Jeremiah's letter to the exiles in Babylon addresses their despair amid false promises of a swift return to Jerusalem by false prophets. The prophet counsels the captives to accept their situation, establish their lives in Babylon, and await God's timing for their eventual restoration after seventy years. This correspondence serves both to comfort the exiles and to challenge the beliefs of those remaining in Jerusalem who mistakenly thought they were better off than their fellow captives.

1. JEREMIAH 29 COMMENTARY
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
A Letter to the Exiles
1 This is the text of the letter that the prophet
Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the surviving
elders among the exiles and to the priests, the
prophets and all the other people Nebuchadnezzar
had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.
BARNES, "The residue of the ciders - i. e., such of the elders as were still alive.
CLARKE, "Now these are the words of the letter - This transaction took place
in the first or second year of Zedekiah. It appears that the prophet had been informed
that the Jews who had already been carried into captivity had, through the instigations
of false prophets, been led to believe that they were to be brought out of their captivity
speedily. Jeremiah, fearing that this delusion might induce them to take some hasty
steps, ill comporting with their present state, wrote a letter to them, which he entrusted
to an embassy which Zedekiah had sent on some political concerns to Nebuchadnezzar.
The letter was directed to the elders, priests, prophets, and people who had been carried
away captives to Babylon.
GILL, "Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent
from Jerusalem,.... The argument and tenor, the sum and substance, of an epistle,
which the prophet Jeremiah, being at Jerusalem, wrote, under the inspiration of God, to
his countrymen abroad, afterwards described; so the prophets under the Old Testament
instructed the people, sometimes by their sermons and discourses delivered by word of
mouth to them, and sometimes by letters and epistles; as did the apostles of the New
Testament; and they were both ways useful and profitable to men:
unto the residue of the elders which were carried away captive; some perhaps
1

2. dying by the way, and others quickly after they came to Babylon; some were left, who
had been rulers or civil magistrates in Judea, and perhaps of the great sanhedrim:
and to the priests, and to the prophets: false prophets, as the Syriac version; for
we read only of one true prophet that was carried captive, and that was Ezekiel; but of
false prophets several:
and to all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from
Jerusalem to Babylon; which was eleven or twelve years before their last captivity
thither. This was a catholic epistle, common to all the captives of every rank and class,
age or sex.
HENRY 1-3, "We are here told,
I. That Jeremiah wrote to the captives in Babylon, in the name of the Lord. Jeconiah
had surrendered himself a prisoner, with the queen his mother, the chamberlains of his
household, called here the eunuchs, and many of the princes of Judah and Jerusalem,
who were at that time the most active men; the carpenters and smiths likewise, being
demanded, were yielded up, that those who remained might not have any proper hands
to fortify their city or furnish themselves with weapons of war. By this tame submission
it was hoped that Nebuchadnezzar would be pacified. Satis est prostrasse leoni - It
suffices the lion to have laid his antagonist prostrate; but the imperious conqueror
grows upon their concessions, like Benhadad upon Ahab's, 1Ki_20:5, 1Ki_20:6. And, not
content with this, when these had departed from Jerusalem he comes again, and fetches
away many more of the elders, the priests, the prophets, and the people (Jer_29:1), such
as he thought fit, or such as his soldiers could lay hands on, and carries them to Babylon.
The case of these captives was very melancholy, the rather because they, being thus
distinguished from the rest of their brethren who continued in their own land, looked as
if they were greater sinners than all men who dwelt at Jerusalem. Jeremiah therefore
writes a letter to them, to comfort them, assuring them that they had no reason either to
despair of succour themselves or to envy their brethren that were left behind. Note, 1.
The word of God written is as truly given by inspiration of God as his word spoken was;
and this was the proper way of spreading the knowledge of God's will among his children
scattered abroad. 2. We may serve God and do good by writing to our friends at a
distance pious letters of seasonable comforts and wholesome counsels. Those whom we
cannot speak to we may write to; that which is written remains. This letter of Jeremiah's
was sent to the captives in Babylon by the hands of the ambassadors whom king
Zedekiah sent to Nebuchadnezzar, probably to pay him his tribute and renew his
submission to him, or to treat of peace with him, in which treaty the captives might
perhaps hope that they should be included, Jer_29:3. By such messengers Jeremiah
chose to send this message, to put an honour upon it, because it was a message from
God, or perhaps because there was no settled way of sending letters to Babylon, but as
such an occasion as this offered, and then it made the condition of the captives there the
more melancholy, that they could rarely hear from their friends and relations they had
left behind, which is some reviving and satisfaction to those that are separated from one
another.
JAMISON, "Jer_29:1-32. Letter of Jeremiah to the captives in Babylon, to
counteract the assurances given by the false prophets of a speedy restoration.
2

3. residue of the elders — those still surviving from the time when they were carried
to Babylon with Jeconiah; the other elders of the captives had died by either a natural or
a violent death.
K&D 1-3, "A Letter from Jeremiah to the Captives in Babylon, together with
Threatenings against their False Prophets. - As in Jerusalem, so too in Babylon the
predictions of the false prophets fostered a lively hope that the domination of
Nebuchadnezzar would not last long, and that the return of the exiles to their fatherland
would soon come about. The spirit of discontent thus excited must have exercised an
injurious influence on the fortunes of the captives, and could not fail to frustrate the aim
which the chastisement inflicted by God was designed to work out, namely, the moral
advancement of the people. Therefore Jeremiah makes use of an opportunity furnished
by an embassy sent by King Zedekiah to Babel, to address a letter to the exiles, exhorting
them to yield with submission to the lot God had assigned to them. He counsels them to
prepare, by establishing their households there, for a long sojourn in Babel, and to seek
the welfare of that country as the necessary condition of their own. They must not let
themselves be deceived by the false prophets' idle promises of a speedy return, since God
will not bring them back and fulfil His glorious promises till after seventy years have
passed (Jer_29:4-14). Then he tells them that sore judgments are yet in store for King
Zedekiah and such as have been left in the land (Jer_29:15-20); and declares that some
of their false prophets shall perish miserably (Jer_29:21-32).
Heading and Introduction. - The following circular is connected, in point of outward
form, with the preceding discourses against the false prophets in Jerusalem by means of
the words: "And these are the words of the letter," etc. The words of the letter, i.e., the
main contents of the letter, since it was not transcribed, but given in substance. "Which
the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders of the captives,
and to the priests and prophets, and to the whole people, which Nebuchadnezzar had
carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon." "The residue of the elders," Hitz. and Graf
understand of those elders who were not at the same time priests or prophets. On this
Näg. pronounces: "It is impossible that they can be right, for then 'the residue of the
elders of the captivity' must have stood after the priests and prophets." And though we
hear of elders of the priests, there is no trace in the O.T. of elders of the prophets.
Besides, the elders, whenever they are mentioned along with the priests, are universally
the elders of the people. Thus must we understand the expression here also. "The
residue of the elders" can only be the remaining, i.e., still surviving, elders of the exiles,
as ‫ר‬ ֶ‫ֶת‬‫י‬ is used also in Jer_39:9 for those still in life. But there is no foundation for the
assumption by means of which Gr. seeks to support his interpretation, namely, that the
place of elders that died was immediately filled by new appointments, so that the council
of the elders must always have been regarded as a whole, and could not come to be a
residue or remnant. Jeremiah could not possibly have assumed the existence of such an
organized governing authority, since in this very letter he exhorts them to set about the
establishment of regular system in their affairs. The date given in Jer_29:2 : "after that
Jechoniah the king, and the sovereign lady, and the courtiers, the princes of Judah and
Jerusalem, the workmen and smiths, were gone away from Jerusalem," points to the
beginning of Zedekiah's reign, to the first or second year of it. With this the advice given
to the captives in the letter harmonizes well, namely, the counsel to build houses, plant
gardens, etc.; since this makes it clear that they had not been long there. The despatch of
3

4. this letter is usually referred to the fourth year of Zedekiah's reign, because in Jer_28:1
this year is specified. But the connection in point of matter between the present chapter
and Jer 28 does not necessarily imply their contemporaneousness, although that is
perfectly possible; and the fact that, according to Jer_51:59, Zedekiah himself undertook
a journey to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign, does not exclude the possibility of an
embassy thither in the same year. The going away from Jerusalem is the emigration to
Babylon; cf. Jer_24:1, 2Ki_24:15. ‫ה‬ ָ‫יר‬ ִ‫ב‬ְ‫גּ‬ ַ‫,ה‬ the queen-mother, see on Jer_13:18. ‫ים‬ ִ‫יס‬ ִ‫ר‬ ָ‫ס‬
are the officials of the court; not necessarily eunuchs. Both words are joined to the king,
because these stood in closest relations to him. Then follows without copula the second
class of emigrants, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, i.e., the heads of the tribes,
septs, and families of the nation. The artisans form the third class. This disposes of the
objections raised by Mov. and Hitz. against the genuineness of the words "princes of
Judah and Jerusalem," their objections being based on the false assumption that these
words were an exposition of "courtiers." Cf. against this, 2Ki_24:15, where along with
the ‫סריסים‬ the heads of tribes and families are comprehended under the head of ‫י‬ֵ‫אוּל‬
‫ץ‬ ֶ‫ר‬ ָ‫א‬ ָ‫.ה‬ Jer_29:3. "By the hand" of Elasah is dependent on "sent," Jer_29:1. The men by
whom Jeremiah sent the letter to Babylon are not further known. Shaphan is perhaps
the same who is mentioned in Jer_26:24. We have no information as to the aim of the
embassy.
CALVIN, "Here the Prophet begins a new discourse, even that he not only cried out
constantly at Jerusalem, that the Jews who still remained there should repent, but
that he also mitigated the grief of the exiles, and exhorted them to entertain the hope
of returning, provided they patiently endured the chastisement allotted to them. The
design of the Prophet was at the same time twofold; for he not only intended to
mitigate by comfort the sorrow of the exiles, but designed also to break down the
obstinacy of his own nation, so that they who still remained at Jerusalem and in
Judea might know that nothing would be better for them than to join themselves to
their other brethren. The Jews, as it has already appeared, and as we shall hereafter
in many places see, had set their minds on an unreasonable deliverance; God had
fixed on seventy years, but they wished immediately to break through and extricate
themselves from the yoke laid on them. Hence Jeremiah, in writing to the captives
and exiles, intended to accommodate what he said to the Jews who still remained at
Jerusalem, and who thought their case very fortunate, because they were not driven
away with their king and the rest of the multitude. But at the same time his object
was to benefit also the miserable exiles, who might have been overwhelmed with
despair, had not their grief been in some measure mitigated. The Prophet, as we
shall see, bids them to look forward to the end of their captivity, and in the
meantime exhorts them to patience, and desires them to be quiet and peaceable, and
not to raise tumults, until the hand of God was put forth for their deliverance.
he says that he wrote a book (201) to the remaining elders; (202) for many of that
age had died; as nature requires, the old who approach near the goal of life, die
first, he then says that he wrote to them who still remained alive. We hence conclude
that his prophecy was designed for them all; and yet he afterwards says, “Take
4

5. wives and propagate;” but this, as we shall see, is to be confined to those who were
at that time in a fit age for marriage. He did not however wish to exclude the aged
from the comfort of which God designed them to be partakers, and that by knowing
that there would be a happy end to their captivity, provided they retained
resignation of mind and patiently bore the punishment of God justly due to them for
having so often and in such various ways provoked him. Then he adds, the priests,
and the prophets, and then the whole people. (203)
But we must notice that he not only exhorts the people to patience, but also the
priests and the prophets. And though, as we shall hereafter see, there were among
them impostors, who falsely boasted that they were prophets, (204) it is yet probable
that they are also included here who were endued with God’s Spirit, either because
the spirit was languid in them, or because God did not always grant to them the
knowledge of everything. It might then be that the prophets, to whom God had not
made known this, or whose minds were oppressed with evils, were to be taught.
As to the priests, we hence conclude that they had from the beginning neglected
their office, for they would have been God’s prophets, had they faithfully performed
their sacerdotal office; and it was, as it were, an extraordinary thing when God
chose other prophets, and not without reproach to the priests; for they must have
become degenerated and idle or deceptive, when they gloried in the name alone,
when they were destitute of the truth. This then was the reason why they were to be
taught in common with the people. It now follows, —
COFFMAN, "Verse 1
JEREMIAH 29
JEREMIAH'S LETTER TO THE EXILES
The date of this chapter is some time after the first wave of captives had been
carried to Babylon following the first Babylonian capture of the city in 597 B.C.
Jehoiachin was deposed after a very brief three months on the throne; and the
puppet king Zedekiah, an uncle of his, had been installed as the vassal king of his
overlord the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar.
The false prophets were busy spreading the falsehood that the captivity would
shortly end; Jehoiachin (Jeconiah) would be restored, and all the vessels of the
temple would be restored to Jerusalem. This was the message of Hananiah (of the
preceding chapter) who had promised all of these wonderful things would take place
in a mere couple of years.
The crowd of false prophets similar to Hananiah were circulating the same
falsehoods in Babylon; and the letter in this chapter was written by Jeremiah in
order to counteract and frustrate the evil campaign of the false prophets.
5

6. It was simply not the will of God that Israel's captivity should be over within so
short a time as the false prophets were saying. Yet it is easy to understand why the
false prophets believed that the captivity would soon end. There still remained in the
person of Zedekiah a representative of the house of David on the throne in
Jerusalem; the temple still stood, despite the robbing of many of its treasures; and
upon these grounds, the false prophets imagined that the complete independence of
Judah might soon be restored.
God had ordained and commanded the captivity of Judah as a punishment upon the
rebellious, apostate nation; it was God's intention to humble and discipline his
people, and bring them at last to an acceptable relationship to Himself; and, if their
captivity had been nothing but an extended intrigue against their captors, the
purpose of God would surely have been frustrated. The captivity would not be
short, but long, (Jeremiah 29:4); it would last into the third generation; and the vast
majority of the captives would never see Jerusalem again! Jeremiah's letter was for
the purpose of destroying the campaign of the false prophets.
This chapter is somewhat complex; and some scholars find as many as "four
separate letters"[1] in it; some would follow the LXX and remove most of the
chapter; others would make the prophecy of the further destruction of Judah a
separate letter that somehow became incorporated into this chapter, basing their
postulation upon the premise that Zedekiah would not have allowed a prophecy like
that to go to Babylon, etc., etc.
There are not four letters here. The first words of the chapter state that, "These are
the words of THE LETTER" that Jeremiah wrote to the captives from Jerusalem. It
was a delegation from Zedekiah that bore the letter to Babylon, and there is no need
to suppose that Zedekiah ever saw Jeremiah's letter. Besides that, even if he had
seen it, the primary thrust of it was clearly in line with Zedekiah's own kingly
interests. If some kind of a rebellion in Babylon had resulted in the restoration of
Jehoiachin to his throne, it would have meant the fall of Zedekiah.
Jeremiah 29:1-4
"Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from
Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders of the captivity, and to the priests, and to
the prophets, and to all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive
from Jerusalem to Babylon (after that Jeconiah the king, and the queen-mother,
and the eunuchs, and the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the craftsmen, and
the smiths, were deported from Jerusalem), by the hand of Elasah the son of
Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent
unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), saying, Thus saith Jehovah of
hosts, the God of Israel, unto all the captivity, whom I have caused to be carried
away captive from Jerusalem unto Babylon."
"The queen-mother, and the eunuchs, and the princes ..." (Jeremiah 29:2). The
6

7. queen-mother's name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan (2 Kings 24:8); and in
the Jewish system she was a very important person who seems to have worn a crown
and occupied a throne adjacent to that of the king.
Scholars have a lot of trouble with the word "eunuchs" in this passage; and Cheyne
even called it a gloss;[2] but the Bible fully explains it. The princes of Judah and
Jerusalem had already been captured and carried away to Babylon, among whom
were Daniel and his friends; and they had been emasculated, given new names, and
given into the charge of Nebuchadnezzar's "prince of the eunuchs" (Daniel 1:7).
Therefore, the word "eunuchs" in this place is absolutely appropriate. As
Thompson said, "The essential historicity of this material cannot be doubted."[3]
"The craftsmen and the smiths ..." (Jeremiah 29:2). It was the policy of
Nebuchadnezzar to bring skilled artisans and persons with technical knowledge into
Babylon in order to help him, "build and beautify the city."[4] God later identified
Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom as "the head of gold," as it pertained to lesser kingdoms
which would follow his; and this was surely one of the reasons for that preference.
Nebuchadnezzar did not import young women to satisfy his lust, but skilled workers
to help him build and beautify.
"Elasah the son of Shaphan ..." (Jeremiah 29:3). "This man was probably a brother
of Ahikam (See Jeremiah 26:24)."[5] He was therefore a friend and protector of
Jeremiah; and, if it had been necessary to shield the contents of Jeremiah's letter
from the eyes of Zedekiah, Elasah was surely the person who could and would have
done so.
The exact date and purpose of this embassy to Babylon is not known; but, "as
Zedekiah himself went to Babylon in his fourth year,"[6] this embassy might have
been preparatory to that visit.
"The captives, whom I have caused to be carried away ..." (Jeremiah 29:4). God
here reveals himself as the cause of the captivity. "God Himself has brought about
the exile; and, since the Lord's will was behind it, the better part of wisdom for
Judah was submission."[7]
COKE, "Introduction
CHAP. XXIX.
Jeremiah sendeth a letter to the captives in Babylon, to be quiet there, and not to
believe the dreams of their prophets, and that they shall return with grace after
seventy years. He foretelleth the destruction of the rest for their disobedience: he
sheweth the fearful end of Ahab and Zedekiah, two lying prophets. Shemaiah
writeth a letter against Jeremiah. Jeremiah readeth his doom.
7

8. Before Christ 597.
Verse 1
Jeremiah 29:1. Now these are the words— Neither the year nor the cause of this
deputation are precisely known; but it is thought to have been at the beginning of
Zedekiah's reign. By the residue of elders some understand the remnant of the
members of the sanhedrin, carried away captive in the third year of the reign of
Jehoiakim, many of whom died of the hardships which they suffered in their
transportation. Houbigant however, not content with this interpretation, renders it,
unto the principal elders. By the prophets, the Chaldee understands the scribes or
doctors of the law; while others think that Ezekiel, Daniel, and other prophets of the
captivity, may be meant.
Jeremiah 29:5-7. Build ye houses, and dwell in them— The prophet gives them this
advice to check their hopes of a speedy return from Babylon, with which they had
been flattered by the false prophets; and the advice is remarkable; teaching us in
what manner we ought to live among foreign powers, and how we ought to consider
those whom Providence has placed over us. See Baruch 1:11-12. 1 Timothy 2:1-2.
EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE COMMENTARY, "CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE
EXILES
Jeremiah 29:1-32
"Jehovah make thee like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in
the fire."- Jeremiah 29:22
NOTHING further is said about the proposed revolt, so that Jeremiah’s vigorous
protest seems to have been successful. In any case, unless irrevocable steps had been
taken, the enterprise could hardly have survived the death of its advocate,
Hananiah. Accordingly Zedekiah sent an embassy to Babylon, charged doubtless
with plausible explanations and profuse professions of loyalty and devotion. The
envoys were Elasah ben Shaphan and Gemariah ben Hilkiah. Shaphan and Hilkiah
were almost certainly the scribe and high priest who discovered Deuteronomy in the
eighteenth year of Josiah, and Elasah was the brother of Ahikam ben Shaphan, who
protected Jeremiah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, and of Gemariah ben Shaphan,
in whose chamber Baruch read the roll, and who protested against its destruction.
Probably Elasah and Gemariah were adherents of Jeremiah, and the fact of the
embassy, as well as the choice of ambassadors, suggests that, for the moment,
Zedekiah was acting under the influence of the prophet. Jeremiah took the
opportunity of sending a letter to the exiles at Babylon. Hananiah had his allies in
Chaldea: Ahab ben Kolaiah, Zedekiah ben Maaseiah, and Shemaiah the
Nehelamite, with other prophets, diviners, and dreamers, had imitated their
brethren in Judah; they had prophesied without being sent and had caused the
people to believe a lie. We are not expressly told what they prophesied, but the
narrative takes for granted that they, like Hananiah, promised the exiles a speedy
8

9. return to their native land. Such teaching naturally met with much acceptance, the
people congratulating themselves because, as they supposed, "Jehovah hath raised
us up prophets in Babylon." The presence of prophets among them. was received as
a welcome proof that Jehovah had not deserted His people in their house of
bondage.
Thus when Jeremiah had confounded his opponents in Jerusalem he had still to deal
with their friends in Babylon. Here again the issue was one of immediate practical
importance. In Chaldea as at Jerusalem the prediction that the exiles would
immediately return was intended to kindle the proposed revolt. The Jews at
Babylon were virtually warned to hold themselves in readiness to take advantage of
any success of the Syrian rebels, and, if opportunity offered, to render them
assistance. In those days information travelled slowly, and there was some danger
lest the captives should be betrayed into acts of disloyalty, even after the Jewish
government had given up any present intention of revolting against
Nebuchadnezzar. Such disloyalty might have involved their entire destruction. Both
Zedekiah and Jeremiah would be anxious to inform them at once that they must
refrain from any plots against their Chaldean masters. Moreover the prospect of an
immediate return had very much the same effect upon these Jews as the expectation
of Christ’s Second Coming had upon the primitive Church at Thessalonica. It made
them restless and disorderly. They could not settle to any regular work, but became
busybodies-wasting their time over the glowing promises of their popular preachers,
and whispering to one another wild rumours of successful revolts in Syria; or were
even more dangerously occupied in planning conspiracies against their conquerors.
Jeremiah’s letter sought to bring about a better state of mind. It is addressed to the
elders, priests, prophets, and people of the Captivity. The enumeration reminds us
how thoroughly the exiled community reproduced the society of the ancient Jewish
state-there was already a miniature Judah in Chaldea, the first of those Israels of
the Dispersion which have since covered the face of the earth.
This is Jehovah’s message by His prophet:-
"Build houses and dwell in them;
Plant gardens and eat the fruit thereof;
Marry and beget sons and daughters;
Marry your sons and daughters,
That they may bear sons and daughters,
That ye may multiply there and not grow few.
Seek the peace of the city whither I have sent you into captivity:
9

10. Pray for it unto Jehovah
For in its peace, ye shalt have peace."
There was to be no immediate return; their captivity would last long enough to
make it worth their while to build houses and plant gardens. For the present they
were to regard Babylon as their home. The prospect of restoration to Judah was too
distant to make any practical difference to their conduct of ordinary business. The
concluding command to "seek the peace of Babylon" is a distinct warning against
engaging in plots, which could only ruin the conspirators. There is an interesting
difference between these exhortations and those addressed by Paul to his converts in
the first century. He never counsels them to marry, but rather recommends celibacy
as more expedient for the present necessity. Apparently life was more anxious and
harassed for the early Christians than for the Jews in Babylon. The return to
Canaan was to these exiles what the millennium and the Second Advent were to the
primitive Church. Jeremiah having bidden his fellow countrymen not to be agitated
by supposing that this much longed for event might come at any moment, fortifies
their faith and patience by a promise that it should not be delayed indefinitely.
"When ye have fulfilled seventy years in Babylon I will visit you,
And will perform for you My gracious promise to bring you back to this place."
Seventy is obviously a round number. Moreover the constant use of seven and its
multiples in sacred symbolism forbids us to understand the prophecy as an exact
chronological statement.
We should adequately express the prophet’s meaning by translating "in about two
generations." We need not waste time and trouble in discovering or inventing two
dates exactly separated by seventy years, one of which will serve for the beginning
and the other for the end of the Captivity. The interval between the destruction of
Jerusalem and the Return was fifty years (B.C. 586-536), but as our passage refers
more immediately to the prospects of those already in exile, we should obtain an
interval of sixty-five years from the deportation of Jehoiachin and his companions
in B.C. 601. But there can be no question of approximation, however close. Either
the "seventy years" merely stands for a comparatively long period, or it is exact. We
do not save the inspiration of a date by showing that it is only five years wrong, and
not twenty. For an inspired date must be absolutely accurate; a mistake of a second
in such a case would be as fatal as a mistake of a century.
Israel’s hope is guaranteed by God’s self-knowledge of His gracious counsel:-
"I know the purposes which I purpose concerning you, is the utterance of Jehovah,
Purposes of peace and not of evil, to give you hope for the days to come."
10

11. In the former clause "I" is emphatic in both places, and the phrase is parallel to the
familiar formula "by Myself have I sworn, saith Jehovah."
The future of Israel was guaranteed by the divine consistency. Jehovah, to use a
colloquial phrase, knew His own mind. His everlasting purpose for the Chosen
People could not be set aside. "Did God cast off His People? God forbid."
Yet this persistent purpose is not fulfilled without reference to character and
conduct:-
"Ye shall call upon Me, and come and pray unto Me,
And I will hearken unto you.
Ye shall seek Me, and find Me,
Because ye seek Me with all your heart.
I will be found of you-it is the utterance of Jehovah.
I will bring back your captivity, and will gather you from all nations and
Places whither I have scattered you-it is the utterance of Jehovah.
I will bring you back to this place whence I sent you away to captivity."
As in the previous chapter, Jeremiah concludes with a personal judgment upon
those prophets who had been so acceptable to the exiles. If Jeremiah 29:23 is to be
understood literally, Ahab and Zedekiah had not only spoken without authority in
the name of Jehovah, but had also been guilty of gross immorality. Their
punishment was to be more terrible than that of Hananiah. They had incited the
exiles to revolt by predicting the imminent ruin of Nebuchadnezzar. Possibly the
Jewish king proposed to make his own peace by betraying his agents, after the
manner of our own Elizabeth and other sovereigns.
They were to be given over to the terrible vengeance which a Chaldean king would
naturally take on such offenders, and would be publicly roasted alive, so that the
malice of him who desired to curse his enemy might find vent in such words as:-
"Jehovah make thee like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted
alive."
We are not told whether this prophecy was fulfilled, but it is by no means unlikely.
The Assyrian king Assurbanipal says, in one of his inscriptions concerning a viceroy
of Babylon who had revolted, that Assur and the other gods "in the fierce burning
11

12. fire they threw him and destroyed his life" - possibly through the agency of
Assurbanipal’s servants. One of the seven brethren who were tortured to death in
the persecutions of Antiochus Epiphanes is said to have been "fried in the pan."
Christian hagiology commemorates St. Lawrence and many other martyrs, who
suffered similar torments. Such punishments remained part of criminal procedure
until a comparatively recent date; they are still sometimes inflicted by lynch law in
the United States, and have been defended even by Christian ministers.
Jeremiah’s letter caused great excitement and indignation among the exiles. We
have no rejoinder from Ahab and Zedekiah; probably they were not in a position to
make any. But Shemaiah the Nehelamite tried to make trouble for Jeremiah at
Jerusalem. He, in his turn, wrote letters to "all the people at Jerusalem and to the
priest Zephaniah ben Maaseiah and to all the priests" to this effect:-
"Jehovah hath made thee priest in the room of Jehoiada the priest, to exercise
supervision over the Temple, and to deal with any mad fanatic who puts himself
forward to prophesy, by placing him in the stocks and the collar. Why then hast
thou not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who puts himself forward to prophesy
unto you? Consequently he has sent unto us at Babylon: It (your captivity) will be
long; build houses and dwell in them, plant gardens and eat the fruit thereof."
Confidence in a speedy return had already been exalted into a cardinal article of the
exiles’ faith, and Shemaiah claims that any one who denied this comfortable
doctrine must be, ipso facto, a dangerous and deluded fanatic, needing to be placed
under strict restraint. This letter travelled to Jerusalem with the returning embassy,
and was duly delivered to Zephaniah. Zephaniah is spoken of in the historical
section common to Kings and Jeremiah as "the second priest," [Jeremiah 52:24;, 2
Kings 25:18] Seraiah being the High Priest; like Pashhur ben Immer, he seems to
have been the governor of the Temple. He was evidently well disposed to Jeremiah,
to whom Zedekiah twice sent him on Important missions. On the present occasion,
instead of acting upon the suggestions made by Shemaiah, he read the letter to
Jeremiah, in order that the latter might have an opportunity of dealing with it.
Jeremiah was divinely instructed to reply to Shemaiah, charging him, in his turn,
with being a man who put himself forward to prophesy without any commission
from Jehovah, and who thus deluded his hearers into belief in falsehoods. Personal
sentence is passed upon him, as upon Hananiah, Ahab, and Zedekiah: no son of his
shall be reckoned amongst God’s people or see the prosperity which they shall
hereafter enjoy. The words are obscure: it is said that Jehovah will "visit Shemaiah
and his seed," so that it cannot mean that he will be childless; but it is further said
that "he shall not have a man to abide amongst this people." It is apparently a
sentence of excommunication against Shemaiah and his family.
Here the episode abruptly ends. We are not told whether the letter was sent, or how
it was received, or whether it was answered. We gather that, here also, the last word
rested with Jeremiah, and that at this point his influence became dominant both at
12

13. Jerusalem and at Babylon, and that King Zedekiah himself submitted to his
guidance.
Chapters 28 and 29 deepen the impression made by other sections of Jeremiah’s
intolerance and personal bitterness towards his opponents. He seems to speak of the
roasting alive of the prophets at Babylon with something like grim satisfaction, and
we are tempted to think of Torquemada and Bishop Bonner. But we must
remember that the stake, as we have already said, has scarcely yet ceased to be an
ordinary criminal punishment, and that, after centuries of Christianity, More and
Cranmer, Luther and Calvin, had hardly any more tenderness for their
ecclesiastical opponents than Jeremiah.
Indeed the Church is only beginning to be ashamed of the complacency with which
she has contemplated the fiery torments of hell as the eternal destiny of unrepentant
sinners. One of the most tolerant and catholic of our religious teachers has written:
"If the unlucky malefactor, who in mere brutality of ignorance or narrowness of
nature or of culture has wronged his neighbour, excite our anger, how much deeper
should be our indignation when intellect and eloquence are abused to selfish
purposes, when studious leisure and learning and thought turn traitors to the cause
of human well-being and the wells of a nation’s moral life are poisoned." The
deduction is obvious: society feels constrained to hang or burn "the unlucky
malefactor"; consequently such punishments are, if anything, too merciful for the
false prophet. Moreover the teaching which Jeremiah denounced was no mere
dogmatism about abstruse philosophical and theological abstractions. Like the
Jesuit propaganda under Elizabeth, it was more immediately concerned with
politics than with religion. We are bound to be indignant with a man, gifted in
exploiting the emotions of his docile audience, who wins the confidence and arouses
the enthusiasm of his hearers, only to entice them into hopeless and foolhardy
ventures.
And yet we are brought back to the old difficulty, how are we to know the false
prophet? He has neither horns nor hoofs, his tie may be as white and his coat as
long as those of the true messenger of God. Again, Jeremiah’s method affords us
some practical guidance. He does not himself order and superintend the punishment
of false prophets: he merely announces a Divine judgment, which Jehovah Himself
is to execute. He does not condemn men by the code of any Church, but each
sentence is a direct and special revelation from Jehovah. How many sentences would
have been passed upon heretics, if their accusers and judges had waited for a similar
sanction?
PETT, "Verse 1-2
Introductory words.
Jeremiah 29:1-2
13

14. ‘Now these are the words of the letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from
Jerusalem to the residue of the elders of the captivity, and to the priests, and to the
prophets, and to all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive
from Jerusalem to Babylon, (after that Jeconiah the king, and the queen-mother,
and the eunuchs, and the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the craftsmen, and
the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem),’
The introduction informs us that this chapter contains words which Jeremiah wrote
to the exiles in Babylon. ‘The residue (or remnant) of the elders’ may indicate that
many had been executed, possibly because their especially rebellious attitude was
known to Nebuchadnezzar with the result that he had determined to get rid of the
hardliners. Nebuchadnezzar had no doubt had his spies in Jerusalem and the elders
would certainly have borne the brunt of the blame for Jehoiakim’s rebellion.
Nebuchadnezzar was not noted for his clemency (see 2 Kings 25:18-20). Alternately
‘residue’ may be intended to be read in throughout (although not made clear in the
text) simply indicating those who had survived the siege and its aftermath. The
priests and prophets would include among them Ezekiel.
The exile in mind is that under Jehoiachin when Jerusalem had had to submit to
Nebuchadnezzar (c.597 BC). Along with Jehoiachin had gone the queen mother (a
figure of great authority in Judah), the high officials (the word, used of the married
Potiphar in Genesis, doe not necessarily strictly mean eunuch), the ‘princes’ of the
tribes (the order of precedence would seem to indicate that it was not blood princes
who were in mind), along with all the skilled craftsmen and smiths, and so on. They
represented the cream of the nation (the good figs, not because they were better than
the essentially others, but because of what God was going to make of them -
Jeremiah 24:5).
Verses 1-32
Jeremiah’s Letter To The Exiles (Jeremiah 29:1-32).
Correspondence by letter was a constant feature of those days, and indicates that
the world was not static (compare the prophetic letters from Shemaiah to the
religious authorities in Jerusalem - Jeremiah 29:25; David to Joab - 2 Samuel 11:14;
Elijah to Jehoram - 2 Chronicles 21:12-15; Sennacherib to Hezekiah - 2 Kings
19:9-14; etc). There were always people who were on the move, such as traders and
ambassadors, who could carry such messages along the trading routes, or between
country and country, and kings themselves would have special messengers.. We are
not, of course, to think of an established postal service, although we need not doubt
that great kings would undoubtedly arrange for relays of messengers who could be
relied on to take their words to their underlings. But in this case Jeremiah took the
opportunity of King Zedekiah sending messengers in order to communicate with
Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon, to enable him to communicat with God’s exiled people.
It is clear from the letter that Jeremiah had received information that false prophets
14

15. were at work in Babylonia among the exiles who had been exiled along with
Jehoiachin (c. 597 BC, as opposed to those exiled earlier with Daniel in c. 605 BC),
proclaiming a similar message to that of Hananiah, and thus unsettling them, and
further, that one of these prophets had actually written to Jerusalem calling for
Jeremiah to be ‘rebuked’ (dealt with severely). Thus Jeremiah urged the exiles not
to listen to them, but to recognise that they were to settle in for a good long stay, for
at least another fifty years or so. Furthermore he warned them that the false
prophets in question who were stirring up trouble would themselves be summarily
dealt with, either by Nebuchadnezzar or by circumstances.
The letter can be divided up into five sections:
· The call for the exiles to settle down in Babylon and recognise that deliverance will
not come until his previously prophesied seventy years was over (Jeremiah 29:1-9).
A promise that then, when that seventy years is over, YHWH will restore His people
from all parts of the world if they seek Him with all their hearts (Jeremiah
29:10-14).
A warning not to listen to the false prophets as, rather than experiencing quick
restoration, Zedekiah and Jerusalem are doomed because they have not listened to
YHWH’s words (Jeremiah 29:15-19).
A declaration of the forthcoming doom of the false prophets who have arisen among
them, at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 29:20-23).
A special word concerning the doom of Shemaiah, a prophet who had written to
Jerusalem seeking for Jeremiah to be dealt with severely (Jeremiah 29:24-32).
BI, "Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent.
Messages to exiles
I. The very fact that a message was sent to them under an express Divine appointment
was consolatory. Wherever God’s children are scattered, the written Word is to them a
source of permanent encouragement. In the severest ways of justice God does not forget
His own children, but has in reserve ample consolations for them, when they lie under
the common judgment
II. The particular providence of God, appearing on their behalf under all their
calamities, was a source of consolation.
1. He is the Lord of hosts, of all the armies above and below, and yet is the God of
Israel; and though He permits their captivity, He does not break His relation to
them—their covenant-God still, though under a cloud.
2. He assumes the active agency in their dispersion. “I have caused them to be
carried away.” Certainly it must be a great sin which induces a loving father to cast
his child out of doors. But sin is a great scatterer, and is always followed by a driving
away and a casting out. Yet the fact of God’s being the agent in their dispersion is
15

16. referred to as a ground of consolation; since it reconciles us to our troubles to see the
hand of God in them, and to trace an all-gracious and merciful design in them.
III. The promise of the stability and security of their social and domestic interests was
given.
IV. The prospect of a certain and favourable issue to their trials (verse 11). (S. Thodey.)
2 (This was after King Jehoiachin[a] and the
queen mother, the court officials and the leaders
of Judah and Jerusalem, the skilled workers and
the artisans had gone into exile from Jerusalem.)
BARNES, "The queen - The queen-mother.
GILL, "After that Jeconiah the king,.... Of Judah; the same with Jehoiachin, who
was carried captive into Babylon when he had reigned but three months:
and the queen; not Jeconiah's wife, for he had none; but his mother, whose name was
Nehushta, and who was carried captive with him, 2Ki_24:8;
and the eunuchs; or "chamberlains" to the queen; the Targum calls them princes;
these were of the king's household, his courtiers; and such persons have been
everywhere, and in all ages, court favourites:
and the princes of Judah and Jerusalem; the noblemen and grandees of the
nation:
and the carpenters, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem; whom
Nebuchadnezzar took with him, partly for his own use in his own country; and partly
that the Jews might be deprived of such artificers, that could assist in fortifying their
city, and providing them with military weapons; See Gill on Jer_24:1.
HENRY, "
JAMISON, "queen — Nehushta, the queen mother, daughter of Elnathan (2Ki_
24:8, 2Ki_24:15). (Elnathan, her father, is perhaps the same as the one mentioned in
16

17. Jer_26:22). She reigned jointly with her son.
princes — All the men of authority were taken away lest they should organize a
rebellion. Jeremiah wrote his letter while the calamity was still recent, to console the
captives under it.
CALVIN, "He mentions the time when the book was sent, even after the calamity
which had happened, when King Jeconiah and his mother were driven into exile,
and Zedekiah, his successor, was made governor in his place, as we shall presently
see. It was then during these beginnings of a change that Jeremiah wrote. All things
were then in such a ferment, that some feared more than what was necessary, and
others entertained vain hopes, as the case usually is in a disordered state of things. It
was then after this fresh calamity that Jeremiah wrote, as his words most especially
shew. He might indeed, as in other instances, have mentioned the year; but as he
plainly declares that this happened after the departure of Jeconiah, his purpose is
sufficiently evident, even that he wished in due time to give some relief to their
sorrow, who might have succumbed under it, had not God in a manner stretched
forth his hand to them. For we know that fresh grief is difficult to be borne; and
hence it is that it is called a bitter grief; for it was a grievous novelty, when they
were violently and suddenly dragged out of their quiet nests. It was then Jeremiah’s
object at that time to give them some comfort; he also saw that those who were left
in Judea were greatly disturbed and continually agitating new schemes; for
Zedekiah’s kingdom was not as yet established, and they despised him and were
ever looking for their own king. As, then, things were thus in disorder at home, and
as the miserable exiles especially, were at first very grievously afflicted, Jeremiah set
before them a seasonable remedy. This then is the reason why he points out the time.
The mother of Jeconiah, we know, was led away with him into captivity; and she is
called, ‫,הגבירה‬ egebire; (205) for though she was not properly the queen, she yet
ruled in connection with her son. Some render ‫,סריסים‬ sarisim, eunuchs; (206) but I
prefer the word “chiefs;” and hence is added the word ‫,שרי‬ shari, princes, that is,
the courtiers, who governed the people, not only in Jerusalem, but through the
whole of Judea. He also adds the artificers and sculptors, (207) for Nebuchadnezzar
had chosen the best of them; he had deprived the city of its nobles, that there might
be none of authority among the Jews to venture on any new attempt; and then he
had taken away those who were useful and ingenious, so that he left them no
sculptors nor artificers. It now follows, —
3 He entrusted the letter to Elasah son of
Shaphan and to Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom
17

18. Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King
Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It said:
BARNES, "Elasah - Probably brother of Ahikam Jer_26:24, and therefore an
acceptable person at the Chaldaean court. As Zedekiah had to go in person to Babylon in
his fourth year Jer_51:59, this embassy was probably sent two or three years earlier. Its
date, however, was subsequent to the vision in Jer_24:1-10. It is appended therefore to
Jer. 28, not as later in point of time, but because of the similarity of subject.
GILL, "By the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan,.... Perhaps the brother of
Ahikam, and of Jaazaniah, Jer_26:24;
and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah; to distinguish him from Gemariah the son of
Shaphan the scribe, Jer_36:10;
whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon, to Nebuchadnezzar king
of Babylon; as his ambassadors, on what account it is not certain; perhaps to pay the
tribute money to him; or to treat with him about the restoration of some of the captives;
or to cultivate friendship, and promise submission, and that he would faithfully keep the
covenant he had made with him: and perhaps he might be jealous of Jeconiah using his
interest with the king of Babylon for his restoration, which could not be acceptable to
Zedekiah; and this might be one reason why he admitted his messengers to carry
Jeremiah's letter to the captives, if he knew of it, or saw it; since it exhorted them not to
think of a returns, but provide for a long continuance where they were; however, by the
hand of these messengers Jeremiah sent his letter to them:
saying; as follows:
JAMISON, "Zedekiah ... sent unto Babylon — In Jer_51:59, Zedekiah himself
goes to Babylon; here he sends ambassadors. Whatever was the object of the embassy, it
shows that Zedekiah only reigned at the pleasure of the king of Babylon, who might have
restored Jeconiah, had he pleased. Hence, Zedekiah permitted Jeremiah’s letter to be
sent, not only as being led by Hananiah’s death to attach greater credit to the prophet’s
words, but also as the letter accorded with his own wish that the Jews should remain in
Chaldea till Jeconiah’s death.
Hilkiah — the high priest who found the book of the law in the house of the Lord, and
showed it to “Shaphan” the scribe (the same Shaphan probably as here), who showed it
to King Josiah (2Ki_22:8, etc.). The sons of Hilkiah and Shaphan inherited from their
fathers some respect for sacred things. So in Jer_36:25, “Gemariah” interceded with
King Jehoiakim that the prophet’s roll should not be burned.
18

19. CALVIN, "This is the substance of the message, which the Prophet, no doubt,
explained to them at large; but here he touches but briefly on what he wrote to the
captives, even that they were patiently to endure their exile until the time of their
deliverance, which was not to be such as many imagined, but such as God had fixed.
Well known indeed at that time was Jeremiah’s prophecy, not only in Judea, but
also to the captives, that their exile could not be completed in a shorter time than
seventy years.
It is said that he sent his letter by the hand of the king’s ambassadors. It is probable
that this was done by the permission of Zedekiah; for there is no doubt but that in
sending his ambassadors he intended to obtain favor with King Nebuchadnezzar, by
whose nod he had come to the throne; for he was not of such dignity as to be made
king, though of the royal seed, had not Nebuchadnezzar thought that it would be
more advantageous to himself. For had he appointed any other governor over the
Jews, a sedition might have been easily raised; he therefore intended in a measure to
pacify them, for he knew that they were a very refractory people. However,
Zedekiah ruled only by permission, not through his own power, nor on account of
his wealth, but through the good pleasure of a conqueror. He then sent his
ambassadors to promise all kinds of homage, and to know what was to be done in
future. As, then, he did not wish the return of Jeconiah, he permitted his
ambassadors to carry the letter of Jeremiah, not indeed that he wished to obey God.
It was not, then, owing to any sincere regard for religion, but because he thought
that it would be advantageous to him, that the Jews should remain in Chaldea till
the death of Jeconiah; for he thus hoped that his kingdom would be confirmed, for
Jeconiah was, as it were, his rival. Nor is there a doubt, but that Nebuchadnezzar
wished to hold Zedekiah bound by this fetter; for he could any day restore Jeconiah,
who was his captive, to his former state.
Now, then, we understand why Zedekiah did not prohibit Jeremiah’s letter to be
carried to the captives: he thought that it would serve to tranquilize his kingdom.
But the holy Prophet had another thing in view; for his anxious object was, not to
gain the favor of the king, but to shew, as God had commanded him, how long the
captivity would be. Zedekiah indeed might have wished that a permission should be
given to the exiles to return; for those who remained in Judea were only the dregs
and offscourings of society; it was not an honorable state of things: and it may be
that he had also this in view, in sending ambassadors to Nebuchadnezzar, that
Jerusalem might not remain desolate, but that a portion at least of the exiles might
return, and that there might also be some to cultivate the land which had been
nearly stripped of its inhabitants. But Jeremiah declared what he knew was by no
means acceptable to the king, that a return was in vain expected before the
termination of seventy years. We hence see that he spoke nothing to gain the favor
of the king; and yet the king did not regard with displeasure, that the letter was sent
to allay all commotions, and to restrain all the violence of those who would have
been otherwise too prone to make some new attempts. This accounts for the
circumstance, that the letter was sent by the hand of Elasah and Gemariah
19

20. He adds, at the same time, that they were sent by Zedekiah to Babylon, that is, to
gain the favor of King Nebuchadnezzar, or, at least, to secure his friendship. I now
come to the message itself:
PETT, "Verse 3
‘By the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah,
(whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of
Babylon), saying,’
His letter was sent by the hand of messengers who were going in Zedekiah’s name to
Nebuchadnezzar, no doubt with other more official correspondence. It is very
probable that part of the aim was to renew Zedekiah’s submission and assure
Nebuchadnezzar of his loyalty, no doubt also delivering tribute. These would be
prominent men, and may even have been the sons of Shaphan the Scribe (2 Kings
22:8), and Hilkiah the High Priest (2 Kings 22:4), although this is not certain. Elasah
may have been brother to Ahikam who had aided Jeremiah (Jeremiah 26:24). This
probably took place not long after the exile had begun in c.597 BC, at a time when
Zedekiah had no thought of rebellion, and thus earlier than the previous chapter.
4 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of
Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from
Jerusalem to Babylon:
BARNES, "As the exile was God’s doing for their good, they were to make the best of
their position, and acquire wealth and influence; whereas if they were always restlessly
looking out for the opportunity of returning home, they would rapidly fall into poverty
and dwindle away.
CLARKE, "Thus saith the Lord of hosts - This was the commencement of the
letter.
GILL, "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,.... For the letter was
20

21. written by the order of the Lord, was endited by him, and was sent in his name, the
prophet was only his amanuensis; and the titles which the Lord here takes are worthy of
notice: "the Lord of hosts": of the armies above and below, that does according to his
pleasure in heaven and in earth, with whom nothing is impossible; who could easily
destroy the enemies of his people, and deliver them, either immediately by his power, or
mediately by means of armies on earth, whom he could assemble, and send at pleasure;
or by legions of angels at his command: "the God of Israel"; their covenant God; who still
continued to be so, notwithstanding their sins and transgressions, and though in
captivity in a foreign land; and a good him this, to preserve them from the idolatry of the
country they were in, and to observe unto them that he only was to be worshipped by
them:
unto all that are carried away captives: or, "to all of the captivity"; or, "to the
whole captivity" (r); high and low, rich and poor; this letter was an interesting one to
them all:
whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon; for
though their sins and iniquities were the moving, meritorious, and procuring causes of
their captivity; and Nebuchadnezzar and his army the instruments; yet God was the
efficient cause: the Chaldeans could never have carried them captive, if the Lord had not
willed it, or had not done it by them; for there is no "evil of this kind in a city, and the
Lord hath not done it", Amo_3:6.
HENRY 4-7, "We are here told what he wrote. A copy of the letter at large follows
here to Jer_29:24. In these verses,
1. He assures them that he wrote in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,
who indited the letter; Jeremiah was but the scribe or amanuensis. It would be
comfortable to them, in their captivity, to hear that God is the Lord of hosts, of all hosts,
and is therefore able to help and deliver them; and that he is the God of Israel still, a
God in covenant with his people, though he contend with them, and their enemies for
the present are too hard for them. This would likewise be an admonition to them to
stand upon their guard against all temptations to the idolatry of Babylon, because the
God of Israel, the God whom they served, is Lord of hosts. God's sending to them in this
letter might be an encouragement to them in their captivity, as it was an evidence that he
had not cast them off, had not abandoned them and disinherited them, though he was
displeased with them and corrected them; for, if the Lord had been pleased to kill them,
he would not have written to them.
2. God by him owns the hand he had in their captivity: I have caused you to be carried
away, Jer_29:4 and again, Jer_29:7. All the force of the king of Babylon could not have
done it if God had not ordered it; nor could he have any power against them but what
was given him from above. If God caused them to be carried captives, they might be sure
that he neither did them any wrong nor meant them any hurt. Note, It will help very
much to reconcile us to our troubles, and to make us patient under them, to consider
that they are what God has appointed us to. I opened not my mouth, because thou didst
it.
3. He bids them think of nothing but settling there; and therefore let them resolve to
make the best of it (Jer_29:5, Jer_29:6): Build yourselves houses and dwell in them,
etc. By all this it is intimated to them, (1.) That they must not feed themselves with hopes
of a speedy return out of their captivity, for that would keep them still unsettled and
21

22. consequently uneasy; they would apply themselves to no business, take no comfort, but
be always tiring themselves and provoking their conquerors with the expectations of
relief; and their disappointment at last would sink them into despair and make their
condition much more miserable than otherwise it would be. Let them therefore reckon
upon a continuance there, and accommodate themselves to it as well as they can. Let
them build, and plant, and marry, and dispose of their children there as if they were at
home in their own land. Let them take a pleasure in seeing their families built up and
multiplied; for, though they must expect themselves to die in captivity, yet their children
may live to see better days. If they live in the fear of God, what should hinder them but
they may live comfortably in Babylon? They cannot but weep sometimes when they
remember Zion. But let not weeping hinder sowing; let them not sorrow as those that
have no hope, no joy; for they have both. Note, In all conditions of life it is our wisdom
and duty to make the best of that which is, and not to throw away the comfort of what we
may have because we have not all we would have. We have a natural affection for our
native country; it strangely draws our minds; but it is with a nescio qua dulcedine - we
can give no good account of the sweet attraction; and therefore, if providence remove
us to some other country, we must resolve to live easy there, to bring our mind to our
condition when our condition is not in every thing to our mind. If the earth be the
Lord's, then, wherever a child of God goes, he does not go off his Father's ground. Patria
est ubicunque bene est - That place is our country in which we are well off. If things be
not as they have been, instead of fretting at that, we must live in hopes that they will be
better than they are. Non si male nunc, et olim sic erit - Though we suffer now we shall
not always. (2.) That they must not disquiet themselves with fears of intolerable
hardships in their captivity. They might be ready to suggest (as persons in trouble are
always apt to make the worst of things) that it would be in vain to build houses, for their
lords and masters would not suffer them to dwell in them when they had built them, nor
to eat the fruit of the vineyards they planted. “Never fear,” says God; “if you live
peaceably with them, you shall find them civil to you.” Meek and quiet people, that work
and mind their own business, have often found much better treatment, even with
strangers and enemies, than they expected; and God has made his people to be pitied of
those that carry them captives (Psa_106:46), and a pity it is but that those who have
built houses should dwell in them. Nay,
4. He directs them to seek the good of the country where they were captives (Jer_
29:7), to pray for it, to endeavour to promote it. This forbids them to attempt any thing
against the public peace while they were subjects to the king of Babylon. Though he was
a heathen, an idolater, an oppressor, and an enemy to God and his church, yet, while he
gave them protection, they must pay him allegiance, and live quiet and peaceable lives
under him, in all godliness and honesty, not plotting to shake off his yoke, but patiently
leaving it to God in due time to work deliverance for them. Nay, they must pray to God
for the peace of the places where they were, that they might oblige them to continue
their kindness to them and disprove the character that had been given their nation, that
they were hurtful to kings and provinces, and moved sedition, Ezr_4:15. Both the
wisdom of the serpent and the innocency of the dove required them to be true to the
government they lived under: For in the peace thereof you shall have peace; should the
country be embroiled in war, they would have the greatest share in the calamitous effects
of it. Thus the primitive Christians, according to the temper of their holy religion, prayed
for the powers that were, though they were persecuting powers. And, if they were to pray
for and seek the peace of the land of their captivity, much more reason have we to pray
for the welfare of the land of our nativity, where we are a free people under a good
22

23. government, that in the peace thereof we and ours may have peace. Every passenger is
concerned in the safety of the ship.
K&D 4-14, "At Jer_29:4 the contents of the letter begin. Jeremiah warns the people
to prepare for a lengthened sojourn in Babylonia, and exhorts them to settle down there.
Jer_29:5. "Build houses and dwell (therein), and plant gardens and eat the fruit of
them. Jer_29:6. Take wives and beget sons and daughters, and take for your sons
wives and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters;
and increase there and not diminish. Jer_29:7. And seek the safety of the city whither I
have carried you captive, and pray for it to Jahveh, and in its safety shall be safety to
you." The imperatives "increase and not diminish" give the consequence of what has
been said just before. "The city whither I have carried you captive" is not precisely
Babylon, but every place whither separate companies of the exiles have been
transported. And pray for the city whither you are come, because in this you further your
own welfare, instead of looking for advantage to yourselves from the fall of the Chaldean
empire, from the calamity of your heathen fellow-citizens. - With this is suitably joined
immediately the warning against putting trust in the delusive hopes held out by the false
prophets. "For thus saith Jahve of hosts, the God of Israel: Let not your prophets, that
are in the midst of you, and your soothsayers, deceive you, and hearken not to your
dreams which ye cause to be dreamed; for falsely they prophesy to you in my name; I
have not sent them, saith Jahveh." ‫ים‬ ִ‫מ‬ ְ‫ל‬ ְ‫ח‬ ַ‫מ‬ is somewhat singular, since we have no
other example of the Hiph. of ‫ם‬ ַ‫ל‬ ָ‫ח‬ in its sig. dream (in Isa_38:16 the Hiph. of the same
root means to preserve in good health); but the Hiph. may here express the people's
spontaneity in the matter of dreams: which ye cause to be dreamed for you (Hitz.). Thus
there would be no need to alter the reading into ‫ים‬ ִ‫מ‬ ְ‫ל‬ֹ‫;ח‬ a precedent for the defective
spelling being found in ‫ים‬ ִ‫ר‬ְ‫ז‬ ְ‫ע‬ ַ‫,מ‬ 2Ch_28:23. What the false prophets gave out is not
expressly intimated, but may be gathered from the context Jer_29:10, namely, that the
yoke of Babylon would soon be broken and captivity come to an end. - This warning is
justified in Jer_29:10-14, where God's decree is set forth. The deliverance will not come
about till after seventy years; but then the Lord will fulfil to His people His promise of
grace. Jer_29:10. "For thus saith Jahveh: When as seventy years are fulfilled for
Babylon, I will visit you, and perform to you my good word, to bring you back to this
place. Jer_29:11. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith Jahveh,
thoughts of peace and not for evil, to give you (a) destiny and hope. Jer_29:12. And ye
will call upon me, and go and pray unto me, and I will hear you. Jer_29:13. And ye will
seek me, and find me, if ye search for me with all your heart. Jer_29:14. And I will let
myself be found of you, saith Jahve, and will turn your captivity, and gather you out of
all the peoples and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith Jahveh, and will
bring you again to the place whence I have carried you away." - ‫י‬ ִ‫פ‬ ְ‫ל‬ ‫ֹאת‬ ‫ל‬ ְ‫,מ‬ according
to the measure of the fulfilment of seventy years for Babel. These words point back to
Jer_25:11., and we must reckon from the date of that prediction. ‫ד‬ ַ‫ק‬ָ‫פּ‬ c. accus. sig. to
visit in a good sense, to look favourably on one and take his part. "My good word" is
expounded by the following infinitive clause. Jer_29:11. "I know my thoughts" is not to
be taken, as by Jerome, J. D. Mich., etc., as in contrast with the false prophets: I know,
but they do not. This antithesis is not in keeping with what follows. The meaning is
rather: Although I appoint so long a term for the fulfilment of the plan of redemption,
23

24. yet fear not that I have utterly rejected you; I know well what my design is in your
regard. My thoughts toward you are thoughts of God, not of evil. Although now I inflict
lengthened sufferings on you, yet this chastisement but serves to bring about your
welfare in the future (Chr. B. Mich., Graf, etc.). - To give you ‫ית‬ ִ‫ר‬ֲ‫ח‬ ַ‫,א‬ lit., last, i.e., issue
or future, and hope. For this sig. cf. Job_8:7; Pro_5:4, etc. This future destiny and hope
can, however, only be realized if by the sorrows of exile you permit yourselves to be
brought to a knowledge of your sins, and return penitent to me. Then ye will call on me
and pray, and I will hear you. "And ye will go," Jer_29:12, is not the apodosis to "ye will
call," since there is no further explanation of it, and since the simple ַ‫ל‬ ָ‫ה‬ can neither
mean to go away satisfied nor to have success. "Go" must be taken with what follows: go
to the place of prayer (Ew., Umbr., Gr. Näg.). In Jer_29:13 ‫י‬ ִ‫ת‬ֹ‫א‬ is to be repeated after
"find." Jer_29:12 and Jer_29:13 are a renewal of the promise, Deu_4:29-30; and Jer_
29:14 is a brief summary of the promise, Deu_30:3-5, whence is taken the graphic
expression ‫שׁוּב‬ ‫בוּת‬ ְ‫ת־שׁ‬ ֶ‫;א‬ see on that passage. - Thereafter in
PETT, "Verses 4-9
The Call For The Exiles To Settle Down In Babylon And Pay No Heed To The False
Prophets (Jeremiah 29:4-9).
Jeremiah 29:4
“Thus says YHWH of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the captivity, whom I have
caused to be carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon,’
The letter is written as from YHWH, giving His full title as found elsewhere. Notice
the deliberate implication that the exile is YHWH’s doing. The indication is that
they must not rebel against what He has brought about. It would appear from what
follows that many had high hopes of a quick return to Judah. This was partly
because among them were some prophets who were proclaiming such a return,
possibly connected with stirrings of trouble in Babylonia, and partly resulting from
man’s eternal optimism, especially as concerning their conviction that YHWH must,
at some stage, step in as their God, just as He had delivered them from Egypt so
long ago. How could He allow His house to continue to be denuded because of the
vessels stolen by Nebuchadnezzar, they would have asked, and how could he allow
the true ‘son of David’ not to be on the throne in Jerusalem? The thought would
therefore be that ‘God had to act’.
5 “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens
and eat what they produce.
24

25. CLARKE, "Build ye houses - Prepare for a long continuance in your present
captivity. Provide yourselves with the necessaries of life, and multiply in the land, that ye
may become a powerful people.
GILL, "Build ye houses, and dwell in them,.... Intimating hereby that they must
not expect a return into their own land in any short time, but that they should continue
many years where they were; suggesting also, that as they had ability, so they should
have liberty, of building themselves houses; nor should they be interrupted by their
enemies; nor would their houses be taken from them, when built; but they should dwell
peaceably and quietly in them, as their own; which they might assure themselves of from
the Lord, who gives these, and the following directions:
and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them; and live as comfortably as you can in
a foreign country; plant your gardens with vines and pomegranates, and all sorts of
fruitful trees the country produces; and fear not the fruit being taken away from you;
depend upon it, you shall eat the fruit of your own labour, and not be deprived of it.
JAMISON, "Build ... houses — In opposition to the false prophets’ suggestions,
who told the captives that their captivity would soon cease, Jeremiah tells them that it
will be of long duration, and that therefore they should build houses, as Babylon is to be
for long their home.
CALVIN, "God commanded the captives to build houses in Chaldea, to plant
vineyards, and also to marry wives, and to beget children, as though they were at
home. It was not, indeed, God’s purpose that they should set their hearts on
Chaldea, on the contrary, they were ever to think of their return: but until the end
of the seventy years, it was God’s will that they should continue quiet, and not
attempt this or that, but carry on the business of life as though they were in their
own country. As to their hope, then, it was God’s will that their minds should be in a
state of suspense until the time of deliverance.
At the first view these two things seemed inconsistent, — that the Jews were to live
seventy years as though they were the natives of the place, and that their habitations
were not to be changed, — and yet that they were ever to look forward to a return.
But these two things can well agree together: it was a proof of obedience when they
acknowledged that they were chastised by God’s hand, and thus became willingly
submissive to the end of the seventy years. But their hope, as I have just observed,
was to remain in suspense, in order that they might not be agitated with discontent,
nor be led away by some violent feeling, but that they might so pass their time as to
bear their exile in such a way as to please God; for there was a sure hope of return,
provided they looked forward, according to God’s will, to the end of the seventy
25

26. years. It is then this subject on which Jeremiah now speaks, when he says, Build
houses, and dwell in them; plant vineyards, and eat of their fruit For this whole
discourse is to be referred to the time of exile, he having beforehand spoken of their
return; and this we shall see in its proper place.
But the Jews could not have hoped for anything good, except they were so resigned
as to bear their correction, and thus really proved that they did not reject the
punishment laid on them.
We now see that Jeremiah did not encourage the Jews to indulge in pleasures, nor
persuade them to settle for ever in Chaldea. It was, indeed, a fertile and pleasant
land; but he did not encourage them to live there in pleasure, to indulge themselves
and to forget their own country; by no means: but he confined what he said to the
time of the captivity, to the end of the seventy years. During that time, then, he
wished them to enjoy the land of Chaldea, and all its advantages, as though they
were not exiles but natives of the place. For what purpose? not that they might give
themselves up to sloth, but that they might not, by raising commotions, offend God,
and in a manner close up against themselves the door of his grace, for the time
which he had fixed was to be expected. For when we are driven headlong by a
vehement desire, we in a manner repel the favor of God; we do not then suffer him
to act as it becomes him: and when we take away from him his own rights and will,
it is the same as though we were unwilling to receive his grace. This would have
been the case, had they not quietly and resignedly endured their calamity in
Chaldea to the end of the time which had been fixed by God.
We now perceive that the Prophet’s message referred only to the time of exile; and
we also perceive what was the design of it, even to render them obedient to God, that
they might thus shew by their patience that they were really penitent, and that they
also expected a return in no other way than through God’s favor alone.
COFFMAN, "Verse 5
"Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give
your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters: and multiply
there, and be not diminished. And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused
you to be carried away captive, and pray unto Jehovah for it; for in the peace
thereof shall ye have peace."
What a marvelous anticipation of New Testament teaching is in this paragraph. The
wholehearted cooperation with the governmental powers under which one may
chance to live is spoken as a cardinal principle of the gospel of Christ in Romans
13:1-12. Praying for authorities is specifically commanded in 1 Timothy 2:1-3. If the
Jewish nation had properly received and obeyed this commandment, the Roman
destruction of 70 A.D. would have been averted.
26

27. Of course, instructions such as these infuriated the false prophets.
"Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters ..." (Jeremiah 29:6). "The wives
Jeremiah encouraged them to marry were Jewish wives, not foreign (Deuteronomy
7:3)."[8]
"The Hebrew exiles in Babylon were not slaves but deportees, and free to leave
about as they pleased. Some became wealthy, and some, like Daniel, attained high
places in government; and the commandments of Jeremiah 29:7 were made out of
regard for the welfare of Israel."[9]
As a matter of fact, the prosperity of many of the exiles was so great that when the
command finally came for them to return to the Holy Land, countless numbers of
them elected to remain in Babylon. It was indeed only "a remnant" that returned to
Jerusalem.
PETT, "Jeremiah 29:5
“Build you houses, and dwell in them, and plant gardens, and eat the fruit from
them.”
But Jeremiah assures them that there would be no quick return. Thus they are to
make the best of the situation, building permanent houses, living in them with a
sense of permanency, planting gardens and eating the resultant fruit (which in some
cases would not be available for four years). There is an indication here that, having
suffered the undoubted hardship of the journey to Babylon, conditions there were
not too bad for them. Indeed they were good enough for many not to want to return
home when the opportunity arose (Ezra 8:15). They appear to have been free to do
whatever they desired, apart from return to Judah. Compare the similar picture
presented in Ezekiel of an established and relatively free community (Daniel was
presumably still governing Babylonia - Daniel 2:48-49).
6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives
for your sons and give your daughters in
marriage, so that they too may have sons and
daughters. Increase in number there; do not
decrease.
27

28. GILL, "Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters,.... That is, such as had no
wives, who were either bachelors or widowers; not that they were to take wives of the
Chaldeans, but of those of their own nation; for intermarriages with Heathens were
forbidden them; and this they were to do, in order to propagate their posterity, and keep
up a succession:
and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands; or "men"
(s); preserving and establishing the right of parents to give their children in marriage,
and pointing to them their duty to provide suitable yoke fellows for them; and hereby is
signified, that not only they, but their children after them, should continue in this state
of captivity:
that they may bear sons and daughters, that ye may be increased there;
and not diminished; like their ancestors in Egypt, who grew very numerous amidst all
their afflictions and bondage.
JAMISON, "that ye ... be ... not diminished — It was God’s will that the seed of
Abraham should not fail; thus consolation is given them, and the hope, though not of an
immediate, yet of an ultimate, retur
CALVIN, "In bidding them to take wives for their sons, and to give their daughters
in marriage, he speaks according to the usual order of nature; for it would be
altogether unreasonable for young men and young women to seek partners for
themselves, according to their own humor and fancy. God then speaks here
according to the common order of things, when he bids young men not to be
otherwise joined in marriage than by the consent of parents, and that young women
are not to marry but those to whom they are given.
He then adds, Be ye multiplied there and not diminished; as though he had said,
that the time of exile would be so long, that except they propagated, they would soon
come to nothing: and God expressed this, because it was not his will that Abraham’s
seed should fail. It was indeed a kind of death, when he had driven them so far, as
though he had deprived them of the inheritance which he had promised to be
perpetual: he, however, administers comfort here by commanding them to
propagate their kind: for they could not have been encouraged to do so, except they
had their eyes directed to the hope of a return. He then afforded them some taste of
his mercy when he bade them not to be diminished in Chaldea. He then adds, —
PETT, "Jeremiah 29:6
“Take you wives, and beget sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons, and
28

29. give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters, and
multiply yourselves there, and do not be diminished.”
They were to make their home in Babylonia with the longer term future in mind,
marrying, having children who would also marry, and ensuring that rather than
their numbers diminishing they multiplied. (He might have added, just as they had
in Egypt so long ago. There is a genuine parallel between the two situations which
would not go unnoticed).
7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to
which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the
Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will
prosper.”
BARNES, "Jer_29:7
Seek the peace of the city ... - Not only because their welfare for seventy years was
bound up with that of Babylon, but because it would have degraded their whole moral
nature to have lived as conspirators, banded together against the country that was for
the time their home.
CLARKE, "Seek the peace of the city - Endeavor to promote, as far as you can,
the prosperity of the places in which ye sojourn. Let no disaffection appear in word or
act. Nothing can be more reasonable than this. Wherever a man lives and has his
nourishment and support, that is his country as long as he resides in it. If things go well
with that country, his interest is promoted by the general prosperity, he lives at
comparative ease, and has the necessaries of life cheaper; and unless he is in a state of
cruel servitude, which does not appear to have been the case with those Israelites to
whom the prophet writes, (those of the first captivity), they must be nearly, if not
altogether, in as good a state as if they had been in the country that gave them birth. And
in this case they were much better off than their brethren now in Judea, who had to
contend with famine and war, and scarcely any thing before them but God’s curse and
extermination.
29

30. GILL, "And seek the peace of the city,.... The prosperity and happiness of Babylon,
or any other city in Chaldea, were they were placed: this they were to do by prayer and
supplication to God, and by all other means that might be any ways conducive to the
good of the state where they were:
whither I have caused you to be carried away captives; and as long as they
continued so; for being under the protection of the magistrates of it, though Heathens,
they owed them submission, and were under obligation to contribute to their peace and
welfare:
and pray unto the Lord for it; the city, where they dwelt; for the continuance, safety,
peace, and prosperity of it; and therefore much more ought the natives of a place to seek
and pray for its good, and do all that in them lies to promote it; and still more should the
saints and people of God pray for the peace of Jerusalem, or the church of God, where
they are born, and brought up in a spiritual sense; see 1Ti_2:1;
for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace; which is an argument taken from
self-interest; intimating, that while the city in which they were was in safety and
prosperity, was in a flourishing condition, as to its health and trade, they would partake
more or less with them of the same advantages; and on the other hand, should they be
distressed with the sword, famine, or pestilence, or any grievous calamity, they would be
involved in the same.
HENRY, "He directs them to seek the good of the country where they were captives
(Jer_29:7), to pray for it, to endeavour to promote it. This forbids them to attempt any
thing against the public peace while they were subjects to the king of Babylon. Though
he was a heathen, an idolater, an oppressor, and an enemy to God and his church, yet,
while he gave them protection, they must pay him allegiance, and live quiet and
peaceable lives under him, in all godliness and honesty, not plotting to shake off his
yoke, but patiently leaving it to God in due time to work deliverance for them. Nay, they
must pray to God for the peace of the places where they were, that they might oblige
them to continue their kindness to them and disprove the character that had been given
their nation, that they were hurtful to kings and provinces, and moved sedition, Ezr_
4:15. Both the wisdom of the serpent and the innocency of the dove required them to be
true to the government they lived under: For in the peace thereof you shall have peace;
should the country be embroiled in war, they would have the greatest share in the
calamitous effects of it. Thus the primitive Christians, according to the temper of their
holy religion, prayed for the powers that were, though they were persecuting powers.
And, if they were to pray for and seek the peace of the land of their captivity, much more
reason have we to pray for the welfare of the land of our nativity, where we are a free
people under a good government, that in the peace thereof we and ours may have peace.
Every passenger is concerned in the safety of the ship.
JAMISON, "(Ezr_6:10; Rom_13:1; 1Ti_2:2). Not only bear the Babylonian yoke
patiently, but pray for your masters, that is, while the captivity lasts. God’s good time
was to come when they were to pray for Babylon’s downfall (Jer_51:35; Psa_137:8).
They were not to forestall that time. True religion teaches patient submission, not
sedition, even though the prince be an unbeliever. In all states of life let us not throw
30

31. away the comfort we may have, because we have not all we would have. There is here a
foretaste of gospel love towards enemies (Mat_5:44).
CALVIN, "Jeremiah goes still farther, even that the Jews had been led to Babylon,
on the condition of rendering willing obedience to the authority of King
Nebuchadnezzar, and of testifying this by their prayers. He not only bids them
patiently to endure the punishment laid on them, but also to be faithful subjects of
their conqueror; he not only forbids them to be seditious, but he would have them to
obey from the heart, so that God might be a witness of their willing subjection and
obedience.
He says, Seek the peace of the city; this may be understood of prayers; for ‫דרש‬ ,
daresh, often means to pray: but it may suitably be taken here, as I think, in
reference to the conduct of the people, as though he had said, that the Jews were to
do what they could, to exert themselves to the utmost, so that no harm might happen
to the Chaldean monarchy; for they are afterwards directed to pray It may indeed
be, that the same thing is repeated in other words; but if any one weighs the subject
more fully, he will, I think, assent to what I have stated, that in the first clause the
Prophet bids them to be faithful to King Nebuchadnezzar and to his monarchy.
Seek, then, the peace of the city: (208) by peace, as it is well known, is to be
understood prosperity.
But he was not satisfied with external efforts, but he would have them to pray to
God, that all things might turn out prosperously and happily to the Babylonian
king, even to the end of their exile; for we must bear in mind that the Prophet had
ever that time in view. We hence learn that he exhorted the exiles to bear the yoke of
the king of Babylon, during the time allotted to the captivity, for to attempt
anything rashly was to fight against God, and that he thus far commanded them
quietly to bear that tyrannical government.
He repeats again what he had said, (though I had passed it by,) that they had been
carried away captives: for he had spoken of it, “all the captivity which,” he says, “I
made to migrate,” or removed, or led captive, “from Jerusalem.” Now, again, he
repeats the same thing, that he had carried them away captives, ‫הגליתי‬ ‫אשו‬ , asher
egeliti; (209) and he said this, that they might not regard only the avarice, or the
ambition, or the pride of King Nebuchadnezzar, but that they might raise up their
eyes to heaven, and acknowledge Nebuchadnezzar as the scourge of God, and their
exile as a chastisement for their sins. God thus testified that he was the author of
their exile, that the Jews might not think that they had to do with a mortal man, but
on the contrary, understand that they were kicking against the goad, if they
murmured and complained, because they lived under the tyranny of a foreign king.
That they might not then be agitated with vain thoughts, God comes forth and says,
that the exile was imposed on them by his just judgment, in order that they might
know that they would gain nothing by their perverseness, and that they might not be
31

32. disturbed by an anxious disquietude, nor dare to attempt anything new, for this
would be to resist God, and as it were to carry on war with heaven. I will finish
here.
PETT, "Jeremiah 29:7
“And seek the peace of the city to which I have caused you to be carried away
captive, and pray to YHWH for it, for in its peace you will have peace.”
And they were also to pray to YHWH for the peace and well-being of Babylon, so
that thereby they too would enjoy peace. This remarkable command, unparalleled
elsewhere in the Old Testament, demonstrated quite clearly that His favour and
blessing were not to be seen as tied to ‘the promised land’. The hunger for them to
return would not be His, but theirs. He was content for them to worship Him in
Babylonia and to pray for peace and wellbeing for Babylon.
It was also a reminder that their presence there was His doing and His will. It was
He, not Nebuchadnezzar, Who had ‘caused you to be carried away captive’. They
should therefore not rebel against His will, but rather pray along with it. He wanted
them ‘in whatever state they were, to be content’. They would remain there until
they had learned their lesson, and until their idolatrous attitudes had been purged
from them. (Many would continue in idolatry. For them there would be no return).
BI, "Seek the peace of the city.
The best Christians the best citizens
1. They know that the prosperity of the whole is their own prosperity. They o not,
therefore, selfishly seek their own advantage.
2. They actually labour with all diligence for the furtherance of the common good.
3. They employ for this end the power of Christian prayer. (Naegelsbach.)
The duties of Christians to their country
I. What are the things absolutely necessary to the security and prosperity, the true glory
and happiness, of our country?
1. The true honour of a nation, like that of the individual, lies in character.
2. The security and prosperity of our nation are inseparably associated with the
advancement of religion among the people.
II. What are the best means for securing those things which are essential to our
country’s highest welfare?
1. General diffusion of education. “Education is a better safeguard of liberty than a
standing army.”
2. Equally essential that the people be virtuous. Knowledge is power, but
32

33. unsanctified power is power for evil.
3. The general distribution of the Bible—the great instrument for enlightening the
conscience and purifying the heart.
4. Preaching the Gospel Our nature is a wreck, a chaos, which the Cross of Christ
alone can adjust.
5. Prayer (2Ch_7:13-14; Psa_106:23; Exo_32:10).
III. What arguments may enforce the duties of personal and combined activity in
seeking the highest good of our land?
1. Because our own individual good is intimately connected with its general
happiness and prosperity. “For in the peace thereof ye shall have peace.”
2. We shall thereby recommend the religion we profess.
3. The work of supplying our land with the preached Gospel, and with religious
institutions, is the most important work to which Christians can devote their
energies. (Samuel Baker, D. D.)
The civil obligations of Christian people
When a man becomes a Christian does he cease to be a member of civil society? Allowing
that he be not the owner of the ship, but only a passenger in it, has he nothing to awaken
his concern in the voyage? If he be only a traveller towards a better country, is he to be
told that because he is at an inn which he is soon to leave, it should not excite any
emotion in him, whether it be invaded by robbers, or consumed by flames before the
morning? “In the peace thereof ye shall have peace.” Is not religion variously affected by
public transactions? Can a Christian, for instance, be indifferent to the cause of freedom,
even on a pious principle? Does not civil liberty necessarily include religious, and is it
not necessary to the spreading of the Gospel? (W. Jay.)
8 Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of
Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners
among you deceive you. Do not listen to the
dreams you encourage them to have.
33

34. BARNES, "Your prophets and your diviners - The evils from which the people
had suffered so cruelly at home followed them in their exile.
Dreams which ye cause to be dreamed - As long as there was a market for
dreams, so long there would be plenty of impostors to supply them.
CLARKE, "Neither hearken to your dreams - Rather, dreamers; for it appears
there was a class of such persons, who not only had acquired a facility of dreaming
themselves, but who undertook to interpret the dreams of others.
GILL, "For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,.... See Gill on Jer_
29:4;
let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive
you; their false prophets, as the Targum; and there were many such in the captivity; see
Eze_13:2; and such who pretended to divine and foretell future things, and so impose
upon the people, who were too apt to believe them; these insinuated, that in a little time
they should have their liberty, and return to their own land again, contrary to the
prophecies that came from the Lord himself:
neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed; for that of a
speedy return to their own land was no other than a dream, which they both dreamed
themselves; their thoughts running on it in the daytime, they dreamed of it at night; and
fancied it was from the Lord; a divine dream; and so built much upon it; and also which
they encouraged the false prophets and diviners to dream, and tell their dreams, by their
listening to them, and being pleased with them, giving credit to them as if they came
from God.
HENRY 8-14, "To make the people quiet and easy in their captivity,
I. God takes them off from building upon the false foundation which their pretended
prophets laid, Jer_29:8, Jer_29:9. They told them that their captivity should be short,
and therefore that they must not think of taking root in Babylon, but be upon the wing to
go back: “Now herein they deceive you,” says God; “they prophesy a lie to you, though
they prophesy in my name. But let them not deceive you, suffer not yourselves to be
deluded by them.” As long as we have the word of truth to try the spirits by it is our own
fault if we be deceived; for by it we may be undeceived. Hearken not to your dreams,
which you cause to be dreamed. He means either the dreams or fancies which the
people pleased themselves with, and with which they filled their own heads (by thinking
and speaking of nothing else but a speedy enlargement when they were awake they
caused themselves to dream of it when they were asleep, and then took that for a good
omen, and with it strengthened themselves in their vain expectations), or the dreams
which the prophets dreamed and grounded their prophecies upon. God tells the people,
They are your dreams, because they pleased them, were the dreams that they desired
34

35. and wished for. They caused them to be dreamed; for they hearkened to them, and
encouraged the prophets to put such deceits upon them, desiring them to prophesy
nothing but smooth things, Isa_30:10. They were dreams of their own bespeaking. False
prophets would not flatter people in their sins, but that they love to be flattered, and
speak smoothly to their prophets that their prophets may speak smoothly to them.
II. He gives them a good foundation to build their hopes upon. We would not
persuade people to pull down the house they have built upon the sand, but that there is a
rock ready for them to rebuild upon. God here promises them that, though they should
not return quickly, they should return at length, after seventy years be accomplished. By
this it appears that the seventy years of the captivity are not to be reckoned from the last
captivity, but the first. Note, Though the deliverance of the church do not come in our
time, it is sufficient that it will come in God's time, and we are sure that that is the best
time. The promise is that God will visit them in mercy; though he had long seemed to be
strange to them, he will come among them, and appear for them, and put honour upon
them, as great men do upon their inferiors by coming to visit them. He will put an end to
their captivity, and turn away all the calamities of it. Though they are dispersed, some
in one country and some in another, he will gather them from all the places whither
they are driven, will set up a standard for them all to resort to, and incorporate them
again in one body. And though they are at a great distance they shall be brought again to
their own land, to the place whence they were carried captive, Jer_29:14. Now, 1. This
shall be the performance of God's promise to them (Jer_29:10): I will perform my good
word towards you. Let not the failing of those predictions which are delivered as from
God lessen the reputation of those that really are from him. That which is indeed God's
word is a good word, and therefore it will be made good, and not one iota or tittle of it
shall fall to the ground. Hath he said, and shall he not do it? This will make their return
out of captivity very comfortable, that it will be the performance of God's good word to
them, the product of a gracious promise. 2. This shall be in pursuance of God's purposes
concerning them (Jer_29:11): I know the thoughts that I think towards you. Known
unto God are all his works, for known unto him are all his thoughts (Act_15:18) and his
works agree exactly with his thoughts; he does all according to the counsel of his will.
We often do not know our own thoughts, nor know our own mind, but God is never at
any uncertainty within himself. We are sometimes ready to fear that God's designs
concerning us are all against us; but he knows the contrary concerning his own people,
that they are thoughts of good and not of evil; even that which seems evil is designed for
good. His thoughts are all working towards the expected end, which he will give in due
time. The end they expect will come, though perhaps not when they expect it. Let them
have patience till the fruit is ripe, and then they shall have it. He will give them an end,
and expectation, so it is in the original. (1.) He will give them to see the end (the
comfortable termination) of their trouble; though it last long, it shall not last always. The
time to favour Zion, yea, the set time, will come. When things are at the worst they will
begin to mend; and he will give them to see the glorious perfection of their deliverance;
for, as for God, his work is perfect. He that in the beginning finished the heavens and the
earth, and all the hosts of both, will finish all the blessings of both to his people. When
he begins in ways of mercy he will make an end. God does nothing by halves. (2.) He will
give them to see the expectation, that end which they desire and hope for, and have been
long waiting for. He will give them, not the expectations of their fears, nor the
expectations of their fancies, but the expectations of their faith, the end which he has
promised and which will turn for the best to them. 3. This shall be in answer to their
prayers and supplications to God, Jer_29:12-14. (1.) God will stir them up to pray: Then
35

36. shall you call upon me, and you shall go, and pray unto me. Note, When God is about to
give his people the expected good he pours out a spirit of prayer, and it is a good sign
that he is coming towards them in mercy. Then, when you see the expected end
approaching, then you shall call upon me. Note, Promises are given, not to supersede,
but to quicken and encourage prayer: and when deliverance is coming we must by prayer
go forth to meet it. When Daniel understood that the 70 years were near expiring, then
he set his face with more fervency than ever to seek the Lord, Dan_9:2, Dan_9:3. (2.) He
will then stir up himself to come and save them (Psa_80:2): I will hearken unto you,
and I will be found of you. God has said it, and we may depend upon it, Seek and you
shall find. We have a general rule laid down (Jer_29:13): You shall find me when you
shall search for me with all your heart. In seeking God we must search for him,
accomplish a diligent search, search for directions in seeking him and encouragements
to our faith and hope. We must continue seeking, and take pains in seeking, as those that
search; and this we must do with our heart (that is, in sincerity and uprightness), and
with our whole heart (that is, with vigour and fervency, putting forth all that is within us
in prayer), and those who thus seek God shall find him, and shall find him their
bountiful rewarder, Heb_11:6. He never said to such, Seek you me in vain.
JAMISON, "your dreams which ye caused to be dreamed — The Latin adage
says, “The people wish to be deceived, so let them be deceived.” Not mere credulity
misleads men, but their own perverse “love of darkness rather than light.” It was not
priests who originated priestcraft, but the people’s own morbid appetite to be deceived;
for example, Aaron and the golden calf (Exo_32:1-4). So the Jews caused or made the
prophets to tell them encouraging dreams (Jer_23:25, Jer_23:26; Ecc_5:7; Zec_10:2;
Joh_3:19-21).
K&D 8-13, "I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of
peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
The thoughts of God to His people, peace and not evil
These words were addressed to the Jews, when they were captives in Babylon. It is very
delightful when we have kind thoughts of our fellow-men; for suspicion is always a great
misery. But it is especially delightful to have kind thoughts of God, when we possess
enlarged and noble conceptions of His excellency and glory.
I. The ground and reason of our suspicion respecting God, that He has unkind
intentions or evil thoughts towards us. The chief, if not the only cause, is sin. Wicked
men know that the wages of sin is death; that sin must be cancelled, or God is against
them, and they are ruined. But what is the evil which men anticipate from God, and in
respect to which they entertain suspicions? There is the evil of affliction. This is the
sense in which the text is to be taken. It relates to temporal evil, the evil of calamity,
losses, changes, and disasters. And why should men fear or anticipate evil in this form?
We are not to forebode anything. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Take no
thought for the morrow. We hear often of pleasures disappointed, and of hopes
unrealised. Might we not speak of evils anticipated which never come? Then there is an
ulterior evil; that which is far off, or apparently more remote. Are you afraid of death, or
of dying? Are you afraid, when Christ has said, He that believeth in Me shall never die; I
36

37. am the resurrection and the life; I will raise you up at the last day? Are you afraid of
eternity, of which we hear so much, and know so little? I ask, is the bird afraid, when the
shell opens, and he begins to feel the soft sweet plumage grow? Is the newborn child
afraid, when it comes into this world of sin and sorrow? And shall you be afraid to awake
and emerge, anywhere in God’s great empire, anywhere or at anytime, in His unbounded
and infinite dominion? Are we afraid of the love of God? God is love. Christ is love. God
invites you and me in love. He says, Come, and I will bless you. Come, and I will pour My
Spirit upon you. Come, and I will make you happy, and call you sons and daughters.
Come, and I will save you, and I will soon put you in possession of heaven.
II. The manner in which it pleases God to contradict these suspicions, and to deny that
there is any truth in them. Suppose you are a wicked man: what does God say? Forsake
your evil ways. I will multiply to pardon. Turn ye, turn ye, why will ye die? I desire not
the death of a sinner, but rather that he should turn and live. God thinks no evil: if so,
could He not crush and extinguish thee, O man, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye?
His thoughts towards thee are thoughts of peace, and not of evil. Then to the backsliders
He says, Return, O backsliding children; I will receive you graciously, and love you
freely. Are you penitent? He will give you beauty for ashes; the oil of joy for mourning;
the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. You say that you are sinful, and not
worthy of being called a child. What does God say? Bring the best robe. Take off the
filthy garments. Put the fair mitre on his head. O God of peace! how peaceful, how
pacific Thou art! You may have had changes. You may have passed through storms; but
the darker the cloud, the brighter is the rainbow of promise that is stretched across it.
And God intends to give His people everlasting peace.
III. The expected end. What is it? To the Jews in Babylon, it was restoration to the
temple and the altar, to the priests, and to the sacrifices; and by the Jews this “end” was
realised. To the Hebrews of later times, the expected end is recovery to greater blessings.
They are forsaken for a small moment; but with great mercy they will be gathered in
again. The expected end, both to Jews and Gentiles, is the millennial light, repose, and
happiness. The expected end is the end of all sin. It is to endure no more conflicts, to
undergo no more labours; to be wise by intuition; to possess boundless knowledge, and
perfect purity, derived immediately from Him who is the source and fountain of all
purity and all perfection. They who go in, shall never go out again. (J. Stratten.)
God’s thoughts of/ peace, and our expected end
I. The Lord’s thoughts towards His people.
1. It is noteworthy that He does think of them, and towards them. Observe that this
Scripture saith not, “I know the thoughts that I have thought toward you.” It would
be possible for you to have thought out a plan of kindness towards a friend, and you
might have so arranged it that it would henceforth be a natural fountain of good to
him without your thinking any more about it; but that is not after the method of
God. His eye and His hand are towards His people continually. It is true He did so
think of us that He has arranged everything about us, and provided for every need,
and against every danger; but yet He has not ceased to think of us. His infinite mind,
whose thoughts are as high above our thoughts as the heavens are above the earth,
continues to exercise itself about us. “The Lord hath been mindful of us,” and He is
still mindful of us. The Lord not only thinks of you, but towards you. His thoughts
37

38. are all drifting your way. This is the way the south wind of His thoughts of peace is
moving: it is towards you. A person may happen to do you a good turn; but if you are
sure that he did it by accident, or with no more thought than that wherewith a
passing stranger throws a penny to a beggar, you are not impressed with gratitude.
But when the action of your friend is the result of earnest deliberation, and you see
that he acts in the tenderest regard to your welfare, you are far more thankful: traces
of anxiety to do you good are very pleasant. Have I not heard persons say, “It was so
kind and so thoughtful of him”? Do you not notice that men value kindly thought,
and set great store by tender consideration? Remember, then, that there is never a
thoughtless action on the part of God. His mind goes with His hand: His heart is in
His acts.
2. The thoughts of God are only perfectly known to Himself. It would be a mere
truism for God to say, “I know the thoughts that I think toward you.” Even a man
usually knows his own thoughts; but the meaning is this: when you do not know the
thoughts that I have towards you, yet I know them. “Truly the things of God knoweth
no man, but the Spirit of God.” God alone understands Himself and His thoughts.
We stand by a powerful machine, and we see the wheels moving this way and that,
but we do not understand its working. What does it matter? He who made the engine
and controls it, perfectly understands it, and this is practically the main concern; for
it does not matter whether we understand the engine or not, it will work its purpose
if he who has the control of it is at home with all its hands and wheels. Despite our
ignorance, nothing can go wrong while the Lord in infinite knowledge ruleth over all.
The child playing on the deck does not understand the tremendous engine whose
beat is the throbbing heart of the stately Atlantic liner, and yet all is safe; for the
engineer, the captain and the pilot are in their places, and well know what is being
done. Let not the child trouble itself about things too great for it. Leave you the
discovery of doubtful causes to Him whose understanding is infinite; and as for
yourself, be you still, and know that Jehovah is God.
3. The Lord would have us know that His thoughts toward us are settled and
definite. Sometimes a man may hardly know his own thoughts, because he has
scarcely made up his mind. The case is far otherwise with the only wise God. The
Lord is not a man that He should need to hesitate; His infinite mind is made up, and
He knows His thoughts. With the Lord there is neither question nor debate. “He is in
one mind, and none can turn Him.” His purpose is settled, and He adheres to it. He
is resolved to reward them that diligently seek Him, and to honour those that trust in
Him.
4. God’s thoughts toward His people are always thoughts of peace. He is at peace
with them through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ. He delights in them; He seeks
their peace, He creates their peace, He sustains their peace, and thus all His thoughts
toward them are peace. Note well the negative, which is expressly inserted. It might
have appeared enough to say, “My thoughts are thoughts of peace.” Yes, it would be
quite sufficient, when all things are bright with us; but those words, “and not of evil,”
are admirably adapted to keep off the goblins of the night, the vampires of suspicion
which fly in the darkness.
5. The Lord’s thoughts are all working towards “an expected end,” or, as the R.V. has
it, “to give you hope in your latter end.” Some read it, “a future and a hope.” Goal is
working with a motive. All things are working together for one object: the good of
those who love God. We see only the beginning; God sooth the end from the
38

39. beginning. He regardeth not only the tearing up of the soil with the plough, but the
clothing of that soil with the golden harvest. He sees the after consequences of
affliction, and He accounts those painful incidents to be blessed which lead up to so
much of happiness. Let us comfort ourselves with this.
II. The proper attitude of God’s people towards their Lord.
1. You will all agree with me when I say that our attitude should be that of
submission. If God, in all that He does towards us, is acting with an object, and that
object a loving one, then let Him do what seemeth Him good.
2. Next, let our position be one of great hopefulness, seeing the end of God, in all He
does, is to give us “a future and a hope.” We are not driven into growing darkness,
but led into increasing light. There is always something to be hoped for in the
Christian’s life.
3. Our relation to God should, next, be one of continual expectancy, especially
expectancy of the fulfilment of His promises. “I will perform My good Word toward
you.” His promises are good words: good indeed, and sweetly refreshing. When your
hearts are faint, then is the promise emphatically good. Expect the Lord to be as
good as His good Word.
4. Again, our position towards God should be one of happy hope, as to blessed ends
being answered even now. Affliction is the seal of the Lord s election. I remember a
story of Mr. Mack, who was a Baptist minister in Northamptonshire. In his youth he
was a soldier, and calling on Robert Hall, when his regiment marched through
Leicester, that great man became interested in him, and procured his release from
the ranks. When he went to preach in Glasgow, he sought out his aged mother,
whom he had not seen for many years. He knew his mother the moment he saw her;
but the old lady did not recognise her son. It so happened that when he was a child,
his mother had accidentally wounded his wrist with a knife. To comfort him she
cried, “Never mind, my bonnie bairn, your mither will ken you by that when ye are a
man.” When Mack’s mother would not believe that a grave, fine-looking minister
could be her own child, he turned up his sleeve and cried, “Mither, mither, dinna ye
ken that?” In a moment they were in each other’s arms. Ah, the Lord knows the spot
of His children. He acknowledges them by the mark of correction. What God is doing
to us in the way of trouble and trial is but His acknowledgment of us as true heirs,
and the marks of His rod shall be our proof that we are not bastards, but true sons.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
God’s thoughts
I. God thinks of His people. That seems a very simple thing to say, does it not? It is as
sublime as it is simple! God thinks of His people. Though so occupied—I had almost
said, “though so busy,”—God finds time and opportunity to give thought to His children.
He numbers the hairs of our head; He knows every inch of our path; our sorrows and
our joys are all calculated and catalogued by Him. He knows our uprising and our
downsitting, our going out and our coming in. What is there of which He has not perfect
cognisance? What is there in which He is not interested? Oh, wonder of wonders, that
this busy God of ours knows us, loves us, cares for us, enters into the petty details of our
fleeting life, and counts no grief too slight for us to take to Him in prayer. The current of
39

40. His thoughts sets our way. Like a great warm gaff-stream, the loving thoughts of God
lave the shores of every believing soul, and bring life and verdure to the full, by means of
their helpful influences.
1. This is the more wonderful, when we remember how sinful we are. He sees and
knows all about you, and you He loveth still.
2. I learn hence, also, that God thinks very definitely and deliberately about His
people.
3. Best of all is it He thinks so tenderly about us. “Thoughts of peace.” It is He who
has made peace possible ’twixt God and man, for He longs to have us reconciled to
Him. It is Jesus who has made peace by the death of His Cross. It is the Holy Ghost
who speaks peace to troubled hearts and consciences. It is His kind providence that
keeps us in perfect peace, our minds being stayed on Him.
II. God’s thoughts concerning His people are often of a private nature. The emphasis of
this verse should come upon the personal pronoun. “I know the thoughts that I think
towards you.” They are hidden from you. “My way,” says God, “is not yet discovered.”
My purposes remain unrevealed. None can know perfectly the mind and will of God.
How can we reach to such an awful height? How can we plunge into such abysmal
depths?
1. Let the fact that God Knows His thoughts satisfy our curiosity. It is childish in the
extreme to lift the plant that has been lately put into the ground, and it will fail to
grow if treated thus. It is childish—is it not?—to break the drum-bead, in order to
discover whence the music comes. But we are not less childish who want to know
what God has not revealed, and who are not content to do His bidding without
saying, “But why?” The why and the wherefore may not concern us. But the duty
does concern us. Let us hasten in the way of His commandment.
2. This, also, should calm our restlessness. Let the spirit of patience possess you.
Wait, wait, wait, till God sees fit to bless.
3. Meanwhile, let there be no distrust. It is fear that misconstrues the purposes of
God. It is unbelief that misinterprets the words and ways of Jehovah. Even when
things appear to be against us, let us trust and not be afraid.
III. When god thinks, he thinks to purpose. “To give you an expected end.” God always
works to an end, and with a motive. Here He speaks about the people’s dreams. They
were mere dreams—“the baseless fabric of a vision.” But God has no dreams. His
thoughts are honest, earnest, fruitful, resultful. Moreover, His works ever agree with the
thoughts from which they spring. God does not leave His people to haphazard, nor does
He do anything by halves. Trust Him in all His works and ways, and you will see that “as
for God, His way is perfect.” When He sets Himself to make a world, He rests not till He
has made it perfectly, and can pronounce it good. When He sets Himself to destroy
sinful men, He makes a clean sweep of them, whether it be with flood or flame. And
when He comes from heaven to redeem a sinful race of men, His tears do not stop, nor
does His blood cease flowing, till He can cry, “It is finished.” (Thomas Spurgeon.)
God’s thoughts
God’s thoughts are like God,—they are wonderful as Himself, and worthy of Himself. His
40

41. ways are the results of His thoughts, and their revelation to us. Creation, in all its
vastness and completeness, is the thought of God,—a thought that embraced not only
the great outlines, but all the details of the work of His Word,—a thought that did not
require to be supplemented or enlarged. Providence, in its heights and depths, its
lengths and breadths, is His thought,—a thought that takes in the entire history of our
race, and is ever at work to bring about one great purpose, one glorious design.
Redemption, in all its surpassing glory, is His thought,-a thought of which the whole
Gospel is the revelation.
I. God’s thoughts must be revealed. They are known only to His Spirit, “for the Spirit
searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.” These deep things are known to us, for
God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit. We are permitted to know the thoughts of
God that have had reference to ourselves; we are assisted in our conceptions of these
thoughts, and it is wonderful to be told that they come into our minds, that they dwell in
our hearts, and that we have communion with the thoughts of God. God is ever at work
in the world, not only on its great stage, but on the narrow platform of our own
dwellings; and we are permitted, in our brief lives, to see the impressions that are
thrown off from the mind of God, the thoughts of God, in the dispensations of His
providence. “Many, O Lord my God, are Thy wonderful works, and Thy thoughts which
are to us-ward.” God has spoken to man. He spake unto the fathers by the prophets, but
He hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son. All that God has to say cannot be
spoken; all that He has to reveal cannot be told us in words. We must have the death as
well as the life of Jesus.
II. God’s thoughts are revealed, and they are thoughts concerning us. However
wonderful these thoughts, they might not concern us, they might not be about us; they
might be about angels, and not about men,—about other worlds, and not this small
province in God’s empire. But these thoughts become to us of the greatest moment,
when we are told that they are about us—that God thought of us long ago—that before
the world began, the thoughts of God were concerning us. How is man magnified by this
very fact!
III. What is the character of these thoughts concerning us
1. Sometimes we think God’s thoughts towards us are evil, because His ways are so
full of mystery. We see the means to the end—we do not see the end. But the way to it
is dark and sorrowful, and the events by which it is to be brought about, we baptise
by the name of evil.
2. God’s thoughts are eminently practical They are thoughts to an end. God is
“wonderful in counsel and excellent in working.” God alone could originate the
thoughts that fill His mind; He only can accomplish them. He does not merely
think,—He speaks, He works, and fulfils His designs.
IV. God has the most perfect acquaintance with his own thoughts, and with their
character.
1. “I know the thoughts that l, think toward you.” The Infinite Mind knows no
change. God’s thoughts are the same to-day as yesterday; and hence His promises
are like thoughts that have just been breathed in our world; and His gifts and calling
are without repentance.
2. Let us acquaint ourselves with these thoughts. We have the record. We have the
words of Him who spake as never man spake. Let us get these Divine thoughts into
41

42. our minds, that our thoughts may be quickened and strengthened, that we may think
the thoughts of God, that we may have communion with the mind of God.
V. If God has placed His thoughts before our minds, let us place our thoughts before
God. Let us not only think about Him, but to Him. Let us thus have fellowship with Him.
VI. Let us so act and live, as to carry out and exemplify God’s thoughts. “The grace of
God has appeared to us, teaching us that we should deny ungodliness.” Let us profit by
its teaching; let us act out its teaching by living Godlike. (H. J. Bevis.)
To give you an expected end.
God’s future and hope for human race
I. The human race is under Divine training for a blessed and glorious future. God cannot
create a single creature to hate and to leave in sin and misery, and if He could, how could
He be God?
II. Let us with reverence and humility try to learn something of God’s great thoughts
respecting the future of fallen men. Try to think of the future of God’s lost children in the
light of what He has done for them. If we consider it in the light of the Incarnation of the
Son, His heavenly teaching, His mighty works, and His voluntary sufferings, we shall
never despair. Think further of what God is doing through His Spirit; for He is through
His Spirit enlightening men’s minds, leading them to the truth, convincing them of sin,
and purifying the nature and perfecting the character of believers. If earthly fathers are
so anxious for making a worthy and honourable future for their children, is it likely that
the Divine Father will be heedless about the future of His children? No; that cannot be.
In all the sufferings, trials, and discipline of the present, He has their future perfection,
happiness, and glory in view.
1. Holiness of nature.
2. Perfection of character.
3. Perfection of service.
4. Perfection of joy. (Z. Mather.)
Ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your
heart.
Divine purposes fulfilled in answer to prayer
I. A certain danger declared (Jer_29:8-9). We have here the same caution which the
Redeemer subsequently gave, to “beware of false prophets.” In all ages have they
appeared, and most disastrous have been the effects produced by their teaching (Eze_
13:10-14).
II. A blessed deliverance promised.
1. The grounds on which it rested. “For thus saith the Lord.”
2. The time of their return is expressly declared (Jer_29:10). God’s time is always
42

43. the best.
3. In their restoration the Divine faithfulness would be strikingly manifested. “I will
visit you,” &c.
4. The procuring cause of their deliverance was the boundless compassion of
Jehovah (Jer_29:11).
III. An important duty enjoined. Prayer.
1. It is a duty Divinely ordained.
2. It is a duty to the observance of which the greatest encouragement is afforded. “I
will hearken unto you.”
3. This duty, in order to be successful, must not be attended to in a formal and
lifeless manner. (Anon.)
Captivities and how to improve them
I. We may describe every real affliction which comes upon the christian as a captivity. To
be in a condition which we never should have voluntarily preferred, or to be held back,
by the power of something which we cannot control, from that which we eagerly desire
to do,—is not that the very thing in an experience which makes it a trial? Take bodily
illness, for example, and when you get at the root of the discomfort of it, you find it in
the union of these two things: you are where you do not want to be, and where you
would never have thought of putting yourself, and you are held there, whether you will
or not, by the irresistible might of your own weakness. The same thing comes out in
every sort of affliction. You are, let me suppose, in business perplexities. Well, that is not
of your own choosing. If you could have accomplished it, you would have been in quite
different circumstances. But, in spite of you, things have gone crooked. You have been
carried from the Jerusalem of comfort to the Babylon of perplexity, by no effort of yours,
nay, perhaps, against the utmost resistance on your part, and now you can do nothing.
So sometimes, also, our providential duties are a kind of affliction to us. We had no
choice in determining whether we would assume them. They came to us, unbidden, at
least, if not undesired, and they have chained us to themselves, so that when we are
asked to take part in some effort for the benefit of others we are compelled to say “No.”
II. Every captivity of which the Christian is the victim will have an end. “Time and the
hour run through the roughest day.” “Be the day weary, or be the day long, at last it
ringeth to evensong.” It is but a little while, at the longest, and we shall be where “sorrow
and sighing shall for ever flee away.” This state of limitation, this conflict between our
aspirations and our abilities, is not to last for ever. Not for ever shall we be in bondage to
the weakness of the body, hampered by its liability to disease, and hindered by its
proneness to fatigue. Not always shall we be at the mercy of the unscrupulous and
dishonest. Not continually shall we be held down by the encumbrances that overweight
us here on earth. For in the fatherland above we shall work without weariness, and serve
God without imperfection. But, while there is much in this view of the case to sustain us,
we must not lose sight of the moral end which God has in view in sending us into our
captivity. Ah! how many of our idolatries He has rebuked and rectified by our captivities!
We had been worshipping our reputation, and lo! an illness came which laid us aside,
and our names were by and by forgotten, as new men came to the front; and then,
43

44. learning the folly of out false ambition, we turned from the idolatry of self to the homage
of Jehovah. Or, we had made an idol of our business; but now it is in ruins, and as we see
the perishableness of earthly things, we turn to Him who is unchanging and eternal. Or,
we had made a god of our dwelling, and by some reverse of fortune it is swept away from
us, just that we might learn the meaning of that old song of Moses (Psa_90:1). How
many portions of His Word, also, have been explained to us by our trials! There is no
commentator of the Scriptures half so valuable as a captivity. It unfolds new beauties
where all had appeared to be beautiful before; and where formerly there was what we
thought a wilderness, it has revealed to us a fruitful field.
III. If we would have such results from our captivity, there are certain important things
which we must cultivate.
1. A willing acceptance of God’s discipline, and patient submission to it. The
impatient horse which will not quietly endure his halter only strangles himself in his
stall. The high-mettled animal that is restive in the yoke only galls his shoulders; and
every one will understand the difference between the restless starling of which Sterne
has written, breaking its wings against the bars of its cage, and crying, “I can’t get
out,” “I can’t get out,” and the docile canary that sits upon its perch and sings as if he
would outrival the lark soaring to heaven’s gate, and so moves his mistress to open
the door of his prison-house and give him the full range of the room. He who is
constantly looking back and bewailing that which he has lost, does only thereby unfit
himself for improving in any way the discipline to which God has subjected him;
whereas the man who brings his mind down to his lower lot, and deliberately
examines how he can serve God best in that, is already on the way to happiness and
to restoration.
2. Unswerving confidence in God. If we doubt Him we at once become the prey to
despondency, impatience, and rebellion. Confidence in your physician is itself more
than half the cure, and trust in God is absolutely essential if we would gain benefit
from His discipline. Yet because a change in men’s conduct toward us is usually the
indication of a difference in their disposition toward us, we think that God has
ceased to care for us when He puts us into trial or sends us into captivity. But it is not
so. To-day the medical man gives his patient liberty to take anything he chooses; to-
morrow he cuts off all indulgence, and uses severe and painful remedies; but does he
care the less for him because he thus changes his treatment, or has his purpose
regarding him undergone an alteration? Not at all In both cases he is equally earnest
to have his health restored. And it is quite similar with God in His dealings with His
people.
3. Fervent prayer. No calamity can be to us an unmixed evil if we carry it in direct
and fervent prayer to God, for even as one in taking shelter from the rain beneath a
tree may find on its branches fruit which he looked not for, so we, in fleeing for
refuge beneath the shadow of God’s wing, will always find more in God than we had
seen or known before. It is thus through our afflictions that God gives us fresh
revelations of Himself; and the Jabbok ford, which we crossed to seek His help, leads
to the Peniel, where, as the result of our wrestling, we “see God face to face,” and our
lives are preserved. (W. M. Taylor, D. D.)
Finding God
44

45. To search after God is really to educate oneself. To know God requires that we should be
educated in the Divine qualities. The knowledge of God is not something outside of us,
and far removed from us. It is revealed in us, and by some quality that is within us. Now,
to search after God has always been considered or spoken of as a work involving the
expenditure of great zeal and intensity; and the question arises, Is it so difficult for men
to know God? Fellowship and a knowledge of God are the food of the soul; they are the
conditions of a true and large manhood; and axe we pushed so far from Him by the
intrinsic difficulties of knowledge that we cannot know Him? We surely can know God
by the use of our ordinary senses so far as He is made manifest in the exterior world, as
the Maker, as the Sustainer, as the Architect, and the Engineer; we behold what He is by
what He has done; and yet, we have thus approached but a very little way toward Him.
Can we, then, by sitting down to contemplation, can we by any such method as that of
the laboratory, or that analysis which the philosopher employs, draw out a more perfect
knowledge of God? Only in after stages, and only in a subsidiary sphere, can men gain
knowledge by the internal philosophical method. It succeeds other methods, and
methods of more importance. So the difficulty of searching after God is real; but it is not
the kind of difficulty which men suspect. It is not that God is purposely hidden. It is
because the overruling of our lower nature, the subjugation of pride, the restraint of
vanity, the putting down of avarice, the overcoming of the fever of ambition, and the
regulation of the passions—it is because these things are so difficult, that the strife and
the seeking are made necessary by the required formation of a God-like nature in
ourselves; for we shall see God only through so much of the impartation of the Divine
nature as is given to us and received by us, The Divine qualities—the qualities of truth,
justice, mercy, long-suffering, love, kindness, self-sacrifice, disinterested benevolence—
these can be appreciated only by those who have something of them in themselves; and
when we seek after God to know Him, we are seeking really to know ourselves, and to
fashion ourselves. It is a work of self-education through which we come to a knowledge
of the supreme Being; and this does require searching. How, then, do men seek after
God? They have been told that the knowledge of God, that the presence of God in their
souls, is quite necessary for their safety in death, and for their remission from hell in the
life that is to come; and out of the most selfish or the most superstitious feeling they
often make a languid and feeble search after God purely for protective purposes—not
from honour; not from love; not from conscious weakness to be impleted; not from a
sense of their inferiority and a desire of aggrandisement by things that make nobility in
the soul; not from any worthy purpose, but that they may have a barrier to keep off the
avalanche of death. There are others who join with me in denouncing folly upon such,
who are scarcely better, although they are frivolous in a higher mood. There are many
who seek after God as poets seek after conceits. They love God as they love music; they
love Him as they love the chant of the singer, or the effusion of the smooth-rhymed poet;
and only thus do they seek after God. To them He is a vision; He is a floating cloud; He is
a spring morning; He is a thundering sea; He is a landscape; He is a poem; but He is not
Jehovah; He is not Father; He is not Governor, or Judge, or Rewarder. Well, there be
others that seek after God, as a philosopher seeks after a proposition, disentangling
intellectual conceptions, framing new ideas in some collected form into a speculative and
philosophic God—a God of propositions; a God of attributes; a God of syllogisms; a
logical God; a rhetorical God; a demonstrative, conceptional God. Whatever may come
through the moulds of the intellect they employ in building up a bloodless God, a
soulless God, a God of abstractions; and they think when they have hedged Him in with
one and another and another distinction sharply drawn, and have clearly rounded out
45

46. their conception, that they have sought after God, and that they have found Him—and
God laughs. For who by such searching can find out God; as if a man who never talked
with you, who never walked with you, who never worked with you, who never lived with
you, and who was never loved by you; as if one that had no personal acquaintance with
you could ever out of his own consciousness deduce a correct idea of what you are!
Searching for God with one’s heart is the way to find Him out; for God is discerned by
the heart. That is the temple in the soul of God; and only they that enter into the
searching of God by the heart can come near to Him or know Him. All they who seek
after God then, irresolutely, occasionally, with fluctuating zeal, for selfish ends,
dreamily, imaginatively, poetically, or by speculation and the lines of a dry philosophy—
all such come short. They never can reproduce God. Only they who have framed in
themselves some conception of high moral qualities, and have learned out of their own
experience to frame a notion of God for the sake of making that notion their governor,
their schoolmaster—only they can reproduce God. Frame a conception of God as of a
Father full of pitifulness, full of tenderness, full of gentleness, full of wrath, but wrath
that protects; full of severity, but the severity of a father for the cleansing of his son;
frame a conception of God as reigning not to destroy but to recover, not to beat down
but to lift up, not to shut men in prisons but to open the prison-doors, not to weld
shackles or to impose them, hut to break them; frame a conception of God which is
eminent in characteristics of motherhood, and give to it the magnitude of infinity; and
then when these moral qualities are once established in thy sympathy and in thy
thought, and magnified by the imagination, and lifted into the heavenly sphere, and thou
mayest bow down before it, and say to it, “Thou God of reason, Thou God of compassion,
Thou God of infinite love, Thou God whose thoughts rain bounty, Thou God who livest
not for Thyself but for Thy creatures, Thee I behold; to Thee I submit, because Thou art
infinitely good beyond all conception- Thee I worship and Thee I obey.” And then,
having framed some such initial conception of God, be thou trained into the same
likeness, and develop in thyself whatever is in harmony with this image of the Creator.
You find portrayed in the Gospels the mind and will of God. That men may know Him
personally, four lives are given of the Lord Jesus Christ, besides the interpretations and
comments that are found in the letters and epistles. Study earnestly that slight yet
wonderful sketch and portraiture of this superior Being. Keep it before your mind until
you have a distinct conception of the personality of the Lord Jesus Christ. The critical
and determinative question with you is this-Wilt thou have such an One to rule over
you? Are you willing to lift, in your conception, into the heavenly places, such an idea of
God as you derive from the Lord Jesus Christ? Are you willing to say, “Thy will, and not
mine, be done”? Are you willing to take this oath and covenant of allegiance, never to be
broken, “I dedicate my life to the fulfilment of Thy commands, and to the development
in myself of Thy disposition”? If you are, you have found your God. The moment you
have this conception of a loving Being, with a determinate moral character, who requires
of you a corresponding moral character, and the moment there is in you a genuine
volition and purpose to love and obey such an One, the work is begun, and you have
been introduced to your Master. Now, after that, the very first step which you take in
your attempt to act justly, you will be environed by the bands and hoops of society; by its
imperfections; by the injustice which custom always imposes; and you will have a
conflict with the prevailing tendencies by which you are surrounded. Your large and
Christian conception of justice will stand in marked contrast with the contracted and
worldly conception of justice which is prevalent; and you will become a reformer; and
you will feel, “I must take up my cross; and if I follow Christ I must suffer.” Yes, you
46

47. must suffer if you would enjoy. Not that you are to suffer as if religion itself were a
suffering, for religion itself is just the opposite; but you are coming out of a state of
ignorance and bondage into a state of knowledge and freedom. You are going toward the
right; and having once come to the right, it will be a blessing; for the right is s reward in
over-measure. Your first impulse should be to act beneficently; and there is to be a
power of beneficence in your soul. You should have a feeling that you are not your own.
You that are strong should bear with the weak. You should carry one another’s burdens.
You should manifest towards your fellow-men the disposition of love. Working out,
then, your conception of God little by little; gathering conceptions of the Divine Being
from all that is good and high and noble in practical life, and bringing back to yourself as
motives in your own soul corresponding qualities, that your nature in its measure may
become like God, growing in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, you
will find that your sense of the Divine Presence purifies itself, cleanses itself, augments
itself, makes itself more and more powerful, until the time comes in which you can say,
literally, “I walk with God. My God made the heavens and the earth He is a God of force,
and a God of tranquillity. My God is father and mother to my thought. He is all that is
transcendent in patience and meekness and goodness; and not because He is inert; not
because He is weak; for He will by no means clear the guilty. He upholds the right. He
stands for the oppressed. He is a God who is determined that good shall prevail as
against evil. But He works with a mother-heart, by tears, by groans, by death itself. He
gives Himself for the poor, and the outcast, and the sinful, and the needy. He bore our
sins in His own body; and by His stripes we are healed.” (H. W. Beecher.)
Seekers directed and encouraged
I. To the unconverted. Our text has a word for you. You have lost your God: you m e at a
distance from Him; your sins have separated you from your Maker, and nothing will ever
be really right—till you get back to your God. The prodigal said, “I will arise and go to my
father,” and some such spirit must be in you, or we cannot hope well of you. You must
search after the Lord. You are allowed to search for Him, and what a privilege that is.
When Adam sinned, he could not go back to Paradise, for with a flaming sword in his
hand there stood the mailed cherub to keep the way that he might not touch the tree of
life. But God, as far as the garden of His mercy is concerned, has moved that fiery
sentinel, and Jesus Christ has set angels of love to welcome you at mercy’s gate. You may
come to God, for God has come to you. He has taken upon Himself your nature, and His
name is Emmanuel, God with us. Search for Him, and you must find Him, for so stands
His own Word, “Ye shall seek Me, and find Me.” The text, however, demands that our
searching after God should be done with all our heart. There axe several ways of seeking
God which must prove failures. One is to seek Him with no heart at all. This is done by
those who take their book and read prayers, never thinking what they say; or who attend
a dissenting place of worship, and hear another person pray, but never join in it. If any of
you have fallen into a formal religion, and seek the Lord without your heart, your
seeking is in vain. Some seek God with a false heart. Their piety is an affectation of
feeling, and not deep soul-work; it is sentimentality, and not the graving of God’s Spirit
upon the heart. God grant us to be saved from a lie in the heart, for it is a deadly canker,
fatal to all hope of finding the Lord. Some seek Him, too, with a double heart—a heart
and a heart, as the Hebrew puts it. If one oar pulls towards earth and the other towards
heaven the boat of the soul will revolve in a circle of folly, but never reach the happy
shore. Beware of a double heart. And some seek God with half a heart. They have a little
47

48. concern, and are not altogether indifferent; they do think when they pray, or read, or
sing, but the thought is not very intense. Superficial in all things, the seed is sown in
stony ground, and soon it is withered away, because there is no depth of earth. The Lord
save us from this! Now, ye that are seeking Christ, remember that if you would find Him
you must neither seek Him without heart, nor with a false heart, nor with a double heart,
nor with a half heart, but “Ye shall find Me,” saith the Lord, “when ye shall search for Me
with all your heart.” What did Jesus say?—“The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence,
and the violent take it by force.” Heaven’s celestial bastions must be stormed by
downright importunity. But why is it that when men search with all their heart they do
find God? I will tell you. The only way in which we can find God is in Jesus Christ. There
He meets with men, but nowhere else, and to get to Jesus Christ there is nothing on
earth to be done but simply to believe in Him. The saving Word is near thee, in thy
mouth, and in thy heart, and that is why when men seek the Lord with their whole hearts
they find Him, for before they called the Lord was ready to answer. Jesus was always
ready; but other wishes and other thoughts made the seeker unready. Sins were there,
and lusts of the flesh, and all manner of hamper to hinder the man. When a man comes
to seek God with all his heart, he lets those things go, and soon sees Jesus. Then, too, a
man becomes teachable, for when a man is in earnest to escape from danger he is glad
enough to be told by anybody. I charge you, then, you that seek the Lord, to be whole-
hearted in it, for you cannot expect peace and joy in the Holy Ghost till all those
straggling affections and wandering desires are tied up into one bundle, and your entire
being is eager in the search for God in Christ Jesus.
II. The backslider. Backsliders, you have left your Lord. Oh, you who once made a
profession of religion, I cannot understand how you can dare to think of the judgment
day, for you will not be able to plead ignorance, for you knew the truth and professed to
believe it. If a prince of the blood were sent to a common gaol, what a misery it would be
to him. I pity every man who has to work upon the treadmill, so far as he can deserve
pity, but most of all the man who has been delicately brought up and scarce knows what
labour means, for it must be hard indeed to him. Ah, you delicate sons and daughters of
Zion, you whose mouths were never stained with a curse, and whose hands have never
been defiled with outward sin, if your hearts be not right with God, you must take your
place with the profane and share with them. What say you to this? Do you say, “I would
fain return and find acceptance in Christ”? To you the text speaks expressly. Then shall
you “find Me when ye shall search for Me with all your heart.”
III. My last word is to you, the members of this Church. Thus saith the Lord, “Ye shall
seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart.” (C. H.
Spurgeon.)
Heart searchings
1. Man, through all the ages of time, has been influenced by a principle of reform.
The pathway of the generations has been trodden amidst the Babel-tongued shouts
of “Progress!” True progress has ever been characterised by diligent research. So we
may well-nigh estimate the excellence of acquirement by intensity of endeavour to
attain, and calculate worth by the economics of moral labour.
2. This searching is the child of necessity. For possession begets desire; the
perfecting of one design reveals the incompleteness of another, or the converse; the
48

49. failure of one scheme throws into bolder relief the success of another.
3. The searching, to be successful, must also be thorough: “with all your heart.” The
discoveries of insincerity are accidental. “Heart searchings” are illumined by the light
of heaven.
4. Application—
(1) The ultimate and inevitable object of search, “Me.”
(2) The certainty of success assured, dependent only upon the one condition
named, i.e. earnestness, “Ye shall find Me.”
(3) “Searching” is not always strenuous exertion; study the might of systematic
inaction. “Canst thou by searching (alone) find out God? Wait patiently for Him.”
“Stand still and see the salvation of God.”
(4) Note the individual reference of the text: “Ye shall seek Me, and find Me,” &c.
(Preacher’s Analyst.)
Searching with all the heart
Kepler, first in fact and in genius of modern astronomers, deservedly called “the
legislator of the heavens,” sought with all his heart to solve astronomical problems. With
agony he strove to enter the straight gate and narrow way that led to the secret chamber
of science, and explain the enigmas of six thousand yearn Vainly did the secrets of
planetary and stellar worlds seek to elude him. He forged key after key, that he might
unlock the doors of these mysteries. His courage and patience transfigured even failure
into success. If one theory proved inadequate, there was at least one less to try, and so
the limits became narrower within which truth would be found. He exhausted eight
years of toil, only to prove worthless nineteen successive experiments. At last, driven to
abandon the circular orbit, he founded his twentieth hypothesis on the curve which is
next to the circle in simplicity, namely, the ellipse, and as all the conditions were met,
the problem was solved. Bursting with enthusiasm, he cried: “O Almighty God, I am
thinking Thy thoughts after Thee!” Pressing his research further, he established his
second and third laws, and, almost wild with triumph, exclaimed: “Nothing holds me! I
will indulge my sacred fury! The book is written to be read either now or by posterity; I
care not which! It may well wait a century for a reader, since God has waited six
thousand years for an observer.” If Kepler was the minister of science, Agassiz was her
missionary. He had no time to make money; but was found wandering alone on Pacific
slopes, a pilgrim, to gather specimens of flora and fauna, minerals and metals, shells and
pebbles, for the cabinets of science. What would not such zeal accomplish in religion! (A.
T. Pierson.)
Concentration of heart
A broken heart is a great blessing, when it is broken by contrition for sin; but a divided
heart is often a fatal disease. One secret of success in life is concentration; and many of
our young men find it out too late. The founder of the Vanderbilt family bent his whole
powers upon money-making, and left the richest family on the Continent. Sir Isaac
Newton’s famous explanation of his splendid success was, “I intend my whole mind
49

50. upon it.” Prof. Joseph Henry, of Washington, our great Christian scientist, used to say:
“I have no faith in universal geniuses: my rule is to train all my guns on one point until I
make a breach.” In these days of hot competition there is no room on the street for any
man who puts only a fraction of himself into his business.
CALVIN, "As the minds of almost all were taken up, as we have seen, with that vain
and false confidence which they had imbibed from false prophecies, that they should
return after two years, the Prophet gives this answer, and reminds them to beware
of such impostures. And thus we see that it is not sufficient for one simply to teach
what is right, except he also restores from error those who have been already
deceived or are in danger of being deceived. For to assert the truth is only one-half
of the office of teaching, because Satan ever leads his ministers to corrupt the pure
doctrine with falsehoods. It is not then enough to proclaim the truth itself, except all
the fallacies of the devil be also dissipated, of which there is at this day a manifest
instance under the Papacy; for as the minds of almost all are there inebriated with
many corrupt inventions, were any one only to shew that this or that is right, he
would certainly never in this way eradicate errors from the hearts of men. And
hence Paul bids bishops not only to be furnished with doctrine in order to shew the
right way to the teachable, but also to be so armed as to be able to resist adversaries
and to close their mouths. (Titus 1:9.)
Inasmuch then as from the beginning of the world Satan has never ceased to try and
attempt, as far as he could, to corrupt the truth of God, or to immerse it in darkness,
it has hence been always necessary for God’s servants to be prepared to do these
two things — faithfully to teach the meek and humble, — and boldly to oppose the
enemies of truth and break down their insolence. This is the rule which the Prophet
now follows; he had exhorted the Jews to bear patiently the tyranny to which they
were subject, because it was God’s yoke; but as on the other hand the false prophets
boasted that there would be a return in two years, it was necessary for him to
oppose them; on this point then he now speaks.
And that what he was going to say might have more weight, he speaks again in
God’s name, Let not your prophets who are in the midst of you deceive you For
while Jeremiah had many adversaries at Jerusalem, the devil was also deceiving the
miserable exiles in Chaldea. He then warns them not to believe these impostors; and
though by way of concession he calls them prophets who were wholly unworthy of
so honorable a name, he yet by way of reproach gives them afterwards the name of
diviners Then the first name refers to that outward profession in which they gloried,
when they boasted that they were sent by God and brought his commands. He then
conceded to them the name of prophets, but improperly, or as they say,
catachristically; as the case is at this day; for we do not always fight about names,
but we call those priests, bishops or prelates, who are so brutal that they ought not
to be classed among men. In like manner, as it has already often appeared, the
prophets spoke freely, and never hesitated to call those prophets who had already
50

51. gained some estimation among the people. But that they might not be proud of such
fallacious boasting, he afterwards designated them by another name; he called them
diviners, and then dreamers; and afterwards he adds, Attend not to your dreams He
addresses here the whole people; and there were a few who, under the color and
pretense of having a prophetic spirit, announced prophecies.
But Jeremiah did not without reason transfer to the whole people what belonged to
a few; for we know that the devil’s ministers are cherished not only through the
foolish credulity of men, but also through a depraved appetite. For the world is
never deceived but willingly, and men, as though they were given up to their own
destruction, seek for themselves falsehoods in every direction, and though unwilling
to be deceived, they yet for the most part seek to be deceived. Were any one to ask,
does the world wish to be deceived? all would cry out, from the least to the greatest,
that they shun and fear nothing so much; and yet whence is it that as soon as Satan
gives any sign, he attracts vast multitudes, except that we are by nature prone to
what is false and vain? Then there is another evil, that we prefer darkness to light.
Jeremiah then did no wrong to the people by telling them to beware of the dreams
which, they dreamt.
Some indeed take ‫,מחלמים‬ mechelmim, in a transitive sense, as it is in Hiphil, and
ought to have been written here ‫מחלימים‬ , mechelimim; but it may be taken in the
neuter gender. (211)
However this may be, the meaning of the Prophet is not ambiguous; for he imputes
this to all the Jews, that they were deceived by vain dreams, and that the fault could
not be confined to a few impostors, for it was an evil common to them all. And the
pronoun ‫אתם‬ , atere, is emphatical, ye, he says, dream; for he sets these false dreams
in opposition to prophecies. We know that God formerly revealed his will either by
visions or by dreams. There were then dreams, which were divine, of which God
was the author. But he shews here that the people devised all these impostures for
themselves, so that it availed them nothing to pretend that they were prophets, the
interpreters of God, and that they announced what they had received by dreams;
for what makes the difference is, whether one dreams from his own brain, or
whether God reveals to him in a dream what ought to be deemed oracular. We now
then understand the design of the Prophet. It follows, —
COFFMAN, "Verse 8
"For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Let not your prophets that are
in the midst of you, and your diviners, deceive you; neither hearken ye to your
dreams which ye cause to be dreamed. For they prophesy falsely unto you in my
name: I have not sent them, saith Jehovah."
"Your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed ..." (Jeremiah 29:8) The dreams
mentioned here seem to be accredited to the people themselves. We do not know if
the meaning here is that, from the intense desire of the people for independence,
51

52. their subconscious minds produced the dreams, or if the false prophets, knowing the
longings of the people for liberty, invented the dreams to suit the wishes of the
people; but we suppose the latter is intended.
Some scholars of the scissors and paste experts excise these verses; but, as Green
stated it, "There is no real basis for the excision. The verses undergird what
precedes and prepare for what follows."[10]
PETT, "Jeremiah 29:8
“For thus says YHWH of hosts, the God of Israel, Do not let your prophets who are
in the midst of you, and your diviners, deceive you, nor listen you to your dreams
which you cause to be dreamed.”
In consequence of this, on the word of YHWH of hosts, the God of Israel, they were
not to pay any heed to any prophets, diviners/fortune-tellers, or dreamers who
stated anything else. ‘Dreams which you cause to be dreamed’ indicates that they
expected their prophets to ‘dream’ on their behalf, and encouraged them to do so,
listening eagerly to the results of what were probably drug-induced dreams.
9 They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I
have not sent them,” declares the Lord.
GILL, "For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name,.... They pretended to
have the authority of God for what they said; that their prophecies and dreams were
from him, and as such they delivered them in his name; though they were false ones;
that they might be the better received by the people:
I have not sent them, saith the Lord; they had no mission or commission from the
Lord, no warrant or authority from him; they set up themselves; and ran without being
sent; and prophesied out of their own hearts what came into their heads, the fancies of
their own brain, or the delusions of Satan, under whose power and influence they were;
therefore sad must be the case of a people giving heed to such seducing spirits.
52

53. CALVIN, "He confirms what he had said by this reason, that they ran without
being called, according to what we found in Jeremiah 23:21. He then repudiates
these false prophets, for they spoke not from the mouth of God. But the difference
was rendered very obscure and indistinct, when they pompously alleged the name of
God and professed that they brought forward nothing but what they had learnt
from him; yet as we have elsewhere said, no one can be deceived except willingly
and knowingly; for God never leaves his faithful people destitute of the spirit of
discernment, provided they offer themselves cordially and sincerely to be taught by
his true and legitimate servants. And then the Jews ought to have examined all the
doctrines and all the prophecies by the rule of the Law. But if the Law was difficult
to be understood, they ought, as I have said, to have sought of God the spirit of
wisdom and discernment.
Jeremiah then did not without reason reject whatever the false prophets boasted of,
for the purpose of gaining the approbation and applause of the people; for they
were not sent nor approved by God. So also at this day, every one who wishes to
distinguish with certainty between various doctrines, by which the world is agitated,
nay, shaken, can without difficulty attain his object, provided he offers himself as a
scholar to Christ, and connects the Law and the Prophets with the Gospel, and
makes use of this rule to prove all doctrines; and provided in the meantime he trusts
not to his own acumen, but submits himself to God and seeks of him the spirit of
judgment and discrimination. It ought also to be observed, that in the same way the
false prophets can be abundantly exposed when we thus shew that they are not sent
by God; and we further convince them of vanity, when we prove their doctrine to be
inconsistent with the Law and the Gospel.
However this may be, this principle ought to be held, that none ought to be attended
to, but those who can shew that they bring messages from God and are furnished
with his word. We have said elsewhere, that in order that any one may be accounted
as sent by God, it is necessary, first, that he should be rightly called, and secondly,
that he should faithfully execute his office; for whosoever thrusts in himself without
the command of God, though he may speak what is true and holy, he yet deserves
not the name of a Prophet or teacher; and then vocation itself will not be sufficient,
except there be faithfulness and integrity. But what Jeremiah mainly insists on here
is, that those who promised the people a return in a short time did not speak from
the mouth of God: They prophesy falsely, he says, in my name; how? Because I have
not sent them. It follows —
PETT, "Jeremiah 29:9
“For they prophesy falsely to you in my name. I have not sent them, the word of
YHWH.”
And YHWH gave them His solemn guarantee (neum YHWH) that such prophets
were prophesying falsely in His Name and that He had not sent them.
53

54. 10 This is what the Lord says: “When seventy
years are completed for Babylon, I will come to
you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back
to this place.
BARNES, "After seventy years - literally, according to the measure of the
fulfillment of 70 years for Babylon. The 70 years (Jer_25:11 note) are primarily the
length of the Babylonian empire, and only in a secondary sense that of the Jewish exile.
CLARKE, "For thus saith the Lord - It has been supposed that a very serious
transposition of verses has taken place here; and it has been proposed to read after Jer_
29:9 the sixteenth to the nineteenth inclusive; then the tenth, and on to the fourteenth
inclusive; then the twentieth, the fifteenth, the twenty-first, and the rest regularly to the
end.
That after seventy years be accomplished - ‫מלאת‬ ‫לפי‬ lephi meloth, “at the
mouth of the accomplishment,” or “fill to the mouth.” Seventy years is the measure
which must be filled; - fill this to the brim; - complete this measure, and then you shall
be visited and released. The whole seventy must be completed; expect no enlargement
before that time.
GILL, "For thus saith the Lord, that after seventy years be accomplished at
Babylon,.... These seventy years are not to be reckoned from the last captivity under
Zedekiah; nor from the precise present time; nor from the first of Jeconiah's captivity;
but the fourth year of Jehoiakim, and the first of Nebuchadnezzar, when he first came up
against Jerusalem; see Jer_25:1;
I will visit you; in a way of mercy, by stirring up Cyrus king of Persia to grant them
their liberty:
and perform my good word towards you, in causing you to return to this
place; meaning the promise of return from their captivity to their own land; which was
a good word of promise, a promise of good things; which was good news to them, and of
which there was no doubt of its performance, since God is faithful who has promised,
and is able also to perform. It was from hence, and Jer_25:11; that Daniel learned the
54

55. time of the captivity, and the return from it, Dan_9:2.
JAMISON, "(See on Jer_25:11; Jer_25:12; Dan_9:2). This proves that the seventy
years date from Jeconiah’s captivity, not from the last captivity. The specification of time
was to curb the impatience of the Jews lest they should hasten before God’s time.
good word — promise of a return.
SBC 10-14, "I. We may describe every real affliction which comes upon the Christian as
a captivity. To be in a condition which we should never voluntarily have preferred, or to
be held back by the power of something which we cannot control, from that which we
eagerly desire to do—is not that the very thing in an experience which makes it a trial?
This is the case with bodily illness, with business perplexities; sometimes even with
providential duties. Every captivity of which the Christian is the victim will have an end.
In the fatherland above we shall work without weariness, and serve God without
imperfection. So in the prospect of that home we may well be reconciled for a season to
the discomforts of our present exile.
II. But while there is much in this view of the case to sustain us, we must not lose sight of
the moral end which God has in view in sending us into our captivity. He sees the result
from the beginning, and all the afflictions which He sends are but like the hammer-
strokes of the sculptor, each of which removes some imperfection or brings some new
loveliness to view. How many of our idolatries He has rebuked and rectified by our
captivities! How many portions of His word have been explained to us by our trials! How
many of us might say with truth that we had never really prayed till God sent us into
captivity.
III. If we would have such results from our captivity, there are certain important things
which we must cultivate. I mention: (1) a willing acceptance of God’s discipline and
patient submission to it; (2) unswerving confidence in God; (3) fervent prayer.
W. M. Taylor, The Christian at Work, June 20th, 1878.
CALVIN, "In order to expose the dreams by which the false prophets had
inebriated the people, he again repeats what he had said, that the end of their exile
could not be expected until the end of seventy years. And this way of teaching ought
to be particularly observed, for the truth of God will ever avail to dissipate all the
mists in which Satan never ceases to envelop the pure truth. As then we have before
seen, that when the people are imbued with any error, it ought to be boldly resisted;
so now we see with what weapons all God’s servants ought to fight, in order to
expose all those fallacies by which pure doctrine is assailed, even by setting in
opposition to them the word of God: for this is the way which Jeremiah points out to
us by his own example. He had spoken of the false prophets, he warned the people
not to believe them; but as the minds of many were still vacillating, he confirms
what he had said that they were not sent by God, because God never varies in his
purpose, and never changes, and is never inconsistent with himself: “Now he has
prefixed seventy years for your exile; whoever, then, tries to impugn that truth, is a
professed and an open enemy to God.” We now perceive the object of the Prophet;
When seventy years then shall be fulfilled, etc (212)
55

56. The Prophet here puts a restraint on the Jews, that they might not hasten before the
time; and then he gives them the hope of a return, provided they quietly rested until
the end fixed on by God. There are then two things in this verse, — that the people
would ill consult their own good, if they hastened and promised to themselves a
return before the end of seventy years, — and that when that time was completed,
the hope of a return would be certain, for God had so promised.
He adds, And I will raise up my good word towards you By good word he means
what might bring joy to the Jews. Though God’s word is fatal to the unbelieving, yet
it never changes its nature; it ever remains good. And hence Paul says that the
Gospel is a fatal odor to many, but that it is, nevertheless, a sweet odor before God,
(2 Corinthians 2:16;) for it ought to be imputed to the fault of those who perish, that
they receive not the doctrine of the Gospel to their own salvation. The word of God
is then always good: but this commendation is to be referred to experience, that is,
when God really shews that he is propitious to us. And a shorter definition cannot
be given, than that the good word denotes the promises, by which God testifies his
paternal favor. But we have seen elsewhere that threatenings are called an evil
word: why so? This character cannot, indeed, as it has been just said, be suitably
applied to God’s word; yet God’s word which threatens destruction is called evil, as
it is said,
“I am he who create good and evil,” (Isaiah 45:7)
but it is so according to our apprehension of its effects. And all this reasoning seems
nearly superfluous, when we understand that God by the word of evil strikes the
unbelieving with fear, but that the Prophet now means no other thing than to bear
testimony to God’s favor to the Jews: and hence he says, that they would find by
experience, that God had not in vain promised what he had before mentioned.
But he is said to rouse up (213) his good word, that is, when it produced its effects
before their eyes; for when God only speaks, and the thing itself does not yet appear,
his word seems in a manner to he dormant and to be useless. And for seventy years
the Jews could perceive no other thing than that God was displeased with them, and
thus they were continually in fear; for the promise continued as it were dormant, as
its effects were not as yet visible. God then is said to rouse up his word, when he
proves that he has not promised anything in vain. The meaning is, that the prophecy
which Jeremiah had related would not be fruitless; but if the people did not soon
know this, yet God, when the time came, would really prove that he deceives not his
people, nor allures them when he promises anything, by vain hopes.
And the Prophet explains himself, for he says that God would restore them to their
own country: for this was the good word, the promise of deliverance, as the word,
according to what the people felt, was evil, and bitter, and bad, when God had
threatened that he would cast away the reprobate. But it is an accidental thing, as I
have said, that men find God’s word to be evil for them or adverse to them; for it
56

57. proceeds from their own fault, and not from the nature of the word. It follows —
COFFMAN, ""For thus saith Jehovah, After seventy years are accomplished for
Babylon, I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to
return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith Jehovah,
thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope in your latter end. And ye shall
call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye
shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I
will be found of you, saith Jehovah, and I will gather you from all the nations, and I
will return again your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from
all the places whither I have driven you, saith Jehovah; and I will bring you again
unto the place whence I cause you to be carried away captive."
"After seventy years ... for Babylon ..." (Jeremiah 29:10). Yes, the captivity would
end, but not until the seventy years were accomplished. Notice also that there are
overtones here that reach unto the end of time. The gathering of God's people from
"all the nations" is at the present time taking place in the preaching of the gospel all
over the world. There is far more in these verses than the mere return of a few Jews
to Jerusalem.
"The accomplishment of the seventy years for Babylon ..." (Jeremiah 29:10). "These
words indicate that `the seventy years' are primarily the length of the Babylonian
empire, and only in a secondary sense, the length of the Jewish exile."[11] The
actual duration of the Babylonian domination was from, "The fall of Nineveh in 612
B.C. to the fall of Babylon in 539 B.C."[12] a period of 73 years. Counting from the
accession of Nebuchadnezzar in 606 (Jewish method of reckoning) to the fall of
Babylon to Cyrus, there was a period of 67 years. As far as we are concerned, there
is no need to talk about "round numbers" in a prophecy as exact as this one.
PETT, "Verses 10-14
YHWH Promises That Once Seventy Years Have Passed His People Will Have The
Opportunity To Return To Their Own Land (Jeremiah 29:10-14).
Jeremiah 29:10
“For thus says YHWH, After seventy years are accomplished for Babylon, I will
visit you, and perform my good word towards you, in causing you to return to this
place.”
For the true situation was that Babylon had been granted seventy years of rule by
YHWH, and that time had to be accomplished (Jeremiah 25:11-12). However, once
that seventy years was accomplished, and only then, He would visit them again, and
fulfil His promise to them that they would return to ‘this place’ (Jerusalem, Judah).
He would perform ‘His good word’ (the word that promised what they sought, the
word of hope) towards them.
57

58. We should note that ‘seventy years’ was not only to be seen as a time note, but also
as an indication that it would happen within YHWH’s ‘divinely perfect time’ (seven
intensified). Everything would happen within God’s chosen timing. It would not
come to an end on the basis of the calendar, but on the basis of God’s purposes. It
was not a prognosticator’s forecast, but YHWH’s determination.
In the event we may see it as beginning in c. 605 BC, when Egypt were decisively
beaten by Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar gained control of Palestine (or 609 BC
when the Assyrian yoke was broken and Babylon finally ruled an empire) and
ending in 539 BC when Cyrus conquered Babylon, or a year or two later when the
exiles actually began to return. As the period covered both the period of Babylonian
supremacy (609 BC to 539 BC) and the period of exile (605 BC for the first exiles, to
a year or two after 539 BC) it has to be seen as flexible.
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares
the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm
you, plans to give you hope and a future.
BARNES, "An expected end - Rather, a future and a hope. The nation shall not
come to an end; the exile shall be followed by a restoration.
CLARKE, "Thoughts of peace - Here God gives them to understand,
1. That his love was moved towards them.
2. That he would perform his good word, his promises often repeated, to them.
3. That for the fulfillment of these they must pray, seek, and search.
4. That he would hearken, and they should find him; provided,
5. They sought him with their whole heart, Jer_29:10-13.
58

59. GILL, "For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord,....
The purposes and resolutions of his heart concerning their welfare, particularly the
restoration of them to their own land; these were within him, and known to him, and
him only; they were remembered by him, and continued with him, as the "thoughts of
his heart are to all generations"; and so would not fail of being performed; men think
and forget what they have thought of, and so it comes to nothing; but thus it is not with
God; he has taken up many thoughts in a way of love, grace, and mercy, concerning
sinful men; about their election in Christ; a provision of all spiritual blessings for them;
redemption and salvation by Christ; their effectual calling, adoption, and eternal life:
thoughts of peace, and not of evil: or "for evil" (t); these thoughts were concerning
the temporal peace and prosperity of the Jews in Babylon, and not of anything to their
hurt; yea, even their captivity was for their good, Jer_24:5; and thoughts concerning his
spiritual Israel, their peace and reconciliation with God, and the manner of bringing it
about, by the blood, sufferings, and death of his Son in human nature, with whom he
consulted and agreed about this matter; and concerning their inward spiritual peace of
mind and conscience now, and their eternal peace hereafter: nor does he ever think of
evil for them; whatever evil he thinks towards others, angels or men, he thinks none
towards them; and whatever evil befalls them, he means it for good, and it does work for
good unto them; he cannot think otherwise concerning them, consistent with his
everlasting and unchangeable love to them; since he has designed so much good for
them, does so much to them, and has so much to bestow upon them. The issue of all
which is,
to give you an expected end; a very desirable one; such as they wished and hoped to
have, and expected; such as would put an end to all their troubles, and put them into the
enjoyment of all good things promised and waited for. This, in the mystical sense, may
have reference to the Messiah, in whom all God's thoughts of peace, concerning his
special people, issue; he is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, of all
things, Rev_1:8; of all things in creation; of the Scriptures, promises and prophecies of
it: "the end of the law for righteousness", Rom_10:4, the fulfilling end of it, by his
obedience, and sufferings, and death; and who was to come, and did come, at the end of
the Jewish world, at the end of their civil and ecclesiastical state: he was long promised
and prophesied of and was much waited for and expected, by the saints before the flood;
from thence to Moses; from Moses to David; from David to the Babylonian captivity;
from thence to the times of his coming, when there was a general expectation of him;
and expected end was then given, as an instance of grace and good will to men. It may
also be applied to salvation by Christ; the end of all God's gracious purposes and
designs; the end of the covenant of grace, the provisions, blessings, and promises of it;
the end of Christ's coming into the world, and of his obedience and death; the end of his
prayers and preparations now in heaven; and the end of the faith of the saints on earth:
this is an end hoped, waited for, and expected by faith; and for which there is good
reason; since it is wrought out, prepared, and promised; saints are heirs of it; and now it
is nearer than when they believed; and will be bestowed as a free grace gift, through
Jesus Christ our Lord; and will be enjoyed as the issue and result of God's eternal
thoughts of peace concerning them. Some render it, "an expected reward" (u); which is
given at the end of the work: others, "posterity and hope" (w); a numerous posterity, and
hope and expectation of good things from the Lord, promised in the days of the Messiah.
59

60. JAMISON, "I know — I alone; not the false prophets who know nothing of My
purposes, though they pretend to know.
thoughts ... I think — (Isa_55:9). Glancing at the Jews who had no “thoughts of
peace,” but only of “evil” (misfortune), because they could not conceive how deliverance
could come to them. The moral malady of man is twofold - at one time vain confidence;
then, when that is disappointed, despair. So the Jews first laughed at God’s threats,
confident that they should speedily return; then, when cast down from that confidence,
they sank in inconsolable despondency.
expected end — literally, “end and expectation,” that is, an end, and that such an end
as you wish for. Two nouns joined by “and,” standing for a noun and adjective. So in
Jer_36:27, “the roll and the words,” that is, the roll of words; Gen_3:16, “sorrow and
conception,” that is, sorrow in conception. Compare Pro_23:18, where, as here “end”
means “a happy issue.”
CALVIN, "He confirms the same thing, and employs many words, because it was
difficult to raise up minds wholly broken down. For the world labors under two
extreme evils, — they sink in despair, or are too much exalted by foolish pride: nay,
there is no moderation except when ruled by God’s Spirit we recumb on his word;
for when they devise vain hopes for themselves, they are immediately rapt up above
the clouds, fly here and there, and in short think that they can climb into heaven;
this is the excess of vain and foolish confidence: but when they are dejected, then
they fall down wholly frightened, nay, being astonished and lifeless they lose every
feeling, receive no comfort, and cannot taste of anything which God promises. And
both these evils prevailed evidently among the Jews. We have seen how much the
Prophet labored to lay prostrate their pride and arrogance; for they laughed at all
threatenings, and remained ever secure; though God, as it were, with an armed
hand and a drawn sword menaced them with certain destruction, yet nothing moved
them. And when they were driven into exile, they were extremely credulous when
the false prophets promised them a quick return; while, in the meantime, God, by
his servants, shewed to them that he would be gracious to them, and after seventy
years would become their deliverer; but they were deaf to all these things, nay, they
rejected with disdain all these promises, and said,
“What! will God, forsooth, raise up the dead!”
(Ezekiel 37:12)
This, then, is the reason why the Prophet now speaks so largely of their future
redemption: it was difficult to persuade the Jews; for as they thought that they
would soon return to their own country, they could not endure delay, nor exercise
the patience which God commanded. They were at the same time, as we have said,
quite confident, inasmuch as the false prophets filled their minds with vain hopes.
He therefore says, I know the thoughts which I think towards you Some think that
God claims here, as what peculiarly belongs to him, the foreknowledge of future
things; but this is foreign to the Prophet’s meaning. There is here, on the contrary,
60

61. an implied contrast between the certain counsel of God, and the vain imaginations
in which the Jews indulged themselves. The same thing is meant when Isaiah says,
“As far as the heavens are from the earth, so far are my thoughts from your
thoughts,” (Isaiah 55:9)
for they were wont absurdly to measure God by their own ideas. When anything
was promised, they reasoned about its validity, and looked on all surrounding
circumstances; and thus they consulted only their own brains. Hence God reproved
them, and shewed how preposterously they acted, and said, that his thoughts were
as remote from their thoughts as heaven is from the earth. So also in this place,
though the two parts are not here expressed; the Prophet’s object was no other than
to shew, that the Jews ought to have surrendered themselves to God, and not to seek
to be so acute as to understand how this or that would be done, but to feel convinced
that what God had decreed could not be changed.
It must yet be remarked, that he speaks not here of his hidden and
incomprehensible counsel. What then are the thoughts of which Jeremiah now
speaks? They were those respecting the people’s deliverance, after the time was
completed, for God had promised that he would then be propitious to his Church.
We hence see that the question here is not about the hidden counsels of God, but
that the reference is simply to the word which was well known to the Jews, even to
the prophecy of Jeremiah, by which he had predicted that the Jews would be exiles
for seventy years, and would at last find that their punishment would be only a
small chastisement, as it would only be for a time: I know then my thoughts But still
he indirectly condemns the Jews, because they entertained no hope of deliverance
except from what came within the reach of their senses. He then teaches us that true
wisdom is to obey God, and to surrender ourselves to him; and that when we
understand not his counsel, we ought resignedly to wait until the due time shall
come.
He says that they were thoughts of peace, (214) that is, of benevolence. Peace, as it
has been often said, is taken for felicity, as in Jeremiah 29:7,
“For the peace of Babylon shall be your peace;”
that is, if Babylon be prosperous, you shall be partakers of the same happiness. So
now, in this place, God declares that his thoughts were those of peace, for he
designed really to shew by the effect his paternal kindness towards his people.
He afterwards adds, that 1 may give you the end and the expectation By ‫,אחרית‬
achrit, which means in Hebrew the last thing, we are to understand here the end, as
though he had said, that it was to be deemed as final ruin, when people had been
driven away to a foreign land. For it was no small trial when the Jews were deprived
of that land which was the rest and habitation of God; it was the same as though
they had been cut off from every hope: it was then a sort of repudiation, and
61

62. repudiation was a kind of death. But here God declares that he would put an end to
their exile, as it was to be only for a time. It is hence to be inferred, that the people
did not perish when they were led into exile, but that they were only chastised by
God’s hand.
He adds expectation, which Jerome has rendered “patience,” but in a very forced
manner. There is, indeed, no doubt but that by this second word the Prophet more
fully and clearly expressed what he meant by the first word, ‫אחרית‬ , achrit, even the
end that was wished or desired, I will then give you the end, even that ye may enjoy
the promises, as ye wish and expect, and ought to hope for, since God has made
them. (215) Here I will make an end.
In mentioning purposes and not purpose, the intention probably was to shew its
firmness and certainty. The Hebrews sometimes used the plural number in order to
enhance the meaning, as “wisdoms” for perfect wisdom, in Proverbs 9:1. Then the
meaning of the word would be, “the very sure purpose;” and in a version, the
meaning, and not the word literally, ought to be given. — Ed.
NISBET, "GOD’S THOUGHTS OF PEACE
‘The thoughts that I think toward you.’
Jeremiah 29:11
I. God thinking of us in our need.—‘I am poor and needy, yet the Lord thinketh
upon me.’ ‘Yet’ is an interpolation of the English version. It would be nearer the
truth to say, ‘therefore the Lord thinketh upon me.’ Why is it necessary to
emphasise the fact that God thinks of men? (1) Men were saying in Israel’s days of
trial that God had given them up, and that these evil times were only the beginning
of the end. Even so; men are now making light of the Gospel—preaching ‘other
Gospels’ not stamped with the Divine character of free grace. Any delusion is easier
for the sinner to believe than that God is altogether loving and gracious—even to
him in his sin. (2) Uneasy consciences suggest a gloomy view of the sinner’s case. It is
the duty of conscience to condemn the sinner and make him feel his sin; but it is the
work of the Gospel to persuade him of the all-forgiving mercy of God. The prophet
sets God’s word against that of false witnesses. So let us hold to the message. God
has not put us out of His kindly thought. For—
II. God protests the peaceableness of His thoughts towards Israel: ‘thoughts of
peace.’—‘Conscience makes cowards of us all.’ ‘The wicked fleeth when no man
pursueth.’ Even so the sinner flees from God, because he argues that since he has
been so long at war with God, God must be at war with him. As God did not leave
Israel in Babylon, so He will not leave us in our sins if we accept His salvation.
The Old Testament man cries, ‘Woe is me! for I have seen the Lord.’ The New
Testament man says, ‘Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord!’ Everybody
62

63. knows there must be a distance put between God and sin, but the spiritually
enlightened know that the proper way is to put away sin—not to ask God to leave
us. He who understands the Gospel knows that God has put away sin by the
sacrifice of Jesus—that Jesus has put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Hence,
God can think thoughts of peace and not of evil concerning the sinner. It was for the
sake of a Christ to be crucified that God could deal mercifully with Israel: it is for
the sake of a Christ Who has been crucified that He can think thoughts of peace
concerning us. The sinner flees from God. The God of his imagination may be a God
of vengeance and of evil thoughts about us. But the true picture of God is here
given. ‘The thoughts that I think—thoughts of peace, and not of evil.’
III. Jeremiah closes the verse by saying God is to give His people an expected end.—
Let us ask ourselves what kind of end ought we to expect as the gift of a God full of
such thoughts as God protests He has towards us? Fill in all your best and noblest
expectations or thoughts of love, peace, eternal blessings, home comforts for ever,
with no interruptions—these are all in the promise of God; no good thing will He
withhold from those who close with His offers of mercy.
When we have learned to ‘expect great things from God,’ we shall begin to get great
things. All things are ours in Christ—deliverance from captivity included. Sin and
Satan are no more powerful to hold us than Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar to hold
Israel, when God’s word of peace and goodwill is accepted by us.
Illustration
‘In a land where the custom of the vendetta was practised, a man had the cruel
(supposed) duty laid on him of vindicating the death of his brother, who had been
slain in a sudden heat of passion by his own dearest friend. He set out on the odious
task, but on his way he learned that another member of his family had already
avenged the murder on a member of the murderer’s family. Delighted to be set free
from the burden of shedding his friend’s blood, he now pursued him to let him
know that the old peace need not be disturbed; the vile custom was satisfied. But it
was long before he could get his errand of mercy accomplished. The murderer ever
fled from his approach, fearing vengeance, though it was mercy that brought his
comrade after him.’
PETT, "Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, the word of YHWH, thoughts of
wellbeing, and not of evil, to give you hope and a latter end (a future).”
But the important implication was of what it revealed about YHWH’s purpose
towards them. His thoughts towards them (and this was on the sure word of
YHWH) were thoughts of wellbeing (shalom - peace, wellbeing) and not of evil. His
aim was to give them ‘hope and a latter end’, that is, once they had passed through
the sufficient period of their captivity, and had truly repented.
63

64. SIMEON, "GOD WILL BE FOUND OF SINCERE WORSHIPPERS
Jeremiah 29:11-13. I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord,
thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call
upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye
shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
THE calamities which God inflicts upon mankind in this world are intended to
bring them to repentance; and though he often removes his rod in anger, when he
sees that it produces not the desired effect, yet he often continues to punish till he
sees that the heart is humbled for its iniquity. Thus he dealt with the Jews whom he
sent captive to Babylon. They at first despised his chastening, and promised
themselves a speedy return to their native land: but he declared that their captivity
should be protracted to the end of seventy years; and that, at the expiration of that
time, when they should have learned to acknowledge him, he would again appear
for them, and bring them back in answer to their fervent petitions. His declaration
respecting this suggests to us two important observations:
I. God’s purposes of love and peace shall all in due time be accomplished—
God has “thoughts of peace” towards many who never think of him—
[Even before the foundation of the world God determined to remedy the evils which
he foresaw sin would bring upon mankind. When our first parents were ruined, and
fled from his face, he sought them out and communicated to them his gracious
intentions relative to the substitution of his Son, in their stead. And while the Jews
were imbruing their hands in the blood of his Son, it was his fixed purpose to pour
down his Spirit upon them, and to bring them into a state of reconciliation with
himself. And have we not also reason to confess, that whatever we either possess or
hope for is the result of his purpose and grace which he purposed in Christ Jesus
before the world began [Note: 2 Timothy 1:9.]? Yea, who can tell, but that, at this
moment, some careless sinner is the object of his special attention, and that this is
the very hour, wherein his merciful designs shall be matured and executed?]
These thoughts of his shall all in due season be accomplished—
[It may be a long time before his eternal counsels are manifested by visible and
correspondent acts. But not one of his purposes shall ever be frustrated. Paul was “a
chosen vessel unto him,” and “separated, in the Divine intentions, from his mother’s
womb [Note: Acts 9:15. Galatians 1:15.]: but how long was he suffered to go on in
the most inveterate enmity against Christ and his Gospel! Yet when his hour was
come, God stopped him in his mad career, and transformed a bitter persecutor into
a zealous Apostle. Thus it was that Zaccheus also was made a partaker of Christ’s
salvation, when he thought of nothing but gratifying a foolish curiosity [Note: Luke
19:4-5; Luke 19:9.]. And thus many of us also received our first serious impressions,
64

65. when we were far enough from desiring to fear God. And it is a comfortable
reflection, that many, who are yet dead in trespasses and sins, are in the Divine
purpose “predestinated to the adoption of children [Note: Ephesians 1:5.],” and will
one day be “heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.”]
Nor shall any expectations founded upon his word be ever disappointed—
[Improbable as the deliverance of the Jews from Babylon was, God brought them
out at the appointed time. And as he gave “them an expected end,” so will he to all
of us. If an ungodly man begin to look unto the Lord Jesus Christ for repentance
and remission of sins, he shall not look to him in vain. If an afflicted or tempted soul
flee to him for consolation and succour, the desired aid shall not be withheld.
Provided only we rely on his word, and not on any presumptuous imaginations of
our own, we may rest assured that he will interpose effectually on our behalf.]
But however fixed his purposes may be,
II. They must nevertheless be called forth by the exercise of fervent prayer—
God has appointed prayer as the means of obtaining his blessings—
[This is the universal voice of Scripture, “Ask, and ye shall have.” Even where God
most freely promises his blessings, he still says, “Nevertheless I will be inquired of
by the house of Israel to do it for them [Note: Ezekiel 36:37.].” We do not say that he
never deviates from this method of conveying his mercies; for sometimes “he is
found of them that sought him not, and known to them that inquired not after him
[Note: Isaiah 65:1.]:” But the earnestness with which this duty of prayer is
inculcated in the text, is of itself a sufficient proof that we are to expect no blessing
without it. God would have us know, and feel our wants; and by opening them
before him, get our own hearts affected with them. If at any time he vouchsafe his
blessings to those who have not sought him, he instantly stirs them up to prayer,
which is as necessary to the welfare of a regenerate soul, as breathing is to the
existence of a new-born infant.]
Nor should a discovery of his purposes relax, but rather quicken, our diligence in
prayer—
[This was the effect which was produced on Daniel as soon as ever he learned that
the time fixed for Israel’s captivity was near its termination [Note: Daniel 9:2-4.].
Nor should it produce any other effect on us. As well might Hezekiah have declined
the use of food because God had prolonged his life fifteen years, as we neglect the
means of spiritual advancement, if we knew that God had predestinated us unto life.
On the contrary, the certain prospect of success is our greatest encouragement to
pray, and to comply with any terms which God has prescribed.]
If we use these means aright, we may be sure we shall attain whatsoever his
65

66. unerring wisdom sees to be good for us—
[God has “never said to the seed of Jacob, seek ye me in vain [Note: Isaiah 45:19.].”.
On the contrary he will “hearken” to our cry with parental tenderness, he will
discover to the inquiring soul the riches of his grace, and “enable us to comprehend
with all saints the height and depth of his love which passeth knowledge.” But then
we must pray in earnest and, “search for him with our whole heart [Note: Leviticus
26:40-41, Deuteronomy 4:29.]” It is not a mere listless petition that will prevail with
him; we may ask and not have, if we thus ask amiss:” but importunate and believing
prayer shall bring down every blessing which God himself is able to bestow.]
This subject will be found of peculiar use,
1. To humble the proud—
[Every natural man conceives that his salvation must arise solely from his own
exertions. But here we are taught to trace all our inclination and ability for what is
good to God, who, in the prosecution of his eternal purposes, imparts both the one
and the other to our souls [Note: See also Ephesians 1:11 and Philippians 2:13.]. Let
us learn, then, to acknowledge him in all that we have received, and to look to him
for all that we want. And let the hope, that there may yet be in his heart many
undiscovered thoughts of peace towards us, stimulate us to fervent prayer, and
diligent exertions.]
2. To awaken the secure—
[Some will pervert the truths of God, and say that their exertions are useless, if God
have not thoughts of peace towards them; and superfluous, if he have. But God’s
decrees are no rule of action for us, seeing that they are hidden from us: it is his
precepts, which we are to regard; and if we will not seek him according to his
command, we can have no hope that we shall ever find him. Will any man then
consign himself deliberately to perdition, because he does not absolutely know that
God has “ordained him unto life?” Should we not justly blame a man who made the
uncertainty of life a reason for refusing bodily sustenance? yet he would act as
rationally as the other. Let this then be known; the man that lives without God, will
die without hope; and, when he perishes, he must accuse, not the hidden purposes of
God, but his own folly, sloth, and negligence.]
3. To comfort the feeble-minded—
[Some, who are diligent in the use of means, are apt to perplex themselves with
doubts respecting the Divine decrees. But they have within themselves the very best
answer to all their doubts: let them only ask themselves, Whence arose my desires
after God? Whence is it that I am enabled to seek him in any measure? The snare
will then instantly be broken: for, the aid they have already received from God, is a
far better ground for concluding that he has designs of peace towards them, than
66

67. any remaining imperfections can be, of his purpose to reject them. Only then wait
upon God in prayer, and rest assured that a praying soul can never perish.
Continue to ask, and you shall have; for however secret his purposes may be, his
promises are plain and sure: and he says, “Ye shall find me, when ye shall search
for me with your whole heart.”]
12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to
me, and I will listen to you.
GILL, "Then shall ye call upon me,.... When the expected end is about to be given;
when God intends and is about to bestow a mercy, he gives his people a spirit of prayer
to ask for it; and even the promise of it is a considerable argument to encourage and
engage more to pray for it:
and ye shall go and pray unto me: walk in my ways; so Jarchi, Kimchi, and Ben
Melech; or rather ye shall go into your private closets, or into those public places where
prayer was wont to be made, and there put up your petitions; or it may be the meaning
is, that they should continue praying unto him; should pray without ceasing, until they
enjoyed the blessing, and had the expected end given them:
and I will hearken unto you: God is a God hearing prayer; he listens to the requests
of his people, and answers them in his own time and way; which is no small
encouragement to pray unto him.
JAMISON, "Fulfilled (Dan_9:3, etc.). When God designs mercy, He puts it into the
hearts of His people to pray for the mercy designed. When such a spirit of prayer is
poured out, it is a sure sign of coming mercy.
go — to the temple and other places of prayer: contrasted with their previous sloth as
to going to seek God.
CALVIN, "Jeremiah pursues the same subject, even that the Jews, after having
undergone the punishment allotted to them by God, would at length return to their
own country and find God merciful, and hence learn that their chastisement in exile
would prove useful to them. He had indeed in the last verse explained this with
sufficient clearness, but he now expresses the manner; and that would be by calling
on God. he uses two words, Ye shall call on me, he says, and pray. The verb put
between these two ‫,הלכתם‬ elcatem, is regarded almost by all as referring to a right
67

68. course of life, as though the Prophet had said, that those who before wandered after
their own lusts would now walk in the way of God, that is, in his Law; but this
seems to me to be too forced an explanation. I doubt not then, but that the Prophet
here indirectly reproves the indifference of the people in not immediately
acknowledging that they were chastised by God’s hand, that they ought in due time
to repent. To go then or to walk is the same thing, in my judgment, as though he had
said, “After having suffered the exile, not of one year, but of seventy years, ye shall
then begin to be wise.”
It was not only sloth but stupidity, that they were not subdued by God’s scourges so
as to call on him; but as they were of a disposition so rude and refractory the
Prophet here briefly reminds them that many years had been necessary to subdue
them, as twenty or thirty years were not sufficient. We now then understand the
design of the word ‫,הלק‬ elek, to walk. (216) The meaning then is, that after having
profited under the scourges of God, they would become humble so as to deprecate
his wrath.
But there is added a promise, that God would hear them. It may however appear,
that God promised conversion even in the first clause; and, no doubt, prayer is the
fruit of repentance, for it proceeds from faith; and repentance is the gift of God.
And further, we cannot call on God rightly and sincerely except by the guidance and
teaching of the Holy Spirit; for he it is who not only dictates our words, but also
creates groanings in our hearts. And thus Augustin, writing against the Pelagians,
understands the passage, and proves that it is not in the power of man either to
convert himself or to pray; “for God,” he says, “would in vain promise what is in
the power of man to do; and this is the promise, ye shall pray; it then follows, that
we do not pray through the impulse of our own flesh, but when the Holy Spirit
directs our hearts, and in a manner prays in us.” I do not, however, know whether
the Prophet intended to speak in so refined a manner. From other passages of
Scripture it is easy to prove, that we cannot pray to God, except he anticipates us by
his own Spirit. But as to this passage, I prefer to take a simpler meaning, that God
would hear, when they began to pray; but yet he shews that it would not be after a
short space of time, because they were almost untameable, and would not repent
until after many years. It follows, —
PETT, "Jeremiah 29:12
“And you will call on me, and you will go and pray to me, and I will listen to you.”
And then they would ‘call on Him, and go, and pray to Him’ (the common threefold
pattern) and He would listen to them’. Note that there could be no return without
repentance and a seeking of His face as a repentant people, which were essential
elements in their return.
(How different was the return of Jews to Israel in 20th century AD. Then it was in
the arrogance of nationhood, not in repentance and seeking after God. It was of a
68

69. nation still in unbelief. It was man-determined, not God-determined. It was the very
opposite of what is in mind here).
13 You will seek me and find me when you seek
me with all your heart.
GILL, "And ye shall seek me, and find me,.... When persons seek the Lord aright,
they always find him; a God hearing prayer; a God in Christ; bestowing favours upon
them; granting them his presence; indulging them in communion with him; and
favouring them with fresh supplies of his grace, and everything needful for them; every
mercy, temporal and spiritual; that is, when they seek him in Christ, who is the only way
to the Father, under the guidance and influence of the blessed Spirit; in the exercise of
faith upon him and his promises; with fervency of spirit and ardour of mind; with
diligence and importunity; with earnest desires and strong affections; and, as follows,
with all sincerity of soul:
when ye shall search for me with all your heart; which, as Calvin rightly
observes, does not design perfection, but integrity and sincerity; when they draw nigh
with a true heart, and call upon him in truth, and search for him with eagerness, with a
hearty desire to find him, as men search for gold, and silver, and hid treasure.
JAMISON, "(Lev_26:40-42, Lev_26:44, Lev_26:45).
CALVIN, "He confirms in other words the same thing; and yet the repetition, as we
said yesterday, is not useless; for as the Jews perversely despised all threatenings, so
it was difficult for them to receive any taste of God’s goodness from his promises.
This then is the reason why the Prophet employs many words on this subject. By the
word seek, he means prayers and supplications, as mentioned in the last verse. And
Christ also, exhorting his disciples to pray, says, “Seek and ye shall find, knock and
it shall be opened to you.” There is no doubt but that he speaks there of prayer; he
yet adopted various modes of speaking, derived from the common habits of men.
But to seek, when we feel the need of God’s grace, is nothing else than to pray.
Hence the Prophet says, ye shall seek me and ye shall find me And though he
addresses here the Israelites, yet this doctrine ought to be extended to the whole
Church; for God testifies that he will be propitious to all who flee to him.
69

70. But as hypocrites are abundantly noisy, and seem to surpass the very saints in the
ardor of their zeal, when the external profession is only regarded, the Prophet adds,
Because (217) ye shall seek me with your whole heart There is no doubt but that the
Jews groaned a thousand times every year when oppressed by the Chaldeans; for
they had to bear all kind of reproaches, and then they had nothing safe or secure.
They were therefore under the necessity, except they were harder than iron, to offer
some prayers. But God shews that the seasonable time would not come, until their
prayers proceeded from a right feeling; this he means by the whole heart. It is
indeed certain that men never turn to God with their whole heart, nor is the whole
heart ever so much engaged in prayer as it ought to be; but the Prophet sets the
whole heart in opposition to a double heart. Perfection, then, is not what is to be
understood here, which can never be found in men, but integrity or sincerity.
We now then perceive the meaning of the Prophet’s words, — that the Jews, when
they began in earnest to flee to God, would find him propitious, provided only they
did this in sincerity of heart and not in dissimulation; and also that this would not
take place soon, for their hardness and obstinacy were greater than that they could
be brought to repent in a short time. Therefore God reminds them that there was
need of many evils, so that they might at length turn and divest themselves of that
perverseness to which they had wholly surrendered themselves.
Now the whole of this, as I have already observed, ought to be applied to the benefit
of the Church; for this promise is to be extended to all the godly, — that when they
call on God in their miseries, he will hear them. And Jeremiah seems to have taken
this sentence from Isaiah,
“As soon as thou callest on me, I will hear thee; before thou speakest, I will stretch
forth my hand.” (Isaiah 58:9)
And this circumstance also ought to be noticed, that the Prophet addressed the Jews
who were miserably oppressed. Let us then know that this sentence is rightly
addressed to those in distress, who seem to have God against them and displeased
with them; and this is the seasonable time which is mentioned by David in Psalms
32:6.
This passage also teaches us, that it is no wonder that the Lord doubles his scourges
and does not immediately pardon us, because we are not so ready to bend as to
return to him on the first day. He is therefore constrained by our perverseness to
chastise us for a longer time; and yet this promise is still to be held valid, that if we
even late repent, God will be still propitious to us, only that the reprobate are not
under this pretext to indulge in their vices; for we see that profane men trifle with
God, and wickedly abuse his paternal indulgence. Let the sinner then beware lest he
should lay up for himself a store of vengeance, if he waits till the end of life. But
there is still a hope set before those who have been long torpid in their sins, that if
they at length come, though late, they shall still come in time, for God will hear
70

71. them. But the exception ought to be carefully observed, that God will not be
intreated, except he is sought with the whole heart, that is, in sincerity. So there is no
reason for us to wonder that his ears are often closed to our prayers, because we
only pretend to seek him, and that we are endued with no sincerity appears from
our life. It now follows, —
In our version the meaning of the two verbs is reversed; the first ought rather to be
rendered as meaning “to search for,” and the latter to “seek.” With the first is
connected “finding,” and this implies searching, and the verb ‫בקש‬ means sometimes
to search for what is lost. The verse should be, — “And ye shall search for me and
ye shall find me, because ye shall seek me with all your heart.” To seek God means
to seek his favor. They would search for him whom they had, as it were, lost, and
they would find him because they would seek his favor with all sincerity; it would
not be for a mercenary purpose, but for the sake of enjoying God’s favor. — Ed
PETT, "Jeremiah 29:13
“And you will seek me, and find me, when you shall search for me with all your
heart.”
For one purpose of their exile was so that they might learn to ‘seek Him, and find
Him, and search for Him with all their hearts’. All idolatry would be thrust away.
All rivals to His complete pre-eminence would be cast aside. All hindrances to His
supremacy would be dealt with. He would be all in all to them. These were all pre-
conditions to their return.
14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord,
“and will bring you back from captivity.[b] I will
gather you from all the nations and places where I
have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will
bring you back to the place from which I carried
you into exile.”
BARNES, "urn away your captivity - Or, “restore your prosperity.”
71

72. CLARKE, "I will gather you from all the nations - A quotation from Deu_30:3,
and see also Deu_4:7.
GILL, "And I will be found of you, saith the Lord,.... As he is; when his favour is
shown, his presence is enjoyed, and the blessing sought for is obtained:
and I will turn away your captivity; this designs the captivity of Jeconiah, or of the
Jews that were carried captive with him; and which had its accomplishment when the
Jews returned to their own land, upon the edict of Cyrus:
and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I
have driven you, saith the Lord; for though the greatest part might be carried to
Babylon, and continue there; yet others might be removed or moved into other
countries; and besides, this may respect their brethren who should come into captivity,
and return with them at the end of the seventy years; for the expressions are very large
and general:
and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried
away captive; that is, Jerusalem, and the land of Judea; though the Vulgate Latin
version renders it,
"and I will make you to return from the place to which I have caused you to go captive;''
meaning Babylon. The sense comes to the same; but the common rendering is most
agreeable to the Hebrew text.
JAMISON, "to be found — (Psa_32:6; Isa_55:6).
turn ... captivity — play upon sounds, shabti ... shebith.
CALVIN, "The Prophet now applies what he seemed to have spoken generally. He
then shews the effect of God’s favor, after having been reconciled to his people, even
that he would restore their captivity, and gather them from all places. This was
particularly said to the Jews; but the two former verses contain, as I have said, a
general doctrine. He had before said, Ye shall find me; but he says now, I shall be
found by you, or, I will shew myself to you. There is an implied contrast between the
hiding and the manifestation, for God had in a manner hid himself during the time
of exile; but he suddenly made his face to shine forth, and thus manifested himself
as a Father, after having apparently forgotten his people. Suitably then does the
Prophet speak here; for though the Lord ever looks on us, we on the other hand do
not see him, nay, we think that he is far from us. But he then only appears to us,
when we perceive that he cares for our salvation.
72

73. By saying, from all nations and from all places, he evidently obviated a doubt which
otherwise might have crept into the minds of many, “How can it ever be that God
will gather us after we have been thus dispersed?” For no certain region had been
allotted to them, in which they might dwell together so as to form one body; but they
had been scattered as by a violent whirlwind like chaff or stubble; and God had so
driven them away that there was no hope of being again gathered. As then it was
incredible, that a people so dispersed could be collected together, the Prophet says,
“from all nations and from all places.” The same thing is declared in the Psalm,
“He will gather the dispersions of Israel.” (Psalms 147:2)
For when the Jews looked on their dreadful dispersion, they could entertain no
hope. We see then how the Prophet encouraged them still to hope, and bade them to
struggle against this trial. The sentence seems to have been taken from Moses, for he
says,
“Though you be scattered through the extreme parts of the world, yet God will
gather you.” (Deuteronomy 30:1)
We see that Moses there expressly reproves the unbelief of the people, if they
despaired of God’s mercy and salvation, because they were torn and scattered. he
therefore shews that God’s power was abundantly sufficient to collect them again,
though they were scattered to the four quarters of the world. We now perceive the
object of the Prophet. (218)
And hence we may gather a useful doctrine, — that God in a wonderful manner
gathers his Church when scattered, so as to form it into one body, however he may
for a time obliterate its name and even its very appearance. And of this he has given
us some proof in our time. For who could have thought that what we now see with
our eyes, would ever take place? that God would in a secret manner gather his elect,
when there was everywhere a dreadful desolation, and no corner found in the world
where two or three faithful men could dwell together. We hence see that this
prophecy has not been fulfilled only at one time, but that the grace of God is here set
forth, which he has often manifested, and still manifests in gathering his Church. It
follows, —
PETT, "Jeremiah 29:14
“And I will be found of you, the word of YHWH, and I will turn again your
captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places where I
have driven you, the word of YHWH, and I will bring you again to the place from
which I caused you to be carried away captive.”
Then He would be found of them (the guaranteed word of YHWH) and He would
restore their captivity, and would gather them from all nations, and from all the
place where He had driven them, (the guaranteed word of YHWH), and He would
73

74. bring them again to the place from which He had caused them to be carried away
captive. (Compare Deuteronomy 30:2-3)
So the order is clear. First exile, then repentance, then a seeking of Him with all
their hearts, then a return in belief and obedience, and this not only for those in
Babylon but for those around the world. And this was undoubtedly what happened
during the inter-testamental years, for by the time of Jesus people of all tribes (and
of none) had returned to Palestine and settled once again in the land, both north and
south, Galilee and Judea. We know only a little of the history of that return, mainly
as portrayed in Ezra-Nehemiah, and the later prophets, but that was only a small
part of the future, the initial movement. It was like the seed growing secretly.
Through the years those of His people who had been purged and who believed came
from all parts and were once again planted in the land. Judah/Israel was restored,
and at one time even became an independent nation.
15 You may say, “The Lord has raised up
prophets for us in Babylon,”
CLARKE, "Because ye have said - The Septuagint very properly insert this verse
between the twentieth and the twenty-first, and thus the connection here is not
disturbed, and the connection below completed.
GILL, "Because ye have said,.... That is, some of them; for here the Lord, by the
prophet, turns from the godly among the captives, whom he had been advising,
encouraging, and comforting before, to those who gave heed to the false prophets, who
promised them a speedy return to their own land, and which they believed; and
therefore rejected and despised the prophecies of Jeremiah, and others:
the Lord hath raised us up prophets in Babylon; and therefore stood in no need
of other prophets that were in Judea, or in Jerusalem, nor should hearken to them; but
believe those that were raised up among themselves, rather than others at a distance;
and though these were false prophets, yet, being such that prophesied to them things
that were agreeable, they were willing to believe them, and to consider them, and receive
74

75. them, as prophets sent of God, when they were not.
HENRY 15-23, "Jeremiah, having given great encouragement to those among the
captives whom he knew to be serious and well-affected, assuring them that God had very
kind and favourable intentions concerning them, here turns to those among them who
slighted the counsels and comforts that Jeremiah ministered to them and depended
upon what the false prophets flattered them with. When this letter came from Jeremiah
they would be ready to say, “Why should he make himself so busy, and take upon him to
advise us? The Lord has raised us up prophets in Babylon, Jer_29:15. We are satisfied
with those prophets, and can depend upon them, and have no occasion to hear from any
prophets in Jerusalem.” See the impudent wickedness of this people; as the prophets,
when they prophesied lies, said that they had them from God, so the people, when they
invited those prophets thus to flatter them, fathered it upon God, and said that it was the
Lord that raised them up those prophets. Whereas we may be sure that those who
harden people in their sins, and deceive them with false and groundless hopes of God's
mercy, are no prophets of God's raising up. These prophets of their own told them that
no more should be carried captive, but that those who were in captivity should shortly
return. Now, in answer to this, 1. The prophet here foretells the utter destruction of
those who remained still at Jerusalem, notwithstanding what those false prophets said
to the contrary: “As for the king and people that dwell in the city, who, you think, will be
ready to bid you welcome when you return, you are deceived; they shall be followed with
one judgment after another, sword, famine, and pestilence, which shall cut off
multitudes; and the poor and miserable remains shall be removed into all kingdoms of
the earth,” Jer_29:16, Jer_29:18. And thus God will make them, or rather deal with
them accordingly, as the salt that has lost its savour, which, being good for nothing, is
cast to the dunghill, and so are rotten figs. This refers to the vision and the prophecy
upon it which we had Jer_24:1-10. And the reason given for these proceedings against
them is the same that has often been given and will justify God in the eternal ruin of
impenitent sinners (Jer_29:19): Because they have not hearkened to my words. I called,
but they refused. 2. He foretells the judgment of God upon the false prophets in Babylon,
who deceived the people of God there. He calls upon all the children of the captivity, who
boasted of them as prophets of God's raising up (Jer_29:20): “Stand still, and hear the
doom of the prophets you are so fond of.” The two prophets are named here, Ahab and
Zedekiah, Jer_29:21. Observe, (1.) The crimes charged upon them - impiety and
immorality: They prophesied lies in God's name (Jer_29:21), and again (Jer_29:23),
They have spoken lying words in my name. Lying was bad, lying to the people of God to
delude them into a false hope was worse, but fathering their lies upon the God of truth
was worst of all. And no marvel if those that had the face to do that could allow
themselves in the gratification of those vile affections to which God, in a way of
righteous judgment, gave them up. They have done villainy in Israel, for they have
committed adultery with their neighbours' wives. Adultery is villainy in Israel, and in
such as pretend to be prophets, who by such wickednesses manifestly disprove their own
pretensions. God never sent such profligate wretches on his errands. He is the Lord God
of the holy prophets, not of such impure ones. Here it appears why they flattered others
in their sins - because they could not reprove them without condemning themselves.
These lewd practices of theirs they knew how to conceal from the eye of the world, that
they might preserve their credit; but I know it and am a witness, saith the Lord. The
most secret sins are known to God; he can see the villainy that is covered with the
thickest cloak of hypocrisy, and there is a day coming when he will bring to light all these
75

76. hidden works of darkness and every man will appear in his own colours. (2.) The
judgments threatened against them: The king of Babylon shall slay them before your
eyes; nay, he shall put them to a miserable death, roast them in the fire, Jer_29:22. We
may suppose that it was not for their impiety and immorality that Nebuchadnezzar
punished them thus severely, but for sedition, and some attempts of their turbulent
spirits upon the public peace, and stirring up the people to revolt and rebel. So much of
their wickedness shall then be detected, and in such a wretched manner they shall end
their days, that their names shall be a curse among the captives in Babylon, Jer_29:22.
When men would imprecate the greatest evil upon one they hated they would think they
could not load them with a heavier curse, in fewer words, than to say, The Lord make
thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab. Thus were they made ashamed of the prophets they
had been proud of, and convinced at last of their folly in hearkening to them. God's
faithful prophets were sometimes charged with being the troublers of the land, and as
such were tortured and slain; but their names were a blessing when they were gone and
their memory sweet, not as these false prophets. As malefactors are attended with
infamy and disgrace, so martyrs with glory and honour.
JAMISON, "Because — referring not to the preceding words, but to Jer_29:10,
Jer_29:11, “Jehovah saith this to you” (that is, the prophecy of the continuance of the
captivity seventy years), “because ye have said, The Lord hath raised us up prophets in
Babylon,” namely, foretelling our speedy deliverance (this their prophecy is supposed,
not expressed; accordingly, Jer_29:16-19 contradict this false hope again, Jer_29:8,
Jer_29:9, Jer_29:21). He, in this fifteenth verse, turns his address from the godly (Jer_
29:12-14) to the ungodly listeners, to false prophets.
K&D 15-20, "Jeremiah informs the captives of the judgments that is to gall on such
as are still left in the land. Jer_29:15. "If ye say: Jahveh hath raised us up prophets in
Babylon - Jer_29:16. Yea, thus saith Jahveh of the king that sitteth upon the throne of
David, and of all the people that dwelleth in this city, your brethren that are not gone
forth with you into captivity, Jer_29:17. Thus saith Jahveh of hosts: Behold, I send
amongst them the sword, famine, and pestilence, and make them like horrible figs, that
cannot be eaten for badness, Jer_29:18. And hunt after them with the sword, the
famine, and the pestilence, and give them to be abused to all the kingdoms of the earth,
to be a curse, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a reproach among all the
peoples whither I have driven them; Jer_29:19. Inasmuch as they have not hearkened
to my words, saith Jahveh, wherewith I sent to them my servants the prophets, from
early morning on sending them, and ye have not hearkened, saith Jahveh. Jer_29:20.
But ye, hear the word of Jahveh, all ye captives whom I have sent from Jerusalem to
Babylon." - The design with which Jeremiah tells the captives of this judgment may be
gathered from the terms of Jer_29:15, with which this prophecy is introduced: God had
raised up to us prophets in Babel (‫ה‬ָ‫ל‬ ֶ‫ב‬ ָ‫,בּ‬ lit., as far as Babel, i.e., extending His agency
so far beyond the bounds of Judah). Hence it is clear that the announcement of
judgment to come on those left in the land is in direct opposition to the predictions of
the prophets that had appeared in Babylon. these prophesied a swift end to Chaldean
domination and an immediate return of the exiles to their fatherland. So long as one of
David's posterity sat on his throne in Jerusalem, and so long as the kingdom of Judah
76

77. was maintained, the partial captivity of the people and removal of the plundered
treasures of the temple would appear as a calamity which might soon be repaired. The
false prophets in Babylon laid, therefore, great stress on the continued existence of the
kingdom, with its capital and the temple, in their efforts to obtain belief amongst the
exiles. As Näg. justly remarks, it was to take this ground from beneath their feet that
Jeremiah predicted expulsion and destruction against the people of Jerusalem. The
prophecy does indeed bear upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, "but not in the first
reference; its immediate purpose was to overthrow the foundations on which the false
prophets of the exile stood" (Näg.). Taken thus, these verses form and integral part of
the message sent by Jeremiah to the exiles, which was of no small weight for quieting the
excitement, nourished by the false prophets, which reigned amongst them. One is struck
by the want of connection between Jer_29:15 and Jer_29:16. The beginning of Jer_
29:16, "Yea, thus saith," comes directly after the end of Jer_29:15 without any joining
link. Näg. holds the ‫י‬ ִ‫כּ‬ to be the pleonastic ‫י‬ ִ‫כּ‬ which often introduces a saying. But its
position before the "thus saith" makes this impossible. Here it serves to strengthen the
asseveration: yea, thus fitly introducing what Jahveh says to the contrary; and Jer_29:15
and Jer_29:16 are, tersely and immediately, set over against one another. "If ye say"
means: as regards your saying that Jahveh hath raised you up prophets in Babylon, the
answer is: Thus hath Jahveh said. This is the connection of Jer_29:16 with Jer_29:15.
(Note: By the above exposition of the connection and progress of the thought, are
disposed of all the objections that have been brought by Houb., Lud. Capp., Ven.,
etc., against the genuineness of these verses, or, at least, against the true position for
them. The fact of their being wanting in the lxx, on which Hitz. mainly grounds his
charge of spuriousness, proves nothing more than that these translators were unable
to understand the train of thought in the verses, especially seeing that the substance
of them has several times been expressed by Jeremiah, particularly Jer_29:17 and
Jer_29:18; Jer_24:9-10, cf. Jer_15:4; Jer_19:8; with Jer_29:19 cf. Jer_7:13, Jer_
7:25. Against the attempts to alter the text, Graf's remarks are admirable: "It is much
easier to explain how the passage was omitted as out of place by the lxx than to show
how it could have been introduced as an interpolation. It is too long for a mere
marginal gloss that had at a later time found its way into the text; and why it should
have been placed here, would remain all the more incomprehensible if it were so
wholly unconnected with the body of the text. We cannot admit that it is merely an
erroneous displacement of b. 15, which originally stood before Jer_29:21; since it is
less likely that Jer_29:16 could have come directly after Jer_29:14. In respect of
form, Jer_29:16-20 is connected with and forms a continuation of what precedes.
Jer_29:20 implies the presence of Jer_29:16 as an antithesis, and at the same time
completes again the connection that had been interrupted with Jer_29:15, and leads
on to Jer_29:21. Connection in thought seems to be wanting only because Jer_29:16
does not express the connecting idea, and because the contrast is so abrupt." - The
other arguments adduced by Hitz. to throw suspicion on the passage, we can afford
to pass over as wholly without force.)
"Your brethren that," etc., is co-ordinate with "all the people." The words: "I make them
like horrible figs," make allusion to the vision in Jer_24:2., but do not imply that this
vision was known to the exiles, for they are quite intelligible to him who knows nothing
of Jer_24:1-10 (Näg.). The adject. ‫ר‬ַ‫ֹע‬‫שׁ‬ is found only here, from ‫ר‬ַ‫ע‬ָ‫,שׁ‬ shudder; horrible,
that on tasting which one shudders. With Jer_29:18, cf. Jer_24:9. "Wherewith I sent my
servants," i.e., commissioned them. This verb construed with double accus. as in 2Sa_
77

78. 11:22; Isa_55:11. "Ye have not hearkened," the 2nd pers. instead of the 3rd, is hardly to
be explained by the fact that the prophet here cites in full an often quoted saying (Hitz.,
Näg., etc.). The reason is that the prophet is thinking of the exiles also as having been
equal to their brethren remaining in Judah in the matter of not hearkening. Thus the
way is prepared for the summons: But ye, hear, Jer_29:20.
CALVIN, "Many interpreters connect the first of these verses with the preceding
ones, and they seem not to think so without reason; for the reason given is not
unsuitable, if we refer to what the Prophet had said, even that the Jews were by no
means to hope for a return until the end of seventy years. But the meaning I adopt is
more probable; the particle ‫,כי‬ ki, is repeated; the first is causal, and the second an
illative; (219) and consistently with the usage of Scripture the learned and the
experienced think that this is the real meaning of the Prophet. He then says, that the
captives were very foolish who hoped for a quick end to their exile, because they had
false prophets who gave them such a promise; ye have then said, that prophets have
been given you, in Chaldea, and that God had there pitied you, because there are
those who prophesy of a return in a short time. As then ye are so foolishly
credulous, Thus saith Jehovah to your brethren, he then turns his discourse to the
exiles, and exhorts them not to suffer themselves to be led astray. But here he
indirectly reproves them, because they could not bear a condition which was even
better than that of the residue, as though he had said, “What means this your
unreasonableness! that when all your ways are closed up against you, and the power
of your conqueror is so great that ye cannot move a finger without his nod, ye
should yet think that you shall be set free in two years! and surely if you were before
foolishly secure and confident, your calamities ought now to make you humble. But
your brethren, who seem yet to enjoy liberty because they dwell at Jerusalem, (for
those alone were then remaining,) even these your brethren suffer far more
grievously than ye do.”
Another thing advanced by Blayney, though countenanced by Houbigant and
Horsley, two rival innovators, is not to be admitted, — that the letter terminates at
the end of the 20th verse (Jeremiah 29:20), and not at the end of the 23d (Jeremiah
29:23), and that what follows forms another letter. It is evident that what is
contained in the 24th (Jeremiah 29:24) and in the following verses to the end, was
written in consequence of an answer from Babylon to this letter. Compare verse 5th
(Jeremiah 29:5) with the 28th (Jeremiah 29:28). — Ed.
COFFMAN, ""Because ye have said, Jehovah hath raised us up prophets in
Babylon; Thus saith Jehovah concerning the king that sitteth upon the throne of
David, and concerning all the people that dwell in this city, your brethren that are
not gone forth with you into captivity; thus saith Jehovah 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 bad. And I will pursue after them with the
sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be tossed to
and fro among all the kingdoms of the earth, to be an execration, and an
78

79. astonishment, and a hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have
driven them; because they have not hearkened unto my words, saith Jehovah,
wherewith I sent unto them my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending
them; but ye would not hear, saith Jehovah. Hear ye therefore the word of Jehovah,
all ye of the captivity, whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon."
"Jehovah hath raised us up prophets in Babylon ..." (Jeremiah 29:15). This
evidently comes from some communication which Jeremiah had received from the
captives themselves. Of course, such prophets were false prophets; and Jeremiah
warned against the captive's being deceived by them.
Jeremiah 29:16-17 have the prophecy of the complete destruction of the remainder
of Judah in Jerusalem; and we reject the idea that this prophecy does not belong in
Jeremiah's letter. Oh yes, it is missing from the Septuagint (LXX), but what of that?
As Smith noted, "The whole text of the Septuagint is here so brief and confused as
to be practically inexplicable; but on the other hand the Hebrew text represents the
original manuscript, and is especially trustworthy in the case before us."[13] "The
fact of these verses being lacking in the LXX proves nothing except that the
translators of the Septuagint (LXX) were unable to understand the main thought of
the passage!"[14] It is for exactly this same reason that present-day commentators
would prefer to omit the passage.
The vital relevance of this prophecy against the remainder of Judah in Jerusalem is
that it was necessary to silence and destroy the campaign of the false prophets.
Their whole message was, "All of us will be back home in Judah within two years."
Jeremiah had already been fully verified as a true prophet of God; and this message
sent to the exiles effectively killed their whole campaign. It infuriated them; but it
also silenced them.
Cheyne's notion that Jeremiah 29:16-20 "are an interpolation"[15] is therefore an
unfortunate error. It is another example of a scholar claiming "an interpolation" as
an explanation of something he does not understand.
Henderson understood the necessity for these verses in Jeremiah's letter, writing,
"They are designed to contradict the false hopes held out to the captives that the
Jewish state in Jerusalem should stand, and that they would be restored to their
brethren in Judaea."[16]
"Vile figs ..." (Jeremiah 29:17). The captives already knew about this prophecy; but
Jeremiah repeated it here. See Jeremiah 24:2f. This letter had nothing in it about
the destruction of Judah that was not already known by Zedekiah; and any thought
that he would not have allowed a communication like this to go to Babylon is denied
by the facts that Zedekiah probably did not see the letter; and that, if he had seen it,
he would have allowed it anyway. He evidently believed that Jeremiah was a true
prophet. His later rebellion was due solely to his weakness.
79

80. PETT, "Verses 15-19
They Are Therefore Not To Listen To The False Prophets As, Rather Than
Experiencing Quick Restoration, Zedekiah And Jerusalem Are Doomed Because
They Have Not Listened To YHWH’s Words (Jeremiah 29:15-19).
Jeremiah 29:15
“Because you have said, ‘YHWH has raised us up prophets in Babylon,”
Men must always have some hope to cling on to, and there are always those who will
seek to profit by it. So in this case prophets had arisen among the exiles in Babylon,
and this had enthused the people. It had made them feel that YHWH had perhaps
not after all deserted them. Some were good prophets like Ezekiel, and it was they
who rebuilt the broken nation. But others were chancers who were more politically
minded and seized the opportunity to proclaim ‘instant deliverance’, a message
which would have been eagerly seized on. They promised a quick return of the exiles
to their brothers and sisters in Judah. This no doubt partly arose because there was
an awareness of rumblings in Babylon which would always arise among peoples
constrained there against their will. What they overlooked was that such rumblings
rarely actually came to anything.
PULPIT, "Jeremiah's denunciation of two leading false prophets at Babylon, with a
digression on the fate of Zedekiah and Jerusalem. Some eminent critics maintain
that verses 16-20 are an interpolation, and this view is certainly supported By the
omission of these verses in the Septuagint. It must also in fairness be admitted that
the natural connection of verse 15 is with verse 21, not with verse 16. But it does not
follow that verses 16-20 are an arbitrary interpolation. They may be regarded either
as a digression in the original letter, or as inserted by an after-thought when the
substance of the letter was brought into its present form.
16 but this is what the Lord says about the king
who sits on David’s throne and all the people who
remain in this city, your fellow citizens who did
not go with you into exile—
80

81. BARNES, "These verses are not in the Septuagint. But the text of the Septuagint is
here throughout so brief and confused as to be explicable only on the supposition, that it
represents what was left behind in Egypt when Jeremiah died, copied probably with
extreme haste, and with no opportunity of careful collation afterward. On the other hand
the Hebrew text represents no hurried transcript, but the original manuscript, and is
especially trustworthy in the case of these letters sent to Babylon (see also Jer. 51),
because the originals of them would be available for collation with the text preserved by
Jeremiah himself. The verses were probably intended to allay excitement in Babylon
consequent upon the knowledge that the representatives of various kings were
assembled at that very time at Jerusalem to form a coalition against Babylon Jer_27:3.
GILL, "Know that thus saith the Lord,.... Or "for", or "wherefore thus saith the
Lord" (x); for the word "know" is not in the text, and seems needless; though it is also
supplied by other interpreters (y). The words are illative, and follow upon the former;
and the sense is, that since they gave heed to their false prophets in Babylon, who told
them that they should quickly return; therefore the Lord sent the following message to
them, informing them that it was so far from being true that they should in a short time
return to Jerusalem, that, on the other hand, they that were there should soon be with
them in captivity, or be destroyed:
of, or "concerning"
the king that sitteth on the throne of David; that is, King Zedekiah, who was then
the reigning king at Jerusalem:
and of all the people that dwelleth in this city; the city Jerusalem, where
Jeremiah was, and from whence this letter was written, in the name of the Lord, to the
captives at Babylon:
and of your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity; that lived
in the several parts of the land of Judea, who were left behind, and not carried captive,
when those were to whom these words are directed.
JAMISON, "people ... in this city ... not gone forth — So far from your
returning to Jerusalem soon, even your brethren still left dwelling there shall themselves
also be cast into exile. He mentions “the throne of David,” lest they should think that,
because David’s kingdom was to be perpetual, no severe, though temporary,
chastisements could interpose (Psa_89:29-36).
CALVIN, "We now perceive for what purpose the Prophet, after having addressed
the captives, turned his discourse to King Zedekiah and to the Jews, who as yet
remained at home or in their own country; it was, that the captives might hence
know how great was their madness to promise to themselves a return, after having
been driven to remote lands, when final ruin was nigh both the king and the people,
who as yet remained at Jerusalem; Thus then saith Jehovah to ting who sits on the
throne of David, and to all the people who sit in this city, etc
To sit, as I have already said, is to be taken here in two different senses; the king is
81

82. said to sit on his throne while he retains his dignity; but the people are said to sit
while they rest and dwell quietly in any place. It is not without reason that the word
king is here expressly mentioned, for the exiles were ever wont to connect it with the
hope of their return; “The Temple still remains, God is there worshipped, and the
kingdom still exists; these things being secure, it cannot be all over with our nation.”
The safety of the people depended on the kingdom and the priesthood. When
therefore, on the one hand, they fixed their eyes on royalty, and on the other hand,
on the priesthood and sacrifices, they felt persuaded that it could not be otherwise
but that God would soon restore them; for God had promised that the kingdom of
David would be perpetual, as long as the sun and moon would shine in heaven.
Except then this splendor or glory had been extinguished, the Israelites could not
have been humiliated, especially as those who had been led into exile were of the
tribe of Judah. We now understand why the word king was expressly mentioned.
Though, then, a king still sat on the throne of David, he yet declares that his
condition and that of his people was harder than that of the captive multitude.
PETT, "Jeremiah 29:16
“Thus says YHWH concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and
concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your brothers who have not gone
forth with you into captivity,”
But they did seem to have significance to those who believed that their own king ‘sat
on the throne of David’, the David who had ruled such a great empire The words
used here would suggest that the false prophets were laying a great emphasis on ‘the
king who sat on David’s throne’. It must be remembered that even after their
experiences with Babylonian troops their knowledge of the power and size of the
Babylonian empire was limited. There were no countrywide, or even local,
newspapers, no roving reporters, no radio, no television. They only knew what they
themselves had seen, and what was learned from passing travellers. And one set of
troops seemed very like another. Thus their hopes lay in the king appointed by
YHWH, ‘His firstborn, ruler of the kings of the earth’ (Psalms 89:27) who would
one day ‘chastise the nations with a rod of iron’ (Psalms 2:9). They had sung about
it in the Temple. Now was the time to believe in it.
But Jeremiah dampens their enthusiasm. This king in whom they were pinning such
hopes, and this city to which they looked with such longing, and their brothers who
had been left behind, were themselves facing judgments, judgments from YHWH
which would remove all hope from them.
17 yes, this is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will
82

83. send the sword, famine and plague against them
and I will make them like figs that are so bad they
cannot be eaten.
BARNES, "Jer_29:17
Vile - The word does not occur elsewhere, but comes from a root signifying to
shudder, and thus has an intense meaning.
CLARKE, "Behold, I will send upon them the sword - Do not envy the state of
Zedekiah who sits on the throne of David, nor that of the people who are now in the land
whence ye have been carried captive, (Jer_29:16), for “I will send the sword, the
pestilence, and the famine upon them;” and afterwards shall cause them to be carried
into a miserable captivity in all nations, (Jer_29:18); but ye see the worst of your own
case, and you have God’s promise of enlargement when the proper time is come. The
reader will not forget that the prophet is addressing the captives in Babylon.
GILL, "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, behold, I will send upon them the
sword,.... The sword of the Chaldeans, by which many of them should fall, as they did.
The Targum is,
"I will send upon them those that kill with the sword:''
who, though they were prompted to come against the Jews, through a natural and
ambitious desire of conquering and plundering, yet were sent of God; nor would they
have come, had he not willed and suffered it:
JAMISON, "vile figs — Hebrew, “horrible,” or nauseous, from a root, “to regard
with loathing” (see Jer_24:8, Jer_24:10).
CALVIN, "He says, I will pursue them with the sword, and famine, and pestilence
The surrender of Jeconiah, as we have elsewhere seen, was voluntary; he was
therefore more kindly received by the king of Babylon. At length the city was
attacked, and as the siege was long, there was more rage felt against the king and
the whole people, for the Chaldeans had been wearied by their obstinacy. Hence it
was, that they dealt more severely with them. But nothing happened except through
the just vengeance of God; for though they exasperated the Chaldeans, there is no
83

84. doubt but that God blinded their minds so that they procured for themselves a
heavier judgment. It was, then, a punishment inflicted on them by God; and hence
rightly does Jeremiah testify that God was the author of those calamities, for the
Chaldeans, as we have seen elsewhere, were only ministers and executioners of
God’s vengeance; Jehovah of hosts then says, Behold, I will pursue you, etc.
He then adds, And I will make them like worthless figs He calls the figs here ‫,שערים‬
sherim, worthless; but in the twenty-fourth chapter he called them bad; still the
meaning is the same. There is no doubt but that he refers to the prophecy which we
there explained. For the Prophet saw two baskets of figs, in one of which were sweet
figs, and in the other bitter. God asked, “What seest thou?” he said, “Good figs,
very good, and bad figs, very bad.” God afterwards added, “The good and sweet figs
are the captives; for I will at length shew mercy to them, and liberty to return shall
be given them. They shall then be good figs, though now a different opinion is
formed; for they who still lived at Jerusalem, think themselves more happy than the
exiles; but the bad and bitter figs,” he says, “are this people who pride themselves,
because they have not been led into captivity; for I will consume them with the
pestilence, and the famine, and the sword.” This was the Prophet’s language in that
passage. He now again declares that King Zedekiah and all the people would be like
bitter and putrid figs, which, being so bad, are not fit to be eaten. He then adds, —
PETT, "Jeremiah 29:17
“Thus says YHWH of hosts, Behold, I will send on them the sword, the famine, and
the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so
bad.”
For YHWH of hosts was about to send on them sword, and famine and pestilence to
such an extent that it would make Jerusalem and Judah not a good place to be. They
were to become like rotten, loathsome, inedible figs (compare Jeremiah 24:3;
Jeremiah 24:8, although the word for vile here is different and signifies utterly
loathsome), which turn men off and have nothing to offer them. Thus any idea of the
current throne of David being a succour to them should be immediately dismissed..
18 I will pursue them with the sword, famine and
plague and will make them abhorrent to all the
kingdoms of the earth, a curse[c] and an object of
horror, of scorn and reproach, among all the
84

85. nations where I drive them.
GILL, "And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine,
and with the pestilence,.... Or, "follow after (a) them"; such as should make their
escape out of the city, and go into Egypt, or other countries, for shelter and safety,
should be pursued by the vengeance of God, and should fall by sword, famine, or
pestilence, in other places:
and will deliver them; such as should not perish by the above mentioned calamities:
to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth; where they should be scattered,
and live in exile: or "for a shaking to all the kingdoms of the earth" (b); who should
shake and tremble at such a dreadful spectacle of vengeance; or rather they should shake
and tremble at the wrath of God upon them; or else their enemies, among whom they
should be, should shake their heads at them, by way of insult and triumph over them:
to be a curse, and an astonishment, and an hissing, and a reproach,
among all the nations whither I have driven them; where men shall look at them
with amazement, and curse theft, and hiss at them, and reproach them, as the
offscouring of the world.
JAMISON, "removed to all ... kingdoms — (Jer_15:4; Deu_28:25).
curse, etc. — (Jer_29:6; Jer_18:16; Jer_19:8).
CALVIN, "He goes on with the same subject, — that he would not cease to consume
them with pestilence, famine, and the sword, until he wholly destroyed them,
according to what we find in the twenty-fourth chapter. He repeats what is in that
chapter; but the words are taken from the twenty-eighth chapter of Deuteronomy,
and from the twenty-ninth. The prophets, we know, drew the substance of their
doctrine from the fountain of the Law, and, strictly speaking, brought forward
nothing new, but accommodated the doctrine of Moses to the circumstances of the
time in which each lived.
Hence we find among the curses of the Law these words, I will set them for a
commotion, or a concussion. The word may be explained in two ways, — either that
the nations would tremble at such a sad spectacle, — or that they would shake their
head. The second view is to be preferred, according to what I have stated elsewhere,
I will then set them for a commotion, that is, every one who shall see their miseries,
will shake his head in contempt, as though he had said, “All will assent to the just
vengeance of God, and ye shall be objects of reproach among all the heathens; for
85

86. all will acknowledge that ye suffer most justly for your sins.”
He adds, for a curse The word ‫,אלה‬ ale, is properly an oath, but is taken in many
places for a curse, which is introduced or understood when we swear. But as men
often expose themselves to punishment for perjury, the word means, frequently, a
curse; and what is to be understood, as it has been explained elsewhere, is a pattern
or formula of a curse; and we have seen in what sense the Prophet said this, that is,
that every one who wished to curse himself or others, or to imprecate, as they say,
some dire things, would take the Jews for an example, “May God curse thee as he
did the Jews;” or, “May he draw forth his severity to thy ruin, as he did to the
Jews.” He then says that they would be for a curse, that is, that they would be so
miserable that they would be taken as an example in imprecations.
He afterwards adds, for an astonishment, as he had spoken of the shaking of the
head, so now he mentions astonishment, which is something more grievous, that is,
when such a spectacle presents itself as makes all men to stand astonished, as not
knowing what it means. Hissing is mentioned; as it is said elsewhere that they would
be a proverb, ‫,משל‬ meshel, and also a taunt, so Jeremiah says in this place, that they
would be a hissing, as he has spoken of the shaking of the head.
And lastly he adds, that they would be a reproach even to all nations, for all would
deem them worthy of their calamities, however grievous they were, when a
comparison would be made between their iniquities and God’s vengeance. The
reason follows, because they hearkened not to God But I cannot now finish.
PETT, "Jeremiah 29:18
“And I will pursue after them with the sword, with the famine, and with the
pestilence, and will deliver them to be tossed to and fro among all the kingdoms of
the earth, to be an execration, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a reproach,
among all the nations where I have driven them,”
And not only would they experience the sword, and famine, and pestilence, but these
things would continue to pursue them wherever they went, and they would be tossed
to and from among all the kingdoms of the earth (compare Jeremiah 15:4; Jeremiah
24:9), to become an execration, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a reproach
among all the nations to which YHWH would send them (compare Jeremiah 24:9).
The idea would appear to be that they would not participate in the coming
restoration at the end of the seventy years because they were so perverted but would
become a permanent spectacle to the nations who would simply despise them.
86

87. 19 For they have not listened to my words,”
declares the Lord, “words that I sent to them
again and again by my servants the prophets. And
you exiles have not listened either,” declares the
Lord.
GILL, "Because they have not hearkened to my words, saith the Lord,....
Which were spoken to them by the prophets; not hearkening to them, but despising
them, were the same as not hearkening to him, and despising him; contempt of God, and
his word, was the cause of their ruin; see 2Ch_36:15;
which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets; such as Hosea, Isaiah,
Micah, Jeremiah, and others:
rising up early, and sending them; which denotes the frequency of their mission;
the diligent care of God towards them; and his earnest solicitude for their welfare; and
the plenty of means they were favoured with; all which were aggravations of their sin:
but ye would not hear, saith the Lord; the words of the Lord by his prophets; the
counsel and admonitions he gave them; but pursued their own ways and counsels, and
listened to the false prophets.
CALVIN, "The Prophet, after having denounced God’s judgment on those who
remained in their own country as well as on the exiles, subjoins this reason, because
they hearkened not to the word of the Lord; and this was a most grievous sin.
Though ignorance is no excuse before God, for those who are without the Law must
perish; yet the servant who knew his Lord’s will and did it not, shall be beaten with
many stripes. And the more abundant God’s grace is in calling us to the right way of
salvation, the more base is our ingratitude when we close our ears and disregard the
concern and care which he manifests for our salvation. Let us then know that
nothing is less tolerable than the rejection of the prophetic word.
And we must notice what follows, which I sent them by my servants the prophets
The Jews might have otherwise objected and said, that they did not intend to be
rebellious against God, but that there were many contentions among the prophets.
Lest, then, they should seek an evasion by a pretense of this kind, he says that the
word, brought by his ministers and witnesses the prophets, was worthy of no less
reverence than if angels came down from heaven to them. And this passage serves to
shew the use of external doctrine, which fanatical men despise, thinking the hidden
87

88. word sufficient, that is, whatever they may dream. But God thus proves the
obedience of our faith, while he rules us by the hand and labor of men. Whosoever
then rejects the faithful teachers of the word, shews that he is a despiser of God
himself. The meaning is, that God defines his word, not as an oracle of any kind, but
as the doctrine which has been deposited with faithful teachers.
He afterwards adds, rising up early and sending The metaphor is taken from men
who are sedulous and diligent. We indeed know that God never awakes and never
changes place; but he could not otherwise express his paternal care toward his
people, as though he had said, that he was sedulously engaged in admonishing them.
And thus the more inexcusable was rendered the sloth of the people; for God
hastened as it were to rise up early, as they who spare no labor, but willingly
deprive themselves of some portion of their sleep, that they may complete their work
or their journey. As God then manifested so much diligence in securing the
wellbeing of men, the more shameful is the sloth of men, when they become deaf, or
are not moved, but remain in their indifference. It now follows, —
PETT, "Jeremiah 29:19
“Because they have not listened to my words, the word of YHWH, with which I sent
to them my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, but you would
not hear, the word of YHWH,”
And this would happen to them because of their continual refusal to listen to His
words as spoken by Jeremiah (this was the assured prophetic word of YHWH), and
by previous prophets, words which He had, in terms of the usual Jeremaic
expression (rising up early, etc. - Jeremiah 7:13, Jeremiah 25 : Jeremiah 26:5;
Jeremiah 32:33; Jeremiah 35:15), been at great pains to deliver to them.
But at this stage He now also includes those to whom Jeremiah is writing, for He
deliberately changes from ‘them’ to ‘you’. The exiles must not be allowed to think
that somehow they are not equally to blame for what has happened.
20 Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all you
exiles whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to
Babylon.
88

89. CLARKE, "Hear ye therefore the word - Dr. Blayney thinks there were two
letters written by the prophet to the captives in Babylon, and that the first ends with this
verse. That having heard, on the return of the embassy (Elasah and Gemariah, whom
Zedekiah had sent to Babylon, and to whom the prophet entrusted the above letter, Jer_
29:3), that the captives had not received his advises favourably, because they were
deceived by false prophets among them, who promised them a speedier deliverance, he
therefore wrote a second letter, beginning with the fifteenth verse, and going on with the
twenty-first, etc., in which he denounces God’s judgments on three of the chief of those,
Ahab, Zedekiah, and Shemaiah.
GILL, "Hear ye therefore the word of the Lord,.... What he was now about to say
concerning their false prophets:
all ye of the captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon; all that
were carried captive along with Jeconiah. Some parts of this letter are directed to one
sort of the captives, and others to another sort of them; some being good men, some
bad; but what follows all are called upon to observe, good and bad; it being a prediction
of a certain event, which they would see fulfilled in a short time; and therefore might be
of service of them; to the godly, for the confirmation of them in the belief of what the
Lord had promised; and to the rest, to make them stop giving heed to false prophets,
that should here after arise.
CALVIN, "Jeremiah announces a special prophecy, but in confirmation of his
former doctrine. His object is still the same, to prevent the captives, as they had
begun, to listen to flatteries, and to make them feel assured that they were to bear
their exile till the end of seventy years. But he speaks here of three impostors; he
connects two of them together, and mentions the third by himself. He directs his
discourse especially to all the captives, for he deigned not to address those who
professed to be God’s enemies, and sold themselves as slaves to the devil for the
purpose of deceiving. It was therefore useless to spend labor on them. But he
addressed the whole people, and at the same time foretold what would happen to
these two false prophets, even Ahab and Zedekiah. He calls one the son of Kolaiah,
and the other the son of Maaseiah; for Ahab was a name then in frequent use, and
Zedekiah was a name which, on account of the memory of a pious and godly king,
was in high esteem among the good. To prevent then any mistake, he mentioned
their fathers.
The import of the prophecy is, that a judgment would soon overtake them, as they
would be killed by King Nebuchadnezzar. They were in exile, but such madness had
possessed them, that they hesitated not to provoke the wrath of that tyrant whom
they knew to be cruel and bloody. Then Jeremiah declares, that as they thus
deceived the people, they would soon be punished, as Nebuchadnezzar would slay
them. There is yet no doubt but that Nebuchadnezzar had regard to his own private
89

90. advantage; for before they were brought before him, he wished to allay every cause
of tumult. As they ceased not to encourage the hope of a speedy return, without
some check, it could not be otherwise but that frequent disturbances would arise.
Therefore Nebuchadnezzar, as it is usual with earthly kings, consulted his own
benefit. But he was in the meantime the servant of God; for those two impostors
who had promised a return to the people, were to be exposed to contempt. Their
death then disclosed their vanity, for it thereby appeared that they were not sent by
God. It is indeed true that God’s faithful servants are often cruelly treated, nay,
even slain by the ungodly. But the case was different as to these two. For they were
not proved guilty of falsehood, because they happened to have unhappily
prophesied, but because they raised up a standard as it were, and said, that the
people would soon return to their own country; and henceit was that they were
slain. We then see that what would take place was not without reason foretold by
Jeremiah; for from their death it might have been concluded, that whatever they
had promised respecting the return of the people, were mere fallacies; and they
were slain even before the time which they had predicted. We now perceive the
meaning. We shall now notice the words.
He says, Hear ye, the, whole captivity, the word of Jehovah He would have the Jews
to be attentive, for if a thousand impostors had been killed, yet their faith in
falsehood would never have been destroyed, had not Jeremiah prophesied before
the time what would take place. He then sits here as a judge; for though
Nebuchadnezzar ordered them to be killed, yet it appears evident that it was
ordained by God, and indeed for this end, that the people might learn to repent. We
hence see that Jeremiah was their judge; and Nebuchadnezzar afterwards executed
what God by the mouth of his servant had pronounced as a judgment. This is the
reason why he addressed his words to the whole people.
He yet at the same time adds, that they had been sent by God, whom I have sent, etc.
and he said this, in order that they might not imagine that they went there by
chance or by adverse fortune, and that they might acknowledge that when they were
deprived of their own country, it was a just punishment for their sins.
PETT, "Verses 20-23
A Warning Not To Listen To The False Prophets Who Are Already Doomed
Because Of Their False Prophecies And Equally False Ways (Jeremiah 29:20-23).
Jeremiah 29:20
“Hear you therefore the word of YHWH, all you of the captivity, whom I have sent
away from Jerusalem to Babylon.”
Having explained why what the prophets were declaring was hopelessly wrong,
Jeremiah now calls on all who are in captivity, despatched by YHWH from
Jerusalem to Babylon, to hear the word of YHWH concerning the prophets
90

91. themselves.
21 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of
Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and
Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying
lies to you in my name: “I will deliver them into
the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,
and he will put them to death before your very
eyes.
CLARKE, "He shall slay them before your eyes - Nebuchadnezzar would be led
by political reasons to punish these pretended prophets, as their predictions tended to
make his Israelitish subjects uneasy and disaffected, and might excite them to rebellion.
He therefore slew them; two of them, it appears, he burnt alive, viz., Ahab and Zedekiah,
who are supposed by the rabbins to be the two elders who endeavored to seduce
Susanna, see Jer_29:23. Burning alive was a Chaldean punishment, Dan_3:6, and Amo_
2:1. From them other nations borrowed it.
GILL, "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,.... See Gill on Jer_29:4;
of Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, which
prophesy a lie unto you: two false prophets, of whom we have no account any where
else but here; and are, no doubt, the prophets, or however two of them, that they of the
captivity boasted of that God had raised unto them in Babylon, Jer_29:15. The Jews (c)
say, and so Jerom relates, that these are the two elders that attempted the chastity of
Susannah:
behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of
Babylon: they should be suffered to commit some crime against the state, of which
notice should be given, and they should be seized as seditious persons; which was so
permitted in providence, that they might be brought to punishment for other sins they
were guilty of:
91

92. and he shall slay them before your eyes; by roasting them with fire: as follows:
JAMISON, "Zedekiah — brother of Zephaniah (Jer_29:25), both being sons of
Maaseiah; probably of the same family as the false prophet under Ahab in Israel (1Ki_
22:11, 1Ki_22:24).
K&D 21-23, "After having set forth the divine determination, the prophet's letter
addresses itself specially against the false prophets and tells them their punishment from
God. Jer_29:21. "Thus saith Jahveh, the God of hosts, of Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of
Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy to you in my name falsely: Behold, I give
them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, that he may smite them
before your eyes. Jer_29:22. And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the exiles of
Judah that are in Babylon, saying: Jahveh make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab,
whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire, Jer_29:23. Because they have done folly
in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours' wives, and have spoken
in my name lying words which I have not commanded them. But I know it and am
witness, saith Jahveh." - Beyond what is here told, we know nothing of these two
pseudo-prophets. The name ‫ב‬ ָ‫א‬ ְ‫ח‬ ַ‫א‬ is written in Jer_29:20 without ‫;א‬ thus the Kametz
comes to be under the ‫,ח‬ and in consequence of this the Pathach is changed into a
Seghol "Smite," i.e., slay. The manner of their death is called, probably with allusion to
the name Kolaiah, ‫ה‬ָ‫ל‬ ָ‫,ק‬ roast, burn in a heated furnace; a mode of execution usual in
Babylon, acc. to Dan_3:6. This punishment is to fall on them because of two kinds of sin:
1. Because they have done folly in Israel, namely, committed adultery with their
neighbours' wives; 2. Because they have prophesied falsely in the name of Jahveh.
Except in Jos_7:15, the phrase: commit folly in Israel, is always used of the grosser sins
of uncleanness; see on Gen_34:7. So here also. - The Chet. ‫הוידע‬ is expounded in the
Keri by ַ‫ע‬ ְ‫ד‬ ‫יּ‬ ַ‫,ה‬ according to which there has been a transposition of the letters ‫ו‬ and ‫,י‬ as
in Jer_2:25; Jer_8:6, etc. Still the article here is extraordinary, since ‫ד‬ֵ‫ע‬ has none.
Therefore J. D. Mich., Ew., Hitz., Graf suppose we should read ‫הוּ‬ ַ‫ע‬ ֵ‫ד‬ֹ‫,י‬ the ‫א‬ having been
dropped from ‫הוּא‬ in scriptio continua, as it often is, especially after ‫,י‬ in ‫יא‬ ִ‫ב‬ ֵ‫ה‬ and other
words, cf. Jer_19:15; Jer_39:16, 1Ki_21:29, etc. ‫הוּא‬ is then the copula between subject
and predicate, as in Isa_43:25; cf. Ew. §297, b.
CALVIN, "By saying, I will give (or deliver) them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar,
the Prophet still more clearly expresses what I have just said, that they would be
thus slain by the order of the king, because God had determined what was to be
done to them. And he assigns the cause of their death or mentions its author, that
the Jews might not fix their eyes on the king of Babylon. What had Nebuchadnezzar
in view? to preserve a peaceable kingdom; he saw the danger of a tumult if he
pardoned these two men, who had disturbed the people. Lest, then, the Jews should
look only on the design of the king, God here sets before them another and a higher
reason, even because they prophesied falsely in his name. A clearer explanation
92

93. follows, —
COFFMAN, ""Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the
son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who 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; and of them shall be taken
up a curse by all the captives of Judah that are in Babylon, saying, Jehovah make
thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire;
because they have wrought folly in Israel, and have committed adultery with their
neighbor's wives, and have spoken words in my name falsely, which I commanded
them not; and I am he that knoweth, and am witness, saith Jehovah."
"Concerning Ahab ... and Zedekiah ..." (Jeremiah 29:21). This part of Jeremiah's
letter is directed to these two men, with a message from God that they shall be put to
death. This was a rather lengthy communication which Jeremiah sent to Babylon, as
Cawley and Millard noted, "This letter includes messages to no less than four
different groups:
(1) those already in captivity in Babylon (Jeremiah 29:10-14);
(2) those who would become captives later (Jeremiah 29:15-19);
(3) Ahab, Zedekiah and their fellow false prophets (Jeremiah 29:21-23); and
(4) to Shemaiah (Jeremiah 29:24-32)."[17]
This extensive letter, addressed to different groups, indicates that Jeremiah's
communication with the captives had been rather extensive. Shemaiah was among
those who had written a letter which Jeremiah read; and there were doubtless other
examples also.
"Roasted in the fire ..." (Jeremiah 29:22). The Babylonian method of putting
criminals to death was by casting them alive into the fiery furnace (Daniel 3:6);
"But the Babylonians would hardly have put men to death for committing
adultery ... Nebuchadnezzar probably put them to death for plotting a rebellion
against Babylon."[18]
The curse mentioned here is interesting. "When the exiles would imprecate the
greatest evil upon one whom they hated, the heaviest curse in the fewest words they
could think of was, `The Lord make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab.' "[19]
Cheyne wisely commented that, "There is an important and melancholy addition to
our knowledge of false prophets in Jeremiah 29:23, namely, that they committed
adultery. They were not only misleading prophets, but immoral men in their private
capacities."[20] This pattern in the lives of false teachers has prevailed throughout
history, and even to the present day.
93

94. PETT, "Jeremiah 29:21-23
“Thus says YHWH of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah,
and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy a lie to you in my
name, ‘Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of
Babylon, and he will slay them before your eyes, and of them shall be taken up a
curse by all the captives of Judah who are in Babylon, saying, YHWH make you like
Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire, because they
have wrought folly in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours’
wives, and have spoken words in my name falsely, which I did not command them,
and I am he who knows, and am witness, the word of YHWH.”
It would appear that the two named prophets were actively conspiring against
Nebuchadrezzar along with other dissidents in Babylon, as well as seeking to arouse
the exiles to join in their conspiracy. That would be why they were picked out for
special attention. Their names are otherwise unknown to us, but they were clearly
known to Nebuchadrezzar. (The change back to Nebuchadrezzar from
Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 29:1; Jeremiah 29:3) was because the former was how it
was spelled in the letter, an incidental confirmation of the accuracy of the
narrative). The fact that Jeremiah knew of them confirms that he was in close touch
with what was happening among the exiles, and that regular correspondence went
to and fro. Thus he was able to declare what would happen to them when he learned
of their activities. YHWH would cause them to be arrested and brought before
Nebuchadrezzar and sentenced to burning in a furnace, which was seemingly a
regular punishment meted out by Nebuchadrezzar (Daniel 3:11; Daniel 3:15; Daniel
3:20-21). And this would be done before the eyes of the exiles as a warning to them
of what happened to those who engaged in treasonable activity.
But the wider reason for the judgment brought on them as far as YHWH was
concerned was that they had not only told lies in His Name, but had also ‘wrought
folly in Israel’, a phrase which regularly indicates adultery and always a gross sin
worthy of death (compare Genesis 34:7; Deuteronomy 22:21; Joshua 7:15; Judges
20:6). For they had committed adultery with their neighbours’ wives, possibly when
being officially consulted by them. As YHWH’s prophets this brought deep shame
on His Name. And on top of this were the lies that they told in His Name, which He
had not commanded. Thus they were doubly worthy of death, and a death so
shocking that it would be used as a curse among the Jewish exiles in Babylon in the
future. That this occurred we need not doubt. That is why it is recorded.
‘And I am he who knows, and am witness, the word of YHWH.’ These words are
probably YHWH’s although they could be Jeremiah’s. For He is the One Who
knows all things, and was therefore witness to their transgression. Either way they
were a distinct reminder that YHWH knew exactly what was going on in Babylon.
They should all be aware that they could not escape from His scrutiny just because
they were there and not in Jerusalem.
94

95. 22 Because of them, all the exiles from Judah who
are in Babylon will use this curse: ‘May the Lord
treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king
of Babylon burned in the fire.’
BARNES, "A curse - There is a play here of words. which probably was the cause
why the death of these men passed into a proverb. One of them was named ben-Kolaiah;
and they are to be made a curse (‫קללה‬ qe
lâlâh), because Nebuchadnezzar had roasted
(‫קלה‬ qâlâh) them. Compare the marginal reference note.
GILL, "And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah
which are in Babylon,.... A form of cursing; when they cursed anyone, or wished him
ill, it should be in such like manner as follows; so odious and detestable would these men
be afterwards to them, whom they, at least some of them, took to be the prophets of the
Lord:
saying, the Lord make thee like Zedekiah, and like Ahab, whom the king of
Babylon roasted in the fire; or "burnt them" (d); not at once, but with a slow fire; so
the Maccabees were roasted,
"Then the king, being in a rage, commanded pans and caldrons to be made hot: '' (2
Maccabees. 7:3)
Burning persons with fire, and casting them into a fiery furnace, were ways used by the
Chaldeans in putting persons to death, Dan_3:6; and roasting men at a fire was used by
the Chinese (e).
JAMISON, "shall be taken ... a curse — that is, a formula of imprecation.
Lord make thee like Zedekiah — (Compare Gen_48:20; Isa_65:15).
roasted in the fire — a Chaldean punishment (Dan_3:6).
CALVIN, "Here we are to notice the circumstances; for if Jeremiah had only
95

96. spoken of their death, the Jews might still have been doubtful whether he had
delivered a prophecy; but when now is added what kind of punishment was inflicted
on them, Jeremiah points out as by the finger what was as yet unknown, and even
incredible. It might indeed have happened to the captives that the king should order
them to be slain, but it could not have occurred to any man to suppose what
Jeremiah declares, that they would be roasted (220) in the fire We hence see that
God here obviates the evasions of perverse minds, so that there would be no room
for evading, when he specifies the very kind of death which they were to undergo.
But he says first, Taken from them shall be a curse, that is, the form of cursing.
Mentioned yesterday was ‫,אלה‬ ale, an oath; he puts down now ‫,קללה‬ kolle; and ‫,קלל‬
koll, is to curse. The meaning then is, that they would become an exemplar of a
curse to all the captives, who would say, May God make thee like Zedekiah and like
Ahab whom the king of Babylon roasted The cause of their death is again repeated;
and the Prophet did not without reason dwell on this, that he might turn away the
eyes of the people from the immediate cause, which was commonly known, that is,
that Nebuchadnezzar would not endure any tumults to be raised in his dominions;
that they might therefore acknowledge God to be the author of this punishment, he
says, —
PULPIT, "A curse; i.e. a formula of cursing (comp. Isaiah 65:15). There is here a
play upon words, such as the Biblical writers delighted in, partly with the view of
assisting the memory. "A curse" is in Hebrew kelalah, and "to roast" is kalah.
Roasted in the fire. "Casting into the midst of a burning fiery furnace" was a
common punishment both among the Assyrians and the Babylonians, see e.g. '
Records of the Past,' vol. 9. p. 56; and comp. Daniel 3:1-30.
23 For they have done outrageous things in Israel;
they have committed adultery with their
neighbors’ wives, and in my name they have
uttered lies—which I did not authorize. I know it
and am a witness to it,” declares the Lord.
BARNES, "Villany - Elsewhere folly, in the sense of lewdness Jdg_20:6, unchastity.
96

97. CLARKE, "Have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives - This is
supposed to refer to the case of Susanna. See above.
GILL, "Because they have committed villany in Israel,.... Or "folly" (f); as the
sins of adultery, and prophesying falsely, are afterwards mentioned. This was not the
reason why the king of Babylon put them to death; though the Jews (g) have a tradition
that they attempted the chastity of Nebuchadnezzar's daughter, for which reason he case
them into a furnace; but rather it was on account of their prophesying immediate
destruction to Babylon; and telling the captives that they should be delivered in a short
time; and stirring them up to prepare to go to their own land; but the reasons here given
are those which moved the Lord to deliver them into the hands of the king of Babylon for
their destruction:
and have committed adultery with their neighbours' wives; which was a piece
of villany, as well as folly; and which abundantly showed that these men were not the
prophets of the Lord, or were sent by him, being such impure wretches:
and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded
them; as that the people should return to their own land in a short time; this was
another part of their villany and folly, and for which they were given up into the hands of
the king of Babylon, to be punished:
even I know, and am a witness, saith the Lord; for though their adulteries might
be very secretly committed, and their lying prophecies were not seen to be such by the
people in common; yet God, who is omniscient, saw all their impurity, and knew all their
lies and falsehood, and was, and would be, a swift witness against them, here and
hereafter. The Targum is,
"and before me it is manifest, and my word is a witness, saith the Lord.''
JAMISON, "villainy — literally, “sinful folly” (Isa_32:6).
CALVIN, "We perceive why the Prophet mentions the cause of their death; it was,
that the Jews might regard the event, not according to their own thoughts, but that
they might feel assured that God took vengeance on the impiety of those who had
falsely pretended his name. For we know that we always look here and there, and
that when we find an immediate cause, we neglect and esteem as nothing the
judgments of God. In order then to correct this evil, Jeremiah again repeats that
Zedekiah and Ahab were not punished by the king of Babylon, but by God himself,
because they committed villany in Israel. Some render, ‫,נבלה‬ nubele, enormity or
abomination; but I am disposed to render it villany, or turpitude, or filthiness. (221)
They, then, committed a filthy thing He afterwards specifies two kinds, that they
committed adultery with the wives of their friends, and that they falsely prophesied
97

98. in the name of God
By the first clause we see how great was the stupidity of the people, for they did not
consider what was the life of those who pretended to be witnesses for God, as though
they were angels come down from heaven. Their wickedness might indeed have been
concealed; but there is no doubt but that the Jews were extremely stupid, for they
had willingly seized on the vain promises, which afforded them gratification. As,
then, they were anxious to return, and wished to be restored to their own country as
it were against the will of God, and sought to break through all obstacles by the
force of their own obstinacy; it was a just punishment, that they were so blinded as
not to see what was yet sufficiently manifest, even that these vaunting prophets were
adulterers, and that the filthiness of their life was so great, that it was certain that
they had nothing divine or heavenly in them.
Then there is another kind of evil added, that they prophesied falsely in God’s
name. This was an atrocious crime; for as his truth is precious to God, so it is a
sacrilege that he cannot bear, when his truth is turned into falsehood. But as the
minds of them all were so corrupted, that no one would open his eyes, God testifies,
that though their adulteries might be unknown to the people, that though their
vanity in their false prophecies might not be perceived, yet it was enough that he
knew and was a witness
Now this passage is worthy of special notice; for hypocrites, until they find that they
are proved guilty before men, fear nothing, nay, they haughtily exalt themselves,
even when things are justly laid to their charge. Since, then, the hardness and
dishonesty of hypocrites are so great, it is necessary to summon them before God’s
tribunal, that they may know that they may a hundred times be acquitted by the
world, and yet that this derogates nothing from God’s judgment. It now follows —
Message to Shemaiah
24 Tell Shemaiah the Nehelamite,
BARNES, "A narrative showing the effects of Jeremiah’s letter. Shemaiah the leader
of the false prophets wrote to Zephaniah, urging him to restrain the prophet’s zeal with
the prison and the stocks.
98

99. Jer_29:24
To Shemaiah - Rather, concerning.
The Nehelamite - Not as in the margin; but one belonging to the village of Nehlam
(unknown).
CLARKE, "Speak to Shemaiah - Zephaniah was the second priest, sagan, or chief
priest’s deputy, and Seraiah, high priest, when Jerusalem was taken. See Jer_52:24.
Shemaiah directs his letter to the former, and tells him that God had appointed him to
supply the place of the high priest, who was probably then absent. His name was either
Azariah or Seraiah his son, but called Jehoiada from the remarkable zeal and courage of
that pontiff. See the passages in the margin. - Dodd. After the taking of Jerusalem,
Zephaniah was put to death by Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah, see Jer_37:3. The history of
Jehoiada may be seen 2Ki_11:3, etc.
GILL, "Thus shalt thou speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite,.... Or, "the
dreamer" (h); because he pretended to have dreams from the Lord; or because what he
delivered as prophecies were mere dreams; as that the captives should quickly return to
their own land; so Kimchi: but Jarchi takes it to be the name of a place, from whence he
was so called; perhaps the place of his birth, or habitation formerly; so the Targum,
paraphrasing
"who was of Halem;''
he was, another of the false prophets in Babylon. This latter part of the chapter is of a
later date than the former; and refers to what was done after the above letter of Jeremiah
came to the captives in Babylon; and after, the return of the messengers from thence,
who brought, account how it was received, and what umbrage it gave to the false
prophets:
saying; as follows:
HENRY 24-32, "We have perused the contents of Jeremiah's letter to the captives in
Babylon, who had reason, with a great deal of thanks to God and him, to acknowledge
the receipt of it, and lay it up among their treasures. But we cannot wonder if the false
prophets they had among them were enraged at it; for it gave them their true character.
Now here we are told concerning one of them,
I. How he manifested his malice against Jeremiah. this busy fellow is called Shemaiah
the Nehelamite, the dreamer (so the margin reads it), because all his prophecies he
pretended to have received from God in a dream. He had got a copy of Jeremiah's letter
to the captives, or had heard it read, or information was given to him concerning it, and
it nettled him exceedingly; and he will take pen in hand, and answer it, yea, that he will.
But how? He does not write to Jeremiah in justification of his own mission, nor offer any
rational arguments for the support of his prophecies concerning the speedy return of the
captives; but he writes to the priests, those faithful patrons of the false prophets, and
instigates them to persecute Jeremiah. He writes in his own name, not so much as
pretending to have the people's consent to it; but, as if he must be dictator to all
99

100. mankind, he sends a circular letter (as it should seem) among the priests at Jerusalem
and the rest of the people, probably by the same messengers that brought the letter from
Jeremiah. But it is chiefly directed to Zephaniah, who was either the immediate son of
Maaseiah, or of the 24th course of the priests, of which Maaseiah was the father and
head. He was not the high priest, but sagan or suffragan to the high priest, or in some
other considerable post of command in the temple, as Pashur, Jer_20:1. Perhaps he was
chairman of that committee of priests that was appointed in a particular manner to take
cognizance of those that pretended to be prophets, of which there were very many at this
time, and to give judgment concerning them. Now, 1. He puts him and the other priests
in mind of the duty of their place (Jer_29:26): The Lord hath made thee priest instead
of Jehoiada the priest. Some think that he refers to the famous Jehoiada, that great
reformer in the days of Joash; and (says Mr. Gataker) he would insinuate that this
Zephaniah is for spirit and zeal such another as he, and raised up, as he was, for the
glory of God and the good of the church; and therefore it was expected from him that he
should proceed against Jeremiah. Thus (says he) there is no act so injurious or impious,
but that wicked wretches and false prophets will not only attempt it, but colour it also
with some specious pretence of piety and zeal for God's glory, Isa_66:5; Joh_16:2. Or,
rather, it was some other Jehoiada, his immediate predecessor in this office, who
perhaps was carried to Babylon among the priests, Jer_29:1. Zephaniah is advanced,
sooner than he expected, to this place of trust and power, and Shemaiah would have him
think that Providence had preferred him that he might persecute God's prophets, that he
had come to this government for such a time as this, and that he was unjust and
ungrateful if he did not thus improve his power, or, rather, abuse it. Their hearts are
wretchedly hardened who can justify the doing of mischief by their having a power to do
it. These priests' business was to examine every man that is mad and makes himself a
prophet. God's faithful prophets are here represented as prophets of their own making,
usurpers of the office, and lay-intruders, as men that were mad, actuated by some
demon, and not divinely inspired, or as distracted men and men in a frenzy. Thus the
characters of the false prophets are thrown upon the true ones; and, if this had been
indeed their character, they would have deserved to be bound as madmen and punished
as pretenders, and therefore he concludes that Jeremiah must be so treated. He does not
bid them examine whether Jeremiah could produce any proofs of his mission and could
make it to appear that he was not mad. No; that is taken for granted, and, when once he
has had a bad name given him, he must be run down of course. 2. He informs them of
the letter which Jeremiah had written to the captives (Jer_29:28): He sent unto us in
Babylon, with the authority of a prophet, saying, This captivity is long, and therefore
resolve to make the best of it. And what harm was there in this, that it should be objected
to him as a crime? The false prophets had formerly said that the captivity would never
come, Jer_14:13. Jeremiah had said that it would come, and the event had already
proved him in the right, which obliged them to give credit to him who now said that it
would be long, rather than to those who said that it would be short, but had once before
been found liars. 3. He demands judgment against him, taking it for granted that he is
mad, and makes himself a prophet. He expects that they will order him to be put in
prison and in the stocks (Jer_29:26), that they will thus punish him, and by putting him
to disgrace possess the people with prejudices against him, ruin his reputation, and so
prevent the giving of any credit to his prophecies at Jerusalem, hoping that, if they could
gain that point, the captives in Babylon would not be influenced by him. Nay, he takes
upon him to chide Zephaniah for his neglect (Jer_29:27): Why hast thou not rebuked
and restrained Jeremiah of Anathoth? See how insolent and imperious these false
100

101. prophets had grown, that, though they were in captivity, they would give law to the
priests who were not only at liberty, but in power. It is common for those that pretend to
more knowledge than their neighbours to be thus assuming. Now here is a remarkable
instance of the hardness of the hearts of sinners, and it is enough to make us all fear lest
our hearts be at any time hardened. For here we find, (1.) That these sinners would not
be convinced by the clearest evidence. God had confirmed his word in the mouth of
Jeremiah; it had taken hold of them (Zec_1:6); and yet, because he does not prophesy to
them the smooth things they desired, they are resolved to look upon him as not duly
called to the office of a prophet. None so blind as those that will not see. (2.) That they
would not be reclaimed and reformed by the most severe chastisement. They were now
sent into a miserable thraldom for mocking the messengers of the Lord and misusing his
prophets. This was the sin for which God now contended with them; and yet in their
distress they trespass yet more against the Lord, 2Ch_28:22. This very sin they are
notoriously guilty of in their captivity, which shows that afflictions will not of themselves
cure men of their sins, unless the grace of God work with them, but will rather
exasperate the corruptions they are intended to mortify; so true is that of Solomon (Pro_
27:22), Though thou shouldst bray a fool in a mortar, yet will not his foolishness depart
from him.
II. How Jeremiah came to the knowledge of this (Jer_29:29): Zephaniah read this
letter in the ears of Jeremiah. He did not design to do as Shemaiah would have him, but,
as it should seem, had a respect for Jeremiah (for we find him employed in messages to
him as a prophet, Jer_21:1, Jer_37:3), and therefore protected him. He that continued
in his dignity and power stood more in awe of God and his judgments than he that was
now a captive. Nay, he made Jeremiah acquainted with the contents of the letter, that he
might see what enemies he had even among the captives. Note, It is kindness to our
friends to let them know their foes.
III. What was the sentence passed upon Shemaiah for writing this letter. God sent him
an answer, for to him Jeremiah committed his cause: it was ordered to be sent not to
him, but to those of the captivity, who encouraged and countenanced him as if he had
been a prophet of God's raising up, Jer_29:31, Jer_29:32. Let them know, 1. That
Shemaiah had made fools of them. He promised them peace in God's name, but God did
not send him; he forged a commission, and counterfeited the broad seal of Heaven to it,
and made the people to trust in a lie, and by preaching false comfort to them deprived
them of true comfort. Nay, he had not only made fools of them, but, which was worse, he
had made traitors of them; he had taught rebellion against the Lord, as Hananiah had
done, Jer_28:16. And, if vengeance shall be taken on those that rebel, much more on
those that teach rebellion by their doctrine and example. 2. That at his end he shall also
be a fool (as the expression is, Jer_17:11); his name and family shall be extinct and shall
be buried in oblivion; he shall leave no issue behind him to bear up his name; his
pedigree shall end in him: He shall not have a man to dwell among this people; and
neither he nor any that come from him shall behold the good that I will do for my
people. Note, Those are unworthy to share in God's favours to his church that are not
willing to stay his time for them. Shemaiah was angry at Jeremiah's advice to the
captives to see to the building up of their families in Babylon, that they might be
increased and not diminished, and therefore justly is he written childless there. Those
that slight the blessings of God's word deserve to lose the benefit of them. See Amo_
7:16, Amo_7:17.
101

102. JAMISON 24-32, "A second communication which Jeremiah sent to Babylon, after
the messenger who carried his first letter had brought a letter from the false prophet
Shemaiah to Zephaniah, etc., condemning Jeremiah and reproving the authorities for
not having apprehended him.
Nehelamite — a name derived either from his father or from a place: alluding at the
same time to the Hebrew meaning, “a dreamer” (compare Jer_29:8).
K&D 24-32, "Threatening against the false prophet Shemaiah. - Jeremiah's letter to
the exiles (vv. 1-23) had excited great indignation among the false prophets in Babylon,
who predicted speedy restoration. One of them, named Shemaiah, wrote accordingly
letters to Jerusalem addressed to the people, and especially to the priest Zephaniah, who
held the highest place in the management of the temple, insisting that he should
immediately take steps to punish Jeremiah and check his labours (Jer_29:24-28). When
Zephaniah read this letter to Jeremiah, the latter received from God the commission to
tell the pseudo-prophet of the punishment awaiting him, that and his race should perish
and not survive Israel's liberation (Jer_29:29-32). - This threatening accordingly dates
from a somewhat later time than the letter, vv. 1-23, since it was its arrival and influence
upon the exiles that led Shemaiah to write to Jerusalem that letter, to which the
threatening of the present verse is the reply. But on account of their historical
connection, the letter of Jeremiah and that of Shemaiah were, at the publication of
Jeremiah's prophecies, placed the one after the other. - From the introductory clause of
Jer_29:24 : "And to Shemaiah the Nehelamite thou shalt speak thus," we might
conclude, with Graf, that what Jeremiah had to say was not addressed by letter to
Shemaiah himself; and hold it to have sufficed that he should read it, like all the exiles,
in the letter which doubtless found its way to Babylon. But this is incompatible with the
command of God, Jer_29:31 : Send to all the captives, saying, etc. For it was only by
writing that Jeremiah could send to the exiles the sentence from God on Shemaiah that
follows in Jer_29:31. The introductory clause is therefore interposed by the author of the
book to form a link of connection between the two utterances regarding the pseudo-
prophets at Babylon. We cannot make sure whether "the Nehelamite" refers the man to a
family or to a place of which we know nothing else. Jer_29:25. Next the introduction to
the divine sentence comes (from "Because thou" on) a statement of the occasion that
called for it, which extends to Jer_29:28. Then in Jer_29:29-31 we are told that
Zephaniah read to Jeremiah the letter he had received from Shemaiah in Babylon, and
that Jeremiah was then commissioned by God to intimate to Shemaiah the punishment
to be sent on him by God for his false and seducing prophecies. Then, again, attached to
the preliminary statement by "therefore," the introductory phrase "Thus saith Jahveh" is
repeated, and what the Lord said follows.
Jer_29:25-28
"Because thou hast sent in thy name (without divine commission) letters to all the
people in Jerusalem, and to Sephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the
priests, saying." ‫ים‬ ִ‫ר‬ָ‫פ‬ ְ‫ס‬ may be a single letter, cf. 2Ki_10:1-2; but since these were sent
to the people, the priest Zephaniah, and all the people, the word doubtless means here
letters in the plural. As to Zephaniah ben Maaseiah, see at Jer_21:1. - In Jer_29:26-28
follows the main substance of the letter: "Jahveh hath set thee to be priest in the stead of
102

103. the priest Jehoiada, that there should be officers in the house of Jahveh for every man
that is mad and prophesieth, that thou shouldest put him in the stocks and in neck-
irons. Jer_29:27. And, now, why hast thou not restrained Jeremiah of Anathoth, that
prophesieth to you? Jer_29:28. For therefore hath he sent to us to Babylon (a letter) to
the effect: It will last long; build houses and dwell (therein), and plant gardens and eat
the fruit of them." Zephaniah occupied, acc. to Jer_29:26, the post of a chief officer of
the temple, was a chief warden, as Pashur had been before him, Jer_21:1, who had
charge of the police regulations of the temple.
In the stead of the priest Jehoiada. These words Grot., Hitz., and Gr. refer to the high
priest Jehoiada under King Joash, 2Ki_11:18, who set up officers (‫ת‬ ‫דּ‬ ֻ‫ק‬ ְ‫)פּ‬ over the
temple. But this view cannot be reconciled with the words of the text: "Jahveh hath set
thee to be priest in Jehoiada's stead, that there should be officers;" since from these
ambiguous words, Zephaniah filled the same post as Jehoiada had done, and was his
successor in office. The other well-known Jehoiada was high priest, who appointed
officers; Zephaniah, on the other hand was only "the second priest," and as such had
charge of the temple arrangements and of public order there. Nor is there any hint here
or elsewhere that Zephaniah was the immediate successor of Pashur in this office, nor
any indication to make it unlikely that Jehoiada held the post after Pashur and that
Zedekiah succeeded him. The plural "officers" is general: that at all times there should be
officers. "For every man that is mad an prophesieth." ‫ָע‬‫גּ‬ֻ‫שׁ‬ ְ‫,מ‬ the deranged or mad person,
is here closely associated with ‫א‬ ֵ‫ַבּ‬‫נ‬ ְ‫ת‬ ִ‫,מ‬ him that bears himself as prophet. The former
word is used in the evil sense of the apparently deranged behaviour of the man on whom
the Spirit of God has laid hold, 2Ki_9:11; Hos_9:7. The idea is not: for (or against) every
prophet, but: for every madman that plays the prophet. The temple, i.e., the outer court
of the temple, was the usual place for prophets to take their stand. Shemaiah accordingly
means that it was the duty of the chief warden of the temple to repress attempts to speak
in the temple on the part of pretended prophets, by putting such persons in stocks and
irons. As to ‫ת‬ ֶ‫כ‬ ֶ‫פּ‬ ְ‫ה‬ ַ‫,מ‬ see on Jer_20:2. ‫יֹנק‬ ִ‫צ‬ is ἁπ λεγ.. It certainly does not mean prison
after ‫,צנק‬ in Samaritan = clausit; but apparently neck-irons after Arab. znâq, necklace,
ring. Since both words are used together here, and since the meaning is apparently that
Jeremiah should be put into both instruments at once, Hitz. conjectures that both
together were needed to make the stocks complete, but that each had its own proper
name, because it was possible to fix in the neck, leaving hands and feet free, or
conversely, as in Jer_20:2. - ‫ר‬ַ‫ָע‬‫גּ‬, rebuke, check by threats, restrain, cf. Rth_2:16; Mal_
3:11, etc. "For therefore," sc. just because thou hast not restrained him from prophesying
he has sent to Babylon. ‫ח‬ַ‫ל‬ָ‫שׁ‬ with ‫ֹר‬‫מ‬‫א‬ֵ‫ל‬ following, send to say, means: to send a message
or letter as follows. ‫ֹר‬‫מ‬‫א‬ֵ‫ל‬ ‫ה‬ָ‫כ‬ ֻ‫ֲר‬‫א‬ ‫יא‬ ִ‫ה‬ Hitz. renders: for he thought: it (Babylon) is far
away; Jeremiah's meaning being, that in Jerusalem they would know nothing about his
letter he was sending to Babylon. But such a hidden purpose is utterly foreign to the
character of the prophet. He had publicly predicted in Jerusalem the long seventy years'
duration of the exile; and it was not likely to occur to him to wish to make a secret of the
letter of like import which he sent to Babylon. Besides, Hitz.'s interpretation is forced.
Since there is no ‫ֹר‬‫מ‬‫א‬ֵ‫ל‬ before ‫נוּ‬ ְ‫בּ‬ ‫ים‬ ִ‫תּ‬ ָ‫,ב‬ the ‫ֹר‬‫מ‬‫א‬ֵ‫ל‬ before ‫ה‬ָ‫כ‬ ֻ‫ֲר‬‫א‬ can only be introductory
to the contents of the letter. For ֹ‫ר‬ ָ‫א‬ used of duration in time, cf. 2Sa_3:1; Job_11:9.
"Long-lasting it is," sc. your sojourn in Babylon. These words give the burden of his
prophecy, that on which he founded his counsel: build houses, etc.
103

104. Jer_29:29
Zephaniah read aloud to Jeremiah the letter he had received from Babylon. With what
design, we are not told; probably simply to inform him of the proceedings of the pseudo-
prophets in Babylon. If we may judge by Jer_21:1 and Jer_37:3, Zephaniah seems to
have been friendly to Jeremiah.
Jer_29:30-32
In consequence of this, Jeremiah received from the Lord the commission to predict to
Shemaiah his punishment at the hand of God, and to send the prediction to all that are
in Babylon in banishment. With Jer_29:31, cf. Jer_28:15. The punishment is this:
Shemaiah shall have no posterity among his people, i.e., of his children none shall be left
amongst the people, nor shall he see, i.e., experience, have any share in the blessings
which the Lord will yet bestow upon His people. The extinction of his race and his own
exclusion from the privilege of seeing the day of Israel's redemption are the punishment
that is to fall on him for his rebellion against the commandment of the Lord. With '‫י‬ ִ‫כּ‬
‫ה‬ ָ‫ר‬ ָ‫ס‬ cf. Jer_28:16.
CALVIN, "Here Jeremiah prophesies respecting a third person, who had written a
letter to the priests and to the whole people against himself, and had expostulated
with the chief priest and with others, because Jeremiah had, with impunity, long
exhorted the people to bear their long exile. This is the import of the passage; but as
to his punishment we shall see what it was at the end of the chapter. I did not wish
to give the whole, because I cannot finish this prophecy today. I have therefore
taken the former part only, even that Shemaiah had not only encouraged the people,
as others did, to hope for a return, and to raise a commotion, but had also scattered
his poison at Jerusalem, and had endeavored to load Jeremiah with ill-will, that he
might be slain as a false prophet, and an enemy to the public good, as well as to the
Law and the Temple.
Thou shalt then say to or of Shemaiah, for ‫,אל‬ al, may be taken in either sense. (222)
His crime is now related, we shall hereafter see what his punishment was. His crime
was, that he wrote in God’s name Had he only been a fanner of cruelty, he would
have deserved no pardon; but his crime was doubled, for he dared to pretend the
authority of God, and to boast that he was as it were his scribe, as though he had
said that his letter had been dictated by the Holy Spirit, that he had not spoken his
own thoughts, or presumptuously, but that God could not endure the liberty given
to Jeremiah; for though he continually preached of long exile, yet the chief-priest
suffered him, and no one of the whole priestly order opposed him; and at the same
time he blames the people for their indulgence. That he did all this in God’s name
was far more grievous than if he had written as a private individual. And it is said
that he had written to the whole people, even in order that they might all in a body
unite against Jeremiah. For, had he written only to the priests, they might have
objected that they were not at liberty to act so violently against Jeremiah, as sedition
might be raised. We hence see the craft of this base man; though he despised the
people, yet that all of them, even the least, might help the priests to do this act of
104

105. cruelty, and that there might be the union of all, he included the whole people in his
letter.
COFFMAN, ""And concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite thou shalt speak, saying,
Thus speaketh Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because thou hast sent
letters in thine own name unto all the people that are in Jerusalem, and to
Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, saying, instead of
Jehoida, that there may be officers in the house of Jehovah, for every man that is
mad, and maketh himself a prophet, that thou shouldest put him in the stocks and in
the shackles. Therefore, why hast not thou rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who
maketh himself a prophet to you, forasmuch as he hath sent unto us in Babylon,
saying, The captivity is long: build ye houses, and dwell in them, and plant gardens,
and eat the fruit of them?"
The usual explanation of this passage is that, "These words are a second
communication from Jeremiah to Babylon, sent after Shemaiah had sent Jeremiah
the letter mentioned in Jeremiah 29:25."[21] This may well be the case; and if this is
right, it would indicate that the false prophets in Babylon were really infuriated by
Jeremiah's letter, and that they promptly mounted a campaign to get Jeremiah
silenced. In that case, this letter has been added to "the letter" mentioned in
Jeremiah 29:1, because of the similarity between them.
Smith explained this and the verses to the end of the chapter as being, "Appended to
Jeremiah's letter without any introduction, that it might tell its own tale, showing
the effects of the letter. The Zephaniah mentioned here was the deputy high
priest."[22]
The whole account here is abbreviated, because Shemaiah's letter stated that
Jeremiah had prophesied a "long captivity," but the letter as recorded here omits
the word "long." In such a condensation as we evidently have here, it is impossible
to fill in all the details accurately.
Smith also noted that the letter which Shemaiah wrote to the deputy High Priest was
manifestly different from the one written to "all the people," indicating that
Shemaiah wrote a lot of letters (note that they are mentioned in the plural); and that
one of those had, in fact, triggered what is here called "the letter" and that this
paragraph addressed to Shemaiah was actually a part of it. The whole question is of
no major importance.
"The captivity is long ..." (Jeremiah 29:28). The literal text here is, "It is long."
"The omission of the noun here is far more forcible than its inclusion would have
been. What is long? God's anger is long; their punishment is long; the time
necessary for their repentance is long; the exile is long; the seventy years are long;
everything is indeed long for men who are homesick, and who will never live to see
their native land again."[23]
105

106. PETT, "Verses 24-32
Postscript Concerning The Request From Shemaiah The Prophet In Babylon
Calling For Jeremiah To Be Severely Disciplined As A False Prophet Because Of
His Declarations That Deliverance Would Be Delayed, And What Resulted From It
(Jeremiah 29:24-32).
This may be a postscript to the letter described above (in which case Jeremiah must
have written previously), or more likely an indication of a later letter sent to
Babylon once Shemaiah had written in response to this letter. It is interesting for a
number of reasons:
· Firstly it indicates that regular correspondence took place between Jerusalem and
Babylon with a view to affecting affairs in both places.
· Secondly it indicates that a prophet among the community in Babylon seriously
expected to be able to affect affairs in Jerusalem, even to the extent of writing in his
own name and rebuking a major figure in the Temple.
· Thirdly it suggests the almost full unanimity between the prophets within Babylon
itself. As we know Ezekiel was ministering away from Babylon and was clearly out
of tune with the other prophets in the capital, his continual message being that
Jerusalem must be destroyed.
· Fourthly it brings out what authority the prophets saw themselves as having, and,
at least in Shemaiah’s case, that he saw himself as a genuine prophet with prophetic
authority from YHWH. Nor does Shemaiah appear to have seen himself as a minor
functionary, but as a major player who had a right to be listened to at the highest
level (almost on a par with Jeremiah himself).
Jeremiah 29:24
“And concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite you shall speak, saying,”
We know nothing further about Shemaiah other than what we learn here, nor do we
know what the fact that he was a Nehemalite specifically indicated. The old idea that
it signified ‘dreamer’ is now rejected because of its ending which probably indicates
that he was from Nehemal, an unknown town or clan in Judah.
PULPIT, "Jeremiah 29:24-32
A threatening oracle against the false prophet Shemaiah. Great excitement had been
caused among the so-called prophets in Babylon by the emphatic language of
Jeremiah. Accordingly one of them, named Shemaiah, wrote letters to the Jews at
home, and especially to a high official called Zephaniah (see on verse 26) to put a
stop to Jeremiah's bold agitation. Zephaniah, however, was not the man for whom
106

107. Shemaiah took him, and read the letter to the intended victim. Upon this, Jeremiah
received a special revelation, announcing dire punishment to Shemaiah and his
family (according to the principle of the Divine government described in Exodus
20:5).
Jeremiah 29:24
To Shemaiah; or, of, concerning (as the same preposition is rendered in Jeremiah
29:16, Jeremiah 29:21, Jeremiah 29:31). The oracle itself speaks of Shemaiah in the
third person (Jeremiah 29:31, Jeremiah 29:32). The Authorized Version, however,
can be defended by its accordance with Jeremiah 29:25. The Nehelamite. This is
evidently a patronymic, but whether of the family or the locality of the bearer
cannot be decided. The analogy of "Jeremiah of Anathoth" (verse 27), however,
favors the view that it is local.
25 “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of
Israel, says: You sent letters in your own name to
all the people in Jerusalem, to the priest
Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and to all the other
priests. You said to Zephaniah,
GILL, "Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying,.... See Gill
on Jer_29:4;
because thou hast sent letters in thy name unto all the people that are at
Jerusalem; not in the name of the captives, whom he consulted not; nor with Ezekiel
the prophet of the Lord, who was of the captivity; but in his own name, taking upon him
to direct and order what should be done in Jerusalem. These letters were sent, very
probably, by the hands of the king's messengers, when they returned, whose names are
mentioned, Jer_29:3; some of them were sent to the people, to set them against the
prophet of the Lord, Jeremiah, that they might not give any heed and credit to him; and
others to the priests, as follows:
107

108. and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest; not the high, priest, but his
sagan or deputy; the second priest, as he is called, Jer_52:24; for Seraiah was high
priest, unless he was now become high priest in his room. This Maaseiah was either his
immediate parent, or else the head of that course to which Zephaniah belonged, as a
common priest, which was the twenty fourth in order, 1Ch_24:18;
saying: as follows:
CALVIN, "He afterwards mentioned the priest and all the priests The word priest,
in the singular number, meant the high-priest: then the priests were not only those
descended from Aaron, but all the Levites. There was the high-priest, and then the
descendants of Aaron were the chief, and, as it were, the colleagues of the high
priest; but the Levites were an inferior order, though here by the priests he means
also the Levites.
PETT, "Jeremiah 29:25
“Thus speaks YHWH of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because you have sent
letters in your own name to all the people who are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah
the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, saying,”
Jeremiah’s words are scathing. Shemaiah would almost certainly have written in the
Name of YHWH, but Jeremiah writes off his claims and makes clear to all that
really he had ‘written in his own name’. In other words that he was not a genuine
prophet of YHWH. Shemaiah, however, had such a high opinion of himself and his
own authority that he had written to all the people of Jerusalem, Zephaniah,
possibly as acting High Priest, (‘the Priest’ usually means the High Priest, but
Zephaniah was the second priest) and the whole priesthood. Fortunately his opinion
of himself does not appear to have been shared by Zephaniah.
It would appear that at this stage Zephaniah was standing in for the then High
Priest Jehoiada, who may have been rendered unsuitable for some reason.
Zephaniah was strictly the second priest, and was so at the time of the fall of
Jerusalem (Jeremiah 52:24; 2 Kings 25:18; compare Jeremiah 21:1; Jeremiah 37:3),
and possibly responsible for the oversight of prophets.
26 ‘The Lord has appointed you priest in place of
Jehoiada to be in charge of the house of the Lord;
you should put any maniac who acts like a
108

109. prophet into the stocks and neck-irons.
BARNES, "Jer_29:26
Officers - Deputy high priests who had the oversight of the temple.
Mad - See 2Ki_9:11 note. Many of the symbolic actions of the prophets, such as that
of Jeremiah going about with a yoke on his neck, would be mocked at by the irreverent
as passing the line between prophecy and madness.
Prisons - Rather, the stocks Jer_20:2.
The stocks - Rather, collar.
CLARKE, "For every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet -
Mad, ‫משגע‬ meshugga, in ecstatic rapture; such as appeared in the prophets, whether true
or false, when under the influence, the one of God, the other of a demon. See 2Ki_9:11;
Hos_9:7.
GILL, "The Lord hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest,....
The same with Seraiah, who might have more names than one, and Jehoiada be one of
them, who either was removed, or carried captive; and this Zephaniah, his sagan of
deputy, succeeded him. Some think he refers to the famous Jehoiada in the times of
Joash, a great reformer; and that this man was another such an one for his zeal, or at
least ought to be, which he would have him exert against Jeremiah; but the former
seems most probable:
that ye should be officers in the house of the Lord; or "visitors", or "overseers"
(i) there; that is, Zephaniah, and the rest of the priests; or that he should see to it, that
there were proper officers set there, to take care of it, and suffer none to come in and
prophesy there, to the hurt of the people, as he would insinuate:
for every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet; or, "against every
man" (k); to prevent all enthusiastic persons, and such as are troubled with a frenzy in
their brain, and set up themselves for prophets, from speaking in the name of the Lord;
so the true prophets of old, and the apostles of Christ, and faithful ministers of the word,
have always been represented as beside themselves, and as taking upon them an office
that did not belong to them; and therefore should be restrained and persecuted by the
higher powers:
that thou shouldest put him in prison, and in the stocks; the former of these
words, according to the Hebrew, signifies an engine or instrument, in which the neck
was put, like our pillory; and the latter an iron instrument for the hands, a manacle, or
handcuff, as Kimchi; see Jer_20:2; though this rather better agrees with the pillory,
being a strait narrow place, in which the hands, feet, and neck, were put (l).
109

110. CALVIN, "Here follows the subject of the letter, Jehovah hath made thee a priest,
etc. Here the impostor Shemaiah accuses the high-priest of ingratitude, because he
had been chosen in the place of another. For it is probable that Jehoiada was still
living, but that he had been led away into Chaldea with the other exiles. As then so
high a dignity had, beyond hope, and before the time, come to the high-priest, the
false prophet reproves him, because he did not rightly acknowledge this favor of
God, as though he had said, that he was rendering an unworthy reward to God, who
had raised him to that high station: God, he said, hath made thee a priest in the
place of Jehoiada the priest Thus the ministers of Satan transform themselves into
angels of light; and yet they cannot so dexterously imitate God’s servants, but that
their deceit makes itself presently known; for craftiness is very different from a
right and prudent counsel. God endues his servants with counsel and wisdom; but
Satan, with craft and guile. Though, then, at the first view, some artifice appears in
this letter of the false prophet, yet we may gather from its contents, that he falsely
pretended the name of God, that he falsely alleged that the chief priest was chosen in
the place of Jehoiada. That ye should be, he says: at first he addresses the high-
priest, but now he includes also others, that ye should be the keepers, or the rulers
of the house of God (223) For though the chief power was in the high-priest, yet as
he could not alone undertake everything, it was necessary for him to have others
connected with him. This is the reason why Shemaiah not only says that the high-
priest was a ruler in the Temple of God, but after having placed him in the highest
honor, mentions also others.
He says against every man that is mad; so ‫,משגע‬ meshego, is rendered by Jerome,
and I think not unsuitably; for the word means properly one that is insane: but this
was applied to false teachers, because they boasted that they were under a divine
impulse, when they spoke their own thoughts. This appears evident from the ninth
chapter of Hosea, where it is said that the people would at length acknowledge that
the prophets, who had flattered them, were insane, and that the men of the Spirit
were mad. The Prophet conceded to them both names, that they were prophets and
men of the Spirit, that is, spiritual; but he proved that they had only the names and
not the reality: for prophets were called spiritual men, because God inspired them
with his Spirit; but the ungodly, when they wished to revile the true prophets, called
them mad. So did they speak who were with Jehu, when a prophet came to anoint
him, “What means this mad fellow?” this word ‫,משגע‬ meshego, is what they used;
and they called him in contempt mad, who had yet spoken by the secret impulse of
the Spirit. (2 Kings 9:11.) So, in like manner, do the ungodly rave in contempt of
God against everything found in Scripture. (224)
But as it has been already stated, it was necessary to distinguish between the true
servants of God and those only in name; for many boasted that they were called by
God, and yet were impostors. God then called these mad and insane; but what did
the ungodly do? they transferred the reproach to the lawful servants of God. So, in
this place, Shemaiah says, that Jeremiah was mad, who falsely pretended the name
of God, and prophesied falsely.
110

111. He adds, That thou shouldest put him in prison, or cast him into prison or the
stocks, as some render the word. Then he says, in manacles, that is, thou shouldest
bind him, until his impiety be known, so that thou mayest detain him in prison.
(225) It is, indeed, probable that the chief priests had assumed this power during the
disordered state of things. This proceeding no doubt resulted from a good principle;
for God ever designed that his Church should be well governed: he therefore
commanded in his Law, that when any dispute or question arose, the chief priest
was to be the judge, (Deuteronomy 17:8;) but when mention is here made of prison
and of manacles, it: was an act, no doubt, beyond the Law. It is therefore probable
that it was added to the Law of God when the state of things was in disorder and
confusion among the Jews. And whence was the origin of the evil? from the
ignorance and sloth of the priests. They ought to have been the messengers of the
God of hosts, the interpreters of the Law, the truth ought to have been sought from
their mouth; but they were dumb dogs, nay, they had so degenerated, that nothing
priestly was found in them; they had forgotten the Law, there was no religion in
them. As then they had neglected their office, it was necessary to choose other
prophets: and as we have said elsewhere, it was as it were accidental that God raised
up prophets from the common people. There was, indeed, a necessity of having
prophets always in the ancient Church; but God would have taken them from the
Levites, except that he designed to expose them to reproach before the whole people,
when he made prophets even of herdsmen, as in the case of Amos.
As then the priests suffered the prophetic office to be transferred to the common
people, a new way was devised, that it might, not be any loss to them, as under the
Papacy; for we know that bishops are for no other reason made rulers in the
Church, but that there might be pastors and teachers. For of what use could these
asses be, whom we know to be for the most part destitute of any learning? What
could these men do, who are profane, and given up to their own pleasures and
enjoyments? In short, what could gamesters and panders do? for such are almost all
the Papal bishops. It was therefore necessary to give up their office to brawling
monks, “You shall teach, for we resign to you the pulpits.” But, at the same time,
they retained the power of judgment in their own hands: when any controversy
arose, neither the noisy brawlers nor the dumb beasts could of themselves decide
anything; for ignorance prevented the latter, and power was wanting to the former.
How, then, did the bishops formerly condemn heretics? and how do they condemn
them still? Why, thus: When one was a Carmelite, they called in the Franciscans;
and when one was an Augustinian, the Dominicans were summoned. For, as I have
said, these mute animals had no knowledge nor wisdom. And yet a certain dignity
was maintained by the bishops or their vicars, when they pronounced sentence in
condemning heretics. And such was probably the case among the ancient people; for
those who pretended to be prophets were summoned, and that by the authority of
the high-priest, under the pretext of law, but not without some corruption added to
it; for God had not given fetters and manacles to the priests, that they might thus
restrain those who might create disturbance and corrupt the pure truth. But what
remains I shall defer to the next Lecture.
111

112. It is somewhat singular that all the ancient versions, as well as the Targum, give
“overseers,” or officers, in the singular number; the Vulg. is, “That thou mightest be
a commander... over every one;” the Sept., “That thou mightest be an umpire;” the
Syr., “That thou mightest be a censor.” But there are no MSS. in favor of such a
reading. — Ed.
The next word is in Hithpael, “self-prophesying,” or prophesying of himself, not
made a prophet by God; imperfectly rendered, “prophesying,” by the Sept., Vulg.,
and Syr. It may be rendered “pretending to be a prophet.” — Ed.
COKE, "Jeremiah 29:26. The Lord hath made thee priest— Shemaiah directs the
words of his letter to Zephaniah, as being ‫סגן‬ segan, or next in order to the high
priest; and tells him that God had appointed him to supply the place of the high
priest, who was probably absent at that time. His name was either Azariah or
Seraiah his son, but called Jehoiada from the remarkable zeal and courage of that
pontiff. The Roman law condemned those to be scourged who pretended to be
prophets, and boasted of inspiration, Qui se Deo plenos simularent; upon which
principle they frequently scourged and punished the first Christians. See Calmet
and Paulin. lib. 5: tit. 21: De Vaticinio.
REFLECTIONS.—1st, We have here the letter of Jeremiah to the captives in
Babylon, written by divine authority. It is directed to the prophets, priests, and
people carried away captive by Nebuchadnezzar, after Jeconiah had surrendered
himself, whose case seemed most peculiarly miserable; and perhaps they envied
their brethren who were left; though their own lot, if they knew how to improve it,
was far more desirable. The letter was sent by Zedekiah's messengers, who went
with the tribute, or to cultivate the friendship of the king of Babylon; and the
contents of it were designed to encourage their hopes in God; to comfort them under
their afflictions; to exhort them patiently to wait God's appointed time, and to
prevent their being deluded by false prophets to expect a deliverance sooner than
the expiration of the seventy years.
1. He addresses them in God's name, and by his authority, Thus saith the Lord of
Hosts, able to save to the uttermost, and the God of Israel, who still acknowledged
his relation to them, and had not cast them from his regard, though he had cast
them out of their land: thus, though perplexed, they must not be in despair. I have
caused you to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon, God's hand was in it;
without which no human power could have prevailed against them. Note; The
consideration from whose hand all our sufferings come, should silence every
murmuring thought.
2. He encourages them to sit down content in their present state, to wait patiently
God's time of deliverance; and in the meanwhile settle themselves as comfortably as
might be; to build and plant, and marry, that they might not be diminished either in
wealth or numbers, when they should return again unto their own land; and
112

113. intimates, that God would give them a peaceable abode, and comfortable enjoyment
of their possessions, even in the land of their captivity. Note; Wherever we are cast
by God's providence, or into whatever state of affliction, it is our wisdom, not only
to submit, but make the best of our situation, and live in hopes of better days.
3. He exhorts them to be peaceable under the government of the king of Babylon,
though a heathen, and an enemy to God; to shew all good fidelity; and, so far from
plotting against the state in order to recover their liberty, to seek the prosperity of
the country in which they were captives, and pray to God to preserve and increase
it, for in the peace thereof should they have peace. It was their interest to do so;
seeing that in every calamity of that land they would be involved, and in the
prosperity of it find their advantage. Note; If we must submit to the power of
oppressors, and pray for the peace of the land of our captivity, how much more are
we bound to be loyal subjects under the mildest government, and in this our land of
liberty to seek and pray for the peace thereof!
2nd, To engage them to patient waiting upon God,
1. He warns them to pay no regard to the false prophets, who promised them a
speedy return to their own land, and thereby discouraged them from settling in
Babylon. Their dreams were the fancies of their own imagination, and never to be
encouraged or listened to; since, though they used the name of God, they lied, and
never had a revelation from him. Note; When people love to be deceived, they will
readily find flatterers to their ruin.
2. He assures them, that, though their prophets were false, God's promises would be
found true, and accomplished in due season. When the seventy years were ended,
his purposes concerning them were all gracious, yea, even their captivity was
designed for their good, chap. Jeremiah 24:5 and the expected end should assuredly
come; only let them with patience wait for it, and in earnest prayer and supplication
seek the fulfilment of the divine promises; searching after God with all their heart,
in fervency and simplicity, and then he will assuredly be found of them in mercy,
and turn their captivity into a blessed restoration unto their own land. Note; (1.)
They who trust in the promises of God shall never be disappointed. (2.) God's
promises should excite, not supersede, our prayers. (3.) They who search for God
with all their heart are sure to find him near to hear and answer them.
3rdly, Though there were some gracious souls among the captives, yet were there
many who paid no regard to the words of Jeremiah, but hearkened to the false
prophets, and received them as sent from God; and boasted that they needed not
look to Judaea for advice, when they had prophets of their own in Babylon, on
whom they might depend. To these therefore the prophet addresses himself.
1. He warns them of the falsehood of the declarations of their prophets. They
flattered the people with a speedy return to Judea; whereas, so far from it, the
residue of those who were left in Jerusalem were doomed to the most grievous
113

114. devastations by famine, pestilence, and the sword; and the few who survived should
be scattered into all kingdoms! and made the objects of derision, scorn, and
detestation in every place, like vile figs unfit to be eaten, and cast as refuse on the
dunghill; and this because of their impenitence and rejection of the repeated and
earnest warnings which God, by his prophets, had vouchsafed them, as had been
threatened before, chap. 24: Note; (1.) They who flatter sinners with hopes contrary
to God's word are infallibly false prophets. (2.) When men make themselves vile by
their sins, God, in just judgment, will make them viler in their sufferings.
2. He denounces judgment on two of the false prophets, Ahab and Zedekiah; whose
abominable lives, as well as atrocious lies, called for vengeance. They were horrible
adulterers, and yet dared to take God's name in their lips, and pretend that he had
sent them, when they knew that he never commanded them, and, under the cloak of
profound hypocrisy, practised every villainy. But, though men might not discover
their wickedness, God saw, and will recompense them according to their deeds.
Detected, probably, in some seditious practices, the king of Babylon would seize
them, and burn them alive before the eyes of the people for a terror to others: a
catastrophe so dreadful, that when any would with the heaviest curse on their
enemies, they should not be able to conceive a worse imprecation, than the Lord
make thee like Zedekiah, and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the
fire. Note; (1.) They who live in the practice of lewdness and adultery, and the like
villainy themselves, must needs belie their pretentious to a mission from God, and
will have no boldness to rebuke the like practices in others. (2.) Secretly as men's
sins may be committed, the day is near when no darkness or shadow of death shall
hide the workers of iniquity. (3.) Though wicked prophets and wicked men may
escape the judgments of God in this life, there is a fire kindled for them where they
must burn eternally, and none shall quench it.
4thly, Whatever effect Jeremiah's letter had upon the people, we are not to wonder
if the false prophets, whose sins he so faithfully rebuked, were exasperated. We
have,
1. The endeavours used by one of them to get Jeremiah severely punished. His name
is Shemaiah the Nehelamite, or the dreamer; one of those lying prophets who
deceived the people, and who, in revenge for the reproofs contained in Jeremiah's
letter, by the return of the messengers probably who had brought it, he writes in his
own name, without consulting his brethren, to the people in general, and to
Zephaniah in particular, who seems to have been in some chief station in the temple,
well knowing that the church rulers bore no good will to the reforming prophets. He
suggests to him the necessity of exerting the authority with which he was invested:
The Lord hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest. Either he would
insinuate, that he was, in zeal for God's glory, such another; or rather Jehoiada
might be another name of Seraiah the high-priest, whose segan or deputy he might
be, or in some other chief office in the temple, see chap. Jeremiah 52:24. He
therefore, with the priests his brethren, should take cognizance of every enthusiastic
fellow, that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet. Such ill names do God's faithful
114

115. ministers often bear, and to such insolent reproaches are they exposed, as if
intruders into the sacred service, disturbed in mind, or under diabolical possession:
That thou shouldest put him in prison, and in the stocks; both to expose and punish
such delinquents, of which number he affirms Jeremiah to be, and blames
Zephaniah for not proceeding against him as a false prophet; the proof of which he
supposes would be no longer doubted, when he repeated but one line of Jeremiah's
letter, that this captivity is long, and that, instead of hoping for a speedy restoration,
the captives should settle themselves peaceably in Babylon. Note; (1.) They who will
be faithful to men's souls, must expect often to be treated as deceivers or madmen.
(2.) Church power has been often employed in tormenting her best friends. (3.) The
accusations generally brought against the ministers of zeal are by their adversaries
looked upon as carrying evidence incontestable of their enthusiasm and delusion;
yet when their words and preaching are calmly considered and examined, they
contain nothing but the true sayings of God.
2. Shemaiah's doom is read. Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of
Jeremiah; either privately, out of kindness, to warn him of his enemies (for when
known they are more easily guarded against); or, to acquaint him with the charge,
before he proceeded to judgment upon the case. And God gives Jeremiah an answer,
which he is commanded to send to all those of the captivity, that they might be
warned against the impostor, and mark his punishment for daring to pretend a
divine mission, and teaching rebellion against the Lord, by dissuading the people
from paying regard to his prophets. Shemaiah shall not only perish himself, but his
family be utterly cut off, his name be buried in oblivion, and none of his race ever
see or taste of the goodness that God hath still in store for his people. Note; None
perish under such aggravated guilt as those false teachers, at whose hands God will
require the souls which they have deceived and flattered to their ruin.
PETT, "Jeremiah 29:26-28
“YHWH has made you priest in the place of Jehoiada the priest, that there may be
officers in the house of YHWH, for every man who is mad, and makes himself a
prophet, that you should put him in the stocks and in shackles, now therefore, why
have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who makes himself a prophet to you,
forasmuch as he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, ‘It is long, Build yourselves
houses, and dwell in them, and plant gardens, and eat the fruit from them’?”
“YHWH has made you priest in the place of Jehoiada the priest .” This may simply
mean ‘appointed as second priest with specific responsibility for prophets’, but if so,
in view of the wide nature of those addressed, why would Shemaiah have omitted
also addressing the High Priest? Thus Zephaniah may actually have been
temporarily standing in for the High Priest, possibly for political reasons, or because
Jehoiada had for some reason been rendered incapable of acting, with Seraiah, the
later High Priest (Jeremiah 52:24), not yet of age.
Shemaiah’s point was that it was Zephaniah’s responsibility to control the prophets
115

116. and that he should therefore be acting against false prophets (depicted as ‘mad’ on
the grounds that only a madman would ‘make himself a prophet’. Thereby, without
realising it, he was condemning himself). He should have been putting such madmen
in the stocks and in shackles (the treatment for mad people). Why then had he not
disciplined Jeremiah who had clearly ‘made himself a prophet’, as was evident from
the fact that he disagreed with all the prophets of YHWH in Babylon? YHWH could
not speak in two voices at once. His complaint was that Jeremiah had sent a letter to
Babylon (presumably the letter described above) telling the exiles that their exile
would last for a long time, and that they should therefore build permanent houses,
dwell in them, plant gardens and eat their fruit (Jeremiah 29:5). In other words he
was denying that the prophecies of the prophets in Babylon were true.
PULPIT, "Jeremiah 29:26
In the stead of Jehoiada the priest. Some (Grotius, Hitzig, Graf) think that this
Jehoiada was the famous high priest of that name, who is said to have "appointed
officers over the house of the Lord" (2 Kings 11:18; 2 Chronicles 23:18). It is true
that Zephaniah was not literally the successor of Jehoiada, but he was so in the same
metaphorical sense in which the scribes are said by our Lord to "sit in Moses' seat"
(Matthew 23:2). It is safer, however, to suppose that another Jehoiada is meant, of
whom we have no further information. It is not said that either Jehoiada or
Zephaniah was high priest, and as the special object of the elevation of the latter is
said to be the supervision of the temple police, it is more probable that Jehoiada and
he were successively "second priests," or, to use a phrase which seems to be
synonymous, "deputy governors in the house of the Lord" (Jeremiah 20:1). The
passage may thus without violence be harmonized with Jeremiah 52:24; 2 Kings
25:18, where Seraiah is called "the chief priest" and Zephaniah "the second priest."
It is possible that Jehoiada 'had been favorable to the better class of prophets. In
this case there will be a delicate hint to Zephaniah that God had his own purpose in
promoting him to honor, viz. that unruly prophets like Jeremiah might be held in
with a tighter hand (Ewald). That ye should be officers; rather, that there should be
officers. Zephaniah himself was an "officer" or "deputy" (see above); but he was
also "chief in the house of the Lord," and had the appointment of inferior
"officers," whose duty it was to preserve order in the temple. To understand the
following words, we must remember that the outer court of the temple was a
favorite place for prophetic teaching (comp. Jeremiah 7:2; Jeremiah 26:2). For
every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet; i.e. to keep an eye upon
"madmen" and prophetizers. The term "mad" is used in a disparaging sense (as 2
Kings 9:11; comp. Hosea 9:7), with regard to the apparently senseless behavior of
those who were overpowered by the spirit of prophecy. In earlier times, no doubt,
the phenomena of prophecy were more violently opposed to everyday life than in
Jeremiah's time; but such symbolic acts as appearing in public with a yoke upon his
neck would at least excuse the application of the epithet even to Jeremiah. It is more
than probable, however, that it was not so much the abnormal actions as the
contents of Jeremiah's prophecies which stirred up such vehement opposition;
observe how in the next verse only the sound of these descriptive nouns is retained
116

117. ("which maketh himself a prophet"). It was the making prophecy a reality which
disturbed the men of routine, and Shemaiah well knew this when he made this
appeal to Zephaniah. There was no harm in being nominally a "prophet," but to
"make," or rather, "show one's self as a prophet," to be an energetic prophet, a
prophetizer,—this was wormwood to those who cried, "Peace, peace," when there
was no peace. In prison, and in the stocks; rather, in the stocks (see on Jeremiah
20:2) and in the collar. The meaning seems to be that Jeremiah was subjected to
both forms of punishment at once.
27 So why have you not reprimanded Jeremiah
from Anathoth, who poses as a prophet among
you?
GILL, "Now therefore why hast thou not reproved Jeremiah of Anathoth,....
Not by words only, but by actions; by beating and scourging, by pillory or imprisonment,
and so restraining him from prophesying to the people:
which maketh himself a prophet unto you? takes upon him such an office, though
not sent of the Lord, as he would insinuate: this shows the haughtiness and insolence of
the false prophets in Babylon, to assume such authority to themselves, to dictate to the
high priest, as Kimchi takes him to be, or however the second priest, what he should do,
and to rebuke him for not doing his office.
28 He has sent this message to us in Babylon: It
will be a long time. Therefore build houses and
settle down; plant gardens and eat what they
produce.’”
117

118. BARNES, "Jer_29:28
This captivity is long - Rather, It is long. God’s anger, their punishment, the exile,
the time necessary for their repentance - all is long to men who will never live to see their
country again.
GILL, "For therefore he sent unto us in Babylon, saying,.... That is, Jeremiah
the prophet; and this was the reason, because his mouth was not stopped, and he
restrained from prophesying; so that Shemaiah lays all the blame on Zephaniah, and his
brethren the priests; who, had they done their duty, would have prevented Jeremiah's
letter to the captives, as he suggests; the purport of which was,
this captivity is long; so Kimchi, Abarbinel, and Ben Melech, supply it; or, "it is long"
(m); it will be a long time before the captives shall return to their own land; and
therefore they should not think of it, or provide for it; but, on the contrary, for their
continuance in Babylon; giving the following advice:
build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of
them; referring to Jeremiah's letter; See Gill on Jer_29:5.
CALVIN, "The crime ascribed to Jeremiah was, — that he rendered the captives
indifferent, so that they cast off every hope of deliverance, and disregarded their
own country. But the design of Jeremiah was far different; it was, that the people
might not by too much haste anticipate the promises of God, and that he might also
extend their hope to the end, prefixed. As there are two causal particles here found,
‫על‬ ‫כי‬-‫כן‬ , ki ol-ken, some give this rendering, “For for this cause,” that is, because he
claimed the name of a Prophet. The simpler meaning however is, that he gives a
reason why Shemaiah blamed the neglect of the priest, even because he (Jeremiah)
had habituated the captives to bear their exiles. But he reproached the holy man, as
though he had made them indifferent through long delay. Jeremiah had indeed said
that the time would be long; but this particular phrase, It is long, means a different
thing, as though Jeremiah wished to bury in oblivion the hope of a return, because it
would have been foolish to languish so long.
29 Zephaniah the priest, however, read the letter
to Jeremiah the prophet.
118

119. GILL, "And Zephaniah the priest read this letter,.... Of Shemaiah's to him, and
the other priests:
in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet: whether out of good will, to let him know who
were his enemies abroad; or out of ill will, to stir up the people against him; or in
pretence of proceeding equitably with him; not taking him up, and punishing him before
he brought the accusation and charge against him; and acquainted him who were his
accusers, and what evidence there was, and heard what he had to say in his own defence
whether one or the other is uncertain; however, by this means Jeremiah came to the
knowledge of Shemaiah's letter.
CALVIN, "It follows, And Zephaniah had read, etc The past perfect tense is more
suitable here, for the verse ought to be put in a parenthesis. The Prophet obviates a
doubt which might have been entertained. He then shews how the prophecy was
made known to him; he was one of the hearers when the letter was read. And it is
probable that the priest called Jeremiah on purpose, that he might be proved guilty
by his own accuser. However this may have been, he wished to expose the holy man
to the hatred of the people, or rather to their fury. The constancy of Jeremiah was
worthy of greater praise, while he boldly reproved the arrogance of them all, who
had nothing else in view but to suppress God’s truth by force and tyranny.
COFFMAN, ""And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the
prophet. Then came the word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah, saying, Send to all them of
the captivity, saying, Thus saith Jehovah concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite:
Because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, and I sent him not, and he hath
caused you to trust in a lie, therefore, thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will punish
Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed; he shall not have a son to dwell among his
people, neither shall he behold the good that I will do unto my people, saith
Jehovah, because he hath spoken rebellion against Jehovah."
This paragraph might well indeed have been included as a fitting introduction to
this whole chapter. The chronological sequence of events in Jeremiah is very
difficult to know with any certainty.
"Zephaniah ... read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah ..." (Jeremiah 29:29).
Evidently the deputy High Priest honored and trusted Jeremiah as the true prophet
of God; and instead of placing Jeremiah in the stocks and shackles as Shemaiah had
requested, he informed the prophet of all that was going on. Note that God here
commanded Jeremiah to write not merely Shemaiah but, "to all of them of the
captivity," (Jeremiah 29:31). Thus the words to Shemaiah were to be included in the
letter to all the captives, as it appears in this chapter.
PETT, "Jeremiah 29:29
119

120. ‘And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet.’
Shemaiah had rather overestimated his own authority, for Zephaniah does not
appear to have taken his letter too seriously. He appears to have been on reasonable
terms with Jeremiah (Jeremiah 21:1; Jeremiah 37:3) and thus showed him the
letter. Had the intent not been good we would have expected that he would be
rebuked by YHWH along with Shemaiah. He may have intended Jeremiah to take
warning from it, or may simply have done it out of interest, and so that Jeremiah
might be aware of the opposition. But there is no suggestion that he followed up on
the letter or had any vindictive idea in mind.
30 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:
GILL, "When came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah,.... After he had heard
the letter read:
saying; as follows:
31 “Send this message to all the exiles: ‘This is
what the Lord says about Shemaiah the
Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to
you, even though I did not send him, and has
persuaded you to trust in lies,
GILL, "Send to all them of the captivity,.... Another letter; not to Shemaiah, but to
the people, that they might all know that he was a false prophet; and how his lies were
resented by the Lord; and what punishment should be inflicted on him and his, on
120

121. account of them:
saying, thus saith the Lord concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite; the letter,
though written by the prophet, must be sent in the name of the Lord, declaring what he
would do with the person mentioned, and the reason of it; which follows:
because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, and I sent him not,
and he caused you to trust in a lie; that they should in a very little time return from
their captivity to Jerusalem.
CALVIN, "Jeremiah distinctly declares that this impostor would not escape
unpunished, because he had dared falsely to pretend the name of God, and
avowedly opposed Jeremiah. Here, then, the Prophet makes no long discourse, but
on the contrary simply declares by the power of the Spirit what would take place.
He speaks in God’s name, for he had been sent as a herald to proclaim this
judgment. This, then, is the reason why he is so brief; for there was to be no dispute,
though the impostor on the other hand was carrying himself very high, and
hesitated not to overthrow the revealed truth of God, which had been confirmed by
many witnesses.
The sum of what is stated is, that Shemaiah would not see the favor of God, and that
none of his seed would remain alive. It was a curse under the Law, as it is well
known, that one should have no seed left. (Deuteronomy 28:18.) Jeremiah then
denounces on Shemaiah this punishment, that no one of his seed would remain alive,
but that he would die childless; and then he excludes him from the enjoyment of the
benefit which the Lord had determined to bestow on his people. He wished to return
after two years to his own country; Jeremiah commanded the people patiently to
endure their exile to the end of seventy years, which was the time of their
deliverance. As, then, Shemaiah despised the lawful time, he was deprived of the
favor of seeing that event.
Added then is the reason; first, because he had abused the name of God; he
prophesied and I had not sent him, said the Lord; the second reason was, that he
deceived the people with a vain hope; falsehood of itself is worthy of a heavy
punishment; but when it was pernicious to God’s people, it became still more
heinous, and therefore worthy of a twofold punishment.
Now we see that Jeremiah esteemed as nothing that he was condemned by
Shemaiah; for he retained his own dignity; though the impostor attempted to
subvert his authority, yet the Prophet speaks as though he was wholly unstained and
not hurt nor affected by any calumny. The same magnanimity of mind is what all
faithful teachers ought to possess, so as to look down, as from on high, on all
deceivers, and their chatterings, and curses, and to go on in their course, however
insolently the despisers of God may rise up against them, and tear and overwhelm
them with reproaches. Let then all those who seek to serve God and his Church
121

122. follow this example of the Prophet, so that they may not be discouraged in their
minds when they find that they have to contend with dishonest men.
But Jeremiah is bidden to write to all the captives, for Shemaiah was not worthy of
being reproved; but God had a regard for the public safety of the exiles, and
reminded them of what would take place. It is indeed probable that this prophecy
was without any fruit, until it was known by the event itself that Jeremiah had not
without reason thus prophesied. Until, then, Shemaiah died, and died without any to
succeed him, the people disregarded what had been predicted; but at length they
were constrained to acknowledge that Jeremiah had not spoken his own thought,
but had been furnished with a message from God; for God really fulfilled what he
had predicted by the mouth of his Prophet.
The two reasons follow, why God resolved to punish Shemaiah: the first is, that he
had seized on the prophetic office without a call; and hence we conclude, according
to what has already appeared, that this office which had been instituted by God, was
perverted, when any one intruded into it without a commission. Let us then know
that no one ought to be deemed a legitimate teacher, except he can really shew that
he has been called from above. I have in several places stated that two things
belonged to a call; the inward call was the chief thing when the state of the Church
was in disorder, that is, when the priests neglected the duty of teaching, and wholly
departed from what their office required. When, therefore, the Church became
disordered, God applied an extraordinary remedy by raising up prophets. But when
the Church is rightly and regularly formed, no one can boast that he is a pastor or a
minister, except he is also called by the suffrages of men. But as I have spoken on
this subject more at large on the twenty-third chapter, I only slightly refer to it now.
As to the present passage in which God condemns Shemaiah for having thrust in
himself without being called, what is meant is, that he brought forward his own
dreams, having been furnished with no commission; for the prophetic office was
then special. Then Shemaiah is here rejected as an impostor, because he had only
brought forward prophecies suggested by his own brains, which yet he falsely
pretended to have been from God; and it was a most atrocious crime, as it was a
sacrilege to abuse, as Shemaiah did, the name of God. But the atrocity of his sin the
Prophet still further sets forth, by saying that his prophecies were pernicious and
fatal to the people. We hence conclude how solicitous God was for the safety of his
people, in thus avenging the falsehoods which were calculated to lead them to ruin;
and Jeremiah shews that Shemaiah’s teaching was ruinous, because he inebriated
the people with false confidence; he made you, he says, to trust in falsehood; for he
promised them a quick return, when it was God’s will, that the Jews should
patiently bear their exile till the end of the seventy years.
PETT, "Jeremiah 29:30-32
‘Then came the word of YHWH to Jeremiah, saying, “Send to all those of the
captivity, saying, Thus says YHWH concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite. Because
122

123. Shemaiah has prophesied to you, and I did not send him, and he has caused you to
trust in a lie, therefore thus says YHWH, Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the
Nehelamite, and his seed. He will not have a man to dwell among this people, nor
will he behold the good that I will do to my people, the word of YHWH, because he
has spoken rebellion against YHWH.”
YHWH provided Jeremiah with a reply to Shemaiah’s letter which was to be
addressed to all the exiles who were apparently living together in a community. It
informed the community that Shemaiah was a false prophet. Although he had
prophesied he had not been sent by YHWH, and he had made them trust in a lie.
Therefore YHWH would punish both him and his family. Any men in his close
family would die, no more sons would be born to him, and he himself would not
survive until the restoration. Thus basically his name would be blotted out of Israel.
And this was on the sure prophetic word of YHWH. And the reason was because of
his rebellion against YHWH. Thus while not suffering to the same extent as the
previous two prophets, and as Hananiah in Jerusalem, he was to suffer in the long
run.
32 this is what the Lord says: I will surely punish
Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants. He
will have no one left among this people, nor will he
see the good things I will do for my people,
declares the Lord, because he has preached
rebellion against me.’”
CLARKE, "I will punish Shemaiah -
1. He shall have no posterity to succeed him.
2. His family, i.e., relations, etc., shall not be found among those whom I shall bring
back from captivity.
123

124. 3. Nor shall he himself see the good that I shall do for my people.
And all this shall come upon him and his because he hath taught rebellion against the
Lord. He excited the people to reject Jeremiah, and to receive the lying words of the false
prophets; and these led them to rebel.
GILL, "Therefore thus saith the Lord,.... Because he prophesied without being sent
of God, and prophesied lies, by which the people were deceived:
behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed; not him only,
but his posterity also: thus God sometimes visits the sins of parents on their children,
they being, as it were, a part of themselves, and oftentimes partners with them in their
iniquities:
he shall not have a man to dwell among this people; either at Babylon, or at
Jerusalem, whither he had promised a speedy return:
neither shall he behold the good that I will do for my people, saith the Lord;
by returning them, after seventy years captivity, to their own land, and to the enjoyment
of all their privileges, civil and religious:
because he hath taught rebellion against the Lord; or, "a departure (n) from
him"; taught men to revolt from him, and not give heed to his prophets; to disbelieve
what he said by them, concerning their continuance in Babylon; which is called a
rebellion against him; and being so heinous a crime, deserved the punishment
denounced on him and his; rebels and their offspring are punished among men.
CALVIN, "But we may deduce from this passage a useful doctrine, — that nothing
is more pestiferous in a Church than for men to be led away by a false confidence or
trust. For it is the foundation of all true religion to depend on the mouth or word of
God; and it is also the foundation of our salvation. As, then, the salvation of men as
well as true religion is founded on faith and the obedience of faith; so also when we
are drawn away to some false trust, the whole of true religion falls to the ground,
and at the same time every hope of salvation vanishes. This ought to be carefully
observed, so that we may learn to embrace that doctrine which teaches us to trust in
no other than in the only true God, and reject all those inventions which may lead us
away from him, even in the least degree, so that we may not look around us nor be
carried here and there.
For this reason, as I have said, the Prophet declares that Shemaiah would die
childless, and be precluded from enjoying the favor which God had resolved and
even promised to bestow on his people. And all this, as I have reminded you, was
said for the sake of the people; for this prophecy did no good to Shemaiah nor to his
posterity; but his punishment ought to have benefited the miserable exiles so as to
lead them to repentance, however late it may have been. This is the import of the
passage.
124