Jeremiah 12:5

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Jeremiah 12:5-6

Jeremiah 12:5-6. If thou hast run with the footmen Here God speaks, and applies a proverbial expression to the prophet’s circumstances, the import of which is, that if men find themselves unable to contend with a less power, it is in vain for them to strive with a greater. This sentence, being applied to the prophet’s case, implies that, if he was so impatient that he could not bear the ill usage of his neighbours at Anathoth, how would he be able to undergo the hardships he must expect to... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 12:1-17

Jeremiah’s complaint; God’s answer (12:1-17)As he thinks back on the treachery of the people of Anathoth, Jeremiah is prompted to complain to God. Innocent people suffer, whereas wicked people live at ease. Why is it, he asks, that God allows the wicked to prosper? God gives them life and food, and they grow fat and prosperous, though their hearts are far from God (12:1-2). Jeremiah, by contrast, remains true to God, yet he suffers. Indeed, the whole land suffers because of the sins of people... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Jeremiah 12:5

trustedst = confidedst. Hebrew. batah. App-69 . swelling. Hebrew pride. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Adjunct), for proud beasts in the undergrowth on the banks of the Jordan. See Jeremiah 49:19 ; Jeremiah 50:44 , and compare Job 41:34 . read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Jeremiah 12:5

GOD'S ANSWER TO JEREMIAH"If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, how canst thou contend with horses? and though in a land of peace thou art secure, yet how wilt thou do in the pride of the Jordan? For even thy brethren, and the house of thy father, even they have dealt treacherously with thee; even they have cried aloud after thee; believe them not, though they speak fair words unto thee."God's answer to Jeremiah is somewhat shocking. The Lord rebuked him, and we might... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Jeremiah 12:5

Jeremiah 12:5. In the swelling of Jordan— Houbigant thinks that these are the words of Jeremiah to his fellow-citizens, and to the king and the leaders of the army, whom he addresses in the next verse. He compares the footmen to the horse, says St. Jerome, because all Persia, Chaldea, and those countries, excel in cavalry. Calmet observes, that the manner of expression is proverbial. "The Philistines, Edomites, Ammonites, &c. have been too strong for you; what then will you do with the... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Jeremiah 12:5

5. Jehovah's reply to Jeremiah's complaint. horses—that is, horsemen: the argument a fortiori. A proverbial phrase. The injuries done thee by the men of Anathoth ("the footmen") are small compared with those which the men of Jerusalem ("the horsemen") are about to inflict on thee. If the former weary thee out, how wilt thou contend with the king, the court, and the priests at Jerusalem? wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee —English Version thus fills up the sentence with the italicized... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Jeremiah 12:5

The Lord replied by asking Jeremiah how he expected to be able to endure the rigors of coming antagonism if the present hostility he was experiencing wore him out (cf. Jeremiah 11:19; Jeremiah 11:21; Jeremiah 23:21). If he fell in a relatively peaceful environment, how could he get though the turbulence to come, which resembled the violent, overflowing Jordan River in the spring. The Jordan Valley was a sub-tropical jungle, inhabited by lions, that was hard to penetrate at any season of the... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Jeremiah 12:1-17

1-4. The prosperity of the wicked perplexes Jeremiah.1. Wherefore, etc.] The question was one which much exercised men of pre-Christian times who had no clear view of any but temporal rewards and punishments. See Psalms 37, 39, 49, 73, and Job (specially Jeremiah 21:7) The plots of his fellow-townsmen at Anathoth (see Jeremiah 11) were probably the occasion of this outburst of Jeremiah’s. 2. Near in their mouth, etc.] They honour God with their lips but their heart is far from Him. 4. A drought... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Jeremiah 12:5

(5) If thou hast run with the footmen.—The prophet is compelled to make answer to himself, and the voice of Jehovah is heard in his inmost soul rebuking his impatience. What are the petty troubles that fall on him compared with what others suffer, with what might come on himself? The thought is not unlike that with which St. Paul comforts the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 10:13), or what we find in Hebrews 12:4. The meaning of the first clause is plain enough. The man who was wearied in a... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Jeremiah 12:1-17

Trivial Trouble Jeremiah 12:5 The proof that so many of us have little real trouble is found in the fact that we so piercingly bewail trifling losses and pains; were the distresses more acute, we should say less about them. I. The habit of pampering ourselves shows how far we have lost sight of the seriousness of life. The sacramental host of God has ever been prepared to accept great losses and sufferings for the high rewards it contemplates. 'The noble army of martyrs' is the glory of God's... read more

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