Vers. 10—14. — The Authorized Version is here so far wrong, on technical terms, that it seems best to retranslate the whole pas- sage : " And 1 wrote (the circumstances) in the deed, and sealed it, and took wit- nesses, and weighed the money in the balance. And I took the purchase deed, that which was sealed (containing the offer and the conditions), and that which was open ; and I gave the purchase deed unto Barach the son of Neriah, the son of Maa- seiah (rather, Makhseiah), in the sight of Hanameel my uncle, and in the sight of the witnesses who subscribed the purchase deed, m the sight of all the Jews who were sitting in the court ot the guard. And I charged Bamoh before them, saying. Thus saith Jehovah Sabftoth, the God of Israel, Take these deeds, this sealed pnroliase deed, and tms open deed; and put them into an earthen vessel, that tliey may continue many days." The deed was made in two copies, so that if the open one were lost, or suspected of having been tampered with, an appeal might always be made to the sealed copy. The latter was to be placed in an ei^hen vessel, to preserve it from injury by damp. It ought to be added that the words in ver. 11, rendered " containing the offer and the conditions," are difficult. " Contain- ing" is not expressed in the Hebrew, and " offer " is not the ordinary meaning, though etymologically justifiable.
Yer. 15.— Shall be possessed; rather, ikall be bought.
Vers. 16 — 25. — Jeremiah obeys the Divine command, but is so besieged by
JESEIOAH — ^Q.
Misgivings that he applies for • Anthw
revelation of God's purposes.
Ver. 17.— Ah, Lord God! rather, Abu I O Lord Jehovah (as eh. L 6). Too hard for thee. It is the word usually rendered "wonderful," but rather indicating that thing or person lies outside the eemmon order (comp. Gen. xviii 14).
Ver. 18. — Into the bosom, eto. The ample dress of an Eastern rendering a bag or basket unnecessary (comp. Buth iii. 15).
Ver. 20. — Even onto this day. A loose expression. Jeremiah simply means that signs and wonders equal to those wrought in Egypt have continued to the present time. And in Israel ; rather, both in Israel.
Ver. 21. — Almost identical with Dent, xxvi. 8. The great terror which the Is- raelites inspired is constantly referred to (see Deut. li 25 ; Exod. xxiii. 27 ; Josh.
T.l).
Ver. 24. — Behold the mounts (see aa oh. vi 6). Is given. Besistance being hope- less, Jerusalem was virtually in the bauds of its besiegers.
Ver. 25. — For the city is given ; rather, whereat. It is a refieotion of the prophet's.
Vers. 26—44. — The Divine answer. This falls into two parts. First, Jehovah re- peats the burden of so many prophecies,, that Israel has only to blame himself for his punishment (vers. 26 — 35); and then a bright future is disclosed beyond the gloomy interval of conquest and captivity — a future when men shall buy fields, and comply with all the legal formalities, pre- cisely as Jeremiah has done (vers. 36 11 ).
Ver. 28. — I will give ; rather, / am on (he point of giving (present participle).
Ver. 29. — ^And bum it. A still more significant prediction to Jewish hearers than to us, for it implies that Jerusalem had be come utterly rebellious, and deserved the punishment of the old Canaanitish cities. It was to be made a eh^em (Deut. iii. 6).
Ver. 30. — ^From their youth (see on oh iii. 24, 25; xxli. 21). The children of Israel, in the first naif of the verse, must have a narrower sense than in the second half. The fall of Jerusalem is the climax of the series of punishments which the two separated and yet (in God's sight) united portions of the people of Israel have had to undergo.
Ver. 31.— From the day that they built it. It is useless to tell an impassioned orator that his words are twt strictly con- sistent with primitive history. The Is- raelites may not have built Jerusalem, but Jeremiah was not to be debarred from tLe strongest form of expression open to him for such a reason. He means " from the earliest times."
60
THE BOOK OF THE PEOPHEl JEREMIAH. [OH. xxxiL 1— 44
Vers. 84, 85.— Repeated, with slight variations, from oh. vii. 30, 31. " Baal " and " Molech " are identified as in ch. xix. 5 (= ch. vii. 31), aiid even more distinctly.
Ver 36. — And now therefore. This in- troduces the strange and lovely contrast to the gloomy picture which has gone before. It will be observed that there is no direct reference to Jerusalem, but the capital was only empliasized before as the heart of the nation, and it would, of course, be no com- fort to say that Jerusalem's inhabitants (alone) would be restored.
Ver. 39. — One heart, and one way. Unity xs always given as the " note " ot the ideal. Messianic period (oomp. Zeph. iii. 9; Zech. xiv. 9; John x. 16). That they may fear me for ever. Tliis reminds us of a phrase in the exhortation in Dent. iv. 10, as the next clause does of Dent. vi. 24.
Ver. 40. — ^An everlasting covenant. It ia the "new covenant" of ch. xxxi. 31, etc., which is meant (for the phrase, comp. Isa. Iv. 3 ; Ezek. xxxvii. 26). That I will not turn ... to do them good. The comma in the Authorized Version impairs the sense. The prophet means, "That I will not
cease to show them favonr " (oomp. Isa. 11t. 10).
Ver. 41.— Assuredly ; literally, toitt/oift- fulneet ; I.e. with perfect sincerity, without an arriere pensie, as the next words explain it; comp. 1 Sam. xii. 24; Isa. xxxviii. 3 (Graf).
Ver. 42. — Like as I have brought, etc. The prophet still has in his mind tlie thought expressed in ch. xxxi. 28, that the brighter part of his revelations must as surely be accomplished as the darker.
Ver. 43. — Fields; rather, land; the He- brew has "the field," i.e. the open country (as oh. iv. 17, etc.). We must then continue " in this country," and in ver. 44, " men shall buy lands."
Ver. 44.— Subscribe evidences; rattier, write (particulars of their purchase) in the deed (as ver. 10). In the land of Benjamin, etc. The catalogue of the distiicts of the Jewish kingdom beightens the realistic effect (see on cb. xvii. 26). Everywhere the old social system will be reproduced in its entirety. The land of Benjamin is men- tioned first, on account oi the property of Jeremiah at Anathoth.
H0MILETIC8.
Ven, 6 — 9. — Faith tested iy action. Jerusalem is besie°;ed ; the fields are occupied