God.' In that day I make the leaders of Judah As a hearth of fire among trees, And as a torch of fire in a sheaf, And they have consumed -- on the right and on the left -- all the peoples round about, And Jerusalem hath inhabited again her place in Jerusalem. And saved hath Jehovah the tents of Judah first, So that become not great against Judah Doth the beauty of the house of David, And the beauty of the inhabitant of Jerusalem. In that day cover over doth Jehovah the inhabitant of Jerusalem, And the stumbling among them hath been in that day as David, And the house of David as God -- As a messenger of Jehovah -- before them. And it hath come to pass, in that day, I seek to destroy all the nations Who are coming in against Jerusalem, And I have poured on the house of David, And on the inhabitant of Jerusalem, A spirit of grace and supplications, And they have looked unto Me whom they pierced, And they have mourned over it, Like a mourning over the only one, And they have been in bitterness for it, Like a bitterness over the first-born.
Comfort ye, comfort ye, My people, saith your God. Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and call to her, That her warfare hath been completed, That accepted hath been her punishment, That she hath received from the hand of Jehovah Double for all her sins. A voice is crying -- in a wilderness -- Prepare ye the way of Jehovah, Make straight in a desert a highway to our God. Every valley is raised up, And every mountain and hill become low, And the crooked place hath become a plain, And the entangled places a valley. And revealed hath been the honour of Jehovah, And seen `it' have all flesh together, For the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken. A voice is saying, `Call,' And he said, `What do I call?' All flesh `is' grass, and all its goodliness `is' As a flower of the field: Withered hath grass, faded the flower, For the Spirit of Jehovah blew upon it, Surely the people `is' grass; Withered hath grass, faded the flower, But a word of our God riseth for ever. On a high mountain get thee up, O Zion, Proclaiming tidings, Lift up with power thy voice, O Jerusalem, proclaiming tidings, Lift up, fear not, say to cities of Judah, `Lo, your God.' Lo, the Lord Jehovah with strength cometh, And His arm is ruling for Him, Lo, His hire `is' with Him, and His wage before Him. As a shepherd His flock He feedeth, With His arm He gathereth lambs, And in His bosom He carrieth `them': Suckling ones He leadeth. Who hath measured in the hollow of his hand the waters? And the heavens by a span hath meted out, And comprehended in a measure the dust of the earth, And hath weighed in scales the mountains, And the hills in a balance? Who hath meted out the Spirit of Jehovah, And, `being' His counsellor, doth teach Him! With whom consulted He, That he causeth Him to understand? And teacheth Him in the path of judgment, And teacheth Him knowledge? And the way of understanding causeth Him to know? Lo, nations as a drop from a bucket, And as small dust of the balance, have been reckoned, Lo, isles as a small thing He taketh up. And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt-offering. All the nations `are' as nothing before Him, Less than nothing and emptiness, They have been reckoned to Him. And unto whom do ye liken God, And what likeness do ye compare to Him? The graven image poured out hath a artizan, And a refiner with gold spreadeth it over, And chains of silver he is refining. He who is poor `by' heave-offerings, A tree not rotten doth choose, A skilful artizan he seeketh for it, To establish a graven image -- not moved. Do ye not know -- do ye not hear? Hath it not been declared from the first to you? Have ye not understood `From' the foundations of the earth? He who is sitting on the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants `are' as grasshoppers, He who is stretching out as a thin thing the heavens, And spreadeth them as a tent to dwell in. He who is making princes become nothing, Judges of earth as emptiness hath made; Yea, they have not been planted, Yea, they have not been sown, Yea, not taking root in the earth is their stock, And also He hath blown upon them, and they wither, And a whirlwind as stubble taketh them away. And unto whom do ye liken Me, And `am' I equal? saith the Holy One. Lift up on high your eyes, And see -- who hath prepared these? He who is bringing out by number their host, To all of them by name He calleth, By abundance of strength (And `he is' strong in power) not one is lacking. Why sayest thou, O Jacob? and speakest thou, O Israel? `My way hath been hid from Jehovah, And from my God my judgment passeth over.' Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard? The God of the age -- Jehovah, Preparer of the ends of the earth, Is not wearied nor fatigued, There is no searching of His understanding. He is giving power to the weary, And to those not strong He increaseth might. Even youths are wearied and fatigued, And young men utterly stumble, But those expecting Jehovah pass `to' power, They raise up the pinion as eagles, They run and are not fatigued, They go on and do not faint!
Cry aloud, O daughter of Zion, shout, O Israel, Rejoice and exult with the whole heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. Jehovah hath turned aside thy judgments, He hath faced thine enemy, The king of Israel, Jehovah, `is' in thy midst, Thou seest evil no more. In that day it is said to Jerusalem, `Fear not, O Zion, let not thy hands be feeble. Jehovah thy God `is' in thy midst, A mighty one doth save, He rejoiceth over thee with joy, He doth work in His love, He joyeth over thee with singing.' Mine afflicted from the appointed place I have gathered, from thee they have been, Bearing for her sake reproach. Lo, I am dealing with all afflicting thee at that time, And I have saved the halting one, And the driven out ones I do gather, And have set them for a praise and for a name, In all the land of their shame. At that time I bring you in, Even at the time of My assembling you, For I give you for a name, and for a praise, Among all peoples of the land, In My turning back `to' your captivity before your eyes, said Jehovah!
Thus said Jehovah: Lo, I turn back `to' the captivity of the tents of Jacob, And his dwelling places I pity, And the city hath been built on its heap, And the palace according to its ordinance remaineth. And gone forth from them hath thanksgiving, And the voice of playful ones, And I have multiplied them and they are not few, And made them honourable, and they are not small. And his sons have been as aforetime, And his company before Me is established, And I have seen after all his oppressors. And his honourable one hath been of himself, And his ruler from his midst goeth forth, And I have caused him to draw near, And he hath drawn nigh unto Me, For who `is' he who hath pledged his heart To draw nigh unto Me? An affirmation of Jehovah. And ye have been to Me for a people, And I am to you for God.
For, thus said Jehovah of Hosts, As I did purpose to do evil to you, When your fathers made Me wroth, Said Jehovah of Hosts, and I did not repent, So I have turned back, I have purposed, in these days, To do good with Jerusalem, And with the house of Judah -- fear not!
And thou, son of man, prophesy concerning Gog, and thou hast said: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I `am' against thee, O Gog, Prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, And have turned thee back, and enticed thee, And caused thee to come up from the sides of the north, And brought thee in against mountains of Israel, And have smitten thy bow out of thy left hand, Yea, thine arrows out of thy right I cause to fall. On mountains of Israel thou fallest, Thou, and all thy bands, and the peoples who `are' with thee, To ravenous fowl -- a bird of every wing, And `to' a beast of the field, I have given thee for food. On the face of the field thou fallest, for I have spoken, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah. And I have sent a fire against Magog, And against the confident inhabitants of the isles, And they have known that I `am' Jehovah. And My holy name I make known in the midst of My people Israel, And I pollute not My holy name any more, And known have the nations that I, Jehovah, the Holy One, `am' in Israel. Lo, it hath come, and it hath been done, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, It `is' the day of which I spake. And gone out have the inhabitants of cities of Israel, And they have burned and kindled `a fire', With armour, and shield, and buckler, With bow, and with arrows, And with hand-staves, and with javelins, And they have caused a fire to burn with them seven years, And they do not take wood out of the field, Nor do they hew out of the forests, For with armour they cause the fire to burn, And they have spoiled their spoilers, And they have plundered their plunderers, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah. And it hath come to pass, in that day, I give to Gog a place there -- a grave in Israel, the valley of those passing by, east of the sea, and it is stopping those passing by, and they have buried there Gog, and all his multitude, and have cried, O valley of the multitude of Gog! And the house of Israel have buried them -- in order to cleanse the land -- seven months. Yea, all the people of the land have buried them, and it hath been to them for a name -- the day of My being honoured -- an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah. And men for continual employment they separate, passing on through the land, burying with those passing by those who are left on the face of the earth, to cleanse it: at the end of seven months they search. And those passing by have passed through the land, and seen a bone of man, and one hath constructed near it a sign till those burying have buried it in the valley of the multitude of Gog. And also the name of the city `is' The multitude; and they have cleansed the land. And thou, son of man, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Say to the bird -- every wing, and to every beast of the field: Be assembled and come in, Be gathered from round about, For My sacrifice that I am sacrificing for you, A great sacrifice on mountains of Israel, And ye have eaten flesh, and drunk blood. Flesh of the mighty ye do eat, And blood of princes of the earth ye drink, Of rams, of lambs, and of he-goats, Of calves, fatlings of Bashan -- all of them. And ye have eaten fat to satiety, And ye have drunk blood -- to drunkenness, Of My sacrifice that I sacrificed for you. And ye have been satisfied at My table with horse and rider, Mighty man, and every man of war, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah. And I have given My honour among nations, And seen have all the nations My Judgment that I have done, And My hand that I have laid on them. And known have the house of Israel that I `am' Jehovah their God, From that day and henceforth. And known have the nations that for their iniquity, Removed have the house of Israel, Because they have trespassed against Me, And I do hide My face from them, And give them into the hand of their adversaries, And they fall by sword -- all of them. According to their uncleanness, And according to their transgressions, I have done with them, And I do hide My face from them. Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Now do I bring back the captivity of Jacob, And I have pitied all the house of Israel, And have been zealous for My holy name. And they have forgotten their shame, And all their trespass that they trespassed against Me, In their dwelling on their land confidently and none troubling. In My bringing them back from the peoples, I have assembled them from the lands of their enemies, And I have been sanctified in them before the eyes of the many nations, And they have known that I `am' Jehovah their God, In My removing them unto the nations, And I have gathered them unto their land, And I leave none of them any more there. And I hide not any more My face from them, In that I have poured out My spirit on the house of Israel, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah!'
Rejoice exceedingly, O daughter of Zion, Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem, Lo, thy King doth come to thee, Righteous -- and saved is He, Afflicted -- and riding on an ass, And on a colt -- a son of she-asses. And I have cut off the chariot from Ephraim, And the horse from Jerusalem, Yea, cut off hath been the bow of battle, And he hath spoken peace to nations, And his rule `is' from sea unto sea, And from the river unto the ends of earth. Also thou -- by the blood of thy covenant, I have sent thy prisoners out of the pit, There is no water in it. Turn back to a fenced place, Ye prisoners of the hope, Even to-day a second announcer I restore to thee. For I have trodden for Me Judah, A bow I have filled `with' Ephraim, And I have stirred up thy sons, O Zion, Against thy sons, O Javan, And I have set thee as the sword of a hero. And Jehovah doth appear for them, And gone forth as lightning hath His arrow, And the Lord Jehovah with a trumpet bloweth, And He hath gone with whirlwinds of the south. Jehovah of Hosts doth cover them over, And they consumed, and subdued sling-stones, Yea, they have drunk, They have made a noise as wine, And they have been full as a bowl, As corners of an altar. And saved them hath Jehovah their God In that day, as a flock of His people, For stones of a crown are displaying themselves over His ground. For what His goodness! and what His beauty! Corn the young men, And new wine the virgins -- make fruitful!
Rule Thou Thy people with Thy rod, The flock of Thine inheritance, Dwelling alone `in' a forest in the midst of Carmel, They enjoy Bashan and Gilead as in days of old. According to the days of thy coming forth out of the land of Egypt, I do shew it wonderful things. See do nations, and they are ashamed of all their might, They lay a hand on the mouth, their ears are deaf. They lick dust as a serpent, as fearful things of earth, They tremble from their enclosures, Of Jehovah our God they are afraid, Yea, they are afraid of Thee. Who `is' a God like Thee? taking away iniquity, And passing by the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance, He hath not retained for ever His anger, Because He -- He delighteth `in' kindness. He doth turn back, He pitieth us, He doth subdue our iniquities, And Thou castest into the depths of the sea all their sins. Thou givest truth to Jacob, kindness to Abraham, That thou hast sworn to our fathers, from the days of antiquity!
And another messenger did follow, saying, `Fall, fall, did Babylon, the great city, because of the wine of the wrath of her whoredom she hath given to all nations to drink.' And a third messenger did follow them, saying in a great voice, `If any one the beast doth bow before, and his image, and doth receive a mark upon his forehead, or upon his hand, he also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, that hath been mingled unmixed in the cup of His anger, and he shall be tormented in fire and brimstone before the holy messengers, and before the Lamb, and the smoke of their torment doth go up to ages of ages; and they have no rest day and night, who are bowing before the beast and his image, also if any doth receive the mark of his name. Here is endurance of the saints: here `are' those keeping the commands of God, and the faith of Jesus.' And I heard a voice out of the heaven saying to me, `Write: Happy are the dead who in the Lord are dying from this time!' `Yes, (saith the Spirit,) That they may rest from their labours -- and their works do follow them!' And I saw, and lo, a white cloud, and upon the cloud `one' sitting like to a son of man, having upon his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle;
And he hath stood and delighted in the strength of Jehovah, In the excellency of the name of Jehovah his God, And they have remained, For now he is great unto the ends of earth. And this `one' hath been peace, Asshur! when he doth come into our land, And when he doth tread in our palaces, We have raised against him seven shepherds, And eight anointed of man. And they have afflicted the land of Asshur with the sword, And the land of Nimrod at its openings, And he hath delivered from Asshur when he doth come into our land, And when he treadeth in our borders. And the remnant of Jacob hath been in the midst of many peoples, As dew from Jehovah -- as showers on the herb, That waiteth not for man, nor stayeth for the sons of men.
Lo, the eyes of the Lord Jehovah `are' on the sinful kingdom, And I have destroyed it from off the face of the ground, Only, I destroy not utterly the house of Jacob, An affirmation of Jehovah. For lo, I am commanding, And I have shaken among all the nations the house of Israel, As `one' doth shake with a sieve, And there falleth not a grain `to' the earth. By sword die do all sinners of My people, Who are saying, `Not overtake, or go before, For our sakes, doth evil.' In that day I raise the tabernacle of David, that is fallen, And I have repaired their breaches, And its ruins I do raise up, And I have built it up as in days of old. So that they possess the remnant of Edom, And all the nations on whom My name is called, An affirmation of Jehovah -- doer of this. Lo, days are coming -- an affirmation of Jehovah, And come nigh hath the ploughman to the reaper, And the treader of grapes to the scatterer of seed, And the mountains have dropt juice, And all the hills do melt. And I have turned back `to' the captivity of My people Israel, And they have built desolate cities, and inhabited, And have planted vineyards, and drunk their wine, And made gardens, and eaten their fruit. And I have planted them on their own ground, And they are not plucked up any more from off their own ground, That I have given to them, said Jehovah thy God!
And thou, son of man, prophesy unto mountains of Israel, and thou hast said, O mountains of Israel, hear a word of Jehovah. Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because the enemy said against you, Aha, and the high places of old for a possession have been to us, therefore, prophesy, and thou hast said: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because, even because, of desolating, And of swallowing you up from round about, For your being a possession to the remnant of the nations, And ye are taken up on the tip of the tongue, And `are' an evil report of the people. Therefore, O mountains of Israel, Hear a word of the Lord Jehovah: Thus said the Lord Jehovah, to mountains, and to hills, To streams, and to valleys, And to wastes that `are' desolate, And to cities that are forsaken, That have been for a prey, And for a scorn, to the remnant of the nations who `are' round about. Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Have I not, in the fire of My jealousy, Spoken against the remnant of the nations, And against Edom -- all of it, Who gave My land to themselves for a possession, With the joy of the whole heart -- with despite of soul, For the sake of casting it out for a prey? Therefore, prophesy concerning the ground of Israel, And thou hast said to mountains, and to hills, To streams, and to valleys, Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I, in My jealousy, and in My fury, I have spoken, Because the shame of nations ye have borne. Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: I -- I have lifted up My hand, Do not -- the nations who `are' with you from round about -- they their own shame bear? And ye, O mountains of Israel, Your branch ye give out, and your fruits ye bear for My people Israel, For they have drawn near to come. For, lo, I `am' for you, and have turned to you, And ye have been tilled and sown. And I have multiplied on you men, All the house of Israel -- all of it, And the cities have been inhabited, And the wastes are built. And I have multiplied on you man and beast, And they have multiplied and been fruitful, And I have caused you to dwell according to your former states, And I have done better than at your beginnings, And ye have known that I `am' Jehovah. And I have caused man to walk over you, -- My people Israel, And they possess thee, and thou hast been to them for an inheritance, And thou dost add no more to bereave them. Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because they are saying to you: A devourer of men `art' thou, And a bereaver of thy nations thou hast been, Therefore, man thou devourest no more, And thy nations thou causest not to stumble any more, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah. And I proclaim not unto thee any more the shame of the nations, And the reproach of peoples thou bearest no more, And thy nations stumble not any more, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.' And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying, `Son of man, The house of Israel are dwelling on their land, And they defile it by their way and by their doings, As the uncleanness of a separated one hath their way been before Me. And I do pour out My fury upon them For the blood that they shed on the land, And with their idols they have defiled it. And I scatter them among nations, And they are spread through lands, According to their way, and according to their doings, I have judged them. And one goeth in unto the nations whither they have gone, And they pollute My holy name by saying to them, The people of Jehovah `are' these, And from His land they have gone forth. And I have pity on My holy name, That the house of Israel have polluted among nations whither they have gone in. Therefore, say to the house of Israel, Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Not for your sake am I working, O house of Israel, But -- for My holy name, That ye have polluted among nations whither ye have gone in. And I have sanctified My great name, That is profaned among nations, That ye have polluted in your midst, And known have the nations that I `am' Jehovah, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, In My being sanctified in you before your eyes. And I have taken you out of the nations, And have gathered you out of all the lands, And I have brought you in unto your land, And I have sprinkled over you clean water, And ye have been clean; From all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols, I do cleanse you. And I have given to you a new heart, And a new spirit I give in your midst, And I have turned aside the heart of stone out of your flesh, And I have given to you a heart of flesh. And My Spirit I give in your midst, And I have done this, so that in My statutes ye walk, And My judgments ye keep, and have done them. And ye have dwelt in the land that I have given to your fathers, And ye have been to Me for a people, And I -- I am to you for God. And I have saved you from all your uncleannesses, And I have called unto the corn, and multiplied it, And I have put no famine upon you. And I have multiplied the fruit of the tree, And the increase of the field, So that ye receive not any more a reproach of famine among nations. And ye have remembered your ways that `are' evil, And your doings that `are' not good, And have been loathsome in your own faces, For your iniquities, and for your abominations. Not for your sake am I working, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Be it known to you, Be ashamed and confounded, because of your ways, O house of Israel. Thus said the Lord Jehovah: In the day of My cleansing you from all your iniquities, I have caused the cities to be inhabited, And the wastes have been built, And the desolate land is tilled, Instead of which it was a desolation before the eyes of every passer by, And they have said: This land, that was desolated, Hath been as the garden of Eden, And the cities -- the wasted, And the desolated, and the broken down, Fenced places have remained. And known have the nations who are left round about you, That I Jehovah have built the thrown down, I have planted the desolated: I Jehovah have spoken, and I have done `it'. Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Yet this I am required, By the house of Israel to do to them, I multiply them as a flock of men,
In that day there is on bells of the horse, `Holy to Jehovah,' And the pots in the house of Jehovah Have been as bowls before the altar. And every pot in Jerusalem, and in Judah, Have been holy to Jehovah of Hosts, And all those sacrificing have come in, And have taken of them, and boiled in them, And there is no merchant any more in the house of Jehovah of Hosts in that day!
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Jeremiah 29
Commentary on Jeremiah 29 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
A Letter from Jeremiah to the Captives in Babylon, together with Threatenings against their False Prophets. - As in Jerusalem, so too in Babylon the predictions of the false prophets fostered a lively hope that the domination of Nebuchadnezzar would not last long, and that the return of the exiles to their fatherland would soon come about. The spirit of discontent thus excited must have exercised an injurious influence on the fortunes of the captives, and could not fail to frustrate the aim which the chastisement inflicted by God was designed to work out, namely, the moral advancement of the people. Therefore Jeremiah makes use of an opportunity furnished by an embassy sent by King Zedekiah to Babel, to address a letter to the exiles, exhorting them to yield with submission to the lot God had assigned to them. He counsels them to prepare, by establishing their households there, for a long sojourn in Babel, and to seek the welfare of that country as the necessary condition of their own. They must not let themselves be deceived by the false prophets' idle promises of a speedy return, since God will not bring them back and fulfil His glorious promises till after seventy years have passed (Jeremiah 29:4-14). Then he tells them that sore judgments are yet in store for King Zedekiah and such as have been left in the land (Jeremiah 29:15-20); and declares that some of their false prophets shall perish miserably (Jeremiah 29:21-32).
Heading and Introduction. - The following circular is connected, in point of outward form, with the preceding discourses against the false prophets in Jerusalem by means of the words: "And these are the words of the letter," etc. The words of the letter, i.e., the main contents of the letter, since it was not transcribed, but given in substance. "Which the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders of the captives, and to the priests and prophets, and to the whole people, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon." "The residue of the elders," Hitz. and Graf understand of those elders who were not at the same time priests or prophets. On this Nהg. pronounces: "It is impossible that they can be right, for then 'the residue of the elders of the captivity' must have stood after the priests and prophets." And though we hear of elders of the priests, there is no trace in the O.T. of elders of the prophets. Besides, the elders, whenever they are mentioned along with the priests, are universally the elders of the people. Thus must we understand the expression here also. "The residue of the elders" can only be the remaining, i.e., still surviving, elders of the exiles, as יתר is used also in Jeremiah 39:9 for those still in life. But there is no foundation for the assumption by means of which Gr. seeks to support his interpretation, namely, that the place of elders that died was immediately filled by new appointments, so that the council of the elders must always have been regarded as a whole, and could not come to be a residue or remnant. Jeremiah could not possibly have assumed the existence of such an organized governing authority, since in this very letter he exhorts them to set about the establishment of regular system in their affairs. The date given in Jeremiah 29:2 : "after that Jechoniah the king, and the sovereign lady, and the courtiers, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the workmen and smiths, were gone away from Jerusalem," points to the beginning of Zedekiah's reign, to the first or second year of it. With this the advice given to the captives in the letter harmonizes well, namely, the counsel to build houses, plant gardens, etc.; since this makes it clear that they had not been long there. The despatch of this letter is usually referred to the fourth year of Zedekiah's reign, because in Jeremiah 28:1 this year is specified. But the connection in point of matter between the present chapter and Jer 28 does not necessarily imply their contemporaneousness, although that is perfectly possible; and the fact that, according to Jeremiah 51:59, Zedekiah himself undertook a journey to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign, does not exclude the possibility of an embassy thither in the same year. The going away from Jerusalem is the emigration to Babylon; cf. Jeremiah 24:1, 2 Kings 24:15. הגּבירה , the queen-mother, see on Jeremiah 13:18. סריסים are the officials of the court; not necessarily eunuchs. Both words are joined to the king, because these stood in closest relations to him. Then follows without copula the second class of emigrants, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, i.e., the heads of the tribes, septs, and families of the nation. The artisans form the third class. This disposes of the objections raised by Mov. and Hitz. against the genuineness of the words "princes of Judah and Jerusalem," their objections being based on the false assumption that these words were an exposition of "courtiers." Cf. against this, 2 Kings 24:15, where along with the סריסים the heads of tribes and families are comprehended under the head of אוּלי הארץ . Jeremiah 29:3. "By the hand" of Elasah is dependent on "sent," Jeremiah 29:1. The men by whom Jeremiah sent the letter to Babylon are not further known. Shaphan is perhaps the same who is mentioned in Jeremiah 26:24. We have no information as to the aim of the embassy.
At Jeremiah 29:4 the contents of the letter begin. Jeremiah warns the people to prepare for a lengthened sojourn in Babylonia, and exhorts them to settle down there. Jeremiah 29:5. "Build houses and dwell (therein), and plant gardens and eat the fruit of them. Jeremiah 29:6. Take wives and beget sons and daughters, and take for your sons wives and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and increase there and not diminish. Jeremiah 29:7. And seek the safety of the city whither I have carried you captive, and pray for it to Jahveh, and in its safety shall be safety to you." The imperatives "increase and not diminish" give the consequence of what has been said just before. "The city whither I have carried you captive" is not precisely Babylon, but every place whither separate companies of the exiles have been transported. And pray for the city whither you are come, because in this you further your own welfare, instead of looking for advantage to yourselves from the fall of the Chaldean empire, from the calamity of your heathen fellow-citizens. - With this is suitably joined immediately the warning against putting trust in the delusive hopes held out by the false prophets. "For thus saith Jahve of hosts, the God of Israel: Let not your prophets, that are in the midst of you, and your soothsayers, deceive you, and hearken not to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed; for falsely they prophesy to you in my name; I have not sent them, saith Jahveh." מחלמים is somewhat singular, since we have no other example of the Hiph. of חלם in its sig. dream (in Isaiah 38:16 the Hiph. of the same root means to preserve in good health); but the Hiph. may here express the people's spontaneity in the matter of dreams: which ye cause to be dreamed for you (Hitz.). Thus there would be no need to alter the reading into חלמים ; a precedent for the defective spelling being found in מעזרים , 2 Chronicles 28:23. What the false prophets gave out is not expressly intimated, but may be gathered from the context Jeremiah 29:10, namely, that the yoke of Babylon would soon be broken and captivity come to an end. - This warning is justified in Jeremiah 29:10-14, where God's decree is set forth. The deliverance will not come about till after seventy years; but then the Lord will fulfil to His people His promise of grace. Jeremiah 29:10. "For thus saith Jahveh: When as seventy years are fulfilled for Babylon, I will visit you, and perform to you my good word, to bring you back to this place. Jeremiah 29:11. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith Jahveh, thoughts of peace and not for evil, to give you (a) destiny and hope. Jeremiah 29:12. And ye will call upon me, and go and pray unto me, and I will hear you. Jeremiah 29:13. And ye will seek me, and find me, if ye search for me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:14. And I will let myself be found of you, saith Jahve, and will turn your captivity, and gather you out of all the peoples and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith Jahveh, and will bring you again to the place whence I have carried you away." - לפי מלאת , according to the measure of the fulfilment of seventy years for Babel. These words point back to Jeremiah 25:11., and we must reckon from the date of that prediction. פּקד c. accus . sig. to visit in a good sense, to look favourably on one and take his part. "My good word" is expounded by the following infinitive clause. Jeremiah 29:11. "I know my thoughts" is not to be taken, as by Jerome, J. D. Mich., etc., as in contrast with the false prophets: I know, but they do not. This antithesis is not in keeping with what follows. The meaning is rather: Although I appoint so long a term for the fulfilment of the plan of redemption, yet fear not that I have utterly rejected you; I know well what my design is in your regard. My thoughts toward you are thoughts of God, not of evil. Although now I inflict lengthened sufferings on you, yet this chastisement but serves to bring about your welfare in the future (Chr. B. Mich., Graf, etc.). - To give you אחרית , lit., last, i.e., issue or future, and hope. For this sig. cf. Job 8:7; Proverbs 5:4, etc. This future destiny and hope can, however, only be realized if by the sorrows of exile you permit yourselves to be brought to a knowledge of your sins, and return penitent to me. Then ye will call on me and pray, and I will hear you. "And ye will go," Jeremiah 29:12, is not the apodosis to "ye will call," since there is no further explanation of it, and since the simple הלך can neither mean to go away satisfied nor to have success. "Go" must be taken with what follows: go to the place of prayer (Ew., Umbr., Gr. Näg. ). In Jeremiah 29:13 אתי is to be repeated after "find." Jeremiah 29:12 and Jeremiah 29:13 are a renewal of the promise, Deuteronomy 4:29-30; and Jeremiah 29:14 is a brief summary of the promise, Deuteronomy 30:3-5, whence is taken the graphic expression שׁוּב את־שׁבוּת ; see on that passage. - Thereafter in
Jeremiah informs the captives of the judgments that is to gall on such as are still left in the land. Jeremiah 29:15. "If ye say: Jahveh hath raised us up prophets in Babylon - Jeremiah 29:16. Yea, thus saith Jahveh of the king that sitteth upon the throne of David, and of all the people that dwelleth in this city, your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity, Jeremiah 29:17. Thus saith Jahveh of hosts: Behold, I send amongst them the sword, famine, and pestilence, and make them like horrible figs, that cannot be eaten for badness, Jeremiah 29:18. And hunt after them with the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and give them to be abused to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a reproach among all the peoples whither I have driven them; Jeremiah 29:19. Inasmuch as they have not hearkened to my words, saith Jahveh, wherewith I sent to them my servants the prophets, from early morning on sending them, and ye have not hearkened, saith Jahveh. Jeremiah 29:20. But ye, hear the word of Jahveh, all ye captives whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon." - The design with which Jeremiah tells the captives of this judgment may be gathered from the terms of Jeremiah 29:15, with which this prophecy is introduced: God had raised up to us prophets in Babel ( בּבלה , lit., as far as Babel, i.e., extending His agency so far beyond the bounds of Judah). Hence it is clear that the announcement of judgment to come on those left in the land is in direct opposition to the predictions of the prophets that had appeared in Babylon. these prophesied a swift end to Chaldean domination and an immediate return of the exiles to their fatherland. So long as one of David's posterity sat on his throne in Jerusalem, and so long as the kingdom of Judah was maintained, the partial captivity of the people and removal of the plundered treasures of the temple would appear as a calamity which might soon be repaired. The false prophets in Babylon laid, therefore, great stress on the continued existence of the kingdom, with its capital and the temple, in their efforts to obtain belief amongst the exiles. As Näg. justly remarks, it was to take this ground from beneath their feet that Jeremiah predicted expulsion and destruction against the people of Jerusalem. The prophecy does indeed bear upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, "but not in the first reference; its immediate purpose was to overthrow the foundations on which the false prophets of the exile stood" (Näg. ). Taken thus, these verses form and integral part of the message sent by Jeremiah to the exiles, which was of no small weight for quieting the excitement, nourished by the false prophets, which reigned amongst them. One is struck by the want of connection between Jeremiah 29:15 and Jeremiah 29:16. The beginning of Jeremiah 29:16, "Yea, thus saith," comes directly after the end of Jeremiah 29:15 without any joining link. Näg. holds the כּי to be the pleonastic כּי which often introduces a saying. But its position before the "thus saith" makes this impossible. Here it serves to strengthen the asseveration: yea , thus fitly introducing what Jahveh says to the contrary; and Jeremiah 29:15 and Jeremiah 29:16 are, tersely and immediately, set over against one another. "If ye say" means: as regards your saying that Jahveh hath raised you up prophets in Babylon, the answer is: Thus hath Jahveh said. This is the connection of Jeremiah 29:16 with Jeremiah 29:15.
(Note: By the above exposition of the connection and progress of the thought, are disposed of all the objections that have been brought by Houb., Lud. Capp., Ven., etc., against the genuineness of these verses, or, at least, against the true position for them. The fact of their being wanting in the lxx, on which Hitz. mainly grounds his charge of spuriousness, proves nothing more than that these translators were unable to understand the train of thought in the verses, especially seeing that the substance of them has several times been expressed by Jeremiah, particularly Jeremiah 29:17 and Jeremiah 29:18; Jeremiah 24:9-10, cf. Jeremiah 15:4; Jeremiah 19:8; with Jeremiah 29:19 cf. Jeremiah 7:13, Jeremiah 7:25. Against the attempts to alter the text, Graf's remarks are admirable: "It is much easier to explain how the passage was omitted as out of place by the lxx than to show how it could have been introduced as an interpolation. It is too long for a mere marginal gloss that had at a later time found its way into the text; and why it should have been placed here, would remain all the more incomprehensible if it were so wholly unconnected with the body of the text. We cannot admit that it is merely an erroneous displacement of b. 15, which originally stood before Jeremiah 29:21; since it is less likely that Jeremiah 29:16 could have come directly after Jeremiah 29:14. In respect of form, Jeremiah 29:16-20 is connected with and forms a continuation of what precedes. Jeremiah 29:20 implies the presence of Jeremiah 29:16 as an antithesis, and at the same time completes again the connection that had been interrupted with Jeremiah 29:15, and leads on to Jeremiah 29:21. Connection in thought seems to be wanting only because Jeremiah 29:16 does not express the connecting idea, and because the contrast is so abrupt." - The other arguments adduced by Hitz. to throw suspicion on the passage, we can afford to pass over as wholly without force.)
"Your brethren that," etc., is co-ordinate with "all the people." The words: "I make them like horrible figs," make allusion to the vision in Jeremiah 24:2., but do not imply that this vision was known to the exiles, for they are quite intelligible to him who knows nothing of Jeremiah 24:1-10 (Näg. ). The adject. שׁער is found only here, from שׁער , shudder; horrible, that on tasting which one shudders. With Jeremiah 29:18, cf. Jeremiah 24:9. "Wherewith I sent my servants," i.e., commissioned them. This verb construed with double accus. as in 2 Samuel 11:22; Isaiah 55:11. "Ye have not hearkened," the 2nd pers. instead of the 3rd, is hardly to be explained by the fact that the prophet here cites in full an often quoted saying (Hitz., Näg. , etc.). The reason is that the prophet is thinking of the exiles also as having been equal to their brethren remaining in Judah in the matter of not hearkening. Thus the way is prepared for the summons: But ye, hear, Jeremiah 29:20.
After having set forth the divine determination, the prophet's letter addresses itself specially against the false prophets and tells them their punishment from God. Jeremiah 29:21. "Thus saith Jahveh, the God of hosts, of Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy to you in my name falsely: Behold, I give them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, that he may smite them before your eyes. Jeremiah 29:22. And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the exiles of Judah that are in Babylon, saying: Jahveh make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire, Jeremiah 29:23. Because they have done folly in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours' wives, and have spoken in my name lying words which I have not commanded them. But I know it and am witness, saith Jahveh." - Beyond what is here told, we know nothing of these two pseudo-prophets. The name אחאב is written in Jeremiah 29:20 without א ; thus the Kametz comes to be under the ח , and in consequence of this the Pathach is changed into a Seghol "Smite," i.e., slay. The manner of their death is called, probably with allusion to the name Kolaiah , קלה , roast, burn in a heated furnace; a mode of execution usual in Babylon, acc. to Daniel 3:6. This punishment is to fall on them because of two kinds of sin: 1. Because they have done folly in Israel, namely, committed adultery with their neighbours' wives; 2. Because they have prophesied falsely in the name of Jahveh. Except in Joshua 7:15, the phrase: commit folly in Israel, is always used of the grosser sins of uncleanness; see on Genesis 34:7. So here also. - The Chet . הוידע is expounded in the Keri by היּודע , according to which there has been a transposition of the letters ו and י , as in Jeremiah 2:25; Jeremiah 8:6, etc. Still the article here is extraordinary, since עד has none. Therefore J. D. Mich., Ew., Hitz., Graf suppose we should read הוּ ידע , the א having been dropped from הוּא in scriptio continua , as it often is, especially after י , in הביא and other words, cf. Jeremiah 19:15; Jeremiah 39:16, 1 Kings 21:29, etc. הוּא is then the copula between subject and predicate, as in Isaiah 43:25; cf. Ew. §297, b .
Threatening against the false prophet Shemaiah . - Jeremiah's letter to the exiles (vv. 1-23) had excited great indignation among the false prophets in Babylon, who predicted speedy restoration. One of them, named Shemaiah , wrote accordingly letters to Jerusalem addressed to the people, and especially to the priest Zephaniah , who held the highest place in the management of the temple, insisting that he should immediately take steps to punish Jeremiah and check his labours (Jeremiah 29:24-28). When Zephaniah read this letter to Jeremiah, the latter received from God the commission to tell the pseudo-prophet of the punishment awaiting him, that and his race should perish and not survive Israel's liberation (Jeremiah 29:29-32). - This threatening accordingly dates from a somewhat later time than the letter, vv. 1-23, since it was its arrival and influence upon the exiles that led Shemaiah to write to Jerusalem that letter, to which the threatening of the present verse is the reply. But on account of their historical connection, the letter of Jeremiah and that of Shemaiah were, at the publication of Jeremiah's prophecies, placed the one after the other. - From the introductory clause of Jeremiah 29:24 : "And to Shemaiah the Nehelamite thou shalt speak thus," we might conclude, with Graf, that what Jeremiah had to say was not addressed by letter to Shemaiah himself; and hold it to have sufficed that he should read it, like all the exiles, in the letter which doubtless found its way to Babylon. But this is incompatible with the command of God, Jeremiah 29:31 : Send to all the captives, saying, etc. For it was only by writing that Jeremiah could send to the exiles the sentence from God on Shemaiah that follows in Jeremiah 29:31. The introductory clause is therefore interposed by the author of the book to form a link of connection between the two utterances regarding the pseudo-prophets at Babylon. We cannot make sure whether "the Nehelamite" refers the man to a family or to a place of which we know nothing else. Jeremiah 29:25. Next the introduction to the divine sentence comes (from "Because thou" on) a statement of the occasion that called for it, which extends to Jeremiah 29:28. Then in Jeremiah 29:29-31 we are told that Zephaniah read to Jeremiah the letter he had received from Shemaiah in Babylon, and that Jeremiah was then commissioned by God to intimate to Shemaiah the punishment to be sent on him by God for his false and seducing prophecies. Then, again, attached to the preliminary statement by "therefore," the introductory phrase "Thus saith Jahveh" is repeated, and what the Lord said follows.
Jeremiah 29:25-28
"Because thou hast sent in thy name (without divine commission) letters to all the people in Jerusalem, and to Sephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying." ספרים may be a single letter, cf. 2 Kings 10:1-2; but since these were sent to the people, the priest Zephaniah, and all the people, the word doubtless means here letters in the plural. As to Zephaniah ben Maaseiah, see at Jeremiah 21:1. - In Jeremiah 29:26-28 follows the main substance of the letter: "Jahveh hath set thee to be priest in the stead of the priest Jehoiada, that there should be officers in the house of Jahveh for every man that is mad and prophesieth, that thou shouldest put him in the stocks and in neck-irons. Jeremiah 29:27. And, now, why hast thou not restrained Jeremiah of Anathoth, that prophesieth to you? Jeremiah 29:28. For therefore hath he sent to us to Babylon (a letter) to the effect: It will last long; build houses and dwell (therein), and plant gardens and eat the fruit of them." Zephaniah occupied, acc. to Jeremiah 29:26, the post of a chief officer of the temple, was a chief warden, as Pashur had been before him, Jeremiah 21:1, who had charge of the police regulations of the temple.
In the stead of the priest Jehoiada. These words Grot., Hitz., and Gr. refer to the high priest Jehoiada under King Joash, 2 Kings 11:18, who set up officers ( פּקדּות ) over the temple. But this view cannot be reconciled with the words of the text: "Jahveh hath set thee to be priest in Jehoiada's stead, that there should be officers;" since from these ambiguous words, Zephaniah filled the same post as Jehoiada had done, and was his successor in office. The other well-known Jehoiada was high priest, who appointed officers; Zephaniah, on the other hand was only "the second priest," and as such had charge of the temple arrangements and of public order there. Nor is there any hint here or elsewhere that Zephaniah was the immediate successor of Pashur in this office, nor any indication to make it unlikely that Jehoiada held the post after Pashur and that Zedekiah succeeded him. The plural "officers" is general: that at all times there should be officers. "For every man that is mad an prophesieth." משׁגּע , the deranged or mad person, is here closely associated with מתנבּא , him that bears himself as prophet. The former word is used in the evil sense of the apparently deranged behaviour of the man on whom the Spirit of God has laid hold, 2 Kings 9:11; Hosea 9:7. The idea is not: for (or against) every prophet, but: for every madman that plays the prophet. The temple, i.e., the outer court of the temple, was the usual place for prophets to take their stand. Shemaiah accordingly means that it was the duty of the chief warden of the temple to repress attempts to speak in the temple on the part of pretended prophets, by putting such persons in stocks and irons. As to מהפּכת , see on Jeremiah 20:2. צינק is ἁπ λεγ . . It certainly does not mean prison after צנק , in Samaritan = clausit ; but apparently neck-irons after Arab. znâq , necklace, ring. Since both words are used together here, and since the meaning is apparently that Jeremiah should be put into both instruments at once, Hitz. conjectures that both together were needed to make the stocks complete, but that each had its own proper name, because it was possible to fix in the neck, leaving hands and feet free, or conversely, as in Jeremiah 20:2. - גּער , rebuke, check by threats, restrain, cf. Ruth 2:16; Malachi 3:11, etc. "For therefore," sc. just because thou hast not restrained him from prophesying he has sent to Babylon. שׁלח with לאמר following, send to say, means: to send a message or letter as follows. לאמר ארכה היא Hitz. renders: for he thought: it (Babylon) is far away; Jeremiah's meaning being, that in Jerusalem they would know nothing about his letter he was sending to Babylon. But such a hidden purpose is utterly foreign to the character of the prophet. He had publicly predicted in Jerusalem the long seventy years' duration of the exile; and it was not likely to occur to him to wish to make a secret of the letter of like import which he sent to Babylon. Besides, Hitz.'s interpretation is forced. Since there is no לאמר before בּנוּ בתּים , the לאמר before ארכה can only be introductory to the contents of the letter. For ארך used of duration in time, cf. 2 Samuel 3:1; Job 11:9. "Long-lasting it is," sc. your sojourn in Babylon. These words give the burden of his prophecy, that on which he founded his counsel: build houses, etc.
Jeremiah 29:29
Zephaniah read aloud to Jeremiah the letter he had received from Babylon. With what design, we are not told; probably simply to inform him of the proceedings of the pseudo-prophets in Babylon. If we may judge by Jeremiah 21:1 and Jeremiah 37:3, Zephaniah seems to have been friendly to Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 29:30-32
In consequence of this, Jeremiah received from the Lord the commission to predict to Shemaiah his punishment at the hand of God, and to send the prediction to all that are in Babylon in banishment. With Jeremiah 29:31 , cf. Jeremiah 28:15. The punishment is this: Shemaiah shall have no posterity among his people, i.e., of his children none shall be left amongst the people, nor shall he see, i.e., experience, have any share in the blessings which the Lord will yet bestow upon His people. The extinction of his race and his own exclusion from the privilege of seeing the day of Israel's redemption are the punishment that is to fall on him for his rebellion against the commandment of the Lord. With ' כּי סרה cf. Jeremiah 28:16.