And ye were now turned, and had done right in my sight, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbor; and ye had made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name:
Ye were now turned; that is, reformed in this particular, in which you had done the thing which I commanded you,
proclaiming a liberty to your servants. And you
made a covenant in my presence to that purpose, and that in the temple, where it seemeth this covenant was made.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
15. in the house . . . called by mynamethe usual place of making such covenants (2Ki23:3; compare 1Ki 8:31;Neh 10:29).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And ye were now turned,…. Or, “today indeed ye were turned” r some little time ago, indeed, it must be owned, that ye turned from the evil ways of your fathers, for which you were to be commended, as having acted a better part than they:
and had done right in my sight; what was acceptable to the Lord, approved of by him, being agreeably to his law; and it would have been well if they had continued so doing:
in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbour; for a manservant, or maidservant, was his neighbour, and to be treated as such, and loved as himself, especially a Hebrew one, of the same nation and religion; and not to be used as a slave, or retained for ever in bondage:
and ye made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name; this circumstance is mentioned as an aggravation of the breach of the covenant they had made, to dismiss their servants according to law; it was made in a very solemn manner, in the presence of God, appealing to him as a witness; it was done in the temple, a sacred place, devoted to him and his worship; which was called by his name, the temple of the Lord, and where his name was called upon, and where were the symbols of his presence.
r “jam, [vel] et quidem conversi fuistis hodie”, Schmidt; “reversi quidem vos hodie”, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
And ye now turned, and did what was right in my eyes, by proclaiming liberty every one to his neighbor: God seems at first to commend the people; and no doubt it ought to have been deemed praiseworthy, that the people, after having been reminded that they had perversely disregarded God’s law, willingly engaged in doing their duty; but as they gave but a false proof of repentance, and did not really perform what they had promised, it was, as I have said, a great aggravation of their crime. So then God commended the repentance of the people, in order to shew how detestable is hypocrisy; for they shewed for a short time some feeling of humanity, but soon after proved that it was nothing but dissimulation. He therefore says, that they did what was right by proclaiming liberty And hence it also appears that they had not gone astray through ignorance, for God had required this kindness from them, that is, to restore what had been wickedly taken away from servants and maids, and to let them free again: except they had been constrained by the clear testimony of the Law, they would have never thus given up their private advantages. But after having made a pretense that they wished to obey God, they again soon remanded their servants and their maids. It hence appears evident that they trifled with God, and that it was a mere fraud to set free their servant only for a short time.
He says that they made a covenant in the house on which his name had been called, and also, that they had profaned his name All this added to their wickedness; for not only liberty had been proclaimed and confirmed by an oath, but this had also been done in the Temple. Hence he aggravates the sin of the people by this circumstance, — that they had made the covenant which they afterwards violated in the presence of God. For though the eyes of God penetrate into the most hidden recesses, yet the wickedness of the people became greater, and it was an evidence of men lost to all shame, that they dared to violate their pledged faith, and thus to shew no regard for the Temple, as though they had lost all reverence for God and all fear. It is hence evident how profane they were become, that they dared to come to the Temple and to make an oath before God, and then immediately to forfeit their faith.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(15) Ye had made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name.The words point to the solemnity with which the new engagements had been contracted. It was not merely that the king had issued an edict, or that judges had given their decisions in accordance with the old law, but princes and people had met together in the courts of the Temple, and there, in the presence of Jehovah, had entered into this covenant, as did their descendants afterwards in the days of Nehemiah (Neh. 5:12-13), with Him and with each other. Their sin in breaking their covenant was therefore a sin against Him as well as against their brethren.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Jer 34:15. And ye were now turned The covenant was properly such a one as that which Josiah and all the people formerly made in the house of the Lord, whereby they obliged themselves to worship him, to observe his laws in general, and this, of giving freedom to their servants, in particular.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jer 34:15 And ye were now turned, and had done right in my sight, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbour; and ye had made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name:
Ver. 15. And you were now turned. ] Being frightened into a temporary reformation: but all was in hypocrisy, as now well appeareth. Falling stars were never but meteors.
In proclaiming liberty every one to his neighbour.
And ye had made a covenant before.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
which is called by My name = upon which My name is called.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
ye: 1Ki 21:27-29, 2Ki 10:30, 2Ki 10:31, 2Ki 12:2, 2Ki 14:3, Isa 58:2, Mat 15:8
now: Heb. to-day
in proclaiming: Jer 34:10, Jer 34:11
ye had: Jer 34:8, 2Ki 23:3, Neh 10:29, Psa 76:11, Psa 119:106
which is called by my name: Heb. whereupon my name is called, Jer 7:10, Jer 7:11
Reciprocal: 2Ch 28:11 – deliver 2Ch 29:10 – to make a covenant Jer 50:33 – they refused Hos 4:10 – left Hos 6:4 – for
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 34:15. When this agreement was made the masters of the servants were in the house of the Lord. That did not make the covenant any more binding as far as their moral obligation was concerned, but it amounted to an acknowledgment that the Lord was concerned in the transaction. Hence their breaking the contract not only violated a moral law but it constituted trueebreaking against the Lord.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 34:15-17. And ye were now turned That is, reformed in this particular; and had done right in my sight In proclaiming liberty to your servants. And ye had made a covenant before me Had entered into solemn engagements in my presence and temple to that purpose. This was probably such a covenant as Josiah and all the people had made formerly, (2Ki 23:2-3,) whereby they obliged themselves to serve God, and obey his laws in general, and this concerning giving freedom to their servants in particular. But ye turned Declined from these good beginnings; and polluted my name That is, profaned it, in swearing, or solemnly promising in and by it, to do that which you have not done. Certainly, whoever uses the name of God, by way of sanction to his promises, that the greater confidence may be placed in them, and afterward does not perform them, profanes or pollutes the name of God. Therefore, behold I proclaim liberty for you to the sword, &c. I now declare that I give free commission and liberty to my sore judgments, the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, to invade and destroy multitudes of you. See Jer 32:24; Jer 32:36. The expressions here used import, that these calamities come upon men by direction and commission from God, as the executioners of his justice. And to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth Those of you who escape destruction shall be dispersed through different nations, where you shall learn by experience how great are the hardships and miseries attendant on a state of servitude. See note on Jer 24:9.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
34:15 And ye had now turned, and had done right in my sight, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbour; and ye had made a covenant before me in {f} the house which is called by my name:
(f) Meaning in the temple to declare that it was a most solemn and straight covenant made in the name of the Lord.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Recently the people had made a covenant to release their indentured servants, and had started to follow through with it, but then they changed their minds and forced them back into servitude. The fact that they had made this covenant in the temple indicates that they made it with the Lord, not just with one another. Breaking it profaned the Lord’s name (reputation), because they had made the covenant in His name. This temple event was not a full-fledged covenant renewal ceremony, but only a pledge to emancipate their servants.