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Jeremiah 29:22

22. And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah which are in Babylon, saying, The Lord make thee like Zedekiah, and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire;

22. Et sumetur ab ipsis maledictio apud omnem captivatem Jehjudah, quae ist in Babylone, dicendo, Statuat to Jehova ut Zedechiam et sicut Achab, quos combussit rex Babylonis igni (vel, ustalavit, vel, frixit etiam, ut alii vertunt; hlq non tantum significat comburere, sed ustulare, vel paulatim urere, quod idem est, sed Hieronymus vertit fuisse frictos;)

 

Here we are to notice the circumstances; for if Jeremiah had only spoken of their death, the Jews might still have been doubtful whether he had delivered a prophecy; but when now is added what kind of punishment was inflicted on them, Jeremiah points out as by the finger what was as yet unknown, and even incredible. It might indeed have happened to the captives that the king should order them to be slain, but it could not have occurred to any man to suppose what Jeremiah declares, that they would be roasted 1 in the fire. We hence see that God here obviates the evasions of perverse minds, so that there would be no room for evading, when he specifies the very kind of death which they were to undergo.

But he says first, Taken from them shall be a curse, that is, the form of cursing. Mentioned yesterday was hla, ale, an oath; he puts down now hllq, kolle; and llq, koll, is to curse. The meaning then is, that they would become an exemplar of a curse to all the captives, who would say, May God make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab whom the king of Babylon roasted. The cause of their death is again repeated; and the Prophet did not without reason dwell on this, that he might turn away the eyes of the people from the immediate cause, which was commonly known, that is, that Nebuchadnezzar would not endure any tumults to be raised in his dominions; that they might therefore acknowledge God to be the author of this punishment, he says, --


1 "Fried" is the word used by the Sept., the Vulg., the Syr., and the Targ. The Hebrew word is found as a verb in no other passage, but as a participle applied to parched corn, Leviticus 2:14; Joshua 11. -- Ed

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