John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 30:16

"Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and they that despoil thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey." — Jeremiah 30:16 (ASV)

Here, again, the Prophet promises that God would be gracious to His people, but after a long time, when that perverseness would be subdued, which could not be soon cured. We ought, then, always to bear in mind the difference between the promise of favors, of which Jeremiah was a witness and a herald, and those vain boastings by which the false prophets deceived the people when they encouraged them to expect a return in a short time and said that the term of deliverance was at hand.

And this difference ought to be noticed for this reason, because a most useful doctrine may be gathered from this: the unprincipled men who basely misuse God’s name have this in common with His true and faithful servants—that they both proclaim the favor of God. But those who falsely use God’s name bury the doctrine of repentance, for they seek only to soothe people with flatteries; and as they hunt for favor, they completely omit the doctrine that might offend and is in no way sweet or pleasant to the flesh.

Jeremiah, indeed, did not deal so severely with the people without also giving them some hope of pardon, and he always mitigated whatever severity there was in the doctrine of repentance. But at the same time, he did not, by indulgence, foster the vices of the people, as the false prophets were accustomed to do.

But what did these do? They boasted that God was merciful, slow to wrath, and ready to be reconciled to sinners. Therefore, they concluded that the exile would not be long; and at the same time, as we have said, they perfidiously flattered the people. So then, it should be remembered that we are not fit to receive the favor of God, nor are capable of it, so to speak, until all the pride of the flesh is truly subdued, and also all false security is corrected and removed.

We now see why the Prophet added the promise of favor after having spoken of the dreadful judgment of God. But the illative, לכן laken, does not seem suitable; for how can this verse be connected with the threats which we have noticed? Therefore they who devour thee shall be devoured. But therefore refers to what he had said before. It is not then strange that he draws the inference—that God, having taken vengeance on the wickedness of the people, would also execute vengeance on their enemies. Then the illative is not unsuitable, because the time of mercy had arrived when the Jews became subdued, so that they humbled themselves before God and repented of their sins.

But there is here a common doctrine which we meet with everywhere in the Prophets, namely, that God, after having made a beginning with His Church, then becomes a judge of all nations. For if He by no means spares His elect, His own family, how can He leave outsiders unpunished? And it is the perpetual consolation of the Church that though God employs the wicked as scourges to chastise His people, yet their condition is not better; for when they have triumphed for a moment, God will soon bring them to judgment. There is, therefore, no reason why the faithful should envy their enemies when they are chastened by God’s hand and when their enemies exult in their pleasures, for their prosperity will soon come to an end, and with the same measure God will mete out to them the recompense for the wrong done to His people.

Whosoever, then, devours thee shall be devoured, and all thine enemies, yea, all, shall go into captivity; and, lastly, they who plunder thee, etc., which is rendered by some, “they who tread thee shall be for treading.” But as the verb means plundering, to avoid repetition, I prefer the former meaning: “They, then, who spoil thee shall become a spoil, and they who plunder thee shall be for plunder.”