9 Why have you prophesied in the name of Yahweh, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, without inhabitant? All the people were gathered to Jeremiah in the house of Yahweh.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
Here is added the cause of Jeremiah's condemnation, that he had dared to threaten with so much severity the holy city and the Temple. They did not inquire whether God had commanded this to be done, whether he had any just cause for doing so; but they took this principle as granted, that wrong was done to God when anything was alleged against the dignity of the Temple, and also that the city was sacred, and therefore nothing could be said against it without derogating from many and peculiar promises of God, since he had testified that it would be ever safe, because he dwelt in the midst of it. We hence see by what right, and under what pretense the priests and the prophets condemned Jeremiah. And by saying, in the name of Jehovah, they no doubt accused him as a cheat, or a false pretender, because he had said that this had been commanded by God, for they considered such a thing impossible and preposterous. God had promised that Jerusalem would be his perpetual habitation; the words of Jeremiah were, "I will make this city like Shiloh." God seemed in appearance to be inconsistent with himself, "This is my rest for ever," "this shall be a desert." We hence see that the priests and the prophets were not without some specious pretext for condemning Jeremiah. There is therefore some weight in what they said, "Dost thou not make God contrary to himself? for what thou denouncest in his name openly and directly conflicts with his promises; but God is ever consistent with himself; thou art therefore a cheat and a liar, and thus one of the false prophets, whom God suffers not in his Church." And yet what they boasted was wholly frivolous; for God had not promised that the Temple should be perpetual in order to give license to the people to indulge in all manner of wickedness. It was not then God's purpose to bind himself to ungodly men, that they might expose his name to open reproach. It is hence evident that the prophets and priests only dissembled, when they took as granted what ought to have been understood conditionally, that is, if they worshipped him in sincerity as he had commanded. For it was not right to separate two things which God had connected; he required piety and obedience from the people, and he also promised that he would be the guardian of the city, and that the Temple would be safe under his protection. But the Jews, having neither faith nor repentance, boasted of what had been said of the Temple, nay, they bragged, as we have seen elsewhere, and spoke false things; and hence the Prophet derided them by repeating three times, "The Temple of Jehovah, the Temple of Jehovah, the Temple of Jehovah," (Jeremiah 7:4) as though he had said, -- "This is your silly talk, you ever cry boastingly, The Temple of God;' but all this will avail you nothing." It then follows, that the people were assembled Here Jeremiah passes to another part of the narrative, for he reminded the princes and the king's councillors that they were not without reason roused to go up to the Temple. [1] If the dispute had been between few, either Jeremiah would have been slain, or in some way intercepted, or it might have been that the princes would have circumvented the king and his councillors, and thus the holy man would have been privately crushed. But here he introduced these words, that the whole people were assembled against him. Hence it was that the report, reached the king's court; and so the princes and councillors were commanded to come. In short, Jeremiah shews the reason why the princes came unto the Temple; it was because the city was everywhere in a commotion, when the report spread that something new and intolerable had been announced. The king therefore could not neglect this commotion; for it is a dangerous thing to allow a popular tumult to prevail. And therefore Jeremiah thus adds, --
1 - It appears better to connect this sentence with the following verse, in this manner, -- 10. While the whole people were assembled against Jeremiah in the house of Jehovah, then the princes of Judah heard these things, and went up from the king's house into the house of Jehovah, etc. This seems to be the beginning of another section. The v repeated ought often to be thus rendered, while or when, and then; and indeed in our language, then may be sometimes omitted. Were it here rendered and in both instances, the meaning would be the same, only the connection appears more evident when rendered as above; the report of the people congregated against Jeremiah reached the princes -- Ed
The charge against Jeremiah was that of prophesying falsely, for which the penalty was death Deuteronomy 18:20. They assumed that it was absolutely impossible that Jerusalem ever could become like Shiloh.
Against Jeremiah - unto Jeremiah. They regularly constituted themselves a congregation to take part in his trial.
Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, (f) This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.
(f) Because of God's promises to the temple, (Psalm 132:14) that he would forever remain there, hypocrites thought this temple could never perish and therefore thought it blasphemy to speak against it, (Matthew 26:61; Acts 6:13) not considering that this was meant of the Church where God will remain forever.
Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the Lord,.... Made use of his name in declaring a falsehood, as they would have it; this was the crime: had he said what he thought fit to say in his own name, they suggest it would not have been so bad; but to vent his own imaginations in the name of the Lord, this they judged wicked and blasphemous, and deserving of death; especially since what he said was against their city and temple:
saying, this house shall be like Shiloh; forsaken and destroyed; that is, the temple:
and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? so they wrested his words; for this he did not say, only that it should be a curse to all the nations of the earth:
and all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord; besides those that were in the temple that heard him, others, upon a rumour that he was apprehended by the priests, and prophets, and people in the temple, got together in a mob about him: or, they were "gathered to" (e) him; to hear what he had to say in his own defence; and it appears afterwards that they were on his side, Jeremiah 26:16.
(e) "ad Jeremiam", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius, Schmidt.
*More commentary available at chapter level.