Jeremiah 30:23 | |
23. Behold, the whirlwind of the Lord goeth forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind; it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked. | 23. Ecce tempestas (sed subaudienda est nota similitudinis |
The Prophet seems to speak abruptly; for nothing could be more delightful than the promise that God gives, that he would be a Father to the people; but he immediately adds, that there would arise an involving
"The day of my vengeance is nigh, and the year of my visitation." (Isaiah 63:4)
Isaiah joins both, the favor of God and his vengeance: and this is often done by the other Prophets, in order that we may see that God's mercy cannot be clearly and distinctly perceived towards the faithful, except when his judgment on the other hand be made conspicuous as to the wicked. So this passage may be explained. But we may well thus connect the words of the Prophet, -- that he kindly endeavored to allure the people by offering them God's favor; but that having seen that it would be despised, as we stated yesterday, by the greater part of them, he now seasonably threatens them, that if they refused the favor offered them, such ingratitude could not be borne by God. And this is a mode of teaching common in Scripture. For God on his part thus manifests his kindness so as to stimulate men; but as he sees them not only slothful and tardy, but also wicked and ungrateful, he declares that they shall not be unpunished if they despise his favor. The former truth then well agrees with what the Prophet now says, -- that the
He afterwards adds,
1 This verse is literally the same, word for word, with the passage referred to here, with the exception of the word that is noticed; and yet neither the early versions nor the Targum are the same: it is singular how they differ from themselves, so that we can have no confidence in their verbal accuracy. Instead of "the pregnant tempest" in Jeremiah 23:19, we have here "the violent tempest;" it is a participle from a verb which means to agitate, to excite, to stir up; and being passive, it means what is agitated or in great commotion, and hence violent or turbulent.
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