Jeremiah 42:6

Jer 42:6 Whether [it be] good, or whether [it be] evil, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God, to whom we send thee; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of the LORD our God.

Ver. 6. Whether it be good, or whether it be evil,] i.e., Whether it please us or cross us. Veniat, veniat verbum Domini: et submittemus ei, sexcenta si nobis essent colla, said a good man once - that is, Let God’s Word come to us once and he shall be obeyed, whatever come of it. These in the text seem to say as much, but they say it only; neither was it much to be liked that they were so free of their promises, and all in their own strength, without any condition of help from heaven: as if the matter had been wholly in their own hands, and they had free will to whatsoever good purpose or practice.

“ O caecas mentes hominum! ”

“O the blind mind of men”

We will obey the voice of the Lord.] Yes, as far as a few good words will go.

“ Pollicitis dives quilibet esse potest. ” - Ovid.

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.

evil--not moral evil, which God cannot command (Jam 1:13), but what may be disagreeable and hard to us. Piety obeys God, without questioning, at all costs. See the instance defective in this, that it obeyed only so far as was agreeable to itself (Sa1 15:3, Sa1 15:9, Sa1 15:13-15, Sa1 15:20-23).

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

As the Jews spoke feignedly by assuming a character not their own, they profaned God’s name. But if we desire to prove our fidelity to God, the only way of acting is, to regard his word as binding, whether it be agreeable or otherwise, and never to murmur, as the ungodly do; for when God would have a yoke laid on them, they complain that his doctrine is too hard and burdensome. Away, then, with all those things which can render God’s word unacceptable to us, if we desire to give a sure proof of our fidelity. Hence they said, Whether it be good or evil, what God will lay down we will obey his voice.

They afterwards added, For which we send thee to him Here they still further cast themselves into toils. Jeremiah did not in express words require them to make an oath; they yet did make an oath; and then in various ways still more bound themselves over to punishment, if they became perjurers. They now shew that it would be a two-fold crime, should they disobey God; how? Had the Prophet been sent to them, they might have made excuses; though vain, they might yet have something to allege; but when they of their own accord asked God, when they offered of themselves to do this, and promised to be obedient in all things, it is evident that unless afterwards they acted according to their pledged faith, they must have been more inexcusable, because they tempted God: for who induced them to come to the Prophet? We hence see that God extorted from them what doubled their crime. But the more hypocrites attempt by disguises to conceal their impiety, the faster they bind themselves, and the more they kindle God’s wrath against themselves.

They then added, That it may be well with us when we obey the voice of Jehovah By this circumstance also they aggravated their crime. For if the Prophet had promised them a prosperous issue, they might not have believed; in that case they would have indeed sinned; but their wicked-ness would have been more tolerable than when they themselves had spoken, as though they were the organs of the Holy Spirit; they said themselves, It shall be well with us; it will be our chief happiness to follow the voice of God and to obey him. As, then, they thus protested to God and the Prophet, that they might appear to be God’s faithful servants, the greater condemnation they brought on themselves; for if they believed that nothing would turn out happily, except according to God’s command, how was it that they did not submit to God? why did they despise what was afterwards said by the Prophet? But as we have already said, as they deceived themselves by dealing falsely with God and profaning his holy name, let us learn and know that we can in no other way expect a happy issue in all that we do, but by obeying the voice of God; for whatever men may attempt of themselves, it will be accursed before God. This, then, is our only sure hope, that when we attempt nothing but what is according to God’s word, there will be a good and happy issue, though many things may happen otherwise than we hope or think.

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.

Whether it be good, or whether it be evil,.... Not morally good, or evil; for nothing but what is good, and not evil, in this sense, can come from God; but whether pleasantly or profitably good or evil; whether agreeable or disagreeable, pleasing or displeasing, advantageous or not; whether it seemed to them good or evil, be it what it would in their opinion and esteem:

we will obey the voice of the Lord our God, to whom we send thee; this was well spoken, had they been sincere in it; and had they implored and depended on the grace of God to have enabled them to obey; but they spoke not in the uprightness of their hearts; and, did they, it was with too much confidence of their own strength, and the power of their free will:

that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of the Lord our God; they spoke as if they knew their own interest; for so it was, that it was well or ill with those people, as they obeyed or disobeyed the voice of the Lord; and yet they acted not according to it; and, what was worse still, did not intend it. What a wretched scene of hypocrisy is here!

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

We - The form used here occurs nowhere else in the Old Testament, but is the regular form of the pronoun in the Talmud. It is one out of many instances of Jeremiah using the popular instead of the literary language of his times.

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

Good or evil. That is, agreeable or disagreeable. (Challoner) --- It would have been well for them if they had been sincere, (ver. 10.; Haydock) and determined to comply whether the prophet announced prosperity or the reverse. (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).

The preceding words are a perfect oath, the form of which lies in a calling of God to witness the sincerity of the heart of those that swear, for a security to those to whom the oath is given, which also includeth a secret challenging God to take vengeance upon the persons that give that security, if they should not do accordingly as they promise; which speaketh the atheism of the heart of the false swearer; for did a man believe that there is a God, and that the Divine Being is infinite in power, and a true and faithful witness, it were impossible that he should challenge him to be revenged on him-for not doing what he never seriously intends to do, which was the case of these wicked men. The thing they promise is a perfect obedience to God’s will, whether grateful or ungrateful to them; and they further declare a conviction, that if they did it, it should be well with them, according to that, Deu 5:29; which showeth the mighty power of lusts in unregenerate hearts, and the mighty operations of the evil spirit in the children of disobedience, Eph 2:2; that although they be convinced that if they did obey the voice of God it would be well with them, yet they will not do it in things which they have a power to do.

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

6. Good, or… evil — That is, agreeable or disagreeable according as in accord with our wishes or opposed to them.

We will obey — The theory of these men was certainly perfect. “Piety obeys God without questioning, at all costs.” The pronoun here is anu, (אנו,) a form which occurs nowhere else in the Old Testament. It is, however, the ordinary form of the pronoun in the Talmud. It illustrates Jeremiah’s tendency to use the language of the people rather than that of literature.

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

Good or evil - Whether grateful or ungrateful to us.

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