John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 18:20

"Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember how I stood before thee to speak good for them, to turn away thy wrath from them." — Jeremiah 18:20 (ASV)

The Prophet in this verse exaggerates the sin of his enemies, for they not only were ferocious against God, but also forgot everything humane, and wickedly assailed the Prophet himself. Impiety is indeed more detestable than inhumanity, since God is far above all mortals; but inhumanity has in it more baseness, for it is, so to speak, more gross and more evident.

The ungodly often hide their perfidy; but when they come to act towards men, then what they are immediately appears. Hence the Prophet, having made known the impiety of his enemies, now adds that they, when tried by the judgment of men, were found to be wholly intolerable, for they rendered a shameful reward to an innocent man who was diligent in securing their salvation. We now understand the meaning of the Prophet.

Though it often happens that evil is rendered for good, and ingratitude is a common vice, yet nature itself detests ingratitude: hence, it has been said that there is no law against the ungrateful, because ingratitude seems a monstrous thing. As, then, nature dictates that merit deserves a reward, and this ought to be a fixed principle in the hearts of all, the Prophet reasons according to the common sense and judgment of all mankind.

Shall evil, he says, be rendered for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. And yet I prayed for them and endeavored to turn away the wrath of God.

Since I have set myself humbly to pray for their salvation, how great is their savagery and inhumanity in persecuting me? But as he saw that it was vain to speak to the deaf, he again appeals to God as a witness to his integrity. Remember, he says, that I stood before your face to speak for them; as though he had said, “Even if malignity prevents men from acknowledging what I am and how I have conducted myself towards them, God will be to me a sufficient witness, and I shall be satisfied with His judgment.”