Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 4:9
And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the LORD, [that] the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder.
9. the priests shall be astonished ] because of the punishment which has followed upon their idolatries.
the prophets shall wonder ] because of the non-fulfilment of their prophecies.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 9. The heart of the king shall perish] Shall lose all courage.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The heart of the king shall perish; the king, viz. of Judah, and the great men, that should have encouraged the people in such a calamitous day, and been their great support, shall not only be afraid, but their own hearts shall melt within them, they shall be even at their wits end; see Jos 5:1; they shall have no heart at all to do any thing; they shall not be able to help their people, either by their counsel or arms; their courage will utterly fail, and their counsel perish. See Psa 73:26. This was fulfilled in Zedekiah, Jer 39; Jer 42, whose flight would not advantage him.
Shall be astonished; shall be in such a consternation, that they shall not know what course to take.
The prophets, viz. false prophets, that had nothing but visions of peace for them, Eze 13:16; Zec 13:3,4; Jer 8:11. See Jer 4:10.
Shall wonder, not so much at the disappointment of their prophecies, for they knew well enough they were false, Jer 23:26,27, as that they should be possessed with the same horror and frights with the rest, not knowing where to show, or rather to hide, their heads for the shame that would fall upon them; when their lies should be discovered, they would be put to shame, and perish with the rest, and whither shall they cause their shame to go.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
9. heartThe wisdom ofthe most leading men will be utterly at a loss to devise means ofrelief.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the Lord,…. When Nebuchadnezzar should be come up from Babylon into the land of Judea, and lay waste the cities thereof, and besiege Jerusalem:
that the heart of the king shall perish; meaning Zedekiah king of Judah, who should be in the utmost fright and consternation, not knowing what to do, being devoid both of wisdom and courage; see
Jer 39:4:
and the heart of the princes; who being seized with the same panic, and at their wits’ end, would not be able to give any advice and counsel to the king; so that the people would have no help from the king and his nobles, in whom they put their confidence:
and the priests shall be astonished; which Kimchi interprets of the priests of the high places, the idolatrous priests, whose service would now cease, and whose idols would not save them:
and the prophets shall wonder; which he also interprets of the false prophets; as does the Targum; who prophesied peace, and now they shall see it was a lie they prophesied, since sudden destruction now comes upon them.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
When this wrath bursts over them, the rulers and leaders of the people will be perplexed and helpless. The heart, i.e., the mind, is lot. For this use of , cf. Job 12:3; Job 34:10; Pro 7:7, etc. , be paralyzed by terror, like the Kal in Jer 2:12. The prophets are mentioned last, because Jer 4:10 cites a word of prophecy whereby they seduced the people into a false security.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
As the royal dignity still continued with the Jews, though their power was greatly diminished, they, relying on that distinction, hoped that they had a sufficient protection: hence it was, that they were not moved by any denunciation; for the royal power, which remained not altogether secure, and yet so in some degree, was to them like a shield. We also know what pride filled the courtiers; for they extolled their kings, and thus made a show of their prudence and magnanimity. Since, then, this foolish notion of the chief men respecting their king, and their delusive boasting, deceived the Jews, the Prophet says, In that day perish shall the heart of the king, and the heart of the princes
By heart he no doubt means the understanding or the mind, as the word is to be taken in many other places. Moses says,
“
God has not yet given you a heart to understand.” (Deu 29:4.)
The Latins also call men “hearted” ( cordatos) who excel in intelligence and wisdom. (105) So, then, the Prophet shews, that it was a vain and deceptive fancy for the people to expect that the king would be an invincible defense to them; for “the king, “he says, “shall then be deprived of understanding and reason; and the counselors, who lay claim to understanding, shall be found then to be wholly foolish: there is, then, no ground for that vain confidence which deceives you.” The Prophet briefly intended to shake off that false confidence, by which the Jews were inebriated, when they thought that there was a sure safety in the intelligence of the king and princes.
He says the same thing respecting the priests as well as the prophets, as much glory belonged to the priestly order; for the tribe of Levi had not taken that honor to itself, but God himself had set priests over the people. Hence an opinion prevailed, that the priests could not be without understanding and wisdom. With regard to the prophets, Jeremiah no doubt conceded the name to impostors, who falsely professed the name of God; and this way of speaking is common in the writings of the prophets. He does not, then, mean those true and faithful ministers of God, who duly executed their office, but those who boasted of the name and title: and he says of these, that they would be astonished (106)
He, in short, deprives the people of that false confidence, through which they hardened themselves, so as not to fear God’s judgment.
But this passage is entitled to special notice, because it shews that God’s grace is not to be tied either to ranks of men or to titles. The prophetic office had always been in high repute; nor was the priestly without honor, for it was founded on God’s command; but Jeremiah nevertheless declares, that there would be no understanding in the priests and in the prophets, because they would become stupefied and astonished. And with regard to the king, we know that he was the representative of Christ; and yet he pronounces the same thing of the king, and also of his counselors, — that they would be made blind by the just vengeance of God, so as not to see anything. he afterwards adds —
(105) Though the most common meaning of לב, heart, is what is here stated, yet it means also strength, firmness, courage. See Deu 20:2; 2Sa 17:10; Psa 22:14; Psa 73:26. And this meaning is most suitable to this passage. — Ed
(106) The verse is as follows, —
And it shall be in that day, saith Jehovah, That perish shall the heart of the king And the heart of the princes, And confounded shall be the priests, And the prophets shall be astonished.
“
Confounded,” that is, like persons at their wit’s end, not knowing what to do, or what course to take. “Astonished,” or amazed, that is, at witnessing the reverse of what they had prophesied; being filled with stunning and stupefying amazement. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(9) The heart of the king shall perish.The heart, as representing the mind generally. Judgment and wisdom were to give way to panic and fear.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Jer 4:9. Shall perish Shall sink.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jer 4:9 And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the LORD, [that] the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder.
Ver. 9. The heart of the king shall perish. ] His courage shall be quailed, and he shall be strangely crestfallen. This was fulfilled in Zedekiah, who sought to save himself by flight, but could not.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
heart. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Subject), for courage.
king . . . princes . . . priests . . . prophets. All had become false and corrupt since Josiah’s day.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
that the heart: Jer 39:4, Jer 39:5, Jer 52:7, 1Sa 25:37, 1Sa 25:38, 2Ki 25:4, Psa 102:4, Isa 19:3, Isa 19:11, Isa 19:12, Isa 19:16, Isa 21:3, Isa 21:4, Isa 22:3-5
and the priests: Jer 5:31, Jer 6:13, Jer 6:14, Jer 37:19, Isa 29:9, Isa 29:10, Eze 13:9-16, Act 13:41
Reciprocal: Deu 28:28 – General Jer 25:34 – Howl
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 4:9. Heart shall perish refers to the disheartened state of mind that would be experienced by the king and citizens in Jerusalem when they saw the Babylonian forces.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 4:9. At that day the heart of the king shall perish Both his wisdom and his courage: despairing of success, he shall have no spirit to do any thing, and if he had, he would be at a loss what to do; and the heart of the princes His privy counsellors, who ought to animate and advise him, shall be as much at a loss, and as much in despair as he. And the priests shall be astonished Shall be in such a consternation that they shall have no heart to execute their office, and therefore not likely to put spirit into the people. The prophets shall wonder The false prophets, that had nothing but visions of peace for them, shall be thrown into the greatest amazement imaginable, seeing their own guilty blood ready to be shed by that sword, of which they had frequently told the people there was no danger.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
4:9 And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the LORD, [that] the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the {g} prophets shall wonder.
(g) That is, the false prophets who still prophesied peace and security.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
When this enemy invaded, all the people, represented by their various groups of leaders, would be terrified (cf. Jer 2:8; Jer 2:26). False prophets had created the illusion that peace would continue indefinitely (cf. Jer 6:13-14; Jer 14:13-14; Jer 23:16-17).