Jer 33:14-26 | Clarke | STEP | Verse 14 Behold the days come - See , and . That good thing which I have promised - By my prophets: for those who have predicted the captivity have also foretold its conclusion, though not in such express terms as Jeremiah did. See , etc.; , etc.; , etc.; , etc., and , etc. The end of the captivity has been foretold by Micah, , etc.; Zephaniah, , etc.; and by Jeremiah, ; ; ; . The Targum explains , , and of the Messiah.

Jeremiah 33:14-26

Verse 14

Behold the days come - See Jer 23:5, and Jer 31:31.

That good thing which I have promised - By my prophets: for those who have predicted the captivity have also foretold its conclusion, though not in such express terms as Jeremiah did. See Hos 1:10, etc.; Hos 2:15, etc.; Hos 6:11, etc.; Amo 9:14, etc., and Jer 3:12, etc. The end of the captivity has been foretold by Micah, Mic 7:9, etc.; Zephaniah, Zep 3:10, etc.; and by Jeremiah, Jer 16:15; Jer 23:3; Jer 29:10; Jer 32:37. The Targum explains Jer 32:14, Jer 32:15, and Jer 32:16 of the Messiah. Verse 16

And this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The Lord our Righteousness - See what has been said on Jer 23:6 (note), which is generally supposed to be a strictly parallel passage: but they are very different, and I doubt whether they mean exactly the same thing. As to our translation here, it is ignorant, and almost impious; it says that Jerusalem, for that is the antecedent, shall be called The Lord our Righteousness. The pronoun לה lah, which is translated her, is the masculine affix, in the Chaldaic form, which frequently occurs; and Dr. Blayney translates, "And this is He whom Jehovah shall call our righteousness," or Justification. Perhaps there is a sense which these words will bear far more congenial to the scope of the place. I will give the original, as before: וזה אשר יקרא לה יהוה צדקנו vezeh asher yikra lah, Yehovah tsidkenu, "And this one who shall call to her is the Lord our Justification;" that is, the salvation of the Jews shall take place when Jesus Christ is proclaimed to them as their Justifier, and they receive him as such.

Instead of לה lah, her or him, Chaldaice, the Vulgate, Chaldee, and Syriac have read לו lo, him, less ambiguously; and this reading is supported by one or two MSS. This emendation renders the passage here more conformable to that in Jer 23:6; but if the translation above be admitted, all embarrassment is gone.

One of my own MSS. has לה loh, with the masculine points, and no mappik on the ה he; and for tsidkenu has צדקינו tsidkeynu, the contracted plural form, our righteousness: but this may be a mistake. The passages in this and the twenty-third chapter were not, I am satisfied, intended to express the same thing. I suppose that above refers to the preaching or proclaiming Christ crucified to the Jews, when the time shall arrive in which they shall be incorporated with the Gentile Church. Dahler translates this as he did that in chap. 23, which is a perfect oversight: but paraphrastic renderings are too often introduced by this learned foreigner. Verse 18

Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man - This is a repetition of the promise made to Phinehas, Num 25:13. Verse 20

If ye can break my covenant of the day - See the note on Jer 31:36. Verse 22

So will I multiply the seed of David - This must be understood of the spiritual David, Jesus Christ, and his progeny, genuine Christians. The two families which God chose for the priesthood, that of Aaron and Phinehas, or, on its being taken away from him, that of Ithamar, 1Sam 2:35, are both extinct. Nor has the office of high priest, or priest of any kind offering sacrifice, been exercised among the Jews for nearly eighteen hundred years; therefore what is said here of the priesthood must refer to the spiritual priesthood, at the head of which is Jesus Christ. Verse 24

The two families which the Lord hath chosen - Some think these refer to the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah; but they never can be considered as two distinct families, being of one and the same race. Others think that the families of Jacob and David are intended; but neither were these distinct. If the two families which had the priesthood be not meant, then the regal family of David, and the sacerdotal family of Jacob through Levi, may be designed. See Jer 33:26. Following the spiritual interpretation, neither the regal nor sacerdotal family has failed; for Jesus is a King and a Priest, and all true believers in him are kings and priests unto God and the Lamb. And the highest King that ever reigned is He who is the seed of David, King of kings and Lord of lords, who has all power in heaven and in earth.