Jeremiah 6:21

Jer 6:21 Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will lay stumblingblocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; the neighbour and his friend shall perish.

Ver. 21. Behold, I will lay stumblingblocks.] {a} Heb., Stumblements - i.e., occasions, preparations, and means to work their ruth and ruin; what these are, see Jer 6:22.

{a} Strages - sc., et clades in quas incident et corruent. , Slaugher and defeat in which they fell and were riuned.

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 6:21-26. Behold, I will lay stumbling-blocks before this people — I will suffer such things to be laid in their way as shall be the occasion of their destruction. Or, I will bring calamities upon them, by which they shall fall. The neighbour and his friend shall perish — Men of all sorts and conditions. Behold, a people cometh, &c. — The Chaldeans are here again described, as in Jer 5:15; a distant nation, violent, cruel, armed with bows and spears, and well mounted. A great nation from the sides of the earth — Or rather, from the coasts, ends, or extremities of the earth, as Dr. Waterland reads it. Their voice roareth like the sea — The shouts of hostile armies are fitly compared to the waves of the sea, which dash upon the shores with a great noise. And they ride upon horses — Of which there was a great scarcity in Judea, which was one reason that induced the Jews to enter into alliances with Egypt, that they might be furnished with horses from thence. We have heard the fame thereof — The prophet personates the people, and describes the very great consternation which Judah and Jerusalem should be in, upon the approach of this formidable enemy. Our hands wax feeble — We have no heart to make any resistance; anguish hath taken hold of us — We are in an extremity of pain, like that of a woman in travail. Go not forth into the fields, &c. — Thus he expresses the great danger that would be everywhere. O daughter of my people, &c. — Here the prophet calls upon them to lament the desolations that were coming upon them; as if he had said, Hear thy God calling thee to weeping and mourning, and answer his call. Gird thee with sackcloth — Not only put on sackcloth for a day, but gird it on thee to be worn constantly. Wallow thyself in ashes — Lie down among them; use all the tokens of the deepest mourning, and most bitter lamentation; and that not forced, and for show, but with the greatest sincerity, as parents mourn for an only son, and think themselves comfortless because they are childless. The expression, as for an only son, was proverbial among the Jews, to denote the greatest grief. For the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us — Though he is not come yet, he is coming; the decree is gone forth, let us therefore meet the execution of it with a suitable sadness.

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

stumbling-blocks--instruments of the Jews' ruin (compare Mat 21:44; Isa 8:14; Pe1 2:8). God Himself ("I") lays them before the reprobate (Psa 69:22; Rom 1:28; Rom 11:9).

fathers . . . sons . . . neighbour . . . friend--indiscriminate ruin.

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

Here God, in plain words, declares what vengeance he would execute on the people. He says first, that he would lay for them stumbling blocks He no doubt compares the judgments which were nigh to nets or traps; for the Jews hoped to escape. He therefore says, that they would be ensnared: “Wherever ye go, “he says, “ye shall meet with those nets by which God will catch you: Fall, therefore, shall both fathers and sons, the neighbor and his friend ”

He means by these words, that however they might conspire together, they would yet be exposed to the same punishment. For when sons follow the examples of their fathers, they think themselves innocent; and also when any one has many associates, he thinks himself safe in his licentiousness. As, then, consent or society hardens the ungodly, so that they fear not the wrath of God, the Prophet on this account includes sons with their fathers, and a neighbor with his friend, as those who were to perish together, and without any difference. The word “stumbling blocks” is indeed metaphorical; but in the next verse the Prophet speaks without a figure, and says —

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) And the fathers and the sons together . . .—Better, I give unto this people stumbling blocks, and they shall stumble over them: fathers and sons together, neighbour and his friend, shall perish.

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

21. stumblingblocks] The enemy shall trip them up in their easygoing ways. Cp. Jer_6:15.

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.

Therefore thus saith the Lord,.... Because of their immorality and hypocrisy, their contempt of his word, and confidence in legal rites and ceremonies:

behold, I will lay stumblingblocks before this people; by which may be meant the judgments of God upon them, raising up enemies against them, and suffering them to invade their land; particularly the Assyrians, as the following words show. Moreover, the prophecies of the false prophets, and the doctrines which they were permitted to spread among the people, were snares and stumblingblocks unto them, they being given up to believe their lies, and to be hardened by them; nay, even true doctrines, the doctrines of justification and salvation by Christ, yea, Christ himself, were a rock of offence, and a stumbling stone to these people, Isa 8:14.

and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; or, "by them" (z); the latter following the examples of the forager; and so it denotes, that as the corruption was general, the punishment would be:

and the neighbour and his friend shall perish; in the same calamity, being involved in the guilt of the same iniquity, in which they encouraged and hardened one another. The Septuagint and Arabic versions by "stumblingblocks" understand an "infirmity" or "disease", which should come upon the people, and make a general desolation among them. Kimchi interprets the whole of the wickedness of fathers and children, neighbours and friends, and such as were in trade and partnership, and of their delight in mischief; that though they were aware of the stumblingblocks, yet would not give each other warning of them. The whole, according to the accents, should be rendered thus, "and they shall fall upon them, the fathers and the sons together, the neighbour and his friend, and they shall perish"; falling and perishing are said of them all.

(z) "in iis", Schmidt; "in eis", Cocceius, Pegnanius.

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

“Behold,” I give unto “this people” causes of stumbling,

And they shall stumble against them:

Fathers and sons together,

“The neighbor and his friend shall perish.”

This is the natural consequence of their conduct. Their service of Yahweh was a systematic hypocrisy: how then could they walk uprightly with their fellow-men? When God lays stumblingblocks in men’s way, it is by the general action of His moral law Jam 1:13-14, by which willful sin in one point reacts upon the whole moral nature Jam 2:10.

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

I will lay stumbling-blocks; God gives this name to all the occasions of the Jews’ ruin; he exposeth them, or suffereth such things to be laid in their way, as shall be the occasion of their destruction; such things which they shall not get over. Or an hypallage, I will bring destruction upon them; as the Hebrews use to speak, They have sent a city into the fire, i.e. They have sent fire into the city. Or God doth here compare his judgments to traps, wherein they shall be taken, which they thought easily to have evaded. What these stumbling-blocks are seem to be expressed in the following verses.

The fathers and the sons together; as well the fathers, that have more prudence and policy, as the children, that are more inadvertent, or possibly may count themselves less guilty, shall perish by these stumbling-blocks; no recovering for themselves, Isa 8:14,15.

The neighbour and his friend; men of all sorts and conditions, the greatest intimates and associates, though all lay their heads together for counsel, yet shall they not be able to help one another, but a promiscuous destruction there shall be, Jer 6:11; Jer 13:14.

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

21. I will lay stumblingblocks — God does this in two ways, neither of which is any impeachment of his holiness. First, by the general action of moral law by which sin reacts upon the nature of the sinner; and, second, by outward visitations in the realm of physical nature or human society. To these last there is here special reference.

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

I will lay stumbling-blocks, etc, Of the regenerate Israel of the future it is prophesied (Isa_54:15) that his enemies shall "fall upon him or, "by reason of him." Of the unregenerate Israel of the present, that he shall "fall" (i.e. come to ruin) upon the "stumbling-blocks" presented, not without God"s appointment, by the terrible northern invader.

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

I will say - I will suffer such things to be laid in their way, as shall be the occasion of their destruction. The neighbour - Men of all sorts and conditions.

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