John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 13:16

"Give glory to Jehovah your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness." — Jeremiah 13:16 (ASV)

Jeremiah pursues the subject, which we began to explain yesterday, for he saw that the Jews were hardly moved by what he taught them. He told them to regard what he said as coming from God, and told them that they could in no way succeed through their pride.

For the same purpose he now adds, Give glory to Jehovah your God. To give glory to God is elsewhere understood as confessing the truth in His name; for when Joshua adjured Achan, he used these words, Give glory to God, my son; that is, since I have set God before you as a judge, be careful not to think that if you lie you can escape His judgment (Joshua 7:19).

But here, to give glory to God means to ascribe to Him what properly belongs to Him, or to acknowledge His power so that we are submissive to His word. For if we refuse to believe the prophets, we rob God of His glory, as we thereby disown His power and, as much as we can, diminish His glory. How indeed can we ascribe glory to God except by acknowledging Him to be the fountain of all wisdom, justice, and power, and especially by trembling at His sacred word? Whoever then does not fear and reverence God, whoever does not believe His word, robs Him of His glory. Therefore we see that all unbelievers, though they may testify to the contrary with their mouths, are still in reality enemies to God’s glory and deprive Him of it.

This subject should be carefully noted, for all should dread such a sacrilege as this, and yet no one pays sufficient attention in this respect. We then see what instruction this expression conveys: it is as though he had said that the Jews had until now acted contemptuously toward God, for they did not tremble before Him, as they had no faith in His word. And it was now time for him to set God before them as their Judge, and also for them to know that they should have believed whatever God declared to them by His servants.

He says, Before he introduces darkness. Others translate it with a single word, “Before it grows dark,” but since the verb is in Hiphil, it should be taken in a causative sense. Some consider the word “sun” to be implied, but without reason, for the sun is not said to send darkness by its setting. But the Prophet removes all ambiguity with the words that immediately follow in the second clause: And turn light to the shadow of death, and turn it to thick darkness. In these words the Prophet undoubtedly refers to God, so that the word “God,” used at the beginning of the verse, is to be understood here.

Before God, he then says, sends darkness, and before your feet stumble on the mountains of obscurity. The word נשף, neshiph, means the evening and the twilight; it also means the obscure light before the rising of the sun, but it is often taken for the whole night. We can translate the words as “the mountains of density.” But the word undoubtedly means obscurity here.

Some think that mountains are to be understood here metaphorically as Egypt, for the Jews were accustomed to fleeing there in their troubles. But there are safer recesses on mountains than on the plains; yet I do not know whether this sense will be very suitable here.

On the contrary, I prefer to regard the words as preceded by כ, caph, a particle of likeness, which is often implied. The meaning would then be suitable: “Before your feet stumble as on obscure mountains.”

This is because there is more light on level ground than on mountains, for darkness often fills narrow passes where the sun cannot penetrate. Also, evening does not come on so soon on plains as in the recesses of mountains, for the Prophet refers not to the summits but to the narrow valleys, which do not receive the sun's oblique rays except for a few hours.

But what if we offer this translation: “Before your feet stumble at the mountains of darkness”? For אל, al, has the meaning of “at,” as though the Prophet had said that the darkness would be so thick that they could not discern mountains opposite them.

Just as in the twilight or in darkness a traveler stumbles at the smallest stones, so also, when the darkness is very thick, even mountains are not perceived. Thus, it often happens that a person stumbles at mountains, finding a stumbling block with his feet and hands before he perceives it with his eyes.

As for myself, I am fully convinced that this is the right explanation: Before then your feet stumble at the dark mountains.

He afterwards adds, When you hope for light, He turns it to the shadow of death. The word צלמות, tsalmut, as I have said elsewhere, is thought by grammarians to be composed of צל, tsal, “shadow,” and of מות, mut, which means “death,” and they translate it as “fatal darkness.” Then what he says is: “Before God turns light to darkness, turns it to thick darkness, give to Him His glory.” And hence we perceive more clearly what I have already referred to: that the verb יחשיך, icheshik, “will cause darkness,” should be applied to God.

But the sum of the whole is this: they could anticipate God’s judgment by acknowledging Him in time as their Judge, and also by receiving His word with more reverence than they had previously done. At the same time, he declares that their hope was vain if they promised themselves light.

But we must understand that light is here to be taken metaphorically, as in many other places, and darkness, its opposite, is also to be taken in the same way. Darkness means adversities, and light means peace and prosperity.

The Prophet then says that the Jews deceived themselves if they thought that their happiness would be perpetual while they despised God and His prophets. And why? Because doing so would have been the same as to disarm God or deprive Him of His power, as though He were not the Judge of the world. In short, he shows that a most dreadful vengeance was near at hand, unless the Jews anticipated it in time and submitted themselves to God.