Thomas Aquinas Commentary Jeremiah 29:30-32

"Then came the word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah, saying, Send to all them of the captivity, saying, Thus saith Jehovah concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, and I sent him not, and he hath caused you to trust in a lie; therefore thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed; he shall not have a man to dwell among this people, neither shall he behold the good that I will do unto my people, saith Jehovah, because he hath spoken rebellion against Jehovah." — Jeremiah 29:30-32 (ASV)

1. Here, he speaks of the threat against him.

   1. He rebukes Shemaiah’s guilt: because Shemaiah prophesied. The prophet says, We have set a lie as our hope, and by a lie are we protected (Isaiah 28:15). His oration is directed against the captives in another letter.

   2. He threatens punishment: therefore, thus says the LORD.

      1. Concerning the sons: there will not be a man left to him; it is as if he were saying, “He will not leave a survivor among the people.” I am the LORD your God, the Mighty One, the Jealous One,Heb. אֵל קַנָּא: a jealous God. This is one of the standard names of God, but in the Latin it has instead been broken up into two distinct epithets, mighty and jealous. visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me (Exodus 20:5).

      2. Concerning Shemaiah: and he shall not see the good that I will do for my people. As it says above: for he shall be like a tamarisk in the desert, and shall not see when good comes (Jeremiah 17:6).

      3. He restates the charge: for he has spoken rebellion against the LORD, because with his words he had rebelled against the LORD, promising prosperous times when God had predicted the opposite. Shall he who contends with God so easily become quiet? (Job 39:32).

Chapter 30