John Calvin Complete Commentary - Jeremiah 7:21 - 7:21

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John Calvin Complete Commentary - Jeremiah 7:21 - 7:21


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The Prophet here taunts the Jews for being so sedulous in their attention to sacrifices, while they had no care for piety. Hence he says by way of ridicule, “ your sacrifices, and accumulate burnt-offerings and victims, and eat flesh.” The last clause proves that God regarded as nothing their sacrifices, and that nothing was acceptable to him, though the Jews spent much money and spared no labors. God then shews that all these things were nothing to him; eat flesh, he says, which means, “ sacrifice to yourselves, not to me.” There is here a contrast implied; for when they did eat flesh, there was the legitimate service of God, provided sacrifices were duly offered; but God here excludes himself, as though he had said, “ things belong not at all to me; for when ye bring sacrifices, your object is to feast: eat, then, and stuff your stomachs; nothing of this belongs to me.” (204)

The import of the whole is, — that the feasts which the Jews celebrated were profane, though they pretended the name of God, and wished them to be deemed sacred. Eat then flesh; that is, “ repudiate your sacrifices; it is to no purpose that ye cover your iniquities by the shadow of the Temple; for your pollutions restrain me from accepting what ye pretend to offer to me.” By saying, Add sacrifices to victims, he means, that though they sacrificed every animal in the land, it would be all to no purpose; for, as I have said, in offering sacrifices to God their object was to get a feast, inasmuch as they did not regard the right end.



(204) The meaning is not so plain as it might have been made: the burnt-offerings were all consumed by fire; but a part of the peace-offerings and of other offerings was eaten. See Lev_1:9; and Lev_7:11. Then God says, by way of contempt, “ your burnt-offerings to your other offerings, and thus you will have your appetites gratified.” Some derive the verb rendered ““ from ספה, which means to sweep together; and “ together — συναγάγετε,” is the Septuagint; “ heap together” is the Syriac. This comports better with the contemptuous strain of the passage, —

Your burnt-offerings sweep together To your sacrifices, and eat flesh.

Ed.