Jeremiah 2:37 | |
37. Yea, thou shalt go forth from him, and thine hands upon thine head: for the Lord hath rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt not prosper in them. | 37. Et jam ab hoc (ab hac re, hoc est, propter hoc scelus) egredieris, et manus tuae super caput tuum, quia detestatur Jehova confidentias tuas, et in illis non prospere tibi succedet. |
He expresses more clearly what he had said of the shameful character of his own nation, -- that the Jews, who thought that their safety would be secured by the Egyptians, were seeking their own entire ruin. This seemed to them indeed incredible; for as the Egyptians were neighbors, and as the Jews then only feared the Assyrians and Chaldeans, who were afar off, they thought that they had the best prospect: "What! our enemies are distant from us twenty or thirty days' journey; and those who are prepared to help us will be soon with us at the shortest warning." Hence the Jews thought, as we have said, that they were quite safe. But the Prophet here declares, that they were greatly mistaken; for on account of this wickedness, that is, because they trusted in their unlawful and accursed treaty, and promised themselves peace from their enemies, or thought that they could easily overcome them;
By this gesture he means extreme despair; for women did either strike or extend their arms when any great calamity happened, as we see it done often in the present day; for when a woman, not able to keep within due bounds, either loses a husband, or expects some very great calamity, she beats her breast, or raises up her hands, according to what is said here. Jeremiah then mentions this gesture as an evidence of extreme despair; as though he had said, "The treaty which fills the Jews with so much confidence shall be so far from being advantageous to them, that it will, on the contrary, bring on them utter ruin and disgrace.2 But the reason which follows ought especially to be observed,
We hence see that the Prophet did not exceed due limits when he spoke against the Jews with so much displeasure, and condemned them in such reproachful terms; for they had transferred the glory due to God to the Egyptians, when they considered them to be the authors of their safety; and they had thus despised the promises of God, so that there was no attention given to prayer:
He then adds,
1 There are three other expositions of the words rendered by Calvin, "on this account." One is that of our version, "from him;" the second is, "from hence," i.e., from Egypt, adopted by Piscator, Grotius, and Blayney; and the third is, "from here," i.e., from this place, their own land; which, as Gataker says, is probably "the genuine sense:" it is a threatening, that they were to be led into captivity. The rendering of the Septuagint is, "
2 "The gesture" mentioned here, a striking example of, we find in 2 Samuel 13:19. Many consider the
With thy hands upon thy head.
But more consistent with the genius of the language is to regard the auxiliary verb to be understood,-
And thy hands shall be on thy head.
There is a similar phrase in Isaiah 35:10, which ought to be rendered thus,-
And everlasting joy shall be upon their heads.-Ed.
3 The verb for "abhor" is
37.Also from this place shalt thou go forth, And thy hands shall be on thy head: For rejected has Jehovah those in whom thou trustest, And thou shalt not prosper by them.
It is not correct to render