Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 16:10
And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt show this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us? or what [is] our iniquity? or what [is] our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?
10. Cp. Jer 5:19, Jer 13:22.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
10 13. See introd. summary to section.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
When thou shalt show this people all these words, or all these things; when thou shalt be observed by this people to refuse marriage, and to go to the houses of mourners, according to the custom, to eat or to drink with mourners, to make them to forget their sorrows, or to go into the house of feasting for jollity and mirth, and they shall ask the reason of thy singularity in this behaviour, and thou shalt give them the reason of it, according as I have instructed thee; and they shall pretend to be at a loss to know the reason why God is so severe against them, for what sin or iniquity it is, thinking perhaps that Manassehs or Jehoiakims commanding them to worship idols would excuse them, and only leave their superiors guilty; for otherwise, while there was such plain idolatry amongst them, they could not be ignorant of cause sufficient that God had, considering the multiplied threats in the law.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
10. (Deu 29:24;1Ki 9:8; 1Ki 9:9).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt show this people all these words,…. Or, “all these things” a; which he was forbid to do; as marrying and having children, going into the house of mourning or feasting, with the reasons of all, because of the calamities coming upon them:
and they shall say unto thee, wherefore hath the Lord pronounced all this great evil against us? as if they were quite innocent, and were not conscious of anything they had done deserving such punishment, especially so great as this was threatened to be inflicted on them; as their dying grievous deaths, parents and children, great and small, and be unlamented, and unburied: or “what is our iniquity?” or “what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?” supposing we have been guilty of some weaknesses and frailties; or of some few faults; which though they cannot be justified, yet surely are not to be reckoned of such a nature as to deserve and require so great a punishment: thus would they either deny or lessen the sins they had been guilty of, and suggest that the Lord was very hard and severe upon them.
a “omnes res hasce”, Gataker, Piscator.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
” And when thou showest this people all these things, and they say unto thee, Wherefore hath Jahveh pronounced all this great evil against us, and what is our transgression, and what our sin that we have committed against Jahveh our God? Jer 16:11. Then say thou to them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith Jahveh, and have walked after other gods, and served them, and worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and not kept my law; Jer 16:12. And ye did yet worse than your fathers; and behold, ye walk each after the stubbornness of his evil heart, hearkening not unto me. Jer 16:13. Therefore I cast you out of this land into the land which he know not, neither ye nor your fathers, and there may ye serve other gods day and night, because I will show you no favour. Jer 16:14. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith Jahveh, that it shall no more be said, By the life of Jahveh, that brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt, Jer 16:15. But, By the life of Jahveh, that brought the sons of Israel out of the land of the north, and out of all the lands whither I had driven them, and I bring them again into their land that I gave to their fathers.” The turn of the discourse in Jer 16:10 and Jer 16:11 is like that in Jer 5:19. With Jer 16:11 cf. Jer 11:8, Jer 11:10; Jer 7:24; with “ye did yet worse,” etc., cf. 1Ki 14:9; and on “after the stubbornness,” cf. on 1Ki 3:17. The apodosis begins with “therefore I cast you out.” On this head cf. Jer 7:15; Jer 9:15, and Jer 22:26. The article in , Graf quite unnecessarily insists on having cancelled, as out of place. It is explained sufficiently by the fact, that the land, of which mention has so often been made, is looked on as a specific one, and is characterized by the following relative clause, as one unknown to the people. Besides, the “ye know not” is not meant of geographical ignorance, but, as is often the case with , the knowledge is that obtained by direct experience. They know not the land, because they have never been there. “There ye may serve them,” Ros. justly characterizes as concessio cum ironia : there ye may serve, as long as ye will, the gods whom ye have so longed after. The irony is especially marked in the “day and night.” Here Jeremiah has in mind Deu 4:28; Deu 28:36, Deu 28:63. is causal, giving the grounds of the threat, “I cast you out.” The form is hap leg . – In Jer 16:14 and Jer 16:15 the prophet opens to the people a view of ultimate redemption from the affliction amidst the heathen, into which, for their sin, they will be cast. By and by men will swear no more by Jahveh who redeemed them out of Egypt, but by Jahveh who has brought them again from the land of the north and the other lands into which they have been thrust forth. In this is implied that this second deliverance will be a blessing which shall outshine the former blessing of redemption from Egypt. But just as this deliverance will excel the earlier one, so much the greater will the affliction of Israel in the northern land be than the Egyptian bondage had been. On this point Ros. throws especial weight, remarking that the aim of these verses is not so much to give promise of coming salvation, as to announce instare illis atrocius malum, quam illud Aegyptiacum, eamque quam mox sint subituri servitutem multo fore duriorem, quam olim Aegyptiaca fuerit . But though this idea does lie implicite in the words, yet we must not fail to be sure that the prospect held out of a future deliverance of Israel from the lands into which it is soon to be scattered, and of its restoration again to the land of its fathers, has, in the first and foremost place, a comforting import, and that it is intended to preserve the godly from despair under the catastrophe which is now awaiting them.
(Note: Calvin has excellently brought out both moments, and has thus expounded the thought of the passage: “Scitis unde patres vestri exierint, nempe e fornace aenea, quemadmodum alibi loquitur (xi. 4) et quasi ex profunda morte; itaque redemptio illa debuit esse memorabilis usque ad finem mundi. Sed jam Deus conjiciet vos in abyssum, quae longe profundior erit illa Aegypti tyrannide, e qua erepti sunt patres vestri; nam si inde vos redimat, erit miraculum longe excellentius ad posteros, ut fere exstinguat vel saltem obscuret memoriam prioris illius redemptionis.” )
is not nevertheless, but, as universally, therefore; and the train of thought is as follows: Because the Lord will, for their idolatry, cast forth His people into the lands of the heathen, just for that very reason will their redemption from exile not fail to follow, and this deliverance surpass in gloriousness the greatest of all former deeds of blessing, the rescue of Israel from Egypt. The prospect of future redemption given amidst announcements of judgment cannot be surprising in Jeremiah, who elsewhere also interweaves the like happy forecastings with his most solemn threatenings; cf. Jer 4:27; Jer 5:10, Jer 5:18, with Jer 3:14., Jer 23:3., etc. “This ray of light, falling suddenly into the darkness, does not take us more by surprise than ‘I will not make a full end,’ Jer 4:27. There is therefore no reason for regarding these two verses as interpolations from Jer 23:7-8” (Graf).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Causes of Divine Judgments. | B. C. 605. |
10 And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt shew this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God? 11 Then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the LORD, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law; 12 And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me: 13 Therefore will I cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night; where I will not shew you favour.
Here is, 1. An enquiry made into the reasons why God would bring those judgments upon them (v. 10): When thou shalt show this people all these words, the words of this curse, they will say unto thee, Wherefore has the Lord pronounced all this great evil against us? One would hope that there were some among them that asked this question with a humble penitent heart, desiring to know what was the sin for which God contended with them, that they might cast it away and prevent the judgment: “Show us the Jonah that raises the storm and we will throw it overboard.” But it seems here to be the language of those who quarrelled at the word of God, and challenged him to show what they had done which might deserve so severe a punishment: “What is our iniquity? Or what is our sin? What crime have we even been guilty of, proportionable to such a sentence?” Instead of humbling and condemning themselves, they stand upon their own justification and insinuate that God did them wrong in pronouncing this evil against them, that he laid upon them more than was right, and that they had reason to enter into judgment with God, Job xxxiv. 23. Note, It is amazing to see how hardly sinners are brought to justify God and judge themselves when they are in trouble, and to own the iniquity and the sin that have procured them the trouble. 2. A plain and full answer given to this enquiry. Do they ask the prophet why, and for what reason, God is thus angry with them? He shall not stop their mouths by telling them that they may be sure there is a sufficient reason, the righteous God is never angry without cause, without good cause; but he must tell them particularly what is the cause, that they may be convinced and humbled, or at least that God may be justified. Let them know then, (1.) That God visited upon them the iniquities of their fathers (v. 11): Your fathers have forsaken me, and have not kept my law. They shook off divine institutions and grew weary of them (they thought them too plain, too mean), and then they walked after other gods, whose worship was more gay and pompous; and, being fond of variety and novelty, they served them and worshipped them; and this was the sin which God had said, in the second commandment, he would visit upon their children, who kept up these idolatrous usages, because they received them by tradition from their fathers, 1 Pet. i. 18. (2.) That God reckoned with them for their own iniquities (v. 12): “You have made your fathers’ sin your own, and have become obnoxious to the punishment which in their days was deferred, for you have done worse than your fathers.” If they had made a good use of their fathers’ reprieve, and had been led by the patience of God to repentance, they would have fared the better for it and the judgment would have been prevented, the reprieve turned into a national pardon; but, making an ill use of it, and being hardened by it in their sins, they fared the worse for it, and, the reprieve having expired, an addition was made to the sentence and it was executed with the more severity. They were more impudent and obstinate in sin than their fathers, walked every one after the imagination of his own heart, made that their guide and rule and were resolved to follow that, on purpose that they might not hearken to God and his prophets. They designedly suffered their own lusts and passions to be noisy, that they might drown the voice of their consciences. No wonder then that God has taken up this resolution concerning them (v. 13): “I will cast you out of this land, this land of light, this valley of vision. Since you will not hearken to me, you shall not hear me; you shall be hurried away, not into a neighbouring country which you have formerly had some acquaintance and correspondence with, but into a far country, a land that you know not, neither you nor your fathers, in which you have no interest, nor can expect to meet with any comfortable society, to be an allay to your misery.” Justly were those banished into a strange land who doted upon strange gods, which neither they nor their fathers knew, Deut. xxxii. 17. Two things would make their case there very miserable, and both of them relate to the soul, the better part; the greatest calamities of their captivity were those which affected that and debarred that from its bliss. [1.] “It is the happiness of the soul to be employed in the service of God; but there shall you serve other gods day and night; that is, you shall be in continual temptation to serve them and perhaps compelled to do it by your cruel task-masters; and, when you are forced to worship idols, you will be as sick of such worship as ever you were fond of it when it was forbidden you by your godly kings.” See how God often makes men’s sin their punishment, and fills the backslider in heart with his own ways. “You shall have no public worship at all but the worship of idols, and then you will think with regret how you slighted the worship of the true God.” [2.] “It is the happiness of the soul to have some tokens of the lovingkindness of God, but you shall go to a strange land, where I will not show you favour.” If they had had God’s favour, that would have made even the land of their captivity a pleasant land; but, if they lie under his wrath, the yoke of their oppression will be intolerable to them.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Va. 10-13: THE HARVEST OF INIQUITY
1. ft is obvious that Jeremiah is to inform the people of Judah concerning the divine prohibition that was upon him; verse 10 reveals the exasperation of their startled unbelief.
a. Why has the Lord pronounced such evil against us? What is our iniquity? or what have we done to cause Him to act like this? (comp. Jer 5:19; Jer 13:22; Deu 29:24-25; 1Ki 9:8-9).
b. In the blindness of self-deception, they are deeply perplexed.
2. God has furnished His servant with adequate answers to their inquiries (vs. 11-12; Eze 14:12-23).
a. Their fathers have forsaken Jehovah to walk after, worship and serve other gods – which are no-gods, (Jer 5:7-9; Psa 106:35-41; Eze 11:21; comp. 1Pe 4:1-3).
b. They have refused to walk in God’s covenant – discarding it in favor of gross idolatry!
c. The children have done worse than their fathers – walking after the stubbornness of their wicked hearts, and refusing to obey Jehovah’s voice, (vs. 12; Jer 7:24-26; Jer 9:14; Jer 13:10; comp. 1Sa 15:23; Ecc 9:3; Mar 7:21).
3. Since they refuse to walk in God’s covenant (a rejection of covenant-love), they have forfeited the blessings thereof: they will be delivered up to that which they have deliberately chosen for themselves until they are willing to return to Jehovah with their whole hearts, (vs. 13; Deu 4:27-31).
a. They will be cast out of the Land of Promise – taken captive into a land that neither they nor their fathers have known, (Jer 15:1; 2Ch 7:20-22; Jer 15:14; Jer 17:4).
b. There they will have opportunity to serve other gods “day and night,” (Jer 5:19).
c. Nor may they expect their rejected Lord to show them any favor, (comp. 5b).
4. Judah, and men of every nation and age, must learn that “the wages of sin is death”; the only escape is through one’s acceptance of the divinely-offered provision, and the willing acknowledgment of the Lord’s sovereign claim upon our hearts, our love, our lives and our ALL! (Rom 6:23; 1Co 6:19-20).
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
He shews here what we have seen elsewhere, — that the people flattered themselves in their vices, so that they could not be turned by any admonitions, nor be led by any means to repentance. It was a great blindness, nay, even madness, not to examine themselves, when they were smitten by the hand of God; for conscience ought to have been to them like a thousand witnesses, immediately condemning them; but hardly any one was found who examined his own life; and then, though God proved them guilty, hardly one in a hundred winingly and humbly submitted to his judgment; but the greater part murmured and made a clamor, whenever they felt the scourges of God. This evil, as Jeremiah shews, prevailed among the people; and he shewed the same in the fifth chapter.
Hence it is that God says, When thou shalt declare these words to this people, and they shall say, Wherefore has Jehovah spoken all this great evil against us; what is our iniquity? what is our sin, that he so rages against us, as though we had acted wickedly against him? God no doubt intended to obviate in time what that perverse people might have said, for he knew that they possessed an untameable disposition. As then he knew that they would be so refractory as to receive no reproof, he confirms his own Prophet, as though he had said, “There is no reason for their perverseness to discourage thee; for they will immediately oppose thee, and treat thee as one doing them a grievous wrong; they will expostulate with thee and deny that they ought to be deemed guilty of so great crimes; if then they will thus petulantly cast aside thy threatenings, there is no reason for thee to be disheartened, for thou shalt have an answer ready for them.”
We now see how hypocrites gained nothing, either by their evasions, or by wantonly rising against God and his Prophets. At the same time all teachers are reminded here of their duty, not to vacinate when they have to do with proud and intractable men. As it appeared elsewhere, where God commanded his Prophet to put on a brazen front, that he might boldly encounter all the insults of the people; (Jer 1:18) the same is the case here, they shall say to thee, that is, when thou threatenest them, they will not winingly give way, but they will contend as though thou didst accuse them unjustly, for they will say, “What is our sin? what is our iniquity? what is the wickedness which we have committed against Jehovah our God, that he should declare this great evil against us?” Thus we see that hypocrites vent their rage not only against God’s servants, but against God himself, not indeed that they profess openly and plainly to do so. But what is the effect when they cannot bear to be corrected by God’s hand, but resist and shew that they do not endure correction with a resigned mind? do they not sufficiently prove that they rebel against God?
But Jeremiah here graphically describes the character of those who struggled with God, for they dared not wholly to deny that they were wicked, but they extenuated as far as they could their sin, like Cain, who ventured not to assert that he was innocent, for he was conscious of having done wrong; and the voice of God, “Where is thy brother?” strengthened the voice of conscience, but in the meantime he ceased not to utter this complaint,
“
Greater is my punishment than I can bear.” (Gen 4:9)
So also Jeremiah introduces the people as speaking, “O, what is our iniquity? and what is the sin which we have committed against Jehovah our God, that he should speak this great evil against us?” They say not that they were wholly without fault, they only object that the atrocity of their sins was not so great as to cause God to be so angry with them, and to visit them with so grievous a punishment. They then exaggerated the punishment, that they might obtain some covering for themselves; and yet they did not say that they were innocent or free from every fault, but they speak of their iniquities and sins as though they had said, “We indeed confess that there is something which God may reprehend, but we do not acknowledge such a mass of sins and iniquities as to cause him thus to thunder against us.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
B. Instructions for the Prophet Jer. 16:10-13
TRANSLATION
(10) And it shall come to pass when you declare to this people all these things that they will say unto you: For what reason does the LORD speak against us all this great evil? What is our iniquity and what is our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God? (11) You shall say unto them: Because your fathers forsook Me (oracle of the LORD) and went after other gods and served them and bowed down to them; and forsook Me and did not keep My law. (12) But you have done greater wickedness than your fathers; and behold, you are continuing to walk each man after the stubbornness of his evil heart so that You do not listen unto Me. (13) So I will hurl you from this land unto a land which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers. There you shall serve other gods by day and by night, because I will not give grace to you.
COMMENTS
Provoked by the strange anti-social behavior of the prophet the people become defiant. Two rhetorical questions are asked not for the sake of information but for protestation. Why do you bring your message of doom? What sin have we committed? (Jer. 16:10). As is frequent in the Book of Malachi the people are challenging the message of Gods prophet by means of questions. Either these people were self-righteous and totally blind to their iniquity or else they were attempting to bluff the prophet into silence by this brazen challenge. If the latter was their aim then they failed. Jeremiah had a ready answer. The history of Israel had been one continuous record of apostasy (Jer. 16:11). But the present generation is worse than their predecessors (Jer. 16:12). Contrary to the optimistic analyses of some historians one generation may be worse than another in the sight of God. The fathers who had sinned against God in the wilderness were denied access to Canaan. The apostate sons of the present generation would be denied the privilege of remaining in Canaan. The greater guilt of the present generation may lie in the fact that they had the advantage of greater revelation. They had been warned by countless prophets. They had seen the wrath of God poured out upon their sister kingdom to the north. Still they persisted in apostasy. For this reason God would hurl them from their land as a man hurls a javelin into the air. Sarcastically Jeremiah adds that there in that foreign land they can serve idols to their hearts content. God will not show favor to His people by delivering them from the hand of their enemies (Jer. 16:13).
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(10) What is our iniquity? . . .Now, as before (Jer. 5:19), the threatenings of judgment are met with words of real or affected wonder. What have we done to call for all this? In what are we worse than our fathers, or than other nations? All prophets had more or less to encounter the same hardness. It reaches its highest form in the reiterated questions of the same type in Malachi 1, 2.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
THE CAUSE OF THE COMING JUDGMENT, Jer 16:10-15.
10-13. Wherefore hath, etc. God’s ways need to be explained. Even with the utmost care it is not always possible to prevent wrong interpretations. Hence, when the people, by their inquiries, made either in complaint or with desire to know the truth, shall open the way, the prophet is commanded to explain God’s dealings toward them. God’s real purpose in all things pertaining to this universe is a moral one. Take out this element from man’s history, and all would be a hopeless enigma.
Imagination Rather, stubbornness.
Land that ye know not Not geographical ignorance is meant, but lack of experience. They know it not, because they have not been there.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
What Jeremiah Is To Answer Once He Has Given His Explanation As To Why He Is Abstaining From Marriage And Family Life, From All Forms Of Mourning, And From All Celebratory Feasts ( Jer 16:10-18 ).
With Jeremiah having brought home to the people the significance of his signs, i.e. that they are indications of great desolation ahead, they are then moved to ask him why YHWH has pronounced this great evil on them (Jer 16:10). In view of their claim that ‘they had done nothing wrong’ we may assume that their questions were indignant rather than fearful. It reveals that they were so hardened in their disobedience that they could not understand why Jeremiah was suggesting that God was angry with them. To them it seemed preposterous. As with so many people in the present day they were so blind spiritually that they were confident that there was nothing in their lives that really displeased God. Conviction of sin has always been one of the most difficult things to bring about in men’s lives, and they were unable to see that it was their whole attitude of heart that was wrong (compare Joh 16:8-11 where it is made clear that to bring such conviction is the work of the Spirit of God).
Jeremiah’s response is to bring out that in fact their sin is so serious (Jer 16:11-12) that what is to happen to them will alter their whole view of history. For after what is in the future to happen to them in ‘the land of the North’, they will no longer see the deliverance from ‘the land of Egypt’ as the great past event of their history but will date their renewed nationhood from the time of their deliverance from ‘the land of the North (Jer 16:14-15). And that is because they are to receive double payment for their sins (Jer 16:18).
Jer 16:10
“And it will come to about when you shall show this people all these words,
And they will say to you,
Why has YHWH pronounced all this great evil against us?
Or what is our iniquity?
Or what is our sin,
That we have committed against YHWH our God?
When Jeremiah tells the people the significance of his signs they are unable to believe what they are hearing. They were fully confident that they and their way of life were satisfactory to God. Were they not maintaining the Temple ritual in the way that was required? Why then should God be displeased? Had they not always given Him His due? Let Jeremiah now explain in what way they had fallen short.
Jer 16:11-12
“Then you will say to them,
Because your fathers have forsaken me,
The word of YHWH,
And have walked after other gods,
And have served them,
And have worshipped them,
And have forsaken me,
And have not kept my law,
And you have done evil more than your fathers,
For, behold, you walk every one after the stubbornness of his evil heart,
So that you do not listen to me,”
YHWH’s reply was straight and to the point. It was because He was no longer the centre of their lives. It was because they had failed to live in accordance with His Instruction (Law). It was because they had forsaken Him and in their daily personal worship had walked after the ways of other gods, and served them and worshipped them. It was because He was no longer the One to Whom they listened. It was because they stubbornly walked in their own ways and in accordance with their own ideas. Central to all was that they were not responding to God’s word.
Jer 16:13
“Therefore will I cast you forth out of this land,
Into the land that you have not known, neither you nor your fathers,
And there you will serve other gods day and night,
For I will show you no favour”.
So if they wanted other gods they could have them. He was casting them forth out of the land as He had warned He would do from the beginning if they went after other gods and walked in their ways (Lev 18:25; Lev 18:28; Lev 20:22; Deu 7:4; Deu 8:19; Deu 11:28; Deu 28:14 ff.). And it would not be onto familiar ground but into a land they had never known or experienced, and there they would serve other gods both day and night (indicating their total commitment). And all this would happen to them because His favour had been withdrawn.
Jer 16:14-15
“Therefore, behold, the days come, the word of YHWH,
That it will no more be said,
‘As YHWH lives, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’
But, ‘As YHWH lives, who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north,
And from all the countries to which he had driven them.’
And I will bring them again into their land that I gave to their fathers.”
Jeremiah’s confidence that YHWH would one day restore His people to the land (something which is a feature of Jeremiah, compare Jer 3:14-19; Jer 4:27; Jer 5:10; Jer 5:18; Jer 23:3 ff., Jer 25:11-12; Jer 29:10; Jeremiah 30-33 and indeed of all the prophets) comes out here, but that is not the main emphasis of the verses. The main emphasis, continuing the theme of this passage, is that just as so long ago they had suffered so dreadfully in ‘the land of Egypt’, so now would they suffer even more dreadfully in ‘the land of the North’. Indeed so dreadful would be the things that they were about to experience that the awfulness of Egypt would be forgotten. This emphasis is brought out by the ‘therefore’ (as with the ‘therefore in Jer 16:13) and by the whole tenor of the verses. It is an explanation of the consequences of their sins.
A great deal of the worship in the Temple was based on the fact of the deliverance from Egypt, and many of the Psalms emphasised the thought. It was seen as the very basis of the nation’s existence. But so horrifying would be what they were about to experience that that emphasis would in the end change into how God had delivered them from their awful exiles among the nations in the North.
Nevertheless having said that, the verses do also bring out Jeremiah’s confidence that in the end God would once again deliver His people, so much so that all their gratitude would in future be levelled at that fact. For this time the deliverance would not just be of one people in one place, but of people in many places who would return back to God and be brought back to the land which God had given them, something fulfilled in the return of the people after the Babylonian exile and onwards, which resulted in the establishment of an independent Jewish Kingdom composed of people from all the tribes of Israel, a return which prepared the way for the coming of Jesus Christ (it does not therefore await fulfilment).
It is an indication of how deeply rooted it was in Jeremiah’s thinking that God would one day restore His people that he is able to treat it here as an obvious assumption.
Jer 16:16
“Behold, I will send for many fishers, the word of YHWH,
And they will fish them up,
And afterward I will send for many hunters,
And they will hunt them from every mountain,
And from every hill,
And out of the clefts of the rocks.”
There would be no way of escape from their fate. Their enemy would come down on them with the same urgency as that shown by fishermen when they were seeking to catch their fish, and would take them up in their net. And they would follow this up, chasing down the survivors with the same urgency and thoroughness with which hunters pursue their prey. There will be no place of refuge. They will be hunted from every mountain, from every hill and from the very clefts of the rocks. None will escape.
Jer 16:17
“For my eyes are on all their ways,
They are not hid from my face,
Nor is their iniquity,
Concealed from my eyes.”
And this thoroughness would be because YHWH was aware of all their ways, and of all their iniquity. His eyes were upon them and He saw everything. They could not hide from His face. And what He saw was disobedience (their disobedient ways) and iniquity.
Jer 16:18
“And first I will recompense their iniquity,
And their sin double,
Because they have polluted my land with the carcasses of their detestable things,
And have filled my inheritance with their abominations.
The consequence was therefore to be that He would recompense them double for all their sins (compare Isa 40:1, and see Exo 22:4; Exo 22:7), in other words He would demand from them the full measure required. And this was because they had polluted His land, which belonged to Him and which He had given to them, by filling it with idols and false gods, and with the behaviour that resulted from such worship. The ‘carcasses of their detestable things’ may refer to the sacrifices offered to the idols which were to be seen as an affront to YHWH, and may include the idea that among other things swine and other unclean things were offered (Isa 65:4). But the reference to the carcasses of idols in Lev 26:30 may simply suggest that that is what is in mind.
‘First.’ That is, first before anything else. YHWH sees it as His most urgent task. Deliverance may follow, but it is first necessary that there be a full measure of judgment.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Reasons for the Captivity
v. 10. And it shall come to pass, when thou shall show this people all these words, v. 11. then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers have forsaken Me, saith the Lord, and have walked after other gods, v. 12. And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, v. 13. therefore will I cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not, neither ye nor your fathers, v. 14. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said, v. 15. but, The Lord liveth that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the North, v. 16. Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, v. 17. For Mine eyes are upon all their ways, v. 18. And first, v. 19. O Lord, v. 20. Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods? v. 21. Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
There is a wonderful degree of condescension, implied on the part of God in what is here said. Where there is an enquiry seriously set up in the soul, concerning the ways and works of God, in his visitation; there the Lord will vouchsafe to explain. Reader! let this encourage in all dark seasons, to tell out your sorrows and exercises, and place them down before the throne!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jer 16:10 And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt shew this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us? or what [is] our iniquity? or what [is] our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?
Ver. 10. And they shall say unto thee, Wherefore? ] This is still the guise of hypocrites, to justify themselves, and quarrel the preacher that reproveth them. See Jer 5:19 .
What is our iniquity?
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jer 16:10-13
10Now when you tell this people all these words, they will say to you, ‘For what reason has the LORD declared all this great calamity against us? And what is our iniquity, or what is our sin which we have committed against the LORD our God?’ 11Then you are to say to them, ‘It is because your forefathers have forsaken Me,’ declares the LORD, ‘and have followed other gods and served them and bowed down to them; but Me they have forsaken and have not kept My law. 12You too have done evil, even more than your forefathers; for behold, you are each one walking according to the stubbornness of his own evil heart, without listening to Me. 13So I will hurl you out of this land into the land which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers; and there you will serve other gods day and night, for I will grant you no favor.’
Jer 16:10-13 The question why us, why now is addressed (cf. Deu 29:24-26; Jer 5:18-19; Jer 9:12-16).
1. the people’s (cf. Jer 16:12)
a. iniquity
b. sin
2. their forefathers
a. had forsaken YHWH
b. had not kept His law
c. followed after other gods
d. served other gods
e. bowed down to other gods
Because of their multi-generational idolatry, YHWH will
1. exile (cast, BDB 376, KB 373, Hiphil PERFECT, Jer 16:13; Jer 22:26) them from the Promised Land
2. cause them to serve the pagan gods of that land (cf. Jer 5:19)
3. cause them not to have the favor (BDB 337, this form of the root found only here in the OT) of YHWH
Notice the number of personal PRONOUNS used of YHWH. His special, covenant people have rejected Him. It is personal!
Jer 16:12 The people’s lifestyle actions are characterized.
1. walk according to the stubbornness of his own evil heart (cf. Jer 7:24; Jer 9:14; Jer 11:8; Jer 13:10)
2. without listening (Shema, BDB 1033) to YHWH (cf. Jer 11:8)
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Wherefore . . . ? Figure of speech Erotesis, App-6. Reference to Pentateuch (Deu 29:24, Deu 29:25). Compare Jer 5:19.
evil = mischief, or calamity. Hebrew. ra’a’. App-44.
iniquity. Hebrew. ‘avah. App-44.
sin. Hebrew. chata’. App-44.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Jer 16:10-13
Jer 16:10-13
MORE REASONS FOR SUCH PENALTIES
And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt show this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath Jehovah pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have committed against Jehovah our God? Then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith Jehovah, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law; and ye have done evil more than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the stubbornness of his evil heart, so that ye hearken not unto me: therefore will I cast you forth out of this land into the land that ye have not known, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night; for I will show you no favor.
Ash noted that, “The verbs used here were part of the distinctive vocabulary used to describe the breach of the covenant.” Significantly, however, it was not merely the breach of that holy covenant by the forefathers of Israel that led to their deportation from Canaan; but that current generation also had sinned even beyond the outrageous behavior of their ancestors.
There shall ye serve other gods day and night…
(Jer 16:13). The form of the sentence here is ironical. A number of writers have attempted to convey the irony as follows: They will have the opportunity of indulging their desire for pagan worship day and night (continually), for God will ignore them. There you may serve those idols you are so mad about, even to satiety, and without intermission (day and night).
I will cast you forth out of this land…
(Jer 16:13). Green pointed out that the word here for cast out is actually hurl out, and thus a clever play upon the name of Jeremiah. The kind of hurling mentioned here was that of placing a stone in a sling, releasing it after hurling it round and round. It was used here as a metaphor for the violent removal of God’s Once Chosen People from Palestine.
Instructions for the Prophet Jer 16:10-13
Provoked by the strange anti-social behavior of the prophet the people become defiant. Two rhetorical questions are asked not for the sake of information but for protestation. Why do you bring your message of doom? What sin have we committed? (Jer 16:10). As is frequent in the Book of Malachi the people are challenging the message of Gods prophet by means of questions. Either these people were self-righteous and totally blind to their iniquity or else they were attempting to bluff the prophet into silence by this brazen challenge. If the latter was their aim then they failed. Jeremiah had a ready answer. The history of Israel had been one continuous record of apostasy (Jer 16:11). But the present generation is worse than their predecessors (Jer 16:12). Contrary to the optimistic analyses of some historians one generation may be worse than another in the sight of God. The fathers who had sinned against God in the wilderness were denied access to Canaan. The apostate sons of the present generation would be denied the privilege of remaining in Canaan. The greater guilt of the present generation may lie in the fact that they had the advantage of greater revelation. They had been warned by countless prophets. They had seen the wrath of God poured out upon their sister kingdom to the north. Still they persisted in apostasy. For this reason God would hurl them from their land as a man hurls a javelin into the air. Sarcastically Jeremiah adds that there in that foreign land they can serve idols to their hearts content. God will not show favor to His people by delivering them from the hand of their enemies (Jer 16:13).
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Wherefore: Jer 2:35, Jer 5:19, Jer 13:22, Jer 22:8, Jer 22:9, Deu 29:24, Deu 29:25, 1Ki 9:8, 1Ki 9:9, Hos 12:8
Reciprocal: Deu 32:42 – make mine 2Ch 7:21 – Why Jer 5:6 – because Jer 9:12 – for Jer 11:17 – pronounced Jer 36:7 – for Eze 18:25 – are Joe 2:1 – let
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 16:10. It is a trait of human nature to profess innocence even when one’s guilt is evident. But the denial is not always made directly; it Is often done in a surprised attitude as if the subject were new. The Lord knew these people would take that turn when Jeremiah informed them of the message and prediction. He wished the prophet to be prepared for their action and hence the present verse.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
16:10 And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt show this people all these words, and they shall say to thee, Why hath the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us? or what [is] {e} our iniquity? or what [is] our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?
(e) Because the wicked are always rebellious and conceal their own sins and murmur against God’s judgments, as though he had no just cause to punish them, he shows him what to answer.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The Lord prepared Jeremiah for questions that the people would ask him. They would wonder what they had done to deserve the great calamity that the prophet predicted. They had become blind to the sinfulness of their ways (cf. Mal 1:6-7; Mal 2:17; Mal 3:7-8; Mal 3:13).