Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 30:8
For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, [that] I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him:
8. thy neck thy bands ] rather (with LXX) the 3rd person in both cases. It is a description of Israel’s future deliverance, not an address to him. Dr. suggests that the scribe who substituted “thy” may have had Isa 10:27 in his mind.
bands ] The Heb. is the word so rendered in the text of Jer 27:2, where see note.
serve themselves of him ] For the phrase cp. Jer 25:14, Jer 27:7.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Bonds – See Jer 27:2 note.
Shall no more serve themselves – i. e., shall no more exact forced labor of him Jer 22:13.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 8. I will break his yoke] That is, the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar.
Of him.] Of Jacob, (Jer 30:7,) viz., the then captive Jews.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
In that day; not in that great day before mentioned, but in the day when God should deliver the seed of Jacob out of trouble. God threatens to break the yoke of the king of Babylon, that is, to break that power of his which for seventy years he should exercise in keeping the Jews under; and he would break the bonds in which they should be kept, and foreign nations should no more serve themselves upon the Jews.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
8. his yoke . . . thy neckhis,that is, Jacob’s (Jer 30:7),the yoke imposed on him. The transition to the second personis frequent, God speaking of Jacob or Israel, at the same timeaddressing him directly. So “him” rightly follows;”foreigners shall no more make him their servant” (Jer25:14). After the deliverance by Cyrus, Persia, Alexander,Antiochus, and Rome made Judah their servant. The full of deliverancemeant must, therefore, be still future.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts,…. When the time is come for Jacob to be saved out of his trouble:
[that] I will break his yoke from off thy neck; not the yoke of the king of Babylon, but of antichrist, and of all the antichristian states, by whom the people of God have been oppressed; so the Targum,
“I will break the yoke of the peoples (the antichristian nations) from off your necks.”
Jarchi interprets it of the yoke of the nations of the world from off Israel; and Kimchi of the yoke of Gog and Magog, or of every nation:
and will burst thy bonds; by which they were kept in bondage, both with respect to civil and religious things; but now he that led into captivity shall go into captivity himself, Re 13:10;
and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him; this shows that this prophecy cannot be understood of deliverance from the Babylonish captivity; because, after this, strangers did serve themselves of the Jews, and they were servants unto them; as to the Persians, and Grecians, and especially the Romans, by whom they were entirely subdued and ruined; and to this day all nations almost serve themselves of them; but when they shall be called and converted, as they shall be free from the yoke of sin and Satan, and from the yoke of the ceremonial law, and the traditions of their elders, in a religious sense; so from the yoke of the nations of the world, in a civil sense.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Jeremiah proceeds with what he touched upon in the last verse, even that the Lord, after having chastised his people, would at length shew mercy to them, so as to receive them into favor. He says, in short, that their captivity would not be perpetual. But we must remember what we have before stated, that is, that deliverance is only promised to the faithful, who would patiently and resignedly submit to God and not disregard his paternal correction. If, then, we desire God to be propitious to us, we must suffer ourselves to be paternally chastised by him; for if we resist when goaded, no pardon can by any means be expected, for we then, as it were, wilfully provoke God by our hardness.
He therefore says, in that day, that is, when the appointed time was completed. The false prophets inflamed the people with false expectation, as though their deliverance was to take place after two years. God bade the faithful to wait, and not to be thus in a hurry; he had assigned a day for them, and that was, as we have seen, the seventieth year. He then mentions the yoke, that is, of the king of Babylon, and taking another view, the chains The yoke was what Nebuchadnezzar laid on the Jews; and the chains of the people were those by which Nebuchadnezzar had bound them. At last he adds, And rule over them shall no more strangers The verb עבד, obed, is to be taken here in a causative sense; even the form of the sentence shews this, and they who render the words, “and strangers shall not serve them,” wrest the meaning; for it could not be a promise; and this is inconsistent with the context, and requires no confutation, as it is evidently unsuitable. If the verb be taken in the sense of serving, then “strangers” must be in the dative case. We have seen before a similar phrase in Jer 25:14, where the Prophet says that neither kings nor strong nations would any longer rule over the Jews. The same verb is used, and the same form of expression. Strangers, then, shall make them serve no more; that is, they shall not rule over them so as slavishly to oppress them. (4)
We now perceive the design of the Prophet; he exhorts the Jews to patience, and shews that though their exile would be long, yet their deliverance was certain. It follows, —
(4)
I render the verse as follows, —
8. And it shall be in that day, saith Jehovah of hosts, That I shall break his yoke from thy neck, And thy chains will I burst: And make him to serve shall strangers no more: 9. But serve shall they Jehovah, etc..
The transition from the second to the third person, “thy” and “him,” and from the singular to the plural, “him” and “they,” is very common in the Prophets. On the last line in the 8 verse (Jer 30:8). — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(8) For it shall come to pass in that day . . .Better, And it shall come. Here there comes in the ground of the hope uttered in the words he shall be saved out of it, which keeps the prophet from sinking under the burden of his sorrow. The second and third person are strangely mingled. Jehovah speaks to Israel, thy bonds, thy yoke, and his yoke is that of the oppressor, i.e., of the Babylonian ruler, and then, the person changing, strangers shall no more get service done for them by him i.e., by Israel. The prophet echoes the words of Isa. 10:27.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
ISRAEL’S DELIVERANCE, Jer 30:8-11.
8. His yoke Israel’s yoke, see on 1Ki 12:4; Isa 9:3.
Strangers no more serve themselves Their captivity shall come to a perpetual end.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Coming Great Deliverance ( Jer 30:8-11 ).
One day there will come a time when the yoke of Babylon will be removed, and Israel will be free, and they will serve YHWH their God, and David their king whom YHWH will raise up to them.
Jer 30:8-9
“And it will come about in that day,
The word of YHWH of hosts,
That I will break his yoke from off your neck,
And will burst your bonds,
And strangers will make him their bondman no more,
But they will serve YHWH their God,
And David their king, whom I will raise up to them.”
And ‘in that day’, the day when YHWH began to act, the yoke and bonds of Babylon, previously so vividly displayed by Jeremiah (Jer 27:2 ff.; Jer 28:2), would be broken off their necks (as they had been prematurely from Jeremiah’s neck by Hananiah), and their bonds would be torn asunder (compare Isa 10:27), and the result would be that they would no longer be bondmen, restricted in their movements, but at liberty to return home to serve YHWH their God freely, and be ruled over by a Davidide (compare Hos 3:5; Isa 55:4). That this occurred Scripture makes clear. Zerubbabel is the Davidide best known to us from the post-exilic period, but he was not the only one, and we should note the vivid language used by Haggai and Zechariah concerning his reign (Hag 1:12-14; Hag 2:2-7; Hag 2:21-22; Zec 4:7-9). From Heaven’s viewpoint his reign was seen as ‘earth shaking’, even if humanly speaking it was ‘a day of small things’. But there would also have been others. All this would, however, culminate in the arrival of the greater ‘Son of David’ Who would establish God’s Kingly Rule on earth (Mat 12:28; Rev 12:10), and then establish His throne in Heaven (Mat 28:18; Act 2:36; Heb 1:3; Rev 3:21), continuing an everlasting rule which would continue over the earth (Rev 20:4-6) and which would be finalised after His second coming in the everlasting kingdom.
Furthermore this great picture is repeated whenever someone is converted to Jesus Christ. They rise from the captivity of this world, their chains fall off, their hearts become free, and they rise up to follow YHWH their God and the Greater David, Jesus Christ, Whom they have come to know as their King and LORD. It is noteworthy that in the New Testament the Name LORD (YHWH) is applied mainly to Jesus Christ.
Meanwhile the magnanimity of Persian policy would give nations a new freedom, and none more so than Israel and Judah, who were allowed to return home with their religious accoutrements and with assistance from the Persian treasury, and were thus able to establish first the Temple (completed about 516 BC) and a new but impoverished nation, and then finally Jerusalem itself as a ruling city under Nehemiah (about 445 BC), eventually becoming a relatively wealthy independent nation under the Hasmoneans, only to lose it all because of sin.
‘In that day –’ simply indicates ‘the day in which YHWH decides to act’. Such ‘days’ have occurred throughout history.
Jer 30:10
“Therefore do not be afraid, O Jacob my servant,
The word of YHWH,
Nor be dismayed, O Israel,
For, lo, I will save you from afar,
And your seed from the land of their captivity,
And Jacob will return, and will be quiet and at ease,
And none will make him afraid.”
So Jacob (Judah/Israel) were not to be afraid of the future, nor dismayed at what was to happen around them, for all was in YHWH’s hands. The association of ‘Jacob’ and ‘Israel’ signifying the whole of Judah/Israel is typically Isaianic (Isa 9:8; Isa 10:20 and twenty two times in all) as is the reference to Jacob as His ‘servant’, and it is possibly borrowed from there by Jeremiah. Whatever may have happened to them in the past His purpose towards them for the future was good. On the sure ‘word of YHWH’ they could be certain that they would be ‘saved from afar’, wherever they might be, and their children would be saved also, from the land of their enforced exile, and they would return to their land and find quiet and ease, with none to make them afraid.
This redemption of ‘Jacob’ was a regular feature of Isaiah’s ministry (Isa 14:1; Isa 44:23; Isa 48:20; Isa 49:6; Isa 60:16). And that is precisely what God did during the centuries after the Exile when His people returned and repopulated Palestine, enjoying many long periods of peace and wellbeing. Whilst we mainly know of the returnees from Babylon we may be sure that many who remained true to YHWH came from other parts as well. It would have been remarkable if they had not. And certainly by the time of Jesus we find an Israel made up of people from many of the tribes, although many had lost their specific identity. There was further fulfilment when Jesus came, leading men into peace and rest (Mat 11:28-30), and bringing about an even greater redemption for ‘Jacob’ (Mar 10:45). But, of course, the final fulfilment will be in the everlasting kingdom when there will be no more fear.
The mention of ‘their seed’ indicates, however, that it would not be immediate but after a period of time, which ties in with the ‘seventy year’ delay.
Jer 30:11
“For I am with you,
The word of YHWH,
To save you.
For I will make a full end of all the nations where I have scattered you,
But I will not make a full end of you,
But I will correct you in measure,
And will in no way leave you unpunished.”
For on His own sure word (the word of YHWH) they could know that He was with them and would deliver them, and would make a full end of all the nations among whom they had been scattered (especially Assyria and Babylon). But while He would make a full end of these nations He would not make a full end of Judah/Israel. This final hope was something that He had indeed often promised in the past (Jer 4:27; Jer 5:10; Jer 5:18). Rather He would correct them ‘in measure’ and punish them in order to remove from them what spoiled them. For towards them His final purpose was of chastisement not final destruction. On the other hand they could not remain wholly unpunished.
That many of the nations among whom they dwelt disappeared as such from history in the inter-testamental period is well known. Assyria also disappeared from the map as such, Elam was no more and ancient Babylon ceased to exist. They were eventually replaced by the powers of Greece and Rome.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jer 30:8. And strangers, &c. And they shall no more serve him among strangers. This prophesy has not yet received its full accomplishment; for, after the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, they were again reduced to servitude by the Greeks and Romans; and at present there is no place in the world where they can be said to enjoy perfect liberty. See Lowth and Calmet.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jer 30:8 For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, [that] I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him:
Ver. 8. I will break his yoke from off thy neck. ] The forementioned misery did but make way for this mercy, that it might be the more magnified. Let the saints but see from what, to what, and by what Jesus Christ hath delivered them, and they cannot but be thankful.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jer 30:8-11
8’It shall come about on that day,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ‘that I will break his yoke from off their neck and will tear off their bonds; and strangers will no longer make them their slaves. 9But they shall serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.
10’Fear not, O Jacob My servant,’ declares the LORD,
‘And do not be dismayed, O Israel;
For behold, I will save you from afar
And your offspring from the land of their captivity.
And Jacob will return and will be quiet and at ease,
And no one will make him afraid.
11’For I am with you,’ declares the LORD, ‘to save you;
For I will destroy completely all the nations where I have scattered you,
Only I will not destroy you completely.
But I will chasten you justly
And will by no means leave you unpunished.’
Jer 30:8 I will break his yoke This picks up on the metaphor of a yoke (cf. Lev 26:13) used by Jeremiah in Jer 2:20 and Jeremiah 27, 28.
and strangers shall no longer make them their slaves Why does this not accurately describe restored Judah’s experience (i.e., Persia, Seleucids, Rome)? Either the covenant people broke the covenant again and are punished again or the reference is to an end-time period.
Jer 30:9 David This relates to the Davidic promises given in 2Sa 7:12-16. We know that there was not a restoration of a king immediately after the return from Babylon (Sheshbazzar and Zerubbabel were princes of Judah), therefore, many believe it refers to an eschatological setting (i.e., Jesus, cf. Eze 34:23-24; Eze 37:24-25; Hos 3:5).
Jer 30:10 fear not. . .do not be dismayed These are both Qal IMPERFECTS used in a JUSSIVE sense.
O Jacob. . .O Israel This refers to all Jewish people (Israel and Judah are reunited). Remember that Jacob’s name was changed to Israel at the brook Jabbok after he wrestled with an angel (cf. Gen 32:22-32).
I will save you This refers to the covenant people’s restoration to the Promised Land. YHWH sent them into exile; He will restore them.
shall be quiet and at ease These two descriptions of restoration and peace are used several times in Jeremiah.
1. quiet (BDB 1052), cf. Jer 46:27; Jer 47:6-7
2. ease (BDB 983), cf. Jer 46:27; Jer 48:11
This had always been YHWH’s will for His covenant people (as was joy of Jer 30:19).
Jer 30:10-11 Notice what YHWH promises to do for them (Jer 30:10-11, this is repeated in Jer 46:27-28).
1. save them – BDB 446, KB 448, Hiphil PARTICIPLE
2. they will be quiet – BDB 1052, KB 1641, Qal PERFECT
3. they will be at ease – BDB 983, KB 1374, Palel PERFECT
4. no one shall make them afraid – BDB 353, KB 350, Hiphil PARTICIPLE
5. I am with you to save you (first spoken to Jeremiah, cf. Jer 1:8; Jer 1:19; Jer 15:20; Jer 20:11, but now to all of Abraham’s seed)
But also notice that covenant disobedience has consequences as well as benefits.
1. I will not destroy you completely
2. I will chasten you justly
3. I will by no means leave you unpunished (this is an INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE and an IMPERFECT VERB from the same root [BDB 667, KB 729] which denotes intensity, cf. Jer 25:29; Jer 49:12)
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
break his yoke. Reminding us of Jer 28:10, Jer 28:11.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
I: Jer 27:2, Jer 28:4, Jer 28:10, Jer 28:13, Isa 9:4, Isa 10:27, Isa 14:25, Eze 34:27, Nah 1:13
serve: Jer 25:14, Jer 27:7
Reciprocal: Lev 25:39 – compel him to serve as Neh 3:5 – put not Isa 2:11 – in that day Isa 11:11 – set his hand Jer 2:20 – For of Jer 34:9 – serve
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 30:8. That day refers to the time when the 70-year captivity would be over, and ftis yoke means the bondage under the Babylonian king. Strangers refers to the same people signified by the yoke, who had been serving themselves or helping themselves to the services of the people of God.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 30:8-9. It shall come to pass in that day In the day when Jacob shall be saved out of all his troubles, Jer 30:7. The phrase that day often denotes an extraordinary or remarkable time for some signal events of Providence: see Isa 4:2. That I will break his yoke from off thy neck This promise was in part fulfilled when Cyrus set the Jews free from the Babylonish yoke, and gave them liberty to return to their own country. And strangers shall no more serve themselves of him In this latter part of the sentence the Jewish state, or rather that of Israel and Judah, is spoken of in the third person, him; in the foregoing part in the second person, thy neck. But they shall serve the Lord their God They shall live in subjection and obedience to the one living and true God, and to David their king That is, the Messiah, who is often called by the name of David in the prophets, as the person in whom all the promises made to David were to be fulfilled. See the margin. Here it is promised that, after this restoration, the Jews and Israelites should no more fall under the dominion of foreigners, but be governed by princes and magistrates of their own nation, independent of any but God and David their king. But this was not the case with the Jews that returned from Babylon. They then indeed had a leader, Zerubbabel, one of their own nation, and also of the family of David. But both the nation and their leader continued still in a state of vassalage and the most servile dependance upon the Persian monarchy. And when the Grecian monarchy succeeded, they changed their masters only, but not their condition; till, at length, under the Asmonan princes, they had, for a while, an independent government of their own, but without any title to the name of David. At last they fell under the Roman yoke, since which time their situation has been such as not to afford the least ground to pretend that the promised restoration has yet taken place. It remains, therefore, to be brought about, in future, under the reign of the Messiah, emphatically distinguished by the name of David; when every particular circumstance predicted concerning it will, no doubt, be verified by a distinct and unequivocal accomplishment. Blaney. Whom I will raise up unto them An expression elsewhere used by the holy writers when they speak of the coming of Christ. See the margin. Hence this prophecy must be considered as implying the conversion of the Jews to the Christian faith, God, according to his promises, having constituted Christ the Prince and the Saviour to whom every knee must bow, and whom every tongue must confess.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
30:8 {d} For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, [that] I will break {e} his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more {f} bring him into subjection:
(d) When I will visit Babylon.
(e) Of the king of Babylon.
(f) That is, of Jacob.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
At that time, Yahweh would set His people free from all those who restrained and enslaved them (cf. Exo 7:16). The Israelites were not slaves in Assyria or Babylon. This points to a future deliverance (cf. Eze 34:23; Hos 3:5).
". . . the judgment described in these verses cannot possibly be restricted to the downfall of the Babylonian monarchy, but is the judgment that is to fall upon all nations (Jer 30:11)." [Note: Ibid., 2:6.]
Instead of suffering captivity, the Israelites would serve their God and David their king, whom the Lord would raise up for them. This probably refers to a successor to David rather than King David himself (cf. Jer 23:5; Isa 55:3-5; Eze 34:23-25; Eze 37:24-25; Hos 3:5). [Note: Dyer, "Jeremiah," p. 1168, viewed this as referring to David himself (cf. Ezekiel 34:23-24). He later wrote, in The Old . . ., p. 618, that it could refer to David or to Christ.]
"The Targum, though interpretative, is correct in identifying this ideal King as ’Messiah, the son of David.’ Among the Jews the name David came to be used of royalty, much as Pharaoh, Caesar, or Czar, but only in the highest and final sense." [Note: Feinberg, p. 561.]
"They [Jer 30:8-9] deal with the whole people of Yahweh in messianic times." [Note: Thompson, p. 556.]
In view of later revelation, we know that this successor to David is Jesus Christ (Luk 1:69; Act 2:30; Act 13:23; Act 13:34; Act 13:38).