thing they said; which was monstrous; and deliver-
ing out false doctrines in the name of the Lord, pre-
tending they received them from him; which was
worse than prophesying in the name of Baal: they
strengthen also the hands of evil-doers, that none doth
return from his wickedness; they hardened them in sin;
partly by their false doctrines, extenuating their sins,
putting a false gloss upon them, and promising them
peace, though they lived in sin; and partly by their
own wicked examples; the people concluding that
what the prophets did they might do also; so that
they never thought of repentance for their sins, or
amendment of their lives; but went on in sin without
remorse or reformation; not thinking any thing about
it, and not seeing any need of it; see Ezek. xiii.
22 : they are all of them unto me as Sodore, and the
inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah ; the prophets were all
of them in God's account as the men of Sodore; who
were exceeding great sinners before the Lord, daring
and impudent in sinning; and the people, the inha-
ú bittants of Jerusalem, that were led by them into the
same wicked sentiments and practices, were like unto
Gomorrah; and $ they were like to them in sinning,
So they would be in punishment; or a like punishment
would be inflicted upon the prophets and people of
Jerusalem as were upon Sodore and Gomorrah; see
Isa. i. 9, 10.
Ver. 15. Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts con-
cerning theprophets, &c.] Concerning the false pro-
phets, as the Targum; their sin is before declared,
and now their punishment: behold, I will feed them
with wormwood; with some bitter affliction and ca-
lamity; so the Targum, "behold, I will bring upon
"them distress bitter as wormwood ;" they that have
been fed with dainties, and lived upon the fat of the
land; their views in pleasing the people with their
lies being to serve their own bellies; now they shall
fare after another manner: and make them drink the
water of gall: or, the juice of hemlock, as some; or
poison, as others; the sayour of death, so Kimchi; as
they poisoued the people with their false doctrines,
they shall drink poison themselves; they shall not
only have that which is hitter and unpleasant, but
that which is noxious and- hurtful; not only a bitter
potion, but a destructive one. The Targum is, "I
"will cause them to drink a cup of the curse, bad as
"the heads of serpents ;" as pernicious as poison; see
ch. viii. 14. and ix. 15 :forfrom the prophets of Jeru-
salem is profanehess gone forth into all the land; by
their fidse doctrines, and bad examples, debauchery,
irreligion, and wickedness of all kinds, were encou-
raged, and spread all over the land; Jerusalem, the
metropolis of the nation, being infected by them, the
contagion spread from thence throughout the coun-
try. Evil teachers have a bad influence nil around
them; from whom, and from whence, true doctrine
and real religion should have been propagated; from
them, and thence, was the source of all impiety and
pollution. Some render it, hypocrisy {z}, or flattery;
as if by means of the hypocrisy and flattery of these
false prophets, all manner of sin was countenanced;
and the like hypocritical spirit and behaviour every-
where prevailed.
Ver. 16. TItus saith the Lord of hosts, hearken not unto
the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you, &c.]
Don't hear them; stop your ears at what they say;
give no credit to them. The Targum is, "do not
"receive the words of the false prophets that prophesy
"unto you :" they make you vain; they filled their
heads with vain and empty things, and their heart,s
with vain hopes, which deceived them; so the Tar-
gum, "they deceive you ;" they taught them vain
things, and made them vain and sinful in their lives
and conversations; and therefore were not to be
hearkened to: they speak a vision of their own heart,
and not out of the mouth of the Lord; what they ima-
gined they saw was a device of their own hearts, and
what was agreeable to them, which must be bad
enough; a produce of their own brains; an invention
of their own; mere doctrines of men, and not such
as come from the mouth of God, are his revealed
will, and according to his word; and therefore not to
be hearkened to; for nothing is to be heard and received,
in matters of religion, but what is according to the re-
velation of God's will in his word; see Isa. viii. 20.
The Targum is, "they speak to you the wickedness of
"their hearts, and not by the word of the Lord."
Vet. 17. They say still unto them that despise me, &c.]
That despised the word, worship, and ordinances of
the Lord; with such mockers and scoffers at religion,
such abandoned creatures, they associated themselves;
finding that their prophecies and doctrines met with
approbation and success among them. The Septuagint
version is, they say to them that put away the word of
the Lord; reject it, and east it behind their backs; see
Acts xiii. 46: the Lord hath said, ye shall have peace;
all manner of prosperity; that they should dwell in
their own land, and not go into captivity, and enjoy
the good things of it in peace and prosperity; this they
pretended they had from the Lord; which was an
aggravation of their sins; not only to tell a lie, but to
tell it in the name of the Lord, and in direct opposition
to what the true prophets said from the mouth of the
Lord, particularly Jeremiah: and they say unto every
one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart;
which is evil, and that continually, Gen. vi. 5. whose
course of life is after the lusts of his own wicked heart;
and a worse guide than these a man cannot well have:
and this is a true character and description of an un-
regenerate man, who walks after the flesh, and not
after the spirit; after his own carnal heart, and the
dictates of it; and not according to the will and word
of God: and yet to such, to whom the Lord says, there
is no peace, the false prophets said, no evil shall come
upon you; no evil of punishment for the evil of sin, as
the prophets of the Lord had threatened; such as the
sword, famine, pestilence, and captivity.
Ver. 18. For who hath stood in the counsel of the
Lord, &e.] These are either the words of the Pro-
phet Jeremiah; signifying that none of the false pro-
phets were of God's privy-council, or were acquainted
with his secrets, that they could tell the people

{z} \^hpnx\^ hypocrisis, Vatablus, Piscastor, Cocceius, Schmidt.