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Jeremiah 23:1

John Gill - Exposition - John Gill

Woe be unto the pastors,.... Or, "O ye shepherds" or "governors", as the Targum; the civil rulers and magistrates, kings and princes of the land of Israel; since ecclesiastical rulers, the priests and prophets, are mentioned as distinct from them in Jeremiah 23:9; whose business it was to rule and guide, protect and defend, the people: but,...

Jeremiah 23:2

John Gill - Exposition - John Gill

Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel,.... The covenant God of that people, who are Called his sheep, and the sheep of his pasture; having made a covenant with their fathers, and provided a good pasture for them, the land of Israel, where they enjoyed all blessings, civil and religious, and appointed persons over them to feed them; but these...

Jeremiah 23:3

John Gill - Exposition - John Gill

And I will gather the remnant of my flock, out of all countries,.... Such of them as did not perish by the sword, famine, and pestilence, or died not in captivity, and chose not to remain in the kingdom where they were; for all did not return upon the edict of Cyrus: though some think this is to be understood of the gathering of God's elect, the...

Jeremiah 23:4

John Gill - Exposition - John Gill

And I will set shepherds over them, which shall feed them,.... Good shepherds, rulers and governors, that shall rule them with wholesome laws, and protect and defend them; such as Zerubbabel, Nehemiah, and others, after the captivity: or Christian kings and princes, when the Gospel came to be published and established in many kingdoms and...

Jeremiah 23:5

John Gill - Exposition - John Gill

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord,.... Or, "are coming" (d); and will soon be here, a few days, months, and years more; so it was usual with the prophets to represent the coming of Christ as near at hand, to comfort the saints, and keep up their faith and expectation of him, and especially the latter prophets; see Haggai 2:6 Malachi 3:1; as...

Jeremiah 23:6

John Gill - Exposition - John Gill

In his days Judah shall be saved,.... In the days of the Messiah, the righteous Branch, and reigning prosperous King, not only the people of the Jews, God's elect among them, but all that truly embrace him, and confess him, as Judah's name signifies, shall be saved from all their sins; from the law, its curse and condemnation; and from wrath to...

Jeremiah 23:7

John Gill - Exposition - John Gill

Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord,.... Or, "are coming" (i); and will begin to take place in a little time, even upon the Jews' return from Babylon; and reached to the times of Christ, to which they have a special regard; and include the whole Gospel dispensation, even the latter day glory, when the Jews shall return to, and dwell...

Jeremiah 23:8

John Gill - Exposition - John Gill

But, the Lord liveth,.... Or they shall swear by the living God; or declare the power of the Lord, as the Targum, in their redemption by the Messiah: which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them: which respects not only the deliverance of the Jews from...

Jeremiah 23:9

John Gill - Exposition - John Gill

Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets,.... The false prophets, as the Targum rightly interprets it. The Vulgate Latin version renders it, "to the prophets"; and makes a stop there; which agrees with the original (l); so that it may be considered as the title of what follows; it being directed to them by the prophet, to let them...

Jeremiah 23:10

John Gill - Exposition - John Gill

For the land is full of adulterers,.... Of such as were guilty of corporeal adultery, and of spiritual adultery, which is idolatry. Now, though in this, and in the following verses, the prophet describes the men of his generation, both ecclesiastics and laics; yet also so as to have regard to the Jews in the times of Christ, to which this prophecy...

Jeremiah 23:11

John Gill - Exposition - John Gill

For both prophet and priest are profane,.... Being guilty of the afore mentioned sins. The Targum is, "the scribe and the priest;'' and such were the scribes and priests in the time of our Lord; they played "the hypocrite" (q), as some render the word here; and are often charged with the sin of hypocrisy, and called hypocrites, Matthew 22:18; yea,...

Jeremiah 23:12

John Gill - Exposition - John Gill

Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery [ways] in the darkness,.... Their course of life may fitly be compared, and in the issue will prove to be like to a man's walking in a dark night without any lamp or lantern to light him, and in a slippery way, scarce able to stand upon his legs, and cannot see to pick his way, nor where to step...

Jeremiah 23:13

John Gill - Exposition - John Gill

And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria,.... The ten tribes of Israel, among whom, in Ahab's time there were many false prophets, Baal's prophets, even four hundred and fifty; whose "folly" the Lord had formerly taken notice of; even their idolatry and impiety for giving into which the ten tribes had been carried captive years ago. The...

Jeremiah 23:14

John Gill - Exposition - John Gill

I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing,.... Or "but", or "so have I seen", c. as before observed even in the prophets of Jerusalem, where the temple was, and where the pure worship of God was professed to be observed, and that now, at the present time; as he had formerly seen and observed what was foolish, ridiculous, and...

Jeremiah 23:15

John Gill - Exposition - John Gill

Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets,.... Concerning the false prophets, as the Targum; their sin is before declared, and now their punishment: behold, I will feed them with wormwood; with some bitter affliction and calamity; so the Targum, "behold, I will bring upon them distress bitter as wormwood;'' they that have been...

Jeremiah 23:16

John Gill - Exposition - John Gill

Thus saith the Lord of hosts, hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you,.... Do not hear them; stop your ears at what they say; give no credit to them. The Targum is, "do not receive the words of the false prophets that prophesy unto you:'' they make you vain; they filled their heads with vain and empty things, and their...

Jeremiah 23:17

John Gill - Exposition - John Gill

They say still unto them that despise me,.... That despised the word, worship, and ordinances of the Lord; with such mockers and scoffers at religion, such abandoned creatures, they associated themselves; finding that their prophecies and doctrines met with approbation and success among them. The Septuagint version is, "they say to them that put...

Jeremiah 23:18

John Gill - Exposition - John Gill

For who hath stood in the counsel of the Lord,.... These are either the words of the Prophet Jeremiah; signifying that none of the false prophets were of God's privy council, or were acquainted with his secrets, that they could tell the people they should have peace, and no evil come upon them; this they said, not from divine revelation, but from...

Jeremiah 23:19

John Gill - Exposition - John Gill

Behold, a whirlwind of the Lord is gone forth in fury,.... Or, "behold, a whirlwind of the Lord, of the fury is gone forth" (b); which latter clause explains the former; and, hews, that by "the whirlwind of the Lord" is meant his "fury" or "wrath"; which, like a whirlwind, would come suddenly, and at an unawares, and be very boisterous and...

Jeremiah 23:20

John Gill - Exposition - John Gill

The anger of the Lord shall not return,.... Having a commission from him, and being sent forth on an errand to do business for him, it shall not return to him, without having done it; as a servant sent by his master does not return till he has finished what he was sent about: until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his...