Глава 33

1–13. Restoration of the destroyed Jerusalem and the future well-being of the Jews. 14–26. The certainty of divine promises about the descendant of David having to sit on the throne of Israel. Jeremiah 33:1–13. The Prophet received, while in the courtyard of the guard, a second revelation about the restoration of Jerusalem, the buildings of which are now being destroyed even by its defenders. The life of Israel and Judah, returned from captivity, will flow as happily as it did in ancient times. The chosen people will be pure before God and, therefore, will enjoy serene prosperity in their country. Jer.33:4. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, which are torn down for rubble and for battle. Jer.33:5. who came to fight the Chaldeans to fill the houses with the corpses of people whom I will smite in My anger and in My wrath, and for all whose iniquities I have hidden My face from this city. It is better to convey the meaning of both verses this way: for thus spoke Jehovah, the God of Israel, about the houses of this city and about the houses of the kings of Judah, already destroyed (the prophet is sure that this will actually happen), and about their inhabitants who are hastening to the embankments erected by the besiegers, and to hand-to-hand combat to fight with the Chaldeans, which will only lead to them feeding the swords of the Chaldeans with their corpses. I Myself in My wrath will strike these people. Jer.33:6. Behold, I will apply a plaster and healing remedies to them, and I will heal them, and I will reveal to them an abundance of peace and truth, Here comes the very revelation of Jehovah, to which the previous two verses were an introduction. Jer.33:9. And Jerusalem will be for me a joyful name, praise and honor before all the nations of the earth, who will hear about all the good things that I will do for it, and will be amazed and tremble at all the benefits and all the prosperity that I will bring to it. "Joyful name". The very name of Jerusalem will be joyfully remembered by Jehovah (anthropomorphism). Jer.33:11. again the voice of joy and the voice of gladness will be heard, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say: “Praise the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good, for His mercy endures forever,” and the voice of those who offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving in the house of the Lord; for I will restore the captives of this land to their former state, says the Lord. From this verse it is clear that the doxology found in Ps 106:1, 107:1, 117:1, 135:1 was well known to the Jews even before the captivity and that, therefore, the psalms already existed before the captivity, which some critics do not want to admit. Jer.33:13. In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the lowlands, and in the cities of the south, and in the land of Benjamin, and in the outskirts of Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks will again pass under the hand of one who counts, says the Lord. Every day, in the evening, in front of the fold, the shepherds counted the sheep of their flock, passing each sheep past them and touching it with their staff. Jeremiah 33:14–26. Here the promise given earlier (Jeremiah 23.5 et seq.) about the righteous branch of David is repeated with the change that here the future community of true believers itself bears the name: “The Lord is our justification” and with an indication of the eternity of the Davidic kingdom and the Levitical priesthood. At the same time, both the seed of David and the Levites must multiply enormously. At the end, the Lord again assures the truth of His promise, which He made to David's descendants and to all Israel. Jer.33:18. and the Levitical priests shall not lack a man before Me, who shall offer burnt offerings and burnt offerings and sacrifices all the days. The prophet Jeremiah, as a man of the Old Testament, cannot think of the New Testament otherwise than in connection with various kinds of sacrifices that will continue to be made by the descendants of Levi. Jer.33:22. Just as the army of heaven is innumerable and the sand of the sea is immeasurable, so will I multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who serve Me. The multiplication to an innumerable number of the descendants of David and the Levites cannot obviously be understood in a literal sense. The prophet wants to say by this that all Israel will consist of kings and priests, as God promised to Moses (Ex. 19). But in addition, it should be noted that by Israel in this case we must understand not the Jews, but all the true believers of the New Testament, whom Christ made kings and priests (Rev 1.6; cf. 1 Pet 2.9). Special notes. Chapters XXX-XXXIII constitute a special group of speeches of consoling content. Chapters XXXII and XXXIII undoubtedly, as can be seen from the instructions of the prophet himself, belong to the time of the reign of Zedekiah. As for chapters XXX and XXXI, although they have some similarities with the speeches delivered during the reign of Josiah (II-VI chapters), nevertheless, the tone of these speeches is significantly different. Previously, it was the prophet who considered it possible to avert the wrath of God through the repentance of the people; now he no longer finds it possible for the Jews to avoid God’s judgment. – One can only make guesses about the time of the collection of all these consoling speeches of Jeremiah (XXX-XXXIII chapters), and the guess that this collection was compiled after the capture of Jerusalem is very likely; but in any case, it was made by Jeremiah himself, and not by any person who lived in captivity in Babylon, as some critics suggest. You might be interested in: