Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 1:16
And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands.
16. I will utter my judgements against them ] lit., I will speak my judgements with them. An almost identical phrase in the Hebrew occurs again in this book, when Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah “gave judgement upon Zedekiah,” mg. “spake judgements with him” (Jer 39:5); cp. Jer 4:12.
touching all their wickedness ] This is defined in the three clauses that follow, (i) the forsaking of the true God, (ii) the sacrificing to other gods, (iii) the worshipping of images.
have burned incense ] lit. have caused sacrifices to smoke. The Hebrew word does not necessarily involve the use of incense. See further on Jer 7:9.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
In accordance with the custom of law courts, the crimes of the guilty city are mentioned in the sentence. The charges brought against her are three: first, the desertion of the true God; next, the offering incense to false gods, and, lastly, the making obeisance to, or bowing down 2Ki 5:18 before images of human workmanship.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 16. I will utter my judgments] God denounced his judgments: the conquest of their cities, and the destruction of the realm, were the facts to which these judgments referred; and these facts prove that the threatening was fulfilled.
Worshipped the works of their own hands.] Idolatry was the source of all their wickedness, and was the cause of their desolations. For lemaasey, the works, more than a hundred MSS. of Kennicott’s and De Rossi’s, with many editions, have lemaaseh, the work. Idolatry was their ONE great WORK, the business of their life, their trade.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
I will utter my judgments; cause sentence to be passed according to my threatening. See Jer 39:5. Or, I will place my bounty and their unworthiness before them. Or, I will upbraid them with their ingratitude, rebellion, and breach of covenant, &c. I will speak with them by thee, Jeremiah, and others of my prophets. Who have forsaken me; either noting the persons against whom, or rather the cause for which, because they have forsaken me; the same particle being so used Jer 13:25, and elsewhere; or their sins whereby, as it is also expressed, Jer 16:11; 22:9.
Burnt incense unto other gods, i.e. worshipped strange gods; a synecdoche of the part for the whole.
The works of their own hands, i.e. their idolatrous images, expressed here by a periphrasis, Isa 2 8.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
16. utterpronounce. Thejudicial sentences, pronounced against the Jews by the invadingprinces, would be virtually the “judgments of God” (Isa10:5).
worksidols.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And I will utter my judgments against them,…. Not against the kingdoms of the north, but against the people of the Jews. The sense is, that God would enter into judgment with this people, and pass sentence upon them, and execute it:
touching all their wickedness; or on account of all their sins and transgressions hereafter mentioned:
who have forsaken me. The Targum is, “who have forsaken my worship”; for to forsake the public worship of God, attendance on his word and ordinances, or to forsake the assembling of themselves together for such a purpose, is to forsake the Lord himself, the fountain of living waters; and this is to forsake their own mercies:
and have burnt incense to other gods; to the idols of the Gentile, as the Targum explains it; to Baal, to the queen of heaven, and to others:
and worshipped the works of their own hands: idols of gold, silver, brass, and wood, which their own hands formed and carved, and which argued great stupidity and ignorance.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
God holds judgment upon the inhabitants of Judah in this very way, viz., by bringing these nations and permitting them to set up their lordship before the gates of Jerusalem, and against all cities of Judah. The suffix in refers to , Jer 1:14, and stands by later usage for , as frequently in Jer.; cf. Ew. 264, b. ‘ , speak judgment, properly, have a lawsuit with one, an expression peculiar to Jeremiah – cf. Jer 4:12; Jer 12:1; Jer 39:5; Jer 52:9, and 2Ki 25:6 – is in substance equivalent to , plead with one, cf. Jer 12:1 with Jer 2:35, Eze 20:35., and signifies not only remonstrating against wrong doing, but also the passing of condemnation, and so comprehends trial and sentencing; cf. Jer 39:5; Jer 42:9. “All their wickedness” is more exactly defined in the following relative clauses; it consists in their apostasy from God, and their worship of heathen gods and idols made by themselves; cf. Jer 19:4, 1Ki 11:33, 2Ki 22:17. , offer odours, cause to rise in smoke, used not of the burning of incense alone, but of all offerings upon the altar, bloody offerings and meat-offerings; hence frequently in parallelism with ; cf. Hos 4:13; Hos 11:2, etc. In the Pentateuch the Hiphil is used for this sense. Instead of the plural , many MSS give the singular as the ordinary expression for the productions of the hand, handiwork; cf. Jer 25:6-7, Jer 25:14; Jer 32:30; 2Ki 22:17, etc.; but the plural too is found in Jer 44:8; 2Ch 34:25, and is approved by these passages. The sense is no way affected by this variation.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
God now assigns the reason why he had resolved to deal so severely with the Jews. It was necessary to teach them two things, — first, that the Chaldeans would not of themselves come upon them, but through God, who would gather and arm them; and secondly, that God Would not act in a cruel manner, nor forget his covenant, in becoming a rigid avenger, but that he would thus be angry, because there was extreme iniquity in the Jews, so that it was needful to distress and wholly to break them down, as moderate corrections had availed nothing. God, then, after having testified that he would be the leader in that war, now explains the reasons why he would chastise the Jews, and shews that his conduct towards them could not be ascribed to cruelty, inasmuch as that they had provoked him by their impious superstitions.
Hence he says, I will speak my judgments with them This is referred by many interpreters to the Chaldeans and Assyrians, as though God would prescribe to them what was to be decreed, as chief judges are wont to do to those who are under them: but this exposition is strained, and confuted by what follows, on account of their wickedness What, then, is to speak judgments? It is done, when God summons the wicked before his tribunal, and executes the office of a judge. And this mode of speaking is common in Scripture, according to what we read at the end of this book, — The king of Babylon spoke judgments with the King Zedekiah, (Jer 52:9) that is, he dealt judicially with him, as we commonly say. (20) So now God declares that he would be the judge of the people, as though he had said, that hitherto he had been silent, not that the sins of the people were not known, but because he had borne with them, in order to try whether there was any hope of repentance. But he says now that he would become their judge, as he had found by long experience that they were past remedy.
There is, then, to be understood a contrast between the forbearance of God, which he had long exercised while he dealt with the people, not as he might have justly done, but deferred his vengeance, and the time of vengeance which was now at hand; I will then speak my judgments with the Jews; that is, “I will now ascend my tribunal: I have hitherto abstained from exercising my right, and waited for them to return to me; but as there is no return, and I see that they are men wholly irreclaimable, and their disposition is so depraved that they continually add evils to evils, I will now begin to undertake mine office, the office of a judge.” But we must bear in mind, as I have already said, the design of God in this declaration; for it was his object to clear himself from every charge, and from all calumnies, inasmuch as even the worst of men usually clamor against his judgments when he chastises them. Hence he presented before them his own judgments, as though he had said, “They shall not be able to blame me for dealing with them in a severe and cruel manner; for however severe I may be, I shall yet be an equitable judge.” Hence he adds, on account of all their wickedness
He afterwards shews what kind of wickedness it was, They have forsaken me, and burnt incense to strange gods The Jews had, indeed, in various ways, provoked his vengeance; but he mentions here one kind of wickedness, because it was the very fountain of evils, — they had departed from the law and the pure worship of God; and yet he mentions generally all wickedness The word all is not here without meaning, “on account of all their wickedness:” for he intimates that they were not only in one way wicked, but that they had heaped together various sins. And then he adds, for they have forsaken me Here God introduces their defection; for it may be, as we daily see, that one offends in this thing, and another in that, and each one for different causes may expose himself to God’s judgment; but God shews here that the Jews were become so depraved, that there was nothing sound or pure in them: hence he charges them with all wickedness; and then he mentions their defection, they have forsaken me; as though he had said, “They have wholly denied me; I say not that one is a thief, another an adulterer, and another a drunkard; but they are all become apostates, they are all perjurers and violators of the covenant: thus I am wholly forsaken by them, and they are in every respect alienated from me.” We hence see how greatly the Prophet enhances the guilt of his own nation.
It is afterwards added, for the sake of illustration, that they burnt incense to strange gods They had fallen away from God, and joined themselves to idolatry. He also adds this, — that they bowed down before the works of their own hands The Prophet divests the Jews of every excuse, and more fully discovers their shame and baseness, — “they prostrated themselves before the works of their own hands.” Whenever Scripture uses these expressions, it intimates that there is extreme madness in those men, who worship in the place of God not only the sun and moon, and other created things, but also the idols which they form for themselves. For how is it that they worship their own idols, except that they have formed for them a nose, and hands, and ears? A log of wood no one worships; a piece of brass or of silver all disregard; no one thinks a stone to be God: but when a thing is sculptured and artificially formed by the hand of man, miserable and blind idolaters immediately prostrate themselves; — how is this? Because they have formed for their statues and pictures noses, eyes, and ears! hence they themselves have made gods. We now see the meaning of the Prophet, when he says, that the Jews bowed down before the works of their own hands But I pass over such things as these lightly, as ye must be well informed on the subject generally. It now follows —
(20) The idea conveyed by the Septuagint is somewhat different, and I believe that it is what the original words mean, “ λαλήσω πρὸς αὐτοὺς μετὰ κρίσεως — I will speak to them with judgment.” The original literally is, “and I will speak my judgments to them;” that is, I will not speak words but judgments: or, I will not address them with words, but with actual judgments. Then in the following words the reason is assigned. The verse may be thus rendered, —
16. And I will speak by my judgments to them, On account of all their wickedness, Because they have forsaken me, And have burnt incense to strange gods, And have bowed down to the work of their own hands.
It is better to retain the outward act as expressed by the last verb, “bowed down.” or, more literally, “bowed down themselves,“ as the verb is in the reflective mood, than to adopt the abstract term “worshipped.” So the verb is rendered in the second commandment, Exo 20:5; Deu 5:9.
The first, line is rendered by Grotius, “ Proedicam illis decreta mea — I will declare to them my decrees, “that is, by Jeremiah and others, — by Jun. and Trem. , “I will speak my judgments against them,” that is, by the prophets, — by Henry. “I will pass sentence upon them,” — by Blayney, “I will pronounce my judgments against them;” and Scott gives the same view. But Gataker says, “It seems rather to import an efficacious and actual decree that God would, in his own appointed time, pass upon them, and put in execution by the Chaldeans.” Hence he renders the phrase like Henry, “I will pass sentence,“ or, “give judgment, upon them.” — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(16) I will utter my judgments against them.Here, again, we get a literal correspondence in the words of Jer. 39:5, he gave [or uttered] judgment upon him, of Nebuchadnezzars sentence on Zedekiah. And yet the invaders in their sentence are to be but the ministers of a higher judgment than their own. In the words my judgments He recognises their work.
Who have forsaken.The remainder of the verse gives, as it were, the formal enumeration of the crimes for which Judah was condemned: (1) Apostacy from the true God; (2) the transfer of adoration to other Gods, such as Baal, Ashtaroth, and the Queen of Heaven; sins against the First Commandment; (3) the worship of graven images; a sin against the Second. The sins were of long standing, but the words point specially to the proportions they had assumed in the reign of Manasseh (2Ch. 33:1-7).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Jer 1:16 And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.
Ver. 16. And I will utter my judgments against them, ] sc., By those northern princes. But first by thee, and Zephaniah, and Huldah, &c., if haply they will repent, that I may repent of the evil. God therefore threateneth that he may not punish.
Who have forsaken me, and burnt incense.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
them: i.e. the people of Judah.
wickedness. Hebrew. ra’a’. App-44.
forsaken Me. Reference to Pentateuch (Deu 28:20). App-92.
burned incense. Hebrew. katar. See App-43. This includes the burnt offering and parts of the gift offering.
works. Some codices, with one early printed edition, Syriac, and Vulgate, read “work” (singular)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
And I: Jer 4:12, Jer 4:28, Jer 5:9, Jer 5:29, Eze 24:14, Joe 2:11, Mat 23:35, Mat 23:36
who have: Jer 2:13, Jer 2:17, Jer 15:6, Jer 16:11, Jer 17:13, Jer 19:4, Deu 28:20, Deu 31:16, Jos 24:20, 2Ki 22:17, 2Ch 7:19, 2Ch 15:2, 2Ch 34:25
and have: Jer 7:9, Jer 11:12, Jer 11:17, Jer 44:17, Isa 65:3, Eze 8:9-11, Hos 11:2
worshipped: Jer 10:8, Jer 10:9, Jer 10:15, Jer 51:17, Isa 2:8, Isa 37:19, Isa 44:15, Hos 8:6, Act 7:41
Reciprocal: 2Ch 7:22 – Because they forsook 2Ch 32:19 – the work Eze 11:21 – their detestable Hab 1:6 – I raise
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 1:16, Cities of Judah in the preceding verse is the antecedent of them. and their in this. Their wickedness refers to the idolatrous practices that the people of Judah (the 2-tribe kingdom) had been following for so long. It has always been true that “no man can servo two masters. When the Jews took to serving idols it was after they had forsaken the true God. Other gods and works of their own hands refers to the different, kinds of idolatrous worship. They worshiped the sun and moon and other things in the creation, and also formed idols by hand out of wood and stone and metal. Part of the idolatrous worship (even as was true of that rendered to God) consisted of animal sacrifices burned on altars erected for that purpose. In other cases it consisted of burning of incense to the gods. The latter is the form that is charged against the people In this instance.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
1:16 And I will utter my {p} judgments against them concerning all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense to other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.
(p) I will give them charge and power to execute my vengeance against the idolaters who have forsaken me for their idols.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The Lord would use these invaders to judge the Judahites for their wickedness, namely: forsaking the Lord, and worshipping other gods-plus the idols they made with their own hands. These sins demonstrated Judah’s covenant unfaithfulness for which God had promised curses (Lev 26:14-39; Deu 28:15-68).