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4. Refutation of the objection (Jer_16:10) that the people had not generally served idols
Jer_17:1-4
Graven with a diamond point on the tablet of their heart,
On the horns of their altars;
2 As their children remember their altars,
And their images of Baal by the green trees, by the high hills.
3 My mountain together with the fields,
Thy substance and all thy treasures will I give up to spoil,
Thy heights!—for thy sin in all thy borders.
4 And thou shalt withhold thy hand from the inheritance which I have given thee;
And I cause thee to serve thy enemies in a land that thou knowest not:
For ye have kindled a fire in my nostrils that shall burn forever.
Jer_17:1; Jer_2:5 The sin of Judah … high hills.Origen (Hom. XVI. ed. Lommatzsch., S. 301), Isid. Hisp. (De Pass. Dom., Jeremiah 22). Ghisler (ad h. l.) by Judah here understand Judas Iscariot.—Iron stylus. Comp. Job_19:24.—diamond point, ùָׁîִéø , which occurs besides, in this sense, only in Eze_3:9; Zec_7:12, appears to designate especially the diamond, which serves as a pointed cutting instrument, since everywhere else (Isa_5:9; Isa_7:23-25; Isa_9:17; Isa_10:17; Isa_27:4) it is used in the meaning of “thorn.” Comp. Herzog, Real-Enc. III., S. 642; Winer, R.-W.-B. I., S. 284.—On the tablet, etc. Passing momentary events make only a superficial impression. But whatever has exercised a long-continued and intensive activity is deeply graven. In opposition to the assertion (Jer_17:10) that Israel has not sinned against the Lord, the prophet points to the continuance of idolatry among the people, and the deep, inextinguishable traces, which it has left behind. These are double; of an external and internal sort. Internally is the conscience, the remembrance, the whole spiritual habitus, which keeps before Israel the fact of the long practised idolatry. Externally are the idol-altars, with the blood of the children offered upon them, crying towards heaven, which testify of the sin to all the world. It is therefore audacity on the part of the people to pretend that they have forgotten the fact. The expression write on the table of the heart is found also in Pro_3:3; Pro_7:3.—horns of the altars. That the idol-altars are meant is evident 1, from the plural, for there was but a single altar of Jehovah (J. D. Michaelis); 2, from the connection, for Israel’s sin was to be read only on the idol-altars, not on the altar of the Lord,—or on the latter only in so far as they had perhaps used it for idolatrous worship (comp. 2Ch_15:3; Winer, s. v. Brandopferaltar). The altars in Jer_17:2 are doubtless also those of the idols, and identical with those mentioned in Jer_17:1.—On the horns of the altar of burnt offering and the sprinkling of these with the blood of the guilt offering, comp. Exo_27:2 (coll. Psa_118:27); Jer_29:12; Lev_4:18; Lev_4:25; Lev_4:30; Lev_4:34; Lev_8:15; Lev_9:9. That the idol-altars also had such horns is clear from Amo_3:14. Comp. Winer, R.-W.-B. s. v. Hörner.—Their altars, lit., youraltars. On the change of person comp. rems. on Jer_5:14; Jer_12:13.—remember. We may reject at the outset the ungrammatical explanations which either take ëְּìְ (so that their children remember, Luther, Zwingle, substantially Calvin) or understand God as the subject of remember (Seb. Schmidt, Clericus, Ch. B. Michaelis). All those interpretations are at least very harsh, which regard the Jews as the subject, (ut recordantur filiorum suorum ita altarium, etc., i.e., their altars are as dear to their hearts as their children, R. Salomo, D. Kimchi, Abarbanel, Diodatus, Maurer; remembering their children, they remember also the altars on which they offered them, Hitzig) or which take ëְּ in the sense of because, if, (Jerome, Chald., Arab., and many later) or which find the apodosis in Jer_17:3 (Ewald, Umbreit). Since in Jer_17:1 there is evidently likewise the idea of a monumentum, a record assuring a perpetual remembrance, the reciprocal relation of Jer_17:1-2 is indicated at the outset. There is a third memorial of the sin denied by the Israelites, the testimony of which is the more unexceptionable as it proceeds from the mouth of children (Psa_8:3; Mat_21:16): the remembrance by the children of that horrible worship to which so many from their midst fell a sacrifice. The prophet points to an effect of that horrid ritual, which is not indeed elsewhere expressly testified, but is in itself entirely natural. Why should not Moloch have been the terror of the Israelitish children, when there was such real and sad ground for it, as is wanting in other bugbears which terrify the children of the present day?—Their children is therefore the subject of remember, and the construction is as ex. gr., Jer_5:26; Jer_6:7. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., § 95, 2.—Images, etc. The àֲùֵׁøִéí are the masculine images of Baal [not of Astarte, as Henderson.—S. R. A.] (comp. 1Ki_14:23; 2Ki_17:10; 2Ki_23:14, etc.) as àֲùֵׁøåֹú are primarily and in general the images corresponding to the female principle of Baal. What was their form is still undecided, also whether they had special relation to the service of Moloch. Should the latter not be the case, yet their relation to the murderous rites of child-sacrifice is beyond a doubt. For children were offered to Baal in all his forms, comp. Jer_7:31; Jer_19:5; Jer_32:35. Herzog, Real-Enc. I. S. 638; IX., S. 715.—By the green trees, òìÎòõ . Hitzig and Graf rightly take òַì here in a causal sense connecting it with remember, not with altars. If the place was to be designated where the altars and images stood, we cannot conceive why the prophet should write “on green trees,” and deviate from the stereotyped form of “under every green tree.” It is accordingly more probable that it is to express that the mere sight of green trees and high hills awoke in the Israelite children the remembrance of those terrible altars and images. We can certainly show no passage in which òַì is used, after a verb of remembrance, of that which occasioned the remembrance. But all those passages are analogous in which òַì designates the occasioning circumstances in general, ex. gr., Gen_26:7; Gen_26:9; Ps. 44:32; 1Sa_4:13. Comp. òַìÎîָä , Jer_9:11; Job_13:14.
Jer_17:3. My mountain … in all thy borders. The words äøøé áùׂãä are either connected with the preceding context in various ways (Jerome: Sacrificantes in agro; Syr.: in montibus et in deserto; Chald.: Super montes in agro; Arab.: in montibus et in agris;R. Salomo, Abarbanel, Kimchi: O mons mi, qui in agro es, as a designation of Jerusalem, to which the previous context is addressed; Zwingli: ut filii recordantur ararum … collium, montium et agrorum;Ewald, Meier: äַøְøֵé áַùָּׂãֶä as in apposition to âְּáָòåֹú ), or with the following, when it is either rendered as in the vocative, and Zion, as the high place of the country êáé ’ ἐîï÷Þí , or Israel as sacrificing on mountains, or fleeing to mountains (Calvin), is understood by it, or it is connected with thy heights (Luther), or as an accusative with thy substance (montem meum una cum agro … dabo, Gesenius, Gaab, Rosenmueller, Umbreit). Hitzig calls attention to Jer_18:14; Jer_21:13, where Zion is designated as öåּø ùָׂãַé and öåּø äֵîִּéùֹׁø . But here the connection is quite different. In this place the prophet would evidently say that all property, movable and immovable, divine and human, dedicated to the service of God and the service of idols will be given up to plunder on account of their intensive (Jer_17:1-2), as extensive and universally diffused sin (in all thy borders). For this reason also I do not believe that mountain is to be rendered as in the vocative. It is rather accusative, dependent on I will give, and the explanation already mentioned as that of Gesenius, Gaab, Rosenmueller and Umbreit, is the correct one. The mountain of the Lord also is desecrated; it therefore, in so far as it contains property that can be so treated, will also, like the fruitful field, be given up to plunder. The prophet says fields, because he wishes to designate only the land, which produces substance and treasures, or things that may be plundered. Thy substance and all, etc., is a more particular explanation of my mountain. It tells us how a mountain and fields can be plundered. Thy substance, thy treasures have primary reference to fields. But that also which the mountain contained belonged in a certain respect to the people, and they were likewise despoiled of it. On the subject comp. Jer_27:16; Jer_28:3; Jer_52:17 sqq.—Thy heights is in antithesis to my mountain. Even the sanctuaries dedicated to the idols were to be objects of spoliation. It is clear that thy heights is governed by give, but its abrupt position is strange. If we could connect exclusively with for thy sin, this difficulty would be removed. But not only the high places, but all that has been previously mentioned is given up on account of their sin. Syrus and the Arabic (MS. Oxon), omit thy heights altogether. Hitzig translates “for atonement,” comparing Zec_14:17; Deu_29:11, and with respect to the construction, Deut. 21:29. But the expression in all thy borders would then be quite feeble and superfluous. Graf after Gesenius, De Wette and others:—Thy heights with the sin cleaving thereto I give up. But was it necessary to guard against the thought that the Lord would give up the heights without the sin, or that He would omit the latter? How is such a separation of the heights and the sin even conceivable? Thy heights may then be regarded as an emphatic asyndeton.—For thy sin. Comp. Mic_1:5; 2Ki_24:3.—In all thy borders. This addition corresponds exactly to the previously stated extent of the punishment: Since the sin has been universally diffused, so all the possessions in the whole land will be made the means of punishment.
Jer_17:4. And thou shalt … forever. In this verse åáê causes the only difficulty. It has been either entirely passed over (Syrus, Arab., Luther), or explained in a more or less forced manner, as unfreely (Vatable), by thy iniquity, naked and bare, alone (so Jerome, on the ground of which Ewald would alter to ìְáָãָã ). But it is evident that Jeremiah had in view Deu_15:2-3. This has been recognized by many expositors. Some (ex. gr., Seb. Schmidt, Rosenm.) supply, therefore, éָãְֽêָ from Deu_15:2. J. D. Michaelis was the first to suppose that éָãְֽêָ alone should be read. Graf expresses this distinctly, and without doubt correctly. For on the one hand åּáְêָ , however interpreted, yields no satisfactory meaning. On the other hand the expression ùׁîèּ éã îï å× , withhold thy hand, etc., corresponds perfectly to the connection. The year of release (comp. Deu_15:1-13), so called from the ùְׁîִèָּä , the release of the debtor from the oppressive hand of the creditor, coincides with the Sabbatic year (comp. Exo_23:10-11; Lev_25:1-7), in which the land is to remain uncultivated (comp. Saalschuetz, Mos. Recht., S. 162 ff.; Herzog, R-Enc. XIII., S. 204 ff.). The state of desolation, in which the land will be in consequence of the destined exile of the people is in Lev_26:24-25 expressly compared with that Sabbatic year, or year of release, and is called the Sabbath-time of the land ( ùַׁáְúֹúֶéäָ ). In 2Ch_36:21 (comp. 3 Esdr. 1:58) it is expressly set forth that the Babylonian captivity was the fulfilment of the divine word proclaimed by Jeremiah, according to which the land was promised its holiday ( ùָׁáָּúåֹú ). But in no other place than this does Jeremiah intimate this thought. If now it is undoubted that this passage, with reference to Deu_15:2 coll. Lev_26:34-35, designates the exile as a period of release for the land, we cannot avoid perceiving in åּáְêָ an altered form of the éָãְֽêָ of Deuteronomy. On I cause thee to serve, vide supra, on Jer_15:14.—For ye have kindled, etc. The words are a free quotation from Deu_32:22, while those in Jer_15:14, at least in their first part, agree verbatim with the original passage.
Footnotes:
Jer_17:1.— öôøï . This word, which occurs besides only in Deu_21:12 is the nail, unguis, but since the finger-nail cannot be used for the engraving of ineffaceable writing, the word must mean a sharp, cutting instrument in general, in correspondence with the fundamental meaning of the root (= incidere, insculpere. Comp. Aram. èְôַø ).
Jer_17:2.—[A. V.: their groves; De Wette: their Astartes (but comp. Exeget. Notes).—S. R. A.]
Jer_17:2.—Explanations which render òַì as local = with, together with ( àֵöֶì , R. Sal.), or cumulative = una cum (Seb. Schmidt and others) are as unsatisfactory as the reading áָּìÎòֵõ , which is found in the Chald., Syr., and in 16 Codd. of Kennicott and 9 of De Rossi.
Jer_17:3.— áִּ = in the midst, but in the sense of accompaniment, together with. Comp. Jer_11:19; Naegelsb. Gr., § 112, 5, a.
The LXX. does not contain verses 1–4. Without doubt Jerome is correct in saying, forsitan pepercerunt populo suo. Origen in the Hexapla gives under asterisks the following translation, which he found in other translators: Jer_17:1. Ἁìáñôéá Ἰïýäá ãåãñáðôáé ἐí ãñáöåßῳ óéäçñῷ ·, ἐí ὄíõ÷é ἀäáìáíôßῳ , Ýãêåêïëáììἐíç ἐðἰ ôïῦ óôÞèïõò ôῆò êáñäßáò áὑôῶí , êáὶ ôïῖò êÝñáóé ôῶí èõóéáóôçñßùí áὐôῶí .
Jer_17:2. H̔ íἰêá ἀíáìíçóèῶóéí ïἱ õὶïὶ áὐôῶí ôἀ èõóéáóôÞñéá áὐôῶí êáὶ ôὰ ἄëïç áýôῶí ἐðὶ îýëïõ äáóÝïò , ἐðἰ âïõìῶí ìåôåὠñùí , ὀñÝùí ἐí ἀãùñῷ .
Jer_17:3. Ἰó÷ýí óïõ êáὶ ðÜíôáò èçóáõñïýò óïõ åἰò ðñïíïὴíäþóù , ôὰ ὐøçëÜ óïõ ἐí ἀìáñôßᾳ ἐí ðᾶóé ôïῖò ὁñßïéò óïõ .
Jer_17:4. K áὶ ἁöáéñèÞóåôáé ( áé . ἀöáéñåèÞóῃ ), êáὶ ôáðåéíùèÞóåôáé ( áé . ôáðåéíùèÞóῃ ) ἀðὸ ôῆò êëçñïíïçßóò óïõ , ἧò ἔäùêÜóïé , êáὶ ἀíáâéâÜóù óå ἐí ôïῖò å÷èñïῖò óïõ ἐí ôῃ ãῆ ῇ ïὐê Ý ̓ ãíùò · ὄôé ðῦñ ἐãêἐêáõóôáé ἐí ôῷ èõìῷ çïõ , ἔùò áéῶíïò êáõóèἤóåôáé . ÔÜäå ëἐãåé êýñéïò . Ô hus in Montfaucon, Hexapl. Tom. II., p. 210.—Eusebius also, Dem. Ev. X. 5 (comp. Jer_2:25), communicates the words, remarking that he found them ἀí ôáῖò ôῶí ëïéðῶí ἑñìçíåõôῶí ἐêäüóåóé , åôé ìåôὰ ðáñáäüóåùò Üóôåìßóêùí ἐí ôïῖò áêñéâἐóé ôῶí ðáñá ôïῖò Ï . ἀíôéãñἀöïéò Drusius remarks that in nonnullis codd. græcis et in uno Vaticano leguntur sub asteriscis.
1. Retrospective glance at the deep roots of the corruption
Jer_17:5-13
And makes flesh his arm, and whose heart departs from Jehovah.
6 He will be like one forsaken in the desert
And will not see when good comes,
And will dwell in the arid places in the wilderness,
In a land salt and uninhabited.
7 Blessed the man who trusts in Jehovah,
And whose confidence Jehovah is!
8 He is like a tree planted by water,
And which stretches forth its roots to the river,
And will not fear when the heat comes, and its leaf is green,
And in the year of drought it will not have care nor cease from fruit-bearing.
9 The heart is more deceitful than anything
And profoundly corrupt Who can know it?
10 I, Jehovah, search the heart, try the reins,
Even to give every one according to his way,
According to the fruit of his doings.
11 A partridge, which fosters without having laid,
Is he who accumulates riches not by right.
In the half of his days he will leave them,
And at his end he will be a fool.
12 O throne of glory, height of beginning, place of our sanctuary!
13 Hope of Israel, Jehovah!
All who forsake thee are put to shame!
Those who depart from me must be written in the earth,
Because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, Jehovah.
Jer_17:5-6. Thus saith Jehovah … salt and uninhabited. The prophet had in the previous context repeatedly designated the Lord as his and Israel’s only safety: Jer_14:8; Jer_14:22; Jer_15:20-21; Jer_16:19. He, however, expressly intimated in Jer_16:19, that the Israel of those times was wanting in confidence in this Saviour. Here he renders this sin of unbelief strongly prominent, portraying it according to its positive and its negative side. He mentions the positive side first. Man and flesh designate the totality of all earthly visible forces in antithesis to the spiritual power of the invisible God. It is precisely their visibility which withdraws the carnal mind from the invisible things to be apprehended by faith alone. The mind is first taken captive by things visible. Then having gained a firm footing in these, it breaks loose from the Invisible. It was so in the Fall. This confidence in things visible, however, is idolatry (comp. Luther’s explanation of the first commandment). Hence the curse may well be an allusion to Deu_27:15 coll. deut 11:28.—Man and flesh. ( àָãָí and áָּùָׂø ) synonymous also in Isa_31:3 coll. Job_10:4; Psa_56:5. [“The Hebrew language, having three distinct words for man, has the advantage of our English in the finer shades of a passage like this, ‘cursed is the man (strong man) who trusteth in man (frail man of the earth) who maketh flesh (mere weakness) his arm.’ ” Cowles.—S. R. A.]—His arm, æְøåֹòַ , the organ for the exhibition of physical force. He who delivers over this function to another, i.e. makes him his arm, has him for his assistant, for protection and deliverance Comp. Isa_33:2; Psa_83:9.—A land salt, etc. Comp. Job_39:6; Psa_107:34.—Will dwell. úùׁá intransitive, as in Jer_17:25; Jer_30:18; Jer_50:13; Jer_50:39; Isa_13:20.
Jer_17:7-8. Blessed the man … fruit bearing. We might, suppose that these verses were so co-ordinate with the two preceding that the two pairs would constitute an independent, self-contained whole. But then the following verses would be entirely disconnected. I therefore think that verses 7 and 8 are to serve as a foil to the thought expressed in Jer_17:5-6, which is shown to be the main thought by its position—As a tree. Comp. Psa_1:3.—Drought. Comp. Jer_14:1.
Jer_17:9-10. The heart is more deceitful … his doings. Were the hearts of men, and especially of the Israelites, upright and directed to the true and the good, they must agree in word and deed with that which the prophet has declared in Jer_17:5-8. But there is nothing in the world so deceitful as the human heart, which understands the art thoroughly of pursuing the evil under the appearance of wishing the right (comp. Jeremiah 5 and Jer_9:2-8). This deceitfulness is however only a symptom of the deep depravity, the incurable sickness by which the heart is possessed.—Deceitful, ò÷á . Comp. on Jer_9:3. The word occurs here only as an adjective with this meaning.—Corrupt, àðùׁ . The meaning “desperate” is not contained in the word. It is everywhere = severely sick, incurable (Jer_15:18; Jer_30:12; Jer_30:15; Isa_17:11; Mic_1:9; Job_34:6), full of the deepest pain (Jer_17:16). No man is in a condition to see through the deceitful hypocrisy of the human heart, but the Lord can do it, and founds on this His knowledge, His strict and righteous judgment. Comp. Jer_11:20; Jer_12:3; Jer_20:12.—Even to give. Separating the statement of the object from the fundamental declaration, the word even sets forth the independence of the latter. God is not omniscient merely for the purpose of judging, but in His essential nature. Comp. besides comm. on Jer_6:2.
Jer_17:11. A partridge … be a fool. As the third root of spiritual and bodily corruption the prophet names avarice, which is the root of all evil (1Ti_6:10). The selfish inquire not about the right (comp. Jer_5:1; Jer_5:26 sqq.; Jer_6:6-7; Jer_13:8; Jer_13:10), therefore the blessing of God is also denied them. Lightly come lightly go. Forsaken and put to shame the unrighteous man is at last like the bird, of which it is said that it collects the young of others and fosters them, but is forsaken by them as soon as they perceive that a stranger has usurped a mother’s rights over them. The form of comparison is like that in Pro_10:20; Pro_11:22; Pro_16:24, etc. It is doubtful what bird is to be understood by ÷ֹøֵà . The word is found besides only in 1Sa_16:20. The ancient translators and most of the Comm. understand the partridge, and the dialects also favor this rendering. Only natural history does not confirm this peculiarity of the partridge. Comp. Winer s. v. Rebhuhn. [“The ancients believed that she stole the eggs of other birds and hatched them as her own. See Epiphan. Physiol. cap. 9.; Isid.Origg. Jer_12:7.” Henderson.—S. R. A.].—Fosters. ãָּâָø occurs besides only in Isa_34:15. It is there expressly distinguished from á÷ò , to hatch, and can mean only the gathering together and cherishing by warmth of the newly hatched young. Winer quotes inter al. a passage from Olympiodorus: ὁ ðÝñäéî * * * ôïὺò ἀëëïôñßïõò ðñïóêáëå ͂ éôáé íåïô ôïýò ïἵôéíåò ãíüíôåò ὕóôåñïí , ὅôé ïὐê åἰóὶí áὐôï ̄ õ , êáôáëéìðÜíïõóéí áὐôüí . This agrees admirably with the sense and connection of the passage, though it must still remain undecided whether we have here a real popular opinion existing at the time of Jeremiah, or only one deduced from this passage.—Shall leave them refers to the riches. On fool comp. Jer_10:8; Jer_10:14.
Jer_17:12-13. O throne of glory … Jehovah. Comprehensive conclusion in the form of a brief but solemn invocation of Jehovah. From Hope of Israel it is evident that the words of the prophet were addressed in the last instance to the person of the Lord. But he mentions first the exteriora, which are the places and bearers of His glory: his throne, the place where His throne stands, the sanctuary which surrounds it, for he wishes to set forth distinctly how foolish and criminal it is to do that, which he has censured in Jer_17:5; Jer_17:9; Jer_17:11 and which he afterwards comprises in one word, “forsake the Lord.” Israel has given up the truly real and eternal sanctuaries for the miserable high-places of idolatry. I do not therefore hold the view that Jer_17:12 is addressed to Jehovah Himself, for the reason given by Graf, that the Lord cannot possibly be called place of sanctuary.—O throne of glory. Comp. 1Sa_2:8; Isa_22:23; Jer_14:21. The Lord’s throne appears in the Old Test in three degrees. First, Jerusalem is thus named (Jer_3:17), second, the ark of the covenant (Exo_25:22; Psa_80:2; Psa_99:1), third, the proper, so to speak, and transcendent throne (Isa_6:1; Eze_1:26; Dan_7:9; Psa_9:5; Psa_11:3; Psa_47:9; Psa_110:1). These three degrees are however so connected, that he who forsakes one does the same to the other. The prophet has primarily in view here, as at any rate in Jer_14:21, the visible throne of the Lord.—Height of beginning. The idea expressed by îָøåֹí has also several gradations. 1. Mt. Zion is called äַøֹ îְøåֹí éùׂøàì , Eze_17:23; Eze_20:40 coll. Eze_34:14; Jer_31:12. 2. It is very often used to designate the transcendent abode of Jehovah, Isa_33:5; Isa_57:15; Mic_6:6; Jer_25:30; Psa_93:4; Psa_68:19, etc. The expression îøàùׁåï , which occurs here only (comp. îֵøֹàùׁ , Pro_8:23) agrees with îøåí in both senses. For that transcendent abode is from the beginning, eternally existing (comp. Psa_93:2), and Zion also as chosen from eternity is in idea the eternal dwelling-place of God. (Comp. Psa_132:13-14 coll. Exo_15:17; Exo_20:24; Deu_5:12).—Place of our sanctuary. Comp. Isa_60:13; Dan_8:11. Even the sanctuary of Israel ( î÷ãù ) is a double one, an earthly and a heavenly. The former is made according to the type of the latter (Exo_25:8-9; Exo_25:40; Exo_26:30). Thus though the expression refers primarily to the earthly sanctuary the heavenly is not excluded. There is no objection to the impersonal rendering of these three substantives in the prophet’s addressing words of prayer to them. For what the prophet declares with respect to them: “All who forsake thee are put to shame,” would be quite unprejudicial even if “Hope of Israel,” etc., did not come between. But the three former are entirely sunk in this last conception, since it is only in and by Jehovah that they have any existence or meaning. Hence also the singular suffix in òֹæְáֶéêָ . The older commentators render throne of glory as nominative, either taking the first and the last three words together (solium gloriæ excelsum, ab initio locus sanctuarii nostri, Calvin), or regarding throne (thronus, qui est altitudo ab æterno, est locus sanctuarii, Seb. Schmidt), or height (a throne in glory is the height of beginning, the place of our sanctuary, Neumann) as the nominative. According to these renderings however it is scarcely possible to find a suitable connection.—Hope of Israel. Comp. Jer_14:8; Jer_50:7.—Written in the earth. In the earth (in the dust, Job_14:8), where what is written will be speedily effaced, shall those who depart from me be written. The antithesis on the one hand would be to Jer_17:1 (the sin in brass, the sinners in dust), on the other hand to the book of life (Exo_32:32; Psa_69:29; Dan_12:1; Mal_3:16; Luk_10:20; Php_4:3; Rev_3:5; Rev_13:8; Rev_17:8; Rev_21:27). Meier reads: they vanished away in the laud (Job_15:30), all who are recorded in it (Jer_17:1; Jer_22:30) that they have forsaken the fountain, etc. This exegesis also is exposed to several objections: 1. that ñåּø must be taken in the sense of vanish away: 2. the imperf. éִáָּúֵáåּ I therefore prefer to adhere to the reading of the Chethibh. The rapid change of person forms no objection to this. Comp. on Jer_5:14; Jer_9:7; Jer_12:13; Jer_17:1. The Lord then continues in confirmation of the prophet’s address.—Fountain, etc. Comp. Jer_2:13; Psa_36:10.
Footnotes:
Jer_17:6.— ëòøòø . The ancient translations all express here, doubtless on the ground of the antithesis in Jer_17:8, the name of a tree or shrub, while in Psalms 102 where alone the word occurs a second time, they all, in accordance with the context, express the idea of miser. Since now òַøְòָø is formed after the analogy of ëַּáְëָּá , æַìְæַì , ãַּøְãַּø , ðַìְðַì ( ëּåֹëָá ), etc. (comp. Olsh. § 189, a; Naegelsb. Gr., § 42, a, S. 87), since, further, the corresponding verbal root is given by Jer_51:58 ( òַøְòֵø úִּúְòַøְ òַø ) unquestionably with the meaning denudare (comp. Isa_23:13; Isa_32:11; Hab_3:9. îָòåֹø nuditas, òָøí nudus, òָøִéøִé nudus, solitarius; Gen_15:2; Lev_20:20-21; Jer_22:30), the meaning of “naked, destitute, wretched,” is assured also in this passage. [Henderson: “I acquiesce in the opinion of Dr. Robinson, that it is the same as the Arab. ÚÑÚÑ Arar, the juniper-tree which is found in the vicinity of the Arabah, or the Great Valley, to the south of the Dead Sea. See Bibl. Res. II., 506. Thus De Wette: Wacholderbaum. The same form of the word occurs Psa_102:18, where the idea conveyed is that of naked, destitute. The point of comparison in the two passages of our prophet is the forlorn appearance of a solitary juniper, deprived of all nourishment in the arid desert.”—Hitzig referring to the composition of Psalms 102, after the flight of Jonathan into the desert of Tekoa, and the connection with Jer_48:6, where also flight is spoken of, decides that the word designates one who has flet or been driven into the desert, or one who has come into misfortune as starved or perishing.—S. R. A.]. On the words in Jer_48:6, ëַּòֲøåֹòֵø áַּôãְáָּø , comp. rems. there.
Jer_17:8.— éåáì . ἄð . ëåã ., synonymous with éáì , Isa_30:25; Isa_44:4.
Jer_17:8.— òַì for àֵì as frequently in Jer. Comp. on Jer_10:1.
Jer_17:8.— åìà éøà . The Keri reads éִøְàֶç after Jer_17:6. The Chethibh should be punctuated éִøָà (Imperf. from éָøֵà ), corresponding to éִøְàַð , and is at any rate to be preferred; as also the ancient translations express it, with the exception of the Chaldee.
Jer_17:10.— åìúú . Comp. Jer_32:19. The Vau, which the ancient translations and many Codd. omit, is not so superfluous as Graf supposes.
Jer_17:12.— îøåí might grammatically be in the accusative, but as áָּáåֹã appears to be contrasted with áּùֶׁú (Jer_3:24; Jer_11:13), so does îøåí å× with áּîåֹú .
Jer_17:13.— éñåøé . The Chethibh éְñåּøַé would be formed like éְúåּø , éְ÷åּí , éָøִéá , (Olsh. § 212). The form éַñåּø as a noun, does not, however, occur elsewhere, and the sudden change of person is strange. The Keri reads åְñåּøַé . The meaning is the same (= those departing from me. Comp. ÷ָîַé , Jer_51:1); the form is likewise a rare one. (Yet comp. Jer_2:21; Isa_49:21; Olsh. § 172, b.) Meier reads éָñéּøåּ .
Jer_17:14-18
Deliver me that I may be delivered, for thou art my praise!
15 Behold, they say to me: Where is the word of Jehovah? Let it come now.
16 But I have not hastened away from being a pastor after thee;
And the calamitous day I have not desired, thou knowest.
That which went forth from my lips was from thee.
17 Be not a terror to me, my refuge in the day of distress!
18 My persecutors must be put to shame,
But I must not be put to shame;
They must be dismayed, but I must not be dismayed!
Bring upon them the day of calamity,
And doubly with destruction destroy them!
Jer_17:14. Heal me … thou art my praise. The prophet begins with a prayer for safety and deliverance in general.—Heal me. Deu_32:39; Psa_6:3; Psa_30:3.—My praise, the object of my confident boasting. Comp. Deu_10:21;. Psa_71:6.
Jer_17:15-16. Behold, they say … was from thee. The prophet resumes the thought in Jer_15:10; Jer_15:15-19 (coll. Jer_20:7-12).—Where, etc. Comp. Isa_5:19; Eze_12:22 sqq. It is used ironically also in Psa_42:4; Psa_42:11; Psa_79:10; 2Ki_18:34, etc.—On Let it come now, comp. Jer_28:8, Jeremiah 9 : Deu_18:21-22 coll. Jer_13:2.—But I have not, etc. The prophet would deserve such scorn, if he had taken the word of the Lord into his mouth in his own strength, or deceitfully, as others did, Jer_14:14-15.—But he is not a pseudo-prophet, but a prophet against his will. Comp. Jer_1:6 sqq.; Jer_20:7.—The words I have not hastened ( ìà àöúé î× ) have been variously explained. But all the commentators (when they do not alter the reading, as the Syr., which reads îֵøָòָä ) concur in understanding øֹòֶä of the spiritual pastorate. The thought that he had not hastened from the pastoral office or spiritual pasture after Jehovah does not however suit the connection. For he can wish only to defend himself against the imputation of having hurried. It is very remarkable that not a single comm. has yet thought of taking øֹòֶä in a physical sense; doubtless because the knowledge of Jeremiah’s priestly descent has seemed to preclude the thought of his having been a shepherd. But why may not Jeremiah, who was called as a ðַòַø to the prophetic office, have previously tended his father’s sheep? The shepherd’s state was rendered sacred to the Israelites by the example of their fathers, and kings as well as prophets had proceeded from it (comp. Amo_1:1; Amo_7:14 coll. Exo_3:1). Moreover the îִðְøָùׁ [pasture, common], which was possessed by every priestly and levitical city (comp. Joshua 21. and 1 Chronicles 6.), was according to Num_35:4 expressly intended “for the cattle.” Anathoth also had its îִâְøָùׁ (Jos_21:18). Comp. Herzog, R.-Enc. VI. S. 150. How well now it suits the connection if Jer. says: They scorn me as a prophet and yet I did not hurry away from being a shepherd ( îִäִéåֹú øֹòֶä=îִøֹòֶä . Comp. Jer_2:25; Jer_48:2; Psa_83:5; 1Sa_15:23; 1Sa_15:26) after thee.— àåּõ = to press, to haste:Exo_5:13; Jos_10:13; Pro_19:2; Pro_21:5; Pro_28:20.— àäøéê . Comp. Jer_2:2; Jer_3:19. Going after Jehovah is in antithesis to going after the flock (comp. 1Ch_17:7). [Hitzig: “I have not hastened away not to keep after thee. In àåּõ is the idea of wilfulness, following one’s own impulse in any direction. ‘I did not struggle away so that I should not be pasturing,’ etc. àçøéã does not suit the usual rendering of øòç as the trade of the shepherd, but leads to this, that Jahve is the shepherd, leader, and Jeremiah the lamb, Psa_23:1. Willingly following him (comp. 1Sa_7:2; Num_14:24) he allowed himself to be fed by Jahve (comp. Pro_10:21) with words of truth and with revelation Jer_15:16.” Henderson appears to follow Hitzig in this rendering.—Wordsworth: “Rather, I have not hastened backward from being a shepherd (a prophet) after thee. When I was called by Thee, I did not withdraw myself hastily from Thy service (see Gesen. 23), but I obeyed Thy call without delay: and I did not desire the woful day.”—So also Cowles.—S. R. A.]
And the calamitous day. Comp. rems. on Jer_17:9. From the connection the prophet can mean only the day of his entrance into the prophetic office. (Comp. Jer_20:7 sqq.; Jer_15:10-11). For he needed not to give the assurance that he did not desire the day of calamity for the whole people. He might indeed have been reproached with loving to prophesy evil, but there is nothing of this in the text.—Thou knowest. Comp. Jer_15:15.—That which went forth, etc. That which has gone forth from his lips, since he has been a prophet, God knows and approves, he has nothing then to fear from the criticism of men. Comp. Pro_5:21; Lam_2:19.
Jer_17:17-18. Be not a terror … destroy them. The negative petition, comp. Jer_17:14.—persecutors, pursuers. Comp. Jer_15:15; Jer_20:11.—doubly with destruction. Comp. Jer_16:18.
Footnotes:
Jer_17:17.— úּäְéֵä , comp. Ewald, § 224 c; Naegelsb. Gr., § 38, Anm. 2.
Jer_17:18.— çáéà , a rare form instead of çָáִà , but comp. 1Sa_20:40; Olsh., § 256 b, S. 569.
Jer_17:18.— ëִùְׁðֶä (not îִùְׁðֵä ) is accus. modi. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., § 70 g.
2. “In earnest and hearty prayer there is a conflict between the spirit and the flesh. The flesh regards the greatness of the sins, and conceives of God as a severe Judge and morose being, who either will not help further or cannot. The spirit, on the other hand, adheres to the name of God, i. e., to His promise; he apprehends God by faith as his true comfort and aid, and depends upon Him.” Cramer.
3. On Jer_14:9 a. “Ideo non vult Deus cito dare, ut discas ardentius orare.” Augustine.
4. On Jer_14:9 b. “Quia in baptismo nomen Domini, i. e., totius SS. et individuæ Trinitatis super nos quoque invocatum est, eo et ipso nos in fœdus Dei recepti sumus et inde populus Dei salutamur.” Förster.
5. On Jer_14:10. “So long as the sinner remains unchanged and uncontrite God cannot remove the punishment of the sin (Jer_26:13).” Starke.—“Quotidie crescit pœna, quia quotidie crescit et culpa.” Augustine.
6. On Jer_14:11-12. [“We further gather from this passage that fasting is not in itself a religious duty or exercise, but that it refers to another end. Except then they who fast have a regard to what is thereby intended—that there may be a greater alacrity in prayer—that it may be an evidence of humility in confessing their sins,—and that they may also strive to subdue all their lusts;—except these things be regarded, fasting becomes a frivolous exercise, nay, a profanation of God’s worship, it being only superstitious. We hence see that fastings are not only without benefit except when prayers are added, and those objects which I have stated are regarded, but that they provoke the wrath of God as all superstitions do, for His worship is polluted.” Calvin.—S. R. A.] “Unbelief is a mortal sin, so that by it the good is turned into evil. For fasting or praying is good; but when the man who does it has no faith it becomes sin (Psa_109:7).” Cramer.
7. On Jer_14:14. “He who would be a preacher must have a regular appointment. In like form for all parts of divine worship we must have God’s word and command for our support. If we have it not all is lost.” Cramer.
8. On Jer_14:14 (I have not sent them). “This does not come at all into the account now-a-days; and I do not know, whether to such a preacher, let him have obtained his office as he may, in preaching, absolution, marrying and exorcising, or on any other occasion, when he appeals to his calling before the congregation or against the devil, the thought once occurs, whether he is truly sent by God. Thus the example of the sons of Sceva (Act_19:14; Act_19:16) is no longer considered, and it appears that the devil is not yet disposed by such frightful occurrences to interrupt the atheistical carelessness of the teachers.” Zinzendorf.
9. On Jer_14:15. “The example of Pashur and others shortly afterwards confirms this discourse. This is an important point. One should however, with that modesty and prudence, which Dr. Wiesmann (Prof. of Theol. in Tübingen), who seems called of God to be a writer of church history, in his Introd. in Memorabilia historiæ sacræ N. T. (1731 and 1745) which I could wish were in the hands of all teachers, repeatedly recommends, have regard to this also, when so-called judgments on the wicked are spoken of, that when the Lord in His wisdom and omnipotence exercises justice on such transgressors by temporal judgments, these a