Jeremiah 8:14
Ver. 14. Why do we sit still?.... In the country, where were barrenness and want of provisions; in the villages and unwalled towns, where they were exposed to the spoils and ravages of the enemy. These words, with what follow, are the words of the prophet, in the language of the Israelites, as Kimchi observes.
Assemble yourselves; this is the gathering together, in order to be consumed, before threatened, which they themselves were made to do:
and let us enter into the defenced cities; such as Jerusalem, where they thought they should be safe from their enemies:
and let us be silent there; either promising themselves rest, quietness, and security; or suggesting that it would be right in them to say nothing by way of complaint; having no reason to murmur at their afflictions, since they were no other than what their own sins had brought upon them: for the Lord our God hath put us to silence; stopped their mouths that they could not complain, being convicted in their consciences of their sins; and brought them into a state of destruction and death, which makes silent:and given us water of gall to drink; afflictions bitter and deadly. The Targum is,"and hath made us drink the cup of an evil curse, as the heads of serpents;''a poisonous and deadly potion:because we have sinned against the Lord; which they were obliged to own; though it does not appear that they had true repentance for their sins, or amended their ways; sometimes confession of sin is made without either of these. Jeremiah 8:15Ver. 15. We looked for peace,.... Outward prosperity, affluence of temporal blessings, peace with enemies, and safety from them, which the false prophets had given them reason to expect; or which last they concluded and hoped for, from their being in the defenced cities:but no good came; they were disappointed in their expectation; the good that was promised them, and they looked for, never came, but all the reverse:and for a time of health; or, of healing {l}; the political wounds of the commonwealth of Israel:and behold trouble! or "terror" {m}; at the approach of the enemy, described in the following verses. The Targum is,"a time of pardon of offences, and, lo, a punishment of sins.''Healing, in Scripture, signifies pardon of sin; see Ps 41:4.{l} hprm "medelae, [vel] sanationis", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Schmidt. {m} hteb "terror", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Schmdit. Jeremiah 8:16Ver. 16. The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan,.... That is, was heard at Jerusalem. It seems to be a hyperbolical expression, showing the certainty of the coming of the Assyrian monarch and his army, to invade Judea, and besiege Jerusalem; the news of which was brought from Dan, which lay in the further part of the land; see Jer 4:15, and pointing at the way in which they should come northwards, through Phoenicia and the tribe of Dan, with a numerous cavalry of horses and horsemen: for, by "his" horses are meant Nebuchadnezzar's; unless, with Calvin, it can be thought that they are called the Lord's, because ordered and sent by him, whose war it was against the people. The Targum paraphrases the words thus,"because they worshipped the calf that is in Dan, a king with his army shall come up against them, and carry them captive;''and so Jarchi interprets it.The whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; his horses, strong and mighty; see Jud 5:22 where we read of the prancings of the mighty ones; and here the Targum,"at the voice of the treading of his strong ones, all the inhabitants of the earth shall be moved;''and by the land trembling undoubtedly are meant the inhabitants of the land, filled with dread and consternation at the noise and near approach of the Chaldean army.For they are come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; or, "the fulness of it"; which because of the certainty of it, is represented as then done: the city, and those that dwell therein; meaning not only the city of Jerusalem, and the inhabitants of it, but other cities also, the singular being put for the plural; and so the Targum,"the cities, and they that dwell in them.'' Jeremiah 8:17Ver. 17. For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you,.... The Chaldeans, comparable to these noxious and hurtful creatures, because of the mischief they should do unto them. The Targum is,"for, lo, I will raise up against you people that kill as the destroying serpents.''These were raised up by the Lord, and sent by him, just as he sent fiery serpents among the Israelites in the wilderness, when they sinned against him; there literally, here metaphorically.Which will not be charmed: Jarchi says, at the end of seventy years a serpent becomes a cockatrice, and stops its ear, that it will not hearken to the voice of the charmer, according to Ps 58:4, the meaning is, that these Chaldeans would not be diverted from their purposes in destroying of the Jews by any arts or methods whatever; as not by force of arms, so not by good words and entreaties, or any way that could be devised.And they shall bite you, saith the Lord; that is, kill them, as the Targum interprets it; for the bite of a serpent is deadly. Jeremiah 8:18Ver. 18. When I would comfort myself against terror,.... Either naturally, by eating and drinking, the necessary and lawful means of refreshment; or spiritually, by reading the word of God, and looking over the promises in it:my heart is faint in me; at the consideration of the calamities which were coming upon his people, and which were made known to him by a spirit of prophecy, of which he had no room to doubt. So the Targum takes them to be the words of the prophet, paraphrasing them,"for them, saith the prophet, my heart grieves.'' Jeremiah 8:19Ver. 19. Behold, the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people,.... This was what made his heart faint, such was his sympathy with his countrymen, his people in distress, whom he affectionately calls the daughter of his people, whose cry was loud, and whose voice he heard lamenting their case:because of them that dwell in a far country; because of the Chaldeans, who came from a far country; see Jer 5:15 who were come into their land, and devoured it; through fear of them, and because of the devastation they made; hence the voice of their cry: or this is to be understood of the Jews in a far country, carried captive into Babylon, and the voice of their cry there, because of their captivity and oppression. So Abarbinel and the Targum,"lo, the voice of the cry of the congregation of my people from a far country;''and so read the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions.Is not the Lord in Zion? is not her King in her? these are the words of the people, complaining of the Lord, calling in question whether he was in Zion, and whether he was King there; and if he was, how came it to pass that he did not protect it; that he suffered the city to be taken, and the inhabitants to be carried captive?Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with their strange vanities? that is, with their idols, and their idolatrous worship; this is the Lord's answer to them, giving a reason why he suffered the enemy to come in among them, and prevail over them, namely, their idolatry. It may be rendered, "with the vanities of a stranger" {n}; of a strange people, or of a strange god.{n} rkn ylbhb "in vanitatibus alienigenae", Montanus; "[sub.] populi", Vatablus; "dei alieni", Pagninus So Ben Melech. Jeremiah 8:20Ver. 20. The harvest is past,.... Which was in the month of Ijar, as Jarchi observes, and answers to part of April and May:the summer is ended; which was in the month Tammuz, and answers to part of June and July:and we are not saved; delivered from the siege of the Chaldeans; and harvest and summer being over, there were no hopes of the Egyptians coming to their relief; seeing winter was approaching; and it may be observed, that it was in the month of Ab, which answers to part of July and August, that the city and temple were burnt. These are the words of the people of the Jews, despairing of help and salvation. So the Targum,"the congregation of Israel said, the time is passed, the end is up, and we are not redeemed.'' Jeremiah 8:21Ver. 21. For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt,.... These are the words, not of God, as Jerom; nor of Jerusalem, as the Targum; but of the prophet, as Kimchi observes, expressing his sympathy with the people in their affliction: and they may be rendered, "for the breach of the daughter of my people" {o}, which was made when the city was broken up and destroyed, Jer 52:7.I am broken; in heart and spirit:I am black; with grief and sorrow. The Targum is,"my face is covered with blackness, black as a pot.''Astonishment hath taken hold on me; at the miseries that were come upon his people; and there was no remedy for them, which occasion the following words.{o} rbv le "super contritione", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus; "super confractione", Schmidt; "ob fractionem", Cocceius. Jeremiah 8:22Ver. 22. Is there no balm in Gilead?.... Which was famous for it; see Ge 37:25, or rather turpentine or rosin, a gum which drops from pine trees and the like; since balm or balsam grew on this side Jordan, near Jericho and Engedi, and not beyond Jordan, in the land of Gilead; and rosin is good for healing. Some render it "treacle", but very wrongly, since, as Calvin observes, that is a composition of many things,Is there no physician there? or surgeon, anyone that heals wounds and bruises; very probably there were many such lived in Gilead, since it was a place where proper medicines were to be got and applied: this may be understood of prophets and teachers, who, in a moral and spiritual sense, are instruments of healing of men, by showing them their evil, calling them to repentance, and directing where to go for healing or pardon of sin; namely, to Christ, the alone physician, and to his precious blood, shed for the remission of sins. Some reference may be had to Elijah, who was of Gilead, and to the school of the prophets there, 1Ki 17:1. The Targum is,"Jeremiah the prophet said, perhaps there are no good works in me, that I should supplicate for the house of Israel; should I not desire the doctrine of Elijah the prophet, who was of Gilead, whose words were healing?''Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered? that is, seeing there is balm in Gilead, and a physician there, how comes it to pass that such medicine is not made use of, and such a physician not applied to, that health might be restored? This shows the stupidity, sluggishness, and indolence of the people, and how inexcusable they were, as well as the prophet's great concern for their welfare; the want of means of deliverance, or non-attendance to them, or the failure of them.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.