John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 29:15-17

"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." — Jeremiah 29:15-17 (ASV)

Many interpreters connect the first of these verses with the preceding ones, and they seem to do so with good reason; for the reason given is quite suitable, if we refer to what the Prophet had said: 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. Consistent with the usage of Scripture, the learned and experienced believe this to be the Prophet's real meaning.

He then says that the captives who hoped for a quick end to their exile were very foolish, because they had false prophets who gave them such a promise. You have then said that prophets have been given to you in Chaldea, and that God had pitied you there, because there are those who prophesy a return in a short time.

Since then you are so foolishly credulous, he says, Thus says Jehovah to your brethren. He then turns his discourse to the exiles and exhorts them not to allow themselves to be led astray.

But here he indirectly reproves them because they could not bear a condition that was even better than that of the remnant. It is as though he had said, “What is the meaning of this unreasonableness of yours! When all your paths are blocked, and the power of your conqueror is so great that you cannot move a finger without his permission, you still think that you will be set free in two years!

And surely, if you were foolishly secure and confident before, your calamities ought now to make you humble. But your brethren, who seem yet to enjoy liberty because they dwell in Jerusalem (for only they were then remaining)—even these your brethren suffer far more grievously than you do.”

We now perceive for what purpose the Prophet, after having addressed the captives, turned his discourse to King Zedekiah and to the Jews who still remained at home or in their own country. It was so that the captives might thereby know how great their madness was to promise themselves a return, after having been driven to remote lands, when final ruin was near for both the king and the people who still remained in Jerusalem. Thus then says Jehovah to the king 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 understood here in two different senses: the king is 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 expressly mentioned here, for the exiles were always accustomed to connect it with the hope of their return. They thought, “The Temple still remains, God is worshipped there, 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.

Therefore, when they fixed their eyes on royalty on the one hand, and on the priesthood and sacrifices on the other, they felt persuaded that it could not be otherwise than 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.

Unless, 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 (the Prophet) nevertheless declares that his condition and that of his people was harder than that of the captive multitude.

He says, I will pursue them with the sword, and famine, and pestilence. The surrender of Jeconiah, as we have seen elsewhere, was voluntary; he was therefore more kindly received by the king of Babylon. Eventually, the city was attacked, and as the siege was long, more rage was felt against the king and the whole people, for the Chaldeans had been wearied by their obstinacy. Therefore, 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 doubt that God blinded their minds so that they brought a heavier judgment upon themselves. It was, then, a punishment inflicted on them by God.

And therefore Jeremiah rightly testifies 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 that he refers to the prophecy which we explained there.

For the Prophet saw two baskets of figs, in one of which were sweet figs, and in the other bitter. God asked, “What do you see?” He replied, “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 show mercy to them, and liberty to return will be given to them. They will then be good figs, though now a different opinion is formed, for those who still lived in Jerusalem think themselves happier 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: