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Jeremiah Chapter Twenty-five                            

 

Jeremiah 25

Chapter Contents

The Jews rebuked for not obeying calls to repentance. (1-7) Their captivity during seventy years is expressly foretold. (8-14) Desolations upon the nations shown by the emblem of a cup of wrath. (15-29) The judgments again declared. (30-38)

Commentary on Jeremiah 25:1-7

(Read Jeremiah 25:1-7)

The call to turn from evil ways to the worship and service of God and for sinners to trust in Christ and partake of his salvation concerns all men. God keeps an account how long we possess the means of grace; and the longer we have them the heavier will our account be if we have not improved them. Rising early points out the earnest desire that this people should turn and live. Personal and particular reformation must be insisted on as necessary to a national deliverance; and every one must turn from his own evil way. Yet all was to no purpose. They would not take the right and only method to turn away the wrath of God.

Commentary on Jeremiah 25:8-14

(Read Jeremiah 25:8-14)

The fixing of the time during which the Jewish captivity should last would not only confirm the prophecy but also comfort the people of God and encourage faith and prayer. The ruin of Babylon is foretold: the rod will be thrown into the fire when the correcting work is done. When the set time to favour Zion is come Babylon shall be punished for their iniquity as other nations have been punished for their sins. Every threatening of the Scripture will certainly be accomplished.

Commentary on Jeremiah 25:15-29

(Read Jeremiah 25:15-29)

The evil and the good events of life are often represented in Scripture as cups. Under this figure is represented the desolation then coming upon that part of the world of which Nebuchadnezzar who had just began to reign and act was to be the instrument; but this destroying sword would come from the hand of God. The desolations the sword should make in all these kingdoms are represented by the consequences of excessive drinking. This may make us loathe the sin of drunkenness that the consequences of it are used to set forth such a woful condition. Drunkenness deprives men of the use of their reason makes men as mad. It takes from them the valuable blessing health; and is a sin which is its own punishment. This may also make us dread the judgments of war. It soon fills a nation with confusion. They will refuse to take the cup at thy hand. They will not believe Jeremiah; but he must tell them it is the word of the Lord of hosts and it is in vain for them to struggle against Almighty power. And if God's judgments begin with backsliding professors let not the wicked expect to escape.

Commentary on Jeremiah 25:30-38

(Read Jeremiah 25:30-38)

The Lord has just ground of controversy with every nation and every person; and he will execute judgment on all the wicked. Who can avoid trembling when God speaks in displeasure? The days are fully come; the time fixed in the Divine counsels which will make the nations wholly desolate. The tender and delicate shall share the common calamity. Even those who used to live in peace and did nothing to provoke shall not escape. Blessed be God there is a peaceable habitation above for all the sons of peace. The Lord will preserve his church and all believers in all changes; for nothing can separate them from his love.

── Matthew HenryConcise Commentary on Jeremiah

 

Jeremiah 25

Verse 9

[9] Behold I will send and take all the families of the north saith the LORD and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon my servant and will bring them against this land and against the inhabitants thereof and against all these nations round about and will utterly destroy them and make them an astonishment and an hissing and perpetual desolations.

Nebuchadnezzar — In this work shall be my servant; though you will not be my servants in obeying my commands.

Verse 10

[10] Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride the sound of the millstones and the light of the candle.

Moreover — Nay I will not only deprive you of your mirth but of those things that are necessary for you as necessary as bread and light the millstone shall not move you shall not have the light so much as of a candle.

Verse 12

[12] And it shall come to pass when seventy years are accomplished that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation saith the LORD for their iniquity and the land of the Chaldeans and will make it perpetual desolations.

Accomplished — Counted from the time that the Jews were carried away in the time of Jeconiah or Jehoiakim 2 Kings 24:15 16.

Desolations — This was fulfilled by Darius the king of Persia Daniel 4:31 of these seventy Nebuchadnezzar reigned thirty six 2 Kings 25:27. Evil-merodach thirty two and Belshazzar at least two Daniel 8:1.

Verse 15

[15] For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand and cause all the nations to whom I send thee to drink it.

The cup — God made Jeremiah to see the appearance of such a cup in a vision.

Verse 20

[20] And all the mingled people and all the kings of the land of Uz and all the kings of the land of the Philistines and Ashkelon and Azzah and Ekron and the remnant of Ashdod

Of Uz — Some part of Arabia Petraea near to Idumaea.

Of the Philistines — Uzzah Ekron Ashdod and Askelon were four of their cities the fifth which was Gath is not here named. For before this time it was destroyed either by Psammeticus father to Pharaoh Necho or by Tartan captain general to Sargon king of Assyria of whom read Isaiah 20:1 that he took Ashdod which may be the reason that here mention is made of no more than the remnant of Ashdod.

Verse 22

[22] And all the kings of Tyrus and all the kings of Zidon and the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea

Beyond the sea — Probably those parts of Syria that coasted upon the mid-land sea.

Verse 23

[23] Dedan and Tema and Buz and all that are in the utmost corners

Tema — Tema descended from Ishmael Genesis 25:15 his posterity inhabited in Arabia Isaiah 21:13 14 where they are joined with those of Dedan.

Buz — Buz was one of the posterity of Nahor Genesis 22:21. These were people mixed with the Saracens or Arabians.

Verse 25

[25] And all the kings of Zimri and all the kings of Elam and all the kings of the Medes

Zimri — Those descended from Zimran Abraham's son by Keturah Genesis 25:2.

Elam — The Persians.

The Medes — The Medes came from Madai the son of Japhet.

Verse 26

[26] And all the kings of the north far and near one with another and all the kingdoms of the world which are upon the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.

The north — All under the government of the Chaldeans.

Of Sheshach — And the king of Babylon who was last of all to drink of this cup of the Lord's fury.

Verse 34

[34] Howl ye shepherds and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes ye principal of the flock: for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel.

Shepherds — Shepherds and the principal of the flock in this place mean civil rulers.

A pleasant vessel — Like a crystal glass or some delicate vessel which breaks in pieces and cannot again be set together.

Verse 38

[38] He hath forsaken his covert as the lion: for their land is desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor and because of his fierce anger.

Because — The effects of this rising up of God out of his covert is the desolation of the land through the fierceness of the enemy caused by the fierce anger of God.

── John WesleyExplanatory Notes on Jeremiah

 

25 Chapter 25

 

Verse 6

Jeremiah 25:6

I will do you no hurt.

No hurt from God

I. The import of the promise.

1. Such a promise can apply to none but the people of God.

2. The Lord’s people are apt to fear He should do them hurt and hence He kindly assures them of the contrary. We want more of that love to God which beareth all things at His hand which believeth all good things concerning Him and hopeth for all things from Him.

3. As God will do no hurt to them that fear Him so neither will He suffer others to hurt them. If God does not change their hearts He win tie their hands; or if for wise ends He suffers them to injure you in your worldly circumstances yet your heavenly inheritance is sure and your treasure is laid up where thieves cannot break through nor steal.

4. More is implied in the promise than is absolutely expressed; for when the Lord says He will do His people no hurt He means that He will really do them good. All things to God’s people are blessings in their own nature or are turned into blessings for their sake; so that all the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep His covenant and His testimonies to do them (Genesis 50:20; Jeremiah 24:5-6; Romans 8:28).

II. The assurance we have that this promise will be fulfilled.

1. The Lord thinks no hurt of His people and therefore He will certainly do them no hurt. His conduct is a copy of His decrees: He worketh all things according to the counsel of His own will and therefore where no evil is determined no evil can take place.

2. The Lord threatens them no hurt; no penal sentence lies against them.

3. He never has done them any hurt but good all the days of their life. Former experience of the Divine goodness should strengthen the believer’s confidence and fortify him against present discouragements ( 13:23; Psalms 42:6; Psalms 77:12; 2 Corinthians 1:10). (B. Beddome M.A.)


Verses 15-38


Verse 31

Jeremiah 25:31

He will plead with all flesh.

No excuse needed for faith in God

I. God pleads with men chiefly through the Spirit of the life of Jesus Christ. This part of our life is a probation like being at school; it is an apprenticeship to eternal life a life in which we are to be journeymen and masters of the work of being good and doing good. We are learners here. Some learn their life’s lesson thoroughly and others only partially. God means us to learn; and if a man will not do God’s will he can only learn by the bitter pain of experience. There are only two ways of learning--either by doing God’s will or by disobeying it; either way will bring us to our senses at some time or other either in this world or in that which is to come.

II. Christianity urges that if we be wise every one will choose the highest aim of life. Unless we have some great object in view our life is a task which is hard to bear; it is like being rubbed with sandpaper everything seeming to be in unpleasant friction with us. Yet you cannot get a polish without friction; and so the friction of daily life that vexes and torments us is an experience which is good for us. It is one of God’s means of polishing us; but it is unpleasant like having small pebbles in one’s boots. It is however a needful discipline. But were we humbly and lovingly to do God’s will as you would have your little child do your will life would not be a painful task nor would it be a state of perpetual friction.

III. Christianity also teaches us that God is worthy to be both esteemed and loved.

IV. Christianity sweetly teaches us of the other life. Have you ever lived in the country and after being away for a time felt the joy of returning home? (W. Birch.)

──The Biblical Illustrator

 

25 Chapter 25

 

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 25

This chapter contains a prophecy of the destruction of Judea by the king of Babylon; and also of Babylon itself after the Jews' captivity of seventy years; and likewise of all the nations round about. The date of this prophecy is in Jeremiah 25:1; when the prophet puts the Jews in mind of the prophecies that had been delivered unto them by himself and others for some years past without effect Jeremiah 25:2; wherefore they are threatened with the king of Babylon that he should come against them and strip them of all their desirable things; make their land desolate and them captives for seventy years Jeremiah 25:8; at the expiration of which he in his turn shall be punished and the land of Chaldea laid waste and become subject to other nations and kings Jeremiah 25:12; and by a cup of wine given to all the nations round about is signified the utter ruin of them and who are particularly mentioned by name Jeremiah 25:15; which is confirmed by beginning with the city of Jerusalem and the destruction of that Jeremiah 25:27; wherefore the prophet is bid to prophesy against them and to declare the Lord's controversy with them and that there should be a slaughter of them from one end of the earth to the other Jeremiah 25:30; upon which the shepherds kings and rulers of them are called to lamentation and howling Jeremiah 25:34.

Verse 1

The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah .... Not only in the city of Jerusalem but in the whole land of Judea. This prophecy concerns them all; their repentance and reformation to which they are exhorted; or their invasion desolation and captivity with which they are threatened. Before the prophet was sent to the king of Judah only Jeremiah 22:1; now to all the people:

in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; in the latter part of the third and beginning of the fourth year of his reign; see Daniel 1:1;

this was the first year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon: in which he began to reign with his father for he reigned two years with him; who is the Nabopolassar of Ptolemy. This was in the year of the world 3397 and before Christ 607 according to Bishop UsherF6Annales Vet. Test. p. 119. .

Verse 2

The which Jeremiah the prophet spake unto all the people of Judah .... Perhaps at one of the three feasts at which all the males appeared in Jerusalem; for it cannot be thought that he went up and down throughout all parts of the land to deliver this prophecy but to as many of them as he found in Jerusalem in any place at any time; and none so likely as what is mentioned:

and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: to whom he had an opportunity of speaking frequently:

saying; as follows:

Verse 3

From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah even unto this day .... The year in which Jeremiah began to prophesy Jeremiah 1:2;

(that is the three and twentieth year); for Josiah reigned one and thirty years; so that Jeremiah prophesied nineteen years in his reign; and now it was the fourth of Jehoiakim's which make twenty three years; so long the prophet had been prophesying to this people:

the word of the Lord hath come unto me; from time to time during that space of twenty three years; and which he diligently constantly and faithfully delivered unto them; as follows:

and I have spoken unto you rising early and speaking: as soon as ever he had a word from the Lord he brought it to them and took the most proper and seasonable time to inculcate it to them; in the morning and after he had had a vision or dream in the night from the Lord;

but ye have not hearkened; they took no notice of it; turned a deaf ear to it; however did not obey or act as they were directed and exhorted to.

Verse 4

And the Lord hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets .... Not only him but many others Micah Nahum Zephaniah and others:

rising early and sending them; not only the prophet but the Lord himself is said to rise early and send his prophets to them; which denotes his great care and concern for this people for their good; see Jeremiah 7:25;

but ye have not hearkened nor inclined your ear to hear; which is an aggravation of their sin; that whereas they had one prophet after another sent to them and sent by the Lord himself; he rising early and sending them; and they rising early being sent to do their message; and yet were not hearkened and attended to.

Verse 5

They said .... The prophets: this was the substance of their discourses and prophecies what follows:

turn ye again now everyone from his evil way and from the evil of your doings; repent of sins and reform from them; particularly their idolatries to which they were prone and are after mentioned:

and dwell in the land that the Lord hath given unto you to your fathers for ever and ever; that is the land of Canaan which was given to them and their fathers before them by the Lord for an everlasting inheritance provided they behaved towards him aright; for they held the possession of it by their obedience to his law; and now notwithstanding all that they had done or had been threatened with; yet if they repented and reformed they should still dwell in the land and enjoy it and all the blessings and privileges of it.

Verse 6

And go not after other gods to serve them and to worship them .... So long as they served the Lord God they continued in their own land in the comfortable enjoyment of all the blessings of it; for their government was a theocracy; God was their King; and as long as they served and worshipped him only he protected and defended them; but when they forsook him and went after other gods and served and worshipped them then they were threatened to be turned out of their land and carried captive into other lands; and yet after all if they returned from their idolatries and left off worshipping idols the Lord was ready to receive them kindly and continue his favours to them:

and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; their idols which their own hands made and then fell down to worship them; than which nothing can be more provoking to God:

and I will do you no hurt; by sword or famine or pestilence or captivity; signifying the hurt he had threatened them with should not be done provided they forsook their idolatrous worship; God does no hurt to his true worshippers; yea he makes all things work together for their good.

Verse 7

Yet ye have not hearkened unto me saith the Lord .... Though it was he that spake unto them by his prophets; and though it was so much to their own good and advantage; and the neglect of him and his word were so much to their disadvantage and even ruin:

that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt: which though not signed to do either yet eventually did both; both provoked the Lord and brought destruction upon themselves; for whatever is against the glory of God is to the hurt of man; and whatever provokes him is pernicious to them in its consequences.

Verse 8

Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts .... Of armies above and below; and so can do what he pleases in heaven and in earth:

because ye have not heard my words; by the prophets so as to obey them; they had heard them externally but did not observe to do them.

Verse 9

Behold I will send and take all the families of the north

saith the Lord .... The Targum is the kingdoms of the north the same with those in Jeremiah 1:15; even all those kingdoms which were subject to the king of Babylon and lay north of Judea:

and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon my servant: though a great king he was a servant of the Lord of hosts; his servant both as a creature of his make and as a king that ruled under him; and as he was an instrument in his hand to chastise his people the Jews; though it was not knowingly and with intention that he served the Lord:

and will bring them against this land and against the inhabitants thereof; the land of Judea and its inhabitants; this was the Lord's doing; it was he that stirred up the king of Babylon and by his secret instinct and powerful providence brought him and his armies into Judea to spoil it and the inhabitants of it Jehovah as it were marched at the head of them and led them on and brought them against the Jews and delivered them into their hands:

and against all these nations round about; Egypt and others; so that the Jews could have no help from them; nor would application to them and alliance with them signify anything:

and will utterly destroy them and make them an astonishment and an hissing and perpetual desolations; both the Jews and their neighbours; who should be an astonishment to some and a hissing to others and remain desolate for a long time; even till the seventy years were ended after mentioned.

Verse 10

Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness .... At their festivals and nuptial solemnities:

the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; expressing their mutual love unto and delight in each other; so agreeable to one another and their friends: or it may mean those epithalamies or nuptial songs sung unto them by their friends:

the sound of the millstones; either the voice of those that sing at the mill while grinding; or rather the sound of the stones themselves used in grinding; either in grinding spices for the bride cakes; or rather in grinding corn for common use; and so denotes the taking away of bread corn from them and the want of that. The sense is there should be corn to grind and so no use of the mill:

and the light of the candle; at their feasts and weddings or rather for common use; signifying that houses should be desolate without inhabitants no light in them nor work to be done. The whole shows that they should be deprived of everything both for necessity and pleasure. John seems to have borrowed some phrases from hence Revelation 18:22; in which he appears to have followed the Hebrew text and not the Greek version. The Targum of the last clause is

"the voice of the company of those that sing at the light of candles.'

Verse 11

And this whole land shall be a desolation .... Not only the city of Jerusalem but all Judea without inhabitants or very few and shall be uncultivated and become barren and unfruitful:

and an astonishment; to all other nations and to all persons that pass through beholding the desolations of it:

and other nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years; both the Jews and other nations of Egypt reckoning from the date of this prophecy the fourth year of Jehoiakim's reign when Daniel and others were carried captive Daniel 1:1; to the first year of Cyrus.

Verse 12

And it shall come to pass when seventy years are accomplished .... Which were accomplished in the first year of Cyrus: they began with the first year of Nebuchadnezzar who reigned two years and two months with his father Nabopolassar; after that forty three years by himself; Evilmerodach two years: Neriglissar four years; Belshazzar or Nabonadius seventeen years; and Darius the Median two years; which all make sixty nine years and two months; and if ten months more be added to complete the said seventy years it will carry the end of them to the first year of CyrusF7See Prideaux's Connexion par. 1. B. 2. p. 130. . These years are differently reckoned by others; by Spanhemius from the first of Nebuchadnezzar or fourth of Jehoiakim to the destruction of the city under Zedekiah nineteen years; thence to the death of Nebuchadnezzar twenty four; then Evilmerodach two; then the reign of Neriglissar including some months of Laborosoarchod five; then the years of Nabonadius or Belshazzar seventeen; and from his death or the taking of Babylon to the death of Darius the Mede two years; which make sixty nine exclusive of the first of Cyrus; and comes to much the same as the former. By James Alting thus; from the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar complete to his death twenty six years; Evilmerodach twenty three; Belshazzar three; Darius the Mede eighteen after the destruction of the Babylonish empire; which seems very wrong; better by Dr. Lightfoot thus; Nebuchadnezzar forty five current; Evilmerodach twenty three; and Belshazzar threeF8Vid. Witsii Exercitat. 11. in Miscel. Sacr. tom. 2. p. 282 283. . So the Jewish chronicleF9Seder Olam Rabba c. 28. p. 81. :

that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation saith the Lord for their iniquity; the king for his tyranny and the nation for their idolatry; and both for these and other sins they were guilty of; for though they did the will of God in carrying the Jews captive they no doubt in their usage of them exceeded their commission and were justly punishable for their iniquities. This is not to be understood of the present king of Babylon Nebuchadnezzar; but of Nabonadius or Belshazzar whom the Lord punished by Cyrus; who appears to have been a very wicked man and in the excess of not profaning the vessels of the temple the night he was slain Daniel 5:1;

and the land of the Chaldeans; and will make it perpetual desolations; even as other nations had been made by them Jeremiah 25:9.

Verse 13

And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it .... By his prophets and particularly by Jeremiah as follows; for not one word that is spoken by the Lord either in a way of promise or threatening shall fail; his truth power and faithfulness are engaged to accomplish all:

even all that is written in this book which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations; the Egyptians Philistines Moabites Edomites Arabians Persians and also the Babylonians in Jeremiah 46:1 which prophecies in the Greek version immediately follow here though in a confused manner; where some have thought they might be more regularly placed than as they are in the Hebrew copies at the end of the book; but of this there seems to be no absolute necessity.

Verse 14

For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also .... Take their cities seize upon the kingdoms spoil them of their wealth and riches and bring them into servitude to them: these "many nations" which should and did do all this were the Medes and Persians and those that were subject to them or were their allies and auxiliaries in this expedition; and the "great kings" were Cyrus and Darius and those that were confederate with them:

and I will recompense them according to their deeds and according to the works of their own hands; as they have done to others it shall be done to them; as they have served themselves of other nations other nations shall serve themselves of them; as they have cruelly used others they shall be used with cruelty themselves; and as they have made other countries desolate their land shall become desolate also; not only their tyranny and cruelty but all their other sins shall receive a just recompence of reward.

Verse 15

For thus saith the Lord God of Israel unto me .... The prophet:

take the wine cup of this fury at my hand; in a vision the Lord appeared to Jeremiah with a cup of wine in his hand which he bid him take of him. It is usual in Scripture for the judgments of God on men to be signified by a cup of hot and intoxicating liquor Isaiah 51:17; particularly in Psalm 75:8; to which reference may be had; as John seems to refer to the passage here in Revelation 14:10; called a cup because they are in measure and but small in comparison of what will be inflicted in the world to come; and a cup of "fury" because they proceed from the wrath of God stirred up by the sins of men. Jarchi interprets this cup of the prophecy of vengeance which the Lord delivered to Jeremiah; and not amiss:

and cause all the nations to whom I send thee to drink it; prophesy unto them what wrath and ruin shall come upon them.

Verse 16

And they shall drink and be moved and be mad .... The judgments foretold shall come upon them whether they will or not; which will have such effects upon them as intoxicating liquor has on drunken persons; make them shake and tremble and reel to and fro and toss and tumble about and behave like madmen:

because of the sword that I will send among them; this explains what is meant by the wine cup of fury the sword of a foreign enemy that shall enter among them and destroy; and which would make them tremble and be at their wits' end like drunken and mad men.

Verse 17

Then took I the cup at the Lord's hand .... In a visionary way and did as he commanded and prophesied as he directed him. The prophet was obedient to the heavenly vision as became him:

and made all the nations to drink unto whom the Lord had sent me; not that he travelled through each of the nations with a cup in his hand as an emblem of what wrath would come upon them and they should drink deep of; but this was done in vision and also in prophecy; the prophet publishing the will of God denouncing his judgments upon the nations and declaring to them what would befall them.

Verse 18

To wit Jerusalem and the cities of Judah .... Which are mentioned first because God's judgments began with them as they usually do with the house of God 1 Peter 4:17; and even now began; for this very year in which this prophecy was delivered Nebuchadnezzar came up and besieged Jerusalem and carried away some captives Daniel 1:1; this was the beginning of what afterwards were more fully executed:

and the kings thereof and the princes thereof: the Kings Jehoiakim Jeconiah and Zedekiah with those of their families the princes of the blood and their nobles:

to make them a desolation an astonishment an hissing and a curse; to strip them of their crowns and kingdom of their wealth and riches and honour and bring them into slavery and bondage; so that they became an astonishment to some to see the change that was made in them; and were hissed stand cursed by others:

(as it is this day); which is added either because of the certainty of it or because it began to take place this very year; though more fully in Jeconiah's time and still more in Zedekiah's; or rather this clause might be added by Jeremiah after the captivity; or by Baruch or by Ezra or whoever collected his prophecies and put them into one volume as Jeremiah 52:1 seems to be added by another hand.

Verse 19

Pharaoh king of Egypt .... Who is mentioned first after the kings of Judah; not only because the Jews were in alliance with Egypt and trusted to them; and therefore this is observed to show the vanity of their confidence and dependence; but because the judgments of God first took place on the king of Egypt; for in this very year in which this prophecy was delivered Pharaohnecho king of Egypt was smitten by Nebuchadnezzar Jeremiah 46:2; though the prophecy had a further accomplishment in Pharaohhophra who was given into the hands of his enemies as foretold Jeremiah 44:30;

and his servants and his princes and all his people; his menial servants his domestics and his nobles and peers of the realm and all his subjects. It expresses an utter destruction of the kingdom of Egypt; and the particulars of it may be the rather given to show the vain trust of the Jews in that people.

Verse 20

And all the mingled people .... Not the Arabians who are mentioned afterwards Jeremiah 25:24; but rather a mixed people in the land of Egypt such as came out of it along with the Israelites; or were near it and bordered upon it as the Targum; which renders it all the bordering kings; or rather a mixture of people of different nations that dwelt by the sea coasts either the Mediterranean or the Red sea as others think:

and all the kings of the land of Uz; not the country of Job called by the Greeks Ausitis as the Vulgate Latin version; but rather a country of Idumea so called from Uz the son of Dishan the son of Seir Lamentations 4:21;

and all the kings of the land of the Philistines; the petty kings of it called the lords of the Philistines elsewhere who were great enemies to the people of the Jews: the prophecy of their destruction is in forty seventh chapter and whose principal cities are next mentioned:

and Ashkelon and Azzah and Ekron and the remnant of Ashdod; of Ashkelon and the sword in it and ruin see Jeremiah 47:5. "Azzah" is the same with Gaza whose destruction is also foretold in Jeremiah 47:1; see Acts 8:26; "Ekron" was another of the cities of the Philistines; see 1 Samuel 5:10; and "Ashdod" is the same with Azotus another of their cities Acts 8:40; called "the remnant of Ashdod" because the remains only of a once very strong and fortified place; but was so weakened and wasted by Psammiticus king of Egypt in a blockade of it for the space of nine and twenty yearsF11Herodot. l. 2. c. 157. before he took it that when he had got in it it was but as the carcass of a city to what it was beforeF12Vid. Prideaux Connexion part 1. B. 1. p. 34. .

Verse 21

Edom and Moab and the children of Ammon. All well known and implacable enemies of Israel. The Edomites descended from Esau; and the Moabites and Ammonites from Moab and Ammon the two sons of Lot by his daughters. Their destruction is prophesied of in the forty eighth and forty ninth chapters.

Verse 22

And all the kings of Tyrus and all the kings of Zidon .... Two very ancient cities in Phoenicia frequently mentioned together in Scripture being near each other. Their ruin is foretold in Jeremiah 47:4;

and the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea; which some understand of Greece and Italy; others of Rhodes Cyprus and Crete and other islands in the Mediterranean sea; the Cyclades as Jerom: but the words may be rendered "and the kings of the country by the seaside"; and may design those that dwell upon the coast of the Mediterranean sea.

Verse 23

Dedan and Tema and Buz .... These seem to be places in Edom or Idumea of whose destruction Jeremiah prophesies in Jeremiah 49:7; or rather in Arabia and Mesopotamia. Jerom reckons them among the Ishmaelites and Saracens The persons from whom they descended are mentioned in Genesis 22:21;

and all that are in the utmost corners; that is either of the above countries or of the whole earth: or "all that had their hair shorn"F13כל קצוצי פאה "universis qui attonsi sunt in comam" V. L. "barbitonsis" Syr. ; or the corners of their beards; which Jerom says is applicable to the Saracens.

Verse 24

And all the kings of Arabia .... Of Arabia Petraea;

and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert; the other Arabians or mixed people that dwell in Arabia Deserta as the Scenites Nomades Kedarenes and others; and so the Targum

"and all the kings of the Arabians that dwell in tents in the desert.'

Of these see the prophecy in Jeremiah 49:28.

Verse 25

And all the kings of Zimri .... Of Arabia Felix so called from Zimran a son of Abraham by Keturah Genesis 25:2; the same whom PlinyF14Nat. Hist. I. 6. c. 28. calls Zamerenes;

and all the kings of Elam; or Persia; who are prophesied against in Jeremiah 49:34;

and all the kings of the Medes; who commonly go together with the Persians.

Verse 26

And all the kings of the north far and near one with another .... That were on the north of Judea the kings of Syria and those that were near to the kingdom of Babylon whether more remote from Judea or nearer it and which joined one another in that part of the world;

and all the kingdoms of the world which are upon the face of the earth; the whole Babylonian monarchy called the whole world; as the Roman empire afterwards was Luke 2:1;

and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them; or the king of Babylon as the Targum; and that Babylon is meant by "Sheshach" is certain from Jeremiah 51:41; but why it is so called is not so easy to say. The Jewish writers make it to be the same with Babylon by a change of the letters in the alphabet put in such a situation which they call "Athbash" in which "shin" is put for "beth" and "caph" for "lamed"; and so instead of Babel or Babylon you have "Sheshach" which is thought to be used rather than Babylon that Nebuchadnezzar now besieging Jerusalem might not be irritated: but others take it to be the name of an idol of the Babylonians from whence the city was called which is not improbable; for as HillerusF15 has observed their god Bel and Sheshach signify the same thing. Bel is the same as Behal "swift"; and "Sheshach" may be derived from the Arabic word which signifies "to move swiftly"F16; and may both be names of the sun worshipped by the Chaldeans so called from the swiftness of its motion. Now in Babylon stood the temple of Bel or Sheshach and so might have its name from thence: and it may be further observed what has been by others that the Babylonians had a public festival like the Saturnalia of the Romans which held five days and was called Sacchoea or Shace as is supposed from their god Shach to whom it was kept: to which may be added that Mishael had the name of Meshach given him in Babylon; "Shach" in the one answering to "El" in the other; which signifies God Daniel 1:7. Shach is used for a king or prince in the Persic language to this day. And now the king of Sheshach or Babylon must drink of the cup or be punished last of all; who was the instrument of destroying most of the rest yet should not go unpunished.

Verse 27

Therefore thou shalt say unto them .... To the several nations before mentioned prophesied against:

thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel; the Lord of armies above and below the Sovereign of the whole universe; but in a special and peculiar manner the God of Israel:

drink ye and be drunken and spew and fall and rise no more; as is sometimes the case of drunken men; they drink till they are quite intoxicated; and become drunk and then they spew up what they have drunk; and attempting to walk fall and sometimes so as never to rise more; not only break their bones but their necks or fall into places where they are suffocated or in one or other where they lose their lives. So it is signified that these nations should drink of the cup of God's wrath and fury; or his judgments should come upon them in such a manner as that they should be obliged to part with all their riches power and authority; and should fall and sink into such a ruinous condition as that they should never be able to the more to a prosperous one:

because of the sword that I will send among you; by which they should be destroyed. The Targum joins this with the preceding clause thus

"and ye shall not rise from before those that kill with the sword whom I send among you.'

Verse 28

And it shall be if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink .... To give credit to the prophecies of ruin and destruction delivered by the prophet but say these things shall not be:

then shalt thou say unto them thus saith the Lord of hosts ye shall certainly drink; or those judgments shall certainly be inflicted; there will be no possibility of escaping whether they were believed or not; or how unwilling soever they were to believe the denunciations of them or to have them come upon them; yet assuredly so it would be; for thus saith the Lord of hosts who is omnipotent and does what he pleases in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth over whom he has a despotic power and government

Verse 29

For lo I begin to bring evil upon the city which is called by my name .... Jerusalem the city of God the holy city where his name was called upon and he was worshipped; on this he would first bring down his judgments; and indeed he had already begun to bring evil on it; for this very year Nebuchadnezzar came up to besiege it and carried some away captives:

and should ye be utterly unpunished? or could they expect to go free from punishment who had so grossly sinned and were guilty of such abominable idolatries and had been the means of drawing in the people of God into the same; and therefore since the professing people of God who had been drawn in by their examples were punished they could not they ought not to think of escaping. See the like argument in Luke 23:31;

ye shall not be unpunished; or cleared or acquitted or go free; but made instances and examples of vindictive justice:

for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth

saith the Lord of hosts; or I will call them that kill with the sword as the Targum; who will obey the call answer to it and come forth and slay the inhabitants of the earth and none shall escape.

Verse 30

Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words and say unto them .... What follows as well as declare all that is before spoken concerning the cup of fury all nations must drink of:

the Lord shall roar from on high: from heaven like a lion in violent claps of thunder; or in such dreadful dispensations of his providence as will be very amazing and terrifying:

and utter his voice from his holy habitation; from heaven as before; and though it will be terrible yet quite consistent with his holiness and justice:

he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; the temple at Jerusalem where he had his residence; but now should be deserted by him and feel the effects of his wrath in the destruction and desolation of it: or rather since the address is made to the nations of the world and not to the Jews it may be rendered "in" or "out of his habitation"F17על נוהו "in habitaculo suo" Junius & Tremellius; "vel ex habitaculo" Gataker Schmidt. ; and so designs heaven as before; and all these expressions are intended to show both the certainty and terribleness of the dispensation;

he shall give a shout as they that tread the grapes against all the inhabitants of the earth; or "answer a shout"F18הידד יענה "heded respondebit" Schmidt; "celeusma respondebit" Gataker. ; give the onset for battle against the inhabitants of the earth as the general of an army; which is accompanied with a shout like that which is made by workmen treading in the wine press to encourage one another to go on the more cheerfully in their work.

Verse 31

A noise shall come up even to the ends of the earth .... Wars and rumours of wars everywhere till the cup has gone round and all nations have drank of it and have felt the power of divine wrath for their sins:

for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations; will enter into a judicial process with them; will litigate the point with them and try it openly; that it may be seen who is in the right and who in the wrong:

he will plead with all flesh; or enter into judgment with them as Kimchi; or reprove them in judgment as Jarchi; he will be too many for them; he will carry his case overcome them in judgment and reprove and condemn them. Or the words may be rendered "he will be judged by all flesh"F19נשפט הוא לכל בשר "judicium subibit ipse cum omni carne" Tigurine version. ; he will submit it to the judgment of the whole world if it is not a righteous thing in him to do what he is about to do and will do; he will make it clear and manifest that he does nothing unjustly but all according to the strict rules of justice and equity:

he will give them that are wicked to the sword saith the Lord; to be destroyed by it and none but them; and seeing they are such that deserve it he is not to be charged with unrighteousness in so doing.

Verse 32

Thus saith the Lord of hosts behold evil shall go forth from nation to nation .... Begin in one nation and then go on to another; first in Judea and then in Egypt; and so on like a catching distemper or like fire that first consumes one house and then another; and thus shall the cup go round from nation to nation before prophesied of: thus beginning at Judea one nation after another was destroyed by the king of Babylon; then he and his monarchy were destroyed by the Medes and Persians; and then they by the Macedonians; and then the Greeks by the Romans;

and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth; or "from the sides of it"F20מירכתי ארץ "a lateribus terrae" Schmidt; "a finibus terrae" Vatablus. ; that is "from the ends of it"; as the Targum which paraphrases it

"and many people shall come openly from the ends of the earth;'

this was first verified in the Chaldean army under Nebuchadnezzar compared to a whirlwind Jeremiah 4:13; and then in the Medes and Persians under Cyrus; and after that in the Greeks under Alexander; the great and last of all in the Romans under Titus Vespasian.

Verse 33

And the slain of the Lord .... Slain by his permission yea by his orders according to his will in his wrath and sore displeasure and to glorify his vindictive justice:

shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; not that this should be at one and the same time; for there never was such a time that there was such a general slaughter in the world that the slain should reach from one end to the other; but that within the dispensation in which the cup should go round to all nations meant by "that day" the slain of the Lord would be in all parts of the world; or that according to his will there would be a great slaughter everywhere as the cup went round or the sword was sent first ravaging one country and then another;

they shall not be lamented; having no pity from their enemies; and as for their friends they will share the same rite with them; so that there will be none to mourn over them:

neither gathered; taken up from the field of battle where they fall; but where they should fall there they should lie; none gathering up their bodies or bones in order for interment:

nor buried; in the sepulchres of their fathers nor indeed in any place or in any manner; as not in any grand and magnificent manner so not so much as in a common way;

they shall be dung upon the ground; spread upon it and lie above it as dung to manure the earth.

Verse 34

Howl ye shepherds and cry .... The Targum is

"howl ye kings and cry;'

and the rulers and governors of the nations before threatened with destruction are meant; who are here called upon to lamentation and mourning for the ruin and loss of their kingdoms; though Calvin thinks that this is an apostrophe to the Jewish nation and the rulers of it. It is no uncommon thing in Scripture to call kings and civil magistrates shepherds; see Jeremiah 23:1;

and wallow yourselves in the ashes ye principal of the flock; or "roll yourselves in dust" as a token of mourning; as being in the utmost distress and incapable of helping themselves and redressing the grievances of their people; and therefore lie down and tumble about as in the greatest anxiety and trouble the Targum is

"cover your heads with ashes ye mighty of the people;'

meaning those who were in the highest posts of honour and profit; the chief as to authority and power riches and wealth;

for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; the time is come when they who were the fat of the flock and were nourished up for slaughter should be slain. The allusion to shepherds and sheep is still kept up; and such who should escape that should be scattered up and down the world as a flock of sheep is by the wolf or any other beast of prey when some are seized and devoured and others dispersed; and this was not the case of the Jews only but of other nations in their turn;

and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel; a vessel of worth and value and so desirable; as vessels of glass of gems or of earth as of Venice glass of alabaster of China; which when they fall and are broken become useless and are irreparable; signifying hereby that their desirableness and excellency would not secure them from destruction and that their ruin would be irretrievable.

Verse 35

And the shepherds shall have no way to flee .... Or "and flight shall perish from the shepherds"F21ואבד מנוס מן הרעים "et peribit fuga a pastoribus" V. L. "effugiumperibit" Schmidt; "perfugium" Cocceius. ; though they may attempt it they shall not be able to accomplish it; neither the dignity of their persons the greatness of their power or the abundance of their riches would make a way for them; their enemies being so numerous powerful and watchful:

nor the principal of the flock to escape; this was particularly verified in Zedekiah and his princes Jeremiah 39:4. The Targum is

"and the house of fugitives shall perish from the kings and deliverance from the mighty of the people.'

Verse 36

And a voice of the cry of the shepherds .... Or of the kings as the Targum:

and an howling of the principal of the flock shall be heard; of the mighty of the people as the same; what is before called for is here represented as in fact because of the certainty of it:

for the Lord hath spoiled their pastures: their kingdoms provinces cities and towns; or their people as the Targum among whom they lived and by whom they were supported; still keeping up the metaphor of the shepherd and flock. This the Lord is said to do because he suffered it to be done yea ordered it to be done as a punishment for their sins.

Verse 37

And the peaceable habitations are cut down .... Or "their peaceable ones" as the Targum; the palaces and stately dwellings in which they lived in great pomp and prosperity in great peace plenty and safety are destroyed by the enemy and laid waste and become desolate; yea even those that lived peaceably and quietly and neither were disturbed themselves nor disturbed others yet as is usual in times of war share the same fate with their neighbours who have been more troublesome and molesting:

because of the fierce anger of the Lord; or "from before it from the face of it"; shall be destroyed by it that being displayed; and using enemies as instruments in the destruction of them. Sin is the cause of God's wrath and fierce anger and his wrath and anger the cause of the destruction of men and their habitations Whoever are the instruments.

Verse 38

He hath forsaken his covert as a lion .... Which some understand of God leaving Jerusalem or the temple where he dwelt; who while he made it his residence protected it; but when he forsook it it became exposed to the enemy. Kimchi says it may be understood of the destruction of the first temple by Nebuchadnezzar; but he thinks it is most correct to interpret it of the destruction of the second temple; that is by the Romans when it was left desolate by Christ the Lion of the tribe of Judah. But it may be understood of Nebuchadnezzar leaving Babylon his den and ranging about like a lion for his prey; see Jeremiah 4:7. So the Targum

"and a king has removed from his tower or fortress;'

and the land is desolate; the land of Judea or whatsoever country he comes into with his army; that or Egypt or any other:

because of the fierceness of the oppressor; the tyrant Nebuchadnezzar; or "oppressing sword"F23היונה "gladii opprimentis" Junius & Tremellius; "gladii abripientis" Piscator. So Gataker and Ben Melech. as some supply it it being feminine; and so the Targum

"from before the sword of the enemy.'

Some render it "because of the fierceness of the dove"; so the Vulgate Latin; and understand it of the Babylonians or Chaldeans; who as the Romans had an eagle they had the dove on their standards or ensigns; which they received from the Assyrians when they succeeded them in their monarchy; and those from Semiramis their first queen who had it it is said on her standardF24R. David Gantz Tzemach David par. 2. fol. 4. 1. Vid. Lydium de Re Militare l. 3. c. 7. p. 83 84. ; and was retained in honour of her and in memory of her being nourished by a dove and turned into one after her death as commonly believedF25Vid. Diodor. Sicul l. 2. p. 92 107. Ed. Rhodoman. ; and who had her name as is affirmedF26R. Azarias Meor Enayim c. 21. fol. 89. 2. Vid Selden De Dieu Syris l. 2. c. 3. p. 275. from the word צמירא "semira" signifying in the Chaldee language the song or cooing of the dove; but fierceness ill agrees with the dove which is a meek and harmless creature;

and because of his fierce anger; either of God or of the king of Babylon his instrument in destroying nations; not Judea only but many others.

──John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible