Bible Commentaries

Isaiah 43:19 — 19.Behold, I do a new thing. This shews more clearly what the Prophet meant in the preceding verse, for he declares that there shall be “a new work,” that is, a work unheard of and uncommon, and which, on account of its greatness and excellence,

Isaiah 43:3 — throwing over him a bridle, suddenly checked him, and entangled him by other wars, so that he was constrained to withdraw his army; and thus the Egyptians and Ethiopians were signally defeated, while the people of God were allowed to breathe. (2 Kings 19:28; Isaiah 37:8.) We too may readily acknowledge, if we are not worse than stupid, that the same providence and infinite mercy of God have been manifested toward us, when tyrants who would have wished to destroy us, and who joined in opening their

Isaiah 45:9 — 9.and10.Wo to him that striveth with his Maker! This passage is explained in various ways. Some think that it refers to King Belshazzar, who, as is evident from Daniel, haughtily defied God, when he profaned the vessels of the Temple. (Daniel 5:3.) But that

Isaiah 49:7 — remarkable passage, from which we learn how firmly we ought to believe God when he speaks, though he does not immediately perform what he has promised, but permits us to languish, and to be afflicted for a long time. To the contemptible in the soul. בזה (bezo) is rendered by some commentators “contempt,” and by others “contemptible,” which I prefer. (3) It heightens the wretchedness of that nation, that “in the soul,” that is, in their own estimation,

Isaiah 59:16 — 16.He saw that there was no man. Isaiah continues the same subject, but expresses more, and relates more fully what he had briefly noticed; for what he said in the preceding verse, that “it displeased the Lord that there was no judgment,”

Isaiah 64:4 — harm, seeing that God bestows on his worshippers benefits of every kind. Paul appears to explain this passage differently, and to torture it to a different purpose, and even quotes it in different words, that is, because he followed the Greek version. (1 Corinthians 2:9.) In this respect the Apostles were not squeamish; for they paid more attention to the matter than to the words, and reckoned it enough to draw the attention of the reader to a passage of Scripture, from which might be obtained what

Isaiah 66:1 — 1.This saith Jehovah. This discourse is different from the preceding one; for here the Prophet exclaims against the Jews, who, puffed up with vain confidence in the sacrifices and the temple, indulged freely in their pleasures, and flattered themselves

Jeremiah 10:8 — because God is thus misrepresented; for what can be in a wood or stone that is like the infinite power of God, or his incomprehensible essence and majesty? Men, therefore, offer a serious affront to God when they thus deform him, as Paul also in Romans 1:25, says, — that the truth was thus changed into falsehood, that is, when he is supposed to have anything like to what external and dead figures have; as the same Paul further reasons in Acts 17:29, when he says, Do ye think that God is like to

Jeremiah 11:5 — the Israelites: but when he says, that he would be their God and they his people, the promise of eternal life and of celestial glory is included, according to what is said elsewhere, that he is not the God of the dead but of the living. (Matthew 22:31) And we must ever bear in mind what is said by the Prophet Habakkuk, “Thou art our God, we shall not die.” (Habakkuk 1:12) God then promised to the Israelites something far greater than the possession of the land, when he said, that he

Jeremiah 2:37 — transferred the glory due to God to the Egyptians, when they considered them to be the authors of their safety; and they had thus despised the promises of God, so that there was no attention given to prayer: Abhor, then, does Jehovah thy confidences (71) He then adds, Thou shalt not prosper in them. It ought to be carefully observed, that whatever we resolve to do that is not approved by God, cannot possibly succeed; for God will subvert all our hopes. Let us then know that here is set before us the

Jeremiah 22:14 — calamities. This, then, was in a manner to treat with mockery the threatenings of God. And we know how intolerable was this regarded by him; for he thus declares by Isaiah, “Live do I, never shall this iniquity be blotted out,” (Isaiah 22:14) for when he had exhorted them to put on sackcloth and ashes, they said, “Let us eat and drink, tomorrow we shall die.” Similar, then, was the perverseness of King Jehoiakim; for he ought to have seen the coming calamity which was set

Jeremiah 22:18 — was sympathy for the surviving queen. Her glory had departed with her husband. This is Blayney’s view. The Versions and the Targum are all different, and not one of them renders the original correctly. The verse may be thus rendered, — 18.Therefore thus saith Jehovah of Jehoiakim, The son of Josiah, the king of Judah — They shall not lament for him — “Ah, my brother, and, Ah, sister. They shall not lament for him — “Ah, Lord! and, Ah, her glory!”

Jeremiah 30:14 — judgments: but this ought to be understood according to the common perceptions of men. God also calls elsewhere the Israelites his enemies, but not without lamentation, “Alas!” he says, “I will take vengeance on my enemies.” (Isaiah 1:24) He assumed there the character of one grieving, as though he had said, that he unwillingly proceeded to so much rigor, for he would have willingly spared the people, had not necessity forced him to such severity. But, as I have already said, when

Jeremiah 32:2 — remembered, that though Jeremiah was a captive, yet his word was free and his tongue at liberty, as Paul also boasts, that though he was bound with chains, yet God’s word was not bound. (2 Timothy 2:9) (59) The 2d, 3d, 4th, and 5th verses (Jeremiah 32:1) ought to be put as parenthetical, as they only relate the circumstances connected with Jeremiah when he received the vision which he proceeds to relate in the 6th verse. Instead of “For then” in the 2d verse, “And then” would

Jeremiah 33:9 — is expressed more fully elsewhere, “Not on your account will I do this, O house of Israel,” (Ezekiel 36:22) and the faithful sing in their turn, “Not on our account, O Lord, but on account of thy name.” (Psalms 79:9; Psalms 115:1) We then see that God brings forward his own name, that the Jews might continue to entertain hope, however guilty they may have been, and own themselves worthy of eternal destruction. If we read, “It shall be to me for a name of joy,”

Jeremiah 34:17 — more defend them, as an advocate his clients, or as a master his servants. So also it is said in the Psalms, “Behold, our eyes are to God, as the eyes of servants who look to their masters, as the eyes of a maid to her mistress.” (Psalms 123:1) We indeed know that servants formerly were exposed to all sorts of wrongs; they dared not move a finger, when grievously treated; but if any servant was wronged by another man, his master would undertake his cause and defend him. Then the Psalmist

Jeremiah 5:6 — mad, and their hunger causes them to run furiously in all directions. This explanation, then, may be admitted. But as he says first, that the lion would come from the forest, it is more probable that the wolf is described as coming from the desert. (133) As to the general import of the passage there is not much difference. He mentions here three wild beasts — the lion, the wolf, and the leopard. By these wild beasts he understands no doubt the enemies, who would shortly attack them with the

Jeremiah 50:4 — that which they could yet hardly hope for, after their return from exile; for there is nothing better than brotherly concord, as it is said in the Psalms, “How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.” (Psalms 133:1) For the kingdom and the priesthood, the pledges, as it were, of the people’s safety, could not stand together, without the union of the Israelites with the Jews. But they had been long alienated from one another, so that the chief favor

Jeremiah 6:11 — prevailed that even children in their tender age were not exempt from it, it was an evidence of a hopeless condition. This is what the Prophet means by saying, that he would pour wrath upon children. Then he adds, upon the assembly, etc. The word סוד , sud, means a congregation, or an assembly; and it means also counsel. But as the Prophet speaks of streets, there seems to be a contrast between streets and counsels, as though he said, that children playing in the streets were without

Jeremiah 7:13 — dignity on its own account, but on account of the Ark of the Covenant and the altar. It was indeed splendidly adorned; but the holiness of the Temple was derived from the Ark of the Covenant, the altar, and the sacrifices. This Ark had been in Shiloh. (196) Hence Jeremiah shews how foolish were the Jews in being proud, because they had among them the Ark of the Covenant and the altar, for the first place, where sacrifices had been offered to God, was not preserved in safety. This is the import of the