Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Add parallel Print Page Options

2 Kings 24:1-4
New English Translation

24 During Jehoiakim’s reign,[a] King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked.[b] Jehoiakim was his subject for three years, but then he rebelled against him.[c] 2 The Lord sent against him Babylonian, Syrian, Moabite, and Ammonite raiding bands; he sent them to destroy Judah, just as in the Lord’s message that he had announced through his servants the prophets. 3 Just as the Lord had announced, he rejected Judah because of all the sins that Manasseh had committed.[d] 4 Because he killed innocent people and stained Jerusalem with their blood, the Lord was unwilling to forgive them.[e]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 24:1 tn Heb “In his days.”
  2. 2 Kings 24:1 tn Heb “came up.” Perhaps an object (“against him”) has been accidentally omitted from the text. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 306.
  3. 2 Kings 24:1 tn The Hebrew text has “and he turned and rebelled against him.”
  4. 2 Kings 24:3 tn Heb “Certainly according to the word of the Lord this happened against Judah, to remove [them] from his face because of the sins of Manasseh according to all which he did.”
  5. 2 Kings 24:4 tn Heb “and also the blood of the innocent which he shed, and he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord was not willing to forgive.”
Next
2 Kings 23
2 Kings 25
Next
Previous Next

2 Chronicles 36:6-7
New English Translation

6 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked him,[a] bound him with bronze chains, and carried him away[b] to Babylon. 7 Nebuchadnezzar took some of the items in the Lord’s temple to Babylon and put them in his palace[c] there.[d]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 36:6 tn Heb “came up against him.”
  2. 2 Chronicles 36:6 tn Heb “to carry him away.”
  3. 2 Chronicles 36:7 tn Or “temple.”
  4. 2 Chronicles 36:7 tn Heb “in Babylon.” Repeating the proper name “Babylon” here would be redundant in contemporary English, so “there” has been used in the translation.
Next
2 Chronicles 35
Ezra 1
Next
Previous Next

Jeremiah 36
New English Translation

Jehoiakim Burns the Scroll Containing the Lord’s Messages

36 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah in the fourth year[a] that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was ruling over Judah:[b] 2 “Get a scroll.[c] Write on it everything I have told you to say[d] about Israel, Judah, and all the other nations since I began to speak to you in the reign of Josiah until now.[e] 3 Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about all the disaster I intend to bring on them, they will all stop doing the evil things they have been doing.[f] If they do, I will forgive their sins and the wicked things they have done.”[g]

4 So Jeremiah summoned Baruch son of Neriah. Then, Baruch wrote down in a scroll all the Lord’s words that he had told to Jeremiah[h] as they came from his[i] mouth. 5 Then Jeremiah told Baruch, “I am no longer allowed to go[j] into the Lord’s temple. 6 So you go there the next time all the people of Judah come in from their towns to fast[k] in the Lord’s temple. Read out loud where all of them can hear you what I told you the Lord said, which you wrote in the scroll.[l] 7 Perhaps then they will ask the Lord for mercy and will all stop doing the evil things they have been doing.[m] For the Lord has threatened to bring great anger and wrath against these people.”[n]

8 So Baruch son of Neriah did exactly what the prophet Jeremiah told him to do. He read what the Lord had said from the scroll in the temple of the Lord.[o] 9 All the people living in Jerusalem and all the people who came into Jerusalem from the towns of Judah observed a fast before the Lord. The fast took place in the ninth month of the fifth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was ruling over Judah.[p] 10 At that time Baruch went into the temple of the Lord. He stood in the entrance of the room of Gemariah the son of Shaphan who had been the royal secretary.[q] That room was in the upper court[r] near the entrance of the New Gate.[s] There, where all the people could hear him, he read from the scroll what Jeremiah had said.[t]

11 Micaiah, who was the son of Gemariah and the grandson of Shaphan, heard Baruch read from the scroll everything the Lord had said.[u] 12 He went down to the chamber of the royal secretary in the king’s palace and found all the court officials in session there. Elishama[v] the royal secretary, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor,[w] Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials were seated there. 13 Micaiah told them everything he had heard Baruch read from the scroll in the hearing of the people.[x] 14 All the officials sent Jehudi, who was the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch. They ordered him to tell Baruch, “Come here and bring with you[y] the scroll you read in the hearing of the people.”[z] So Baruch son of Neriah went to them, carrying the scroll in his hand.[aa] 15 They said to him, “Please sit down and read it to us.” So Baruch sat down and read it to them.[ab] 16 When they had heard it all,[ac] they expressed their alarm to one another.[ad] Then they said to Baruch, “We must certainly give the king a report about everything you have read!”[ae] 17 Then they asked Baruch, “How did you come to write all these words? Do they actually come from Jeremiah’s mouth?”[af] 18 Baruch answered, “Yes, they came from his own mouth. He dictated all these words to me, and I wrote them down in ink on this scroll.”[ag] 19 Then the officials said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah must go and hide. You must not let anyone know where you are.”[ah]

20 The officials put the scroll in the room of Elishama, the royal secretary, for safekeeping.[ai] Then they went to the court and reported everything[aj] to the king.[ak] 21 The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll. He went and got it from the room of Elishama, the royal secretary. Then he himself[al] read it to the king and all the officials who were standing around him. 22 Since it was the ninth month of the year, the king was sitting in his winter quarters.[am] A fire was burning in the firepot in front of him.[an] 23 As soon as Jehudi had read three or four columns[ao] of the scroll, the king[ap] would cut them off with a penknife[aq] and throw them on the fire in the firepot. He kept doing so until the whole scroll was burned up in the fire.[ar] 24 Neither he nor any of his attendants showed any alarm when they heard all that had been read. Nor did they tear their clothes to show any grief or sorrow.[as] 25 The king did not even listen to Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah, who had urged him not to burn the scroll.[at] 26 He also ordered Jerahmeel, who was one of the royal princes,[au] Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest the scribe Baruch and the prophet Jeremiah. However, the Lord hid them.

Baruch and Jeremiah Write Another Scroll

27 The Lord’s message came to Jeremiah after the king had burned the scroll with the words Baruch had written down at Jeremiah’s dictation.[av] 28 “Get another[aw] scroll and write on it everything[ax] that was written on the original scroll[ay] that King Jehoiakim of Judah burned. 29 Tell King Jehoiakim of Judah, ‘The Lord says, “You burned the scroll. You asked[az] Jeremiah, ‘How dare you write in this scroll that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land and wipe out all the people and animals on it?’”[ba] 30 So the Lord says concerning King Jehoiakim of Judah, “None of his line will occupy the throne of David.[bb] His dead body will be thrown out to be exposed to scorching heat by day and frost by night.[bc] 31 I will punish him and his descendants and the officials who serve him for the wicked things they have done.[bd] I will bring on them, the citizens of Jerusalem and the people of Judah, all the disaster that I told them about and that they ignored.”’”[be] 32 Then Jeremiah got another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah. As Jeremiah dictated, Baruch wrote on this scroll everything that had been on the scroll that King Jehoiakim of Judah burned in the fire. They also added on this scroll several other messages of the same kind.[bf]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 36:1 sn The fourth year that Jehoiakim…was ruling over Judah would have been 605/4 b.c. Jehoiakim began his rule in 609/8 b.c. after his father Josiah was killed by Pharaoh Necho at Megiddo. Necho had installed him as puppet king in place of his brother Jehoahaz, who was deposed by Necho after a reign of only three months (2 Kgs 23:31-35). According to Jer 46:2, that was the year in which Nebuchadnezzar defeated Jehoiakim’s suzerain Necho at Carchemish. That was also the year that Jerusalem came under attack and submitted to Babylonian control after a brief siege (Dan 1:1; see the study note on 25:1 for the reason for the difference in the dating between Jer 25:1; 36:2; and Dan 1:1). These events confirmed what Jeremiah had been saying about the foe from the north (4:6; 6:1; 15:12) and would have provided the impetus for the hopes that the people would repent if they were reminded about what Jeremiah had been saying.
  2. Jeremiah 36:1 tn Heb “This word came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah the king of Judah, saying.”
  3. Jeremiah 36:2 sn Heb “a roll [or scroll] of a document.” Scrolls consisted of pieces of leather or parchment sewn together and rolled up on wooden rollers. The writing was written from right to left and from top to bottom in columns, and the scroll unrolled from the left roller and rolled onto the right one as the scroll was read. The scroll varied in length depending on the contents. This scroll was probably not all that long since it was read three times in a single day (vv. 10-11, 15-16, 21-23).
  4. Jeremiah 36:2 sn The intent is hardly that of giving a verbatim report of everything that the Lord had told him to say or of everything that he had actually said. What the scroll undoubtedly contained was a synopsis of Jeremiah’s messages as constructed from his memory.
  5. Jeremiah 36:2 sn This refers to the messages that Jeremiah delivered during the last eighteen years of Josiah, the three-month reign of Jehoahaz, and the first four years of Jehoiakim’s reign (the period between Josiah’s thirteenth year [cf. 1:2] and the fourth year of Jehoiakim [v. 1]). The exact content of this scroll is unknown since many of the messages in the present book are undated. It is also not known what relation this scroll had to the present form of the book of Jeremiah, since this scroll was destroyed and another one written that contained more than this one did (cf. v. 32). Since Jeremiah continued his ministry down to the fall of Jerusalem in 587/6 b.c. (1:2) and beyond (cf. Jer 40-44), much more was added to those two scrolls even later.
  6. Jeremiah 36:3 tn Heb “will turn each one from his wicked way.”
  7. Jeremiah 36:3 tn Heb “their iniquity and their sin.”sn The offer of withdrawal of punishment for sin is consistent with the principles of Jer 18:7-8 and the temple sermon delivered early in the reign of this king (cf. 26:1-3; 7:5-7).
  8. Jeremiah 36:4 tn Heb “him.”
  9. Jeremiah 36:4 tn Heb “Jeremiah’s.”
  10. Jeremiah 36:5 tn Heb “I am restrained; I cannot go into.” The word “restrained” is used elsewhere in Jeremiah of his being confined to the courtyard of the guardhouse (33:1; 39:15). However, that occurred only later during the tenth year of Zedekiah (Jer 32:1-2), and Jeremiah appears here to be free to come and go as he pleases (vv. 19, 26). The word is used in the active voice of the Lord preventing Sarah from having a baby (Gen 16:2). The probable nuance here is “I am prevented/debarred” from being able to go. No reason is given why he was prevented/debarred. It has been plausibly suggested that he was prohibited from going into the temple any longer because of the scathing sermon he delivered there earlier (Jer 26:1-3; 7:1-15).
  11. Jeremiah 36:6 sn Regular fast days were not a part of Israel’s religious calendar. Rather, fast days were called on special occasions, i.e., in times of drought or a locust plague (Joel 1:14; 2:15), during a military crisis (2 Chr 20:3), or after defeat in battle (1 Sam 31:13; 2 Sam 1:12). A fast day was likely chosen for the reading of the scroll because the people would be more mindful of the crisis they were in and be in more of a repentant mood. The events referred to in the study note on v. 1 would have provided the basis for Jeremiah’s anticipation of a fast day when the scroll could be read.
  12. Jeremiah 36:6 tn Heb “So you go and read from the scroll that you have written from my mouth the words of the Lord in the ears of the people in the house of the Lord on a fast day, and in that way [for the explanation of this rendering see below] you will be reading them in the ears of all Judah [= the people of Judah] who come from their towns [i.e., to the temple to fast].” Again the syntax of the original is awkward, separating several of the qualifying phrases from the word or phrase they are intended to modify. In most of the “literal” English versions the emphasis on “what the Lord said” tends to get lost, and it looks like two separate groups are to be addressed rather than one. The intent of the phrase is to define who the people are who will hear; the וַ that introduces the clause is explicative (BDB 252 s.v. וַ 1.b), and the גַּם (gam) is used to emphasize the explicative “all Judah who come in from their towns” (cf. BDB 169 s.v. גַּם 2). If some force were to be given to the “literal” rendering of that particle here, it would be “actually.” This is the group that is to be addressed according to v. 3. The complex Hebrew sentence has been restructured to include all the relevant information in more comprehensible and shorter English sentences.
  13. Jeremiah 36:7 tn Heb “will turn each one from his wicked way.”
  14. Jeremiah 36:7 tn Heb “For great are the anger and the wrath that the Lord has spoken against this people.” The translation uses the more active form, which is more in keeping with contemporary English style.
  15. Jeremiah 36:8 tn Heb “And Baruch son of Neriah did according to all that the prophet Jeremiah commanded him with regard to reading from the scroll the words of the Lord in the temple of the Lord.” The sentence has been broken down and the modifiers placed where they belong to better conform to contemporary English style.
  16. Jeremiah 36:9 tn There is some debate about the syntax of the words translated “All the people living in Jerusalem and all the people who came into Jerusalem from the towns in Judah.” As the sentence is structured in Hebrew, it looks like these words are the subject of “proclaim a fast.” However, most commentaries point out that the people themselves would hardly proclaim a fast; they would be summoned to fast (cf. 1 Kgs 21:9, 12; Jonah 3:7). Hence many see these words as the object of the verb, which has an impersonal subject “they.” This is most likely unless, as J. Bright thinks (Jeremiah [AB], 180), the word “proclaim” is used in a looser sense as “observed.” The translation has chosen to follow this latter tack rather than use the impersonal (or an equivalent passive) construction in English. For a similar problem see Jonah 3:5, which precedes the official proclamation in 3:7. Jeremiah's Hebrew text reads, “In the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, in the ninth month they proclaimed a fast before the Lord, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who came from the cities of Judah into Jerusalem.” The sentence has been broken down and restructured to better conform with contemporary English style.sn Judging from v. 22, this was one of the winter months, meaning that the reckoning is based on the calendar that starts with April rather than the one that starts with September (Nisan to Nisan rather than Tishri to Tishri). The ninth month would have been Kislev, which corresponds roughly to December. According to Babylonian historical records, this is the same year and the same month when Ashkelon was captured and sacked. The surrender of Jerusalem and the subsequent looting of the temple in the previous year (Dan 1:1), and the return of the menacing presence of Nebuchadnezzar in the near vicinity, were probably the impetus for the fast.
  17. Jeremiah 36:10 sn Shaphan had been the royal secretary under Jehoiakim’s father’s rule. During the course of his official duties the book of the law had been discovered, and he had read it and reported its contents to Josiah, who instituted sweeping reforms on the basis of his obedience to it. (See 2 Kgs 22 and note especially vv. 3, 8, 10.) If the Shaphan mentioned in 22:14 is the same person as this, Gemariah would have been the brother of the man who spoke up on Jeremiah’s behalf when the priests and prophets sought to have him killed.
  18. Jeremiah 36:10 sn It is generally agreed that this is the same as the inner court mentioned in 1 Kgs 6:36 and 7:12. It is called “upper” here because it stood above (cf. 1 Kgs 7:12) the outer court where all the people were standing.
  19. Jeremiah 36:10 sn The New Gate is the same gate where Jeremiah had been accused of falsely claiming the Lord’s authority for his “treasonous” prophecies, according to 26:10-11. See the study note on 26:10 for more details about the location of this gate.
  20. Jeremiah 36:10 tn The syntax of the original is complicated due to all the qualifying terms: Heb “And Baruch read from the scroll the words of Jeremiah in the house of the Lord in (i.e., in the entrance of) the room of Gemariah, son of Shaphan the scribe, in the upper court at the entrance of the New Gate in the house of the Lord in the ears of all the people.” The sentence has been broken down and restructured to contain all the same information in shorter English sentences that better conform with contemporary English style.
  21. Jeremiah 36:11 tn Heb “Micaiah son of Gemariah son of Shaphan heard all the words of the Lord from upon the scroll.” The words “heard Baruch read” are implicit from the context and are supplied in the translation for smoothness.
  22. Jeremiah 36:12 sn If, as many believe, this man was the same as the Elishama mentioned in Jer 41:1 and 2 Kgs 25:25, he was also a member of the royal family.
  23. Jeremiah 36:12 sn This man has already been mentioned in Jer 26:22 as the official who was sent to Egypt to extradite the prophet Uriah, whom Jehoiakim had executed. Though he was instrumental in the death of that prophet, he appears to have been favorably disposed to Jeremiah, or at least impressed by the seriousness of his messages, because he is one of the officials who urged Baruch and Jeremiah to hide (v. 19), and he counseled Jehoiakim not to burn the scroll (v. 25).
  24. Jeremiah 36:13 tn Heb “Micaiah reported to them all the words that he heard when Baruch read from the scroll in the ears of the people.”
  25. Jeremiah 36:14 tn Heb “in your hand.”
  26. Jeremiah 36:14 tn The original has another example of a pre-positioned object (called casus pendens in the grammars; cf. GKC 458 §143.b), which is intended to focus attention on “the scroll.” The Hebrew sentence reads: “The scroll that you read from it in the ears of the people, take it and come.” Any attempt to carry over this emphasis into the English translation would be awkward. Likewise, the order of the two imperatives has been reversed as more natural in English.
  27. Jeremiah 36:14 tn Heb “So Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand and went to them.” The clause order has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  28. Jeremiah 36:15 tn Or “‘to us personally’…to them personally”; Heb “‘in our ears’…in their ears.” Elsewhere this has been rendered “in the hearing of” or “where they could hear.” All three of those idioms sound unnatural in this context. The mere personal pronoun seems adequate.
  29. Jeremiah 36:16 tn Heb “all the words.”
  30. Jeremiah 36:16 tn According to BDB 808 s.v. פָּחַד Qal.1 and 40 s.v. אֶל 3.a, this is an example of the “pregnant” use of a preposition, where an implied verb has to be supplied in the translation to conform the normal range of the preposition with the verb that is governing it. The Hebrew text reads: “they feared unto one another.” BDB translates “they turned in dread to each other.” The translation adopted seems more appropriate in this context.
  31. Jeremiah 36:16 tn Heb “We must certainly report to the king all these things.” Here the word דְּבָרִים (devarim) must mean “things” (cf. BDB 183 s.v. דָּבָר IV.3) rather than “words,” because a verbatim report of all the words in the scroll is scarcely meant. The present translation has chosen to use, instead of the indefinite “things,” a form that suggests a summary report of all the matters spoken about in the scroll.
  32. Jeremiah 36:17 tn Or “Did Jeremiah dictate them to you?” The words “Do they actually come from Jeremiah’s mouth?” assume that the last phrase (מִפִּיו, mippiv) is a question, either without the formal he (הֲ) interrogative (see GKC 473 §150.a and compare usage in 1 Sam 16:4 and Prov 5:16), or with a letter supplied from the end of the preceding word (single writing of a letter following the same letter [haplography]; so the majority of modern commentaries). The word is missing in the Greek version. The presence of this same word at the beginning of the answer in the next verse suggests that this was a question (probably without the he [הֲ] interrogative, to make it more emphatic), since the common way to answer affirmatively is to repeat the emphatic word in the question (cf. GKC 476 §150.n and compare usage in Gen 24:58). The intent of the question is to make sure that these were actually Jeremiah’s words, not Baruch’s own creation (cf. Jer 43:2-3 for a similar suspicion).
  33. Jeremiah 36:18 tn The verbal forms emphasize that each word came from his mouth. The first verb is an imperfect, which emphasizes repeated action in past time, and the second verb is a participle, which emphasizes ongoing action. However, it is a little awkward to try to express this nuance in contemporary English. Even though it is not reflected in the translation, it is noted here for future reference.
  34. Jeremiah 36:19 tn The verbs here are both direct imperatives, but it sounds awkward in contemporary English to say, “You and Jeremiah, go and hide.” The same force is accomplished by phrasing the statement as strong advice.
  35. Jeremiah 36:20 tn Heb “they deposited.” For the usage of the verb here see BDB 824 s.v. פָּקַד Hiph.2.b and compare the usage in Jer 37:21, where it is used for “confining” Jeremiah in the courtyard of the guardhouse.
  36. Jeremiah 36:20 tn Heb “all the matters.” Cf. the translator’s note on v. 16.
  37. Jeremiah 36:20 tn Both here and in the next verse the Hebrew has “in the ears of” before “the king” (and also before “all the officials”). As in v. 15, these words are not represented in the translation due to the awkwardness of the idiom in contemporary English (see the translator’s note on v. 15).
  38. Jeremiah 36:21 tn Heb “and Jehudi read it.” However, Jehudi has been the subject of the preceding; so it would be awkward in English to use the personal subject. The translation has chosen to bring out the idea that Jehudi himself read it by using the reflexive.
  39. Jeremiah 36:22 tn Heb “in the autumn house.” Commentators are agreed that this was not a separate building or palace but the winter quarters in the palace.sn Larger houses, including the palace, were two-storied buildings with a lower quarters better insulated for the cold of winter and an upper quarters better ventilated to provide cool in the summer. Since this was the ninth month (December), the king had taken up residence in the lower, warmer quarters, which were equipped with a portable fire pot or brazier to keep him warm.
  40. Jeremiah 36:22 tc Heb “the fire in the firepot was burning before him.” The translation assumes that the word “fire” (אֵשׁ, ʾesh) has dropped out after the particle אֶת (ʾet) because of the similar beginnings of the two words. The word “fire” is found in the Greek, Syriac, and Targumic translations according to BHS. The particle אֵת should be retained rather than dropped as an erroneous writing of אֵשׁ. Its presence is to be explained as use of the sign of the accusative to introduce a new subject (cf. BDB 85 s.v. אֶת 3.α and compare the usage in 27:8; 38:16 [in the Kethib]; and 45:4).
  41. Jeremiah 36:23 tn Heb “doors.” This is the only time the word “door” is used in this way, but all the commentaries and lexicons agree that it means “columns.” The meaning is figurative based on the similarity of shape.
  42. Jeremiah 36:23 tn Heb “he.” The majority of commentaries and English versions are agreed that “he” is the king. However, since a penknife (Heb “a scribe’s razor”) is used to cut the columns off, it is possible that Jehudi himself did it. However, even if Jehudi himself did it, he was acting on the king’s orders.
  43. Jeremiah 36:23 sn Heb “a scribe’s razor.” There is some irony involved here since a scribe’s razor normally trimmed the sheets to be sewn together, scraped them in preparation for writing, and erased errors. What was normally used to prepare the scroll served to destroy it.
  44. Jeremiah 36:23 tn Heb “until the whole scroll was consumed upon the fire that was in the fire pot.”
  45. Jeremiah 36:24 tn Heb “Neither the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words were afraid or tore their clothes.” The sentence was broken into two shorter sentences to better conform to English style, and some terms were explained (e.g., tore their clothes) for the sake of clarity.sn There are some interesting wordplays and contrasts involved here. The action of the king and his attendants should be contrasted with that of the officials who heard the same things read (v. 16). The king and his officials did not tear their garments in grief and sorrow; instead the king cut up the scroll (the words “tear” and “cut off” are the same in Hebrew [קָרַע, qaraʿ]). Likewise, the actions of Jehoiakim and his attendants are to be contrasted with those of his father Josiah, who some twenty or more years earlier tore his clothes in grief and sorrow (2 Kgs 22:11-20) and led the people in renewing their commitment to the covenant (2 Kgs 23:1-3). That was what the Lord had hoped would happen when the king and the people heard the warnings of Jeremiah (Jer 36:2-3). Instead, Jehoiakim expressed his contempt for God's word by destroying the scroll.
  46. Jeremiah 36:25 tn Heb “And also Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah urged [or had urged] the king not to burn the scroll, but he did not listen to them.” The translation attempts to lessen the clash in chronological sequencing with the preceding. This sentence is essentially a flashback to a time before the scroll was totally burned (v. 23).
  47. Jeremiah 36:26 tn Heb “the son of the king.” Many of the commentaries express doubt that this actually refers to Jehoiakim’s own son. Jehoiakim was only about thirty at this time, and one of his sons would not have been old enough to have been in such a position of authority. The same doubt is expressed about the use of this term in 38:6 and in 1 Kgs 22:26. Rather than referring to the king's own son, the term can indicate a member of the royal family.
  48. Jeremiah 36:27 tn Heb “from the mouth of Jeremiah.”
  49. Jeremiah 36:28 tn Heb “Return, take another.” The verb “return” is used in the sense of repetition: “take again” (cf. BDB 998 s.v. שׁוּב Qal.8). The idea is already contained in “Get another,” so most modern English versions do not represent it.
  50. Jeremiah 36:28 tn Heb “all the former words/things.”
  51. Jeremiah 36:28 tn Heb “first [or former] scroll.”
  52. Jeremiah 36:29 tn Or “In essence you asked.” For explanation see the translator’s note on the end of the verse.
  53. Jeremiah 36:29 tn Heb “You burned this scroll, saying, ‘Why did you write on it, saying, “The king of Babylon will certainly come [the infinitive absolute before the finite verb expresses certainty here, as several places elsewhere in Jeremiah] and destroy this land and exterminate from it both man and beast”?’” The sentence raises several difficulties for translating literally. The “you” in “why did you write” is undefined, though it obviously refers to Jeremiah. The gerund “saying” that introduces ‘Why did you write’ does not fit very well with “you burned the scroll.” Gerunds of this sort are normally explanatory. Lastly, there is no indication in the narrative that Jehoiakim ever directly asked Jeremiah this question. In fact, he had been hidden out of sight so Jehoiakim couldn’t confront him. The question is presented rhetorically, expressing Jehoiakim’s thoughts or intents and giving the rational for burning the scroll, i.e., he questioned Jeremiah’s right to say such things. The translation has attempted to be as literal as possible without resolving some of these difficulties. One level of embedded quotes has been eliminated for greater simplicity. For the rendering of “How dare you” for the interrogative “why do you,” see the translator’s note on 26:9.
  54. Jeremiah 36:30 sn This prophecy was not “totally” fulfilled because his son Jehoiachin (Jeconiah) did occupy the throne for three months (2 Kgs 23:8). However, his rule was negligible, and after his capitulation and exile to Babylon, he himself was promised that neither he nor his successors would occupy the throne of David (cf. Jer 22:30 and see the study notes on 22:24, 30).
  55. Jeremiah 36:30 sn Compare the more poetic prophecy in Jer 22:18-19 and see the study note on 22:19.
  56. Jeremiah 36:31 tn Heb “for their iniquity.”
  57. Jeremiah 36:31 tn Heb “all the disaster which I spoke to them about but they did not listen to [or obey].” HALOT, s.v. דבר, Piel.4, shows that the verb can mean “speak about.” Compare usage at Gen 19:21 and Ruth 4:1.
  58. Jeremiah 36:32 tn Heb “And he wrote upon it from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah burned in the fire. And many words like these were added to them besides [or further].” The translation uses the more active form in the last line because of the tendency in contemporary English style to avoid the passive. It also uses the words “everything” for “all the words” and “messages” for “words.” Those are legitimate usages of these phrases, and they avoid the mistaken impression that Jeremiah repeated verbatim either the words on the former scroll or the messages that he had delivered during the course of the preceding twenty-three years.
Next
Jeremiah 35
Jeremiah 37
Next
Previous Next

Jeremiah 25
New English Translation

Seventy Years of Servitude for Failure to Give Heed

25 In the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord spoke to Jeremiah[a] concerning all the people of Judah. (That was the same as the first year that Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon.)[b] 2 So the prophet Jeremiah spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the people who were living in Jerusalem. 3 “For the last twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amon was ruling in Judah[c] until now, the Lord’s messages have come to me and I have told them to you over and over again.[d] But you would not listen. 4 Over and over again[e] the Lord has sent[f] his servants the prophets to you. But you have not listened or paid attention.[g] 5 He said through them,[h] ‘Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and stop doing the evil things you are doing.[i] 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.[j] 6 Do not pay allegiance to[k] other gods and worship and serve them. Do not make me angry by the things that you do.[l] Then I will not cause you any harm.’ 7 So, now the Lord says,[m] ‘You have not listened to me. But[n] you have made me angry by the things that you have done.[o] Thus you have brought harm on yourselves.’

8 “Therefore, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies[p] says, ‘You have not listened to what I said.[q] 9 So I, the Lord, affirm that[r] I will send for all the peoples of the north[s] and my servant,[t] 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[u] the land, its inhabitants, and all the surrounding nations[v] and make them everlasting ruins.[w] I will make them objects of horror and hissing scorn.[x] 10 I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness and the glad celebration of brides and grooms in these lands.[y] I will put an end to the sound of people grinding meal. I will put an end to lamps shining in their houses.[z] 11 This whole area[aa] will become a desolate wasteland. These nations will be subject to the king of Babylon for seventy years.’[ab]

12 “‘But when the seventy years are over, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation[ac] for their sins. I will make the land of Babylon[ad] an everlasting ruin.[ae] I, the Lord, affirm it![af] 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.[ag] 14 For many nations and great kings will make slaves of the king of Babylon and his nation[ah] too. I will repay them for all they have done.’”[ai]

Judah and the Nations Will Experience God’s Wrath

15 So[aj] the Lord, the God of Israel, spoke to me in a vision:[ak] “Take this cup from my hand. It is filled with the wine of my wrath.[al] Take it and make the nations to whom I send you drink it. 16 When they have drunk it, they will stagger to and fro[am] and act insane. For I will send wars sweeping through them.”[an]

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.[ao] 18 I made Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and its officials drink it.[ap] I did it so Judah would become a ruin. I did it so Judah, its kings, and its officials would become an object of[aq] horror and of hissing scorn, an example used in curses.[ar] Such is already becoming the case![as] 19 I made all these other people drink it: Pharaoh, king of Egypt;[at] his attendants, his officials, his people, 20 the foreigners living in Egypt;[au] all the kings of the land of Uz;[av] all the kings of the land of the Philistines,[aw] the people of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, the people who had been left alive from Ashdod;[ax] 21 all the people of Edom,[ay] Moab,[az] Ammon;[ba] 22 all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon;[bb] all the kings of the coastlands along the sea;[bc] 23 the people of Dedan, Tema, Buz,[bd] all the desert people who cut their hair short at the temples;[be] 24 all the kings of Arabia who[bf] live in the desert; 25 all the kings of Zimri;[bg] all the kings of Elam;[bh] all the kings of Media;[bi] 26 all the kings of the north, whether near or far from one another; and all the other kingdoms that are on the face of the earth. After all of them have drunk the wine of the Lord’s wrath,[bj] the king of Babylon[bk] must drink it.

27 Then the Lord said to me,[bl] “Tell them that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel,[bm] says,[bn] ‘Drink this cup[bo] until you get drunk and vomit. Drink until you fall down and can’t get up.[bp] For I will send wars sweeping through you.’[bq] 28 If they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink it, tell them that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says,[br] ‘You most certainly must drink it![bs] 29 For take note, I am already beginning to bring disaster on the city that I call my own.[bt] So how can you possibly avoid being punished?[bu] You will not go unpunished. For I am proclaiming war against all who live on the earth. I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,[bv] affirm it!’[bw]

30 “Then, Jeremiah,[bx] make the following prophecy[by] against them:

‘Like a lion about to attack,[bz] 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.[ca]
He will shout in triumph, like those stomping juice from the grapes,[cb]
against all those who live on the earth.
31 The sounds of battle[cc] will resound to the ends of the earth.
For the Lord will bring charges against the nations.[cd]
He will pass judgment on all humankind
and will hand the wicked over to be killed in war.’[ce]
The Lord so affirms it![cf]
32 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says,
‘Disaster will soon come on one nation after another.[cg]
A mighty storm of military destruction[ch] is rising up
from the distant parts of the earth.’
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.[ci]
Their dead bodies will lie scattered over the ground like manure.
34 Wail and cry out in anguish, you rulers!
Roll in the dust, you who shepherd flocks of people![cj]
The time for you to be slaughtered has come.
You will lie scattered and fallen like broken pieces of fine pottery.[ck]
35 The leaders will not be able to run away and hide.[cl]
The shepherds of the flocks will not be able to escape.
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.[cm]
37 Their peaceful dwelling places will be laid waste[cn]
by the fierce anger of the Lord.[co]
38 The Lord is like a lion who has left his lair.[cp]
So their lands will certainly[cq] be laid waste
by the warfare of the oppressive nation[cr]
and by the fierce anger of the Lord.”

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 25:1 tn Heb “The word was to Jeremiah.” It is implicit from the context that it was the Lord’s word. The verbal expression is more in keeping with contemporary English style.
  2. Jeremiah 25:1 sn The year referred to would be 605 b.c. Jehoiakim had been placed on the throne of Judah as a puppet king by Pharaoh Necho after the defeat of Josiah at Megiddo in 609 b.c. (2 Kgs 23:34-35). According to Jer 46:2 Nebuchadnezzar defeated Necho at Carchemish in that same year. After defeating Necho, Nebuchadnezzar had hurried back to Babylon, where he was made king. After being made king, he then returned to Judah and attacked Jerusalem (Dan 1:1. The date given there is the third year of Jehoiakim but scholars are generally agreed that the dating there is based on a different system than the one here. It did not count the part of the year before New Year’s day as an official part of the king’s official rule. Hence, the third year there is the fourth year here.) The identity of the foe from the north referred to in general terms (4:6; 6:1; 15:12) now becomes clear.
  3. Jeremiah 25:3 sn The year referred to would be 627 b.c. The same year is referred to in 1:2 in reference to his call to be a prophet.
  4. Jeremiah 25:3 tn For the idiom involved here see the notes at 7:13 and 11:7.
  5. Jeremiah 25:4 tn For the idiom involved here see the notes at 7:13 and 11:7.
  6. Jeremiah 25:4 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.
  7. Jeremiah 25:4 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; 5:1).
  8. Jeremiah 25:5 tn Heb “saying.” The infinitive goes back to “he sent”; i.e., “he sent, saying.”
  9. Jeremiah 25:5 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.
  10. Jeremiah 25:5 tn Heb “gave to you and your fathers with reference to from ancient times even unto forever.” See the same idiom in 7:7.
  11. Jeremiah 25:6 tn Heb “follow after.” See the translator’s note on 2:5 for this idiom.
  12. Jeremiah 25:6 tn Heb “make me angry with the work of your hands.” The phrase “work of your hands” is often interpreted as a reference to idolatry, as is clearly the case in Isa 2:8 and 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.
  13. Jeremiah 25:7 tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”
  14. Jeremiah 25:7 tn This is a rather clear case where the Hebrew particle לְמַעַן (lemaʿan) introduces a consequence and not a purpose, contrary to the dictum of BDB 775 s.v. מַעַן note 1. They have failed to listen to him not 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).
  15. Jeremiah 25:7 tn Heb “make me angry with the work of your hands.” The phrase “work of your own hands” is often interpreted as a reference to idolatry, as is clearly the case in Isa 2:8 and 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.
  16. Jeremiah 25:8 tn Heb “Yahweh of Armies.” sn See the study note on 2:19 for an explanation of this title.
  17. Jeremiah 25:8 tn Heb “You have not listened to my words.”
  18. Jeremiah 25:9 tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”
  19. Jeremiah 25:9 sn The many allusions to trouble coming from the north are now clarified: it is the armies of Babylon, which included within them contingents from many nations. See 1:14, 15; 4:6; 6:1, 22; 10:22; and 13:20 for earlier allusions.
  20. Jeremiah 25:9 sn Nebuchadnezzar is called the Lord’s servant also in Jer 27:6 and 43:10. He was the Lord’s servant in that he was the agent used by the Lord to punish his disobedient people. Assyria was earlier referred to as the Lord’s “rod” (Isa 10:5-6), and Cyrus is called his “shepherd” and his “anointed” (Isa 44:28; 45:1). P. C. Craigie, P. H. Kelley, and J. F. Drinkard (Jeremiah 1-25 [WBC], 364) make the interesting observation that the terms here are very similar to the terms in v. 4. The people of Judah ignored the servants, the prophets, he sent to turn them away from evil. So he will send other servants whom they cannot ignore.
  21. Jeremiah 25:9 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 and 51:3.
  22. Jeremiah 25:9 tn Heb “will utterly destroy them.” The referent (the land, its inhabitants, and the surrounding nations) has been specified in the translation for clarity, since the previous “them” referred to Nebuchadnezzar and his armies.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).
  23. Jeremiah 25:9 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).
  24. Jeremiah 25:9 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 third.sn Cf. Jer 18:16; 19:8; and the study note at 18:16.
  25. Jeremiah 25:10 sn Cf. Jer 7:24 and 16:9 for this same dire prediction limited to Judah and Jerusalem.
  26. Jeremiah 25:10 sn The sound of people grinding meal and the presence of lamps shining in their houses were signs of everyday life. The Lord is going to make these lands desolate (v. 11), destroying all signs of life. (The statement is, of course, hyperbolic or poetic exaggeration; even after the destruction of Jerusalem many people were left in the land.) For these same descriptions of everyday life applying to the end of life, see the allegory in Eccl 12:3-6.
  27. Jeremiah 25:11 tn Heb “All this land.”
  28. Jeremiah 25:11 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 b.c. and the beginning of his rule over Babylon. At this time Babylon became the dominant force in the area and continued to be so until the fall of Babylon in 538 b.c. More particularly Judah became a vassal state (cf. Jer 46:2; 2 Kgs 24:1) in 605 b.c. and was allowed to return to her homeland in 538 when Cyrus issued his edict allowing all the nations exiled by Babylon to return to their homelands. (See 2 Chr 36:21 and Ezra 1:2-4; the application there is made to Judah, but the decree of Cyrus was broader.)
  29. Jeremiah 25:12 tn Heb “that nation.”
  30. Jeremiah 25:12 tn Heb “the land of the Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for the use of the term “Chaldeans.”
  31. Jeremiah 25:12 tn Heb “I will visit upon the king of Babylon and upon that nation, oracle of the Lord, their iniquity, even upon the land of the Chaldeans, and I will make it everlasting ruins.” The sentence has been restructured to avoid ambiguity and to conform the style more to contemporary English.sn Cf. Isa 13:19-22; Jer 50:39-40.
  32. Jeremiah 25:12 tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”
  33. Jeremiah 25:13 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 references to “this book” and “what Jeremiah has prophesied against the nations” raise 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 a.d.) containing them. A common assumption is that this “book” of judgment refers to the judgments against Babylon and the other nations contained at the end of the book of Jeremiah (46:1-51:58). The Greek version actually inserts the prophecies of 46:1-51:58 here (but in a different order) and interprets “Which (= What) Jeremiah prophesied concerning all the nations” as a title. It is possible that the Greek version may represent an earlier form of the book. At least two earlier forms of the book are known that date roughly to the period dealt with here (Cf. 36:1 with 25:1 and see 36:2, 4 and 36:28, 32). Whether reference here is made to the first or second of these scrolls, and whether the Greek version represents either, is impossible to determine. It is not inconceivable that the referent here is the prophecies that Jeremiah has already uttered in vv. 8-12 and is about to utter in conjunction with the symbolical act that the Lord commands him to perform (vv. 15-26, 30-38), and that these are proleptic of the latter prophecies which will be given later and will be incorporated in a future book. That is the tenor of the alternate translation. The verb forms involved are capable of either a past/perfect translation or a proleptic/future translation. For the use of the participle (in the alternate translation = Heb “that is to be written”; הַכָּתוּב, hakkatuv) to refer to what is proleptic, see GKC 356-57 §116.d, e, and compare usage in Jonah 1:3 and 2 Kgs 11:2. For the use of the perfect to refer to a future act (in the alternate translation “is going to prophesy,” נִבָּא, nibbaʾ), see GKC 312 §106.m and compare usage in Judg 1:2. In support of this interpretation is the fact that the first verb in the next verse (Heb “they will be subjected,” עָבְדוּ, ʿovdu) is undoubtedly prophetic [it is followed by a vav consecutive perfect; cf. Isa 5:14]). Reading the text this way has the advantage of situating it within the context of the passage itself, which involves prophecies against the nations and against Babylon. Babylon is both the agent of wrath (the cup from which the nations drink, cf. 51:7) and the recipient of it (cf. v. 26). However, this interpretation admittedly does not explain the reference to “this book,” except as a proleptic reference to some future form of the book, and there would be clearer ways of expressing this view if that were what was definitely intended.
  34. Jeremiah 25:14 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).
  35. Jeremiah 25:14 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.
  36. Jeremiah 25:15 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.
  37. Jeremiah 25:15 tn Heb “Thus said the Lord, the God of Israel, to me.” It is generally understood that the communication is visionary. God does not have a “hand,” and the actions of going to the nations and making them drink of the cup are scarcely literal. The words are supplied in the translation to show the figurative nature of this passage.
  38. Jeremiah 25:15 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 that Judah was to suffer and from which God would deliver her (Isa 51:17, 22). 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 Lord will identify Babylon as the cup that makes the nations stagger. In v. 16 drinking from the cup will be identified with the sword (i.e., wars) that the Lord will send against the nations. Babylon is also to be identified as the sword (cf. Jer 51:20-23). What is being alluded to in highly figurative language is the judgment that the Lord will wreak through the Babylonians on the nations listed here. The prophecy given here in symbolical form is thus an expansion of the one in vv. 9-11.
  39. Jeremiah 25:16 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).
  40. Jeremiah 25:16 tn Heb “because of the sword that I will send among them.” Here, as often elsewhere in Jeremiah, the sword is figurative for warfare that brings death. See, e.g., 15:2. The causal particle here is found in verbal locutions where it indicates 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.
  41. Jeremiah 25:17 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.
  42. Jeremiah 25:18 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.
  43. Jeremiah 25:18 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.
  44. Jeremiah 25:18 tn See the study note on 24:9 for explanation.
  45. Jeremiah 25:18 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 b.c. or 586 b.c. However, it may refer here to the beginning stages, where Judah has already suffered the loss of Josiah, its freedom, some of its temple treasures, and some of its leaders (Dan 1:1-3. The different date for Jehoiakim there is due to the different method of counting the king’s first year; the third year there is the same as the fourth year in 25:1).
  46. Jeremiah 25:19 sn See further Jer 46:2-28 for the judgment against Egypt.
  47. Jeremiah 25:20 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.)
  48. Jeremiah 25:20 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.
  49. Jeremiah 25:20 sn See further Jer 47:1-7 for the judgment against the Philistines. The Philistine cities were west of Judah.
  50. Jeremiah 25:20 sn The Greek historian Herodotus reports that Ashdod had been destroyed under the Pharaoh who preceded Necho, Psammetichus.
  51. Jeremiah 25:21 sn See further Jer 49:7-22 for the judgment against Edom. Edom, Moab, and Ammon were east of Judah.
  52. Jeremiah 25:21 sn See further Jer 48:1-47 for the judgment against Moab.
  53. Jeremiah 25:21 sn See further Jer 49:1-6 for the judgment against Ammon.
  54. Jeremiah 25:22 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.
  55. Jeremiah 25:22 sn The connection with Tyre and Sidon suggests that these were Phoenician colonies. See also Isa 23:2.
  56. Jeremiah 25:23 sn Dedan and Tema are mentioned together in Isa 21:13-14 and located in the desert. They were 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 49:7-8.
  57. Jeremiah 25:23 tn For the discussion regarding the meaning of the terms here, see the notes on 9:26.sn See Jer 9:26, where these are mentioned in connection with Moab, Edom, and Ammon.
  58. Jeremiah 25:24 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 and 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.sn See further Jer 49:28-33 for judgment against some of these Arabian peoples.
  59. Jeremiah 25:25 sn The kingdom of Zimri is mentioned nowhere else, so its location is unknown.
  60. Jeremiah 25:25 sn See further Jer 49:34-39 for judgment against Elam.
  61. Jeremiah 25:25 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.
  62. Jeremiah 25:26 tn The words “have drunk the wine of the Lord’s wrath” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity at the end of the list to serve as a transition to the next sentence, which does not directly mention the cup or the Lord’s wrath.
  63. Jeremiah 25:26 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.
  64. Jeremiah 25:27 tn The words “Then the Lord said to me” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity, to connect this part of the narrative with vv. 15, 17 after the long intervening list of nations who were to drink the cup of God’s wrath in judgment.
  65. Jeremiah 25:27 tn Heb “Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel.”sn See the study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for explanation of this extended title.
  66. Jeremiah 25:27 tn Heb “Tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord….’” The translation is intended to eliminate one level of imbedded quotation marks to help avoid confusion.
  67. Jeremiah 25:27 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.
  68. Jeremiah 25:27 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 and Prov 3:3b-4a.
  69. Jeremiah 25:27 tn Heb “because of the sword that I will send among you.” See the notes on 2:16 for explanation.
  70. Jeremiah 25:28 tn Heb “Tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord…’” The translation is intended to eliminate one level of imbedded quote marks to help avoid confusion.
  71. Jeremiah 25:28 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.)
  72. Jeremiah 25:29 tn Heb “which is called by my name.” See translator’s note on 7:10 for support.
  73. Jeremiah 25:29 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.)
  74. Jeremiah 25:29 tn Heb “Yahweh of Armies.”sn See the study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for explanation of this extended title.
  75. Jeremiah 25:29 tn Heb “Oracle of Yahweh of Armies.”
  76. Jeremiah 25:30 tn The word “Jeremiah” is not in the text. It is supplied in the translation to make clear who is being addressed.
  77. Jeremiah 25:30 tn Heb “Prophesy against them all these words.”
  78. Jeremiah 25:30 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 Lord to a lion is made at the end of the passage in v. 38. The words are supplied in the translation here for clarity.sn For the metaphor of the Lord going forth against his enemies like an attacking lion, see Jer 49:19; 50:44; and Isa 31:4, in all of which the Lord comes against the nations in defense of his people. In Hos 5:14 the metaphor is turned against his own people. The figure of a lion ravaging people has already been used in Jer 4:7 of the enemy from the north (Babylon).
  79. Jeremiah 25:30 sn The word used here (Heb “his habitation”) refers to the land of Canaan, which the Lord chose to make his earthly dwelling (Exod 15:13) and which was the dwelling place of his chosen people (Jer 10:25; Isa 32:18). Judgment would begin at the “house of God” (v. 29; 1 Pet 4:17) but would extend to the rest of the earth (v. 29).
  80. Jeremiah 25:30 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.
  81. Jeremiah 25:31 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.
  82. Jeremiah 25:31 tn Heb “the Lord has a lawsuit against the nations.” For usage with “lawsuit” see Hos 4:1 and Mic 6:2, and compare use of the related verb in Jer 2:9 and 12:1.
  83. Jeremiah 25:31 tn Heb “give the wicked over to the sword.”sn There is undoubtedly a deliberate allusion here to the “wars” (Heb “sword”) that the Lord had said he would send raging through the nations (vv. 16, 27), and to the “war” (Heb “sword”) that he is proclaiming against them (v. 29).
  84. Jeremiah 25:31 tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”
  85. Jeremiah 25:32 tn Heb “will go forth from nation to nation.”
  86. Jeremiah 25:32 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. 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 Lord that will rage over the wicked, see Jer 23:19 and 30:23. Here it refers to the mighty Babylonian army that will come bringing destruction over all the known world. The same prophecy has just been given under the figure of the nations drinking the wine of God’s wrath (vv. 15-29).
  87. Jeremiah 25:33 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.
  88. Jeremiah 25:34 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.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.
  89. Jeremiah 25:34 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, keʾele 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, tefotsah) 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.
  90. Jeremiah 25:35 tn Heb “Flight [or “place of escape”] will perish from the shepherds.”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.
  91. Jeremiah 25:36 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, netanam), which is surrounded by imperfects, participles, and vav consecutive perfects.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).
  92. Jeremiah 25:37 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.”
  93. Jeremiah 25:37 tn Heb “because of the burning anger of the Lord.”
  94. Jeremiah 25:38 tn Heb “Like a lion he has left his lair.”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.
  95. Jeremiah 25:38 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).
  96. Jeremiah 25:38 tc Heb “by the sword of the oppressors.” The reading here follows a number of Hebrew mss and the Greek version. The majority of Hebrew mss read, “the anger of the oppressor.” The reading “the sword of the oppressors” is supported also by the parallel use of this phrase in Jer 46:16 and 50:16. The error in the MT may be explained by confusion with the following line, which has the same beginning combination (מִפְּנֵי חֲרוֹן [mippene kharon] confused for מִפְּנֵי חֶרֶב [mippene kherev]). This reading is also supported by the Targum, the Aramaic paraphrase of the OT. According to BDB 413 s.v. יָנָה Qal, the feminine singular participle (הַיּוֹנָה, hayyonah) is functioning as a collective in this idiom (see GKC 394 §122.s for this phenomenon).sn The connection between “war” (Heb “the sword”) and the wrath or anger of the Lord has already been made in vv. 16, 27, and the sword has been referred to also in vv. 29, 31. The sword is, of course, a reference to the onslaughts of the Babylonian armies (see later Jer 51:20-23).
Next
Jeremiah 24
Jeremiah 26
Next
Previous Next

Jeremiah 45
New English Translation

Baruch is Rebuked but also Comforted

45 The prophet Jeremiah spoke to Baruch son of Neriah while he was writing down in a scroll the words that Jeremiah spoke to him.[a] (This happened in the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was ruling over Judah.)[b] 2 Jeremiah said, “The Lord God of Israel has a message for you, Baruch. 3 ‘You have said, “I feel so hopeless![c] For the Lord has added sorrow to my suffering.[d] I am worn out from groaning. I can’t find any rest.”’”

4 The Lord told Jeremiah,[e] “Tell Baruch,[f] ‘The Lord says, “I am about to tear down what I have built and to uproot what I have planted. I will do this throughout the whole earth.[g] 5 Are you looking for great things for yourself? Do not look for such things. For I, the Lord, affirm[h] that I am about to bring disaster on all humanity.[i] But I will allow you to escape with your life[j] wherever you go.”’”

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 45:1 sn It is unclear whether this refers to the first scroll (36:4) or the second (36:32). Perhaps, from the reactions of Baruch, this refers to the second scroll, which was written after he had seen how the leaders had responded to the first (36:19). Baruch was from a well-placed family; his grandfather, Mahseiah (32:12), had been governor of Jerusalem under Josiah (2 Chr 34:8), and his brother was a high-ranking official in Zedekiah’s court (Jer 51:59). He himself appears to have had some personal aspirations that he could see were being or going to be jeopardized (v. 5). The passage is both a rebuke to Baruch and an encouragement that his life will be spared wherever he goes. This latter promise is perhaps the reason that the passage is placed where it is, i.e., after the seemingly universal threat of destruction of all who have gone to Egypt in Jer 44.
  2. Jeremiah 45:1 tn Heb “[This is] the word/message that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch, son of Neriah, when he wrote these words on a scroll from the mouth of Jeremiah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah king of Judah, saying.”
  3. Jeremiah 45:3 tn Heb “Woe to me!” See the translator’s notes on 4:13 and 10:19 for the rendering of this term.
  4. Jeremiah 45:3 sn From the context it appears that Baruch was feeling sorry for himself (v. 5), as well as feeling anguish for the suffering that the nation would need to undergo, according to the predictions of Jeremiah that he was writing down.
  5. Jeremiah 45:4 tn The words “The Lord told Jeremiah” are not in the text but are implicit in the address that follows: “Thus you shall say to him.” These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.
  6. Jeremiah 45:4 tn Heb “Thus you shall say to him [i.e., Baruch].”
  7. Jeremiah 45:4 tn Heb “and this is with regard to the whole earth.” The feminine pronoun הִיא (hiʾ) at the end refers to the verbal concepts just mentioned, i.e., this process (cf. GKC 459 §144.b and compare the use of the feminine singular suffix in the same function at GKC 440-41 §135.p). The particle אֶת (ʾet) is here functioning to introduce emphatically the object of the action (cf. BDB 85 s.v. I אֵת 3.α). There is some debate whether אֶרֶץ (ʾerets) here applies to the whole land of Israel or to the whole earth. However, the reference to “all mankind” (Heb “all flesh”) in the next verse as well as “anywhere you go” points to “the whole earth” as the referent.
  8. Jeremiah 45:5 tn Heb “oracle of the Lord.”
  9. Jeremiah 45:5 sn Cf. Jer 25:31, 33. The reference here to universal judgment also forms a nice transition to the judgments on the nations that follow in Jer 46-51. This may be another reason for the placement of this chapter here, out of its normal chronological order (see also the study note on v. 1).
  10. Jeremiah 45:5 tn Heb “I will give you your life for a spoil.” For this idiom see the translator’s note on 21:9 and compare the usage in 21:9; 38:2; 39:18.
Next
Jeremiah 44
Jeremiah 46
Next
dropdown
New English Translation (NET)

NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.