Yeremia 7:22

7:22 Consider this: ¹  When I spoke to your ancestors after I brought them out of Egypt, I did not merely give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices.

Yeremia 9:3

The Lord Laments That He Has No Choice But to Judge Them

9:3 The Lord says, ² 

“These people are like soldiers who have readied their bows.

Their tongues are always ready to shoot out lies. ³ 

They have become powerful in the land,

but they have not done so by honest means. ⁴ 

Indeed, they do one evil thing after another ⁵ 

and do not pay attention to me. ⁶ 

[7:22]  ¹ tn Heb “For” but this introduces a long explanation about the relative importance of sacrifice and obedience.

[9:3]  ² tn The words “The Lord says” have been moved up from the end of the verse to make clear that a change in speaker has occurred.

[9:3]  ³ tn Heb “They have readied [or strung] their tongue as their bow for lies.”

[9:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “but not through honesty.”

[9:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “they go from evil to evil.”

[9:3]  ⁶ tn Or “do not acknowledge me”; Heb “do not know me.” But “knowing” in Hebrew thought often involves more than intellectual knowledge; it involves emotional and volitional commitment as well. For יָדַע meaning “acknowledge” see 1 Chr 28:9; Isa 29:21; Hos 2:20; Prov 3:6. This word is also found in ancient Near Eastern treaty contexts where it has the idea of a vassal king acknowledging the sovereignty of a greater king (cf. H. Huffmon, “The Treaty Background of Hebrew yada,” BASOR 181 [1966]: 31-37).