Chapter commentary
Jeremiah Chapter 6
서론
Untitled
日本語
English original
In this chapter, as before, we have, I. A prophecy of the invading of the land of Judah and the besieging of Jerusalem by the Chaldean army (Jer 6:1-6), with the spoils they should make of the country (Jer 6:9) and the terror which all should be seized with on that occasion, Jer 6:22-26. II. An account of those sins of Judah and Jerusalem which provoked God to bring this desolating judgment upon them. Their oppression (Jer 6:7), their contempt of the word of God (Jer 6:10-12), their worldliness (Jer 6:13), the treachery of their prophets (Jer 6:14), their impudence in sin (Jer 6:15), their obstinacy against reproofs (Jer 6:18,19), which made their sacrifices unacceptable to him (Jer 6:20), and for which he gave them up to ruin (Jer 6:21), but tried them first (Jer 6:27) and then rejected them as irreclaimable, Jer 6:28-30. III. Good counsel given them in the midst of all this, but in vain, Jer 6:8,16,17.
1-8
Judgments Threatened against Israel; The Doom of Israel (608 BC)
日本語
イスラエルに対して宣告されたさばき。イスラエルの運命（紀元前608年）
¹ ベニヤミンの子らよ、エルサレムの中から逃げるために集まり、テコアでラッパを吹き、ベテ・ハケレムで火の合図を立てよ。北から悪が現れ、大いなる破壊が来るからだ。 ² わたしはシオンの娘を美しく、かつ華麗な女になぞらえた。 ³ 牧者たちとその群れは彼女のところに来る。彼らは彼女の回りに天幕を張る。彼らはおのおの自分の場所で草を食べさせる。 ⁴ 彼女に向かって戦いを備えよ。立ち上がり、正午に上って行こう。ああ、悲しいかな。日は傾き、夕の影は伸びている。 ⁵ 立ち上がり、夜に上って行こう。彼女の宮殿を滅ぼそう。 ⁶ 万軍の主はこう言われるからだ。木を切り倒し、エルサレムに対して土の盛り土をせよ。この町は訪れられるべき町である。その中にはただでたらめの圧迫がある。 ⁷ 泉がその水を噴き出すように、彼女はその悪を噴き出す。その中には暴行と略奪が聞かれる。わたしの前には絶えず悲しみと傷がある。 ⁸ エルサレムよ、戒めを受けよ。わたしの魂があなたから離れ、わたしがあなたを荒廃させ、住む者のない地としないために。
ここに、一、ユダとエルサレムに対して宣告されたさばきがある。この時、町と国は安全であり、危険の予感を少しも抱いていなかった。彼らは雲が集まるのを見ず、すべてが安全で穏やかに見えた。しかし預言者は、彼らが間もなく外来の勢力によって侵入され、北から彼らに向けられて進軍する軍勢がすべてを荒らし、一般的な恐怖だけでなく一般的な荒廃をも引き起こすであろうと告げる。ここで次のことが予告されている。
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このさばきの警報は大きく、恐るべきものである。これはエレ 6:1 で描かれている。エルサレムの一部が属していたベニヤミンの部族は、国で自らの安全を図るために召集される。というのは、（まず彼らが逃れるのが賢明であると考えられたそのエルサレムの）町は間もなく彼らにはあまりに暑くなり、彼らはその中から逃げ出すのが最も賢明な道であることを見出すであろうからである。公的な恐怖においては、民が現にいる所よりも他の所が安全だと考えるのが通例である。それゆえ町にいる者は国へ移ろうとし、そこで危険から逃れることを希望し、国にいる者は町へ移ろうとし、そこで危険に立ち向かうことを希望する。しかし罪人を追う悪が使命を帯びている時には、すべて無益である。彼らは警報を国へ送り、自分たちの安全のためにできることをするように告げられる。テコアでラッパを吹け。テコアはエルサレムの北12マイルに位置する町であった。彼らが守りに立つように奮い立たせよ。ベテ・ハケレム（ぶどう園の家）に火の合図を立てよ（すなわち狼煙を上げよ）。ベテ・ハケレムはエルサレムとテコアの間の丘にあった。力強い抵抗を備えよ。北から悪が現れるからだ。これは皮肉に取ることができる。「自分の保存のために考えうる最善の方法に身を委ねよ。しかしすべて無益であろう。あなたがたが最善を尽くしても、それは大いなる破壊となるであろう。神のさばきと争うのは無益だからである。」
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彼らに対する企ては大胆で恐ろしく、彼らが到底対抗できないようなものである。(1) 襲撃を受けるシオンの娘がどのようなものであるかを見よ。彼女は美しく、かつ華麗な女に例えられる（エレ 6:2）。繊細で柔らかいすべてのものの中で育てられ、繊細と優美のゆえに足の裏さえ地につけようとせず（申 28:56）、風が自分に吹きつけるのを許さない。そして艱難に慣れていないので、敵に抵抗する力（戦争する者は艱難を忍ばなければならないのであれ）も、それを忍ぶために必要な忍耐をもって破壊に耐える力も、いっそう弱くなるであろう。この世の楽しみに自分をゆだねればゆだねるほど、この世の悩みに備える自分をいっそうそこなうことになる。(2) 襲撃するバビロンの娘がどのようなものであるかを見よ。将軍たちとその軍勢は牧者たちとその群れに例えられる（エレ 6:3）。彼らはそのような数と秩序の中で来た。兵士たちは羊が牧者に従うように彼らの指導者に従った。シオンの娘は家に住んでいた（ある人々はそう読む）、愛でもって求められることを期待しながら、激しい怒りをもって侵入された。この敵を牧者に例えることは、ある人々がエレ 6:2 に与える別の読み方、すなわち*「シオンの娘は美しい牧草地、華麗な地のようである」—それが牧者たちをその群れを連れてそこへ草を食べさせるために招く—を受け入れる方向に私を導く。そして、牧者たちが（当時ある地方で通例であったように）誰の所有でもない共有の野原を容易に自分のものとし、そこに天幕を張り*、その群れがたちまちそれをむき出しにするように、カルデヤの軍勢もユダの地に容易に侵入し、思いのままに自由に駐屯地を設け、たちまちのうちにすべてを貪り食うであろう。これをさらに説明するために、彼は示す。[1] 神がご自身の所有であった聖なる地と聖なる町の破壊を彼らに命じられること。神ご自身が（エレ 6:4 で）「彼女に向かって戦いを備えよ」と言われる。神はすべての軍勢を御命令の下におられる万軍の主であり、神は（エレ 6:6 で）「木を切り倒し、エルサレムに対して盛り土をせよ」—それを攻撃するために—と言われた。カルデヤ人はユダとエルサレムに対して大いなる力を持つが、しかし彼らの力は上から与えられたもの以外にはない。神はエルサレムを破壊のために定められた。神は言われた。「この町は訪れられるべき町である」—怒りにおいて訪れられ、神の正義によって訪れられ、「これが彼女の訪れの時である」と。罪ある道において無関心で安逸を貪る者が確実に訪れられる日が来る。[2] 彼らがいかにその任務を実行するために自分自身と互いに奮い立たせるか。神のはかりごとは変更されることも取り消されることもできないエルサレムに対するものであり、敵が開いた軍事会議は神のはかりごとに一致させられている。神が*「彼女に向かって戦いを備えよ」と言われたので、彼らの決定は神のものに仕えるものとされ、場所の遠さや道中の多くの困難にもかかわらず、反対者なく—満場一致で—「立ち上がり、上って行こう」と直ちに決議された。なお、神の助言と定めが、神を知らない者たちの企てや計画の中にあっても、いかに追求され実行されるかを見るのは良いことである（イザ 10:6-7）。この戦役において、第一に、彼らは非常に迅速であることを決意する。彼らは決意するとすぐにそれに取りかかる。今日できることを明日まで残すとは決して言われないであろう。「立ち上がり、正午に上って行こう」—たとえ真昼の暑さであろうとも。いや（エレ 6:5）、「立ち上がり、夜に上って行こう」—たとえ暗闇であろうとも。何ものも彼らを妨げない。彼らは時を失わないことを決意している。彼らは急いで派遣されることを気にかける者として描かれている（エレ 6:4）。「ああ、悲しいかな、日は傾き」、私たちは自分のわざに進んでいない。「夕の影は伸びている」、それでも私たちはすわったままで、機会を逃す。ああ、私たちが霊的なわざと戦いにおいてこのように熱心であり、力ずくで御国を奪い取るにおいて、時やどんな機会を失うことをこのように恐れたらと願う。永遠の救いを成し遂げ、その救いの敵と戦わなければならない時に、戸惑うのは愚かである。第二に、彼らは非常に成功することを確信して期待する。「上って行き、彼女の宮殿を滅ぼし、その中にある富を自分のものとしよう」*。彼らがこのように熱心であったのは、神のはかりごとを成就するためではなく、自分の宝物を満たすためであった。しかし神はそれによってご自身の目的を果たされた。
二、このさばきの原因が示されている。これはすべて彼らの悪のゆえである。彼らはそれを自分の上にもたらした。彼らはそれに耐えなければならない。その責めを負わなければならないからである。彼らがこのように虐げられるのは、彼らが虐げる者であったからである。彼らは力と利益のある時に応じて、おのおの順番に互いに酷しく扱った。そして今、敵が来て彼らすべてを酷しく扱うであろう。この圧迫、暴行、不正を行う罪がここで彼らに訴えられている。1. 国の罪として（エレ 6:6）。「それゆえ」この町は「訪れられるべきである」。調査の時となった。「その中にはただでたらめの圧迫がある」からだ。王座の王子から最も取るに足らない店の主人に至るまで、すべての階級の人々が自分の下にいる者を虐げていた。どの方角を見ても、この種の訴えの理由があった。2. 彼らにとってほぼ自然なものとなった罪として（エレ 6:7）。彼女は悪を噴き出す—悪意と害をなすすべての点において—泉がその水を噴き出すように。その流れは泉のように豊かで絶え間なく、苦く、毒があった。泉からの水は抑制されず、道を見出すか、あるいは道を切り開く。そして彼らの暴力的な行動において律法や良心によっても彼らは止められない。これは自然の状態における人の腐った心に適切に当てはまる。それは悪を噴き出す—あるいはもうひとつの悪い想像を—泉が水を噴き出すように、自然に、容易に。それは常に流れ出て、それでも常に満ちている。3. 彼らの絶え間ない習慣となったものとして。「その中には暴行と略奪が聞かれる」。その叫びはソドムのように神の前に上った。「わたしの前には絶えず悲しみと傷がある」—自分たちが不当に、体や霊において、財産や評判において傷つけられ、苦しめられていることを発見した者たちの訴えである。なお、人類の共通の父である神は、人々が互いに与える危害や不正を顧み、憤り、遅かれ早かれ復讐される。
三、このさばきを防ぐために彼らに与えられた助言。事の全体について明確な警告が与えられている。「エルサレムよ、戒めを受けよ」（エレ 6:8）。神の律法と預言者たちから与えられた戒めを受けよ。ついに自分のために賢くなれ。彼らがなすべきことを戒められていたかを十分に知っていた。それ以外にはそれを行うことが残されているだけで、それまでは戒められたとは言えない。この助言の理由は、与えられた戒めに従うことを拒めば走ることになる不可避の滅びから取られている。「わたしの魂があなたから離れる」（または切り離される）。これは神が彼らに対していかなる深い愛と配慮を持たれたかを示している。神の魂そのものが彼らと結ばれていた。そして罪だけがそれを切り離すことができた。なお、1. あわれみの神は、挑発する民からでさえ出て行くことを嫌われる。そして真の悔い改めと改革によって事がその極限に至るのを防ぐように、彼らに熱心に求められる。2. 神の魂が切り離された者たちの境遇は非常に惨めである。それは外の祝福の喪失だけでなく、神の愛と臨在のより直接で独特のしるしである慰めと恵みの喪失を示す。これをあの恐ろしいみことば（ヘブ 10:38）と比べよ。「もし人が退くなら、わたしの魂は彼を喜ばない」。3. 神が見捨てる者たちは確実に滅ぼされる。神の魂がエルサレムから出て行かれる時、彼女は間もなく荒廃し、住む者のないものとなる（マタ 23:38）。
English original
Judgments Threatened against Israel; The Doom of Israel (608 BC)
¹ O ye children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a sign of fire in Beth-haccerem: for evil appeareth out of the north, and great destruction.
² I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman.
³ The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her; they shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall feed every one in his place.
⁴ Prepare ye war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe unto us! for the day goeth away, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out.
⁵ Arise, and let us go by night, and let us destroy her palaces.
⁶ For thus hath the LORD of hosts said, Hew ye down trees, and cast a mount against Jerusalem: this is the city to be visited; she is wholly oppression in the midst of her.
⁷ As a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth out her wickedness: violence and spoil is heard in her; before me continually is grief and wounds.
⁸ Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited.
Here is I. Judgment threatened against Judah and Jerusalem. The city and the country were at this time secure and under no apprehension of danger; they saw no cloud gathering, but every thing looked safe and serene: but the prophet tells them that they shall shortly be invaded by a foreign power, an army shall be brought against them from the north, which shall lay all waste, and shall cause not only a general consternation, but a general desolation. It is here foretold,
1. That the alarm of this should be loud and terrible. This is represented, Jer 6:1. The children of Benjamin, in which tribe part of Jerusalem lay, are here called to shift for their own safety in the country; for the city (to which it was first thought advisable for them to flee, Jer 4:5,6) would soon be made too hot for them, and they would find it the wisest course to flee out of the midst of it. It is common, in public frights, for the people to think any place safer than that in which they are; and therefore those in the city are for shifting into the country, in hopes there to escape out of danger, and those in the country are for shifting into the city, in hopes there to make head against the danger; but it is all in vain when evil pursues sinners with commission. They are told to send the alarm into the country, and to do what they can for their own safety: Blow the trumpet in Tekoa, a city which lay twelve miles north from Jerusalem. Let them be stirred up to stand upon their guard: Set up a sign of fire (that is, kindle the beacons) in Beth-haccerem, the house of the vineyard, which lay on a hill between Jerusalem and Tekoa. Prepare to make a vigorous resistance, for the evil appears out of the north. This may be taken ironically: "Betake yourselves to the best methods you can think of for your own preservation, but all shall be in vain; for, when you have done your best, it will be a great destruction, for it is in vain to contend with God's judgments."
2. That the attempt upon them should be bold and formidable and such as they should be a very unequal match for. (1.) See what the daughter of Zion is, on whom the assault is made. She is compared to a comely and delicate woman (Jer 6:2), bred up in every thing that is nice and soft, that will not set so much as the sole of her foot to the ground for tenderness and delicacy (De 28:56), nor suffer the wind to blow upon her; and, not being accustomed to hardship, she will be the less able either to resist the enemy (for those that make war must endure hardness) or to bear the destruction with that patience which is necessary to make it tolerable. The more we indulge ourselves in the pleasures of this life the more we disfit ourselves for the troubles of this life. (2.) See what the daughter of Babylon is, by whom the assault is made. The generals and their armies are compared to shepherds and their flocks (Jer 6:3), in such numbers and in such order did they come, the soldiers following their leaders as the sheep their shepherds. The daughter of Zion dwelt at home (so some read it), expecting to be courted with love, but was invaded with fury. This comparing of the enemies to shepherds inclines me to embrace another reading, which some give of Jer 6:2, The daughter of Zion is like a comely pasture-ground and a delicate land, which invite the shepherds to bring their flocks thither to graze; and as the shepherds easily make themselves masters of an open field, which (as was then usual in some parts) lies common, owned by none, pitch their tents in it, and their flocks quickly eat it bare, so shall the Chaldean army easily break in upon the land of Judah, force for themselves a free quarter where they please, and in a little time devour all. For the further illustration of this he shows, [1.] How God shall commission them to make this destruction even of the holy land and the holy city, which were his own possession. It is he that says (Jer 6:4), Prepare you war against her; for he is the Lord of hosts, that has all hosts at his command, and he has said (Jer 6:6), Hew you down trees, and cast a mount against Jerusalem, in order to the attacking of it. The Chaldeans have great power against Judah and Jerusalem, and yet they have no power but what is given them from above. God has marked out Jerusalem for destruction. He has said, "This is the city to be visited, visited in wrath, visited by the divine justice, and this is the time of her visitation." The day is coming when those that are careless and secure in sinful ways will certainly be visited. [2.] How they shall animate themselves and one another to execute that commission. God's counsels being against Jerusalem, which cannot be altered or disannulled, the councils of war which the enemies held are made to agree with his counsels. God having said, Prepare war against her, their determinations are made subservient to his; and, notwithstanding the distance of place and the many difficulties that lay in the way, it is soon resolved, nemine contradicente—unanimously. Arise, and let us go. Note, It is good to see how the counsel and decree of God are pursued and executed in the devices and designs of men, even theirs that know him not, Isa 10:6,7. In this campaign, First, They resolve to be very expeditious. They have no sooner resolved upon it than they address themselves to it; it shall never be said that they left any thing to be done towards it to-morrow which they could do to-day: Arise, let us go up at noon, though it be in the heat of the day; nay, (Jer 6:5), Arise, let us go up at night, though it be in the dark. Nothing shall hinder them; they are resolved to lose no time. They are described as men in care to make despatch (Jer 6:4): "Woe unto us, for the day goes away, and we are not going on with our work; the shadows of the evening are stretched out, and we sit still, and let slip the opportunity." O that we were thus eager in our spiritual work and warfare, thus afraid of losing time, or any opportunity, in taking the kingdom of heaven by violence! It is folly to trifle when we have an eternal salvation to work out, and the enemies of that salvation to fight against. Secondly, They confidently expect to be very successful: "Let us go up, and let us destroy her palaces and make ourselves masters of the wealth that is in them." It was not that they might fulfill God's counsels, but that they might fill their own treasures, that they were thus eager; yet God thereby served his own purposes.
II. The cause of this judgment assigned. It is all for their wickedness; they have brought it upon themselves; they must bear it, for they must bear the blame of it. They are thus oppressed because they have been oppressors; they have dealt hardly with one another, each in his turn, as they have had power and advantage, and now the enemy shall come and deal hardly with them all. This sin of oppression, and violence, and wrong-doing, is here charged upon them, 1. As a national sin (Jer 6:6): Therefore this city is to be visited, it is time to make inquisition, for she is wholly oppression in the midst of her. All orders and degrees of men, from the prince on the throne to the meanest master of a shop, were oppressive to those that were under them. Look which way you might, there were causes for complaints of this kind. 2. As a sin that had become in a manner natural to them (Jer 6:7): She casts out wickedness, in all the instances of malice and mischievousness, as a fountain casts out her waters, so plentifully and constantly, the streams bitter and poisonous, like the fountain. The waters out of the fountain will not be restrained, but will find or force their way, nor will they be checked by laws or conscience in their violent proceedings. This is fitly applied to the corrupt heart of man in his natural state; it casts out wickedness, one evil imagination or other, as a fountain casts out her waters, naturally and easily; it is always flowing, and yet always full. 3. As that which had become a constant practice with them; Violence and spoil are heard in her. The cry of it had come up before God as that of Sodom: Before me continually are grief and wounds—the complaint of those that find themselves aggrieved, being unjustly wounded in their bodies or spirits, in their estates or reputation. Note, He that is the common Parent of mankind regards and resents, and sooner or later will revenge, the mischiefs and wrongs that men do to one another.
III. The counsel given them how to prevent this judgment. Fair warning is given now upon the whole matter: "Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem! Jer 6:8. Receive the instruction given thee both by the law of God and by the prophets; be wise at length for thyself." They knew very well what they had been instructed to do; nothing remained but to do it, for till then they could not be said to be instructed. The reason for this counsel is taken from the inevitable ruin they ran upon if they refused to comply with the instructions given them: Lest my soul depart, or be disjoined, from thee. This intimates what a tender affection and concern God had had for them; his very soul had been joined to them, and nothing but sin could disjoin it. Note, 1. The God of mercy is loth to depart even from a provoking people, and is earnest with them by true repentance and reformation to prevent things coming to that extremity. 2. Their case is very miserable from whom God's soul is disjoined; it intimates the loss not only of their outward blessings, but of those comforts and favours which are the more immediate and peculiar tokens of his love and presence. Compare this with that dreadful word (Heb 10:38), If any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. 3. Those whom God forsakes are certainly undone; when God's soul departs from Jerusalem she soon becomes desolate and uninhabited, Mt 23:38.
9-17
The Universal Corruption of the Age (608 BC)
日本語
その時代の普遍的腐敗（紀元前608年）
⁹ 万軍の主はこう言われる。彼らはぶどうの木のように、イスラエルの残りの者を徹底的に拾い集めるであろう。ぶどう取りがかごに手を返すように。 ¹⁰ 私はだれに語り、だれに警告して、聞かせようか。見よ、彼らの耳は割礼を受けておらず、聞くことができない。見よ、主のことばは彼らにとって非難であり、彼らはそれを喜ばない。 ¹¹ それゆえ、私は主の激怒に満ち、抑えるのに疲れた。私は外の子どもたちや、若い男たちの集会の上にそれを注ぎ出す。夫と妻も共に捕らえられ、年老いた者と日数の満ちた者も共に。 ¹² 彼らの家は畑や妻と共に他の者のものとなる。わたしはこの地の住民の上に手を伸ばすからだと主は言われる。 ¹³ というのは、彼らのうちの最も小さい者から最も大きい者まで、おのがみな貪りに身を委ね、預言者から祭司に至るまで、おのがみな偽りを扱うからである。 ¹⁴ 彼らはわたしの民の娘の傷を手当たりしだいに直し、『平安、平安』と言う。しかし平安はないのである。 ¹⁵ 彼らは忌まわしい事を行って恥じたか。いや、彼らは少しも恥じなかった。赤面することもできなかった。それゆえ彼らは倒れる者の中で倒れる。わたしが彼らを訪れる時に、彼らはつまずかされると主は言われる。 ¹⁶ 主はこう言われる。道々に立って見よ。古い道を求めよ。どこに良い道があるか。その道を歩め。そうすれば、あなたがたは自分のたましいの安息を見出す。しかし彼らは言った。『私たちはその道を歩まない。』 ¹⁷ わたしはあなたがたの上に見張りを立てて、『ラッパの音に聞け』と言わせた。しかし彼らは言った。『私たちは聞かない。』
この段落の見出しは前のものとまさに同じである。戒めは戒めの上に、線は線の上になければならないからである。
一、ユダとエルサレムの滅びがここで宣告されている。私たちは前にカルデヤの軍勢が戦争に急いだことを見た（エレ 6:4-5）。ここで戦争による破壊を見る。ここに描かれた荒廃はどれほど嘆かわしいことであろうか！ 敵は彼らの中に長く駐屯し、血と宝物への渇望において貪欲であるので、彼らは出会うものすべてを押さえ、一度は逃れるものも次には彼らの手に落ちる（エレ 6:9）。「彼らはぶどうの木のように、イスラエルの残りの者を徹底的に拾い集める」。一つも残さないと決心したぶどう取りが、すべてを集めるまでかごに手を返してさらに入れるように。それで彼らは敵に拾い集められる。たとえ散らされていても、隠されていても。彼らの目と手を逃れる者はいない。おそらく民は貪りに身を委ねていたので（エレ 6:13）、ぶどうをすべて拾い集めることを禁じた神の律法（レビ 19:10）を守らなかった。そして今、彼ら自身も同様に徹底的に拾い集められ、剣に倒れるか捕囚に行くであろう。これはエレ 6:11-12 で説明される。そこで神の激怒と神の御手が注ぎ出され、伸ばされたと言われる。カルデヤ人の激怒において、彼らの手によって。というのも、悪人でさえも神の手として用いられることがしばしばあるからであり（詩 17:14）、彼らの怒りにおいて私たちは神の怒りを見ることができる。さて、その激怒が満ちた器でだれの上に注がれるかを見よ。外の子どもたちの上に、あるいは通りにおいて—彼らが遊んでいる所（ゼカ 8:5）、あるいは無邪気に見回すために走り出る所—。容赦のないカルデヤ人の剣は彼らを惜しまないであろう（エレ 9:21）。子どもたちは父たちの罪がもたらした災いにおいて滅びる。処刑は若い男たちの集会にも及ぶ—彼らの楽しい集まり、不義において互いの手を強めるために保つクラブ。彼らは共に断たれる。不道徳のために集まる者たちだけが敵の手に陥るのではない（エレ 5:7）。夫と妻も共に捕らえられ、これら二人は一緒に床にいて、どちらも残されず、共に捕虜とされる。弱いが美しい性に対するあわれみを持たないように、衰えたが尊い年齢に対しても持たない。年老いた者と日数の満ちた者—その死は彼らの安全に何も寄与せず、その生涯は彼らの奉仕に何も寄与しない—彼らに良いことも悪いこともできない者たちも断たれるか連れ去られる。その時彼らの家は他の者のものとなる（エレ 6:12）。征服者たちは彼らの住まいに住み、彼らの財物を用い、彼らの蓄えによって生きる。彼らの畑やぶどうの木は共に彼らの手に落ちる。脅されたように（申 28:30等）。神がこの地の住民の上に御手を伸ばされるからである。そしてその届く範囲を出る者はいない。さて、神の怒りのこの宣告について、1. 預言者はこのように恐ろしく説教することにおいて自分を正当化する。彼はここにおいて忠実に振る舞ったからである（エレ 6:11）。「私は主の激怒に満ちている」—その考えと予感に満ち、預言の御霊によって力強い衝動をもって、このように激しくそれについて語るように導かれている。彼は脅しにおいて喜びを取らず、このような説教で周りの人々を不安にさせることは彼にとって何の楽しみでもなかった。しかし彼は自分を抑えることができなかった。彼は抑えるのに疲れた。彼はできるだけ長く—あえてする限り—それを抑えた。しかし彼は万軍の主の御霊によって力に満ちていたので、彼らが聞こうが聞くまいが語らなければならなかった。なお、奉仕者たちが聖書に従って主の恐怖を説教する時、私たちは彼らに不快になる理由はない。彼らは単なる使者であり、喜ばしいにせよ喜ばしくないにせよ、そのメッセージを伝えなければならないからである。2. 彼はもっともらしく説教した偽りの預言者たちを非難する。彼らはその中で人々をへつらい、不忠実に振る舞ったからである（エレ 6:13-14）。祭司と預言者—彼らの見張りであり訓戒者であるべきであった者たち—は偽りを扱った。その務めに忠実でなかった。民に彼らの過ちとその危険を告げなかった。彼らは彼らの医師であるべきであったが、彼らの望むままにさせることによって、彼らの患者を殺した。彼らに危険がないという意見に彼らをへつらうことによって（エレ 6:14）。彼らはわたしの民の娘の傷を手当たりしだいに直した。あるいは軽い傷の治療に従って。傷の上に皮をかぶせ、底まで探ることをしなかった。腐食剤が必要な時に緩和剤だけを用いた。彼らの罪において人々をなだめ、現在の間彼らを楽にする阿片を与えた。病が生命をむさぼり食っている間に。彼らは言った。「平安、平安—すべて良くなるであろう」（彼らの中に目覚めた危険を予感する思考する人々がいたなら、彼らはすぐにその祭司としての、預言者としての権威で彼らの口を封じた。教会も国家も危険にないと大胆に断言して）。平安はないのに。彼らが偶像礼拝と大胆な不信心において進んでいたからである。なお、罪ある道において私たちをへつらう者たちは、私たちの偽りの友人—すなわち私たちの最悪で最も危険な敵—とみなされるべきである。
二、ユダとエルサレムの罪—神がこの滅びを彼らの上にもたらすことを挑発し、神をそれにおいて正当化するもの—がここで宣言される。1. 彼らは自分たちの過ちやその危険について告げられることを頑として耐えなかった。神は預言者に来たるべきさばきについて彼らに警告するように命じられる（エレ 6:9）。しかし、と彼は言う、「私はだれに語り、警告して聞かせようか」。辛抱強く聞いてくれる者をひとりも見つけることができない。私はいつまでも警告できるが、警告を取る者がいない。「彼らが聞くように」語ることができない。何の目的にも、何の成功の希望にも語ることができない。「彼らの耳は割礼を受けておらず」、肉的で肉的であり、神の御声を受けるのに不向きで、聞くことができない。彼らはまるで聴覚の器官の上に厚い皮が生えたようである。それで神の事柄は石に語るのと同じくらい無駄になる。いや、彼らはそれに耳が聞こえないだけでなく、それに偏見を持っている。それゆえ彼らは聞くことができない。聞く意志がないからである。「主のことばは彼らにとって非難である」。ことばの責めも脅しもそうである。彼らは両方によって傷つけられ、侮辱されたとみなし、最も根拠のない中傷や誹謗のように預言者の率直な扱いを憤った。これはむちを持ってけりを入れることであった（使徒 9:5）。キリストのことばに対して律法学者たちがしたように（ルカ 11:45）。「このように言われるなら、あなたは私たちをも責められる」。なお、非難として数えられ、そのように憎まれる責めは、必ず最も重いわざわいに変えられるであろう。ここで彼らはことばを喜ばないと言われる時、表現以上のことが暗示される。「彼らはそれに反感を持つ。彼らの心はそれに向かって上がる。それは彼らを激怒させ、彼らの腐敗を怒らせ、彼らは責める者の顔に飛びかかり、その目をえぐり出さんばかりである」。そして主のことばが何の慰めも彼らに語らないことを期待できる者が、それを喜ばず、むしろその聞く範囲内のどこにでもいるよりは他のどこにでもいたいと願う者であろうか。2. 彼らはこの世に異常に執着し、その愛に完全に運び去られた（エレ 6:13）。「彼らのうちの最も小さい者から最も大きい者まで」—老いも若きも、富める者も貧しき者も、高い者も低い者も、すべての階級、職業、雇用の者が—「おのがみな貪りに身を委ねる」。汚れた利得を貪り、何を得られるかによってすべてを決める。per fas per nefas—正しかろうが間違っていようが。そしてこれは彼らを圧迫的で暴力的にした（エレ 6:6-7）。それらの悪についても、富の愛は苦い根であるから。いや、これは彼らの心を神のことばとその預言者に対してかたくした。貪りなパリサイ人たちがキリストをあざけったのである（ルカ 16:14）。3. 彼らは罪において厚かましくなり、恥を知らなくなった。これほどの明白な罪の重い訴えが彼らについて立証された後、尋ねるのは非常に適切であった（エレ 6:15）。「彼らはこれらすべての忌まわしい事を行って恥じたか」。彼らの理性と宗教にとってそれほどの恥であることを。彼らは確信において赤面し、面目のなさが彼らに属することを認めたか。もしそうなら、彼らになおいくらかの希望がある。しかし、ああ！ 彼らの中には美徳のその色さえ現れなかった。彼らの心はかたくなで、少しも恥じず、赤面することもできなかった。彼らはそれほどまでに鋼鉄のような顔を持った。彼らはその悪において誇り、彼らをへりくだらせ、悔い改めに導くはずの確信に公然と立ち向かった。彼らは神ご自身に対してもそれを押し通し、自分たちの罪を認めないと決心した。ある人々はこれを祭司と預言者たちに当てる。彼らは民の傷を軽く直し、彼らが平安を持つと告げたが、その不実と偽りを恥じなかった。いな、事象が彼らを誤りとし、彼らを偽りとした時でさえ。恥知らずな者は恵みがなく、その境遇は希望がない。しかし悔い改めの恥じに服従せず、それを自分たちの当然のものとして取らない者たちは、完全な滅びを免れない。というのも次のように続くからである。「それゆえ彼らは倒れる者の中で倒れる」。完全に滅ぼされた者たちと共に彼らの受ける分を持つであろう。そして神が怒りをもって国を訪れる時、彼らは必ずつまずかされ、震えるようにされる。彼らが赤面しなかったからである。なお、罪を犯しそれを恥じることのできない者は、現在悪い状態にあり、間もなく彼らにとっていっそう悪くなるであろう。初めに彼らは自分自身を堅くし、赤面しなかった。後に彼らは赤面できないほど堅くされた。Quod unum habebant in malis bonum perdunt, peccandi verecundiam—彼らはかつて多くの悪い性質の中に混じっていた唯一の良い性質、すなわち悪を行ったことへの恥じを失った（セネカ『幸福な生活について』）。
三、彼らはしばしば与えられたがむなしかった良い助言を思い起こさせる。彼らはほとんど役に立たないために多くを語られた。
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義務についての助言によって（エレ 6:16）。神は彼らにこう言うことであった。「道々に立って見よ」。すなわち、(1) 考えることを彼らは望まれた。軽率に進まず、道中の旅人がするように—旅の終わりに彼らを導く正しい道を見つけるために気を配り、立ち止まって尋ねる者—。もし彼らが道を間違えたと思う理由があれば、満足を得るまでは安心しない。ああ、人がたましいのためにこのように賢く、足の道を熟考するならば。合法的なものと非法的なものが私たちにとって正しい道と間違った道が旅人にとってであるのと同じように重要であると信じる者として！(2) 古さを彼らは相談するように望まれた。先に行った者たちの観察と経験。「古い道を求めよ。前の時代について尋ねよ」（ヨブ 8:8）。「父に尋ねよ。長老たちに」（申 32:7）。そうすれば、敬虔と義の道が常に神が認め、祝福し、人が栄えた道であったことを見出すであろう。「古い道を求めよ」—神の律法、書かれたみことば、真の古さの基準によって定められた道。族長たち—アブラハム、イサク、ヤコブ—があなたがたの前に旅した道を。そして彼らに与えられた約束を相続することを望むように、彼らの足跡を踏め。「古い道を求めよ。どこに良い道があるか」。私たちは単に古さによって導かれるべきではない。長い使用の請求と長い慣習が単独で私たちの道を正当化するのに十分であるかのように。いな。悪人たちが踏んだ古い道がある（ヨブ 22:15）。しかし、私たちが古い道を求める時、それはただ良い道—正しい者の大通り—を見つけるためである。なお、宗教と敬虔の道は良い古い道であり、すべての時代のすべての聖徒たちが歩んだ道である。(3) これらの探求の結果に従って行動することを決意するように望まれた。「良い道がどれであるかを見つけたなら、その道を歩め。それに従って実践せよ。その道にしっかりと留まれ。進み、その中に忍耐せよ」。(4) もしそうするなら、それが彼ら自身のたましいの幸福と満足を確保すると彼らは保証される。「良い古い道を歩め。そうすればその道を歩むことが容易で楽しいことを見出すであろう。あなたがたは神と自分自身を楽しみ、その道は真の安息にあなたがたを導くであろう。その道を歩むためにいくらかの労苦がかかるとしても、旅の終わりに豊かな報いを見出すであろう」。(5) このように合理的であり、彼らにふさわしいこの良い助言が受け入れられなかったことを神は嘆かれる。「しかし彼らは言った。『私たちはその道を歩まない』」。どの道が良い道、良い古い道であるかを探す労苦を取らないだけでなく、それが告げられ、それが正しい道であると逆らうことが何もない時に、その道を歩むために自分自身と自分たちの気質を否定することをしないであろう。このように大群衆がひたすらな意志によって永遠に滅びる。
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危険についての訓戒によって。彼らが公正な論理によって治められなかったので、神は彼らに対して別の方法を取られる。小さなさばちによって大きなさばちを脅し、預言者たちを遣わしてそれらの説明を与え、彼らがその中にある危険の予感をもって彼らを怖がらせる（エレ 6:17）。「またわたしはあなたがたの上に見張りを立てた」。神の奉仕者たちは見張りである。そして主において彼らを私たちの上に置かれることは大きなあわれみである。さてここで、(1) これらの見張りによって与えられた公正な警告。これが彼らの歌の重荷であった。彼らは繰り返し繰り返し叫んだ。「ラッパの音に聞け」。神はご自身の摂理においてラッパを鳴らされる（ゼカ 9:14）。見張りたちはそれを自分たちで聞いて影響を受け（エレ 4:19）、他者にもそれに聞くように呼びかけるべきである。主の論争を聞き、摂理の御声を観察し、それを改善し、その意図に答えるために。(2) この公正な警告は軽蔑された。「しかし彼らは言った。『私たちは聞かない』」。聞かない、気にとめない、信じない。預言者たちは自分自身と私たちにその労苦を救ってもよい。罪人たちが滅びるのは彼らがラッパの音に聞かないからである。そして彼らがそうしないのはそうしないからである。そして彼らがそうしない理由はないが、そうしないからである。すなわち、彼らはこの点において最も不合理である。十人の人の理由よりも一人の意志を扱う方が容易であるかもしれない。
English original
The Universal Corruption of the Age (608 BC)
⁹ Thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine: turn back thine hand as a grape-gatherer into the baskets.
¹⁰ To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.
¹¹ Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD; I am weary with holding in: I will pour it out upon the children abroad, and upon the assembly of young men together: for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days.
¹² And their houses shall be turned unto others, with their fields and wives together: for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD.
¹³ For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.
¹⁴ They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
¹⁵ Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.
¹⁶ Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.
¹⁷ Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.
The heads of this paragraph are the very same with those of the last; for precept must be upon precept and line upon line.
I. The ruin of Judah and Jerusalem is here threatened. We had before the haste which the Chaldea army made to the war (Jer 6:4,5); now here we have the havoc made by the war. How lamentable are the desolations here described! The enemy shall so long quarter among them, and be so insatiable in their thirst after blood and treasure, that they shall seize all they can meet with, and what escapes them at one time shall fall into their hands another (Jer 6:9): They shall thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine; as the grape-gatherer, who is resolved to leave none behind, still turns back his hand into the baskets, to put more in, till he has gathered all, so that they be picked up by the enemy, though dispersed, though hid, and none of them shall escape their eye and hand. Perhaps the people, being given to covetousness (Jer 6:13), had not observed that law of God which forbade them to glean all their grapes (Le 19:10), and now they themselves shall be in like manner thoroughly gleaned and shall either fall by the sword or go into captivity. This is explained Jer 6:11,12, where God's fury and his hand are said to be poured out and stretched out, in the fury and by the hand of the Chaldeans; for even wicked men are often made use of as God's hand (Ps 17:14), and in their anger we may see God angry. Now see on whom the fury is poured out in full vials—upon the children abroad, or in the streets, where they are playing (Zec 8:5) or whither they run out innocently to look about them: the sword of the merciless Chaldeans shall not spare them, Jer 9:21. The children perish in the calamity which the fathers' sins have procured. The execution shall likewise reach the assembly of young men, their merry meetings, their clubs which they keep up to strengthen one another's hands in wickedness; they shall be cut off together. Nor shall those only fall into the enemies' hands who meet for lewdness (Jer 5:7), but even the husband with the wife shall be taken, these two in bed together, and neither left, but both taken prisoners. And, as they have no compassion for the weak but fair sex, so they have none for the decrepit but venerable age: The old with the full of days, whose deaths can contribute no more to their safety than their lives to their service, who are not in a capacity to do them either good or harm, shall be either cut off or carried off. Their houses shall then be turned to others (Jer 6:12); the conquerors shall dwell in their habitations, use their goods, and live upon their stores; their fields and vines shall fall together into their hands, as was threatened, De 28:30, etc. For God stretches out his hand upon the inhabitants of the land, and none can go out of the reach of it. Now as to this denunciation of God's wrath, 1. The prophet justifies himself in preaching thus terribly, for herein he dealt faithfully (Jer 6:11): "I am full of the fury of the Lord, full of the thoughts and apprehensions of it, and am carried out with a powerful impulse, by the spirit of prophecy, to speak of it thus vehemently." He took no delight in threatening, nor was it any pleasure to him with such sermons as these to make those about him uneasy; but he could not contain himself; he was weary with holding in; he suppressed it as long as he could, as long as he durst, but he was so full of power by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts that he must speak, whether they will hear or whether they will forbear. Note, When ministers preach the terrors of the Lord according to the scripture we have no reason to be displeased at them; for they are but messengers, and must deliver their message, pleasing or unpleasing. 2. He condemns the false prophets who preached plausibly, for therein they flattered people and dealt unfaithfully (Jer 6:13,14): The priest and the prophet, who should be their watchmen and monitors, have dealt falsely, have not been true to their trust not told the people their faults and the danger they were in; they should have been their physicians, but they murdered their patients by letting them have their will, by giving them every thing that had a mind to, and flattering them into an opinion that they were in no danger (Jer 6:14): They have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, or according to the cure of some slight hurt, skinning over the wound and never searching it to the bottom, applying lenitives only, when there was need of corrosives, soothing people in their sins, and giving them opiates to make them easy for the present, while the disease was preying upon the vitals. They said, "Peace peace—all shall be well." (if there were some thinking people among them, who were awake, and apprehensive of danger, they soon stopped their mouths with their priestly and prophetical authority, boldly averring that neither church nor state was in any danger), when there is no peace, because they went on in their idolatries and daring impieties. Note, Those are to be reckoned our false friends (that is, our worst and most dangerous enemies) who flatter us in a sinful way.
II. The sin of Judah and Jerusalem, which provoked God to bring this ruin upon them and justified him in it, is here declared. 1. They would by no means bear to be told of their faults, nor of the danger they were in. God bids the prophet give them warning of the judgment coming (Jer 6:9), "but," says he, "to whom shall I speak and give warning? I cannot find out any that will so much as give me a patient hearing. I may give warning long enough, but these is nobody that will take warning. I cannot speak that they may hear, cannot speak to any purpose, or with any hope of success; for their ear is uncircumcised, it is carnal and fleshly, indisposed to receive the voice of God, so that they cannot hearken. They have, as it were, a thick skin grown over the organs of hearing, so that divine things might to as much purpose be spoken to a stone as to them. Nay, they are not only deaf to it, but prejudiced against it; therefore they cannot hear, because they are resolved that they will not: The word of the Lord is unto them a reproach; both the reproofs and the threatenings of the word are so;" they reckoned themselves wronged and affronted by both, and resented the prophet's plain-dealing with them as they would the most causeless slander and calumny. This was kicking against the pricks (Ac 9:5), as the lawyers against the word of Christ, Lu 11:45, Thus saying, thou repoachest us also. Note, Those reproofs that are counted reproaches, and hated as such, will certainly be turned into the heaviest woes. When it is here said, They have no delight in the word, more is implied than is expressed; "they have an antipathy to it; their hearts rise at it; it exasperates them, and enrages their corruptions, and they are ready to fly in the face and pull out the eyes of their reprovers." And how can those expect that the word of the Lord should speak any comfort to them who have no delight in it, but would rather be any where than within hearing of it? 2. They were inordinately set upon the world, and wholly carried away by the love of it (Jer 6:13): "From the least of them even to the greatest, old and young, rich and poor, high and low, those of all ranks, professions, and employments, every one is given to covetousness, greedy of filthy lucre, all for what they can get, per fas per nefas—right or wrong;" and this made them oppressive and violent (Jer 6:6,7), for of those evils, as well as others, the love of money is the bitter root. Nay, and this hardened their hearts against the word of God and his prophets. It was the covetous Pharisees that derided Christ, Lu 16:14. 3. They had become impudent in sin and were past shame. After such a high charge of flagrant crimes proved upon them, it was very proper to ask (Jer 6:15), Were they ashamed when they had committed all these abominations, which are such a reproach to their reason and religion? Did they blush at the conviction, and acknowledge that confusion of face belonged to them? If so, there is some hope of them yet. But, alas! there did not appear so much as this colour of virtue among them; their hearts were so hardened that they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush, they had so brazened their faces. They even gloried in their wickedness, and openly confronted the convictions which should have humbled them and brought them to repentance. They resolved to face it out against God himself and not to own their guilt. Some refer this to the priests and prophets, who had healed the people slightly and told them that they should have peace, and yet were not ashamed of their treachery and falsehood, no, not when the event disproved them and gave them the lie. Those that are shameless are graceless and their case is hopeless. But those that will not submit to a penitential shame, nor take that to themselves as their due, shall not escape an utter ruin; for so it follows: Therefore they shall fall among those that fall; they shall have their portion with those that are quite undone; and, when God visits the nation in wrath, they shall be sure to be cast down and be made to tremble, because they would not blush. Note, Those that sin and cannot blush for it are in an evil case now, and it will be worse with them shortly. At first they hardened themselves and would not blush, afterwards they were so hardened that they could not. Quod unum habebant in malis bonum perdunt, peccandi verecundiam—they have lost the only good property which once blended itself with many bad ones, that is, shame for having done amiss.—Senec. De Vit. Beat.
III. They are put in mind of the good counsel which had been often given them, but in vain. They had a great deal said to them to little purpose,
1. By way of advice concerning their duty, Jer 6:16. God had been used to say to them, Stand in the ways and see. That is, (1.) He would have them to consider, not to proceed rashly, but to do as travellers in the road, who are in care to find the right way which will bring them to their journey's end, and therefore pause and enquire for it. If they have any reason to think that they have missed their way, they are not easy till they have obtained satisfaction. O that men would be thus wise for their souls, and would ponder the path of their feet, as those that believe lawful and unlawful are of no less consequence to us than the right way and the wrong are to a traveller! (2.) He would have them to consult antiquity, the observations and experiences of those that went before them: "Ask for the old paths, enquire of the former age (Job 8:8), ask thy father, thy elders (De 32:7), and thou wilt find that the way of godliness and righteousness has always been the way which God has owned and blessed and in which men have prospered. Ask for the old paths, the paths prescribed by the law of God, the written word, that true standard of antiquity. Ask for the paths that the patriarchs travelled in before you, Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob; and, as you hope to inherit the promises made to them, tread in their steps. Ask for the old paths, Where is the good way?" We must not be guided merely by antiquity, as if the plea of prescription and long usage were alone sufficient to justify our path. No; there is an old way which wicked men have trodden, Job 22:15. But, when we ask for the old paths, it is only in order to find out the good way, the highway of the upright. Note, The way of religion and godliness is a good old way, the way that all the saints in all ages have walked in. (3.) He would have them to resolve to act according to the result of these enquiries: "When you have found out which is the good way, walk therein, practise accordingly, keep closely to that way, proceed, and persevere in it." Some make this counsel to be given them with reference to the struggles that were between the true and false prophets, between those that said they should have peace and those that told them trouble was at the door; they pretended they knew not which to believe: "Stand in the way," says God, "and see, and enquire, which of these two agrees with the written word and the usual methods of God's providence, which of these directs you to the good way, and do accordingly." (4.) He assures them that, if they do thus, it will secure the welfare and satisfaction of their own souls: "Walk in the good old way and you will find your walking in that way will be easy and pleasant; you will enjoy both your God and yourselves, and the way will lead you to true rest. Though it cost you some pains to walk in that way, you will find an abundant recompence at your journey's end." (5.) He laments that this good counsel, which was so rational in itself and so proper for them, could not find acceptance: "But they said, We will not walk therein, not only we will not be at the pains to enquire which is the good way, the good old way; but when it is told us, and we have nothing to say to the contrary but that it is the right way, yet we will not deny ourselves and our humours so far as to walk in it." Thus multitudes are ruined for ever by downright wilfulness.
2. By way of admonition concerning their danger. Because they would not be ruled by fair reasoning, God takes another method with them; by less judgments he threatens greater, and sends his prophets to give them this explication of them, and to frighten them with an apprehension of the danger they were in (Jer 6:17); Also I set watchmen over you. God's ministers are watchmen, and it is a great mercy to have them set over us in the Lord. Now observe here, (1.) The fair warning given by these watchmen. This was the burden of their song; they cried again and again, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. God, in his providence, sounds the trumpet (Zec 9:14); the watchmen hear it themselves and are affected with it (Jer 4:19), and they are to call upon others to hearken to it too, to hear the Lord's controversy, to observe the voice of Providence, to improve it, and answer the intentions of it. (2.) This fair warning slighted: "But they said, We will not hearken; we will not hear, we will not heed, we will not believe; the prophets may as well save themselves and us the trouble." The reason why sinners perish is because they do not hearken to the sound of the trumpet; and the reason why they do not is because they will not; and they have no reason to give why they will not but because they will not, that is, they are herein most unreasonable. One may more easily deal with ten men's reasons than one man's will.
18-30
Equity of Divine Judgments; Punishment Predicted (608 BC)
日本語
神のさばきの公平、罰の預言（紀元前608年）
¹⁸ それゆえ、国々よ、聞け。集会よ、彼らのうちにあるものを知れ。 ¹⁹ 地よ、聞け。見よ、わたしはこの民の上にわざわいをもたらす。彼らの思いの実である。彼らがわたしのことばに耳を傾けず、わたしの律法に従わず、それを退けたからである。 ²⁰ シェバからわたしに来る乳香、遠い国から来る良いかやは、何のためになろうか。あなたがたの全焼のいけにえは受け入れられず、あなたがたのいけにえはわたしに喜ばれない。 ²¹ それゆえ、主はこう仰せられる。見よ、わたしはこの民の前に、つまずきの石を置く。父も子も共にそれに打ち倒れる。隣人もその友も滅びる。 ²² 主はこう仰せられる。見よ、ひとりの民が北の国から来る。大いなる国が地の果てから起こる。 ²³ 彼らは弓と槍を執る。彼らは残酷で、あわれみを持たない。その声は海のほえるようにほえ、馬に乗る。シオンの娘よ、あなたに向かって戦いの備えをした者のようだ。 ²⁴ われわれはそのうわさを聞いた。われわれの手は弱る。苦悩がわれわれを捕らえた。陣痛の女のような痛みが。 ²⁵ 野に出てはならない。道を歩いてはならない。敵の剣と恐怖が四方にあるからである。 ²⁶ わたしの民の娘よ、荒布を腰にまとい、灰の中を転げ回れ。ひとり子のためにするように、最も苦々しい嘆きの喪に服せ。強奪する者が突然われわれの上に来るからである。 ²⁷ わたしはあなたを、わたしの民のうちの塔、城壁とした。それはあなたが彼らの道を知り、ためすためである。 ²⁸ 彼らはみなひどい反逆者、そしりと共に歩む。彼らは真鍮と鉄である。彼らはみな腐らせる者である。 ²⁹ ふいごは焼け、鉛は火で燃え尽きた。精製する者はむなしく溶かす。悪者たちが取り除かれないからである。 ³⁰ 人々は彼らを捨てられた銀と呼ぶ。主が彼らを退けられたからである。
ここに次のことがある。
一、神はすべての隣人、否、全世界に対して、ユダとエルサレムに対する神の取り扱いの公平について訴えられる（エレ 6:18,19）。*「国々よ、聞け。集会よ、知れ。」*彼らが神と契約を結び、神に関係を告白し、神を礼拝し、神によって大いに恵まれていた民の上に、わたしがわざわいをもたらすことを、皆驚くであろう。それなら知れ。1. それは彼らのはかりごとの自然の産物である。2. それは彼らの不従順と反逆の正当な罰である。
二、神は彼らの外面的な儀式がすべての罪を贖うのに十分であると主張する彼らの言い分を退けられる。ああ、それは取るに足らない言い分である（エレ 6:20）。*「シェバからの乳香……何のためになろうか。」*彼らは神を自分たちの債権者とし、罪を続ける許可証を買ったという思いでささげるとき、神を喜ばせるどころか、神の怒りを買った。
三、今や彼らの上に来つつある荒廃を予告される。1. 神は彼らが改革を嫌うゆえに彼らの滅びを計画される（エレ 6:21）。2. 神はその道具としてカルデア人を用いられる（エレ 6:22,23）。
四、この恐るべき敵の接近に際してユダとエルサレムが陥る非常に大きな恐慌を描く（エレ 6:24-26）。
- 彼らは最初の知らせで自分たちが恐怖にあることを認める。
- 彼らは互いに同意して家に閉じこもる。
- 預言者は彼らに、自分たちの上に来つつある荒廃を悲しみ嘆くよう呼びかける。
五、預言者を、今さばきの前に立つこの民のさばき手として任命される。「わたしはあなたを……塔、城壁とした」（エレ 6:27）。彼らの道をためすうちに、彼は二つのことを見出す。
- 彼らが惨めに堕落していること（エレ 6:28）。
- 彼らが決して回復・改革されないこと（エレ 6:29,30）。神は預言者たちと摂理をもって、この民を精製し、その邪悪さからきよめる最も適切な手段を用いられたが、すべてむなしかった。それゆえその判決が下された（エレ 6:30）。*「彼らは捨てられた銀と呼ばれる。」*これによって次のことが示される。(1) 神は罪人の死と滅びに喜びを持たれない。(2) 神は罪人の死において義とされ、すべての非難は彼ら自身に帰される。
English original
Equity of Divine Judgments; Punishment Predicted (608 BC)
¹⁸ Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them.
¹⁹ Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.
²⁰ To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me.
²¹ Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will lay stumbling-blocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; the neighbour and his friend shall perish.
²² Thus saith the LORD, Behold, a people cometh from the north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth.
²³ They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion.
²⁴ We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail.
²⁵ Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every side.
²⁶ O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us.
²⁷ I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way.
²⁸ They are all grievous revolters, walking with slanders: they are brass and iron; they are all corrupters.
²⁹ The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away.
³⁰ Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the LORD hath rejected them.
Here, I. God appeals to all the neighbours, nay, to the whole world, concerning the equity of his proceedings against Judah and Jerusalem (Jer 6:18,19): "Hear, you nations, and know particularly, O congregation of the mighty, the great men of the nations, that take cognizance of the affairs of states about you and make remarks upon them. Observe now what is doing among those of Judah and Jerusalem; you hear of the desolations brought upon them, the earth rings of it, trembles under it; you all wonder that I should bring evil upon this people, that are in covenant with me, that profess relation to me, that have worshipped me, and been highly favoured by me; you are ready to ask, Wherefore has the Lord done thus to this land? De 29:24. Know then," 1. "That it is the natural product of their devices. The evil brought upon them is the fruit of their thought. They thought to strengthen themselves by their alliance with foreigners, and by that very thing they weakened and diminished themselves, they betrayed and exposed themselves." 2. "That it is the just punishment of their disobedience and rebellion. God does but execute upon them the curse of the law for their violation of its commands. It is because they have not hearkened to my words nor to my law, nor regarded a word I have said to them, but rejected it all. They would never have been ruined thus by the judgments of God's hand if they had not refused to be ruled by the judgments of his mouth: therefore you cannot say that they have any wrong done them."
II. God rejects their plea, by which they insisted upon their external services as sufficient to atone for all their sins. Alas! it is a frivolous plea (Jer 6:20): "To what purpose come there to me incense and sweet cane, to be burnt for a perfume on the golden altar, though it was the best of the kind, and far-fetched? What care I for your burnt-offerings and your sacrifices?" They not only cannot profit God (no sacrifice does, Ps 50:9), but they do not please him, for none does this but the sacrifice of the upright; that of the wicked is an abomination to him. Sacrifice and incense were appointed to excite their repentance, and to direct them to a Mediator, and assist their faith in him. Where this good use was made of them they were acceptable, God had respect to them and to those that offered them. But when they were offered with an opinion that thereby they made God their debtor, and purchased a license to go on in sin, they were so far from being pleasing to God that they were a provocation to him.
III. He foretels the desolation that was now coming upon them. 1. God designs their ruin because they hate to be reformed (Jer 6:21): I will lay stumbling-blocks before this people, occasions of falling not into sin, but into trouble. Those whom God has marked for destruction he perplexes and embarrasses in their counsels, and obstructs and retards all the methods they take for their own safety. The parties of the enemy, which they met with wherever they went, were stumbling-blocks to them; in ever corner they stumbled upon them and were dashed to pieces by them: The fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; neither the fathers with their wisdom, nor the sons with their strength and courage, shall escape them, or get over them. The sons that sinned with their fathers fall with them. Even the neighbour and his friend shall perish and not be able to help either themselves or one another. 2. He will make use of the Chaldeans as instruments of it; for whatever work God has to do he will find out proper instruments for the doing of it. This is a people fetched from the north, from the sides of the earth. Babylon itself lay a great way off northward; and some of the countries that were subject to the king of Babylon, out of which his army was levied, lay much further. These must be employed in this service, Jer 6:22,23. For, (1.) It is a people very numerous, a great nation, which will make their invasion the more formidable. (2.) It is a warlike people. They lay hold on bow and spear, and at this time know how to use them, for they are used to them. They ride upon horses, and therefore they march the more swiftly, and in battle press the harder. No nation had yet brought into the field a better cavalry that the Chaldeans. (3.) It is a barbarous people. They are cruel and have no mercy, being greedy of prey and flushed with victory. They take a pride in frightening all about them; their voice roars like the sea. And, (4.) They have a particular design upon Judah and Jerusalem, in hopes greatly to enrich themselves with the spoil of that famous country. They are set in array against thee, O daughter of Zion! The sins of God's professing people make them an easy prey to those that are God's enemies as well as theirs.
IV. He describes the very great consternation which Judah and Jerusalem should be in upon the approach of this formidable enemy, Jer 6:24-26. 1. They own themselves in a fright, upon the first intelligence brought them of the approach of the enemy: "When we have but heard the fame thereof our hands wax feeble, and we have no heart to make any resistance; anguish has taken hold of us, and we are immediately in an extremity of pain, like that of a woman in travail." Note, Sense of guilt quite dispirits men, upon the approach of any threatening trouble. What can those hope to do for themselves who have made God their enemy? 2. They confine themselves by consent to their houses, not daring to show their heads abroad; for, though they could not but expect that the sword of the enemy would at last find them out there, yet they would rather die tamely and meanly there than run any venture, either by fight or flight, to help themselves. Thus they say one to another, "Go not forth into the field, no not to fetch in your provision thence, nor walk by the way; dare not to go to church or market, it is at your peril if you do, for the sword of the enemy, and the fear of it, are on every side; the highways are unoccupied, as in Jael's time," Jdg 5:6. Let this remind us, when we travel the roads in safety and there is none to make us afraid, to bless God for our share in the public tranquillity. 3. The prophet calls upon them sadly to lament the desolations that were coming upon them. He was himself the lamenting prophet, and called upon his people to join with him in his lamentations: "O daughter of my people, hear thy God calling thee to weeping and mourning, and answer his call: do not only put on sackcloth for a day, but gird it on for thy constant wear; do not only put ashes on thy head, but wallow thyself in ashes; put thyself into close mourning, and use all the tokens of bitter lamentation, not forced and for show only, but with the greatest sincerity, as parents mourn for an only son, and think themselves comfortless because they are childless. Thus do thou lament for the spoiler that suddenly comes upon us. Though he has not come yet, he is coming, the decree has gone forth: let us therefore meet the execution of it with a suitable sadness." As saints may rejoice in hope of God's mercies, though they see them only in the promise, so sinners must mourn for fear of God's judgments, though they see them only in the threatenings.
V. He constitutes the prophet a judge over this people that now stand upon their trial: as Jer 1:10, I have set thee over the nations; so here, I have set thee for a tower, or as a sentinel, or a watchman, upon a tower, among my people, as an inspector of their actions, that thou mayest know, and try their way, Jer 6:27. Not that God needed any to inform him concerning them; on the contrary, the prophet knew little of them in comparison but by the spirit of prophecy. But thus God appeals to the prophet himself, and his own observation concerning their character, that he might be fully satisfied in the equity of God's proceedings against them and with the more assurance give them warning of the judgments coming. God set him for a tower, conspicuous to all and attacked by many, but made him a fortress, a strong tower, gave him courage to stem the tide and bear the shock of their displeasure. Those that will be faithful reprovers have need to be firm as fortresses. Now in trying their way he will find two things:—1. That they are wretchedly debauched (Jer 6:28): They are all grievous revolters, revolters of revolters (so the word is), the worst of revolters, as a servant of servants is the meanest servant. They have a revolting heart, have deeply revolted, and revolt more and more. They seemed to start fair, but they revolt and start back. They walk with slanders; they make nothing of belying and backbiting one another, nay, they make a perfect trade of it; it is their constant course, and they govern themselves by the slanders they hear, hating those that they hear ill-spoken of, though ever so unjustly. They are brass and iron, base metals, and there is nothing in them that is valuable. They were as silver and gold, but they have degenerated. Nay, as they are all revolters, so they are all corrupters, not only debauched themselves, but industrious to debauch others, to corrupt them as they themselves are corrupt; nay, to make them seven times more the children of hell than themselves. It is often so; sinners soon become tempters. 2. That they would never be reclaimed and reformed; it was in vain to think of reforming them, for various methods had been tried with them, and all to no purpose, Jer 6:29,30. He compares them to ore that was supposed to have some good metal in it, and was therefore put into the furnace by the refiner, who used all his art, and took abundance of pains, about it, but it proved all dross, nothing of any value could be extracted out of it. God by his prophets and by his providences had used the most proper means to refine this people and to purify them from their wickedness; but it was all in vain. By the continual preaching of the word, and in a series of afflictions, they had been kept in a constant fire, but all to no purpose. The bellows have been still kept so near the fire, to blow it, that they are burnt with the heat of it, or they are quite worn out with long use and thrown into the fire as good for nothing. The prophets have preached their throats sore with crying aloud against the sins of Israel, and yet they are not convinced and humbled. The lead, which was then used in refining silver, as quicksilver is now, is consumed of the fire, and has not done its work. The founder melts in vain; his labour is lost, for the wicked are not plucked away, no care is taken to separate between the precious and the vile, to purge out the old leaven, to cast out of communion those who, being corrupt themselves, are in danger of infecting others. Or, Their wickednesses are not removed (so some read it); they are still as bad as ever, and nothing will prevail to part between them and their sins. They will not be brought off from their idolatries and immoralities by all they have heard, and all they have felt, of the wrath of God against them; and therefore that doom is passed upon them (Jer 6:30): Reprobate silver shall they be called, useless and worthless; they glitter as if they had some silver in them, but there is nothing of real virtue or goodness to be found among them; and for this reason the Lord has rejected them. He will no more own them as his people, nor look for any good from them; he will take them away like dross (Ps 119:119), and prepare a consuming fire for those that would not be purified by a refining fire. By this it appears, (1.) That God has no pleasure in the death and ruin of sinners, for he tries all ways and methods with them to prevent their destruction and qualify them for salvation. Both his ordinances and his providences have a tendency this way, to part between them and their sins; and yet with many it is all lost labour. We have piped unto you, and you have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and you have not wept. Therefore, (2.) God will be justified in the death of sinners and all the blame will lie upon themselves. He did not reject them till he had used all proper means to reform them; did not cast them off so long as there was any hope of them, nor abandon them as dross till it appeared that they were reprobate silver.
本章でも前と同じように、次の事が記されている。 一、カルデヤの軍勢によるユダの地への侵攻とエルサレムの包囲の預言（エレミヤ 6:1-6）、彼らが国で行う略奪（エレミヤ 6:9）、およびその時にすべての者が襲われる恐怖（エレミヤ 6:22-26）。 二、神を怒ってこの荒廃をもたらすさばきを彼らの上に招いた、ユダとエルサレムの罪々の記録。すなわち彼らの圧迫（エレミヤ 6:7）、神のことばに対する軽蔑（エレミヤ 6:10-12）、世俗性（エレミヤ 6:13）、預言者たちの不誠実（エレミヤ 6:14）、罪における厚かましさ（エレミヤ 6:15）、責めに対する頑なさ（エレミヤ 6:18,19）。これらは彼らのいけにえを神に受け入れられないものとし（エレミヤ 6:20）、そのゆえに神は彼らを滅びに渡された（エレミヤ 6:21）が、まず彼らを試み（エレミヤ 6:27）、回復の見込みのない者として退けられた（エレミヤ 6:28-30）。 三、これらすべての中で彼らに与えられた良い忠告であるが、むなしかった（エレミヤ 6:8,16,17）。