The prophecy of this chapter is almost word for word also in Isaiah Cap. 2. I am completely of the opinion that Isaiah has taken his own from Micah, as I have also reminded above that Micah was older than Isaiah, although they were contemporaries. But here, in a kind of transition after the destruction of the Jewish kingdom, the prophet passes again to the new and eternal kingdom of Christ, and this passage cannot be understood from the restored external kingdom, although the Jews do so, because there is such a great abundance of promises. Here, too, the contrary prophecies are to be taken into account, which made the wicked completely bound, so that they could not believe the prophets. For how could they believe those who proclaimed contradictory things? This is how the divine majesty acts miraculously. The same prophecy is in Zechariah chapters 7 and 8. First, he proclaims the miserable destruction of Jerusalem and all the people, for he says thus [Zech. 7:14], "Thus have I scattered them among all the nations which know them not; and the land is left desolate behind them. "etc. Then he immediately adds [Cap. 8, 4. 5.]: "There shall yet dwell in the streets of Jerusalem old men and women, and they that walk by sticks.
before greater age; rmd the streets of the city shall be full of babes and maidens playing in their streets" etc. So also Jeremiah was sent to buy a field to cultivate, since the city was already besieged by the Chaldeans [Jer. 32, 7. ff.And so the prophecies were in conflict with each other: Jeremiah was commanded to proclaim the destruction of the city; the destruction of the city had already come, the Chaldeans had besieged it, they were already to be led away into captivity; and immediately he is sent to proclaim salvation by buying the field. But all this happened for the sake of the kingdom of Judah, for this kingdom had been given the eternal promise, therefore it had to be preserved until Christ. Therefore the Lord comes first with his words. 1) Even though he wanted to chastise this kingdom, he comforted the godly, as if he wanted to say: Even though the disturbance is imminent, even though you will be carried away captive and it will be bad for you for a while, you who are godly, nevertheless endure; you will be preserved, I will again deliver you from captivity.
1) We have adopted here the reading of the Erlangen prasvsnit instead of provemt in the Weimar.
I will restore the city to you and you will dwell safely in it; your captivity will not last long. So it happened, for the godly were finally brought back from Babylon, whose hearts God had awakened, as it says in Ezra 1:5. And these are the wonderful counsels of God: He commands to proclaim both, the disturbance and the preservation; but the former because of the ungodly, the latter because of the godly, which must be well observed by all prophets. And so these wonderful counsels of the divine majesty were not heard by the godless, yes, even the godly could not understand them, which we see especially in Jeremiah, how he is astonished at the counsel of the Lord. For he says thus [Jer. 32:24. f.], "Behold, the city is besieged, that it must be won and given into the hands of the Chaldeans. "etc. "and thou, O Lord, sayest unto me, Buy thou a field for money, and take witnesses thereto, if the city be given into the hands of the Chaldeans?" etc. But both have been fulfilled by God, as we have said. And this will be the summa of the two chapters that follow.
V. i. But in the last days etc.
The Jews connect this text with the previous one in the previous chapter, and interpret it from the outward restoration of the kingdom, in this way: Zion shall be plowed, as it were, like a field, and Jerusalem like a heap of stones, and the mountain of the temple shall become a wild height, but at last I will restore this mountain, make it glorious again, and it shall at any rate be higher and more glorious than it ever was before. But this opinion does not please me. For it is certain that the later temple was not as great and glorious as the first, so that even some who had seen the first temple wept, as is evident from the history of Ezra, in the first book of Ezra, Cap. 3, 12.
The mountain on which the Lord's house stands will surely be higher than all mountains.
[Instead of praeparatus in the Vulgate,] paratus [should be read], 1) that is, certainly,
1) Supplemented according to the Hall manuscript.
reliably, as if he wanted to say: Now it has been made into a wild height, it is desolate and unbuilt, no building is on it, but it will be made certain and prepared again, in the same place where it is now. I will make it more famous and glorious in the whole world than it has ever been before, it will become more famous than all other temples. The Jews relate this not altogether badly to the worship in the temple before Christ, since even the Gentiles who embraced Judaism went up to the temple with the Jews in great multitudes. But my opinion is that for the sake of Christ this mountain became so very famous.
V. 2. 2) For out of Zion shall go forth the law.
For nowhere is the law but in Zion; in them is entrusted what God has spoken, as Paul says in the letter to the Romans [Cap. 3, 2]. We must therefore take the mountain not only according to the letter, nor Jerusalem only according to the letter, but also according to the spirit, following the apostle Paul in his letter to the Galatians [Cap. 4, 26.), that is, the holy church, which through Christ was exalted and glorified by the preaching of the gospel to all nations throughout the world, although it was necessary that the first place be an external one, where the gospel was first preached, and this was done through Christ and the apostles in the temple at Jerusalem.
V. 3. He will judge among great nations.
Christ seems to have seen this in Luc. 24, 47: "And had to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins in his name among all nations, and to raise it up in Jerusalem. For this is the power or fruit of the gospel sent forth from Jerusalem by this new king. He judges by the Word and the Spirit, but he will not judge the Jews alone, but many nations.
And punish many heathens (Et arguet robustas gentes)
"The gospel is the power of God that saves everyone who believes in it" [Rom.
2) This and the preceding Berszahl are missing in Weimar's.
1, 16.]. Therefore it attacks the strong and the weak, everything that is high and glorious. And so this lowly word subdues everything that is exceedingly mighty and strong in the world.
In distant lands.
Not only in Jerusalem, but it will wander through the whole world, as the Psalm [Ps. 19, 5] says. This cannot be understood at all from the outward kingdom, because compared to this glory, the outward glory was nothing etc.
They will turn their swords into plowshares.
This is a paraphrase of peace as it interprets itself: "No nation shall lift up a sword against another" etc. Therefore the summa is: The gospel will work peace in all, they will turn war into peace. But he does not speak of physical peace, as some people wrongly think, who say that under the emperor Augustus there was peace on the whole earth. This is not true, since the world is always the same, always thirsting for blood, after the example of Cain, the first murderer. But he speaks of the peace that the Word works in Christians, who are ready to let go of the cloak with the robe, to have peace with all, not to quarrel in court, to suffer injustice etc. And here again we see how this could not be understood of the restoration of the Kingdom.
V. 4. 1) Without shyness (et non erit qui deterreat).
The Hebrew says: and he will not fear. This phrase is taken from Moses. It means he will live in peace, he will stay in his house, will not be in the war camp, everything will be safe.
For the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken.
This is a confirmation to awaken faith. For even the saints, as we have said shortly before, could not understand the counsel of God from the disturbance of this so glorious and by God ordered kingdom, which the
1) This section is still drawn to v. 3. in the Weimar.
eternal promise had etc., do not understand. Therefore, this piece confirms everything earlier.
V. 5 For every nation will walk in the name of its God.
He interprets in clear words what he had said above in somewhat darker words. Many nations will come to Mount Zion, but still not all; many will remain in their godlessness and idolatry, who will not walk "with" us to the house of the Lord, who will not accept the right faith of this new kingdom through Christ, but will persist in unbelief. But we will walk according to the new way, which will never cease. This light of the gospel will remain forever, this religion will have no end. And so this new and glorious and eternal kingdom consists in nothing else than your walking in the name of the Lord. It will not be distinguished by outward show or force of arms, which the kingdoms of the world are wont to do, but this is its main thing, that we live all that we live in the name of the Lord. This is the only name in which we must be blessed. The whole essence of this kingdom is that we believe in the name of Christ.
Always and forever.
These words comprehend the future resurrection from the dead. For this is how the prophets summarize the whole kingdom of Christ when they mention it once. They speak of it in other words and more gloriously and abundantly than we are able according to our poverty. We cannot walk in the name of the Lord forever in this mortal flesh, therefore this flesh must be raised again, which must die. We must be resurrected and transferred into this eternity with our eternal King. For the very short time when we sleep in death and wait with all the blessed for the glory of the children of God, as the apostle says, the prophets almost do not look at it, because it is a short moment. Therefore, they immediately include the resurrection and glorification of the blessed in this eternal kingdom etc.
V. 6 At the same time, says the Lord, I will gather together the lame.
With glorious words and promises he comforted the people, but they could not grasp these exceedingly rich promises at all, for the prophecies virtually disputed each other, namely that the kingdom should be disturbed and brought to nothing, and that the kingdom should be restored exceedingly splendidly and made more glorious than it had been before, and that the people would be stronger than they had ever been before. Namely, this seemed impossible to them, and they could not understand these prophecies, as we also noted above from Jeremiah about buying the field. In quite the same way he speaks here as if to say: I will not let you perish, however miserably you are afflicted and carried away into captivity; yet I will gather "the lame" again. This I lay out of punishment, that is, the people who are broken, whose kingdom is snatched away, who no longer flourish, since all things are snatched away from them siud, and they are led away into captivity. By such glorious promises, God's goodness has always encouraged the godly that even though they would have to go into captivity and suffer a little while, yet the time would only be a short one; they would be brought back and restored to their former freedom and glory etc. But not by chance he adds:
V. 7. 1) I will make the lame to have heirs, and will make the outcast a great nation.
For here the flesh takes a quite extraordinary annoyance, and cannot understand the counsel of God that these promises are to be fulfilled in a miraculous way. The Lord had promised an eternal kingdom and a glorious return from captivity. Therefore, all the Jews thought that they should be preserved and brought back and transferred to the glorious and new kingdom. But the Lord says here that he will not preserve every lame person, but some remnant of these lame people. For after some years
1) This verse number is missing in the Weimar, and the following is immediately attached to v. 6. - Vulgate: Ht ponam olÄudioantsua in
very few godly people were brought back from Babylon, namely those whose spirit God had awakened, as the history of Ezra says, Cap. 1, 5. He therefore separates the godly from the godless; the latter would remain in permanent captivity, the latter should be brought back and glorified. - "To the great people" (ingentemrobustam == to the strong people). Thus the church has become through the gospel in the whole world, against the gates of hell and all the attempts of sin; completely invincible against death, firmly founded on the solid rock Christ, her King, by whose Spirit she is quickened and strengthened from day to day, so that she may not fear or be overcome by any creature.
And the Lord shall be king over them in mount Zion from henceforth even for ever.
Here is a clear and distinct text of the deity of Christ. For this is also the name David gave in spirit to the promised Seed who would sit on His throne, Ps. 110, 1. 4. Christ Himself refers to this passage in the Gospel story [Marc. 12, 36. f.]. So he calls him also here "the Lord", who will be king over his people forever on the mountain Zion. And so this kingdom must not be a physical one, but a spiritual and eternal one, as we have abundantly said above. Therefore the kingdom will be a spiritual and eternal one, the king eternal and glorified, the people glorified and eternal in this kingdom. How else could he be the Lord and sit on the throne of his father David for eternity, if the people were not also eternal? But it cannot be eternal in the mortal body, not even in the dead body, but in the resurrected and glorified body. And here the prophet again includes the resurrection of the dead.
V. 8. and thou tower boar, a stronghold of the daughter of Zion. 2)
What we read [in the Vulgate), gregis, as a generic name, I think, should be read as a proper name, as also in the first book of Moses Cap. 35, 21, where Moses mentions this mountain: "And Israel went out,
2) Vulgate: Lt tu turris Ars^is nsduIoZÄ ülia 8ion.
and erected a hut on the other side of the tower Eder." But it was a castle or a kind of tower or fortification. For instead of what we read, nebulosa, in Hebrew it means a castle. For so the Hebrew scholars say it the Hebrew word means a bulwark, a fortification etc. We should therefore read thus, "And thou tower Eder, a stronghold of the daughter of Zion" etc. Others interpret this passage from the temple in Jerusalem, which I do not approve. For nowhere else in Scripture is this house called a tower. I think that the prophet is speaking figuratively, that he calls the whole city of Jerusalem "the tower of Eder", or that the kingdom of the daughter of Zion has also come out of the city, that it has spread over the whole world, has reached all the Gentiles, so that in such a way "Eder" designates some unknown part of the country, because this mountain was otherwise not strange or famous. Therefore, this seems to me to be entirely the opinion: the gospel will be so powerful, and should be spread so far, will run with such great speed, that it will reach even completely unknown places of the earth, in short, to the end of the world. This is my opinion about this passage, I do not have a better one now, nor do I find it.
Your golden rose will come, the previous dominion.
He speaks as if to those who are in captivity, as if they were already taken away from the land, as if he wanted to say: It has happened to you, your kingdom has perished, but be confident, the former dominion will return; as you were a people before, not a prisoner, so you will also be completely free again after the captivity. You will not be abandoned, you will not remain in captivity forever, but you will return to your place.
V. 9. Why do you now cling to other friends? 1)
The prophet says all this to set the matter before us, as if to say: it is
1) In Latin: Haars sr^o nune gMiZsris? which Luther, as the Zwickau manuscript shows, would have translated thus: Why are you grieving now?
It is certain that you will be led away into captivity, since your sins deserve it. You will be miserably afflicted, and in such a way that you may think that you should never be led back, but be confident, I promise you that it will happen that you will be led back. And so the prophets everywhere hold forth threats and promises; threats for the sake of the wicked, promises for the sake of the godly. The following also belongs to this:
Is the king not with you?
Surely you shall not lack a king, nor shall you lack counselors and princes. With these words he removes the fearful doubts of the flesh, by which it is almost driven to despair. For the flesh cannot suffer the hand of the Lord at all, it must despair when the Lord strikes, since even the godly hardly understand this doing of the Lord, as we said above. So here the prophet alludes appropriately to the thoughts of the wicked, and again to the thoughts of the godly, through which they nevertheless have good hope even in the midst of persecution. In them the spirit represents them with inexpressible groaning, while they themselves do not know this.
So that woe has come to you like one in childish distress?
He used a very fine and appropriate simile, which Christ also uses in the Gospel of John, Cap. 16, 21. For such was the sorrow of the apostles and disciples that they thought it had happened to them, as a woman in childbearing is in danger of losing her life when she is to give birth. Such was the fearful distress of the church in its first beginning, as the disciples say, Luc. 24, 21: "We hoped that he would redeem Israel. And concerning all this, this day is the third day that such things have come to pass. "etc. We see quite the same thing here. The glorious and eternal kingdom was to be set up, but a birth had to take place first; but it could not come to birth without the greatest sadness and sorrow, as it is wont to be with women in childbirth.
And so the prophets interpret the Babylonian captivity no differently than the sorrow of a woman in childish distress. For this is how God in His goodness always deals with all the blessed in every challenge: first He afflicts us exceedingly, then He afflicts us and plunges us into hell to kill the lusts of the flesh, so that afterwards He may lead us out again and make us blessed. Meanwhile, the flesh does not know that this is the sorrow of a woman in childbirth, that a glorious birth will follow. The prophet encourages the people with this very reason, as if to say: endure, suffer, no matter how great the pain; a glorious offspring will follow. Just bear the hand of the Lord, without a doubt you will be saved, and you will bring forth an exceedingly abundant fruit. It is a short time, it will be only the sorrow of a woman in childbirth, which will be nothing at all when the birth has taken place. This likeness is extraordinarily beautiful, as Christ also rejoiced in the same [John 16:21]: "A woman when she gives birth has sorrow, but when she has given birth to the child, she no longer thinks of sorrow for the joy that the man is born into the world. And you also now have sadness" etc.
V. 10. Dear one, suffer such pain, and croak, you daughter of Zion.
As we are used to encourage the women in childbirth by encouragement, so here the prophet also encourages the people by saying that they should bear the very short time of captivity, "take care" that it is only the sorrow of a woman in childbirth; it will happen that the birth will take place soon, it will be followed by exceedingly rich consolation, as he adds:
For you must indeed go out to the city etc.
That is, I confess indeed, you will be taken away from the kingdom, [from] Jerusalem, that is truly difficult for you. You will go out of the city, that is, you will no longer 1) dwell in your cities, you will no longer have cities that are under-
1) Here we have erased a non that is in our template.
morsen, but will be subject to the Assyrian. You will suffer a miserable bondage, but it will not last; you will be delivered, the Lord will redeem you. Jeremiah interprets all of this more expansively [Cap. 25, 11. ff].
V. 11: For many nations will almost be gathered against you, saying, "She is banished" (prophanetur).
Instead of what we read [in the Vulgate] lapidetur, 2) it is more correct to read: prophanetur [it shall be desecrated], because it is in Moses where he says that through idolatry the land will be desecrated. So the opinion is: Your ungodliness deserves that you are led away captive; the enemies will gather against you 3) who thought it was completely done for you, they will cry out against you, they are completely confident that they will always rule over you; but be confident, you will destroy them, not they you. This was a strange sermon in the ears of the wicked.
We want to see our desire for Zion.
(Et videat in Syon oculus noster) is a Hebrew expression, which is also found in the 54th Psalm, v. 9: "My eye will see pleasure in my enemies" (suspexit oculus meus). But it means what we say in German, "I see my delight in them." For thus the adversaries, the enemies, set their teeth against the people of God, for it was the hatred of the heathen that dwelt round about, exceedingly bitter, as also the 137th Psalm, v. 7. repeats their words, "Pure off, pure off, unto the ground."
V. 12 But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord.
As if to say: They trust in their victory, they are secure because they have prevailed against you, but they do not recognize the counsel of the Lord. The Lord will turn your mourning into joy, you will have a king who will rule over all nations.
2) In our text: lapiäakitur.
3) Weimarsche: üo instead of: to.
That he has brought them in heaps like sheaves on the threshing floor.
And therefore he maketh great the number of thine enemies, that their destruction also may be the greater, that the Lord may destroy them the more. For the Lord has a way, that when he wants to destroy the wicked exceedingly, he first makes them great and glorious. He lifts them up high, so that they may take a heavier fall. This is what happened to the exceedingly powerful empire of the Assyrians, Romans etc.
V. 13. Therefore arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion.
These are figurative speeches by which the prophet wanted to express the power and effectiveness of the gospel, as if he wanted to say: You will subdue all the Gentiles through the gospel, and that without weapons, only through the word, even if they now rule over you for a little while.
So I will banish their goods to the Lord, and their possessions to the ruler of the whole world (et interficies Domino rapinas eorum).
Thus it is written in Hebrew: et anathema facies Domino rapinas (hiera) eorum et facultates eorum etc., that is, by preaching the gospel you will snatch away from the ungodly the best people and bring them under the spell of Christ 1); you will win them for Christ, and thus the glory of this kingdom will become greater and greater through the effectiveness of the preached gospel. This figure of speech is also used by Christ Luc. 11, 12: "If a stronger man comes over him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor, on which he relied, and distributes the plunder."
V. 14. But now, you warrior, arm yourself (Tunc vastaberis filia latronis).
Also this piece belongs absolutely still to the preceding. One has this from the god-
1) In anatüema Cüristo - that they may be sanctified to Christ.
The interpretation is that the synagogue, which sat against the prophets and killed them etc. But I do not see how their interpretation can be connected with the preceding. I will venture an interpretation and explain it this way: I hold that the prophet still remains and continues to describe the future vengeance against the Gentiles after the kingdom of Judah was restored, and believe that he calls Babylon "the warrior woman." Incidentally, we read [in the Vulgate] unrhymed: filia latronis, just as Jerome has translated latrunculi everywhere in the sacred history where it should have been translated by the word "man of war". So here, instead of filia latronis, we read: "you warrior", that is: You Babylon, who are armed with weapons and war hordes, and very rough in your thinking and striving for war, 2) who make everyone uncomfortable, who cannot easily be resisted, and whom you, armed, attack everyone. And this whole passage I translate after the Hebrew simply in such a way: Then one will also make war against you, you warrior, who against lins the siege. Therefore the opinion is: The daughter of Zion will banish to the Lord all the possessions of the Gentiles. Among this booty will also be you, Babylon, who are now well practiced and very powerful in warfare, who now take up the siege against us. Now you are destroying Jerusalem, you will be destroyed by us again. What you do in the flesh will be done to you in the spirit through the gospel.
And strike the judge of Israel on the cheeks with the rod.
That is, they regard the judges as the very least people, treat them quite ignominiously. Jerome and other interpreters relate this to the suffering of Christ, but what they write is violently twisted.
2) studiisque asperrima belli, from Virgilii Aenei- dos lib. I, v. 14.
gen" by the Assyrian or by pestilence or a plague. By your treasures you will deserve to have your treasures snatched from you.
V. 14. You shall not have enough to eat.
In this way I will give you a famine, so that you will not have anything to fill yourself with.
You shall languish (erit incurvatio in medio tui).
Incurvatio, that is, to be bent. In the Psalm [38, 7.] it says: s "I walk crooked and very bent,] all day long I walk sadly." I will take pains that you will be more humbled day by day, I will cause the decrease and diminution of all your goods. And I will also send pestilence. You will go back, "withdraw" your goods and your offspring, which you would like to save from the destruction. You will not be able to, and when you have pulled out some, I will give that they be killed etc. All this as punishment for your sin.
V. 15. You shall sow and not reap.
You will work, another will pick the fruit, he will reap what you have worked for.
V. 16. For one holds the wise Amri.
This he adds, so that one can see that he is talking about the kingdom of Israel. "The game is judged by God, because 1) He is the judge who so judges etc. Praecepta [that is, one keeps the customs and the ways? Amri, the father of Ahab. It was then that the kingdom of Israel first began to eutarteu. Opus, that is, the examples of Ahab, the exceedingly wicked king. Voluptatibus [should rather be called voluntatibus] 3) their thought and aspiration. s "Jhre Einwohner" (habitantes in ea),] that is, in the city or [the inhabitants of the cities.
1) Instead of Huis in our template, we adopted Hniu.
2) per in our template, we have resolved by xatsr.
3) Supplemented according to the Hall manuscript. Our Vulgate has voluntutibns.