Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 27:6
And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.
6. all these lands ] Gi. omits “these,” as inserted with a view to the countries just mentioned. The LXX has simply “the earth,” which is probably (Co. says “undoubtedly”) right (Du. hesitates). Subsequent scruples as to attributing a world-wide dominion to the king of Babylon induced MT. and various versions to modify the statement.
the king of Babylon, my servant ] See on Jer 25:9.
and the beasts of the field ] Cp. Jer 28:14; Dan 2:38.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 6. And now have I given] These kingdoms are at my sovereign disposal; and at present, for the punishment of their rulers and people, I shall give them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
By the former words God gave the prophet authority to assert his dominion, and right to dispose of all creatures; by these he authorizeth him to reveal his will, concerning the disposal of the lands of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Zidon, viz. that he had disposed of them to
Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, whom he calleth his servant, because he did the work which he would have him to do; though, as God said of the Assyrian, Isa 10:7, he meaned not so, he had nothing less in his thoughts than to obey any command of God; wicked men being Gods servants, as the hawk is the prudent falconers servant, who maketh use of the ravenous quality of the hawk to get game for him. Twice more at least we find Nebuchadnezzar thus called, Jer 25:9; 43:10. God further adds that
the beasts should serve him, by which he either means that the cattle which were in the possession of the men of those nations should also come into his power; or that God had also given the horses, and oxen, and other beasts which he should use in his wars for carriages, or conveniency to him, so as they should be really serviceable to him in his conquests of those countries.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6. beasts of the fieldnotmerely the horses to carry his Chaldean soldiers, and oxen to drawhis provisions [GROTIUS];not merely the deserts, mountains, and woods, the haunts of wildbeasts, implying his unlimited extent of empire [ESTIUS];but the beasts themselves by a mysterious instinct of nature. Areproof to men that they did not recognize God’s will, which the verybeasts acknowledged (compare Isa1:3). As the beasts are to submit to Christ, the Restorer of thedominion over nature, lost by the first Adam (compare Gen 1:28;Gen 2:19; Gen 2:20;Psa 8:6-8), so they wereappointed to submit to Nebuchadnezzar, the representative of theworld power and prefigurer of Antichrist; this universal power wassuffered to be held by him to show the unfitness of any to wield it”until He come whose right it is” (Eze21:27).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And now I have given all these lands,…. Before mentioned; of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, Zidon, and Judea:
into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; whom God used as an instrument in correcting and chastising the nations; and who obeyed his will, though he knew it not; nor did what he did in obedience to it; and yet had the honour of being called his servant, and of being rewarded with a very large empire; which was owing, not so much to his prowess and valour, wisdom and management, as to the providence of God; who delivered the above kingdoms, with others, into his hands, as being the sole proprietor and sovereign disposer of them:
and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him; either to bring him, and his armies, and his carriages of provisions for them, and warlike stores, for the invasion and taking the above countries; or the cattle found there, which belonged to these countries, and the inhabitants thereof, which would fall into his hands with them.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
God, after having claimed to himself the government of the whole earth, and shewn that it is in his power to transfer kingdoms to whom he pleases, now declares his decree — that he would subject to the king of Babylon all the neighboring lands, even Tyrus and Sidon, the country of Moab, the country of Ammon, the country of Edom, and even Judea itself. If Jeremiah had begun by saying, that God had given to King Nebuchadnezzar these lands, the prediction would not have been so easily received, for pride would have been as it were an obstacle to bolt up their minds and hearts. But the preface, as it has been stated, served to shew that they were not to think that they could stand against the will of God. After having then brought down the great height which seemed fixed in their hearts, he now declares that King Nebuchadnezzar would be the lord over Judah as well as over all the countries around, for God had set him over these lands.
He extends also this subjection, of which he speaks, over the very beasts, and not without reason; for he thus indirectly condemns the hardness of men, if they resisted, as though he had said, “What will it avail you to attempt with refractory hearts to shake off the yoke? for the very beasts, tigers, wolves, lions, and every fierce and savage animal in the land, even all these beasts shall know that the King Nebuchadnezzar is their master, even by a hidden instinct. Since, then, these beasts shall obey King Nebuchadnezzar, because he has been raised by God to that dignity, how great must be the stupidity of men in not acknowledging what the very beasts understand?” We hence see the design of mentioning the beasts; the Prophet upbraided men with their madness, if they ferociously resisted the King Nebuchadnezzar; for in that, case the beasts of the field were endued with more intelligence than they. For whence is it that beasts have fear, except that God has imprinted certain marks of dignity on kings, according to what is said by Daniel. (Dan 2:38.) As, then, the majesty of God appears in kings, the very beasts, though void of reason and judgment, yet willingly obey through a hidden impulse of nature. Hence inexcusable is the pride of men, if at least they do not imitate the example of the very beasts. (180)
Nebuchadnezzar is afterwards called the servant of God, not that he was worthy of such an honor, as it had never been his purpose to labor for God; but he was called a servant, because God designed to employ him in his service, as those are called in the Psalm the sons of God, to whom the word of God was addressed, that is, to whom he gave authority to rule. (Psa 82:6; Joh 10:35.) So also Nebuchadnezzar was God’s servant, because he was divinely endued with sovereign power. This he did not know, nor was this said for his sake, nor was he honored with such a name, as though God regarded him as one of his own people; but this had a reference to the Jews and to all the other nations, in order that they might be fully persuaded that they were obeying God in humbling themselves and in undertaking the yoke of the king of Babylon, for this pleased God. There is no power, says Paul, but from God, (Rom 13:1,) and that sentence is derived from this principle, that all power is from God; for he gives the power to rule and to govern to whom he pleases. Whosoever, then, are endued with the power of the sword and public authority, are God’s servants, though they exercise tyranny and be robbers. They are servants, not with respect to themselves, but because God would have them to be acknowledged as his ministers until their time shall come, according to what follows —
(180) Some give this view as to the beasts of the field, that not only towns and cultivated lands would be given up to Nebuchadnezzar, but also hills and mountains, deserts and forests, which were inhabited by wild beasts, and that this was said in order to shew that a complete possession of their lands, and of all things within them, would be given to that king, not excepting the wild beasts. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(6) Nebuchadnezzar . . . my servant.See Note on Jer. 25:9 for the title thus given. The special stress laid on the beasts of the field is, perhaps, connected with the resistance of the nations to the levies made by the Babylonian officers upon their horses and cattle, or their claim to use the land they had subdued, after the manner which we see depicted on Assyrian sculptures, as a hunting-ground. Compare especially the account of Tiglath-Pileser I.s hunting expedition in Records of the Past, xi., p. 9.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Jer 27:6 And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.
Ver. 6. And now have I given all these lands. ] Nebuchadnezzar shall be monarch contra Gentes. Dicunt nugatores equitasse Nabuchodonosor super leonem, et infraenasse draconem. a
a Oecolamp.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Nebuchadnezzar. Some codices spell it “Nebuchadrezzar”.
My servant. Compare Jer 25:9. See Dan 2:37, Dan 2:38.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
I given all: Jer 28:14, Dan 2:37, Dan 2:38, Dan 5:18, Dan 5:19
my: Jer 24:1, Jer 25:9, Jer 43:10, Jer 51:20-23, Isa 44:28, Eze 29:18-20
and: Jer 28:14, Psa 50:10-12, Dan 2:38
Reciprocal: Gen 1:26 – have dominion Num 33:53 – General Deu 10:14 – the earth 1Sa 15:28 – hath given 2Ki 5:1 – by him 2Ki 25:28 – the throne Ezr 1:2 – hath given Job 12:9 – the hand Psa 78:71 – brought Psa 115:16 – but the earth Psa 144:10 – salvation Isa 7:20 – shave Isa 14:4 – How Isa 16:8 – the lords Isa 45:1 – to his Jer 37:13 – Thou Jer 49:30 – for Jer 52:32 – set Eze 29:12 – desolate in Eze 30:24 – I will Dan 4:12 – the beasts Dan 4:22 – thy greatness Dan 11:11 – the multitude Mat 4:9 – I give Rom 9:17 – I raised 1Co 10:28 – for Rev 13:7 – and power Rev 17:17 – until
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 27:6. In the exercising of this right the Lord had given the things into Lhe hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. My servant does not refer to his personal life for he was a heathen and had many grievous faults. It refers to the service he was called upon to render to God in his great plan of the nations.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 27:6. I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar God is the sole lord and proprietor of the world; and, by virtue of his absolute sovereignty and dominion, has a right to give the kingdoms of the earth to whomsoever he pleases, Dan 4:17, and he exercises this authority by changing times and seasons, by removing kings, and setting up kings, Dan 2:21. The king of Babylon, my servant One whom I have made use of as an instrument to execute my purposes in inflicting punishment on many nations: see note on Jer 25:9. And the beasts of the field have I given him This is a hyperbolical way of speaking, to signify the most ample authority and dominion.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
27:6 And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my {c} servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.
(c) Read Jer 25:9 .
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The Lord had determined to give their lands to Nebuchadnezzar, His servant (cf. Jer 25:9; Jer 43:10), until the time came when He would turn over Nebuchadnezzar’s lands to another master (i.e., Cyrus the Persian). This, however, would not be until Nebuchadnezzar’s son and grandson had ruled, namely: Evilmerodach and Belshazzar (Jer 52:31; Dan 5:1; Dan 5:30).