This chapter contains an account of Jeremiah’s imprisonment, and the cause of it; of his buying a field of his uncle’s son, and the design of it; of his prayer to God, and of the answer returned to him. The time of his imprisonment, the place where, and the reasons of it, are observed in Jer.

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord The word of prophecy, as the Targum, concerning Jeremiah’s buying the field of his uncle’s son, ; and concerning the delivery of the city of Jerusalem into the hands of the Chaldeans, ; and the return of the captivity, ; in the tenth year of Zedekiah…

For then the king of Babylon’s army besieged Jerusalem And had done so for some time; for the siege began in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, ; and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah’s house; which…

For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up In prison, at least in the court of the prison; he had given orders for his imprisonment, which were executed, and it was the same as if he had done it himself; the reason of which was, as follows: saying, wherefore dost thou prophesy, and say, thus saith…

And Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans This is a continuation of the prophecy of Jeremiah, repeated by the king to him, and which concerns himself more especially; who, upon the taking of the city, would endeavour to make his escape, as he did; but should not…

And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon As he did in chains, from Riblah, where he was brought unto him after he was taken, endeavouring to make his escape, (Jer. 52:8, Jer. 52:9, Jer.

And Jeremiah said, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying. ] Not that he said this to Zedekiah; but the prophet, after the above preface, returns to declare what the word of the Lord was, which came to him at the time before mentioned.

Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee Hilkiah, the father of Jeremiah, and this Shallum, were own brothers; so that Jeremiah and Hanameel were brothers’ sons, or own cousins: this coming of Hanameel to Jeremiah being a contingent event, with respect to second causes,…

So Hanameel mine uncle’s son came unto me Freely and voluntarily, of his own accord; though it was determined he should, as it was predicted he would; for God’s decrees do not infringe the liberty of the will: this man came from Anathoth, very probably, to Jerusalem, to the place where the prophet…

And I bought the field of Hanameel mine uncle’s son; that was in Anathoth The prophet agreed with his cousin to take his field of him, at a certain price hereafter mentioned; which may seem strange in one that was a poor prophet, now a prisoner, and the land just going to be subject to the…

And I subscribed the evidence Or, “wrote in a book” [[19]]; the instrument or bill of sale, the deed of purchase; which described the field sold, and expressed the condition on which the purchase was made; and by subscribing it he agreed to it, and laid himself under obligation to perform it: and…

So I took the evidence of the purchase The deed of purchase, the book or bill of sale, the instrument of the bargain, as before mentioned: both that which is sealed, according to the law and custom; which was both sealed by the buyer and seller, and was sealed up, and not to be looked into by…

And I gave the evidence of the purchase Both that which was sealed and that which was open; both the original and the copy; or the whole, as signed, sealed, and witnessed: unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah; this Baruch, as appears from other places in this book, was one that…

And I charged Baruch before them Before his kinsman, the witnesses of the deed, and the Jews that were in the court: saying, as follows:

Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel The order to do the following is ushered in in this solemn manner, partly that Baruch might more strictly observe it, and act according to it; and partly that the persons before whom it was given might take the greater notice of it, and believe that there was…

For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel Who is the Lord God Almighty, and can do what he pleases; and is the covenant God of his people, and therefore will do them good by all his providences in the issue of things: houses, and fields, and vineyards, shall be possessed in this land; or…

Now when I had delivered the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah When he had finished his worldly business, and which yet was by a divine order, and to answer a divine purpose, then he betook himself to prayer; and it is proper we should be quite free from worldly cares and…

Ah Lord God! &c.] Which the Vulgate Latin version repeats three times, “Ah, ah, ah”, as being greatly distressed with the trouble that was coming upon his people; and, it may be, not without some doubts and temptations about their deliverance; or, at least, was pressed in his mind with the…

Thou showest lovingkindness unto thousands Not to thousands of persons only, but to a thousand generations, even such that love, fear, and serve him; see ; this is very properly added, for the further strengthening of faith; for though the omnipotence of God assures us that there is nothing but…

Great in counsel, and mighty in word Counsel belongs to him, and he does all things after the counsel of his will, all things in nature, providence, and grace; and such a display of his wisdom is there in all, that show him to be excellent in counsel; to excel all others; not only to be great, but…

Which hast set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, even unto this day The prophet here descends to particular instances of the power, wisdom, and goodness of God; and begins with the miracles wrought in Egypt, the plagues inflicted on the Egyptians for refusing to let Israel go; these were set…

And hast brought forth thy people Israel of the land of Egypt As he promised Abraham, some hundreds of years before, that they should come out from thence; and where they had been as bondsmen, though they were the Lord’s peculiar people, whom he had chose for himself above all people, and therefore…

And hast given them this land, which thou didst swear to their fathers to give them Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; so that God was faithful to his word, kept his covenant and oath; and the faithfulness of God is observed and acknowledged by the prophet, along with other perfections of God before taken…

And they came in and possessed it After forty years travel in the wilderness; they entered into it with Joshua at the head of them, and the Lord with them; giving victory over the Canaanites, who were soon subdued; and the Israelites with little trouble settled in their land, which was divided to…

Behold, the mounts, they are come unto the city, to take it, &c.] These were ramparts or batteries, that were erected against the city, the more easily to annoy it: some take them to be engines from which they cast out stones; and others suppose them to be battering rams, used to break down the…

And thou hast said to me, O Lord God Or, “O Lord God, yet thou hast said to me” [[1]]; notwithstanding this is the case, the country all around is in the hand of the enemy, and the city is as good as delivered up to them, yet thou hast given me such orders, as follows: buy thee a field for money,…

Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah This is an answer to the prophet’s prayer, and particularly to the latter part of it; showing the consistency of the destruction of the city with his purchase of a field, and with God’s promise of fields and vineyards being purchased and possessed again;…

Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh Jehovah, the self-existent Being, that gives being to all creatures; and is particularly the God of all men, the Maker and Preserver of them, and that provides for them; who are called “flesh”, to denote their weakness and corruption, how unworthy of the…

Therefore thus saith the Lord, behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans As he had foretold by the prophet, and was just now going to be fulfilled.

And the Chaldeans, that fight against this city, shall come, &c.] Or rather “shall enter”, as Aquila renders it; for they were come to it already, and were fighting against it, battering the walls, and throwing in their arrows, and putting to the sword such as came out, or were within their reach:…

For the children of Israel and the children of Judah The former are mentioned, as well as the latter, though they had been carried captive some years ago, to justify the dealings of God with them; and besides, there were some of the ten tribes that remained, and were mingled with the tribes of…

For this city hath been tame as a provocation of mine anger and of my fury Or, “upon mine anger, and upon my fury this city was to me” [[7]]; that is, it was upon his heart, and in his mind and purpose, being provoked to anger and wrath by their sins, to have destroyed it long ago, though he had…

Because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah His anger and fury were because of their sins, and so his carrying them captive: which they have done to provoke me to anger; which was done, as if they had done it on purpose to provoke him; and which was done, not by a…

And they have turned unto me the back, and not the face When he reproved them for their sins; called them to repentance; instructed them in their duty; and warned them of the dangers they exposed themselves to; instead of turning the face to him, as scholars to their masters, and as subjects to…

But they set their abominations Their idols, which were abominable to the Lord, and ought to have been so to them: these they placed in the house (which is called by my name), to defile it; in the temple; as by Ahaz, Manasseh, and others: see .

And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom Or “the high places of that Baal [[9]], which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom”; to distinguish him from other Baalim; and who seems to be the same with Molech after mentioned; and the signification of their…

And now therefore thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city Here begins the confirmation of the other part of the prophecy concerning the return of the Jews to their city and country, when they should again buy and possess fields and vineyards; which was thought impossible,…

Behold, I will gather them out of all countries At the end of the seventy years’ captivity; and which will have a greater accomplishment in the latter day, when the Jews shall be converted, and gathered from their present dispersion all over the earth: whither I have driven them in mine anger, and…

And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. ] A comprehensive summary of the covenant of grace, which shall be made known to the Jews at the time of their conversion, and the blessings of it applied to them, and bestowed on them; though now a “loammi”, , is written upon them; see (Jer.

And I will give them one heart and one way “One” and the same heart; the same heart to one as to another; gracious souls, truly converted persons, be they Jews or Gentiles, have the same experience; they have all, more or less, a sight and sense of sin, and the evil of it; are brought off of their…

And I will make an everlasting covenant with them Which is made known and manifest at conversion; when the grace of it is applied; the blessings of it bestowed; and the promises of it made good; and therefore said to be made; for otherwise the covenant of grace here spoken of was made from all…

Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good His covenant people, to whom he gives one heart and one way, and who have his fear implanted in them, and shall never depart from him, but persevere to the end: these he loves with a love of complacency and delight; he rejoices over them, not as…

For thus saith the Lord, like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people The Chaldean army now besieging them, the famine and pestilence among them, as well as their captivity, which was just at hand and certain: so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them; in the…

And fields shall be bought in this land After the return from the Babylonish captivity, which this respects; and of which the prophet’s purchasing a field of his uncle’s son was a pledge and token; in doing which, as a right thing, he is confirmed; as well as the cavils and objections of the Jews…

Men shall buy fields for money They shall have plenty of money, and they shall lay it out in land, and carry on husbandry, cultivate the ground, which had lain long untilled, but now should be manured for public as well as private good.