Jeremiah 16:21

Jer 16:21 Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name [is] The LORD.

Ver. 21. I will for this once.] And "this once" shall stand for all. Affliction shall not rise up the second time. {Nah 1:9}

And I will make them to know.] Effectu magis quam affectu. Effecting more than affecting.

My hand and my might,] i.e., My mighty hand, mine irresistible power in their just punishment.

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.

Jer 16:21. Therefore I will this once — Or, as בפעם הזאתmay be rendered, at this time, as the same expression is rendered, 2Sa 17:7. Cause them to know my hand and my might, &c. — “The time alluded to is undoubtedly that when the gospel was to be preached to, and embraced by, the Gentiles; when God promises that he would make such a display of his mighty power as should amply convince them of the truth of his existence and divinity. They shall know that my name is JEHOVAH — A name which implies absolute and necessary existence, the real source and origin of all perfection; and they shall know it by the blessings which shall, from my providence, be derived to them.” — Blaney.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16:21 The Lord will require all people to know his power and might and to understand that he is the Lord (cp. Exod 6:7; 8:22).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

They shall once again feel my power and mercy for their deliverance, that they may learn to worship me.

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

Therefore--In order that all may be turned from idols to Jehovah, He will now give awful proof of His divine power in the judgments He will inflict.

this once--If the punishments I have heretofore inflicted have not been severe enough to teach them.

my name . . . Lord--Jehovah (Psa 83:18): God's incommunicable name, to apply which to idols would be blasphemy. Keeping His threats and promises (Exo 6:3).

The the Septuagint omits the first four verses, but other Greek versions have them.

Next: Jeremiah Chapter 17

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 21. Therefore, behold, I will this once] I will not now change my purpose. They shall be visited and carried into captivity; nothing shall prevent this: and they shall know that my name is JEHOVAH. Since they would not receive the abundance of my mercies, they shall know what the true God can do in the way of judgment.

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

The Prophet again threatens the Jews, because their impiety was inexcusable, especially when attended with so great an obstinacy, he therefore says that God was already present as a judge: Behold I, he says — the demonstrative particle shews the near approach of vengeance — I will shew at this time: the words are emphatical, for God indirectly intimates that the Babylonian exile would be an extraordinary event, far exceeding every other which had preceded it. At this time, he says — that is, if ye have hitherto been tardy and insensible, or, if the punishments I have already inflicted have not been sufficiently severe — I will at this time shew to them my hand and my power; and they shall know that my name is Jehovah

This way of speaking often occurs in Scripture; but God here, no doubt, reproves the false sentiments with which the Jews were imbued, and by which they were led astray from true religion — for they had devised for themselves many gods; hence he says, They shall know that my name is Jehovah, that is, that my name is sacred, and ought not to be given to others. But at the same time he intimates that he would shew to them his power by destroying them, which they had refused to acknowledge in the preservation promised to them. They would indeed have ever found the God of Abraham to be the same, had they not deprived themselves of his favor. As then they had wandered after their own delusions and inventions, God says now, I will shew to them my hand, that is, for their ruin; and they shall now know for their own misery what they had refused to acknowledge for their own safety — that I am the only true God.

Here let us first learn that it was wholly a diabolical madness, when men dared to devise for themselves a god; for had they regarded their own beginning and their own end, doubtless they could not have betrayed so much presumption and audacity as to invent a god for themselves. If this only came to the mind of an idolater, “What art thou? whence is thine origin? where goest thou, and what end awaits thee?” all his false imaginations would have instantly fallen to the ground; he would no longer think of forming a god for himself, nor of worshipping anything he might invent. How then does it happen that men proceed to such a madness as to devise gods for themselves, according to their own fancies, except that they know not themselves? It is then no wonder that men are blind in seeking God, when they do not consider nor examine themselves. It hence follows that God cannot be rightly worshipped except men are made humble. And humility is the best preparation for faith, that there may be a submission to the word of God. Idolaters do indeed pretend some kind of humility, but they afterwards involve themselves in such stupidity, that they are unwining to make any enquiry, so as to make any difference between light and darkness. But true humility leads us to seek God in his word.

But when the Prophet asks this question, “Shall man make a god for himself?” he does not mean, that either the Egyptians or the Assyrians were so ignorant as to think that they could give divinity to wood or stone; but that whatever men dared to invent for themselves as to divine worship, was nothing else but the creation of a god. As soon then as we allow ourselves the liberty to worship God in this or in that way, or to imagine God to be such and such a being, we create gods for ourselves. And as to that point where he says, They shall know that my name is Jehovah, we must observe, that what is his own is taken away from God, except we acquiesce in him alone, so as to allow no other divinities to creep in and to be received; for God does not retain his own right or his own glory, except he be regarded as the only true God. Now 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.

(21) I will this once cause them to know . . .—The warning comes with all the emphasis of iteration, this once. As in a way without a parallel, once for all, they should learn that the name of the God they had rejected was Jehovah, the Eternal (Exo_3:14), unchangeable in His righteousness. The thought is parallel to that of Eze_12:15.

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

21. Gi. considers this v. to be late, as being in the style of the second Is. (cp. Isa_42:6) and Ezek. (Eze_36:23).

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.

This once - Whether we consider the greatness of the national disgrace and suffering caused by it, or its effect upon the mind of the Jews, the burning of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, followed by the captivity of the people at Babylon, stands out as the greatest manifestation of God’s “hand” in all His dealings with them.

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

CHAPTER XVI.

Power, in taking vengeance on idolatry. --- Lord. "He who is;" (Calmet) Jehova. (Haydock)

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).

Because all the goodness and mercy that I have showed them will not learn them to know me, my power and might, I will once for all make them to understand it by the dreadful strokes of my vengeance. They shall know that my name is Jehovah; that I am not such a one as their idols, but one who have my being from myself, and give life and being to all other things, and have all might and power in my hand, and can do whatsoever I please; and one that will make good whatsoever I have spoken, whether in a way of promise or threatening.

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

21. This once — There is here most significant and portentous emphasis. The intimation is, that they were on the eve of such a signal display of God’s power as to compel, even from the heathen, the confession that his name is Jehovah.

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

The final answer of Jehovah. There will be no further grace-time. I will this once cause them to know; rather, I will this time (comp. Jer_10:18) cause them to acknowledge. The judgment which Jeremiah has had the sad duty of announcing will prove to the blinded Jews that Jehovah alone is true God, alone can strike and heal.

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

Therefore - Because all the mercy I have shewed them, will not learn them to know my might, I will once for all make them to understand it, by the dreadful strokes of my vengeance. And - They shall know that my name is Jehovah; that I am not such a one as their idols, but one who have my being from myself, and give life and being to all other things, and have all might and power in my hand, and can do whatsoever I please.

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

The Lord

Or, JEHOVAH. Psa 83:18.

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

that My name is the Lord As its apparent meaning, a ruler and a sovereign to fulfill My decree.

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.