Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 15:20
And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brazen wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I [am] with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
20, 21. Cp. Jer 1:18 f.
21 the terrible ] The chief men in Jerusalem, probably meaning Jehoiakim and his counsellors. See note on ch. Jer 12:7.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 20. I will make thee – a fenced brazen wall] While thou art faithful to me, none of them shall be able to prevail against thee.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brazen wall: these words are expounded by those that follow.
They shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: look, as men may throw stones or strike at a brazen wall, but do it no hurt; so, saith God, though thou shalt have enemies that will be offering at thee, yet if thou continuest steady in the doing of thy duty, they shall do thee no harm; for thou shalt have my power engaged for thee, to deliver and save thee from their malice.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
20, 21. The promise of Jer 1:18;Jer 1:19, in almost the samewords, but with the addition, adapted to the present attacks ofJeremiah’s formidable enemies, “I will deliver thee out of . . .wicked . . . redeem . . . terrible”; the repetition is in orderto assure Jeremiah that God is the same now as when He firstmade the promise, in opposition to the prophet’s irreverentaccusation of unfaithfulness (Jer15:18).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall,…. As he had promised him, when he first called him to his office, Jer 1:18, and so would not be as a liar to him:
and they shall fight against thee; by words and blows, by menaces and imprisonment:
but they shall not prevail against thee; so as to cause him to call in his words, and contradict his prophecies; or so as to take away his life:
for I am with thee, to save thee, and deliver thee, saith the Lord; the presence of God with his ministers is sufficient to save and deliver them out of all their troubles, and to protect and defend them against all their enemies; see Mt 28:20.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
As Jeremiah might have objected and said, that the burden was too heavy for him, if he only attempted to break down the contumacy of the people, for he was alone, and we have seen how great was the ferocity and also the cruelty of his adversaries, — as he might have shunned his commission, it being too much for his strength, hence God comes to his aid and bids him to take courage, for he was fortified by a help from heaven, I have set thee, he says, for a brazen fortified wall to this people The word for “fortified” is from בצר, betsar; were it בצרה betsare, derived from צור tsur, to besiege, it would much better suit this place. I know not whether the passage has been corrupted: however, I will not depart from the common reading. As then interpreters agree in this, I will change nothing; and indeed the difference is not very material. (153)
We see then what God meant by these words: As the Prophet was almost alone, and God had bidden him to contend with many and powerful enemies, he promises to stand on his side; as though he had said, — “Though thou art defenceless and unarmed, and they are furnished with wealth and great power, thou shalt yet be like a well-fortified city; thou shalt indeed be impregnable, notwithstanding all their assaults and whatever they may attempt against thee.”
But God proceeds lay degrees; for he first declares that his Prophet would be like a brazen and a fortified wall, that is, like an invincible city: for by stating a part for the whole, a wall means a city that is impregnable. It then follows, They indeed will fight against thee. This warning was very necessary; for Jeremiah was doubtless willing to serve God in exercising authority over teachable and humble men, and in gently inducing them to render obedience to God; but he is reminded here that he would have many hard contests with a rebellious people, They will fight, he says, against thee We see how God does not promise ease to Jeremiah, nor gives him a hope of a better lot in future; but, on the centrary, he exhorts him to fight; and why? because the people would not bear the yoke of God, but kindled into rage against him. But another promise follows, They shall not prevail against thee, or overcome thee.
It was indeed necessary for Jeremiah of his own self to disturb the Jews; for nothing would have been more agreeable to them than his silence; and the object of all their attempts was to drive him to despair. But it is not without reason that they are said to fight with him; for it is contrary to nature for men to resist God and to set themselves against him when he invites them to himself; for what can be more natural than for the whole world to hasten to God? It is then something monstrous for men to oppose God, nay, furiously to rise up against hhn, when he kindly calls them to himself. Hence it is that God here makes the Jews the authors of all this disturbance. For since they loaded the Prophet with the most wicked calumnies, as we have seen, and said, that he was a turbulent man and confounded all things by his morosity, God here shews, on the other hand, that all the commotions and the rightings ought to be attributed to them, because they ought to have obediently received the doctrine set before them.
But though this was said only once to Jeremiah, yet the condition of all God’s servants is here set before us as in a mirror; for they cannot perform what God commands them without having to encounter many and grievous assaults; for the world is never so prepared to obey God, but the greater part furiously resists, and, as far as it can, stifles the word of God and checks his ministers.
He states the reason, For I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee (154) By these words God exhorts his Prophet to prayer; for we know how dangerous is self-security to all the children of God, and especially to teachers. As then they have at all times need of God’s aid, they are to be exhorted to have recourse to solitude and prayer. This is the import of the words which God uses, I am with thee; as though he had said, “Thou indeed wilt not stand by thyself, or through thine own painstaking, nor wilt thou be a conqueror by carrying on war thyself; but thou must learn to flee to me.” It afterwards follows —
(153) All the ancient versions are in favor of the common reading, and there are no MSS. favorable to the proposed emendation. The Septuagint, the Vulgate, the Syriac, and the Targum, render it “strong;” and the Arabic “fortified.” “A strong wall of brass,” is the version of Blayney. — Ed.
(154) The words here used are remarkably precise and significant. I render the verse thus, —
20. And I will make thee to this people A wall of brass, fortified; And they will fight against thee, But they shall not prevail over thee; For with thee will I be, To save thee and to rescue thee, Saith Jehovah.
To “save” was to preserve him from the hands of his enemies; but if he fell into their hands, he would rescue him. And this latter idea is more fully expressed in the following verse, —
Yea, I will rescue thee from the hand of the malignant, And free thee from the grasp of the terrible.
—
Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(20) I will make thee unto this people . . .It is significant that the promise reproduced the very words which the prophet had heard when he was first summoned to his work (see Note on Jer. 1:18-19). Jehovah had not been unfaithful to His word, but, like all promises, it depended on implied conditions, and these the faint-hearted, desponding prophet had but imperfectly fulfilled. Let him return to the temper of trust, and there should be an abundant deliverance for him.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
20, 21. These verses contain an amplified repetition of the promise given at the very outset of his ministry, Jer 1:18-19.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jer 15:20 And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I [am] with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
Ver. 20. And I will make thee. ] See on Jer 1:18-19 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
I will make thee, &c. Compare Jer 1:18, Jer 1:19; Jer 6:27,
deliver = rescue. Not the same word as in Jer 15:9.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
I will: Jer 1:18, Jer 1:19, Jer 6:27, Eze 3:9, Act 4:8-13, Act 4:29-31, Act 5:29-32
but: Jer 20:11, Jer 20:12, Psa 124:1-3, Psa 129:1, Psa 129:2, Rom 8:31-39
for: Jer 20:11, Psa 46:7, Psa 46:11, Isa 7:14, Isa 8:9, Isa 8:10, Isa 41:10, Act 18:9, Act 18:10, 2Ti 4:16, 2Ti 4:17, 2Ti 4:22
Reciprocal: Gen 39:2 – the Lord 1Sa 25:16 – a wall 2Ki 1:15 – be not afraid of him Psa 31:15 – deliver Isa 49:2 – made me Isa 58:1 – spare Jer 1:8 – for I am Jer 15:10 – a man Jer 17:14 – save Jer 30:11 – I am Jer 36:26 – but Jer 38:28 – General Jer 42:11 – for I Jer 46:28 – for I am Eze 3:8 – General Hag 1:13 – I am Act 6:10 – able Rev 9:20 – and idols
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 15:20-21. Fenced brasen wall is a figure meaning a situation of strong protection. The paragraph is an assurance to Jeremiah that God would not let him down. His unrighteous countrymen would persecute him and if possible would kill him. But God promises not to let his enemies succeed in their designs to destroy him. We shall see the whole subject demonstrated near the close of the book. There seems to he a popular notion in the minds of mankind that if one does not like the sound of some unpleasant truth, he can prevent the predicted outcome of it by destroying the man who utters the unwelcomed truth. That was the principle that caused the Jews to kill the Saviour of the world and that also killed millions of His followers.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
15:20 And I will make thee to this people a fortified brasen wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not {y} prevail against thee: for I [am] with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
(y) I will teach you with an invincible strength and constancy, so that all the powers of the world will not overcome you.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
If Jeremiah repented, the Lord would make him as indestructible as a bronze wall (cf. Jer 15:12; Jer 1:18-19). No one would be able to destroy him because the Lord would be with him and deliver him from his adversaries. He would rescue him from the wicked who would try to kill him, and He would free him from the grasp of those who would treat him violently.
"The antidote for the prophet’s earlier ’Woe is me’ [Jer 15:10] was the Lord’s ’I am with thee’ (Jer 15:20). No better word could ever be given by God to one of His servants, anywhere or anytime!" [Note: Jensen, p. 54. Cf. Matthew 28:20.]
This passage appears to reflect Jeremiah’s lowest point emotionally in his ministry.