Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

“Azariah--the author of the project of going into Egypt; a very different man from the Azariah in Babylon (Da 1:7; 3:12-18). proud--Pride is the parent of disobedience and contempt of God.”

“Baruch--He being the younger spake out the revelations which he received from Jeremiah more vehemently. From this cause, and from their knowing that he was in favor with the Chaldeans, arose their suspicion of him. Their perverse fickleness was astonishing.”

“Beth-shemesh--that is, "the house of the sun," in Hebrew; called by the Greeks "Heliopolis"; by the Egyptians, "On" (Ge 41:45); east of the Nile, and a few miles north of Memphis. Ephraim Syrus says, the statue rose to the height of sixty cubits; the base wa…”

“Egypt--where they polluted themselves to ingratiate themselves with the Egyptians. ye be gone--not compelled by fear, but of your own accord, when I forbade you, and when it was free to you to stay in Judea. that ye might cut yourselves off--They, as it were…”

“Have you forgotten how the wickednesses of your fathers were the source of the greatest calamities to you? their wives--The Jews' worldly queens were great promoters of idolatry (1Ki 11:1-8; 16:31). the land of Judah--They defiled the land which was holy un…”

“They . . . you--The third person puts them to a distance from God on account of their alienating themselves from Him. The second person implies that God formerly had directly addressed them. humbled--literally, "contrite" (Ps 51:17). neither . . . feared-- …”

“Behold, I will set my face against you for evil--(See on Le 17:10). and to cut off all Judah--that is, all the idolaters; Jer 44:28 shows that some returned to Judea (compare Jer 42:17).”

“Ashtaroth or Astarte. we . . . fathers . . . king, &c.--The evil was restricted to no one class: all from the highest to the lowest shared the guilt. then had we plenty--Fools attribute their seeming prosperity to God's connivance at their sin: but see Pr 1…”

“They impute their calamities to their service of God, but these are often marks of His favor, not of wrath, to do His people good at their latter end (De 8:16).”

“They wish to show how unreasonable it is that Jeremiah should oppose himself alone to the act of all, not merely women, but men also. The guilty, like these women, desire to shield themselves under the complicity of others.”

“The incense . . . did not the Lord remember--Jeremiah owns that they did as they said, but in retort asks, did not God repay their own evil-doing? Their very land in its present desolation attests this (Jer 44:22), as was foretold (Jer 25:11, 18, 38).”

“Ye . . . have both spoken with . . . mouths, and fulfilled with . . . hand--ironical praise. They had pleaded their obligation to fulfil their vows, in excuse for their idolatry.”

“Since ye will not hear Me speaking and warning, hear Me swearing. by my great name--that is, by Myself (Ge 22:16), the greatest by whom God can swear (Heb 6:13, 14). my name shall no more be named--The Jews, heretofore, amidst all their idolatry, had reta…”

“A band easily counted, whereas they were expecting to return triumphantly in large numbers. shall know--most of them experimentally, and to their cost. whose words . . . mine, or theirs--Hebrew, "that from Me and them." Jehovah's words are His threats of des…”

“The Jews being "punished in this place" will be a sign that their view is false, and God's threat true. He calls it "a sign unto you," because God's prediction is equivalent to the event, so that they may even now take it as a sign. When fulfilled it would cea…”

“General heading of the next six chapters of prophecies concerning the Gentiles; the prophecies are arranged according to nations, not by the dates.”

“The language of astonishment, that an army so well equipped should be driven back in "dismay." The prophet sees this in prophetic vision. fled apace--literally, "fled a flight," that is, flee precipitately. look not back--They do not even dare to look back a…”

“Let not--equivalent to the strongest negation. Let not any of the Egyptian warriors think to escape by swiftness or by might. toward the north--that is, in respect to Egypt or Judea.”

“The figure is appropriate in addressing Egyptians, as the Nile, their great river, yearly overspreads their lands with a turbid, muddy flood. So their army, swelling with arrogance, shall overspread the region south of Euphrates; but it, like the Nile, shall r…”

“Answer to the question in Jer 46:7. waters . . . moved like the rivers--The rise of the Nile is gentle; but at the mouth it, unlike most rivers, is much agitated, owing to the sandbanks impeding its course, and so it rushes into the sea like a cataract.”

“Ironical exhortation, as in Jer 46:3. The Egyptians, owing to the heat of their climate and abstinence from animal food, were physically weak, and therefore employed mercenary soldiers. Ethiopians--Hebrew, Cush: Abyssinia and Nubia.”

“He mentions the three other quarters, but omits the west, because the Chaldeans did not advance thither. These cities, too, were the best known to the Jews, as being in their direction. sword shall devour round about thee--namely, the Syrians, Jews, Moabites,…”

“As the mountains Tabor and Carmel tower high above the other hills of Palestine, so Nebuchadnezzar (Jer 46:26) when he comes shall prove himself superior to all his foes. Carmel forms a bold promontory jutting out into the Mediterranean. Tabor is the higher …”

“Translate, "Also her hired men (mercenary soldiers, Jer 46:9, 16), who are in the midst of her like fatted bullocks, even they also are turned back," that is, shall turn their backs to flee.”

“Repeated from Jer 30:10, 11. When the Church (and literal Israel) might seem utterly consumed, there still remains hidden hope, because God, as it were, raises His people from the dead (Ro 11:15). Whereas the godless "nations" are consumed even though they s…”