Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Jeremiah 26:5

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

26:1-34:22 PROPHECIES OF EXILE AND RETURN

The dangerous life of a prophet (26:1-24)

Again Jeremiah went to the temple, where he could preach to people who came from all over Judah to worship. He stood in the open court and urged the worshippers to give up their sinful ways and return to God (26:1-3). If they refused, the temple would be demolished, as the tabernacle had been at Shiloh several centuries earlier (4-6; see notes on 7:1-15; cf. also 19:14-20:6).
Religious officials and ordinary citizens alike were so angered at Jeremiah’s words that a riot threatened to develop and Jeremiah was in serious physical danger (7-9). When the city officials rushed to the temple to intervene in the crisis, the leaders among the crowd demanded that Jeremiah be executed (10-11).

Jeremiah defended himself by pointing out that he had only been speaking the message God gave him. His real desire was that the people repent, for only by such action would they save themselves and their temple from destruction (12-15). The city officials accepted his defence (16). Other respected leaders supported them, adding that instead of trying to kill the prophet, people should take notice of his warnings. If they changed their ways, they would save themselves from disaster. In this they would be following the good example of a former Judean king, Hezekiah, who heeded the prophet of his day (17-19; cf. Micah 3:12).

Although Jeremiah on this occasion escaped death, another prophet who spoke a similar message did not. This man, Uriah, had heard of a threat to his life and fled to Egypt, but the wicked Jehoiakim had him brought back to Jerusalem and executed (20-23). Jeremiah received some protection at this dangerous time through the loyalty of an influential friend, Ahikam (24). (Ahikam seems to have been an important palace official. He had been a key man in the launching of Josiah’s reforms; see 2 Kings 22:11-14.)

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

“In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiachim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, came this word from Jehovah, saying. Thus saith Jehovah: Stand in the court of Jehovah’s house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in Jehovah’s house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word. It may be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way; that I may repent me of the evil which I purposed to do unto them because of the evil of their doings. And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith Jehovah: If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you, to hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I send unto you, even rising up early and sending them, but ye have not hearkened; then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth. And the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of Jehovah.”

“Stand in the court of Jehovah’s house” This location enabled Jeremiah to preach to the greatest number of the throngs of people from all the cities of Judah, who were gathering upon some national feast-day.

“And turn every man from his evil way” Feinberg stressed two things of singular importance in this passage: “(1) The kind of repentance which God demands is always an individual matter; and (2) promises of divine judgment are always conditional.”Charles Lee Feinberg in Ezekiel (Chicago: Moody Press), p. 538.

“Walk in my law… hearken to the words of my servants the prophets” God’s condemnation did not result from their refusal to hearken to Jeremiah, merely; but it was the consequence of their rejection of all of God’s prophets, reaching all the way back to Moses and the sacred terms of the Old Sinaitic Covenant itself, all of this instruction being evident right here in this passage.

The great things that stand out in this paragraph are: (1) the necessity of obeying God’s law, if the forthcoming destruction is to be averted; (2) the terrible nature of the doom awaiting them if they did not repent; (3) Shiloh was cited as an example of the destruction that awaited Jerusalem and the temple.

The significance of the citation of Shiloh derived from the fact of its having been the very first place where the ark of the Lord rested after Israel’s entry into the promised land.

The Bible makes no specific reference to the occasion of Shiloh’s destruction, and critics once disputed it; but “The Danish expedition uncovered pottery and other evidence demonstrating that the destruction of Shiloh occurred, by the hands of the Philistines about 1050 B.C.”Merrill F. Unger, Unger’s Bible Dictionary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1966), p. 22 The mention of this fact here was intended to refute the arrogant confidence of those Israelites who supposed that the existence of a mere building was their guarantee of safety no matter what they did, a guarantee which they erroneously ascribed to the existence of the temple.

As this narrative proceeds, it will be evident that “all the people” were a very fickle and undependable element discernible in this shameful trial of Jeremiah.

“The priests, and the prophets, and all the people” These were the enemies of Jeremiah. It should not be thought that the “prophets” were in any sense true prophets. These characters are mentioned in Jeremiah 26:7-8; Jeremiah 26:11; Jeremiah 26:16; and the LXX designates them as “pseudo-prophets.”Charles Lee Feinberg in Ezekiel (Chicago: Moody Press), p. 539. That irresponsible and fickle Jerusalem mob, designated here as “all the people,” that is, the majority, started yelling for the death of the holy Prophet. They were fit ancestors indeed of the mob in that same city centuries afterward who would cry, Crucify Him! Crucify Him!

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

But what follows in the next verse ought to be especially observed; for these two things are necessarily connected, — that God required nothing but obedience to his Law, — and that his will was that his prophets should be heard, — To hearken, he says, to the words of my servants, the prophets, whom I send to you, (it is in the second person.) Here there seems to be some inconsistency; for if God’s Law was sufficient, why were the prophets to be heard? But these two things well agree together: the Law alone was to be attended to, and also the prophets, for they were its interpreters. For God sent not his prophets to correct the Law, to change anything in it, to add or to take away; as it was an unalterable decree, not to add to it nor to diminish from it. What then was the benefit of sending the prophets? even to make more manifest the Law, and to apply it to the circumstances of the people. As then the prophets devised no new doctrine, but were faithful interpreters of the Law, God joined, not without reason, these two things together, — that his Law was to be heard and also his prophets; for the majesty of the Law derogated nothing from the authority of the prophets; and as the prophets confirmed the Law, it could not have been that they took away anything from the Law.

Nay, this passage teaches us, that all those who repudiate the daily duty of learning, are profane men, and extinguish as far as they can the grace of the Spirit; many such fanatics among the Anabaptists have been in our time, who despised learning of every kind. They boasted that the doctrine of the Law was the Alphabet; and they also indulged in this dream, that wrong is done to the Holy Spirit when men attend to learning. And some dare, in a grosser manner, to vomit forth their blasphemies; they say that Scripture is enough for us, yea, even these two things, “Fear God and love thy neighbor.” But as I have already said, we must consider how God has spoken by his Law; whether he has closed up the way, so as not to explain his will more clearly by the prophets, nor to apply to present use what would have otherwise been less effectual? or that he purposed to draw continually by various channels the doctrine which flows from that fountain? But now, since God had given his own Law, and had added to the Law his prophets, every one who rejected the prophets must surely ascribe no authority to the Law. Even so now, they who think it not their duty at this day to seek knowledge in the school of Christ, and to avail themselves of the hearing of his word, no doubt despise God in their hearts, and set no value either on the Law, or on the prophets, or on the Gospel. Remarkable then is this passage; it shews that the Lord would have his Law to be our leader and teacher, and yet he adds his own prophets.

He says further, Whom I have sent to you, rising early and sending Here he upbraids the Jews with their slowness and insensibility; for he roused them early, and that not once but often, and yet he spent his labor in vain. Rising early, when applied to God, means that he called these men in due time, as though he had said, that it was not his fault that the Jews had departed from the right way of safety, for he had been sedulously careful of their well-being, and had in due time warned them. We hence see how the Prophet condemned their tardiness and indifference, and then their hardness, by saying, and sending; for this intimates a repetition or assiduity. He had said before, “whom I sent to you, rising early;” now, when he says and sending, he means that he had not sent one prophet, or many at one time, but one after another continually, and that yet it had been without any benefit. The end of the verse I read in a parenthesis, (but ye have not hearkened.) Indeed what follows stands connected with the previous verses. ⁽¹⁶²⁾

(162) It is better to commence the parenthesis after the word “prophets;” the three verses I render thus, —

4.And say to them, Thus saith Jehovah, If ye will not hear me, so as to

5.walk in my law, which I have set before you, by hearkening to the words of my servants the prophets, (whom I have been sending to you, even rising up early and sending; but ye did not hearken;)

6.then will I make this house like Shiloh, and this city will I make a urse to all the nations of the earth.

The Vulg. and the Syr. are in effect the same as above. — Ed.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Jeremiah 26:1-24 through 30.

In the twenty-second chapter of Jeremiah the Lord had ordered Jeremiah to go to the king's house, Zedekiah, and prophesy unto him. So these prophecies were those that Jeremiah gave to Zedekiah who was the last of the kings of Israel prior to the Babylonian captivity. And as he is speaking there in Zedekiah's court, he is bringing up prophecies that the Lord had given him in previous years to other of the kings. And so as we get into chapter 26, as he is giving this message in the court of king Zedekiah, he tells him that,

In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah that the word of the LORD came to him, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Stand in the court of the LORD'S house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the LORD'S house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; and diminish not a word ( Jeremiah 26:1-2 ):

Many times I think that we have a tendency to diminish from the Word of God. There are a lot of people today who have taken issue with some of the subjects in the scriptures. And because they have taken issue with them and the subjects have become rather controversial, there is a tendency on many parts to seek to diminish from what God has said. But I think that it is a dangerous thing to diminish or seek to diminish the message of God because we oftentimes then give people a sense of false security.

Now, nobody really dislikes the subject of eternal punishment more than I. And yet, it would be absolutely derelict of me to diminish from what the Lord has said in the Word concerning the fate of the sinners. To give them a false hope, a false comfort.

And so God is saying to Jeremiah, "Now look, you say everything that I tell you to say and don't soft-pedal it, Jeremiah. Don't diminish from the Word." Now there are two things we are really told not to do. We're not to add to it, nor are we to take away from it. When God gave His law to Moses, He gave the warning, "Now be careful that you don't add to it or that you don't take away from the words of this book." And, of course, when the final book of Revelation was written and God was sealing up His revelation, He said, "Any man who adds to the words of this book, to him shall be added the curses that are in the book. And if any man shall take away from the words of this book, his name shall be taken out of the book of life" ( Revelation 22:18-19 ). So that is how firm God is in His desire that we speak His Word plainly as He has declared it. Not seeking to add to it. Not seeking to take away or to diminish from it. And so the Lord is warning Jeremiah, "Now look, don't diminish a word."

If so be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings ( Jeremiah 26:3 ).

Now God is saying, "Lay it on them. Don't diminish it. It may be that they will hearken unto what I have said." And always the purpose of God giving His message is that people might have the opportunity to respond. You say, "Well, doesn't God know if they're going to respond or not?" Yes, God does know if they're going to respond or not. "Well, if God knows they're not going to respond, then why does God speak to them?" Because God wants to be righteous when He judges. And no one will be able to stand before God and say, "Well, I didn't know or I never heard or I didn't have a chance." So God says, "Don't diminish a word in order that they might hearken." If they will hearken, if at this point they would turn they would be saved. In order that, God said, "I might repent Me of the evil which I purpose to do."

Now, we have to use human words to describe the actions of God. And so when we speak of God repenting, that's because we have just the limitation of the choice of human language in order to describe divine actions. But even in this word itself in the original, the root of it is to sigh. And it is sort of a sigh of relief. If the people will turn to Me, then God can sigh in relief for not having to bring the judgment upon them. How many times I've sighed when I've seen the change in the attitude of my children. "Oh, dad, I'm sorry." All right. You know you feel good. Now that they come with that attitude you can deal with them. You don't have to spank them or you don't have to punish them. They come with a repentant attitude asking forgiveness and it causes you to say, "Ahhh," you love it. You're thankful that you're not going to have to bring punishment upon them. And so God is saying, "Don't diminish your words. Speak the word that I tell you. Don't diminish it in order that they might turn and repent in order that I can sigh for relief of not having to bring this punishment upon them."

God said to the prophet Ezekiel, "Turn ye, turn ye, for why will ye die. For behold, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, saith the Lord" ( Ezekiel 33:11 ). How it grieves the heart of God to see the wicked die. Gives them every opportunity to turn and to know Him and to love Him. Turn, turn, for why will you die? God is not willing that any should perish. God has extended His patience, His long-suffering, His grace to man. And so God sends the prophet, even after it's really too late. "But still go and speak. If so be they will hearken and turn every man from his evil way that I may sigh for the evil which I've purposed to do unto them because of their evil doings."

Now that evil that God has purposed, of course, is allowing the king of Babylon to come and to destroy them. It isn't evil in the sense that God is doing an evil thing. Nor is it repentance and God's pardon that God is repenting or that He has done something. For the Bible tells us that "God is not a man that He should repent nor the son of man that He should change. Hath he not spoken and shall He not do it?" ( 1 Samuel 15:29 ) God said through the prophet, "Behold, I am the Lord God, I change not" ( Malachi 3:6 ). The immutability of God.

Yet the grace and the mercy of God. God said through Isaiah, "Did not I create evil?" And that is the evil judgments that come to pass against the people, but not evil in the sense that God is in any way in league or in harmony with evil.

And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; If you will not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you, To hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending them, but you have not hearkened; Then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the eaRuth ( Jeremiah 26:4-6 ).

Now, Shiloh was the place where the tabernacle was first placed when they came into the land, but Shiloh now has become a desolate ruin. And Jeremiah the prophet is saying, "If you don't hearken to God, He's going to make this place, the temple here, just a desolate ruin like Shiloh is." Well, the priests got very upset with Jeremiah at this point because he is talking now about their temple and he's saying that the curse of God is going to be upon it. It's going to be made a desolate area.

So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the LORD. Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of his speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die ( Jeremiah 26:7-8 ).

So the people following now the inspiration and the leading of the priests and the prophets grabbed Jeremiah and were determined to put him to death because he dared to speak against the house of God, declaring that the temple was going to be destroyed. And they said,

Why have you prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? ( Jeremiah 26:9 )

So he's accused of speaking against the temple and against the city as he pronounces the judgments that God is going to bring upon them.

And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD. Now when the princes of Judah ( Jeremiah 26:9-10 )

Now you've got a third group. You see, you have the prophet and the priests and they've grabbed him and said, "We're going to kill you." And the people joining with the prophet and the priests, "Yes, let's kill him. He has spoken against the temple and he has spoken against the city."

So the princes of Judah,

heard these things, then they came up from the king's house ( Jeremiah 26:10 )

They heard that there's a tumult going on down there in the temple. They've grabbed Jeremiah. Come. And these princes come rushing from the king's palace.

unto the house of the LORD, and they sat down in the entry of the new gate of the LORD'S house. Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears. Then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the people, saying ( Jeremiah 26:9-12 ),

And he's ignoring now the prophet and priests, but he turns to the princes and the people. He said,

The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard. Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will repent him [or sigh] of the evil that he hath pronounced against you. As for me, behold, I am in your hands: do with me what seems right to do ( Jeremiah 26:12-14 ).

God sent me to say these things. Now turn from your ways, your wickedness, in order that God might not have to bring this judgment on you. But I'm here as a messenger of God. God has sent me with this message. Now I'm in your hands, do what you want. You want to kill me, go ahead. Your business.

But know this for certain, that if you put me to death, you will surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the LORD hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears. Then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and to the prophets; This man is not worthy to die: for he hath spoken to us in the name of the Jehovah our God ( Jeremiah 26:15-16 ).

Now notice how fickle the people are. They're ready to put him to death with the prophets and the priests because he has spoken against this house and against this city. There is that Latin phrase, "vocus populus est vocus Dios"-the voice of the people is the voice of God. That's not true. The crowd many times makes terrible mistakes. And here the people are siding with the prophets and priests. "Let's put him to death." The princes come down, the people say with the princes, "Hey, no, he shouldn't be put to death. He has spoken in the name of God."

Then rose up certain of the elders of the land, and they spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying, Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest. Now did Hezekiah king of Judah and all of Judah put him to death? did he not fear the LORD, and besought the LORD, and the LORD repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus might we procure great evil against our souls ( Jeremiah 26:17-19 ).

So they're saying, "Look, this has happened before in the time of Hezekiah. This guy Micah, remember, he came along and he spoke that God's going to bring desolation on this city. And rather than killing Micah, they hearkened and they repented." And then they said,

And there was also that man, Urijah from Kirjathjearim, who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah ( Jeremiah 26:20 ):

You remember Urijah did the same thing.

And when Jehoiakim the king, with all of his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death: but when Urijah heard it, he was afraid, and he fled, and went into Egypt; And Jehoiakim the king sent unto Egypt, some men, Elnathan, and certain men that were with him and they got him out of Egypt. And brought him to Jehoiakim the king; who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people. Nevertheless, the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death ( Jeremiah 26:21-24 ).

So some of the older men said, "Hey, this has happened before and Hezekiah didn't put him to death." They said, "Yeah, but it happened before and Jehoiakim did put him to death." So there was this division. But the prince Ahikam sort of prevailed and Jeremiah was spared death from the hands of the false prophets, the priests and the people.

"

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Jeremiah’s message was basically this: If the people continued to refuse to listen to the Lord through His prophets, and to disobey the Mosaic Covenant, He would destroy the temple and Jerusalem. The temple would suffer complete destruction as the town of Shiloh had, and Jerusalem would become a curse, namely, an object of ridicule and an example of horrible suffering (cf. Genesis 12:3). Making the temple like Shiloh would involve three things: desecration of the sanctuary, removal of the holy furniture, and withdrawal of Yahweh’s name. [Note: Pamela J. Scalise, Jeremiah 26-52, p. 16. This commentary appears under Keown, Scalise, and Smothers in the bibliography.] The Philistines evidently destroyed the town of Shiloh about 1104 B.C. during the battle of Aphek (cf. Jeremiah 7:12; Jeremiah 7:14; 1 Samuel 4).

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

To hearken to the words of my servants the prophets,.... The interpretations they give of the law; the doctrines they deliver; the exhortations, cautions, and reproofs given by them in the name of the Lord, whose servants they were; and therefore should be hearkened to; since hearkening to them is hearkening to the Lord himself, in whose name they speak, and whose message they deliver:

whom I sent unto you, both rising up early and sending [them]; they had their mission and commission from the Lord; and who was careful to send them early, if they might be instruments to do them good and prevent their ruin; they had the best of means, and these seasonable, and so were left without excuse:

(but ye have not hearkened); neither to the Lord, nor to his prophets; but went on in their own ways, neglecting the law of the Lord and the instructions of his servants.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word from the LORD, saying,   2 Thus saith the LORD; Stand in the court of the LORD's house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the LORD's house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word:   3 If so be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings.   4 And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you,   5 To hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending them, but ye have not hearkened;   6 Then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.

      We have here the sermon that Jeremiah preached, which gave such offence that he was in danger of losing his life for it. It is here left upon record, as it were, by way of appeal to the judgment of impartial men in all ages, whether Jeremiah was worthy to die for delivering such a message as this from God, and whether his persecutors were not very wicked and unreasonable men.

      I. God directed him where to preach this sermon, and when, and to what auditory, Jeremiah 26:2; Jeremiah 26:2. Let not any censure Jeremiah as indiscreet in the choice of place and time, nor say that he might have delivered his message more privately, in a corner, among his friends that he could confide in, and that he deserved to smart for not acting more cautiously; for God gave him orders to preach in the court of the Lord's house, which was within the peculiar jurisdiction of his sworn enemies the priests, and who would therefore take themselves to be in a particular manner affronted. He must preach this, as it should seem, at the time of one of the most solemn festivals, when persons had come from all the cities of Judah to worship in the Lord's house. These worshippers, we may suppose, had a great veneration for their priests, would credit the character they gave of men, and be exasperated against those whom they defamed, and would, consequently, side with them and strengthen their hands against Jeremiah. But none of these things must move him or daunt him; in the face of all this danger he must preach this sermon, which, if it were not convincing, would be very provoking. And because the prophet might be in some temptation to palliate the matter, and make it better to his hearers than God had made it to him, to exchange an offensive expression for one more plausible, therefore God charges him particularly not to diminish a word, but to speak all the things, nay, all the words, that he had commanded him. Note, God's ambassadors must keep closely to their instructions, and not in the least vary from them, either to please men or to save themselves from harm. They must neither add nor diminish,Deuteronomy 4:2.

      II. God directed him what to preach, and it is that which could not give offence to any but such as were resolved to go on still in their trespasses. 1. He must assure them that if they would repent of their sins, and turn from them, though they were in imminent danger of ruin and desolating judgments were just at the door, yet a stop should be put to them, and God would proceed no further in his controversy with them, Jeremiah 26:3; Jeremiah 26:3. This was the main thing God intended in sending him to them, to try if they would return from their sins, that so God might turn from his anger and turn away the judgments that threatened them, which he was not only willing, but very desirous to do, as soon as he could do it without prejudice to the honour of his justice and holiness. See how God waits to be gracious, waits till we are duly qualified, till we are fit for him to be gracious to, and in the mean time tries a variety of methods to bring us to be so. 2. He must, on the other hand, assure them that if they continued obstinate to all the calls God gave them, and would persist in their disobedience, it would certainly end in the ruin of their city and temple, Jeremiah 26:4-6; Jeremiah 26:4-6. (1.) That which God required of them was that they should be observant of what he had said to them, both by the written word and by his ministers, that they should walk in all his law which he set before them, the law of Moses and the ordinances and commandments of it, and that they should hearken to the words of his servants the prophets, who pressed nothing upon them but what was agreeable to the law of Moses, which was set before them as a touchstone to try the spirits by; and by this they were distinguished from the false prophets, who drew them from the law, instead of drawing them to it. The law was what God himself set before them. The prophets were his own servants, and were immediately sent by him to them, and sent with a great deal of care and concern, rising early to send them, lest they should come too late, when their prejudices had got possession and become invincible. They had hitherto been deaf both to the law and to the prophets: You have not hearkened. All he expects now is that at length they should heed what he said, and make his word their rule--a reasonable demand. (2.) That which is threatened in case of refusal is that this city, and the temple in it, shall fare as their predecessors did, Shiloh and the tabernacle there, for a like refusal to walk in God's law and hearken to his prophets, then when the present dispensation of prophecy just began in Samuel. Now could a sentence be expressed more unexceptionably? Is it not a rule of justice ut parium par sit ratio--that those whose cases are the same be dealt with alike? If Jerusalem be like Shiloh in respect of sin, why should it not be like Shiloh in respect of punishment? Can any other be expected? This was not the first time he had given them warning to this effect; see Jeremiah 7:12-14; Jeremiah 7:12-14. When the temple, which was the glory of Jerusalem, was destroyed, the city was thereby made a curse; for the temple was that which made it a blessing. If the salt lose that savour, it is thenceforth good for nothing. It shall be a curse, that is, it shall be the pattern of a curse; if a man would curse any city, he would say, God make it like Jerusalem! Note, Those that will not be subject to the commands of God make themselves subject to the curse of God.