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Text -- Jeremiah 13:18-27 (NET)

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13:18 The Lord told me, “Tell the king and the queen mother, ‘Surrender your thrones, for your glorious crowns will be removed from your heads. 13:19 The gates of the towns in southern Judah will be shut tight. No one will be able to go in or out of them. All Judah will be carried off into exile. They will be completely carried off into exile.’” 13:20 Then I said, “Look up, Jerusalem, and see the enemy that is coming from the north. Where now is the flock of people that were entrusted to your care? Where now are the ‘sheep’ that you take such pride in? 13:21 What will you say when the Lord appoints as rulers over you those allies that you, yourself, had actually prepared as such? Then anguish and agony will grip you like that of a woman giving birth to a baby. 13:22 You will probably ask yourself, ‘Why have these things happened to me? Why have I been treated like a disgraced adulteress whose skirt has been torn off and her limbs exposed?’ It is because you have sinned so much. 13:23 But there is little hope for you ever doing good, you who are so accustomed to doing evil. Can an Ethiopian change the color of his skin? Can a leopard remove its spots? 13:24 “The Lord says, ‘That is why I will scatter your people like chaff that is blown away by a desert wind. 13:25 This is your fate, the destiny to which I have appointed you, because you have forgotten me and have trusted in false gods. 13:26 So I will pull your skirt up over your face and expose you to shame like a disgraced adulteress! 13:27 People of Jerusalem, I have seen your adulterous worship, your shameless prostitution to, and your lustful pursuit of, other gods. I have seen your disgusting acts of worship on the hills throughout the countryside. You are doomed to destruction! How long will you continue to be unclean?’”
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics

Names, People and Places:
 · Ethiopian a man of Ethiopia,a member of the nation of Ethiopia
 · Jerusalem the capital city of Israel,a town; the capital of Israel near the southern border of Benjamin
 · Judah the son of Jacob and Leah; founder of the tribe of Judah,a tribe, the land/country,a son of Joseph; the father of Simeon; an ancestor of Jesus,son of Jacob/Israel and Leah; founder of the tribe of Judah,the tribe of Judah,citizens of the southern kingdom of Judah,citizens of the Persian Province of Judah; the Jews who had returned from Babylonian exile,"house of Judah", a phrase which highlights the political leadership of the tribe of Judah,"king of Judah", a phrase which relates to the southern kingdom of Judah,"kings of Judah", a phrase relating to the southern kingdom of Judah,"princes of Judah", a phrase relating to the kingdom of Judah,the territory allocated to the tribe of Judah, and also the extended territory of the southern kingdom of Judah,the Province of Judah under Persian rule,"hill country of Judah", the relatively cool and green central highlands of the territory of Judah,"the cities of Judah",the language of the Jews; Hebrew,head of a family of Levites who returned from Exile,a Levite who put away his heathen wife,a man who was second in command of Jerusalem; son of Hassenuah of Benjamin,a Levite in charge of the songs of thanksgiving in Nehemiah's time,a leader who helped dedicate Nehemiah's wall,a Levite musician who helped Zechariah of Asaph dedicate Nehemiah's wall
 · Negeb geographical region: South country


Dictionary Themes and Topics: QUEEN MOTHER | PRINCIPALITY | PAIN | Measure | MEASURE; MEASURES | KING'S MOTHER | Israel | Idolatry | HOSEA | HEEL | DRESS | DISCOVER | CUSHITE WOMAN; ETHIOPIAN WOMAN | CROWN | CRIME; CRIMES | CHANGE | CAPTAIN | Backsliders | ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION | ABOMINATION | more
Table of Contents

Word/Phrase Notes
Wesley , JFB , Clarke , Calvin , Defender , TSK

Word/Phrase Notes
Barnes , Poole , Haydock , Gill

Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes , Geneva Bible

Verse Range Notes
TSK Synopsis , Maclaren , MHCC , Matthew Henry , Keil-Delitzsch , Constable

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Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: Jer 13:19 - -- The cities of Judah lay southward from Chaldea.

The cities of Judah lay southward from Chaldea.

Wesley: Jer 13:20 - -- The prophet speaks to the king, or to the rulers. In the multitude of the people is the king's honour.

The prophet speaks to the king, or to the rulers. In the multitude of the people is the king's honour.

Wesley: Jer 13:21 - -- Thou wilt have nothing to say, but be wholly confounded when God shall visit thee with this sore judgment, for by thy so often calling them to thy ass...

Thou wilt have nothing to say, but be wholly confounded when God shall visit thee with this sore judgment, for by thy so often calling them to thy assistance, thou hast taught them to be captains over thee.

Wesley: Jer 13:22 - -- Probably these phrases are fetched from the usual practice of soldiers when they have conquered a place and taken prisoners, to strip them. By skirts ...

Probably these phrases are fetched from the usual practice of soldiers when they have conquered a place and taken prisoners, to strip them. By skirts is meant the lower part of their bodies covered with the lower part of their garments.

Wesley: Jer 13:26 - -- I will expose thee to shame and contempt.

I will expose thee to shame and contempt.

Wesley: Jer 13:27 - -- Thy idolatries.

Thy idolatries.

JFB: Jer 13:18 - -- Jehoiachin or Jeconiah.

Jehoiachin or Jeconiah.

JFB: Jer 13:18 - -- The queen mother who, as the king was not more than eighteen years old, held the chief power. Nehushta, daughter of Elnathan, carried away captive wit...

The queen mother who, as the king was not more than eighteen years old, held the chief power. Nehushta, daughter of Elnathan, carried away captive with Jehoiachin by Nebuchadnezzar (2Ki 24:8-15).

JFB: Jer 13:18 - -- That is, Ye shall be humbled, or brought low (Jer 22:26; Jer 28:2).

That is, Ye shall be humbled, or brought low (Jer 22:26; Jer 28:2).

JFB: Jer 13:18 - -- Rather, "your head ornament."

Rather, "your head ornament."

JFB: Jer 13:19 - -- Namely, south of Judea; farthest off from the enemy, who advanced from the north.

Namely, south of Judea; farthest off from the enemy, who advanced from the north.

JFB: Jer 13:19 - -- That is, deserted (Isa 24:10); so that none shall be left to open the gates to travellers and merchants again [HENDERSON]. Rather, shut up so closely ...

That is, deserted (Isa 24:10); so that none shall be left to open the gates to travellers and merchants again [HENDERSON]. Rather, shut up so closely by Nebuchadnezzar's forces, sent on before (2Ki 24:10-11), that none shall be allowed by the enemy to get out (compare Jer 13:20).

JFB: Jer 13:19 - -- Literally, "fully"; completely.

Literally, "fully"; completely.

JFB: Jer 13:20 - -- Nebuchadnezzar and his hostile army (Jer 1:14; Jer 6:22).

Nebuchadnezzar and his hostile army (Jer 1:14; Jer 6:22).

JFB: Jer 13:20 - -- Jeremiah, amazed at the depopulation caused by Nebuchadnezzar's forces, addresses Jerusalem (a noun of multitude, which accounts for the blending of p...

Jeremiah, amazed at the depopulation caused by Nebuchadnezzar's forces, addresses Jerusalem (a noun of multitude, which accounts for the blending of plural and singular, Your eyes . . . thee . . . thy flock), and asks where is the population (Jer 13:17, "flock") which God had given her?

JFB: Jer 13:21 - -- Literally, "princes as to headship"; or "over thy head," namely, the Chaldeans. Rather, translate, "What wilt thou say when God will set them (the ene...

Literally, "princes as to headship"; or "over thy head," namely, the Chaldeans. Rather, translate, "What wilt thou say when God will set them (the enemies, Jer 13:20) above thee, seeing that thou thyself hast accustomed them (to be) with thee as (thy) lovers in the highest place (literally, 'at thy head')? Thou canst not say God does thee wrong, seeing it was thou that gave occasion to His dealing so with thee, by so eagerly courting their intimacy." Compare Jer 2:18, Jer 2:36; 2Ki 23:29, as to the league of Judah with Babylon, which led Josiah to march against Pharaoh-necho, when the latter was about to attack Babylon [MAURER].

JFB: Jer 13:21 - -- Pains, throes.

Pains, throes.

JFB: Jer 13:22 - -- Connecting this verse with "What wilt thou say" (Jer 13:21)?

Connecting this verse with "What wilt thou say" (Jer 13:21)?

JFB: Jer 13:22 - -- That is, are thrown up so as to expose the person (Jer 13:26; Isa 3:17; Nah 3:5).

That is, are thrown up so as to expose the person (Jer 13:26; Isa 3:17; Nah 3:5).

JFB: Jer 13:22 - -- The sandal was fastened by a thong above the heel to the instep. The Hebrew, is, "are violently handled," or "torn off"; that is, thou art exposed to ...

The sandal was fastened by a thong above the heel to the instep. The Hebrew, is, "are violently handled," or "torn off"; that is, thou art exposed to ignominy. Image from an adulteress.

JFB: Jer 13:23 - -- The Cushite of Abyssinia. Habit is second nature; as therefore it is morally impossible that the Jews can alter their inveterate habits of sin, nothin...

The Cushite of Abyssinia. Habit is second nature; as therefore it is morally impossible that the Jews can alter their inveterate habits of sin, nothing remains but the infliction of the extremest punishment, their expatriation (Jer 13:24).

JFB: Jer 13:24 - -- (Psa 1:4).

(Psa 1:4).

JFB: Jer 13:24 - -- Before the wind.

Before the wind.

JFB: Jer 13:24 - -- Where the wind has full sweep, not being broken by any obstacle.

Where the wind has full sweep, not being broken by any obstacle.

JFB: Jer 13:25 - -- The portion which I have measured out to thee (Job 20:29; Psa 11:6).

The portion which I have measured out to thee (Job 20:29; Psa 11:6).

JFB: Jer 13:25 - -- (Jer 13:27), false gods and alliances with foreign idolaters.

(Jer 13:27), false gods and alliances with foreign idolaters.

JFB: Jer 13:26 - -- Rather, "throw up thy skirts over thy face," or head; done by way of ignominy to captive women and to prostitutes (Nah 3:5). The Jews' punishment shou...

Rather, "throw up thy skirts over thy face," or head; done by way of ignominy to captive women and to prostitutes (Nah 3:5). The Jews' punishment should answer to their crime. As their sin had been perpetrated in the most public places, so God would expose them to the contempt of other nations most openly (Lam 1:8).

JFB: Jer 13:27 - -- (Jer 5:8), image from the lust of horses; the lust after idols degrades to the level of the brute.

(Jer 5:8), image from the lust of horses; the lust after idols degrades to the level of the brute.

JFB: Jer 13:27 - -- Where, as being nearer heaven, sacrifices were thought most acceptable to the gods.

Where, as being nearer heaven, sacrifices were thought most acceptable to the gods.

JFB: Jer 13:27 - -- Literally, "thou wilt not be made clean after how long a time yet." (So Jer 13:23). Jeremiah denies the moral possibility of one so long hardened in s...

Literally, "thou wilt not be made clean after how long a time yet." (So Jer 13:23). Jeremiah denies the moral possibility of one so long hardened in sin becoming soon cleansed. But see Jer 32:17; Luk 18:27.

Clarke: Jer 13:18 - -- Say unto the king and to the queen - Probably Jeconiah and his mother, under whose tutelage, being young when he began to reign, he was left, as is ...

Say unto the king and to the queen - Probably Jeconiah and his mother, under whose tutelage, being young when he began to reign, he was left, as is very likely

Clarke: Jer 13:18 - -- Sit down - Show that ye have humbled yourselves; for your state will be destroyed, and your glorious crown taken from your heads.

Sit down - Show that ye have humbled yourselves; for your state will be destroyed, and your glorious crown taken from your heads.

Clarke: Jer 13:19 - -- The cities of the south shall be shut up - Not only the cities of the north, the quarter at which the Chaldeans entered, but the cities of the south...

The cities of the south shall be shut up - Not only the cities of the north, the quarter at which the Chaldeans entered, but the cities of the south also; for he shall proceed from one extremity of the land to the other, spreading devastation every where, and carrying off the inhabitants.

Clarke: Jer 13:20 - -- Where is the flock - thy beautiful flock? - Jerusalem is addressed. Where are the prosperous multitudes of men, women, and children? Alas! are they ...

Where is the flock - thy beautiful flock? - Jerusalem is addressed. Where are the prosperous multitudes of men, women, and children? Alas! are they not driven before the Babylonians, who have taken them captive?

Clarke: Jer 13:21 - -- Thou hast taught them to be captains, and as chief over thee - This is said of their enemies, whether Assyrians or Chaldeans: for ever since Ahaz su...

Thou hast taught them to be captains, and as chief over thee - This is said of their enemies, whether Assyrians or Chaldeans: for ever since Ahaz submitted himself to the king of Assyria, the kings of Judah never regained their independence. Their enemies were thus taught to be their lords and masters.

Clarke: Jer 13:22 - -- Are thy skirts discovered - Thy defenseless state is every where known; thou art not only weak, but ignominiously so. It is thy scandal to be in so ...

Are thy skirts discovered - Thy defenseless state is every where known; thou art not only weak, but ignominiously so. It is thy scandal to be in so depressed a condition; thou art lower than the basest of thy adversaries, and thou art so because of thy sin.

Clarke: Jer 13:23 - -- Can the Ethiopian change his skin - Can a black, at his own pleasure, change the color of his skin? Can the leopard at will change the variety of hi...

Can the Ethiopian change his skin - Can a black, at his own pleasure, change the color of his skin? Can the leopard at will change the variety of his spots? These things are natural to them, and they cannot be altered; so sin, and especially your attachment to idolatry, is become a second nature; and we may as well expect the Ethiopian to change his skin, and the leopard his spots, as you to do good, who have been accustomed to do evil. It is a matter of the utmost difficulty to get a sinner, deeply rooted in vicious habits, brought to the knowledge of himself and God. But the expression does not imply that the thing is as impossible in a moral as it is in a natural sense: it only shows that it is extremely difficult, and not to be often expected; and a thousand matters of fact prove the truth of this. But still, what is impossible to man is possible to God. See the note on Jer 13:27.

Clarke: Jer 13:24 - -- The wind of the wilderness - Some strong tempestuous wind, proverbially severe, coming from the desert to the south of Judea.

The wind of the wilderness - Some strong tempestuous wind, proverbially severe, coming from the desert to the south of Judea.

Clarke: Jer 13:25 - -- Trusted in falsehood - In idols, and in lying prophets.

Trusted in falsehood - In idols, and in lying prophets.

Clarke: Jer 13:26 - -- Therefore will I discover thy skirts upon thy face - It was the custom to punish lewd women by stripping them naked, and exposing them to public vie...

Therefore will I discover thy skirts upon thy face - It was the custom to punish lewd women by stripping them naked, and exposing them to public view; or by throwing their clothes over their heads, as here intimated. Was this the way to correct the evil?

Clarke: Jer 13:27 - -- I have seen thine adulteries - Thy idolatries of different kinds, practiced in various ways; no doubt often accompanied with gross debauchery

I have seen thine adulteries - Thy idolatries of different kinds, practiced in various ways; no doubt often accompanied with gross debauchery

Clarke: Jer 13:27 - -- Wo unto thee, O Jerusalem wilt thou not be made clean? - We see from this, that though the thing was difficult, yet it was not impossible, for these...

Wo unto thee, O Jerusalem wilt thou not be made clean? - We see from this, that though the thing was difficult, yet it was not impossible, for these Ethiopians to change their skin, for these leopards to change their spots. It was only their obstinate refusal of the grace of God that rendered it impossible. Man cannot change himself; but he may pray to God to do it, and come to him through Christ, that he may do it. To enable him to pray and believe, the power is still at hand. If he will not use it, he must perish.

Calvin: Jer 13:18 - -- The Prophet is here bidden to address his discourse directly to King Jehoiakim and his mother; for the term lady is not to be taken for the queen, th...

The Prophet is here bidden to address his discourse directly to King Jehoiakim and his mother; for the term lady is not to be taken for the queen, the wife of Jehoiakim, but for his mother, who was then his associate in the kingdom, and possessed great authority. 86 And there is no doubt but that God thus intended to rouse more fully the community in general; that is, by shewing that he would not spare, no, not the king nor the queen. But we may hence also learn what has already been observed, that the truth announced by the prophets is superior to all the greatness of the world. For it was said before to Jeremiah, “Reprove mountains and rebuke hills;” 87 and still farther,

“Behold, I have set thee over kingdoms and nations, to pull down and to pluck up,” etc., (Jer 1:10)

This ought to be carefully noticed; for kings and those who are eminent in the world, think that they are not only, by a singular privilege, exempt from all laws, but also free from every obligation to observe modesty and to avoid shame. Hence it is, that they from their elevation despise God and his prophets. Here God shews, that he supplied the prophets with his word for this end, — that they might close their eyes to all the splendor of the world, and shew no respect of persons, but pull down every height, and bring to order everything that is elevated in this world. Paul also teaches us, that ministers of the gospel are endued with this power;

“Given to us,” he says, “is power against every height that exalteth itself against Christ.”
(2Co 10:5)

And hence we must observe, that all who are chosen to the office of teaching, cannot faithfully discharge their duty except they boldly, and with intrepid spirit, dare to reprove both kings and queens; for the word of God is not to be restricted to the common people or men in humble life, but it subjects to itself all, from the least to the greatest. This prophecy was no doubt very bitter to the king as well as to the common people; but it behooved Jeremiah to discharge faithfully his office; and this was also necessary, for the king Jehoiakim and his mother thought that they could not possibly be dethroned.

He therefore bids them to descend and to lie down; that is, he bids them to forget their ancient greatness. He does not simply exhort them to repent, but shews, that as they had been so refractory in their pride, the punishment of disgrace was nigh at hand, for the Lord would with a strong hand lay them prostrate. It is not then an exhortation that the Prophet gives; but he only foretells what they little thought of, — that they in vain flattered themselves, for the Lord would in a short time expose them to reproach by casting them down.

And this is evident from what is added, For descend shall the crown of your honor; that is, it shall be taken away from your highnesses, or from your eminencies, or from your heads; for the word ראשה , rashe, means sometimes the head. 88 But some think that it means here eminencies, and that “the magnificent crown” is put here in apposition.

I have omitted, if I mistake not, to notice one thing; that is, the pride mentioned by the Prophet; except ye hear, weep will my soul in secret on account of pride Interpreters render it “your pride;” that is, the pride with which the Jews were filled; but I am inclined to take a different view, that the Prophet speaks here of the pride or the great power of those enemies whom the Jews then did not in any degree fear. “Since then,” says the Prophet, “ye are so secure, I will retire and weep by myself, and my soul by mourning shall mourn, yea, my eye shall flow down with tears, on account of the pride of the enemies, who are now so much despised by you;” Let us now proceed —

Calvin: Jer 13:19 - -- By the cities of the south, almost all understand the cities of the tribe of Judah, whose portion was towards the south; and by the cities being sh...

By the cities of the south, almost all understand the cities of the tribe of Judah, whose portion was towards the south; and by the cities being shut up, they consider that what is meant is, that they would be forsaken; for they say, that cities are open when they are frequented. But I am con- strained here also to take another view. I take the cities of the south to have been those of Egypt; for we know that the Jews looked there for a refuge, whenever they were attacked by the Assyrians or the Chaldeans. Since then they thought that Egypt would be to them a sort of an asylum, the Prophet declares that all these cities would be closed against them, and that there would be no one to open them; as though he had said, “The Lord will drive you out, and will prevent you to take refuge there.”

He would doubtless have spoken more clearly had he meant the cities of Judah; and besides, as he was at Jerusalem, this way of speaking must have been ambiguous, and even improper; and we shall find him presently speaking of the Assyrians as being in the north. He now then warns them, that Egypt would be closed against them, though they at the same time expected that they would be safe there, and that an easily-borne exile was in their power. As then they foolishly trusted that they would be received by the Egyptians, the Prophet says, that the gates would be closed, and that there would be no one to open them. It then follows, carried away wholly has been Judah, carried away completely; 89 that is, “Ye shall all be led away into Assyria and Babylon;” which is the north country, according to what afterwards follows, —

Calvin: Jer 13:20 - -- We here see that Egypt and Chaldea are set in opposition, the one to the other; as though the Prophet had said, “Whenever anything is said to you a...

We here see that Egypt and Chaldea are set in opposition, the one to the other; as though the Prophet had said, “Whenever anything is said to you about the Chaldeans, ye turn your eyes to Egypt, as though that would be a quiet residence for you; but God will prevent you from having any escape there. Now see, see your enemies who are coming from another quarter, even from Chaldea. Lift up then your eyes.” As they were so very intent on their present ease, he bids them to lift up their eyes, that they might see farther than they were wont to do.

He then says, Where is the flock which had been given to thee? and the sheep of thy glory? It is through pity that the Prophet thus speaks; for he saw by the Spirit the whole land deserted, and in wonder he asks, “What does this mean, that the flock is scattered which had been given to thee?” He addresses the people under the character of a woman, as he does often in other places. 90 In short, he confirms what he had said before, — that he would go to some secret place, if the people were not influenced by his doctrine, and that he would there by himself deplore their calamity; but he employs other words, and at the same time intimates, that he alone had eyes to see, as others were blind, for God had even taken from them understanding and discernment. The Prophet then shews here that he saw the dreadful desolation that was soon to come; and therefore as one astonished he asks, Where is the flock with which God had enriched the land? and further he asks, Where are the sheep which possessed a magnificent honor or beauty? It follows —

Calvin: Jer 13:21 - -- As the Prophet observed that the Jews were in no way moved, he addressed them still further, and set before them what seemed then incredible, even th...

As the Prophet observed that the Jews were in no way moved, he addressed them still further, and set before them what seemed then incredible, even the calamity, from which they thought they were able easily to defend themselves by means of their auxiliaries.

He then adds, What wilt thou then say? For the false teachers made a clamor, and whenever Jeremiah began to speak, they violently assailed him, and the common people also wantonly barked at him. As then they thus petulantly resisted God and his truths, the Prophet intimates that the time would come when they should become mute through shame: What wilt thou say then? he says, “Ye are now very talkative, and God cannot obtain a hearing from you; but he will check your wantonness, when the enemy shall distress you.” It is the same as though he had said, “It will not be the time then for your loquacity, for the Lord will constrain you to be silent.”

Some refer to God what follows, When, he shall visit you; but it ought on the contrary to be applied to the Chaldeans; for he immediately adds, But thou hast accustomed them, etc. There is indeed a change or an anomaly of number, but this is common in the prophets. When he uses the singular, the head of the army is referred to, but afterwards the whole forces are included. What then wilt thou say, when the enemy shall visit thee? He then adds, But then, etc.; that is, “If thou seekest to cast blame on others, when the Assyrians and the Chaldeans shall overwhelm thee, thou wilt attempt it in vain? for thou hast opened a passage for them, and hast accustomed them to be thy leaders over thy head.” For the Assyrians had a long time before been sent for by the Israelites; and the Jews also had formed confederacies with the Chaldeans against the Assyrians, before these monarchies were united. As then they had called them in as auxiliaries, they had accustomed them to rule, and, as it were, had set them over themselves. The case was similar to that of the Turks at this day, were they to pass over to these parts and exercise their authority; for it might be asked the French kings and their counsellors, “Whose fault it is that the Turks come to us so easily? It is because ye have prepared for them the way by sea, because ye have bribed them, and your ports have been opened to them; and yet they have wilfully exercised the greatest cruelty towards your subjects. All these things have proceeded from yourselves; ye are therefore the authors of all these evils.” So also now the Prophet upbraids the Jews, because they had accustomed the Chaldeans to be their leaders; and as they had set them over their own heads, he says to them, that it was no wonder that they were now so troublesome and grievous to them. 91

He afterwards says, Shall not sorrows lay hold on thee as on a woman in travail? By this comparison he intimates, that the Jews gained nothing by their vain hopes; for when they should say, peace and security, destruction, such as they by no means expected, would suddenly come upon them. This similitude we know often occurs, and it is a very apt one; for a woman with child may be very cheerful and quietly enjoying herself, and yet a sudden pain may seize her. So also it will be with the wicked; they cannot now bear to hear anything sad or alarming, and they drive from them every fear as far as possible; but the more they harden themselves, the heavier is God’s vengeance which follows them, and which will overtake them suddenly and unexpectedly. As then it was incredible to the Jews, that the Chaldeans would soon come to lay waste their land, he says to them, “Surely sorrows will take hold on you, though you look not for them. Though a woman with child thinks not of her coming pain, yet it comes suddenly and cannot be driven away; so you will gain nothing by heedlessly promising to yourselves continual peace and quietness.” I cannot finish what follows today if I go on farther; I shall therefore put it off to the next Lecture.

Calvin: Jer 13:22 - -- The Prophet again declares that God’s judgment would be just, which he had previously foretold; for hypocrites, we know, do not cease to quarrel wi...

The Prophet again declares that God’s judgment would be just, which he had previously foretold; for hypocrites, we know, do not cease to quarrel with God, except they are often proved guilty; and it is always their object, where they cannot wholly excuse themselves, to extenuate in some measure their fault. The Prophet therefore here removes every pretense for evasion, and declares that they were wholly worthy of such a reward.

But his manner of speaking ought to be noticed, If thou wilt say in thine heart, etc. Hypocrites do not only claim for themselves righteousness before the world, but they also deceive themselves, and the devil so dementates them with a false persuasion, that they seek to be counted just before God. This then is what the Prophet sets forth when he says, If thou wilt say in thine heart, Why have these evils happened to me? 92 that is, if thou seekest by secret murmuring to contend with God, the answer is ready, Because of the multitude of thine iniquity, discovered are thy skirts, and thy heels are denuded.” The multitude of iniquity he calls that perverse wickedness which prevailed among the Jews; for they had not ceased for a long time to provoke the wrath of God. Had they only once sinned, or had been guilty of one kind of sin, there would have been some hope of pardon, at least God would not have executed a punishment so severe; but as there had been an uninterrupted course of sinning, the Prophet shews that it would not be right to spare them any longer.

As to the simile, it is a form of speaking often used by the prophets, that is, to denude the soles of the feet, and to discover the skirts. We know that; men clothe themselves, not only to preserve them from cold. but that they also cover the body for the sake of modesty: there is therefore a twofold use of garments, the one occasioned by necessity, and the other by decency. As then clothes are partly made for this end — to cover what could not be decently shewn or left bare without shame, the prophets use this mode of speaking when they have in view to shew that one is exposed to public reproaJeremiah 93 It afterwards follows —

Calvin: Jer 13:23 - -- God declares in this verse, that the people were so hardened in their wickedness, that there was no hope of their repentance. This is the sum of what...

God declares in this verse, that the people were so hardened in their wickedness, that there was no hope of their repentance. This is the sum of what is said. But it was a very bitter reproof for the Prophet to say that his own nation were past hope — that they had so entirely given themselves up to their vices that they were no longer healable.

But he uses a comparison, Can the Ethiopian, 94 he says, change his skin? Blackness is inherent in the skin of the Ethiopians, as it is well known. Were they then to wash themselves a hundred times daily, they could not put off their blackness. The same also must be said of leopards or panthers, and we know that these animals are besprinkled with spots. Such then is the spotted character of the leopard or panther, 95 that whatever might be done to him he would still retain his color. We now then see what the Prophet means — that the Jews were so corrupted by long habit that they could not repent, for the devil had so enslaved them that they were not in their right mind; they no longer had any discernment, and could not discriminate between good and evil.

Learned men in our age do not wisely refer to this passage, when they seek to prove that there is no free-will in man; for it is not simply the nature of man that is spoken of here, but the habit that is contracted by long practice. Aristotle, a strong advocate of free will, confesses that it is not in man’s power to do right, when he is so immersed in his own vices as to have lost a free choice, ( 7. Lib. Ethicon) and this also is what experience proves. We hence see that this passage is improperly adduced to prove a sentiment which is yet true, and fully confirmed by many passages of Scripture.

Jeremiah, then, does not here refer to man’s nature as he is when he comes from the womb; but he condemns the Jews for contracting such a habit by long practice. As, then, they had hardened themselves in doing evil, he says that they could not repent, that wickedness had become inherent, or firmly fixed in their hearts, like the blackness which is inherent in the skin of the Ethiopians, or the spots which belong to the leopards or panthers.

We may at the same time gather from this passage a useful doctrine — that men become so corrupt, by sinful habits and sinful indulgence, that the devil takes away from them every desire and care for acting rightly, so that, in a word, they become wholly irreclaimable, as we see to be the case with regard to bodily diseases; for a chronic disease, in most instances, so corrupts what is sound and healthy in the body, that it becomes by degrees incurable. When, therefore, the body is thus infected for a long time, there is no hope of a cure Life may indeed be prolonged, but not without continual languor. Now, as to spiritual diseases it is also true, that when putridity has pervaded the inward parts, it is impossible for any one to repent. And yet it must be observed, that we do not speak here of the power of God, but only shew, that all those who harden themselves in their vices, as far as their power is concerned, are incurable, and past all remedy. Yet God can deliver, even from the lowest depths, such as have a hundred times past all recovery. But here, as I have already said, the Prophet does not refer to God’s power, but only condemns his own nation, that they might not complain that God treated them with too much severity.

The meaning then is, that they ought not to have thought it strange that God left them no hope; for they became past recovery, through their own perverseness, as they could not adopt another course of life after having so long accustomed themselves to everything that was evil: Wilt thou also, he says, be able to do good? that is, wilt thou apply thy mind to what is just, who hast been accustomed to evil, or who hast hitherto learnt nothing but to do evil? 96 We now perceive the design of the Prophet — that they unreasonably sought pardon of God, who had contracted such hardness by a long course of sinning that they were become incurable. It afterwards follows —

Calvin: Jer 13:24 - -- This is an inference which Jeremiah draws from the last verse. As long as there is any hope of repentance, there is also room for mercy; God often de...

This is an inference which Jeremiah draws from the last verse. As long as there is any hope of repentance, there is also room for mercy; God often declares that he is long-suffering. Then the most wicked might object and say, that God is too rigid, because he waits not until they return to a sound mind. Now the Prophet had said that it was all over with the people: here therefore he meets the objection, and shews that extreme calamity was justly brought on them by God, because the Jews had obstinately hardened themselves in their vices and wickedness.

After having shewn, therefore, that corruption was inherent in them, as blackness in the skin of an Ethiopian, and as spots in panthers, he now comes to this conclusion — I will scatter them as stubble which passes away by the wind of the desert This scattering denotes their exile; as though he had said, “I will banish them, that they may know that they are deprived of the inheritance in which they place their safety and their happiness.” For the Jews gloried in this only — that they were God’s people, because the Temple was built among them, and because they dwelt in the land promised to them. They then thought that God was in a manner tied to them, while they possessed that inheritance. Hence Jeremiah declares, that they would become like stubble carried away by the wind.

He mentions the wind of the desert, that is, the wind of the south, which was the most violent in that country. The south wind, as we know, was also pestilential; the air also was more disturbed by the south wind than by any other, for it raised storms and tempests. Therefore the Scripture, in setting forth any turbulent movement, often adopts this similitude. Some think that Jeremiah alludes to the Egyptians; but I see no reason to seek out any refined explanation, when this mode of speaking is commonly adopted. Then by this similitude of south wind God intimates the great power of his vengeance; as though he had said, “Even if the Jews think that they have a firm standing in the promised land, they are wholly deceived, for God will with irresistible force expel them.” And he compares them to stubble, while yet they boasted that they were like trees planted in that land; and we have before seen that they had been planted as it were by the hand of God; but they wanted the living root of piety, they were therefore to be driven far away like stubble. 97

Let us then learn from this passage not to abuse the patience of God: for though he may suspend for a time the punishment we deserve, yet when he sees that we go on in our wickedness, he will come to extreme measures, and will deal with us without mercy as those who are past remedy. It follows —

Calvin: Jer 13:25 - -- The Prophet no doubt wished to strip the Jews of their vain confidence, through which they acted arrogantly and presumptuously towards God, while yet...

The Prophet no doubt wished to strip the Jews of their vain confidence, through which they acted arrogantly and presumptuously towards God, while yet they professed his name and claimed his favor. They said that they had obtained that land by an hereditary right, because it had been promised to their father Abraham. This indeed was true. They also said, that the land was God’s rest; and they derived this from the prophets. They said farther that God was their heritage; and this also was true. But since they had wickedly profaned God’s name, he takes from them these false boastings, and says, This is thy lot But still they said, When God divided the nations, his lot fell on Israel, for so says Moses. (Deu 32:8) As then they were wont to say, that God afterwards deceived them, the Prophet here on the other hand reminds them, that they foolishly confided in that lot, because God had rejected them, and did not acknowledge them now as his children, as they were become degenerate and perfidious. This, he says, is thy lot 98

We see that there is to be understood here a contrast: God was the lot of the people, and they were also the lot of God, according to the passages to which we have referred. They were the heritage of God, and they boasted that God was their heritage; the land was a symbol and a pledge of this heritage. The Prophet now says: “This lot shall be to thee the portion of thy measures from me.” He alludes to an ancient custom; for they were wont to divide fields and meadows by lines, as they afterwards used poles; and we call such measures in the present day perches ( perticas .)

We now then understand what the Prophet means; for he intimates that the Jews vainly and presumptuously and foolishly boasted, that God was their heritage; for he owned them not now as his children: and he also declares that another lot was prepared for them, far different from that of heritage, — that God would banish them from the promised land, which they had polluted by their vices. Thus we see that we ought not presumptuously and falsely to pretend or profess the name of God; for though he has been pleased to choose us as his people, it is yet required of us to be faithful to him; and if we forsake him, the same reward for our impiety will no doubt await us as Jeremiah threatens here to his own nation. Let us then so use the favor of God and of Christ, and all the blessings which are offered to us by the gospel, that we may not have to fear that vengeance which happened to the Jews.

He adds the reason, Because thou hast forgotten me and trusted in falsehood 99 By falsehood the Prophet means not only the superstitions in which the Jews involved themselves, but also the false counsels which they adopted, when at one time they had recourse to the Egyptians, at another to some other ungodly nations, in order to get aids in opposition to the will of God. For wherever there was any danger, they thought they had a remedy at hand by having the favor and help of the Egyptians, or of the Assyrians, or of the Chaldeans. In the word falsehood, then, the Prophet includes those perverse designs which they formed, when they sought to defend themselves against God, who would have protected them by his power, had it not been necessary to punish them for their sins. What Jeremiah then condemned in the people was, that they placed their trust in falsehood, that is, that they souglint here and there vain helps, and at the same time disregarded God; nay, they thought themselves safer when God was displeased with them: and hence he says, Thou hast forgotten me For the Jews could not have sought deliverance from the Egyptians or from other heathen nations, or from their idols, without having first rejected God; for if this truth had been really fixed in their minds, — that God cared for their safety, they would no doubt have been satisfied with his protection. Their ingratitude was therefore very manifest in thus adopting vain and impious hopes; for they thus dishonored God, and distrusted his power, as though he was not sufficient to preserve them. It now follows—

Calvin: Jer 13:26 - -- He continues the same subject, — that God did not deal with his people with so much severity without the most just cause; for it could not be expec...

He continues the same subject, — that God did not deal with his people with so much severity without the most just cause; for it could not be expected that he should treat them with more gentleness, since they rejected him and had recourse to vain confidences. I also, he says; for the particle גם , gam, denotes something mutual, as though he had said, “I also will have my turn; for I have it in my power to avenge myself: I will retaliate,” he seems to say, “this thine ingratitude; for as thou hast despised me, so will I expose thee to reproach and shame.” For God was shamefully despised by the Jews, when they substituted the Egyptians and their idols in his place: they could not have done him more dishonor than by transferring his glory to the ungodly and to their own figments. We hence see that there is an emphasis in the particle also, I will also make bare, or discover, thy skirts on thy face; that is, I will cast thy skirts on thy face. 100

This mode of speaking often occurs in the Prophets; and as I have elsewhere explained, it means the uncovering of the uncomely parts: it is as though a vile woman was condemned to bear the disgrace of being stripped of her garments and exposed to the public, that all might abhor a spectacle so base and disgraceful. God, as we have before seen, assumed the character of a husband to his people: as then he had been so shamefully despised, he now says, that he had in readiness the punishment of casting the skirts of his people over their faces, that their reproach or baseness might appear by exposing their uncomely parts. It then follows —

Calvin: Jer 13:27 - -- Here the Prophet explains at large what I have before stated, — that the people were justly punished by God, though very grievously, because they h...

Here the Prophet explains at large what I have before stated, — that the people were justly punished by God, though very grievously, because they had provoked God, not at one time only, but for a long time, and had obstinately persisted in their evil courses. Moreover, as their sins were various, the Prophet does not mention them all here; for we have seen elsewhere, that they were not only given to superstitions, but also to whoredoms, drunkenness, plunders, and outrages; but here he only speaks of their superstitions, — that having rejected God, they followed their own idols. For by adulteries he no doubt means idolatries; and he does not speak here of whoredom, which yet prevailed greatly among the people; but he only condemns them for having fallen away into ungodly and false forms of worship. To the same thing must be referred what follows, thy neighings; for by this comparison, we know, is set forth elsewhere, by way of reproach, that furious ardor with which the Jews followed their own inventions. The word indeed sometimes means exultation; for the verb צהל , tsel, is to exult; but here, as in Jer 5:0 it signifies neighing.

He then says, Thy adulteries and thy neighings, etc. Now this is far more shameful than if he had said thy lusts, for by this comparison we know their crime was enhanced, because they were not merely inflamed by a violent natural lust, such as adulterers feel towards strumpets, but they were like horses or bulls: Thy adulteries then and thy neighings; and he adds, the thought of thy whoredom, etc. The word זמת , zamet, is to be taken here for thought, and this is its proper meaning. It is indeed taken sometimes in a bad sense; but the Prophet, I have no doubt, meant here to wipe off a color with which the Jews painted themselves; for they said that they intended to worship God, while they accumulated rites which were not. prescribed in the law. The Prophet therefore condemns them here as being within full of unchastity, as though he had said, “I do not only accuse you of open acts of wickedness, but ye burn also within with lust, for impiety has taken such hold on all your thoughts, that God has no place at all in you; ye are like an unchaste woman, who thinks of nothing but of her filthy lovers, and goes after her adulterers: ye are thus wholly given up to your whoredoms.

Some read the words by themselves and put them in the nominative case, Thy adulteries and thy neighings, and the thought of thy whoredom on the mountains;” and then they add, “In the field have I seen thine abominations.” But I prefer to take the whole together, and thus to include all as being governed by the verb ראיתי , I have seen; “Thy adulteries and thy neighings, the thought of thy whoredom on the mountains in the field have I seen, even thy abominations.” The last word is to be taken in apposition with the former words. But the Prophet introduces God here as the speaker, that the Jews might not seek evasions and excuse themselves. He therefore shews that God, whose proper office it is to examine and search the hearts of men, is the fit Judge. 101

He mentions hills and field. Altars, we know, were then built on hills, for they thought that God would be better worshipped in groves; and hence there was no place, no wood, and even no tree, but that they imagined there was something divine in it. This is the reason why the Prophet says, that their abominations were seen by God on the hills as well as on the plains. And he adds fields, as though he had said, that the hills did not suffice them for their false worship, by which they profaned the true worship of God, but that the level fields were filled with their abominations.

We now then perceive the meaning of what is here said, that the Jews in vain tried to escape by evasions, since God declares that he had seen them; as though he had said, “Cease to produce your excuses, for I will allow nothing of what ye may bring forward, as the whole is already well known by me.” And he declares their doings to be abominations, and also adulteries and neighings.

At length he adds, Woe to thee, Jerusalem! The Prophet here confirms what we have before observed, that the Jews had no just ground of complaint, for they had provoked God extremely. Hence the particle woe intimates that they were now justly given up to destruction. And then he says, Will they never repent? But this last part is variously explained; and I know not whether it can today be fully expounded. I will however briefly glance at the meaning.

Jerome seems to have read אחרי , achri, “after me,” “Wilt thou not then return after me?” as though God here intended to exhort the Jews to return at length to him, as he was ready to be reconciled to them. But as it is simply אחרי , achri, and he may have read without the points, I do not wish to depart from what is commonly received. There is further a difficulty in the words which follow, for interpreters vary as to the import of the words מתי עד , mati od, “how long yet?” In whatever sense we may take the words, they are sufficient to confute the opinion of Jerome, which I had forgotten to mention, because the malediction in that case would be improper and without meaning, “Woe to thee, Jerusalem, wilt thou not be made clean after me?” for what can this mean? It is therefore necessary so to read as to include all the words in the sentence, “Wilt thou not hereafter or at length be made clean?” Some, however, read the words affirmatively, “Thou shalt not be cleansed hereafter,” as though it was said, “Thou shalt not be cleansed until I first drive thee into exile.” But this meaning is too refined, as I think. I therefore take the words in their simple form, Wilt thou not at length be made clean? how long yet? as though God again reproved the hardness of the people, as indeed he did reprove it. Hence he says, “Wilt thou not at length be made clean?” for I take אחרי , achri, as meaning “at length.” Then follows an amplification, מתיעד , mati od, “how long yet?” 102 that is, “Wilt thou never make an end? and can I not at length obtain this from thee, since I have so often exhorted thee, and since thou seest that I make no end of exhorting thee? how long yet shall thy obstinacy continue, so that I cannot subdue thee by my salutary admonitions?” This is the meaning.

Defender: Jer 13:23 - -- God has ordained reproduction only "after his kind" (Gen 1:25), and neither environment nor heredity can change that. Just so, only a miraculous regen...

God has ordained reproduction only "after his kind" (Gen 1:25), and neither environment nor heredity can change that. Just so, only a miraculous regeneration can change man's heart and nature."

TSK: Jer 13:18 - -- unto : Jer 22:26; 2Ki 24:12, 2Ki 24:15; Eze 19:2-14; Jon 3:6 Humble : Exo 10:3; 2Ch 33:12, 2Ch 33:19, 2Ch 33:23; Mat 18:4; Jam 4:10; 1Pe 5:6 sit : Isa...

TSK: Jer 13:19 - -- cities : Jer 17:26, Jer 33:13; Jos 18:5; Eze 20:46, Eze 20:47 shut : Deu 28:52; Job 12:14 Judah : Jer 39:9, Jer 52:27; Lev 26:31-33; Deu 28:15, Deu 28...

TSK: Jer 13:20 - -- and : Jer 1:14, Jer 6:22, Jer 10:22; Hab 1:6 where : Jer 13:17, Jer 23:2; Isa 56:9-12; Eze 34:7-10; Zec 11:16, Zec 11:17; Joh 10:12, Joh 10:13; Act 20...

TSK: Jer 13:21 - -- wilt : Jer 5:31, Jer 22:23; Isa 10:3; Eze 28:9 punish : Heb. visit upon for : 2Ki 16:7; Isa 39:2-4 shall not : Jer 4:31, Jer 6:24, Jer 30:6, Jer 48:41...

wilt : Jer 5:31, Jer 22:23; Isa 10:3; Eze 28:9

punish : Heb. visit upon

for : 2Ki 16:7; Isa 39:2-4

shall not : Jer 4:31, Jer 6:24, Jer 30:6, Jer 48:41; Isa 13:8, Isa 21:3; 1Th 5:3

TSK: Jer 13:22 - -- if : Deu 7:17, Deu 8:17, Deu 18:21; Isa 47:8; Zep 1:12; Luk 5:21, Luk 5:22 Wherefore : Jer 5:19, Jer 16:10,Jer 16:11 the greatness : Jer 2:17-19, Jer ...

TSK: Jer 13:23 - -- Ethiopian : Jer 2:22, Jer 2:30, Jer 5:3, Jer 6:29, Jer 6:30, Jer 17:9; Pro 27:22; Isa 1:5; Mat 19:24-28 accustomed : Heb. taught, Jer 9:5

Ethiopian : Jer 2:22, Jer 2:30, Jer 5:3, Jer 6:29, Jer 6:30, Jer 17:9; Pro 27:22; Isa 1:5; Mat 19:24-28

accustomed : Heb. taught, Jer 9:5

TSK: Jer 13:24 - -- will : Lev 26:33; Deu 4:27, Deu 28:64, Deu 32:26; Eze 5:2, Eze 5:12, Eze 6:8, Eze 17:21; Luk 21:24 as : Jer 4:11, Jer 4:12; Psa 1:4, Psa 83:13-15; Isa...

TSK: Jer 13:25 - -- thy lot : Job 20:29; Psa 11:6; Isa 17:4; Mat 24:51 because : Jer 2:13, Jer 2:32; Deu 32:16-18; Psa 9:17, Psa 106:21, Psa 106:22 trusted : Jer 7:4-8, J...

TSK: Jer 13:26 - -- Jer 13:22; Lam 1:8; Eze 16:37, Eze 23:29; Hos 2:10

TSK: Jer 13:27 - -- thine adulteries : Jer 2:20-24, Jer 3:1, Jer 3:2, Jer 5:7, Jer 5:8; Eze 16:15-22, 23:2-21; Hos 1:2, Hos 4:2; 2Co 12:21; Jam 4:4 abominations : Jer 2:2...

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Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: Jer 13:18 - -- The queen - i. e., "the queen-mother:"the word signifies literally "the great lady."The king’ s mother took precedence of his wives. ...

The queen - i. e., "the queen-mother:"the word signifies literally "the great lady."The king’ s mother took precedence of his wives.

Sit down - The usual position of slaves.

For your principalities ... - Rather, "for the ornaments of your heads, even the crown of your majesty, shall come down."

Barnes: Jer 13:19 - -- Shall be shut up - Rather, "are shut up, and no man openeth them."The cities of the Negeb, the southern district of Judah, are blockaded, with ...

Shall be shut up - Rather, "are shut up, and no man openeth them."The cities of the Negeb, the southern district of Judah, are blockaded, with no one to raise the siege. The captivity was the inevitable result of the capture of the fortified towns. An army entering from the north would march along the Shefelah, or fertile plain near the seacoast, and would capture the outlying cities, before it attacked Jerusalem, almost inaccessible among the mountains.

Judah shall be ... - Translate, "Judah is ..."

Barnes: Jer 13:20 - -- Jerusalem is asked where the cities, which once lay grouped round her, like a goodly flock of sheep, are gone? The question implies blame.

Jerusalem is asked where the cities, which once lay grouped round her, like a goodly flock of sheep, are gone? The question implies blame.

Barnes: Jer 13:21 - -- Translate, "What wilt thou say, O Jerusalem, when He, Yahweh, shall set over thee for head those whom thou hast taught to be thy bosom friends?"The ...

Translate, "What wilt thou say, O Jerusalem, when He, Yahweh, shall set over thee for head those whom thou hast taught to be thy bosom friends?"The foreign powers, whose friendship she has been courting, will become her tyrants.

Barnes: Jer 13:22 - -- Made bare - Rather, "ill-used, treated with violence."The long flowing robes worn by ladies of rank, are to be laid aside, that they might do m...

Made bare - Rather, "ill-used, treated with violence."The long flowing robes worn by ladies of rank, are to be laid aside, that they might do menial work, bare-legged, like slaves. The ill-usage to the heels is the having to tramp barefoot, a thing very painful to women accustomed to the seclusion of the female apartments.

Barnes: Jer 13:23 - -- This verse answers the question, May not Judah avert this calamity by repentance? No: because her sins are too inveterate. By the Ethiopian (Hebrew:...

This verse answers the question, May not Judah avert this calamity by repentance? No: because her sins are too inveterate. By the Ethiopian (Hebrew: Cushite) is meant not the Cushite of Arabia but of Africa, i. e., the negro.

Barnes: Jer 13:24 - -- Stubble - Broken straw separated from the wheat after the grain had been trampled out by the oxen. Sometimes it was burned as useless; at other...

Stubble - Broken straw separated from the wheat after the grain had been trampled out by the oxen. Sometimes it was burned as useless; at other times left to be blown away by the wind from the desert.

Barnes: Jer 13:25 - -- The portion of thy measures - i. e., "thy measured portion"Job 11:9. Others render it: "the portion of thy lap,"the upper garment being constan...

The portion of thy measures - i. e., "thy measured portion"Job 11:9. Others render it: "the portion of thy lap,"the upper garment being constantly used for holding things Rth 3:15.

In falsehood i. e - in idols (see the marginal reference).

Barnes: Jer 13:26 - -- Therefore will I - literally, "And I also;"I also must have my turn, I too must retaliate. Compare Nah 3:5.

Therefore will I - literally, "And I also;"I also must have my turn, I too must retaliate. Compare Nah 3:5.

Barnes: Jer 13:27 - -- And thine abominations - " Even thy abominations."The prophet sums up the three charges against Judah, namely, spiritual adultery, inordinate ea...

And thine abominations - " Even thy abominations."The prophet sums up the three charges against Judah, namely, spiritual adultery, inordinate eagerness after idolatry (see the note at Jer 5:7 note), and shameless participation in pagan orgies.

In the fields - " in the field,"the open, unenclosed country (see Jer 6:25; Jer 12:4).

Wilt thou not ... once be? - " Or, how long yet ere thou be made clean!"These words explain the teaching of Jer 13:23. Repentance was not an actual, but a moral impossibility, and after a long time Judah was to be cleansed. It was to return from exile penitent and forgiven.

Poole: Jer 13:18 - -- The author of holy writ is discernible by this as by other things, that the Scripture equally speaks to the greatest persons as to persons of meaner...

The author of holy writ is discernible by this as by other things, that the Scripture equally speaks to the greatest persons as to persons of meaner rank. God here calls to the king of Judah, whether it was at this time Jehoiakim, or his son Jehoiachin, is uncertain. By

principalities he means both their dignity and their liberty, that which he often calleth the crown of their glory. Some expound it head-tires , because the word deriveth from a word which signifies the head.

Poole: Jer 13:19 - -- Either the cities of Judah which lay southward from Chaldea, and therefore their enemies in the next verse are said to come from the north, and this...

Either the cities of Judah which lay southward from Chaldea, and therefore their enemies in the next verse are said to come from the north, and this great evil is said to have come from the north; or (as some would have it) the cities of Egypt, which lay yet more southward, so as the Egyptians should neither come with sufficient force to raise the siege, nor should there be any sanctuary or refuge for them in Egypt, but they should certainly be wholly carried into captivity.

Poole: Jer 13:20 - -- He speaks to them as if their enemy was even then upon their march, that if they did but look they might see him coming. Where is the flock that wa...

He speaks to them as if their enemy was even then upon their march, that if they did but look they might see him coming.

Where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock? the prophet either speaks to the king, or to the rulers, or chief of the congregation of Judah. Pro 14:28 , In the multitude of the people is the king’ s honour . So in the multitude of subjects, or of members, lies much of the honour of a church or state.

Poole: Jer 13:21 - -- That is, thou wilt have nothing to say, but be wholly confounded and ashamed when God shall visit thee with this sore judgment, or when Nebuchadnezz...

That is, thou wilt have nothing to say, but be wholly confounded and ashamed when God shall visit thee with this sore judgment, or when Nebuchadnezzar’ s army sent by God shall visit thee; for thou, either by thy commerce and trading with them, or by thy so often calling them to thy assistance, or by thy idolatry borrowed from them, and other nations, hast taught them to be captains over thee; thy sorrows and affliction will come upon thee suddenly and terribly, as pain cometh upon a woman in travail; yea, and as certainly also.

Poole: Jer 13:22 - -- Hypocrites will rarely confess their own shame and God’ s righteousness, but are ready to expostulate and dispute with God, and to call him to ...

Hypocrites will rarely confess their own shame and God’ s righteousness, but are ready to expostulate and dispute with God, and to call him to account why he hath dealt so with them, as if God had dealt unjustly. But (saith God) if thou shouldst have any such thoughts in thine heart, do but remember thine iniquities, how many and how great they have been, thy nakedness is discovered because of these, and for these thou art exposed to contempt and shame. Probably these phrases are fetched from the usual practice of soldiers, when they have conquered a place and taken prisoners, to strip them, and leave those of either sex, either no clothes to cover their nakedness, or nothing but their own rags, not sufficient to cover their nakedness. By skirts is meant the lower part of their bodies covered with the lower part of their garments.

Poole: Jer 13:23 - -- In the Hebrew it is, Can the Cushite & c.? from whence it is well concluded, as learned men judge, that the Ethiopians are of the posterity of Cush...

In the Hebrew it is,

Can the Cushite & c.? from whence it is well concluded, as learned men judge, that the Ethiopians are of the posterity of Cush the son of Ham, brother to Mizraim, the father of the Egyptians, Gen 10:6 . For these were the only people of old noted for their black colour in Scripture, as the Ethiopians are now. God showeth that the Jews by their continued customary sinning had so inured themselves to wicked practices, that it was as much labour in vain to endeavour to reclaim them, as to go about to wash a blackamoor, or to take out the natural spots of the beasts called leopards .

Poole: Jer 13:24 - -- The words denote a great and clear dispersion, like that of the scattering of stubble by a fierce wind.

The words denote a great and clear dispersion, like that of the scattering of stubble by a fierce wind.

Poole: Jer 13:25 - -- This is what thou shalt have at the Lord’ s hand, the dispensation which thou shalt meet with, and thou mayest thank thyself for it; for hadst ...

This is what thou shalt have at the Lord’ s hand, the dispensation which thou shalt meet with, and thou mayest thank thyself for it; for hadst thou remembered either my former kindness to thee, or the law that I gave thee, this had not come unto thee; but thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in lies, or in idle, vain, and presumptuous hopes, therefore I have given thee but a just lot, and measured to thee a just measure.

Poole: Jer 13:26 - -- Therefore I will expose thee to all manner of shame and contempt, without any regard to thy honour. Those that honour God, God will honour, but thos...

Therefore I will expose thee to all manner of shame and contempt, without any regard to thy honour. Those that honour God, God will honour, but those that despise and dishonour him shall not be able to maintain their own honour.

Poole: Jer 13:27 - -- Some think the prophet here reflects upon them for their corporal adulteries, and their madness upon them, which he compareth to the neighings of ...

Some think the prophet here reflects upon them for their corporal adulteries, and their madness upon them, which he compareth to the

neighings of horses; but those words

on the hills in the fields in the next clause seem to inform us that he means here only their idolatries, which are in holy writ often compared to adulteries, which are the greatest sins in their kind, the greatest violations of the marriage covenant, and provocations of persons in conjugal relation, and the only cause of lawful divorce. He concludes with pathetical interrogations, intimating that yet there was hope if they would reform; and though. giving over their case almost as desperate, and not knowing what would not be, yet he leaves no means untried, but asks them if it was not yet time, or when such a thing might be hoped for at their hands.

Haydock: Jer 13:18 - -- Queen; Nohesta, mother of Joachim, or to the consort of Sedecias. (Calmet) --- Septuagint, "to the princes." (Haydock)

Queen; Nohesta, mother of Joachim, or to the consort of Sedecias. (Calmet) ---

Septuagint, "to the princes." (Haydock)

Haydock: Jer 13:19 - -- South, belonging to Juda; (Calmet) or Egypt will afford no protection. (Tournemine) (Chap. xxxvii. 3, 10.)

South, belonging to Juda; (Calmet) or Egypt will afford no protection. (Tournemine) (Chap. xxxvii. 3, 10.)

Haydock: Jer 13:20 - -- North: ye Chaldeans. (Haydock) --- Hebrew and Septuagint, "see those who come." --- Cattle. O king, what account wilt thou give of the people to...

North: ye Chaldeans. (Haydock) ---

Hebrew and Septuagint, "see those who come." ---

Cattle. O king, what account wilt thou give of the people to the Almighty? (Calmet)

Haydock: Jer 13:21 - -- Head. Achaz called the Assyrians into the country, and Ezechias had shewn his treasures to the Babylonians. Other kings excited God's indignation.

Head. Achaz called the Assyrians into the country, and Ezechias had shewn his treasures to the Babylonians. Other kings excited God's indignation.

Haydock: Jer 13:22 - -- Defiled. Thou art exposed to the brutality of the soldiers.

Defiled. Thou art exposed to the brutality of the soldiers.

Haydock: Jer 13:23 - -- Evil. Bad habits are a sort of second nature. I speak in vain. (Calmet) --- Yet God sometimes converts inveterate sinners, who cannot rise of the...

Evil. Bad habits are a sort of second nature. I speak in vain. (Calmet) ---

Yet God sometimes converts inveterate sinners, who cannot rise of themselves. (Worthington)

Haydock: Jer 13:26 - -- Appeared. Thou art treated as a wretched and vile captive. (Haydock)

Appeared. Thou art treated as a wretched and vile captive. (Haydock)

Haydock: Jer 13:27 - -- Me; to serve me. (Menochius)

Me; to serve me. (Menochius)

Gill: Jer 13:18 - -- Say unto the king, and to the queen,.... Jehoiachin, and his mother Nehushta, as it is generally interpreted by the Jewish commentators, and others; w...

Say unto the king, and to the queen,.... Jehoiachin, and his mother Nehushta, as it is generally interpreted by the Jewish commentators, and others; who, with many princes and officers, were carried captive into Babylon, 2Ki 24:12 or rather Zedekiah and his wife; since the captivity after threatened is a perfect and complete one, which Jehoiachin's was not:

humble yourselves, sit down; or, "sit down humbled" d; come down from your thrones, and sit in the dust; humble yourselves before the Lord for your own sins, and the sins of the people; in times of general corruption, and which threatens a nation with ruin, it becomes kings and princes to set an example of repentance, humiliation, and reformation; though it may be this is rather a prediction of what would be, that they should descend from their throne, and lose their grandeur, and be in a low and abject condition, than an exhortation to what was their duty; since it follows:

for your principalities shall come down; their royal state and greatness, and all the ensigns of it; and especially such as they had upon their heads, as the word used denotes, and as the following explanation shows:

even the crown of your glory; or glorious crown, which should fall from their heads, or be taken from them, when they should be no more served in state, or treated as crowned heads.

Gill: Jer 13:19 - -- The cities of the south shall be shut up, and none shall open them,.... Meaning the cities of Judah, which lay in the southern part of the land of Isr...

The cities of the south shall be shut up, and none shall open them,.... Meaning the cities of Judah, which lay in the southern part of the land of Israel, and to the south of Babylon; which might be said to be shut up, and not in the power of any to open, when besieged by the Chaldean army; or rather when destroyed, that there were none to go in and out; though some think the cities of Egypt are intended, which lay south of Judea, from whence the Jews should not have the relief they expected, and where they should find no refuge; but the former sense seems best:

Judah shall be carried away captive all of it; it was in part carried away in Jehoiachin's time, and wholly in Zedekiah's; which seems to be here respected:

it shall be wholly carried away captive; or, in perfections e; most perfectly and completely; the same thing is meant as before, only in different words repeated, to express the certainty of it.

Gill: Jer 13:20 - -- Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north,.... There are a Keri and a Cetib of the words "lift up" and "behold"; they are written in...

Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north,.... There are a Keri and a Cetib of the words "lift up" and "behold"; they are written in the singular number, and may be considered as directed to the king, as the words following are; and they are read in the plural number, the state and whole body of the people being called upon to observe the Chaldean army, which came from the north; and is represented as on the march, just at hand to invade, besiege, take, and carry them captive. The Septuagint version renders it, "lift up thine eyes, O Jerusalem"; and the Arabic version, "O Israel: where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?" that is, the people, as the Targum interprets it, which were committed to the care and charge of the king, as sheep into the hands of a shepherd; and were a fine body of people, chosen of God and precious, distinguished above all others by wholesome and righteous laws and statutes, and special privileges; a people who were a kingdom of priests, a holy nation, and a peculiar people, the glory of the whole earth; but now carried, or about to be carried, captive. It is no unusual thing to represent a king as a shepherd, and his people as a flock, guided, governed, and protected by him, and who is accountable for his trust to the King of kings; see Psa 78:71.

Gill: Jer 13:21 - -- What will thou say when he shall punish thee?.... Or, "visit upon thee" f; that is, either when God shall punish thee for thy sins, thou canst bring n...

What will thou say when he shall punish thee?.... Or, "visit upon thee" f; that is, either when God shall punish thee for thy sins, thou canst bring no charge of injustice against him, or murmur and repine at the punishment inflicted on thee; so Jarchi; to which agrees the Targum,

"when he shall visit on thee thy sin;''

or else, to which the following words seem to incline, when the enemy shall visit upon thee; so Kimchi and Abarbinel, when the Chaldeans shall come upon thee, and pay thee a visit, an unwelcome one; yet who wilt thou have to blame but thyself? so the Septuagint and Arabic versions render it, "when they shall visit thee"; these words are directed, not to the king, nor to the queen neither; but to the body of the people, the Jewish state, represented as a woman; who, upon consideration of things past, would have a great deal of reason to reflect upon themselves for what they had done in former times, which had led on to their ruin and destruction:

(for thou hast taught them to be captains, and as chief over thee;) the Jews showed the Assyrians the way into their country, used them to come thither, and taught them how to conquer them, and be masters over them; or, "hast taught them against thee" g; to thy hurt and detriment, to be captains or governors;

for an head, to have the rule over them: this was done by Ahaz, when he sent to Tiglathpileser king of Assyria to come and save him out of the hands of the kings of Syria and Israel, 2Ki 16:7 and by Hezekiah, when he showed the messengers of the king of Babylon all his treasures; these were invitations and temptations to come and plunder them:

shall not sorrows take thee as a woman in travail? denoting the suddenness of their calamities; the sharpness and severity of them; and that they would be inevitable, and could not be prevented.

Gill: Jer 13:22 - -- And if thou say in thine heart,.... Not daring to express it with the mouth; and which, notwithstanding, God, that knows the heart, was privy to, and ...

And if thou say in thine heart,.... Not daring to express it with the mouth; and which, notwithstanding, God, that knows the heart, was privy to, and could discern all the secret workings of it; putting such a question as this:

wherefore come these things upon me? all these calamities, the invasion and siege of the enemy, famine, sword, captivity, &c.: the answer returned is,

for the greatness of thine iniquity; the enormous crimes the Jews were guilty of, such as idolatry, blasphemy, &c. which were attended with aggravated circumstances: or, "for the multitude of thine iniquity" h; their sins being so many, as well as great:

are thy skirts discovered, and thy heels made bare; being obliged to walk naked and barefoot, their buttocks uncovered, and their legs and feet naked, without stockings or shoes, as captives used to be led, to their great shame and disgrace; see Isa 20:2. The phrases are expressive of captivity, and the manner of it; the cause of which was the greatness and multitude of their sins. The Targum is,

"because thy sins are multiplied, thy confusion is revealed, thy shame is seen.''

Gill: Jer 13:23 - -- Can the Ethiopian change his skin?.... Or, "the Cushite"; either, as the Arabic version, the "Abyssine", the inhabitant of the eastern Ethiopia; prope...

Can the Ethiopian change his skin?.... Or, "the Cushite"; either, as the Arabic version, the "Abyssine", the inhabitant of the eastern Ethiopia; properly an Ethiopian, as the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions render it; or, the "Chusean Arabian"; the inhabitant of Arabia Chusea, which was nearer Judea than the other Ethiopia, and better known, and which were of a dark complexion. The Targum renders it, the Indian; and so does the Syriac version. In the Misna i mention is made of Indian garments, with which the high priest was clothed on the day of atonement; upon which the gloss k is, that they were of linen of the country of India; and which is the land of Cush (or Ethiopia), as Jonathan Ben Uzziel interprets Jer 13:23.

"can the Cushite, the Indian, change his skin?''

and it is highly probable, that, in the time of Jeremiah, no other India was known by the Jews but Ethiopia, or Arabia Chusea, and no other black people but the inhabitants thereof, or any other than the Arabians; and, as Braunius l observes, it need not be wondered at, that with the Jews, in those times, Ethiopia and India should be reckoned the same country; when with the ancients, whatever was beyond the Mediterranean sea, as Arabia, Ethiopia, and even Judea itself, was called India; so Joppa, a city of Phoenicia, from whence Andromeda was fetched by Perseus, is by Ovid m said to be in India; so Bochart n interprets the words of the Saracens or Arabians, who are of a swarthy colour, and some black; and indeed have their name from the same word the raven has, which is black; and particularly the inhabitants of Kedar were black, one part of Arabia, to which the allusion is in Son 1:5. Jarchi interprets the word here by "the moor", the blackamoor, whose skin is naturally black, and cannot be changed by himself or others; hence to wash the blackamoor white is a proverbial expression for labour in vain, or attempting to do that which is not to be done:

or the leopard his spots? a creature full of spots, and whose spots are natural to it; and therefore cannot be removed by any means. Some think a creature called "the ounce", or "cat-a-mountain" is meant, whose spots are many, and of a blackish colour; but the description well agrees with the leopard, which is a creature full of spots, and has its name in the eastern languages, particularly the Chaldee and Arabic, from a word o which signifies "spotted", "variegated", as this creature is; so the female is called "varia" by Pliny p, because, of its various spots; and these spots are black, as the Arabic writers in Bochart q. The word here used signifies such marks as are made in a body beat and bruised, which we call black and blue; hence some render it "livid", or black and blue spots r; and these marks are in the skin and hair of this creature, and are natural to it, and cannot be changed; and it is usual with other writers s to call them spots, as well as the Scripture:

then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil; signifying that they were naturally sinners, as blackness is natural to the Ethiopian, and spots to the leopard; and were from their birth and infancy such, and had been so long habituated to sin, by custom founded upon nature, that there was no hope of them; they were obstinate in sin, bent upon it, and incorrigible in it; and this is another reason given why the above calamities came upon them. The metaphors used in this text fitly express the state and condition of men by nature; they are like the Ethiopian or blackamoor; very black, both with original and actual sin; very guilty, and very uncomely; and their blackness is natural to them; they have it from their parents, and by birth; it is with them from their infancy, and youth upwards; and very hard and difficult to be removed; it cannot be washed off by ceremonial ablutions, moral duties, evangelical ordinances, or outward humiliations; yea, it is impossible to be removed but by the grace of God and blood of Christ. Their sins are aptly compared to the leopard's spots, which are many and natural, and difficult to get clear off. What is figuratively expressed in the above metaphors is more plainly signified by being "accustomed" or "taught to do evil" t; which denotes a series and course of sinning; a settled habit and custom in it, founded on nature, and arising from it; which a man learns and acquires naturally, and of himself, whereby he becomes void of fear and shame; and there is a good deal of difficulty, and indeed a moral impossibility, that such persons should "do good": nothing short of the powerful and efficacious grace of God can put a man into a state and capacity of doing good aright, from right principles to right ends, and of continuing in it; for there is no good in such men; nor have they any true notion of doing good, nor inclination to it, nor any ability to perform it: in order to it, it is absolutely necessary that they should first be made good men by the grace of God; that they should be regenerated and quickened by the Spirit of God; that they should be created in Christ Jesus unto good works, and have faith in him; all which is by the grace of God, and not of themselves.

Gill: Jer 13:24 - -- Therefore will I scatter them as the stubble that passeth away,.... Because of their many sins, and continuance in them, their habits and custom of si...

Therefore will I scatter them as the stubble that passeth away,.... Because of their many sins, and continuance in them, their habits and custom of sinning, they are threatened with being carried captive into other nations, where they should be dispersed and separated one from another, which would make their state and condition very uncomfortable; and this would be as easily and as swiftly done as the light stubble which is blown away by every puff of wind; nor would they be able any more to resist the enemy, and help themselves, than the stubble is to stand before the wind; as follows:

by the wind of the wilderness; which blows freely and strongly; so the Chaldean army is compared to a dry wind of the high places in the wilderness, even a full wind that should scatter and destroy, Jer 4:11; or, "to the wind of the wilderness" u; and so may denote the wilderness of the people, or the land of Babylon, whither they should be carried captive, and from whence the wind should come that should bring them thither. Kimchi and Ben Melech make mention sea wilderness between Jerusalem and Babylon, as what may be intended.

Gill: Jer 13:25 - -- This is thy lot,.... Meaning not the king's, or the queen's only, but the lot of the whole Jewish state: the portion of thy measures from me, saith...

This is thy lot,.... Meaning not the king's, or the queen's only, but the lot of the whole Jewish state:

the portion of thy measures from me, saith the Lord; which were divided and distributed, and measured out to them by the Lord, who appointed these calamities to befall them, and brought them upon them, and that in righteous judgment. The Targum is,

"and the portion of thine inheritance;''

who, instead of having the land of Canaan for their inheritance, to which the allusion is, and of which they boasted, the land of Babylon was assigned them, not to be possessors of it, but captives in it; and instead of having God to be their portion and inheritance, they were banished from him, and this was but righteous measure; they had measure for measure:

because thou hast forgotten me; their Maker and Benefactor; the goodness he had shown them, the mercies and benefits he had bestowed upon them; or, "my law", as the Arabic version; or, "my worship", as the Targum; therefore he forgot them, took no notice of them, hid his face from them, and gave them up into the hands of their enemies:

and trusted in falsehood; either in the Egyptians and Assyrians, who deceived them; or in their idols, which were falsehood and lying vanities, and could not help them.

Gill: Jer 13:26 - -- Therefore will I discover thy skirts upon thy face,.... Turn them up, or throw them over the head or face; that is, expose to public shame and disgrac...

Therefore will I discover thy skirts upon thy face,.... Turn them up, or throw them over the head or face; that is, expose to public shame and disgrace; which was done when their city and temple were burnt, and they were carried captive; hence it follows:

that thy shame may appear; that their sins might appear to themselves and others, of which they had reason to be ashamed. The allusion is to the treatment which captive women sometimes meet with, or adulterous women, to which the Jews are here compared. The Targum is,

"and I also will reveal the confusion of thy sin upon thy face, and thy shame shall be seen.''

Gill: Jer 13:27 - -- I have seen thine adulteries,.... Not literally such, though they were greatly guilty of that sin; but figuratively, their idolatries: thy neighing...

I have seen thine adulteries,.... Not literally such, though they were greatly guilty of that sin; but figuratively, their idolatries:

thy neighings; expressive of their strong desires after other gods, like that of adulterers and adulteresses after one another; and both which are like the neighing of horses. Kimchi thinks this designs their rejoicing in their evil works:

the lewdness of thy whoredom; their sinful thoughts, and wicked desires, which were continually after their idols and idolatrous practices:

and thine abominations on the hills in the fields; their idols, which were abominable to God, and ought to have been so to them; and which they placed on high hills, and there worshipped them; all which were seen and known by the Lord, nor could it be denied by them; and this was the reason of their being carried captive, and therefore could not complain they had been hardly dealt with; yea, notwithstanding all this, the Lord expresses a tender and compassionate concern for them:

woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! sad will be thy case, dreadful are the calamities coming upon thee, unless thou repentest:

wilt thou not be made clean? wilt thou show no concern, land make use of no means to be cleansed, nor seek for it, where it is to be had? neither repent of sin, nor reform from it, nor seek to God for his grace, signified by clean water; or to the blood of Christ, the fountain opened, which cleanses from it:

when shall it once be? some instances there were of it in the times of Christ and his apostles; but it will not be completely done until they seek the Lord, and his Christ, and fear him, and his goodness, in the latter day; when they shall turn unto him, and all Israel shall be saved; or, "thou wilt not be cleansed after a long time" w; this the Lord foresaw, and therefore pronounces her case sad and miserable.

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Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Jer 13:18 The translation follows the common emendation of a word normally meaning “place at the head” (מַרְאֲ&#...

NET Notes: Jer 13:19 The statements are poetic exaggerations (hyperbole), as most commentaries note. Even in the exile of 587 b.c. not “all” of the people of J...

NET Notes: Jer 13:20 Heb “the sheep of your pride.” The word “of your people” and the quotes around “sheep” are intended to carry over ...

NET Notes: Jer 13:21 Heb “Will not pain [here = mental anguish] take hold of you like a woman giving birth.” The question is rhetorical expecting a positive an...

NET Notes: Jer 13:22 The translation has been restructured to break up a long sentence involving a conditional clause and an elliptical consequential clause. It has also b...

NET Notes: Jer 13:23 Heb “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? [Then] you also will be able to do good who are accustomed to do evil.” T...

NET Notes: Jer 13:24 Compare the threat using the same metaphor in Jer 4:11-12.

NET Notes: Jer 13:26 Heb “over your face and your shame will be seen.” The words “like a disgraced adulteress” are not in the text but are supplied...

NET Notes: Jer 13:27 See Jer 4:13, 31; 6:4; 10:19 for usage, and the notes on 4:13 and 10:19.

Geneva Bible: Jer 13:18 Say to the ( g ) king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down, [even] the crown of your glory. ( g ) F...

Geneva Bible: Jer 13:19 The cities of ( h ) the south shall be shut up, and none shall open [them]: Judah shall be carried away captive all of it, it shall be wholly carried ...

Geneva Bible: Jer 13:20 Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north: where [is] the ( i ) flock [that] was given thee, thy beautiful flock? ( i ) He asks the...

Geneva Bible: Jer 13:21 What wilt thou say when he shall punish thee? for thou hast ( k ) taught them [to be] captains, [and] as chief over thee: shall not sorrows take thee,...

Geneva Bible: Jer 13:22 And if thou shalt say in thy heart, Why come these things upon me? For the greatness of thy iniquity are thy skirts ( l ) uncovered, [and] thy heels m...

Geneva Bible: Jer 13:26 Therefore will I uncover thy skirts upon thy face, ( m ) that thy shame may appear. ( m ) As your iniquities have been revealed to all the world, so ...

Geneva Bible: Jer 13:27 I have seen thy adulteries, and thy ( n ) neighings, the lewdness of thy harlotry, [and] thy abominations on the hills in ( o ) the fields. Woe to the...

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Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Jer 13:1-27 - --1 By the type of a linen girdle, hidden at Euphrates, God prefigures the destruction of his people.12 Under the parable of the bottles filled with win...

Maclaren: Jer 13:23 - --An Impossibility Made Possible Can the Ethiopian change his skin?'--Jer. 13:23. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.'--2 Cor. 5:17. Behold,...

MHCC: Jer 13:18-27 - --Here is a message sent to king Jehoiakim, and his queen. Their sorrows would be great indeed. Do they ask, Wherefore come these things upon us? Let th...

Matthew Henry: Jer 13:12-21 - -- Here is, I. A judgment threatened against this people that would quite intoxicate them. This doom is pronounced against them in a figure, to make it...

Matthew Henry: Jer 13:22-27 - -- Here is, I. Ruin threatened as before, that the Jews shall go into captivity, and fall under all the miseries of beggary and bondage, shall be strip...

Keil-Delitzsch: Jer 13:18-21 - -- The fall of the kingdom, the captivity of Judah, with upbraidings against Jerusalem for her grievous guilt in the matter of idolatry. - Jer 13:18....

Keil-Delitzsch: Jer 13:22 - -- This will befall the daughter of Zion for her sore transgressions. Therefore will she be covered with scorn and shame. The manner of her dishonour, ...

Keil-Delitzsch: Jer 13:23-24 - -- Judah will not escape this ignominious lot, since wickedness has so grown to be its nature, that it can as little cease therefrom and do good, as an...

Keil-Delitzsch: Jer 13:25-27 - -- In Jer 13:25 the discourse draws to a conclusion in such a way that, after a repetition of the manner in which Jerusalem prepares for herself the do...

Constable: Jer 2:1--45:5 - --II. Prophecies about Judah chs. 2--45 The first series of prophetic announcements, reflections, and incidents th...

Constable: Jer 2:1--25:38 - --A. Warnings of judgment on Judah and Jerusalem chs. 2-25 Chapters 2-25 contain warnings and appeals to t...

Constable: Jer 11:1--13:27 - --The consequences of breaking the covenant chs. 11-13 This section provides an explanatio...

Constable: Jer 13:18-19 - --A lament over the king and the queen mother 13:18-19 13:18 Jeremiah was to tell the king and the queen mother of Judah to humble themselves because th...

Constable: Jer 13:20-27 - --Jerusalem's incurable wickedness 13:20-27 13:20 The Lord called Jerusalem to look north and she would see people coming.238 The city was about to lose...

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Introduction / Outline

JFB: Jeremiah (Book Introduction) JEREMIAH, son of Hilkiah, one of the ordinary priests, dwelling in Anathoth of Benjamin (Jer 1:1), not the Hilkiah the high priest who discovered the ...

JFB: Jeremiah (Outline) EXPOSTULATION WITH THE JEWS, REMINDING THEM OF THEIR FORMER DEVOTEDNESS, AND GOD'S CONSEQUENT FAVOR, AND A DENUNCIATION OF GOD'S COMING JUDGMENTS FOR...

TSK: Jeremiah 13 (Chapter Introduction) Overview Jer 13:1, By the type of a linen girdle, hidden at Euphrates, God prefigures the destruction of his people; Jer 13:12, Under the parable ...

Poole: Jeremiah (Book Introduction) BOOK OF THE PROPHET JEREMIAH THE ARGUMENT IT was the great unhappiness of this prophet to be a physician to, but that could not save, a dying sta...

Poole: Jeremiah 13 (Chapter Introduction) CHAPTER 13 In the type of a linen girdle God prefigureth their destruction, Jer 13:1-11 . Under the parable of bottles filled with wine, is foretol...

MHCC: Jeremiah (Book Introduction) Jeremiah was a priest, a native of Anathoth, in the tribe of Benjamin. He was called to the prophetic office when very young, about seventy years afte...

MHCC: Jeremiah 13 (Chapter Introduction) (Jer 13:1-11) The glory of the Jews should be marred. (Jer 13:12-17) All ranks should suffer misery, An earnest exhortation to repentance. (Jer 13:1...

Matthew Henry: Jeremiah (Book Introduction) An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah The Prophecies of the Old Testament, as the Epistles of the New, are p...

Matthew Henry: Jeremiah 13 (Chapter Introduction) Still the prophet is attempting to awaken this secure and stubborn people to repentance, by the consideration of the judgments of God that were com...

Constable: Jeremiah (Book Introduction) Introduction Title The title of this book derives from its writer, the late seventh an...

Constable: Jeremiah (Outline) Outline I. Introduction ch. 1 A. The introduction of Jeremiah 1:1-3 B. T...

Constable: Jeremiah Jeremiah Bibliography Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed. London: C...

Haydock: Jeremiah (Book Introduction) THE PROPHECY OF JEREMIAS. INTRODUCTION. Jeremias was a priest, a native of Anathoth, a priestly city, in the tribe of Benjamin, and was sanct...

Gill: Jeremiah (Book Introduction) INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH The title of the book in the Vulgate Latin version is, "the Prophecy of Jeremiah"; in the Syriac and Arabic versions, "the...

Gill: Jeremiah 13 (Chapter Introduction) INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 13 In this chapter, under the similes of a girdle and bottles of wine, the destruction of the Jews is set forth. Some exho...

Advanced Commentary (Dictionaries, Hymns, Arts, Sermon Illustration, Question and Answers, etc)


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