Chapter commentary
Jeremiah Chapter 44
서론
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日本語
English original
In this chapter we have, I. An awakening sermon which Jeremiah preaches to the Jews in Egypt, to reprove them for their idolatry, notwithstanding the warnings given them both by the word and the rod of God and to threaten the judgments of God against them for it, Jer 44:1-14. II. The impudent and impious contempt which the people put upon this admonition, and their declared resolution to persist in their idolatries notwithstanding, in despite of God and Jeremiah, Jer 44:15-19. III. The sentence passed upon them for their obstinacy, that they should all be cut off and perish in Egypt except a very small number; and, as a sign or earnest of it, the king of Egypt should shortly fall into the hands of the king of Babylon and be unable any longer to protect them, Jer 44:20-30.
1-14
Sermon to the Jews in Egypt; Jeremiah's Remonstrance (587 BC)
日本語
エジプトのユダヤ人への説教、エレミヤの忠告（紀元前587年）
¹ エジプトの地に住むすべてのユダヤ人――ミグドル、タフパヘス、ノフ、パテロスの地に住む者――に関してエレミヤに臨んだことば。
² 万軍の主、イスラエルの神はこう仰せられる。あなたがたはエルサレムとユダのすべての町々の上にもたらしたすべての悪を見た。見よ、今日それらは荒廃であり、そこに住む者はない。
³ 彼らがわたしを怒らせるために行ったその悪のゆえに。すなわち彼らが知らない他の神々に香をたき、仕えるために行ったこと。彼らも、あなたがたも、あなたがたの先祖も知らなかった者たちに。
⁴ わたしはわたしのしもべ預言者たちをみな、あなたがたに遣わした。早起きして彼らを遣わし、『ああ、わたしの憎むこの忌むべき事をするな』と言った。
⁵ しかし彼らは聞かず、耳を傾けようともせず、その悪から立ち返り、他の神々に香をたかなかった。
⁶ それゆえわたしの憤りと怒りが注ぎ出され、ユダの町々とエルサレムの通りで燃え上がった。彼らは今日あるように荒廃した。
⁷ それゆえ今、万軍の神、イスラエルの神である主はこう仰せられる。なぜあなたがたは自分の魂に対してこの大いなる悪を行い、ユダから男女、子どもと乳飲み子を断ち切り、残る者を残さないようにするのか。
⁸ あなたがたが住むために行ったエジプトの地で、他の神々に香をたき、あなたがたの手のわざでわたしを怒らせ、自分たちを断ち切り、地のすべての国々の中でのろいとそしりとなるためか。
⁹ あなたがたは、ユダの地とエルサレムの通りで彼らが行った、あなたがたの先祖の悪、ユダの王たちの悪、その妻たちの悪、あなたがた自身の悪、あなたがたの妻たちの悪を忘れたのか。
¹⁰ 彼らは今日に至るまでへりくだっていない。恐れもせず、わたしがあなたがたとあなたがたの先祖の前に置いたわたしの律法やわたしの定めにおいて歩まなかった。
¹¹ それゆえ万軍の主、イスラエルの神はこう仰せられる。見よ、わたしはわざわいのために顔をあなたがたに向け、すべてのユダを断ち切る。
¹² わたしはエジプトの地に寄留しようと顔を向けたユダの残りの者を取る。彼らは皆滅び、エジプトの地に倒れる。剣と疫病とでききんで滅び絶える。最も小さい者から最も大きい者まで剣でききんで死ぬ。彼らはのろい、驚き、呪い、そしりとなる。
¹³ わたしがエルサレムを罰したように、剣、疫病、でききんでエジプトの地に住む者を罰するからである。
¹⁴ ユダの残りの者で、寄留するためにエジプトの地に行った者のだれものがれない。住むために帰りたいと願うユダの地に帰る者が残らない。のがれた者だけが帰るからである。
エジプトのユダヤ人は今や国の様々な部分に散らされていた。ミグドル、ノフ、その他の場所に。そしてエレミヤは神からの使いとして彼らに遣わされた。彼がそのメッセージを配ったのは、彼らの多くが一緒にいた「パテロス」（エレミヤ44:15）でか、あるいは場所から場所へと歩き回り、この趣旨に説教したかのいずれかで。「万軍の主、イスラエルの神」の御名において。そしてその中で、
一、神は彼らにユダとエルサレムの荒廃を思い出させる。「バビロンの川々のほとりの捕囚」（詩篇137:1）は毎日心に留めていたが、エジプトの都市の逃亡者たちは忘れたようで、思い出させる必要があった。それにもかかわらず、彼らが見えなくなるほど長くそこから離れていなかったと思うが（エレミヤ44:2）。「あなたがたは見た」。ユダとエルサレムがどのような悲惨な状態にもたらされたか。「今、あなたがたはその荒廃がどこから来たか考察するか」。神の怒りから。神の憤りと怒りが、エルサレムと「ユダの町々を荒廃させた」火をつけた（エレミヤ44:6）。破壊の道具が誰であれ、彼らは道具に過ぎなかった。全能者からの破壊であった。
二、神は彼らにユダとエルサレムにその荒廃をもたらした罪を思い出させる。「その悪」のゆえであった。これが「神を怒らせ」、特に彼らの偶像礼拝、「他の神々に仕える」こと（エレミヤ44:3）。自分たちの思いの産物、自分たちの手のわざである偽りの神々に、真の神のみに与えられるべき誉れを与えたこと。彼らは彼らの中に知られ、その御名が大いなる神を捨て、知らなかった神々、起源が曖昧で言及する価値もない新興の神々のために。彼らも、あなたがたも、あなたがたの先祖も、「イスラエルの神」がそのような詐欺師と交換された理由について、いかなる合理的説明も与えられなかった。彼らは彼らが神々であることを知らなかった。いな、彼らが神々でないことを知らないではいられなかった。
三、神は彼らに、他の神々に仕えないようにと、そのことばを通して頻繁に公正に与えられた警告を思い出させる。その警告の軽蔑は彼らの偶像礼拝を大いに重くした（エレミヤ44:4）。預言者たちは、彼らに呼びかけるために多大の配慮をもって遣わされた。「ああ！わたしの憎むこの忌むべき事をするな」。罪を忌むべきものとして最大の恐れと嫌悪をもって語ることは私たちにふさわしい。それは確かにそうである。神が憎むものであり、私たちは「神のさばきは真実に従う」ことを確信するから。それを重大と呼び、忌まわしいと呼べ。それによってあらゆる手段で私たち自身や他者をそれに愛着を持たせないように。罪の危険とその致命的な結果についての警告を、すべての真剣さと切迫さをもって与えることは私たちにふさわしい。「ああ！それをするな。もしあなたがたが神を愛するなら、するな。それは神を怒らせるから。もしあなたがたが自分の魂を愛するなら、するな。それはそれらに破壊的だから」。誘惑の時、私たちが譲ろうとする時に、良心が私たちのためにこれをしてくれるように。ああ気をつけよ！「主が憎むこの忌むべき事をするな」。神がそれを憎むなら、あなたはそれを憎むべきであるから。しかし彼らは神が彼らに語ったことに心を留めたか。いな、「彼らは聞かず、耳を傾けようともせず」（エレミヤ44:5）。彼らはなおその偶像礼拝に固執した。そして何が起こったかを見る。それゆえ神の「怒りが彼らの上に注がれた」、「今日あるように」。今、これはあなたがたへの警告として意図された。彼らがそうしたように神の口のさばきを聞いただけでなく、神の手のさばきをも見た者たち。それによってあなたがたは驚かされ、目を覚まされるべきである。それらは in terrorem 課せられた。他の者が聞き、恐れ、彼らがした以上のことをしないように。彼らと同じ運命に遭わないために。
四、神は彼らがエジプトに来てからの継続的な偶像礼拝を責め、責める（エレミヤ44:8）。あなたがたは「エジプトの地で他の神々に香をたき」、仕える。それゆえ神は彼らにエジプトに行くことを禁じられた。それが彼らのわなになることを知っておられたから。神がカルデヤ人の地に送った者たちは、そこが偶像礼拝の国であったにもかかわらず、神の恵みの力によって偶像礼拝から離れた。しかし神の御心に逆らってエジプト人の地に行った者たちは、自分たちの腐敗の力によって、以前にもまして偶像礼拝に結びついた。私たちが原因や召しもなく誘惑の場所に自分を押し込む時、神が私たちを自分たちに任せるのは正当である。これにおいて、
- 彼らは自分たちとその家族に多くの危害を加えた。「あなたがたは自分の魂に対してこの大いなる悪を行う」（エレミヤ44:7）。彼らを傷つけ、偽りのもので欺き、滅ぼす。それは彼らに致命的であるから。御注意せよ。神に対して罪を犯す時、私たちは「自分自身の魂に対して」罪を犯す。「それはすべての慰めと望みから自分たちを断ち切る確実な道」（エレミヤ44:8）。あなたがたの名と誉れを断ち切る。それであなたがたは罪によっても苦難によっても「すべての国々の中でのろいとそしり」となる。「ユダヤ人のように惨めだ」ということわざになるであろう。「あなたがたからすべての親族を断ち切る」確実な道。あなたがたが喜ぶべきであり、家族を建てるべきすべての者。「男女、子どもと乳飲み子」。それでユダは相続人がいないために失われた地となる。
- 彼らはその先祖の不義の満ちた割を満たし、それが彼らには少なすぎたかのように、それに加えた（エレミヤ44:9）。「あなたがたはその悪を忘れたのか」。あなたがたの前に行った者たちの。あなたがたがそうあるべきようにそのためにへりくだらず、その結果を恐れないのか。ある読みでは「あなたがたの先祖の刑罰を忘れたのか」。「その偶像礼拝が彼らにどれほど高くついたかを知らないのか。それでもあなたがたは先祖から伝統によって受けた空しい交わりを続ける勇気があるのか。のろいも一緒に受けたのに」。彼は「ユダの王たち」の罪と刑罰を彼らに思い出させる。彼らは偉大であったが、その偶像礼拝のために神のさばきをのがれなかった。いな、「その妻たちの悪」によっても警告を受けるべきであった。彼女たちは彼らを偶像礼拝にそそのかしたから。原語では「およびその妻たちの」である。ライトフット博士は、これがソロモンの妻たち、特にエジプトの妻たちに暗に言及すると考える。ユダの王たちの偶像礼拝は彼女たちにその起源を負うていた。「あなたがたはこれを忘れたのか。そしてそれから何が来たかを。それでも同じ悪い道を冒険する勇気があるのか」。ネヘミヤ13:18,26を見よ。「いな、あなたがた自身の時代に来よう。あなたがたはエルサレムで繁栄の中に住んでいた時の『あなたがた自身の悪とあなたがたの妻たちの悪』を忘れたのか。そしてそれがあなたがたにもたらした滅亡を」。しかし、ああ、彼らに語って何になろうか。（エレミヤ44:10で神は預言者に言われる）。「彼らは今日に至るまでへりくだっていない」。その下にあったすべてのへりくだらせる摂理によって。「彼らは恐れず、わたしの律法において歩まなかった」。御注意せよ。神の律法において歩まない者は、それによって神の恐れを持たないことを示す。
五、神は彼らがエジプトにいる今、偶像礼拝に固執するために、彼らの完全な滅亡を脅かす。さばきが彼らに対して与えられる。以前のように（エレミヤ42:22）。彼らはエジプトで滅びる。命令は出た。そして取り消されない。「彼らはエジプトの地に行くために顔を向けた」（エレミヤ44:12）。神に逆らうその目的において決心であった。そして今や神は彼らに対するご自身の目的において決心で。「わたしはすべてのユダを断ち切るために顔を向ける」（エレミヤ44:11）。全能神を侮るだけでなく、立ち向かおうとする者は、圧倒されるのを見出す。「主の顔は悪を行う者に向かう」から（詩篇34:16）。これらの偶像礼拝のユダヤ人、エジプトの、についてここで脅かされる。
- 「彼らは皆滅びる」。例外なく。彼らの中のどの位階や階級ものがれない。「彼らは最も小さい者から最も大きい者まで倒れる」（エレミヤ44:12）。「高い者も低い者も、富める者も貧しい者も」。
- 「彼らはエルサレムの罰のために神が用いられた」全く同じさばきによって「滅びる」。「剣、疫病、でききん」（エレミヤ44:12-13）。彼らは荒野のイスラエルのように自然死によって滅びるのではない。これらの厳しいさばきによって。エジプトに飛ぶことによって、その手の届かない所に出ようとしたさばきによって。
- 「のだれたわずかな者を除いて、だれも」「ユダの地に帰る」ことがない（エレミヤ44:14）。近いので、バビロンに連れて行かれた者たちよりも帰還の見込みが良いと思った。しかしそれらの者は帰るであろうが、これらは帰らない。神が私たちに約束された道において慰めを与える方法は、私たちが自分で計画した方法よりもはるかに確実である。御注意せよ。いらだち不満な者はどこにいても不快で変化を愛するであろう。イスラエル人はユダの地にいた時、エジプトに行きたいと願った（エレミヤ42:22）。しかしエジプトにいた時、「ユダの地に再び帰る」ことを願った。彼らはそれに「魂を上げた」（欄外読み）。切迫した望みを示す。しかし、神が命じられた時にそこに住もうとしなかったので、彼らは望む所に住むことはない。もし私たちが神に逆らって歩むなら、神は私たちに逆らって歩まれる。神ご自身が彼らにそう告げられたのに、彼らがそうであった時に知ろうとしなかった者が、うまくいくことを期待できようか。
English original
Sermon to the Jews in Egypt; Jeremiah's Remonstrance (587 BC)
¹ The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews which dwell in the land of Egypt, which dwell at Migdol, and at Tahpanhes, and at Noph, and in the country of Pathros, saying,
² Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Ye have seen all the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, and upon all the cities of Judah; and, behold, this day they are a desolation, and no man dwelleth therein,
³ Because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense, and to serve other gods, whom they knew not, neither they, ye, nor your fathers.
⁴ Howbeit I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate.
⁵ But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense unto other gods.
⁶ Wherefore my fury and mine anger was poured forth, and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as at this day.
⁷ Therefore now thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; Wherefore commit ye this great evil against your souls, to cut off from you man and woman, child and suckling, out of Judah, to leave you none to remain;
⁸ In that ye provoke me unto wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense unto other gods in the land of Egypt, whither ye be gone to dwell, that ye might cut yourselves off, and that ye might be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?
⁹ Have ye forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, and the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, and your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they have committed in the land of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem?
¹⁰ They are not humbled even unto this day, neither have they feared, nor walked in my law, nor in my statutes, that I set before you and before your fathers.
¹¹ Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will set my face against you for evil, and to cut off all Judah.
¹² And I will take the remnant of Judah, that have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, and they shall all be consumed, and fall in the land of Egypt; they shall even be consumed by the sword and by the famine: they shall die, from the least even unto the greatest, by the sword and by the famine: and they shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach.
¹³ For I will punish them that dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence:
¹⁴ So that none of the remnant of Judah, which are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall escape or remain, that they should return into the land of Judah, to the which they have a desire to return to dwell there: for none shall return but such as shall escape.
The Jews in Egypt were now dispersed into various parts of the country, into Migdol, and Noph, and other places, and Jeremiah was sent on an errand from God to them, which he delivered either when he had the most of them together in Pathros (Jer 44:15) or going about from place to place preaching to this purport. He delivered this message in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, and in it,
I. God puts them in mind of the desolations of Judah and Jerusalem, which, though the captives by the rivers of Babylon were daily mindful of (Ps 137:1), the fugitives in the cities of Egypt seem to have forgotten and needed to be put in mind of, though, one would have thought, they had not been so long out of sight as to become out of mind (Jer 44:2): You have seen what a deplorable condition Judah and Jerusalem are brought into; now will you consider whence those desolations came? From the wrath of God; it was his fury and his anger that kindled the fire which made Jerusalem and the cities of Judah waste and desolate (Jer 44:6); whoever were the instruments of the destruction, they were but instruments: it was a destruction from the Almighty.
II. He puts them in mind of the sins that brought those desolations upon Judah and Jerusalem. It was for their wickedness. It was this that provoked God to anger, and especially their idolatry, their serving other gods (Jer 44:3) and giving that honour to counterfeit deities, the creatures of their own fancy and the work of their own hands, which should have been given to the true God only. They forsook the God who was known among them, and whose name was great, for gods that they knew not, upstart deities, whose original was obscure and not worth taking notice of: "Neither they nor you, nor your fathers, could give any rational account why the God of Israel was exchanged for such impostors." They knew not that they were gods; nay, they could not but know that they were no gods.
III. He puts them in mind of the frequent and fair warnings he had given them by his word not to serve other gods, the contempt of which warnings was a great aggravation of their idolatry, Jer 44:4. The prophets were sent with a great deal of care to call to them, saying, Oh! do not this abominable thing that I hate. It becomes us to speak of sin with the utmost dread and detestation as an abominable thing; it is certainly so, for it is that which God hates, and we are sure that his judgment is according to truth. Call it grievous, call it odious, that we may by all means possible put ourselves and others out of love with it. It becomes us to give warning of the danger of sin, and the fatal consequences of it, with all seriousness and earnestness: "Oh! do not do it. If you love God, do not, for it is provoking to him; if you love your own souls do not, for it is destructive to them." Let conscience do this for us in an hour of temptation, when we are ready to yield. O take heed! do not this abominable thing which the Lord hates; for, if God hates it, thou shouldst hate it. But did they regard what God said to them? No: "They hearkened not, nor inclined their ear (Jer 44:5); they still persisted in their idolatries; and you see what came of it, therefore God's anger was poured out upon them, as at this day. Now this was intended for warning to you, who have not only heard the judgments of God's mouth, as they did, but have likewise seen the judgments of his hand, by which you should be startled and awakened, for they were inflicted in terrorem, that others might hear and fear and do no more as they did, lest they should fare as they fared."
IV. He reproves them for, and upbraids them with, their continued idolatries, now that they had come into Egypt (Jer 44:8): You burn incense to other gods in the land of Egypt. Therefore God forbade them to go into Egypt, because he knew it would be a snare to them. Those whom God sent into the land of the Chaldeans, though that was an idolatrous country, were there, by the power of God's grace, weaned from idolatry; but those who went against God's mind into the land of the Egyptians were there, by the power of their own corruptions, more wedded than ever to their idolatries; for, when we thrust ourselves without cause or call into places of temptation, it is just with God to leave us to ourselves. In doing this, 1. They did a great deal of injury to themselves and their families: "You commit this great evil against your souls (Jer 44:7), you wrong them, you deceive them with that which is false, you destroy them, for it will be fatal to them." Note, In sinning against God we sin against our own souls. "It is the ready way to cut yourselves off from all comfort and hope (Jer 44:8), to cut off your name and honour; so that you will, both by your sin and by your misery, become a curse and a reproach among all nations. It will become a proverb, As wretched as a Jew. It is the ready way to cut off from you all your relations, all that you should have joy of and have your families built up in, man and woman, child and suckling, so that Judah shall be a land lost for want of heirs." 2. They filled up the measure of the iniquity of their fathers, and, as if that had been too little for them, added to it (Jer 44:9): "Have you forgotten the wickedness of those who are gone before you, that you are not humbled for it as you ought to be, and afraid of the consequences of it?" Have you forgotten the punishments of your fathers? so some read it. "Do you not know how dear their idolatry cost them? And yet dare you continue in that vain conversation received by tradition from you fathers, though you received the curse with it?" He reminds them of the sins and punishments of the kings of Judah, who, great as they were, escaped not the judgments of God for their idolatry; yea, and they should have taken warning by the wickedness of their wives, who had seduced them to idolatry. In the original it is, And of his wives, which, Dr. Lightfoot thinks, tacitly reflects upon Solomon's wives, particularly his Egyptian wives, to whom the idolatry of the kings of Judah owed its original. "Have you forgotten this, and what came of it, that you dare venture upon the same wicked courses?" See Ne 13:18,26. "Nay, to come to your own times, Have you forgotten your own wickedness and the wickedness of your wives, when you lived in prosperity in Jerusalem, and what ruin it brought upon you? But, alas! to what purpose do I speak to them?" (says God to the prophet, Jer 44:10) "they are not humbled unto this day, by all the humbling providences that they have been under. They have not feared, nor walked in my law." Note, Those that walk not in the law of God do thereby show that they are destitute of the fear of God.
V. He threatens their utter ruin for their persisting in their idolatry now that they were in Egypt. Judgment is given against them, as before (Jer 42:22), that they shall perish in Egypt; the decree has gone forth, and shall not be called back. They set their faces to go into the land of Egypt (Jer 44:12), were resolute in their purpose against God, and now God is resolute in his purpose against them: I will set my face to cut off all Judah, Jer 44:11. Those that think not only to affront, but to confront, God Almighty, will find themselves outfaced; for the face of the Lord is against those that do evil, Ps 34:16. It is here threatened concerning these idolatrous Jews in Egypt, 1. That they shall all be consumed, without exception; no degree nor order among them shall escape: They shall fall, from the least to the greatest (Jer 44:12), high and low, rich and poor. 2. That they shall be consumed by the very same judgments which God made use of for the punishment of Jerusalem, the sword, famine, and pestilence, Jer 44:12,13. They shall not be wasted by natural deaths, as Israel in the wilderness, but by these sore judgments, which, by flying into Egypt, they thought to get out of the reach of. 3. That none (except a very few that will narrowly escape) shall ever return to the land of Judah again, Jer 44:14. They thought, being nearer, that they stood fairer for a return to their own land than those that were carried to Babylon; yet those shall return, and these shall not; for the way in which God has promised us any comfort is much surer than that in which we have projected it for ourselves. Observe, Those that are fretful and discontented will be uneasy and fond of change wherever they are. The Israelites, when they were in the land of Judah, desired to go into Egypt (Jer 42:22), but when they were in Egypt they desired to return to the land of Judah again; they lifted up their soul to it (so it is in the margin), which denotes an earnest desire. But, because they would not dwell there when God commanded it, they shall not dwell they were they desire it. If we walk contrary to God, he will walk contrary to us. How can those expect to be well off who would not know when they were so, though God himself told them?
15-19
The People's Insolent Reply (587 BC)
日本語
民の不遜な返答（紀元前587年）
¹⁵ それから、自分の妻たちがほかの神々に香をたいたことを知っていたすべての男たちと、そばに立っていたすべての女たち、すなわちエジプトの地、パテロスに住んでいるすべての民の大群衆が、エレミヤに答えて言った。
¹⁶ あなたが私たちに主の御名によって語ったその言葉については、私たちはあなたの言うことを聞き入れない。
¹⁷ 私たちは、自分の口から出たすべての事を必ず行い、天の女王に香をたく。私たちや私たちの先祖、私たちの王たちや君主たちが、ユダの町々やエルサレムの通りで行ってきたとおりに。そのとき私たちは食物に飽き、しあわせで、何のわざわいも見なかった。
¹⁸ しかし私たちが天の女王に香をたくことや、彼女に灌祭を注ぐことをやめて以来、私たちはすべてのものに乏しくなり、剣と飢ききんによって滅ぼし尽くされた。
¹⁹ 私たちが天の女王に香をたくとき、彼女に灌祭を注いだとき、私たちは彼女のためにケーキを作って礼拝し、彼女に灌祭を注いだが、それは私たちの男たち抜きで行ったのだろうか。
ここには、エレミヤの口にある神の言葉の力に服そうとする民の頑なな拒絶がある。神ご自身に対するこれほど率直な挑戦的な矛盾や、肉の思いのこれほど公然とした反逆の例はほとんど見当たらない。次の点に注目せよ。
一. このように神と神のさばきを無視した人々。頑なであったのは一部の人ではなく、ユダヤ人の大多数であった。そして彼らは、自分自身あるいは自分の妻たちがエレミヤが責めた偶像礼拝に罪があることを知っていた者たちであった（エレ 44:15）。次のことが分かる。1. 女たちの方が偶像礼拝や迷信において、男たちよりも罪深かった。それは、男たちの方が真の神と真の宗教により深く従っていたからではなく、おそらく彼らが概して無神論者であり、いかなる神も、いかなる宗教も好まなかったからであろう。それゆえ妻たちが偽りの宗教を持ち、偽りの神々を礼拝することを容易に許したのである。2. 罪の自覚が彼らを責めに耐えなくさせた。彼らは自分の妻たちがほかの神々に香をたいたことを知っており、それを認めていた。そばに立っていた女たちも、彼女たちの偶像礼拝の習慣に同調したことを知っていた。それでエレミヤの言葉は彼らの痛いところを突き、ビリアルの子らのように、くびきを負うことを拒む者としてむちに逆らうようにさせたのである。
二. これらの人々がエレミヤに、そしてエレミヤを通して神ご自身に行った返答。それは実質的に、全能者に向かって「私たちから去ってください。私たちはあなたの道を知ることを望みません」と厚かましく言った者たちと同じである。
1. 彼らは神が命じられたとおりに行う決心はないが、自分たちがしたいことをする決心であることを宣言する。すなわち、ここで天の女王と呼ばれている月を礼拝し続けるのである。しかし、これを太陽と解する者もいる。太陽はエジプトで大いに礼拝され（エレ 43:13）、エルサレムでもそうであった（二王 23:11）。ヘブル語で太陽を表す言葉は女性形であるため、天の女王と呼ぶのも不適切ではないと彼らは言う。また、これを天の万軍全体、あるいは天の枠組、機械仕掛けの全体と解する者もいる（エレ 7:18）。これらの大胆な罪人たちは今や、従順を拒むための言い訳をしようとしたり、エレミヤが神からではなく自分から語ったと示唆したり（以前のように。エレ 43:2）はしない。彼は主の御名において彼らに語ったことを認めながら、それでも平然と、はっきりと言葉で告げる。「私たちはあなたの言うことを聞き入れない。私たちは禁じられたことを行い、脅かされた事の危険を冒す」。注意せよ。神に対して不従順に生きる者は、通常ますます悪くなり、罪の欺きによって心はますますかたくなになる。ここに反抗的な心の本来の言葉がある。「私たちは自分の口から出るすべてのことを必ず行う」。神とその預言者たちが反対して何を言おうとも。彼らが語ったことは、まだそれほど厚かましくて口に出すには至らない者が多く考えていることである。それは若い日の若者が求めるものであり、自分の心の道と自分の目の見るものの道を歩み、心に思い浮かぶすべてを持ち、行おうとすることである（伝 11:9）。
2. 彼らは自分たちの決心に一種の理由を述べる。最も不条理で非合理的に悪い者たちでさえ、すべての口が閉ざされる日が来るまでは、自分を弁護する何かを言い立てるからである。
(1) 彼らは、ローマの擁護者たちが真の教会のしるしとする多くの事柄を申し立て、それによって自分たちを正当化するのみか、誇り高くする。そして、これらのユダヤ人はローマ教徒と同じだけの権利をそれらに持つ。[1] 彼らは古さを申し立てる。「私たちは天の女王に香をたくことを決心している。私たちの先祖がそうしたからだ。それは時効を主張できる習慣である。なぜ私たちが先祖より賢いと見せかけるのか」。[2] 彼らは権威を申し立てる。権力を持つ者たちが自らそれを実践し、他の者に指示した。「私たちの王たちや私たちの君主たちがそれをした。神が私たちの上に立てられ、ダビデのすえである彼らが」。[3] 彼らは一致を申し立てる。ここかしこの一人がしたのではなく、私たちが、全会一致で、大群衆である私たちが（エレ 44:15）、それをした。[4] 彼らは普遍性を申し立てる。ここかしこでしたのではなく、ユダの町々で行われた。[5] 彼らは可視性を申し立てる。片隅で、暗く陰った森の中だけで行われたのではなく、通りで、公然と、公に行われた。[6] 彼らは母教会、聖座の習慣であったことを申し立てる。今エジプトで初めて学んだのではなく、エルサレムで行われていた。[7] 彼らは繁栄を申し立てる。「そのとき私たちは食物に飽き、すべての良い物に。私たちはしあわせで、何のわざわいも見なかった」。前のすべての申し立ては、事実において真実であったことが懸念される。彼らの偶像礼拝に対する神の証人は少なく隠されていた。エリヤは自分がただ一人残されたと思った。そしてこの最後のものも、特定の個人については真実であったかもしれないが、彼らの国民としては、彼らはその反逆のゆえになおも責めの中にあり、出入りする者たちに平和がなかった（代二 15:5）。しかし、すべてが真実であるとしても、これは彼らを偶像礼拝から少しも免罪しない。私たちが従い、判断されるべき基準は人の習慣ではなく、神の律法である。
(2) 彼らは、最近受けていたさばきが天の女王に香をたくのをやめたことのゆえにもたらされたのだと示唆する（エレ 44:18）。このように彼らは摂理を曲解して解釈した。神が預言者たちを通じてしばしば彼らに説明し、事そのものが正反対を語っていたのに。私たちが偶像礼拝を捨てて以来、私たちはすべてのものに乏しくなり、剣によって滅ぼされた。その真の理由は、彼らがなおも心の中に偶像を保ち、古い罪への愛着を捨てなかったことであった。しかし彼らは、罪の行ないを捨てたためだと思わせたかった。このように、彼らの罪から彼らを引き離すために彼らの益のために来たはずの苦しみが、誤って解釈されることで、かえって彼らを罪の中に確固たるものにした。このように、キリスト教の最初の時代に、神がキリスト教徒に反対し彼らを迫害した国民たちを公の災いによって懲らしめられたとき、彼らはその災いに反対の意味を与え、まるでキリスト教徒を黙認し彼らを容認したことに対する罰として送られたかのように考え、「キリスト教徒をライオンに投げ込め」と叫んだのである。しかし、彼らがここで言ったように、真の神、イスラエルの神の仕えに立ち返って以来、彼らが乏しく、悩みの中にあったことが真実であったとしても、それが再び神から離反する理由になっただろうか。それは、彼らが神ではなく、自分の腹に仕えていたと言うに等しい。神を知り、神に信頼する者は、たとえ神が彼らを飢えさせ、殺しても、この世で神と共に良い日を決して見なくても、神に仕えるであろう。最終的に神によって損をすることはないと確信しているからである。
(3) 彼らは、女たちが偶像礼拝において最も熱心で積極的であったが、それを夫たちの同意と是認のもとに行ったと申し立てる。女たちは天の女王のための素祭のケーキを作り、灌祭を用意し注ぐことに忙しかった（エレ 44:19）。これが彼女たちの務めであったことは以前にも見た（エレ 7:18）。「しかし、私たちは夫たち抜きで、ひそかに、彼らの知らないところで、彼らに嫉妬する機会を与えるような仕方で、それを行ったのだろうか。いや、女たちがパンをこねている間、父親たちが火を燃やした。私たちが学び、従順であるべきであった私たちのかしらである男たちが、その模範によって私たちにそれを教えたのだ」。注意せよ。互いに最も近い関係にある者たちが、善なるものへ互いに励まし合い、こうして共に天へ助け合うべきであるのに、罪の中で互いにかたくなにし、こうして互いに地獄への熟成を促し合うのは悲しいことである。これを夫たちの言葉（エレ 44:15）と解する者もいる。彼らは自分たちの男たち抜きで、すなわち長老や支配者たち、身分の高い人々、権威ある人々抜きでそれを行わなかったと申し立てるのである。しかし、ケーキを作ることと灌祭を注ぐことが明確に女たちの務めとして語られている（エレ 7:18）ため、むしろ女たちの申し立てと解するのが自然である。しかしそれは取るに足らない申し立てであった。それが夫たちの心に沿っていたと言えたとしても、それが彼らの神のみこころに反していたことを知っていたとき、何の役に立つだろうか。
English original
The People's Insolent Reply (587 BC)
¹⁵ Then all the men which knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying,
¹⁶ As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken unto thee.
¹⁷ But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil.
¹⁸ But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.
¹⁹ And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men?
We have here the people's obstinate refusal to submit to the power of the word of God in the mouth of Jeremiah. We have scarcely such an instance of downright daring contradiction to God himself as this, or such an avowed rebellion of the carnal mind. Observe,
I. The persons who thus set God and his judgments at defiance; it was not some one that was thus obstinate, but the generality of the Jews; and they were such as knew either themselves or their wives to be guilty of the idolatry Jeremiah had reproved, Jer 44:15. We find, 1. That the women had been more guilty of idolatry and superstition than the men, not because the men stuck closer to the true God and the true religion than the women, but, I fear, because they were generally atheists, and were for no God and no religion at all, and therefore could easily allow their wives to be of a false religion, and to worship false gods. 2. That it was consciousness of guilt that made them impatient of reproof: They knew that their wives had burnt incense to other gods, and that they had countenanced them in it, and the women that stood by knew that they had joined with them in their idolatrous usages; so that what Jeremiah said touched them in a sore place, which made them kick against the pricks, as children of Belial, that will not bear the yoke.
II. The reply which these persons made to Jeremiah, and in him to God himself; it is in effect the same with theirs who had the impudence to say to the Almighty, Depart from us; we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.
1. They declare their resolution not to do as God commanded them, but what they themselves had a mind to do; that is, they would go on to worship the moon, here called the queen of heaven; yet some understand it of the sun, which was much worshipped in Egypt (Jer 43:13) and had been so at Jerusalem (2Ki 23:11), and they say that the Hebrew word for the sun being feminine it may not unfitly be called the queen of heaven. And others understand it of all the host of heaven, or the frame of heaven, the whole machine, Jer 7:18. These daring sinners do not now go about to make excuses for their refusal to obey, nor suggest that Jeremiah spoke from himself and not from God (as before, Jer 43:2), but they own that he spoke to them in the name of the Lord, and yet tell him flatly, in so many words, "We will not hearken unto thee; we will do that which is forbidden and run the hazard of that which is threatened." Note, Those that live in disobedience to God commonly grow worse and worse, and the heart is more and more hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Here is the genuine language of the rebellious heart: We will certainly do whatsoever thing goes forth out of our own mouth, let God and his prophets say what they please to the contrary. What they said many think who yet have not arrived at such a degree of impudence as to speak it out. It is that which the young man would be at in the days of his youth; he would walk in the way of his heart and the sight of his eyes, and would have and do every thing he has a mind to, Ec 11:9.
2. They give some sort of reasons for their resolution; for the most absurd and unreasonably wicked men will have something to say for themselves, till the day comes when every mouth shall be stopped.
(1.) They plead many of those things which the advocates for Rome make the marks of a true church, and not only justify but magnify themselves with; and these Jews have as much right to them as the Romanists have. [1.] They plead antiquity: We are resolved to burn incense to the queen of heaven, for our fathers did so; it is a practice that pleads prescription; and why should we pretend to be wiser than our fathers? [2.] They plead authority. Those that had power practised it themselves and prescribed it to others: Our kings and our princes did it, whom God set over us, and who were of the seed of David. [3.] They plead unity. It was not here and there one that did it, but we, we all with one consent, we that are a great multitude (Jer 44:15), we did it. [4.] They plead universality. It was not done here and there, but in the cities of Judah. [5.] They plead visibility. It was not done in a corner, in dark and shady groves only, but in the streets, openly and publicly. [6.] They plead that it was the practice of the mother-church, the holy see; it was not now learned first in Egypt, but it had been done in Jerusalem. [7.] They plead prosperity: They had we plenty of bread, and of all good things; we were well and saw no evil. All the former pleas, I fear, were too true in fact; God's witnesses against their idolatry were few and hid; Elijah though that he was left alone: and this last might perhaps be true as to some particular persons, but, as to their nation, they were still under rebukes for their rebellions, and there was no peace to those that went out or came in, 2Ch 15:5. But, supposing all to be true, yet this does not at all excuse them from idolatry; it is the law of God that we must be ruled and judged by, not the practice of men.
(2.) They suggest that the judgments they had of late been under were brought upon them for leaving off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, Jer 44:18. So perversely did they misconstrue providence, though God, by his prophets, had so often explained it to them, and the thing itself spoke the direct contrary. Since we forsook our idolatries we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword, the true reason of which was because they still retained their idols in their heart and an affection to their old sins; but they would have it thought that it was because they had forsaken the acts of sin. Thus the afflictions which should have been for their welfare, to separate between them and their sins, being misinterpreted did but confirm them in their sins. Thus, in the first ages of Christianity, when God chastised the nations by any public calamities for opposing the Christians and persecuting them, they put a contrary sense upon the calamities, as if they were sent to punish them for conniving at the Christians and tolerating them, and cried, Christianos ad leones—Throw the Christians to the lions. Yet, if it had been true, as they said here, that since they returned to the service of the true God, the God of Israel, they had been in want and trouble, was that a reason why they should revolt from him again? That was as much as to say that they served not him, but their own bellies. Those who know God, and put their trust in him, will serve him, though he starve them, though he slay them, though they never see a good day with him in this world, being well assured that they shall not lose by him in the end.
(3.) They plead that, though the women were most forward and active in their idolatries, yet they did it with the consent and approbation of their husbands; the women were busy to make cakes for meat-offerings to the queen of heaven and to prepare and pour out the drink-offerings, Jer 44:19. We found, before, that this was their work, Jer 7:18. "But did we do it without our husbands, privately and unknown to them, so as to give them occasion to be jealous of us? No; the fathers kindled the fire while the women kneaded the dough; the men that were our heads, whom we were bound to learn of and to be obedient to, taught us to do it by their example." Note, It is sad when those who are in the nearest relation to each other, who should quicken each other to that which is good and so help one another to heaven, harden each other in sin and so ripen one another for hell. Some understand this as spoken by the husbands (Jer 44:15), who plead that they did not do it without their men, that is, without their elders and rulers, their great men, and men in authority; but, because the making of the cakes and the pouring out of the drink-offerings are expressly spoken of as the women's work (Jer 7:18), it seems rather to be understood as their plea: but it was a frivolous plea. What would it avail them to be able to say that it was according to their husbands' mind, when they knew that it was contrary to their God's mind?
20-30
Jeremiah's Continued Remonstrance (587 BC)
日本語
エレミヤの引き続きたしなめ（紀元前587年）
²⁰ そこでエレミヤはすべての民に、男たちにも女たちにも、彼にその答えを返したすべての民に告げた。 ²¹ あなたがたがユダの町々とエルサレムの通りで焼いた香——あなたがたも、あなたがたの先祖も、王たちも、君たちも、国の民も——主はそれを思い出されなかったか。それが主の心に上らなかったか。 ²² 主はもはや、あなたがたの行いの悪と、あなたがたの犯した忌むべきことのゆえに、耐えることができなかった。それゆえ、あなたがたの地は荒廃し、驚きとなり、のろいとなり、今日のように住む者がいない。 ²³ あなたがたが香を焚き、主に対して罪を犯し、主の御声に従わず、主の律法と定めとあかしとに歩まなかったからである。それゆえ、このわざわいが今日のようにあなたがたに臨んだのだ。 ²⁴ さらにエレミヤはすべての民、すべての女たちに告げた。エジプトの地にいるすべてのユダよ、主のことばを聞け。 ²⁵ イスラエルの神、万軍の主はこう仰せられる。あなたがたとあなたがたの妻たちは口で語り、手で果たして、「天の女王に香を焚き、彼女に飲みのささげ物を注ぐために、われわれが誓った誓いを必ず果たそう」と言った。あなたがたは必ず誓いを成し遂げ、誓いを必ず果たそうとする。 ²⁶ それゆえ、エジプトの地に住むすべてのユダよ、主のことばを聞け。見よ、わたしはわたしの大いなる御名によって誓った、と主は告げられる。エジプトの全地で、もはやわたしの名はユダのすべての者の口に唱えられず、主なる神は生きておられる、とは言われない。 ²⁷ 見よ、わたしは彼らの上に目を留める。良いためではなく、わざわいのためである。エジプトの地にいるユダの男はみな、彼らが絶えるまで、剣とききんによって滅び尽くされる。 ²⁸ 剣を逃れて生き残る少数の者は、エジプトの地からユダの地に帰る。そこに寄留するためにエジプトの地にはいったユダの残りの者はみな、だれのことばが立つか、わたしのことばか、彼らのことばかを知るであろう。 ²⁹ これはあなたがたへのしるしである、と主は告げられる。わたしがこの所であなたがたを罰し、あなたがたにわざわいのために臨むわたしのことばが必ず立つことを知らせるためである。 ³⁰ 主はこう仰せられる。見よ、わたしはエジプトの王パロ・ホプラを、その敵の手、そのいのちを求める者たちの手に渡す。ユダの王ゼデキヤを、その敵であり、そのいのちを求めたバビロンの王ネブカデレザルの手に渡したように。
大胆な罪人は多くの強がりと大言壮語を語り得るが、結局のところ神が最後のことばを持たれる。神は語られるとき義とされ、すべての肉なる者、最も誇り高い者でさえ、神の前には沈黙する。預言者は追い立てられ得るが、神は追い立てられ得ない。否、ここでは預言者もそうはならなかった。
一、エレミヤは彼らに語るべきことを、預言の霊なしに語り得る、自分自身からのことを持っている。それは彼らが耐えてきた災難とその真の意図についての（故意の）誤りを正すことであった。彼らは、天の女王に香を焚くのをやめたために、これらの災難が臨んだと言った。「否」と彼は言う。「それはあなたがたが以前に行っていたからであって、今やめたからではない」。
二、エレミヤは女たちに特に、万軍の主、イスラエルの神から語るべきことを持っている。彼らは答えを返した。今、神の答えを聞け（エレ 44:24）。
- 彼らが偶像礼拝に固執することを完全に決意した以上、神はご自身の論争を続けることを完全に決意された。(1) 神は彼らのうちに残っていたわずかな信仰が失われることを誓われた（エレ 44:26）。(2) 神はそこに残っていたわずかな民がすべて滅び尽くされることを誓われた（エレ 44:27）。
- ごく少数の者が剣を逃れ、時が経てばユダの地に帰ることを告げられる（エレ 44:28）。
- これらの脅しがすべて時にかなって成就し、彼らがエジプトで滅び尽くすことのしるしを与えられる。エジプトの王パロ・ホプラがそのいのちを求める敵の手に渡される。
聖書歴史はこの預言の成就を記録しないが、その沈黙で十分である。エジプトのこれらのユダヤ人については、もはや何も聞かれず、それゆえこの預言に従ってそこで失われたと結論する。神のことばは一つも地に落ちることはないからである。
English original
Jeremiah's Continued Remonstrance (587 BC)
²⁰ Then Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people which had given him that answer, saying,
²¹ The incense that ye burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye, and your fathers, your kings, and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them, and came it not into his mind?
²² So that the LORD could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day.
²³ Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil is happened unto you, as at this day.
²⁴ Moreover Jeremiah said unto all the people, and to all the women, Hear the word of the LORD, all Judah that are in the land of Egypt:
²⁵ Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying; Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hand, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her: ye will surely accomplish your vows, and surely perform your vows.
²⁶ Therefore hear ye the word of the LORD, all Judah that dwell in the land of Egypt; Behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith the LORD, that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, The Lord GOD liveth.
²⁷ Behold, I will watch over them for evil, and not for good: and all the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until there be an end of them.
²⁸ Yet a small number that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, and all the remnant of Judah, that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know whose words shall stand, mine, or theirs.
²⁹ And this shall be a sign unto you, saith the LORD, that I will punish you in this place, that ye may know that my words shall surely stand against you for evil:
³⁰ Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give Pharaoh-hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life; as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, his enemy, and that sought his life.
Daring sinners may speak many a bold word and many a big word, but, after all, God will have the last word; for he will be justified when he speaks, and all flesh, even the proudest, shall be silent before him. Prophets may be run down, but God cannot; nay, here the prophet would not.
I. Jeremiah has something to say to them from himself, which he could say without a spirit of prophecy, and that was to rectify their mistake (a wilful mistake it was) concerning the calamities they had been under and the true intent and meaning of them. They said that these miseries came upon them because they had now left off burning incense to the queen of heaven. "No," says he, "it was because you had formerly done it, not because you had now left it off." When they gave him that answer, he immediately replied (Jer 44:20) that the incense which they and their fathers had burnt to other gods did indeed go unpunished a great while, for God was long-suffering towards them, and during the day of his patience it was perhaps, as they said, well with them, and they saw no evil; but at length they grew so provoking that the Lord could no longer bear (Jer 44:22), but began a controversy with them, whereupon some of them did a little reform; their sins left them, for so it might be said, rather than that they left their sins. But their old guilt being still upon the score, and their corrupt inclinations still the same, God remembered against them the idolatries of their fathers, their kings, and their princes, in the streets of Jerusalem, which they, instead of being ashamed of, gloried in as a justification of them in their idolatries; they all came into his mind (Jer 44:21), all the abominations which they had committed (Jer 44:22) and all their disobedience to the voice of the Lord (Jer 44:23), all were brought to account; and therefore, to punish them for these, is their land a desolation and a curse, as at this day (Jer 44:22); therefore, not for their late reformation, but for their old transgressions, has all this evil happened to them, as at this day, Jer 44:23. Note, The right understanding of the cause of our troubles, one would think, should go far towards the cure of our sins. Whatever evil comes upon us, it is because we have sinned against the Lord, and should therefore stand in awe and sin not.
II. Jeremiah has something to say to them, to the women particularly, from the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, They have given their answer; now let them hear God's reply, Jer 44:24. Judah, that dwells in the land of Egypt, has God speaking to them, even there; that is their privilege. Let them observe what he says; that is their duty, Jer 44:26. Now God, in his reply, tells them plainly,
1. That, since they were fully determined to persist in their idolatry, he was fully determined to proceed in his controversy with them; if they would go on to provoke him, he would go on to punish them, and see which would get the better at last. God repeats what they had said (Jer 44:25): "You and your wives are agreed in this obstinacy; you have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled with your hands; you have said it, and you stand to it, have said it and go on to do accordingly, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven," as if, though it were a sin, yet their having vowed to do it were sufficient to justify them in the doing of it; whereas no man can by his vow make that lawful to himself, much less duty, which God has already made sin. "Well" (says God), "you will accomplish, you will perform, your wicked vows: now hear what is my vow, what I have sworn by my great name;" and, if the Lord hath sworn, he will not repent, since they have sworn and will not repent. With the froward he will show himself froward, Ps 18:26. (1.) He had sworn that what little remains of religion there were among them should be lost, Jer 44:26. Though they joined with the Egyptians in their idolatries, yet they continued upon many occasions to make mention of the name of Jehovah, particularly in their solemn oaths; they said, Jehovah liveth, he is the living God, so they owned him to be, though they worshipped dead idols; they swear, The Lord liveth (Jer 5:2), but I fear they retained this form of swearing more in honour of their nation than of their God. But God declares that his name shall no more be thus named by any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt; that is, there shall be no Jews remaining to use this dialect of their country, or, if there be, they shall have forgotten it and shall learn to swear, as the Egyptians do, by the life of Pharaoh, not of Jehovah. Note, Those are very miserable whom God has so far left to themselves that they have quite forgotten their religion and lost all the remains of their good education. Or this may intimate that God would take it as an affront to him and would resent it accordingly, if they did make mention of his name and profess any relation to him. (2.) He hath sworn that what little remnant of people there was there should all be consumed (Jer 44:27): I will watch over them for evil; no opportunity shall be let slip to bring some judgment upon them, until there be an end of them and they be rooted out. Note, To those whom God finds impenitent sinners he will be found an implacable Judge. And, when it comes to this, they shall know (Jer 44:28) whose word shall stand, mind or theirs. They said that they should recover themselves when they returned to worship the queen of heaven; God said they should ruin themselves; and now the event will show which was in the right. The contest between God and sinners is whose word shall stand, whose will shall be done, and who shall get the better. Sinners say that they shall have peace though they go on; God says they shall have no peace. But when God judges he will overcome; God's word shall stand, and not the sinner's.
2. He tells them that a very few of them should escape the sword, and in process of time return into the land of Judah, a small number (Jer 44:28), next to none, in comparison with the great numbers that should return out of the land of the Chaldeans. This seems designed to upbraid those who boasted of their numbers that concurred in sin; there were none to speak of that did not join in idolatry: "Well," says God, "and there shall be as few that shall escape the sword and famine."
3. He gives them a sign that all these threatenings shall be accomplished in their season, that they shall be consumed here in Egypt and shall quite perish: Pharaoh-hophra, the present king of Egypt, shall be delivered into the hand of his enemies that seek his life—of his own rebellious subjects (so some) under Amasis, who usurped his throne—of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon (so others), who invaded his kingdom; the former is related by Herodotus, the latter by Josephus. It is likely that this Pharaoh had tempted the Jews to idolatry by promises of his favour; however, they depended upon him for his protection, and it would be more than a presage of their ruin, it would be a step towards it, if he were gone. They expected more from him than from Zedekiah king of Judah; he was a more potent and politic prince. "But," says God, "I will give him into the hand of his enemies, as I gave Zedekiah." Note, Those creature-comforts and confidences that we promise ourselves most from may fail us as soon as those that we promise ourselves least from, for they are all what God makes them, not what we fancy them.
The sacred history records not the accomplishment of this prophecy, but its silence is sufficient; we hear no more of these Jews in Egypt, and therefore conclude them, according to this prediction, lost there; for no word of God shall fall to the ground.
本章には次のことが記されている。 一、エレミヤがエジプトのユダ人に語った目覚めさせる説教がある。彼は彼らの偶像礼拝を責め、神のことばと杖の両方によって与えられた警告にもかかわらず、それを続けることを責め、そのために神のさばきを彼らに宣告する（エレミヤ 44:1-14）。 二、民がこの訓戒に対して示した厚かましく不敬虔な軽蔑と、神とエレミヤを侮って彼らの偶像礼拝に固執するという公然の決意がある（エレミヤ 44:15-19）。 三、彼らの頑なさのゆえに下された判決。彼らはごく少数を除いてすべて断ち切られ、エジプトで滅びるであろうこと、またそのしるしとして、エジプトの王はまもなくバビロンの王の手に落ち、もはや彼らを守ることができなくなるであろうことが語られる（エレミヤ 44:20-30）。