John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 49:30

"Flee ye, wander far off, dwell in the depths, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith Jehovah; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath conceived a purpose against you." — Jeremiah 49:30 (ASV)

Jeremiah continues here with the same subject, but expresses more clearly what he had said: Flee, he says, depart far away. I read what follows as a parenthesis: Deep have they made to dwell, the inhabitants of Hazor. Then Jeremiah proceeds with his subject: because consulted against you has Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and so on.

He then bids them flee to a distance, because Nebuchadnezzar had resolved to destroy them. By counsel and thought or purpose, the Prophet refers to the secret means by which Nebuchadnezzar subdued the people when they feared no such thing. Since these shepherds lived securely on their mountains, Nebuchadnezzar prepared his forces and divided them; and thus they were captured more by his counsel and craft than by strength.

What the Prophet says here of the counsel and device of Nebuchadnezzar is not superfluous, because he indirectly touched on the sloth of that nation, which exercised no vigilance and consideration, their desert being a sufficient cover for them. Since they lived so securely, the Prophet here reminds them that they would be dealing with a cunning enemy, who would contrive and form his counsels at home, and then would execute in due time what he had long meditated.

But a parenthesis follows: Deep have they made. To make the sense clearer, an adversative particle must be understood, such as, Though deep have they made to dwell; for without this exception, the prophecy would have been less credible. For the Kedareans were fortified on every side, because no one envied them, as they were not only frugal men but also barbarous and contented with an austere and wretched living.

Since they thought themselves so safe, someone might have raised this objection and said, “Why do you bid them to flee? Why should they flee? For there is no one so foolish as to attack them.” So also the Scythians laughed at Alexander when he attacked them: “What is your object? You think that you are dealing with men; we are wild beasts. And if you seek wealth and riches, you will not find them with us.”

Such, then, was the state of those nations mentioned here. When, therefore, the Prophet bids them to flee because Nebuchadnezzar would suddenly attack them, he at the same time adds, Though deep have they made to dwell. He had used this mode of speaking before: 'to make deep to dwell' means to have a safe and hidden position, remote from all danger. Therefore, those who dwell in fortified cities, or who inhabit deserts, or who are hidden in some poor country, like the Kedareans and their neighbors, are said to be deep in their dwellings. But the Prophet says that this would not prevent the Babylonians from invading their land and taking possession of it.