Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 42:15
And now therefore hear the word of the LORD, ye remnant of Judah; Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; If ye wholly set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there;
Verse 15. If ye – set your faces to enter into Egypt, &c.] Every evil that ye dreaded by staying in your own land shall come upon you in Egypt.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
This verse is wholly prefatory. to what followeth. If, saith God, all your mind be upon Egypt, and you he resolved thither you will go,
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
15. wholly set your facesfirmlyresolve (Lu 9:51) in spiteof all warnings (Jer 44:12).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And now therefore hear the word of the Lord, ye remnant of Judah,…. A small remnant indeed, a few that were left in the land; who ought therefore to have admired the distinguishing goodness of Providence in preserving them in it; where they should have continued and made use of their privilege, to the glory of God and their mutual good:
thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; the Lord of armies above and below, the Lord God omnipotent, and so able to protect them in their land; and who had a peculiar favour to Israel, and stood in a particular relation to them, and therefore would do it, of which they had no reason to doubt; but, disobliging him, what judgments might they not expect?
if you wholly set your faces to enter into Egypt: are resolved upon it, and are actually engaged in it; turning their faces from Judea towards Egypt, and obstinately pursuing it, nor can be reclaimed from it: the phrase expresses their resolution, impudence, and obstinacy:
and go to sojourn there: to be sojourners and strangers there, as their fathers had been before; the remembrance of which was enough to set them against going into Egypt any more.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
He adds, Hear the word of Jehovah, ye remnant of Judah Jeremiah, by thus addressing them, no doubt endeavored to lead them to obedience. We indeed know that men in prosperity are in a manner inebriated, so that they are not easily induced to obey sound counsels. For whence comes it that kings and princes of the world indulge themselves so much, and allow such license to their lusts? even because the splendor of their fortune inebriates them. So also private men, when all things succeed according to their wishes, they lodge in their own dregs; hence it is that they are difficult to be ruled. The Prophet, on the other hand, shews that there is no reason for them to be proud. Ye are, he says, a small number, and God has wonderfully saved you. Hear, then, ye remnant of Judah In short, they are reminded of their humble and miserable condition, that they might be more teachable. But this also was done without any fruit, as we shall hereafter see.
This saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel Of these words we have spoken elsewhere. God is often called the God of hosts on account of his power: so by this term God sets forth his own greatness. Afterwards when he is said to be the God of Israel, we know that the benefit of adoption was thus brought to the recollection of the people; for God had them especially as his people, and bound them as it were to himself. This ought then to have been a most holy bond of faithfulness and obedience. It was not, then, by way of honor that the Prophet thus spoke, but in order to reprove the Israelites for their hardness and ingratitude towards God. If, he adds, ye set your faces to go into Egypt, and ye enter in there to sojourn, it shall be that the sword which ye fear shall meet you, etc. Here is their punishment described, and there is nothing obscure in the words. God shows that they were greatly deceived, if they thought that they would be prosperous in Egypt; for no prosperity can be hoped except through the favor and blessing of God; and God pronounced a curse on all their perverse counsels when he saw that they would not be restrained by his word. If, then, we attempt anything contrary to the prohibition of God, it must necessarily end unsuccessfully; and why? because the cause of all prosperity is the favor of God, and so his curse always renders all issues sad and unhappy: and however prosperous at first may be what we undertake against God’s will, yet the end will be wretched and miserable, according to what the Prophet teaches here.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
Jer 42:15. And now therefore hear, &c. Therefore now hear, &c. Houbigant.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jer 42:15 And now therefore hear the word of the LORD, ye remnant of Judah; Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; If ye wholly set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there;
Ver. 15. If ye wholly set your faces. ] As now I see ye do, and shall therefore tell you what to trust unto; with the froward God will wrestle. Psa 18:26
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
And now = Now.
the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel. See note on Jer 7:3. The same in Jer 42:18.
wholly set your faces. Reference to Pentateuch (Deu 17:16).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
If: If ye are determined to go into Egypt, the evils which ye dreaded by staying in your own land shall overtake and destroy you there; “and there shall ye die.” God turned the policy of the wicked to their own destruction; for while they thought themselves safe in Egypt, there Nebuchadnezzar destroyed both them and the Egyptians. Jer 42:17, Jer 44:12-14, Gen 31:21, Deu 17:16, Dan 11:17, Luk 9:51
Reciprocal: Num 25:6 – in the sight of Moses 1Ki 22:19 – Hear thou 2Ki 12:17 – set his face Ecc 8:11 – fully Jer 10:1 – General Jer 44:24 – Hear
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 42:15. From here to the close of the chapter the prophet describes the evils that will come upon them if they reject the advice of the Lord. Remnant of Judah means the ones who had been permitted to remain in Palestine when the others were carried off to Babylon.