The Calamity of the Jews on Account of Their Persistent Impenitence.
Retribution upon the Jews
1At that time, saith the Lord, namely, when the sentence of God upon Jerusalem would be carried into effect, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, of all the rulers and leaders of the people, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem out of their graves; 2and they shall spread them before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, the stars to whom they had offered worship, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, turning to them with prayer and appeals for assistance, and whom they have worshiped; they shall not be gathered nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth, an example of revolting humiliation. 3And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of them that remain of this evil family, which remain in all the places whither I have driven them, saith the Lord of hosts, for the calamities which would strike them in exile would be so great as to make the survivors consider death a welcome release. Cf. Deut. 28, 26; 30, 1; Lev. 26, 36.
The Jews Persist in Wickedness
4Moreover, thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord, Shall they fall and not arise? Shall he turn away and not return? or, “Shall a man fall and not get up again? Shall one wander off and not return to the right path?” To do so would certainly be the normal, the natural thing. 5Why, then, is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? Why do they persist so obstinately in their perverse ways? They hold fast deceit, clinging to their hypocritical behavior, they refuse to return. 6I hearkened and heard, listening carefully for some evidence of repentance, but they spake not aright, they were far from confessing any wrong on their part; no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? A feeling of guilt, the consciousness of culpability, was absent. Every one turned to his course, to the way of his own choosing, as the horse rusheth into the battle, an example of headstrong passion. 7Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times, the regular migration seasons; and the turtle, that is, the turtle-dove, and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming, returning with unfailing certainty from their winter homes; but My people know not the judgment of the Lord, so that they may apply His norm of judgment to their own case. 8How do ye say, We are wise, and the Law of the Lord is with us? They prided themselves upon their possessing the Law, Rom. 2, 17 ff. Lo, certainly in vain made He it; the pen of the scribes is in vain, that is, the lying pen of the scribes, of the false teachers, has changed the Law into a lie, has utterly misrepresented its spirit. 9The wise men are ashamed, put to shame on account of the fact that they are found to be deceivers, they are dismayed and taken. Lo, they have rejected the Word of the Lord, setting it aside for their own lies, and what wisdom is in them? 10Therefore, on account of the wickedness thus shown by the false teachers, will I give their wives unto others and their fields to them that shall inherit them; for every one, from the least even unto the greatest, is given to covetousness; from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. 11For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of My people slightly, saying, Peace, peace! when there is no peace. 12Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? Nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush; therefore shall they fall among them that fall, being overthrown with the rest of the sinners, in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the Lord. Thus the behavior of the people of Judah was fully set forth, and the Lord now proceeds to describe the manner in which they are to be punished.
Further Description of the Impending Punishment
13I will surely consume them, saith the Lord, making a clean sweep of them all; there shall be no grapes on the vine nor figs on the fig-tree, both of which represented the unfruitful nation, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them, rather, “I will give them to those who shall overrun them,” the idea of the Lord’s rejection of the Jews being brought out very strongly. 14Why do we sit still? So the prophet hears the people of Judah cry out in view of the approaching calamity. Assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the defensed cities, seeking shelter from the invaders in fortified cities, and let us be silent there, to perish after but a little respite; for the Lord, our God, hath put us to silence, has caused their destruction, and given us water of gall to drink, a poisonous draught, because we have sinned against the Lord, this realization having come to them when it is too late. 15We looked for peace, still expecting deliverance, but no good came; and for a time of health, of healing, and behold trouble! Cf. chap. 14, 19. 16The snorting of his, the invader’s, horses was heard from Dan, on the northern boundary of Canaan, the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they are come and have devoured the land and all that is in it, the food and the treasures and everything of value, the city and those that dwell therein. 17For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, reptiles of a most poisonous kind, which will not be charmed, rendered harmless by soothing music, and they shall bite you, saith the Lord.
The Prophet’s Lament
18When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me, literally, “O my exhilaration in sorrow! My heart very ill!” His sorrow was so great that he despaired of finding consolation. 19Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of My people because of them that dwell in a far country, a lament from the people in exile in distant lands: Is not the Lord in Zion? Is not her King in her? It is a question of reproach, as though the people had been delivered into captivity on account of the Lord’s failure to protect them. But He immediately answers with a question on His part: Why have they provoked Me to anger with their graven images and with strange vanities? This was the reason why He was compelled to deliver them into the hand of the enemy. 20The harvest is past, the summer is ended, so the people continue to lament, and we are not saved. Their hope of deliverance had been vain. 21For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt, so the prophet once more cries out; I am black, with deep grief, astonishment hath taken hold on me, horror seizing him at the thought of his people’s calamity. 22Is there no balm in Gilead? the country east of the Jordan being famous for its balsam, is there no physician there? Why, then, is not the health of the daughter of My people recovered? It was not because there was no healing medicine at hand, for the Word of grace was readily available; it was because the people refused to make use of the remedy offered them in the Lord’s admonitions and promises.