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النشر الإلكتروني

Their restoration]

JEREMIAH.

[further confirmed and subscribe evidences, and seal return, and will build them, as at the them, and take witnesses in the land. first. of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountains, and in the cities of the valley, and in the cities of the south: for I will cause their captivity to return, saith the LORD. (M)

CHAP. XXXIII.

MOREOVER, the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut up in the court of the prison, saying,

2 Thus saith the LORD, the maker thereof, the LORD that formed it, to establish it; the LORD is his name;

3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.

4 For thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, which are thrown down by the mounts, and by the sword;

5 They come to fight with the Chaldeans; but it is to fill them with the dead bodies of men, whom I have slain in mine anger and in my fury, and for all whose wickedness I have hid my face from this city.

6 Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will réveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth.

7 And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to

8 And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me.

9 And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall

hear all the good that I do unto them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness, and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it.

10 Thus saith the LORD; Again there shall be heard in this place, which ye say shall be desolate without man and without beast, even in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, that are desolate, without man, and without inhabitant, and without beast;

11 The voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD is good; for his mercy endureth for ever; and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the LORD.

12 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Again in this place, which is desolate without man and without beast, and in all the cities thereof, shall be an habi

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By the Lord's most]

CHAP. XXXIII.

tation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down.

13 In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the vale, and in the cities of the south, and in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, shall the flocks pass again under the hands of him that telleth them, saith the LORD.

14 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel, and to the house of Judah.

15 In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteous ness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.

16 In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safe ly, and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness.

17 For thus saith the LORD; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel;

18 Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do sacrifice continually.

19 And the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, saying,

CHAP. XXXIII.

[solemn asseverations.

20 Thus saith the LORD; If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season;

21 Then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers.

22 As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me.

23 Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,

24 Considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying, The two families which the LORD hath chosen, he hath even cast them off? Thus they have despised my people, that they should be no more a nation before them.

25 Thus saith the LORD; If my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordipances of heaven and earth;

26 Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, and David my servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them. (N)

EXPOSITION.

(N) Farther promises of restoration and of extraordinary prosperity under the Messigh. It is the prerogative of the Most High to say, "I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal." (Deut. xxxii. 39.) Accordingly, in the opening of this chapter, he distinctly states (ver. 5) that the Chaldeans have power only over those whom he delivers up for their wickedness unto the sword. Then at the appointed time will he "bring health and cure;" and will not only bring back his people to their own land, but pardon their iniquities, and

eventually send them a Messiah, whose name is "The LORD our Righteousness." (See Note on ver. 16.)

These promises have been fulfilled, so far as respects the return of Judah, and we look forward to a period when "all Israel shall be saved"-no more to revolt from God, or to go into captivity. (See Rom. xi. 26.) Then shall "the branch of righteousness," the Son and heir of David, establish (as before predicted) his perpetual and eternal kingdom: and this is asserted to be as sure and as permanent as the regular alternation of day and night in nature.

NOTES.

cott's MSS, and one, at least, of De Rossi's, read this verse like chap. xxii. 6. And the Editor has before him a Cambridge Bible, of 1777, which reads also in the masculine, (though doubtless by mistake) "He shall be called." Both Blayney and Boothroyd read here as in the former passage, and Dr. P. Smith strongly contends for this as the true reading, "This

is he who shall call to her, JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUS. NESS. So also the Syriac version. Blayney also conceives that the Hebrew pronoun is the Chaldee form masculine; so that, upon the whole, there ear be no doubt but this name refers, not to the churc but to Messiah, as in chap. xxiii. See Smi Messiah, vol. i. p. 306, 312.

Zedekiah's captivity]

TH

CHAP. XXXIV.

JEREMIAH.

HE word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth, of his dominion, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities thereof, saying,

2 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire:

3 And thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but shalt surely be taken, and delivered into his hand; and thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon.

4 Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah; Thus saith the LORD of thee, Thou shalt not die by the sword:

5 But thou shalt die in peace and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings which were before thee, so shall they burn odours for thee; and they will lament thee, saying, Ah lord! for I have pronounced the word, saith the LORD.

6 Then Jeremiah the prophet spake all these words unto Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem,

7 When the king of Babylon's army fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish, and against Azekah : for these defenced cities remained of the cities of Judah.

8 This is the word that came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, after that the king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people which were at

[distinctly predicted.

Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty unto them;

9 That every man should let his manservant, and every man his maidservant, being an Hebrew or an Hebrewess, go free; that none should serve himself of them, to wit, of a Jew his brother.

10 Now when all the princes, and all the people, which had entered into the covenant, heard that every one should let his manservant, and every one his maidservant, go free, that none should serve themselves of them any more, then they obeyed, and let them

go:

11 But afterward they turned, and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection, for servants and for handmaids.

12 Therefore the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

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13 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondmen, saying,

14 At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear.

15 And ye were now turned, and had done right in my sight, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbour; and ye had made a cove nant before me in the house which is called by my name:

16 But ye turned and polluted my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom he had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return; and brought them

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Ver. 14. At the end, &c.-See Exod. xxi 2; xxi. 10.Which hath been sold-Marg, Or, hath sold himself."

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into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids.

17 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.

18 And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, which have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before me, when they cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof; 19 The princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land, which passed between the parts of the calf;

20 I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life: and their dead bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of the earth.

: 21 And Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes will I give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which are gone up from you.

22 Behold, I will command, saith the LORD, and cause them to return to

CHAP. XXXIV.

[the Rechabites.

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2 Go unto the house of the Recha bites, and speak unto them, and bring then into the house of the LORD, into one of the chambers, and give then wine to drink.

3 Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habaziniah, and his brethren, and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites;

4 And I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which was by the chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the door:

5 And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pots full of wine, and cups, and I said unto them, Drink ye wine.

6 But they said, We will drink no wine for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever:

7 Neither shall ye build house, nor

EXPOSITION.

(0) Predictions respecting the captivity of Zedekiah, and the destruction of the city. This chapter contains two prophecies; the first, delivered during the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, in the latter part of the ninth year of Zedekiah, to whom it announces the destruction of the city; with his own peaceful (or natural) death, and honourable burial. The second prophecy (ver. 8, &c.) was delivered afterwards, when the Chaldeans had for some

time broken up the siege. It reproves the rulers for their conduct toward their brethren of the poorer sort, whom they released by a solemn covenant from bondage, in the extremity of their danger, but compelled them to return to it, when they thought that danger over. For this conduct, God threatens them with the sword, pestilence and famine, and with the return of the Chaldeans, who should then burn and utterly destroy both the city and the temple, as in fact they did, after their victory over the Egyptians.

NOTES.

Ver. 15. Ye were non-Heb. " To day."Which is called by my name-Heb. “Whereupon my name is called.''

Ver. 17. To be removed--Heb. "For a removing."

Ver. 18. When they cut the calf in twain.-See' Gen. xv. 10, and Note.

N. B. This and the following chapters, to the end of the 45th, are in prose.

The Rechabites commended] JEREMIAH.

sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers.

8 Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he hath charged us, to drink no wine all our days; we, our wives, our sons, nor our daughters;

9 Nor to build houses for us to dwell in: neither have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed:

10 But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded

us.

11 But it came to pass, when Ne.. buchadrezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians: so we dwell at Jerusalem.

[for their fidelity.

you, rising early and speaking; but ye hearkened not unto me.

15 I have sent also unto you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return ye now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and go not after other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers: but ye have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto me.

16 Because the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father, which he commanded them; but this people hath not hearkened unto me:

17 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them because I have spoken unto them, but they have not heard; and I

12 Then came the word of the LORD have called unto them, but they have unto Jeremiah, saying, not answered.

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