Jeremiah 30:23

Behold, the whirlwind of the LORD goeth forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind: it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(23, 24) Behold, the whirlwind of the Lord . . .—The “wicked” who are thus threatened are the enemies and oppressors of the penitent and rescued people. In the “latter days,” the far-off future (Genesis 49:1; Numbers 24:14; Isaiah 2:2), it should be seen that He was their avenger. (See Notes on Jeremiah 23:19-20.) A right division of chapters would probably connect this with the great promise of Jeremiah 31:1.

Benson Commentary

Jeremiah 30:23-24. Behold, the whirlwind of the Lord goeth forth with fury — Rather, with anger, the word fury being manifestly improper when applied to God. These two verses occur with some slight variations, Jeremiah 23:19-20, where see the notes. In the latter days ye shall consider it — The latter days here may signify the time to come; but they commonly imply the times of the gospel, that being the last dispensation, and what should continue till the end of the world. Thus understood, the words import, “When all these evils are come upon you, which God has threatened for your disobedience, and particularly for your heinous crime of rejecting the Messiah, and you have found the denunciations verified in the several captivities you have undergone, then you will understand the import of this and several other prophecies, and the event will perfectly instruct you in their meaning.” — Lowth.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

30:18-24 We have here further intimations of the favour of God for them after the days of their calamity have expired. The proper work and office of Christ, as Mediator, is to draw near unto God, for us, as the High Priest of our profession. His own undertaking, in compliance with his Father's will, and in compassion to fallen man, engaged him. Jesus Christ was, in all this, truly wonderful. They shall be taken again into covenant with the Lord, according to the covenant made with their fathers. I will be your God: it is his good-will to us, which is the summary of that part of the covenant. The wrath of God against the wicked is very terrible, like a whirlwind. The purposes of his wrath, as well as the purposes of his love, will all be fulfilled. God will comfort all that turn to him; but those who approach him must have their hearts engaged to do it with reverence, devotion, and faith. How will they escape who neglect so great salvation?

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Compare the marginal reference. These verses would more appropriately be attached to the next chapter, for which they form a suitable introduction.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

23, 24. (Jer 23:19). Vengeance upon God's foes always accompanies manifestations of His grace to His people.

continuing—literally, "sojourning," abiding constantly; appropriately here in the case of Babylon, which was to be permanently destroyed, substituted for "whirling itself about" ("grievous" in English Version) (see on [940]Jer 23:19,20), where the temporary downfall of Judea is spoken of.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

The whirlwind of the Lord goeth forth with fury; the vengeance of God compared to a whirlwind, for the suddenness of it, and because it should encompass them to their ruin, a terrible whirlwind.

A continuing whirlwind; or, a continuing whirling; not a sudden blast of wind, that shall presently go over, but a vengeance that shall abide. The miserable effects of which, in destroying, shall be either upon the heathen, or upon the wicked Jews that shall continue in their disobedience and stubbornness.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Behold, the whirlwind of the Lord goeth forth with fury,.... That is, the wrath of God, which like a whirlwind comes suddenly, with great force and strength, and carries all before it; there is no withstanding it; such is the wrath of God against the enemies of his church and people:

a continuing whirlwind; whirlwinds, as they come suddenly, are generally soon over; but this will continue very boisterous and terrible, until it has done all the execution designed by it:

it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked; according to some, the wicked Jews, that do not repent and turn to the Lord; but rather the wicked of the nations, as Jarchi; not the Gentiles in general, as distinguished from the Jews, which is his sense, but the antichristian states; for the ruin of antichrist, and the conversion of the Jews, will be much about the same time; and the vials of God's wrath, which will be poured upon them, and fall upon their heads, will give them much pain, both in body and mind; see Revelation 16:10; and which wrath and ruin are expressed by a tempest of thunder, lightning, and hail, and by an earthquake, Jeremiah 30:18.

Geneva Study Bible

Behold, {q} the whirlwind of the LORD goeth forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind: it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked.

(q) Lest the wicked hypocrites should flatter themselves with these promises the prophet shows what will be their portion.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

23. This and the following v. are nearly identical with Jeremiah 23:19-20 (see notes there), where judgement is pronounced upon the false prophets. Co. (not so Du.) doubts their genuineness here as well as there, both for metrical reasons, and because the thought they contain is one which has not met us hitherto, viz. a purifying judgement to be executed on recreant Jews (the general reference of “the wicked” in the Hebrew) before the final deliverance.

a sweeping (mg. gathering) tempest] The sense of the Hebrew word is uncertain. Probably sweeping or rushing is the meaning intended.

23, 24. See introd. summary to this section.

Pulpit Commentary

Verses 23, 24. - These verses occur in a form evidently more original in Jeremiah 23:19, 20. In all probability they were first inserted from memory in the margin, and then incorporated into the text at a time subsequent (how long subsequent we cannot say) to Jeremiah.



Jeremiah 30:23

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

The wicked shall be destroyed by the fire of God's anger. - Jeremiah 30:23. "Behold, a whirlwind of Jahveh - wrath goeth forth - a sweeping whirlwind; it shall hurl down on the head of the wicked. Jeremiah 30:24. The heat of Jahveh's anger shall not return till He hath done and till He hath established the purpose of His heart; in the end of the days ye shall consider it."

These two verses have been already met with in Jeremiah 23:19 and Jeremiah 23:20, with a few variations. Instead of מיחולל we have here מתגּורר, and אף־יהוה is here strengthened by prefixing חרון; on the other hand, בּינה, which is added in the preceding passage to intensify התבּוננוּ, is here omitted. The first of these changes is more of a formal than a real kind; for by the substitution of מתגּורר for מיחולל, the play in the latter word on יחוּל is merely disturbed, not "destroyed," since ר and ל are kindred sounds. התגּורר has been variously rendered. The meaning of "abiding," which is founded on 1 Kings 17:20, is here unsuitable. Equally inappropriate is the meaning of "crowding together," or assembling in troops, which we find in Hosea 7:14. It is more correct to derive it from גּרר, either in the sense of sweeping away or that of blustering, which are meanings derived from the fundamental one of producing harsh sounds in the throat, and transferred to the rushing sound made by the storm as it carries everything along with it. The second and third changes affect the sense. For, by the addition of חרון to אף, the idea of a judgment in wrath is intensified; and by dropping בּינה, less is made of the acuteness of perception. Both of these variations correspond to differences in the context of both passages. In Jeremiah 23, where the words are applied to the false prophets, it was important to place emphasis on the statement that these men would, by experience, come to a full knowledge of the reality of that judgment they denied; in this chapter, on the other hand, the idea of judgment in wrath must be expressly set aside. There is thus no good ground for considering these verses a later interpolation into the text, as Movers, Hitzig, and Ngelsbach think. Hitzig rejects these verses as spurious on the false ground that the judgment threatened in this chapter refers merely to the fall of the kingdom of Babylon, which Jeremiah could not have been able to know beforehand; Ngelsbach rejects them on the ground of other erroneous assumptions.

(Note: First, he holds the groundless opinion that this prophecy originated in the time of Josiah, and therefore could not have borrowed verses from the address given in Jeremiah 23, which belongs to the time of Jehoiakim; secondly, with as little ground he affirms that these verses do not correspond with the character of the chapter, and seem like a jarring discord in the midst of the announcement of deliverance it contains; finally, he asks whence could come "the wicked" mentioned, in the times described by the prophet - as if he thought that when the captivity of the people was turned, all godless ones would suddenly disappear. - The doubts as to the genuineness of Jeremiah 30:22 are based by Ngelsbach merely on the fact that the same idea is repeated in Jeremiah 31:1.)

The only doubtful point regarding these verses is, whether they are to be connected, as Hengstenberg thinks, with what precedes, or with what follows, as Ewald supposes. In the former case, to the promise for the true Israel would be added a threat against those who only seemed to be Israel, - like the declaration in Isaiah, "There is no peace to the wicked:" this addition would thus be made, lest those for whom the promise was not intended should unwarrantably apply it to themselves. But, however well-founded the thought is, that every increasing manifestation of grace is invariably accompanied by an increased manifestation of righteousness, and though all the prophets clearly testify that the godless members of the covenant people have no share in the promised salvation, but instead are liable to judgment; yet there has not been such preparation made for the introduction of this thought as that we might be able at once to join these two verses to what precedes. The exclamation "Behold!" with which the words are introduced, rather form a sign that a new addition is to be made to the prophecy. We therefore view the threat in this verse as a resumption of the threat of judgment made in Jeremiah 30:5., to which is attached, in Jeremiah 31:1, the further development of the announcement of deliverance; but we refer the threat made in the verse not merely to the heathen as such, but to all "wicked ones," in such a way that it at the same time applies to the godless members of the covenant people, and signifies their exclusion from salvation.