Yeremia 32:22-23

32:22 You kept the promise that you swore on oath to their ancestors. ¹  You gave them a land flowing with milk and honey. ²  32:23 But when they came in and took possession of it, they did not obey you or live as you had instructed them. They did not do anything that you commanded them to do. ³  So you brought all this disaster on them.

¹ tn Heb “fathers.”

² tn For an alternative translation of the expression “a land flowing with milk and honey” see the translator’s note on 11:5.

³ tn Or “They did not do everything that you commanded them to do.” This is probably a case where the negative (לֹא, lo’) negates the whole category indicated by “all” (כָּל, kol; see BDB 482 s.v. כָּל 1.e(c) and compare usage in Deut 12:16; 28:14). Jeremiah has repeatedly emphasized that the history of Israel since their entry into the land has been one of persistent disobedience and rebellion (cf., e.g. 7:22-26; 11:7-8). The statement, of course, is somewhat hyperbolical as all categorical statements of this kind are.