Geremia 6:28 Commento

In this chapter, as before, we have, I. A prophecy of the invading of the land of Judah and the besieging of Jerusalem by the Chaldean army (Jer 6:1-6), with the spoils they should make of the country (Jer 6:9) and the terror which all should be seized with on that occasion (Jer 6:22-26). II. An account of those sins of Judah and Jerusalem which provoked God to bring this desolating judgment upon them. Their oppression (Jer 6:7), their contempt of the word of God (Jer 6:10-12), their worldliness (Jer 6:13), the treachery of their prophets (Jer 6:14), their impudence in sin (Jer 6:15), their obstinacy against reproofs (Jer 6:18, Jer 6:19), which made their sacrifices unacceptable to him (Jer 6:20), and for which he gave them up to ruin (Jer 6:21), but tried them first (Jer 6:27) and then rejected them as irreclaimable (Jer 6:28-30). III. Good counsel given them in the midst of all this, but in vain (Jer 6:8, Jer 6:16, Jer 6:17).

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 6 This chapter is of the same argument with the former; and contains two things in it, the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, and the causes of it, which are intermixedly handled in it; a lively description is made of the notice of the approach of the enemy by blowing of trumpets and firing of beacons, Jer 6:1, and of the siege of the city, by pitching tents around it, casting up a mount against it, and scaling its walls at noon and by night, Jer 6:2, and this destruction is illustrated by the simile of gleaning of grapes, Jer 6:9, and amplified by the universality of it, with respect to persons and things; it reaching to persons of every age, and in every state, as old men, young men, and children, husbands and wives, and to all sorts of possessions, houses and fields, Jer 6:11, a description is given of the instruments of it, the Chaldeans, Jer 6:22 and it is aggravated by the anxiety, distress, and sorrow, the Jews would be in on account of it, Jer 6:24, the causes of it are in general the great aboundings of sin and wickedness in the midst of them, illustrated by a fountain casting out its waters, Jer 6:6, in particular, their neglect and contempt of the word of the Lord, Jer 6:10, the sin of covetousness, which prevailed among all sorts of people, high and low, in civil or religious life, Jer 6:13, the unfaithfulness of the prophets to the people, declaring peace, when there was none, Jer 6:14, their impenitence and hardness, Jer 6:15, their disregard to all instructions and warnings, Jer 6:16, their rejection of the law, and the precepts of it, Jer 6:18, their hypocritical sacrifices, Jer 6:20, and the chapter is concluded with an address to the prophet, setting forth his character and office, and the end of it, Jer 6:27 and his testimony concerning the people, showing their obstinacy and stubbornness, illustrated by a simile of refining metal in a furnace without success, Jer 6:28.

They are all grievous revolters,.... From the right way of God and his worship: or, they are all revolters of revolters (e); of all, the greatest revolters, the greatest sinners and transgressors, the most stubborn and disobedient; or sons of revolters; fathers and children are alike. The Targum, is, "all their princes rebel;'' and so the Vulgate Latin and Syriac versions: "walking with slanders": of one another; or with deceit, as the Targum; in a hypocritical and fraudulent manner; playing the hypocrite with God, or tricking and deceiving their neighbours. They are "brass and iron"; as vile and mean as those metals, and not as gold and silver; or as hard and inflexible as they are; or they deal as insincerely "as he that mixes brass with iron;'' so the Targum: they are all corrupters; as such that mix metals are; they are corrupters of themselves and of others, of the doctrines and manners of men, and of the ways and worship of God. (e) "refractarii refractariorum", Schmidt; "contumacium contumacissimi", Junius & Tremellius.

Perhaps he will say to me, who am not reformed even by blows, I know that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew, the heedless is heedless, and the lawless person acts lawlessly, naught is the heavenly correction, naught the scourges. The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed, as I once reproached you by the mouth of Jeremiah, the founder melted the silver in vain, your evil deeds are not melted away. Can you abide my wrath? says the Lord. Has not my hand the power to inflict on you other plagues also?

(Verse 27 and following) I have appointed you as a strong tester among my people, and you will know and prove their ways. All these leaders are turning away (or disobedient), walking deceitfully (or perversely). Bronze and iron are all corrupted, the bellows in the fire have failed (which the Greeks more significantly call a 'puffer'), the lead is consumed, the refiner has vainly blown (or the moneylender). For their wickedness is not consumed: call them reprobate silver, for the Lord has rejected them. The prophet is given as a strong proof to an unbelieving people, which is called Mabsar in Hebrew, which either means fortified, according to Aquila, or enclosed and surrounded, according to Symmachus and the Septuagint, like a very strong city, so that it fears no treachery from any people; and when you have proven and understood the way of a sinful people, then you will understand that silver mixed with copper cannot be purged in any way. For just as lead is mixed with metals that are adulterated and corrupted, so that the foreign material can be separated, and if perhaps it has not been purified, all the lead is consumed and reduced to nothing: in the same way, every discourse of teachings and prophetic speech perishes in those who scorn to listen (Psalm 57). Let us speak also about those who, like deaf asps, plug their ears so as not to hear the voices of those who enchant. For the mint worker and the metal smelter have labored in vain: their wickedness has not been consumed. Therefore, they are called not silver, but reprobate silver, because the Lord has rejected them. And the princes are those who turn away from the Lord, who walk perversely and deceitfully.

ZION'S FOES PREPARE WAR AGAINST HER: HER SINS ARE THE CAUSE. (Jer. 6:1-30) Benjamin--Jerusalem was situated in the tribe of Benjamin, which was here separated from that of Judah by the valley of Hinnom. Though it was inhabited partly by Benjamites, partly by men of Judah, he addresses the former as being his own countrymen. blow . . . trumpet . . . Tekoa--Tikehu, Tekoa form a play on sounds. The birthplace of Amos. Beth-haccerem--meaning in Hebrew, "vineyard-house." It and Tekoa were a few miles south of Jerusalem. As the enemy came from the north, the inhabitants of the surrounding country would naturally flee southwards. The fire-signal on the hills gave warning of danger approaching.

grievous revolters--literally "contumacious of the contumacious," that is, most contumacious, the Hebrew mode of expressing a superlative. So "the strong among the mighty," that is, the strongest (Eze 32:21). See Jer 5:23; Hos 4:16. walking with slanders-- (Jer 9:4). "Going about for the purpose of slandering" [MAURER]. brass, &c.--that is, copper. It and "iron" being the baser and harder metals express the debased and obdurate character of the Jews (Isa 48:4; Isa 60:17).

Jer 6:28 gives a statement as to the moral character of the people. "Revolters of revolters" is a kind of superlative, and סרי is to be derived from סרר, not from סוּר, perverse of perverse; or, as Hitz., imitating the Heb. phrase, rebels of the rebellious. Going about as slanderers, see on Lev 19:16, in order to bring others into difficulties; cf. Eze 22:9. To this is subjoined the figurative expression: brass and iron, i.e., ignoble metal as contrasted with gold and silver, cf. Eze 22:18; and to this, again, the unfigurative statement: they are all dealing corruptingly. משׁחיתים, cf. Isa 1:4; Deu 31:29. There is no sufficient reason for joining כּלּם with the preceding: brass and iron, as Hitz. and Graf do in defiance of the accents.