Jeremiah 3:5 - Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible

Bible Comments

Will he reserve his anger for ever? here being a defect of the noun, the Jews supply it with thy sin, Isaiah 43:25, but the most and best, as we do, his anger. Compare it with Jeremiah 3:12 Psalms 103:9 Nahum 1:2, in which texts there is a defect of the same word. This may seem to be the words of the prophet, and so the connexion is easy with the foregoing words: q.d. If thou wouldst do so, try me now, &c.: would he reserve his anger? would he not be reconciled? but thou hast taken quite another course. Or they may be the words of God, as it were, teaching his people how they should accost him: God is more forward and earnest for reconciliation than sinners themselves. The end; the same with the former for ever. Behold, thou hast spoken and done evil things as thou couldest: God's challenge of the people, charging them, either with their resolved wickedness, that they had made good all their evil words by their evil actions, they had even done as they said; or rather, with their hypocrisy: q.d. Notwithstanding all thy former promises, yet thou persistest still in thy lewdness and obstinacy, Isaiah 58:2 Hosea 7:14.

Jeremiah 3:5

5 Will he reserve his anger for ever? will he keep it to the end? Behold, thou hast spoken and done evil things as thou couldest.