Jeremiah chapter 45
interpretation - meaning - commentary - explanation
King James Version "The word that Jeremiah the prophet spake unto Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, unto thee, O Baruch: Thou didst say, Woe is me now! for the LORD hath added grief to my sorrow; I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest. Thus shalt thou say unto him, The LORD saith thus; Behold, that which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up, even this whole land. And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the LORD: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest."
New International Version "When Baruch son of Neriah wrote on a scroll the words Jeremiah the prophet dictated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, Jeremiah said this to Baruch: This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch: You said, Woe to me! The Lord has added sorrow to my pain; I am worn out with groaning and find no rest. But the Lord has told me to say to you, This is what the Lord says: I will overthrow what I have built and uproot what I have planted, throughout the earth. Should you then seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them. For I will bring disaster on all people, declares the Lord, but wherever you go I will let you escape with your life."
English Standard Version "The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah, when he wrote these words in a book at the dictation of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch: You said, Woe is me! For the Lord has added sorrow to my pain. I am weary with my groaning, and I find no rest. Thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord: Behold, what I have built I am breaking down, and what I have planted I am plucking up-that is, the whole land. And do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not, for behold, I am bringing disaster upon all flesh, declares the Lord. But I will give you your life as a prize of war in all places to which you may go."
New American Standard Bible" "This is the message which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book at Jeremiah's dictation, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying: This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says to you, Baruch: You said, Oh, woe to me! For the Lord has added grief to my pain; I am weary with my groaning and have found no rest. This is what you are to say to him: This is what the Lord says: Behold, what I have built I am going to tear down, and what I have planted I am going to uproot, that is, all the people of the land. But as for you, are you seeking great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, I am going to bring disaster on all flesh, declares the Lord, but I will give your life to you as plunder in all the places where you may go."
The book of Jeremiah is not presented in chronological order, so the words recorded in chapter 45 referring to events prior to the destruction of Jerusalem, which are presented in earlier chapters, can be somewhat confusing.
Chapter 45 is a sad chapter, and it is easy for us to identify with Baruch when things are not going well in our lives. Baruch complains that he is suffering, tired to the point that he can't even rest anymore. It's likely that we're talking about mental rest, although he may have also lacked physical rest. Jeremiah, along with Baruch, lived in Jerusalem, where evil was the order of the day. Residents burned their own children as sacrifices to pagan idols, constantly pursued evil, forgot God's love and mocked those who preached the word of God. How can a person who is guided by goodness and love of God feel in such an environment? Tragically!
Chapter 45 is for those who are sad
Baruch had enough of this and began to feel sorry for himself. The great prophets also did this when depression got to them, like Isaiah or Jeremiah, it's our human weakness. This chapter can be dedicated to those Christians who were also hit by doubt. We don't read that God promised Baruch a carefree life, so we can infer that it wasn't much better, if only because he was abducted by the Judeans to Egypt after the destruction of Jerusalem.
We don't know what exactly Baruch expected, and it's hard to determine what the words "Should you then seek great things for yourself?" indicated. Perhaps he wanted a greater place of honor, but this seems unlikely looking at the fact that he had to hide with Jeremiah from the king's wrath Jer. 36.26 "But the king commanded Jerahmeel the son of Hammelech, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet: but the LORD hid them." It seems more appropriate that Baruch was tired of living among a godless society.
God answers that he will always be with us
God did not forget his servant and gave him an answer. It's probably not the answer we want to hear, but when we read into it, we recognize that there could not be a better answer. We read that his soul will be preserved wherever he goes. What does this mean? That wherever Baruch goes, God will always be with him and protect his soul from moral decay. In other words, Baruch will retain eternal life. Suffering on this planet is nothing compared to living on a renewed Earth without sin together with God.
The words overthrow and uproot indicate cleansing a person from evil. Pulling a tooth from its roots is associated with pain. In the same way Jerusalem was in pain - it had been destroyed and abandoned for 70 years. A whole generation had to pass before they returned with their hearts to the Creator. It was also a sad time for God - to see His children too stupid to come to their senses, and so many years they had to wait to gain wisdom so that love would dawn again in their hearts.
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