Jeremiah 42:4

Jer 42:4 Then Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, I have heard [you]; behold, I will pray unto the LORD your God according to your words; and it shall come to pass, [that] whatsoever thing the LORD shall answer you, I will declare [it] unto you; I will keep nothing back from you.

Ver. 4. I have heard you; behold, I will pray.] The wisdom from above is persuasible, easy to be entreated, {Jas 3:18} and good men are ready to every good work. {Tit 3:1} Jeremiah hoped they might speak their whole hearts, and promiseth to do his best for them, both by praying and prophesying.

Whatsoever thing the Lord shall answer you, I will declare.] Sic veteres nihil ex se vel potuerunt, vel protulerunt. The prophets spake as they were inspired by the Spirit of truth. Christ spake nothing but what was consonant to the Holy Scriptures. The apostles delivered to the churches what they had received of the Lord. {1Co 11:23} Polycarp told the churches that he delivered nothing to them but what he had received of the apostles. {a}

{a} Irenaeus, lib. iii.; Eccles. Hist., lib. iv. cap. 14.

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 42:4-6. Then Jeremiah said, I have heard you, &c. — That is, I will do for you what you desire. I will pray unto the Lord your God — They called the Lord Jeremiah’s God: here Jeremiah calls him their God, both to remind them of God’s relation to them, and of their duty toward him. And whatsoever thing the Lord shall answer, I will declare — I will be faithful in giving you an account of what God shall reveal to me to be his will concerning you. Then they said, The Lord be a true and faithful witness, &c. — The words of this and the following verse imply a perfect oath, the form of which lies in appealing to God as a witness of the sincerity of the hearts of those that swear, for a security to those to whom the oath is given: which also includes a secret challenging of God to take vengeance upon those that give that security, if they should not act according to their promise. The thing these men promise is, that they would perfectly obey God’s will, whether agreeable or disagreeable to them. And they further declare they were convinced that their prosperity and happiness entirely depended upon their complying with God’s will, adding, That it may be well with us, &c.

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

42:4 The first phrase, All right (literally I heard), indicates that Jeremiah questioned the sincerity of the Judean group led by Johanan. Still, the prophet agreed to pray for divine guidance and to give them the full content of the Lord’s answer.

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

I have heard--that is, I accede to your request.

your God--Being His by adoption, ye are not your own, and are bound to whatever He wills (Exo 19:5-6; Co1 6:19-20).

answer you--that is, through me.

keep nothing back-- (Sa1 3:18; Act 20:20).

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

In order to prepare them to obey, he testified that he would be a faithful messenger of God; for there is no doubt but that the Prophet, as we shall see, regarded them with suspicion. That he might therefore have them teachable and obedient to the answer expected from God, he said beforehand, that he would honestly and faithfully perform his office as a Prophet.

I have heard, he says; here he shews how ready he was to attend, and how he neglected nothing conducive to their well being. I have heard, he says, Behold, I will pray according to your words There is no doubt but that he thus intimated that he wished well to them; and it might have rendered them more attentive to the oracle to know that the Prophet was influenced by love. Nor is there a doubt but that the Prophet testified his love towards them, that his doctrine might afterwards have more weight with them.

By saying, Whatever your God will answer, he did not mean that the oracle would be revealed to all, for the words could not be otherwise explained than through the Prophet, who would openly make known to the whole people what he heard from God’s mouth. But he says, that the answer would be given to them, because God would give the answer which was to be communicated to all, as it is said that God spoke to Moses, and also to all the people, for the doctrine was intended for all. Moses did not receive the law, nor its interpretation, in his own private character, but in order that the people might know what was right. So Jeremiah did here; the answer he received from God he made known as belonging in common to all the people.

But in calling God their God, he did not mean to flatter them or to praise their piety, but to exhort them to surrender and devote themselves wholly to God, as though he had said, that they had to do with God, who had bound them to himself when he adopted them as his peculiar people, and then favored them with so many blessings. Since then God had made himself known to them, they could not reject his counsel with impunity, for there was no pretext of ignorance. We hence see what weight there is in this, your God; for Jeremiah reminded them that they could not with impunity trifle with God, for they were not their own, but had been chosen to be God’s people, and on this condition, to be wholly subject to his authority. Then the sum of the whole is this, that the Prophet would faithfully convey to the Jews the answer God would give them; and he said this that his doctrine might have a greater authority among them. It 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.

Then Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, I have heard you,.... He took notice of what they said to him, and found himself disposed to comply with their request, and readily granted it:

behold, I will pray unto the Lord your God, according to your words; be an intercessor for them; use his interest with his God, and their God; and, on account of relation, might expect to be heard; whom he would humbly entreat to direct what they should do, as they desired:

and it shall come to pass, that whatsoever thing the Lord shall answer you, I will declare it unto you; I will keep nothing back from you; but faithfully make known the whole mind and will of God, just as it is delivered, be it in what way soever: and though it is not expressed, he might suggest that he had some doubt on his mind whether they would obey it or not; and that he expected they would be open and free in declaring themselves on that point; since he had so readily complied with their request, and was determined to act the faithful part to them; hence the following reply:

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

I have heard you; that is, I will do for you according as you desire. And I will be faithful in giving you an account of what God shall reveal to me to be his will on your behalf. They called God Jeremiah’s God, here Jeremiah calls him their God, both to mind them of God’s relation to them, and their duty towards him.

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

4. I have heard you — I agree to your request.

The Lord your God — As he was their God they had a right to prefer to him their requests.

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

Look

"Pay attention to what I am about to tell you"

I will keep nothing back from you

The phrase "keep nothing back from you" is an idiom that means to tell someone everything. This can be stated in positive form. AT: "I will tell you everything the Lord tells me" (See: Idiom and Active or Passive)

May Yahweh be

This is a way of beginning an oath. AT: "We ask Yahweh to be" or "Yahweh will be"

true and faithful

Here these words share similar meanings. They describe Yahweh as a witness whom no one will be able to contradict. AT: "trustworthy" (See: Doublet)

Whether it is good or if it is bad

The people mention both extremes to emphasize that they will obey no matter what Yahweh's answer is. AT: "Whatever he answers" (See: Merism)

the voice of Yahweh our God

Here "voice" represents what Yahweh says. AT: "what Yahweh our God says" or "we will obey Yahweh our God" (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

true

faithful

testimony

good

obey

voice

send

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