(1.) Chap. i.—The appointment of Jeremiah as prophet “over the nations
and the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, and to destroy and to
overthrow, to build and to plant” (ver. 10).
(2.) Chaps, ii. to vi.—Jeremiah addresses the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
“Israel is a holy portion, belonging to the Lord; whosoever eats of it
is guilty, and will be punished.” Israel ought therefore to be faithful
to God. This they are not, in spite of the benefits bestowed on them;
they are exhorted to repentance: in vain. They are therefore threatened
with a hostile invasion from the north.
(3.) Chaps, vii. to x.—The prophet addresses the people in the gate of
the Temple, exhorting them to true repentance. Without obedience to God
the Temple and sacrificial service have no value. The foundation of the
Law is, “You shall be to me a people, and walk in the way which I
command you.” You have not obeyed, and punishment is determined upon.
Jeremiah, foreseeing the desolation of the country and the ruin of the
nation, laments and weeps, but he is sure that God is עשה חסד משפט
וצדקה “one who doth loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness,” and
that those nations which indulged in cruelties against the Israelites
when under Divine punishment will themselves not escape retribution.
(4.) xi. to xiii.—“The covenant was: Hear my voice, and do what I
command you: ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.” You have
broken this covenant and worshipped idols; evil must come upon you.
This Jeremiah proclaimed in “the cities of Judah and the streets of
Jerusalem,” and probably also in Anathoth; whereupon he was threatened
with death. Such conduct gave occasion to further prophecies concerning
the wickedness of the people and their impending punishment. The fact
that Israel has been chosen to be the people of the Lord and has shown
himself unworthy of the distinction, is symbolised by a girdle, forming
at first an ornament to man, but which when rotten by moisture in the
crevices of rocks, is no longer of any use.
(5.) Chaps, xiv. to xvii.—Drought visits Judah; Jeremiah prays to God
for relief from famine. God rejects his petition. The prophet is
disappointed, but he is assured that God will protect him from the
attacks of the people, if he tries “to bring forth a precious thing
from the vile.” He tries, but in vain.
(6.) xvii. 19–27.—Exhortation to keep the Sabbath, to abstain from all
manner of work, and from carrying burdens out of or into the town.
(7.) xviii.—God changes His decrees according to the deeds of man, as a
potter transforms the clay from one vessel to another. Jeremiah is
again insulted and threatened, and he prays to God against his
persecutors.
(8.) xix. and xx.—In the valley of Hinnom, Jeremiah denounces the
idolatry of Israel, and as a symbol of the impending ruin of Israel, he
breaks a pot of earthenware. Returning from the valley, he announces
the coming evil in the court of the Temple in the presence of the
people; he is taken into prison by Pashchur, the chief of the Temple,
for one day. When released he repeats the same prophecy, but feels that
he has given offence, and in utter despair curses the day of his birth.
(9.) Chaps, xxi. to xxiv.—Nebuchadnezzar attacked Judah, and Zedekiah
(later king of Judah) sent to Jeremiah asking him to pray for the
safety of the people. But Jeremiah prophesied defeat and disgrace on
account of their iniquity. He went even by the command of God to the
royal palace, and repeated there the Divine decree against the royal
family, Shallum (= Joahaz), Jojakim, and Coniah (= Jeboiachin). There
will come, however, one day a righteous offspring of David, who will
rule justly and prosperously; He shall be called “The Lord is our
salvation.” For the present it would be better to submit to the
Babylonian rule. They are false prophets who flatter and speak in the
name of God of victories over the Babylonians. The false prophets will
all be punished—those who proclaim as their own prophecy the very words
they heard from true prophets, those who in different words reproduce
messages of the true prophets as their own, and those who invent
falsehood. The advisability of submitting to the Babylonian power is
also illustrated by the vision of two baskets of figs; good figs
representing those who will submit, and bad figs those who prefer war
with the Babylonians.
(10.) xxv. to xxvii.—Jeremiah continues, during the reign of Jehoiakim,
his prophecies in favour of a peaceful submission to the Babylonians,
with the Divine promise of a redemption from the exile and the
restoration to their own country and dominion.
(11.) xxviii.—The same prophecy is continued during the reign of
Zedekiah. He was opposed by the false prophet Hananiah, to whom
Jeremiah foretold that he would be punished and die the same year; this
came also to pass.
(12.) xxix. to xxxi.—To the Jews already in Babylon Jeremiah sends a
letter of consolation and encourages them in their hopes for the
redemption from exile. Of the same tenor were the messages spoken by
Jeremiah to all Jews. In days to come a new covenant will be
instituted; new in so far as it will not be broken again, the Law
remaining permanently written on their heart, “I shall be their God,
and they shall be my nation.”
(13.) xxxii. and xxxiii.—Jeremiah, kept in prison, bought property from
his uncle Hanamel, wrote and signed the document of transfer, and
handed it to Baruch. By this he expressed his conviction that the Jews
would return from exile and take possession of their land. In addition
to this he sent forth from the prison a Messianic prophecy, describing
the future greatness of the seed of David, and the restoration of the
priests and Levites to the sacrificial service.
(14.) xxxiv. and xxxv.—Jeremiah exhorts the people to keep “the year of
release,” and held up the family of the Rechabites as patterns of
piety, who could not be induced to break their vow of abstinence,
though it was voluntarily undertaken.
(15.) xxxvi. to xlv.—Jeremiah continues to prophesy, advising, though
fruitlessly, submission to the Babylonian king. Zedekiah made war
against Nebuchadnezzar, was defeated, and Jerusalem was taken by the
Babylonians. When some Jews wanted to emigrate to Egypt, Jeremiah
warned them in the name of God not to do so. He was not listened to; he
was even forced to go with them; but he prophesied against them, and
foretold their ruin. Baruch, to whom Jeremiah dictated his prophecies,
was discontented at being driven from place to place; Jeremiah appeased
and encouraged him.
(16.) xlvi. to lii.—Jeremiah prophesies against Egypt, the Philistines,
Moab, Ammon, Edom, Damascus, Kedar, Elam, and Babylon. The book
concludes with an account of the fall of Jerusalem, similar to that
given at the end of the second book of Kings.