Best Commentaries on Jeremiah

Lalleman skillfully explains the text of Jeremiah in a clear and lucid way. She highlights the themes of doom and destruction but identifies the primary message of Jeremiah as one of love and grace. Readers will see that the prophet’s life is characterized by suffering, but he points to a new beginning, a new covenant and a new hope.

Wright helps readers to make sense of Jeremiah’s challenging structure and to connect this prophecy with the rest of the canon. His attention to Jeremiah’s theological and ethical teaching makes this book suitable for personal devotions or small groups and Sunday school classes.

Longman gives gives full marks to Fretheim’s commentary. He says, “This is an extremely well-written commentary with an emphasis on Jeremiah as literature and theology, though there is attention to critical issues and history as well. . . . Fretheim’s approach will appeal to both conservative and critically minded readers.”

Hwang’s commentary includes excellent insights into literary matters and draws good connections to larger theological issues. The passage-by-passage commentary takes a biblical-theological and broadly Reformed approach to interpreting and applying the text.

Mathison speaks highly of this resource designed for a contemporary audience: “Walter Kaiser has been a stalwart of conservative American evangelicalism for many, many decades. He has written dozens of books and articles. This stand-alone commentary is the fruit of a lifetime of study. It follows a fairly straightforward format, a section-by-section translation followed by commentary.” Pastors and scholars with some Hebrew will find this volume indispensable for understanding and teaching Jeremiah’s message.

Mathison praises Thompson’s volume, saying it’s “probably the best overall commentary on the book of Jeremiah. . . . Although it is moderately technical in places, all Hebrew is transliterated and fully explained. It is therefore accessible to most readers. Thompson writes from an evangelical perspective and offers numerous helpful insights into the meaning of this book.”

Allen offers excellent notes on text-critical and grammatical issues, as well as good observations about literary matters. He identifies a trajectory of grace in which the proclamations of doom can be understood within the context of promises for a renewed future. “Allen is an excellent scholar,” Longman notes, “and does a great job articulating the message of Jeremiah in its original context. He helpfully puts his focus on the final form of the book, but pays little attention to the book from a New Testament perspective.”

Holladay is a critical scholar, but he pays close attention to the literary structure of individual passages and the poetic rhetoric of Jeremiah. The technical details regarding textual criticism, grammar, and lexicography are excellent and helpful.

An impressive work of scholarship. Lundbom quickly dispels the notion that the life and words of this Old Testament prophet have no relevance for contemporary reader.s Jeremiah was every bit as concerned as we are with issues like terrorism, hypocrisy, environmental pollution, and justice.

This commentary is an outstanding high-level exposition of Jeremiah that interacts with the rival scholarly approaches to the book. He contends that the characterization of Jeremiah as Deuteronomistic obscures its individual message.