Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 12:3
But thou, O LORD, knowest me: thou hast seen me, and tried mine heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter.
3. The second half of the v. presents some difficulty. Jeremiah’s personal enemies have not yet been definitely mentioned, nor, if we take Co.’s view and place this passage (see on Jer 11:18-23) earlier, have they been even hinted at. If, on the other hand, it refers to the wicked generally, we may question whether Jeremiah drew a distinction between their coming fortunes and those of the nation as a whole. Co. accordingly agrees so far with Du. as to omit this part of the v.
pull them out ] a strong expression in the Hebrew. The verb is that rendered “are broken” in Jer 10:20.
prepare ] For mg. Heb. sanctify see on Jer 6:4.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Thou hast seen me … – Rather, Thou seest me and triest mine heart at all times, and knowest the sincerity of its devotion toward Thee.
Pull them out – The original is used Jer 10:20 of the rending asunder of the cords of the tent, and Eze 17:9 of the tearing up of roots. Jeremiah does not doubt Gods justice, or the ultimate punishment of the wicked, but he wants it administered in a summary way.
Prepare – literally, sanctify, i. e., devote.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 3. But thou, O Lord, knowest me] I know that the very secrets of my heart are known to thee; and I am glad of it, for thou knowest that my heart is towards thee – is upright and sincere.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
But thou, O Lord, knowest me: thou hast seen me, and tried my heart toward thee: here seemeth to be something understood, viz. But, Lord, it is otherwise with me, I am maligned, and my life is hunted after; yet, Lord, thou knowest the sincerity of my heart before and towards thee, thou hast had experience of me in the discharge of my prophetical office, and knowest that I have been faithful in revealing to the people what thou didst reveal to me, yet for this it is they seek my life and would have my blood.
Prepare them for the day of slaughter: Lord, avenge me on this wicked generation, confirm the words against them which I have from thee denounced. Concerning the meaning of expressions of this nature, and the lawfulness of putting up such petitions against those who are not only our enemies, but Gods also, See Poole “Jer 11:20“.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
3. knowest me (Ps139:1).
tried . . . heart (Jer11:20).
toward theerather,”with Thee,” that is, entirely devoted to Thee; contrastedwith the hypocrites (Jer 12:2),”near in . . . mouth, and far from . . . reins.” This beingso, how is it that I fare so ill, they so well?
pull . . . outcontainingthe metaphor, from a “rooted tree” (Jer12:2).
prepareliterally,”separate,” or “set apart as devoted.”
day of slaughter (Jas5:5).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
But thou, O Lord, knowest me,…. The Lord knew him before he was born, Jer 1:5, he knew what he designed him for, and what use he would make of him; and he knew him now, and loved him, and cared for him, as his prophet; he knew his sincerity and faithfulness, and took notice of it, with what integrity he performed his office, and discharged his duty; and he knew that all his enemies said of him were scandal and reproach, lies and calumnies.
Thou hast seen me; his inside, his heart, and all in it; for all things are naked and open to the eyes of an omniscient God:
and tried mine heart towards thee; he had tried him by various afflictive providences, and his heart was found towards God; the affections and desires of his soul were towards him, and he remained faithful and upright before him, and not like the wicked before mentioned.
Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter; either out of the fold, or from a fat pasture; so fat sheep are plucked from the rest, in order to be killed: this shows that their riches, affluence, and plenty, served but to ripen them for ruin and destruction, and were like the fattening of sheep for slaughter; which the prophet, by this imprecation, suggests and foretells would be their case, as a righteous judgment upon them; see Jas 5:5.
Prepare them for the day of slaughter; or, “sanctify them” w; set them apart for it: this, doubtless, refers to the time of Jerusalem’s destruction by the Chaldeans.
w “et sanctifica eos”, V. L. Montanus; “segrega”, Piscator; “destina”, Schmidt; “consecra”, Cocceius.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The Prophet is not here solicitous about himself, but, on the contrary, undertakes the defense of his own office, as though he had said that, he faithfully discharged the office committed to him by God. Though then the Jews, and even the citizens of Anathoth, his own people, unjustly persecuted him, yet he was not excited by private wrongs; and though he disregarded these entirely, he yet could not give up the defense of his office. He then does not speak here of his own private feelings, but only claims for himself faithfulness and sincerity before God in performing his office as a teacher; as though he had said that he executed what God had commanded him to do, and that therefore the Jews contended not with a mortal being, but with God himself.
Hence he says, But thou, Jehovah, knowest me and seest me, and triest my heart towards thee; that is, thou knowest how sincerely I serve thee, and endeavor to fulfin my vocation, and thus to obey thy command. He afterwards glories over them as a conqueror, and says, Draw them forth as sheep for the day of sacrificing, prepare them for slaughter Here no doubt the Prophet intended not only to touch, but sharply to wound the Jews, in order that they might know that they had been hitherto secure to no purpose, and to their own ruin, because God had spared them. They who consider that the Prophet was himself troubled, because he saw that God was propitious and kind to the ungodly, think that, with reference to himself, he took comfort from this, — that the judgment of God was nigh at hand; but I doubt not but that the Prophet had regard to the Jews, as I have already reminded you. When, therefore, he saw that they were torpid in their delusions, he intended to rouse their sensibilities by saying, “I see how it is, O Lord; thou dost indeed concede thyself; but what else is thy purpose but that they should be fattened for the day of slaughter?”
He says, first, Thou wilt draw them out: others read, “Thou wilt lead them forth,” and quote a passage in Jud 20:32, where נתק nutak, is taken in this sense. The word properly means to draw out with force, as when a tree is pulled up, or when any one is drawn out against his will; and this is the sense most suitable to the present passage. Thou wilt then draw them out; that is, thou wilt suddenly draw them out to slaughter. He then intimates that there was no reason for the Jews to be dormant in their prosperity, for God could in a moment act against them; and as the pain of one in labor is sudden, so also, when the wicked say, Peace and security, their ruin will come suddenly upon them. (1Th 5:3) This then is what the Prophet now means: but he goes on in his way of teaching; for he does not address men as they were all deaf, but speaks to God himself, that his doctrine might be more effectual: Thou then wilt draw them out, and do thou prepare them; for it is a prayer: do thou then prepare them for the day of slaughter (56)
The last expression ought especially to be noticed. The Prophet indeed seems here in an excited feeling to imprecate ruin on the people; but there is no doubt but that he was here discharging the duty of his office, for he was the herald of God’s vengeance. IIe therefore asks God to execute what he had commanded him to denounce on the people. He had often promulgated what God had resolved to do to them, but he had moved no one: he now then asks God to fulfin what he had foretold the Jews — that they should shortly perish, because they refused to repent.
We may also learn from this passage, — that when the ungodly accumulate wealth, they are in a manner fattened. When oxen plough, and sheep are fed that they may bear wool and bring forth young, they are not fed that they may grow fat, and a moderate quantity of food will suffice them; but when any one intends to prepare sheep or oxen for the slaughter, he fattens them. So then the feeding of them is nothing else than the fattening of them; and the fattening of them is a preparation for their slaughter. I have therefore said that a very useful doctrine is included in this form of speaking; for when we see that plenty of wealth and power abound with the ungodly and the despisers of God, we see that they are in a manner thus fined with good things, that they may grow fat: — it is fattening or cramming. Let us then not bear it in that they are thus covered with their own fatness, for they are prepared for the day of slaughter. It follows —
(56) This verse, according to the tenses of the verbs, is as follows: —
But thou, Jehovah, thou hast known me; Thou seest me, and triest my heart towards thee: Pull them out as sheep for the sacrifice, And set them apart for the day of slaughter.
It is evident that “seest,” which is here in the future tense, is to be taken as expressing a present act. It would be so rendered in Welsh, —
(lang. cy) Ond ti Jehova, adwaenaist vi; Gweli vi, a phrovi, vy nghalon tuag atat.
God had known him, he was still seeing him, and approved of his heart before him, as the Septuagint express the words. To prove here, or to “try,” means a trial by which a thing is found to be genuine. Blayney gives the meaning by a paraphrase, —
Thou canst discern by trial my heart to be with thee.
—
Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(3) Thou, O Lord, knowest me.Like all faithful sufferers from evil-doers before and after him, the prophet appeals to the righteous Judge, who knows how falsely he has been accused. In words in which the natural impatience of suffering shows itself as clearly as in the complaints of Psalms 69, 109, he asks that the judgment may be immediate, open, terrible. As if recalling the very phrase which he had himself but lately used (Jer. 11:19), he prays that they too may be as sheep for the slaughter, dragged or torn away from their security to the righteous penalty of their wrong.
Prepare.Better, devote. The Hebrew word, as in Jer. 6:4, involves the idea of consecration.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
3. Thou, O Lord, knowest me A solemn appeal to the heart-searching God, not in the spirit of Phariseeism, but with a clear consciousness of thorough honesty. The fact that God is omniscient is terrible to the sinner, but a source of ineffably precious consolation and strength to the Christian.
Pull them out Literally, tear them out. The same word is used in Jer 10:20, of the breaking of the cords of the tent, and in Eze 17:9, of the tearing up of roots. No more vigorous word could have been used in this place.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jer 12:3. Pull them out, &c. Thou wilt separate them as sheep to be sacrificed, and set them apart, &c. Houbigant.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jer 12:3 But thou, O LORD, knowest me: thou hast seen me, and tried mine heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter.
Ver. 3. But thou, Lord, knowest me, &c., ] q.d., I can safely appeal unto thee, and take thee for a witness of mine innocence and integrity, that I have thee not in my mouth only, as they, but in my heart also, which is wholly devoted to thy fear, ut sit tecum, hanging toward thee, and hankering after thee continually. a
Pull them out as sheep.
Prepare them.
a Tremellius.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
prepare = separate, or devote.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
knowest: Jer 11:20, 2Ki 20:3, 1Ch 29:17, Job 23:10, Psa 17:3, Psa 26:1, Psa 44:21, Psa 139:1, Psa 139:23, Joh 21:17, 1Jo 3:20, 1Jo 3:21
toward: or, with
pull: Jer 17:18, Jer 18:21-23, Jer 20:12, Jer 48:15, Jer 50:27, Jer 51:4
the day: Jer 11:19, Psa 44:22, Jam 5:5
Reciprocal: Gen 6:7 – General Gen 7:21 – General Jos 22:22 – he knoweth Psa 44:11 – given Psa 49:14 – Like Jer 15:15 – thou Jer 21:6 – I will Jer 23:10 – the land Jer 40:15 – wherefore Act 8:32 – as a Rom 8:36 – as sheep 2Pe 2:12 – as natural
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 12:3. Jeremiah does not class himself with the unrighteous men of his day. He believes bis faith has been tried and that it has stood the test, Pull them out, etc., is a prediction that God would pull them out which means to separate these evil men (chiefly the leaders) from the rest of the flock
(the congregation) and reserve them for the day of slaughter which means the captivity.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
12:3 But thou, O LORD, knowest me: thou hast seen me, and tried my heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and {d} prepare them for the day of slaughter.
(d) The Hebrew word is “sanctify them”, meaning that God would be sanctified in the destruction of the wicked to whom God for a while gives prosperity, that afterward they would the more feel his heavy judgment when they lack their riches which were a sign of his mercy.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The Lord knew that Jeremiah’s attitude toward Him was entirely different than those hypocrites. The prophet prayed that the Lord would drag them off to punishment like sheep going to the slaughter (cf. Jer 11:19). He prayed that God would reserve them for special destruction, as He had set Jeremiah apart for his ministry (Jer 1:5).