John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 6:11

"Therefore I am full of the wrath of Jehovah; I am weary with holding in: pour it out upon the children in the street, and upon the assembly of young men together; for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days." — Jeremiah 6:11 (ASV)

The prophet here rises higher, for it was not enough simply to present the truth to stubborn men. It was necessary to provoke them sharply, and sometimes to wound them, because they could not otherwise be awakened, so great was their hardness. Therefore, the Prophet continues in the same manner as we observed yesterday, and he declares that he was full of the indignation of God.

This may be understood both passively and actively: either that the Prophet was indignant with holy zeal because he took up God's cause, or that he dreaded the judgment, which the Jews, however, paid no attention to. But he undoubtedly speaks here according to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, as if he said that he did not announce what his own mind suggested, but what was dictated by the Spirit of God.

In short, this indignation is to be related to what was taught, as if he had said, "If I address you with great vehemence, do not think that as a man I forget moderation, being influenced by wrath; rather, the Spirit of God leads and compels me. Whatever indignation, therefore, is found in my language, whatever vehemence, sharpness, and menacing, all this is from God’s Spirit, and not from my own feelings as a man." It was for this reason that he says he was filled with the indignation of God.

What follows confirms this statement, for he says that he was wearied with restraint; as if he said that so great was the impulse of God’s wrath that it could not be prevented from breaking out into vehemence. And from this we learn, as I have said, that the Prophet declares nothing other than that he was not moved by his own indignation, or by any feeling of his own nature, but that he necessarily followed where he was led by the hidden influence of God’s Spirit, so that what he taught would not be despised. For the Jews had long been accustomed to using their taunts and saying that they were not to be frightened like children.

So that the Jews, therefore, might not treat this lightly, Jeremiah declares that he was so filled with the indignation of God that he could no longer contain himself, but had to denounce to his own kindred what God had entrusted to him. As we will see the same manner of speaking elsewhere, and in more explicit terms, I will proceed without making any further remarks.

He afterwards says, I shall pour it out, etc. He undoubtedly continues the same subject. He then says that since he could no longer suppress the vengeance of God, whose herald he was, he would now pour it out, and that upon the children, he says, in the streets. He undoubtedly means by these words that there was nothing pure among the people, for the very children were involved in the same guilt.

Since, then, impiety prevailed so much that even young children were not exempt from it, it was evidence of a hopeless condition. This is what the Prophet means by saying that he would pour wrath upon children. Then he adds, upon the assembly, etc. The word סוד, sud, means a congregation or an assembly, and it also means counsel.

But as the Prophet speaks of streets, there seems to be a contrast between streets and counsels, as if he said that children playing in the streets were without any counsel or understanding. But I still include with them the old and mature men, for they are all exposed to God’s judgment.

He then adds, the counsel of young men; for there is more discretion and prudence in young men grown up to maturity. The Hebrews do not call youths of fifteen בחורים, bachurim, but men of full and mature age; and the word is derived from a verb which means to choose.

Those, then, who are in the prime of their age are called בחורים, bachurim, because they are endowed with discretion and do not play in the streets like children. The Prophet then says that God’s wrath would now be poured forth on children, and also on men who have reached the age of twenty or thirty.

For the husband, he says, with his wife shall be taken, the aged with the full of days. Some think that the full of days meant the decrepit; but by זקן, zaken, I understand the aged, and by the full of days, all those already grown into maturity, such as those from fifty to eighty. He means, in short, that no one would be exempt from suffering God’s vengeance, as impiety had pervaded all stations, ranks, and ages.