Charles Ellicott Commentary Jeremiah 33
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Jeremiah 33
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Jeremiah 33
"Moreover the word of Jehovah came unto Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut up in the court of the guard, saying, Thus saith Jehovah that doeth it, Jehovah that formeth it to establish it; Jehovah is his name: Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and will show thee great things, and difficult, which thou knowest not." — Jeremiah 33:1-3 (ASV)
The second time, while he was yet shut up. —The discourse that follows belongs to the same period as the preceding chapter, and presents the same general characteristics. Its connection with the operations of the siege to which Jerusalem was exposed will be traced in Jeremiah 33:4. As with other prophecies, its starting-point is found in the thought of the majesty of the attributes of God.
Great and mighty things. —The two adjectives occur in the same combination in Deuteronomy 1:28; Deuteronomy 9:1, and this fact is in favour of the rendering “mighty” rather than “hidden,” as in the margin of the Authorized Version.
"For thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, which are broken down [to make a defence] against the mounds and against the sword;" — Jeremiah 33:4 (ASV)
Concerning the houses of this city ... —The words point to the incident that was the occasion of the prophecy. The houses referred to had either been destroyed by the invaders or, more probably, by the besieged, in order to erect a counter-work against the “mounts” that the Chaldeans had set against it. The “swords” (the word is translated as axes in Ezekiel 26:9) include tools used for breaking down walls.
"while [men] come to fight with the Chaldeans, and to fill them with the dead bodies of men, whom I have slain in mine anger and in my wrath, and for all whose wickedness I have hid my face from this city:" — Jeremiah 33:5 (ASV)
They come to fight with the Chaldeans ... —The Hebrew construction is participial, and has the force expressed in English by “they” used indefinitely. The prophet sees, as it were, a sortie of the besieged, but it is doomed to failure, and the houses of the city are filled with those who were slain by the sword, as well as by famine and pestilence (Jeremiah 32:24).
"Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them; and I will reveal unto them abundance of peace and truth." — Jeremiah 33:6 (ASV)
Health and cure ... —The first word is, as in Jeremiah 8:22; Jeremiah 30:17, the bandage, or “plaster,” which was prominent in the medical practices of the East. It is possible that both words may have been spoken in direct contrast with the pestilence which was ravaging the city (Jeremiah 21:9; Jeremiah 27:13; Jeremiah 38:2).
In any case, however, the words have a higher and figurative meaning. It was true of the city and its people that the whole head was sick, and the whole heart faint (Isaiah 1:5); and Jehovah promises to manifest Himself as the healer of that spiritual disease which was worse than any pestilence.
"And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first. And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned against me, and whereby they have transgressed against me." — Jeremiah 33:7-8 (ASV)
I ... will build ... I will cleanse ... I will pardon ... —The vision of the return of the exiles and of a restored city, prominent in Jeremiah 31:38-40, is not allowed to overshadow the yet more glorious vision of spiritual blessings of purity and pardon.
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