Chapter 21
Threat against the kings
Lecture 1
Response to King Zedekiah
21:1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord , when king Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur, the son of Milchiah, and Zephaniah, the son of Maasiah the priest, saying,
21:2 ‘Inquire of the Lord and pray for us, because Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, makes war against us, if perhaps the Lord will act according to all his wondrous deeds, and he will depart from us.’
21:3 And Jeremiah said to them: thus shall you say to Zedekiah:
21:4 thus says the Lord , the God of Israel: behold I will turn the weapons of war, which are in your hands, and with which you fight against the king of Babylon, and the Chaldeans, who besiege you round about the walls, and I will gather them in the midst of this city.
21:5 And I shall vanquish you with an outstretched hand, and with a mighty arm, and with fury, and indignation, and great wrath.
21:6a And I will strike the inhabitants of this city.
113 . Here is given the threat against the kings, who hold the highest rank in secular power:
first, inasmuch as the kings will be punished through the punishment of the people;
second, inasmuch as they will be punished in their own person, as it says in chapter 22: thus says the Lord (Jer 22:1).
Concerning the first, there are two points.
First, the question or petition of the king is set down: inquire —it is as though he were saying, “Seek a divine response”— and pray for us . This Pashhur is not the same as the one above, who was born of a different father (Jer 20:1). This day is a day of tribulation, and correction, and blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth (Isa 37:3). And further down in the same place: raise a prayer for the remnant which is left (Isa 37:4).
Second is given the response of the prophet: and Jeremiah said .
First, he threatens punishment with regard to the time before the taking of the city, against the three things in which they trusted: namely, in the protection of their weapons: behold I will turn ; it is as though he were saying, “The weapons which you have taken up against the enemy shall be turned against you, because you will fight against one another.” His sorrow shall be turned on his own head, and his iniquity shall come down on his own crown (Ps 7:17). Alternatively: they will be turned back , as though without fruit. They trusted also in the strength of their walls against which he says: and the Chaldeans, who besiege you round about the walls ; it is as though he were saying, “The walls do not hinder them.” The kings of the earth and all the inhabitants of the world did not believe that the adversary and the enemy would enter through the gates of Jerusalem (Lam 4:12).
They trusted also in divine protection against which he says: I shall vanquish you with an outstretched hand , that with my power prepared for vengeance, with a mighty arm , which cannot be withstood, with fury , with regard to the wicked, and indignation , with regard to those sinning less, and great wrath , against those who sinned moderately.
Lecture 2
Curses against the city
21:6b Man and beast shall die from a great plague.
21:7 And after these things, says the Lord , I will give Zedekiah, and his servants, and his people, and those who are left in the city from the plague and the sword and the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their souls; and he shall strike them with the mouth of the sword, and he shall not be turned aside, nor will he spare, nor will he show mercy.
21:8 And you shall say to this people: thus says the Lord God: behold, I set before you the path of life, and the path of death.
21:9 He who shall dwell in this city shall die by the sword and the famine and the plague; but he who shall go out and flee over to the Chaldeans, who besiege you, shall live, and his soul shall be as a spoil to him.
21:10 For I have set my face against this city for evil and not for good, says the Lord ; it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.
21:11 And to the house of the king of Judah: hear the words of the Lord ,
21:12 O house of David. Thus says the Lord : judge judgment early, and deliver him that is oppressed by violence from the hand of the oppressor, lest perhaps my indignation should go forth like fire and burn, and there be none who may extinguish it, because of the evil of your deeds.
21:13 Behold I come to you that dwells in a valley upon a rock above a plain, says the Lord ; and you say, ‘Who shall strike us?’ and, ‘Who shall enter our houses?’
21:14 And I shall visit upon you according to the fruit of your doings, says the Lord ; and I shall kindle a fire in the forest thereof, and it shall devour everything round about.
114 . Here, he touches upon the manner of the assault. With a strong hand, and an outstretched arm, and with fury poured forth I shall rule over you, and I shall lead you into the desert of the peoples, and I will plead with you there, face to face (Ezek 20:34–35).
And with regard to the time after the taking of the city: and after these things —he threatens punishment— I will give Zedekiah . The Lord has given me into a hand from which I shall not be able to flee (Lam 1:14). And he excludes mercy: and he shall not be turned aside , by prayers or gifts, nor will he spare , because of a once-held friendship, nor will he show mercy , out of compassion for their misery. Because the jealousy and fury of the husband will not spare in the day of vengeance, nor will he yield to the prayers of anyone, nor will he accept many gifts as a ransom (Prov 6:34–35). And this because they did not keep the covenant. Shall he flee who breaks a covenant? (Ezek 17:15).
Second, he proposes a way of safety to them with regard to the people: and you shall say to this people . And first, he gives them the freedom to choose: behold, I set before you the path of life, and the path of death . Before a man are life and death, good and evil; what pleases him shall be given to him (Sir 15:18).
He makes a contrast: he who shall dwell in this city shall die . . . but he who shall go out . . . shall live . Go forth from her midst, my people, that each one may save his soul from the wrath of the fury of the Lord (Isa 51:45).
And he gives the reason: for I have set my face against this city . Above: I see a boiling cauldron (Jer 1:13).
And to the king: and to the house of the king of Judah , you shall say, offering advice: judge early (Jer 21:12). Rescue the poor and deliver the needy from the hand of the sinner (Ps 81:4).
And he speaks of the imminent danger: lest perhaps my indignation should go forth like fire . A fire is kindled in my fury, and it shall burn to the lowest depths of hell (Deut 32:22).
Third, he excludes their false confidence when he speaks of the cause of their confidence: behold I come to you , that is, to the stronghold of Jerusalem, that dwells in a valley upon a rock above a plain , for Jerusalem was situated on the side of a mountain opposite the valley of Arnon; therefore, a part of it was in a valley. Alternatively, it is said disparagingly, as in Isaiah 22:1: the burden of the valley of vision . And it had solidity, strength, and steadfastness from the mountain, and it had fertility from the fruitful valley. And proud insolence: you say, ‘Who shall strike us?’ You who say in your heart, who shall drag me to the ground (Obad 1:3).
And he threatens punishment: and I shall visit . . . and I shall kindle a fire in the forest , people who bear no fruit. The fire has devoured the fair places of the wilderness, and a flame has burned all the trees of the country (Joel 1:19).