The Pulpit Commentary
Punishment will even overtake the sinners who have long since been deceased.

They shall bring out the bones. Not only shall many of the dead bodies remain unburied, but the sepulchers of those who have till now "lain in honor, each one in his house" (Isa_14:18), shall be violated. The inhabitants of Jerusalem meant are evidently those of the upper class, for the others were buried, with but little regard to the security of the corpses, in the valley of Kedron (2Ki_23:6). According to some, the motive of this invasion of the chambers of the dead is avarice (comp. Herod; 1.187, Darius at the tomb of Nitocris); but the context, without excluding this view, rather suggests malice and contempt. Thus "the wrath of man" was to "praise" Jehovah (Psa_76:10).

The Pulpit Commentary
And they shall spread them, etc. Not as an act of solemn mockery, for the agents are idolaters themselves, but God so overrules the passions of his unconscious instruments that no more effective ceremonial could have been devised. Whom they have loved, etc. The prophet is designedly diffuse in his description. With all their misspent zeal, these unhappy idolaters cannot even find tombs.

The Pulpit Commentary
Which remain. The words are certainly to be omitted in the second place where they occur. In the Hebrew they stand after in all the places, and the word for "places" is feminine, whereas the participle, "the remaining," is masculine. The Septuagint and Peshito have nothing corresponding. There is a clerical error in the Hebrew.

The incorrigible wickedness of the people, and the awfulness of the judgment.

The Pulpit Commentary
Moreover thou shalt say, etc.; literally, and thou shalt say. The section is introduced by a formula which connects it with Jer_7:2, Jer_7:28. Shall they fall, etc.? rather, Do men fall … doth a man turn away? One of those appeals to common sense in which the prophets delight. Who ever sees a fallen man stay quietly on the ground without attempting to rise? or a man who has wandered out of the path persist in going in the wrong direction?

The Pulpit Commentary
Slidden back … backsliding. The verb is the same verb (in another conjugation) as in Jer_8:4, and the noun is a derivative from it. The Authorized Version, therefore, has slightly weakened the force of the argument. They hold fast deceit. They cling to a false view of their relation to their God (comp. Jer_4:2; Jer_5:2).

The Pulpit Commentary
I hearkened and heard. The Divine Judge condescends to speak after the manner of men. He will be his own witness; for it is his own people, Jeshurun, which is on its trial. Not aright. It is a compound expression, equivalent to "insincerely," "untruly" (comp. Isa_16:6). Repented … turned; rather, repenteth … turneth (or, returneth). To his course. The Hebrew text, sometimes represented as having a different reading ("courses," in the plural) from the margin, really gives the same reading with one letter misplaced. The singular stands in the parallel passage, Jer_23:19, and offers no difficulty. As the horse rusheth; literally, over-floweth. Both the Authorized Version and the Vulgate (impetu vadens) efface the second metaphor. The uncontrollable passion of both people and war-horse is compared to the all-subduing course of a winter stream or torrent.

The Pulpit Commentary
The appeal to the regularity of animal instincts reminds us of Isa_1:3. Yea, the stork, etc. The minatory birds obey their instinct with the most unfailing regularity. Those referred to are:

(1) the stork, whose "regular and sudden return is one of the most interesting natural sights of Palestine. The expression 'stork in the heavens' refers to the immense height at which they fly during migration" (Tristram);

(2) the turtle, or turtle-dove, whose return is the sure sign of spring (Son_2:11);

(3 and 4) the crane and the swallow, or rather, "the swift and the crane." These birds are again mentioned together in Isa_38:14 (the psalm of Hezekiah), where special reference is made to the penetrating quality of their note. "The whooping or trumpeting of the crane rings through the night air in spring, and the vast flocks which we noticed passing north near Beersheba were a wonderful sight." The introduction of the swallow in the Authorized Version is misleading, as that bird is not a regular migrant in Palestine. The note of the swift is a shrill scream. "No bird is more conspicuous by the suddenness of its return than the swift," is the remark of Canon Tristram, who saw large flocks passing northwards over Jerusalem, on the 12th of February. It is an interesting fact that the swift bears the same name (sus) in the vernacular Arabic as in the Hebrew of Jeremiah. The judgment; better, the law (see on Jer_5:4).

The Pulpit Commentary
How do ye say, We are wise? Jeremiah is evidently addressing the priests and the prophets, whom he so constantly described as among the chief causes of Judah's ruin (comp. verse 10; Jer_2:8, Jer_2:26; Jer_4:9; Jer_5:31), and who, in Isaiah's day, regarded it as an unwarrantable assumption on the part of that prophet to pretend to instruct them in their duty (Isa_28:9). The law of the Lord is with us. "With us;" i.e. in our hands and mouths. (comp. Psa_1:1-6 :16). The word torah, commonly rendered" Law," is ambiguous, and a difference of opinion as to the meaning of this verse is inevitable. Some think these self-styled "wise" men reject Jeremiah's counsels on the ground that they already have the divinely given Law in a written form (comp. Rom_2:17-20), and that the Divine revelation is complete. Others that torah here, as often elsewhere in the prophets (e.g. Isa_1:10; Isa_8:16; Isa_42:4), simply means "instruction," or "direction," and describes the authoritative counsel given orally by the priests (Deu_17:11) and prophets to those who consulted them on points of ritual and practice respectively. The usage of Jeremiah himself favors the latter view (see Jer_2:8; Jer_18:18; and especially Jer_26:4, Jer_26:5, where "to walk in my Torah" is parallel to "to hearken to the words of my servants the prophets." The context equally points in this direction. The most natural interpretation, then, is this: The opponents of Jeremiah bade him keep his exhortations to himself, seeing that they themselves were wise and the divinely appointed teachers of the people. To this Jeremiah replies, not (as the Authorized Version renders) Lo, certainly in vain made he it, etc.; but, Yea, behold I for a lie hath it wrought—the lying pen of the scribes. Soferim (scribes) is the term proper to all those who practiced the art of writing (sefer); it included, therefore, presumably at least, most, if not all, of the priests and prophets of whom Jeremiah speaks. There are indications enough that the Hebrew literature was not entirely confined to those whom we look up to as the inspired writers, and it is perfectly credible that the formalist priests and false prophets should have availed themselves of the pen as a means of giving greater currency to their teaching. Jeremiah warns his hearers to distrust a literature which is in the set-vice of false religious principles—a warning which prophets in the wider sense of the term ('The Liberty of Prophesyings') still have but too much occasion to repeat, tit is right, however, to mention another grammatically possible rendering, which is adopted by those who suppose torah in the preceding clause to mean the Mosaic Law: "Yea, behold, the lying pen of the scribes hath made (it) into a lie;" i.e. the professional interpreters of the Scriptures called scribes have, by their groundless comments and inferences, made the Scriptures (especially the noblest part, the Law) into a lie, so that it has ceased to represent the Divine will and teaching. The objections to this are:

(1) the necessity of supplying an object to the verb—the object would hardly have been omitted where its emission renders the meaning of the clause so doubtful;

(2) that this view attributes to the word soferim a meaning which only became prevalent in the time of Ezra (comp. Ezr_7:6, Ezr_7:11).]

The Pulpit Commentary
The wise men are ashamed. It is the perfect of prophetic certitude, equivalent to "the wise men shall certainly be ashamed." And why? Evidently because they have not foreseen the calamities impending ever their nation. They have preached, "Peace, peace; when there was no peace" (Jer_8:11); and hence they find themselves "taken" in the grip of a relentless power from which there is no escape. What wisdom; literally, wisdom of what? i.e. in respect of what?

The Pulpit Commentary
These verses are almost the same as Jer_6:12-15; the differences are in Jer_6:10. They are omitted in the Septuagint, and Hitzig regards them as an interpolation, at any rate from the point where the present passage coincides verbally with its parallel. His grounds are:

(1) that Jer_6:13 follows more naturally on Jer_6:10 (" … them that shall inherit them") than on Jer_6:12;

(2) that Jer_6:10 is deficient in symmetry; and

(3) that the deviations from Jer_6:13-15 sometimes loosen the connection of the clauses, sometimes sink into the colloquial style. The arguments seem to be inconclusive. Jeremiah is apt to repeat himself; and the element which is common to this paragraph and to ch: Jer_6:12-15 seems equally appropriate in both connections. It should be added, however, that the cautious and reverent block has come to the same conclusion as Hitzig. To them that shall inherit them; rather, to them that shall take possession of them, i.e. by violence.

Further description of the judgment; grief of Jeremiah.

There shall be no grapes, etc.; rather, there are no grapes … and the leaf is faded. It is the actual condition of things which the prophet describes. Elsewhere Judah is compared to a vine with bad grapes (Jer_2:21); here the vine does not even pretend to bear fruit. Another figure is that of a barren fig tree (comp. Mat_21:19). And the things that I have given them, etc.; rather, and I gave them that which they transgress (viz. laws). The construction, however, which this rendering implies is not perfectly natural, though supported by most of the ancient versions, and it is better to alter a single vowel-point, and render "And I will give them to those who shall pass over them." The phrase to pass away is constantly used of an invading host; e.g. Isa_8:7; Dan_11:10, Dan_11:40.

The Pulpit Commentary
Why do we sit still? The prophet transports us by a stroke of his pea into the midst of the fulfillment of his prophecy. The people of the country districts are represented as urging each other to flight. True, it is the resource of despair. No defensed cities can defend them against the judgment of Jehovah. Let us be silent; rather, let us perish; literally, let us be put to silence. Hath put us to silence; rather, hath caused us to perish; i.e. hath decreed our destruction. Water of gall; a phrase characteristic of our prophet (see Jer_9:14; Jer_23:15). It is a little difficult to find a rendering which shall suit all the passages in which rosh (gall) is mentioned. In Deu_32:33 (and so Job_20:16) it is clearly used for "venom" in general; and yet in Deu_32:32 of the same chapter it obviously means a plant. Another general application of the term seems to have been to bitterness in general, the ideas of bitterness and poisonousness being taken as interchangeable. The Authorized Version may therefore stand.

The Pulpit Commentary
Health; rather, healing. Another rendering is tranquility (same sense as in Ecc_10:4). Trouble; rather, terror.

The Pulpit Commentary
The invader is introduced with the same mysterious indefiniteness as in Jer_4:13. From Dan; i.e. from the northern frontier (see on Jer_4:15). Trembled; rather, quaked (so Jer_49:21). His strong ones. The phrase "strong ones" generally denotes oxen, but here (as in Jer_47:3; Jer_50:11) horses.

The Pulpit Commentary
A new image to intensify the impression of dreadfulness. Serpents, cockatrices; rather, serpents (even) basilisks. The second noun is in apposition to the more general "serpents." "Basilisks" (Serpentes regulos) are the renderings of Aquila and the Vulgate. Some species of highly venomous serpent is clearly intended; more than this we cannot say. The root probably means "to hiss." Canon Tristram thinks of "a very beautifully marked yellow serpent, and the largest of the vipers found in the Holy Land," called the Daboia xantheina. He adds that it is one of the most dangerous.

The captivity of Judah and the deep sorrow of Jeremiah.

The Pulpit Commentary
When I would comfort myself, etc. The text is here extremely difficult, and if there is corruption anywhere it is in the opening of this verse. Ewald and Graf suppose an ellipsis, and render, "(Oh for) my enlivening [i.e. an enlivening for me] in trouble!" Hitzig more naturally renders in the vocative, "My enlivener in trouble" which he supposes to be in apposition to my heart. Do Dieu wavers between this and the view that it is an address to his wife, "Quae marito solatio est." (See, however, Jer_16:2.)

The Pulpit Commentary
Because of them that dwell in, etc. The Hebrew simply has "from them," etc. The prophet is transported in imam-nation to the time of the fulfillment of his prophecies. He hears the lamentation of his countrymen, who are languishing in captivity. Is not the Lord in Zion, etc.? is the burden of their sad complaints; "king" is a familiar synonym for "God" (comp. Isa_8:21; Isa_33:22; but not Psa_89:18, which is certainly mistranslated in Authorized Version). But why" in Zion?" "Zion" was properly the name of the eastward hill at Jerusalem, where lay the oldest part of the city (called "the city of David"), and the highest portion of which was crowned by the temple. Why have they provoked me to anger, etc.? is the reply of Jehovah, pointing out that their sufferings were but an exact retribution for their infidelity (comp. Jer_5:19).

The Pulpit Commentary
The harvest is past, etc. For "summer," read fruit-gathering. The people again becomes the speaker. The form of the speech reminds one of a proverb. When the harvest was over and the fruit-gathering ended, the husbandmen looked for a quiet time of refreshment. Judah had had its "harvest-time" and then its "fruit-gathering;" its needs had been gradually, increasing, and, on the analogy of previous deliverances (comp. Isa_18:4; Isa_33:10), it might have been expected that God would have interposed, his help being only delayed in order to be the more signally supernatural. But we are not saved (or rather, delivered).

The Pulpit Commentary
For the hurt, etc.; literally, because of the breaking, etc; I am broken; comp. Jer_23:9, and the phrase "broken in heart" (Isa_61:1, etc.). The prophet feels crushed by the sense of the utter ruin of his people. I am black; rather, I go in mourning (so Psa_38:6; Psa_42:9). The root means rather "foulness" or "squalor" than "blackness" (comp. Job_6:16, where "blackish," an epithet of streams, should rather be "turbid").

The Pulpit Commentary
No hope or remedy is left; again a proverbial expression. No balm in Gilead. Gilead appears to have been celebrated in early times for its balsam, which was expected by Ishmaelites to Egypt (Gen_37:25) and by Jewish merchants to Tyro (Eze_27:17). It was one of the most costly products of Palestine (Gen_43:11), and was prized for its medicinal properties in cases of wounds (comp. Jer_46:11; Jer_51:8). Josephus mentions this balsam several times, but states that it only grew at Jericho ('Antiq.,' 15.4,2), Tristram searched for balsam in its ancient haunts, but in vain; he thinks Jeremiah means the Balsamodendron gileadense or opobalsamum, which in Arabia is used as a medicine both internally and externally. But if Pliny ('Hist. Nat.,' 24.22) may be followed in his wide use of the term "balsam" so as to include the exudations of the "lentisens" or mastick tree, then "balm of Gilead" is still to be found; for the mastick tree "grows commonly all over the country, excepting in the plains and the Jordan valley". Is there no physician there? We hear but little of physicians in the Old Testament. They are only mentioned again in Gen_1:2 (but with reference to Egypt, where medicine was much cultivated), and in 2Ch_16:12; Job_13:4. From the two latter passages we may, perhaps, infer that physicians were rarely successful; and this is certainly the impression produced by Ecclesiasticus 38:15, "He that sinneth before his Maker, let him fall into the hand of the physician." The remedies employed in the Talmudic period quite bear out this strong saying. The physicians of Gilead, however, probably confined themselves to their one famous simple, the balsam. Is not the health … recovered? Gesenius renders, less probably, "hath no bandage been applied to the daughter of my people?"