Jer. 25 Their disobedience to the prophets reproved, Jer. 25:1–7. The seventy years of captivity foretold, Jer. 25:8–11; and after that the destruction of Babylon, Jer. 25:12–14. By a cup of wine is fore shown the destruction of all nations, Jer. 25:15–33. The howling of the shepherds, Jer.

The fourth year of Jehoiakim was seven years and odd months before Jeconiah or Jehoiachin his son was carried into captivity, as appears from 2 Kings 23:36, 2 Kings 24:8, 2 Kings 24:15, and eighteen years before the taking of the city, and the more general captivity; which argueth that this…

That is, the word concerned them all, and he spake it to so many of them as he met with in any public assembly at Jerusalem or elsewhere.

We read, Jer. 1:2, that Jeremiah began to prophesy in the thirteenth year of Josiah. Josiah reigned thirty-one years, 2 Kings 22:1; so that taking in the thirteenth year, Jeremiah prophesied nineteen years during the life of Josiah, to which adding the four of Jehoiakim’s reign, it maketh…

Nor am I the only prophet whom the Lord hath sent you, and whom you have neglected and despised; God hath sent you many more, and you have despised as many as he hath sent, though the Lord hath made it his business to send you one after another from time to time.

The substance both of their and my sermons hath been to persuade you to leave off those sinful courses wherein you have lived, and which you might have amended by virtue of that common grace which I did not deny you.

Gods; idols, which indeed are no gods, but so called by idolaters. To serve them, and to worship them; to pay any divine homage unto them. And provoke me not to anger by idols, which are the work of men’s hands (no uncreated beings).

Ye heard me and other the Lord’s prophets thus speaking to you, but you did not obey and hearken. As if you had done it on purpose to incense me against you, who am of myself slow to wrath, and must be provoked to execute vindictive justice by men’s own wicked works; which do not otherwise affect…

That is, because you have not hearkened to and obeyed my words; for it is manifest they had heard Jeremiah and the other prophets.

I will put it into the heart of all those kings whose territories lie northward of Judea, and particularly into the heart of Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, who in this work shall be my servant; though you will not be my servants in obeying my commands, yet he shall serve me, Jer. 27:6, Jer.

I will take away all your mirth and jollity, whether used at weddings, or at any of your merry meetings; I will leave you nothing to rejoice in; your very wedding times shall be times of mourning and lamentation.

This prophecy is a famous prophecy in regard of its fixing the particular space of time in which the Jews abode in the captivity of Babylon, viz. seventy years.

When seventy years are accomplished; seventy years accounted from the time that the Jews were carried away in the time of Jeconiah or Jehoiachin, 2 Kings 24:15–16. This was fulfilled by Darius the king of Persia, Dan. 4:31.

That land; the land of the Babylonians and Chaldeans.

God threateneth the destruction of that monarchy by the Persians, according to the prophecy of this prophet, and declareth that their destruction was of themselves, God did but recompense unto them their own deeds, and the works of their hands; which is not to be restrained to their excesses in…

God’s judgments are often in Scripture expressed under the notion of a cup of hot and intoxicating drink, and their suffering is set out under the notion of drinking such a cup, as Ps. 75:8, Job 21:20, Isa. 51:17, Ps. 11:6, Ps. 60:3, Lam. 4:21, Ezek. 23:32, Ezek. 23:34.

Whether they will or no, they shall drink it, and be disturbed, and be mad, and rage like men overcome with wine, because of those dreadful judgments which I shall send amongst them.

That is, in the vision; for it cannot be thought that the Lord made the prophet to travel up and down to all the nations afterward named with a cup of wine in his hand.

Judgment usually beginneth at the house of God, 1 Pet. 4:17. God hath more known them and done them more good than other people, therefore their sins are higher provocations, and they are less excusable.

The Egyptians being that people whom the Jews most trusted to for help, are named as the first to whom the prophet was sent with the wine-cup of God’s fury, to let the Jews know, that if they trusted to them, their confidence was vain; for they should themselves be destroyed, which was fulfilled…

It is of no great moment to determine whether God by the mingled people, here mentioned, intended the various nations afterwards particularly expressed by their names, or some people that were not native Egyptians, but lived mingled with them, or some other people of several nations who lived near…

The Edomites were the posterity of Esau the son of Isaac, to whom God had given a land which they inherited, and he would not suffer the Israelites to make their way through them by force, when they denied them a passage through their country; now he threatens their ruin, as also Jer.

Tyrus was a strong city upon the borders of the tribe of Asher, Josh. 19:29, 2 Sam. 24:7, a very rich city, and a kingdom, with the king of which (who was Hiram) Solomon in his time traded much, 2 Chron. 2:3. Isaiah prophesied its ruin, Jer. 23:1; so did Ezekiel, Ezek.

We read of a Dedan the issue of Ham, Gen. 10:7. The other the posterity of Abraham by Jokshan, Gen. 25:3. It seemeth to be a city of Idumea, Jer. 49:8. Tema descended from Ishmael, Gen. 25:15; his posterity inhabited in Arabia, Isa. 21:14, where they are joined with those of Dedan.

All the kings of Arabia; there were several kings in Arabia, 2 Chron. 9:14. All the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert; people of several nations that were got together in the desert, and had made to themselves several kings or chief rulers.

All the kings of Zimri; those descended from Zimran, Abraham’s son by Keturah, Gen. 25:2 (the Zamarens, as some think, mentioned by Pliny). By the Elamites are meant the Persians, descended from Shem, Gen. 10:22. Elam is also mentioned Isa. 22:6, Jer. 49:34.

All the kings of the north, far and near; all under the government of the Chaldeans, or (as others) all those princes that have dominions between the north and east.

The meaning of these two verses is no more than this; God let Jeremiah in a vision know that it was his will that he should prophesy a certain and unavoidable ruin to all these nations, which was brought upon all the rest by the king of Babylon, whom God made his instrument to execute his vengeance…

By the city called by his name, or upon which his name was called, he means Jerusalem, elsewhere called the holy city. The apostle, 1 Pet. 4:17, speaketh much to this purpose, The time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God; and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them…

Reveal my will unto them presently, to revenge myself upon them, in words to this sense or purpose; tell them that I, who hitherto have been toward them as a lamb, will now be to them as a lion; so Joel 3:16, Amos 1:2, Amos 3:8; and, as a lion, will roar from heaven; for though the temple be…

There shall be such confusion, and noises as shall ring over all the world; for God’s quarrel is not against the Jews only, but other nations also. Nor will he in any thing he doth act unjustly; if they will join issue with him, he will plead with them, and make it appear to all that he acteth…

It is much the same thing which was said before, only repeated for the greater terror in a variety of expressions. He tells them that the judgment should be like a contagion, going from one nation to another, or like a fire catching hold of another house before the first is burned down, like a…

That those who should be slain by commission from the Lord in this time of his judgments should be in all places, and so numerous, that there should be none left to lament for or to bury the dead; but the dead bodies should lie and rot upon the surface of the earth, and be as muck to it.

Shepherds, and the principal of the flock, are in this place of the same significancy, by both he means the civil rulers; so the word is used Jer. 22:22, Jer. 23:1. These he calls aforehand to bewail their fate; for the days were now come when they should be slain and scattered.

In ordinary dispensations of judgment, there is some way left to escape, and if there be any way of escape, great men are likeliest to find it; but he telleth them that the greatest men should find no way to flee from or escape this terrible dispensation of God.

That is, there shall be heard a great outcry of the princes and rulers, when they shall see how the Lord hath spoiled the cities in which, and their people upon which, they have lived, and amongst whom they were wont to feed securely.

That is, the places where these great men were wont to live splendidly, and dwell peaceably and securely, shall be as surely destroyed, through the Lord’s anger, as if it were already done.

God had before compared himself to a lion, Jer. 25:30; here he declares himself to be about to move like a lion, who when he goeth out to seek his prey, leaveth his covert: see Jer. 50:44.