Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

speak unto them; for they have known the way of the LORD, and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether x 6 broken the yoke, and burst the bonds. Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings 7 are increased. How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adul

5. they have known] They have had leisure to study the Law, and to learn therefrom the will of God.

broken the yoke, and burst the bonds] of the Law and of obedience. The bonds are the fastenings of the yoke upon the neck of the beasts that bear it.

This verse suggested to Dante the images in the opening Canto of his Inferno:

"A lion's aspect, which appeared to me,

He seemed as if against me he were coming
With head uplifted, and with ravenous hunger,
So that it seemed the air was afraid of him;
And a she-wolf, that with all hungerings
Seemed to be laden in her meagreness,
And many folk has caused to live forlorn!"

Canto I. ll. 45-51. Longfellow's Trans.
6. The beasts here mentioned are literally meant, and are not
figurative of the enemy. This is shewn by the different sorts which are
enumerated. Compare for this form of punishment Lev. xxvi. 22;
2 Kings xvii. 25; and so Ezek. xiv. 15.

evenings] deserts. The mistake arose from the similarity of the two words in Hebrew. That deserts (as opposed to a word, meaning time) is the right rendering is farther shown by the parallelism with “a lion out of the forest."

leopard] panther.

watch over] lie in wait for, about to spring, as is the custom of these animals. Compare Hos. xiii. 7.

7. How] Why.

this] thy faithlessness.

thy children] the people of Jerusalem at large.

I had fed them to the full] or, according to another reading, I had bound them to me by oath. This reading, which differs to the slightest possible extent in the Hebrew from that rendered in the English Version, is on the whole the more probable one.

The last part of the verse is best understood in the sense of faithlessness to their Divine Spouse, but perhaps with at least an allusion. to the impure rites which accompanied idolatry.

tery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots' houses. They were as fed horses in the morning: every 8 one neighed after his neighbour's wife. Shall I not visit 9 for these things? saith the LORD: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

In spite of the feeling of security which prevails, the
Lord will speedily bring a desolating foe.

Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full 10 end: take away her battlements; for they are not the LORD'S. For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the LORD. They have 12 belied the LORD, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine: and 13 the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them. Wherefore thus 14

[blocks in formation]

10-13. IN SPITE OF THE FEELING OF SECURITY WHICH PREVAILS, THE LORD WILL SPEEDILY BRING A DESOLATING FOE.

10. upon] rather, into.

her walls] probably the thought in the prophet's mind is that of a vineyard walled in. Hence the use of the preposition into above. He had already likened Jerusalem to a vine (ii. 21). Compare for the figure Is. v. 1, etc.

make not a full end] For the characteristic of prophecy here shewn see iv. 27 above, with the remark and references there.

battlements] tendrils, so as to keep up the figure of the vine. Compare for the thought Is. xviii. 5. Observe that it is the tendrils only, not the vine itself, that must be removed. The degenerate members of the nation, whose connexion with the central stalk has virtually ceased, and who no longer draw sap from the root, are to be pruned away by adversity.

12. It is not he] When a prophet bears to them God's message of warning, their reply is: The prophet is preaching his own inventions; it is not God who speaks by him. Another view is that their reply is equivalent to that of the fool (Ps. xiv. 1). "There is no God:" but this is less likely.

13. and the prophets shall become wind] still the words of the rebellious.

the word] He who speaks, the LORD.

thus] In accordance with the prophet's own threats may it happen to them. "The Lord do so to you and more also" is the reply of the unbelieving Jews.

saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this 15 people wood, and it shall devour them. Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the LORD: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they 16 say. Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all 17 mighty men. And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy 18 fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword. Nevertheless in those days, saith the LORD, I will not make a full end with you.

14.

Because ye (the people) deny that the word is from me, I will make thy (Jeremiah's) words to come to pass and their fulfilment to devour the people as fire devours wood.

15. O house of Israel] This address includes of course Judah and is even made to her principally, but only as representative of the whole nation, both the captive part and that which still remained in Palestine and which contained members of all the tribes.

mighty] enduring, not to be got rid of is rather the sense of the Hebrew.

ancient] Compare Genesis xi. 31. Even at the time of Terah's migration from Ur, it was a city of the Chaldees.

whose language thou knowest not] This was one of the terrors foretold in Deut. (xxviii. 49) as a consequence of disobedience. Appeals for mercy would be fruitless when made in a tongue not understood by the stranger.

16. Their quiver is as an open sepulchre] The figure of speech here differs somewhat from that in Psalm v. 9, "Their throat is an open sepulchre." There the sense is that it snatches down whatever comes within reach. Here the point of comparison is that "as an open grave is filled with dead men, so the quiver of this enemy is filled with deadly missiles." (Keil.)

Their quiver] For the mention of the enemy as bowmen compare

iv. 29.

17. which thy sons and thy daughters should eat] or, They shall eat thy sons and thy daughters.

they shall impoverish] it shall break down. This is the most likely sense of the Hebrew verb, which is also in the singular, as are the earlier verbs in the verse with the exception of the second.

sword] meaning weapons of war generally, as in chap. xxxiii 4;

Ezek. xxvi. ("axes").

18. A renewal of the promise at the beginning of the section (v. 10).

19-29. The cause of this is Judah's rebellious spirit, and her devotion to unjust and deceitful gains.

20

22

And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore 19 doth the LORD our God all these things unto us? then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours. Declare this in the house of Jacob,: and publish it in Judah, saying, Hear now this, O foolish 21 people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not: fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it? But this people 23 hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone. 19-29. THE CAUSE OF THIS IS JUDAH'S REBELLIOUS SPIRIT, AND HER DEVOTION TO UNJUST AND DECEITFUL GAINS.

19.

Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear 24

The connexion of thought with the last section is that while the punishment was to be severe, the wickedness which had called it forth was gross. Notice also the adaptation of the punishment to the nature of the offence.

in a land that is not yours] Such an expression as this would by no means have been suitable, if the enemy threatened by the prophet were the Scythians, who were a roving people, having no fixed habitation.

20. Addressed to all bystanders, who will share in the prophet's sorrow and zeal for reformation. The two great divisions of the people are here mentioned distinctly in order to give greater universality and consequent solemnity to the appeal which Jeremiah makes.

21. For the severe language employed compare chap. iv. 22; Hos. vii. II.

22. which have placed the sand] God's power as shewn in nature illustrated. The sand appears but a feeble means of resisting blows administered by tons of water, yet He has ordained by the laws of nature that it shall be sufficient for the purpose. Is not such a God to be feared?

23. The people are not obedient as even inanimate nature is.

a revolting and a rebellious heart] They are not content with revolt, i.e. drawing back from the true God, quitting His service; but actually take up the position of foes.

24. God's grace as shewn in nature illustrated. As the people refused to fear Him in consideration of His power (ver. 22), so now they fail to fear Him who bestows the weather which shall bring to

JEREMIAH

4

the LORD our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season; he reserveth unto us the appointed 25 weeks of the harvest. Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things 26 from you. For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they 27 catch men. As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen maturity the produce of the field. The prophet thus makes a second appeal on somewhat different grounds from the former one. As this proof addresses itself chiefly to the thoughtful he says "in their heart." Any one can perceive that God is a Being possessed of power. It is necessary to consider and reflect upon His actions in the world of nature before we perceive that He is also a God who uses that power for loving purposes towards man.

rain, both the former and the latter] The former (=early) rain was between October and December, the latter fell in March and April. The former marked the period of growth and nourishment of the corn, as that which followed preceded its ingathering.

the appointed weeks of the harvest] the seven weeks which intervened between the Feast of the Passover, and that of Weeks. At the former Feast on the day after the Sabbath the priest waved a sheaf of the firstfruits before the LORD (Lev. xxiii. 10), and again at the Feast of Weeks, bread of the first-fruits was offered (ver. 17). On the earlier occasion barley was the offering, on the latter wheat, the two harvests thus having a considerable interval between them.

25. The most natural sense of the verse is, not that these blessings are continued, while only the rich reap the benefit from them (so that the prophet would be addressing the poverty-stricken mass only), but that on account of the sins of the nation, there has been a real failure in the amount of rain and consequently in harvest.

26. are found wicked men] men of such great wickedness as to

infect all.

they lay wait] In the Hebrew this verb is in the singular, in order to express the individual, solitary, stealthy action of these wicked men. as he that setteth snares] as fowlers stoop. "Birdcatchers hide behind the extended nets till the birds have gone in, so as then to draw them tight" (Keil). Thus these men attack the poor and honest. Compare Is. xxix. 21; Mic. vii. 2.

trap] literally, destroyer.

they catch men] They by their wiles do as Nimrod is supposed by ancient commentators to have done by force. The Chaldee paraphrase on Gen. x. 9 speaks of him as a hunter of the sons of men.'

66

27. cage] a wicker basket, in which the birds, as they were caught, were placed. It was closed with a lid. It is identical with that mentioned in Amos (viii. 1), "a basket of summer fruit."

deceit] riches gained by deceit.

« AnteriorContinuar »