7. I have forsaken—Jehovah will forsake His temple and the people peculiarly His. The mention of God's close tie to them, as heretofore His, aggravates their ingratitude, and shows that their past spiritual privileges will not prevent God from punishing them. beloved of my soul—image from a wife (Jeremiah 11:15; Isaiah 54:5). read more
8. is unto me—is become unto Me: behaves towards Me as a lion which roars against a man, so that he withdraws from the place where he hears it: so I withdrew from My people, once beloved, but now an object of abhorrence because of their rebellious cries against Me. read more
9. speckled bird—Many translate, "a ravenous beast, the hyena"; the corresponding Arabic word means hyena; so the Septuagint. But the Hebrew always elsewhere means "a bird of prey." The Hebrew for "speckled" is from a root "to color"; answering to the Jewish blending together with paganism the altogether diverse Mosaic ritual. The neighboring nations, birds of prey like herself (for she had sinfully assimilated herself to them), were ready to pounce upon her. assemble . . . beasts of . . .... read more
10. pastors—the Babylonian leaders (compare Jeremiah 12:12; Jeremiah 6:3). my vineyard— (Isaiah 5:1; Isaiah 5:5). trodden my portion— (Isaiah 63:18). read more
11. mourneth unto me—that is, before Me. EICHORN translates, "by reason of Me," because I have given it to desolation (Jeremiah 12:7). because no man layeth it to heart—because none by repentance and prayer seek to deprecate God's wrath. Or, "yet none lays it to heart"; as in Jeremiah 5:3 [CALVIN]. read more
12. high places—Before, He had threatened the plains; now, the hills. wilderness—not an uninhabited desert, but high lands of pasturage, lying between Judea and Chaldea (Jeremiah 4:11). read more
13. Description in detail of the devastation of the land (Micah 6:15). they shall be ashamed of your—The change of persons, in passing from indirect to direct address, is frequent in the prophets. Equivalent to, "Ye shall be put to the shame of disappointment at the smallness of your produce." read more
14-17. Prophecy as to the surrounding nations, the Syrians, Ammonites, c., who helped forward Judah's calamity: they shall share her fall and, on their conversion, they shall share with her in the future restoration. This is a brief anticipation of the predictions in the forty-seventh, forty-eighth, and forty-ninth chapters. touch— ( :-). pluck them out . . . pluck out . . . Judah—(Compare end of :-). During the thirteen years that the Babylonians besieged Tyre, Nebuchadnezzar, after subduing... read more
15. A promise, applying to Judah, as well as to the nations specified ( :-). As to Moab, compare :-; as to Ammon, Jeremiah 49:6. read more
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Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Jeremiah 12:6
6. even thy brethren—as in Christ's case (Psalms 69:8; John 1:11; John 7:5; compare Jeremiah 9:4; Jeremiah 11:19; Jeremiah 11:21; Matthew 10:36). Godly faithfulness is sure to provoke the ungodly, even of one's own family. called a multitude after thee— (Isaiah 31:4). JEROME translates, "cry after thee with a loud (literally, 'full') voice." believe . . . not . . . though . . . speak fair— (Isaiah 31:4- :). read more