shall devour from the one end of, the land even to the other end of the land: no flesh shall have peace. They have 13 sown wheat, but shall reap thorns they have put themselves to pain, but shall not profit: and they shall be ashamed of your revenues because of the fierce anger of the LORD.

14-17. The future of the enemies of Israel.

Thus saith the LORD against all mine evil neighbours, 14 that touch the inheritance which I have caused my people Israel to inherit; Behold, I will pluck them out of their land, and pluck out the house of Judah from among them. And it shall come to pass, after that I have plucked them 15 out, I will return, and have compassion on them, and will

the sword of the Lord] these spoilers, as His representatives. Compare vi. 25 with note; also xxv. 29.

shall devour] devoureth.

no flesh shall have peace] None of this sinful nation shall enjoy health or prosperity.

13. They have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns] evidently a proverb, meaning, as the words that follow it shew, They have used their best endeavours to obtain pleasure, the object of their desire, and have been rewarded with the very opposite of that harvest which they sought.

shall reap] have reaped.

shall not profit] do not profit.

they shall be ashamed] be ye ashamed. The verb is imperative.

revenues] produce (of the fields). The word is used in a wider sense than that which it bears in the present day, when it is generally used either of large private incomes, or of public monies obtained by taxation, etc.

14-17. THE FUTURE OF THE ENEMIES OF ISRAEL.

14. See introductory note to the Chapter.

mine evil neighbours] no doubt Syrians and others, who would feel that Israel's time of difficulty was their opportunity. The promise in this and the following verses then is that, while they and Judah shall be punished, yet on the repentance of each, it will be pardoned, and from the evil past, present, and to come, there will finally result a widespread acknowledgment of God, and establishment of His position as a righteous Judge throughout all the world. This is the answer to Jeremiah's murmurings on the subject of the prosperity of the wicked. pluck out] The verb must mean the same in the two clauses. here it will refer to the removal of Judah into captivity, and not, as some have taken it, to their subsequent deliverance.

Thus

15. I will return, and] an ordinary Hebrew idiom meaning no

bring them again, every man to his heritage, and every man 16 to his land. And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, The LORD liveth; as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built in the midst of my people. 17 But if they will not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, saith the LORD.

CHAP. XIII. 1—11. The acted symbol of the linen girdle. 13 Thus saith the LORD unto me, Go and get thee a linen

more than I will again. The return of the Moabites is specifically mentioned in chap. xlviii. 47; that of the Ammonites in chap. xlix. 6. 16. Not only shall they be restored respectively to their lands, but they shall be established therein, if they heartily adopt the worship of the true God.

to swear by my name] to give this outward sign that to them He is supreme. See note on chap. iv. 2.

as they taught my people to swear by Baal] The Jews are now to be the leaders in godliness, instead of in idolatry as beforetime.

built] securely established, and incorporated with the people of God. For the phrase see chaps. xxiv. 6, xlii. 10, xlv. 4.

The blessings promised to Abraham, as about to be imparted through his seed to all the nations of the earth, are here again foretold. Christianity is to spring out of Judaism, but unlike it to be world-wide.

CHAP. XIII. 1-11. THE ACTED SYMBOL OF THE LINen girdle. 1. Thus saith the LORD] The date of this prophecy is determined almost with certainty by ver. 18, where the word queen is in the original queen mother. She who is spoken of here has indeed been taken by some to be "Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Boscath" (2 Kings xxii. 1) mother of Josiah. It is much better however to make the 'king' to be Jehoiachin, and his mother (carried captive with him to Babylon, chap. xxix. 2) Nehushta. The prophecy then would be uttered either within the three months during which Jehoiachin reigned, or at the close of the reign of Jehoiakim.

Go and get thee a linen girdle] Commentators differ on the question whether this and the subsequent acts of the prophet were real or done only in symbol. In support of the latter view it is urged (i) that we have in the narrative no reference to the length of the journey (250 miles each way) which would be involved in a literal carrying out of the command; (ii) that there could be no object gained by going so long a distance merely to prove that a girdle buried in the ground would become unfit for use. On behalf of the former view it is pointed out (i) that we have nothing in the shape in which the narrative is given us to support the view that the actions are not carried out in their literal sense; (ii) that in point of fact Jeremiah was absent from Jerusalem during the

4

girdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water. So I got a girdle, according to the word of the LORD, and 2 put it on my loins. And the word of the LORD came unto 3 me the second time, saying, Take the girdle that thou hast got, which is upon thy loins, and arise, go to Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock. So I went, and hid 5 it by Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me. And it 6 came to pass after many days, that the LORD said unto me, Arise, go to Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence, which I commanded thee to hide there. Then I went to 7 Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it: and behold, the girdle was marred, it greater part of the later years of Jehoiakim's reign, that we have no account of him during that period, and that he therefore may well be supposed during part of the time to have been in or near Babylon. This view would agree with the kind feeling shewn towards him by Nebuchadnezzar at the taking of Jerusalem (chap. xxxix. 11) which seems to point to an earlier acquaintance. It has also been suggested,_to escape the difficulty of the long journey from Jerusalem to the Euphrates, that we should understand the word for Euphrates (P'rath) either (i) = Ephrath = Bethlehem, or (ii) = an Arabic word, meaning a place near the water, a crevice opening from the water into the land. Neither of these last views however are tenable. See note on ver. 4.

a linen girdle] Linen, not woollen, garments were appointed for priestly wear, and consequently linen was felt to belong to sacred uses. It was thus the fittest material for that which should symbolize the people of God. The girdle symbolizes them, inasmuch as it was that article of dress which would be most closely bound about the person of the wearer, and thus it marked the special bond existing between the Lord and Israel.

put it not in water] probably that the soiled appearance which it would soon exhibit might represent the pollution of the people.

4. go to Euphrates] The river which runs through Babylon, about to be the city of exile, is naturally chosen as that on the banks of which the girdle should rot.

hide it there in a hole of the rock] The expression "digged” (ver. 7) has been thought to shew, that by rock is meant the rocky or stony soil on the bank, such as might be found on that part of the river which flows through Babylonia. It need not however mean more than that Jeremiah had filled up the clift with earth or small stones. In this case 'the rock' would be on an upper portion of the river, before it reaches the plains of Babylonia.

6. after many days] the seventy years of the Captivity.

7. the girdle was marred] As the words "put it not in water” (ver. 1) probably refer to the moral pollution of the people, which brought about their exile, so this expression points to the effect of that event in

8 was profitable for nothing. Then the word of the LORD 9 came unto me, saying, Thus saith the LORD, After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride 10 of Jerusalem. This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them, I shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing. For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith the LORD; that they might be unto me for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not hear.

12

12-14. The spoken symbol of the bottles.

Therefore thou shalt speak unto them this word; Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Every bottle shall be filled with wine: and they shall say unto thee, Do we not cer

the way of physical decay. This is limited however to the ungodly by the words of ver. 10. Both verses doubtless are an echo of Lev. xxvi. 39; "They that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands."

9.

mar the pride] The greatness of the nation should be crushed by the sufferings and humiliation of exile. The verse seems based upon Lev. xxvi. 19, "I will break the pride of your power," where the Hebrew word is the same as in this place.

10. imagination] stubbornness. See chap. iii. 17. The godly portion of the people on the other hand were to be preserved and brought again to their land. This is shewn under the symbol of the baskets of figs, chap. xxiv.

11. The aptitude of the symbol is pointed out. As the girdle from its very nature must cling closely to the person, so Israel was that people whom God chose out to be most closely united with himself.

12-14. THE SPOKEN SYMBOL OF THE BOTTLES.

12.__bottle] jar. These are not the skin bottles spoken of in the New Testament (Matt. ix. 17, etc.) but earthenware.

shall be filled with wine] Under this figure is described the intoxication through which the people shall be rendered helpless to resist the foreign foe, while they quarrel one with another. It was no doubt in part owing to factious strife as well as to national idolatry that the overthrow came. The figure of filling a person with wine in the sense of bringing upon him Divine punishment for perverseness and headstrong continuance in sin is found also chap. xxv. 15; Ps. lx. 3; Is. li. 17, while for Israel under the figure of a bottle or jar compare chap. xviii. 1-6.

tainly know that every bottle shall be filled with wine? Then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD, Be- 13 hold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings that sit upon David's throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness. And I will dash them one against another, even the 14 fathers and the sons together, saith the LORD: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them.

15-27. Another appeal to Judah. Her wickedness however seems inveterate.

Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the LORD hath s spoken. Give glory to the LORD your God, before he cause 16 darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow.

Do we not certainly know...] not, as some have taken the sense to be, Are we not certain of prosperity and an abundant vintage? but, What need is there of telling us such a truism? The people would shew in the plainest manner possible how their minds were out of tune with the Divine warnings, whose very form they would thus utterly fail to recognise.

14. And I will dash them one against another] Seized with the giddiness which accompanies intoxication, they shall be a source of mutual destruction.

even the fathers and the sons together] The overthrow shall be of the most harrowing description.

15-27. ANOTHER APPEAL TO JUDAH. HER WICKEDNESS HOW

EVER SEEMS INVETERATE.

15. be not proud] Your boast that your privileges render you secure, is an idle one.

16.

Give glory] This is a Hebrew idiom for confess your sins. So Joshua says to Achan "My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession unto him." (Josh. vii. 19). Compare Mal. ii. 2, and the words of the Jews to the man blind from his birth, whom our Lord cured, "Give God the praise" (John ix. 24) i.e. acknowledge thyself an impostor.

before he cause darkness] Darkness in the Bible is a symbol of ignorance or of wickedness. Compare for this Is. viii. 22, ix. 2; Lam. iii. 6.

the dark mountains] the mountains of twilight. The comparison is to persons subject to a twofold difficulty, namely, (i) the unevenness of their road; (ii) the gathering gioom. The thought of mountains as hindrances is illustrated by the proverbial saying (applied in Luke iii. 5