Jeremiah 29:12
Ver. 12. Then shall ye call upon me,.... When the expected end is about to be given; when God intends and is about to bestow a mercy, he gives his people a spirit of prayer to ask for it; and even the promise of it is a considerable argument to encourage and engage more to pray for it:
and ye shall go and pray unto me: walk in my ways; so Jarchi, Kimchi, and Ben Melech; or rather ye shall go into your private closets, or into those public places where prayer was wont to be made, and there put up your petitions; or it may be the meaning is, that they should continue praying unto him; should pray without ceasing, until they enjoyed the blessing, and had the expected end given them: and I will hearken unto you: God is a God hearing prayer; he listens to the requests of his people, and answers them in his own time and way; which is no small encouragement to pray unto him. Jeremiah 29:13Ver. 13. And ye shall seek me, and find [me],.... When persons seek the Lord aright, they always find him; a God hearing prayer; a God in Christ; bestowing favours upon them; granting them his presence; indulging them in communion with him; and favouring them with fresh supplies of his grace, and everything needful for them; every mercy, temporal and spiritual; that is, when they seek him in Christ, who is the only way to the Father, under the guidance and influence of the blessed Spirit; in the exercise of faith upon him and his promises; with fervency of spirit and ardour of mind; with diligence and importunity; with earnest desires and strong affections; and, as follows, with all sincerity of soul:when ye shall search for me with all your heart; which, as Calvin rightly observes, does not design perfection, but integrity and sincerity; when they draw nigh with a true heart, and call upon him in truth, and search for him with eagerness, with a hearty desire to find him, as men search for gold, and silver, and hid treasure. Jeremiah 29:14Ver. 14. And I will be found of you, saith the Lord,.... As he is; when his favour is shown, his presence is enjoyed, and the blessing sought for is obtained:and I will turn away your captivity; this designs the captivity of Jeconiah, or of the Jews that were carried captive with him; and which had its accomplishment when the Jews returned to their own land, upon the edict of Cyrus:and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; for though the greatest part might be carried to Babylon, and continue there; yet others might be removed or moved into other countries; and besides, this may respect their brethren who should come into captivity, and return with them at the end of the seventy years; for the expressions are very large and general:and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive; that is, Jerusalem, and the land of Judea; though the Vulgate Latin version renders it,"and I will make you to return from the place to which I have caused you to go captive;''meaning Babylon. The sense comes to the same; but the common rendering is most agreeable to the Hebrew text. Jeremiah 29:15Ver. 15. Because ye have said,.... That is, some of them; for here the Lord, by the prophet, turns from the godly among the captives, whom he had been advising, encouraging, and comforting before, to those who gave heed to the false prophets, who promised them a speedy return to their own land, and which they believed; and therefore rejected and despised the prophecies of Jeremiah, and others:the Lord hath raised us up prophets in Babylon; and therefore stood in no need of other prophets that were in Judea, or in Jerusalem, nor should hearken to them; but believe those that were raised up among themselves, rather than others at a distance; and though these were false prophets, yet, being such that prophesied to them things that were agreeable, they were willing to believe them, and to consider them, and receive them, as prophets sent of God, when they were not. Jeremiah 29:16Ver. 16. [Know] that thus saith the Lord,.... Or "for", or "wherefore thus saith the Lord" {x}; for the word "know" is not in the text, and seems needless; though it is also supplied by other interpreters {y}. The words are illative, and follow upon the former; and the sense is, that since they gave heed to their false prophets in Babylon, who told them that they should quickly return; therefore the Lord sent the following message to them, informing them that it was so far from being true that they should in a short time return to Jerusalem, that, on the other hand, they that were there should soon be with them in captivity, or be destroyed:of, or "concerning"the king that sitteth on the throne of David; that is, King Zedekiah, who was then the reigning king at Jerusalem:and of all the people that dwelleth in this city; the city Jerusalem, where Jeremiah was, and from whence this letter was written, in the name of the Lord, to the captives at Babylon:and of your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity; that lived in the several parts of the land of Judea, who were left behind, and not carried captive, when those were to whom these words are directed.{x} rma hk yk "nam sic ait", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius; "ideo", Calvin; "ita namque", Schmidt. {y} "Scitote quod", Vatablus. Jeremiah 29:17Ver. 17. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, behold, I will send upon them the sword,.... The sword of the Chaldeans, by which many of them should fall, as they did. The Targum is,"I will send upon them those that kill with the sword:''who, though they were prompted to come against the Jews, through a natural and ambitious desire of conquering and plundering, yet were sent of God; nor would they have come, had he not willed and suffered it:the famine and the pestilence; to destroy others that escaped the sword; both these raged while Jerusalem was besieged by the Chaldeans:and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil; to which they are compared, Jer 24:8. The sense is, that as they had made themselves wicked and corrupt, like naughty and rotten figs, so the Lord would deal with them as men do with such, cast them away, as good for nothing. The word {z} for "vile" signifies something horrible; and designs such figs so bad, that they even strike the eater of them with horror.{z} Myrevh Mynatk "tanquam ficus horrendas", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; so Stockius, p. 1129. Jeremiah 29:18Ver. 18. And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine,and with the pestilence,.... Or, "follow after {a} them"; such as should make their escape out of the city, and go into Egypt, or other countries, for shelter and safety, should be pursued by the vengeance of God, and should fall by sword, famine, or pestilence, in other places:and will deliver them; such as should not perish by the above mentioned calamities:to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth; where they should be scattered, and live in exile: or "for a shaking to all the kingdoms of the earth" {b}; who should shake and tremble at such a dreadful spectacle of vengeance; or rather they should shake and tremble at the wrath of God upon them; or else their enemies, among whom they should be, should shake their heads at them, by way of insult and triumph over them:to be a curse, and an astonishment, and an hissing, and a reproach,among all the nations whither I have driven them; where men shall look at them with amazement, and curse theft, and hiss at them, and reproach them, as the offscouring of the world.{a} Mhyrxa ytpdrw "et persequar post eos", Calvin, Piscator. {b} hewzl "in commotionem", Pagninus, Montanus, Schmidt. Jeremiah 29:19Ver. 19. Because they have not hearkened to my words, saith the Lord,.... Which were spoken to them by the prophets; not hearkening to them, but despising them, were the same as not hearkening to him, and despising him; contempt of God, and his word, was the cause of their ruin; see 2Ch 36:15;which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets; such as Hosea, Isaiah, Micah, Jeremiah, and others:rising up early, and sending [them]; which denotes the frequency of their mission; the diligent care of God towards them; and his earnest solicitude for their welfare; and the plenty of means they were favoured with; all which were aggravations of their sin:but ye would not hear, saith the Lord; the words of the Lord by his prophets; the counsel and admonitions he gave them; but pursued their own ways and counsels, and listened to the false prophets. Jeremiah 29:20Ver. 20. Hear ye therefore the word of the Lord,.... What he was now about to say concerning their false prophets:all ye of the captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon; all that were carried captive along with Jeconiah. Some parts of this letter are directed to one sort of the captives, and others to another sort of them; some being good men, some bad; but what follows all are called upon to observe, good and bad; it being a prediction of a certain event, which they would see fulfilled in a short time; and therefore might be of service of them; to the godly, for the confirmation of them in the belief of what the Lord had promised; and to the rest, to make them stop giving heed to false prophets, that should here after arise. Jeremiah 29:21Ver. 21. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,....See Gill on "Jer 29:4";of Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, which prophesy a lie unto you: two false prophets, of whom we have no account any where else but here; and are, no doubt, the prophets, or however two of them, that they of the captivity boasted of that God had raised unto them in Babylon, Jer 29:15. The Jews {c} say, and so Jerom relates, that these are the two elders that attempted the chastity of Susannah:behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon: they should be suffered to commit some crime against the state, of which notice should be given, and they should be seized as seditious persons; which was so permitted in providence, that they might be brought to punishment for other sins they were guilty of:and he shall slay them before your eyes; by roasting them with fire: as follows:{c} R. Gedaliah Shalshelet Hakabala, fol. 80. 1. Jeremiah 29:22Ver. 22. And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah which [are] in Babylon,.... A form of cursing; when they cursed anyone, or wished him ill, it should be in such like manner as follows; so odious and detestable would these men be afterwards to them, whom they, at least some of them, took to be the prophets of the Lord:saying, the Lord make thee like Zedekiah, and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire; or "burnt them" {d}; not at once, but with a slow fire; so the Maccabees were roasted,"Then the king, being in a rage, commanded pans and caldrons to be made hot: '' (2 Maccabees. 7:3)Burning persons with fire, and casting them into a fiery furnace, were ways used by the Chaldeans in putting persons to death, Da 3:6; and roasting men at a fire was used by the Chinese {e}.{d} Mlq "combussit", Pagninus; "ustulavit", Munster; so Ben Melech says the word signifies "burning". {e} Martin Hist. Sinic. p. 257. Jeremiah 29:23Ver. 23. Because they have committed villany in Israel,.... Or "folly" {f}; as the sins of adultery, and prophesying falsely, are afterwards mentioned. This was not the reason why the king of Babylon put them to death; though the Jews {g} have a tradition that they attempted the chastity of Nebuchadnezzar's daughter, for which reason he case them into a furnace; but rather it was on account of their prophesying immediate destruction to Babylon; and telling the captives that they should be delivered in a short time; and stirring them up to prepare to go to their own land; but the reasons here given are those which moved the Lord to deliver them into the hands of the king of Babylon for their destruction:and have committed adultery with their neighbours' wives; which was a piece of villany, as well as folly; and which abundantly showed that these men were not the prophets of the Lord, or were sent by him, being such impure wretches:and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them; as that the people should return to their own land in a short time; this was another part of their villany and folly, and for which they were given up into the hands of the king of Babylon, to be punished:even I know, and [am] a witness, saith the Lord; for though their adulteries might be very secretly committed, and their lying prophecies were not seen to be such by the people in common; yet God, who is omniscient, saw all their impurity, and knew all their lies and falsehood, and was, and would be, a swift witness against them, here and hereafter. The Targum is,"and before me it is manifest, and my word is a witness, saith the Lord.''{f} hlbn "stultitiam", V. L. Schmidt. {g} T. Bab. Sanhedrin. fol. 93. 1. Jeremiah 29:24Ver. 24. [Thus] shalt thou speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite,.... Or, "the dreamer" {h}; because he pretended to have dreams from the Lord; or because what he delivered as prophecies were mere dreams; as that the captives should quickly return to their own land; so Kimchi: but Jarchi takes it to be the name of a place, from whence he was so called; perhaps the place of his birth, or habitation formerly; so the Targum, paraphrasing"who was of Halem;''he was, another of the false prophets in Babylon. This latter part of the chapter is of a later date than the former; and refers to what was done after the above letter of Jeremiah came to the captives in Babylon; and after, the return of the messengers from thence, who brought, account how it was received, and what umbrage it gave to the false prophets:saying; as follows:{h} ymlxnh "quasi" Mlwx "somniator somniorum", Kimchi and Ben Melech. Jeremiah 29:25Ver. 25. Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying,.... See Gill on "Jer 29:4";because thou hast sent letters in thy name unto all the people that [are] at Jerusalem; not in the name of the captives, whom he consulted not; nor with Ezekiel the prophet of the Lord, who was of the captivity; but in his own name, taking upon him to direct and order what should be done in Jerusalem. These letters were sent, very probably, by the hands of the king's messengers, when they returned, whose names are mentioned, Jer 29:3; some of them were sent to the people, to set them against the prophet of the Lord, Jeremiah, that they might not give any heed and credit to him; and others to the priests, as follows:and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest; not the high, priest, but his sagan or deputy; the second priest, as he is called, Jer 52:24; for Seraiah was high priest, unless he was now become high priest in his room. This Maaseiah was either his immediate parent, or else the head of that course to which Zephaniah belonged, as a common priest, which was the twenty fourth in order, 1Ch 24:18;saying: as follows: Jeremiah 29:26Ver. 26. The Lord hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest,.... The same with Seraiah, who might have more names than one, and Jehoiada be one of them, who either was removed, or carried captive; and this Zephaniah, his sagan of deputy, succeeded him. Some think he refers to the famous Jehoiada in the times of Joash, a great reformer; and that this man was another such an one for his zeal, or at least ought to be, which he would have him exert against Jeremiah; but the former seems most probable:that ye should be officers in the house of the Lord; or "visitors", or "overseers" {i} there; that is, Zephaniah, and the rest of the priests; or that he should see to it, that there were proper officers set there, to take care of it, and suffer none to come in and prophesy there, to the hurt of the people, as he would insinuate:for every man [that is] mad, and maketh himself a prophet; or, "against every man" {k}; to prevent all enthusiastic persons, and such as are troubled with a frenzy in their brain, and set up themselves for prophets, from speaking in the name of the Lord; so the true prophets of old, and the apostles of Christ, and faithful ministers of the word, have always been represented as beside themselves, and as taking upon them an office that did not belong to them; and therefore should be restrained and persecuted by the higher powers:that thou shouldest put him in prison, and in the stocks; the former of these words, according to the Hebrew, signifies an engine or instrument, in which the neck was put, like our pillory; and the latter an iron instrument for the hands, a manacle, or handcuff, as Kimchi; see Jer 20:2; though this rather better agrees with the pillory, being a strait narrow place, in which the hands, feet, and neck, were put {l}.{i} Mydyqp "inspectores", Cocceius, Gataker. {k} vya lkl "adversus omnem virum", Calvin; "contra omnem virum", Schmidt. {l} Vid. Hottinger. Smegma Orientale, l. 1. c. 7. p. 190. Jeremiah 29:27Ver. 27. Now therefore why hast thou not reproved Jeremiah of Anathoth,.... Not by words only, but by actions; by beating and scourging, by pillory or imprisonment, and so restraining him from prophesying to the people:which maketh himself a prophet unto you? takes upon him such an office, though not sent of the Lord, as he would insinuate: this shows the haughtiness and insolence of the false prophets in Babylon, to assume such authority to themselves, to dictate to the high priest, as Kimchi takes him to be, or however the second priest, what he should do, and to rebuke him for not doing his office. Jeremiah 29:28Ver. 28. For therefore he sent unto us [in] Babylon, saying,.... That is, Jeremiah the prophet; and this was the reason, because his mouth was not stopped, and he restrained from prophesying; so that Shemaiah lays all the blame on Zephaniah, and his brethren the priests; who, had they done their duty, would have prevented Jeremiah's letter to the captives, as he suggests; the purport of which was,this [captivity] is long; so Kimchi, Abarbinel, and Ben Melech, supply it; or, "it [is] long" {m}; it will be a long time before the captives shall return to their own land; and therefore they should not think of it, or provide for it; but, on the contrary, for their continuance in Babylon; giving the following advice:build ye houses, and dwell [in them]; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them; referring to Jeremiah's letter;See Gill on "Jer 29:5".{m} ayh hkra "longum est", Pagninus, Cocceius, Schmidt. Jeremiah 29:29Ver. 29. And Zephaniah the priest read this letter,.... Of Shemaiah's to him, and the other priests:in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet: whether out of good will, to let him know who were his enemies abroad; or out of ill will, to stir up the people against him; or in pretence of proceeding equitably with him; not taking him up, and punishing him before he brought the accusation and charge against him; and acquainted him who were his accusers, and what evidence there was, and heard what he had to say in his own defence whether one or the other is uncertain; however, by this means Jeremiah came to the knowledge of Shemaiah's letter. Jeremiah 29:30Ver. 30. When came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah,.... After he had heard the letter read:saying; as follows: Jeremiah 29:31Ver. 31. Send to all them of the captivity,.... Another letter; not to Shemaiah, but to the people, that they might all know that he was a false prophet; and how his lies were resented by the Lord; and what punishment should be inflicted on him and his, on account of them:saying, thus saith the Lord concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite; the letter, though written by the prophet, must be sent in the name of the Lord, declaring what he would do with the person mentioned, and the reason of it; which follows:because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, and I sent him not,and he caused you to trust in a lie; that they should in a very little time return from their captivity to Jerusalem. Jeremiah 29:32Ver. 32. Therefore thus saith the Lord,.... Because he prophesied without being sent of God, and prophesied lies, by which the people were deceived:behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed; not him only, but his posterity also: thus God sometimes visits the sins of parents on their children, they being, as it were, a part of themselves, and oftentimes partners with them in their iniquities:he shall not have a man to dwell among this people; either at Babylon, or at Jerusalem, whither he had promised a speedy return:neither shall he behold the good that I will do for my people, saith the Lord; by returning them, after seventy years captivity, to their own land, and to the enjoyment of all their privileges, civil and religious:because he hath taught rebellion against the Lord; or, "a departure {n} from [him]"; taught men to revolt from him, and not give heed to his prophets; to disbelieve what he said by them, concerning their continuance in Babylon; which is called a rebellion against him; and being so heinous a crime, deserved the punishment denounced on him and his; rebels and their offspring are punished among men.{n} hro "apostasiam", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "recessionem", Schmidt.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.