Jeremiah 13:23

“Can the Ethiopian change his skin? etc.] Or, “the Cushite”; either, as the Arabic version, the “Abyssine”, the inhabitant of the eastern Ethiopia; properly an Ethiopian, as the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions render it; or, the “Chusean Arabian”; the inhabitant of Arabia Chusea, which was nearer Judea than the other Ethiopia, and better known, and which were of a dark complexion. The Targum renders it, the Indian; and so does the Syriac version. In the Misnaf274 mention is made of Indian garments, with which the high priest was clothed on the day of atonement; upon which the glossf275 is, that they were of linen of the country of India; and which is the land of Cush (or Ethiopia), as…”

“Ethiopian--the Cushite of Abyssinia. Habit is second nature; as therefore it is morally impossible that the Jews can alter their inveterate habits of sin, nothing remains but the infliction of the extremest punishment, their expatriation (Jer 13:24).”

“This verse answers the question, May not Judah avert this calamity by repentance? No: because her sins are too inveterate. By the Ethiopian (Hebrew: Cushite) is meant not the Cushite of Arabia but of Africa, i. e., the negro. return to 'Top of Page'”

“13:23 an Ethiopian: People have no choice about the color of their skin, just as a leopard has no choice about being spotted. In the same way, God’s people were born trapped by evil. They had no ability to change on their own, and they refused to allow the Lord to change them.”

“Ethiopian: Jer 2:22, Jer 2:30, Jer 5:3, Jer 6:29, Jer 6:30, Jer 17:9; Pro 27:22; Isa 1:5; Mat 19:24-28 accustomed: Heb. taught, Jer 9:5 Jeremiah 13:24”

“Judah will not escape this ignominious lot, since wickedness has so grown to be its nature, that it can as little cease therefrom and do good, as an Ethiopian can wash out the blackness of his skin, or a panther change it spots. The consequential clause introduced by גּם אתּם connects with the possibility suggested in, but denied by, the preceding question: if that could happen, then might even ye do good. The one thing is as impossible as the other. And so the Lord must scatter Judah among the heathen, like stubble swept away by the desert wind, lit., passing by with the desert wind. The desert wind is the strong east wind that blows from the Arabian Desert; see on Jer 4:11. Jeremiah 13:25”