Historical chapter commentary
Verse 3. Removing. Lit. “vessels of transmigration,” ( Bible.) or bundles, ( Calmet.) and what was requisite for travelling, ( Worthington.) or in exile. Bible.—All this, to Calmet. 20 happened five years before the fall of Jerusalem. Calmet.—See Calmet. 8:1. Bible.
Verse 6. Be carried. Septuagint S. Jerom reads, “thou shalt carry thy bundles on the shoulder,” as many explain the Hebrew ( Calmet.) and also verse 7. “I bear it upon my shoulder.” verse 12. Prot. Bible.—Cover, to denote the blindness of Sedecias, ( Calmet.) or his attempt to disguise himself. Bible.—The faces of criminals were covered. Esther 7. The king and nobles escaped through a breach. Jeremiah 39:4. Calmet.—Sign. Lit. “a prodigy to,” and so forth Bible.—The actions as well as the words of the prophet indicated what would happen. Saint Jerome v. xi.
Verse 10. Jerusalem. The people regarded not Jeremias. This prediction would be sent to them to confirm what he said, while it would tend to keep up the spirits of those who were in captivity. Theod. Calmet.—Israel. The people, or those of the ten tribes who had retired thither. Menochius.
Verse 13. Net, as was done in war, and to catch wild beasts. Jeremiah 16:16. Calmet.—Not see it, because his eyes shall be put out by Nabuchodonosor. Challoner.—The false prophets thought they perceived a contradiction here; ( Worthington.) and Sedecias, confronting it with Jerem. 38:18 disregarded both. Jos. Ant. x. 10.—This was more pardonable than for Paine to object this as an inconsistency, after the event has so clearly verified the predictions of both, and shewed their consent. Bible.—The unhappy prince saw too late the true meaning. Calmet.—He was put in a cage, like a wild beast, and conveyed blind to Babylon. Saint Jerome
Verse 14. Them. Many joined Godolias. Calmet. 5:2. Bible.
Verse 18. Sorrow. Act like one under great anxiety and distress. Calmet.
Verse 22. Proverb, or common saying. Worthington.—Prolonged. They took occasion from God’s long suffering to become more wicked, ( Calmet.) and even asserted that the prophets told nothing but lies, (Theod.) and spoke of events at a great distance, that they might not be detected. If what they announced came to pass, they attributed it to chance; ( Calmet.) if it did not, being only conditional, they ridiculed this idea as a mere subterfuge. Bible.—As the prophets had long before foretold the captivity, and it had not yet taken place, ( Worthington.) in general, though many were already in exile, ( Bible.) they concluded that it would never be realized. Thus heretics deny the general judgment. 1 Peter 3. Worthington.—Every vision, on this head. verse 28. Many events were revealed that regarded the times of Christ. Daniel 9. and so forth Bible.