Jeremiah 1:14

Jer 1:14 Then the LORD said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.

Ver. 14. Out of the north an evil shall break forth,] i.e., From Chaldea, which is north from Judea. Gregory moraliseth the text thus: Man’s mind is this pot; that which from the north sets it on fire is the devil, by inflaming it with evil lusts, and then he sets up his throne therein. {a} As,

{a} Aquilo est sedes diabolo. - Aug.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Syria and Assyria were Northward in respect of Jerusalem, which were the Chaldeans’ dominion.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

break forth--"shall disclose itself."

Out of the north-- (Jer 4:6; Jer 6:1, Jer 6:22; Jer 10:22; Jer 25:9; Eze 26:7). The Chaldeans did not cast off the yoke of Assyria till several years after, under Nabopolassar, 625 B.C.; but long previously they had so increased as to threaten Assyria, which was now grown weak, and other neighboring peoples.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 14. Shall break forth] תפתח tippathach, shall be opened. The door shall be thrown abroad, that these calamities may pass out freely.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And thus God testifies that the fire was already kindled in Chaldea and Assyria, which was not only to boil the Jews, but also reduce them to nothing. And then he expresses the same in other words — that evil would come from the north upon all the Jews. We shall hereafter see that there is presented here a brief summary of the truth which was committed to Jeremiah; at least it is a summary of one half of it; for God designed also to provide for his own elect; and he thus terrified them, that they might be subdued, and submit to him, and not that they might abandon themselves to despair. At the same time, this half of the prediction was — that there was no hope of pardon, because the Jews had with extreme obstinacy provoked God’s wrath, and had so abused his patience, that their impiety could no longer be tolerated. Hence, what other prophets had denounced Jeremiah now confirms more strongly, and points it out, as it were, by the finger. It afterwards follows —

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(14) Out of the north an evil.—Literally, the evil, long foretold, as in Mic_3:12, and elsewhere, and long expected.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14. evil] the evil—the evil which was to be expected, foretold by all the prophets as the result of national sin.

shall break forth] shall be opened, shall disclose itself. But it is best by a slight change in the Hebrew to render shall be blown (as in Jer_1:13), i.e. kindled.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Then the Lord said unto me,.... Explaining the above vision:

out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land; that is, out of Babylon, which lay north, as Jarchi says, and so the Talmud (t); or north east, as Kimchi and Ben Melech, to the land of Israel; from hence came Nebuchadnezzar and his army, which are meant by "the evil" that should break forth, or "be opened" (u) and loosed, which before were bound and hindered by the providence of God; see Rev 9:14 and come upon all the inhabitants of the land of Israel; and who are signified by the boiling pot to the north; or, however, by the fire under it, which came from thence; for rather by the pot is meant Jerusalem; and, by the boiling of it, its destruction by the Chaldeans; see Eze 11:3.

(t) T. Bab. Gittin, fol. 6. 1. and Bava Bathra, fol. 25. 2. (u) "aperietur", Munster, Tigurine version, Cocceius; "pandetur", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Out of the north ... - The caldron represents the great military empires upon the Euphrates. In Hezekiah’s time, Nineveh was at their head; but stormed by the armies of Cyaxares and Nabopalassar it is itself now the victim whose limbs are seething in the caldron, and the seat of empire has been transferred to Babylon. But whoever may for the time prevail, the tide of passion and carnage is sure finally to pour itself upon Judaea.

An evil shall break forth - “The evil shall be opened,” shall show itself, be disclosed from the north: that special evil, which from the days of Micah Mic 3:12 all the prophets had denounced upon the Jews if they lapsed into idolatry. At present the caldron is fiercely boiling upon the Euphrates. As soon as either of the parties struggling there gains the victory it will pour the whole seething mass over other countries in the shape of an invading army (see Jer 25:17-26).

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

North. The tributary kings were forced to attend, Judith ii. 7., and 3 Kings xx. 1. --- About. The princes thus took Sedecias, and sent him to Reblatha, chap. xxxix. 3. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The Lord said; explained this vision.

Out of the north, i.e. from Babylon, a metonymy of the subject; for though it lie eastward, yet it is north from Jerusalem, as lying four degrees more from the equinoctial. See Jer 1:13.

Shall break forth; it shall be withheld or restrained no longer in my treasure; I will let it out, viz. that evil of punishment represented by the fire.

Of the land: though God gave almost all the then known world to the king of Babylon, yet here he understands the land of Judea, Jer 25:9.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

14. Shall break forth — Literally, shall be opened.

All the inhabitants of the land — Of Judea. The language suggests the universality of the evil.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Out of the north. Previously to the battle of Carchemish, the Babylonians are only mentioned vaguely as a northern people. (see Jer_4:6 Jer_6:1, 22 10:22) Strictly speaking, they were an eastern people from the point of view of Palestine; but the caravan-road which the Chaldaean armies had to take entered Palestine at Dan, (comp. Jer_4:15 Jer_8:16) and then proceeded southward. (On the question whether a Scythian invasion is referred to, at least conjointly with the Babylonian, see Introduction.) An evil; rather, the evil; viz. the calamity which in deepening gloom forms the burden of the prophet"s discourses. Shall break forth; literally, shall open; i.e. let loose by opening (comp. the use of the same verb in Isa_14:17, literally, "looseth not his prisoners homewards;" and Amo_8:5, literally, "that we may open," i.e. "bring forth wheat"). There is, however, some difficulty in explaining the choice of this expression. We might indeed suppose that the caldron had a lid, and that the removal or falling off of this lid is the "opening" referred to by the phrase.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

North - From Babylon.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

From the north the misfortune will break forth Babylon is on the north of Eretz Israel.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.