Yeremia 30:21

30:21 One of their own people will be their leader.

Their ruler will come from their own number. ¹ 

I will invite him to approach me, and he will do so. ² 

For no one would dare approach me on his own. ³ 

I, the Lord, affirm it! ⁴ 

Yeremia 30:1

Introduction to the Book of Consolation

30:1 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah. ⁵ 

1 Samuel 13:14

13:14 But now your kingdom will not continue! The Lord has sought out ⁶  for himself a man who is loyal to him ⁷  and the Lord has appointed ⁸  him to be leader over his people, for you have not obeyed what the Lord commanded you.”

Yeremia 33:15

33:15 In those days and at that time I will raise up for them a righteous descendant ⁹  of David.

“‘He will do what is just and right in the land.

Yehezkiel 34:23-24

34:23 I will set one shepherd over them, and he will feed them – namely, my servant David. ¹⁰  He will feed them and will be their shepherd. 34:24 I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be prince ¹¹  among them; I, the Lord, have spoken!

[30:21]  ¹ sn The statement their ruler will come from their own number accords with the regulation in Deut 17:15. They would not be ruled by a foreign leader but by one of their own people. In v. 9 he is specifically said to come from the Davidic line. See the study note there.

[30:21]  ² sn Ordinarily this prerogative was confined to the priests and the Levites and even then under strict regulations (cf., e.g., Num 8:19; 16:10; Lev 16:10; 21:17; 22:3). Uzziah king of Judah violated this and suffered leprosy for having done so (2 Chr 26:16-20). It is clear, however, that both David and Solomon on occasion exercised priestly functions in the presence of the ark or the altar which it was normally lawful for only the priests to approach (cf., e.g., 2 Sam 6:13-14; 1 Kgs 8:22, 54-55). Here reference is probably not to the normal prerogatives of offering sacrifice or burning incense but access to God’s special presence at special times for the purpose of consultation.

[30:21]  ³ tn Heb “For who is he who would pledge his heart to draw near to me.” The question is a rhetorical one expecting the answer “no one” and is a way of expressing an emphatic negative (see BDB 566 s.v. מִי f[c]). The concept of “pledging” something refers to putting up security in guarantee of payment. Here the word is used figuratively of “putting up one’s heart [i.e., his very being (cf. BDB 524 s.v. לֵב 7 and Ps 22:26)]” for the privilege of access to God. The rhetorical question denies that any one would do that if he were not bidden by God to do so.

[30:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[30:1]  ⁵ tn Compare the headings at 7:1; 11:1; 18:1; 21:1 and the translator’s note at those places.

[13:14]  ⁶ tn This verb form, as well as the one that follows (“appointed”), indicates completed action from the standpoint of the speaker. This does not necessarily mean that the Lord had already conducted his search and made his choice, however. The forms may be used for rhetorical effect to emphasize the certainty of the action. The divine search for a new king is as good as done, emphasizing that the days of Saul’s dynasty are numbered.

[13:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “according to his heart.” The idiomatic expression means to be like-minded with another, as its use in 1 Sam 14:7 indicates.

[13:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “commanded.”

[33:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “sprig” or “shoot.”

[33:15]  sn For the meaning of this term and its significance in biblical prophecy see the study note on 23:5.

[34:23]  ¹⁰ sn The messianic king is here called “David” (see Jer 30:9 and Hos 3:5, as well as Isa 11:1 and Mic 5:2) because he will fulfill the Davidic royal ideal depicted in the prophets and royal psalms (see Ps 2, 89).

[34:24]  ¹¹ sn The messianic king (“David”) is called both “king” and “prince” in 37:24-25. The use of the term “prince” for this king facilitates the contrast between this ideal ruler and the Davidic “princes” denounced in earlier prophecies (see 7:27; 12:10, 12; 19:1; 21:25; 22:6, 25).