20 We acknowledge, Yahweh, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers; for we have sinned against you.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
The Prophet here prescribes no doubt to the Jews the way of appeasing God. He before uttered a prayer, partly in order to reprove the people for their wicked obstinacy, and partly to shew to the godly and the elect that there remained some hope. But now he uses a simple form of prayer, when he says, O Lord, we know, etc Hardly one in a thousand then did know; but the Prophet does not assume the character of the whole people; and why not? He doubtless knew that the faithful among the people were very few; but he dictates for posterity a right form of prayer, so that they might iu exile know that this one thing only remained for them -- to confess their sins, as otherwise they could not obtain pardon. He therefore says, We know our wickedness and the iniquity of our fathers; for we have done wickedly against thee We have already explained the Prophet's meaning in these few words, -- that when God puts forth his hand against us, there is no hope of salvation, except we repent. But confession is here put for repentance. Hypocrites are indeed very free in confessing their sins; but the Prophet speaks here of real confession; and by stating a part for the whole, everything included in repentance, as I have said, is intended. But the object here is to shew, that they were humbly to seek forgiveness, which could not be done, except they condemned themselves before God, and thus anticipated his judgment. He speaks of the iniquity of the fathers, not that the faithful seek associates, here and there, for the sake of extenuating their guilt; but it was an aggravation of their sins, when they confessed that they were not only guilty themselves before God, but that they had brought from the womb what was, as it were, hereditary, so that they deserved death because they were the descendants of ungodly parents. Whilst hypocrites allege the examples of fathers, they think themselves thus absolved, or at least not so culpable, because they had learnt what they practice from their childhood, because a bad education had led them astray. But the faithful are of a far different mind; for they confess themselves worthy of God's vengeance, though he inquired not into the wickedness of their fathers; and they think also that God acts justly, when he executes vengeance on account of their fathers' sins, being thus worthy of a twofold vengeance. We now then understand what the Prophet means; and hence we learn how foolishly the Papists set up this shield against God; that is, by having the word fathers often on their lips; for they ought on the contrary to confess the wickedness and iniquities of their fathers, according to what is more fully enlarged upon in the ninth chapter of Daniel (Daniel 9), where he confesses that he himself and the fathers and kings had done wickedly. And in these words we may also notice, that it was not some slight fault that Jeremiah refers to when he said, "We acknowledge our iniquity and the iniquity of our fathers;" he mentions first the iniquity of the living; then the iniquity of their fathers, and adds, in the third place, "We have acted wickedly against thee." We hence see that he did not formally acknowledge some slight faults, but he confesses most plainly, that they were all ungodly and transgressors of God's law, and were worthy, not merely of a moderate chastisement, but of dreadful perdition, as they had thus provoked the wrath of God. [1]
1 - There is no and in Hebrew, nor in the Septuagint, nor in the Vulgate, between "wickedness" and "iniquity;" it is found in the Syriac and the Targum. In case it be excluded, Blayney proposes to render the passage thus, "We acknowledge, O Jehovah, that we have wrought wickedly the iniquity of our fathers;" that is, as he adds, "We have practiced over again the same wickedness, of which our fathers set the example." But a meaning is given to rs which it never has; nor is this rendering necessary in order to convey this idea, which is probably what is intended. They confessed their wickedness, which was the iniquity of their fathers; it was the same: the latter is in apposition with the former, -- We acknowledge, Jehovah, our wickedness, -- The iniquity of our fathers; For we have sinned against thee. Their wickedness, the same with the wickedness or iniquity of the fathers, was, that they sinned against God. -- Ed.
Our wickedness, and - Omit and. National sin is the sin of the fathers, perpetuated generation after generation by the children.
We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness - This the prophet did in behalf of the people; but, alas! they did not join him.
We (o) acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness, [and] the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee.
(o) He teaches the Church a form of prayer to humble themselves to God by true repentance, which is the only way to avoid this famine, which was the beginning of God's plagues.
We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers,.... This is said by the prophet, in the name of the few faithful that were among this people, who were sensible of their own sins, the sins of their ancestors, and which they ingenuously confess; their fathers had sinned, and they had imitated them, and continued in the same, and therefore might justly expect the displeasure of the Lord, and his controversy with them:
for we have sinned against thee; Jeremiah 14:7.
*More commentary available at chapter level.