(5) Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the 48 destruction of the daughter of my people. () Mine eye trickleth down, and ceaseth not, without 49 any intermission, Till the LORD look down, and behold from heaven. 50 Mine eye affecteth mine heart because of all the 51 daughters of my city. (3) Mine enemies chased me sore, like a bird, without 52 cause. (3) They have cut off my life in the dungeon, and cast 53 a stone upon me. (Y) Waters flowed over mine head; then I said, I am 5+ cut off. desolation] devastation. The original is not any of Jeremiah's words rendered so often desolation in the Eng. Version, but occurs here only. 48. runneth down with rivers of water] a still stronger expression than that of i. 16, where see note. 49. trickleth down] poureth down. The Eng. Vers. is hardly strong enough. ceaseth not] literally, is not silent, compare Jer. xiv. 17, where the Heb. word is the same. 51. affecteth mine heart] causeth pain to my soul. The inflammation of eyes caused by continual weeping is added to the mental suffering which already exists. the daughters of my city] those whose untoward fate Jeremiah has already lamented (i. 4, 18, ii. 10, 21). The verse has been taken in two other ways, which commend themselves less: (i) that the daughters are the villages, daughter towns of Jerusalem, (ii) that the sense is I weep more than all the daughters, i.e. the prophet's tears exceeded those even of the most tender hearted woman. 52. This group of verses according to some has reference solely to the prophet himself, as persecuted by his countrymen. In that case verse 53 will refer to the incident of Jer. xxxviii. 6, and 'cast a stone' will mean, not probably that the princes there mentioned flung stones at Jeremiah as he lay in the dungeon, but that they covered it in with a stone, so as to increase the prophet's sufferings. The other way of understanding it is of the Israelites generally in their hour of suffering, and specially of the godly, among whom the prophet in his sufferings would be a typical instance. Mine enemies...without cause] These words should probably go together. For the comparison to a chased bird compare Ps. xi. 1. 53. They have cut off] They have destroyed, i.e. have tried to destroy. 54. Waters flowed over mine head] Whether the reference be to the prophet as an individual or not, this must be merely a figure to express 55 (P) 56 (P) (ק) 55-66. Thanksgiving and a prayer for vengeance. Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry. Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee thou saidst, Fear not. (7) O Lord, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life. O LORD, thou hast seen my wrong: judge thou my cause. Thou hast seen all their vengeance and all their imaginations against me. () Thou hast heard their reproach, O LORD, and all their imaginations against me; () The lips of those that rose up against me, and their device against me all the day. () Behold their sitting down, and their rising up; I am their musick. intense misery. The dungeon into which Jeremiah was cast was dry (Jer. xxxviii. 6). See further in note on ver. 55. I am cut off] an expression found in the same sense Ps. lxxxviii. 5, and Is. liii. 8, which latter serves to connect in thought the sufferings here spoken of with those undergone by Him who became sin for us. 55-66. THANKSGIVING AND A PRAYER FOR VENGEANCE, 55. I called upon thy name] It has been conjectured that Ps. Ixix. is the composition of Jeremiah, and was uttered by him on this occasion. Compare ver. 54 with the opening verses of that Psalm. See note on Jer. xviii. 23. 56. at my breathing, at my cry] or, as the words may be translated, at my crying for relief, inasmuch as in the only other place where the word here rendered breathing occurs ("respite" Exod. viii. 15, in Heb. ver. 11) relief is its sense. 57. Thou drewest near] Compare Ps. cxlv. 18. 58. thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul] The enemy are likened to opponents in a suit at law. The Lord is the prophet's advocate against them. 62. The lips] i.e. the utterances, and hence properly governed by Thou hast heard of the preceding verse. 63. musick] song. Compare Job xxx. 9, where the word translated song is from the same Heb. root as here; also Ps. lxix. 12, where however the word is a different one. () Render unto them a recompence, O LORD, ac- 64 cording to the work of their hands. 65 Give them sorrow of heart, thy curse unto them. Persecute and destroy them in anger from under 66 the heavens of the Lord. CHAP. IV. 1—22. The sufferings of the people are consequent on sin. (N) How is the gold become dim! how is the most fine 4 gold changed! The stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the top of every street. () The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, How are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter! (2) Even the sea monsters draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones: 64. For the language compare Ps. xxviii. 4, and for the general character of the prayer in this and the two following verses, note on Jer. xviii. 23. 65. sorrow of heart] blindness of heart. Compare 2 Cor. iii. 15. CHAP. IV. 1-22. THE SUFFERINGS OF THE PEOPLE ARE CONSE- 1. This chapter differs from the earlier ones, (a) in dwelling more on the sufferings of various classes of people, (b) in bringing out more clearly that these sufferings were the consequences of the national sin. Verses 1-12 set forth the miseries attendant on the siege, 13-16 point out that the prophets and priests are guilty, 17-20 the hopelessness of human aid, 21, 22 that Edom's triumph will be but short-lived. How is the gold become dim!] In this and the rest of the verse there is no reference to the literal gold of the Temple, or, as some have thought, to the onyx stones on the shoulders of the high priest's robe (Exod. xxviii. 9—12). The next verse shews that the expressions are metaphorically used for the people themselves, similarly called elsewhere (Zech. ix. 16) "the stones of a crown". are poured out in the top of every street] It falls in with the above interpretation, that this has been already said of the starving little ones (chap. ii. 19). 2. work of the hands of the potter] They are treated thus, who are in fact specially moulded by God's hand, the people whom He "formed for" Himself (Is. xliii. 21). 3. the sea monsters] the jackals. See notes on Jer. ix. 11, li. 34. 2 3 4 5 6 The daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness. (7) The tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst: The young children ask bread, and no man breaketh it unto them. (7) They that did feed delicately are desolate in the streets : They that were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills. is become cruel] The italics are hardly needed in the Eng. Vers., the whole being virtually contained in the Heb.; literally, is for a cruel one. like the ostriches in the wilderness] "The outer layer of eggs is generally so ill-covered that they are destroyed in quantities by jackals, wild-cats, etc., and that the natives carry them away, only taking care not to leave the marks of their footsteps, since, when the ostrich comes and finds that her nest is discovered, she crushes the whole brood and builds a nest elsewhere.... To this it may be added that the female ostrich forsakes her nest at the least alarm." (Sp. Comm. on Job xxxix. 15, 16. See that passage.) 4. the sucking child...the young children] The Heb. expressions (yônêk...ôlêl; compare babes and sucklings as rendering of same Heb. in Ps. viii. 2) seem to denote respectively the second and the third stage, when the child passed beyond babyhood. "The ôlêl is still sucking, but it is no longer satisfied with only this nourishment and is asking bread." (Edersheim's Sketches of Jewish Social Life, p. 104.) breaketh] See note on Jer. xvi. 7. 5. delicately] luxuriously. In the Old Testament the word occurs elsewhere only in 1 Sam. xv. 32, and Prov. xxix. 21. In the latter case the sense is the same, while the Heb. word differs from that used here; in the former the Heb. is as here, but the sense probably is cheerfully. desolate] See note on chap. iii. 11. brought up in scarlet] literally, resting upon scarlet, whose very swaddling clothes were rich and costly. embrace dunghills] for want of a better couch. 6. For the punishment of the iniquity]__ For the iniquity. the punishment of the sin] the sin. There is no assertion in this part of the verse as to the comparative amount of punishment, but from the admitted fact that the sufferings of Jerusalem exceeded those of Sodom, it is inferred that the sin must have been in like proportion. Sodom perished in a moment, there were no prolonged sufferings, That was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her. (1) Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were 7 whiter than milk, They were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire: (1) Their visage is blacker than a coal; they are not 8 known in the streets: Their skin cleaveth to their bones; it is withered, it is become like a stick. () They that be slain with the sword are better than they that be slain with hunger: For these pine away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field. (*) The hands of the pitiful women have sodden their 1 own children : such as are brought about or directly administered by the hand of man. stayed on her] literally, went round about her (inflicting the punishment). 7. Nazarites] This is probably right, although it is also rendered princes. There is probably a reference to the Rechabites (Jer. xxxv.), who were among the most prominent examples of men following out the Nazarite rule of life in the matter of abstinence from intoxicating drinks. rubies] corals. Others render pearls, but this involves also a substitution of glowing for ruddy, which is not permissible. their polishing was of sapphire] their shape was that of a sapphire. Not only their bright, glowing appearance, but also their well-shaped figures suggested a carefully cut precious stone. 8. Their visage is blacker than a coal] Their form is darker than blackness. Here comes the contrast, shewn in their present state. Compare Job xxx. 30. it is withered, it is become] it is become dry. 9. See note on Jer. xxxvii. 10. The two modes of death experienced in the siege are contrasted. From the primary sense of the word translated pine away, viz., flow out, as well as from the fact that the Heb. for stricken through is a verb used elsewhere only for those literally transfixed, the latter part of the verse has been by some referred to those slain with the sword, and translated, The former pour out their lives, pierced from (i.e. going into battle direct from the yet remaining) fruits of the field. 10. For the general subject of the verse see chap. ii. 20, and Jer. xix. 9. pitiful] (hitherto) compassionate. The word is found elsewhere in the Bible only in Jam. v. 11; 1 Pet. iii. 8. Its modern use is not as JEREMIAH 25 9 |