Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 21:11
And touching the house of the king of Judah, [say], Hear ye the word of the LORD;
11. And touching ] rather, And to Judah, adding thou shalt say, apparently fallen out in the Hebrew. Otherwise we should omit And and make “Touching ” a title to what follows. Cp. Jer 23:9.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
11, 12. See note introductory to section. These vv. are quite out of connexion with either the preceding or following. They are made up of Jer 22:3 and Jer 4:4, and seem to be a fragment of Jeremiah, but here misplaced. They refer to an earlier time, when reformation might still be looked for.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Rather, And as to the royal house of Judah, Hear ye. Omit say. The words are no command to the prophet, but form his introduction to the discourse which extends to the end of Jer 23:8. The king and his officers are to hear the gist of all the messages sent to the royal house since the accession of Jehoiakim.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
By
the house of the king of Judah he means the house of Zedekiah, the court, or those (as appeareth by the next verse) who were the magistrates. These, how great soever, are not excused from the common obligation upon all to listen to and to obey the revelations of the Divine will.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And touching the house of the king of Judah, [say],…. Or “to the house of the king of Judah” p; that is, his palace, as Calvin understands it; go to it, and there say as follows, as in Jer 22:1; and some think that this part of the chapter belongs to that, and was not delivered at the time the former part of it was; but before the peremptory decree was gone forth, to deliver the city into the hand of the king of Babylon to be burned with fire; since, upon a reformation, some hope of pardon and salvation is yet given. The Syriac version joins this clause to Jer 21:10; “and he shall burn it with fire, and the house of the king of Judah”; burn the city of Jerusalem, and particularly the king’s palace; but by “the house of the king” is not meant his dwelling house, but his family, himself, his sons, his servants, his courtiers and nobles, to whom the following speech is directed:
hear ye the word of the Lord; and obey it; for not bare hearing is meant, but a reverent attention to, and a cheerful and ready performance of, what is heard.
p “domui regis”, Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version, Schmidt.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Vs. 11-14: JEREMIAH’S MESSAGE TO THE HOUSE OF DAVID
1. First, Jeremiah appeals to the royal house for the administration of justice.
a. Social justice is an integral part of the covenant which has been so flagrantly violated!
b. In the divine order for civil government, rulers (shepherds) are responsible for the welfare of their people; this is doubly true of those exalted to rulership in the covenant-nation.
c. The execution of justice should be the first order of the day, (vs. 12a; Jer 22:3; 2Sa 4:5; Psa 72:1; Isa 1:17; Zec 7:9-10; comp. Zep 3:5).
d. Unless the oppressed are delivered out of the hands of those who are constantly robbing them, the burning wrath of the Lord will soon break forth, like an unquenchable fire, against the evil-doers, (vs. 12b; Jer 4:4; Jer 17:4; comp. Eze 20:47-48; Nah 1:6).
2. But, since the prospect of a return to righteousness in Judah appears hopeless, Jeremiah makes a statement concerning Jerusalem -the inhabitress of the valley and rock of the plain, (vs. 13-14).
a. In selecting Jerusalem as his capital, David acted wisely (2Sa 5:6-9); because of its strategic location it could easily be defended.
b. In spite of numerous prophetic warnings of impending destruction the inhabitants of Jerusalem had a false sense of security; they considered Jerusalem “untouchable”; after all, it was the place chosen of God to dwell among His people! (Jer 21:13; comp. Oba 1:3).
c. Because God is against Jerusalem (due to her abounding and unrepented iniquity), He will reward her according to her sins -kindling a fire that will devour her forest and all that is associated with her, (comp. Isa 9:18).
d. The fall of Jerusalem will be brought about through the sovereign will and act of Jehovah, the covenant-God whom she has abandoned in her malicious and stubborn willfulness!
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
Now the Prophet tells us that he was sent to the king and his counsellors. Hitherto he has been addressing the king and the whole people indiscriminately; but here a special message is committed to him to be delivered at the palace of the king; and he was to say that judgment was nigh him and his counsellors. But he is not now threatened as before, for there is a condition interposed: he exhorts them to repent, and indirectly promises them pardon, for in vain would he have spoken to them of repentance had he not given them some hopes of pardon and deliverance. He is not yet inconsistent with himself, for though the king was to be driven into exile, he might yet obtain some favor, after having submitted to a paternal correction. Though, then, the Prophet here exhorts the king and his counsellors to repent, he does yet shew that they were not to be wholly free from punishment, and yet he promises some mitigation. (26)
And this passage reminds us that we ought not to rush headlong into despair when some great evil is suspended over us, and when God shews that we cannot wholly escape punishment. For there is nothing more unreasonable than that the fear by which God restores us to himself should be the cause of despair, so that we repent not; for though God’s wrath be not wholly removed, yet it is a great thing that it is mitigated, which is an alleviation accompanying the evil itself.
In short, the Prophet intimates that God’s wrath might be alleviated, though not wholly pacified, provided the king and his counsellors began to act rightly and justly. But he mentions the house of David, not for honor’s sake, but, on the contrary, by way of reproach; nor does he refer to David, as some unmeaningly assert, because he ruled justly and was a most excellent and upright king; but the Prophet had regard to God’s covenant. For we know that they deceived themselves when they thought that they were to be exempt from trouble through a peculiar privilege, because God had chosen that family, and promised that the kingdom would be perpetual. Thus hypocrites appropriate to their own advantage whatever God has promised; and at the same time they boast, though without faith and repentance, that God is bound to them. Such, then, was the presumption of the king and his counsellors; for they who were David’s descendants doubted not but that they were exempt from the common lot of men, and that they were, as they say, sacred beings. Hence the Prophet says, in contempt, The house of David! that is, “let these vain boastings now cease, for God will not spare you, though you may a hundred times boast that you are the descendants of David.” And at the same time he upbraids them with having become wholly degenerate, for God had made a covenant with David on the condition that he served him faithfully; but his posterity were become perfidious and apostates. Therefore the Prophet brought before them the name of David, in order that he might the more reproach them, because they were become wholly unlike their father, having departed from his piety.
(26) The verb “thou shalt say,” or “say,” at the beginning of verse 8, is to be understood here, “say also to the house,” etc. So the Vulg. connects the sentence, and also the Targ. But the Sept., Syr., and the Arab. put the word “house” in the vocative case — “O house of the king of Judah, hear the word of the Lord.” More consistent with the original is the former construction. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
4. The alternatives for the royal house (Jer. 21:11-14)
TRANSLATION
(11) And to the house of the king of Judah: Hear the word of the LORD! O house of David, thus says the LORD: Judge with justice in the morning and deliver the oppressed from the hand of the oppressor lest My wrath go forth like fire unquenchable because of the evil of your[217] deeds. (13) Behold, I am against you, O inhabitant of the valley, O rock of the plain (oracle of the LORD), who say, Who shall terrify us and who shall come into our habitation? (14) But I will punish you according to the fruit of your deeds (oracle of the Lord); I will kindle a fire in her forest and it will consume all that is round about her.
[217] Another reading is their deeds.
COMMENTS
The third brief oracle which comes as a response to the inquiry of Zedekiah is a last ditch appeal to the royal house (Jer. 21:11). They can still save their city if they are willing to make a radical change in the national policy, Two things are required: First, they might be able to escape the unquenchable fire of divine wrath if they will immediatelyin the morningbegin to practice and encourage social justice. The king and his administration must judge with justice and deliver the oppressed from the hand of the oppressor (Jer. 21:12). The word oppressed comes from a root which means to take by force, tear away, seize. The oppressed, then are those who have had their rights or properties taken away by force, i.e., by crooked justice. The Old Testament prophets had much to say in the area of social ethics. They were ahead of their times. Many Christians do not seem to have caught up with them in concern for the unfortunate and downtrodden.
The second thing that the royal house must do if disaster is to be averted is to cease their insane and irrational confidence in the inviolability of Jerusalem. In Jer. 21:13 God declares that he is against Jerusalem, the valley and rock of the plain. Jerusalem and Mt. Zion rise abruptly out of the surrounding valleys. Hence Jerusalem is the inhabitant of the valley. The city is like an impregnable rock which juts up from a plain. The word plain does not necessarily mean a level place but a plateau, either level or hilly. Because of the superior defenses of the city the Jewish defenders were confident of their ability to withstand the invader. Who shall come into our habitation? they boasted. Such boasts would suggest that the siege was in its early stages at the time Zedekiah sent the delegation to meet with Jeremiah. The confidence manifested by the Jerusalem leadership was ill-founded in view of the fact that God was punishing His people. According to the fruit of your deeds points to the fact that the punishment would correspond to the sins committed against God and man. Because of all of her crimes God will kindle a fire in the forest of Jerusalem i.e., in the houses of the city, and that fire will consume everything. (Jer. 21:14).
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(11) Say, Hear ye the word of the Lord.The interpolated say is not wanted, and tends to convey the probably wrong impression that we are dealing with a new message rather than a continuation of the former one. The question whether it is such a continuation has been variously answered by different commentators. On the one hand, the conditional threatenings are said to imply an earlier stage of Jeremiahs work than the doom, absolute and unconditional, pronounced in Jer. 21:1-10, and so have led men to refer the message to the earlier years of Jehoiakim. On the other, it is urged that the words may have the character of a last promise, and therefore a last warning.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
11, 12. Some regard these verses as entirely independent of the foregoing, but there is no sufficient reason for this. The exhortation to righteousness could never be more appropriate or more forcible than when impressed by the sad lesson of their corruption and the ruin it had procured. Most unfortunately are these verses separated from each other. The word Hear, in Jer 21:11, should go along with the appellative house of David, in Jer 21:12.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
A General Plea To The House Of David Not To Be Presumptious But To Exercise Justice and Mercy If They Would Escape Judgment ( Jer 21:11-14 ).
Jeremiah now makes a general plea to ‘the house of David’ to cease being presumptious and to fulfil its responsibilities as the house of David with regards to justice and fair play, (an idea which will be continued in Jer 22:1-4). Had it done so the present troubles could have been avoided. This new emphasis on ‘the house of David’ (Jer 21:12) and ‘the throne of David’ (Jer 22:2; Jer 22:4; Jer 22:29) demonstrates that he is seeking to establish the standard of righteous kingship which alone could have safeguarded the house of Josiah from its fate. It was because no representative of the house of David could be found who fitted his description that Shallum (Jehoahaz) would be left in Egypt and Jehoiachin (Coniah) would be left in Babylon, while Jehoiakim and Zedekiah were seen as totally unworthy. That was why in the end Jerusalem’s fate would come upon it. It would be because the house of David had failed in its responsibility. And, as we have seen earlier, this was because YHWH would fill them with drunkenness along with the priests, prophets and inhabitants of Jerusalem (Jer 13:13). On the other hand had they responded to YHWH by obeying the covenant, especially as focused in restraining themselves from trade on the Sabbath Day, which might also have affected the numbers attending the Temple for idolatrous worship, the house of David would have gone forward in triumph and have been established for ever (Jer 17:25). This emphasis on the house of David, and what was required of it, is preparing the way for the fact that one day a representative of the house of David called ‘the righteous Branch (or Shoot)’ would arise who would rule righteously and truly (Jer 23:5). It is, however, stressed that the Righteous Branch (or Shoot) will not be a direct descendant of Jehoiachin. (Compare how Immanuel was not to be a direct descendant of Ahaz, being born of a virgin – Isa 7:14 – there also spoken to ‘the house of David’ – Isa 7:2; Isa 7:13). His coming will only occur ‘in coming days’ after the Exile.
Jer 21:11
“And touching the house of the king of Judah, hear you the word of YHWH,”
Note that this word is spoken to the whole house of Josiah, ‘the house of the King of Judah’, and not to just one member of it. It is a word for all of them from YHWH.
Some see this as a continuation of the words spoken to Zedekiah, but the plea here would in that case come too late because the house of Zedekiah was doomed and his fate was sealed. Others see it for that reason as spoken to the house of Jehoiakim. But in seeing it as spoken to all the house of Josiah we include all, and have an explanation as to why no name is given. We should note in this regard that before being replaced each member had had their opportunity to consider their ways, however short, but sufficient to be seen as having ‘done evil in the eyes of YHWH’ (2Ki 23:32; 2Ki 23:37 ; 2Ki 24:9; 2Ki 24:19).
Jer 21:12
“O house of David, thus says YHWH, Execute justice in the morning, and deliver him who is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn so that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.”
The general plea is to ‘the house of David’ and it was that they should fulfil the requirements of that house and faithfully execute justice, and deliver the oppressed, with the warning that if they failed to do so YHWH’s wrath would go forth like an unquenchable fire, because of the evil of their doings. Jehoiakim had palpably failed to do so, as had Zedekiah, whilst Jehoahaz (Shallum) and Jehoiachin (Coniah) had seemingly equally clearly demonstrated their intentions as soon as they had received the throne, thus also disqualifying themselves.
‘Execute judgment in the morning’ indicates the action of a king who is diligent in respect of justice, who rises early before the heat of the day in order to hear cases and listen to the pleas and complaints of his people before the heat of the day rendered it impossible. This was something that even David had grown lax in, which had resulted in Absalom taking advantage of it (2Sa 15:2-4). It was by doing this that Solomon had established his reputation for wisdom (1Ki 3:28). It was the sign of a righteous king, and will be what the righteous Branch will do (Jer 23:5). The deliverance of the oppressed and the ensuring of fair justice for all were parallel requirements. The implication is that had the house of David done this there would have been no problems from Babylon, for then they would have been powerful in their own right (Jer 22:4). The following expression of YHWH’s severe anger (which was shortly to be fulfilled) demonstrates how crucial YHWH saw it to be.
Jer 21:13
“Behold, I am against you, O inhabitress of the valley, and of the rock of the plain, the word of YHWH, you who say, ‘Who will come down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations?’ ”
The truth was that instead of Jerusalem having become a bastion of justice and fairplay it had, under the successors to Josiah, become the home of presumption and arrogance with the people having the sense that they could do what they liked without having to face the consequences. They were so certain of their inviolability that they dismissed the possibility that Jerusalem could be taken. Such a statement would have been somewhat shaken by the events of 597 BC when Jerusalem had had to surrender to Nebuchadrezzar, but once things continued reasonably smoothly they could soon have rationalised themselves into thinking that after all he had not ‘taken it’. They had simply re-negotiated their vassalship. Certainly, as we saw in Jer 21:2, Zedekiah still hoped for inviolability.
The application of these words to Jerusalem rests on the use of the feminine ‘inhabitress’ signifying the daughter of Zion. The description depicts the twofold level of Jerusalem with the upper citadel being situated on the ‘rock of the plain’, the level part of the mountain on which it was built (compare the ‘rock of the field’ in Jer 18:14 which referred to the higher part of Mount Lebanon), with the remainder of Jerusalem being built on the lower slopes in ‘the Valley’ (the part occupied by Judah and Benjamin when the upper citadel had been occupied by the Jebusites). And it was because of this highly defensible position, combined with a superstitious faith in YHWH, that they argued that no one could come down against them or enter their habitations.
Alternately it is suggested that the picture is of Jerusalem with its citadel on the rock rising above the surrounding ‘plain’, nevertheless being in a valley because it was surrounded by mountains higher than itself (Psa 125:2 – which would be why the enemy ‘came down’ against them). This would explain the enemy ‘coming down’. But either way Jerusalem is indicated.
Jer 21:14
“And I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, the word of YHWH, and I will kindle a fire in her forest, and it will devour all that is round about her.”
However their arguments would all have been very well if they had judged righteously, delivered the oppressed, and walked in obedience to the covenant. But the arguments did not stand up when they perpetrated injustice, themselves were the cause of oppression, and had forsaken the covenant. In other words the fruit of their doings had cancelled out their inviolability. Thus they could be sure that YHWH, rather than defending them, would punish them in accordance with their behaviour. And this was the sure and certain ‘word of YHWH’ (neum YHWH). For He would kindle a fire in her forest, and would devour all that was round about her, leaving her totally desolate.
The reference to forest may have been because at that stage (unlike later) Jerusalem was surrounded by forest so that its conflagration would have destroyed Jerusalem, or may indicate ‘the house of the forest of Lebanon’, the description of part of the king’s palace which was built of so many tall cedars that it was called by the name and contained his treasures (1Ki 7:2; 1Ki 10:17; 1Ki 10:21), or may be seeing the great houses of Jerusalem as like a forest of trees (many would be constructed partly using oak or cedar). Some compare Jer 22:6 where Jerusalem is (according to them) described as ‘the head of Lebanon’, that is, is as though covered with trees.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
B. TRANSITION: EXHORTATION TO THE HOUSE OF DAVID TO RIGHTEOUSNESS
Jer 21:11-14
11And touching [to] the house of the king of Judah, say, Hear ye the word of the 12Lord [Jehovah]; O house of David, thus saith the Lord [Jehovah]. Execute judgment [judge righteously]5 in the [every]6 morning, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that 13none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.7 Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley, and rock of the plain, saith the Lord [Jehovah]; which say, Who shall come down8 against us? or who shall enter into our [refuges] habitations? 14But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, saith the Lord [Jehovah]; and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things round about it.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
The royal family is appealed to in warning to exercise righteousness, that the anger of the Lord may not burn inextinguishably (Jer 21:11-12). Afterward, the non-fulfilment of this condition being presupposed, the judgment of destructions proclaimed to the rock of the plain, which is deflant in its inapproachability (Jer 21:13-14). This passage cannot be contemporary with the two preceding; it must be of older date. For, 1. At the date to which Jer 21:1-7 belongs, such an admonition and conditional threatening is no longer in place. In Jer 21:4-7 his own destruction and that of the nation is unconditionally announced to Zedekiah. 2. The stubbornness also, which is expressed in Jer 21:13, contradicts the despondency, with which Zedekiah humbles himself in Jer 21:2. 3. It is strange that after the king, Jer 21:3, the house of the king should again be specially addressed, since the king is included in the latter, and the exhortation to judge righteously applies above all to the king. Should it be said that in Jer 21:11-14 actual conversion is presented before the king as the only way of escape, it is contradicted by the whole situation and the character of Jer 21:1-10. Such proposals belong to an earlier stage, which in Judea, at the time of his embassy, was long past. We are referred by the connection of this passage with Jer 23:3-9 (on which comp. the Comm. ad loc.) entirely to the times of Jehoiakim. The text forms the transition to this discourse of reproof, addressed to the king. Certainly, according to the view of the compiler, this section must have been regarded as closely connected with the preceding, for and to the house, etc., in Jer 21:11, is grounded on thou shalt say in Jer 21:8.
Jer 21:11-12. And to the house evil of your doings. The division of Jer 21:11-12 is awkward. The house of the king is in the narrower sense himself with his family, in a wider sense the entire court (comp. 1Ki 4:6; 1Ki 16:9, etc.). Here the house of the king is intended in the narrower sense 1, because afterwards the phrase house of David is used instead; 2, because judging was one of the chief functions of a king, which he could transfer to a substitute only in cases of necessity. (2Ki 15:5 coll. 1Sa 8:5-6; 1Sa 8:20; 2Sa 15:2 sqq.; 1Ki 3:16 sqq.; 1Ki 6:26; 1Ki 7:7; 1Ki 8:3-5).
Jer 21:13-14. Behold I am against thee round about it. If these verses are not supposed to be attached to the preceding without any inner connection, by rock of the plain ( ) can be understood only the house of David. The house of David was addressed in Jer 21:12. Jer 21:13 presupposes a negative answer of the person addressed, on which the address continues: Behold I am, etc.Jer 22:6-9 is indeed referred to, and it is maintained that here as there the destruction of the city appears to be the punishment for the sin of the royal family. But the sentence which say, etc., would represent the destruction of the city as the punishment of the obstinate security of the citizens. It remains either to regard vers.13 and 14 as a disconnected addition, or to understand by the royal family. According to this rendering , valley, and , plain, are to be taken not in the local but figurative meaning. (Comp. rems on Jer 18:14). The royal family is compared to a rock rising in the midst of a plain. is low land, regio depressa et longe lateque patens (Ges., Thes.) comp. Job 39:10; Job 39:21; Ps. 65:14. Comp. also Gen 11:2Rock of the plain defines more particularly in what sense the royal family can be designated as inhabiting the lowland; it is there enthroned as an elevation dominating all the rest. The inhabitants of this rock regard themselves as very secure. They compare themselves with beasts, which in their lairs or hiding-places are well-concealed. [Henderson: By the valley is meant the Tyropon, running down between Mount Zion and Mount Moriah, and by the rock of the plain Mount Zion, so called from its rapid ascent on the South-west, which renders its brow in this direction apparently more lofty than any other point connected with the city (Robinson I., 389).S. R. A].Come down. The prophet has in mind the image of a bird darting down upon its prey. Since the following, and who shall come down evidently indicate attacks by land, by these two figures the thought is expressed of a position secure on all sides.I am against thee, comp. Jer 23:30-32; Jer 50:31; Jer 51:25.But I will punish you. A formula especially frequent in Jer 9:24; Jer 23:34; Jer 30:20, etc.According to the fruit. Comp. Jer 17:10.And I will kindle a fire. Comp. Amo 1:14; Jer 17:27; Jer 43:12; Jer 49:27; Jer 50:32.In the forest thereof. Thereof refers to inhabitant, Jer 21:13. It is apparent that the prophet retains the conception of wild beasts of the forest. Comp. Jer 22:7.Our view of the passage is confirmed by the parallel given in Jer 22:1-9. Comp. especially Jer 21:6, and the Comm. ad loc.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. On Jer 21:2. King Zedekiah sends word to Jeremiah, that the Lord is to do according to all His miracles, that Nebuchadnezzar may withdraw. A demand rather cavalierly made in such evil circumstances. But the noble are so unfortunate! It is indeed as though it only depended on them to arrange matters with God; as if He were only waiting for them, as if it were a point of honor not to be over-hasty, but first to await a little extremity . It is a very necessary observance for a servant of the Lord, that he try his superiors, whether there is any trace remaining in them of having been once baptized, well brought up and instructed in the fear of the Lord. If he observe anything of this kind, he must insist upon it and especially not allow them to deal too familiarly with the Judge of all the earth, but plainly demonstrate to them their insufficiency and nothingness, if they measure themselves by Him. Though Zedekiah had spoken so superficially, Jeremiah answered him without hesitation, definitely and positively, and accustomed him to a different manner of dealing with the Lord. Zinzendorf. When the ungodly desire Gods help, they commonly appeal not to His saving power to heal them, but to His miraculous power to save them, while they persist in their impenitence. Starke.
2. On Jer 21:8. It is pure grace on the part of God, when He leaves to man the choice between the good and the evil; not that it is permitted him to choose the evil, but that he may choose freely the good, which he is under obligation to do, Deu 30:19. Starke. God lays before us the way of life and the way of death. The way of life is however always contrary to human reason, and that on which it sees merely death and shame. If thou wilt save thyself thou must leave the false Jerusalem, fallen under the judgment, and seek thy life where there seems to be only death. He who would save his life must lose it, and he who devotes it for the sake of the truth will save it. Diedrich.
3. On Jer 21:11-14. To be such a king is to be an abomination to the Lord, and severe judgment will follow. God appoints magistrates for His service and for the use of men; he who only seeks his own enjoyment in office, is lost. Jerusalem, situated on rocks in the midst of a plain, looks secure; but against God neither rocks avail nor aught else. The fire will break out even in them, and consume all around, together with the forest of cedar-houses in the city. The corruption is seated within, and therefore proceeds from within outwards, so that nothing of the former stock can remain. What shall a government do which no longer bears the sword of justice? What shall a church do which is no longer founded on Gods truth as its only power? Diedrich. Comp. moreover on the whole of Jeremiah 24. the extended moral reflections of Cyrillus Alex. . . Lib. I.
4. On Jer 22:1. Jeremiah is to deliver a sermon at court, in which he reminds the king of his office of magistrate, in which he is to administer justice to every man. Cramer.
It was no easy task for Jeremiah to go into the lions den and deliver such an uncourtly message to him. We are reminded of the prophet Jonah. But Jeremiah did not flee as he did.
5. On Jer 22:1-3. [But we ought the more carefully to notice this passage, that we may learn to strengthen ourselves against bad examples, lest the impiety of men should overturn our faith; when we see in Gods church things in such disorder, that those who glory in the name of God are become like robbers, we must beware lest we become on this account alienated from true religion. We must, indeed, desert such monsters, but we must take care lest Gods word, through mens wickedness, should lose its value in our esteem. We ought then to remember the admonition of Christ, to hear the Scribes and Pharisees who sat in Moses seat (Mat 23:2). Calvin.S. R. A.]
6. On Jer 22:10. [Dying saints may be justly envied, while living sinners are justly pitied. And so dismal perhaps the prospect of the times may be, that tears even for a Josiah, even for a Jesus, must be restrained, that they may be reserved for ourselves and our children (Luk 23:28). Henry.S. R. A.]
Nequaquam gentilis plangendus est atque Judus, qui in ecclesia non fuerunt et simul mortui sunt, de quibus Salvator dicit: dimitte mortuos sepelire mortuos suos (Mat 8:22). Sed eos plange, qui per scelera atque peccata egrediuntur de ecclesia et nolunt ultra reverti ad earn damnatione vitiorum. Hieron. Epist. 46 ad Rusticam. Nolite flere mortuum, sed plorate raptorem avarum, pecuni sitientem et inexplebilem auri cupidinem. Cur mortuos inutiliter ploramus? Eos ploremus, qui in melius mutari possunt. Basilius Seleucensis. Comp. Basil, Magn. Homil. 4 de Gratiarum actione post dimid.Ghislerus.
7. On Jer 22:6-9. God does not spare even the authorities. For though He has said that they are gods, when they do not rightly administer their office they must die like men (Psa 82:6) No cedars are too high for God, no splendor too mighty; He can destroy all at once, and overturn, and overturn, and overturn. Eze 21:27, Cramer.
Another passage from which it is seen how perverse and unjustifiable is the illusion that Gods election is a surety against His anger, and a permit to any wilfulness. The individual representatives of the objects of divine election should never forget that God can march over their carcases, and the ruins of their glory, to the fulfilment of His promise, and that He can rebuild on a higher stage, what He has destroyed on a lower. Comp. remarks on Jer 22:24.
8. On Jer 22:13-19. It is blasphemy to imagine that God will be frre et compagnon to all princes as such, and that He has a predilection for them as of His own kind. Does He not say to his majesty the king of Judah, with whom, in respect of the eminence of his dynasty and throne no other prince of earth could compare, that he should be buried like an ass, dragged and cast out before the gates of Jerusalem? This Jehoiakim was however an aristocrat, a heartless, selfish tyrant, who for his own pleasure trampled divine and human rights under foot. If such things were done in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry?
He who builds his house with other peoples property, collects stones for his grave. Cramer.
9. On Jer 22:14. [It was a proof of luxury when men began to indulge in superfluities. In old times the windows were small; for use only was regarded by frugal men; but afterwards a sort of madness possessed the minds of many, so that they sought to be suspended as it were in the air. And hence they began to have wider windows. The thing in itself, as I have said, is not what God condemns; but we must ever remember, that men never go to excesses in external things, except when their hearts are infected with pride, so that they do not regard what is useful, what is becoming, but are carried away by fondness for excess. Calvin.S. R. A.]
10. On Jer 22:15. God may grant the great lords a preference in eating and drinking and the splendor of royal courts, but it is not His will that these be regarded as the main things, but that true religion, right and justice must have the precedence;this is the Lords work. But cursed is he who does the Lords work remissly. Jer 48:10. Cramer.
11. On Jer 22:17. Description of haughty, proud, magnificent, merciless and tyrannical lords and rulers, who are accomplices of thieves. Cramer.
12. On Jer 22:19. [God would have burial a proof to distinguish us from brute animals even after death, as we in life excel them, and as our condition is much nobler than that of the brute creation. Burial is also a pledge as it were of immortality; for when mans body is laid hid in the earth, it is as it were a mirror of a future life. Since then burial is an evidence of Gods grace and favor towards mankind, it is on the other hand a sign of a curse, when burial is denied. Calvin.S. R. A.]
13. On Jer 22:24. Great lords often imagine that they not only sit in the bosom of God, but that they are a pearl in His crown; or as the prophet says here, Gods signet-ring. Therefore, it is impossible that they should not succeed in their designs. But God looks not on the person of the princes, and knows the magnificent no more than the poor. Job 34:19. Cramer.
14. On Jer 22:28. [What is idolized will, first or last, be despised and broken, what is unjustly honored will be justly contemned, and rivals with God will be the scorn of man. Whatever we idolize we shall be disappointed in, and then shall despise. Henry.S. R. A.]
The compliment is a very poor one for a king, who thinks somewhat of himself, and to whom it in a certain measure pertains that he be honored.But here it is the word of the Lord, and in consideration of these words it is declared in 2Ch 36:12, to be evil on the part of Zedekiah, that he did not humble himself before Jeremiah. Teachers must be much on their guard against assuming such purely prophetic, that is, extraordinary acts. It cost the servants of the Lord many a death, who were obliged thus to employ themselves, and when it is easy for one to ape it without a divine calling he thus betrays his frivolity and incompetence, if not his pride and delusion. Zinzendorf.
15. On Jer 22:28-30. Irenus (Adv. Hr. 3:30) uses this passage to prove that the Lord could not have been Josephs natural son, for otherwise he would have fallen under the curse of this passage, and appear as one not entitled to dominion (qui eum dicunt ex Joseph generatum et in eo habere spem, abdicatos se faciunt a regno, sub maledictione et increpatione decidentes, qu erga Jechoniam et in semen ejus est). Basil the Great (Epist. ad Amphilochium) endeavors to show that this passage, with its declaration that none of Jeconiahs descendants should sit on Davids throne, is not in contradiction to the prophecy of Jacob (Gen 49:10), that a ruler should not be lacking from Judah, till He came for whom the nations were hoping. Basil distinguishes in this relation between dominion and royal dignity.The former continued, the latter ceased, and this period of, so to speak, latent royalty, was the bridge to the present, in which Christ rules in an invisible manner, but yet in real power and glory as royal priest, and at the same time represents Himself as the fulfilment of the hope of the nations. In like manner John of Damascus concludes that according to this passage there could be no prospect of the fulfilment of the promise in Gen 49:10, if Mary had not virgineo modo borne the scion of David, who however was not to occupy the visible throne of David. (Orat. II. in Nativ. B. Mari p. med.)Ambrose finally (Comment. in Ev. Luc. L. III. cap. ult.) raises the question how Jeremiah could say, that ex semine Jechoni neminem regnaturum esse, since Christ was of the seed of Jeconiah and reigned? He answers: Illic (Jer 22:30) futuros ex semine Jechoni posteros non negatur et ideo de semine ejus est Christus (comp. Mat 1:11), et quod regnavit Christus, non contra prophetiam est, non enim seculari honore regnavit, nee in Jechoni sedibus sedit, sed regnavit in sede David. Ghislerus.
16. On Jer 23:2. Nonnulli prsmles gregis quosdam pro peccato a communione ceiciunt, ut pniteant, sed quali sorte vivere debeant ad melius exhortando non visitant. Quibus congrue increpans sermo divinus comminatur: pastores, qui pascunt populum meum, vos dispersistis gregem meum, ejecistis et non visitastis eum. Isidor. Hisp. de summo bono she LL. sentt. Cap. 46. Ghislerus.
17. On Jer 23:5-6. Eusebius (Dem. Ev. VII. 9) remarks that Christ among all the descendants of David is the only one, who rules over the whole earth, and everywhere not only preaches justice and righteousness by His doctrine but is Himself also the author of the rising [of the Sun] of righteousness for all, according to Psa 72:7 : , (LXX.) Cyril of Alex. (Glaphyr. in Gen. I. p. 133) explains as justitia Dei, in so far as we are made righteous in Him, not for the sake of the works of righteousness that we have done, but according to His great mercy. Rom 3:24; Tit 3:5.
18. On Jer 23:6. [If we regard God in Himself, He is indeed righteous, but not our righteousness. If we desire to have God as our righteousness, we must seek Christ; for this cannot be found except in Him. Paul says that He has been given or made to us righteousness,for what end? that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. (1Co 1:30). Since, then, Christ is made our righteousness, and we are counted the righteousness of God in Him, we hence learn how properly and fitly it has been said that He would be Jehovah, not only that the power of His divinity might defend us, but also that we might become righteous in Him, for He is not only righteous for Himself, but He is our righteousness. Calvin. See also a long note in Wordsworth, to show that Jehovah our Righteousness refers to Christ;S. R. A.]
The character of a true church is when the Lytrum, the ransom-money of Jesus Christ, is known and valued by all, and when they have written this secret, foolish and absolutely inscrutable to reason, in the heart with the finger of the living God: that Jesus by His blood has taken away the sins of the world. O let it neer escape my thought, at what a price my soul was bought. This is the evening and morning prayer of every church, which is a true sister from above. Zinzendorf.
19. On Jer 23:5-8. The return under Ezra was also a fulfilment of this promise, but inferior and preliminary: not all came, and those who did come brought their sins back with them. They were still under the Law and had to wait for Righteousness; still in their return they had a pledge that the Messiah was yet to come and prepare the true city of peace. Now, however, all has been long fulfilled and we can enjoy it perfectly, if we have the mind for it. We have now a country of which no tyrant can rob us; our walk and citizenship is in heaven. We have been delivered from all our suffering, when we sit down at the feet of Jesus to hear His word. Then there is a power of resurrection within us, So that we can fly with our souls beyond the world and laugh at all our foes. For Christ has made us righteous by His daily forgiveness, so that we may also bring ourselves daily into heaven. Yea verily, the kingdom of heaven is come very nigh unto us! Jeremiah then longed to see and hear this more nearly, and now we can have it. Diedrich.
20. On Jer 23:9. Great love renders Gods servant so ardent, that he deals powerful blows on the seducers. He does not think that he has struck a wasps nest and embittered his life here forever, for he has a higher life and gives the lower one willingly for love. Yet all the world will hold him for an incorrigible and mad enthusiast, who spares no one. He says himself that he is as it were drunk with God and His word, when he on the other hand contemplates the country. Diedrich.
21. On Jer 23:11. They are rogues. They know how to find subterfuges, and I would like to see him who accuses a false and unfaithful teacher, and manages his own case so that he does not himself come into the dilemma. Zinzendorf.
22. On Jer 23:13-14. In the prophets of Samaria I see folly. This is the character which the Lord gives to error, false religion, heterodoxy. But in the prophets of Jerusalem I find abomination. This is the description of the or thodox, when they apply their doctrine, so that either the wicked are strengthened or no one is converted. Zinzendorf.
23. On Jer 23:15. From the prophets of Jerusalem hypocrisy goes forth into all the land. This is the natural consequence of the superiority, which the consistories, academies, ministers, etc., have and in due measure ought to have, that when they become corrupt they communicate their corruption to the whole region, and it is apparent in the whole land what sort of theologians sit at the helm. Zinzendorf.
24. On Jer 23:16. Listen not to the words of the prophets, they deceive you. Luther says (Altenb. Tom. II. p. 330): But a Christian has so much power that he may and ought to come forward even among Christians and teach, where he sees that the teacher himself is wanting, etc.; and The hearers altogether have the right to judge and decide concerning all doctrine. Therefore the priests and liveried Christians have snatched this office to themselves; because, if this office remained in the church, the aforesaid could retain nothing for their own. (Altenb. Tom. II. p. 508).The exercise of this right on the part of members of the church has its difficulties. May not misunderstanding, ignorance, even wickedness cause this to be a heavy and unjust pressure on the ministers of the word, and thus mediately tend to the injury of the church? Certainly. Still it is better for the church to exercise this right than not to do so. The former is a sign of spiritual life, the latter of spiritual death. It will be easier to find a corrective for some extravagances than to save a church become religiously indifferent from the fate of Laodicea (Rev 3:16).
25. On Jer 23:16. [But here a question may be raised, How can the common people understand that some speak from Gods mouth, and that others propound their own glosses? I answer, That the doctrine of the Law was then sufficient to guide the minds of the people, provided they closed not their eyes; and if the Law was sufficient at that time, God does now most surely give us a clearer light by His prophets, and especially by His Gospel. CalvinS. R. A.]
26. On Jer 23:17. The pastors, who are welcome and gladly seen at a rich mans table, wish him in fact long life, good health, and all prosperity. What they wish they prophesy. This is not unnatural; but he who is softened by it is ill-advised. Zinzendorf.
27. On Jer 23:21. [There is a twofold call; one is internal, the other belongs to order, and may therefore be called external or ecclesiastical. But the external call is never legitimate, except it be preceded by the internal; for it does not belong to us to create prophets, or apostles, or pastors, as this is the special work of the Holy Spirit. But it often happens that the call of God is sufficient, especially for a time. For when there is no church, there is no remedy for the evil, except God raise up extraordinary teachers. Calvin.S. R. A.]
28. On Jer 23:22. If I knew that my teacher was a most abominable miscreant, personally, and in heart the worst enemy of God in his parish; so long as, for any reason, he preaches, expounds, develops, inculcates the word of God; even though he should betray here and there in his expressions, that this word was not dwelling in him; if only he does not ex professo at one time throw down what at another time he teaches of good and true quasi aliud agendo: I assure you before the Lord that I should fear to censure his preaching. Zinzendorf.
29. On Jer 23:23. Gods essential attribute is Omnipresence. For He is higher than heaven, what canst thou do? deeper than hell, what canst thou know? Longer than the earth and broader than the sea (Job 4:8). And He is not far from every one of us (Act 17:27). Cramer.We often think God is quite far from us, when He is yet near to us, has us in His arms, presses us to His heart and kisses us. Luther. When we think the Sun of righteousness, Jesus, is not risen, and is still behind the mountain, and will not come to us, He is yet nearest to us. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart. (Psa 34:19) Deus et omni et nullo loco Cuncta Deus replens molem se fundit in omnem. MS. notes to my copy of Cramers Bibel. Si vis peccare, O homo, qure tibi locum, ubi Deus non videat. Augustine.
30. On Jer 23:28. [When any one rejects the wheat because it is covered with chaff, and who will pity him who says that he has indeed wheat on his floor, but that it is mixed with chaff, and therefore not fit for food? If we be negligent, and think that it is a sufficient excuse for despising the Word of God, because Satan brings in his fallacies, we shall perish in our sloth like him who neglects to cleanse his wheat that he might turn it to bread. Calvin.S. R. A.]
He who cannot restrain his mouth or his ink let him expectorate. But let him say openly and honestly that they are his own dreams, which he preaches. The false prophets certainly know that mere falsehood is empty straw. They therefore always mingle some of the genuine word of God amongst it. An unavailing mixture! It is in this mingling that Satans highest art is displayed, so that he at the same time furthers his own work and testifies against himself. Comp. Genesis 3
31. On Jer 23:29. Gods word is the highest reality, life and power, while the dreams of the false prophets are pretence, death and weakness. Gods word is therefore compared to a fire which burns, warms, and enlightens, so that it burns up the hardest flint, melts the thickest ice, illuminates the deepest obscurities. It is compared further to a hammer which crushes the hardest rocks into sand.He who mingles Gods wheat among his straw, will find that the wheat will become fire and burn up the straw (1Co 3:12-15). He Who handles the word of the Lord purely, let him not despair if he sees before him hearts of adamant (Zec 7:12). He who seeks peace is not ashamed to bow beneath the hammer of the word. For the destructive power of the word applies to that in us which is opposed to God, while the God-related elements are loosed and set free by those very crushing blows.He, however, to whom the peace of God is an object of derision, may feed on the straw of this world. But how will it be when finally the day comes that God will come upon him with fire and hammer? What then remains to him as the result of his straw-diet, which is in a condition to withstand the blows of the hammer and the fire?
Help, Lord, against Thy scornful foes,
Who seek our souls to lead astray;
Whose mockeries at mortal woes
Will end in terrible dismay!
Grant that Thy holy word may root
Deep in our hearts, and richer fruit
May ever bear to endless day.
Gods word converts, all other doctrine befools. Luther.
32. On Jer 23:29. Gods word in general is like a fire: the more it is urged the more widely and brightly it extends. God has caused His word to be proclaimed to the world as a matter, which they can dispense with as little as fire. Fire often smoulders long in secret before it breaks out, thus the power of the divine word operates in its time. Gods word can make people as warm as if glowing coals lay upon them; it shines as brightly upon them, as if a lamp were held under their eyes; it tells every one the truth and purifies from all vices. He who deals evilly with Gods word burns himself by it, he who opposes it is consumed by it. But the word of God is as little to blame as a lamp or a fire when an unskilful person is burned by it. Yet it happens that often it will not be suffered in the world, then there is fire in all the streets. That is the unhappy fire of persecution, which is kindled incidentally in the world by the preaching of the Gospel. Jos. Conr. Schaller, Pastor at Cautendorf, Sermons on the Gospels, 1742.
33. On Jer 23:30. Teachers and preachers are not to steal their sermons from other books, but take them from the Bible, and testify that which they speak from their inward experience (Joh 3:11). False teachers steal Gods word, inventing a foreign meaning for it, and using this for the palliation of their errors. StarkeHinc illi at auctions, who can obtain this or that good book, this or that manuscript? Here they are thus declared to be plagiarios; and they are necessarily so because they are not taught of God. But I would rather they would steal from true men of God than from each other.Zinzendorf.
34. On Jer 23:33-40. When the word of God becomes intolerable to men, then men in their turn become intolerable to our Lord God; yea, they are no more than inutile pondus terr, which the land can no more bear, therefore they must be winnowed out, Jer 15:17. Cramer.
35. On Jer 24:5-7. He who willingly and readily resigns himself to the will of God even to the cross, may escape misfortune. But he who opposes himself to the hand of God cannot escape. Cramer.The captives are dearest to God. By the first greater affliction He prepares their souls for repentance and radical conversion, so that He has in them again His people and inheritance. O the gracious God, that He allows even those who on account of sin must be so deeply degraded and rendered slaves, even in such humiliation to be His people! The captives are forgiven their opposition to God; they are separated from the number of nations existing in the world, politically they are dead and banished to the interior. Now, God will show them what His love can do; they shall return, and in true nearness to God be His true Israel. Diedrich.
36. On Jer 24:7. [Since He affirms that He would give them a heart to understand, we hence learn that men are by nature blind, and also that when they are blinded by the devil they cannot return to the right way, and that they cannot be otherwise capable of light than by having God to illuminate them by His Spirit. This passage also shows, that we cannot really turn to God until we acknowledge Him to be the Judge; for until the sinner sets himself before Gods tribunal he will never be touched with the feeling of true repentance. Though God rules the whole world. He yet declares that He is the God of the Church; and the faithful whom He has adopted He favors with this high distinction, that they are His people; and He does this that they may be persuaded that there is safety in Him, according to what is said by Habakkuk, Thou art our God, we shall not die (Hab 1:12). And of this sentence Christ Himself is the best interpreter, when He says, that He is not the God of the dead, but of the living (Luk 20:38). Calvin.S. R. A.]
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
1. On Jer 21:8. This text may be used on all occasions when an important decision is to be made or on the entrance on a new section of life, as, e. g., at synods, diets, New Years, beginning of the church-year, at confirmations, weddings, installations, etc. What the present day demands and promises: I. It demands from us an important choice. II. It promises us, according as we choose, life or death.
2. On Jer 22:2-9. In how far the divine election is conditional and unconditional. I. It is conditional with respect to individual elected men, places, things. For 1, these become partakers of the salvation promised by the election only by behaviour well-pleasing to God; 2, if they behave in a manner displeasing to God, the election does not protect them from destruction. II. The election is unconditional with respect to the eternal ideas lying at the foundation of the single appearances, and their absolute realizations.
3. On Jer 22:24. [Payson:The punishment of the impenitent inevitable and justifiable. I. To mention some awful instances in which God has verified this declaration: (a), the apostate angels; (b) our first parents; (c) destruction of mankind by the flood; (d) the children of Israel; (e) Moses, David, the disobedient prophet, Christ. II. Some of the reasons for such a declaration. Not a disposition to give pain or desire for revenge. It is the nature and tendency of sin to produce misery.S. R. A.]
4. On Jer 23:5-6. The Son of David. What the prophet declares of Him is fourfold: 1. He will Himself be righteous; 2. He will rule well as king and execute judgment and righteousness; 3. He will be our righteousness; 4. Under Him shall Judah be helped and Israel dwell safely.
5. On Jer 23:14. [Lathrop: The horrible guilt of those who strengthen the hands of the wicked. 1. All sin is horrible in its nature. 2. This is to oppose the government of the Almighty. 3. It directly tends to the misery of mankind. 4. It supports the cause of the Evil Spirit. 5. It is to become partakers of their sins. 6. It is horrible as directly contrary to the command of God, and marked with His peculiar abhorrence.S. R. A.]
6. On Jer 23:23-24. The Omnipresence of God. 1. What it means. God is everywhere present, (a). He fills heaven and earth; (b) there is no removal from Him in space; (c) nothing is hidden from Him. 2. There is in this for us (a) a glorious consolation, (b) an earnest admonition. [Charnock, Jortin, and Wesley have sermons on this text, all of very similar outline. The following are Jortins practical conclusions; This doctrine 1. Should lead us to seek to resemble Gods perfections 2. Should deter us from sin. 3. Should teach us humility. 4. Should encourage us to reliance and contentment, to faith and hope.S. R. A.]
7. On Jer 23:29-30. Gods Word and mans word. 1. The former is life and power (wheat, fire, hammer). The latter pretence and weakness (dream, straw). 2. The two are not to be mixed with each other. [Cecil: This shows 1. The vanity of all human imaginations in religion, (a). What do they afford to man? (b). How much do they hinder? 2. The energy of spiritual truth. Let us entreat God that our estimate may be practical.S. R. A.]
8. On Jer 24:1-10. The good and bad figs an emblem of humanity well-pleasing and displeasing to God. 1. The prisoners and broken-hearted are, like the good figs, well-pleasing to God. For (a) they know the Lord and turn to Him; (b) He is their God and they are His people. 2. Those who dwell proudly and securely are displeasing to God, like the bad figs. For (a) they live on in foolish blindness; (b) they challenge the judgment of God.
Footnotes:
[5]Jer 21:12.The expression is found here only: Elsewhere (Jer 5:28; Jer 22:16; Jer 30:13, etc.) is at the same time accusative of object and of mode, and as the latter involves the meaning of (Psa 9:9; Psa 96:10) or (Psa 72:2).
[6]Jer 21:12. is distributive. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., 112, 5 b. As here, in Psa 59:17; Amo 4:4. Comp. also 1Ch 9:27; Psa 73:14; Psa 101:8; Isa 33:2; Lam 3:23.
[7]Jer 21:12.Instead of the Keri has the second person as in Jer 4:4. The change of person however occurs so frequently, that the alteration appears unnecessary. Comp. Jer 5:14; Jer 12:13; Jer 17:13; Naegelsb. Gr., 101, Anm.
[8]Jer 21:13.. On the form comp. Olsh., S. 503.
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
It was the glory of Jerusalem, and for which the Prophet boasted, that she should be a quiet habitation, whose tabernacle should not be taken down, nor one of her stakes removed. But this was because her glorious Lord would be unto her a place of broad rivers and streams; so that no enemy could approach while her Lord was in the midst of his Zion for a defense. Isa 33:20-22 . But if the Lord withdraws: if the Lord give her up, who can protect her! Reader! see to it, that Jesus is your glory, and he will be for a defense. Isa 8:12-14 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jer 21:11 And touching the house of the king of Judah, [say], Hear ye the word of the LORD;
Ver. 11. And touching the house of the king of Judah, say, ] i.e., His courtiers and his counsellors. which probably were now as bad or worse than they had been in his father Josiah’s days. “Her princes within her were roaring lions, her judges evening wolves.” Zep 3:3 See Trapp on “ Zep 3:3 “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jer 21:11-12
11Then say to the household of the king of Judah, ‘Hear the word of the LORD,
12O house of David, thus says the LORD:
Administer justice every morning;
And deliver the person who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor,
That My wrath may not go forth like fire
And burn with none to extinguish it,
Because of the evil of their deeds.
Jer 21:11-14 These are words to the royal Davidic house. Some English translations have one strophe, some two. The reason this information is important is that each strophe, like each paragraph, has one main truth/point. Outlining by strophe/paragraph an interpreter can find the intent of the original author more clearly.
Jer 21:12 YHWH seems still to hold open the chance that Judah’s leadership may repent, as seen in their actions.
1. administer justice every morning (BDB 192, KB 220, Qal IMPERATIVE, cf. Jer 7:5; Jer 22:3; probably at the city gate, early each day)
2. deliver the person who has been robbed from the power of the oppressor (BDB 664, KB 717, Hiphil IMPERATIVE)
If they change (cf. 1Ki 6:12-13) then YHWH will relent of the judgment He plans to send but if not, wrath. . .fire (cf. Jer 4:4).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Jer 13:18, Jer 17:20, Mic 3:1
Reciprocal: Jer 22:1 – Go Jer 22:6 – unto
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 21:11, The house of this verse is the same as the house of David” in the next verse which means the kingdom that descended from David.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 21:11-12. And touching the house of the king of Judah, &c. The house of Zedekiah, the court, or those who were magistrates. Hear ye the word of the Lord These, how great soever, are not excused from the common obligations which lie upon all to listen to and obey the revelations of the divine will. Execute judgment in the morning Do it diligently, do it quickly, and do not delay to do justice upon appeals made to you, and tire out your poor petitioners as you have done. Those magistrates that would fill their places well, and do their duty, must rise early. This is so expressed because it was usual for kings and judges to sit for the administration of justice in a morning. Lest my fury go out like fire Many commentators have been of opinion that this prophecy, from the 11th verse, belongs to the same subject with chapter 22., and relates to the time of Jehoiakim. And from these words, lest my fury, &c., they infer, that it was antecedent to the prophecy at the beginning of the chapter, and to that peremptory decree published against the kings house, mentioned Jer 21:7 of this chapter, But I cannot help thinking, says Blaney, that this latter part is but a continuation of the same prophecy with which the chapter begins; for the house of David was still to be visited with more calamities than those which had befallen it in the days of Jehoiakim. And how peremptory soever the decree may sound, (Jer 21:7,) we must remember the rule laid down concerning such decrees, (Jer 18:7-8,) none of which, it seems, are irreversible on the condition of a change of conduct. And, though God may well be supposed to know when no such ground of reversal will take place, yet it is agreeable to the justice of his providence repeatedly to admonish sinners of the means by which his judgments may be avoided, that they may have none to blame but themselves when the threatened vengeance overtakes them.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jeremiah was to tell the king of Judah and his administrators to be careful to dispense justice every day, particularly with the poor and powerless. If they did not, the Lord’s wrath would burn against them as an inextinguishable fire (cf. Jer 4:4; Jer 17:4; Jer 17:27; Jer 21:12; Jer 21:14; Jer 43:12; Jer 49:27). Normally court convened in the morning to avoid the heat of the day (cf. 2Sa 4:5).
"The administration of justice was one of the main duties of kings all over the Near East. The king was the guardian of justice [cf. 2Sa 15:4; 1Ki 3:9; 1Ki 3:16-28; 1Ki 8:32]." [Note: Thompson, pp. 470-71.]
The Lord also sent a message to the residents of Jerusalem.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Messages about the duties of the kings of Judah 21:11-22:9
This group of prophecies begins and ends with oracles concerning the kings’ duties (Jer 21:11-12; Jer 22:1-9). In the middle is an oracle against Jerusalem (Jer 21:13-14).