The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah
Jeremiah 29
Chapter XXIX · Vol. III, pp. 1266–1268
1 Jeremiah sendeth a letter to the captives in Babylon, to be quiet there, 8 and not to believe the dreams of their prophets, 10 and that they shall return with grace after seventy years. 15 He foretelleth the destruction of the rest for their disobedience. 20 He showeth the fearful end of Ahab and Zedekiah, two lying prophets. 24 Shemaiah writeth a letter against Jeremiah. 30 Jeremiah readeth his doom.
1 Now1 these are the words of athe letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of bthe elders which were carried away captives, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon,2
B.C. cir. 598 or 596.
1 This letter seems to follow ch. xxiv., being the second of the prophecies delivered in the early part of Zedekiah's reign.—C.
a 1 Th.3.2,3. Ro.i. to Jude. Re.ii.iii.
b ch.26.8,10,16,17;24.1-7. 2 Ki.24.12-16.
2 The object of Jeremiah in writing this letter was to counteract the evil influence of false prophets who had accompanied the exiles to Babylon. They held out hopes of speedy deliverance, and thus excited discontent and even rebellion, which would have entailed severe punishment. Jeremiah was commissioned to tell them the truth, so that they might not feel disappointment, and that they might submit calmly to their lot.—P.
2 (After that Jeconiah3 the king, and the queen, and the eunuchs,4 the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the carpenters, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem.)
3 Or Jehoiachin, or Coniah, 2 Ki.24.12-16. 2 Ch.36.10. ch.22.24-28;27.20;28.4;34.19;26.16,17.
4 Or, chamberlains.
3 By the hand of Elasah the son of cShaphan, and dGemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent5 unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,) saying,
c ch.26.24; 39.14. 2 Ki.22.12.
d 2 Ki.22.8, not ch.36.10.
5 Sent to renew his promises of fidelity, ch.27.3,12.
4 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom eI have caused6 to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon,
e ch.24.5;25.9. Is.5.5; 10.5;59.1,2;45.7. Am.3.6.
6 God had neither 'caused' the sin of Israel—for 'God is not tempted of evil, neither tempteth he any man'—nor the ambition of Nebuchadnezzar, nor the cruelties of his armies; but he had judicially sentenced Israel to deserved judgment, and he overruled the monarch of Babylon to carry it into execution.—C.
6 Takeh ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; iand take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished.
7 And seek7 the peace8 of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.
A.M. cir. 3406 or 3408. B.C. cir. 598 or 596.
7 Da.4.27;6.5. Ezr.6.10. 1 Ti.2.1,2. But they might plead for its future ruin, Ps.137.8,9.
8 Seventy years are appointed for you, therefore acknowledging your sins, submit humbly and patiently to the will of the Lord; and, instead of disturbing the city of your habitation, labour to promote its peace and prosperity, as the only course in which the God of peace will bless you, ver.14.—C.
8 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, jLet not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.
9 For they prophesy falsely9 unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the LORD.
9 Heb. in a lie.
10 For thus saith the LORD, That after seventyk years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, land perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.
k 2 Ch.36.21-23. Ezr.1.1,2. ch.25.12; 27.7,22. Da.9.2. Zec.7.5. Is.23.15,17.
l ch.32.42-44.
11 For I know nthe thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an oexpected end.1
n Is.55.8-13; xl.-lii.liv.-lxvi. ch.iii.xxx.xxxi.xxxiii. Eze.xxxiv.-xlviii. Ps.40.5; 136.23;106.5.
o La.3.26.
1 Heb. end and expectation.
14 Andt I will be found of you, saith the LORD; and uI will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.
u Ps.126.1,4. ch.23.3-8;16.14,15;3.14-23; 24.5-7; xxx.xxxi.xxxiii.; 32.36-44;46.27,28; 50.4,5,19,20,28,34; 51.6,10; 45.50; ver.11. Eze.11.17-20; 20.34-44; 29.25,26; xxxiv.xxxvi.xxxvii.xl.-xlviii. Am.9.14. Mi.4.12. Zep.3.20.
15 Because2 ye have said, The LORD hath raised us up vprophets in Babylon;3
2 Because ye hearken to your false prophets at Babylon, as if ye needed no other, ch.28.1; ver.21,24.
v Eze.1.1,3. ver.8,21. 2 Pe.2.1.
3 The Septuagint, which is followed by some eminent commentators, removes this verse, and places it between ver.20 and 21. But there appears no authority of MSS. for such violence: nor does the change seem at all admissible, as the address seems necessary to introduce the prediction that follows concerning the king and the remnant that were still living in Jerusalem, and of whose permanence and prosperity Hananiah had certainly, and the other false prophets had most probably, been prophesying.—C.
16 Know that xthus saith the LORD of the king that sitteth upon the throne of David, and of all the people that dwelleth in this city, and of your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity;
x ch.24.8-10; 22.22; 34.17-22;35.13-17;38.2,3,23;26.6; see on ch.25.9. Eze.iv.-ix.xiv.-xxiv.
17 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.
18 And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, yand will deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be4 a curse, and an astonishment, and an hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them:
19 Becausez they have not hearkened to my words, saith the LORD, which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but ye would not hear, saith the LORD.
z ch.6.19;7.13,24,26; 25.3,4,7; 26.5; 32.33;34.17;35.14-16;16.31; 44.4,5. Zec.7.11-13.
20 Heara ye, therefore, the word of the LORD, all ye of the captivity, whom bI have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon:
21 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, of Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, cwho prophesy a lie unto you in my name, Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he shall slay them before your eyes;
22 And of them shall be taken up da curse by all the captivity of Judah which are in Babylon, saying, The LORD make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon eroasted in the fire;5
d ch.24.9. Is.65.15, with Ge.48.20. Ru.4.11.
e Ge.38.24. Le.20.14; 21.9. Da.3.6,21.
5 This may have been either as a capital punishment for some moral or political crime; or it may have been as a sacrifice to Baal. Such punishments and sacrifices have been common in many nations; and, till within a few years, Protestants, under the name of heretics, were frequently 'roasted in the fire' by the Inquisition in Spain. Alas! alas! that such atrocities should be perpetrated in name of the God of mercy and the Prince of peace!—C.
23 Because they ghave committed villany in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours' wives, and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them; heven I know, and am a witness, saith the LORD.
g ch.23.14,21. Zep.3.4. Eze.22.25,28.
25 Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because thou hast isent letters in thy name unto all the people that are at Jerusalem, and to jZephaniah7 the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, saying,
* Zephaniah was the second priest, and Seraiah high-priest, when Jerusalem was taken, ch.52.24. Shemaiah directs his letter to the former, and tells him, that as next to the high-priest, he might, with others, punish all false prophets, or confine them; and he presses him to do so by Jeremiah, on account of the letter he had sent to Babylon. Seraiah is supposed by some to be also called Jehoiada. Zephaniah reading Shemaiah's letter to Jeremiah, he foretells his destruction and that of his whole race.—I.
7 See note * in first column.
j ch.21.1;52.24;37.3; ver.29. 2 Ki.25.18.
26 The LORD hath made thee priest in the stead of kJehoiada the priest, that ye should be officers in the house of the LORD, for every man that is lmad,8 and maketh himself a prophet, nthat thou shouldest put him in prison, and in the stocks.
8 Since our Lord was accused of being mad, no one need be surprised that Jeremiah under the Old Testament, and Paul under the New, should both have been so calumniated, Jn.10.20. Ac.26.24. And, as it is easier to invent a falsehood than to answer an argument; and, as many will at all times be found more willing to listen to an evil report than patiently to examine evidence; and, as in true religion there must be many things strange to the ears, and above the apprehension of worldly men, the continuance of such calumnies and accusations, down to the present time, cannot excite the wonder of any acquainted with the world and its ways; with the malice and the wiles of Satan and his emissaries.—C.
l 2 Ki.9.11. Ho.9.7. Ac.26.24. Jn.10.20. ch.20.1,2.
n ch.38.6;28.2. 2 Ch.18.26.
27 Now, therefore, why hast thou not oreproved pJeremiah of Anathoth, which qmaketh himself a prophet to you?
28 For therefore he sent unto us in Babylon, saying, rThis captivity is long: build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
r ver.5,10.
29 And sZephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet.
s ch.21.1; 37.3; 52.24. 2 Ki.25.18. ver.25.
30 Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying,
31 Sendt to all them of the captivity, saying, Thus saith the LORD concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite, uBecause that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, and I sent him not, and he caused you to trust in a lie;
t ver.20.
u ch.28.15,16. 2 Pe.2.1. ver.9,23; ch.14.14,15; 23.21,32; 6.12; 5.31.
32 Therefore thus saith the LORD, vBehold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed: he shall not have a man to dwell among this people; neither shall he behold the good that I will do for my people, saith the LORD; becausex he hath taught rebellion9 against the LORD.
v Eze.18.4. Ro.2.8,9. Ex.20.5. Is.14.20-22. Am.7.17. ch.20.6; 17.6. Job 15.33,34; 18.17.
x ch.28.16.
9 Heb. revolt.
Notes
Reflections.—Letters of seasonable comfort or advice are a service to God and his church. Though God correct his people, he never breaks his promise with them. And the view of God as our God, and the appointer of our troubles, tends greatly to render us patient under them. In every condition we ought to make the best of what we have, though we should be far from having all we wish. They who behave meekly and quietly often meet with better treatment from strangers than they expected. And whatever hardships we have to endure in a country, we should pray for its welfare. When people love to be deceived, they readily find flatterers to their ruin. But they who trust the promises of God shall never be disappointed. No difficulties can hinder the execution of his purposes, or fulfilment of his promises, beyond the due time. And his promises should excite, not supersede, our earnest prayers. By prayer we go forth to meet the accomplishment of promises. And it is when our supplications are fervent, cordial, and persevering, that we may expect gracious returns. Alas! how often men mistake the messengers, the preachers, and prophets of Satan, for those of Jesus Christ, and credit them as such! But they who flatter men in sin are undoubtedly false prophets. And if men make themselves vile by their sins, God, in just judgment, will render them vile in their sufferings. If evil clergymen indulge themselves in secret wickedness, let them not wonder if God render them base before all the people on earth, and eternally lost in hell. They who would be faithful to souls, may expect to be treated by their unfaithful brethren as deceivers or madmen: persecuting zeal, under pretence of regard to the honour of God, will extend its murderous influence to the utmost; and very often church power is employed in tormenting her best friends. But God often renders those friendly to his faithful servants of whom it could scarcely have been expected; while their persecutors are quickly overwhelmed with ruin; and they that would not wait the due season of God's favours, lose their share in them.