Jeremiah21chapter 21

Jeremiah 21:1

“By sending this embassy Zedekiah acknowledged that Jeremiah held the same position in the kingdom which Isaiah had held under Hezekiah 2Ki 19:2. Pashur and Zephaniah belonged to the party who were for resisting Nebuchadnezzar by force of arms.”

Jeremiah 21:1

“Pashur--son of Melchiah, of the fifth order of priests, distinct from Pashur, son of Immer (Jer 20:1), of the sixteenth order (1Ch 24:9, 14). Zephaniah--of the twenty-fourth order. They are designated, not by their father, but by their family (1Ch 24:18).”

Jeremiah 21:2

“Nebuchadrezzar - A more correct way of spelling the name than Nebuchadnezzar. According to all his wondrous works - The king and his envoys expected some such answer as Isaiah had given on a former occasion Isa 37:6.”

Jeremiah 21:2

“Inquire - Zedekiah, as he was none of the best, so he was none of the worst of the kings of Judah. Having some reverence of God, he sends the prophet to inquire of the Lord.”

Jeremiah 21:4

“God of Israel--Those "wondrous works" (Jer 21:2) do not belong to you; God is faithful; it is you who forfeit the privileges of the covenant by unfaithfulness.”

Jeremiah 21:4

“That the besiegers shall in a little time make themselves masters of Jerusalem, and of all its wealth and strength: I will assemble those in the midst of this city who are now surrounding it. Note, If that place which should have been a centre of devotion be made a centre of wickedness, it is not strange if God make it a rendezvous of destroyers.”

Jeremiah 21:6

“They shall die of a great pestilence - The sword may appear to be that of man, though I have given the Chaldeans their commission; but the pestilence shall appear to be the immediate act of God.”

Jeremiah 21:7

“Nebuchadrezzar - This name is spelt as above in twenty-six places of this book; and in ten places it is spelt Nebuchadnezzar, which is the common orthography. The difference is only a ר resh for a נ nun; but the MSS. are various on this point. It is the same person who is intended by both names; and here all the Versions, except the Arabic, which omits the name, have it in the usual form.”

Jeremiah 21:8

“They thought to make a prey of the camp of the Chaldeans, as their ancestors did that of the Assyrians ( Isa. xxxiii. 23 ), but they will be sadly disappointed; if by yielding at discretion they can but save their lives, that is all the prey they must promise themselves.”

Jeremiah 21:9

“He that ... falleth to the Chaldeans - This was to counsel desertion, and would have been treason in an ordinary man: but the prophets Spoke with an authority above that even of the king, and constantly interfered in political matters with summary decisiveness. Compare Mat 24:16-18. A prey - Something not a man’s own, upon which he seizes in the midst of danger, and hurries away with it. So must the Jews hurry away with their lives as something more than they had a right to, and place them in the Chaldaean camp as in a place of safety.”

Jeremiah 21:11

“Rather, And as to the royal house of Judah, Hear ye. Omit say. The words are no command to the prophet, but form his introduction to the discourse which extends to the end of Jer 23:8. The king and his officers are to hear the gist of all the messages sent to the royal house since the accession of Jehoiakim.”

Jeremiah 21:11-12

“This intimates that it was their neglect to do their duty that brought all this desolation upon the people. It was the evil of their doings that kindled the fire of God's wrath. Thus plainly does he deal even with the house of the king; for those that would have the benefit of a prophet's prayers must thankfully take a prophet's reproofs.”

Jeremiah 21:12

“Execute judgment in the morning - Probably the time for dispensing judgment was the morning, when the people were going to their work; but the words may mean, Do justice promptly, do not delay. Let justice be administered as soon as required.”

Jeremiah 21:12

“MAURER translates, "every morning." lest my fury . . . like fire--Already it was kindled, and the decree of God gone forth against the city (Jer 21:4, 5), but the king and his house may yet be preserved by repentance and reformation. God urges to righteousness, not as if they can thereby escape punishment wholly, but as the condition of a mitigation of it.”

Jeremiah 21:13

“Inhabitant - is feminine, the population of Jerusalem being always personified as a woman, the daughter of Zion. Omit and. Jerusalem is at once a valley and a rock Jer 17:3. The people are described as priding themselves on the impregnability of their city.”

Jeremiah 21:13

“Of the valley - The inhabitants of the city of Jerusalem are here intended. Jerusalem itself was built in part upon the rocky mountain of Zion, but a great part was in the valley, and the higher mountains, about Mount Zion, made that mountain itself, in comparison with them, as a valley.”

Jeremiah 21:14

“I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof - I will send destruction into its center, that shall spread to every part of the circumference, and so consume the whole. The beginning of the thirty-fourth chapter should follow here. See the arrangement on Jer 34:1 (note).”

Jeremiah 21:14

“The forest - By the forest he either means the forest of Lebanon or their houses, made of wood cut out of that forest. And it - And this fire shall not end in the destruction of this city, but in the total destruction of all the country round Jerusalem.”