Jeremiah 17:21

Jer 17:21 Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring [it] in by the gates of Jerusalem;

Ver. 21. Take heed to yourselves.] Break not the Sabbath, that ye fall not under the fierce wrath of God, who paid him home with stones who but only gathered sticks on that day. Cavete, Beware, it concerns you much.

And bear no burden.] See Neh 13:15-16; Neh 13:19. {See Trapp on "Neh 13:15"} {See Trapp on "Neh 13:16"} {See Trapp on "Neh 13:19"}

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.

17:21-22 Trading on the Sabbath was wrong and had to be stopped. The Sabbath was not a time to buy and sell, but was established in the Sinai covenant as a holy day (Exod 29:8-11; 31:12-17) when the people of Israel were to rest and honor the Lord.

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

By naming the Sabbath day, he comprehendeth the thing that is thereby signified: for if they transgressed in the ceremony, they must needs be culpable of the rest, read Exod. 20:8, and by the breaking of this one commandment, he maketh them transgressors of the whole law, forasmuch as the first and second table are contained herein.

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

Take heed to yourselves--literally, "to your souls." MAURER explains, "as ye love your lives"; a phrase used here to give the greater weight to the command.

sabbath--The non-observance of it was a chief cause of the captivity, the number of years of the latter, seventy, being exactly made to agree with the number of Sabbaths which elapsed during the four hundred ninety years of their possession of Canaan from Saul to their removal (Lev 26:34-35; Ch2 36:21). On the restoration, therefore, stress was especially laid on Sabbath observance (Neh 13:19).

Jerusalem--It would have been scandalous anywhere; but in the capital, Jerusalem, it was an open insult to God. Sabbath-hallowing is intended as a symbol of holiness in general (Eze 20:12); therefore much stress is laid on it; the Jews' gross impiety is manifested in their setting God's will at naught, in the case of such an easy and positive command.

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. Take heed to yourselves and bear no burden] From this and the following verses we find the ruin of the Jews attributed to the breach of the Sabbath; as this led to a neglect of sacrifice, the ordinances of religion, and all public worship, so it necessarily brought with it all immorality. This breach of the Sabbath was that which let in upon them all the waters of God's wrath.

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

He bids them to attend, or to beware in their souls. Some render the words, “As your souls are precious to you.” But I take souls, not for their lives, but for the affections of their hearts; as though he had said, “Take heed carefully of yourselves, that this may be laid up in your inmost heart.” The word נפש nuphesh, means often the heart, the seat of the affections. It is said in Deuteronomy 4:15,

“Take heed to yourselves, לנפשותיכם lanupheshuticam, to your souls.”

here it is, בנפשותיכם, benupheshuticam, “in your souls;” but there, “to” or “for your souls,” as also in Joshua 23:11. But the same thing is meant, and that is, that they were to take great heed, to take every care, to exert every effort, and, in short, every faculty of their souls. Take heed then carefully, he says, take heed with every thought and faculty of your soul, that ye carry no burden on the Sabbath-day, and that ye bring it not through the gates of Jerusalem. It was a thing not difficult to be observed; and further, it was a most shameless transgression of the law; for, as I have said, by this slight matter they shewed that they despised the law of God, while yet the observance of the Sabbath was a thing of great importance: it was important in itself, but to observe it was easy. Hence appeared the twofold impiety of the people, — because they despised God’s singular favor, of which the seventh day was an evidence; and, because they were unwilling to take rest on that day, and in so easy a matter, they hesitated not, as it were, to insult God, as it has been before said.

Hence we ought to notice also what he says in these words, Carry no burden, and bring it not through the gatesof Jerusalem: and this was emphatically added; for it was not lawful even in the fields or in desert places to do anything on the Sabbath; but it was extremely shameful to carry a burden through the gates of Jerusalem; it was as though they wished publicly to reproach and despise God. Jerusalem was a public place; and it was as though one was not content privately to do dishonor to his neighbor or his brother, but must shew his ill-nature openly and in the light of day. Thus the Jews were not only reproachful towards God, but also dared to shew their impiety in his own renowned city, and, in short, in his very sanctuary. The rest we must defer.

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. to yourselves] rather as mg. for your life’s sake, Heb. in your souls; we should say, As you value your lives.

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.

Thus saith the Lord, take heed to yourselves,.... That ye sin not against the Lord, by breaking the sabbath, and so bring wrath and ruin upon yourselves: or "to your souls" (a); to the inward frame of them, that they be in disposition for the work of that day; and that they be wholly engaged therein, even all the powers and faculties of them; and that they be not taken up in thoughts and cares about other things:

and bear no burden on the sabbath day; as no worldly thoughts and cares should, cumber the mind, and lie heavy thereon, to the interruption of spiritual exercises of religion; so neither should any weight or burden be borne by the body, or carried from place to place; as not by themselves, so neither by their servants, nor by their cattle, nor in carts and wagons, nor by any instrument whatever; in short, all servile work was forbidden:

nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; to be unloaded and sold there, as wine, grapes, figs, and fish, were, in the times of Nehemiah, Neh 13:15.

(a) "in animabus vestris", Calvin, Montanus, Schmidt.

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

CHAPTER XVII.

Souls. Those who broke the sabbath were to die, Exodus xxx. 15., and Numbers xv. 32. --- Burdens, or servile work. (Calmet) --- The Jews trifle in deciding what is a burden. (Origen, prin. iv. 2.) --- Sabbath often denotes the observance of the whole law. (Worthington)

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).

Take heed to yourselves; the Hebrew is, Take heed to your souls, intimating to us that the sanctification of the sabbath is a great thing, wherein the welfare of our souls is concerned.

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

21, 22. Take heed to yourselves — Literally, to your souls.

Bear no burden… neither do ye any work — These are specifications as to the law of the sabbath, suggested, probably, by violations which were common. The bearing of burdens probably refers to market trade and business. It is not unlikely that the country people, as they came to temple-service, were accustomed to “mingle traffic with their devotions;”

and, as has been suggested, the fact that the people of Jerusalem were forbidden to carry burdens out of their houses seems to point to a practice on their part of carrying their wares to the gates for the purpose of traffic with the inhabitants on their holy day.

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

Take heed to yourselves; rather, Take heed heartily, conscientiously; literally, in your souls. So in Malachi, (Mal_2:15, Mal_2:16) "Take heed in your spirit" (not, "to your spirit," as Authorized Version).

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

for the sake of your lives

"to protect your lives"

They did not listen or pay attention

These two phrases mean basically the same thing and emphasize that the people refused to listen. AT: "They refused to listen" or "They refused to obey" (See: Doublet)

stiffened their neck

Jeremiah speaks of the people being stubborn as if they had made their necks stiff and unmovable. AT: "became stubborn" (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

life

burden

Sabbath

works

set apart

command

stiff-necked

discipline

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.