Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 33:11
The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD [is] good; for his mercy [endureth] forever: [and] of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the LORD.
11. Give thanks to the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good, for his mercy endureth for ever ] liturgical forms used in the Temple services. See 1Ch 16:34 ; 2Ch 5:13; 2Ch 7:3; 2Ch 7:6; Ezr 3:11; Psa 106:1.
sacrifices of thanksgiving ] See on Jer 17:26.
I will cause the captivity of the land to return ] See note on Jer 32:44.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Praise the Lord … – The customary formula of thanksgiving in many of the later Psalms, and from its occurrence in 2Ch 5:13; 2Ch 7:3, 2Ch 7:6 ff probably a regular part of the liturgical service of the temple.
Shall say … shall bring the sacrifice of praise – Or, say … as they bring praise, i. e., a thank-offering (see the marginal reference) into the house of the Lord
At the first – Before the captivity, and when still unpolluted by the sins which have brought upon it so heavy a chastisement.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 11. The voice of them that shall say, Praise the Lord of hosts] That is, the voice of the Levites in the sacred service: intimating that the temple should be rebuilt, and the public service restored.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The sum of this verse is, that those that should be carried into captivity should return, and upon their return they should be in their former states; both as to civil transactions, they should again marry and give in marriage; and as to civil and spiritual joy, they should publicly praise the Lord as they were wont to do in the words of David, Psa 106:1; 107:1; 118:1; 136:1, (we have a record in holy writ of the fulfilling of this prophecy upon the laying the foundations of the second temple, Ezr 3:11) and offer sacrifices of thanksgiving. See Neh 12:27.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
11. (Jer 7:34;Jer 16:9).
Praise the Lord, c.thewords of Ps 136:1, which wereactually used by the Jews at their restoration (Ezr3:11).
sacrifice of praise(Psa 107:22 Psa 116:17).This shall continue when all other sacrifices shall be at an end.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness,…. Such is the voice of the Gospel to all sensible sinners; whose eyes are opened to see their lost estate; whose ears are opened to hear the joyful sound: whose hearts are opened to attend to the things spoken in it; who are humble and contrite, wounded and broken in spirit, and have a spiritual understanding of things given them: to these the Gospel preached is glad tidings of great joy; since it contains in it the doctrines of peace and pardon through the blood of Christ; of justification through his righteousness; of rest in him, and salvation by him. It is a voice of joy and gladness to all believers in Christ; since hereby they hear of Christ whom they love; they hear of the love of God in him, and of the love of him to them; it is food to their souls; and when found, under the hearing of it, it is the joy and rejoicing of their hearts; and whereas they are continually sinning in thought, word, or deed, the doctrine of pardon must be joyful to them. Moreover, this may be meant of the voice of those that come to the church of God, with songs of joy and gladness, for electing, redeeming, calling, pardoning, and justifying grace; the voice of young converts, and of all them that rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh; see
Isa 35:10; and why may not the ordinance of singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, be included? since those are enjoined to be sung, and are sung in Gospel churches, Eph 5:19;
the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride; which, literally understood, is expressive of great joy and happiness; as the contrary signifies great calamity and distress; see Jer 7:34. It may be understood of such who are in such a natural relation to one another; and yet their voice may intend their joining together in spiritual praise to God. Moreover, by the “bridegroom” may be meant Christ, who has espoused his people to himself, and is their husband, and behaves as such towards them, in all tenderness, care, love, and affection; and his voice was heard in Judea’s land as the bridegroom; John heard it, and rejoiced at it, and so did many others; see Mt 9:15 Joh 3:29; and the Gospel indeed is no other than his voice; and a soul quickening, soul comforting, and soul alluring, and charming voice it is. And by the “bride” may be meant the church, who is the bride, the Lamb’s wife, being married to him; whose voice of prayer and praise to Christ, and of encouragement to sensible sinners, is heard in Zion, and is very desirable, So 2:14;
the voice of them that shall say, praise the Lord of hosts; the husband of his church, and Redeemer of his people, and who is the sovereign Lord of all; the voice of such is heard, who stir up others to this work and service, and enforce it by the reasons following:
for the Lord [is] good; originally and essentially in himself, and the fountain of goodness to others; the good Head and Husband of his church; the good Samaritan: the good Shepherd of his sheep, and Saviour of his people:
for his mercy [endureth] for ever; it is from everlasting to everlasting; in his love and pity he has redeemed his church; and this is seen in his tender care of her, and will endure to eternal life: these words seem to be taken out of Ps 106:1; and were used by the Jews at the laying of the foundation of the second temple, Ezr 3:11;
[and] of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord; the church of the living God, the materials of which are lively stones, or true believers in Christ; into which none should enter without an offering; and this should be a spiritual one, the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving; which God has enjoined as well pleasing to him, because it glorifies him. This shows that this prophecy belongs to Gospel times; since no other sacrifice is mentioned as brought into the house of God but the sacrifice of praise. And remarkable is the note of Kimchi on this passage;
“he does not say a sin offering, or a trespass offering, because at this time there will be no ungodly persons and sinners among them, for they shall all know the Lord. And so our Rabbins of blessed memory say, all offerings shall cease in time to come (the times of the Messiah) but the sacrifice of praise;”
for I will cause to return the captivity of the land as at the first,
saith the Lord: a release from spiritual captivity, or redemption by Christ; being the foundation of all solid joy, praise, and thanksgiving.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Heard then shall be the voice of joy, and the voice of gladness; the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride; that is, marriages shall again be celebrated. And this way of speaking often occurs in the Prophets when they refer to the joyful condition of the city and of the people; for in seasons of mourning no one thinks of marrying a wife, so that marriage-feasts then cease as well as all festivals. Then the Prophet briefly shews that God would put an end to the calamities of the people, and give them reasons for rejoicing after he had for a time punished their sins.
But he shews also of what kind their joy would be, The voice of them who shall say, Praise ye Jehovah of hosts Here he distinguishes between the faithful and the ungodly, for joy is common to both, when prosperity happens to them; for God’s children may rejoice when the Lord shews himself to them as a bountiful Father. But the profane exult through intemperate joy, and at the same time they make no mention of God, for they live only on present things; but the faithful raise up their thoughts to God, and never rejoice without thanksgiving. Thus they consecrate and sanctify their joy, when the ungodly, by polluting God’s blessing, do also contaminate their joy. We ought then to take special notice of this difference which the Prophet here intimates, between godly and profane joy; for the children of this world do indeed exult, but as we have said, immoderately in their joy; and they are unthankful to God, and never duly reflect on his goodness; nay, they designedly turn away their eyes and their thoughts from God; but the faithful have always a regard to God whenever it succeeds well with them, for they know that everything flows to them from God’s goodness only.
Hence he says, Heard shall be the voice of them who shall say, Praise ye Jehovah, for he is good, etc. The Prophet here alludes to the customary practice of singing, which is spoken of in sacred history. For we know that when the Temple was dedicated, the praises of God were celebrated, and the Levites always sang, For his mercy is for ever They first exhorted others to praise God, and to every sentence this repetition was added, “For his mercy is for ever.” What then had formerly been in common use the Prophet refers to: Heard then shall be that usual song, Praise ye Jehovah, for his mercy is for ever
He then adds, Of them who shall bring praise to the house of Jehovah; for I will restore the captivity of the land He mentions sacrifices, for the service, according to the Law, required, that these should be added as evidences of gratitude. God indeed had no need of vetires, nor did he delight in external displays; but these exercises of religion were necessary for a rude people, and still learning the elements of truth. The Prophet then speaks here with reference to a particular time, when he connects sacrifices with praises and thanksgiving, he yet shews for what end God required sacrifices to be then offered to him, lest the Jews should think that God was pacified when a calf had been slain. He then shews that all this had been prescribed to them, and enjoined for this end — that they might shew themselves thankful.
This metonymical mode of speaking ought then to be carefully observed; for hence we conclude, that sacrifices of themselves were of no moment, but were only acceptable and of good odor to God on this account — because they were evidences of gratitude.
He then adds, To the house of Jehovah Now, this also ought in the last place to be noticed, — that it is not sufficient for one to be thankful to God, but that public thanksgiving is also required, so that we may mutually stimulate one another. And we also know that confession ought not to be separated from faith; as faith has its seat in the heart, so also outward confession proceeds from it; and therefore it cannot be but that the interior feeling must break out from the soul, and the tongue be connected with the heart. It hence follows, that all those are guilty of falsehood who say that they have faith within, but are at the same time mute, and, as far as they can, unworthily bury the benefits of God. And as I have said, this zeal is required of all the godly, in order that they may stimulate one another to praise God; for it was for this purpose and for this reason, that express mention is made of the Temple; that is, that the faithful might understand, that God is to be worshipped, not only privately and within closed doors, but that also a public profession ought to be made, so that they may together with common consent celebrate and acknowledge his benefits and blessings.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(11) The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness . . .The words gain greater emphasis as being those which the prophet had himself used (Jer. 7:34; Jer. 16:9; Jer. 25:10) in foretelling the desolation of the city. He points, as it were, by implication to the fulfilment of the one prediction, as a guarantee that the other also will, in due season, have its fulfilment.
Praise the Lord of hosts . . .The words were used as the ever-recurring doxology of the Temple-services (Ezr. 3:11; 2Ch. 7:6; 2Ch. 20:21; Psa. 136:2-3; 1Ma. 4:24). The Courts of the Temple, now hushed in silence, should once again re-echo with the Hallelujahs of the Priests and Levites. The sacrifice of praise (the same phrase as in Jer. 17:26; Psa. 56:12) may be either the sacrifice which consists in praise, or the sacrifices of thanksgiving of Lev. 7:12, which were offered in acknowledgment of special blessings. The ground of the thanksgiving in either case would be that the Lord had turned again the captivity of Jacob. The phrase was a familiar one, as in Psa. 14:7; Psa. 53:6; Deu. 30:3. The words as at the first (literally, as at the beginning) do not refer to any previous restoration, like that of the Exodus from Egypt, but to the state before the exile.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
11. The voice of joy, etc. The fulness and emphasis of this promise is indicated by the wave after wave of parallelism which flows in upon us. Praise the Lord, etc. This phraseology seems to be quoted here as liturgical; the regular and universal formula of praise and thanksgiving.
As at the first I will restore the land to the condition it had before the captivity.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jer 33:11. Praise the Lord, &c. By referring to Ezr 3:11 you will find that the Jews, on their return from captivity, made use of this hymn.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jer 33:11 The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD [is] good; for his mercy [endureth] for ever: [and] of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the LORD.
Ver. 11. The voice of joy. ] See Jer 7:34 ; Jer 16:9 .
The voice of them that shall say, Praise the Lord of hosts, for he is good.
And of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
The voice of joy, &c. Compare Jer 7:34; Jer 16:9; Jer 25:10.
the LORD of hosts = Jehovah (with ‘eth) Zebaoth. See note on Jer 6:6, and 1Sa 1:3.
mercy = lovingkindness, or grace. Not the same word as in Jer 33:26.
for ever = age-abiding. Therefore the fulfilment is still future.
them that shall bring. Implying a settled order of worship.
sacrifice of praise = thank-offering, or confession (of praise).
as at the first. Note the Structure, p. 1064.
saith the LORD = [is] Jehovah’s Oracle.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
voice of joy: Jer 7:34, Jer 16:9, Jer 25:10, Joh 3:29, Rev 18:23
the voice of them: Jer 31:12-14, Ezr 3:11-13, Ezr 6:22, Neh 8:12, Neh 12:43, Isa 12:1-6, Isa 51:11, Isa 52:9, Zep 3:14, Zec 8:19, Zec 9:17, Zec 10:7
Praise the: 1Ch 16:8, 1Ch 16:34, 2Ch 5:13, 2Ch 7:3, 2Ch 20:21, Ezr 3:11, Psa 106:1, Psa 107:1, Psa 118:1-4, Psa 136:1-26
sacrifice: Lev 7:12, Lev 7:13, 2Ch 29:31, Psa 107:22, Psa 116:17, Jon 2:9, Heb 13:15
For I: Jer 33:7, Jer 33:26
Reciprocal: Deu 12:10 – ye dwell 1Ch 15:16 – lifting up 1Ch 15:29 – dancing 1Ch 16:41 – to give 1Ch 25:3 – to give thanks 2Ch 31:2 – to give thanks Ezr 3:13 – shouted Neh 9:5 – bless Psa 25:6 – for they Psa 27:6 – therefore Psa 31:7 – I will Psa 66:8 – make Psa 69:35 – build Psa 74:21 – poor Psa 85:6 – people Psa 95:1 – let us make Psa 98:4 – General Psa 100:5 – For the Psa 126:2 – Then was Isa 24:14 – General Isa 26:1 – this song Isa 30:29 – Ye shall Isa 35:10 – and come Isa 49:19 – thy waste Isa 51:3 – joy Isa 52:8 – with Isa 55:12 – ye shall Isa 60:15 – a joy Jer 17:26 – sacrifices of Jer 30:18 – Behold Jer 30:19 – out Jer 31:16 – they Jer 31:24 – General Jer 32:42 – so Jer 32:44 – for I Eze 37:21 – General Nah 1:7 – Lord Zec 2:10 – and rejoice Zec 4:7 – Grace Zec 8:5 – playing Rev 7:12 – thanksgiving Rev 18:22 – the voice
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 33:11. This is a prediction of the general condition of goodness that was to exist after the return from captivity. The various relations of society and family life were to be restored.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
33:11 The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, {i} Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD [is] good; for his mercy [endureth] for ever: [and] of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause to return the captives of the land, as at the first, saith the LORD.
(i) Which was a song appointed for the Levites to praise God by, 1Ch 16:8 Ps 105:1 106:1 107:1 118:1 136:1 Isa 12:4