Jer 2:27, 32:33, Hos 4:16 | JFB | STEP | 27. Thou art my father —(Contrast ). in . . . trouble they will say —namely, to God ( ). Trouble often brings men to their senses ( ).

Jeremiah 2:27

27. Thou art my father—(Contrast Jer 3:4; Isa 64:8).

in . . . trouble they will say—namely, to God (Ps 78:34; Isa 26:16). Trouble often brings men to their senses (Lu 15:16-18).

Jeremiah 32:33

33. (Jer 2:27; 7:13).

Hosea 4:16

16. backsliding—Translate, "Israel is refractory, as a refractory heifer," namely, one that throws the yoke off her neck. Israel had represented God under the form of "calves" (1Ki 12:28); but it is she herself who is one.

lamb in a large place—not in a good sense, as in Isa 30:23. Here there is irony: lambs like a large pasture; but it is not so safe for them as a small one, duly fenced from wild beasts. God will "feed" them, but it shall be with the "rod" (Mic 7:14). It shall be no longer in the narrow territory of Israel, but "in a large place," namely, they shall be scattered in exile over the wide realm of Assyria, a prey to their foes; as lambs, which are timid, gregarious, and not solitary, are a prey when scattered asunder to wild beasts.