Jeremiah 30:18 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Jeremiah 30:18
Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob’s tents, and have mercy on his dwellingplaces; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof.
to say (used with great latitude) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
LORD
יְהוָ֗הYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
again
שָׁב֙shav
H7725
to turn back (hence · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
captivity
שְׁבוּת֙she.Vut
H7622
exile · noun, common feminine singular construct
Jacob’s
יַֽעֲק֔וֹבya.'a.Kov
H3290
Jaakob · proper noun, a man's name
tents
אָהֳלֵ֣י'o.ho.Lei
H168
a tent (as clearly conspicuous from a distance) · noun, common masculine plural construct
mercy
אֲרַחֵ֑ם'a.ra.Chem
H7355
to fondle · verb, piel imperfect, 1st person common singular
dwellingplaces
וּמִשְׁכְּנֹתָ֖יוu.mish.ke.no.Tav
H4908
a residence (including a shepherd's hut · conjunction + noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
city
עִיר֙'ir
H5892
a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the wi… · noun, common feminine singular absolute
builded
וְנִבְנְתָ֥הve.niv.ne.Tah
H1129
to build (literally and figuratively) · conjunction + verb, niphal sequential perfect, 3rd person feminine singular
heap
תִּלָּ֔הּti.Lah
H8510
a mound · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
palace
וְאַרְמ֖וֹןve.'ar.Mon
H759
a citadel (from its height) · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular absolute
remain
יֵשֵֽׁבye.Shev
H3427
properly · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
manner
מִשְׁפָּט֥וֹmish.pa.To
H4941
properly · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
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
Haggai 2:7-9 And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.
Psalms 102:13 Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come.
Jeremiah 30:3 For, lo, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the LORD: and I will caus…
Jeremiah 33:7 And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first.
Jeremiah 49:39 But it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring again the captivity of Elam, saith the LORD.
Jeremiah 23:3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and the…
Zechariah 1:16 Therefore thus saith the LORD; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the LORD of hosts, and a line s…
Jeremiah 46:27 But fear not thou, O my servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel: for, behold, I will save thee from afar off, and thy seed from the lan…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Jeremiah 30:18–end
We have here further intimations of the favour God had in reserve for them after the days of their calamity were over. It is promised,
I. That the city and temple should be rebuilt, Jer 30:18. Jacob's tents, and his dwelling places, felt the effects of the captivity, for they lay in ruins when the inhabitants were carried away captives; but, when they have returned, the habitations shall be repaired, and raised up out of their ruins, and therein God will have mercy upon their dwelling places, that had been monuments of his justice. Then the city of Jerusalem shall be built upon her own heap, her own hill, though now it be no better than a ruinous heap. The situation was unexceptionable, and…
bring again . . . captivity-- (Jer 33:7, Jer 33:11).
tents--used to intimate that their present dwellings in Chaldea were but temporary as tents.
have mercy on dwelling-places-- (Psa 102:13).
own heap--on the same hill, that is, site, a hill being the usual site chosen for a city (compare Jos 11:13, Margin). This better answers the parallel clause, "after the manner thereof" (that is, in the same becoming ways as formerly), than the rendering, "its own heap of ruins," as in Jer 49:2.
palace--the king's, on Mount Zion.
remain--rather, "shall be inhabited" (see on Jer 17:6, Jer 17:25). This confirms English Version, "palace," not as others translate, "the temple" (see Kg1 16:18; Kg2…
Thus saith the Lord, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents,.... That is, the captives of Israel, the inhabitants of them; alluding to the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, dwelling in tents, and to the Israelites in the wilderness; and fitly expresses the present unsettled state of the Jews:
and have mercy on his dwelling places; by restoring Israel, or Jacob's posterity, to their dwelling places in Jerusalem, and other places rebuilt by them and for them. The Targum is,
"I will have mercy on his cities;''
and the city shall be builded upon her own heap; the city of Jerusalem, as the Targum expresses it, as it was in the times of Zerubbabel; it was built in its place, as…
The Church Fathers
A type of these events previously occurred in Zerubbabel and Ezra, when the people returned and the city was begun to be built on its heights and religion observed in the temple, all of which are contained in Ezra's own book. But this was more fully and more perfectly completed in the Lord and Savior and his apostles, when the city was built on its heights—about which it is written, "A city set on a hill cannot be hidden"—and the temple was founded in accordance with its order and ceremony, so that whatever was done carnally by the people in the past would be completed spiritually in the church. Then praise went forth—or thanksgiving, for this is what thoda means—so that all of the apostles would be able to say "grace and peace to you." The "voice of celebration" was not the kind of celebration in which people eat, drink, sleep and then get up to do it again for its own sake, but the kind of celebration that David enjoyed before the ark of the Lord. They were also multiplied and not diminished so that the entire world would believe in God the Savior. And they were glorified so that what was written would be fulfilled: "Glorious things are said of you, O city of God!" They were his children, that is, the apostles, as were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob from the beginning, the rulers of the people of Israel. Then the Lord made a visit against all who opposed the people of God, clearly powerful adversaries. And "their leader came from them"—undoubtedly a reference to the Lord and Savior, who was from the Israelite race according to the flesh—and "their ruler was produced from their midst." The Father united this ruler to himself and drew near to him, as the Son would say: "I in the Father and the Father in me," for no one is able thus to unite his heart to the Lord or to be joined to the Father as the Son. That it also says, "You will be my people, and I will be your God," we determine to have been completed partly in Israel and fully in the multitude of nations.
(Verse 18 and following) Thus says the Lord: Behold, I will turn the fortunes of the tents of Jacob, and have compassion on their dwellings (or captivity). And the city shall be rebuilt on its mound, and the temple shall be founded according to its order. And praise shall come forth from them, and the voice of those who play. And I will multiply them, and they shall not be few. (And what follows: And I will glorify them, and they shall not be made small, is not found in the Septuagint). And they shall be, says the Lord, His sons as from the beginning, and His congregation shall remain before me, and I will visit all those who trouble him. And his leader shall come forth from him, and the ruler shall be produced from among them. And I will bring him near, and he shall approach me. For who is this who has applied his heart to draw near to me, says the Lord? (And this also is not found in the Septuagint.) And you shall be my people, and I will be your God. Whose image prefigured this in Zerubabel and Ezra, when the people returned and the city began to be built in its exalted state, and the religion of the Temple was observed, and the other things contained in the book of Ezra himself. But it was more fully and completely fulfilled in the Lord Savior and the Apostles, when the city was built on its highest point, of which it is written: A city set on a hill cannot be hidden (Matthew 5:14); and the Temple was established according to its order and ceremonies, so that whatever was done in the former people carnally, would be spiritually fulfilled in the Church. Then praise and thanksgiving came forth. For this means Thoda, as all the Apostles said: Grace to you and peace (1 Corinthians 1:3). And the voice of those who play, not in that game where the people ate and drank and rose up to play (Exodus 32:6), but in that game where David played before the Ark of the Lord (2 Samuel 6). And they were multiplied and not diminished, so that the whole world would believe in the Lord and Savior: and they were glorified, so that what is written would be fulfilled: Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God (Psalm 87:3). And his sons were, that is, the Apostles, just as they were from the beginning, Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, the leaders of the Israelite race. Then the Lord visited all those who troubled the people of God, namely, the opposing powers. And He was…
Jeremiah 30:18
18. Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents, and have mercy on his dwellingplaces; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof.
18. Sic dicit Jehova, Ecce ego reducens captivitatem tabernaculorum Jacob et habitaculorum ejus miserabor; et adificabitur urbs super excelsum suum (vel, super acervum suum; vel, culmen) et palatium in sua statione (vel, regula) sedebit.
Jeremiah goes on with the same subject, and dwells on it more at large; for as it was difficult to lead the people seriously to repent, so it was difficult to raise up desponding minds after they had been subjected to a…
Further explanation of the deliverance promised to Zion. - Jer 30:18. "Thus saith Jahveh: Behold, I will turn the captivity of the tents of Jacob, and will take pity on his dwellings; and the city shall be built again upon its own hill, and the palace shall be inhabited after its own fashion. Jer 30:19. And there shall come forth from them praise and the voice of those who laugh; and I will multiply them, so that they shall not be few, and I will honour them, so that they shall not be mean. Jer 30:20. And his sons shall be as in former times, and his congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all that oppress him. Jer 30:21. And his leader shall spring from himself, and h…