Jeremiah 34:15-17

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

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 34:15

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

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 34:16

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

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 34:17

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

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Jeremiah 34:16

Ye - polluted my name - Had made the covenant in my name, calling me to witness it; now ye have dishonored my name, by breaking that covenant, and acting contrary to my law. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Jeremiah 34:17

I proclaim a liberty for you - Ye proclaimed liberty to your slaves, and afterward resumed your authority over them; and I had in consequence restrained the sword from cutting you off: but now I give liberty to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine, and to the captivity, to destroy and consume you, and enslave you: for ye shall be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth. The prophet loves to express the conformity between the crime and its punishment. You promised to give liberty... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Jeremiah 34:15

Verse 15 And ye now turned, and did what was right in my eyes, by proclaiming liberty every one to his neighbor: God seems at first to commend the people; and no doubt it ought to have been deemed praiseworthy, that the people, after having been reminded that they had perversely disregarded God’s law, willingly engaged in doing their duty; but as they gave but a false proof of repentance, and did not really perform what they had promised, it was, as I have said, a great aggravation of their... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Jeremiah 34:16

Verse 16 The Prophet expostulates here with the Jews, as we said in the last Lecture, with regard to their perjury; for they had made in a solemn manner a covenant in the Temple of God, to set free their servants according to what the law prescribed. There would have been no need of such a ceremony, had they observed what they learnt from the Law; but neither they nor their fathers observed the equity prescribed to them by God. Hence there was a necessity for a new promise, sanctioned by... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Jeremiah 34:17

Verse 17 Here the Prophet shews that a just reward was prepared for the Jews, who robbed their brethren of the privilege of freedom, for they also would have in their turn to serve after the Lord had made them free. But he alludes to the way then in use in which they had granted freedom, and says, Ye have not proclaimed liberty They had indeed proclaimed it, as we have seen; but not in sincerity, for they who had been for a short time made free, were soon afterwards constrained to serve. God... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 34:1-22

The first passage ( Jeremiah 34:1-7 ) is virtually a postscript to Jeremiah 32:1-44 ; Jeremiah 33:1-26 .; it apparently contains the prophecy referred to in Jeremiah 32:3-5 as the cause of Jeremiah's imprisonment. The same prophecy recurs in a shorter form in Jeremiah 37:17 , and, by comparing the context of this passage with Jeremiah 32:1 , etc; we are enabled to infer that the original prophecy was uttered at the renewal of the siege of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, who had... read more

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