Hear ye this, O house of Jacob
Who were of the house and family of Jacob, his descendants and posterity; and who were of the house of the God of Jacob, had a name and a place there, at least in profession: which are called by the name of Israel;
a name given to Jacob, because of his prevalence with God in prayer; but these had only the name, not the thing, however not as yet; they were neither praying Jacobs, nor prevailing Israels; they were not Israelites indeed: and are come forth out of the waters of Judah;
that is, were of the seed of Judah, as the Targum, Aben Ezra, and Kimchi interpret it; these were waters out of his buckets, as Jarchi observes from ( Numbers 24:7 ) , so we read of the fountain of Jacob, ( Deuteronomy 33:28 ) . These were streams from thence; they were of the tribe of Judah, to whom the kingdom belonged; from whence was the chief ruler, the Shiloh, the King Messiah; they were of these waters, though not born again of water and of the Spirit: which swear by the name of the Lord God;
own him for their God, acknowledge him their Lord and King, and solemnly promise to serve him, and yield obedience to him: and make mention of the God of Israel;
or "remember" him F26 in their religious exercises; invoke his name, sing his praises, ask of him the ordinances of righteousness, honour him with their lips, speak honourably of him, and profess to remember his works of old at their solemn feasts: but not in truth, nor in righteousness;
not according to the will of God, nor truth of things; nor in the integrity of their hearts, but in an hypocritical way, and not in sincerity and uprightness; in word and tongue only, not in deed and in truth; worshippers of God they were externally, but not in spirit and truth.