And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the troubled water? And what hast thou to do with the way of the Assyrians, to drink the water of the river?

“If we are not false servants of God, if there is in us a spark of that fire whereby "charity seeks not its own," we certainly should make our good works appear, not only before God but even before people, for fear that, while drinking of quiet waters in our own conscience, we should be constrained by careless feet to drive the sheep of the Lord to drink the troubled waters.”

“what have you to do in the way of Egypt Why do you leave Me and trust in Egypt? to drink the water of the Shihor For they drowned your male children in the Nile. Shihor is the Nile, as it is said: “From the Shihor which is before Egypt,” in the Book of Joshua (13:3). and what have you to do to rebel against Me so that you should be exiled to the way of Assyria, to the other side of the Euphrates River?”

“Here he aggravates the fault from the obstinacy of the mind: and first, because they did not recognize their sin; second, because they were multiplying it, there, "of old you have broken my yoke." Concerning the first, three points. First he takes an argument from the punishments of the fault, excluding servile condition, lest on this account she seem to have been justly brought into servitude. A home-born slave, who is born in the master's house: as if to say, no. John 8: we are the seed of Abraham, and have never served anyone. Proposing the diversity of punishments as to the captivity of men: why then has he become a prey? Lions — the princes of the Chaldeans; voice — precepts or wars. As to the devastation of the region, they have set. Isaiah 1: your land is desolate, your cities are destroyed. As to the violation of women: the children also — the cities of Egypt — even to the crown of the head, abusing against nature, sparing no member. Or spiritually, through idolatry, contaminating even the steadfast. Lamentations, the last chapter: they humbled the women in Sion, and the virgins in the cities of Judah. And concluding the true reason: has not this been done to you, because you have forsaken the Lord your God? He led, prosperously. For he did not forsake you; rather, you forsook him. Daniel 9: because we have withdrawn from you, and have not heeded the voice of the Lord our God, that we might walk in his law which he set before us through his servants the prophets (...) the curse has dropped upon us. Second, the useless remedy is set down, which they applied against punishments of this kind. From which it is clear that they did not recognize their sin, hoping in the help of the nations: hence he sets down the seeking of help, and now what do you want for yourself? As if to say: you ought not to avoid punishments in this way, but by placating God. In the way of Egypt — sending for help; the water — of the Nile; the river — of the Euphrates, which is of the Assyrians. Isaiah 30: you who walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked my mouth. Against the recognition of the aforesaid fault: it will convict — malice — when you shall bear the punishments for it. Isaiah 3: the show of their countenance will answer them, and they have proclaimed their sin as Sodom. Third, he applies a useful counsel, that they may recognize their sin: know — evil, dishonorable, bitter, full of punishment. Zephaniah 1: the voice of the bitter day of the Lord, the mighty man shall be in tribulation there.”

“Thine own wickedness shall correct thee,.... That is, either their wickedness in going to Egypt and Assyria, and the ill success they had in so doing might be an instruction to them to act otherwise, and a correction of their sin and folly; or that their wickedness was a reason, and a very just one, why they were chastened and corrected of the Lord: and thy backslidings shall reprove thee; or be the cause why they were reproved of God; or their ill success in turning their backs on him, and going to the creature for help, was a severe rebuke of their sin and madness. The Targum is, "I have brought afflictions upon thee, and thou hast not refrained from thy wickedness; and, because thou art not turned to the law, vengeance is taken on thee.'' Know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter; or observe and take notice what evil and bitter things sin, particularly the forsaking of the Lord and his worship, brings upon persons; for not sin itself is meant, though that is exceeding sinful, and is a root of bitterness, however sweet it may be to the taste of a sinner, and produces bitter effects; but the punishment of sin is meant, or corrections and reproofs for it; which are evil things, as calamities, and captivity, and the like; and which are very ungrateful and disagreeable to flesh and blood; and yet men, going on in a course of sin, and forsaking the Lord, as it follows, are the cause of these things: that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God; See Gill on Jer 2:13, this is the source of all the evil and bitterness experienced by them: and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts; this was the reason of their forsaking the Lord, his ways and worship, because they had no reverence of him; his fear was not before their eyes, nor on their hearts; and both were the cause of evil coming upon them; so the Targum paraphrases the words, "and know and see, for I have brought evil and bitterness upon thee, O Jerusalem, because thou hast forsaken the worship of the Lord thy God, and hast not put my fear before thine eyes, saith the Lord, the God of hosts.''”

“Troubled. Hebrew shichor, or Nile water, (Josue xiii. 3.) which was thought as good as wine, and grew better for keeping. (Strabo xvii.) — Hence the people adored it. (Vitruvius viii.) — God often reproached the Jews for distrusting in his protection, and seeking aid from the Egyptians, who deceived them. We know not that Josias did so. (Calmet) — He even opposed them, and lost his life in defending the country, 4 Kings xxiii. 29. (Haydock) — He was probably obliged to pay tribute to the Assyrians, whom Achaz had called in, 2 Paralipomenon xxviii. 23. These alliances the Lord condemned.”

“now--used in a reasoning sense, not of time. the way of Egypt--What hast thou to do with the way, that is, with going down to Egypt; or what . . . with going to Assyria? drink . . . waters--that is, to seek reinvigorating aid from them; so Jer 2:13, Jer 2:36; compare "waters," meaning numerous forces (Isa 8:7). Sihor--that is, the black river, in Greek, Melas ("black"), the Nile: so called from the black deposit or soil it leaves after the inundation (Isa 23:3). The Septuagint identifies it with Gihon, one of the rivers of Paradise. the river--Euphrates, called by pre-eminence, the river; figurative for the Assyrian power. In 625 B.C., the seventeenth year of Josiah, and the fourth of Jeremiah's office, the kingdom of Assyria fell before Babylon, therefore Assyria is here put for Babylon its successor: so in Kg2 23:29; Lam 5:6. There was doubtless a league between Judea and Assyria (that is, Babylon), which caused Josiah to march against Pharaoh-necho of Egypt when that king went against Babylon: the evil consequences of this league are foretold in this verse and Jer 2:36.”