Chapter Thirty-Three

1–13. Restoration of the destroyed Jerusalem and the future prosperity of the Judeans. 14–26. The certainty of divine promises about a descendant of David who will sit on the throne of Israel.

Jer 33:1-13. The prophet, while in the court of the guard, received a second revelation about the rebuilding of Jerusalem, whose buildings are now being destroyed even by those defending it. The life of Israel and Judah, returned from captivity, will flow as happily as it did in those distant ancient times. The chosen people will be pure before God and therefore will enjoy undisturbed prosperity in their land.

Jeremiah 33:4. For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city and the houses of the kings of Judah that are being torn down for the siegeworks and for the battle, Jeremiah 33:5. by those coming to fight the Chaldeans, to fill the houses with the bodies of people whom I strike down in My anger and in My wrath, and for all their transgressions by which I have hidden My face from this city. It is better to convey the meaning of both verses in this way: For thus says Yehova, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city and the houses of the kings of Judah, already destroyed (the prophet is certain this will actually happen), and their inhabitants, who hasten to the earthworks raised by the besiegers, and to hand-to-hand combat, to fight the Chaldeans, which will only result in their bodies satisfying the swords of the Chaldeans. I Myself will strike down these people in My anger.

Jeremiah 33:6. Behold, I will bring it healing and a cure, and I will heal them, and I will reveal to them an abundance of peace and truth, Here comes the revelation itself of Yehova, to which the preceding two verses were an introduction.

Jeremiah 33:9. And Jerusalem will be for Me a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth, who will hear of all the good that I do for it, and will be amazed and tremble before all the benefits and all the prosperity that I will give it. “A name of joy.” The very name of Jerusalem will be joyfully remembered by Yehova (anthropomorphism).

Jeremiah 33:11. And the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those saying, “Give praise to the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good, for His mercy endures forever,” and the voice of those bringing a thank offering in the house of the Lord will again be heard; for I will bring back the captives of this land to their former state, says the Lord. From this verse it is clear that the hymn found in Ps 105:1 was well known to the Judeans even before the captivity, and that consequently the psalms already existed before the captivity, which some critics refuse to admit.

Jeremiah 33:13. In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the Negev, and in the land of Benjamin, and in the surroundings of Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah the flocks will again pass under the hand of the one counting them, says the Lord. The shepherds daily, in the evening, before the sheepfold, would recount the sheep of their flock, passing each one before them and touching it with their staff. Jer 33:14-26. Here is repeated the promise already given earlier (Jer 23:5 and following) about the righteous Branch of David with the modification that here the future community of true believers itself bears the name: “The Lord our Righteousness” with an indication of the eternity of the kingdom of David and the Levitical priesthood. Both the seed of David and the Levites are to multiply greatly. At the end the Lord again assures of the truth of His promise, which He gave to the offspring of David and to all Israel.

Jeremiah 33:18. And the priests of the Levites will not lack a man before Me, at all times offering burnt offerings and burning cereal offerings and making sacrifices. The prophet Jeremiah, as an Old Testament man, cannot conceive of the New Testament otherwise than united with various kinds of sacrifices that will be offered afterwards by the descendants of Levi.

Jeremiah 33:22. As the host of heaven is innumerable and the sand of the sea is immeasurable, so will I multiply the offspring of David, My servant, and the Levites who serve Me. The multiplication of the descendants of David and the Levites to an innumerable quantity cannot, obviously, be understood in a literal sense. The prophet means by this that all Israel will consist of kings and priests, as God promised to Moses (Exod 19). But besides this it must be noted that Israel in this case must be understood not as the Hebrews, but as all true believers of the New Testament, whom Christ made kings and priests (Rev 1:6; cf. 1 Pet 2:9). Special remarks. Chapters XXX–XXXIII form a special group of speeches of comforting content. Chapters XXXII and XXXIII certainly, as is evident from the indication of the prophet himself, belong to the time of the reign of Zedekiah. As for chapters XXX and XXXI, although they have some similarity to the speeches pronounced during the reign of Josiah (chapters II–VI), nonetheless the tone of these speeches is essentially different. Previously the prophet considered it possible to avert God’s wrath through the repentance of the people; now he finds it impossible for the Judeans to avoid God’s judgment. Concerning the time of the collection of all these comforting speeches of Jeremiah (chapters XXX–XXXIII) one can only make conjectures, and it is very probable that this collection was made after the taking of Jerusalem; but in any case it was made by Jeremiah himself and not by some person who lived in Babylonian captivity, as some critics suppose.