Blue and purple is their clothing:

They are all the work of cunning men.

But the LORD is the true God,

He is the living God, and an everlasting king:
At his wrath the earth shall tremble,

And the nations shall not be able to abide his indigna-
tion.

Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.

He hath made the earth by his power,

He hath established the world by his wisdom,

And hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion. When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens,

And he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth;

He maketh lightnings with rain,

founder] goldsmith.

blue and purple] The former probably was a bluish purple, while the latter had a strong tinge of red.

cunning] See note on ix. 17.

10.
11.

the true God] literally, a God who is truth.

The verse appears in Chaldee. Hence some suppose it to be an interpolation. But (i) no one would call attention to his interpolation by writing it in a different language from the text; and (ii) it harmonizes completely with the context. The object therefore is either (a) that the Jews might thus have put into their mouths the very words in which they should while in exile address their Chaldee conquerors, which is somewhat improbable; or (6) because it is a proverb and thus given in the language of the common people (Aramaic).

from under these heavens] more probably, from under the heavensthese Gods.

12. "The splendour of this glory appeareth unto us in and through the works of his hands," Bp. Pearson on the Creed, Art. I. Some see the doctrine of the Trinity foreshadowed here-Power, Wisdom, Understanding or Skill ('discretion'). Verses 12-16 are repeated li. 15-19.

13. When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth] When he thundering giveth the roar of waters in the heavens, he causeth. This is probably the best rendering. The literal translation is At the voice of his giving etc. The ascent of the vapours is spoken of poetically as though it were the consequence of the thunder, because it is seen to follow it.

vapours] clouds, literally, ascended ones.

And bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.
Every man is brutish in his knowledge:

Every founder is confounded by the graven image:

For his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath

in them.

They are vanity, and the work of errors:

In the time of their visitation they shall perish.
The portion of Jacob is not like them:
For he is the former of all things;

And Israel is the rod of his inheritance:
The LORD of hosts is his name.

17-22. The prophet returns to the subject of the coming woe.

Gather up thy wares out of the land,

with rain] for the rain, i.e. to accompany the rain.

14. in his knowledge] either (i) without knowledge, i.e. bereft of it; or perhaps better, (ii) from (in) that very thing in which he thinks he has shewn skill, viz. :-the idol. The latter seems more in accordance with the parallelism evidently intended between this and the next clause, knowledge in the one corresponding to graven image in the other. We may compare Rom. i. 22.

founder] goldsmith, as in ver. 9. confounded] brought to shame.

15. work of errors] a work which misleads, deceives. Others however understand the Hebrew in the sense of mockery, a thing to be ridiculed.

visitation] See vi. 6.

16. The portion of facob] The true God, upon whom Israel has a claim.

former] maker, fashioner.

all things] the whole, the universe.

the rod of his inheritance] The Hebrew word rendered rod sometimes means a sceptre. Hence the meaning has been taken to be, Israel is the people over whom God specially rules. But the sceptre is rather the sign than the object of kingly power. Therefore it seems better to refer the word to its other common sense of a measuring rod, so that the import will be, Israel is the people whom God has marked out for Himself as His peculiar possession.

17-22. THE PROPHET RETURNS TO THE SUBJECT OF THE

COMING WOE.

17. Some would take this and the following section, which ends the chapter, as composed either (a) in the times of Jehoiakim, when on account of his revolt against Nebuchadnezzar Syrians, Chaldaeans, etc.

19

20

Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this once,

And will distress them, that they may find it so.

Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous:
But I said, Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it.
My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are broken:
My children are gone forth of me, and they are not:
There is none to stretch forth my tent any more,
And to set up my curtains.

were sent against him (2 Kings xxiv. 1, 2) or, inasmuch as we do not read of the city as besieged on that occasion, (b) in the days of Jehoiachin, when this event did occur (2 Kings xxiv. 10). Both views however are put aside by recollecting that this is a prophecy, not a statement of that which was actually occurring.

thy wares] thy bundle. The Hebrew word occurs here only. It seems to mean a few articles gathered together, rather than any considerable amount or burden. Hence it suggests hasty flight.

O inhabitant of the fortress] O thou that sittest in the siege, i.e. thou who art in a besieged city. Others less well have suggested (a) in a fortified city, (b) in distress.

18. sling out] For this strong figure of speech compare 1 Sam. xxv. 29; and for a somewhat similar one Is. xxii. 18.

at this once] at this time, as opposed to former occasions, when plunder and a tribute imposed formed the utmost punishment.

they may find it so] In the absence of any expressed object to the verb, interpreters have suggested many, e.g. (i) the distress, (ii) God, (iii) God's fulfilment of His threat, (iv) the besieged. If, as seems best, we take this last as the object to be supplied, the sense of the whole will be, I will drive them, as a hunter would do, into a small space (the city), so that the besiegers may find them out.

19. The prophet now begins a lament in the person of the nation. hurt] literally, breaking, the same word which is rendered destruction in chap. iv. 6.

a grief] (my) grief. The literal sense of the word is sickness, suffering.

20. The spoiling and exile are represented under the figure of one whose tent had been captured and children carried away, so that she is at once impoverished and bereaved.

tabernacle] Tents seem frequently to have been used in the country parts. Phrases which imply this are often found, e.g. chap. xxxv. 7; 1 Kings xii. 16, etc. See chap. iv. 20 with note.

cords] of the tent.

are not] Compare Gen. xlii. 36.
curtains] which hung round it.

For the pastors are become brutish,
And have not sought the LORD:
Therefore they shall not prosper;
And all their flocks shall be scattered.
Behold, the noise of the bruit is come,

And a great commotion out of the north country,
To make the cities of Judah desolate,

And a den of dragons.

23-25. Jeremiah in the Name of the People deprecates God's Wraih.

21

22

O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: 23 It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.

O LORD, correct me, but with judgment;

Not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.

21. pastors] See note on chaps. ii. 8, and xvii. 16.

they shall not prosper] they have not prospered, or, better, they have not acted prudently. The Hebrew word occurs in both senses. shall be scattered] are scattered.

22. Behold, the noise of the bruit is come] Literally, The voice of a rumour; behold it comes. Thus, while in point of grammar=the voice or the rumour, it is in sense that which is rumoured by the approaching army.

bruit] only once elsewhere in the Bible, viz. Nah. iii. 19.

great commotion] Compare chaps. vi. 23, viii. 16.

the north country] Compare chap. i. 14, etc.

dragons] See note on chap. ix. 11.

23-25. JEREMIAH IN THE NAME OF THE PEOPLE DEPRECATES GOD'S WRATH.

23. the way of man is not in himself] Man cannot determine what course he shall take; he is in God's hands throughout.

man that walketh] The word for man here differs from the former, and implies strong man, man at his best. The same word is rendered "high" Psalm xlix. 2; and “great man” Is. ii. 9. See above, chap. ii. 6 with note.

to direct his steps] to ensure success. The same word occurs Ps. xxxvii. 23 ("The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD"), and its sense there seems to determine that in which it occurs here. All prosperity, as well as the converse, comes from God.

24. with judgment] Compare chap. xlvi. 28 "I will...correct thee in measure," where the word is the same. See note on ii. 19. Vindictive punishment, as opposed to that which has for its object the reformation of the offender, is the kind here deprecated.

bring me to nothing] render me insignificant, not, wholly destroy me. They had been already assured that this should not happen.

24

25

11

Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not,
And upon the families that call not on thy name:

For they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and
consumed him,

And have made his habitation desolate.

CHAP. XI. 1—14. Judah has been false to the Covenant, and meet punishment must ensue.

The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2 Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the

25.

This verse occurs almost word for word in Ps. lxxix. 6, 7, probably one of the Psalms written after the captivity. "Its language would apply almost equally well either to the time of Nebuchadnezzar or to that of Antiochus Epiphanes." Dean Perowne, Introduction to the Psalm. Hence, if it be granted that this passage is certainly of Jeremiah's authorship and prior to the exile, this passage must be the original, and that in the Psalm the derived.

The moral of the whole sermon contained chaps. vii.-x. is well summed up thus. It "has just one lesson from beginning to end, and that is the lesson of reality. You cannot be and are not religious, says the prophet, unless you lead religious lives. If you go to the temple, and take part in its services, and on your return home say, We are now delivered to do these bad things in our daily lives, that is, we are now free to do them, have compounded with God by going to His temple and being very devout there, and may now go on in our usual wicked ways; if thus you confess your sins only to repeat them, then you are the worse for your pretence of devotion and not the better. Instead of honouring God by going to church, you have made His house a den of robbers." Dean Payne Smith, Expositor, vol. VII. p. 461.

Chaps. xi., xii. form a connected prophecy, either as having been uttered at one definite time in the prophet's life, or as embodying the substance of his teaching during a particular epoch of his ministry. That epoch has been placed by some in the reign of Jehoiakim, while one commentator (Graf), who connects the prophecy of chap. xiii. with that contained in these chapters, makes the whole to be as late as Jehoiachin's time (see note on xi. 18). Chaps. xi., xii. however belong in all probability to the reign of Josiah, for (a) "the words of this covenant" (xi. 3) evidently have reference to that made by Josiah and his subjects before the LORD (2 Kings xxiii. 3), and (6) Jeremiah had not yet removed his residence to Jerusalem, but was still apparently dwelling at Anathoth (xi. 21). See further in introductory remarks to chap. xii.

CHAP. XI. 1–14. JUDAH HAS BEEN FALSE TO THE COVENANT, and

MEET PUNISHMENT MUST ENSUE.

2. Hear ye] The plural verb has been thought to refer to (a) the people (viz. the ‘men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem') who are