Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 23:22
But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.
22. my council ] See Jer 23:18.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
They should have turned them … – The work of the true prophet, which is to turn men from evil unto good.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
These false prophets did not prophesy without the approbation of the rulers of the ecclesiastical state amongst the Jews in their corrupt state, but so they might, and yet not be sent of God. The judgment of a Divine mission for the revelation of Gods mind unto people must not be merely from their external mission, (which yet they ought to have in a church that is in order,) but from the faithful discharge of their ministry. Those whom God sends, and who are truly acquainted with his counsels, will cause his people to hear, not their own conceits and inventions, but the word of the Lord. God sendeth none upon any other errand but to reveal his will and tell his mind unto people.
Then, saith the prophet,
they should have turned them from their evil way; that is, they would have made this their scope, business, and end, to turn sinners from their sinful ways; and though possibly their labours would not have had so good an effect upon all, yet they would have had an effect upon some to turn them from their evil doings.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
22. stood in . . . counsel(Jer 23:18).
they should have turned themfrom their evil wayThey would have given such counsels to thepeople as would have turned them from their sins (Jer 25:5;Isa 55:11), and so would haveaverted punishment. Their not teaching the law in which God’s counselis set forth proves they are not His prophets, though they boast ofbeing so (Mt 7:15-20).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
But if they had stood in my counsel,…. As they boasted they did; or, as they reproached the true prophets, and charged them with vanity and arrogance, in talking as if they had; had this been truly their case, as it was that of the prophets of the Lord:
and had caused my people to hear my words; or, “then they would have caused my people to hear my words”; had it been so, they would have heard first the words of the Lord themselves in secret and privately, and then they would have caused the people to have heard them; they would not have gone to them with their own lies; they would not have dared to have done that; they would have delivered nothing but what they had heard from the Lord:
then they should, or, “and they would”,
have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings; and not have strengthened their hands, and hardened them in their wickedness, and so kept them from repentance and reformation,
Jer 23:14. The Lord argues from the efficacy and success of the ministry of the word to the truth of it, and their miss:, on from him; for though a good ministry is not always successful, at least so successful as could be wished for, and as it might reasonably be expected it would; yet it is more or less so; and at least it has a tendency to bring men off from their evil practices; and it attempts to do it, though it may fail in the execution; whereas a wicked ministry, such as this of the false prophets, had no tendency hereunto; nor was it the design of it; nor did they attempt it; but, on the contrary, encouraged and hardened men in sin.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
This verse is as it were an explanation of the former; for many might have been perplexed, if it had only been said to them, that there are none who are fit and legitimate teachers but those who had been sent and entrusted with what God had commanded. Hence the Prophet here calls our attention to the truth which is certain and manifest; for God had delivered the sum of all truth in his Law. As then the perfection of wisdom was found in the Law, from which the prophets drew whatever we read in their writings, no excuses, such as the following, could be admitted, — “How can we know that the prophets speak from God’s mouth, that they bring nothing devised by themselves, that they have the instructions which God approves?”
The Prophet then calls the attention of the Jews to the Law, as though He had said as Moses did,
“
There is no need to ascend above the clouds, or to descend into the depths, or to run beyond the sea; for the Law and the word is nigh in thy mouth, that is, God has set before you whatever is necessary and useful to be known.” (Deu 30:12; Rom 10:6.)
This, then, is fully made known to you, nor will the knowledge of anything necessary be obscure, if ye attend to the Law. Hence the cause of error is not only your sloth, but also your perverseness; for ye wilfully neglect the Law, and remain doubtful and inquire, “Which is the way?”
“
This is the way,” said Moses, “walk ye in it.” (Deu 5:33.)
We now then perceive what Jeremiah had in view: he had before said, that none were to be attended to, except they who were sent and spoke from the mouth of God; but he now explains what he meant, even that the Law contained the whole sum of wisdom. But as he had before introduced the false prophets, as boldly deriding the true and faithful servants of God, by objecting to them and saying, “Who had stood in the counsel of God? these imagine that they have fallen from the clouds, they terrify you with dreadful threatenings, as though they were angels from heaven,” — as then the false prophets were thus wont to speak disdainfully of God’s servants, and alleged that they did not stand in God’s counsel, Jeremiah now retorts upon them, and says, speaking in God’s name, If they had stood in my counsel, they would doubtless have spoken from my Law; as though he had said, “They believe not my servants, because they are men and not angels; they hence deny that they are of my counsel: thus they persuade the whole people to despise the doctrine of salvation. There are, however, some prophets whom I have sent: now, if they wish to be deemed sent, let them prove themselves to be so.” What is the true proof? If they had stood in my counsel, they would have doubtless made known my word to my people. What is that word? the definition follows, even the word of the Law, They would have turned the straying people from their evil way (102)
The passage may seem obscure, but from the context itself we can gather that the real design of the Prophet was to convict the false teachers, that they might no longer boast of God’s name, and falsely pretend that they were endued with the prophetic office, and glory in that distinction. He says that it was an evident proof that they were not God’s prophets, because they did not faithfully teach what they ought to have derived from the Law.
It is indeed certain, that no one has been God’s counsellor, according to what Scripture says in many places, when the object is to check the arrogance of those who, in their curiosity, attempt to penetrate into the hidden judgments of God, (Isa 40:13😉 and Paul, while speaking of God’s eternal election, it being incomprehensible, exclaims, Who has been his counsellor? (Rom 11:0 : 34.) He uses a similar language in the First Epistle to the Corinthians, (1Co 2:16 🙂 and why? that he might check the temerity of the human mind, which ventures farther than it is lawful. But afterwards Paul adds by way of correction, “But we have the mind of Christ:” how so? because he has made known his counsel to us. When, therefore, the false prophets denied that God’s servants were his counsellors, they might indeed have said so, viewing them only as mortal men; but their object was to discredit and to render void the word of God; so that they wished to put a restraint not only on men, but also on God himself. This was an intolerable insult to God.
Moreover the Prophet now turns as it were upon them, “There is then no Prophet of God in the world!” But fixed was that saying, that there would ever be some prophets; and none of the Jews could have dared to deny Moses to have been divinely inspired. This, then, being allowed, the Prophet now indirectly reproves them, “Where are the prophets of God?” and as they laid claim to this distinction, he says, “Doubtless ye stand not in God’s counsel. How so? because the counsel of God is included in his Law; and as ye have departed from the doctrine of true religion, as ye have no care to convey instruction, as your doctrine does not teach men the fear of God, nor leads to repentance, it follows that ye are not God’s counsellors nor his prophets.” But that this may appear more evident, we must bear in mind what Moses said, that God has his own secret things, but that whatever is taught in the Law belongs to us and to our children. (Deu 29:29.) There is then no reason why the inquiry should be difficult respecting the true prophets of God; for they, without controversy, deserve to be heard as the angels of God, who are faithful interpreters of his Law; but they who lead us away from the Law ought to be firmly and boldly rejected.
But we must also bear in mind the definition that is given when it is said, that they ought to have turned the people from their evil way, and from the wickedness of their doings (103) We indeed know that the worst men insolently pretend to preach God’s word, as the Papists do at this day: though they have inebriated the whole world with their ungodly and delirious doctrines, they yet boast that they are the servants of God. Hence the Prophet, after having spoken generally of God’s word, adds a special distinction, — that the doctrine of God is that which edifies, which teaches and leads men to repentance and the fear of God, according to what Paul says, that the Scripture is useful for these purposes, (2Ti 3:16😉 for by so saying, he intended to condemn all false interpreters of Scripture, as there were many then who boasted that they were the best teachers, while yet they only pleased itching ears. As then there were many who regarded display and not edification, Paul says, that the Scripture is useful; and therefore he rejected with contempt all expositions in which there was nothing useful. So also in this place the Prophet shews that the right and legitimate use of Scripture was when it was employed to restore men from their evil way.
There is, indeed, here an instance of a part being stated for the whole: for if we only exhort men to repent, there will be no great fruit; and our teaching would be defective, for the doctrine of repentance would be inefficient without faith and without calling on the name of God. But the Prophet did not intend here to mention every part of a sound and useful doctrine; he deemed it enough to confute the false teachers who wished to be alone in repute, while yet they had no care to edify the people; for they saw all things in disorder, they saw crimes prevailing everywhere, they saw a dreadful contempt of God, but to these things they were wholly blind. It might then have been hence easily inferred that they neither faithfully labored for God nor manifested any care for the safety of the Church; for they thus betrayed miserable souls, whose ruin they saw was near at hand.
We now then see the whole design of the Prophet. But there is no doubt but that to the evil way he added the wickedness of their doings, in order that he might more fully expose the insensibility of those who under such an urgency were silent and remained inactive. There is sometimes the need of a moderate reproof; but when people allow themselves an extreme license in wickedness, when impunity is everywhere permitted, and when such corruptions prevail in common, that nothing remains untainted, if then the tongue of the teacher is silent and as it were tied, is he not rightly called an idle and a dumb dog? And thus the Prophet enhances the insensibility, for which he condemns the false teachers; they were silent, as though things were in a good order, while they had to witness not only common crimes, but even a vast accumulation of all kinds of crimes; for the people gave themselves up not only to one kind of wickedness, but to all kinds, and wholly despised God and his Law. It afterwards follows, —
(102) In the Sept. there is no corresponding clause to the “if” at the beginning of the verse. The Vulg. and the Targ., as in our version, make the “turning” to be such a clause, but strangely render it in the first person singular, “then would I have turned them,” etc. The rendering of Calvin, is the most suitable, only the ו after אם, might better be rendered “then” than “surely,” —
But if they had stood in my council, Then would they have caused my people to hear my words, And turned them from their wicked way, And from the wickedness of their doings.
Blayney renders the verse in the same way, making the corresponding clause to begin at the second line. — Ed.
(103) Their “evil way” was their idolatry, and “the wickedness of their doings” was their injustice and immoral conduct. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(22) If they had stood in my counsel.Better, as before, council. The test of the true mission is seen in results. Are the people better or worse for the prophets work? What are the fruits of his teaching? (Comp. Mat. 7:20.) The question meets us, Is this always a test? Was Jeremiahs own work successful in this sense? Must not the true teacher speak whether they [men] will hear, or whether they will forbear? (Eze. 2:5.) The answer is found (1) in the fact that true teaching seldom fails altogether of its work; (2) that where it seems to fail it satisfies the other test, and at least stirs and rouses men from lethargy, even if it stirs them to antagonism. It is never satisfied with speaking smooth things and acquiescing in the evil that surrounds it.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Jer 23:22 But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.
Ver. 22. But if they had stood in my counsel, &c. ] As they vainly vaunt they do, Jer 23:18 and that they know more of my mind than any others.
And had caused my people to hear my words.
Then they should have turned them from the evil of their way.
a Virgil, Aeneid, iii.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
But if, &c. The Hebrew accent requires the rendering: “But, had they stood in My Council: then they would have made My People hear My words, and they would have turned”, &c.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
if: Jer 23:18, Eze 2:7, Eze 3:17, Act 20:27
then: Jer 25:5, Jer 35:15, Jer 36:3, Eze 13:22, Eze 18:30, Zec 1:4, Act 26:18-20, 1Th 1:9, 1Th 1:10, 1Th 5:6
Reciprocal: Jdg 18:6 – Go in peace Jer 18:2 – cause Jer 23:32 – therefore Lam 2:14 – they have Eze 13:5 – have not Dan 12:3 – turn Zec 11:16 – which Mal 2:6 – and did 1Ti 4:16 – them Jam 5:10 – who 1Pe 4:11 – any
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 23:22. Had these men been desirous of giving the proper advice to the people they would have been used by the Lord. The result of such teaching would have been to turn them from their evil way into the ways of righteousness.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
23:22 But if they had stood in my counsel, and {r} had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.
(r) He shows the difference between the true prophets and the false, between the hireling and the true minister.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
If they had listened to the Lord, they would have tried to turn the people back from their evil ways.
"How could a prophet confuse his own word with God’s word? How could a prophet fail to speak condemnation to the sinful, covenant-breaking situation? Perhaps part of the answer was political and economic. The prophets were often part of the establishment; as such they were concerned with the maintenance of the establishment for their own security and well-being. Another part of the issue may have been purely rationalistic: Yes, some of our folks are sinful, but look at the pagans around us; they don’t even worship God, and they practice the grossest of sins; by comparison, we’re good folk and surely God will take that into account. ’Our’ sins are acceptable, but ’their’ sins are not. Besides, who wants to hear judgment preached all the time; just preach on the love of God." [Note: Drinkard, p. 345.]
The brief message that follows corrected a false view of God that the false prophets were apparently promoting (Jer 23:23-24).