Jeremiah 26:4

Jer 26:4 And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you,

Ver. 4. If ye will not hearken unto me.] A conditional menace, the contrary promise whereunto see Jer 26:13. And this was the sum of all Jeremiah’s sermons.

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.

26:4-6 The people’s ancestors had chosen the way of disobedience; as a result, their sanctuary at Shiloh, north of Jerusalem, had been destroyed (7:12-15; 1 Sam 1–4). Similarly, continued disobedience of the covenant commands by the people in Jeremiah’s day would result in the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem.

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

Verse 4. If ye will not hearken] This and several of the following verses are nearly the same with those in Jer 7:13, &c., where see the notes.

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

The Prophet now briefly includes what he had been teaching, what he had been commanded to declare to the people. No doubt he spoke to them more at large; but he deemed it enough to shew in a few words what had been committed to him. And the sum of it was, that except the Jews so hearkend as to walk in God’s Law, and were submissive to the prophets, final ruin was nigh the Temple and the city. This is the meaning: but it may be useful to consider every particular.

By these words, Except ye hearken to me, to walk in my law, God intimates, that he mainly requires obedience, and esteems nothing as much, according to what he says, that it is better than all sacrifices. (1 Samuel 15:22.) This subject was largely treated in the seventh chapter, where he said,

“Did I command your fathers when they came out of Egypt to offer sacrifices to me? this only I required, even to hear my voice.” (Jeremiah 7:22, 23)

We hence see, that the only way of living piously, justly, holily, and uprightly, is to allow ourselves to be ruled by the Lord. This is one thing. Then what follows is worthy of being noticed, To walk in my law God here testifies that his will is not ambiguous or doubtful, for he has prescribed what is right in his law. Were God then to descend a hundred times from heaven, he would bring nothing but this message, that he has spoken what is necessary to be known, and that his Law is the most perfect wisdom. Had he said only, “Hear me,” men might have still evaded and avowed themselves ready to learn. God therefore does here silence hypocrites, and says that he required nothing else but to follow his Law. And for the same purpose he adds what follows, which I have set before you: for this kind of speaking intimates that the doctrine of the Law was by no means obscure or doubtful, as Moses said,

“I this day call heaven and earth to witness, that I have set life and death before your eyes.” (Deuteronomy 30:19)

And in another place he said,

“Say not, Who shall ascend above the clouds? or, Who shall descend into the abyss? or, Who shall pass beyond the sea? The word is in thy heart and in thy mouth,” (Deuteronomy 30:12-14; Romans 10:6-8)

as though he had said, “God has deprived you of every excuse, for there is no reason for doubting, since he has spoken so familiarly to you, and has explained everything necessary to be known.”

And hereby is confuted the impious blasphemy of the Papists, who impudently assert that not only the Law is obscure, but also the Gospel. And Paul also loudly declares, that the Gospel is not obscure except to those who perish, and who have a veil over their hearts, being visited with judicial blindness. But as to the Law, in which there is no such plainness as in the Gospel, we see what Jeremiah affirms here, that it was set before the eyes of all, that they might learn from it what pleased God, and what was just and right.

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.

(4, 5) To walk in my law, which I have set before you.—The words present more vividly than in the parallels of Jer_7:25; Jer_25:4 the relation of the Law as the groundwork of the teaching of the Prophets, their office being that of preachers and expounders, making men feel that the commandment was “exceeding broad.” The “Law and the Prophets” are already coupled together, as in Mat_5:17; Mat_22:40, as making up God’s revelation of His will to Israel.

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

4. my law] See on Jer_8:8. Here the reference, as the following clause indicates, is to the doctrinal rather than the ritual teaching.

I have set before you] See on Jer_9:13.

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.

And thou shalt say unto them,.... What follows is the substance of the prophecy, and the sum of the sermon or discourse he was sent to deliver, without diminishing a word of it:

thus saith the Lord, if ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law which I have set before you; first by Moses, by whose hands it was given to their fathers; and by the prophets, the interpreters of it to them; before whom it was set as a way for them to walk in, and a rule to walk by; a directory for them in their lives and conversations; and which continues to be so, as it is set before us Christians by our King and Lawgiver Jesus Christ; though not to obtain righteousness and life by the works of it; which should not be sought for, nor are attainable thereby.

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

A course of actions in Scripture is ordinarily called a way; in which sense we often read of

the way of the Lord, the way of the wicked, the way of the righteous, & c.; and a motion in this course is usually called walking, Psa 1:1; Eze 18:9, and applied both to God and men. To walk in God’s laws is expounded by hearkening unto them, or (as in other places) by observing, keeping, and doing them. God is said to have set his laws before them, both in respect of their first promulgation to them at Sinai, and writing them in tables; and the daily expositions and urging of them upon their practice by his servants the prophets, as it followeth.

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

Vers. 4-6. The contents of the discourse. (see especially on Jer_7:12-15) The priests and the prophets interfere, arrest Jeremiah, and accuse him of a capital crime. It would appear that some at least of the "false prophets" were priests; thus Pashur, we are told, was a priest. (Jer_20:6)

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

If you do not listen to me so as to walk in my law that I have placed before you

Yahweh speaks of a person's lifestyle as if it were a path along which the person walks. AT: "If you do not obey me and the law that I have given you" (See: Metaphor)

then I will make this house like Shiloh

Yahweh had destroyed a place of worship at Shiloh, and he was threatening to destroy this place of worship. (See: Simile)

I will turn this city into a curse

What Yahweh would turn the city into is a metonym for what people would use the city for. AT: "I will make this city so that people will ask me to destroy others the way I have destroyed this city" (See: Metonymy)

in the sight of all the nations on earth

"so that all the nations on earth can see me do it"

translationWords

walk

law

servant

prophet

send

Shiloh

turn

curse

nation

earth

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