John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 6. And he hath violently taken away his tabernacle, as [if it were] of a garden , etc.] The house of the sanctuary or temple, as the Targum; which was demolished at once with great force and violence, and as easily done as a tent or tabernacle is taken down; and no more account made of it than of a cottage or lodge in a vineyard or garden, set up while the fruit was, gathering; either to shelter from the heat of the sun in the day, or to lodge in at night; (see Isaiah 1:8); he hath destroyed his places in the assembly ; the courts where the people used to assemble for worship in the temple; or the synagogues in Jerusalem, and other parts of the land: the Lord hath caused the solemn feasts and sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion ; there being neither places to keep them in, nor people to observe them: and hath despised, in the indignation of his anger, the king and the priest ; whose persons and offices were sacred, and ought to be treated by men with honour and respect; but, for the sins of both, the Lord despised them himself, and made them the object of his wrath and indignation, and suffered them to be despised and ill used by others, by the Chaldeans; Zedekiah had his children slain before his eyes, and then they were put out, and he was carried in chains to Babylon, and there detained a captive all his days; and Seraiah the chief priest, or, as the Targum here has it, the high priest, was put to death by the king of Babylon; though not only the persons of the king and priest are meant, but their offices also; the kingdom and priesthood ceased from being exercised for many years.
Matthew Henry Commentary
- The fate of Zedekiah. (Jer. 52:1-11) The destruction of Jerusalem (Jer. 52:12-23) The captivities. (Jer. 52:24-30) The advancement of Jehoiachin. (Jer. 52:31-34)
Jer. 52:1-11 This fruit of sin we should pray against above any thing Cast me not away from thy presence, Ps. 51:11. None are cast out of God's presence but those who by sin have first thrown themselves out Zedekiah's flight was in vain, for there is no escaping the judgment of God; they come upon the sinner, and overtake him, let him flee wher he will.
Jer. 52:12-23 The Chaldean army made woful havoc. But nothing is s particularly related here, as the carrying away of the articles in the temple. The remembrance of their beauty and value shows us the more the evil of sin.
Jer. 52:24-30 The leaders of the Jews caused them to err; but now the are, in particular, made monuments of Divine justice. Here is a account of two earlier captivities. This people often were wonders bot of judgment and mercy.
Jer. 52:31-34 See this history of king Jehoiachin in II Kin. 25:27-30 Those under oppression will find it is not in vain for them to hope an quietly to wait for the salvation of the Lord. Our times are in God' hand, for the hearts of all we have to deal with are so. May we be enabled, more and more, to rest on the Rock of Ages, and to loo forward with holy faith to that hour, when the Lord will bring agai Zion, and overthrow all the enemies of the church _________________________________________________
Original Hebrew ויחמס2554 כגן1588 שׂכו7900 שׁחת7843 מועדו4150 שׁכח7911 יהוה3068 בציון6726 מועד4150 ושׁבת7676 וינאץ5006 בזעם2195 אפו639 מלך4428 וכהן׃3548
