15 All that pass by clap their hands at you. They hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, (saying), Is this the city that men called The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth?
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
The Prophet here reminds the Jews of the miseries by which they had been already in an extreme measure afflicted, so that these words seem redundant and somewhat unkind; for unseasonable is reproof when one lies down, as it were, worn out with evils. As this was the condition of the people, the Prophet ought not to have made more bitter their grief. But we have already referred to the reason for this, even because the Jews, though they mourned and were extremely sorrowful in their calamities, did not yet consider whence their evils came. It was therefore necessary that they should be more and more awakened; for it is but of little profit for any one to suffer evils, except he has regard to God's judgment. We hence perceive the design of the Prophet, why he so much at large speaks of the miseries which were seen by all, and could not escape the notice of the Jews, who were almost overwhelmed with them; for it was not enough for them to feel their miseries, except they also considered the cause of them. He then says, All who have passed by clapped their hands and hissed and moved the head, either in token of mockery, or of abhorrence, which is more probable. He then says, that they moved or shook the head at the daughter of Jerusalem, [1] Is this the city of which they said, It is perfect in beauty, and the joy of the whole earth? I know not why some render klylt, calibat, a crown; it comes, as it is well known, from kll calal, which means fullness, or anything solid. He then says, that Jerusalem had been perfect in beauty, because God had adorned it with singular gifts; he had especially favored it with the incomparable honor of being called by his name. Hence Jerusalem was in a manner the earthly palace of God, that is, on account of the Temple; and further, it was there that the doctrine of salvation was to be found; and remarkable was this promise, "From Sion shall go forth the law, and rite word of God from Jerusalem." (Isaiah 2:3.) God had also promised to Ezekiel, that this city would be the fountain and origin of salvation to the whole world. (Ezekiel 47:1-12.) As, then, Jerusalem had been adorned with so remarkable gifts, the Prophet introduces here strangers, who ask, "Could it be that a city so celebrated for beauty had become a desolation?" He calls it also the joy of the whole earth; for God had poured there his gifts so liberally, that it was a cause of joy to all. For we delight in beautiful things; and wherever God's gifts appear, we ought to have our hearts filled with joy. Some give a more refined explanation -- that Jerusalem had been the joy of the whole earth, because men have no peace except God be propitious to them; and there God had deposited the testimony and pledge of his favor: and thus Jerusalem made glad the whole world, because it invited all nations to God. This, at the first view, is plausible; but it seems to me more refined than solid. I am, therefore, content with this simple view, that Jerusalem was the joy of the whole earth, because God had designed that his favor should appear there, which might justly excite the whole world to rejoice. [2] It afterwards follows, --
1 - Jeremiah relates what had taken place, the verbs being in the past tense. Our version is not correct in rendering the verbs in the present tense. The old versions follow the Hebrew. -- Ed.
2 - The words may be rendered, "the joy of the whole land," i.e., the land of Israel; which was strictly true. -- Ed.
Compare the scene round the cross of the Redeemer Matthew 27:39.
The perfection of beauty - This probably only applied to the temple. Jerusalem never was a fine or splendid city; but the temple was most assuredly the most splendid building in the world.
All that pass by clap their hands at thee,.... Travellers that passed by, and saw Jerusalem in ruins, clapped their hands at it, by way of rejoicing, as well pleased at the sight. This must be understood, not of the inhabitants of the land, but of strangers, who had no good will to it; though they seem to be distinguished from their implacable enemies in Lamentations 2:16,
they hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem; by way of scorn and derision; hereby expressing their contempt of her, and the pleasure and satisfaction they took in seeing her in this condition:
saying, is this the city that men call the perfection of beauty,
the joy of the whole earth? a complete city, a most beautiful one for its situation; for its fortifications by nature and art; for its spacious buildings, palaces, and towers; and especially for the magnificent temple in it, and the residence of the God of heaven there, and that pompous worship of him there performed; on account of all which, and the abundant blessings of goodness bestowed upon the inhabitants, they had reason to rejoice more than all the men of the world besides; as well as they contributed many ways to the good and happiness of all nations; this is what had been said by themselves, Psalm 48:2; and had even been owned by others; by the forefathers of those very persons that now insult over it. So the Targum,
"is this the city which our fathers that were of old said? &c.''
nor do they by these words deny, but rather own, that it had been what was said of it; but now the case was otherwise; instead of being a perfect beauty, it was a perfect heap of rubbish; instead of being the joy of the whole earth, it was the offscouring of all things.
clap . . . hands--in derision (Job 27:23; Job 34:37).
wag . . . head-- (2-Kings 19:21; Psalm 44:14).
perfection of beauty . . . joy of . . . earth-- (Psalm 48:2; Psalm 50:2). The Jews' enemies quote their very words in scorn.
Strangers and enemies have, for the misfortune of Jerusalem, only expressions of scorn and delight over her loss. "Those who pass by the way" are strangers who travel past Jerusalem. To clap the hands together is not here a gesture betokening anger and disinclination (Numbers 24:10), but of delight over the injury of others, as in Job 27:23. שׂרק, to hiss, is an expression of scorn; see on Jeremiah 19:8. The same is true as regards the shaking of the head; cf. Psalm 22:8; Psalm 109:25, etc.: the expression for this, in Jeremiah 18:16, is הניד בּראשׁ. The exclamation, "Is this the city which they call 'perfect in beauty'?" is an expression of scornful astonishment. כּלילת יפי is substantially the same as מכלל יפי, Psalm 50:2, where the expression is applied to Zion; in Ezekiel 27:3 the same is said of Tyre. That Jeremiah had Psalm 50:2 in his mind is shown by the apposition, "a joy of the whole earth," which is taken from Psalm 48:3.
*More commentary available at chapter level.