And after I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on them, and I will bring them again each to his heritage and each to his land.
God does not only promise mercy here to the Jews, but also to heathen nations, of whom he would be the Judge, to punish them for the sake of his people. And that this passage is to be extended to aliens is evident from the context; for the Prophet immediately adds, “And it shall be, that when they shall learn the ways of my people...
The prophets sometimes, in God's name, delivered messages both of judgment and mercy to the nations that bordered on the land of Israel: but here is a message to all those in general who had in their turns been one way or other injurious to God's people, had either oppressed them or triumphed in their being oppressed. Observe, I. What the quarrel was that God had with them.
Commenting on Jeremiah 12:14-17
And it shall come to pass, after that I have plucked them out,.... Not the Jews only, but more especially their neighbouring nations; after they have been plucked up and carried captive, and been in captivity some time: I will return, and have compassion on them; or, "have compassion on them again" (i); by returning their captivity, as is promised, Jer 48:47, and I will...