Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 29:15
Because ye have said, The LORD hath raised us up prophets in Babylon;
15. This v. naturally links with Jer 29:21 ff., while the intervening vv. make an apparent severance in the logical connexion, and are absent from LXX, except in a certain recension (Lucianic), where, however, they precede Jer 29:15. With this transposition, as at least modifying the objection arising from the break of logical connexion, Gi. agrees, maintaining, as he does, their genuineness. Co. (and so Du.) refuses to consider the vv. as belonging to the original letter, making Jer 29:16-18 to be in substance a reproduction of Jer 24:8 f., Jer 29:19 to have its origin in Jer 24:4 ff. and parallel passages, and Jer 29:20 to be taking up the line of thought anew from Jer 29:16. Dr. suggests that, as the passage seems out of place in a letter to the Jews in Babylonia, dealing as it does with the fate of the Jerusalem Jews, it belongs only to the recension of that letter which subsequently was incorporated in this Book. If we are to abide by the MT. in the matter, the sense appears to be this: One of the difficulties raised by the exiles when the prospect of seventy years’ captivity was held out to them would be, We have prophets here at Babylon who tell us just the reverse of all this. Which shall we believe? To this the reply of Jeremiah is twofold. (i) These prophets’ teaching shall soon be disproved. The king and the remnants of the kingdom, upon whose continued existence at Jerusalem they lay such stress, will soon pass away. Ye shall not soon be restored to your brethren, but they shall be exiles and scattered like to you. (ii) The false prophets, who thus delude you, shall themselves miserably perish and become a proverb and by-word.
For ] rather, Because, connecting this v. directly with Jer 29:21. “Because ye congratulate yourselves on having prophets in your exile, I tell you how soon ye shall discover that they are valueless.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
15 19. The impending fate of Zedekiah and his people. Cp. Jer 24:8-10.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 15. Because ye have said] The Septuagint very properly insert this verse between the twentieth and the twenty-first, and thus the connexion here is not disturbed, and the connexion below completed.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The prophet here turneth his speech to some wicked Jews that were in Babylon, or in Judea, and more believed some false prophets, who told them of a much quicker return, than Jeremiah telling them the truth from the mouth of God,
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
15. Becausereferring not tothe preceding words, but to Jer 29:10;Jer 29:11, “Jehovah saiththis to you” (that is, the prophecy of the continuance of thecaptivity seventy years), “because ye have said, The Lord hathraised us up prophets in Babylon,” namely, foretelling ourspeedy deliverance (this their prophecy is supposed,not expressed; accordingly, Jer29:16-19 contradict this false hope again, Jer 29:8;Jer 29:9; Jer 29:21).He, in this fifteenth verse, turns his address from the godly (Jer29:12-14) to the ungodly listeners, to false prophets.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Because ye have said,…. That is, some of them; for here the Lord, by the prophet, turns from the godly among the captives, whom he had been advising, encouraging, and comforting before, to those who gave heed to the false prophets, who promised them a speedy return to their own land, and which they believed; and therefore rejected and despised the prophecies of Jeremiah, and others:
the Lord hath raised us up prophets in Babylon; and therefore stood in no need of other prophets that were in Judea, or in Jerusalem, nor should hearken to them; but believe those that were raised up among themselves, rather than others at a distance; and though these were false prophets, yet, being such that prophesied to them things that were agreeable, they were willing to believe them, and to consider them, and receive them, as prophets sent of God, when they were not.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Jeremiah informs the captives of the judgments that is to gall on such as are still left in the land. Jer 29:15. “If ye say: Jahveh hath raised us up prophets in Babylon – Jer 29:16. Yea, thus saith Jahveh of the king that sitteth upon the throne of David, and of all the people that dwelleth in this city, your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity, Jer 29:17. Thus saith Jahveh of hosts: Behold, I send amongst them the sword, famine, and pestilence, and make them like horrible figs, that cannot be eaten for badness, Jer 29:18. And hunt after them with the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and give them to be abused to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a reproach among all the peoples whither I have driven them; Jer 29:19. Inasmuch as they have not hearkened to my words, saith Jahveh, wherewith I sent to them my servants the prophets, from early morning on sending them, and ye have not hearkened, saith Jahveh. Jer 29:20. But ye, hear the word of Jahveh, all ye captives whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon.” – The design with which Jeremiah tells the captives of this judgment may be gathered from the terms of Jer 29:15, with which this prophecy is introduced: God had raised up to us prophets in Babel ( , lit., as far as Babel, i.e., extending His agency so far beyond the bounds of Judah). Hence it is clear that the announcement of judgment to come on those left in the land is in direct opposition to the predictions of the prophets that had appeared in Babylon. these prophesied a swift end to Chaldean domination and an immediate return of the exiles to their fatherland. So long as one of David’s posterity sat on his throne in Jerusalem, and so long as the kingdom of Judah was maintained, the partial captivity of the people and removal of the plundered treasures of the temple would appear as a calamity which might soon be repaired. The false prophets in Babylon laid, therefore, great stress on the continued existence of the kingdom, with its capital and the temple, in their efforts to obtain belief amongst the exiles. As Ng. justly remarks, it was to take this ground from beneath their feet that Jeremiah predicted expulsion and destruction against the people of Jerusalem. The prophecy does indeed bear upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “but not in the first reference; its immediate purpose was to overthrow the foundations on which the false prophets of the exile stood” (Ng. ). Taken thus, these verses form and integral part of the message sent by Jeremiah to the exiles, which was of no small weight for quieting the excitement, nourished by the false prophets, which reigned amongst them. One is struck by the want of connection between Jer 29:15 and Jer 29:16. The beginning of Jer 29:16, “Yea, thus saith,” comes directly after the end of Jer 29:15 without any joining link. Ng. holds the to be the pleonastic which often introduces a saying. But its position before the “thus saith” makes this impossible. Here it serves to strengthen the asseveration: yea, thus fitly introducing what Jahveh says to the contrary; and Jer 29:15 and Jer 29:16 are, tersely and immediately, set over against one another. “If ye say” means: as regards your saying that Jahveh hath raised you up prophets in Babylon, the answer is: Thus hath Jahveh said. This is the connection of Jer 29:16 with Jer 29:15.
(Note: By the above exposition of the connection and progress of the thought, are disposed of all the objections that have been brought by Houb., Lud. Capp., Ven., etc., against the genuineness of these verses, or, at least, against the true position for them. The fact of their being wanting in the lxx, on which Hitz. mainly grounds his charge of spuriousness, proves nothing more than that these translators were unable to understand the train of thought in the verses, especially seeing that the substance of them has several times been expressed by Jeremiah, particularly Jer 29:17 and Jer 29:18; Jer 24:9-10, cf. Jer 15:4; Jer 19:8; with Jer 29:19 cf. Jer 7:13, Jer 7:25. Against the attempts to alter the text, Graf’s remarks are admirable: “It is much easier to explain how the passage was omitted as out of place by the lxx than to show how it could have been introduced as an interpolation. It is too long for a mere marginal gloss that had at a later time found its way into the text; and why it should have been placed here, would remain all the more incomprehensible if it were so wholly unconnected with the body of the text. We cannot admit that it is merely an erroneous displacement of b. 15, which originally stood before Jer 29:21; since it is less likely that Jer 29:16 could have come directly after Jer 29:14. In respect of form, Jer 29:16-20 is connected with and forms a continuation of what precedes. Jer 29:20 implies the presence of Jer 29:16 as an antithesis, and at the same time completes again the connection that had been interrupted with Jer 29:15, and leads on to Jer 29:21. Connection in thought seems to be wanting only because Jer 29:16 does not express the connecting idea, and because the contrast is so abrupt.” – The other arguments adduced by Hitz. to throw suspicion on the passage, we can afford to pass over as wholly without force.)
“Your brethren that,” etc., is co-ordinate with “all the people.” The words: “I make them like horrible figs,” make allusion to the vision in Jer 24:2., but do not imply that this vision was known to the exiles, for they are quite intelligible to him who knows nothing of Jer 24:1-10 (Ng. ). The adject. is found only here, from , shudder; horrible, that on tasting which one shudders. With Jer 29:18, cf. Jer 24:9. “Wherewith I sent my servants,” i.e., commissioned them. This verb construed with double accus. as in 2Sa 11:22; Isa 55:11. “Ye have not hearkened,” the 2nd pers. instead of the 3rd, is hardly to be explained by the fact that the prophet here cites in full an often quoted saying (Hitz., Ng. , etc.). The reason is that the prophet is thinking of the exiles also as having been equal to their brethren remaining in Judah in the matter of not hearkening. Thus the way is prepared for the summons: But ye, hear, Jer 29:20.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| The Doom of the False Prophets. | B. C. 596. |
15 Because ye have said, The LORD hath raised us up prophets in Babylon; 16 Know that thus saith the LORD of the king that sitteth upon the throne of David, and of all the people that dwelleth in this city, and of your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity; 17 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil. 18 And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them: 19 Because they have not hearkened to my words, saith the LORD, which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but ye would not hear, saith the LORD. 20 Hear ye therefore the word of the LORD, all ye of the captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon: 21 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, of Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, which prophesy a lie unto you in my name; Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your eyes; 22 And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah which are in Babylon, saying, The LORD make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire; 23 Because they have committed villany in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours’ wives, and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them; even I know, and am a witness, saith the LORD.
Jeremiah, having given great encouragement to those among the captives whom he knew to be serious and well-affected, assuring them that God had very kind and favourable intentions concerning them, here turns to those among them who slighted the counsels and comforts that Jeremiah ministered to them and depended upon what the false prophets flattered them with. When this letter came from Jeremiah they would be ready to say, “Why should he make himself so busy, and take upon him to advise us? The Lord has raised us up prophets in Babylon, v. 15. We are satisfied with those prophets, and can depend upon them, and have no occasion to hear from any prophets in Jerusalem.” See the impudent wickedness of this people; as the prophets, when they prophesied lies, said that they had them from God, so the people, when they invited those prophets thus to flatter them, fathered it upon God, and said that it was the Lord that raised them up those prophets. Whereas we may be sure that those who harden people in their sins, and deceive them with false and groundless hopes of God’s mercy, are no prophets of God’s raising up. These prophets of their own told them that no more should be carried captive, but that those who were in captivity should shortly return. Now, in answer to this, 1. The prophet here foretells the utter destruction of those who remained still at Jerusalem, notwithstanding what those false prophets said to the contrary: “As for the king and people that dwell in the city, who, you think, will be ready to bid you welcome when you return, you are deceived; they shall be followed with one judgment after another, sword, famine, and pestilence, which shall cut off multitudes; and the poor and miserable remains shall be removed into all kingdoms of the earth,” Jer 29:16; Jer 29:18. And thus God will make them, or rather deal with them accordingly, as the salt that has lost its savour, which, being good for nothing, is cast to the dunghill, and so are rotten figs. This refers to the vision and the prophecy upon it which we had ch. xxiv. And the reason given for these proceedings against them is the same that has often been given and will justify God in the eternal ruin of impenitent sinners (v. 19): Because they have not hearkened to my words. I called, but they refused. 2. He foretells the judgment of God upon the false prophets in Babylon, who deceived the people of God there. He calls upon all the children of the captivity, who boasted of them as prophets of God’s raising up (v. 20): “Stand still, and hear the doom of the prophets you are so fond of.” The two prophets are named here, Ahab and Zedekiah, v. 21. Observe, (1.) The crimes charged upon them–impiety and immorality: They prophesied lies in God’s name (v. 21), and again (v. 23), They have spoken lying words in my name. Lying was bad, lying to the people of God to delude them into a false hope was worse, but fathering their lies upon the God of truth was worst of all. And no marvel if those that had the face to do that could allow themselves in the gratification of those vile affections to which God, in a way of righteous judgment, gave them up. They have done villainy in Israel, for they have committed adultery with their neighbours’ wives. Adultery is villainy in Israel, and in such as pretend to be prophets, who by such wickednesses manifestly disprove their own pretensions. God never sent such profligate wretches on his errands. He is the Lord God of the holy prophets, not of such impure ones. Here it appears why they flattered others in their sins–because they could not reprove them without condemning themselves. These lewd practices of theirs they knew how to conceal from the eye of the world, that they might preserve their credit; but I know it and am a witness, saith the Lord. The most secret sins are known to God; he can see the villainy that is covered with the thickest cloak of hypocrisy, and there is a day coming when he will bring to light all these hidden works of darkness and every man will appear in his own colours. (2.) The judgments threatened against them: The king of Babylon shall slay them before your eyes; nay, he shall put them to a miserable death, roast them in the fire, v. 22. We may suppose that it was not for their impiety and immorality that Nebuchadnezzar punished them thus severely, but for sedition, and some attempts of their turbulent spirits upon the public peace, and stirring up the people to revolt and rebel. So much of their wickedness shall then be detected, and in such a wretched manner they shall end their days, that their names shall be a curse among the captives in Babylon, v. 22. When men would imprecate the greatest evil upon one they hated they would think they could not load them with a heavier curse, in fewer words, than to say, The Lord make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab. Thus were they made ashamed of the prophets they had been proud of, and convinced at last of their folly in hearkening to them. God’s faithful prophets were sometimes charged with being the troublers of the land, and as such were tortured and slain; but their names were a blessing when they were gone and their memory sweet, not as these false prophets. As malefactors are attended with infamy and disgrace, so martyrs with glory and honour.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Vs. 15-20: PLEAS FOR AN END TO SELF-DECEPTION
1. The exiled Jews appear to be comforted by the thought that Jehovah has raised up prophets among them who promise an early return to their homeland, (vs. 15).
2. For this reason, the Lord commands Jeremiah to inform those exiles of what they are REALLY missing by God’s gracious and early deliverance of them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, (vs. 16-17).
a. The prospect awaiting the king and people who are left in the land of Judah is not one of prosperity and peace, (Jer 27:8; Jer 32:34).
b. The Lord is sending against them the sword, famine and disease – so pursuing them as to make them a consternation to all the kingdoms of the earth.
c. They are like vile figs that are so putrid they cannot be eaten; they are of NO BENEFIT to the Lord their God! (Jer 24:3; Jer 24:8-10).
3. Just as knowledge of His majestic acts toward Israel had been made known – to the fear of surrounding nations; so will they know of His mighty judgments upon her sin! (vs. 18-19).
a. They will live in terror and reproach among the nations to which the Lord will drive them, (comp. Jer 42:18; Isa 65:15; La 2:15-16).
b. Their calamity will come as a direct result of their willful rebellion against those servants whom Jehovah has sent to call them to repentance, (Jer 6:19; Jer 19:15; Pro 1:31).
4. The exiles are, therefore, to recognize their own good fortune and cease their struggle against the merciful providence of their God, (vs. 20; comp. Jer 24:5; Nah 1:7).
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
Many interpreters connect the first of these verses with the preceding ones, and they seem not to think so without reason; for the reason given is not unsuitable, if we refer to what the Prophet had said, even that the Jews were by no means to hope for a return until the end of seventy years. But the meaning I adopt is more probable; the particle כי, ki, is repeated; the first is causal, and the second an illative; (219) and consistently with the usage of Scripture the learned and the experienced think that this is the real meaning of the Prophet. He then says, that the captives were very foolish who hoped for a quick end to their exile, because they had false prophets who gave them such a promise; ye have then said, that prophets have been given you, in Chaldea, and that God had there pitied you, because there are those who prophesy of a return in a short time. As then ye are so foolishly credulous, Thus saith Jehovah to your brethren, he then turns his discourse to the exiles, and exhorts them not to suffer themselves to be led astray. But here he indirectly reproves them, because they could not bear a condition which was even better than that of the residue, as though he had said, “What means this your unreasonableness! that when all your ways are closed up against you, and the power of your conqueror is so great that ye cannot move a finger without his nod, ye should yet think that you shall be set free in two years! and surely if you were before foolishly secure and confident, your calamities ought now to make you humble. But your brethren, who seem yet to enjoy liberty because they dwell at Jerusalem, (for those alone were then remaining,) even these your brethren suffer far more grievously than ye do.”
(219) Gataker approves of this and says, evidently referring to Calvin, “So an interpreter of prime note rendereth it.” That כי is sometimes an iliative is generally admitted; and here the connection cannot otherwise be seen. There is a large gap after the 15 verse (Jer 29:15) in the Sept., the verses 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20 (Jer 29:16), are omitted, but not in the other versions nor in the Targ.; and Blayney has thereby been led to put the 15 verse out of its place and set it between the 20 and the 21, but without sufficient reason. The connection, as shewn by Calvin, is suitable as the verse now is, and by removing it, the drift of what follows is not so clearly seen.
Another thing advanced by Blayney, though countenanced by Houbigant and Horsley, two rival innovators, is not to be admitted, — that the letter terminates at the end of the 20 verse (Jer 29:20), and not at the end of the 23d (Jer 29:23), and that what follows forms another letter. It is evident that what is contained in the 24 th (Jer 29:24) and in the following verses to the end, was written in consequence of an answer from Babylon to this letter. Compare verse 5 th (Jer 29:5) with the 28 th (Jer 29:28). — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
5. Refutation of the false prophets in Babylon (Jer. 29:15-20)
TRANSLATION
(15) Because you have said, The LORD has raised up for us prophets in Babylon(16) Surely, thus says the LORD unto the king who sits upon the throne of David, and unto all the people who dwell in this city, your brethren who did not go out with you into captivity(17) Thus says the LORD of hosts: Behold, I am about to send against them the sword, famine and pestilence, and I will make them like rotten figs which are so bad they cannot be eaten. (18) And I will pursue them with sword, famine and pestilence; and I will make them an object of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth, a curse, an astonishment, a hissing and a reproach among all nations where I have driven them, (19) because they did not hearken unto MY words (oracle of the LORD) when I earnestly and persistently sent My servants the prophets; but you did not obey (oracle of the LORD). (20) But as for you, hear the. word of the LORD, all you captives, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon.
COMMENTS
Jeremiahs correspondence with the captives was not appreciated. Some felt that the prophet from Anathoth was meddling where he had no business. God has raised up for us prophets here in Babylon, they protested. We have no need to hear from would-be prophets in Jerusalem! (Jer. 29:15). The captives much preferred the messages they were getting from their own prophets in Babylon. These deceivers continued to generate false hope by assuring the Jews that they would shortly be returning to their homeland. It was imperative that Jeremiah shatter this delusion. If the captives only could realize the agony which the inhabitants of Jerusalem were shortly to endure at the hands of the Babylonians they would not want to return home immediately. Sword, famine and pestilence would come upon the land in the not-too-distant future. Using a figure he used earlier (Jer. 24:2-10) Jeremiah likens the inhabitants of Jerusalem to rotten figs which are good for nothing but to cast out (Jer. 29:17). The nations of the world would see the terrible calamity which would befall Judah and they would shutter with fear and hiss or whistle in amazement. Thus instead of promising a speedy return of the Jews already in Babylon, Jeremiah declares that there would be further deportations of Jews from the homeland. In view of what would shortly befall Jerusalem, the exiles should be thankful that they had been spared the horrors of the last days of Jerusalem.
Jeremiah relates to the captives in Babylon what he had been preaching in the streets of Jerusalem. The inhabitants of Judah must be punished because they had refused to hearken to the words of the Lord spoken by the prophets (Jer. 29:19). In the sudden shift from third to second person in Jer. 29:19, Jeremiah includes those who read the letter in the charge of disobedience to God. He then pleads with the captives to hear the genuine word of the Lord (Jer. 29:20): Those in Judah have refused to hear; then you in Babylon give heed to the word of God.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(15) Because ye have said, The Lord hath raised us up prophets . . .The words point to the boast of some of the exiles, that they, too, had the guidance of prophets whom, as in Jer. 29:20; Jer. 29:24, they were inclined to follow in preference to Jeremiah. In answer to that boast, he emphasises the contrast between the exiles in whom the prophet sees the future hope of his nation and the worthless king (Zedekiah) and people who had been left in Jerusalem, and for whom he foretells yet sharper sufferings. The symbolism of the vile figs is reproduced in Jer. 29:17 from Jer. 24:1-2. The word for vile is, however, not the same as in that passage, and has the stronger force of horrible or loathsome.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
15. Ye have said The connexion here is evident, though some have denied that there is any, and have decided this verse to be an interpolation. The fact that there was still a king sitting on the throne of David was doubtless urged as a proof that the reverses which had come to the kingdom were merely temporary. They themselves were unfortunately prisoners and exiles, but the throne of David and the services of the temple were visible sacraments of God’s favour and presence with his people. Hence, in the land of their exile their prophets were busy in flattering their hopes of a speedy deliverance. And so, in this passage, the prophet takes the very ground from beneath their feet by predicting the complete overthrow of the government at Jerusalem.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
They Are Therefore Not To Listen To The False Prophets As, Rather Than Experiencing Quick Restoration, Zedekiah And Jerusalem Are Doomed Because They Have Not Listened To YHWH’s Words ( Jer 29:15-19 ).
Jer 29:15
“Because you have said, ‘YHWH has raised us up prophets in Babylon,”
Men must always have some hope to cling on to, and there are always those who will seek to profit by it. So in this case prophets had arisen among the exiles in Babylon, and this had enthused the people. It had made them feel that YHWH had perhaps not after all deserted them. Some were good prophets like Ezekiel, and it was they who rebuilt the broken nation. But others were chancers who were more politically minded and seized the opportunity to proclaim ‘instant deliverance’, a message which would have been eagerly seized on. They promised a quick return of the exiles to their brothers and sisters in Judah. This no doubt partly arose because there was an awareness of rumblings in Babylon which would always arise among peoples constrained there against their will. What they overlooked was that such rumblings rarely actually came to anything.
Jer 29:16
“Thus says YHWH concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your brothers who have not gone forth with you into captivity,”
But they did seem to have significance to those who believed that their own king ‘sat on the throne of David’, the David who had ruled such a great empire The words used here would suggest that the false prophets were laying a great emphasis on ‘the king who sat on David’s throne’. It must be remembered that even after their experiences with Babylonian troops their knowledge of the power and size of the Babylonian empire was limited. There were no countrywide, or even local, newspapers, no roving reporters, no radio, no television. They only knew what they themselves had seen, and what was learned from passing travellers. And one set of troops seemed very like another. Thus their hopes lay in the king appointed by YHWH, ‘His firstborn, ruler of the kings of the earth’ (Psa 89:27) who would one day ‘chastise the nations with a rod of iron’ (Psa 2:9). They had sung about it in the Temple. Now was the time to believe in it.
But Jeremiah dampens their enthusiasm. This king in whom they were pinning such hopes, and this city to which they looked with such longing, and their brothers who had been left behind, were themselves facing judgments, judgments from YHWH which would remove all hope from them.
Jer 29:17
“Thus says YHWH of hosts, Behold, I will send on them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so bad.”
For YHWH of hosts was about to send on them sword, and famine and pestilence to such an extent that it would make Jerusalem and Judah not a good place to be. They were to become like rotten, loathsome, inedible figs (compare Jer 24:3; Jer 24:8, although the word for vile here is different and signifies utterly loathsome), which turn men off and have nothing to offer them. Thus any idea of the current throne of David being a succour to them should be immediately dismissed..
Jer 29:18
“And I will pursue after them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be tossed to and fro among all the kingdoms of the earth, to be an execration, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations where I have driven them,”
And not only would they experience the sword, and famine, and pestilence, but these things would continue to pursue them wherever they went, and they would be tossed to and from among all the kingdoms of the earth (compare Jer 15:4; Jer 24:9), to become an execration, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations to which YHWH would send them (compare Jer 24:9). The idea would appear to be that they would not participate in the coming restoration at the end of the seventy years because they were so perverted but would become a permanent spectacle to the nations who would simply despise them.
Jer 29:19
“Because they have not listened to my words, the word of YHWH, with which I sent to them my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, but you would not hear, the word of YHWH,”
And this would happen to them because of their continual refusal to listen to His words as spoken by Jeremiah (this was the assured prophetic word of YHWH), and by previous prophets, words which He had, in terms of the usual Jeremaic expression (rising up early, etc. – Jer 7:13, Jeremiah 25: Jer 26:5; Jer 32:33; Jer 35:15), been at great pains to deliver to them.
But at this stage He now also includes those to whom Jeremiah is writing, for He deliberately changes from ‘them’ to ‘you’. The exiles must not be allowed to think that somehow they are not equally to blame for what has happened.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
That the Church might perfectly consider and understand the cause of this Captivity: and that in general sins there should be general calamities, the Lord declares the same or similar evils, for those not gone into captivity, as for those that were. All have sinned, and come short of God’s glory. No flesh can glory in his presence. Rom 3:10-23 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jer 29:15 Because ye have said, The LORD hath raised us up prophets in Babylon;
Ver. 15. Because ye have said. ] From the heirs of the promises he turneth his speech to others, qui praesumendo sperant, et sperando pereunt.
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jer 29:15-20
15Because you have said, ‘The LORD has raised up prophets for us in Babylon’ -16for thus says the LORD concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your brothers who did not go with you into exile -17thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Behold, I am sending upon them the sword, famine and pestilence, and I will make them like split-open figs that cannot be eaten due to rottenness. 18I will pursue them with the sword, with famine and with pestilence; and I will make them a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse and a horror and a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them, 19because they have not listened to My words,’ declares the LORD, ‘which I sent to them again and again by My servants the prophets; but you did not listen,’ declares the LORD. 20You, therefore, hear the word of the LORD, all you exiles, whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.
Jer 29:15-23 These verses seem to involve a second letter. It is interesting that Jer 29:16-20 is not found in the LXX, which is the Greek translation of the OT (but is in all Hebrew MSS). This section seems to break the sequences between Jer 29:15; Jer 29:21. Possibly these ancient Jewish translators saw this section simply as a repeat of Jer 24:8-10. There are many repetitious passages in Jeremiah because it is obviously a book edited around themes, not chronological sequence (an anthology).
Jer 29:17 the sword, famine, and pestilence This is the threefold horror of ancient warfare (see note at Jer 14:12). It is extremely significant that God’s favor rests with the Jews in exile and not the Jews remaining in Jerusalem. At this time apparently the Jews in Jerusalem were claiming spiritual superiority because they had been spared captivity, but in reality the opposite was true.
NASBsplit-open
NKJV, NSRV,
TEV, NJB,
REBrotten
JPSOAloathsome
This ADJECTIVE (BDB 1045) has several meanings (KB 1613-1615). The NASB gets its translation from KB 1614 II, Syrian to split or Arabic to break open. This ADJECTIVE is found only here in the OT.
The same three consonants are found in the word for horrible thing (BDB 1045) in Jer 5:30; Jer 18:13; Jer 23:14, but it is uncertain if it is related etymologically.
As with so many of these rare words, the context is clear even if the word is not. Meaning is not affected!
Jer 29:18 See notes at Jer 24:9-10.
Jer 29:19 Here is the recurrent problem. Humans, even covenant humans, do not listen and obey YHWH’s words/message/covenant (cf. Jer 6:19)! Obedience is a marker of devotion (cf. Luk 6:46).
Notice that the same series of words beginning with is found in Jer 25:4 (BDB 1018, 1014, 1033).
Also see the note at Jer 7:13 for the Hebrew idiom again and again.
Jer 29:20 hear the word of the LORD This VERB (BDB 1033, KB 1570) can be translated (examples from NIV):
1. hear – Jer 2:4; Jer 5:21; Jer 6:19; Jer 7:2; Jer 10:1; Jer 13:15; Jer 17:20; Jer 19:3; Jer 21:11; Jer 22:2; Jer 31:10; Jer 42:15; Jer 44:24; Jer 44:26; Jer 49:20; Jer 50:45
2. obey – Jer 7:23; Jer 11:4; Jer 11:7; Jer 35:13; Jer 38:20
3. listen – Jer 11:2; Jer 11:6
4. proclaim – Jer 4:5; Jer 4:16; Jer 5:20; Jer 46:14 (twice); Jer 50:2
5. summon – Jer 50:29; Jer 51:27
This is the crucial covenant issue!
Jer 29:15-20
Jer 29:15-20
Because ye have said, Jehovah hath raised us up prophets in Babylon; thus saith Jehovah concerning the king that sitteth upon the throne of David, and concerning all the people that dwell in this city, your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity; thus saith Jehovah of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so bad. And I will pursue after them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be tossed to and fro among all the kingdoms of the earth, to be an execration, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them; because they have not hearkened to my words, saith Jehovah, wherewith I sent unto them my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but ye would not hear, saith Jehovah. Hear ye therefore the word of Jehovah, all ye of the captivity, whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.
Jehovah hath raised us up prophets in Babylon…
(Jer 29:15). This evidently comes from some communication which Jeremiah had received from the captives themselves. Of course, such prophets were false prophets; and Jeremiah warned against the captive’s being deceived by them.
As regards Hananiah personally, Jeremiah had some rather harsh words to say. In Jer 28:15-16 there is a stern word of indictment and a prediction of imminent death. As for the indictment, three charges are made: (1) Hananiah is an impostor. God has not sent him and therefore he is not entitled to call himself a prophet. He is called throughout the chapter Hananiah the prophet because that was his official title. But he was not a prophet by the will and call of God. (2) Hananiah has caused the people to trust in a lie. His optimistic but unfounded prophecy of the imminent fall of Babylon had created false expectations in the hearts of the people. National policy-a policy of rebellion against Babylon-was being formulated on the basis of these false expectations. While Hananiahs motives might have been quite sincere and even patriotic his words were leading the people down the road to national suicide. (3) Hananiah has spoken rebellion against the Lord (Jer 28:16). To advocate revolt against Gods appointed ruler, Nebuchadnezzar, was tantamount to advocating rebellion against God Himself. Others take these words to mean that Hananiah has perverted the word of the Lord. In either case it is a serious accusation to make.
Because of these crimes against God and the nation Hananiah must be punished. The law of Moses clearly states that if a prophet is guilty of speaking rebellion against the Lord he should be put to death (Deu 13:5). To advocate rebellion against God was a capital crime. The Great Judge announces the verdict: Behold, I am about to remove you from upon the face to the earth (Jer 28:16). God did not send Hananiah to the people of Judah (Jer 28:16) but He now will send him away to die. The same Hebrew word is used in both verses. The prophets were quite fond of using paronomasia or play on words. This year you shall die! What an awesome thought. One can only wonder how Hananiah received this word from the Lord. The crowds which had bolstered his courage in the Temple encounter are no longer present. Surely in his own heart he must have realized the emptiness of the prophecies he had been so bold to deliver on other occasions. Now he must have been trembling as the finger of Jeremiah pointed in his direction and those solemn words were uttered.
In the seventh month of that same year Hananiah died. This would have been about two months after the Temple episode (cf. Jer 28:1). Not only did the death of Hananiah serve as a punishment for this teacher of lies, it also served to vindicate Jeremiah as a true prophet of God.
Jer 29:16-17 have the prophecy of the complete destruction of the remainder of Judah in Jerusalem; and we reject the idea that this prophecy does not belong in Jeremiah’s letter. Oh yes, it is missing from the Septuagint (LXX), but what of that? As Smith noted, “The whole text of the Septuagint is here so brief and confused as to be practically inexplicable; but on the other hand the Hebrew text represents the original manuscript, and is especially trustworthy in the case before us.” “The fact of these verses being lacking in the LXX proves nothing except that the translators of the Septuagint (LXX) were unable to understand the main thought of the passage!” It is for exactly this same reason that present-day commentators would prefer to omit the passage.
The vital relevance of this prophecy against the remainder of Judah in Jerusalem is that it was necessary to silence and destroy the campaign of the false prophets. Their whole message was, “All of us will be back home in Judah within two years.” Jeremiah had already been fully verified as a true prophet of God; and this message sent to the exiles effectively killed their whole campaign. It infuriated them; but it also silenced them.
Cheyne’s notion that Jer 29:16-20 “are an interpolation” is therefore an unfortunate error. It is another example of a scholar claiming “an interpolation” as an explanation of something he does not understand.
Henderson understood the necessity for these verses in Jeremiah’s letter, writing, “They are designed to contradict the false hopes held out to the captives that the Jewish state in Jerusalem should stand, and that they would be restored to their brethren in Judaea.”
Vile figs…
(Jer 29:17). The captives already knew about this prophecy; but Jeremiah repeated it here. See Jer 24:2 f. This letter had nothing in it about the destruction of Judah that was not already known by Zedekiah; and any thought that he would not have allowed a communication like this to go to Babylon is denied by the facts that Zedekiah probably did not see the letter; and that, if he had seen it, he would have allowed it anyway. He evidently believed that Jeremiah was a true prophet. His later rebellion was due solely to his weakness.
5. Refutation of the false prophets in Babylon (Jer 29:15-20)
Jeremiahs correspondence with the captives was not appreciated. Some felt that the prophet from Anathoth was meddling where he had no business. God has raised up for us prophets here in Babylon, they protested. We have no need to hear from would-be prophets in Jerusalem! (Jer 29:15). The captives much preferred the messages they were getting from their own prophets in Babylon. These deceivers continued to generate false hope by assuring the Jews that they would shortly be returning to their homeland. It was imperative that Jeremiah shatter this delusion. If the captives only could realize the agony which the inhabitants of Jerusalem were shortly to endure at the hands of the Babylonians they would not want to return home immediately. Sword, famine and pestilence would come upon the land in the not-too-distant future. Using a figure he used earlier (Jer 24:2-10) Jeremiah likens the inhabitants of Jerusalem to rotten figs which are good for nothing but to cast out (Jer 29:17). The nations of the world would see the terrible calamity which would befall Judah and they would shutter with fear and hiss or whistle in amazement. Thus instead of promising a speedy return of the Jews already in Babylon, Jeremiah declares that there would be further deportations of Jews from the homeland. In view of what would shortly befall Jerusalem, the exiles should be thankful that they had been spared the horrors of the last days of Jerusalem.
Jeremiah relates to the captives in Babylon what he had been preaching in the streets of Jerusalem. The inhabitants of Judah must be punished because they had refused to hearken to the words of the Lord spoken by the prophets (Jer 29:19). In the sudden shift from third to second person in Jer 29:19, Jeremiah includes those who read the letter in the charge of disobedience to God. He then pleads with the captives to hear the genuine word of the Lord (Jer 29:20): Those in Judah have refused to hear; then you in Babylon give heed to the word of God.
Jer 29:8, Jer 29:9, Jer 28:1-17, Eze 1:1, Eze 1:3
Reciprocal: Jer 29:20 – hear
Jer 29:15. The preceding verses were that part of Jeremiah’s letter intended for the encouragement of the Jews who were better disposed toward the Lord. This verse starts the part directed toward the false prophets among them and the people who had been listening to them. Certain ones had been denying the predictions of Jeremiah about the extent of the captivity. They also denied that any more of the nation yet remaining in Jeru-salem were to follow their brethren into Babylon.
Jer 29:15. Because ye have said, &c. The LXX. have transposed this verse, and placed it where, says Blaney, it undoubtedly ought to stand, immediately before Jer 29:21; this emendation, says he, I have adopted, as by it a due order and connection are restored, both in the place from whence the verse is removed, and in that to which it is transferred, a sufficient proof of its authenticity. The Lord hath raised us up prophets in Babylon This is meant of the false prophets who foretold nothing but peace and prosperity. The reader will easily observe how properly this sentence, as Blaney has just observed, would follow Jer 29:20, and precede Jer 29:21, and how well it would connect with both.
29:15 Because ye have said, The LORD hath raised up for us {g} prophets in Babylon;
(g) As Ahab, Zedekiah and Shemaiah.
The people were concluding falsely that the Lord had raised up prophets for them in Babylon. He did indeed raise up Ezekiel and Daniel, but false prophets are in view here, as is clear from the following verses.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)