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Jeremiah 8:4-9:15
New English Translation

Willful Disregard of God Will Lead to Destruction

4 The Lord said to me,[a]

“Tell them, ‘The Lord says,
Do people not get back up when they fall down?
Do they not turn around when they go the wrong way?[b]
5 Why, then, do these people of Jerusalem[c]
continually turn away from me in apostasy?
They hold fast to their deception.[d]
They refuse to turn back to me.[e]
6 I have listened to them very carefully,[f]
but they do not speak honestly.
None of them regrets the evil he has done.
None of them says, “I have done wrong!”[g]
All of them persist in their own wayward course[h]
like a horse charging recklessly into battle.
7 Even the stork knows
when it is time to move on.[i]
The turtledove, swallow, and crane[j]
recognize[k] the normal times for their migration.
But my people pay no attention
to[l] what I, the Lord, require of them.[m]
8 How can you say, “We are wise!
We have the law of the Lord”?
The truth is,[n] those who teach it[o] have used their writings
to make it say what it does not really mean.[p]
9 Your wise men will be put to shame.
They will be dumbfounded and be brought to judgment.[q]
Since they have rejected the Lord’s message,
what wisdom do they really have?
10 [r] So I will give their wives to other men
and their fields to new owners.
For from the least important to the most important of them,
all of them are greedy for dishonest gain.
Prophets and priests alike
all practice deceit.
11 They offer only superficial help
for the hurt my dear people[s] have suffered.[t]
They say, “Everything will be all right!”
But everything is not all right.[u]
12 Are they ashamed because they have done such disgusting things?
No, they are not at all ashamed!
They do not even know how to blush.
So they will die just like others have died.[v]
They will be brought to ruin when I punish them,
says the Lord.
13 I will take away their harvests,[w] says the Lord.
There will be no grapes on their vines.
There will be no figs on their fig trees.
Even the leaves on their trees will wither.
The crops that I gave them will be taken away.’”[x]

Jeremiah Laments over the Coming Destruction

14 The people say,[y]

“Why are we just sitting here?
Let us gather together inside the fortified cities.[z]
Let us at least die there fighting,[aa]
since the Lord our God has condemned us to die.
He has condemned us to drink the poison waters of judgment[ab]
because we have sinned against him.[ac]
15 We hoped for good fortune, but nothing good has come of it.
We hoped for a time of relief, but instead we experience terror.[ad]
16 The snorting of the enemy’s horses
is already being heard in the city of Dan.
The sound of the neighing of their stallions[ae]
causes the whole land to tremble with fear.
They are coming to destroy the land and everything in it.
They are coming to destroy[af] the cities and everyone who lives in them.”

17 The Lord says,[ag]

“Yes indeed,[ah] I am sending an enemy against you
that will be like poisonous snakes that cannot be charmed away.[ai]
And they will inflict fatal wounds on you.”[aj]

18 Then I said,[ak]

“There is no cure[al] for my grief!
I am sick at heart!
19 I hear my dear people[am] crying out[an]
throughout the length and breadth of the land.[ao]
They are crying, ‘Is the Lord no longer in Zion?
Is her divine King[ap] no longer there?’”
The Lord answers,[aq]
“Why then do they provoke me to anger with their images,
with their worthless foreign idols?[ar]
20 They cry,[as] ‘Harvest time has come and gone and the summer is over,[at]
and still we have not been delivered.’
21 My heart is crushed because my dear people[au] are being crushed.[av]
I go about crying and grieving. I am overwhelmed with dismay.[aw]
22 There is still medicinal ointment[ax] available in Gilead!
There is still a physician there![ay]
Why then have my dear people[az]
not been restored to health?[ba]
9 (8:23)[bb] I wish that my head were a well full of water[bc]
and my eyes were a fountain full of tears!
If they were, I could cry day and night
for those of my dear people[bd] who have been killed.
2 (9:1) I wish I had a lodging place in the wilderness
where I could spend some time like a weary traveler.[be]
Then I would desert my people
and walk away from them
because they are all unfaithful to God,
a congregation[bf] of people that has been disloyal to him.”[bg]

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

3 The Lord says,[bh]

“These people are like soldiers who have readied their bows.
Their tongues are always ready to shoot out lies.[bi]
They have become powerful in the land,
but they have not done so by honest means.[bj]
Indeed, they do one evil thing after another[bk]
and do not pay attention to me.[bl]
4 Everyone must be on his guard around his friends.
He must not even trust any of his relatives.[bm]
For every one of them will find some way to cheat him.[bn]
And all his friends will tell lies about him.
5 One friend deceives another
and no one tells the truth.
These people have trained themselves[bo] to tell lies.
They do wrong and are unable to repent.
6 They do one act of violence after another,
and one deceitful thing after another.[bp]
They refuse to pay attention to me,”[bq]
says the Lord.

7 Therefore the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says:[br]

“I will now purify them in the fires of affliction[bs] and test them.
The wickedness of my dear people[bt] has left me no choice.
What else can I do?[bu]
8 Their tongues are like deadly arrows.[bv]
They are always telling lies.[bw]
Friendly words for their neighbors come from their mouths,
but their minds are thinking up ways to trap them.[bx]
9 I will certainly punish them for doing such things!” says the Lord.
“I will certainly bring retribution on such a nation as this!”[by]

The Coming Destruction Calls For Mourning

10 I said,[bz]

“I will weep and mourn[ca] for the grasslands on the mountains;[cb]
I will sing a mournful song for the pastures in the wilderness
because they are so scorched no one travels through them.
The sound of livestock is no longer heard there.
Even the birds in the sky and the wild animals in the fields
have fled and are gone.”

11 The Lord said,[cc]

“I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins.
Jackals will make their home there.[cd]
I will destroy the towns of Judah
so that no one will be able to live in them.”

12 I said,[ce]

“Who is wise enough to understand why this has happened?[cf]
Who has a word from the Lord that can explain it?[cg]
Why does the land lie in ruins?
Why is it as scorched as a desert through which no one travels?”

13 The Lord answered, “This has happened because these people have rejected my laws that I gave them. They have not obeyed me or followed those laws.[ch] 14 Instead they have followed the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts. They have paid allegiance to[ci] the gods called Baal,[cj] as their fathers[ck] taught them to do. 15 So then, listen to what I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel,[cl] say,[cm] ‘I will make these people eat the bitter food of suffering and drink the poison water of judgment.[cn]

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 8:4 tn The words “the Lord said to me” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation to make clear who is speaking and who is being addressed.
  2. Jeremiah 8:4 sn There is a play on two different nuances of the same Hebrew word that means “turn” and “return,” “turn away” and “turn back.”
  3. Jeremiah 8:5 tc People quite commonly emend the text, changing שׁוֹבְבָה הָעָם (shovevah haʿam) to שׁוֹבָב הָעָם (shovav haʿam) and omitting יְרוּשָׁלַםִ (yerushalaim); this is due to the anomaly of a feminine singular verb with a masculine singular subject and to the fact that the word “Jerusalem” is absent from one Hebrew ms and the LXX. However, it is possible that this is a case where the noun “Jerusalem” is a defining apposition to the phrase “these people,” an apposition which GKC 425 §131.k calls “permutation.” In this case the verb could be attracted to the appositional noun and there would be no reason to emend the text. The MT is undoubtedly the harder reading and is for that reason to be preferred.
  4. Jeremiah 8:5 tn Or “to their allegiance to false gods,” or “to their false professions of loyalty”; Heb “to deceit.” Either “to their mistaken beliefs” or “to their allegiance to false gods” would fit the preceding context. The former is more comprehensive than the latter and was chosen for that reason.
  5. Jeremiah 8:5 sn There is a continuing play on the same root word used in the preceding verse. Here the words “turn away from me,” “apostasy,” and “turn back to me” are all forms from the root that was translated “go the wrong way” and “turn around” in v. 4. The intended effect is to contrast Judah’s recalcitrant apostasy with the usual tendency to try and correct one’s mistakes.
  6. Jeremiah 8:6 tn Heb “I have paid attention and I have listened.” This is another case of two concepts being joined by “and” where one expresses the main idea and the other acts as an adverbial or adjectival modifier (a figure called hendiadys).
  7. Jeremiah 8:6 tn Heb “What have I done?” The addition of the word “wrong” is implicit in the context and is supplied in the translation for clarity. The rhetorical question does not function as a denial of wrongdoing, but rather as contrite shock at one’s own wrongdoing. It is translated as a declaration for the sake of clarity.
  8. Jeremiah 8:6 tn Heb “each one of them turns aside into their own running course.”sn The wordplay begun in v. 4 is continued here. The word translated “turns aside” in the literal translation and “wayward” in the translation is from the same root as “go the wrong way,” “turn around,” “turn away from me,” “apostasy,” and “turn back to me.” What God hoped for were confessions of repentance and change of behavior; what he got was denial of wrongdoing and continued turning away from him.
  9. Jeremiah 8:7 tn Heb “its appointed time.” The translation is contextually motivated to avoid lack of clarity.
  10. Jeremiah 8:7 tn There is debate in the commentaries and lexicons about the identification of some of these birds, particularly regarding the identification of the “swallow,” which is more likely the “swift,” and the “crane,” which some identify with the “thrush.” For a discussion see the Bible encyclopedias and the UBS handbook Fauna and Flora of the Bible. The identity of the individual birds makes little difference to the point being made, and “swallow” is more easily identifiable to the average reader than “swift.”
  11. Jeremiah 8:7 tn Heb “keep.” Ironically birds, which do not think, obey the laws of nature, but Israel does not obey the laws of God.
  12. Jeremiah 8:7 tn Heb “do not know.” But here as elsewhere the word “know” is more than an intellectual matter. It is intended here to summarize both “know” and “follow” (Heb “observe”) in the preceding lines.
  13. Jeremiah 8:7 tn Heb “the ordinance/requirement of the Lord.”
  14. Jeremiah 8:8 tn Heb “Surely, behold!”
  15. Jeremiah 8:8 tn Heb “the scribes.”
  16. Jeremiah 8:8 tn Heb “The lying pen of the scribes has made [it] into a lie.” The translation is an attempt to make the most common interpretation of this passage understandable for the average reader. This is, however, a difficult passage whose interpretation is greatly debated and whose syntax is capable of other interpretations. The interpretation of the NJPS, “Assuredly, for naught has the pen labored, for naught the scribes,” surely deserves consideration within the context; i.e., it hasn’t done any good for the scribes to produce a reliable copy of the law, which the people have refused to follow. That interpretation has the advantage of explaining the absence of an object for the verb “make” or “labored” but creates a very unbalanced poetic couplet.
  17. Jeremiah 8:9 tn Heb “be trapped.” However, the word “trapped” generally carries with it the connotation of divine judgment. See BDB 540 s.v. לָכַד Niph.2, and compare usage in Jer 6:11 for support. The verbs in the first two lines are again the form of the Hebrew verb that emphasizes that the action is as good as done (Hebrew prophetic perfects).
  18. Jeremiah 8:10 sn See Jer 6:12-15 for parallels to 8:10-12. The words of Jeremiah to the people may have been repeated on more than one occasion or have been found appropriate to more than one of his collections of messages in written and edited form. See Jer 36:4 and Jer 36:28 for reference to at least two of these collections.
  19. Jeremiah 8:11 tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.
  20. Jeremiah 8:11 tn Heb “They heal the wound of my people lightly.”
  21. Jeremiah 8:11 tn Heb “They say, ‘Peace! Peace!’ and there is no peace!”
  22. Jeremiah 8:12 tn Heb “They will fall among the fallen.”
  23. Jeremiah 8:13 tn Or “I will completely destroy them.” The translation that is adopted is based on a revocalization of the MT, which appears to mean literally, “gathering I will sweep them away,” a rather improbable grammatical combination. It follows the suggestion found in HALOT 705 s.v. סוּף (Hiph) of reading אֹסֵף אֲסִיפָם (ʾosef, a first singular Qal imperfect of אָסַף [ʾasaf] followed by a noun אָסִיף [ʾasif] with possessive suffix) instead of the MT’s אָסֹף אֲסִיפֵם (ʾasof ’asifem, a Qal infinitive absolute of אָסַף [ʾasaf] followed by the Hiphil imperfect of סוּף [suf] plus suffix). For parallel usage of the verb אָסַף (asaf) see BDB 62 s.v. אָסַף Qal.4, and for a similar form of the verb see Mic 4:6. The alternate translation follows the suggestion in BDB 692 s.v. סוּף (Hiph) that אָסֹף (ʾasof) is to be interpreted as a form of the Hiphil infinitive absolute (הָסֵף [hasef] would be expected) chosen for assonance with the following form. This suggestion would gain more credence if the MT were to be retained in Zeph 1:2, where parallel forms are found. However, that text, too, has been questioned on lexical and grammatical grounds. The translation adopted fits the following context better than the alternate one and is based on less questionable lexical and grammatical parallels. The Greek translation, which reads “they shall gather their fruits,” supports the translation chosen.
  24. Jeremiah 8:13 tn The meaning of this line is very uncertain. A possible alternate translation is, “They have broken the laws that I gave them.” The line reads rather literally, “And I gave them they passed over them.” The translation adopted treats the first expression as a noun clause (cf. GKC 488-89 §155.n) that is the subject of the following verb, i.e., “the things I gave them [contextually, the grapes, etc.] passed over from them.” The alternate translation treats the first expression as a dangling object (a Hebrew casus pendens) resumed by the pronoun “them” and understands “the things that I gave them” to be the law or some related entity that is often the object of this verb (see BDB 717 s.v. עָבַר Qal.1.i). Neither of these translations is without weakness. The weakness of the translation adopted is the unusual use it assigns to the object suffix of the verb translated “pass over.” The weakness of the alternate translation is the rather abrupt and opaque introduction of a new topic of reference (i.e., the laws) into the context. On the whole the latter weakness would appear to outweigh the former. This line is missing from the Greek version, and J. Bright (Jeremiah [AB]) and J. A. Thompson (Jeremiah [NICOT]) despair of giving a translation. For other possible suggestions see, W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:285-86.
  25. Jeremiah 8:14 tn The words “The people say” are not in the text but are implicit in the shift of speakers between vv. 4-13 and vv. 14-16. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
  26. Jeremiah 8:14 tn Heb “Gather together and let us enter into the fortified cities.”
  27. Jeremiah 8:14 tn Heb “Let us die there.” The words “at least” and “fighting” are intended to bring out the contrast of passive surrender to death in the open country and active resistance to the death implicit in the context.
  28. Jeremiah 8:14 tn The words “of judgment” are not in the text but are intended to show that “poison water” is not literal but figurative of judgment at the hands of God through the agency of the enemy mentioned in v. 16.
  29. Jeremiah 8:14 tn Heb “against the Lord.” The switch is for the sake of smoothness in English.
  30. Jeremiah 8:15 tn Heb “[We hoped] for a time of healing but, behold, terror.”
  31. Jeremiah 8:16 tn Heb “his stallions.”
  32. Jeremiah 8:16 tn The words “They are coming to destroy” are not in the text. They are inserted to break up a long sentence in conformity with contemporary English style.
  33. Jeremiah 8:17 tn These words, which are at the end of the Hebrew verse, are brought forward to show at the outset the shift in speaker.
  34. Jeremiah 8:17 tn Heb “Indeed [or For] behold!” The translation is intended to convey some of the connection that is suggested by the Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) at the beginning of the verse.
  35. Jeremiah 8:17 tn Heb “I am sending against you snakes, poisonous ones which cannot be charmed.” In light of the context, literal snakes are scarcely meant. So the metaphor is turned into a simile to prevent possible confusion. For a similar metaphorical use of animals for enemies see 5:6.
  36. Jeremiah 8:17 tn Heb “they will bite you.” There does not appear to be any way to avoid the possible confusion that literal snakes are meant here except to paraphrase. Possibly one could say, “And they will attack you and ‘bite’ you,” but enclosing the word “bite” in quotations might lead to even further confusion.
  37. Jeremiah 8:18 tn The words “Then I said” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity. There is a general consensus that the words of vv. 18-19a are Jeremiah’s self-expression.
  38. Jeremiah 8:18 tn The meaning of this word is uncertain. The translation is based on the redivision and repointing of a word that occurs only here in the MT and whose pattern of formation is unparalleled in the Hebrew Bible. The MT reads מַבְלִיגִיתִי (mavligiti), which BDB provisionally derives from a verb root meaning “to gleam” or “to shine.” Yet BDB notes that the text is dubious (cf. BDB 114 s.v. מַבְלִיגִית). The text is commonly emended to מִבְּלִי גְּהֹת (mibbeli gehot), which is a Qal infinitive from a verb meaning “to heal” preceded by a compound negative “for lack of, to be at a loss for” (cf., e.g., HALOT 514 s.v. מַבְלִיגִית and 174 s.v. גּהה). This reading is supported by the Greek text, which has an adjective meaning “incurable.” The adjective, however, is connected with the preceding verse and functions adverbially: “they will bite you incurably.”
  39. Jeremiah 8:19 tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.
  40. Jeremiah 8:19 tn Heb “Behold the voice of the crying of the daughter of my people.”
  41. Jeremiah 8:19 tn Heb “Land of distances, i.e., of wide extent.” For parallel usage compare Isa 33:17.
  42. Jeremiah 8:19 tn Heb “her King.” But this might be misunderstood by some to refer to the Davidic ruler even with the capitalization.
  43. Jeremiah 8:19 tn The words “The Lord would answer” are not in the text but are implicit from the words that follow. They are supplied in the translation for clarity. Another option would be to add, “And I can just hear the Lord reply.”
  44. Jeremiah 8:19 sn The people’s cry and the Lord’s interruption reflect the same argument that was set forth in the preceding chapter. They have misguided confidence that the Lord is with them regardless of their actions, and he responds that their actions have provoked him to the point of judging them. See especially 7:4 and 7:30.
  45. Jeremiah 8:20 tn The words “They say” are not in the text; they are supplied in the translation to make clear that the lament of the people begun in v. 19b is continued here after the interruption of the Lord’s words in v. 19c.
  46. Jeremiah 8:20 tn Heb “Harvest time has passed, the summer is over.”sn This appears to be a proverbial statement for “time marches on.” The people seem to be expressing their frustration that the Lord has not gone about his business of rescuing them as they expected. For a similar misguided feeling based on the offering of shallow repentance, see Hos 6:1-3 (and note the Lord’s reply in 6:4-6).
  47. Jeremiah 8:21 tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.
  48. Jeremiah 8:21 tn Heb “Because of the crushing of the daughter of my people I am crushed.”
  49. Jeremiah 8:21 tn Heb “I go about in black [i.e., mourning clothes]. Dismay has seized me.”
  50. Jeremiah 8:22 tn Heb “balm.” The more familiar “ointment” has been used in the translation, supplemented with the adjective “medicinal.”sn This medicinal ointment (Heb “balm”) consisted of the gum or resin from a tree of uncertain identification thought to have medicinal value (see also Jer 46:11).
  51. Jeremiah 8:22 tn Heb “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there?” In this context the questions are rhetorical and expect a positive answer, which is made explicit in the translation.sn The prophet means by this metaphor that there are still means available for healing the spiritual ills of his people, mainly repentance, obedience to the law, and sole allegiance to God, and still people available who will apply this medicine to them, namely prophets like himself.
  52. Jeremiah 8:22 tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.
  53. Jeremiah 8:22 tn Or more clearly, “restored to spiritual health”; Heb “Why then has healing not come to my dear people?”sn Jeremiah is lamenting that though there is a remedy available for the recovery of his people, they have not availed themselves of it.
  54. Jeremiah 9:1 sn Beginning with 9:1, the verse numbers through 9:26 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 9:1 ET = 8:23 HT, 9:2 ET = 9:1 HT, 9:3 ET = 9:2 HT, etc., through 9:26 ET = 9:25 HT. Beginning with 10:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
  55. Jeremiah 9:1 tn Heb “I wish that my head were water.”
  56. Jeremiah 9:1 tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.
  57. Jeremiah 9:2 tn Heb “I wish I had in the desert a lodging place [inn, or place to spend the night] for travelers.”
  58. Jeremiah 9:2 tn Or “bunch,” but this loses the irony; the word is used for the solemn assemblies at the religious feasts.
  59. Jeremiah 9:2 tn Heb “they are all adulterers, a congregation of unfaithful people.” However, spiritual adultery is, of course, meant, not literal adultery. So the literal translation would be misleading.
  60. Jeremiah 9:3 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.
  61. Jeremiah 9:3 tn Heb “They have readied [or strung] their tongue as their bow for lies.”
  62. Jeremiah 9:3 tn Heb “but not through honesty.”
  63. Jeremiah 9:3 tn Heb “they go from evil to evil.”
  64. Jeremiah 9:3 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 (yadaʿ) 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).
  65. Jeremiah 9:4 tn Heb “Be on your guard…Do not trust.” The verbs are second masculine plural of direct address and there seems no way to translate literally and not give the mistaken impression that Jeremiah is being addressed. This is another example of the tendency in Hebrew style to turn from description to direct address (a figure of speech called apostrophe).
  66. Jeremiah 9:4 tn Heb “cheating, each of them will cheat.”sn There is perhaps an intentional pun and allusion here to Gen 27:36 and the wordplay on the name Jacob there. The text here reads עָקוֹב יַעְקֹב (ʿaqob yaʿqob).
  67. Jeremiah 9:5 tn Heb “their tongues.” However, this is probably not a natural idiom in contemporary English, and the tongue may stand as a part for the whole anyway.
  68. Jeremiah 9:6 tc An alternate reading for vv. 5d-6b is, “They wear themselves out doing wrong. Jeremiah, you live in the midst of deceitful people. They deceitfully refuse to take any thought of/acknowledge me.” The translation which has been adopted is based on a redivision of the lines, a redivision of some of the words, and a revocalization of some of the consonants. The MT reads literally, “doing wrong they weary themselves. Your sitting in the midst of deceit; in deceit they refuse to know me” (הַעֲוֵה נִלְאוּ׃ שִׁבְתְּךָ בְּתוֹךְ מִרְמָה בְּמִרְמָה מֵאֲנוּ דַעַת־אוֹתִי). The Greek version reads literally, “they do wrong and they do not cease to turn themselves around. Usury upon usury and deceit upon deceit. They do not want to know me.” This suggests that one should read the Hebrew text as הַעֲוֵה נִלְאוּ שֻׁב׃ תֹּךְ בְּתוֹךְ מִרְמָה בְּמִרְמָה מֵאֲנוּ דַעַת אוֹתִי, which translated literally yields, “doing evil [= “they do evil,” using the Hiphil infinitive absolute as a finite verb (cf. GKC 346 §113.ff)], they are not able [cf. KBL 468 s.v. לָאָה Niph.3 and see Exod 7:18 for parallel use] to repent. Oppression on oppression [cf. BDB 1067 s.v. תֹּךְ, II תּוֹךְ]; deceit on deceit. They refuse to know me.” This reading has ancient support and avoids the introduction of an unexpected second masculine suffix into the context. It has been adopted here, along with a number of modern commentaries (cf., e.g., W. McKane, Jeremiah [ICC], 1:201) and English versions, as the more likely reading.
  69. Jeremiah 9:6 tn Or “do not acknowledge me”; Heb “do not know me.” See the note on the phrase “do not take any thought of me” in 9:3.
  70. Jeremiah 9:7 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”sn For the significance of this title see the notes at 2:19 and 7:3.
  71. Jeremiah 9:7 tn Heb “I will refine/purify them.” The words “in the fires of affliction” are supplied in the translation to give clarity to the metaphor.
  72. Jeremiah 9:7 tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.
  73. Jeremiah 9:7 tc Heb “For how else shall I deal because of the wickedness of the daughter of my people.” The MT does not have the word “wickedness.” The word, however, is read in the Greek version. This is probably a case of a word dropping out because of its similarities to the consonants preceding or following it (i.e., haplography). The word “wickedness” (רַעַת, raʿat) has dropped out before the words “my dear people” (בַּת־עַמִּי, bat-ʿammi). The causal nuance which is normal for מִפְּנֵי (mippene) does not make sense without some word like this, and the combination of רַעַת מִפְּנֵי (mippene raʿat) does occur in Jer 7:12 and one very like it occurs in Jer 26:3.
  74. Jeremiah 9:8 tc This reading follows the Masoretic consonants (the Kethib, a Qal active participle from שָׁחַט, shakhat). The Masoretes preferred to read “a sharpened arrow” (the Qere, a Qal passive participle from the same root or a homonym, meaning “hammered, beaten”). See HALOT 1354 s.v. II שָׁחַט for discussion. The exact meaning of the word makes little difference to the meaning of the metaphor itself.
  75. Jeremiah 9:8 tn Heb “They speak deceit.”
  76. Jeremiah 9:8 tn Heb “With his mouth a person speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets an ambush for him.”
  77. Jeremiah 9:9 tn Heb “Should I not punish them…? Should I not bring retribution…?” The rhetorical questions function as emphatic declarations.sn See 5:9, 29. This is somewhat of a refrain at the end of a catalog of Judah’s sins.
  78. Jeremiah 9:10 tn The words “I said” are not in the text, but there is general agreement that Jeremiah is the speaker. Cf. the lament in 8:18-9:1. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity. Some English versions follow the Greek text which reads a plural imperative here. Since this reading would make the transition between 9:10 and 9:11 easier, it is probably not original but a translator’s way of smoothing over a difficulty.
  79. Jeremiah 9:10 tn Heb “I will lift up weeping and mourning.”
  80. Jeremiah 9:10 tn Heb “for the mountains.” However, the context makes clear that it is the grasslands or pastures on the mountains that are meant. The words “for the grasslands” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
  81. Jeremiah 9:11 tn The words “the Lord said” are not in the text, but it is obvious from the content that he is the speaker. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.
  82. Jeremiah 9:11 tn Heb “a heap of ruins, a haunt for jackals.”
  83. Jeremiah 9:12 tn The words, “I said” are not in the text. It is not clear that a shift in speaker has taken place. However, the words of the verse are very unlikely to be a continuation of the Lord’s threat. It is generally assumed that these are the words of Jeremiah and that a dialogue is going on between him and the Lord in vv. 9-14. That assumption is accepted here.
  84. Jeremiah 9:12 tn Heb “Who is the wise man that he may understand this?”
  85. Jeremiah 9:12 tn Heb “And [who is the man] to whom the mouth of the Lord has spoken, that he may explain it?”
  86. Jeremiah 9:13 tn Heb “and they have not walked in it [with “it” referring to “my law”].”
  87. Jeremiah 9:14 tn Heb “they have gone/followed after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for the idiom.
  88. Jeremiah 9:14 tn Heb “the Baals,” referring either to the pagan gods called “Baals” or the images of Baal (so NLT).
  89. Jeremiah 9:14 tn Or “forefathers,” or “ancestors.” Here the referent could be the immediate parents or, by their example, more distant ancestors.
  90. Jeremiah 9:15 tn Heb “Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel.”sn See the study notes on 2:9 and 7:3.
  91. Jeremiah 9:15 tn Heb “Therefore, thus says the Lord…” The person is shifted from third to first to better conform with English style.
  92. Jeremiah 9:15 tn Heb “I will feed this people wormwood and make them drink poison water.” “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.
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Jeremiah 7
Jeremiah 10
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Jeremiah 9:22-10:16
New English Translation

22 Tell your daughters and neighbors, ‘The Lord says:
“The dead bodies of people will lie scattered everywhere
like manure scattered on a field.
They will lie scattered on the ground
like grain that has been cut down but has not been gathered.”’”[a]

23 [b] The Lord says,

“Wise people should not boast that they are wise.
Powerful people should not boast that they are powerful.[c]
Rich people should not boast that they are rich.[d]
24 If people want to boast, they should boast about this:
They should boast that they understand and know me.
They should boast that they know and understand
that I, the Lord, act out of faithfulness, fairness, and justice in the earth
and that I desire people to do these things,”[e]
says the Lord.

25 The Lord says, “Watch out![f] The time is soon coming when I will punish all those who are circumcised only in the flesh.[g] 26 That is, I will punish the Egyptians, the Judeans, the Edomites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, and all the desert people who cut their hair short at the temples.[h] I will do so because none of the people of those nations are really circumcised in the Lord’s sight.[i] Moreover, none of the people of Israel[j] are circumcised when it comes to their hearts.”[k]

The Lord, not Idols, is the Only Worthy Object of Worship

10 You people of Israel,[l] listen to what the Lord has to say to you.

2 The Lord says:

“Do not start following pagan religious practices.[m]
Do not be in awe of signs that occur[n] in the sky
even though the nations hold them in awe.
3 For the religion[o] of these people is worthless.
They cut down a tree in the forest,
and a craftsman makes it into an idol with his tools.[p]
4 He decorates it with overlays of silver and gold.
He uses hammer and nails to fasten it[q] together
so that it will not fall over.
5 Such idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field.
They cannot talk.
They must be carried
because they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them
because they cannot hurt you.
And they do not have any power to help you.”[r]

6 I said,[s]

“There is no one like you, Lord.[t]
You are great,
and you are renowned for your power.[u]
7 Everyone should revere you, O King of all nations,[v]
because you deserve to be revered.[w]
For there is no one like you
among any of the wise people of the nations nor among any of their kings.[x]
8 The people of those nations[y] are both stupid and foolish.
Instruction from a wooden idol is worthless![z]
9 Hammered-out silver is brought from Tarshish[aa]
and gold is brought from Ufaz[ab] to cover those idols.[ac]
They are the handiwork of carpenters and goldsmiths.[ad]
They are clothed in blue and purple clothes.[ae]
They are all made by skillful workers.[af]
10 The Lord is the only true God.
He is the living God and the everlasting King.
When he shows his anger the earth shakes.
None of the nations can stand up to his fury.
11 You people of Israel should tell those nations this:
‘These gods did not make heaven and earth.
They will disappear[ag] from the earth and from under the heavens.’[ah]
12 The Lord is the one who[ai] by his power made the earth.
He is the one who by his wisdom established the world.
And by his understanding he spread out the skies.
13 When his voice thunders,[aj] the heavenly ocean roars.
He makes the clouds rise from the far-off horizons.[ak]
He makes the lightning flash out in the midst of the rain.
He unleashes the wind from the places where he stores it.[al]
14 All these idolaters[am] will prove to be stupid and ignorant.
Every goldsmith will be disgraced by the idol he made.
For the image he forges is merely a sham.[an]
There is no breath in any of those idols.[ao]
15 They are worthless, mere objects to be mocked.[ap]
When the time comes to punish them, they will be destroyed.
16 The Lord, who is the inheritance[aq] of Jacob’s descendants,[ar] is not like them.
He is the one who created everything.
And the people of Israel are those he claims as his own.[as]
His name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”[at]

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 9:22 tn Or vv. 21-22 may read, “‘Death has climbed…city squares. And the dead bodies of people lie scattered…They lie scattered…but has not been gathered.’ The Lord has told me to tell you this.” Or, “For death will climb…It will enter…It will take away…who gather in the city squares. So tell your daughters and neighbors, ‘The Lord wants you to say, “The dead bodies of people lie scattered…They lie scattered…has not been gathered.”’” The main causes of ambiguity are the particle כִּי (ki) introducing v. 21 and the verb form דַּבֵּר (dabber) at the beginning of v. 22. כִּי may be interpreted as introducing a causal sentence giving Jeremiah’s grounds for the commands of v. 19, in which case the verbs would best be understood as prophetic perfects (as in the second alternate translation). Or it may be interpreted as introducing the content of the lament the women are to teach their daughters and neighbors (as in the translation adopted and in the first alternate translation). The form דַּבֵּר may be interpreted as a Piel masculine singular imperative addressed to Jeremiah (as in the first alternate translation, where it is placed at the end for the sake of clarity) or as a Piel infinitive absolute either explaining what the woman are to teach their daughters and neighbors (as in the second alternate translation; cf. GKC 341 §113.h, i for this use of the infinitive absolute) or as equivalent to an imperative addressed to the women, telling them to tell their daughters and neighbors the reason for the lament, i.e., the Lord’s promise of widespread death (cf. GKC 346 §113.bb for this use of the infinitive absolute). The translation chosen has opted for v. 21 as the content of the lament and v. 22 as the further explanation that Jeremiah has the women pass on to their neighbors and daughters. This appears to this interpreter to create the least confusion and dislocation in the flow of the passage.
  2. Jeremiah 9:23 sn It is not always clear why verses were placed in their present position in the editorial process of collecting Jeremiah’s sermons and the words the Lord spoke to him (see Jer 36:4, 32 for reference to two of these collections). Here it is probable that vv. 23-26 were added as a further answer to the question raised in v. 12.
  3. Jeremiah 9:23 tn Or “Strong people should not brag that they are strong.”
  4. Jeremiah 9:23 tn Heb “…in their wisdom…in their power…in their riches.”
  5. Jeremiah 9:24 tn Or “fairness and justice, because these things give me pleasure.” Verse 24 reads in Hebrew, “But let the one who brags brag in this: understanding and knowing me, that I, the Lord, do faithfulness, justice, and righteousness in the earth, for/that I delight in these.” It is uncertain whether the Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) before the clause “I delight in these things” is parallel to the כִּי introducing the clause “that I, the Lord, act…,” or whether it is causal, giving the grounds for the Lord acting the way he does. In light of the contrasts in the passage and the emphasis that Jeremiah has placed on obedience to the covenant and ethical conduct in conjunction with real allegiance to the Lord, not mere lip service, it is probable that the clauses are parallel. For the use of כִּי to introduce clauses of further definition after a direct object, as here, see GKC 365 §117.h and see BDB 393 s.v. יָדַע Qal.1.a. For parallels to the idea of Yahweh requiring these characteristics in people, see Hos 6:6, Mic 6:8.
  6. Jeremiah 9:25 tn Heb “Behold!”
  7. Jeremiah 9:25 tn Heb “punish all who are circumcised in the flesh.” The translation is contextually motivated to better bring out the contrast that follows.
  8. Jeremiah 9:26 tn Heb “all those who are cut off on the side of the head who live in the desert.” KJV and some other English versions (e.g., NIV “who live in the desert in distant places”; NLT “who live in distant places”) have followed the interpretation that this is a biform of an expression meaning, “end or remote parts of the [far] corners [of the earth].” This interpretation is generally abandoned by the more recent commentaries and lexicons (see, e.g. BDB 802 s.v. פֵּאָה 1 and HALOT 858 s.v. פֵּאָה 1.β). It occurs also in 25:33; 49:32.
  9. Jeremiah 9:26 tn Heb “For all of these nations are uncircumcised.” The words “I will do so” are supplied in the translation to indicate the connection with the preceding statement.sn Circumcision as a mere external cutting of the flesh is contrasted here with it as a sign of commitment to the covenant and the God of the covenant. The people of these nations practiced circumcision, but not as a sign of the covenant. The people of Israel engaged in it as a religious practice, but without any obedience to the covenant that it was a sign of, or any real commitment to the Lord.
  10. Jeremiah 9:26 tn Heb “house of Israel.”
  11. Jeremiah 9:26 tn Heb “And all the house of Israel is uncircumcised of heart.”
  12. Jeremiah 10:1 tn Heb “house of Israel.”
  13. Jeremiah 10:2 tn Heb “Do not learn the way of the nations.” For this use of the word “ways” (דֶּרֶךְ, derekh) compare, for example, Jer 12:16 and Isa 2:6.
  14. Jeremiah 10:2 tn Heb “signs.” The words “that occur” are supplied in the translation for clarity.sn The Hebrew word translated here as “things that go on in the sky” (אֹתוֹת, ʾotot) refers to unusual disturbances such as eclipses, comets, meteors, etc., but also to such things as changes in position of the sun, moon, and stars in conjunction with the changes in seasons (cf. Gen 1:14). The people of Assyria and Babylonia worshiped the sun, moon, and stars, thinking that these heavenly bodies had some hold over them.
  15. Jeremiah 10:3 tn Heb “statutes.” According to BDB 350 s.v. חֻקָּה 2.b it refers to the firmly established customs or practices of the pagan nations. Cf. Lev 20:23; 2 Kgs 17:8. Here it is essentially equivalent to דֶּרֶךְ (derekh) in v. 1, which has already been translated “religious practices.”
  16. Jeremiah 10:3 sn This passage is dripping with sarcasm. It begins by talking about the “statutes” of the pagan peoples as a “vapor” using a singular copula (הוּא, hu’, “it,” functioning as subject for an understood verb) and singular predicate. Then it suppresses the subject, the idol, as though it were too horrible to mention, using only the predications about it. The last two lines read literally: “for a tree from the forest, one cuts it down, a work of hands of a craftsman with the chisel.”
  17. Jeremiah 10:4 tn The pronoun is plural in Hebrew, referring to the parts.
  18. Jeremiah 10:5 tn Heb “And it is not in them to do good either.”
  19. Jeremiah 10:6 tn The words “I said” are not in the Hebrew text, but there appears to be a shift in speaker. Someone is now addressing the Lord. The likely speaker is Jeremiah, so the words “I said” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
  20. Jeremiah 10:6 tn The form that introduces this line has raised debate. The form מֵאֵין (meʾen) normally means “without” and introduces a qualification of a term expressing desolation, or it means “so that not” and introduces a negative result (cf. BDB 35 s.v. II אַיִן 6.b). Neither of these nuances fit either this verse or the occurrence in v. 7. BDB 35 s.v. II אַיִן 6.b.γ notes that some have explained this as a strengthened form of אַיִן (ʾayin), which occurs in a similar phrase five other times (cf., e.g., 1 Kgs 8:23). Though many, including BDB, question the validity of this solution, it is probably better than the suggestion that BDB gives of repointing to מֵאַיִן (meʾayin, “whence”), which scarcely fits the context of v. 7, or the solution of HALOT 41 s.v. I אַיִן, which suggests that the מ (mem) is a double writing (dittograph) of the final consonant from the preceding word. That would assume that the scribe made the same error twice (also in v. 7) or was influenced the second time by the first erroneous writing.
  21. Jeremiah 10:6 tn Heb “Great is your name in power.”
  22. Jeremiah 10:7 tn Heb “Who should not revere you…?” The question is rhetorical and expects a negative answer.
  23. Jeremiah 10:7 tn Heb “For it is fitting to you.”
  24. Jeremiah 10:7 tn Heb “their royalty/dominion.” This is a case of substituting the abstract “royalty, royal power” for the concrete “kings” who exercise it.
  25. Jeremiah 10:8 tn Or “Those wise people and kings are…” It is unclear whether the subject is the “they” of the nations in the preceding verse, or the wise people and kings referred to there. The text merely has “they.”
  26. Jeremiah 10:8 tn Heb “The instruction of vanities [worthless idols] is wood.” The interpretation of this line is a little uncertain. Various proposals have been made, most of which involve radical emendation of the text. For some examples see J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah (NICOT), 323-24, fn 6. However, this is probably a case of the bold predication discussed in GKC 452 §141.d, some examples of which may be seen in Ps 109:4 (“I am prayer”) and Ps 120:7 (“I am peace”).
  27. Jeremiah 10:9 tc Two Qumran scrolls of Jeremiah (4QJera and 4QJerb) reflect a Hebrew text that is very different than the traditional MT from which modern Bibles have been translated. The Hebrew text in these two manuscripts is similar to that from which LXX was translated. This is true both in small details and in major aspects where the LXX differs from MT. Most notably, 4QJera, 4QJerb and LXX present a version of Jeremiah about 13% shorter than the longer version found in MT. One example of this shorter text is Jer 10:3-11 in which MT and 4QJera both have all nine verses, while LXX and 4QJerb both lack vv. 6-8 and 10, which extol the greatness of God. In addition, the latter part of v. 9 is arranged differently in LXX and 4QJerb. The translation here follows MT, which is supported by 4QJera.
  28. Jeremiah 10:9 tn This is a place of unknown location. It is mentioned again in Dan 10:5. Many emend the word to “Ophir” following the Syriac version and the Aramaic Targum. Ophir was famous for its gold (cf. 1 Kgs 9:28; Job 28:16).
  29. Jeremiah 10:9 tn The words “to cover those idols” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
  30. Jeremiah 10:9 tn The words “They are” are not in the text. The text reads merely, “the work of the carpenter and of the hands of the goldsmith.” The words are supplied in the translation for clarity.
  31. Jeremiah 10:9 tn Heb “Blue and purple their clothing.”
  32. Jeremiah 10:9 sn There is an ironic pun in this last line. The Hebrew word translated “skillful workers” is the same word that is translated “wise people” in v. 7. The artisans do their work skillfully but they are not “wise.”
  33. Jeremiah 10:11 tn Aram “The gods who did not make…earth will disappear…” In conformity with contemporary English style, the sentence is broken up in the translation to avoid a long, complex English sentence.
  34. Jeremiah 10:11 tn This verse is in Aramaic. It is the only Aramaic sentence in Jeremiah. Scholars debate the appropriateness of this verse to this context. Many see it as a gloss added by a postexilic scribe that was later incorporated into the text. Both R. E. Clendenen (“Discourse Strategies in Jeremiah 10, ” JBL 106 [1987]: 401-8) and W. L. Holladay (Jeremiah [Hermeneia], 1:324-25, 334-35) have given detailed arguments that the passage is not only original but the climax and center of the contrast between the Lord and idols in vv. 2-16. God gives Israel a message for the nations in the lingua franca of the time. Holladay shows that the passage is a very carefully constructed chiasm (see accompanying study note). This fact argues that “these” at the end is the subject of the verb “will disappear,” not an attributive adjective modifying heaven. He also makes a very good case that the verse is poetry and not the prose that it is rendered in the majority of modern English versions.sn This passage is carefully structured and placed to contrast the Lord, who is living and eternal (v. 10) and made the heavens and earth (v. 12), with the idols, who did not and will disappear. It also has a very careful, concentric structure in the original text where “the gods” is balanced by “these,” “heavens” by “from under the heavens,” and “the earth” by “from the earth.” In the very center, “did not make” is balanced and contrasted by “will disappear.” The structure is further reinforced by the sound play/wordplay between “did not make” (Aram לָא עֲבַדוּ [laʾ ʿavadu]) and “will disappear” (Aram יֵאבַדוּ [yeʾvadu]). This is the rhetorical climax of Jeremiah’s sarcastic attack on the folly of idolatry.
  35. Jeremiah 10:12 tn The words “The Lord is” are not in the text. They are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation here because of possible confusion about who the subject is due to the parenthetical address to the people of Israel in v. 11. The first two verbs are participles and should not merely be translated as the narrative past. They are predicate nominatives of an implied copula intending to contrast the Lord, as the one who made the earth, with the idols, which did not.
  36. Jeremiah 10:13 tn Heb “At the voice of his giving.” The idiom “to give the voice” is often used for thunder (cf. BDB 679 s.v. נָתַן Qal.1.x).
  37. Jeremiah 10:13 tn Heb “from the ends of the earth.”
  38. Jeremiah 10:13 tn Heb “he brings out the winds from his storehouses.”
  39. Jeremiah 10:14 tn Heb “Every man.” But in the context this is not a reference to all people without exception but to all idolaters. The referent is made explicit for the sake of clarity.
  40. Jeremiah 10:14 tn Or “nothing but a phony god”; Heb “a lie/falsehood.”
  41. Jeremiah 10:14 tn Heb “There is no breath in them.” The referent is made explicit so that no one will mistakenly take it to refer to the idolaters or goldsmiths.
  42. Jeremiah 10:15 tn Or “objects of mockery.”
  43. Jeremiah 10:16 tn The words “The Lord who is” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity. For the significance of the words after them see the study note that follows.sn In the phrase the inheritance of Jacob’s descendants, “inheritance” could be translated “portion.” Applied to God here, the phrase has its background in Joshua’s division of the land of Canaan (Palestine), where each tribe received a land portion except the tribe of Levi, whose “portion” was the Lord. As the other tribes lived off what their portion of the land provided, the tribe of Levi lived off what the Lord provided, i.e., the tithes and offerings dedicated to him. Hence to have the Lord as one’s portion, one’s inheritance, is to have him provide for all one’s needs (see Ps 16:5 in the context of vv. 2, 6, and Lam 3:24 in the context of vv. 22-23).
  44. Jeremiah 10:16 tn Heb “The Portion of Jacob.” “Descendants” is implied, and is supplied in the translation for clarity.
  45. Jeremiah 10:16 tn Heb “And Israel is the tribe of his possession.”
  46. Jeremiah 10:16 tn Heb “Yahweh of Armies.”sn For this rendering of the name for God and its significance see 2:19 and the study note there.
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Jeremiah 26
New English Translation

Jeremiah Is Put on Trial as a False Prophet[a]

26 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah[b] at the beginning of the reign[c] of Josiah’s son, King Jehoiakim of Judah. 2 The Lord said, “Go stand in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple.[d] 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. 3 Maybe they will pay attention and each of them will stop living the evil way they do.[e] If they do that, then I will forgo destroying them[f] as I had intended to do because of the wicked things they have been doing.[g] 4 Tell them that the Lord says,[h] ‘You must obey me; you must live according to the way I have instructed you in my laws.[i] 5 You must pay attention to the exhortations of my servants the prophets. I have sent them to you over and over again.[j] But you have not paid any attention to them. 6 If you do not obey me,[k] then I will do to this temple what I did to Shiloh.[l] And I will make this city an example to be used in curses by people from all the nations on the earth.’”

7 The priests, the prophets, and all the people heard Jeremiah say these things in the Lord’s temple. 8 Jeremiah had just barely finished saying all the Lord had commanded him to say to all the people when all at once some[m] of the priests, the prophets, and the people grabbed him and shouted, “You deserve to die![n] 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!”[o] Then all the people crowded around Jeremiah in the Lord’s temple.

10 However, some of the officials[p] of Judah heard about what was happening[q] and they rushed up to the Lord’s temple from the royal palace. They set up court[r] at the entrance of the New Gate of the Lord’s temple.[s] 11 Then the priests and the prophets made their charges before the officials and all the people. They said,[t] “This man should be condemned to die[u] because he prophesied against this city. You have heard him do so[v] with your own ears.”

12 Then Jeremiah made his defense before all the officials and all the people.[w] “The Lord sent me to prophesy everything you have heard me say against this temple and against this city. 13 But correct the way you have been living and do what is right.[x] Obey the Lord your God. If you do, the Lord will forgo destroying you as he threatened he would.[y] 14 As to my case, I am in your power.[z] Do to me what you deem fair and proper. 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!”[aa]

16 Then the officials and all the people rendered their verdict to the priests and the prophets. They said,[ab] “This man should not be condemned to die.[ac] For he has spoken to us under the authority of the Lord our God.”[ad] 17 Then some of the elders of Judah[ae] stepped forward and spoke to all the people gathered there. They said, 18 “Micah from Moresheth[af] prophesied during the time Hezekiah was king of Judah.[ag] He told all the people of Judah, ‘The Lord of Heaven’s Armies[ah] says,

“‘Zion[ai] will become a plowed field.
Jerusalem will become a pile of rubble.
The temple mount will become a mere wooded ridge.”’[aj]

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?[ak] Did not[al] the Lord forgo destroying them[am] as he threatened he would? But we are on the verge of bringing great disaster on ourselves.”[an]

20 Now there was another man[ao] who prophesied as the Lord’s representative[ap] against this city and this land just as Jeremiah did. His name was Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath Jearim.[aq] 21 When King Jehoiakim and all his bodyguards[ar] and officials heard what he was prophesying,[as] the king sought to have him executed. But Uriah found out about it and fled to Egypt out of fear.[at] 22 However, King Jehoiakim sent some men to Egypt, including Elnathan son of Achbor,[au] 23 and they brought Uriah back from there.[av] They took him to King Jehoiakim, who had him executed and had his body thrown into the burial place of the common people.[aw]

24 However, Ahikam son of Shaphan[ax] used his influence to keep Jeremiah from being handed over and executed by the people.[ay]

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 26:1 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 Lord’s commands. Baruch is the probable narrator, passing on information gleaned from Jeremiah himself. (See Jer 36:4, 18, 32; 45:1 and also 32:13-14, where it is clear that Baruch is Jeremiah’s scribe or secretary.) Chapters 26-29 contain narratives concerning reactions to Jeremiah’s prophecies and his conflict with the prophets who were prophesying that things would be all right (see, e.g., 14:14-15; 23:21).
  2. Jeremiah 26:1 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.
  3. Jeremiah 26:1 tn It is often thought that the term here is equivalent to a technical term in Akkadian (resh sharruti) that 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 b.c., when Jehoiakim was placed on the throne as a puppet king by Pharaoh Necho (2 Kgs 23:34-35), and April, 608 b.c., when he would have been officially celebrated as king. However, it will be suggested below, in conjunction with the textual problems in 27:1 and 28:1, that the term does not necessarily refer to this period.
  4. Jeremiah 26:2 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.
  5. Jeremiah 26:3 tn Heb “will turn from his wicked way.”
  6. Jeremiah 26:3 tn For the idiom and translation of terms involved here, see 18:8 and the translator’s note there.sn The Lord is being consistent in the application of the principle, laid down in Jer 18:7-8, that reformation of character will result in the withdrawal of the punishment of “uprooting, tearing down, destroying.” His prophecies of doom are conditional threats, open to change with change in behavior.
  7. Jeremiah 26:3 tn Heb “because of the wickedness of their deeds.”
  8. Jeremiah 26:4 tn Heb “thus says the Lord, ‘…’.” The use of the indirect quotation in the translation eliminates one level of embedded quotation to avoid confusion.
  9. Jeremiah 26:4 tn Heb “by walking in my law that I set before you.”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).
  10. Jeremiah 26:5 tn See the translator’s note on 7:13 for the idiom here.
  11. Jeremiah 26:6 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, whom…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.
  12. Jeremiah 26:6 sn See the study note on Jer 7:13.
  13. Jeremiah 26:8 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 and 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.)
  14. Jeremiah 26:8 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).
  15. Jeremiah 26:9 tn Heb “Why have you prophesied in the Lord’s name, saying, ‘This house will become like Shiloh, and this city will become a ruin without inhabitant?’” It is clear from the context here and in 7:1-15 that the emphasis is on “in the Lord’s name” and that the question is rhetorical. The question is not a quest for information but an accusation, a remonstrance. (For this figure see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 953-54, who calls a question like this a rhetorical question of remonstrance or expostulation. For good examples see Pss 11:1; 50:16.) For the significance of “prophesying in the Lord’s name,” see the study note on 14:14. The translation again utilizes the indirect quote to eliminate one level of embedded quotation.sn They are questioning his right to claim the Lord’s authority for what they see as a false prophecy. They believed that the presence of the Lord in the temple guaranteed their safety (7:4, 10, 14), and that the Lord could not possibly be threatening its destruction. Hence they were ready to put him to death as a false prophet, according to the law of Moses (Deut 18:20).
  16. Jeremiah 26:10 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.
  17. Jeremiah 26:10 tn Heb “these things.”
  18. Jeremiah 26:10 tn Heb “they sat” or “they took their seats.” However, the context is one of judicial trial.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.
  19. Jeremiah 26:10 tn The translation follows many Hebrew mss and ancient versions in reading the word “house” (= temple) here. The majority of Hebrew mss do not have this word. It is, however, implicit in the construction “the New Gate of the Lord.”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 b.c.). That gate, however, has already been referred to as the Upper Gate of Benjamin in Jer 20:2 (for more detail see the study note there) and would not likely have been called something different here.
  20. Jeremiah 26:11 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.”
  21. Jeremiah 26:11 tn Heb “a sentence of death to this man.”
  22. Jeremiah 26:11 tn Heb “it.”
  23. Jeremiah 26:12 tn Heb “Jeremiah said to all the leaders and all the people….” See the note on the word “said” in the preceding verse.
  24. Jeremiah 26:13 tn Heb “Make good your ways and your actions.” For the same expression see 7:3, 5 and 18:11.
  25. Jeremiah 26:13 tn For the idiom and translation of terms involved here, see 18:8 and the translator’s note there.sn The Lord is being consistent in the application of the principle, laid down in Jer 18:7-8, that reformation of character will result in the withdrawal of the punishment of “uprooting, tearing down, destroying.” His prophecies of doom are conditional threats, open to change with change in behavior.
  26. Jeremiah 26:14 tn Heb “And I, behold, I am in your hand.” Hand is quite commonly used for “power” or “control” in biblical contexts.
  27. Jeremiah 26:15 tn Heb “For in truth the Lord has sent me to you to speak in your ears all these words/things.”
  28. Jeremiah 26:16 tn Heb “Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets…”
  29. Jeremiah 26:16 sn Contrast v. 11.
  30. Jeremiah 26:16 tn Heb “For in the name of the Lord our God he has spoken to us.” The emphasis is on “in the name of…”sn The priests and false prophets claimed that they were speaking in the Lord’s name (i.e., as his representatives and with his authority [see 1 Sam 25:9 and 1 Kgs 21:8; cf. the study note on Jer 23:27]) and felt that Jeremiah’s claims to be doing so were false (see v. 9). Jeremiah (and the Lord) charged that the opposite was the case (cf. 14:14-15; 23:21). The officials and the people, at least at this time, accepted his claims that the Lord had sent him (vv. 12, 15).
  31. Jeremiah 26:17 tn Heb “elders of the land.”sn The elders were important land-owning citizens, separate from the “heads” or leaders of the tribes, and were the officers and the judges. They were very influential in the judicial, political, and religious proceedings of both 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.)
  32. Jeremiah 26:18 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.
  33. Jeremiah 26:18 sn Hezekiah was co-regent with his father Ahaz from 729-715 b.c. and sole ruler from 715-686 b.c. His father was a wicked king who was responsible for the incursions of the Assyrians (2 Kgs 16; 2 Chr 28). Hezekiah was a godly king, noted for his religious reforms and for his faith in the Lord in the face of the Assyrian threat (2 Kgs 18-19; 2 Chr 32:1-23). The deliverance of Jerusalem in response to his prayers of faith (2 Kgs 19:14-19, 29-36) was undoubtedly well-known to the people of Jerusalem and Judah and may have been one of the prime reasons for their misplaced trust in the inviolability of Zion/Jerusalem (see Ps 46; 76), though the people of Micah’s day already believed it too (Mic 3:11).
  34. Jeremiah 26:18 tn Heb “Yahweh of Armies.”sn For an explanation of this title for God, see the study note on 2:19.
  35. Jeremiah 26:18 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).
  36. Jeremiah 26:18 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!
  37. Jeremiah 26:19 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.
  38. Jeremiah 26:19 tn The interrogative he (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.
  39. Jeremiah 26:19 tn For the translation of the terms involved here, see the translator’s note on 18:8.
  40. Jeremiah 26:19 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.
  41. Jeremiah 26:20 sn This is a brief, parenthetical narrative about an otherwise unknown prophet who was executed for saying the same things Jeremiah did. Since it is disjunctive or parenthetical, it is unclear whether this incident happened before or after that being reported in the main narrative. It is put here to show the real danger that Jeremiah faced for saying what he did. There is nothing in the narrative about Jeremiah to show any involvement by Jehoiakim. This was a “lynch mob,” instigated by the priests and false prophets, that was stymied by the royal officials, supported by some of the elders of Judah.
  42. Jeremiah 26:20 tn Heb “in the name of the Lord,” i.e., as his representative and claiming his authority. See the study note on v. 16.
  43. Jeremiah 26:20 tn Heb “Now also a man was prophesying in the name of the Lord, Uriah son of…, and he prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah.” The long Hebrew sentence has been broken up in conformity with contemporary English style. The major emphasis is brought out by putting his prophesying first, then identifying him.
  44. Jeremiah 26:21 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).
  45. Jeremiah 26:21 tn Heb “his words.”
  46. Jeremiah 26:21 tn Heb “But Uriah heard and feared and fled and entered Egypt.”
  47. Jeremiah 26:22 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).
  48. Jeremiah 26:23 tn Heb “from Egypt.”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.
  49. Jeremiah 26:23 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.
  50. Jeremiah 26:24 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.
  51. Jeremiah 26:24 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,” or “control.”
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