Jeremiah 2

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 2:14

Is Israel a servant ?.... That he does not abide in the house, in his own land, but is carried captive, becomes subject to others, and is used as a slave; so the Targum, "as a servant;' is he not the Lord's first born? are not the people of Israel called the children of the living God? how come they then to be treated not as children, as free men, but as servants? this cannot be owing to any breach of covenant or promise on God's part, or to the failure of the blessing of national... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 2:15

The young lions roared upon him, and yelled ,.... Or, "gave out their voice" F5 נתנו קולם "dederunt vocem suam", Montanus, Pagninus; "edunt rocem suam", Schmidt. ; meaning the kings of the nations, as the Targum, Jarchi, and Kimchi explain it; and are to be understood of the kings of Assyria and Babylon, and particularly of Nebuchadnezzar; see Jeremiah 50:17 compared to lions for their strength and cruelty; their "roaring" and "yelling design" the bringing forth of their armies... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 2:16

Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes ,.... These were cities in Egypt. Noph is the same with Moph in Hosea 9:6 and which we there rightly render Memphis; as Noph is here by the Targum, Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions; and was formerly, as Pliny F7 Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 9. says, the palace of the kings of Egypt. It is the same that is now called Alcairo, or Grand Cairo. According to Herodotus F8 L. 2. vel Euterpe, c. 99. , it was built by Menes, the first... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 2:17

Hast thou not procured this unto thyself ,.... All this desolation and destruction, both from the Egyptians and the Babylonians; their sin was the cause of it, their idolatry and forsaking the Lord their God, as follows: and so the Targum, "is not this vengeance taken upon thee?' that is, by the Lord, for their sins and transgressions; he suffered these nations to make them desolate on that account: to which agrees the Septuagint version, "hath not he done these things unto thee?" for... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 2:18

And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt ,.... By worshipping of idols, in imitation of them; or by sending ambassadors thither for help, when they had their Lord, their God, so nigh, had they not forsaken him; nor had Josiah any business to go out against Pharaohnecho, 2 Chronicles 35:21 and, contrary to the express word of God by the Prophet Jeremy, did the Jews which remained in Judea go into Egypt, Jeremiah 42:19 . To drink the waters of Sihor ? which is the river Nile,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 2:19

Thine own wickedness shall correct thee ,.... That is, either their wickedness in going to Egypt and Assyria, and the ill success they had in so doing might be an instruction to them to act otherwise, and a correction of their sin and folly; or that their wickedness was a reason, and a very just one, why they were chastened and corrected of the Lord: and thy backslidings shall reprove thee ; or be the cause why they were reproved of God; or their ill success in turning their backs on... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 2:20

For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands ,.... The yoke of the people, as the Targum expresses it, that was upon their necks, and the bands in which they were bound by them; referring to the deliverance of them of old from Egyptian bondage by the hands of Moses, and out of their several captivities among their neighbours by the means of the judges, and in their time; though the Vulgate Latin version renders it, "of old thou hast broken my yoke, and burst my bands"; or "thy... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 2:21

Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed ,.... It is usual to compare the people of the Jews to a vineyard, and to vines; and their settlement in the land of Canaan to the planting of vines in a vineyard; see Isaiah 5:1 . Kimchi says this is spoken concerning Abraham; no doubt respect is had to the Jewish fathers, such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the twelve patriarchs, Moses, Joshua, and Caleb, and the like; who, having the true and right seed of grace in them, became... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 2:22

For though thou wash thee with nitre ,.... The word נתר , "nitre", is only used in this place and in Proverbs 25:20 and it is hard to say what it is. Kimchi and Ben Melech observe, that some say it is what is called "alum"; and others that it is a dust with which they wash the head, and cleanse everything; and so Jarchi says it is a kind of earth used in cleaning garments; and "nitre" is mentioned by the Misnic doctors F19 Misn. Sabbat, c. 9. sect. 5. & Nidda, c. 9. sect. 6.... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 2:23

How canst thou say, I am not polluted ,.... No man can say this; for all are defiled with sin; but this was the cast and complexion of these people in all ages; they were a generation of men that were pure in their own eyes, but were not cleansed from their filthiness; they fancied that their ceremonial washings and sacrifices cleansed them from moral impurities, when those only sanctified to the purifying of the flesh; still their iniquity remained marked before the Lord; they acted the... read more

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