Yeremia 21:1--29:32
Konteks21:1 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah 1 when King Zedekiah 2 sent to him Pashhur son of Malkijah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah. 3 Zedekiah sent them to Jeremiah to ask, 4 21:2 “Please ask the Lord to come and help us, 5 because King Nebuchadnezzar 6 of Babylon is attacking us. Maybe the Lord will perform one of his miracles as in times past and make him stop attacking us and leave.” 7 21:3 Jeremiah answered them, “Tell Zedekiah 21:4 that the Lord, the God of Israel, says, 8 ‘The forces at your disposal 9 are now outside the walls fighting against King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and the Babylonians 10 who have you under siege. I will gather those forces back inside the city. 11 21:5 In anger, in fury, and in wrath I myself will fight against you with my mighty power and great strength! 12 21:6 I will kill everything living in Jerusalem, 13 people and animals alike! They will die from terrible diseases. 21:7 Then 14 I, the Lord, promise that 15 I will hand over King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and any of the people who survive the war, starvation, and disease. I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and to their enemies who want to kill them. He will slaughter them with the sword. He will not show them any mercy, compassion, or pity.’
21:8 “But 16 tell the people of Jerusalem 17 that the Lord says, ‘I will give you a choice between two courses of action. One will result in life; the other will result in death. 18 21:9 Those who stay in this city will die in battle or of starvation or disease. Those who leave the city and surrender to the Babylonians who are besieging it will live. They will escape with their lives. 19 21:10 For I, the Lord, say that 20 I am determined not to deliver this city but to bring disaster on it. 21 It will be handed over to the king of Babylon and he will destroy it with fire.’” 22
21:11 The Lord told me to say 23 to the royal court 24 of Judah,
“Listen to what the Lord says,
21:12 O royal family descended from David. 25
The Lord says:
‘See to it that people each day 26 are judged fairly. 27
Deliver those who have been robbed from those 28 who oppress them.
Otherwise, my wrath will blaze out against you.
It will burn like a fire that cannot be put out
because of the evil that you have done. 29
21:13 Listen, you 30 who sit enthroned above the valley on a rocky plateau.
I am opposed to you,’ 31 says the Lord. 32
‘You boast, “No one can swoop down on us.
No one can penetrate into our places of refuge.” 33
21:14 But I will punish you as your deeds deserve,’
says the Lord. 34
‘I will set fire to your palace;
it will burn up everything around it.’” 35
22:1 The Lord told me, 36 “Go down 37 to the palace of the king of Judah. Give him a message from me there. 38 22:2 Say: ‘Listen, O king of Judah who follows in David’s succession. 39 You, your officials, and your subjects who pass through the gates of this palace must listen to what the Lord says. 40 22:3 The Lord says, “Do what is just and right. Deliver those who have been robbed from those 41 who oppress them. Do not exploit or mistreat foreigners who live in your land, children who have no fathers, or widows. 42 Do not kill innocent people 43 in this land. 22:4 If you are careful to 44 obey these commands, then the kings who follow in David’s succession and ride in chariots or on horses will continue to come through the gates of this palace, as will their officials and their subjects. 45 22:5 But, if you do not obey these commands, I solemnly swear 46 that this palace will become a pile of rubble. I, the Lord, affirm it!” 47
22:6 “‘For the Lord says concerning the palace of the king of Judah,
“This place looks like a veritable forest of Gilead to me.
It is like the wooded heights of Lebanon in my eyes.
But I swear that I will make it like a wilderness
whose towns have all been deserted. 48
22:7 I will send men against it to destroy it 49
with their axes and hatchets.
They will hack up its fine cedar panels and columns
and throw them into the fire.
22:8 “‘People from other nations will pass by this city. They will ask one another, “Why has the Lord done such a thing to this great city?” 22:9 The answer will come back, “It is because they broke their covenant with the Lord their God and worshiped and served other gods.”
22:10 “‘Do not weep for the king who was killed.
Do not grieve for him.
But weep mournfully for the king who has gone into exile.
For he will never return to see his native land again. 50
22:11 “‘For the Lord has spoken about Shallum son of Josiah, who succeeded his father as king of Judah but was carried off into exile. He has said, “He will never return to this land. 51 22:12 For he will die in the country where they took him as a captive. He will never see this land again.” 52
22:13 “‘Sure to be judged 53 is the king who builds his palace using injustice
and treats people unfairly while adding its upper rooms. 54
He makes his countrymen work for him for nothing.
He does not pay them for their labor.
22:14 He says, “I will build myself a large palace
with spacious upper rooms.”
He cuts windows in its walls,
panels it 55 with cedar, and paints its rooms red. 56
22:15 Does it make you any more of a king
that you outstrip everyone else in 57 building with cedar?
Just think about your father.
He was content that he had food and drink. 58
He did what was just and right. 59
So things went well with him.
22:16 He upheld the cause of the poor and needy.
So things went well for Judah.’ 60
The Lord says,
‘That is a good example of what it means to know me.’ 61
22:17 But you are always thinking and looking
for ways to increase your wealth by dishonest means.
Your eyes and your heart are set
on killing some innocent person
and committing fraud and oppression. 62
22:18 So 63 the Lord has this to say about Josiah’s son, King Jehoiakim of Judah:
People will not mourn for him, saying,
“This makes me sad, my brother!
This makes me sad, my sister!”
They will not mourn for him, saying,
“Poor, poor lord! Poor, poor majesty!” 64
22:19 He will be left unburied just like a dead donkey.
His body will be dragged off and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem.’” 65
22:20 People of Jerusalem, 66 go up to Lebanon and cry out in mourning.
Go to the land of Bashan and cry out loudly.
Cry out in mourning from the mountains of Moab. 67
For your allies 68 have all been defeated.
22:21 While you were feeling secure I gave you warning. 69
But you said, “I refuse to listen to you.”
That is the way you have acted from your earliest history onward. 70
Indeed, you have never paid attention to me.
22:22 My judgment will carry off all your leaders like a storm wind! 71
Your allies will go into captivity.
Then you will certainly 72 be disgraced and put to shame
because of all the wickedness you have done.
22:23 You may feel as secure as a bird
nesting in the cedars of Lebanon.
But oh how you 73 will groan 74 when the pains of judgment come on you.
They will be like those of a woman giving birth to a baby. 75
“As surely as I am the living God, you, Jeconiah, 77 king of Judah, son of Jehoiakim, will not be the earthly representative of my authority. Indeed, I will take that right away from you. 78 22:25 I will hand you over to those who want to take your life and of whom you are afraid. I will hand you over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his Babylonian 79 soldiers. 22:26 I will force you and your mother who gave you birth into exile. You will be exiled to 80 a country where neither of you were born, and you will both die there. 22:27 You will never come back to this land to which you will long to return!” 81
22:28 This man, Jeconiah, will be like a broken pot someone threw away.
He will be like a clay vessel 82 that no one wants. 83
Why will he and his children be forced into exile?
Why will they be thrown out into a country they know nothing about? 84
22:29 O land of Judah, land of Judah, land of Judah! 85
Listen to what the Lord has to say!
22:30 The Lord says,
“Enroll this man in the register as though he were childless. 86
Enroll him as a man who will not enjoy success during his lifetime.
For none of his sons will succeed in occupying the throne of David
or ever succeed in ruling over Judah.”
23:1 The Lord says, 87 “The leaders of my people are sure to be judged. 88 They were supposed to watch over my people like shepherds watch over their sheep. But they are causing my people to be destroyed and scattered. 89 23:2 So the Lord God of Israel has this to say about the leaders who are ruling over his people: “You have caused my people 90 to be dispersed and driven into exile. You have not taken care of them. So I will punish you for the evil that you have done. 91 I, the Lord, affirm it! 92 23:3 Then I myself will regather those of my people 93 who are still alive from all the countries where I have driven them. I will bring them back to their homeland. 94 They will greatly increase in number. 23:4 I will install rulers 95 over them who will care for them. Then they will no longer need to fear or be terrified. None of them will turn up missing. 96 I, the Lord, promise it! 97
23:5 “I, the Lord, promise 98 that a new time will certainly come 99
when I will raise up for them a righteous branch, 100 a descendant of David.
He will rule over them with wisdom and understanding 101
and will do what is just and right in the land. 102
23:6 Under his rule 103 Judah will enjoy safety 104
and Israel will live in security. 105
This is the name he will go by:
‘The Lord has provided us with justice.’ 106
23:7 “So I, the Lord, say: 107 ‘A new time will certainly come. 108 People now affirm their oaths with “I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the people of Israel out of Egypt.” 23:8 But at that time they will affirm them with “I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the descendants of the former nation of Israel 109 from the land of the north and from all the other lands where he had banished 110 them.” 111 At that time they will live in their own land.’”
23:9 Here is what the Lord says concerning the false prophets: 113
My heart and my mind are deeply disturbed.
I tremble all over. 114
I am like a drunk person,
like a person who has had too much wine, 115
because of the way the Lord
and his holy word are being mistreated. 116
23:10 For the land is full of people unfaithful to him. 117
They live wicked lives and they misuse their power. 118
So the land is dried up 119 because it is under his curse. 120
The pastures in the wilderness are withered.
23:11 Moreover, 121 the Lord says, 122
“Both the prophets and priests are godless.
I have even found them doing evil in my temple!
23:12 So the paths they follow will be dark and slippery.
They will stumble and fall headlong.
For I will bring disaster on them.
A day of reckoning is coming for them.” 123
The Lord affirms it! 124
23:13 The Lord says, 125 “I saw the prophets of Samaria 126
doing something that was disgusting. 127
They prophesied in the name of the god Baal
and led my people Israel astray. 128
23:14 But I see the prophets of Jerusalem 129
doing something just as shocking.
They are unfaithful to me
and continually prophesy lies. 130
So they give encouragement to people who are doing evil,
with the result that they do not stop their evildoing. 131
I consider all of them as bad as the people of Sodom,
and the citizens of Jerusalem as bad as the people of Gomorrah. 132
23:15 So then I, the Lord who rules over all, 133
have something to say concerning the prophets of Jerusalem: 134
‘I will make these prophets eat the bitter food of suffering
and drink the poison water of judgment. 135
For the prophets of Jerusalem are the reason 136
that ungodliness 137 has spread throughout the land.’”
23:16 The Lord who rules over all 138 says to the people of Jerusalem: 139
“Do not listen to what
those prophets are saying to you.
They are filling you with false hopes.
They are reporting visions of their own imaginations,
not something the Lord has given them to say. 140
23:17 They continually say 141 to those who reject what the Lord has said, 142
‘Things will go well for you!’ 143
They say to all those who follow the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts,
‘Nothing bad will happen to you!’
23:18 Yet which of them has ever stood in the Lord’s inner circle 144
so they 145 could see and hear what he has to say? 146
Which of them have ever paid attention or listened to what he has said?
23:19 But just watch! 147 The wrath of the Lord
will come like a storm! 148
Like a raging storm it will rage down 149
on the heads of those who are wicked.
23:20 The anger of the Lord will not turn back
until he has fully carried out his intended purposes. 150
In days to come 151
you people will come to understand this clearly. 152
23:21 I did not send those prophets.
Yet they were in a hurry to give their message. 153
I did not tell them anything.
Yet they prophesied anyway.
23:22 But if they had stood in my inner circle, 154
they would have proclaimed my message to my people.
They would have caused my people to turn from their wicked ways
and stop doing the evil things they are doing.
23:23 Do you people think 155 that I am some local deity
and not the transcendent God?” 156 the Lord asks. 157
23:24 “Do you really think anyone can hide himself
where I cannot see him?” the Lord asks. 158
“Do you not know that I am everywhere?” 159
the Lord asks. 160
23:25 The Lord says, 161 “I have heard what those prophets who are prophesying lies in my name are saying. They are saying, ‘I have had a dream! I have had a dream!’ 162 23:26 Those prophets are just prophesying lies. They are prophesying the delusions of their own minds. 163 23:27 How long will they go on plotting 164 to make my people forget who I am 165 through the dreams they tell one another? That is just as bad as what their ancestors 166 did when they forgot who I am by worshiping the god Baal. 167 23:28 Let the prophet who has had a dream go ahead and tell his dream. Let the person who has received my message report that message faithfully. What is like straw cannot compare to what is like grain! 168 I, the Lord, affirm it! 169 23:29 My message is like a fire that purges dross! 170 It is like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces! 171 I, the Lord, so affirm it! 172 23:30 So I, the Lord, affirm 173 that I am opposed to those prophets who steal messages from one another that they claim are from me. 174 23:31 I, the Lord, affirm 175 that I am opposed to those prophets who are using their own tongues to declare, ‘The Lord declares….’ 176 23:32 I, the Lord, affirm 177 that I am opposed to those prophets who dream up lies and report them. They are misleading my people with their reckless lies. 178 I did not send them. I did not commission them. They are not helping these people at all. 179 I, the Lord, affirm it!” 180
23:33 The Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, 181 when one of these people, or a prophet, or a priest asks you, ‘What burdensome message 182 do you have from the Lord?’ Tell them, ‘You are the burden, 183 and I will cast you away. 184 I, the Lord, affirm it! 185 23:34 I will punish any prophet, priest, or other person who says “The Lord’s message is burdensome.” 186 I will punish both that person and his whole family.’” 187
23:35 So I, Jeremiah, tell you, 188 “Each of you people should say to his friend or his relative, ‘How did the Lord answer? Or what did the Lord say?’ 189 23:36 You must no longer say that the Lord’s message is burdensome. 190 For what is ‘burdensome’ 191 really pertains to what a person himself says. 192 You are misrepresenting 193 the words of our God, the living God, the Lord who rules over all. 194 23:37 Each of you should merely ask the prophet, ‘What answer did the Lord give you? Or what did the Lord say?’ 195 23:38 But just suppose you continue to say, ‘The message of the Lord is burdensome.’ Here is what the Lord says will happen: ‘I sent word to you that you must not say, “The Lord’s message is burdensome.” But you used the words “The Lord’s message is burdensome” anyway. 23:39 So 196 I will carry you far off 197 and throw you away. I will send both you and the city I gave to you and to your ancestors out of my sight. 198 23:40 I will bring on you lasting shame and lasting disgrace which will never be forgotten!’”
24:1 The Lord showed me two baskets of figs sitting before his temple. This happened after King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon deported Jehoiakim’s son, King Jeconiah of Judah. He deported him and the leaders of Judah, along with the craftsmen and metal workers, and took them to Babylon. 199 24:2 One basket had very good-looking figs in it. They looked like those that had ripened early. 200 The other basket had very bad-looking figs in it, so bad they could not be eaten. 24:3 The Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I answered, “I see figs. The good ones look very good. But the bad ones look very bad, so bad that they cannot be eaten.”
24:4 The Lord said to me, 201 24:5 “I, the Lord, the God of Israel, say: ‘The exiles whom I sent away from here to the land of Babylon 202 are like those good figs. I consider them to be good. 24:6 I will look after their welfare 203 and will restore them to this land. There I will build them up and will not tear them down. I will plant them firmly in the land 204 and will not uproot them. 205 24:7 I will give them the desire to acknowledge that I 206 am the Lord. I will be their God and they will be my people. For they will wholeheartedly 207 return to me.’
24:8 “I, the Lord, also solemnly assert: ‘King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and the people who remain in Jerusalem 208 or who have gone to live in Egypt are like those bad figs. I consider them to be just like those bad figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten. 209 24:9 I will bring such disaster on them that all the kingdoms of the earth will be horrified. I will make them an object of reproach, a proverbial example of disaster. I will make them an object of ridicule, an example to be used in curses. 210 That is how they will be remembered wherever I banish them. 211 24:10 I will bring war, starvation, and disease 212 on them until they are completely destroyed from the land I gave them and their ancestors.’” 213
25:1 In the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord spoke to Jeremiah 214 concerning all the people of Judah. (That was the same as the first year that Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon.) 215 25:2 So the prophet Jeremiah spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the people who were living in Jerusalem. 216 25:3 “For the last twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amon was ruling in Judah 217 until now, the Lord has been speaking to me. I told you over and over again 218 what he said. 219 But you would not listen. 25:4 Over and over again 220 the Lord has sent 221 his servants the prophets to you. But you have not listened or paid attention. 222 25:5 He said through them, 223 ‘Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and stop doing the evil things you are doing. 224 If you do, I will allow you to continue to live here in the land that I gave to you and your ancestors as a lasting possession. 225 25:6 Do not pay allegiance to 226 other gods and worship and serve them. Do not make me angry by the things that you do. 227 Then I will not cause you any harm.’ 25:7 So, now the Lord says, 228 ‘You have not listened to me. But 229 you have made me angry by the things that you have done. 230 Thus you have brought harm on yourselves.’
25:8 “Therefore, the Lord who rules over all 231 says, ‘You have not listened to what I said. 232 25:9 So I, the Lord, affirm that 233 I will send for all the peoples of the north 234 and my servant, 235 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and all the nations that surround it. I will utterly destroy 236 this land, its inhabitants, and all the nations that surround it 237 and make them everlasting ruins. 238 I will make them objects of horror and hissing scorn. 239 25:10 I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness, to the glad celebration of brides and grooms in these lands. 240 I will put an end to the sound of people grinding meal. I will put an end to lamps shining in their houses. 241 25:11 This whole area 242 will become a desolate wasteland. These nations will be subject to the king of Babylon for seventy years.’ 243
25:12 “‘But when the seventy years are over, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation 244 for their sins. I will make the land of Babylon 245 an everlasting ruin. 246 I, the Lord, affirm it! 247 25:13 I will bring on that land everything that I said I would. I will bring on it everything that is written in this book. I will bring on it everything that Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. 248 25:14 For many nations and great kings will make slaves of the king of Babylon and his nation 249 too. I will repay them for all they have done!’” 250
25:15 So 251 the Lord, the God of Israel, spoke to me in a vision. 252 “Take this cup from my hand. It is filled with the wine of my wrath. 253 Take it and make the nations to whom I send you drink it. 25:16 When they have drunk it, they will stagger to and fro 254 and act insane. For I will send wars sweeping through them.” 255
25:17 So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand. I made all the nations to whom he sent me drink the wine of his wrath. 256 25:18 I made Jerusalem 257 and the cities of Judah, its kings and its officials drink it. 258 I did it so Judah would become a ruin. I did it so Judah, its kings, and its officials would become an object 259 of horror and of hissing scorn, an example used in curses. 260 Such is already becoming the case! 261 25:19 I made all of these other people drink it: Pharaoh, king of Egypt; 262 his attendants, his officials, his people, 25:20 the foreigners living in Egypt; 263 all the kings of the land of Uz; 264 all the kings of the land of the Philistines, 265 the people of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, the people who had been left alive from Ashdod; 266 25:21 all the people of Edom, 267 Moab, 268 Ammon; 269 25:22 all the kings of Tyre, 270 all the kings of Sidon; 271 all the kings of the coastlands along the sea; 272 25:23 the people of Dedan, Tema, Buz, 273 all the desert people who cut their hair short at the temples; 274 25:24 all the kings of Arabia who 275 live in the desert; 25:25 all the kings of Zimri; 276 all the kings of Elam; 277 all the kings of Media; 278 25:26 all the kings of the north, whether near or far from one another; and all the other kingdoms which are on the face of the earth. After all of them have drunk the wine of the Lord’s wrath, 279 the king of Babylon 280 must drink it.
25:27 Then the Lord said to me, 281 “Tell them that the Lord God of Israel who rules over all 282 says, 283 ‘Drink this cup 284 until you get drunk and vomit. Drink until you fall down and can’t get up. 285 For I will send wars sweeping through you.’ 286 25:28 If they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink it, tell them that the Lord who rules over all says 287 ‘You most certainly must drink it! 288 25:29 For take note, I am already beginning to bring disaster on the city that I call my own. 289 So how can you possibly avoid being punished? 290 You will not go unpunished! For I am proclaiming war against all who live on the earth. I, the Lord who rules over all, 291 affirm it!’ 292
25:30 “Then, Jeremiah, 293 make the following prophecy 294 against them:
‘Like a lion about to attack, 295 the Lord will roar from the heights of heaven;
from his holy dwelling on high he will roar loudly.
He will roar mightily against his land. 296
He will shout in triumph like those stomping juice from the grapes 297
against all those who live on the earth.
25:31 The sounds of battle 298 will resound to the ends of the earth.
For the Lord will bring charges against the nations. 299
He will pass judgment on all humankind
and will hand the wicked over to be killed in war.’ 300
The Lord so affirms it! 301
25:32 The Lord who rules over all 302 says,
‘Disaster will soon come on one nation after another. 303
A mighty storm of military destruction 304 is rising up
from the distant parts of the earth.’
25:33 Those who have been killed by the Lord at that time
will be scattered from one end of the earth to the other.
They will not be mourned over, gathered up, or buried. 305
Their dead bodies will lie scattered over the ground like manure.
25:34 Wail and cry out in anguish, you rulers!
Roll in the dust, you who shepherd flocks of people! 306
The time for you to be slaughtered has come.
You will lie scattered and fallen like broken pieces of fine pottery. 307
25:35 The leaders will not be able to run away and hide. 308
The shepherds of the flocks will not be able to escape.
25:36 Listen to the cries of anguish of the leaders.
Listen to the wails of the shepherds of the flocks.
They are wailing because the Lord
is about to destroy their lands. 309
25:37 Their peaceful dwelling places will be laid waste 310
by the fierce anger of the Lord. 311
25:38 The Lord is like a lion who has left his lair. 312
So their lands will certainly 313 be laid waste
by the warfare of the oppressive nation 314
and by the fierce anger of the Lord.”
26:1 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah 316 at the beginning of the reign 317 of Josiah’s son, King Jehoiakim of Judah. 26:2 The Lord said, “Go stand in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple. 318 Speak out to all the people who are coming from the towns of Judah to worship in the Lord’s temple. Tell them everything I command you to tell them. Do not leave out a single word! 26:3 Maybe they will pay attention and each of them will stop living the evil way they do. 319 If they do that, then I will forgo destroying them 320 as I had intended to do because of the wicked things they have been doing. 321 26:4 Tell them that the Lord says, 322 ‘You must obey me! You must live according to the way I have instructed you in my laws. 323 26:5 You must pay attention to the exhortations of my servants the prophets. I have sent them to you over and over again. 324 But you have not paid any attention to them. 26:6 If you do not obey me, 325 then I will do to this temple what I did to Shiloh. 326 And I will make this city an example to be used in curses by people from all the nations on the earth.’”
26:7 The priests, the prophets, and all the people heard Jeremiah say these things in the Lord’s temple. 26:8 Jeremiah had just barely finished saying all the Lord had commanded him to say to all the people. All at once some 327 of the priests, the prophets, and the people grabbed him and shouted, “You deserve to die! 328 26:9 How dare you claim the Lord’s authority to prophesy such things! How dare you claim his authority to prophesy that this temple will become like Shiloh and that this city will become an uninhabited ruin!” 329 Then all the people crowded around Jeremiah.
26:10 However, some of the officials 330 of Judah heard about what was happening 331 and they rushed up to the Lord’s temple from the royal palace. They set up court 332 at the entrance of the New Gate of the Lord’s temple. 333 26:11 Then the priests and the prophets made their charges before the officials and all the people. They said, 334 “This man should be condemned to die 335 because he prophesied against this city. You have heard him do so 336 with your own ears.”
26:12 Then Jeremiah made his defense before all the officials and all the people. 337 “The Lord sent me to prophesy everything you have heard me say against this temple and against this city. 26:13 But correct the way you have been living and do what is right. 338 Obey the Lord your God. If you do, the Lord will forgo destroying you as he threatened he would. 339 26:14 As to my case, I am in your power. 340 Do to me what you deem fair and proper. 26:15 But you should take careful note of this: If you put me to death, you will bring on yourselves and this city and those who live in it the guilt of murdering an innocent man. For the Lord has sent me to speak all this where you can hear it. That is the truth!” 341
26:16 Then the officials and all the people rendered their verdict to the priests and the prophets. They said, 342 “This man should not be condemned to die. 343 For he has spoken to us under the authority of the Lord our God.” 344 26:17 Then some of the elders of Judah 345 stepped forward and spoke to all the people gathered there. They said, 26:18 “Micah from Moresheth 346 prophesied during the time Hezekiah was king of Judah. 347 He told all the people of Judah,
‘The Lord who rules over all 348 says,
“Zion 349 will become a plowed field.
Jerusalem 350 will become a pile of rubble.
The temple mount will become a mere wooded ridge.”’ 351
26:19 King Hezekiah and all the people of Judah did not put him to death, did they? Did not Hezekiah show reverence for the Lord and seek the Lord’s favor? 352 Did not 353 the Lord forgo destroying them 354 as he threatened he would? But we are on the verge of bringing great disaster on ourselves.” 355
26:20 Now there was another man 356 who prophesied as the Lord’s representative 357 against this city and this land just as Jeremiah did. His name was Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath Jearim. 358 26:21 When the king and all his bodyguards 359 and officials heard what he was prophesying, 360 the king sought to have him executed. But Uriah found out about it and fled to Egypt out of fear. 361 26:22 However, King Jehoiakim sent some men to Egypt, including Elnathan son of Achbor, 362 26:23 and they brought Uriah back from there. 363 They took him to King Jehoiakim, who had him executed and had his body thrown into the burial place of the common people. 364
26:24 However, Ahikam son of Shaphan 365 used his influence to keep Jeremiah from being handed over and executed by the people. 366
27:1 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah 367 early in the reign of Josiah’s son, King Zedekiah of Judah. 368 27:2 The Lord told me, 369 “Make a yoke 370 out of leather straps and wooden crossbars and put it on your neck. 27:3 Use it to send messages to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, 371 and Sidon. 372 Send them through 373 the envoys who have come to Jerusalem 374 to King Zedekiah of Judah. 27:4 Charge them to give their masters a message from me. Tell them, ‘The Lord God of Israel who rules over all 375 says to give your masters this message. 376 27:5 “I made the earth and the people and animals on it by my mighty power and great strength, 377 and I give it to whomever I see fit. 378 27:6 I have at this time placed all these nations of yours under the power 379 of my servant, 380 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I have even made all the wild animals subject to him. 381 27:7 All nations must serve him and his son and grandson 382 until the time comes for his own nation to fall. 383 Then many nations and great kings will in turn subjugate Babylon. 384 27:8 But suppose a nation or a kingdom will not be subject to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Suppose it will not submit to the yoke of servitude to 385 him. I, the Lord, affirm that 386 I will punish that nation. I will use the king of Babylon to punish it 387 with war, 388 starvation, and disease until I have destroyed it. 389 27:9 So do not listen to your prophets or to those who claim to predict the future by divination, 390 by dreams, by consulting the dead, 391 or by practicing magic. They keep telling you, ‘You do not need to be 392 subject to the king of Babylon.’ 27:10 Do not listen to them, 393 because their prophecies are lies. 394 Listening to them will only cause you 395 to be taken far away from your native land. I will drive you out of your country and you will die in exile. 396 27:11 Things will go better for the nation that submits to the yoke of servitude to 397 the king of Babylon and is subject to him. I will leave that nation 398 in its native land. Its people can continue to farm it and live in it. I, the Lord, affirm it!”’” 399
27:12 I told King Zedekiah of Judah the same thing. I said, 400 “Submit 401 to the yoke of servitude to 402 the king of Babylon. Be subject to him and his people. Then you will continue to live. 27:13 There is no reason why you and your people should die in war 403 or from starvation or disease! 404 That’s what the Lord says will happen to any nation 405 that will not be subject to the king of Babylon. 27:14 Do not listen to the prophets who are telling you that you do not need to serve 406 the king of Babylon. For they are prophesying lies to you. 27:15 For I, the Lord, affirm 407 that I did not send them. They are prophesying lies to you. If you 408 listen to them, I will drive you and the prophets who are prophesying lies out of the land and you will all die in exile.” 409
27:16 I also told the priests and all the people, “The Lord says, ‘Do not listen to what your prophets are saying. They are prophesying to you that 410 the valuable articles taken from the Lord’s temple will be brought back from Babylon very soon. 411 But they are prophesying a lie to you. 27:17 Do not listen to them. Be subject to the king of Babylon. Then you 412 will continue to live. Why should this city be made a pile of rubble?’” 413 27:18 I also told them, 414 “If they are really prophets and the Lord is speaking to them, 415 let them pray earnestly to the Lord who rules over all. 416 Let them plead with him not to let the valuable articles that are still left in the Lord’s temple, in the royal palace, and in Jerusalem be taken away 417 to Babylon. 27:19 For the Lord who rules over all 418 has already spoken about the two bronze pillars, 419 the large bronze basin called ‘The Sea,’ 420 and the movable bronze stands. 421 He has already spoken about the rest of the valuable articles that are left in this city. 27:20 He has already spoken about these things that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon did not take away when he carried Jehoiakim’s son King Jeconiah of Judah and the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem away as captives. 422 27:21 Indeed, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all 423 has already spoken 424 about the valuable articles that are left in the Lord’s temple, in the royal palace of Judah, and in Jerusalem. 27:22 He has said, ‘They will be carried off to Babylon. They will remain there until it is time for me to show consideration for them again. 425 Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.’ I, the Lord, affirm this!” 426
28:1 The following events occurred in that same year, early in the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah. To be more precise, it was the fifth month of the fourth year of his reign. 427 The prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, spoke to Jeremiah 428 in the Lord’s temple in the presence of the priests and all the people. 429 28:2 “The Lord God of Israel who rules over all 430 says, ‘I will break the yoke of servitude 431 to the king of Babylon. 28:3 Before two years are over, I will bring back to this place everything that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took from it and carried away to Babylon. 28:4 I will also bring back to this place Jehoiakim’s son King Jeconiah of Judah and all the exiles who were taken to Babylon.’ Indeed, the Lord affirms, 432 ‘I will break the yoke of servitude to the king of Babylon.’”
28:5 Then the prophet Jeremiah responded to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the Lord’s temple. 28:6 The prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May the Lord do all this! May the Lord make your prophecy come true! May he bring back to this place from Babylon all the valuable articles taken from the Lord’s temple and the people who were carried into exile. 28:7 But listen to what I say to you and to all these people. 433 28:8 From earliest times, the prophets who preceded you and me invariably 434 prophesied war, disaster, 435 and plagues against many countries and great kingdoms. 28:9 So if a prophet prophesied 436 peace and prosperity, it was only known that the Lord truly sent him when what he prophesied came true.”
28:10 The prophet Hananiah then took the yoke off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck and broke it. 28:11 Then he spoke up in the presence of all the people. “The Lord says, ‘In the same way I will break the yoke of servitude of all the nations to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon 437 before two years are over.’” After he heard this, the prophet Jeremiah departed and went on his way. 438
28:12 But shortly after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck, the Lord spoke to Jeremiah. 28:13 “Go and tell Hananiah that the Lord says, 439 ‘You have indeed broken the wooden yoke. But you have 440 only succeeded in replacing it with an iron one! 441 28:14 For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all 442 says, “I have put an irresistible yoke of servitude on all these nations 443 so they will serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. And they will indeed serve him. I have even given him control over the wild animals.”’” 444 28:15 Then the prophet Jeremiah told the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord did not send you! You are making these people trust in a lie! 445 28:16 So the Lord says, ‘I will most assuredly remove 446 you from the face of the earth. You will die this very year because you have counseled rebellion against the Lord.’” 447
28:17 In the seventh month of that very same year 448 the prophet Hananiah died.
29:1 The prophet Jeremiah sent a letter to the exiles Nebuchadnezzar had carried off from Jerusalem 449 to Babylon. It was addressed to the elders who were left among the exiles, to the priests, to the prophets, and to all the other people who were exiled in Babylon. 450 29:2 He sent it after King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the palace officials, 451 the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metal workers had been exiled from Jerusalem. 452 29:3 He sent it with Elasah son of Shaphan 453 and Gemariah son of Hilkiah. 454 King Zedekiah of Judah had sent these men to Babylon to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. 455 The letter said:
29:4 “The Lord God of Israel who rules over all 456 says to all those he sent 457 into exile to Babylon from Jerusalem, 458 29:5 ‘Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat what they produce. 29:6 Marry and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons and allow your daughters get married so that they too can have sons and daughters. Grow in number; do not dwindle away. 29:7 Work to see that the city where I sent you as exiles enjoys peace and prosperity. Pray to the Lord for it. For as it prospers you will prosper.’
29:8 “For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all 459 says, ‘Do not let the prophets or those among you who claim to be able to predict the future by divination 460 deceive you. And do not pay any attention to the dreams that you are encouraging them to dream. 29:9 They are prophesying lies to you and claiming my authority to do so. 461 But I did not send them. I, the Lord, affirm it!’ 462
29:10 “For the Lord says, ‘Only when the seventy years of Babylonian rule 463 are over will I again take up consideration for you. 464 Then I will fulfill my gracious promise to you and restore 465 you to your homeland. 466 29:11 For I know what I have planned for you,’ says the Lord. 467 ‘I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you 468 a future filled with hope. 469 29:12 When you call out to me and come to me in prayer, 470 I will hear your prayers. 471 29:13 When you seek me in prayer and worship, you will find me available to you. If you seek me with all your heart and soul, 472 29:14 I will make myself available to you,’ 473 says the Lord. 474 ‘Then I will reverse your plight 475 and will regather you from all the nations and all the places where I have exiled you,’ says the Lord. 476 ‘I will bring you back to the place from which I exiled you.’
29:15 “You say, ‘The Lord has raised up prophets of good news 477 for us here in Babylon.’ 29:16 But just listen to what the Lord has to say about 478 the king who occupies David’s throne and all your fellow countrymen who are still living in this city of Jerusalem 479 and were not carried off into exile with you. 29:17 The Lord who rules over all 480 says, ‘I will bring war, 481 starvation, and disease on them. I will treat them like figs that are so rotten 482 they cannot be eaten. 29:18 I will chase after them with war, 483 starvation, and disease. I will make all the kingdoms of the earth horrified at what happens to them. I will make them examples of those who are cursed, objects of horror, hissing scorn, and ridicule among all the nations where I exile them. 29:19 For they have not paid attention to what I said to them through my servants the prophets whom I sent to them over and over again,’ 484 says the Lord. 485 ‘And you exiles 486 have not paid any attention to them either,’ says the Lord. 487 29:20 ‘So pay attention to what I, the Lord, have said, 488 all you exiles whom I have sent to Babylon from Jerusalem.’
29:21 “The Lord God of Israel who rules over all 489 also has something to say about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies to you and claiming my authority to do so. 490 ‘I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and he will execute them before your very eyes. 29:22 And all the exiles of Judah who are in Babylon will use them as examples when they put a curse on anyone. They will say, “May the Lord treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab whom the king of Babylon roasted to death in the fire!” 491 29:23 This will happen to them because they have done what is shameful 492 in Israel. They have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives and have spoken lies while claiming my authority. 493 They have spoken words that I did not command them to speak. I know what they have done. I have been a witness to it,’ says the Lord.” 494
29:24 The Lord told Jeremiah, “Tell 495 Shemaiah the Nehelamite 496 29:25 that the Lord God of Israel who rules over all 497 has a message for him. 498 Tell him, 499 ‘On your own initiative 500 you sent a letter 501 to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah 502 and to all the other priests and to all the people in Jerusalem. 503 In your letter you said to Zephaniah, 504 29:26 “The Lord has made you priest in place of Jehoiada. 505 He has put you in charge in the Lord’s temple of controlling 506 any lunatic 507 who pretends to be a prophet. 508 And it is your duty to put any such person in the stocks 509 with an iron collar around his neck. 510 29:27 You should have reprimanded Jeremiah from Anathoth who is pretending to be a prophet among you! 511 29:28 For he has even sent a message to us here in Babylon. He wrote and told us, 512 “You will be there a long time. Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat what they produce.”’” 513
29:29 Zephaniah the priest read that letter to the prophet Jeremiah. 514 29:30 Then the Lord spoke to Jeremiah. 29:31 “Send a message to all the exiles in Babylon. Tell them, ‘The Lord has spoken about Shemaiah the Nehelamite. “Shemaiah has spoken to you as a prophet even though I did not send him. He is making you trust in a lie. 515 29:32 Because he has done this,” 516 the Lord says, “I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his whole family. There will not be any of them left to experience the good things that I will do for my people. I, the Lord, affirm it! For he counseled rebellion against the Lord.”’” 517
[21:1] 1 tn Heb “The word which came to Jeremiah from the
[21:1] 2 sn Zedekiah was the last king of Judah. He ruled from 597
[21:1] 3 sn The Pashhur son of Malkijah referred to here is not the same as the Pashhur referred to in 20:1-6 who was the son of Immer. This Pashhur is referred to later in 38:1. The Zephaniah referred to here was the chief of security referred to later in Jer 29:25-26. He appears to have been favorably disposed toward Jeremiah.
[21:1] 4 tn Heb “sent to him…Maaseiah, saying,….”
[21:2] 5 tn The verb used here is often used of seeking information through a prophet (e.g., 2 Kgs 1:16; 8:8) and hence many translate “inquire of the
[21:2] 6 tn The dominant spelling of this name is actually Nebuchadrezzar which is closer to his Babylonian name Nebu kudduri uzzur. An alternate spelling which is found 6 times in the book of Jeremiah and 17 times elsewhere is Nebuchadnezzar which is the form of the name that is usually used in English versions.
[21:2] sn Nebuchadnezzar was the second and greatest king of Babylon. He is known in the Bible both for his two conquests of Jerusalem in 597
[21:2] 7 tn Heb “Perhaps the
[21:2] sn The miracles that they may have had in mind would have included the Exodus, the conquest of Jericho, the deliverance of Jehoshaphat (2 Chr 20:1-30), etc., but predominant in their minds was probably the deliverance of Jerusalem from Sennacherib in the times of Hezekiah (Isa 37:33-38).
[21:4] 8 tn Heb “Tell Zedekiah, ‘Thus says the
[21:4] 9 tn Heb “the weapons which are in your hand.” Weapons stands here by substitution for the soldiers who wield them.
[21:4] 10 sn The Babylonians (Heb “the Chaldeans”). The Chaldeans were a group of people in the country south of Babylon from which Nebuchadnezzar came. The Chaldean dynasty his father established became the name by which the Babylonians are regularly referred to in the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah’s contemporary Ezekiel uses both terms.
[21:4] 11 tn The structure of the Hebrew sentence of this verse is long and complex and has led to a great deal of confusion and misunderstanding. There are two primary points of confusion: 1) the relation of the phrase “outside the walls,” and 2) the antecedent of “them” in the last clause of the verse that reads in Hebrew: “I will gather them back into the midst of the city.” Most take the phrase “outside the walls” with “the Babylonians….” Some take it with “turn back/bring back” to mean “from outside….” However, the preposition “from” is part of the idiom for “outside….” The phrase goes with “fighting” as J. Bright (Jeremiah [AB], 215) notes and as NJPS suggests. The antecedent of “them” has sometimes been taken mistakenly to refer to the Babylonians. It refers rather to “the forces at your disposal” which is literally “the weapons which are in your hands.” This latter phrase is a figure involving substitution (called metonymy) as Bright also correctly notes. The whole sentence reads in Hebrew: “I will bring back the weapons of war which are in your hand with which you are fighting Nebuchadrezzar the King of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside your wall and I will gather them into the midst of the city.” The sentence has been restructured to better reflect the proper relationships and to make the sentence conform more to contemporary English style.
[21:5] 12 tn Heb “with outstretched hand and with strong arm.” These are, of course, figurative of God’s power and might. He does not literally have hands and arms.
[21:5] sn The phrases in this order are unique but a very similar phrase “by strong hand and outstretched arm” are found several times with reference to God’s mighty power unleashed against Egypt at the exodus (cf., Deut 4:34; 5:15; 26:8; Jer 32:21; Ps 136:12). Instead of being directed at Israel’s enemies it will now be directed against her.
[21:6] 13 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[21:7] 14 tn Heb “And afterward.”
[21:7] 15 tn Heb “oracle of the
[21:8] 16 tn Heb “And/But unto this people you shall say…” “But” is suggested here by the unusual word order which offsets what they are to say to Zedekiah (v. 3).
[21:8] 17 tn Heb “these people.”
[21:8] 18 tn Heb “Behold I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death.”
[21:9] 19 tn Heb “his life will be to him for spoil.”
[21:9] sn Spoil was what was carried off by the victor (see, e.g., Judg 5:30). Those who surrendered to the Babylonians would lose their property, their freedom, and their citizenship but would at least escape with their lives. Jeremiah was branded a traitor for this counsel (cf. 38:4) but it was the way of wisdom since the
[21:10] 20 tn Heb “oracle of the
[21:10] 21 tn Heb “I have set my face against this city for evil [i.e., disaster] and not for good [i.e., well-being].” For the use of the idiom “set one’s face against/toward” see, e.g., usage in 1 Kgs 2:15; 2 Kgs 2:17; Jer 42:15, 17 and note the interesting interplay of usage in Jer 44:11-12.
[21:10] 22 tn Heb “he will burn it with fire.”
[21:11] 23 tn The words “The
[21:11] 24 tn Heb “house” or “household.” It is clear from 22:1-6 that this involved the King, the royal family, and the court officials.
[21:12] 25 tn Heb “house of David.” This is essentially equivalent to the royal court in v. 11.
[21:12] 26 tn Heb “to the morning” = “morning by morning” or “each morning.” See Isa 33:2 and Amos 4:4 for parallel usage.
[21:12] 27 sn The kings of Israel and Judah were responsible for justice. See Pss 122:5. The king himself was the final court of appeals judging from the incident of David with the wise woman of Tekoa (2 Sam 14), Solomon and the two prostitutes (1 Kgs 3:16-28), and Absalom’s attempts to win the hearts of the people of Israel by interfering with due process (2 Sam 15:2-4). How the system was designed to operate may be seen from 2 Chr 19:4-11.
[21:12] 28 tn Heb “from the hand [or power] of.”
[21:12] 29 tn Heb “Lest my wrath go out like fire and burn with no one to put it out because of the evil of your deeds.”
[21:13] 30 tn Or “Listen, Jerusalem, you…”; Heb text of v. 21a-b reads, “Behold I am against you [fem. sg.], O inhabitant [fem. sg.] of the valley [and of] the rock of the plain, oracle of the
[21:13] 31 tn Heb “I am against you.”
[21:13] 32 tn Heb “oracle of the
[21:13] 33 tn Heb “Who can swoop…Who can penetrate…?” The questions are rhetorical and expect a negative answer. They are rendered as negative affirmations for clarity.
[21:13] sn What is being expressed here is the belief in the inviolability of Zion/Jerusalem carried to its extreme. Signal deliverances of Jerusalem such as those experienced under Jehoshaphat (2 Chr 20) and Hezekiah (Isa 37:36-37) in the context of promises to protect it (Isa 31:4-5; 37:33-35; 38:6) led to a belief that Zion was unconquerable. This belief found expression in several of Israel’s psalms (Pss 46, 48, 76) and led to the mistaken assumption that God would protect it regardless of how the people treated God or one another. Micah and Jeremiah both deny that (cf. Mic 3:8-12; Jer 21:13-14).
[21:14] 34 tn Heb “oracle of the
[21:14] 35 tn Heb “I will set fire in its forest and it will devour its surroundings.” The pronouns are actually third feminine singular going back to the participle “you who sit enthroned above the valley.” However, this is another example of those rapid shifts in pronouns typical of the biblical Hebrew style which are uncommon in English. They have regularly been leveled to the same person throughout in the translation to avoid possible confusion for the English reader.
[22:1] 36 tn The word “me “ is not in the text. It is, however, implicit and is supplied in the translation for clarity.
[22:1] 37 sn The allusion here is to going down from the temple to the palace which was on a lower eminence. See 36:12 in its context.
[22:1] 38 tn Heb “And speak there this word:” The translation is intended to eliminate an awkward and lengthy sentence.
[22:2] 39 tn Heb “who sits on David’s throne.”
[22:2] 40 tn Heb “Hear the word of the
[22:3] 41 tn Heb “from the hand [or power] of.”
[22:3] 42 tn Heb “aliens, orphans, or widows” treating the terms as generic or collective. However, the term “alien” carries faulty connotations and the term “orphan” is not totally appropriate because the Hebrew term does not necessarily mean that both parents have died.
[22:3] sn These were classes of people who had no one to look out for their rights. The laws of Israel, however, were careful to see that their rights were guarded (cf. Deut 10:18) and that provision was made for meeting their needs (cf. Deut 24:19-21). The
[22:3] 43 tn Heb “Do not shed innocent blood.”
[22:3] sn Do not kill innocent people. For an example of one of the last kings who did this see Jer 36:20-23. Manasseh was notorious for having done this and the book of 2 Kgs attributes the ultimate destruction of Judah to this crime and his sin of worshiping false gods (2 Kgs 21:16; 24:4).
[22:4] 44 tn The translation here reflects the emphasizing infinitive absolute before the verb.
[22:4] 45 tn Heb “There will come through the gates of this city the kings…riding in chariots and on horses, they and their officials…” The structure of the original text is broken up here because of the long compound subject which would make the English sentence too long. Compare 17:25 for the structure and wording of this sentence.
[22:5] 46 sn Heb “I swear by myself.” Oaths were guaranteed by invoking the name of a god or swearing by “his life.” See Jer 12:16; 44:26. Since the
[22:5] 47 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[22:6] 48 tn Heb “Gilead you are to me, the height of Lebanon, but I will surely make you a wilderness [with] cities uninhabited.” The points of comparison are made explicit in the translation for the sake of clarity. See the study note for further explanation. For the use of the preposition לְ (lamed) = “in my eyes/in my opinion” see BDB 513 s.v. לְ 5.a(d) and compare Jonah 3:3; Esth 10:3. For the use of the particles אִם לֹא (’im lo’) to introduce an emphatic oath see BDB 50 s.v. אִם 1.b(2).
[22:6] sn Lebanon was well known for its cedars and the palace (and the temple) had used a good deal of such timber in its construction (see 1 Kgs 5:6, 8-10; 7:2-3). In this section several references are made to cedar (see vv. 7, 14, 15, 23) and allusion has also been made to the paneled and colonnade armory of the Forest of Lebanon (2:14). It appears to have been a source of pride and luxury, perhaps at the expense of justice. Gilead was also noted in antiquity for its forests as well as for its fertile pastures.
[22:7] 49 sn Heb “I will sanctify destroyers against it.” If this is not an attenuated use of the term “sanctify” the traditions of Israel’s holy wars are being turned against her. See also 6:4. In Israel’s early wars in the wilderness and in the conquest, the
[22:10] 50 tn The word “king” is not in the original text of either the first or the third line. It is implicit in the connection and is supplied in the translation for clarity.
[22:10] sn As the next verse makes clear, the king who will never return to see his native land is Shallum, also known as Jehoahaz (cf. 1 Chr 3:15; 2 Kgs 23:30, 33-34). He was made king by popular acclaim after the death of his father, Josiah, who was killed at Megiddo trying to stop Pharaoh Necho from going to the aid of the Assyrians. According to 2 Kgs 23:32 he was a wicked king. He was deposed by Necho and carried into exile where he died. The dead king alluded to is his father, Josiah, who was a godly king and was accordingly spared from seeing the destruction of his land (2 Kgs 22:20).
[22:11] 51 tn Heb “For thus said the
[22:12] 52 sn This prophecy was fulfilled according to 2 Kgs 23:34.
[22:13] 53 sn Heb “Woe.” This particle is used in laments for the dead (cf., e.g., 1 Kgs 13:30; Jer 34:5) and as an introductory particle in indictments against a person on whom judgment is pronounced (cf., e.g., Isa 5:8, 11; Jer 23:1). The indictment is found here in vv. 13-17 and the announcement of judgment in vv. 18-19.
[22:13] 54 tn Heb “Woe to the one who builds his house by unrighteousness and its upper rooms with injustice using his neighbor [= countryman] as a slave for nothing and not giving to him his wages.”
[22:13] sn This was a clear violation of covenant law (cf. Deut 24:14-15) and a violation of the requirements set forth in Jer 22:3. The allusion is to Jehoiakim who is not mentioned until v. 18. He was placed on the throne by Pharaoh Necho and ruled from 609-598
[22:14] 55 tc The MT should be emended to read חַלֹּנָיו וְסָפוֹן (khallonayv vÿsafon) instead of חַלֹּנָי וְסָפוּן (khallonay vÿsafon), i.e., the plural noun with third singular suffix rather than the first singular suffix and the infinitive absolute rather than the passive participle. The latter form then parallels the form for “paints” and functions in the same way (cf. GKC 345 §113.z for the infinitive with vav [ו] continuing a perfect). The errors in the MT involve reading the וְ once instead of twice (haplography) and reading the וּ (u) for the וֹ (o).
[22:14] 56 tn The word translated “red” only occurs here and in Ezek 23:14 where it refers to the pictures of the Babylonians on the wall of the temple. Evidently this was a favorite color for decoration. It is usually identified as vermilion, a mineral product from red ocher (cf. C. L. Wickwire, “Vermilion,” IDB 4:748).
[22:15] 57 tn For the use of this verb see Jer 12:5 where it is used of Jeremiah “competing” with horses. The form is a rare Tiphel (see GKC 153 §55.h).
[22:15] 58 tn Heb “Your father, did he not eat and drink and do justice and right.” The copulative vav in front of the verbs here (all Hebrew perfects) shows that these actions are all coordinate not sequential. The contrast drawn here between the actions of Jehoiakim and Josiah show that the phrase eating and drinking should be read in the light of the same contrasts in Eccl 2 which ends with the note of contentment in Eccl 2:24 (see also Eccl 3:13; 5:18 [5:17 HT]; 8:15). The question is, of course, rhetorical setting forth the positive role model against which Jehoiakim’s actions are to be condemned. The key terms here are “then things went well with him” which is repeated in the next verse after the reiteration of Josiah’s practice of justice.
[22:15] 59 sn The father referred to here is the godly king Josiah. He followed the requirements for kings set forth in 22:3 in contrast to his son who did not (22:13).
[22:16] 60 tn The words “for Judah” are not in the text, but the absence of the preposition plus object as in the preceding verse suggests that this is a more general statement, i.e., “things went well for everyone.”
[22:16] 61 tn Heb “Is that not what it means to know me.” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer. It is translated in the light of the context.
[22:16] sn Comparison of the usage of the words “know me” in their context in Jer 2:8; 9:3, 6, 24 and here will show that more than mere intellectual knowledge is involved. It involves also personal commitment to God and obedience to the demands of the agreements with him. The word “know” is used in ancient Near Eastern treaty contexts of submission to the will of the overlord. See further the notes on 9:3.
[22:17] 62 tn Heb “Your eyes and your heart do not exist except for dishonest gain and for innocent blood to shed [it] and for fraud and for oppression to do [them].” The sentence has been broken up to conform more to English style and the significance of “eyes” and “heart” explained before they are introduced into the translation.
[22:18] 63 sn This is the regular way of introducing the announcement of judgment after an indictment of crimes. See, e.g., Isa 5:13, 14; Jer 23:2.
[22:18] 64 tn The translation follows the majority of scholars who think that the address of brother and sister are the address of the mourners to one another, lamenting their loss. Some scholars feel that all four terms are parallel and represent the relation that the king had metaphorically to his subjects; i.e., he was not only Lord and Majesty to them but like a sister or a brother. In that case something like: “How sad it is for the one who was like a brother to us! How sad it is for the one who was like a sister to us.” This makes for poor poetry and is not very likely. The lover can call his bride sister in Song of Solomon (Song 4:9, 10) but there are no documented examples of a subject ever speaking of a king in this way in Israel or the ancient Near East.
[22:19] 65 sn A similar judgment against this ungodly king is pronounced by Jeremiah in 36:30. According to 2 Chr 36:6 he was bound over to be taken captive to Babylon but apparently died before he got there. According to the Jewish historian Josephus, Nebuchadnezzar ordered his body thrown outside the wall in fulfillment of this judgment. The Bible itself, however, does not tell us that.
[22:19] map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[22:20] 66 tn The words “people of Jerusalem” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation to clarify the referent of the imperative. The imperative is feminine singular and it is generally agreed that personified Zion/Jerusalem is in view. The second feminine singular has commonly been applied to Jerusalem or the people of Judah throughout the book. The reference to allies (v. 20, 22) and to leaders (v. 22) make it very probable that this is the case here too.
[22:20] map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[22:20] 67 tn Heb “from Abarim.” This was the mountain range in Moab from which Moses viewed the promised land (cf. Deut 32:49).
[22:20] 68 tn Heb “your lovers.” For the usage of this term to refer to allies see 30:14 and a semantically similar term in 4:30.
[22:20] sn If the passages in this section are chronologically ordered, this refers to the help that Jehoiakim relied on when he rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar.
[22:21] 69 tn Heb “I spoke to you in your security.” The reference is to the sending of the prophets. Compare this context with the context of 7:25. For the nuance “security” for this noun (שַׁלְוָה, shalvah) rather than “prosperity” as many translate see Pss 122:7; 30:6 and the related adjective (שָׁלֵו, shalev) in Jer 49:31; Job 16:2; 21:23.
[22:21] 70 tn Heb “from your youth.” Compare the usage in 2:2; 3:24 and compare a similar idea in 7:25.
[22:22] 71 tn Heb “A wind will shepherd away all your shepherds.” The figures have all been interpreted in the translation for the sake of clarity. For the use of the word “wind” as a metaphor or simile for God’s judgment (using the enemy forces) see 4:11-12; 13:24; 18:17. For the use of the word “shepherd” to refer to rulers/leaders 2:8; 10:21; and 23:1-4. For the use of the word “shepherd away” in the sense of carry off/drive away see BDB 945 s.v. רָעָה 2.d and compare Job 20:26. There is an obvious wordplay involved in two different senses of the word “shepherd,” one referring to their leaders and one referring to the loss of those leaders by the wind driving them off. There may even be a further play involving the word “wickedness” which comes from a word having the same consonants. If the oracles in this section are chronologically ordered this threat was fulfilled in 597
[22:22] 72 tn The use of the Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) is intensive here and probably also at the beginning of the last line of v. 21. (See BDB 472 s.v. כִּי 1.e.)
[22:23] 73 tn Heb “You who dwell in Lebanon, you who are nested in its cedars, how you….” The metaphor has been interpreted for the sake of clarity. The figure here has often been interpreted of the people of Jerusalem living in paneled houses or living in a city dominated by the temple and palace which were built from the cedars of Lebanon. Some even interpret this as a reference to the king who has been characterized as living in a cedar palace, in a veritable Lebanon (cf. vv. 6-7, 14 and see also the alternate interpretation of 21:13-14). However, the reference to “nesting in the cedars” and the earlier reference to “feeling secure” suggests that the figure is rather like that of Ezek 31:6 and Dan 4:12. See also Hab 2:9 where a related figure is used. The forms for “you who dwell” and “you who are nested” in the literal translation are feminine singular participles referring again to personified Jerusalem. (The written forms of these participles are to be explained as participles with a hireq campaginis according to GKC 253 §90.m. The use of the participle before the preposition is to be explained according to GKC 421 §130.a.)
[22:23] 74 tn The verb here should be identified as a Niphal perfect of the verb אָנַח (’anakh) with the א (aleph) left out (so BDB 336 s.v. חָנַן Niph and GKC 80 §23.f, n. 1). The form is already translated that way by the Greek, Latin, and Syriac versions.
[22:23] 75 sn This simile has already been used in Jer 4:31; 6:24 in conjunction with Zion/Jerusalem’s judgment.
[22:24] 76 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[22:24] 77 tn Heb “Coniah.” This is the spelling of this king’s name here and in v. 28 and 37:1. Elsewhere in Jeremiah he is called Jeconiah (24:1; 27:20; 28:4; 29:2 [see also 1 Chr 3:16, 17; Esth 2:6]) and Jehoiachin (52:31, 33 [see also 2 Kgs 24:6, 8, 12, 15; 25:27, 29; 2 Chr 36:8, 9; Ezek 1:2]). For the sake of consistency the present translation uses the name Jeconiah throughout.
[22:24] sn According to 2 Kgs 24:8-9 Jeconiah (= Jehoiachin) succeeded his father Jehoiakim and evidently followed in his anti-Babylon, anti-God stance. He surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar shortly after he became king and along with his mother, his family, his officials, and some of the leading men of Jerusalem and Judah was carried into exile in 597
[22:24] 78 tn Heb “As surely as I live, Jeconiah, King of Judah, son of Jehoiakim will not be a signet ring on my right hand. Indeed I will tear you off from it [i.e., pull you off of my finger as a signet ring].” The signet ring was the king’s seal by which he verified all his legal and political transactions. To have the signet ring was to exercise authority in the king’s name. For examples of this see Gen 41:42, 43; 1 Kgs 21:8; Esth 3:10; 8:2. The figure has been interpreted in the translation for the sake of clarity. The particles כִּי אִם (ki ’im) that stand after the oath formula “As I live” introduce a negative statement according to the usage of Hebrew grammar (cf. BDB 474 s.v. כִּי אִם 1.a and BDB 50 s.v. אִם 1.b[2] and compare 2 Sam 3:35). The particle כִּי that stands in front of “I will tear you off” introduces a positive affirmation according to the same rules of Hebrew grammar (cf. BDB 472 s.v. כִּי 1.c and compare 1 Sam 14:39, 44). The
[22:24] sn According to the Davidic covenant the Davidic king sat on God’s throne over God’s kingdom, Israel (cf. 2 Chr 29:30; 28:5). As God’s representative he ruled in God’s stead and could even be addressed figuratively as God (cf. Ps 45:6 [45:7 HT]) and compare the same phenomenon for the earthly judges, Exod 22:7-8; Ps 82:1, 6). Jeconiah is being denied the right to function any longer as the Davidic king and any hopes of ever regaining that right in his lifetime or through the succession of his sons is also denied. This oracle is reversed by the later oracle of the prophet Haggai to his grandson Zerubbabel in Hag 2:20-23 and both Jeconiah and Zerubbabel are found in the genealogy of Christ in Matt 1:12-13.
[22:25] 79 tn Heb “the Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4.
[22:26] 80 tn Heb “I will hurl you and your mother…into another land where…” The verb used here is very forceful. It is the verb used for Saul throwing a spear at David (1 Sam 18:11) and for the
[22:27] 81 tn Heb “And unto the land to which they lift up their souls to return there, there they will not return.” Once again there is a sudden shift in person from the second plural to the third plural. As before the translation levels the pronouns to avoid confusion. For the idiom “to lift up the soul to” = “to long/yearn to/for” see BDB 670 s.v. נָשָׂא 1.b(9).
[22:28] 82 tn The word translated “clay vessel” occurs only here. Its meaning, however, is assured on the basis of the parallelism and on the basis of the verb root which is used for shaping or fashioning in Job 10:8. The KJV renders it as “idol,” but that word, while having the same consonants, never appears in the singular. The word is missing in the Greek version but is translated “vessel” in the Latin version. The word “clay” is supplied in the translation to clarify what sort of vessel is meant; its inclusion is justified based on the context and the use of the same verb root in Job 10:8 to refer to shaping or fashioning, which would imply clay pots or vessels.
[22:28] 83 tn Heb “Is this man, Coniah, a despised, broken vessel or a vessel that no one wants?” The question is rhetorical expecting a positive answer in agreement with the preceding oracle.
[22:28] sn For the image of the rejected, broken vessel see Jer 19:1-13 (where, however, the vessel is rejected first and then broken) and compare also the image of the linen shorts which are good for nothing in Jer 13 (see especially vv. 10-11).
[22:28] 84 sn The question “Why?” is a common rhetorical feature in the book of Jeremiah. See Jer 2:14, 31; 8:5, 19, 22; 12:1; 13:22; 14:19. In several cases like this one no answer is given, leaving a sense of exasperation and hopelessness with the sinfulness of the nation that calls forth such punishment from God.
[22:29] 85 tn There is no certain explanation for the triple repetition of the word “land” here. F. B. Huey (Jeremiah, Lamentations [NAC], 209) suggests the idea of exasperation, but exasperation at what? Their continued apostasy which made these exiles necessary? Or exasperation at their pitiful hopes of seeing Jeconiah restored? Perhaps “pitiful, pitiful, pitiful land of Judah” would convey some of the force of the repetition without being any more suggestive of why the land is so addressed.
[22:30] 86 tn Heb “Write this man childless.” For the explanation see the study note. The word translated “childless” has spawned some debate because Jeconiah was in fact not childless. There is record from both the Bible and ancient Near Eastern texts that he had children (see, e.g., 1 Chr 3:17). G. R. Driver, “Linguistic and Textual Problems: Jeremiah,” JQR 28 (1937-38): 115, has suggested that the word both here and in Lev 20:20-21 should be translated “stripped of honor.” While that would relieve some of the difficulties here, the word definitely means “childless” in Gen 15:2 and also in Sir 16:3 where it is contrasted with having godless children. The issue is not one of childlessness but of having “one of his sons” succeed to the Davidic throne. The term for “one of his sons” is literally “from his seed a man” and the word “seed” is the same one that is used to refer to his “children” who were forced into exile with him (v. 28).
[22:30] sn The figure here is of registering a person on an official roll of citizens, etc. (cf. Num 11:26; 1 Chr 4:41; Ps 87:6). Here it probably refers to the “king list” of dynastic succession. While Jeconiah did have children (2 Chr 3:17) none of them ever returned to Judah or ruled over it. What is being denied here is his own succession and that of his immediate sons contrary to the popular hopes expressed in Jer 28:4. His grandson Zerubbabel did return to Judah, became governor (Hag 1:1; 2:2), and along with the high priest Joshua was responsible for rebuilding the second temple (e.g., Ezra 5:2).
[23:1] 87 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[23:1] 88 sn Heb This particle once again introduces a judgment speech. The indictment is found in v. 1 and the announcement of judgment in v. 2. This leads into an oracle of deliverance in vv. 3-4. See also the note on the word “judged” in 22:13.
[23:1] 89 tn Heb “Woe to the shepherds who are killing and scattering the sheep of my pasture.” See the study note on 22:13 for the significance of “Sure to be judged” (Heb “Woe”) See the study note for the significance of the metaphor introduced here.
[23:1] sn Verses 1-4 of ch. 23 are an extended metaphor in which the rulers are compared to shepherds and the people are compared to sheep. This metaphor has already been met with in 10:21 and is found elsewhere in the context of the
[23:2] 90 tn Heb “about the shepherds who are shepherding my people. ‘You have caused my sheep….’” For the metaphor see the study note on the previous verse.
[23:2] 91 tn Heb “Therefore, thus says the
[23:2] 92 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[23:3] 94 tn Heb “their fold.”
[23:4] 96 tn There are various nuances of the word פָּקַד (paqad) represented in vv. 2, 4. See Ps 8:4 (8:5 HT) and Zech 10:3 for “care for/take care of” (cf. BDB 823 s.v. פָּקַד Qal.A.1.a). See Exod 20:5; Amos 3:2; Jer 9:24; 11:22 for “punish” (cf. BDB 823 s.v. פָּקַד Qal.A.3). See 1 Kgs 20:39 and 2 Kgs 10:19 for “be missing” (cf. BDB 823 s.v. פָּקַד Niph.1).
[23:4] sn There is an extended play on the Hebrew word פָּקַד which is a word with rather broad English equivalents. Here the word refers to the fault of the shepherds/rulers who have not “taken care” of the sheep/people (v. 2), the “punishment” for the evil they have done in not taking care of them (v. 2), and the fact that after the
[23:4] 97 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[23:5] 98 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[23:5] 99 tn Heb “Behold the days are coming.”
[23:5] 100 tn Heb “a righteous sprig to David” or “a righteous shoot” (NAB).
[23:5] sn This passage and the parallel in Jer 33:15 are part of a growing number of prayers and prophecies regarding an ideal ruler to come forth from the Davidic line who will bring the justice, security, and well-being that the continuing line of Davidic rulers did not. Though there were periodic kings like Josiah who did fulfill the ideals set forth in Jer 22:3 (see Jer 22:15), by and large they were more like Jehoiakim who did not (see Jer 22:13). Hence the
[23:5] 101 tn Heb “he will reign as king and act wisely.” This is another example of the use of two verbs joined by “and” where one becomes the adverbial modifier of the other (hendiadys). For the nuance of the verb “act wisely” rather than “prosper” see Amos 5:13; Ps 2:10 (cf. BDB 968 s.v. שָׂכַל Hiph.5).
[23:5] 102 sn This has been the constant emphasis in this section. See 22:3 for the demand, 22:15 for its fulfillment, and 22:13 for its abuse. The ideal king would follow in the footsteps of his illustrious ancestor David (2 Sam 8:15) who set this forth as an ideal for his dynasty (2 Sam 23:3) and prayed for it to be true of his son Solomon (Ps 72:1-2).
[23:6] 103 tn Heb “In his days [= during the time he rules].”
[23:6] 104 tn Parallelism and context (cf. v. 4) suggest this nuance for the word often translated “be saved.” For this nuance elsewhere see Ps 119:117; Prov 28:18 for the verb (יָשַׁע [yasha’] in the Niphal); and Ps 12:6; Job 5:4, 11 for the related noun (יֶשַׁע, yesha’).
[23:6] 105 sn It should be noted that this brief oracle of deliverance implies the reunification of Israel and Judah under the future Davidic ruler. Jeremiah has already spoken about this reunification earlier in 3:18 and will have more to say about it in 30:3; 31:27, 31. This same ideal was espoused in the prophecies of Hosea (1:10-11 [2:1-2 HT]), Isaiah (11:1-4, 10-12), and Ezekiel (37:15-28) all of which have messianic and eschatological significance.
[23:6] 106 tn Heb “his name will be called ‘The
[23:6] sn The Hebrew word translated “justice” here is very broad in its usage, and it is hard to catch all the relevant nuances for this word in this context. It is used for “vindication” in legal contexts (see, e.g., Job 6:29), for “deliverance” or “salvation” in exilic contexts (see, e.g., Isa 58:8), and in the sense of ruling, judging with “justice” (see, e.g., Lev 19:15; Isa 32:1). Here it probably sums up the justice that the
[23:7] 107 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[23:7] 108 tn Heb “Behold the days are coming.”
[23:8] 109 tn Heb “descendants of the house of Israel.”
[23:8] 110 tc It is probably preferable to read the third masculine singular plus suffix (הִדִּיחָם, hiddikham) here with the Greek version and the parallel passage in 16:15 rather than the first singular plus suffix in the MT (הִדַּחְתִּים, hiddakhtim). If this is not a case of mere graphic confusion, the MT could have arisen under the influence of the first person in v. 3. Though sudden shifts in person have been common in the book of Jeremiah, that is unlikely in a context reporting an oath.
[23:8] 111 tn This passage is the same as 16:14-15 with a few minor variations in Hebrew wording. The notes on that passage should be consulted for the rendering here. This passage has the Niphal of the verb “to say” rather than the impersonal use of the Qal. It adds the idea of “bringing out” to the idea of “bringing up out” and (Heb “who brought up and who brought out,” probably a case of hendiadys) before “the people [here “seed” rather than “children”] of Israel [here “house of Israel”] from the land of the north.” These are minor variations and do not affect the sense in any way. So the passage is rendered in much the same way.
[23:8] sn This passage looks forward to a new and greater Exodus, one that so outstrips the earlier one that the earlier will not serve as the model of deliverance any longer. This same ideal was the subject of Isaiah’s earlier prophecies in Isa 11:11-12, 15-16; 43:16-21; 49:8-13; 51: 1-11.
[23:9] 112 sn Jeremiah has already had a good deal to say about the false prophets and their fate. See 2:8, 26; 5:13, 31; 14:13-15. Here he parallels the condemnation of the wicked prophets and their fate (23:9-40) with that of the wicked kings (21:11-22:30).
[23:9] 113 tn The word “false” is not in the text, but it is clear from the context that these are whom the sayings are directed against. The words “Here is what the
[23:9] 114 tn Heb “My heart is crushed within me. My bones tremble.” It has already been noted several times that the “heart” in ancient Hebrew psychology was the intellectual and volitional center of the person, the kidneys were the emotional center, and the bones the locus of strength and also the subject of joy, distress, and sorrow. Here Jeremiah is speaking of his distress of heart and mind in modern psychology, a distress that leads him to trembling of body which he compares to that of a drunken person staggering around under the influence of wine.
[23:9] 115 tn Heb “wine has passed over him.”
[23:9] 116 tn Heb “wine because of the
[23:9] sn The way the
[23:10] 117 tn Heb “adulterers.” But spiritual adultery is clearly meant as also in 3:8-9; 9:2, and probably also 5:7.
[23:10] 118 tn For the word translated “They live…lives” see usage in Jer 8:6. For the idea of “misusing” their power (Heb “their power is not right” i.e., used in the wrong way) see 2 Kgs 7:9; 17:9. In the original text this line (really two lines in the Hebrew poetry) are at the end of the verse. However, this places the antecedent too far away and could lead to confusion. The lines have been rearranged to avoid such confusion.
[23:10] 119 tn For the use of this verb see 12:4 and the note there.
[23:10] 120 tc The translation follows the majority of Hebrew
[23:10] sn The curse is, of course, the covenant curse. See Deut 29:20-21 (29:19-20 HT) and for the specific curse see Deut 28:23-24. The curse is appropriate since their “adultery” lay in attributing their fertility to the god Baal (see Hos 2:9-13 (2:11-15 HT) and violating the covenant (see Hos 4:1-3).
[23:11] 121 tn The particle כִּי (ki) which begins this verse is parallel to the one at the beginning of the preceding verse. However, the connection is too distant to render it “for.” “Moreover” is intended to draw the parallel. The words “the
[23:11] 122 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[23:12] 123 tn For the last two lines see 11:23 and the notes there.
[23:12] 124 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[23:13] 125 tn The words “The
[23:13] 126 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[23:13] 127 tn According to BDB 1074 s.v. תִּפְלָּה this word means “unseemly, unsavory.” The related adjective is used in Job 6:6 of the tastelessness of something that is unseasoned.
[23:13] sn Prophesying in the name of the god Baal was a clear violation of Mosaic law and punishable by death (see Deut 13:1-5). For an example of the apostasy encouraged by prophets of Baal in the northern kingdom of Israel see 1 Kgs 18:16-40.
[23:14] 129 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[23:14] 130 tn Or “they commit adultery and deal falsely.” The word “shocking” only occurs here and in 5:30 where it is found in the context of prophesying lies. This almost assures that the reference to “walking in lies” (Heb “in the lie”) is referring to false prophesy. Moreover the references to the prophets in 5:13 and in 14:13-15 are all in the context of false prophesy as are the following references in this chapter in 23:24, 26, 32 and in 28:15. This appears to be the theme of this section. This also makes it likely that the reference to adultery is not literal adultery, though two of the false prophets in Babylon were guilty of this (29:23). The reference to “encouraging those who do evil” that follows also makes more sense if they were preaching messages of comfort rather than messages of doom. The verbs here are infinitive absolutes in place of the finite verb, probably used to place greater emphasis on the action (cf. Hos 4:2 in a comparable judgment speech.)
[23:14] 131 tn Heb “So they strengthen the hands of those doing evil so that they do not turn back from their evil.” For the use of the figure “strengthen the hands” meaning “encourage” see Judg 9:24; Ezek 13:22 (and cf. BDB 304 s.v. חָזַק Piel.2). The vav consecutive on the front of the form gives the logical consequence equivalent to “so” in the translation.
[23:14] 132 tn Heb “All of them are to me like Sodom and its [Jerusalem’s] inhabitants like Gomorrah.”
[23:14] sn The rhetoric of this passage is very forceful. Like Amos who focuses attention on the sins of the surrounding nations to bring out more forcefully the heinousness of Israel’s sin, God focuses attention on the sins of the prophets of Samaria to bring out the even worse sin of the prophets of Jerusalem. (The oracle is directed at them, not at the prophets of Samaria. See the announcement of judgment that follows.) The
[23:15] 133 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
[23:15] sn See the study note on 2:19 for explanation of this title.
[23:15] 134 tn Heb “Therefore, thus says the
[23:15] 135 tn Heb “I will feed this people wormwood and make them drink poison water.” For these same words of judgment on another group see 9:15 (9:14 HT). “Wormwood” and “poison water” are not to be understood literally here but are symbolic of judgment and suffering. See, e.g., BDB 542 s.v. לַעֲנָה.
[23:15] 136 tn The compound preposition מֵאֵת (me’et) expresses source or origin (see BDB 86 s.v. אֵת 4.c). Context shows that the origin is in their false prophesying which encourages people in their evil behavior.
[23:15] 137 sn A word that derives from this same Hebrew word is used in v. 11 at the beginning of the
[23:16] 138 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
[23:16] sn See the study note on 2:19 for explanation of this title.
[23:16] 139 tn The words “to the people of Jerusalem” are not in the Hebrew text but are supplied in the translation to reflect the masculine plural form of the imperative and the second masculine plural form of the pronoun. These words have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[23:16] 140 tn Heb “They tell of a vision of their own heart [= mind] not from the mouth of the
[23:17] 141 tn The translation reflects an emphatic construction where the infinitive absolute follows a participle (cf. GKC 343 §113.r).
[23:17] 142 tc The translation follows the Greek version. The Hebrew text reads, “who reject me, ‘The
[23:17] 143 tn Heb “You will have peace.” But see the note on 14:13. See also 6:14 and 8:11.
[23:18] 144 tn Or “has been the
[23:18] sn The
[23:18] 145 tn The form here is a jussive with a vav of subordination introducing a purpose after a question (cf. GKC 322 §109.f).
[23:18] 146 tc Heb “his word.” In the second instance (“what he has said” at the end of the verse) the translation follows the suggestion of the Masoretes (Qere) and many Hebrew
[23:19] 148 tn The syntax of this line has generally been misunderstood, sometimes to the point that some want to delete the word wrath. Both here and in 30:23 where these same words occur the word “anger” stands not as an accusative of attendant circumstance but an apposition, giving the intended referent to the figure. Comparison should be made with Jer 25:15 where “this wrath” is appositional to “the cup of wine” (cf. GKC 425 §131.k).
[23:19] 149 tn The translation is deliberate, intending to reflect the repetition of the Hebrew root which is “swirl/swirling.”
[23:20] 150 tn Heb “until he has done and until he has carried out the purposes of his heart.”
[23:20] 151 tn Heb “in the latter days.” However, as BDB 31 s.v. אַחֲרִית b suggests, the meaning of this idiom must be determined from the context. Sometimes it has remote, even eschatological, reference and other times it has more immediate reference as it does here and in Jer 30:23 where it refers to the coming days of Babylonian conquest and exile.
[23:20] 152 tn The translation is intended to reflect a Hebrew construction where a noun functions as the object of a verb from the same root word (the Hebrew cognate accusative).
[23:21] 153 tn Heb “Yet they ran.”
[23:21] sn The image is that of a messenger bearing news from the king. See 2 Sam 18:19-24; Jer 51:31; Isa 40:9; 52:7; Hab 2:2 (the tablet/scroll bore the message the runner was to read to the intended recipients of his message). Their message has been given in v. 17 (see notes there for cross references).
[23:22] 154 tn Or “had been my confidant.” See the note on v. 18.
[23:23] 155 tn The words “Do you people think” at the beginning of this verse and “Do you really think” at the beginning of the next verse are not in the text but are a way of trying to convey the nature of the rhetorical questions which expect a negative answer. They are also a way of trying to show that the verses are still connected with the preceding discussion addressed to the people (cf. 23:16, 20).
[23:23] 156 tn Heb “Am I a god nearby and not a god far off?” The question is sometimes translated as though there is an alternative being given in v. 23, one that covers both the ideas of immanence and transcendence (i.e., “Am I only a god nearby and not also a god far off?”). However, the hey interrogative (הַ) at the beginning of this verse and the particle (אִם, ’im) at the beginning of the next show that the linkage is between the question in v. 23 and that in v. 24a. According to BDB 210 s.v. הֲ 1.d both questions in this case expect a negative answer.
[23:23] sn The thought that is expressed here must be viewed against the background of ancient Near Eastern thought where gods were connected with different realms, e.g., Baal, the god of wind, rain, and fertility, Mot, the god of drought, infertility, and death, Yam, the god of the sea and of chaos. Moreover, Baal was worshiped in local manifestations as the Baal of Peor, Baal of Gad, etc. Hence, Baal is sometimes spoken of in the singular and sometimes in the plural. The
[23:23] 157 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[23:24] 158 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[23:24] 159 tn The words “Don’t you know” are not in the text. They are a way of conveying the idea that the question which reads literally “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” expects a positive answer. They follow the pattern used at the beginning of the previous two questions and continue that thought. The words are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[23:24] 160 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[23:25] 161 tn The words, “The
[23:25] 162 sn To have had a dream was not an illegitimate means of receiving divine revelation. God had revealed himself in the past to his servants through dreams (e.g., Jacob [Gen 31:10-11] and Joseph [Gen 37:6, 7, 9]) and God promised to reveal himself through dreams (Num 12:6; Joel 2:28 [3:1 HT]). What was illegitimate was to use the dream to lead people away from the
[23:26] 163 sn See the parallel passage in Jer 14:13-15.
[23:27] 164 tn The relation of the words to one another in v. 26 and the beginning of v. 27 has created difficulties for translators and commentators. The proper solution is reflected in the NJPS. Verses 26-27 read somewhat literally, “How long is there in the hearts of the prophets who are prophesying the lie and [in the hearts of] the prophets of the delusions of their [own] heart the plotting to cause my people to forget my name…” Most commentaries complain that the text is corrupt, that there is no subject for “is there.” However, the long construct qualification “in the hearts of” has led to the lack of observation that the proper subject is “the plotting to make my people forget.” There are no exact parallels but Jer 14:22; Neh 5:5 follow the same structure. The “How long” precedes the other means of asking a question for the purpose of emphasis (cf. BDB 210 s.v. הֲ 1.b and compare for example the usage in 2 Sam 7:7). There has also been a failure to see that “the prophets of the delusion of…” is a parallel construct noun after “heart of.” Stripping the syntax down to its barest minimum and translating literally, the sentence would read “How long will the plotting…continue in the hearts of the prophets who…and [in hearts of] the prophets of…” The sentence has been restructured in the translation to conform to contemporary English style but attempt has been made to maintain the same subordinations.
[23:27] sn In the OT, the “name” reflected the person’s character (cf. Gen 27:36; 1 Sam 25:25) or his reputation (Gen 11:4; 2 Sam 8:13). To speak in someone’s name was to act as his representative or carry his authority (1 Sam 25:9; 1 Kgs 21:8). To call someone’s name over something was to claim it for one’s own (2 Sam 12:28). Hence, here to forget the name is equivalent to forgetting who he was in his essential character (cf. Exod 3:13-15; 6:3; 34:5-7). By preaching lies they had obliterated part of his essential character and caused people to forget who he really was.
[23:27] 166 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 39).
[23:27] 167 tn Heb “through Baal.” This is an elliptical expression for the worship of Baal. See 11:17; 12:16; 19:5 for other references to their relation to Baal. There is a deliberate paralleling in the syntax here between “through their dreams” and “through Baal.”
[23:28] 168 tn Heb “What to the straw with [in comparison with] the grain?” This idiom represents an emphatic repudiation or denial of relationship. See, for example, the usage in 2 Sam 16:10 and note BDB 553 s.v. מָה 1.d(c).
[23:28] 169 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[23:29] 170 tn Heb “Is not my message like a fire?” The rhetorical question expects a positive answer that is made explicit in the translation. The words “that purges dross” are not in the text but are implicit to the metaphor. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[23:29] 171 tn Heb “Is it not like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?” See preceding note.
[23:29] 172 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[23:30] 173 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[23:30] 174 tn Heb “who are stealing my words from one another.” However, context shows that it is their own word which they claim is from the
[23:31] 175 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[23:31] 176 tn The word “The
[23:31] sn Jer 23:30-33 are filled with biting sarcasm. The verses all begin with “Behold I am against the prophets who…” and go on to describe their reprehensible behavior. They “steal” one another’s messages which the
[23:32] 177 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[23:32] 178 tn Heb “with their lies and their recklessness.” This is an example of hendiadys where two nouns (in this case a concrete and an abstract one) are joined by “and” but one is intended to be the adjectival modifier of the other.
[23:32] 179 sn In the light of what has been said this is a rhetorical understatement; they are not only “not helping,” they are leading them to their doom (cf. vv. 19-22). This figure of speech is known as litotes.
[23:32] 180 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[23:33] 181 tn The words “The
[23:33] 182 tn The meaning of vv. 33-40 is debated. The translation given here follows the general direction of NRSV and REB rather than that of NIV and the related direction taken by NCV and God’s Word. The meaning of vv. 33-40 are debated because of (1) the ambiguity involved in the word מָשָּׂא (masa’), which can mean either “burden” (as something carried or weighing heavily on a person; see, e.g., Exod 23:5; Num 4:27; 2 Sam 15:33; Ps 38:4) or “oracle” (of doom; see, e. g., Isa 13:1; Nah 1:1); (the translation is debated due to etymological concerns), (2) the ambiguity of the line in v. 36 which has been rendered “For what is ‘burdensome’ really pertains rather to what a person himself says” (Heb “the burden is to the man his word”), and (3) the text in v. 33 of “you are the burden.” Many commentaries see a wordplay on the two words “burden” and “oracle” which are homonyms. However, from the contrasts that are drawn in the passage, it is doubtful whether the nuance of “oracle” ever is in view. The word is always used in the prophets of an oracle of doom or judgment; it is not merely revelation of God which one of the common people would have been uttering (contra NIV). Jeremiah never uses the word in that sense nor does anyone else in the book of Jeremiah.
[23:33] sn What is in view here is the idea that the people consider Jeremiah’s views of loyalty to God and obedience to the covenant “burdensome.” I.e., what burdensome demands is the
[23:33] 183 tc The translation follows the Latin and Greek versions. The Hebrew text reads “What burden [i.e., burdensome message]?” The syntax of “what message?” is not in itself objectionable; the interrogative can function as an adjective (cf. BDB 552 s.v. מָה 1.a[a]). What is objectionable to virtually all the commentaries and lexicons is the unparalleled use of the accusative particle in front of the interrogative and the noun (see, e.g., BDB 672 s.v. III מָשָּׂא and GKC 365-66 §117.m, n. 3). The emendation only involves the redivision and revocalization of the same consonants: אֶת־מַה־מַשָּׂא (’et-mah-masa’) becomes אַתֶּם הַמָּשָּׂא (’atem hammasa’). This also makes a much more natural connection for the vav consecutive perfect that follows (cf. GKC 334 §112.x and compare Isa 6:7; Judg 13:3).
[23:33] 184 tn The meaning “cast you away” is questioned by some because the word is regularly used of “forsaking” or “abandoning” (see, e.g., Jer 7:29; 12:7; 15:6). However, it is clearly use of “casting down” or “throwing away” in Ezek 29:5; 32:4 and that meaning is virtually assured in v. 39 where the verb is combined with the phrase “from my presence” which is elsewhere used in rejection contexts with verbs like “send away,” “throw out,” or “remove” (see BDB 819 s.v. פָּנֶה II.8.a). This is another example of the bracketing effect of a key word and should be rendered the same in the two passages. Moreover, it fits in nicely with the play on “burden” here.
[23:33] 185 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[23:34] 186 tn Heb “burden of the
[23:34] 187 tn Heb “And the prophet or the priest or the people [common person] who says, ‘The burden of the
[23:35] 188 tn The words “So, I, Jeremiah tell you” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity to show that it is he who is addressing the people, not the
[23:35] 189 tn This line is sometimes rendered as a description of what the people are doing (cf. NIV). However, repetition with some slight modification referring to the prophet in v. 37 followed by the same kind of prohibition that follows here shows that what is being contrasted is two views toward the
[23:36] 190 tn Heb “burden of the
[23:36] 191 tn Heb “the burden.”
[23:36] 192 tn Heb “The burden is [or will be] to a man his word.” There is a good deal of ambiguity regarding how this line is to be rendered. For the major options and the issues involved W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:651-52 should be consulted. Most of them are excluded by the observation that מַשָּׂא probably does not mean “oracle” anywhere in this passage (see note on v. 33 regarding the use of this word). Hence it does not mean “every man’s word becomes his oracle” as in NIV or “for that ‘burden’ [= oracle] is what he entrusts to the man of his word” (W. McKane, Jeremiah [ICC], 1:600-601). The latter is also ruled out by the fact that the antecedent of “his” on “his word” is clearly the word “man” in front of it. This would be the only case where the phrase “man of his word” occurs. There is also no textual reason for repointing the noun with the article as the noun with the interrogative to read “For how can his word become a burden to anyone?” There are, of course, other options but this is sufficient to show that the translation has been chosen after looking at other alternatives.
[23:36] 193 tn Heb “turning.” See BDB 245 s.v. הָפַךְ Qal.1.c and Lev 13:55; Jer 13:33 “changing, altering.”
[23:36] 194 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
[23:36] sn See the study note on 2:19 for the explanation of the significance of this title.
[23:37] 195 tn See the note on v. 35.
[23:37] sn As noted in v. 35 the prophet is Jeremiah. The message is directed against the prophet, priest, or common people who have characterized his message as a “burden from the
[23:39] 196 tn The translation of v. 38 and the first part of v. 39 represents the restructuring of a long and complex Hebrew sentence: Heb “But if you say, ‘The burden of the
[23:39] 197 tc The translation follows a few Hebrew
[23:39] 198 tn Heb “throw you and the city that I gave you and your fathers out of my presence.” The English sentences have been broken down to conform to contemporary English style.
[24:1] 199 sn See 2 Kgs 24:10-17 (especially vv. 14-16). Nebuchadnezzar left behind the poorest people of the land under the puppet king Zedekiah. Jeconiah has already been referred to earlier in 13:18; 22:25-26. The deportation referred to here occurred in 597
[24:2] 200 sn See Isa 28:4; Hos 9:10.
[24:4] 201 tn Heb “The word of the
[24:5] 202 tn Heb “the land of the Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4.
[24:6] 203 tn Heb “I will set my eyes upon them for good.” For the nuance of “good” see Jer 21:10; Amos 9:4 (in these cases the opposite of harm; see BDB 375 s.v. טוֹבָה 1).
[24:6] 204 tn The words “There” and “firmly in the land” are not in the text but are implicit from the connection and the metaphor. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[24:6] 205 sn For these terms see Jer 1:10.
[24:7] 206 tn Heb “I will give them a heart to know me that I am the
[24:7] 207 tn Heb “with all their heart.”
[24:8] 208 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[24:8] 209 tn Heb “Like the bad figs which cannot be eaten from badness [= because they are so bad] surely [emphatic כִּי, ki] so I regard Zedekiah, king of Judah, and his officials and the remnant of Jerusalem which remains in this land and those who are living in Egypt.” The sentence has been restructured in the translation to conform more to contemporary English style. For the use of נָתַן (natan) meaning “regard” or “treat like” see BDB 681 s.v. נָתַן 3.c and compare the usage in Ezek 28:6;Gen 42:30.
[24:9] 210 tn Or “an object of reproach in peoples’ proverbs…an object of ridicule in people’s curses.” The alternate translation treats the two pairs which are introduced without vavs (ו) but are joined by vavs as examples of hendiadys. This is very possible here but the chain does not contain this pairing in 25:18; 29:18.
[24:9] sn For an example of how the “example used in curses” worked, see Jer 29:22. Sodom and Gomorrah evidently function much that same way (see 23:14; 49:18; 50:40; Deut 29:23; Zeph 2:9).
[24:9] 211 tn Heb “I will make them for a terror for disaster to all the kingdoms of the earth, for a reproach and for a proverb, for a taunt and a curse in all the places which I banish them there.” The complex Hebrew sentence has been broken down into equivalent shorter sentences to conform more with contemporary English style.
[24:10] 212 sn See Jer 14:12 and the study note there.
[25:1] 214 tn Heb “The word was to Jeremiah.” It is implicit from the context that it was the
[25:1] 215 sn The year referred to would be 605
[25:2] 216 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[25:3] 217 sn The year referred to would be 627
[25:3] 218 tn For the idiom involved here see the notes at 7:13 and 11:7.
[25:3] 219 tn The words “what he said” are not in the text but are implicit. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[25:4] 220 tn For the idiom involved here see the notes at 7:13 and 11:7.
[25:4] 221 tn The vav consecutive with the perfect in a past narrative is a little unusual. Here it is probably indicating repeated action in past time in keeping with the idiom that precedes and follows it. See GKC 332 §112.f for other possible examples.
[25:4] 222 tn Heb “inclined your ear to hear.” This is idiomatic for “paying attention.” It is often parallel with “listen” as here or with “pay attention” (see, e.g., Prov 4:20; 51:1).
[25:5] 223 tn Heb “saying.” The infinitive goes back to “he sent”; i.e., “he sent, saying.”
[25:5] 224 tn Heb “Turn [masc. pl.] each person from his wicked way and from the evil of your [masc. pl.] doings.” See the same demand in 23:22.
[25:5] 225 tn Heb “gave to you and your fathers with reference to from ancient times even unto forever.” See the same idiom in 7:7.
[25:6] 226 tn Heb “follow after.” See the translator’s note on 2:5 for this idiom.
[25:6] 227 tn Heb “make me angry with the work of your hands.” The term “work of your own hands” is often interpreted as a reference to idolatry as is clearly the case in Isa 2:8; 37:19. However, the parallelism in 25:14 and the context in 32:30 show that it is more general and refers to what they have done. That is likely the meaning here as well.
[25:7] 228 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[25:7] 229 tn This is a rather clear case where the Hebrew particle לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) introduces a consequence and not a purpose, contrary to the dictum of BDB 775 s.v. מַעַן note 1. They have not listened to him in order to make him angry but with the result that they have made him angry by going their own way. Jeremiah appears to use this particle for result rather than purpose on several other occasions (see, e.g., 7:18, 19; 27:10, 15; 32:29).
[25:7] 230 tn Heb “make me angry with the work of your hands.” The term “work of your own hands” is often interpreted as a reference to idolatry as is clearly the case in Isa 2:8; 37:19. However, the parallelism in 25:14 and the context in 32:30 show that it is more general and refers to what they have done. That is likely the meaning here as well.
[25:8] 231 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
[25:8] sn See the study note on 2:19 for an explanation of this title.
[25:8] 232 tn Heb “You have not listened to my words.”
[25:9] 233 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[25:9] 234 sn The many allusions to trouble coming from the north are now clarified: it is the armies of Babylon which included within it contingents from many nations. See 1:14, 15; 4:6; 6:1, 22; 10:22; 13:20 for earlier allusions.
[25:9] 235 sn Nebuchadnezzar is called the
[25:9] 236 tn The word used here was used in the early years of Israel’s conquest for the action of killing all the men, women, and children in the cities of Canaan, destroying all their livestock, and burning their cities down. This policy was intended to prevent Israel from being corrupted by paganism (Deut 7:2; 20:17-18; Josh 6:18, 21). It was to be extended to any city that led Israel away from worshiping God (Deut 13:15) and any Israelite who brought an idol into his house (Deut 7:26). Here the policy is being directed against Judah as well as against her neighbors because of her persistent failure to heed God’s warnings through the prophets. For further usage of this term in application to foreign nations in the book of Jeremiah see 50:21, 26; 51:3.
[25:9] 237 tn Heb “will utterly destroy them.” The referent (this land, its inhabitants, and the nations surrounding it) has been specified in the translation for clarity, since the previous “them” referred to Nebuchadnezzar and his armies.
[25:9] sn This is essentially the introduction to the “judgment on the nations” in vv. 15-29 which begins with Jerusalem and Judah (v. 18) and ultimately ends with Babylon itself (“Sheshach” in v. 26; see note there for explanation of the term).
[25:9] 238 sn The Hebrew word translated “everlasting” is the word often translated “eternal.” However, it sometimes has a more limited time reference. For example it refers to the lifetime of a person who became a “lasting slave” to another person (see Exod 21:6; Deut 15:17). It is also used to refer to the long life wished for a king (1 Kgs 1:31; Neh 2:3). The time frame here is to be qualified at least with reference to Judah and Jerusalem as seventy years (see 29:10-14 and compare v. 12).
[25:9] 239 tn Heb “I will make them an object of horror and a hissing and everlasting ruins.” The sentence has been broken up to separate the last object from the first two which are of slightly different connotation, i.e., they denote the reaction to the latter.
[25:9] sn Compare Jer 18:16 and 19:8 and the study note at 18:16.
[25:10] 240 sn Compare Jer 7:24 and 16:9 for this same dire prediction limited to Judah and Jerusalem.
[25:10] 241 sn The sound of people grinding meal and the presence of lamps shining in their houses were signs of everyday life. The
[25:11] 242 tn Heb “All this land.”
[25:11] 243 sn It should be noted that the text says that the nations will be subject to the king of Babylon for seventy years, not that they will lie desolate for seventy years. Though several proposals have been made for dating this period, many ignore this fact. This most likely refers to the period beginning with Nebuchadnezzar’s defeat of Pharaoh Necho at Carchemish in 605
[25:12] 244 tn Heb “that nation.”
[25:12] 245 tn Heb “the land of the Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for the use of the term “Chaldeans.”
[25:12] 246 tn Heb “I will visit upon the king of Babylon and upon that nation, oracle of the
[25:12] sn Compare Isa 13:19-22 and Jer 50:39-40.
[25:12] 247 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[25:13] 248 tn Or “I will bring upon it everything that is to be written in this book. I will bring upon it everything that Jeremiah is going to prophesy concerning all the nations.” The reference to “this book” and “what Jeremiah has prophesied against the nations” raises issues about the editorial process underlying the current form of the book of Jeremiah. As the book now stands there is no earlier reference to any judgments against Babylon or any book (really “scroll”; books were a development of the first or second century
[25:14] 249 tn Heb “make slaves of them.” The verb form here indicates that the action is as good as done (the Hebrew prophetic perfect). For the use of the verb rendered “makes slaves” see parallel usage in Lev 25:39, 46 (cf. BDB 713 s.v. עָבַד 3).
[25:14] 250 tn Heb “according to their deeds and according to the work of their hands.” The two phrases are synonymous; it would be hard to represent them both in translation without being redundant. The translation attempts to represent them by the qualifier “all” before the first phrase.
[25:15] 251 tn This is an attempt to render the Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) which is probably being used in the sense that BDB 473-74 s.v. כִּי 3.c notes, i.e., the causal connection is somewhat loose, related here to the prophecies against the nations. “So” seems to be the most appropriate way to represent this.
[25:15] 252 tn Heb “Thus said the
[25:15] 253 sn “Drinking from the cup of wrath” is a common figure to represent being punished by God. Isaiah had used it earlier to refer to the punishment which Judah was to suffer and from which God would deliver her (Isa 51:17, 22) and Jeremiah’s contemporary Habakkuk uses it of Babylon “pouring out its wrath” on the nations and in turn being forced to drink the bitter cup herself (Hab 2:15-16). In Jer 51:7 the
[25:16] 254 tn There is some debate about the meaning of the verb here. Both BDB 172 s.v. גָּעַשׁ Hithpo and KBL 191 s.v. גָּעַשׁ Hitpol interpret this of the back and forth movement of staggering. HALOT 192 s.v. גָּעַשׁ Hitpo interprets it as vomiting. The word is used elsewhere of the up and down movement of the mountains (2 Sam 22:8) and the up and down movement of the rolling waves of the Nile (Jer 46:7, 8). The fact that a different verb is used in v. 27 for vomiting would appear to argue against it referring to vomiting (contra W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah [Hermeneia], 1:674; it is “they” that do this not their stomachs).
[25:16] 255 tn Heb “because of the sword that I will send among them.” Here, as often elsewhere in Jeremiah, the sword is figurative for warfare which brings death. See, e.g., 15:2. The causal particle here is found in verbal locutions where it is the cause of emotional states or action. Hence there are really two “agents” which produce the effects of “staggering” and “acting insane,” the cup filled with God’s wrath and the sword. The sword is the “more literal” and the actual agent by which the first agent’s action is carried out.
[25:17] 256 tn The words “the wine of his wrath” are not in the text but are implicit in the metaphor (see vv. 15-16). They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[25:18] 257 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[25:18] 258 tn The words “I made” and “drink it” are not in the text. The text from v. 18 to v. 26 contains a list of the nations that Jeremiah “made drink it.” The words are supplied in the translation here and at the beginning of v. 19 for the sake of clarity. See also the note on v. 26.
[25:18] 259 tn Heb “in order to make them a ruin, an object of…” The sentence is broken up and the antecedents are made specific for the sake of clarity and English style.
[25:18] 260 tn See the study note on 24:9 for explanation.
[25:18] 261 tn Heb “as it is today.” This phrase would obviously be more appropriate after all these things had happened as is the case in 44:6, 23 where the verbs referring to these conditions are past. Some see this phrase as a marginal gloss added after the tragedies of 597
[25:19] 262 sn See further Jer 46:2-28 for the judgment against Egypt.
[25:20] 263 tn The meaning of this term and its connection with the preceding is somewhat uncertain. This word is used of the mixture of foreign people who accompanied Israel out of Egypt (Exod 12:38) and of the foreigners that the Israelites were to separate out of their midst in the time of Nehemiah (Neh 13:3). Most commentators interpret it here of the foreign people who were living in Egypt. (See BDB 786 s.v. I עֶרֶב and KBL 733 s.v. II עֶרֶב.)
[25:20] 264 sn The land of Uz was Job’s homeland (Job 1:1). The exact location is unknown but its position here between Egypt and the Philistine cities suggests it is south of Judah, probably in the Arabian peninsula. Lam 4:21 suggests that it was near Edom.
[25:20] 265 sn See further Jer 47:1-7 for the judgment against the Philistines. The Philistine cities were west of Judah.
[25:20] 266 sn The Greek historian Herodotus reports that Ashdod had been destroyed under the Pharaoh who preceded Necho, Psammetichus.
[25:21] 267 sn See further Jer 49:7-22 for the judgment against Edom. Edom, Moab, and Ammon were east of Judah.
[25:21] 268 sn See further Jer 48:1-47 for the judgment against Moab.
[25:21] 269 sn See further Jer 49:1-6 for the judgment against Ammon.
[25:22] 270 map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
[25:22] 271 sn Tyre and Sidon are mentioned within the judgment on the Philistines in Jer 47:4. They were Phoenician cities to the north and west of Judah on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in what is now Lebanon.
[25:22] map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
[25:22] 272 sn The connection with Tyre and Sidon suggests that these were Phoenician colonies. See also Isa 23:2.
[25:23] 273 sn Dedan and Tema are mentioned together in Isa 21:13-14 and located in the desert. They were located in the northern part of the Arabian peninsula south and east of Ezion Geber. Buz is not mentioned anywhere else and its location is unknown. Judgment against Dedan and Tema is mentioned in conjunction with the judgment on Edom in Jer 47:7-8.
[25:23] 274 tn For the discussion regarding the meaning of the terms here see the notes on 9:26.
[25:23] sn See Jer 9:26 where these are mentioned in connection with Moab, Edom, and Ammon.
[25:24] 275 tc Or “and all the kings of people of mixed origin who.” The Greek version gives evidence of having read the term only once; it refers to the “people of mixed origin” without reference to the kings of Arabia. While the term translated “people of mixed origin” seems appropriate in the context of a group of foreigners within a larger entity (e.g. Israel in Exod 12:38; Neh 13:3; Egypt in Jer 50:37), it seems odd to speak of them as a separate entity under their own kings. The presence of the phrase in the Hebrew text and the other versions dependent upon it can be explained as a case of dittography.
[25:24] sn See further Jer 49:28-33 for judgment against some of these Arabian peoples.
[25:25] 276 sn The kingdom of Zimri is mentioned nowhere else, so its location is unknown.
[25:25] 277 sn See further Jer 49:34-39 for judgment against Elam.
[25:25] 278 sn Elam and Media were east of Babylon; Elam in the south and Media in the north. They were in what is now western Iran.
[25:26] 279 tn The words “have drunk the wine of the
[25:26] 280 tn Heb “the king of Sheshach.” “Sheshach” is a code name for Babylon formed on the principle of substituting the last letter of the alphabet for the first, the next to the last for the second, and so on. On this principle Hebrew שׁ (shin) is substituted for Hebrew ב (bet) and Hebrew כ (kaf) is substituted for Hebrew ל (lamed). On the same principle “Leb Kamai” in Jer 51:1 is a code name for Chasdim or Chaldeans which is Jeremiah’s term for the Babylonians. No explanation is given for why the code names are used. The name “Sheshach” for Babylon also occurs in Jer 51:41 where the term Babylon is found in parallelism with it.
[25:27] 281 tn The words “Then the
[25:27] 282 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.”
[25:27] sn See the study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for explanation of this extended title.
[25:27] 283 tn Heb “Tell them, ‘Thus says the
[25:27] 284 tn The words “this cup” are not in the text but are implicit to the metaphor and the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[25:27] 285 tn Heb “Drink, and get drunk, and vomit and fall down and don’t get up.” The imperatives following drink are not parallel actions but consequent actions. For the use of the imperative plus the conjunctive “and” to indicate consequent action, even intention see GKC 324-25 §110.f and compare usage in 1 Kgs 22:12; Prov 3:3b-4a.
[25:27] 286 tn Heb “because of the sword that I will send among you.” See the notes on 2:16 for explanation.
[25:28] 287 tn Heb “Tell them, ‘Thus says the
[25:28] 288 tn The translation attempts to reflect the emphatic construction of the infinitive absolute preceding the finite verb which is here an obligatory imperfect. (See Joüon 2:371-72 §113.m and 2:423 §123.h, and compare usage in Gen 15:13.)
[25:29] 289 tn Heb “which is called by my name.” See translator’s note on 7:10 for support.
[25:29] 290 tn This is an example of a question without the formal introductory particle following a conjunctive vav introducing an opposition. (See Joüon 2:609 §161.a.) It is also an example of the use of the infinitive before the finite verb in a rhetorical question involving doubt or denial. (See Joüon 2:422-23 §123.f, and compare usage in Gen 37:8.)
[25:29] 291 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
[25:29] sn See the study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for explanation of this extended title.
[25:29] 292 tn Heb “Oracle of Yahweh of armies.”
[25:30] 293 tn The word “Jeremiah” is not in the text. It is supplied in the translation to make clear who is being addressed.
[25:30] 294 tn Heb “Prophesy against them all these words.”
[25:30] 295 tn The words “like a lion about to attack” are not in the text but are implicit in the metaphor. The explicit comparison of the
[25:30] sn For the metaphor of the
[25:30] 296 sn The word used here (Heb “his habitation”) refers to the land of Canaan which the
[25:30] 297 sn The metaphor shifts from God as a lion to God as a mighty warrior (Jer 20:11; Isa 42:13; Zeph 3:17) shouting in triumph over his foes. Within the metaphor is a simile where the warrior is compared to a person stomping on grapes to remove the juice from them in the making of wine. The figure will be invoked later in a battle scene where the sounds of joy in the grape harvest are replaced by the sounds of joy of the enemy soldiers (Jer 48:33). The picture is drawn in more gory detail in Isa 63:1-6.
[25:31] 298 tn For the use of this word see Amos 2:2; Hos 10:14; Ps 74:23. See also the usage in Isa 66:6 which is very similar to the metaphorical usage here.
[25:31] 299 tn Heb “the
[25:31] 300 tn Heb “give the wicked over to the sword.”
[25:31] sn There is undoubtedly a deliberate allusion here to the reference to the “wars” (Heb “sword”) that the
[25:31] 301 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[25:32] 302 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
[25:32] sn See the study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for explanation of this extended title.
[25:32] 303 tn Heb “will go forth from nation to nation.”
[25:32] 304 tn The words “of military destruction” have been supplied in the translation to make the metaphor clear. The metaphor has shifted from that of God as a lion, to God as a warrior, to God as a judge, to God as the author of the storm winds of destruction.
[25:32] sn For the use of this word in a literal sense see Jonah 1:4. For its use to refer to the wrath of the
[25:33] 305 sn The intent here is to emphasize the large quantity of those who are killed – there will be too many to insure proper mourning rites and proper burial.
[25:34] 306 tn Heb “Wail and cry out, you shepherds. Roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock.” The terms have been reversed to explain the figure.
[25:34] sn The term “shepherd” has been used several times in the book of Jeremiah to refer to the leaders of the people who were responsible for taking care of their people who are compared to a flock. (See Jer 23:1-4 and the notes there.) Here the figure has some irony involved in it. It is the shepherds who are to be slaughtered like sheep. They may have considered themselves “choice vessels” (the literal translation of “fine pottery”), but they would be slaughtered and lie scattered on the ground (v. 33) like broken pottery.
[25:34] 307 tn The meaning of this line is debated. The Greek version does not have the words “lie scattered” and it reads the words “like broken pieces of fine pottery” (Heb “like choice vessels”; כִּכְלִי חֶמְדָּה, kikhli khemdah) as “like choice rams” (כְּאֵילֵי חֶמְדָּה, kÿ’ele khemdah); i.e., “the days have been completed for you to be slaughtered and you will fall like choice rams.” The reading of the Greek version fits the context better, but is probably secondary for that very reason. The word translated “lie scattered” (תְּפוֹצָה, tÿfotsah) occurs nowhere else and the switch to the simile of “choice vessels” is rather abrupt. However, this section has been characterized by switching metaphors. The key to the interpretation and translation here is the consequential nature of the verbal actions involved. “Fall” does not merely refer to the action but the effect, i.e., “lie fallen” (cf. BDB 657 s.v. נָפַל 7 and compare Judg 3:25; 1 Sam 31:8). Though the noun translated “lie scattered” does not occur elsewhere, the verb does. It is quite commonly used of dispersing people and that has led many to see that as the reference here. The word, however, can be used of scattering other things like seed (Isa 28:25), arrows (2 Sam 22:15; metaphorical for lightning), etc. Here it follows “slaughtered” and refers to their dead bodies. The simile (Heb “ fallen like choice vessels”) is elliptical, referring to “broken pieces” of choice vessels. In this sense the simile fits in perfectly with v. 33.
[25:35] 308 tn Heb “Flight [or “place of escape”] will perish from the shepherds.”
[25:35] sn Judging from Gen 14:10 and Judg 8:12 (among many others), it was not uncommon for the leaders to try to save their own necks at the expense of their soldiers.
[25:36] 309 tn Heb “their pastures,” i.e., the place where they “shepherd” their “flocks.” The verb tenses in this section are not as clear as in the preceding. The participle in this verse is followed by a vav consecutive perfect like the imperatives in v. 34. The verbs in v. 38 are perfects but they can be and probably should be understood as prophetic like the perfect in v. 31 (נְתָנָם, nÿtanam) which is surrounded by imperfects, participles, and vav consecutive perfects.
[25:36] sn Jer 25:36-38 shifts to the future as though the action were already accomplished or going on. It is the sound that Jeremiah hears in his “prophetic ears” of something that has begun (v. 29) but will find its culmination in the future (vv. 13, 16, 27, 30-35).
[25:37] 310 tn For this meaning of the verb used here see HALOT 217 s.v. דָּמַם Nif. Elsewhere it refers to people dying (see, e.g., Jer 49:26; 50:30) hence some see a reference to “lifeless.”
[25:37] 311 tn Heb “because of the burning anger of the
[25:38] 312 tn Heb “Like a lion he has left his lair.”
[25:38] sn The text returns to the metaphor alluded to in v. 30. The bracketing of speeches with repeated words or motifs is a common rhetorical device in ancient literature.
[25:38] 313 tn This is a way of rendering the Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) which is probably here for emphasis rather than indicating cause (see BDB 473 s.v. כִּי 1.e and compare usage in Jer 22:22).
[25:38] 314 tc Heb “by the sword of the oppressors.” The reading here follows a number of Hebrew
[25:38] sn The connection between “war” (Heb “the sword”) and the wrath or anger of the
[26:1] 315 sn Beginning with Jer 26 up to Jer 45 the book narrates in third person style incidents in the life of Jeremiah and prophecies (or sermons) he gave in obedience to the
[26:1] 316 tn The words “to Jeremiah” are not in the Hebrew text. They are added by the Old Latin (not the Vulgate) and the Syriac versions. They are implicit, however, to the narrative style which speaks of Jeremiah in the third person (cf. vv. 7, 12). They have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[26:1] 317 tn It is often thought that the term here is equivalent to a technical term in Akkadian (reshsharruti) which refers to the part of the year remaining from the death or deposing of the previous king until the beginning of the calendar year when the new king officially ascended the throne. In this case it would refer to the part of the year between September, 609
[26:2] 318 sn It is generally agreed that the incident recorded in this chapter relates to the temple message that Jeremiah gave in 7:1-15. The message there is summarized here in vv. 3-6. The primary interest here is in the response to that message.
[26:3] 319 tn Heb “will turn from his wicked way.”
[26:3] 320 tn For the idiom and translation of terms involved here see 18:8 and the translator’s note there.
[26:3] sn The
[26:3] 321 tn Heb “because of the wickedness of their deeds.”
[26:4] 322 tn Heb “thus says the
[26:4] 323 tn Heb “by walking in my law which I set before you.”
[26:4] sn Examples of those laws are found in Jer 7:5-6, 9. The law was summarized or epitomized in the ten commandments which are called the “words of the covenant” in Exod 34:28, but it contained much more. However, when Israel is taken to task by God, it often relates to their failure to live up to the standards of the ten commandments (Heb “the ten words”; see Hos 4:1-3; Jer 7:9).
[26:5] 324 tn See the translator’s note on 7:13 for the idiom here.
[26:6] 325 tn 26:4-6 are all one long sentence containing a long condition with subordinate clauses (vv. 4-5) and a compound consequence in v. 6: Heb “If you will not obey me by walking in my law…by paying attention to the words of the prophets which…and you did not pay heed, then I will make…and I will make…” The sentence has been broken down in conformity to contemporary English style but an attempt has been made to reflect all the subordinations in the English translation.
[26:6] 326 sn See the study note on Jer 7:13.
[26:8] 327 tn The translation again represents an attempt to break up a long complex Hebrew sentence into equivalent English ones that conform more to contemporary English style: Heb “And as soon as Jeremiah finished saying all that…the priests…grabbed him and said…” The word “some” has been supplied in the translation, because obviously it was not all the priests, the prophets, and all the people, but only some of them. There is, of course, rhetorical intent here to show that all were implicated, although all may not have actually participated. (This is a common figure called synecdoche where all is put for a part – all for all kinds or representatives of all kinds. See E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 614-19, and compare usage in Acts 10:12; Matt 3:5.)
[26:8] 328 tn Or “You must certainly die!” The construction here is again emphatic with the infinitive preceding the finite verb (cf. Joüon 2:423 §123.h, and compare usage in Exod 21:28).
[26:9] 329 tn Heb “Why have you prophesied in the
[26:9] sn They are questioning his right to claim the
[26:10] 330 sn These officials of Judah were officials from the royal court. They may have included some of the officials mentioned in Jer 36:12-25. They would have been concerned about any possible “illegal” proceedings going on in the temple.
[26:10] 331 tn Heb “these things.”
[26:10] 332 tn Heb “they sat” or “they took their seats.” However, the context is one of judicial trial.
[26:10] sn The gateway or gate complex of an ancient Near Eastern city was often used for court assemblies (cf. Deut 21:19; 22:15; Ruth 4:1; Isa 29:21). Here the gate of the temple was used for the convening of a court to try Jeremiah for the charge of being a false prophet.
[26:10] 333 tn The translation follows many Hebrew
[26:10] sn The location of the New Gate is uncertain. It is mentioned again in Jer 36:10 where it is connected with the upper (i.e., inner) court of the temple. Some equate it with the Upper Gate that Jotham rebuilt during his reign (2 Kgs 15:35; Jotham reigned from 750-735
[26:11] 334 tn Heb “the priests and prophets said to the leaders and the people….” The long sentence has been broken up to conform better with contemporary English style and the situational context is reflected in “laid their charges.”
[26:11] 335 tn Heb “a sentence of death to this man.”
[26:12] 337 tn Heb “Jeremiah said to all the leaders and all the people….” See the note on the word “said” in the preceding verse.
[26:13] 338 tn Heb “Make good your ways and your actions.” For the same expression see 7:3, 5; 18:11.
[26:13] 339 tn For the idiom and translation of terms involved here see 18:8 and the translator’s note there.
[26:13] sn The
[26:14] 340 tn Heb “And I, behold I am in your hand.” Hand is quite commonly used for “power” or “control” in biblical contexts.
[26:15] 341 tn Heb “For in truth the
[26:16] 342 tn Heb “Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets…”
[26:16] 343 sn Contrast v. 11.
[26:16] 344 tn Heb “For in the name of the
[26:16] sn The priests and false prophets claimed that they were speaking in the
[26:17] 345 tn Heb “elders of the land.”
[26:17] sn The elders were important land-owning citizens, separate from the “heads” or leaders of the tribes, the officers and the judges. They were very influential in both the judicial, political, and religious proceedings of the cities and the state. (See, e.g., Josh 24:1; 2 Sam 19:11; 2 Kgs 23:1 for elders of Israel/Judah, and Deut 21:1-9; Ruth 4:1-2 for elders of the cities.)
[26:18] 346 sn Micah from Moresheth was a contemporary of Isaiah (compare Mic 1:1 with Isa 1:1) from the country town of Moresheth in the hill country southwest of Jerusalem. The prophecy referred to is found in Mic 3:12. This is the only time in the OT where an OT prophet is quoted verbatim and identified.
[26:18] 347 sn Hezekiah was co-regent with his father Ahaz from 729-715
[26:18] 348 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
[26:18] sn For an explanation of this title for God see the study note on 2:19.
[26:18] 349 sn Zion was first of all the citadel that David captured (2 Sam 5:6-10), then the city of David and the enclosed temple area, then the whole city of Jerusalem. It is often in poetic parallelism with Jerusalem as it is here (see, e.g., Ps 76:2; Amos 1:2).
[26:18] 350 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[26:18] 351 sn There is irony involved in this statement. The text reads literally “high places of a forest/thicket.” The “high places” were the illicit places of worship that Jerusalem was supposed to replace. Because of their sin, Jerusalem would be like one of the pagan places of worship with no place left sacrosanct. It would even be overgrown with trees and bushes. So much for its inviolability!
[26:19] 352 tn This Hebrew idiom (חָלָה פָּנִים, khalah panim) is often explained in terms of “stroking” or “patting the face” of someone, seeking to gain his favor. It is never used in a literal sense and is found in contexts of prayer (Exod 32:11; Ps 119:158), worship (Zech 8:21-22), humble submission (2 Chr 3:12), or amendment of behavior (Dan 9:13). All were true to one extent or another of Hezekiah.
[26:19] 353 tn The he interrogative (הַ)with the negative governs all three of the verbs, the perfect and the two vav (ו) consecutive imperfects that follow it. The next clause has disjunctive word order and introduces a contrast. The question expects a positive answer.
[26:19] 354 tn For the translation of the terms involved here see the translator’s note on 18:8.
[26:19] 355 tn Or “great harm to ourselves.” The word “disaster” (or “harm”) is the same one that has been translated “destroying” in the preceding line and in vv. 3 and 13.
[26:20] 356 sn This is a brief parenthetical narrative about an otherwise unknown prophet who was executed for saying the same things Jeremiah did. It is put here to show the real danger that Jeremiah faced for saying what he did. There is nothing in the narrative here to show any involvement by Jehoiakim. This was a “lynch mob” instigated by the priests and false prophets which was stymied by the royal officials supported by some of the elders of Judah. Since it is disjunctive or parenthetical it is unclear whether this incident happened before or after that in the main narrative being reported.
[26:20] 357 tn Heb “in the name of the
[26:20] 358 tn Heb “Now also a man was prophesying in the name of the
[26:21] 359 tn Heb “all his mighty men/soldiers.” It is unlikely that this included all the army. It more likely was the palace guards or royal bodyguards (see 2 Sam 23 where the same word is used of David’s elite corps).
[26:21] 360 tn Heb “his words.”
[26:21] 361 tn Heb “But Uriah heard and feared and fled and entered Egypt.”
[26:22] 362 sn Elnathan son of Achbor was one of the officials who urged Jeremiah and Baruch to hide after they heard Jeremiah’s prophecies read before them (Jer 36:11-19). He was also one of the officials who urged Jehoiakim not to burn the scroll containing Jeremiah’s prophecies (Jer 36:25). He may have been Jehoiakim’s father-in-law (2 Kgs 24:6, 8).
[26:23] 363 tn Heb “from Egypt.”
[26:23] sn A standard part of international treaties at this time was a stipulation of mutual extradition of political prisoners. Jehoiakim was a vassal of Pharaoh Necho (see 2 Kgs 23:34-35) and undoubtedly had such a treaty with him.
[26:23] 364 sn The burial place of the common people was the public burial grounds, distinct from the family tombs, where poor people without any distinction were buried. It was in the Kidron Valley east of Jerusalem (2 Kgs 23:6). The intent of reporting this is to show the ruthlessness of Jehoiakim.
[26:24] 365 sn Ahikam son of Shaphan was an official during the reign of Jehoiakim’s father, Josiah (2 Kgs 22:12, 14). He was also the father of Gedaliah who became governor of Judah after the fall of Jerusalem (Jer 40:5). The particle at the beginning of the verse is meant to contrast the actions of this man with the actions of Jehoiakim. The impression created by this verse is that it took more than just the royal officials’ opinion and the elders’ warnings to keep the priests and prophets from swaying popular opinion to put Jeremiah to death.
[26:24] 366 tn Heb “Nevertheless, the hand of Ahikam son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah so that he would not be given (even more literally, ‘so as not to give him’) into the hand of the people to kill him.” “Hand” is often used for “aid,” “support,” “influence,” “power,” “control.”
[27:1] 367 sn The names of Jeremiah and of Nebuchadnezzar are spelled differently in the Hebrew of chapter 27-29. That and other literary features show that these three chapters are all closely related. The events of these three chapters all take place within the space of one year (cf. 28:1; 29:17).
[27:1] 368 tc The reading here is based on a few Hebrew
[27:1] sn If the text of 28:1 is correct, the date here would be sometime in the fourth year of Zedekiah which would be 594/3
[27:2] 369 tn There is some disjunction in the narrative of this chapter. The introduction in v. 1 presents this as a third person narrative. But the rest of the passage reports the narrative in first person. Thus the text reads here “Thus the
[27:2] 370 sn The yoke is a common biblical symbol of political servitude (see, e.g., Deut 28:48; 1 Kgs 12:4, 9, 10). From the context of 1 Kgs 12 it is clear that it applied to taxation and the provision of conscript labor. In international political contexts it involved the payment of heavy tribute which was often conscripted from the citizens (see, e.g., 2 Kgs 15:19-20; 23:34-35) and the furnishing of military contingents for the sovereign’s armies (see, e.g., 2 Kgs 24:2). Jeremiah’s message here combines both a symbolic action (the wearing of a yoke) and words of explanation as in Jer 19:1-13. (See Isa 20:1-6 for an example outside of Jeremiah.) The casting off of the yoke has been used earlier in Jer 2:20, 5:5 to refer to Israel’s failure to remain spiritually “subject” or faithful to God.
[27:3] 371 map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
[27:3] 372 sn The nations of Edom, Moab, and Ammon were east of Judah. They were sometimes allies and sometimes enemies. The nations of Tyre and Sidon were on the sea coast north and west of Judah. They are best known for their maritime trade during the reign of Solomon. They were more commonly allies of Israel and Judah than enemies.
[27:3] map For the location of Sidon see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
[27:3] 373 tn Heb “send by means of them” [i.e., the straps and crossbars made into a yoke] to…through.” The text is broken up in conformity with contemporary English style. Many English versions ignore the suffix on the end of “send” and find some support for this on the basis of its absence in the Lucianic Greek text. However, it is probably functioning metonymically here for the message which they see symbolized before them and is now explained clearly to them.
[27:3] 374 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[27:4] 375 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.”
[27:4] sn See study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for the significance of this title.
[27:4] 376 tn Heb “Give them a charge to their masters saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel, “Thus you shall say unto your masters…”’” The sentence is broken up in conformity with contemporary English style.
[27:5] 377 tn Heb “by my great power and my outstretched arm.” Again “arm” is symbolical for “strength.” Compare the similar expression in 21:5.
[27:5] 378 sn See Dan 4:17 for a similar statement.
[27:6] 379 tn Heb “have given…into the hand of.”
[27:6] 380 sn See the study note on 25:9 for the significance of the application of this term to Nebuchadnezzar.
[27:6] 381 tn Heb “I have given…to him to serve him.” The verb “give” in this syntactical situation is functioning like the Hiphil stem, i.e., as a causative. See Dan 1:9 for parallel usage. For the usage of “serve” meaning “be subject to” compare 2 Sam 22:44 and BDB 713 s.v. עָבַד 3.
[27:6] sn This statement is rhetorical, emphasizing the totality of Nebuchadnezzar’s dominion. Neither here nor in Dan 2:38 is it to be understood literally.
[27:7] 382 sn This is a figure that emphasizes that they will serve for a long time but not for an unlimited duration. The kingdom of Babylon lasted a relatively short time by ancient standards. It lasted from 605
[27:7] 383 tn Heb “until the time of his land, even his, comes.” The independent pronoun is placed here for emphasis on the possessive pronoun. The word “time” is used by substitution for the things that are done in it (compare in the NT John 2:4; 7:30; 8:20 “his hour had not yet come”).
[27:7] sn See Jer 25:12-14, 16.
[27:7] 384 tn Heb “him.” This is a good example of the figure of substitution where the person is put for his descendants or the nation or subject he rules. (See Gen 28:13-14 for another good example and Acts 22:7 in the NT.)
[27:8] 385 tn Heb “put their necks in the yoke of.” See the study note on v. 2 for the figure.
[27:8] 386 tn Heb “oracle of the
[27:8] 387 tn Heb “The nation and/or the kingdom which will not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and which will not put its neck in the yoke of the king of Babylon, by sword, starvation, and disease I will punish [or more literally, “visit upon”] that nation, oracle of the
[27:8] 388 tn Heb “with/by the sword.”
[27:8] 389 tc The verb translated “destroy” (תָּמַם, tamam) is usually intransitive in the stem of the verb used here. It is found in a transitive sense elsewhere only in Ps 64:7. BDB 1070 s.v. תָּמַם 7 emends both texts. In this case they recommend תִּתִּי (titi): “until I give them into his hand.” That reading is suggested by the texts of the Syriac and Targumic translations (see BHS fn c). The Greek translation supports reading the verb “destroy” but treats it as though it were intransitive “until they are destroyed by his hand” (reading תֻּמָּם [tummam]). The MT here is accepted as the more difficult reading and support is seen in the transitive use of the verb in Ps 64:7.
[27:8] tn Heb “I will punish that nation until I have destroyed them [i.e., its people] by his hand.” “Hand” here refers to agency. Hence, “I will use him.”
[27:9] 390 sn Various means of divination are alluded to in the OT. For example, Ezek 21:26-27 alludes to throwing down arrows to see which way they fall and consulting the shape of the liver of slaughtered animals. Gen 44:5 alludes to reading the future through pouring liquid in a cup. The means alluded to in this verse were all classified as pagan and prohibited as illegitimate in Deut 18:10-14. The
[27:9] 391 sn An example of this is seen in 1 Sam 28.
[27:9] 392 tn The verb in this context is best taken as a negative obligatory imperfect. See IBHS 508-9 §31.4g for discussion and examples. See Exod 4:15 as an example of positive obligation.
[27:10] 393 tn The words “Don’t listen to them” have been repeated from v. 9a to pick up the causal connection between v. 9a and v. 10 that is formally introduced by a causal particle in v. 10 in the original text.
[27:10] 394 tn Heb “they are prophesying a lie.”
[27:10] 395 tn Heb “lies will result in your being taken far…” (לְמַעַן [lÿma’an] + infinitive). This is a rather clear case of the particle לְמַעַן introducing result (contra BDB 775 s.v. מַעַן note 1. There is no irony in this statement; it is a bold prediction).
[27:10] 396 tn The words “out of your country” are not in the text but are implicit in the meaning of the verb. The words “in exile” are also not in the text but are implicit in the context. These words have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[27:11] 397 tn Heb “put their necks in the yoke of.” See the study note on v. 2 for the figure.
[27:11] 398 tn The words “Things will go better for” are not in the text. They are supplied contextually as a means of breaking up the awkward syntax of the original which reads “The nation which brings its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and subjects itself to him, I will leave it…”
[27:11] 399 tn Heb “oracle of the
[27:12] 400 tn Heb “I spoke to Zedekiah…according to all these words, saying.”
[27:12] 401 sn The verbs in this verse are all plural. They are addressed to Zedekiah and his royal advisers (compare 22:2).
[27:12] 402 tn Heb “put their necks in the yoke of.” See the study note on v. 2 for the figure.
[27:13] 403 tn Heb “with/by the sword.”
[27:13] 404 tn Heb “Why should you and your people die…?” The rhetorical question expects the answer made explicit in the translation, “There is no reason!”
[27:13] 405 tn Heb “…disease according to what the
[27:14] 406 tn The verb in this context is best taken as a negative obligatory imperfect. See IBHS 508 §31.4g for discussion and examples. See Exod 4:15 as an example of positive obligation.
[27:15] 407 tn Heb “oracle of the
[27:15] 408 sn The verbs are again plural referring to the king and his royal advisers.
[27:15] 409 tn Heb “…drive you out and you will perish, you and the prophets who are prophesying lies.”
[27:15] sn For the fulfillment of this prophecy see Jer 39:5-7; 52:7-11; 2 Kgs 25:4-7.
[27:16] 410 tn Heb “don’t listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you….” The sentence has been broken up for the sake of English style and one level of embedded quotes has been eliminated to ease complexity.
[27:16] 411 sn This refers to the valuable articles of the temple treasury which were carried off by Nebuchadnezzar four years earlier when he carried off Jeconiah, his family, some of his nobles, and some of the cream of Judean society (2 Kgs 24:10-16, especially v. 13 and see also vv. 19-20 in the verses following).
[27:17] 412 tn The imperative with vav (ו) here and in v. 12 after another imperative are a good example of the use of the imperative to introduce a consequence. (See GKC 324-25 §110.f and see Gen 42:18. This is a common verb in this idiom.)
[27:17] 413 tn According to E. W. Bullinger (Figures of Speech, 954) both this question and the one in v. 13 are examples of rhetorical questions of prohibition / “don’t let this city be made a pile of rubble.”
[27:18] 414 tn The words “I also told them” are not in the text, but it is obvious from the fact that the
[27:18] 415 tn Heb “the word of the
[27:18] 416 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
[27:18] sn For the significance of this title see the study note on 2:19.
[27:18] 417 tn Heb “…speaking to them, let them entreat the
[27:19] 418 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.” For the significance of this title see the note at 2:19.
[27:19] 419 tn The words “two bronze” are not in the text. They have been supplied in the translation to help identify the referent.
[27:19] sn The two bronze pillars are the two free-standing pillars at the entrance of the temple (Jakin and Boaz) described in 1 Kgs 7:15-22.
[27:19] 420 tn The words “the large bronze basin called” are not in the text. They have been supplied in the translation to help identify the referent.
[27:19] sn “The Sea” refers to the large basin that was mounted on twelve bronze bulls. It stood in front of the temple and contained water for the priests to bathe themselves (2 Chr 4:6; cf. Exod 30:17-21). It is described in 1 Kgs 7:23-26.
[27:19] 421 tn The words “movable bronze” are not in the text. They have been supplied in the translation to help identify the referent. See the study note for further reference.
[27:19] sn The bronze stands are the movable bronze stands described in 1 Kgs 7:27-37. They were the stands for the bronze basins described in 1 Kgs 7:38-39. According to 2 Chr 4:6 the latter were used to wash the burnt offerings. The priests would have been very concerned especially about the big bronze basin and the movable stands and their basins because they involved their ritual purification apart from which they would have had no sanctity. These articles (or furnishings in this case) were broken up and the bronze carried away to Babylon along with all the other bronze, silver, and gold furnishings when the temple and the city were destroyed in 587
[27:20] 422 tn 27:19-20 are all one long sentence in Hebrew. It has been broken up for the sake of English style. Some of the sentences still violate contemporary English style (e.g., v. 20) but breaking them down any further would lose the focus. For further discussion see the study note on v. 21.
[27:21] 423 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” For the significance of this title see the note at 2:19.
[27:21] 424 sn Some of the flavor of the repetitive nature of Hebrew narrative is apparent in vv. 19-21. In the Hebrew original vv. 19-20 are all one long sentence with complex coordination and subordinations. I.e., all the objects in v. 19 are all objects of the one verb “has spoken about” and the description in v. 20 is one long relative or descriptive clause. The introductory “For the
[27:22] 425 tn This verb is a little difficult to render here. The word is used in the sense of taking note of something and acting according to what is noticed. It is the word that has been translated several times throughout Jeremiah as “punish [someone].” It is also used in the opposite of sense of taking note and “show consideration for” (or “care for;” see, e.g., Ruth 1:6). Here the nuance is positive and is further clarified by the actions that follow, bringing them back and restoring them.
[27:22] 426 tn Heb “oracle of the
[28:1] 427 tc The original text is unusually full here and deemed by many scholars to be corrupt: Heb “And it happened in that year in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month Hananiah…said to…” Many scholars see a contradiction between “in the fourth year” and “in the beginning of the reign.” These scholars point to the fact that the Greek version does not have “in that year” and “in the beginning of the reign of”; it merely reads “in the fourth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fifth month.” These scholars generally also regard the heading at 27:1 to be unoriginal and interpret the heading in the MT here as a faulty harmonization of the original (that in the Greek version) with the erroneous one in the Hebrew of 27:1. However, it is just as possible that the Greek version in both places is an attempt to harmonize the data of 27:1 and 28:1. I.e., it left out both the heading at 27:1, and “in that year” and “at the beginning of the reign of” in the heading here because it thought the data was contradictory. However, it is just as likely that there is really no contradiction here. I.e., the term “beginning of the reign” can include the fourth year. E. H. Merrill has argued that the term here refers not to the accession year (see the translator’s note on 26:1) but to the early years in general (“The ‘Accession Year’ and Davidic Chronology,” JANESCU 19 [1989]: 105-6, and cf. note 18 for bibliography on Akkadian parallels). Hence the phrase has been translated both here and in 27:1 “early in the reign of…” For other attempts at harmonization see the discussion in G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, T. G. Smothers, Jeremiah 26-52 (WBC), 41, n. 1a.
[28:1] sn The dating here is very full and precise. “In that same year” ties the events here in with the messages that Jeremiah delivered to the envoys, the king and his court, and the priests and people while wearing the yoke symbolizing servitude to Nebuchadnezzar. The text wants to show that the events here transpired shortly after those in Jer 27 and that Jeremiah is still wearing the yoke. The supplying of the precise month is important because the end of the chapter will show that Jeremiah’s prophecy regarding Hananiah was fulfilled two months later. Hence Jeremiah is the true prophet and Hananiah and the others (27:16) are false. The supplying of the year is perhaps significant because the author states in 51:59 that Zedekiah went to Babylon that same year, probably to pledge his loyalty. The suggestion lies ready to hand that the events of this chapter and the preceding one lead to his dismissal of the false prophet Hananiah’s advice and the acceptance of Jeremiah’s.
[28:1] 428 tn Heb “to me.” The rest of the chapter is all in third person narrative (see vv. 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 15). Hence, many explain the first person here as a misunderstanding of the abbreviation “to Jeremiah” (אֶל יִרְמִיָּה [’el yirmiyyah] = אֵלַי, [’elay]). It is just as likely that there is a similar kind of disjunction here that was found in 27:1-2 only in the opposite direction. There what started out as a third person report was really a first person report. Here what starts out as a first person report is really a third person report. The text betrays both the hands of the narrator, probably Baruch, and the reportee, Jeremiah, who dictated a synopsis of his messages and his stories to Baruch to write down (Jer 36:4, 32).
[28:1] 429 tn Heb “And it happened in that year in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, Hananiah son of Azzur the prophet who was from Gibeon said to me in…” The sentence has been broken up in conformity with contemporary English style and the flavor given in modern equivalent terms.
[28:2] 430 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” See the study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for the explanation of this title.
[28:2] 431 sn See the study note on 27:2 for this figure. Hananiah is given the same title “the prophet” as Jeremiah throughout the chapter and claims to speak with the same authority (compare v. 2a with 27:21a). He even speaks like the true prophet; the verb form “I will break” is in the “prophetic perfect” emphasizing certitude. His message here is a contradiction of Jeremiah’s message recorded in the preceding chapter (compare especially v. 3 with 27:16, 19-22 and v. 4 with 22:24-28). The people and the priests are thus confronted with a choice of whom to believe. Who is the “true” prophet and who is the “false” one? Only fulfillment of their prophecies will prove which is which (see Deut 18:21-22).
[28:4] 432 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[28:4] sn Notice again that the “false” prophet uses the same formula and claims the same source for his message as the true prophet has (cf. 27:22).
[28:7] 433 tn Heb “Listen to this word/message which I am about to speak in your ears and the ears of all these people.”
[28:8] 434 tn The word “invariably” is not in the text but is implicit in the context and in the tense of the Hebrew verb. It is supplied in the translation for clarity and to help bring out the contrast in the next verse.
[28:8] 435 tc Many Hebrew
[28:9] 436 tn The verbs in this verse are to be interpreted as iterative imperfects in past time rather than as futures because of the explicit contrast that is drawn in the two verses by the emphatic syntactical construction of the two verses. Both verses begin with a casus pendens construction to throw the two verses into contrast: Heb “The prophets who were before me and you from ancient times, they prophesied…The prophet who prophesied peace, when the word of that prophet came true, that prophet was known that the
[28:11] 437 tn Heb “I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from upon the necks of all the nations.”
[28:11] 438 tn Heb “Then the prophet Jeremiah went his way.”
[28:13] 439 tn Heb “Hananiah, ‘Thus says the
[28:13] 440 tn The Greek version reads “I have made/put” rather than “you have made/put.” This is the easier reading and is therefore rejected.
[28:13] 441 tn Heb “the yoke bars of wood you have broken, but you have made in its stead yoke bars of iron.”
[28:13] sn This whole incident (and the preceding one in Jer 28) is symbolic. Jeremiah’s wearing of the yoke was symbolic of the
[28:14] 442 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” See the study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for this title.
[28:14] 443 tn Heb “An iron yoke I have put on the necks of all these nations.”
[28:14] 444 sn The emphasis is on the absoluteness of Nebuchadnezzar’s control. The statement is once again rhetorical and not to be taken literally. See the study note on 27:6.
[28:15] 445 tn Or “You are giving these people false assurances.”
[28:16] 446 sn There is a play on words here in Hebrew between “did not send you” and “will…remove you.” The two verbs are from the same root word in Hebrew. The first is the simple active and the second is the intensive.
[28:16] 447 sn In giving people false assurances of restoration when the
[28:17] 448 sn Comparison with Jer 28:1 shows that this whole incident took place in the space of two months. Hananiah had prophesied that the captivity would be over before two years had past. However, before two months were past, Hananiah himself died in fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy of his death. His death was a validation of Jeremiah as a true prophet. The subsequent events of 588
[29:1] 449 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[29:1] 450 tn Jer 29:1-3 are all one long sentence in Hebrew containing a parenthetical insertion. The text reads “These are the words of the letter which the prophet Jeremiah sent to the elders…people whom Nebuchadnezzar had exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon after King Jeconiah…had gone from Jerusalem by the hand of Elasah…whom Zedekiah sent…saying, ‘Thus says the
[29:2] 451 tn This term is often mistakenly understood to refer to a “eunuch.” It is clear, however, in Gen 39:1 that “eunuchs” could be married. On the other hand it is clear from Isa 59:3-5 that some who bore this title could not have children. In this period, it is possible that the persons who bore this title were high officials like the rab saris who was a high official in the Babylonian court (cf. Jer 39:3, 13; 52:25). For further references see HALOT 727 s.v. סָרִיס 1.c.
[29:2] 452 sn See 2 Kgs 24:14-16 and compare the study note on Jer 24:1.
[29:3] 453 sn Elasah son of Shaphan may have been the brother of Ahikam, who supported Jeremiah when the priests and the prophets in Jerusalem sought to kill Jeremiah for preaching that the temple and the city would be destroyed (cf. 26:24).
[29:3] 454 sn This individual is not the same as the Gemariah mentioned in 36:10, 11, 12, 25 who was one of the officials who sought to have the first scroll of Jeremiah’s prophecies preserved. He may, however, have been a son or grandson of the High Priest who discovered the book of the law during the reign of Josiah (cf., e.g., 2 Kgs 22:8, 10) which was so instrumental in Josiah’s reforms.
[29:3] 455 sn It is unclear whether this incident preceded or followed those in the preceding chapter. It is known from 52:59 that Zedekiah himself had made a trip to Babylon in the same year mentioned in 28:1 and that Jeremiah had used that occasion to address a prophecy of disaster to Babylon. It is not impossible that Jeremiah sent two such disparate messages at the same time (see Jer 25:8-11, 12-14, 17-18, 26).
[29:4] 456 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.”
[29:4] sn See study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for the explanation of this title.
[29:4] 457 tn Heb “I sent.” This sentence exhibits a rapid switch in person, here from the third person to the first. Such switches are common to Hebrew poetry and prophecy (cf. GKC 462 §144.p). Contemporary English, however, does not exhibit such rapid switches and it creates confusion for the careful reader. Such switches have regularly been avoided in the translation.
[29:4] sn Elsewhere Nebuchadnezzar is seen as the one who carried them into exile (cf. 27:20; 29:1). Here and in v. 14 the
[29:4] 458 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[29:8] 459 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.”
[29:8] sn See study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for the explanation of this title.
[29:8] 460 sn See the study notes on 27:9 for this term.
[29:9] 461 tn Heb “prophesying lies to you in my name.”
[29:9] sn For the significance of “in my name” see the study notes on 14:14 and 23:27.
[29:9] 462 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[29:10] 463 sn See the study note on Jer 25:11 for the reckoning of the seventy years.
[29:10] 464 tn See the translator’s note on Jer 27:22 for this term.
[29:10] 465 tn Verse 10 is all one long sentence in the Hebrew original: “According to the fullness of Babylon seventy years I will take thought of you and I will establish my gracious word to you by bringing you back to this place.” The sentence has been broken up to conform better to contemporary English style.
[29:10] 466 tn Heb “this place.” The text has probably been influenced by the parallel passage in 27:22. The term appears fifteen times in Jeremiah and is invariably a reference to Jerusalem or Judah.
[29:10] sn See Jer 27:22 for this promise.
[29:11] 467 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[29:11] 468 tn Heb “I know the plans that I am planning for you, oracle of the
[29:11] 469 tn Or “the future you hope for”; Heb “a future and a hope.” This is a good example of hendiadys where two formally coordinated nouns (adjectives, verbs) convey a single idea where one of the terms functions as a qualifier of the other. For this figure see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 658-72. This example is discussed on p. 661.
[29:12] 470 tn Heb “come and pray to me.” This is an example of verbal hendiadys where two verb formally joined by “and” convey a main concept with the second verb functioning as an adverbial qualifier.
[29:12] 471 tn Or “You will call out to me and come to me in prayer and I will hear your prayers.” The verbs are vav consecutive perfects and can be taken either as unconditional futures or as contingent futures. See GKC 337 §112.kk and 494 §159.g and compare the usage in Gen 44:22 for the use of the vav consecutive perfects in contingent futures. The conditional clause in the middle of 29:13 and the deuteronomic theology reflected in both Deut 30:1-5 and 1 Kgs 8:46-48 suggest that the verbs are continent futures here. For the same demand for wholehearted seeking in these contexts which presuppose exile see especially Deut 30:2, 1 Kgs 8:48.
[29:13] 472 tn Or “If you wholeheartedly seek me”; Heb “You will seek me and find [me] because you will seek me with all your heart.” The translation attempts to reflect the theological nuances of “seeking” and “finding” and the psychological significance of “heart” which refers more to intellectual and volitional concerns in the OT than to emotional ones.
[29:14] 473 tn Heb “I will let myself be found by you.” For this nuance of the verb see BDB 594 s.v. מָצָא Niph.1.f and compare the usage in Isa 65:1; 2 Chr 15:2. The Greek version already noted that nuance when it translated the phrase “I will manifest myself to you.”
[29:14] 474 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[29:14] 475 tn Heb “restore your fortune.” Alternately, “I will bring you back from exile.” This idiom occurs twenty-six times in the OT and in several cases it is clearly not referring to return from exile but restoration of fortunes (e.g., Job 42:10; Hos 6:11–7:1; Jer 33:11). It is often followed as here by “regather” or “bring back” (e.g., Jer 30:3; Ezek 29:14) so it is often misunderstood as “bringing back the exiles.” The versions (LXX, Vulg., Tg., Pesh.) often translate the idiom as “to go away into captivity,” deriving the noun from שְׁבִי (shÿvi, “captivity”). However, the use of this expression in Old Aramaic documents of Sefire parallels the biblical idiom: “the gods restored the fortunes of the house of my father again” (J. A. Fitzmyer, The Aramaic Inscriptions of Sefire [BibOr], 100-101, 119-20). The idiom means “to turn someone's fortune, bring about change” or “to reestablish as it was” (HALOT 1386 s.v. 3.c). In Ezek 16:53 it is paralleled by the expression “to restore the situation which prevailed earlier.” This amounts to restitutio in integrum, which is applicable to the circumstances surrounding the return of the exiles.
[29:14] 476 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[29:15] 477 tn The words “of good news” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[29:16] 478 tn Heb “But thus says the
[29:16] sn Jeremiah answers their claims that the
[29:16] 479 tn The words “of Jerusalem” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to identify the referent and avoid the possible confusion that “this city” refers to Babylon.
[29:17] 480 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.” See the study note on 2:19 for explanation of this title.
[29:17] 481 tn Heb “the sword.”
[29:17] 482 tn The meaning of this word is somewhat uncertain. It occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible. BDB 1045 s.v. שֹׁעָר relates it to the noun “horrible thing” (translated “something shocking”) in Jer 5:30; 23:14 and defines it as “horrid, disgusting.” HALOT 1495 s.v. שֹׁעָר relates it to the same noun and define it as “rotten; corrupt.” That nuance is accepted here.
[29:17] sn Compare Jer 24:8-10 in its context for the figure here.
[29:18] 483 tn Heb “with the sword.”
[29:19] 484 tn See the translator’s note on 7:13 for an explanation of this idiom.
[29:19] 485 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[29:19] 486 tn The word “exiles” is not in the text. It is supplied in the translation to clarify the referent of “you.”
[29:19] 487 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[29:20] 488 tn Heb “pay attention to the word of the
[29:21] 489 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.”
[29:21] sn See study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for the explanation of this title.
[29:21] 490 tn Heb “prophesying lies in my name.” For an explanation of this idiom see the study notes on 14:14 and 23:27.
[29:22] 491 sn Being roasted to death in the fire appears to have been a common method of execution in Babylon. See Dan 3:6, 19-21. The famous law code of the Babylonian king Hammurabi also mandated this method of execution for various crimes a thousand years earlier. There is a satirical play on words involving their fate, “roasted them to death” (קָלָם, qalam), and the fact that that fate would become a common topic of curse (קְלָלָה, qÿlalah) pronounced on others in Babylon.
[29:23] 492 tn It is commonly assumed that this word is explained by the two verbal actions that follow. The word (נְבָלָה, nÿvalah) is rather commonly used of sins of unchastity (cf., e.g., Gen 34:7; Judg 19:23; 2 Sam 13:12) which would fit the reference to adultery. However, the word is singular and not likely to cover both actions that follow. The word is also used of the greedy act of Achan (Josh 7:15) which threatened Israel with destruction and the churlish behavior of Nabal (1 Sam 25:25) which threatened him and his household with destruction. The word is also used of foolish talk in Isa 9:17 (9:16 HT) and Isa 32:6. It is possible that this refers to a separate act, one that would have brought the death penalty from Nebuchadnezzar, i.e., the preaching of rebellion in conformity with the message of the false prophets in Jerusalem and other nations (cf. 27:9, 13). Hence it is possible that the translation should read: “This will happen because of their vile conduct. They have propagated rebellion. They have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives. They have spoken words that I did not command them to speak. They have spoken lies while claiming my authority.”
[29:23] 493 tn Heb “prophesying lies in my name.” For an explanation of this idiom see the study notes on 14:14 and 23:27.
[29:23] 494 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[29:24] 495 tn The words “The
[29:24] 496 tn It is unclear whether this is a family name or a place name. The word occurs nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible.
[29:25] 497 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.”
[29:25] sn See study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for the explanation of this title.
[29:25] 498 tn Heb “Tell Shemaiah the Nehelamite, ‘Thus says Yahweh of armies the God of Israel….” The indirect quotation is used in the translation to avoid the complexity of embedding a quotation within a quotation.
[29:25] 499 sn Jer 29:24-32 are concerned with Jeremiah’s interaction with a false prophet named Shemaiah. The narrative in this section is not in strict chronological order and is somewhat elliptical. It begins with a report of a message that Jeremiah appears to have delivered directly to Shemaiah and refers to a letter that Shemaiah sent to the priest Zephaniah encouraging him to reprimand Jeremiah for what Shemaiah considered treasonous words in his letter to the exiles (vv. 24-28; compare v. 28 with v. 5). However, Jeremiah is in Jerusalem and Shemaiah is in Babylon. The address must then be part of a second letter Jeremiah sent to Babylon. Following this the narrative refers to Zephaniah reading Shemaiah’s letter to Jeremiah and Jeremiah sending a further letter to the captives in Babylon (vv. 29-32). This is probably not a third letter but part of the same letter in which Jeremiah reprimands Shemaiah for sending his letter to Zephaniah (vv. 25-28; the same letter referred to in v. 29). The order of events thus is: Jeremiah sent a letter to the captives counseling them to settle down in Babylon (vv. 1-23). Shemaiah sent a letter to Zephaniah asking him to reprimand Jeremiah (vv. 26-28). After Zephaniah read that letter to Jeremiah (v. 29), Jeremiah wrote a further letter to Babylon reprimanding him (vv. 25-28, 31) and pronouncing judgment on him (v. 32). The elliptical nature of the narrative is reflected in the fact that vv. 25-27 are part of a long causal sentence which sets forth an accusation but has no corresponding main clause or announcement of judgment. This kind of construction involves a rhetorical figure (called aposiopesis) where what is begun is not finished for various rhetorical reasons. Here the sentence that is broken off is part of an announcement of judgment which is not picked up until v. 32 after a further (though related) accusation (v. 31b).
[29:25] 500 tn Heb “In your [own] name.” See the study note on 23:27 for the significance of this idiom.
[29:25] 501 tn Heb “letters.” Though GKC 397 §124.b, n. 1 denies it, this is probably a case of the plural of extension. For a similar usage see Isa 37:14 where the plural “letters” is referred to later as an “it.” Even if there were other “letters,” the focus is on the letter to Zephaniah.
[29:25] 502 sn According to Jer 52:24 and 2 Kgs 25:18 Zephaniah son of Maaseiah was second in command to the high priest. He was the high ranking priest who was sent along with a civic official to inquire of the
[29:25] 503 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[29:25] 504 tn The words “In your letter you said to Zephaniah” are not in the text: Heb “you sent a letter to…, saying.” The sentence has been broken up to conform better to contemporary English style and these words have been supplied in the translation to make the transition to the address to Zephaniah in vv. 26-28.
[29:26] 505 tn Heb “in place of Jehoiada the priest.” The word “the priest” is unnecessary to the English sentence.
[29:26] 506 tc Heb “The
[29:26] 507 sn The Hebrew term translated lunatic applies to anyone who exhibits irrational behavior. It was used for example of David who drooled and scratched on the city gate to convince Achish not to arrest him as a politically dangerous threat (1 Sam 21:14). It was often used contemptuously of the prophets by those who wanted to play down the significance of their words (2 Kgs 9:11; Hos 9:7 and here).
[29:26] 508 tn The verb here is a good example of what IBHS 431 §26.2f calls the estimative-declarative reflexive where a person presents himself in a certain light. For examples of this usage see 2 Sam 13:5; Prov 13:7.
[29:26] 509 tn See the translator’s note on 20:2 for this word which only occurs here and in 20:2-3.
[29:26] 510 tn This word only occurs here in the Hebrew Bible. All the lexicons are agreed as seeing it referring to a collar placed around the neck. The basis for this definition are the cognate languages (see, e.g., HALOT 958-59 s.v. צִינֹק for the most complete discussion).
[29:27] 511 tn Heb “So why have you not reprimanded Jeremiah…?” The rhetorical question functions as an emphatic assertion made explicit in the translation.
[29:28] 512 tn Heb “For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying….” The quote, however, is part of the earlier letter.
[29:29] 514 tn Heb “in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet.”
[29:31] 515 tn Or “is giving you false assurances.”
[29:32] 516 tn Heb “Therefore.”
[29:32] 517 sn Compare the same charge against Hananiah in Jer 28:16 and see the note there. In this case, the false prophesy of Shemaiah is not given but it likely had the same tenor since he wants Jeremiah reprimanded for saying that the exile will be long and the people are to settle down in Babylon.
