6 And he hath been as a naked thing in a desert, And doth not see when good cometh, And hath inhabited parched places in a wilderness, A salt land, and not inhabited.
(`with' brimstone and salt is the whole land burnt, it is not sown, nor doth it shoot up, nor doth there go up on it any herb, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim, which Jehovah overturned in His anger, and in His fury,) --
Flee ye, deliver yourselves, Ye are as a naked thing in a wilderness.
Whose house I have made the wilderness, And his dwellings the barren land,
and Abimelech hath fought against the city all that day, and captureth the city, and the people who `are' in it he hath slain, and he breaketh down the city, and soweth it `with' salt.
And the captain whom the king hath, by whose hand he hath been supported, answereth the man of God and saith, `Lo, Jehovah is making windows in the heavens -- shall this thing be?' and he saith, `Lo, thou art seeing it with thine eyes, and thereof thou dost not eat.'
and the captain answereth the man of God, and saith, `And lo, Jehovah is making windows in the heavens -- it is according to this word?' and he saith, `Lo, thou art seeing with thine eyes, and thereof thou dost not eat;' and it cometh to him so, and the people tread him down in the gate, and he dieth.
`Doth a rush wise without mire? A reed increase without water? While it `is' in its budding -- uncropt, Even before any herb it withereth. So `are' the paths of all forgetting God, And the hope of the profane doth perish,
He turneth not aside from darkness, His tender branch doth a flame dry up, And he turneth aside at the breath of His mouth! Let him not put credence in vanity, He hath been deceived, For vanity is his recompence. Not in his day is it completed, And his bending branch is not green. He shaketh off as a vine his unripe fruit, And casteth off as an olive his blossom. For the company of the profane `is' gloomy, And fire hath consumed tents of bribery.
Not so the wicked: But -- as chaff that wind driveth away!
When the wicked flourish as a herb, And blossom do all workers of iniquity -- For their being destroyed for ever and ever!
They are as grass of the roofs, That before it was drawn out withereth, That hath not filled the hand of a reaper, And the bosom of a binder of sheaves. And the passers by have not said, `The blessing of Jehovah `is' on you, We blessed you in the Name of Jehovah!'
For ye are as an oak whose leaf is fading, And as a garden that hath no water.
Its miry and its marshy places -- they are not healed; to salt they have been given up.
Therefore, I live, An affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, Surely, Moab is as Sodom, And the sons of Ammon as Gomorrah, An overrunning of nettles and salt-pits, And a desolation -- unto the age. A residue of My people do seize them, And a remnant of My nation inherit them.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Jeremiah 17
Commentary on Jeremiah 17 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 17
In this chapter,
Jer 17:1-4
The people had asked (ch. 16:10), What is our iniquity, and what is our sin? as if they could not be charged with any thing worth speaking of, for which God should enter into judgment with them; their challenge was answered there, but here we have a further reply to it, in which,
Jer 17:5-11
It is excellent doctrine that is preached in these verses, and of general concern and use to us all, and it does not appear to have any particular reference to the present state of Judah and Jerusalem. The prophet's sermons were not all prophetical, but some of them practical; yet this discourse, which probably we have here only the heads of, would be of singular use to them by way of caution not to misplace their confidence in the day of their distress. Let us all learn what we are taught here,
Jer 17:12-18
Here, as often before, we have the prophet retired for private meditation, and alone with God. Those ministers that would have comfort in their work must be much so. In his converse here with God and his own heart he takes the liberty which devout souls sometimes use in their soliloquies, to pass from one thing to another, without tying themselves too strictly to the laws of method and coherence.
Jer 17:19-27
These verses are a sermon concerning sabbath-sanctification. It is a word which the prophet received from the Lord, and was ordered to deliver in the most solemn and public manner to the people; for they were sent not only to reprove sin, and to press obedience, in general, but they must descend to particulars. This message concerning the sabbath was probably sent in the days of Josiah, for the furtherance of that work of reformation which he set on foot; for the promises here (v. 25, 26) are such as I think we scarcely find when things come nearer to the extremity. This message must be proclaimed in all the places of concourse, and therefore inthe gates, not only because through them people were continually passing and repassing, but because in them they kept their courts and laid up their stores. It must be proclaimed (as the king or queen is usually proclaimed) at the court-gate first, the gate by which the kings of Judah come in and go out, v. 19. Let them be told their duty first, particularly this duty; for, if sabbaths be not sanctified as they should be, the rulers of Judah are to be contended with (so they were, Neh. 13:17), for they are certainly wanting in their duty. He must also preach it in all the gates of Jerusalem. It is a matter of great and general concern; therefore let all take notice of it. Let the kings of Judah hear the word of the Lord (for, high as they are, he is above them), and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for, mean as they are, he takes notice of them, and of what they say and do on sabbath days. Observe,