Jeremiah 8

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Jeremiah 8

The prophet proceeds, in this chapter, both to magnify and to justify the destruction that God was bringing upon this people, to show how grievous it would be and yet how righteous. I. He represents the judgments coming as so very terrible that death should appear so as most to be dreaded and yet should be desired, Jer. 8:1-3. II. He aggravates the wretched stupidity and wilfulness of this people as that which brought this ruin upon them, Jer. 8:4-12. III. He describes the great confusion and... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Jeremiah 8:1-3

These verses might fitly have been joined to the close of the foregoing chapter, as giving a further description of the dreadful desolation which the army of the Chaldeans should make in the land. It shall strangely alter the property of death itself, and for the worse too. I. Death shall not now be, as it always used to be?the repose of the dead. When Job makes his court to the grave it is in hope of this, that there he shall rest with kings and counsellors of the earth; but now the ashes of... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Jeremiah 8:4-12

The prophet here is instructed to set before this people the folly of their impenitence, which was it that brought this ruin upon them. They are here represented as the most stupid senseless people in the world, that would not be made wise by all the methods that Infinite Wisdom took to bring them to themselves and their right mind, and so to prevent the ruin that was coming upon them. I. They would not attend to the dictates of reason. They would not act in the affairs of their souls with the... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Jeremiah 8:13-22

In these verses we have, I. God threatening the destruction of a sinful people. He has borne long with them, but they are still more and more provoking, and therefore now their ruin is resolved on: I will surely consume them (Jer. 8:13), consuming I will consume them, not only surely, but utterly, consume them, will follow them with one judgment after another, till they are quite consumed; it is a consumption determined, Isa. 10:23. 1. They shall be quite stripped of all their comforts (Jer.... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 8

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 8 In this chapter the prophet goes on to denounce grievous calamities upon the people of the Jews; such as would make death more eligible than life; and that because of their idolatry, Jeremiah 8:1 and also because of their heinous backslidings in other respects, and continuance in them, Jeremiah 8:4 likewise their impenitence and stupidity, Jeremiah 8:6 their vain conceit of themselves and their own wisdom; their false interpretation of Scripture, and their... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 8:1

At that time, saith the Lord, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah ,.... That is, either the Chaldeans or the Romans would do this; for this refers to the destruction of Jerusalem, either by the former or the latter; and it is certain that Jerusalem was ploughed up by the Romans, whereby the prophecy in Micah 3:12 was accomplished; when it is highly probable the graves were dug up, and the bones of the dead brought out, and scattered abroad by way of revenge; or it may be... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 8:2

And they shall spread them before the sun and the moon, and all the host of heaven ,.... The stars. This shows, not only that they should be publicly exposed; but, as it refers to their idolatrous worship of the sun, moon, and stars, that these deities will not be able to help them; as they could not prevent their dead bodies being dug up, so neither could they order or cause them to be gathered together, and buried again: whom they have loved ; whereas they ought to have loved the Lord... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 8:3

And death shall be chosen rather than life ,.... By them that should be alive in those times, who would be carried captive into other lands, and be used very hardly, and suffer greatly, by the nations among whom they should dwell; see Revelation 9:6 . The Septuagint version, and those that follow it, make this to be a reason of the former, reading the words thus, "because they have chosen death rather than life"; see Deuteronomy 30:19 , but the other sense is best, which is confirmed by... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 8:4

Moreover, thou shalt say unto them ,.... The Jews, in Jeremiah's time, in order to leave them inexcusable, though the Lord had before assured that they would not hearken to him, Jeremiah 7:27 , thus saith the Lord, shall they fall, and not rise ? men, when they fall, endeavour to get up again, and generally they do: shall he turn away, and not return ? when a man turns out of the right way into a wrong one, as soon as he is sensible of his mistake, he returns back; this is usually... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 8:5

Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding ?.... These people fill into sin, and rise not again by repentance; they turn out of the good ways of God and religion, and return not again; they backslide and revolt from the Lord, and they continue in their revolt and rebellion; their backsliding is an everlasting one; there is no hope of their repentance and recovery: it is a vehement and passionate expostulation about the people of the Jews, founded upon the... read more

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