The Pulpit Commentary — Jeremiah — Volume 1 — Section 296

two reo.cliags is CI\BY, and Lhe rending of the Ver. 16.-A green olive tree. The olive versions is to be preferred. tree is "one of the most Lhri ving, hardy and Ver. 15.-What hath my beloved to do in productive trees in the East" (it we.a' the mine honae 1 " My beloved'' is evidently fuet tree elected king in the parable, J udg. tho Jewish people, who in eh. xii. 7 is called ix. 8), and with its " foliage of a deep "the dearly beloved of my soul." The perennial green," furnishes a striking symboi Divine Speaker expresses surprise that one of healthful beauty. A psalmist, speakino- who ho.a now so poor o. clo.im to the title of in the character of the typical righteon~ "my beloved" shonld o.ppear in his holy man, compares himself to a "green oli vo house. It is spoken in the spirit of thnt tree in the house of God" (Ps. Iii. 8). The earlier revelation of Isaiah, "When ye come word rendered ''green•· is one of those which to appear before me, who bath required this are the despair of translators ( see on eh. ii. at your hand, to trample my courts?" (Ian. 20). It gives a picture in H,elf. We seem i. 12). The Jews, it would seem, came to to see a flourishing, sappy tree, with abun- the temple to pray, but their prayer is not dance of pli~t, gracefully moving, peren- accepted, because it is associated with unholy nio.lly green branches. With the noise of a practices. They thought by formal prayers great tumult. Either the tumult of the and sacrifices to pay off their debt to the melee of battle is meant (the same uncommon Deity, o.-qd so be free to go on with their old word is used with such a reference in Ezek. i. devices (o.s in eh. vii. 15). This seems the 24) or the crashing of thunder. "With a best view of the difficult words which follow, rushing mighty sound" would be a more but it implies a con-action of. the certainly forcible rendering. (For the concluding ungra.mmatico.l •rendering of the Authotized figure, colilp. Ezek. xxxi. 12.) He hath Version-seeing she ho.th wrought lewdness kindled fire, etc. There is no occasion to -into to work the wicked device. But here explain this na merely the perfect of pro- begins the most obscure part of the verse. phetic certitude. It was litcr11lly true tho.t With many cannot be right; for "with" the fire of war had alroncly devastated the ho.s nothing corresponding to it in the fairest portion of the Holy Lo.n,l. Israel Hebrew; the word in the original simply (expressly referred to in ver. 17) had already means "the many," o.ud as it is immedio.tely been carried into cnptivity, and Juclo.h wns, followed by a noun in the singular with to the prophetic eye, as good as destroyed. "and," aud a verb in tho plum!, it is plain Here, no donbt, tho.t wonderful perfect of tbo.t it must (if correctly read) be part of foith does come in. the subject of tho latter. The Septuagint, V or. 17.-The Lord of hosts, that planted however, !ms o. different reading, which mo.y thee. He who" planted" Israel (comp. eh. vory well be correct, and out of which the ii. 21) could also uproot it; nn<l though, for received Hebrew rending mo.y easily ho.vo the sake of his covenant with Abraham, ho grown-" Co.n vows 11nd holy[i.e. hallowed] would not destroy it utterly, yet ho couhl .flesh remove from thee thy wickedness [or not but interpose as J udgo to puni.-ih it~ perhaps, • thy calamity']?" The connection mo.nifold trnnsgressions. Israel o.ncl J udo.h thus becomes easy. '' Vows and holy flesh" 11.re mentioned together ; for the prophets, so (i.e. the flesh of sncrifices, Hag. ii. 12), far o.s we know them from their works, did Dl\turo.lly go together ; the only other pos- not recognize the scpuro.tion of the two siblo wo.y of to.king t.ho pnsso.gc (assuming kingdoms. Against themselves; rnther, for the correctness of the ·received text)-" the themselves ; i.e. to plense thcmsel ,ea. greo.t ones 11nd the holy flesh shnll pnss o.wC\y Ver. 18.-Here, as Naegelsbo.ch puts it, from thee" - is obviously ino.dmissiblo. begins the second stngo of the "co11spir11cy." "Vows and so.orifices," however, precisely Hath given me !mowledge, eLc.; rnther, ycwe express the truo nssooiution of ideas. A me lmowledge, and I lmeto it. Then; i.e. man made a vow, and ho genera.Uy paid it when I wns in utter unconsciousness. in the fol'm of a sacrifice. But, inquires Jorernioh hnd no presenti111ont of t.ho Jehovo.h, " Can such vows and such victims murderous purpose of his fownsruc11, till by plcnsc God, o.nd expiate thy wickedness [or, some "spC"cio.l providence" it came to h~ • avert thy cnlamity ']? Then thou miyl1teat knowledge. rejoice." The latter words ore not, indeed, Ver. ID.-Like a Iamb or an oz; rather, moro exo.ct tho.n those of the Authorized as a mild lamb (us one of the old trnnslntions V crsion, but are in accordance with graminar, ho.sit), equivalent to quasi ag1111s mansuetus and suit the preceding question. It is not (Vulgo.to). Jereminh S11ys tho.t he was as certain, however, tho.t the text is right here; unsuspicious as a to.me lamb which hna the Septungint hn.a t) ,,-06.,.01s li,a</)Eofp. grown up with its mnster's family (2 Snm. (Notice thnt Keil, conservo.tive t-> a fault in xii. 3). The AmLs use tho very eamo matters o.ffeoting tho received text, agrees n<ljective in II slightly different form as with the above correction, whioh is e.lso -,in opithet of such tume lambs (Ilochnrt, 1Lrlopted by Ewu.ld, Hitzig, nnd Gr,,f.) 'Hieroz()'icou,' i. 5:W-522, edit. 16GS). It  THE 1300lt OF THE l'ROPtlE1' JEREMIAH. [en. xr. 1-23,