95 lines
14 KiB
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95 lines
14 KiB
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<title>Blue Letter Bible: Text Commentaries</title>
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PriorBook = 'Isaiah';
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PriorChapter = 'Jeremiah 4';
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Title = 'The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah';
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SubTitle1 = 'Commentary by A. R. FAUSSET';
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SubTitle3 = 'CHAPTER 5';
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<p id="Chapter5" align="center">Commentary by A. R. FAUSSET<br>CHAPTER 5
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<p id="Jer5_1"><a onclick="return mV('Jer',5,'1-31');">Jer 5:1-31</a>. THE CAUSE OF THE JUDGMENTS TO BE INFLICTED IS THE UNIVERSAL CORRUPTION OF THE PEOPLE.
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<p><b>1. a man</b>—As the pious Josiah, Baruch, and Zephaniah lived in Jerusalem at that time, Jeremiah must here mean the mass of the people, the king, his counsellors, the false prophets, and the priests, as distinguished from the faithful few, whom God had openly separated from the reprobate people; among the latter not even <i>one</i> just person was to be found (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',9,16);">Isa 9:16</a>) [CALVIN]; the godly, moreover, were forbidden to intercede for them (<a onclick="return mV('Jer',7,16);">Jer 7:16</a>; compare <a onclick="return mV('Gen',18,23);">Gen 18:23</a>, etc. <a onclick="return mV('Psa',12,1);">Psa 12:1</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Eze',22,30);">Eze 22:30</a>).
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<br><br><b>see...know</b>—look...ascertain.
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<br><br><b>judgment</b>—justice, righteousness.
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<br><br><b>pardon it</b>—rather, <i>her.</i>
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<p id="Jer5_2"><b>2.</b> (<a onclick="return mV('Tts',1,16);">Tts 1:16</a>).
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<br><br><b>swear falsely</b>—not a judicial oath; but their profession of the worship of Jehovah is insincere (<a onclick="return mV('Jer',5,7);">Jer 5:7</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Jer',4,2);">Jer 4:2</a>). The reformation under Josiah was merely superficial in the case of the majority.
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<p id="Jer5_3"><b>3. eyes upon the truth</b>— (<a onclick="return mV('Deu',32,4);">Deu 32:4</a>; <a onclick="return mV('2Ch',16,9);">2Ch 16:9</a>). "Truth" is in contrast with "swear falsely" (<a onclick="return mV('Jer',5,2);">Jer 5:2</a>). The false-professing Jews could expect nothing but judgments from the God of truth.
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<br><br><b>stricken...not grieved</b>— (<a onclick="return mV('Jer',2,30);">Jer 2:30</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Isa',1,5);">Isa 1:5</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Isa',9,13);">9:13</a>).
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<br><br><b>refused...correction</b>— (<a onclick="return mV('Jer',7,28);">Jer 7:28</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Zep',3,2);">Zep 3:2</a>).
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<p id="Jer5_4"><b>4. poor</b>—rather, "<i>the</i> poor." He supposes for the moment that this utter depravity is confined to the uninstructed poor, and that he would find a different state of things in the higher ranks: but there he finds unbridled profligacy.
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<p id="Jer5_5"><b>5. they have known</b>—rather, "they must know." The prophet <i>supposes it as probable,</i> considering their position.
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<br><br><b>but these</b>—I found the very reverse to be the case.
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<br><br><b>burst...bonds</b>—set God's law at defiance (<a onclick="return mV('Psa',2,3);">Psa 2:3</a>).
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<p id="Jer5_6"><b>6. lion...wolf...leopard</b>—the strongest, the most ravenous, and the swiftest, respectively, of beasts: illustrating the formidable character of the Babylonians.
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<br><br><b>of the evenings</b>—Others not so well translate, <i>of the deserts.</i> The <i>plural</i> means that it goes forth <i>every evening</i> to seek its prey (<a onclick="return mV('Psa',104,20);">Psa 104:20</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Hab',1,8);">Hab 1:8</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Zep',3,3);">Zep 3:3</a>).
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<br><br><b>leopard...watch...cities</b>— (<a onclick="return mV('Hsa',13,7);">Hsa 13:7</a>). It shall lie in wait about their cities.
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<p id="Jer5_7"><b>7.</b> It would not be consistent with God's holiness to let such wickedness pass unpunished.
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<br><br><b>sworn by</b>— (<a onclick="return mV('Jer',5,2);">Jer 5:2</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Jer',4,2);">Jer 4:2</a>); that is, worshipped.
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<br><br><b>no gods</b>— (<a onclick="return mV('Deu',32,21);">Deu 32:21</a>).
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<br><br><b>fed...to the full</b>—so the <i>Keri</i> (<i>Hebrew Margin</i>) reads, God's bountifulness is contrasted with their apostasy (<a onclick="return mV('Deu',32,15);">Deu 32:15</a>). Prosperity, the gift of God, designed to lead men to Him, often produces the opposite effect. The <i>Hebrew Chetib</i> (text), reads: "I bound them (to Me) by oath," namely, in the <i>marriage covenant,</i> sealed at Sinai between God and Israel; in contrast to which stands their "adultery"; the antithesis favors this.
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<br><br><b>adultery...harlots' houses</b>—spiritually: idolatry in temples of idols; but literal prostitution is also included, being frequently part of idol-worship: for example, in the worship of the Babylonian <i>Mylitta.</i>
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<p id="Jer5_8"><b>8. in the morning</b>— (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',5,11);">Isa 5:11</a>). "Rising early in the morning" is a phrase for unceasing eagerness in any pursuit; such was the Jews' avidity after idol-worship. MAURER translates from a different <i>Hebrew</i> root, "continually wander to and fro," inflamed with lust (<a onclick="return mV('Jer',2,23);">Jer 2:23</a>). But <i>English Version</i> is simpler (compare <a onclick="return mV('Jer',13,27);">Jer 13:27</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Eze',22,11);">Eze 22:11</a>).
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<p id="Jer5_9"><b>9.</b> (<a onclick="return mV('Jer',5,29);">Jer 5:29</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Jer',9,9);">Jer 9:9</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Jer',44,22);">44:22</a>).
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<p id="Jer5_10"><b>10.</b> Abrupt apostrophe to the Babylonians, to take Jerusalem, but <i>not to destroy the nation utterly</i> (see on JFB for <a href="./Comm/jfb/Jer/Jer004.html#Jer4_27">Jer 4:27</a>).
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<br><br><b>battlements</b>—rather, <i>tendrils</i> [MAURER]: the state being compared to a <i>vine</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Jer',12,10);">Jer 12:10</a>), the stem of which was to be spared, while the tendrils (the chief men) were to be removed.
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<p id="Jer5_11"><b>11.</b> (<a onclick="return mV('Jer',3,20);">Jer 3:20</a>).
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<p id="Jer5_12"><b>12. belied</b>—denied.
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<br><br><b>It is not he</b>—rather, "(Jehovah) is not HE," that is, the true and only God (<a onclick="return mV('Jer',14,22);">Jer 14:22</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Deu',32,39);">Deu 32:39</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Isa',43,10,13);">Isa 43:10, 13</a>). By their idolatry they virtually denied Him. Or, referring to what follows, and to <a onclick="return mV('Jer',5,9);">Jer 5:9</a>, "(Jehovah) is not," namely, about to be the punisher of our sins (<a onclick="return mV('Jer',14,13);">Jer 14:13</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Isa',28,15);">Isa 28:15</a>).
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<p id="Jer5_13"><b>13.</b> Continuation of the unbelieving language of the Jews.
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<br><br><b>the prophets</b>—who prophesy punishment coming on us.
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<br><br><b>the word</b>—the Holy Spirit, who speaks through true prophets, is not in them [MAURER]. Or else, "There is no word (divine communication) in them" (<a onclick="return mV('Hsa',1,2);">Hsa 1:2</a>) [ROSENMULLER].
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<br><br><b>thus,</b> etc.—Their ill-omened prophecies shall fall on themselves.
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<p id="Jer5_14"><b>14. ye...thy...this people</b>—He turns away from addressing the people to the prophet; implying that He puts them to a distance from Him, and only communicates with them through His prophet (<a onclick="return mV('Jer',5,19);">Jer 5:19</a>).
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<br><br><b>fire...wood</b>—Thy denunciations of judgments shall be fulfilled and shall consume them as fire does wood. In <a onclick="return mV('Jer',23,29);">Jer 23:29</a> it is the <i>penetrating energy</i> of fire which is the point of comparison.
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<p id="Jer5_15"><b>15.</b> (<a onclick="return mV('Jer',1,15);">Jer 1:15</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Jer',6,22);">6:22</a>). Alluding to <a onclick="return mV('Deu',28,49);">Deu 28:49</a>, etc.
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<br><br><b>Israel</b>—that is, Judah.
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<br><br><b>mighty</b>—from an <i>Arabic</i> root, "enduring." The fourfold repetition of "nation" heightens the force.
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<br><br><b>ancient</b>—The Chaldeans came originally from the Carduchian and Armenian mountains north of Mesopotamia, whence they immigrated into Babylonia; like all mountaineers, they were brave and hardy (see on JFB for <a href="./Comm/jfb/Isa/Isa023.html#Isa23_13">Isa 23:13</a>).
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<br><br><b>language...knowest not</b>— <a onclick="return mV('Isa',36,11);">Isa 36:11</a> shows that <i>Aramaic</i> was not understood by the "multitude," but only by the educated classes [MAURER]. HENDERSON refers it to the <i>original language</i> of the Babylonians, which, he thinks, they brought with them from their native hills, akin to the Persic, not to the <i>Aramaic,</i> or any other Semitic tongue, the parent of the modern <i>Kurd.</i>
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<p id="Jer5_16"><b>16. open sepulchre</b>—(Compare <a onclick="return mV('Psa',5,9);">Psa 5:9</a>). Their quiver is all-devouring, as the grave opened to receive the dead: as many as are the arrows, so many are the deaths.
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<p id="Jer5_17"><b>17.</b> (<a onclick="return mV('Lev',26,16);">Lev 26:16</a>).
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<p id="Jer5_18"><b>18.</b> <i>Not even</i> in those days of judgments, will God utterly exterminate His people.
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<br><br><b>I will not make a full end with you</b>— (<a onclick="return mV('Jer',5,10);">Jer 5:10</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Jer',4,27);">Jer 4:27</a>).
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<p id="Jer5_19"><b>19.</b> Retribution in kind. As ye have forsaken Me (<a onclick="return mV('Jer',2,13);">Jer 2:13</a>), so shall ye be forsaken by Me. As ye have served strange (foreign) gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers (foreigners) in a land not yours. Compare the similar retribution in <a onclick="return mV('Deu',28,47,48);">Deu 28:47-48</a>.
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<p id="Jer5_21"><b>21. eyes...ears, and</b>—Translate, "and yet" (compare <a onclick="return mV('Deu',29,4);">Deu 29:4</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Isa',6,9);">Isa 6:9</a>). Having powers of perception, they did not use them: still they were responsible for the exercise of them.
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<p id="Jer5_22"><b>22. sand</b>—Though made up of particles easily shifting about, I render it sufficient to curb the violence of the sea. Such is your monstrous perversity, that the raging, senseless sea sooner obeys Me, than ye do who profess to be intelligent [CALVIN], (<a onclick="return mV('Job',26,10);">Job 26:10</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Job',38,10,11);">38:10-11</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Pro',8,29);">Pro 8:29</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Rev',15,4);">Rev 15:4</a>).
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<p id="Jer5_23"><b>23.</b> (<a onclick="return mV('Jer',6,28);">Jer 6:28</a>).
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<p id="Jer5_24"><b>24. rain...former...latter</b>—The "former" falls from the middle of October to the beginning of December. The "latter," or spring rain in Palestine, falls before harvest in March and April, and is essential for ripening the crops (<a onclick="return mV('Deu',11,14);">Deu 11:14</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Joe',2,23);">Joe 2:23</a>).
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<br><br><b>weeks of...harvest</b>—the seven weeks between passover and pentecost, beginning on the sixteenth of Nisan (<a onclick="return mV('Deu',16,9);">Deu 16:9</a>). By God's special providence no rain fell in Palestine during the harvest weeks, so that harvest work went on without interruption (see <a onclick="return mV('Gen',8,22);">Gen 8:22</a>).
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<p id="Jer5_25"><b>25.</b> National guilt had caused the suspension of these national mercies mentioned in <a onclick="return mV('Jer',5,24);">Jer 5:24</a> (compare <a onclick="return mV('Jer',3,3);">Jer 3:3</a>).
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<p id="Jer5_26"><b>26.</b> (<a onclick="return mV('Pro',1,11,17,18);">Pro 1:11, 17-18</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Hab',1,15);">Hab 1:15</a>).
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<br><br><b>as he that setteth snares</b>—rather, "as fowlers crouch" [MAURER].
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<br><br><b>trap</b>—literally, "destruction": the instrument of destruction.
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<br><br><b>catch men</b>—not as Peter, to save (<a onclick="return mV('Luk',5,10);">Luk 5:10</a>), but to destroy men.
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<p id="Jer5_27"><b>27. full of deceit</b>—full of treasures got by deceit.
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<br><br><b>rich</b>— (<a onclick="return mV('Psa',73,12,'18-20');">Psa 73:12, 18-20</a>).
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<p id="Jer5_28"><b>28. shine</b>—the effect of fatness on the skin (<a onclick="return mV('Deu',32,15);">Deu 32:15</a>). They live a life of self-indulgence.
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<br><br><b>overpass...the wicked</b>—exceed even the Gentiles in wickedness (<a onclick="return mV('Jer',2,33);">Jer 2:33</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Eze',5,6,7);">Eze 5:6-7</a>).
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<br><br><b>judge not...fatherless</b>— (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',1,23);">Isa 1:23</a>).
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<br><br><b>yet...prosper</b>— (<a onclick="return mV('Jer',12,1);">Jer 12:1</a>).
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<p id="Jer5_29"><b>29.</b> (<a onclick="return mV('Jer',5,9);">Jer 5:9</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Mal',3,5);">Mal 3:5</a>).
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<p id="Jer5_30"><b>30.</b> (<a onclick="return mV('Jer',23,14);">Jer 23:14</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Hsa',6,10);">Hsa 6:10</a>).
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<p id="Jer5_31"><b>31. bear rule by their means</b>—literally, "according to their hands," that is, under their guidance (<a onclick="return mV('1Ch',25,3);">1Ch 25:3</a>). As a sample of the priests lending themselves to the deceits of the false prophets, to gain influence over the people, see <a onclick="return mV('Jer',29,'24-32');">Jer 29:24-32</a>.
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<br><br><b>love to have it so</b>— (<a onclick="return mV('Mic',2,11);">Mic 2:11</a>).
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<br><br><b>end thereof</b>—the fatal issue of this sinful course when divine judgments shall come.
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