Verse-by-Verse Bible CommentaryJeremiah 27:11
"But the nation which will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let remain on its land," declares the LORD, "and they will till it and dwell in it.""' Jump to: Barne's Notes • Gill's Exposition • Commentary Critical and Explanatory • Keil & Delitzsch • Calvin's Commentary • Trapp's Commentary • Poole's Annotations • Whedon's Commentary • Constable's Expository Notes • Haydock's Catholic Commentary • Commentary Critical and Explanatory - Unabridged • Ellicott's Commentary • Treasury of Knowledge Other Authors
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole BibleNations … - Rather, the nation. Copyright Statement Bibliography John Gill's Exposition of the Whole BibleBut the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him,.... That at once, and readily, submit unto him, and pay him tribute: those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the Lord; undisturbed by any other enemy; peaceably dwelling in their own habitations; following their occupations and business of life; and enjoying their substance and estates, only paying the tax imposed on them: and they shall till it, and dwell therein; manure and cultivate it, and gather and eat the fruit of it, and continue to do so, they and their posterity after them. Copyright Statement Bibliography Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bibleserve … till it — The same Hebrew root expresses “serve” and “till,” or “cultivate.” Serve ye the king of Babylon, and the land will serve you [Calvin]. Copyright Statement Bibliography Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old TestamentThe people, on the other hand, that bends under the yoke of the king of Babylon shall remain in its own land. For the great Asiatic conquerors contented themselves, in the first place, with thoroughly subjecting the vanquished nations and imposing a tribute; only in the case of stubborn resistance or of insurrection on the part of the conquered did they proceed to destroy the kingdoms and deport their populations. This Zedekiah and the ambassadors that had come to him might have learnt from Nebuchadnezzar's course of action after the capture of Jerusalem under Jehoiachin, as compared with that in Jehoiakim's time, had they not been utterly infatuated by the lying spirit of the false prophets, whose prophecies accommodated themselves to the wishes of the natural heart. Copyright Statement Bibliography Calvin's Commentary on the BibleHe seems indeed to speak here indiscriminately of all nations; but the admonition belongs to the Jews alone, as we have said, and as it appears from the context. He seems however to mention the nations, that he might more sharply touch the Jews, as though he had said, “Though God’s promises are not to be extended to heathen nations, yet God will spare the Tyrians and the Moabites, if they submit quietly to the king of Babylon, and take upon them his yoke. If God will spare heathen nations, when yet he has promised them nothing, what may his chosen people expect? But if he will punish nations who err in darkness, what will become of a people who knowingly and wilfully resist God and his judgments?” For obstinacy in the Jews was mad impiety, as though they avowedly designed to carry on war with God; for they knew that Nebuchadnezzar was the executioner of God’s vengeance. When therefore they ferociously attempted to exempt themselves from his power, it was to fight with God, as though they would not submit to his scourges. We now then perceive why Jeremiah spoke what we here read, not only of the Jews, but also generally of all nations, The nation that brings its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serves him, I will leave it in its own land We must yet bear in mind what I have before said, that the Jews were the people especially regarded. If, then, they had given place to God’s kindness, he would have graciously spared them, and they would have perpetually enjoyed their own inheritance; but it was their obstinacy that drove them far into exile. And hence he adds, I will leave it in its land; and it shall cultivate it and dwell in it There is a striking allusion in the word עבד, obed, for it means to serve, and also to cultivate; but there is to be understood a contrast between cultivating the land and that subjection, to which he exhorted the Jews, as though he had said,— “Serve the king of Babylon, that the land may serve you; it will be the reward of your obedience, if you will submit yourselves to the power of the king of Babylon, that the land will submit, to you, and you will compel it to serve you, so that it will bring forth food for you.” We hence see that God promised that the land would serve the people, if they refused not to serve the king of Babylon. And hence also we may gather useful instruction, — that all the elements would be serviceable to us, were we willingly to obey God, but that on the contrary, the heaven, and the earth, and all the elements will be opposed to us, if we pertinaciously resist God. But Jeremiah speaks here more expressly of the submission which men render to God, when they calmly receive his correction, and acknowledge, while he inflicts punishment, that they justly deserve it, and do not refuse to be chastised by his hand. When, therefore, men thus submit to God’s judgment, they obtain his favor, so that the earth, and heaven, and all the elements will serve them. But the more perversely men exalt themselves and raise their horns against God, the more bondage shall they feel; for their own chains bind them stronger than anything else, when they thus struggle with God and do not humble themselves under his mighty hand. The same thing the Prophet still more clearly confirms when he says, — Copyright Statement Bibliography John Trapp Complete CommentaryJeremiah 27:11 But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the LORD and they shall till it, and dwell therein. Ver. 11. But the nations that bring their neck.] When God bids us yoke, it is best to submit. In all his commands there is so much reason for them, that if God did not enjoin them, yet it were best, in self-respects, for us to practise them; since in serving him we shall have the creatures to serve us, &c. Copyright Statement Bibliography Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy BibleThose that upon the first summons, or without making any hostile opposition, shall yield themselves servants to the king of Babylon, they shall remain still, and be left in the land to till the ground, and shall dwell therein. It is the time when God is resolved to put an end to the kingdom of Judah for a time, and to the other nations mentioned for ever: there is therefore no resisting of God’s counsels; those that most quietly yield will be in the best condition. Copyright Statement Bibliography Whedon's Commentary on the Bible11. The nations — Literally, the nation. PREDICTION OF THE SUBJUGATION OF KING ZEDEKIAH, 12-15. Copyright Statement Bibliography Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable
However, if those kings surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar, their people would be able to remain in their own land and live in it. "To be able to discern the signs of the times ( Matthew 16:3) and know what the will of the Lord is ( Ephesians 5:17) demands close fellowship with God and an obedient, perceptive spirit." [Note: Harrison, Jeremiah and . . ., p129.] Copyright Statement Bibliography George Haydock's Catholic Bible CommentaryIn it. None complied, and though the Idumeans, &c., joined the Chaldeans against Juda, they were punished (Calmet) for their former league, ver. 3. (Haydock) Copyright Statement Bibliography Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - UnabridgedBut the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the LORD and they shall till it, and dwell therein. The nations that ... serve him ... shall till it. The same Hebrew [ `aabad (Hebrew #5647)] expresses serve and till, or cultivate. Serve ye the king of Babylon, and the land will serve you (Calvin). Copyright Statement Bibliography Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(11) But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke . . .—The advice thus given to the five nations that were seeking an alliance with Judah before the actual invasion, is specifically addressed to Judah in the next verse, and is repeated more fully after the population of Judæa had been carried into captivity, in Jeremiah 29. The first warning had been despised, and the exiles were then reaping the fruit of their self-will, but the principle that obedience was better than resistance remained the same. Copyright Statement Bibliography Treasury of Scripture KnowledgeBut the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the LORD; and they shall till it, and dwell therein.
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