Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 8:13
I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: [there shall be] no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and [the things that] I have given them shall pass away from them.
13. there shall be ] better, there are. The people in their present state are likened to a lifeless vine or fig tree. We are reminded of the comparison of the righteous man, Jer 17:8; Psa 1:1 ff. The last clause can scarcely bear the sense given it either in the text or mg. ( I have appointed them those that shall pass over them), and it is not in LXX. As it stands it is perhaps the corruption of an interpolation. There is, however, some reason for conjecturing, if it be genuine, that its original form ran, I will not give them their produce (i.e. the yield of the ground).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
13 17. See summary at commencement of section.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Or, I will gather and sweep them away, saith Jehovah: there are no grapes on the vine, and no figs on the fig-tree, and the leaf is dry: therefore will I appoint those that shall pass over them. Judah is a vine which bears no fruit: a tree which makes even no profession of life, for her leaf is dry. Many explain the last words of an army sweeping over the land like a flood.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
I will surely consume them; or, In gathering I will consume them: q.d. I will so gather them together into their several cities to be besieged, that it shall be no hard matter to destroy them, Jer 8:16, viz. the body of the people; not every one, for there was a remnant that did escape.
There shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree: these fruits, grapes and figs, it is probable, were of greatest account and use among them, Isa 36:16, and so may be put for all other things, either for necessity or delight, which God threatens he will deprive them of by reason of the siege, which a famine shall succeed, Jer 5:17 Joe 1:7; Hab 3:17. See the like Zep 1:2,3. Or possibly it may be spoken by way of similitude: q.d. They shall be wasted, as when there is no grapes on the vine, &c.; the land shall be left as bare as when by tempests or other violence there is neither leaf nor fruit left upon the tree, Psa 78:47.
And the things that I have given them shall pass away: if this refer to the further punishment, as some, then it is as much as to say, what they have already received from me and laid up, they shall also be deprived of, Hos 2:8,9; or, though I have given it to them, yet they shall not enjoy it, it shall be taken away by their enemies: if it relate.to the reason of the punishment, as others, then the copulative is put for the causal: q.d. Because the things that I gave them, viz. my laws, pass away, i.e. they have transgressed, Isa 24:4,5; either sense lies fair.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
13. surely consumeliterally,”gathering I will gather,” or “consuming I willconsume.”
no grapes . . . nor figs(Joe 1:7; Mat 21:19).
things that I have given . .. shall pass awayrather, “I will appoint to them thosewho shall overwhelm (pass over) them,” that is, I will send theenemy upon them [MAURER].English Version accords well with the context; Though theirgrapes and figs ripen, they shall not be allowed to enjoy them.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
I will surely consume them, saith the Lord,…. Or, “gathering I will gather them” k; into some one place, the city of Jerusalem, and there destroy them. The word is, , expressive of consumption and destruction, as Jarchi, Kimchi, and Ben Melech observe; and so the Targum,
“destroying I will destroy them, saith the Lord.”
There shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; some understand this by way of complaint, that there were no fruit on the vine and fig tree, nor even leaves; which they allegorically interpret of the fruit of good works being wanting in them, which was the cause of their ruin. Others think there are metaphors which describe the manner of their destruction; and so the Targum,
“and they shall fall, as the grapes fall from the vine, and as the falling fruit from the fig tree, and as the leaf from the tree.”
Though it rather intends the sterility of the land, and in general the famine that should attend the siege of Jerusalem. Grapes and figs are mentioned only, as Kimchi observes, because they were the chief fruits, and they are put for the whole.
And the things that I have given them shall pass away from them; whatever they had in their barns and cellars, or were just becoming ripe in their fields, vineyards, and gardens, should either be blasted, or rather be taken away and devoured by their enemies, so that they themselves should not enjoy them. The Targum interprets it of the law transgressed by them, as the cause of their ruin, and paraphrases it thus,
“because I have given them my law from Sinai, and they have transgressed it;”
and so Jarchi,
“this shall be unto them, because I have given them statutes, and they have transgressed them.”
k “eolligendo colligam eos”, Montanus, Tigurine version. So Piscator.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The warning of coming punishment, reiterated from a former discourse, is strengthened by the threatening that God will sweep them utterly away, because Judah has become an unfruitful vine and fig-tree. In we have a combination of , gather, glean, carry away, and , Niph. of , make an end, sweep off, so as to heighten the sense, as in Zep 1:1. – a passage which was doubtless in the prophet’s mind: wholly will I sweep them away. The circumstantial clauses: no grapes – and the leaves are withered, show the cause of the threatening: The people is become an unfruitful vine and fig-tree, whose leaves are withered. Israel was a vineyard the Lord had planted with noble vines, but which brought forth sour grapes, Jer 2:21; Isa 5:2. In keeping with this figure, Israel is thought of as a vine on which are no grapes. With this is joined the like figure of a fig-tree, to which Micah in Mic 7:1 makes allusion, and which is applied by Christ to the degenerate race of His own time in His symbolical act of cursing the fig-tree (Mat 21:19). To exhaust the thought that Judah is ripe for judgment, it is further added that the leaves are withered. The tree whose leaves are withered, is near being parched throughout. Such a tree was the people of Judah, fallen away from its God, spurning at the law of the Lord; in contrast with which, the man who trusts in the Lord, and has delight in the law of the Lord, is like the tree planted by the water, whose leaves are ever green, and which bringeth forth fruit in his season, Jer 17:8; Psa 1:1-3. Ros. and Mov. are quite wrong in following the Chald., and in taking the circumstantial clauses as a description of the future; Mov. even proceeds to change into . The interpretation of the last clause is a disputed point. Ew., following the old translators (Chald., Syr., Aq., Symm., Vulg.; in the lxx they are omitted), understands the words of the transgression of the commands of God, which they seem to have received only in order to break them. seems to tell in favour of this, and it may be taken as praeter. with the translation: and I gave to them that which they transgress. But unless we are to admit that the idea thus obtained stands quite abruptly, we must follow the Chald., and take it as the reason of what precedes: They are become an unfruitful tree with faded leaves, because they have transgressed my law which I gave them. But with consec. goes directly against this construction. Of less weight is the other objection against this view, that the plural suffix in has no suitable antecedent; for there could be no difficulty in supplying “judgments” (cf. Jer 8:8). But the abrupt appearance of the thought, wholly unlooked for here, is sufficient to exclude that interpretation. We therefore prefer the other interpretation, given with various modifications by Ven., Rose., and Maur., and translate: so I appoint unto them those that shall pass over them. The imperf. c. consec. attaches itself to the circumstantial clauses, and introduces the resulting consequence; it is therefore to be expressed in English by the present, not by the praeter.: therefore I gave them (Ng. ). in the general sig. appoint, and the second verb with the pron. rel. omitted: illos qui eos invadent . , to overrun a country or people, of a hostile army swarming over it, as e.g., Isa 8:8; Isa 28:15. For the construction c. accus. cf. Jer 23:9; Jer 5:22. Hitz.’s and Graf’s mode of construction is forced: I deliver them up to them (to those) who pass over them; for then we must not only supply an object to , but adopt the unusual arrangement by which the pronoun is made to stand before the words that explain it.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Destruction Threatened for Sin; Despair of Sinners in Trouble; The Prophet’s Lamentation. | B. C. 606. |
13 I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them. 14 Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the defenced cities, and let us be silent there: for the LORD our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD. 15 We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health, and behold trouble! 16 The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan: the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city, and those that dwell therein. 17 For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the LORD. 18 When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me. 19 Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because of them that dwell in a far country: Is not the LORD in Zion? is not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities? 20 The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. 21 For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me. 22 Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
In these verses we have,
I. God threatening the destruction of a sinful people. He has borne long with them, but they are still more and more provoking, and therefore now their ruin is resolved on: I will surely consume them (v. 13), consuming I will consume them, not only surely, but utterly, consume them, will follow them with one judgment after another, till they are quite consumed; it is a consumption determined, Isa. x. 23. 1. They shall be quite stripped of all their comforts (v. 13): There shall be no grapes on the vine. Some understand this as intimating their sin; God came looking for grapes from this vineyard, seeking fruit upon this fig-tree, but he found none (as Isa 5:2; Luk 13:6); nay, they had not so much as leaves, Matt. xxi. 19. But it is rather to be understood of God’s judgments upon them, and may be meant literally–The enemy shall seize the fruits of the earth, shall pluck the grapes and figs for themselves and beat down the very leaves with them; or, rather, figuratively–They shall be deprived of all their comforts and shall have nothing left them wherewith to make glad their hearts. It is expounded in the last clause: The things that I have given them shall pass away from them. Note, God’s gifts are upon condition, and revocable upon non-performance of the condition. Mercies abused are forfeited, and it is just with God to take the forfeiture. 2. They shall be set upon by all manner of grievances, and surrounded with calamities (v. 17): I will send serpents among you, the Chaldean army, fiery serpents, flying serpents, cockatrices; these shall bite them with their venomous teeth, give them wounds that shall be mortal; and they shall not be charmed, as some serpents used to be, with music. These are serpents of another nature, that are not so wrought upon, or they are as the deaf adder, that stops her ear, and will not hear the voice of the charmer. The enemies are so intent upon making slaughter that it will be to no purpose to accost them gently, or offer any thing to pacify them, or mollify them, or to bring them to a better temper. No peace with God, therefore none with them.
II. The people sinking into despair under the pressure of those calamities. Those that were void of fear (when the trouble was at a distance) and set it at defiance, are void of hope now that it breaks in upon them, and have no heart either to make head against it or to bear up under it, v. 14. They cannot think themselves safe in the open villages: Why do we sit still here? Let us assemble, and go into a body into the defenced cities. Though they could expect no other than to be surely cut off there at last, yet not so soon as in the country, and therefore, “Let us go, and be silent there; let us attempt nothing, nor so much as make a complaint; for to what purpose?” It is not a submissive, but a sullen silence, that they here condemn themselves to. Those that are most jovial in their prosperity commonly despond most, and are most melancholy, in trouble. Now observe what it is that sinks them.
1. They are sensible that God is angry with them: “The Lord our God has put us to silence, has struck us with astonishment, and given us water of gall to drink, which is both bitter and stupifying, or intoxicating. Ps. lx. 3, Thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment. We had better sit still than rise up and fall; better say nothing than say nothing to the purpose. To what purpose is it to contend with our fate when God himself has become our enemy and fights against us? Because we have sinned against the Lord, therefore we are brought to the plunge.” This may be taken as the language, (1.) Of their indignation. They seem to quarrel with God as if he had dealt hardly with them in putting them to silence, not permitting them to speak for themselves, and then telling them that it was because they had sinned against him. Thus men’s foolishness perverts their way, and then their hearts fret against the Lord. Or rather, (2.) Of their convictions. At length they begin to see the hand of God lifted up against them, and stretched out in the calamities under which they are now groaning, and to own that they have provoked him to contend with them. Note, Sooner or later God will bring the most obstinate to acknowledge both his providence and his justice in all the troubles they are brought into, to see and say both that it is his hand and that he is righteous.
2. They are sensible that the enemy is likely to be too hard for them, v. 16. They are soon apprehensive that it is to no purpose to make head against such a mighty force; they and their people are quite dispirited; and, when the courage of a nation is gone, their numbers will stand them in little stead. The snorting of the horses was heard from Dan, that is, the report of the formidable strength of their cavalry was soon carried all the nation over and every body trembled at the sound of the neighing of his steeds; for they have devoured the land and all that is in the city; both town and country are laid waste before them, not only the wealth, but the inhabitants, of both, those that dwell therein. Note, When God appears against us, every thing else that is against us appears very formidable; whereas, if he be for us, every thing appears very despicable, Rom. viii. 3.
3. They are disappointed in their expectations of deliverance out of their troubles, as they had been surprised when their troubles came upon them; and this double disappointment very much aggravated their calamity. (1.) The trouble came when they little expected it (v. 15): We looked for peace, the continuance of our peace, but no good came, no good news from abroad; we looked for a time of health and prosperity to our nation, but, behold, trouble, the alarms of war; for, as it follows (v. 16), the noise of the enemies’ horses was heard from Dan. Their false prophets had cried Peace, peace, to them, which made it the more terrible when the scene of war opened on a sudden. This complaint will occur again, ch. xiv. 19. (2.) The deliverance did not come when they had long expected it (v. 20): The harvest is past, the summer is ended; that is, there is a great deal of time gone. Harvest and summer are parts of the year, and when they are gone the year draws towards a conclusion; so the meaning is, “One year passes after another, one campaign after another, and yet our affairs are in as bad a posture as ever they were; no relief comes, nor is any thing done towards it: We are not saved.” Nay, there is a great deal of opportunity lost, the season of action is over and slipped, the summer and harvest are gone, and a cold and melancholy winter succeeds. Note, The salvation of God’s church and people often goes on very slowly, and God keeps his people long in the expectation of it, for wise and holy ends. Nay, they stand in their own light, and put a bar in their own door, and are not saved because they are not ready for salvation.
4. They are deceived in those things which were their confidence and which they thought would have secured their peace to them (v. 19): The daughter of my people cries, cries aloud, because of those that dwell in a far country, because of the foreign enemy that invades them, that comes from a far country to take possession of ours; this occasions the cry; and what is the cry? It is this: Is not the Lord in Zion? Is not her king in her? These were the two things that they had all along buoyed up themselves with and depended upon, (1.) That they had among them the temple of God, and the tokens of his special presence with them. The common cant was, “Is not the Lord in Zion? What danger then need we fear?” And they held by this when the trouble was breaking in upon them. “Surely we shall do well enough, for have we not God among us?” But, when it grew to an extremity, it was an aggravation of their misery that they had thus flattered themselves. (2.) That they had the throne of the house of David. As they had a temple, so they had a monarchy, jure divino–by divine right: Is not Zion’s king in her? And will not Zion’s God protect Zion’s king and his kingdom? Surely he will; but why does he not? “What” (say they) “has Zion neither a God nor a king to stand by her and help her, that she is thus run down and likely to be ruined?” This outcry of theirs reflects upon God, as if his power and promise were broken or weakened; and therefore he returns an answer to it immediately: Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images? They quarrel with God as if he had dealt unkindly by them in forsaking them, whereas they by their idolatry had driven him from them; they have withdrawn from their allegiance to him, and so have thrown themselves out of this protection. They fret themselves, and curse their king and their God (Isa. viii. 21), when it is their own sin that separates between them and God (Isa. lix. 2); they feared not the Lord, and then what can a king do for them? Hos. x. 3.
III. We have here the prophet himself bewailing the calamity and ruin of his people; for there were more of the lamentations of Jeremiah than those we find in the book that bears that title. Observe here, 1. How great his griefs were. He was an eyewitness of the desolations of his country, and saw those things which by the spirit of prophecy he had foreseen. In the foresight, much more in the sight, of them, he cries out, “My heart is faint in me, I sink, I die away at the consideration of it, v. 18. When I would comfort myself against my sorrow, I do but labour in vain; nay, every attempt to alleviate the grief does but aggravate it.” It is our wisdom and duty, under mournful events, to do what we can to comfort ourselves against our sorrow, by suggesting to ourselves such considerations as are proper to allay the grief and balance the grievance. But sometimes the sorrow is such that the more it is repressed the more strongly it recoils. This may sometimes be the case of very good men, as of the prophet here, whose soul refused to be comforted and fainted at the cordial, Psa 77:2; Psa 77:3. He tells us (v. 21) what was the matter: “It is for the hurt of the daughter of my people that I am thus hurt; it is for their sin, and the miseries they have brought upon themselves by it; it is for this that I am black, that I look black, that I go in black as mourners do, and that astonishment has taken hold on me, so that I know not what to do nor which way to turn.” Note, The miseries of our country ought to be very much the grief of our souls. A gracious spirit will be a public spirit, a tender spirit, a mourning spirit. It becomes us to lament the miseries of our fellow-creatures, much more to lay to heart the calamities of our country, and especially of the church of God, to grieve for the affliction of Joseph. Jeremiah had prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem, and, though the truth of his prophecy was questioned, yet he did not rejoice in the proof of the truth of his prophecy was questioned, yet he did not rejoice in the proof of the truth of it by the accomplishment of it, preferring the welfare of his country before his own reputation. If Jerusalem had repented and been spared, he would have been far from fretting as Jonah did. Jeremiah had many enemies in Judah and Jerusalem, that hated, and reproached, and persecuted him; and in the judgments brought upon them God reckoned with them for it and pleaded his prophet’s cause; yet he was far from rejoicing in it, so truly did he forgive his enemies and desire that God would forgive them. 2. How small his hopes were (v. 22): “Is there no balm in Gilead–no medicine proper for a sick and dying kingdom? Is there no physician there–no skilful faithful hand to apply the medicine?” He looks upon the case to be deplorable and past relief. There is no balm in Gilead that can cure the disease of sin, no physician there that can restore the health of a nation quite overrun by such a foreign army as that of the Chaldeans. The desolations made are irreparable, and the disease has presently come to such a height that there is no checking it. Or this verse may be understood as laying all the blame of the incurableness of their disease upon themselves; and so the question must be answered affirmatively: Is there no balm in Gilead–no physician there? Yes, certainly there is; God is able to help and heal them, there is a sufficiency in him to redress all their grievances. Gilead was a place in their own land, not far off. They had among themselves God’s law and his prophets, with the help of which they might have been brought to repentance, and their ruin might have been prevented. They had princes and priests, whose business it was to reform the nation and redress their grievances. What could have been done more than had been done for their recovery? Why then was not their health restored? Certainly it was not owing to God, but to themselves; it was not for want of balm and a physician, but because they would not admit the application nor submit to the methods of cure. The physician and physic were both ready, but the patient was wilful and irregular, would not be tied to rules, but must be humoured. Note, If sinners die of their wounds, their blood is upon their own heads. The blood of Christ is balm in Gilead, his Spirit is the physician there, both sufficient, all-sufficient, so that they might have been healed, but would not.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Vs. 13-17: THE NEARNESS OF THE AVENGER
1. The destruction of the state will be as complete as its apostasy has been, (vs. 13; Jer 14:12; Eze 22:19-22); the Lord has no practical use for such a perverted and unfruitful instrument as Judah has become, (comp. Jer 5:17; Isa 5:1-7; Mar 11:12-14; Joh 15:2; Luk 12:47 -48; Mat 13:10-15).
2. In one of the few responses of Judah to the prophet’s message, the people, without seeking God’s face, declare what they WILL DO! (vs. 14-15).
a. They decide to flee to their fortified cities and there await whatever is to befall them, (vs. 14; Jer 35:17); in the gall of bitterness, they blame God for giving them a poisonous drink because He has arbitrarily marked them for doom, (comp. La 3:5, 19).
b. Though acknowledging that they have sinned, there is not the slightest evidence of REPENTANCE; there is disappointment, frustration and despair, but NOT REPENTANCE! (vs. 15, 11).
3. As already mentioned (Jer 4:15) the enemy approaches from Dan; Judah already trembles because of the entry of his horses and the neighing of his strong ones; the prophet sees the whole land as being devoured before them, (vs. 16).
4. The Lord is sending stinging serpents among His people -adders that will not be charmed, (vs. 17).
a. God provided an antidote for their ancient fathers who were bitten by poisonous snakes in the wilderness, (Num 21:6-9).
b. But, these snakes symbolize an attacking army that will not be placated! (comp. Psa 58:4-5).
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
He confirms, as I have said, what he had declared in the last verse, tie had said, that there would be the ruin of the whole people: for the same purpose he now adds, Destroying I will destroy them The verb אסף, asaph, properly means “to collect, “but metaphorically, “to destroy;” as we say in our language, Trousser; Je les trousserai tous ensemble. And hence it more fully appears, that the Prophet explains what he had said, that destruction was nigh them all, so that none would remain, that is, with regard to the people as a body, as a community; for God ever preserved a remnant. We have, indeed, said elsewhere, and we shall have to notice the same thing often again, that the prophets, regarding the people as a body, threatened them all with destruction; but when they addressed the elect, and the faithful, they added a modification: Destroying I will then destroy them
He afterwards shews the manner: No grapes shall be on the vines, and no figs on the fig — trees The word for “fig” means the fruit as well as the tree, as it is well known. And that he might more fully set forth God’s vengeance, he says, that the very leaves would wither. The meaning is, that God would soon come as an avenger, however securely the Jews might be resting in their sins: and he shews the kind of vengeance that awaited them, — that God would deprive them of all sustenance and support; by mentioning a part for the whole, he includes everything necessary for life. He speaks not of wine, and of corn, and of oil; but by figs and grapes, as I have said, he comprehends every kind of sustenance; and even the leaves would wither and fall.
In the second place, he adds, Even, what I shall give them shall pass away from them Some apply this to the fruit in the granaries and cellars, as though he had said, “Even if they should have provisions in their storehouses and cellars, and be furnished with plenty, all this shall yet avail them nothing, for it shall be all taken away; for to pass away has often this meaning; and the מ, mem, affixed, is the same as though it was מהם, meem, from them. Others render the words, “they shall pass over them;” but this is too strained. They refer to the precepts granted to the Jews, which they had rendered void or neglected: but this cannot suit the passage. And as to the first explanation, it seems to me too limited. I therefore take this to be the meaning, — “Even if the grapes and figs come to maturity, yet what they shall consider as already prepared shall be taken away.” The Prophet then means, that there would be various ways by which the Jews would be reduced to penury and want; for either the enemies would rob them of their grapes and figs, or he himself would send sterility; or, when they thought their provisions secured to them, they would not yet be allowed to enjoy them. This is the import of the whole. (227) It follows —
(227) The verse may be thus rendered, —
13. I will gather their ingathering, saith Jehovah: No grapes shall be on the vine, And no figs on the fig-tree, Even the leaf shalt fade away; For I will give these to those who shall pass through them.
God threatens the Jews with the deprivation of the fruits of the earth. He would gather their fruits by means of their enemies, such as would pass through them; and there would be no limits for them. As to the last line, it is a common thing in Hebrew to leave out the relative “who” before a verb in the future tense. So it is in Welsh —
(lang. cy) Canys rhoddav y rhain iddynt hwy a dramwyant trwyddynt.
The most literal and the most suitable to the context is this rendering. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
C. Unavoidable Punishment at the Hand of God Jer. 8:13-17
TRANSLATION
(13) I will utterly consume them (oracle of the LORD). No grapes are on the vine and no figs are on the fig tree. The leaves are withered; and I will appoint for them those who overrun them. (14) Why are we sitting? Assemble yourselves that we may go unto the fortified cities that we may perish there; for the-LORD our God has put us to silence and has caused us to drink poison water because we have sinned against the LORD. (15) We hope for peace but no good came, for the time of healing, but behold, terror. (16) From Dan is heard the snorting of his horses; from the sound of the neighing of his stallions, all the earth shakes. For they shall come and shall consume the land and its fullness, the cities and their inhabitants. (17) For behold, I am about to send against you serpents, poisonous snakes, for which there is no charmer; and they shall bite you (oracle of the LORD).
COMMENTS
In Jer. 2:21 Judah is compared to a vine with bad grapes. In the present figure no fruit at all can be found on the vine or on the fig tree. The leaves are even withered. The plant is dying; it is worthless; it must be destroyed. God has already appointed the destroyer. An army shall sweep through that worthless garden like a raging stream overflowing its banks (Jer. 8:13).[187] All will be destroyed.
[187] On the phrase those who overrun see Isa. 8:7; Dan. 11:10; Dan. 11:40.
Resorting to one of his favorite rhetorical devices Jeremiah projects himself into the future to dramatically portray what will happen when Judah comes under enemy attack. The inhabitants of the countryside in gloomy despair urge one another to move into the fortified cities. They feel they are under the curse of God, that they shortly will perish (lit., be put to silence). They are resigned to death. If they move to the cities they will die of some pestilence or plague. But at least that is better than falling into the hand of the enemy. They knew that God was making them drink of the poisonous water of divine judgment. They admit now that it is too late that they have sinned against the Lord (Jer. 8:14). They had listened to their false prophets and consequently they had expected peace and national healing. But good times did not come; only the terrors of ruthless war.
Jeremiah must have been a spellbinding preacher. He makes his audience almost hear the snorting and neighing of the enemy horses as the Chaldean calvary bears down upon Dan, the northern-most city of Palestine. All the known world trembles at the news that the mighty northern enemy is sweeping southward. The land and its produce, the cities and their inhabitants will be consumed by this mighty army (Jer. 8:16). Like venomous serpents the enemy will sink their death-dealing fangs into the inhabitants of Judah. No one will be able to charm those snakes; no one will be able to control them (Jer. 8:17). The doom is unavoidable.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(13) I will surely consume.Literally, Gathering, I will sweep awayi.e., I will gather and sweep away, the two verbs being all but identical in sound and spelling, so that the construction has almost the force of the emphatic Hebrew reduplication.
There shall be.These words are not in the Hebrew, and the verse describes, not the judgment of Jehovah on the state of Israel, but that state itself. There are no grapes on the vine, no figs on the fig-tree, the leaf fadeth. The words are figurative rather than literal, after the manner of Jer. 2:21; Isa. 5:2. Israel is a degenerate vine, a barren fig-tree. Here, again, we find an echo of the teaching of Jeremiah in that of Jesus (Mat. 21:19; Luk. 13:6-9). In Mic. 7:1 we have another example of the same figurative language.
The things that I have given them . . .The words have been differently rendered, (1) I gave them that which they transgressi.e., the divine law of righteousness; and (2) therefore I will appoint those that shall pass over themi.e., the invaders who shall overrun their country. The former seems on the whole best suited to the context.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
THE HORRORS OF THE VISITATION, Jer 8:13-17.
13. There shall be no grapes The italic words in the Authorized Version, as is indeed often the case, pervert the sense. The middle portion of the verse is not a threat, but a descriptive statement. The whole verse may be rendered: I will utterly sweep them away, (literally, I will gather, I will sweep,) saith Jehovah; there are no grapes on the vines, and no figs on the fig tree, and the leaf is withered. So I will appoint unto them those that shall pass over them.
Further Description of the Impending Punishment
v. 13. I will surely consume them, saith the Lord, v. 14. Why do we sit still? v. 15. We looked for peace, v. 16. The snorting of his, the invader’s, horses was heard from Dan, v. 17. For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, v. 18. When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me, v. 19. Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of My people because of them that dwell in a far country, v. 20. The harvest is past, v. 21. For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt, v. 22. Is there no balm in Gilead? Jer 8:13. I will surely consume then, &c. I was about to gather them, saith the Lord, but there are no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig-tree; and the leaves themselves have faded: they have dissipated those things which I gave them. Houb. Instead of, And the things, &c. we may read, And what strength there is in them, shall pass away, &c.
Jer 8:13 I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: [there shall be] no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and [the things that] I have given them shall pass away from them.
Ver. 13. I will surely consume them, saith the Lord. ] Texitur hic quasi tragoediae scena. Constructed here just as a theatre tragedy. Here followeth a kind of tragedy, saith an expositor; God is brought in threatening, the prophet bewailing, the people despairing, and yet bethinking themselves of some shelter and safeguard, if they knew where to find it, &c.
There shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs.
And the things that I have given them shall pass away. NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jer 8:13-17
13I will surely snatch them away, declares the LORD;
There will be no grapes on the vine
And no figs on the fig tree,
And the leaf will wither;
And what I have given them will pass away.
14Why are we sitting still?
Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the fortified cities
And let us perish there,
Because the LORD our God has doomed us
And given us poisoned water to drink,
For we have sinned against the LORD.
15We waited for peace, but no good came;
For a time of healing, but behold, terror!
16From Dan is heard the snorting of his horses;
At the sound of the neighing of his stallions
The whole land quakes;
For they come and devour the land and its fullness,
The city and its inhabitants.
17For behold, I am sending serpents against you,
Adders, for which there is no charm,
And they will bite you, declares the LORD.
Jer 8:13 ‘I will surely snatch them away,’ declares the LORD
‘There will be no grapes on the vine’ Jer 8:13, by means of two agricultural metaphors, one referring to grapes and the other to figs, implies that no one will be left in the Promised Land and that all will be taken into captivity. Not even a remnant will be left according to this shockingly hyperbolic passage. Palestine was YHWH’s special garden but there was no spiritual fruit (cf. Isaiah 5). This is basically the fulfillment of the curses of Deuteronomy 27, 28.
The first line of the MT can be understood in several ways.
NKJV,
PESHITTAI will surely consume them
TEVI wanted to gather my people, as a farmer gathers a harvest
JPSOAI will make an end of them
NET BibleI will take away their harvest
LXXthey will gather their produce (i.e., the invaders)
Remember, this is highly emotional poetry! This line can be (1) positive (i.e., YHWH wants to gather His people to Himself, i.e., repentance) or (2) negative (others will reap their harvest, cf. Jer 8:12).
NASBAnd what I have given them will pass away
NRSVI have found them people to trample on them
TEVtherefore, I have allowed outsiders to take over the land
LXX, REB -omitted –
JPSOAWhatever I have given them is gone
The UBS Text Project (p. 200) interprets this ambiguous Hebrew phrase in two ways.
1. and I gave them (things which) escape them (i.e., fruits of the earth)
2. and I gave them (precepts which) they have trespassed
The first option is based on Jer 8:13, lines 1-4. The second option is related to Jer 8:8 and refers to the Law (i.e., that which was found in the temple under Josiah’s reform and remodeling, cf. 2Ki 22:8).
Jer 8:14 Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the fortified cities In the ancient world, in times of crisis or invasion, the people of the surrounding areas fled into the walled cities. However, the overcrowding exacerbated the problems of food, water, and sanitation. We learn from later history that the siege experience of the people of Judah was so bad that even after the exile they had to cast lots to see who would live in the reconstructed Jerusalem (cf. Neh 11:1).
YHWH’s message of judgment is expressed in three commands.
1. assemble yourselves – BDB 62, KB 74, Niphal IMPERATIVE
2. let us go into the fortified cities – BDB 97, KB 112, Qal IMPERFECT used in a COHORTATIVE sense
3. let us perish – BDB 198, KB 226, Qal CHOHORTATIVE
Because the LORD our God has doomed us. . .
For we have sinned against the Lord This is the key to understanding God’s actions against His own people. God chose them to be a kingdom of priests so that all the world would know Him, Gen 12:3; Exo 19:5-6 (see Special Topic: Know ), but the light coming from God’s people was anything but complimentary to God! The covenant made with Abraham, and further elaborated at Sinai, was based on the assumption that Israel’s life and worship would reveal YHWH to the world. The only way to correct their false message was radical surgery (cf. Eze 36:22-38).
poisoned water This (BDB 912 II) is an allusion to wormwood or gall. Many times in the OT gall or wormwood is mentioned (cf. Jer 9:15; Jer 23:15; Deu 29:18; Psa 69:21; Lam 3:19; and Mat 27:34 in the NT)
Jer 8:15 This verse, like Jer 8:6 d,8,11, shows that Judah expected peace and was surprised at invasion and exile. This phrase is repeated in Jer 14:19 and is similar to Job 30:26.
Jer 8:16 From Dan is heard the snorting of his horses We learn that the tribe of Dan moved from its tribal allocation by Joshua in the south to the north (cf. Judges 18). Its capital city became the metaphor for describing the upper limits of the Promised Land (cf. Jer 4:15). Invading Mesopotamian armies came from the north, therefore, when Dan heard the snorting horses it meant the troops from Babylon were entering Palestine.
Jer 8:17 I am sending serpents against you This may be (1) an allusion to Numbers 21 when God sent serpents to judge His people or (2) simply another kind of poison as in Jer 8:14. Whichever is true, both metaphors (i.e., poison, snakes) combine to show that there is no hope for the people of God. Here snakes refers to the Babylonian army!
The first line of Jer 8:18 may go with Jer 8:17 and be understood as an idiom that the snake bites were fatal (lit. beyond recovery). The LXX translated it as incurable.
surely consume them. Note the Figure of speech Paronomasia. Hebrew. ‘asoph ‘asiphem.
on the vine. See note on Jer 6:9.
shall fade = is withered.
the things . . . from them: or, I have appointed them those that shall pass over them.
I will surely consume: or, In gathering I will consume, Isa 24:21, Isa 24:22, Eze 22:19-21, Eze 24:3-11
there: Lev 26:20, Deu 28:39-42, Isa 5:4-6, Isa 5:10, Hos 2:8, Hos 2:9, Joe 1:7, Joe 1:10-12, Hab 3:17, Hag 1:11, Hag 2:17, Mat 21:19, Luk 13:6-9
the leaf: Jer 17:8, Psa 1:3, Psa 1:4, Jam 1:11
Reciprocal: Isa 32:10 – for Eze 33:8 – O wicked Mal 3:11 – neither
Jer 8:13. No grapes and no figs might suggest that not even a remnant will be left after the great calamity is over that is being predicted. Yet the promise has already been made that a remnant would be saved and we are sure the Bible does not contradict itself. The matter will be clear if we observe that God is here talking about the wicked leaders who lmve brought the nation into such an evil state by their corrupt teaching, it was true that all such characters were expelled; not a “grape’* or fig” survived when the flood of Gods wrath was poured out upon the nation.
Jer 8:13. There shall be no grapes on the vine A figurative expression, to signify that there should be none of them left. And the leaf shall fade, &c. As both leaves and fruit wither and fade when a tree is blasted or killed, so will I utterly deprive this people of all the blessings I had given them, of those which are for use, as well as those which are for ornament.
The fruitless nation 8:13-17
The Lord also declared that He would snatch the Judahites from their land. He had gone forth among His people to gather a harvest of righteousness, but all He found on His vines and fig trees was withered leaves, and no grapes or figs (cf. Jer 2:21; Jer 5:10; Jer 6:9; Isa 5:2; Mat 21:18-19; Luk 13:6-9; Joh 15:2). Consequently, He would remove their former blessings.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)