The Pulpit Commentary — Jeremiah — Volume 1 — Section 216

they have loved, eto. The prophet is Palestine. The expression • stork in the designedly diffuse in his description. With he9:vens' refers to the immense height o.l all their misspent zee.l, these unho.ppy winch they fly during migration" (Tris- idolaters oonnot even find tombs. tram); (2) the turtle, or turtle-dove, whose Ver. 3.-Whioh remain. The words e.re return is the sure sign of spring (Cant. ii. 11); certainly to be omitted in the second ple.ce (3 and 4) the crane and the swallow, or where they occur. In the Hebrew they m.ther, "the swift and the crane." These stand after in all the ple.ces, o.nd the word birds are again mentioned togother in Isa. for "places" is feminine, whereas the parti- xxxviii. 14 (the psalm of Hezekiah), where ciple, " the remaining," is masculine. The special reference is made to the penetrating Septuagint e.nd Peshito have nothing corre- quality of their note. "The whooping or sponding. There is a cleriool error in the trumpeting of the crane rings through the Hebrew. night air in spring, and the vo.st flocks Ver. 4-eh. iL 1.-The incorrigible which Wtl noticed passing north near Beer- wickedness of the people, and the awfulness sheba were a wonderful sight." The intro- of the judgment. duction of the swallow in the Authorized Ver. 4.-Moreover thou shalt say, etc.; Version is misleading, as that bird is not a literally, and thou shalt say. The section is regular migrant in Po.lestine. Tile note of introduced by a formula which connects it the swift is a shrill sci·eam. "No bird is with eh. vii. 2, 28. Shall they fall, etc. ? more conspicuous by the suddenness of its re.ther, Do men fall . . . doth a man turn return than the swift," iR the remark of away 1 One of those e.ppea.Js to common Canon Tristram, who suw large flocks pass- sense in which the prophets delight. Who ing northwards over Jerusalem, on the 12th ever sees e. fallen ma.u stay quietly on the of February (' Nat. Hist. of Bible,' p. 208). ground without attempting to rise? or a It is an interesting fact that the swift bear~ me.n who has wandered out of the path the same name (sus) iu the vernacul:i.r Arabfo persist in going in the wrong direction? as in the Hebrew of Jeremiah. The judg• Ver. 5.-Slidden be.ck . . . backsliding. ment; better, the law (see on eh. v. 4). The verb is the same verb (in another con- Ver. 8.-How do ye say, We a.re wiea l jugo.tion) as in ver. 4, and the noun is a Jeremiah is evidently o,ddrcssing the priests derfrative from it. The Anthorized Ver- and the prophets, whom he so constantly eion, therefore, has slightly weakened the described as o.mong the chief causes of force of the nrgnment. They hold fast deceit. Judah's ruin (comp. ver. 10; eh. ii. 8, 26; They cling to a false view of their relation iv. 9; v. 31), and who, in Isaiah's day, to their God (comp. eh. iv. 2; v. 2). regarded it as an nnwo.rrantablo assumption Ver. 6.-I hearkened and heard. The on the part of that prophet to pretend to Di vine Judge condescends to speak after instruct them in their duty (Isa. xxviii. 9). the manner of men. He will be his own The law of the Lord is with us. "With witness; for it is his own people, Jeshnrun, us;" i.e. in our hands and mouths (comp. which is on its trial. Not aright. It is e. Pa. I. 16). The word toriih, commonly ren- compound expression, equivalent to "iusin- dered" Law," ia ambiguous, and o. difference oerely," "nntruly" (comp. Isa. xvi. 6). of opinion aa to the meo,ning of this verse Repented . . . turned; rather, repenteth . . . is inevitable. Some think these self-styled turneth (or, returneth). To his oourse. The "wise" meu reject Jeremiah'a counsels on Hebrew text, sometimes represented as the ground tho,t they already have the having e. different reading (" courses," in divinely given Law in a written form (comp. the plural) from the margin, teally gives Rom. ii. 17-20), and that the Divine revela- the same reading with one letter mis- tion is complete. Others that toriih here, ple.ced. The singular stands in the parallel as often elsewhere in the prophets (e.g. Isa. paasage, eh. :uiii. 19, and offers no :diffi- i. 10; viii. 16; xiii. 4), simply means "in- culty. As the horse rusheth; literally, over- struction," or "direction," and describes the ftoweth. Both the Authorized Version and e.uthoritati ve counsel given orally by the the Vulgate (impetu vadens) efface the priests (Deut. xvii. 11) and prophets to second metaphor. The uncontrollable those who consulted them on points of passion of both people and war-horse is ritual and practice respectively. The usnge compared to the all-subduing course of a. of Jeremiah himself favours tho latter view winter stream or torrent. (see eh. ii. 8; xviii. 18; 11.nd especially xxvi. Ver. 7.-'l'he appeal to the regularity of 4, 5, where "to walk in my Toriik " ia parallel unimal iw;tincte reminds us of Isa. i. 3. Yee., to "to hearken to the words of my servo.nts the stork, etc. The migratory birds obey the prophets." The context eq uo,lly points their instinct with the most unfailing regu- in this direction. The most natural inter- larity. Those referred to are: (1) the stork, pretation, then, i., this : The opponents of whoso "regular and audclen return is one ! Jeremiah be.do Lim keep his exho1-tationa to of the mo~t interesting natural sights of himscJr, "-Coing that thry thrmeclves were CH, vm. 1-22.] 'l'HE BOOK OF THE PROPHE'l' JEREMIAH. 215