Therefore the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord ,.... The word of Jehovah the Son, from Jehovah the Father, because of this transgression of the princes and people, and as soon as it was committed by them; for it is plain, from Jeremiah 34:21 , that it was before the Chaldean army returned to Jerusalem, after its departure from it: saying ; as follows: read more
Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel ,.... The covenant God of Israel, their Creator, Redeemer, and Benefactor: I made a covenant with your fathers ; gave them a system of laws, among which was that of release of servants: in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt ; that is, at that time, quickly after, when they were come to Mount Sinai; this shows what fathers are meant, the Jewish ancestors that came out of Egypt, brought from thence by the mighty hand of... read more
At the end of seven years ,.... Not when seven years were elapsed and fully completed; but within the compass of seven years, or as soon as the seventh year was began; for this term of seven years is the term of the seventh year coming in, and not going out, as appears from the law itself, Exodus 21:9 ; and from an after clause in this verse, "when he hath served thee six years"; at the end of which, and the beginning of the seventh: and so Maimonides F13 Hilchot Abadim, c. 2. sect. 2.... read more
And ye were now turned ,.... Or, "today indeed ye were turned" F18 ותשבו א־תאם היום "jam, vel et quidem conversi fuistis hodie", Schmidt; "reversi quidem vos hodie", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. some little time ago, indeed, it must be owned, that ye turned from the evil ways of your fathers, for which you were to be commended, as having acted a better part than they: and had done right in my sight ; what was acceptable to the Lord, approved of by him, being agreeably... read more
But ye turned and polluted my name ,.... Changed their minds, and turned from their resolutions they had entered into, and the good ways they were walking in, and returned to their former evil practices; and so polluted the name of God by taking it in vain, and breaking the covenant they had agreed to: and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom he had set at liberty at pleasure : or, "according to their soul" F19 לנפשם "in animam suam", Pagninus, Montanus;... read more
Therefore thus saith the Lord ,.... This being the case, and this their crime, which was provoking to the Lord; ye have not hearkened unto me in proclaiming liberty everyone to his brother, and everyone to his neighbour ; for though they did proclaim liberty, they did not act according to it; they did not give the liberty they proclaimed, at least they did not continue so to do; as soon almost as they had granted the favour, they took it away again; and because they did not persevere in... read more
And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant ,.... The covenant the king, princes, and all the people made, to let their servants go free, is called the Lord's covenant, because made in his name, in his presence, and before him as a witness; and very probably the calf that was cut in pieces on this occasion, after mentioned, was sacrificed to him, which made him a party concerned; unless this is to be understood of the covenant of God in general made with Israel on Mount Sinai;... read more
The princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem ,.... Here is a particular enumeration of the persons that had made the covenant, and transgressed it, and that should suffer for so doing; the princes of Judah, distinguished from the princes of Jerusalem, design such princes as lived without Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, and presided over them, though now at Jerusalem, having fled thither, upon the invasion of the king of Babylon, for their safety; as the princes of Jerusalem, or the... read more
I will even give them into the hand of their enemies ,.... The Chaldeans, who were the enemies of the Jews, that were come from a far country to invade, dispossess, ravage, and plunder them; and what can be a greater punishment than to be given up into an enemy's hand, to be in his power, and at his mercy? and into the hand of them that seek their life ; not their wealth and substance only, but their lives also; nothing less will content them: and their dead bodies shall be for meat... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Jeremiah 34:8-22
We have here another prophecy upon a particular occasion, the history of which we must take notice of, as necessary to give light to the prophecy. I. When Jerusalem was closely besieged by the Chaldean army the princes and people agreed upon a reformation in one instance, and that was concerning their servants. 1. The law of God was very express, that those of their own nation should not be held in servitude above seven years, but, after they had served one apprenticeship, they should be... read more