Commentaries:
Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown
beards shaven, etc.—indicating their deep sorrow at the destruction of the temple and city.
cut themselves—a heathen custom, forbidden (Leviticus 19:27-28; Deuteronomy 14:1). These men were mostly from Samaria, where the ten tribes, previous to their deportation, had fallen into heathen practices.
offerings—unbloody. They do not bring sacrificial victims, but "incense," etc., to testify their piety.
house of . . . Lord—that is, the place where the house of the Lord had stood (II Kings 25:9). The place in which a temple had stood, even when it had been destroyed, was held sacred [PAPINIAN]. Those "from Shiloh" would naturally seek the house of the Lord, since it was at Shiloh it originally was set up (Joshua 18:1).
Other Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown entries containing Jeremiah 41:5:
Leviticus 19:28
Deuteronomy 14:1
Job 1:20
Jeremiah 16:6
Jeremiah 40:6
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