Jeremiah13chapter 13

Jeremiah 13:12

“Do we not . . . know . . . wine--The "bottles" are those used in the East, made of skins; our word "hogshead," originally "oxhide," alludes to the same custom. As they were used to hold water, milk, and other liquids, what the prophet said (namely, that they should be all filled with wine) was not, as the Jews' taunting reply implied, a truism even literally.”

Jeremiah 13:13

Then he teaches, on account of those who had sinned — as far as the literal sense goes — in Jerusalem at that time and in Judea, with what sort of wine God is about to fill these wineskins, the sinners. For it is written: "If they say to you: Do we not surely know that every wineskin shall be filled with wine? then you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord: Behold, I fill all the inhabitants of this land, and the kings who sit as sons of David upon his throne, and the priests."

Jeremiah 13:14

"And the priests," then, "and the prophets and Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem" God says he will fill "with drunkenness" and will scatter "them, a man and his brother, and their fathers and their sons." And let us understand these things also thus: the righteous God gathers together, but the sinners he scatters.

Jeremiah 13:15

“IN this chapter Jeremiah had proclaimed the judgment of God against His sinful people under two very striking figures. Israel had been to God what a sash is to a man—the people had been bound closely about Him in His great love and favor. But on account of their sin, the Lord would put them away and they should be hidden by the Euphrates till their beauty was marred—until, in fact, like a rotten sash, their whole state had become decayed.”

Jeremiah 13:16

“Give glory to - God - Confess your sins and turn to him, that these sore evils may be averted. While ye look for light - While ye expect prosperity, he turned it into the shadow of death - sent you adversity of the most distressing and ruinous kind. Stumble upon the dark mountains - Before you meet with those great obstacles, which, having no light - no proper understanding in the matter, ye shall be utterly unable to surmount.”

Jeremiah 13:17

“The Lord’s flock - The people carried away captive with Jeconiah formed the Jewish Church, as we are expressly told, whereas Zedekiah and the people of Jerusalem possessed only the externals of the Church and not its reality. It is for this reason that the seventy years’ exile counts from Jeconiah’s captivity.”

Jeremiah 13:18

“Say unto the king and to the queen - Probably Jeconiah and his mother, under whose tutelage, being young when he began to reign, he was left, as is very likely. Sit down - Show that ye have humbled yourselves; for your state will be destroyed, and your glorious crown taken from your heads.”

Jeremiah 13:19

Shall be shut up - Rather, “are shut up, and no man openeth them.” The cities of the Negeb, the southern district of Judah, are blockaded, with no one to raise the siege. The captivity was the inevitable result of the capture of the fortified towns. An army entering from the north would march along the Shefelah, or fertile plain near the seacoast, and would capture the outlying cities, before it attacked Jerusalem, almost inaccessible among the mountains. Judah shall be ... - Translate, “Judah is ...”

Jeremiah 13:20

“Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north,.... There are a Keri and a Cetib of the words "lift up" and "behold"; they are written in the singular number, and may be considered as directed to the king, as the words following are; and they are read in the plural number, the state and whole body of the people being called upon to observe the Chaldean army, which came from the north; and is represented as on the march, just at hand to invade, besiege, take, and carry them captive.”

Jeremiah 13:21

“Translate, “What wilt thou say, O Jerusalem, when He, Yahweh, shall set over thee for head those whom thou hast taught to be thy bosom friends?” The foreign powers, whose friendship she has been courting, will become her tyrants.”

Jeremiah 13:22

“Thy skirts - Probably these phrases are fetched from the usual practice of soldiers when they have conquered a place and taken prisoners, to strip them. By skirts is meant the lower part of their bodies covered with the lower part of their garments.”

Jeremiah 13:23

“For as the prophet speaks," If the Ethiopian changes his skin, or the leopard his spots," then will they be willing to think religiously who have been instructed in irreligion. You, however, beloved, on receiving this, read it by yourself.”

Jeremiah 13:24

“The wind of the wilderness - Some strong tempestuous wind, proverbially severe, coming from the desert to the south of Judea.”

Jeremiah 13:25

“The portion of thy measures - i. e., “thy measured portion” Job 11:9. Others render it: “the portion of thy lap,” the upper garment being constantly used for holding things Rth 3:15. In falsehood i. e - in idols (see the marginal reference).”

Jeremiah 13:26

“Therefore will I discover thy skirts upon thy face - It was the custom to punish lewd women by stripping them naked, and exposing them to public view; or by throwing their clothes over their heads, as here intimated. Was this the way to correct the evil?”

Jeremiah 13:27

“And thine abominations - “Even thy abominations.” The prophet sums up the three charges against Judah, namely, spiritual adultery, inordinate eagerness after idolatry (see the note at Jer 5:7 note), and shameless participation in pagan orgies. In the fields - “in the field,” the open, unenclosed country (see Jer 6:25; Jer 12:4). Wilt thou not ... once be? - “Or, how long yet ere thou be made clean!” These words explain the teaching of Jer 13:23. Repentance was not an actual, but a moral impossibility, and after a long time Judah was to be cleansed.”