Jeremiah 11:20 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Jeremiah 11:20
But, O LORD of hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I revealed my cause.
a mass of persons (or figuratively · noun, common feminine plural absolute
judgest
שֹׁפֵ֣טsho.Fet
H8199
to judge · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular construct
righteously
צֶ֔דֶקTze.dek
H6664
the right (natural · noun, common masculine singular absolute
triest
בֹּחֵ֥ןbo.Chen
H974
to test (especially metals) · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
reins
כְּלָי֖וֹתke.la.Yot
H3629
a kidney (as an essential organ) · noun, common feminine plural absolute
heart
וָלֵ֑בva.Lev
H3820
the heart · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular absolute
see
אֶרְאֶ֤ה'er.'Eh
H7200
to see · verb, qal imperfect, 1st person common singular
vengeance
נִקְמָֽתְךָ֙nik.ma.te.Cha
H5360
avengement · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
revealed
גִּלִּ֥יתִיgi.Li.ti
H1540
to denude (especially in a disgraceful sense) · verb, piel perfect, 1st person common singular
cause
רִיבִֽיri.Vi
H7379
a contest (personal or legal) · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Jeremiah 20:12 But, O LORD of hosts, that triest the righteous, and seest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I o…
Jeremiah 17:10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth…
Psalms 7:9 Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.
Revelation 2:23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give…
Genesis 18:25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that b…
Jeremiah 15:15 O LORD, thou knowest: remember me, and visit me, and revenge me of my persecutors; take me not away in thy longsuffering: know that for thy…
Jeremiah 17:18 Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them th…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Jeremiah 11:18–end
The prophet Jeremiah has much in his writings concerning himself, much more than Isaiah had, the times he lived in being very troublesome. Here we have (as it should seem) the beginning of his sorrows, which arose from the people of his own city, Anathoth, a priest's city, and yet a malignant one. Observe here,
I. Their plot against him, Jer 11:19. They devised devices against him, laid their heads together to contrive how they might be in the most plausible and effectual manner the death of him. Malice is ingenious in its devices, as well as industrious in its prosecutions. They said concerning Jeremiah, Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof - a proverbial expression, meaning, "Let…
triest . . . heart-- (Rev 2:23).
revealed--committed my cause. Jeremiah's wish for vengeance was not personal but ministerial, and accorded with God's purpose revealed to him against the enemies alike of God and of His servant (Psa 37:34; Psa 54:7; Psa 112:8; Psa 118:7).
John Gill on Jeremiah 11:20
But, O Lord of hosts, that judgest righteously,.... This is the prophet's appeal to God, as the Judge of the whole earth, who will do right; he found there was no justice to be done him among men; he therefore has recourse to a righteous God, who he knew judged righteous judgment:
that triest the reins and the heart; of all men; as of his own, so of his enemies; and which he mentions, not so much on his own account as theirs:
let me see thy vengeance on them; which imprecation arose from a pure zeal for God, for his glory, and the honour of his justice; and not from private revenge; and so no ways inconsistent with the character of a good man; though some consider the words as a prediction…
Jeremiah 11:20
20. But, O LORD of hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I revealed my cause.
20. Et, Jehova exercituum, judicans justintam, (ant, judex justitiae) scrutans (vel, inquirens) renes et cor, videam ultionem tuam de ipsis; quia tibi revelavi causam meam, (litem meam, ad verbum)
Here the Prophet, after having found that the impiety of the people was so great that he was speaking to the deaf, turns his address to God: O Jehovah of hosts, he says, who art a great Judge, who searchest the reins and the heart, may I see thy vengeance on them The Prophet seems here inconsistent with himself;, for he…
The Church Fathers
"Lord of the powers, who judge righteous things, who test the reins and hearts, may I see the vengeance from you upon them." Prophetically he prays these things, to see the vengeance from God upon them; for "Jerusalem is encircled by armies, and its desolation has drawn near," and it has been said to her, "Behold, your house is left to you." "May I see," then, "the vengeance from you upon them, because to you I have revealed my case."
Hence they rightly believed and confessed that as God he knew all things and that as the Son of God He had come from God. It is a clear indication of divinity to know the secret things of another's thoughts, as Solomon affirmed when he said in supplication to God, "For you alone know the hearts of all the children of human beings." Hence, Jeremiah too said, "You, O Lord of Sabaoth, are the one who judges righteously and probes the loins and hearts of human beings."
There was a reason that God allowed the prophet to be tested by troubles. Since Jeremiah had often tried to offer intercession for the transgressors—in his desire to convince Jeremiah that God was not compassionate but the harsh treasury of goodness—he allowed the rebellion to occur. In his deep grief, however, Jeremiah implores God to judge justly and exact penalties from the unholy. The Lord accepts his petition, gives a reply, threatens punishment and notes that some will be slaughtered in war and others destroyed by famine.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Reins — The kidneys, the supposed seat of the desires and affections; used metaphorically for “heart.” The “reins” and the “heart” are often mentioned together, as denoting the whole moral constitution of…
Heart · .Tested — .Tested
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Evidence that Judah is Unreclaimable, and that the Sore Judgments Threatened cannot be Averted. - As a practical proof of the people's determination not to reform, we have in Jer 11:18-23 an account of the designs of the inhabitants of Anathoth against the prophet's life, inasmuch as it was their ill-will towards his prophecies that led them to this crime. They are determined not to hear the word of God, chiding and punishing them for their sins, and so to put the preacher of this word out of the way. - Jer 11:18. "And Jahveh gave me knowledge of it, and I knew it; then showedst Thou me their doings. Jer 11:19. And I was as a tame lamb that is led to the slaughter, and knew not that they plo…
Jeremiah wanted the Lord to punish his enemies since the Lord knew their deepest thoughts and secrets. As events unfolded, Jeremiah discovered that the Lord had his own way of dealing with his foes.
Rashi on Jeremiah 11:20
Let me see Your vengeance against them He cursed the people of Anathoth.
