This chapter gives an account of the covenant God had made with the people of the Jews; their breach of it; and the evils threatened them on that account; and particularly against the men of Anathoth, for their ill treatment of the prophet.

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying. ] Here seems to begin a new prophecy; but when it was, and under what reign, and what time between this and the former, is not known; however, it was from the Lord, and so to be regarded.

Hear ye the words of this covenant Which. Dr. Lightfoot understands of the covenant lately made in the times of Josiah, upon finding and reading the law of Moses, , but it seems rather to design the law of Moses itself; or the covenant made with the people of Israel on Mount Horeb, (Ex. 24:7, Ex.

And say thou unto them This shows that the command of publishing the law or covenant was, however, principally given to Jeremiah: thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel; that made them, and brought them out of Egypt, and made a covenant with them, and had taken care of them, and had bestowed many…

Which I commanded your fathers To observe and keep: in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt: that is, quickly after, when they were in the wilderness, and before they came into the land of Canaan.

That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: to give them a land flowing with milk and honey: that is, abounding with plenty of all kind of provisions; see : as it is this day; the land of Canaan continued to those times a very fruitful country; it was…

Then the Lord said unto me Again; for this is a repetition of the above order: proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: with a loud voice, and openly, that all may hear: saying, hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them; which their forefathers…

For I earnestly protested unto your fathers Or “witnessing, witnessed” [[6]]; testified his great affection for them; importunately solicited their observation of his precepts for their good; and strictly cautioned them against neglect and disobedience: the day that I brought them out of the land…

Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear Though they had such strong solicitations and fair warnings, and these repeated again and again; all which was an aggravation of their disobedience and stubbornness: but walked everyone in the imagination of their evil heart; which is desperately wicked,…

And the Lord said unto me After he had given him the order to publish and proclaim the words of the covenant, and exhort to obedience to them; he showed the prophet the reason of it, and opened to him a secret he was not acquainted with: a conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the…

They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, &c.] According to Kimchi, this prophecy was delivered out in the times of Jehoiakim. There had been a reformation in the reign of Josiah, but now they had rebelled against the Lord, and had returned to their former idolatries that had…

Therefore thus saith the Lord, behold, I will bring evil upon them The evil of punishment for the evil of their sins, such as famine, the sword, captivity, which latter is the evil more especially designed; and there is no evil of this nature but what is of God; it is of his sending and bringing;…

Then shall the cities of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem That is, the inhabitants of the cities of Judah, as well as the inhabitants of the city of Jerusalem; the former being in distress through the enemy being in their land, as well as the latter besieged by him: go and cry unto the gods…

For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah (See Gill on Jer. 2:28), and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem; of which there were many, and some of note [[8]]: have ye set up altars to that shameful thing, even altars to burn incense unto Baal; one of whose…

Therefore pray not thou for this people If for a remnant among them, yet not for the body of the people; and if for their spiritual and eternal good, yet not for their temporal salvation; their temporal ruin was certain; the decree was gone forth, and there was no revoking it; and this is said, not…

What hath my beloved to do in mine house These are either the words of the prophet, as Kimchi and Ben Melech think, speaking after this manner; what has God, who is my beloved, he whom my soul loves, and who loves me, to do in the sanctuary, which is my house, and not this people’s, that have…

The Lord called thy name a green olive tree That is, compared the Jewish church and people to one, and made them as one, very prosperous and flourishing in the enjoyment of privileges, civil and religious, being highly favoured with the word and ordinances: fair, and of goodly fruit; which, for a…

For the Lord of hosts that planted thee As a green olive tree, and gave thee all thy verdure, fruitfulness, happiness, and prosperity; when he first put thee into the possession of the good land, and distinguished thee by so many favours and blessings; as he is able to take them away, so he will:…

And the Lord hath given me knowledge of it Either of what he had been declaring as the sins of these people; and of what he had been prophesying concerning punishment for their sins; what he had said was not of himself, did not arise from any pique or resentment in him against them; but it was of…

But I was like a lamb, or an ox The word “alluph”, rendered an ox, is by many considered as an adjective to the word lamb [[12]]; since the disjunctive particle or is not in the next; and is differently translated; by the Vulgate Latin version, “as a meek or tame lamb”; by the Septuagint and Arabic…

But, O Lord of hosts, that judgest righteously This is the prophet’s appeal to God, as the Judge of the whole earth, who will do right; he found there was no justice to be done him among men; he therefore has recourse to a righteous God, who he knew judged righteous judgment: that triest the reins…

Therefore thus saith the Lord of the men of Anathoth That is, “unto”, or “concerning the men of Anathoth”, the townsmen of Jeremiah, and who were the persons that combined together to destroy him; of this place, (See Gill on Jer.

Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, behold, I will punish them . Or, visit “them” [[16]]; look into this matter, try this cause, bring it to an issue, and pass sentence on them; which is as follows: the young men shall die by the sword; by the sword of the Chaldeans, in the field, going out in…

And there shall be no remnant of them And thus the measure they meted out to the prophet was measured to them; they devised to destroy him root and branch, the tree with its fruit; and now none shall be left of them; such who escaped the sword and the famine should be carried captive, as they were;…