Jeremiah, Lamentations : An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture 9780805401165, 0805401164

Table of contents :
Half Title
Authors
Full Title
Copyright
Dedication
Editors Preface
Authors Preface
Abbreviations
Table of Contents
Jeremiah
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Lamentations
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Subject Index
Person Index
Scripture Index

Citation preview

General Editor E. RAY CLENDENEN Associate General Editor, OT KENNETH A. MATHEWS

Associate General Editor, NT DAVID S. DOCKERY

Consulting Editors Old Testament L. RUSS BUSH DUANE A. GARRETT LARRY L. WALKER

New Testament RICHARD R. MELICK, JR. PAIGE PATTERSON CURTIS VAUGHAN Manuscript Editors LINDA L. SCOTT MARC A. JOLLEY

To my students of the past thirty years from whom I probably have learned more than they have learned from me.

Editors’ Preface God's Word does not change. God's world, however, changes in every generation. These changes, in addition to new findings by scholars and a new variety of challenges to the gospel message, call for the church in each generation to interpret and apply God's Word for God's people. Thus, THE NEW AMERICAN COMMENTARY is introduced to bridge the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. This new series has been designed primarily to enable pastors, teachers, and students to read the Bible with clarity and proclaim it with power. In one sense THE NEW AMERICAN COMMENTARY is not new, for it represents the continuation of a heritage rich in biblical and theological exposition. The title of this forty-volume set points to the continuity of this series with an important commentary project published at the end of the nineteenth century called AN AMERICAN COMMENTARY, edited by Alvah Hovey. The older series included, among other significant contributions, the outstanding volume on Matthew by John A. Broadus, from whom the publisher of the new series, Broadman Press, partly derives its name. The former series was authored and edited by scholars committed to the infallibility of Scripture, making it a solid foundation for the present project. In line with this heritage, all NAC authors affirm the divine inspiration, inerrancy, complete truthfulness, and full authority of the Bible. The perspective of the NAC is unapologetically confessional and rooted in the evangelical tradition. Since a commentary is a fundamental tool for the expositor or teacher who seeks to interpret and apply Scripture in the church or classroom, the NAC focuses on communicating the theological structure and content of each biblical book. The writers seek to illuminate both the historical meaning and contemporary significance of Holy Scripture. In its attempt to make a unique contribution to the Christian community, the NAC focuses on two concerns. First, the commentary emphasizes how each section of a book fits together so that the reader becomes aware of the

theological unity of each book and of Scripture as a whole. The writers, however, remain aware of the Bible's inherently rich variety. Second, the NAC is produced with the conviction that the Bible primarily belongs to the church. We believe that scholarship and the academy provide an indispensable foundation for biblical understanding and the service of Christ, but the editors and authors of this series have attempted to communicate the findings of their research in a manner that will build up the whole body of Christ. Thus, the commentary concentrates on theological exegesis, while providing practical, applicable exposition. THE NEW AMERICAN COMMENTARY's theological focus enables the reader to see the parts as well as the whole of Scripture. The biblical books vary in content, context, literary type, and style. In addition to this rich variety, the editors and authors recognize that the doctrinal emphasis and use of the biblical books differs in various places, contexts, and cultures among God's people. These factors, as well as other concerns, have led the editors to give freedom to the writers to wrestle with the issues raised by the scholarly community surrounding each book and to determine the appropriate shape and length of the introductory materials. Moreover, each writer has developed the structure of the commentary in a way best suited for expounding the basic structure and the meaning of the biblical books for our day. Generally, discussions relating to contemporary scholarship and technical points of grammar and syntax appear in the footnotes and not in the text of the commentary. This format allows pastors and interested laypersons, scholars and teachers, and serious college and seminary students to profit from the commentary at various levels. This approach has been employed because we believe that all Christians have the privilege and responsibility to read and seek to understand the Bible for themselves. Consistent with the desire to produce a readable, up-to-date commentary, the editors selected the New International Version as the standard translation for the commentary series. The selection was made primarily because of the NIV's faithfulness to the original languages and its beautiful and readable style. The authors, however, have been given the liberty to differ at places from the NIV as they develop their own translations from the Greek and Hebrew texts.

The NAC reflects the vision and leadership of those who provide oversight for Broadman Press, who in 1987 called for a new commentary series that would evidence a commitment to the inerrancy of Scripture and a faithfulness to the classic Christian tradition. While the commentary adopts an “American” name, it should be noted some writers represent countries outside the United States, giving the commentary an international perspective. The diverse group of writers includes scholars, teachers, and administrators from almost twenty different colleges and seminaries, as well as pastors, missionaries, and a layperson. The editors and writers hope that THE NEW AMERICAN COMMENTARY will be helpful and instructive for pastors and teachers, scholars and students, for men and women in the churches who study and teach God's Word in various settings. We trust that for editors, authors, and readers alike, the commentary will be used to build up the church, encourage obedience, and bring renewal to God's people. Above all, we pray that the NAC will bring glory and honor to our Lord who has graciously redeemed us and faithfully revealed himself to us in his Holy Word. SOLI DEO GLORIA The Editors

Author’s Preface Recent years have witnessed a spate of fine commentaries on the Book of Jeremiah (e.g., Carroll, OTL; Craigie et al., Word; Holladay, Her; McKane, ICC; Thompson, NICOT). Can another commentary on this intriguing prophet be justified? The answer is yes only if its perspectives and approach are not redundant of what has already been done. No commentary can claim total originality, but each one can add another facet of understanding to the book being studied. THE NEW AMERICAN COMMENTARY has as its purpose to be a theological commentary rather than simply a text-critical, expositional, or devotional commentary. It is intended primarily for ministers, teachers, theological students, and others engaged in meaningful encounters with the Scriptures. If it is to be useful to that audience, it must be solidly grounded in the biblical languages (Hebrew and Aramaic for the OT and Greek for the NT). It must come to grips with historical and grammatical considerations and be unafraid to examine problems with which other commentaries have wrestled. Some application is justified since no biblical study is complete, however erudite or technical, until the one making the study has found a message in it. However, no commentary should or could attempt to discover every application that could be made of a single passage. That is the task and privilege of the individual student. There is a trend among recent biblical studies to focus on the theological content of the book or passage under study. It is within the parameters of theological exposition that the NAC hopes to earn its niche among biblical commentaries. With that polestar in mind, this commentary has been written. It is hoped that it, along with other commentaries on the same prophet, will enable the reader to add another facet of understanding and appreciation for Jeremiah as a man and as a prophet of God. I deliberately stated “along with other commentaries” because it would be presumptuous and arrogant for any writer to claim that he or she has produced the definitive study and ne plus ultra on this or any other book of the Bible.

I wish to express appreciation to the editorial staff of Broadman Press for inviting me to write this commentary. It has been challenging, time consuming, but all-engrossing. I have taught the Book of Jeremiah in a seminary setting for twenty-five years and thought I knew most of what was significant about Jeremiah. This study has made me realize I have only begun to learn about one of the greatest of the OT prophets. The commentary is presented to the reader with the prayer that Jeremiah will become your friend as he has mine through the years of studying the one often remembered as “the weeping prophet.” F. B. Huey, Jr.

Abbreviations

Bible Books Gen Exod Lev Num Deut Josh Judg Ruth 1,2 Sam 1,2 Kgs 1,2 Chr Ezra Neh Esth Job Ps (pl. Pss) Prov Eccl Song

Isa Jer Lam Ezek Dan Hos Joel Amos Obad Jonah Mic Nah Hab Zeph Hag Zech Mal Matt Mark

Luke John Acts Rom 1,2 Cor Gal Eph Phil Col 1,2 Thess 1,2 Tim Titus Phlm Heb Jas 1,2 Pet 1,2,3 John Jude Rev

Commonly Used Sources and Abbreviations AASOR AB ABD AJSL AKK AnBib ANE ANET AOAT AOTS AT D BASOR BC BDB BHS Bib BKAT BSC BZAW CAH CB CBC CBQ CHAL CTM DOTT EBC

Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research Anchor Bible Anchor Bible Dictionary American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures Akkadian Analecta biblica Ancient Near East J. B. Pritchard, ed., Ancient Near Eastern Texts Alter Orient und Altes Testament D. W. Thomas, ed., Archaeology and Old Testament Study Das Alte Testament Deutsch Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research Biblical Commentary F. Brown, S. R. Driver, and C. A. Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament Biblia hebraica stuttgartensia Biblica Biblischer Kommentar: Altes Testament Bible Study Commentary Beihefte zur ZAW Cambridge Ancient History Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Cambridge Bible Commentary Catholic Biblical Quarterly W. L. Holladay, ed., Concise Hebrew and Aramic Lexicon Concordia Theological Monthly D. W. Thomas, ed., Documents from Old Testament Times Expositor's Bible Commentary

FB GTJ HAT HBD HDR Her HKAT HSM HT HUCA IB

Forschung zur Bibel Grace Theological Journal Handbuch zum Alten Testament Holman Bible Dictionary Harvard Dissertations in Religion Hermeneia Handkommentar zum Alten Testament Harvard Semitic Monographs Helps for Translators Hebrew Union College Annual Interpreter's Bible Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and IBC Preaching B. H. Waltke and M. O'Connor, Introduction to Biblical IBHS Hebrew Syntax ICC International Critical Commentary Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, ed. G. A. Buttrick et IDB al. IDBSup IDB Supplementary Volume IEJ Israel Exploration Journal IES Israel Exploration Society Int Interpretation G. W. Bromiley, ed., International Standard Bible ISBE Encyclopedia, rev. ITC International Theological Commentary JBL Journal of Biblical Literature JBLMS Journal of Biblical Literature Monograph Series JNES Journal of Near Eastern Studies JNSL Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages JQR Jewish Quarterly Review JSOT Journal for the Study of the Old Testament JSOTSup JSOT—Supplement Series

JSS JTS JTSNS KAT

Journal of Semitic Studies Journal of Theological Studies Journal of Theological Studies, New Series Kommentar zum Alten Testament Koehler and W. Baumgartner, Lexicon in Veteris KB Testamenti libros LXX Septuagint LXXa Septuagint Alexandrinus LXXl Septuagint Lucianic MT Masoretic Text NICOT New International Commentary on the Old Testament Nip. Niphal NJPS New Jewish Publication Society Version OBT Overtures to Biblical Theology OTL Old Testament Library M. Black and H. H. Rowley, eds., Peake's Commentary PCB on the Bible pi. Piel pu. Pual ptcp. participle POTT D. J. Wiseman, ed., Peoples of Old Testament Times RB Revue biblique RevExp Review and Expositor RSR Recherches de science religieuse SBLDS Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series SBT Studies in Biblical Theology Sir The Wisdom of Ben Sira, or Ecclesiaticus Syr Syriac J. Botterweck and H. Ringgren, eds., Theological TDOTG. Dictionary of the Old Testament TOTC Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries TQ Theologische Quartalschrift

TWAT

G. J. Botterweck and H. Ringgren, eds., Theologisches Wörterbuch zum Alten Testament R. L. Harris et al., eds., Theological Word Book of the Old TWOT Testament Vg Vulgate VT Vetus Testamentum VTSup Vetus Testamentum, Supplements Wissenschaftliche Monographien zum Alten und Neuen WMANT Testament WTJ Westminster Theological Journal ZAW Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft ZPD Zondervan Pictorial Dictionary

Contents Jeremiah Introduction I. Introduction (1:1–3) II. The Call and Visions of Jeremiah (1:4–19) III. Warnings of Judgment from Jeremiah's Early Ministry (2:1–6:30) IV. Jeremiah's Temple Sermon and Other Messages of Warning (7:1–10:25) V. The Broken Covenant and Jeremiah's Complaints (11:1–15:21) VI. Warnings, Exhortations, and a Prophet's Despair (16:1–20:18) VII. Messages to Judah and the Nations (21:1–25:38) VIII. Jeremiah's Controversy with the False Prophets (26:1–29:32) IX. Messages of Hope for Restoration (30:1–33:26) X. Events and Messages from 605 B.C. to the Fall of Jerusalem (34:1–39:18) XI. Events after the Fall of Jerusalem (40:1–45:5)

XII. Messages concerning Foreign Nations (46:1– 51:64) XIII. A Summary of Events from 597 to 561 B.C. (52:1–34) Lamentations Introduction I. The Misery and Desolation of Jerusalem (1:1–22) II. God's Judgment on the City (2:1–22) III. Hope of Relief through Loving-Kindness (3:1– 66) IV. Sorrows of the People Resulting from the Siege (4:1–22) V. A Prayer for Mercy and Deliverance (5:1–22) Selected Subject Index Person Index Selected Scripture Index

Jeremiah

INTRODUCTION OUTLINE 1. The World of Jeremiah 2. Jeremiah: A Prophet for the Times 3. Formation and Structure of the Book 4. Authorship 5. Jeremiah in the Septuagint Version 6. The Theology of Jeremiah 7. Jeremiah for Our Times

INTRODUCTION 1. The World of Jeremiah Jeremiah can never be understood apart from the historical currents that swirled about him from the time of his childhood until those tumultuous events that took him to Egypt after forty years of faithfully proclaiming God's words. The closing years of the seventh century B.C. proved to be a

turbulent era in the ANE.1 That period can only be described as a time of crisis and transition. The stability that had characterized the years of political and military domination by Assyria in northern Mesopotamia came to an abrupt end in 609 with Assyria's capitulation to a coalition of nations led by the emerging city-state Babylon, fifty miles south of Baghdad. Assyria had been one of the most powerful empires of the ancient world.2 Few would have anticipated that its fall could come so quickly after reaching the zenith of its political and cultural achievements under the able ruler Ashurbanipal (668–627 B.C.). Assyria was overextended, its wars were exhausting its resources, its vassals were beginning to test its power, and it was under God's judgment (Isa 10:12; 14:24–25; Nah 2:8–3:19). Psammetichus I of Egypt (664–610) withheld tribute, ca. 655, and declared his independence from Assyria. The Medes were becoming a potential threat as were hordes of barbarian Cimmerians and Scythians. Ashurbanipal's brother and king of Babylon, Shamash-shum-ukin, led a revolt against Assyria in 652 that was put down only after a bitter struggle. After Ashurbanipal's death in 627, a Chaldean prince, Nabopolassar (626–605), took advantage of general unrest and civil war in the empire to declare Babylon's independence. Nineveh fell to the Babylonians and Medes in 612, and the last Assyrian resistance ended in 609 at Haran. Babylon's emergence as the major world power did not go unchallenged. Egypt saw the upstart nation as an even greater threat than Assyria and challenged them at the Battle of Carchemish in 605. Babylon emerged from that conflict as the undisputed ruler of the ANE (Jer 46:2– 12). Smaller nations like Judah transferred their loyalty to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar, Nabopolassar's son and general of the victorious army at Carchemish, was called home when his father died that same year and assumed rule of the now-powerful Babylonian Empire. Judah had been under Assyrian domination since the days of King Ahaz (735–715 B.C., 2 Kgs 16:7–8; Isa 7:1–8:18). With the coming of Assyrian weakness during the days of good King Josiah (640–609), Judah was able to maintain its independence (Jer 22:1–17). Assyria was helpless to challenge Josiah's annexation of much of Northern Israel (2 Chr 34:6–7). Then Judah became ensnared in the power struggle between Egypt and

Babylon. After Josiah's untimely death at the Battle of Megiddo (609) as he tried to halt an Egyptian army from reaching the last remnant of Assyria's resistance at Haran (2 Chr 35:20–24), control of Judah fell to the Egyptians under Pharaoh Neco II (610–594). Neco appointed Josiah's son, Jehoahaz, as Judah's new king. Recognizing after three months that Jehoahaz supported the anti-Egyptian party in Judah, however, the Egyptians deposed him and took him to Egypt as a prisoner. Neco replaced him with another of Josiah's sons, wicked Jehoiakim (609–598). After Egypt's defeat at Carchemish in 605, Jehoiakim transferred his allegiance to Babylon (2 Kgs 24:1). Encouraged by the promise of Egyptian military help (cf. Jer 2:36–37), Jehoiakim renounced his vassalage to Babylon in 601 (2 Kgs 24:1). In December 598 Nebuchadnezzar sent an army to quell the revolt lest other vassals entertain similar aspirations for independence. Jehoiakim died before a protracted siege of Jerusalem became a reality. Some of his own people may have assassinated him in order to negotiate more favorable peace terms with Nebuchadnezzar. His son, Jehoiachin, occupied the throne for only three months. Nebuchadnezzar deposed him and took him to Babylon in 597 (2 Kgs 24:8). There he remained until his release in 562 by Nebuchadnezzar II's successor Amel-Marduk (the biblical Evil-Merodach). Nebuchadnezzar placed Zedekiah (Mattaniah), another of Josiah's sons, on the throne. However, Zedekiah did not learn from his brother's disastrous attempt to sever ties with Babylon. He was encouraged to rebel by an insurrection in Babylon in 595/594 and by the promise of Egyptian help from Pharaoh Hophra (589–570), successor of Psammetichus II (594–589). Nebuchadnezzar quickly responded to the threat by sending an army to squelch the revolt. He placed Jerusalem under a siege that ended after eighteen months when the defenders, weakened by hunger, disease, and low morale, were no longer able to hold out. The walls were breached; Jerusalem was taken and destroyed, including the revered temple. Nebuchadnezzar carried away a number of the people to Babylon as hostages (2 Kgs 25:1–21). Nebuchadnezzar was unwilling to allow the rebellious nation any further semblance of independence under its own kings. He incorporated Judah into his empire as a province and appointed Gedaliah, a member of a

noble Judahite family, as governor (2 Kgs 25:22–26; Jer 40:1–12). It is uncertain how long he governed before being assassinated by a certain Ishmael (41:1–3). A number of Gedaliah's supporters, fearing Babylonian retaliation, fled to Egypt, taking Jeremiah with them (2 Kgs 25:26; Jer 42:1–43:7). Jeremiah 52:30 mentions a deportation in 582, which may have been Nebuchadnezzar's punishment for Gedaliah's murder. Jeremiah was born and raised in Judah under Assyrian domination during the reign of wicked King Manasseh (687–642 B.C.). Manasseh could not have been unaffected by the pagan religious practices fostered there. Early in his reign Manasseh began reintroducing and multiplying the paganism his father, Hezekiah, purged from Judah. He rebuilt the high places Hezekiah had destroyed, erected altars to Baal, and made an Asherah pole. He worshiped all the starry hosts and built altars to pagan gods in the temple itself. He offered his own son as a burnt sacrifice and practiced sorcery and divination (2 Kgs 21:2–9; 24:3–4; Zeph 1:4–5). Many of Judah's priests were wicked, but there were surely some who lamented what they saw taking place and did all they could to protect their families from such practices. Jeremiah's priestly parents (1:1) probably were among this minority and were careful to observe the Shema (Deut 6:4–9) in their home. Men and women with profound religious convictions can often trace the factors that molded their character to the teachings and influence of godly parents. Such may have been Jeremiah's fortunate background. At any rate he was prepared to hear the call of God in 627 (1:2) when just a youth, probably in his late teen years. The previous year King Josiah had begun his reforms (2 Chr 34:3–7). That same year, 627, witnessed the death of Ashurbanipal and the end of Assyrian dominance in the ANE. The rapid disintegration of the Assyrian Empire after Ashurbanipal's death must have provided Jeremiah food for thought, but he provided no record of his inner thoughts of that event. Perhaps he was too absorbed with trying to understand his call and what God was doing in his life to try to interpret international events. The finding of the law book in 622 (2 Chr 34:8–28) must have affected the young prophet profoundly, though he left no record of his reaction to its discovery. He must have admired the efforts of King Josiah to restore the religious purity that had characterized Josiah's great-grandfather Hezekiah.

It may have been those discovered Scriptures that brought Jeremiah to his unshakable conviction, so frequently reflected in his later messages, that continued disobedience to God's laws would spell the doom of Judah. This became a major focus of Jeremiah's ministry as chief spokesman for the Lord after Josiah's death in 609 and Jehoiakim's accession. He became the bitter adversary of Josiah's successors throughout the remaining years of Judah's independent existence. It cannot be ascertained when Jeremiah first came to understand that the upstart nation of Babylon was going to be God's instrument of judgment on his own people. However, when he realized what was to be, he unflinchingly warned his people that judgment was imminent. His efforts to turn them back to God were of no avail. His only reward was to be branded a traitor, threatened, and imprisoned. Jeremiah's troubles did not end when he was vindicated as a true prophet by Jerusalem's fall in 587. He loved his people too much to abandon them, so he made a decision to remain with them to help rebuild the nation (40:1–6). Even that desire was thwarted when he was forced to go to Egypt (43:1–6). Jeremiah's latter days are a mystery. The Lord wove Jeremiah's ministry and message into the fabric of his world. In order to understand Jeremiah's book it is necessary to understand the events surrounding the prophet. Nevertheless, Jeremiah's message speaks beyond his world because it was the message of the transcendent Lord of all worlds. It speaks to every world in which there is pride, rebellion against God, spiritual blindness, and God's people in need of encouragement and hope.

2. Jeremiah: A Prophet for the Times The tumultuous period of Judah's last days brought forth a clamor of prophetic voices warning that Judah's time was short unless it repented and returned to the Lord. However, towering above Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, and Ezekiel was the lonely figure of Jeremiah. Nevertheless, his message largely went unheeded.3

In his commentary on Jeremiah, J. Bright's first statement is “Jeremiah… was one of the prophets of Israel.”4 However commonplace this statement appears, he says, it is “actually the essential statement to be made about the man.”5 Another way of introducing Jeremiah is to see him as the most “human” of all the prophets. More is known about the personal and inner life of Jeremiah than any other prophet. Given to alternating moods of despair and exaltation, it is easier, perhaps, for us to identify with him than with a prophet as majestic and remote as Isaiah, as self-disciplined and visionary as Ezekiel, or as fiery as Amos. Jeremiah exhibited qualities of courage, compassion, and sensitivity. He also revealed a darker side of moodiness, introspection, loneliness, doubt, and retribution toward his personal enemies (11:20). He could call for vengeance on those who attacked him but also intercede passionately for God to spare his people. He could stand his ground against personal threats but also weep uncontrollably as he considered the suffering of his own people. Though frequently called the “weeping prophet,” his tears should be interpreted not as evidence of inner weakness but as proof of his love for his people.6 He must have gained a reputation for courage during his lifetime, for centuries later comparisons were made between Jesus and Jeremiah (Matt 16:14). He was the son of Hilkiah, a priest of Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. It is not certain whether Jeremiah himself was a priest. If he was, he did not mention it.7 Jeremiah was not married when called to be a prophet; in fact, he was forbidden to marry (16:1–4). Since young men customarily married in their late teens, Jeremiah probably was under twenty years of age when called “in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah” (1:2), i.e., 627 B.C.8 The reader is never told how Jeremiah earned his livelihood. It is unlikely that his preaching would have resulted in monetary compensation had a collection plate been passed. Perhaps those few who agreed with his message provided for his physical needs, which would have been minimal. On the other hand, he may have had independent financial resources because he was able to purchase the land of a relative when it was offered to him (32:9). There are four distinct periods in Jeremiah's ministry: (1) 627–609, from the date of his call to the death of King Josiah; (2) 609–597, from Josiah's

death to the deportation of King Jehoiachin to Babylon; (3) 597– 587, the years of the reign of King Zedekiah to the fall of Jerusalem; and (4) from the fall of Jerusalem in 587 to Jeremiah's involuntary flight to Egypt, where the story abruptly ends. The reader is told nothing about his final years or his death. An evaluation of Jeremiah by most standards of success would brand him an abysmal failure. He preached for forty years without convincing the people that he was God's prophet. He was threatened, ridiculed, and physically abused by his own people. Jerusalem was finally destroyed, and Judah ceased to exist as a nation because the people refused to accept Jeremiah's remedy for deliverance—turn back to God and submit to the Babylonians.9 However, Jeremiah must not be judged by human standards. God has a different measuring stick by which he judges a person's life. His is the test of obedience. God only required that Jeremiah obey him by proclaiming his message. Jeremiah was not responsible for a favorable response or lack of response. One who is an obedient servant of the Lord today is not held accountable for lack of response from those who hear his message.10 The great rulers of Jeremiah's day—Ashurbanipal, Nebuchadnezzar, Neco, and Hophra—have largely been forgotten. Their influence is nil, whereas Jeremiah's name and influence remain because of his obedience to God's will for him.

3. Formation and Structure of the Book The Book of Jeremiah appears to consist of four distinct parts: chaps. 1– 25; 26–45; 46–51; and chap. 52. In addition, there is evidence of smaller collections within the work (e.g., 2:1–4:4; 4:5–6:30; 8:14–17; 21:11–23:8; 23:9–40).11 Scholars have been unable to agree on how the collections came together. L. Perdue stated that “the most complicated and controversial issue in Jeremiah studies involves the analysis of the literary composition and development of the book.”12 J. Bright proposed a solution for the formation of the book,13 but E. Achtemeier responded that his solution was only “educated guesswork.”14 R. K. Harrison believes the “process of transmission… was considerably less complex than has been

assumed by the majority of liberal scholars,”15 but he admitted it is “almost impossible to conjecture the manner in which the prophecy was given its final form.”16 Nevertheless, conservative scholars affirm that God's guiding hand was ultimately responsible. Chapter 36 reveals that the earliest collection was made by Jeremiah himself when he dictated messages to Baruch that he had delivered prior to 605. When Jehoiakim destroyed the scroll on which they were written, Jeremiah dictated them again, adding others. These messages are found in chaps. 1–25. The remainder of the book speaks of Jeremiah in the third person and was evidently collected later by someone other than the prophet, perhaps by his scribe Baruch. Not only is there uncertainty about how the collection came about, but there also is considerable question about the arrangement of the final form. J. A. Soggin's assessment that “the whole book gives the impression of having been assembled with almost a complete lack of criteria”17 is probably an overstatement. O. Eissfeldt observed, “It is quite clear that this form is the result of a planned arrangement… either upset or not consistently carried through.”18 It is evident that an overall plan was not carried out and cannot be recovered. In spite of Soggin's statement, however, there is evidence that some criteria were used for the arrangement of certain parts of the book. Certain chapters are clearly gathered together according to subject matter, e.g., chaps. 18–19, the potter; 30–33, hope for the future; 46–51, judgment on foreign nations. Some parts are arranged according to key words, e.g., “return” in chaps. 3–4. The book appears at first glance to be arranged chronologically, i.e., beginning with Jeremiah's call and concluding with his words from Egypt more than forty years later. However, the chronological arrangement is not strictly followed. For example, the events of chap. 25 precede those of chap. 24, and the events of 22:24–30 are prior to those in 21:1–7.19 Other arrangements can also be detected, e.g., 22:1–30: condemnation of the wicked rulers, and chaps. 27– 29: condemnation of false prophets. Scholars generally agree that there are three types of literary material in the book. They are (1) the poetic oracles, most from Jeremiah himself; (2) biographical prose narratives about events in the life and time of Jeremiah; and (3) sayings and prose discourses akin to the style and vocabulary found

in Deuteronomy and the Historical Books (the so-called Deuteronomistic history). Arguments have been proposed for Jeremiah's dependence on certain portions of Hosea;20 Amos;21 Isaiah;22 Micah;23 and Zephaniah, Nahum, and Habakkuk.24 It should not be surprising that prophets were familiar with oracles of their predecessors and of their contemporaries and sometimes reflected that familiarity in their own messages.

4. Authorship The question of authorship must be injected into any discussion of the formation of the Book of Jeremiah. For centuries no serious questions were raised about Jeremianic authorship. However, following critical scholars’ acceptance of Wellhausen's source-critical analysis of the Pentateuch in 1878,25 scholars subjected other OT books to the same methodology with similar denial of traditional authorship. Influenced by Wellhausen's methodology, B. Duhm submitted the Book of Jeremiah to source-critical analysis in his 1901 commentary Das Buch Jeremia.26 He identified three principal sources or types of material that constituted the book: (1) the only authentic oracles by Jeremiah—the poetic portions in the qinah meter—plus Jeremiah's letter to the exiles (chap. 29), a total of about 280 verses; (2) a prose biography by Baruch, about 220 verses; and (3) everything else, attributed to a succession of editors rather than to Jeremiah. Duhm's proposal was further developed by S. Mowinckel in 1914 in his Zur Komposition des Buches Jeremia.27 He said the book was the result of a long process of editorial compilation and redaction. By formcritical methodology he essentially confirmed Duhm's three types of material or sources.28 He designated the first of these as A, the authentic Jeremiah oracles, mostly poetic and written in the first person, found in chaps. 1–25. He designated as B the second type, the prose-biographical narratives.29 The narratives are in the third person and must have been recorded by an eyewitness. They are found in chaps. 26–29 and 34–45. The third type, labeled C, consists of prose sermons by an editor from a school of

Deuteronomistic theologians of the exilic or postexilic period, though containing some genuine words of Jeremiah.30 This material is highly repetitious, verbose, and drives home the prophetic message with effective forcefulness.31 Most of the discussions concerning authorship of the Book of Jeremiah have centered around the contribution of Deuteronomic editors (Mowinckel's C material) to the formation and theology of the book. The prose sermons seem to share a vocabulary, style, and theological perspective that set them apart from other parts of the book but are characteristic of the literature now termed Deuteronomistic. After the seminal studies by Duhm and Mowinckel that brought the prose sermons of Jeremiah into focus and pointed to Deuteronomistic influence, other scholars have continued the study of that influence.32 W. Rudolph restated the problem in a way that became the basis for much research that followed.33 He employed Mowinckel's A, B, and C categories but differed in the assignment of certain passages. For example, he assigned several passages to B that Mowinckel had attributed to C. He also differed from Mowinckel in insisting that although there was a Deuteronomic influence, nonetheless, genuine Jeremianic sayings and themes lie behind the C sources. He also believed that C was the chief redactor responsible for the book in its present form. J. P. Hyatt attributed greater Deuteronomistic activity to the book than his predecessors. He argued that D was “responsible for making an edition of the book in one of its early stages.”34 E. Janssen was the first to make use of form-critical evidence to conclude that the prose sermons of Jeremiah were Deuteronomistic in origin.35 S. Herrmann36 and E. W. Nicholson37 added additional support for Deuteronomistic activity in the book. W. Thiel's studies were essentially an elaboration of Hyatt's arguments and contain the most extensive discussion of the question of Deuteronomistic redaction in recent years.38 Thiel argued that a Deuteronomistic redactor prepared an edition of Jeremiah in one of its earlier forms during the exilic period. Other scholars have not been swayed by the contentions that a Deuteronomistic redactor was responsible for much of the material in the book. Many ideas in the prose sermons do not follow Deuteronomy and the

Deuteronomistic literary corpus.39 S. R. Driver argued that Jeremiah deliberately used or perhaps was influenced by the Deuteronomistic style and vocabulary in his sermons.40 J. Bright acknowledged similarities between Jeremiah's prose sermons and the Deuteronomistic materials but insisted that his sermons have a style and diction of their own and are part of the genuine Jeremiah materials. In his words there is “a definite kinship between the prose sermons and the genuine Jeremiah.”41 H. Weippert argued that many of the prose discourses in Jeremiah are actually examples of an elevated prose style common in the ANE of Jeremiah's day. It was characterized by frequent parallelism, indicating its origin in poetry. She concluded that Jeremiah's “prose” discourses influenced the Deuteronomists. Furthermore, the so-called sermons are an essential part of Jeremiah's message in that it is here that we find his call to repentance.42 W. Holladay, however, has affirmed that it was the Deuteronomists who influenced Jeremiah. Nevertheless, he agrees that the sermons originated as prosaic versions of poetic messages. Jeremiah patterned his style after the poetic and prose sections of Deuteronomy, which he heard for the first time when it was read publicly during Josiah's reform. As Jeremiah's scribe, Baruch probably had a part also in forming the written style transmitted to us.43 Conservative scholars have continued to reject multiple authorship of the book although they allow for some editing.44 They point out that the failure of critical scholars to agree on the identification of the so-called sources weakens the case for multiple authorship. Even among critical scholars the old consensus of A, B, and C as delineated by Mowinckel is gone.45 Conservative scholars do admit there are similarities between Deuteronomy and Jeremiah. These are commonly explained, however, by the influence of Deuteronomy on Jeremiah and of Deuteronomic rhetoric on seventh- and sixth-century prose style.46

5. Jeremiah in the Septuagint Version

No other book of the Old Testament contains as many textual variants between the Hebrew (MT) and Greek texts (LXX) as does the Book of Jeremiah. In 1862 F. Giesebracht determined that the LXX is about twentyseven hundred words or one-eighth shorter than the MT.47 A more precise count by Y.-J. Min in 1977 found the LXX to be 3,097 words or oneseventh shorter than the MT.48 The differences include the omission of entire passages in the LXX, the longest being about 180 words. The most significant omissions are 29:16–20; 33:14–26; 39:4–13; 51:41b-49a; 52:27b-30. Other omissions may be a phrase, a sentence, or only a single word or two. The LXX has about one hundred words not found in the MT. Furthermore, some words in the LXX are different from the corresponding words in the MT (variants). Another type variant that occurs is a different arrangement of texts. The most significant one occurs in the messages against foreign nations (chaps. 46–51 in the MT). In the LXX this section appears immediately after 25:13a (LXX = 25:14–31:44) and is also arranged internally in a different sequence from the MT. Some of these differences are recensional, that is, they point to the existence of more than one edition of the Hebrew text. Others are the result of transcriptional errors, and some were introduced as revisions by the LXX translators.49 Until the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, many scholars assumed the LXX was an abridgment of the MT and was thus a historically inferior text.50 Although some fragments of Jeremiah found at Qumran agree with the MT against the LXX (4QJera, 4QJerc, and 2QJer),51 two of the three fragments of 4QJerb (covering 9:22–10:18; 43:3–9) are closer to the LXX than the MT.52 Although the evidence is slim, it seems likely that there were at least two different Hebrew text traditions of Jeremiah in circulation at Qumran, a shorter one forming the basis for the LXX and a longer one forming the basis for the MT.53 Whether one or both of these originated during or shortly after Jeremiah's lifetime or were the work of Deuteronomistic editors is a disputed matter. G. L. Archer, Jr. proposed that after producing and disseminating an earlier version of his prophecies, essentially represented by the LXX, Jeremiah continued adding prophecies to the work, which were then collected and finalized by Baruch. The final text was that found in the MT.54 The approach that seems best and is used by most scholars is that of J. Bright and J. A. Thompson, evaluating each

passage individually to determine in each case a preference for the MT or the LXX. After examining the various theories regarding the respective merits of the LXX and MT, S. Soderlund made the following sage observation: “It is important not to lose one's perspective: whether in the longer or shorter version, the book of Jeremiah still speaks to us with power and conviction that should not be obscured in the course of an otherwise legitimate and necessary text critical enterprise.”55 Some of the differences between the LXX and MT will be noted as they are encountered in the commentary that follows where they illuminate the interpretation.56

6. The Theology of Jeremiah Jeremiah was constantly at odds with his contemporaries (cf. 27–29). Their differences arose from his negative view of the future; he was unable to shake his countrymen from their smug complacency. Jeremiah was convinced that Judah would not survive because of its wickedness and refusal to repent and return to God (chaps. 2–6). He saw Babylon as God's instrument of judgment on his people and warned that Judah would be destroyed (1:11–19; 4:5–31; 25:1–14). This kind of preaching was unpopular and almost cost his life on several occasions (18:18; 19:1–20:6; 26:1–24; 36:1–26; 37:11–16; 38:1–16). The tension between Jeremiah and the nation was partly political because the people perceived Jeremiah as a traitor and a Babylonian sympathizer (37:11–16). The tension was also theological. Jeremiah was convinced on theological grounds that the nation was under God's judgment and would be punished, whereas his opponents argued (6:14; 28:10–11) that God had given them the land as part of an unconditional covenant (Gen 17:1–8) and had promised that a Davidic ruler would always be on the throne (2 Sam 7). Destruction of the nation did not fit that theological view (Jer 26:1–24).

Furthermore, they believed that history had substantiated their understanding. In 722 B.C. Israel, the Northern Kingdom, was destroyed because the people rebelled against their Assyrian overlords (2 Kgs 17), but their calamity was interpreted by the prophets as God's judgment (Amos 2:6–16; 3:1–6:14). Judah was spared at that time because it submitted to Assyrian vassalage (2 Kgs 16:7–9), but the people interpreted their deliverance as evidence of God's favor. Then when Jerusalem was spared destruction from Sennacherib's siege of the city in 701, they saw further proof of God's abiding favor on them (Isa 36–38). When Manasseh became king of Judah in 687, he repudiated Hezekiah's reforms, encouraged Baal worship, and was a docile subject of Assyria (1 Kgs 21:1–18). Nevertheless, Judah continued to maintain an optimistic theology that had its roots in their past history. Since the temple served as a visible symbol of God's presence, the people were confident he would protect them from all foes. Furthermore, they hoped for a king who would restore the glories of an idealized past under David and Solomon (Mic 5:2– 5a; Jer 26:17–19). Jeremiah saw the fallacy of their theology, but for a time it appeared that the timetable for calamity would be reversed because of the sweeping religious reforms of Josiah. Josiah purged all foreign cults from the land and slaughtered their priests unmercifully (2 Kgs 23:4–14). He even carried his reforms into Israel (2 Kgs 23:15–20), knowing that a weakened Assyria was unable to hold its conquered territories. These were the most thoroughgoing reforms in Judah's history and were pressed and directed further by the discovery of the law book in the temple in 622 (2 Kgs 22:3– 13; 2 Chr 34:8–18). This law book has been equated with the Book of Deuteronomy or parts of it. It was neither a new document nor a pious fraud concocted for the occasion and given Moses’ name for credibility. It was a collection of ancient laws that derived ultimately from Moses.57 Many scholars believe Jeremiah's messages were influenced by the Book of Deuteronomy, and there is no doubt he was familiar with its content. His theology was in agreement with the theology of Deuteronomy (cf. Jer 7:5–7 and Deut 10:18–20; Jer 4:4 and Deut 10:16; Jer 7:9 and Deut 5:9,17–20).58 Deuteronomic theology demanded that the people give exclusive allegiance to God (Deut 6:4). The worship of other gods was

forbidden and would be punished (Deut 28:15–68). It also promised restoration and future blessing (Deut 30:1–15). Deuteronomic theology can be summarized in one statement, “Obey and you will be blessed; disobey and you will be cursed” (cf. Deut 11:26–28). This was the heart of the Mosaic covenant the leaders of the cultic religion of Jerusalem had forgotten (Deut 6:4–9). Jeremiah's messages frequently reflected Deuteronomic thought, i.e., the necessity of obeying the law, punishment for disobedience, the internalization of the law (Deut 6:6; Jer 15:16), the necessity of wholeheartedly seeking God (Deut 4:29; Jer 29:13), and God as warrior (Deut 3:22; Jer 21:5). Deuteronomy's promises were not unconditional. The history of the nation as recorded in Joshua–Kings testifies that the ancient Mosaic theology was true. God would bless his people if they obeyed him but would punish them if they were disobedient. It was this insistence by Jeremiah that alienated him from his people, who preferred to believe the assuring words of the false prophets (7:4; 28:10–13). Jeremiah's earliest preaching was a severe attack on the idolatrous practices of the people (chaps. 2–3). Though Josiah's reforms were sincere, the hearts of the people were not supportive of the reforms. They abandoned their pagan practices only by force of royal decree and returned to their old ways as soon as Josiah died (2 Kgs 23:24–35). Jeremiah must have seen that their outward piety under Josiah was counterfeit though he said little during that time. Josiah's tragic death (2 Chr 35:20–27) may have caused profound disillusionment to many, discrediting his Deuteronomic reforms in their eyes. By the time Jehoiakim took the throne after Josiah's death, Jeremiah's alienation from his people was complete. Jehoiakim openly encouraged the pagan cult practices and became Jeremiah's bitterest enemy (2 Kgs 23:36– 37; Jer 36:1–32). Jeremiah's denunciation of the petty tyrant and his disparagement of the temple as a “security blanket” brought him into conflict with the leaders and people alike (Jer 7:1–15; 26:1–24), who considered his preaching blasphemous (Jer 7:10–11,16–19). However, it is erroneous to conclude that Jeremiah was antimonarchical or that he was hostile to the temple and its cult. His opposition was to the corruption of the

kings and priests. He looked forward to a Davidic ruler whom God would raise up and to sincere worship at the temple (23:1–8). He also looked forward to the reunification of Israel and Judah (3:6–14). Nebuchadnezzar's siege of Jerusalem in 598 following Jehoiakim's rebellion did not hinder Judah's complacency, for the city was spared once again, and the Davidic dynasty was left intact. Though some of the people were taken into exile at that time, those remaining interpreted events as punishment on the exiles but blessings on themselves (chap. 24). Since the nation was still intact, they believed God had not revoked his eternal promises to them (2 Kgs 23:26–27), and Jeremiah could not correct their tragic interpretation. With the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 587, Jeremiah's theological position was finally vindicated (2 Kgs 24:18–25:21; Jer 52). Judah's demise as an independent nation created a spiritual crisis of the first magnitude for which official theology had no answers. Instead of accepting Jerusalem's fall as punishment for their wickedness, the people concluded that Josiah's reforms had been a mistake; hence they felt they never should have abandoned their worship of the queen of heaven (7:16–20; 44:17–18). Some interpreted the disaster as proof that Marduk was more powerful than Yahweh (Jer 50:2,38; 51:47). Others felt God had broken his covenant and abandoned his people. Only a few interpreted events from Jeremiah's perspective, as God's punishment on a disobedient people. The emphasis on judgment looms large in the book, but hope is also prominent. Though it appeared that God was finished with his people, Jeremiah knew that was not so. Just as he could warn of disaster in the best of times, he could also proclaim hope when there seemed to be none (Jer 32:1–44). He could look beyond the present time of punishment and see a glorious future for God's people when they would live in peace and safety (Jer 31). He was confident there would always be a faithful remnant. From the time of his call he knew there would be both tearing down and rebuilding (1:10,14–16; 31:31–34). Eschatology is not a prominent concern of the book. Apocalyptic imagery is not characteristic of Jeremiah. Nevertheless, there is a forward look when the land would be rebuilt and repopulated and when God would provide a leader who would be faithful. For Jeremiah the eschatological

future was not focused on temple or king but on a new covenant by which God would establish a new individualized relationship with his people (31:31–34). The new covenant would require obedience to laws written on the heart (Jer 4:4; Deut 6:4–9; 10:12–22) and would be based on God's willingness to forgive (Jer 18:1–12). He would provide a Davidic ruler (23:1–8), and Israel and Judah would be reunited. The deliberate inclusion of the account of Jehoiachin's release from prison in 562 B.C. as the final narrative in the book (52:31–34; cf. 2 Kgs 25) is a masterful statement that there will be a future for the people of God (Jer 32). It is difficult to categorize Jeremiah's theology. The book that bears his name is rich in theological content and timeless truth, but it is often overlooked in theological studies since much of its theological content is “implied theology.”59 Jeremiah had much to say about God. He was a thoroughgoing monotheist, declaring that the Lord was the only God (10:1– 16). He knew his God was in sovereign control of all events and nations, including Judah. He understood him to be holy, transcendent, righteous, loving, forgiving, but also wrathful. Jeremiah presented God as the Divine Warrior. He frequently called him “LORD of Hosts,” a military term. God would fight against sin wherever he found it, whether in Judah or in other nations. Jeremiah also saw God as the Lord of creation and Sustainer of the universe (5:22). But he also knew him to be a personal God who listens patiently to doubts, complaints, and questions. The Book of Jeremiah reflects different modes of revelation, such as the symbolic acts (see 5:1), the oral message of the prophet, and the acts of God (e.g., the destruction of Jerusalem). Jeremiah had much to say about God's words. He ate them and delighted in them (15:16), but they also produced inner turmoil that was like fire burning in his bones (20:9). He knew from painful personal encounter there were false prophets who claimed to speak God's words although they did not (23:9–40). God's grace is demonstrated by his patient dealings with Judah in spite of its stubborn rebellion. He repeatedly appealed, “Return, faithless people” (3:14). Jeremiah did not minimize the seriousness of sin or hesitate to condemn it. He also knew that sin must be punished by a just God. He understood that it is deep seated, a part of human nature (13:23), engraved on the perverse human heart (17:1,5) but that God and God alone can

conquer it (31:33). The remedy for sin was not to take sacrifices to the temple or to observe its rituals. The only remedy for sin was repentance and the obedience of faith.

7. Jeremiah for Our Times The Book of Jeremiah is a part of God's Word, the Bible. As such it is necessary that we discover its relevance for our lives today. W. Brueggemann has been helpful in this area in two ways. First, the role of the prophet in ancient Israel was “to nurture, nourish, and evoke a consciousness and perception alternative to the consciousness and perception of the dominant culture around us.”60 This definition suggests that the prophet preached God's word (an alternative consciousness) to a nonbelieving community (the dominant culture). Jeremiah did just that. His prophetic ministry was characterized by his preaching God's word to a people who had forgotten who and what God is. Jeremiah nurtured and nourished the people with God's word, but they refused to accept. Second, Brueggemann suggests that the prophets preached “relinquishment and receiving.”61 This idea is based on a sound “theological conviction: God's powerful governance is displacing the present idolatrous order of public life and is generating a new order that befits God's will for the world.”62 Jeremiah preached the “relinquishment” of the old ways of idolatry and oppression and the “receiving” of God's word that brings life in times of crisis, hope in times of despair. Just as “Jeremiah… challenged their falsely based security, their double-think, their manipulative ways, their god-substitutes,”63 we too must challenge people today in all their sin by proclaiming God's Word, which brings life to those who repent. Brueggemann and E. Martens have called attention to both the oppression of people in society and the lack of morals in society today. As much as at any time, the Book of Jeremiah is relevant for today. Martens calls for “courage” (like that of Jeremiah) in proclaiming God's Word. Such courage “entails boldness to confront evils in a world where

evil is normalized; to protest against preachers of an ‘easy grace’ which promises endless benefits without responsibility; to present a God who demands righteous living and sends his wrath against all evil.”64 The prophet Jeremiah is a model whom we should imitate in proclaiming God's Word.

OUTLINE OF THE BOOK

I. Introduction (1:1–3) II. The Call and Visions of Jeremiah (1:4–19) 1. The Call of Jeremiah (1:4–10) 2. Vision of the Branch of an Almond Tree (1:11–12) 3. Vision of a Boiling Pot (1:13–16) 4. A Divine Challenge and Promise (1:17–19) III. Warnings of Judgment from Jeremiah's Early Ministry (2:1–6:30) 1. God's Rebuke of Judah's Faithlessness (2:1–37) (1) Forsaking of God for Worthless Idols (2:1–19) (2) Irresistible Attraction to Other Gods (2:20–28) (3) Refusal by Judah to Acknowledge Its Guilt (2:29–37) 2. An Appeal to Return to God (3:1–4:4) (1) Judah as an Unfaithful Wife (3:1–5)

(2) Comparison of Judah and Israel (3:6–11) (3) Promise of Forgiveness to a Reunited People (3:12–18) (4) Promise of Blessing to a Repentant People (3:19–4:4) 3. Announcement of an Invasion from the North (4:5–31) (1) Bitter Punishment of a Wicked People (4:5–18) (2) Jeremiah's Anguished Response (4:19–22) (3) A Time of Devastation and Ruin (4:23–31) 4. The Total Sinfulness of Judah (5:1–31) (1) Jeremiah's Vain Search for a Righteous Person (5:1–6) (2) God's Justification for Judah's Punishment (5:7–13) (3) The Coming of a Distant Nation against Judah (5:14–19) (4) Warning to a Foolish and Rebellious People (5:20–31) 5. The Coming Siege and Fall of Jerusalem (6:1–30) (1) An Appeal to Flee the Coming Siege (6:1–8) (2) Punishment of a Shameless People (6:9–15) (3) Refusal to Heed God's Warnings (6:16–20) (4) The Terrors of the Approaching Enemy (6:21– 26)

(5) A People Rejected by God (6:27–30) IV. Jeremiah's Temple Sermon and Other Messages of Warning (7:1–10:25) 1. The Temple Sermon (7:1–15) (1) Misplaced Trust in Deceptive Words (7:1–11) (2) Warning from Shiloh's Fate (7:12–15) 2. Worship of the Queen of Heaven (7:16–20) 3. A Disobedient Nation (7:21–29) 4. Coming Judgment of Human Sacrifice (7:30–34) 5. Desecration of Graves by the Enemy (8:1–3) 6. Stubborn Refusal to Return to God (8:4–13) 7. The People's Resignation to the Coming Invasion (8:14–17) 8. Lament for a Stricken People (8:18–9:6) 9. God's Justification for the Coming Punishment (9:7–16) 10. A Lament over Jerusalem's Destruction (9:17–22) 11. The Only Basis for Boasting (9:23–24) 12. The Worthlessness of Circumcision (9:25–26) 13. Preparation for Exile (10:1–25) (1) The Foolishness of Idolatry (10:1–16) (2) Announcement of Exile (10:17–22) (3) Jeremiah's Prayer (10:23–25)

V. The Broken Covenant and Jeremiah's Complaints (11:1–15:21) 1. The Broken Covenant (11:1–8) 2. Inescapable Punishment of the Covenant Breakers (11:9–13) 3. Jeremiah Forbidden to Pray for the People (11:14– 17) 4. A Plot against Jeremiah's Life (11:18–12:6) (1) The Plot Revealed to Jeremiah (11:18–20) (2) God's Assurance of Punishment of the Conspirators (11:21–23) (3) A Question about the Prosperity of Wicked People (12:1–6) 5. God's Rejection of His Inheritance (12:7–13) 6. A Conditional Promise for Israel's Neighbors (12:14–17) 7. A Corrupt People and Their Punishment (13:1–27) (1) The Ruined Linen Garment (13:1–11) (2) The Smashed Wineskins (13:12–14) (3) Threat of Captivity (13:15–19) (4) The Humiliation of an Unclean People (13:20– 27) 8. Catastrophes That Cannot Be Averted (14:1–15:9) (1) A Severe Drought (14:1–6) (2) A Presumptuous Plea for Mercy (14:7–9)

(3) The Lord's Rejection of the Plea (14:10–12) (4) Judgment on False Prophets (14:13–16) (5) Jeremiah's Lament and Supplication (14:17–22) (6) The Futility of Intercession (15:1–4) (7) The End of God's Pity (15:5–9) 9. Jeremiah's Complaint and God's Rebuke (15:10– 21) (1) The Prophet's Accusation against God (15:10– 18) (2) God's Rebuke of the Prophet (15:19–21) VI. Warnings, Exhortations, and a Prophet's Despair (16:1–20:18) 1. Threats and Promises (16:1–21) (1) Jeremiah Forbidden to Marry (16:1–4) (2) Jeremiah Forbidden to Mourn or Feast (16:5–9) (3) Explanation of Judah's Coming Punishment (16:10–13) (4) Promise of Restoration to the Land (16:14–15) (5) Futility of Hiding from God (16:16–18) (6) Ultimate Acknowledgment of God by the Nations (16:19–21) 2. Further Warnings and Exhortations (17:1–27) (1) Judah's Indelible Sin (17:1–4) (2) A Choice of Cursing or Blessing (17:5–8)

(3) The Desperate Condition of the Human Heart (17:9–13) (4) Jeremiah's Appeal for Vindication (17:14–18) (5) Warnings about Sabbath Observance (17:19– 27) 3. Jeremiah's Visit to the Potter (18:1–23) (1) The Message of the Potter (18:1–12) (2) Punishment of a Forgetful People (18:13–17) (3) A Plot against Jeremiah (18:18–23) 4. Lessons from a Broken Clay Jar (19:1–15) (1) Assembling at the Valley of Ben Hinnom (19:1–9) (2) The Broken Jar and Its Symbolic Meaning (19:10–15) 5. Jeremiah's Humiliation and Despair (20:1–18) (1) Pashhur's Punishment of Jeremiah (20:1–6) (2) Jeremiah's Struggle with His Call (20:7–10) (3) Jeremiah's Prayer for Vengeance (20:11–13) (4) A Curse on the Day of His Birth (20:14–18) VII. Messages to Judah and the Nations (21:1–25:38) 1. Messages against the Kings of Judah (21:1–22:30) (1) Jeremiah's Reply to Zedekiah's Inquiry (21:1– 10) (2) A Warning to the House of David (21:11–12)

(3) A Warning to a Complacent City (21:13–14) (4) A Message for the King and the City (22:1–9) (5) A Message of Judgment on Shallum (22:10–12) (6) A Message of Judgment on Jehoiakim (22:13– 19) (7) The Consequences of Jerusalem's Disobedience (22:20–23) (8) The Fate of Coniah (Jehoiachin) (22:24–30) 2. Promise of a Better Day (23:1–8) (1) Wicked Shepherds and Their Fate (23:1–4) (2) Announcement of a Coming Righteous King (23:5–6) (3) Return of a Banished People (23:7–8) 3. Messages against False Prophets (23:9–40) (1) Condemnation of Godless Prophets and Priests (23:9–12) (2) Evil Prophets of Samaria and Jerusalem (23:13–15) (3) Rejection of Unauthorized Prophets (23:16–22) (4) A Declaration of God's Greatness (23:23–24) (5) Rejection of Lying Prophets (23:25–32) (6) The Burden of the Lord (23:33–40) 4. Two Baskets of Figs (24:1–10) (1) Description of the Figs (24:1–3)

(2) Meaning of the Good Figs (24:4–7) (3) Meaning of the Bad Figs (24:8–10) 5. God's Wrath against Judah and Other Nations (25:1–38) (1) Judah's Refusal to Listen to the Prophets (25:1– 7) (2) Seventy Years of Punishment (25:8–14) (3) The Cup of God's Wrath (25:15–29) (4) God's Coming Judgment on All Nations (25:30–38) VIII. Jeremiah's Controversy with the False Prophets (26:1–29:32) 1. The Temple Sermon and Its Consequences (26:1– 24) (1) Summary of the Sermon (26:1–6) (2) Arrest and Trial of Jeremiah (26:7–19) (3) Arrest and Slaying of Uriah the Prophet (26:20–23) (4) The Release of Jeremiah (26:24) 2. Jeremiah's Symbolic Yoke (27:1–22) (1) Warning to the Nations to Serve Nebuchadnezzar (27:1–11) (2) Warning to King Zedekiah to Serve Nebuchadnezzar (27:12–15)

(3) Warning to the Priests and All the People (27:16–22) 3. Conflict between Jeremiah and Hananiah (28:1– 17) (1) Hananiah's False Prophecy (28:1–4) (2) Jeremiah's Response to Hananiah (28:5–9) (3) Hananiah's Symbolic Act (28:10–11) (4) Jeremiah's Denunciation of Hananiah (28:12– 17) 4. Jeremiah's Letter to the Exiles (29:1–32) (1) Sending of the Letter (29:1–3) (2) A Warning against the False Prophets (29:4– 23) (3) Jeremiah's Response to Shemaiah's Letter (29:24–28) (4) A Message to the Exiles about Shemaiah (29:29–32) IX. Messages of Hope for Restoration (30:1–33:26) 1. Promises of Restoration (30:1–24) (1) Introduction to the Messages (30:1–3) (2) Promise of Restoration for Jacob (30:4–11) (3) Promise of Healing for an Incurable Wound (30:12–17) (4) Promise of Restoration of the Fortunes of Jacob (30:18–22)

(5) The Fierce Anger of the Lord (30:23–24) 2. The New Covenant (31:1–40) (1) The Rebuilding of Israel (31:1–6) (2) Return of the Scattered People (31:7–14) (3) The End of Rachel's Weeping for Her Children (31:15–22) (4) Description of Future Blessing (31:23–28) (5) Repudiation of a Popular Saying (31:29–30) (6) Announcement of a New Covenant (31:31–34) (7) God's Assurance of Israel's Eternal Duration (31:35–37) (8) God's Promise That Jerusalem Would Be Rebuilt (31:38–40) 3. Jeremiah's Purchase of a Field in Anathoth (32:1– 44) (1) Jeremiah's Confinement During the Siege of Jerusalem (32:1–5) (2) Jeremiah's Purchase of a Field from a Cousin (32:6–15) (3) Jeremiah's Prayer (32:16–25) (4) God's Response to the Prayer (32:26–44) 4. Promise of Restoration (33:1–26) (1) The Rebuilding of Judah and Jerusalem (33:1– 9) (2) The Restoration of Joy and Thanks (33:10–11)

(3) The Restoration of Pastures and Flocks (33:12– 13) (4) Restoration of the Davidic Dynasty and the Levitical Priesthood (33:14–26) X. Events and Messages from 605 B.C. to the Fall of Jerusalem (34:1–39:18) 1. A Warning to Zedekiah of His Fate (34:1–7) 2. Treacherous Dealings with the Slaves (34:8–22) (1) A Broken Promise of Freedom for the Slaves (34:8–11) (2) God's Denunciation of the Broken Promise (34:12–16) (3) Punishment for Not Freeing the Slaves (34:17– 22) 3. Jeremiah and the Recabites (35:1–19) (1) Jeremiah's Test of the Recabites' Loyalty (35:1– 5) (2) Refusal to Break Jonadab's Vow (35:6–11) (3) The Lesson for Judah (35:12–17) (4) Commendation of the Recabites (35:18–19) 4. Jehoiakim's Reaction to Jeremiah's Written Messages (36:1–32) (1) The Command to Write the Messages on a Scroll (36:1–3)

(2) Baruch Commanded to Write the Scroll (36:4– 7) (3) Public Reading of the Scroll at the Temple (36:8–10) (4) Reading of the Scroll before the Officials (36:11–19) (5) Reading of the Scroll to the King (36:20–26) (6) Rewriting of the Destroyed Scroll (36:27–32) 5. Jeremiah's Arrest and Imprisonment (37:1–21) (1) The King's Request for Prayer (37:1–5) (2) Jeremiah's Reply to the King (37:6–10) (3) Jeremiah's Arrest (37:11–15) (4) Jeremiah's Secret Interview with the King (37:16–21) 6. Jeremiah's Confinement in a Cistern (38:1–28) (1) The Demand for Jeremiah's Punishment (38:1– 6) (2) Jeremiah's Rescue from the Cistern (38:7–13) (3) Another Secret Interview with Zedekiah (38:14–26) (4) The Officials' Questioning of Jeremiah (38:27– 28) 7. The Fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians (39:1–18) (1) The Capture of the City (39:1–3) (2) Zedekiah's Flight and Capture (39:4–7)

(3) Destruction of the City (39:8–10) (4) The Release of Jeremiah (39:11–14) (5) Promise of Deliverance for Ebed-Melech (39:15–18) XI. Events after the Fall of Jerusalem (40:1–45:5) 1. Release of Jeremiah (40:1–6) 2. The Governorship of Gedaliah (40:7–41:18) (1) The People's Response to Gedaliah's Appointment (40:7–12) (2) A Warning to Gedaliah of an Assassination Plot (40:13–16) (3) The Assassination of Gedaliah (41:1–3) (4) Other Violent Acts by Ishmael (41:4–10) (5) Rescue of Ishmael's Captives (41:11–18) 3. The Flight to Egypt (42:1–43:7) (1) A Request for Jeremiah's Advice (42:1–6) (2) Jeremiah's Advice to the People (42:7–22) (3) Rejection of Jeremiah's Advice (43:1–3) (4) The Journey to Egypt (43:4–7) 4. Jeremiah's Messages in Egypt (43:8–44:30) (1) A Symbolic Announcement of Egypt's Fate (43:8–13) (2) Condemnation of Idolatry in Egypt (44:1–14) (3) Allegiance to the Queen of Heaven (44:15–19)

(4) Condemnation of the People's Decision (44:20– 28) (5) A Sign of Punishment (44:29–30) 5. A Message to Baruch (45:1–5) (1) Baruch's Complaint (45:1–3) (2) The Lord's Assurance (45:4–5) XII. Messages concerning Foreign Nations (46:1– 51:64) 1. Introduction to the Messages (46:1) 2. Egypt (46:2–28) (1) The Defeat of Egypt's Army (46:2–12) (2) Egypt's Coming Conquest by Nebuchadnezzar (46:13–24) (3) A Word of Hope to Egypt (46:25–26) (4) Words of Assurance to Israel (46:27–28) 3. Philistia (47:1–7) 4. Moab (48:1–47) (1) The Destruction of Moab (48:1–10) (2) The Humbling of a Complacent Nation (48:11– 17) (3) Judgment on Moab's Cities (48:18–25) (4) The Futility of Moab's Insolence (48:26–30) (5) A Lament for Moab (48:31–39) (6) Moab's Punishment and Restoration (48:40–47)

5. Ammon (49:1–6) 6. Edom (49:7–22) 7. Damascus (49:23–27) 8. Kedar and Hazor (49:28–33) 9. Elam (49:34–39) 10. Babylon (50:1–51:64) (1) Announcement of Babylon's Doom (50:1–10) (2) Explanation for Its Punishment (50:11–17) (3) The Restoration of Israel (50:18–20) (4) God's Wrath against Babylon (50:21–32) (5) The Desolation of Babylon (50:33–40) (6) Babylon's Helplessness (50:41–46) (7) The Lord's Vengeance on Babylon (51:1–14) (8) A Hymn of Praise to the Lord (51:15–19) (9) God's Power against Enemies (51:20–26) (10) Nations Summoned against Babylon (51:27– 32) (11) A Call for Retribution (51:33–35) (12) Further Description of Babylon's Fall (51:36– 44) (13) An Appeal to Flee from Babylon (51:45–48) (14) Another Warning of Babylon's Coming Destruction (51:49–58)

(15) Seraiah's Symbolic Act against Babylon (51:59–64) XIII. A Summary of Events from 597 to 561 B.C. (52:1–34) 1. The Rule of King Zedekiah (52:1–11) 2. The Destruction of Jerusalem (52:12–27) 3. Three Deportations to Babylon (52:28–30) 4. Release of Jehoiachin from Prison (52:31–34)

1See

E. H. Merrill, Kingdom of Priests: A History of Old Testament Israel (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1987), 436–53. 2See H. W. F. Saggs, The Might That Was Assyria (London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1984). 3Though none of them mentions the others, it is likely they would have been aware of each other's ministry. 4J. Bright, Jeremiah: Introduction, Translation, and Notes, AB (Garden City: Doubleday, 1965), xv. 5Ibid.

6Jeremiah's

association with weeping has contributed a word to the English language, “jeremiad,” a lament. The personal nature of the book has suggested to many a comparison to 2 Corinthians. 7The meaning of his name is uncertain. It has been interpreted to mean the Lord loosens, the Lord hurls, the Lord exalts, or the Lord establishes. 8J. P. Hyatt (“The Book of Jeremiah: Introduction and Exegesis,” IB [New York: Abingdon], 5:779) and W. L. Holladay (Jeremiah 1, Her [Minneapolis: Fortress, 1989], 1:1) argue that “the thirteenth year,” 627, was the date of Jeremiah's birth. Their view has not gained a wide following. 9J. Goldingay (God's Prophet, God's Servant [Greenwood, S.C.: Attic, 1984], 17) describes Jeremiah vividly: “So almost our last sight of Jeremiah is his back as he turns his feet wearily south, his ministry apparently fruitless, his future apparently only death, far way from the inheritance that he had promised that he and his brethren would repossess in Palestine.” 10See Goldingay, God's Prophet, 15–30, for an excellent discussion of Jeremiah as an example of the cost of servanthood. 11O. Eissfeldt, The Old Testament: An Introduction (New York: Harper & Row, 1965), 356–58. 12L. Perdue, “Jeremiah in Modern Research,” in Prophet to the Nations, ed. L. G. Perdue and B. W. Kovacs (Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1984), 14. 13Bright, Jeremiah, 1vi-1ix; idem, “The Book of Jeremiah: Its Structure, Its Problems, and Their Significance for the Interpreter,” Int 9 (1955): 259– 78. 14E. Achtemeier, Deuteronomy-Jeremiah, PC (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1978), 63. 15R. K. Harrison, Introduction to the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1969), 815. 16Ibid., 817. 17J. A. Soggin, Introduction to the Old Testament, OTL (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1976), 289.

18Eissfeldt,

Old Testament, 349. Nicholson (CBC 1:14–15) identified four basic collections: 1–25; 26–36; 37–45; 46–51. Bright (AB, 1vii-1viii) identified three: 1–25; 30–31 (and perhaps 32–33); 46–51. J. A. Thompson (The Book of Jeremiah, NICOT [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980], 27) essentially agreed with Bright, naming 1–25; 30–33; and 46–51. Miscellaneous material, including biographical narrative, was added to these basic collections to complete the book. Scholars continue to disagree sharply in regard to what part Jeremiah played in the arrangement of the material. 19The commentaries by Bright and Leslie (Jeremiah: Chronologically Arranged, Translated, and Interpreted [New York: Abingdon, 1954]) arrange the chapters and their exegesis to conform with what they believe is the correct order of the events and messages. For a recent attempt to identify the structure of Jeremiah using headings and literary clues, see R. D. Patterson, “Of Bookends, Hinges, and Hooks: Literary Clues to the Arrangement of Jeremiah's Prophecies,” WTJ 51 (1989): 109–31. 20See Soggin, 294; Eissfeldt, 358; Thompson, NICOT, 81–85; Holladay, Jeremiah 2, Her, 45–47; Bright, Covenant and Promise, 144. 21See Holladay, Jeremiah 2, 44–45. 22See Eissfeldt, 358; Holladay, Jeremiah 2, 47–50. 23See Holladay, Jeremiah 2, 50–51. 24Ibid., 51–53. 25J. Wellhausen, Prolegomena to the History of Ancient Israel (1878; reprint, Cleveland: World, 1957). 26B. Duhm, Das Buch Jeremia, KHAT X1 (Tübingen: Mohr, 1901). 27S. Mowinckel, Zur Komposition des Buches Jeremia (Oslo: Jacob Dybwad, 1914). 28In a later work, Prophecy and Tradition: The Prophetic Books in the Light of Study of the Growth and History of the Tradition (Oslo: Jacob Dybwad, 1946), Mowinckel modified some of his views. Instead of speaking of “sources,” he preferred to speak of “traditionary circles,” i.e., circles that preserved oral traditions.

29Mowinckel

rejected Baruch as author, though later scholars follow Duhm at this point. 30A basic component of the contemporary paradigm of critical OT studies is the view that one or more historians of the exilic period wrote or edited a massive work constituting the biblical books of Deuteronomy through Kings, whose purpose was to exhort Israel to devote themselves anew to Yahweh alone and thus to become God's people among the nations. The writers and editors are called the “Deuteronomists,” and the work is known as the “Deuteronomistic history.” This work is supposed to have been supplemented in the postexilic period by the “priestly history” (Genesis–Numbers) and the “Chronicler's history” (Chronicles, Ezra– Nehemiah). Individuals associated with them (the so-called “Deuteronomic school”) are believed to have edited many other OT books such as Jeremiah. For further information see the following works: P. R. Ackroyd, “The Historical Literature,” in The Hebrew Bible and Its Modern Interpreters, ed. D. A. Knight (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1985), 300–05; M. Noth, The Deuteronomistic History, 2nd ed. (Sheffield: JSOT, 1981); M. Weinfeld, Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomic School (Oxford: Clarendon, 1972). For a critical evaluation see K. A. Kitchen, “Ancient Orient, ‘Deuteronomism,’ and the Old Testament,” in New Perspectives on the Old Testament, ed. J. B. Payne (Waco: Word, 1970), 1–24; and R. P. Gordon, “Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomic School,” TB 25 (1974): 113–20. 31Mowinckel, Jeremia, 47, also identified a D source that included chaps. 30–31. It was an originally independent anonymous collection of prose sermons in the Deuteronomic style. However, D has been discarded in contemporary discussions by most scholars. 32See most recently M. O'Brien, The Deuteronomistic Hypothesis: A Reassessment (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1989), 3–44. 33W. Rudolph, Jeremia (Tübingen: Mohr, 1947). 34J. P. Hyatt, “The Deuteronomic Edition of Jeremiah,” in A Prophet to the Nations, ed. L. G. Perdue and B. W. Kovacs (Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1984), 251. 35E. Janssen, Juda in der Exilszeit: Ein Beitrag zur Frage der Entstehung des Judentums (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1956).

36S.

Herrman, Die prophetischen Heilserwartungen im Alten Testament, BWANT 5 (Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer, 1965). 37E. W. Nicholson, Preaching to the Exiles: A Study of the Prose Tradition in the Book of Jeremiah (New York: Schocken, 1971). He understands the context of the prose sermons as exilic (proto) synagogues in Babylon. 38W. Thiel, Die deuteronomistiche Redaktion von Jeremia 1–25 (Wageningen: Neukirchener, 1973); idem, Die deuteronomistische Redaktion von Jeremiah 26–45 (Düsseldorf: Neukirchener, 1981). See also M. Weinfeld, Deuteronomic School, 27–32. 39H. Cazelles, “Jeremie et la Deutéronome,” RSR 38 (1951): 4–36. 40S. R. Driver, Deuteronomy (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1895), xciiff.; cf. Y. Kaufmann, The Religion of Israel (New York: Schocken, 1972), 415. 41J. Bright, “The Date of the Prose Sermons of Jeremiah,” JBL 70 (1951): 26. 42H. Weippert, Die Prosareden des Jeremiabuches (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1973), 78, 232–33. 43W. L. Holladay, “A Fresh Look at ‘Source B' and ‘Source C' in Jeremiah,’ “VT 25 (1975): 402. 44C. L. Feinberg, “Jeremiah,” EBC, vol. 6, ed. F. E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986), 6:362; W. S. LaSor, D. A. Hubbard, F. W. Bush, Old Testament Survey: The Message, Form, and Background of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1982), 408–10. 45R. R. Wilson, Prophecy and Society in Ancient Israel (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1980), 232–33; B. Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1979), 344–45. 46Harrison, Introduction, 817; LaSor, Hubbard, and Bush, OT Survey, 410. J. G. McConville, “Jeremiah: Prophet and Book,” TB 42 (1991): 83, argues that “a ‘Deuteronomic’ understanding of the book does too little justice to its individuality.” Rather, “The book may be derived quite genuinely from Jeremiah” (ibid., 94), who has himself edited his messages to teach a theology of repentance.

47K.

H. Graf, Der Prophet Jeremia (Leipzig: Weigel, 1862), xliii; F. Giesebrecht, Das Buch Jeremia (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1907), xxv. 48Y.-J. Min, “The Minuses and Pluses of the LXX Translation of Jeremiah as Compared with the Massoretic Text: Their Classification and Possible Origins” (Ph.D. Diss., Hebrew University, 1977), 255. 49Differences in the LXX chaps. 1–28 and 29–52 have been explained by proposing two different translators (H. Thackeray, “The Greek Translators of Jeremiah,” JTS 4 (1902– 1903): 246–66) or by a later revision of the second half (E. Tov, The Septuagint Translation of Jeremiah and Baruch [Missoula: Scholars Press, 1976], 4–11). 50E.g., C. von Orelli, The Prophecies of Jeremiah (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1889), 24–28. Some nineteenth century scholars like A. W. Streane (The Double Text of Jeremiah [Cambridge: Deighton Bell, 1896]) insisted that the LXX was the older and more reliable text. 51F. M. Cross, “The Evolution of a Theory of Local Texts,” in Qumran and the History of the Biblical Text, ed. F. M. Cross and S. Talmon (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1975), 308. 52Holladay, Jeremiah 2, 3. 53For a survey of the history of critical comparisons of the LXX with the MT, see J. G. Janzen, Studies in the Text of Jeremiah, HSM 6 (Cambridge: Harvard University, 1973), 2–7; E. Tov, Septuagint Translations, HSM 8, 1–4; S. Soderlund, The Greek Text of Jeremiah: A Revised Hypothesis, JSOTSup 47 (Sheffield: JSOT, 1985), 4–13; Holladay, Jeremiah 2, 2–8. 54G. L. Archer, Jr., A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, rev. ed. (Chicago: Moody, 1974), 349–50. 55Soderlund, Greek Text of Jeremiah, 127–28. 56For a verse-by-verse comparison of the LXX and MT differences, see Holladay, Jeremiah 1 and Jeremiah 2. 57Kitchen, “Ancient Orient.” 58W. L. Holladay, “The Background of Jeremiah's Self-Understanding: Moses, Samuel, and Psalm 22,” JBL 83 (1964): 153–64; idem, “Jeremiah

and Moses: Further Observations,” JBL 85 (1966): 17–27. 59Hyatt, “Jeremiah,” IB 5:784. 60W. Brueggemann, Prophetic Imagination (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1978), 13. 61Brueggemann, Hopeful Imagination (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1986), 4– 7. 62Ibid., 4. 63E. Martens, Jeremiah, BCBC (Scottdale, Penn.: Herald, 1986), 26. 64Ibid., 27.

SECTION OUTLINE I. INTRODUCTION (1:1–3)

I. INTRODUCTION (1:1–3) 1The

words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. 2The word of the LORD came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah, 3and through the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile. Verses 1–3 serve as an introduction to the entire Book of Jeremiah.1 They give some information about Jeremiah and the names of the kings who ruled Judah during his ministry. Textual scholars are divided in their analysis of chap. 1. Some believe vv. 1–3 were added as an introduction to the entire book by a later redactor. Some believe the visions of vv. 11–16 occurred at a later time and that vv. 15–16 were an expanded addition to vv. 13–14. Others believe vv. 17–19 were added at a later time in Jeremiah's career or even by a later editor.2 No firm evidence has yet been presented that would confirm that the chapter was originally composed of diverse literary units. It can just as easily be read as a unified, coherent account of Jeremiah's call and as Jeremiah's own introduction to the scroll dictated to Baruch in 605 B.C.3 1:1 Jeremiah4 was the son of Hilkiah, not the Hilkiah who discovered the book of the law in the temple in 622 B.C. (2 Kgs 22:8) but a priest who lived in Anathoth. Anathoth was located about three miles northeast of Jerusalem in the tribal division of Benjamin (Josh 21:17–18). The nearby modern village of Anata preserves the ancient name. Abiathar was banished

to Anathoth by Solomon ca. 962 for supporting Adonijah's attempt to make himself king (1 Kgs 1:7; 2:26–27). Jeremiah may have been a descendant of Abiathar. If so, he could claim descent from the house of Eli, the priestly family in charge of the ark of the covenant when it was located at Shiloh (cf. 1 Sam 1:3; 14:3; 1 Kgs 2:27). Jeremiah used the fate of Shiloh as a warning to Jerusalem (7:14; 26:6). Scholars are uncertain whether Jeremiah ever functioned as a priest even though he was of priestly lineage. He was frequently critical of them (e.g., 1:18; 2:8; 6:13; 13:13; 23:11). 1:2–3 The book affirms repeatedly that the messages of Jeremiah were not his own creation but were the Lord's words. In Hebrew “the word of the LORD came to” (lit. “was” or “happen”) occurs 123 times in the OT and suggests self-existent power that manifests itself and is able to transform what it touches (Isa 55:11). Jeremiah's prophetic career began in “the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah,” which would have been 627 B.C. Some scholars argue this date was the year of Jeremiah's birth.5 However, this would be an uncommon use of the expression “the word of the LORD came.” 6 Furthermore, this understanding confuses the events of the coming word in vv. 2–4 with that of the Lord's forming in v. 5. The latter verse only says God set him apart before birth. Therefore Jeremiah was a young man (v. 6), probably under twenty years of age, and unmarried (16:2) when called. He was born around 650–645 during the rule of the wicked King Manasseh (2 Kgs 21:1–18) and continued to labor for an undetermined period beyond the fall of Jerusalem (40:1–44:30; see Introduction). How many today could continue faithfully proclaiming God's word for forty years in spite of total rejection, ridicule, and threats? Yet the NT leads us to expect such response from a self-seeking, self-sufficient, secular society (Matt 24:9; John 15:18–21; 17:14). The secret of Jeremiah's steadfastness lies in the statement, “The word of the LORD came to him” (cf. 15:16; 20:9; 2 Cor 4). Jeremiah would have been considered a failure by today's standards of success, but in God's evaluation he was an outstanding success. Why? Because God judges us by a different standard from the world's criteria for success. If we are obedient to his commands for us, then we will receive his

commendation (Matt 25:21). Jeremiah was a “success” because he faithfully proclaimed the word of the Lord. 1For

similar introductions see Isa 1:1; Hos 1:1; Amos 1:1; Mic 1:1. Verse 1 of the LXX begins, “The word of God which came to Jeremiah,” an intentional focus on the true source of “the words of Jeremiah.” 2W. McKane (A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Jeremiah, vol. 1, Introduction and Commentary on Jeremiah I-XXV, ICC [Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1986], 25) says, “The chapter was not put together by Jeremiah and not very much in it is attributable to him.” 3W. Rudolph (Jeremia, HAT 12 [Tübingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 1947], 9–10) sees the unifying hand of Jeremiah in chap. 1. 4Nine other men bear this name in the OT (2 Kgs 23:31; 1 Chr 5:24; 12:4,10,13; Neh 10:2; 12:1,34; Jer 35:3). The name is also found on three inscribed Hebrew seals and in Lachish Letter 1 (W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah 1, Her [Philadelphia: Fortress, 1986], 15). 5See the arguments in Holladay, Jeremiah: A Fresh Reading (New York: Pilgrim, 1990), 9–15; idem, Jeremiah 2, Her (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1989), 25–26; J. P. Hyatt, “Introduction and Exegesis, Jeremiah,” in IB, 5:779; C. F. Whitley, “The Date of Jeremiah's Call,” VT 14 (1964): 467–83. For a critique see McKane, Jeremiah 1, 3–5. D. R. Jones, Jeremiah, NCBC (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992), 62, refers to the view as “unverified speculation.” Though no messages in the book can be certainly dated to Josiah's reign, cf. 25:3; 2 Chr 35:25. 6Cf. v. 4; 28:12; 33:1; 36:27; 39:15; 42:7; 43:8; Ezek 1:3; Hag 1:1; Zech 1:1; 1 Kgs 13:20; 18:1; 2 Kgs 20:4.

SECTION OUTLINE II. THE CALL AND VISIONS OF JEREMIAH (1:4– 19) 1. The Call of Jeremiah (1:4–10) 2. Vision of the Branch of an Almond Tree (1:11–12) 3. Vision of a Boiling Pot (1:13–16) 4. A Divine Challenge and Promise (1:17–19)

II. THE CALL AND VISIONS OF JEREMIAH (1:4–19) This section is divided into three units by the repetition of “the word of the LORD came” in vv. 4,11,13. It describes the call itself and the two visions. Whether the visions occurred at the same time as the call, they are recounted in the same pattern of “word of the LORD came … I said … the LORD said.” God has a person for every task he wants accomplished. The person comes to understand that task through what is referred to as a “call” experience. A comparative study of the prophetic calls reveals that although they were different, each created an irresistible constraint on the prophet's life.1 In spite of indifference, physical abuse, or rejection, each was driven to proclaim the messages he received from God. What God appoints and initiates God enables (Phil 2:13; 4:13).2

1. The Call of Jeremiah (1:4–10)

4The

word of the LORD came to me, saying, 5“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” 6“Ah, Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.” 7But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD. 9Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “Now, I have put my words in your mouth. 10See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.” 1:4–5 The experience that changed Jeremiah's life is described in 1:4– 10. He later questioned many difficult and painful experiences, but he never doubted the authenticity of his call. It often kept him going when he was ready to renounce his ministry (20:9). God's call to Jeremiah is contained in vv. 4–5. The rest of the book is a collection of messages and experiences over the next forty years. It is not necessary to assume that Jeremiah heard an audible voice, but the message was unmistakable. God had set him apart to be a prophet. The Hebrew verb translated “formed” is the same word found in Gen 2:7 and is related to the word for “potter” (Jer 18:2–4). Like a composer constructing the instrument on which music will be played, God created Jeremiah as a spokesman for the word of the Lord.3 The meaning for the Hebrew word “knew” ranges from factual knowledge (Gen 27:2) to carnal knowledge (Gen 19:8; Judg 21:11). Here it involves choosing a relationship (Gen 18:19; Deut 34:10). The Lord was thinking about Jeremiah before he was born.4 At that time God had already designated Jeremiah to be a prophet.5 The Lord had already “appointed” (lit. “given”) Jeremiah's life to the task of being a prophet without consulting him. Those who believe in God's sovereignty are not troubled by these words, which clearly teach that God

has the right as Creator to do whatever he desires with our lives (cf. Num 8:19; John 3:16). At the same time he has allowed freedom of choice from the beginning (Gen 2:16–17). This piling up of verbs in the first person (alternating between Heb. perfect and imperfect tenses) stressing divine involvement in Jeremiah's life from the beginning would have been a great encouragement to him throughout his difficult prophetic career. “Prophet to the nations” does not mean that Jeremiah was to go to every known nation. It suggests the universal validity of God's word. God's sovereignty extends beyond the individual to the nations. Carroll suggests that Jeremiah's commission subtly reverses the domination of other nations over Judah by “representing Yahweh's prophet as the one with real power over those apparent dominant forces” (cf. 25:15–29; 46:1–51:64).6 It may also imply that Judah had become like the other nations by rebelling against God's law. 1:6 Jeremiah's response to his call was to offer two excuses. He felt inadequate as a public speaker (an excuse shared with Moses, Exod 4:10)7 and also immature (cf. Solomon, 1 Kgs 3:7). Although his age is uncertain, he probably was not quite twenty.8 “Child” is a word in Heb. (naçar) that can be used of a baby (Exod 2:6), a child (1 Sam 1:24), a young man (Gen 37:2), a vigorous warrior (2 Sam 2:14), or a person past forty (Exod 3:11).9 1:7–8 The Lord rejected Jeremiah's excuses but without rancor (cf. God's anger with Moses, Exod 4:14). When God calls, he equips us with what is needed to carry out the assigned task. For Jeremiah it was the promise of God's presence and deliverance from any threatening situation that the reluctant prophet needed to hear.10 The command “Do not be afraid” is found frequently in the Scriptures, suggesting how common is the human experience of fear.11 The basis for overcoming fear is the assurance of God's presence. However, even with the assurance of God's presence, Jeremiah continued to struggle with his calling (see 15:18; 20:7–8). The concluding phrase of v. 8,12 “declares the LORD,” uses a word that is found 176 times in Jeremiah, less frequently in Ezekiel (eighty-three times), Isaiah (twenty-three times), Amos (twenty-one times), Zechariah (twenty times), Haggai (eleven times), and rarely in the rest of the OT. From a word translated “to whisper,” it may suggest an intimate revelation (“I'm going to let you in on a secret”).

1:9–10 With a symbolic gesture of touching Jeremiah's mouth, God commissioned him as his spokesman (cf. Num 23:5; Deut 18:18; Isa 6:7; 51:16; Jer 15:16; Ezek 2:9–3:2). Verse 10 anticipates the twofold ministry of Jeremiah. He would announce messages of judgment (“to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow”) and messages of encouragement and hope (“to build and to plant”).13 There is no reason to deny as some scholars have done that the same prophet could speak both messages of judgment and hope. The order is important. Judah's idols and immoral practices had to be purged before God could bless the nation. Erroneous beliefs and practices must be destroyed before reconstruction can take place (Eccl 3:3).14 A new building cannot be constructed until the old structure it will replace has been demolished. “God can speak his yes only after he has spoken a no.”15 It is often easy to be critical and negative toward the church and other institutions without offering constructive alternatives. Jeremiah was commissioned to do both. His effectiveness would be dependent on God's word, not on the prophet's ability or cleverness. God is never limited by a person's natural ability or experience (Exod 4:11–12; 1 Sam 16:6–7; Zech 4:6; 2 Cor 12:9).

2. Vision of the Branch of an Almond Tree (1:11–12) 11The

word of the LORD came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?” “I see the branch of an almond tree,” I replied. 12The LORD said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.” 1:11–12 The text is not explicit about whether the two visions of vv. 11– 16 were part of Jeremiah's call experience or occurred after an interval of time. Their placement here suggests they were needed to confirm and reinforce his call. The first vision was of a branch of an almond tree In a play on words (cf. Amos 8:1–2) God said he was “watching” (v. 12, )16 to see

that his word was fulfilled. The almond tree was called the “awake” tree because it blossoms early in the spring while other trees remain dormant. Anathoth is still a center for growing almonds. The purpose of the vision was to warn that God's announcements of judgment through earlier prophets had not been forgotten. Whenever Jeremiah and the people of Judah saw the almond tree, they were to remember that their God was watching them (5:6; 31:28). The vision has also been interpreted as a message of encouragement to Judah that God was not unaware of the wickedness of other nations. They would be punished. Another interpretation is that God was watching over Judah with tender, protective care. The first interpretation is preferred. Judah's false sense of security would be shattered, though it would not happen immediately.17

3. Vision of a Boiling Pot (1:13–16) 13The

word of the LORD came to me again: “What do you see?” “I see a boiling pot, tilting away from the north,” I answered. 14The LORD said to me, “From the north disaster will be poured out on all who live in the land. 15I am about to summon all the peoples of the northern kingdoms,” declares the LORD. “Their kings will come and set up their thrones in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem; they will come against all her surrounding walls and against all the towns of Judah. 16I will pronounce my judgments on my people because of their wickedness in forsaking me, in burning incense to other gods and in worshiping what their hands have made. 1:13–14 In the second vision, which may or may not have taken place immediately after the first, Jeremiah saw a boiling pot (lit. “a pot blown upon,” i.e., a pot placed on a flame that was fanned by the wind). It was a cooking pot (2 Kgs 4:38) or wash pot (Ps 60:8), commonly found in

Israelite homes. It was an object Jeremiah had seen many times, but now he saw it in a new light—as a symbol of imminent judgment. The pot tilted away from the north18 (that is, toward the south), with its liquid contents about to boil over. The impending disaster on Judah is compared to the spilling of the contents of a boiling pot, which would scald the people of Judah.19 The meaning of the vision is unmistakable. It pictures the certainty of God's judgment that was going to come on Jerusalem by an enemy invasion from the north and, thus, the urgency of Jeremiah's message. At a time when Assyrian power was coming to an end with the death of its last great monarch, Ashurbanipal, in 627, the people were inclined to believe that threats from the north were at an end. They scoffed at Jeremiah's warnings of danger. Scholars for the most part no longer identify the unnamed enemy as Scythian20 but as Babylonians (see Hab 1:5–11). Geographically Babylonia was to the east of Judah, but its armies would not risk crossing the forbidding Arabian desert. Instead, they would follow the Euphrates River northward into Syria. From there they would invade Judah by way of Syria from the north. At the time of the vision Jeremiah could not have known that the enemy from the north would be the Babylonians and their allies. 1:15–16 The rulers of the conquering enemy would set up thrones in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem (fulfilled in 39:3). The meaning of this act has been interpreted in different ways. Some understand the thrones as a picture of Jerusalem and the other towns of Judah encircled and under siege (as suggested by 1:15b). They could also be interpreted as a symbol of triumph (43:8–13). Interpreted in light of v. 16, the thrones in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem describe a place of judgment where the defeated leaders of Judah would be judged (Josh 20:4; Pss 9:4; 122:5). In that day Jerusalem's inhabitants would ask God why the calamity had happened. He would answer by reminding them of their faithlessness in worshiping other gods, including idols made with their own hands.21 Their false confidence in the temple as a symbol of God's unconditional presence and protection would be shattered with the destruction of the temple (7:4– 15; 2 Kgs 25:9,13–15).

Although Jerusalem's destruction would be inflicted by the Babylonians, v. 16 interprets it as God's act of judgment (cf. Ezek 9:1– 10:8). When Israel accepted the terms of the covenant at Mount Sinai (Exod 19–24), the people agreed to worship no other gods (Exod 20:3) in order to be the recipients of God's blessings. Unfortunately, almost from the beginning of that relationship they were attracted to the gods of their neighbors (Num 25:1–5). Consequently, they suffered the punishment of the Deuteronomic curse for breaching the covenant (Deut 11:26–28; 28:1–68). Together the two visions mean that the Lord was watching over his word of threatened punishment to carry it out. That punishment would be inflicted at the hands of an enemy coming from the north. The impending calamity on Judah would not be due to economic or political factors but was theological and moral. Every generation faces a similar challenge to trust in God for its security rather than in “gods” of its own making. As Brueggemann explains: “It is a recurring temptation for every concentration of power to imagine itself self-sufficient and therefore free to order its life for its own purposes without the requirements of Yahweh.22

4. A Divine Challenge and Promise (1:17–19) 17“Get

yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. 18Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. 19They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD. The closing verses of chap. 1 are addressed to Jeremiah. They contain both a warning and a promise. God warned Jeremiah not to lose his courage in the face of a hostile audience and promised him the strength and resources to resist his enemies. 1:17 There is a time to be still and listen (Exod 14:14; Ps 46:10; Eccl 3:7; Ezek 3:24–26), and there is a time to act (Exod 14:15; Ezek 3:27).

Jeremiah's call was given, and now it was time for him to act on that call. He was apparently given no option about whether to accept or reject his prophetic task. In order to prepare Jeremiah for a hostile reaction to his messages, the Lord said, “Get yourself ready!”23 He must not back down before his adversaries lest God punish him. God warned him not to be “terrified” by threats from his own people.24 If Jeremiah was “shattered” by his people and backed away from his commission, then God would “shatter” him. The meaning of the threat is not clear, but it is ominous. Obedience is the only appropriate response of the servant of God (see Ezek 3:18; Luke 14:28–33; 1 Cor 4:2). 1:18–19 Jeremiah had been uncertain about his qualifications for the prophetic office. He needed assurance, which the Lord abundantly provided. Jeremiah would be like a fortified city surrounded by attackers. His enemies would be his own people; but the Lord promised to make him as impregnable as a fortified city, as strong as an iron pillar, and as impervious to attack as a bronze wall (cf. Deut 31:6–8; Josh 1:6–9; Jer 15:20; Ezek 3:9). We would say that Jeremiah had to be hardheaded and thick-skinned in order to defend himself against kings, priests, and all the people of the land.25 His only offensive weapon would be the word of the Lord (23:29; cf. Eph 6:17). Believers today need the same inner resources to withstand the hostility and ridicule of an unbelieving world (cf. Eph 6:11; 1 Pet 5:8). Jeremiah did not understand until later the extent of the difficulties for which God was preparing him. He could not have anticipated the degree to which the political and religious leaders as well as the common people would oppose him. Jeremiah may have begun his ministry naively and with full confidence that the people would believe that his words were from the Lord (cf. 15:16). It is to the credit of this remarkable prophet that he continued preaching God's messages faithfully for forty years without giving up on his people. The passage closes with further assurance that Jeremiah's enemies would not be able to prevail against him because the Lord would be with him (cf. Rom 8:31). Later Jeremiah would undoubtedly recall these reassuring words many times to sustain him when he would have been

tempted to abandon his call. He began his ministry with the assurance of God's purpose in his life (v. 5), God's presence in his life (vv. 8,19), and God's power in his life (vv. 9–10,17–19). Someone has said that when God calls us to a task, he does not give us a road map to follow and then leave us to our resources. God walks with us.26 1

The calls of Moses (Exod 3:1–4:17), Samuel (1 Sam 3:1–21), Isaiah (Isa 6:1–13), Jeremiah (Jer 1:1–9), and Ezekiel (Ezek 1:1–3:15) are described in detail. The calls of Elisha (1 Kgs 19:19–21), Jonah (Jonah 1:1– 2), Amos (Amos 7:14–15), and Hosea (Hos 1:2) are described more briefly. In the case of other OT prophets we are told nothing. The prophets came from different backgrounds and were called in different ways. H. G. Reventlow (Liturgie und prophetisches Ich bei Jeremia [Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlaghaus Gerd Mohn, 1963], 24–77) interprets Jeremiah's entire call narrative as an ordination formula that could be used in a liturgical setting between a worshiper and a cultic official speaking in the name of the Lord. W. McKane (A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Jeremiah, vol. 1, Introduction and Commentary on Jeremiah I-XXV, ICC [Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1986], 14) concludes that the call narrative does not come from the historical Jeremiah but is a later estimate of him. This unnecessarily skeptical view of the historicity of events in the Book of Jeremiah is shared by other scholars (e.g., R. P. Carroll, Jeremiah, OTL [Philadelphia: Westminster, 1986]). 2 M. H. Woudstra, “A Prophet to the Nations: Reflections on Jeremiah's Call to the Prophetic Office,” VR 18 (1972): 1–13. 3 D. Kidner, The Message of Jeremiah (Leicester: Inter-Varsity, 1987), 23–25. 4 On the treaty background of see H. Huffmon, “The Treaty Background of Hebrew BASOR 181 (1966): 131–77. On God's foreknowledge, see Judg 13:3–5; Ps 139:4,16; Isa 49:1; Rom 8:29; Gal 1:15; Eph 1:4. 5 The etymology of (“prophet”) is uncertain. It may come from an Akk. word, “to call,” hence “one who is called,” or from an Arabic word, “to announce,” hence, “a spokesman/proclaimer.” See W. F. Albright, From

the Stone Age to Christianity, 2d ed. (Garden City: Doubleday, 1957), 303; J. Lindblom, Prophecy in Ancient Israel (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1962), 102; R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer, Jr., and B. K. Waltke, TWOT, vol. 1 (Chicago: Moody, 1980), 544–45, for discussion of this word. 6 Carroll, Jeremiah, 95. According to R. D. Patterson (“Of Bookends, Hinges, and Hooks: Literary Clues to the Arrangement of Jeremiah's Prophecies,” WTJ 51 [1989]: 113–15), Jeremiah was summoned to be a prophet “(1) to the nations of this world and to his own people in the midst of those nations (1:4–12), and (2) to his own nation in particular (1:13– 19).” He understands this twofold call as the key to the final arrangement of the book. Chapters 2–24 deal with the second aspect of his call, “Jeremiah and his people,” and chaps. 25–51 with the first, “Jeremiah and the nations.” 7 “I do not know” contains a perfect form of the Hebrew verb, meaning it was a settled fact in Jeremiah's mind that he could not be God's spokesman. B. S. Childs (The Book of Exodus, OTL [Philadelphia: Westminster, 1974], 54) calls attention to the striking parallels of Jeremiah 1 with Exodus 3 (Moses' call) and Judges 6 (Gideon's call). 8 R. E. Clements, Jeremiah, INT (Atlanta: John Knox, 1988), 18, says Jeremiah was in his teenage years when called. 9 Carroll (Jeremiah, 98) says Jeremiah's response was only a conventional show of humility common in the ancient Near East (cf. Moses' humility, Exod 3:11). J. M. Berridge (Prophet, People, and the Word of Yahweh: An Examination of Form and Content in the Proclamation of the Prophet Jeremiah [Zurich: EVZ, 1970], 27) says that though there are recognizable formal elements in Jeremiah's call, the prophet used them in an individual manner. See also N. Habel, “The Form and Significance of the Call Narrative,” ZAW 77 (1965): 297–323. 10 E.g., Gen 15:1; Num 21:34; Josh 1:5; Dan 10:12; Matt 28:5; Luke 5:10; Acts 27:24. 11 The promise of God's presence is found frequently in the Scriptures (e.g., Gen 28:15; Exod 3:12; Josh 1:5; Judg 6:16; Hag 1:13; Matt 28:20; Rev 21:3; 22:3–4). See S. Terrien, The Elusive Presence: Toward a New Biblical Theology (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1978) for a

comprehensive study of the doctrine of God's presence. W. H. Schmidt (Exodus, BKAT II [Neukirchen Vluyn: Neukirchener, 1974], 126–27) calls the phrase “I am with you” a “support formula” (Beistandsformular). 12 Note this phrase is used again in vv. 15,19, in the third section of Jeremiah's call, but not in the second. It may be functioning as a structural marker. 13 Note the use of these verbs in 18:7–10; 24:6; 31:27–28; 42:10; 45:4. 14 H. Bardtke (“Jeremia der Fremdvölkerprophet,” ZAW 53, n. 4 [1935]: 212–20) as his explanation for the series of infinitives argued that Jeremiah was at first a prophet of judgment on other nations and a prophet of encouragement to Judah. 15 G. von Rad, Gottes Wirken in Israel: Vortrage zum Alten Testament (Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener, 1974), 226. 16 “Watching” is a Qal active participle in the MT but is a perfect (“I have watched”) in the LXX. KJV translates as future tense, “I will hasten.” 17 W. Brueggemann (To Pluck Up, To Tear Down: A Commentary on the Book of Jeremiah 1–25 [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988], 26) states, “This ‘watching’ of Yahweh asserts that there is shape, a flow, and an intentionality to history that cannot be nullified or evaded. That intentionality overrides all human posturing. That certitude is the basis of human hope, and it is the basis of judgment against human pretension.” 18 The MT says “and its face [is] from the face of the north.” The KJV, following the LXX, translates as “toward the north,” which is ambiguous. Thus translated it could be understood as tilting northward (which would miss the meaning of the vision) or as a pot located to the north. 19 W. L. Holladay (Jeremiah 1, Her [Philadelphia: Fortress, 1986], 39) proposes that there was no water in the pot, which was lying empty on its side over the flame. It was heated to a red-hot intensity to remove baked-on food or other impurities that clung to it (cf. Ezek 24:11). Thus the vision would be a picture of Judah being subjected to the intense heat of God's judgment in order to be purified (6:27–30). 20 The Scythian identification was popularized by B. Duhm, Das Buch Jeremia, KAT XI (Tübingen und Leipzig: Mohr-Siebeck, 1901), 12, 48–49. For additional study on the Scythian question see R. P. Vaggione,

“Scythians,” IDBSup, ed. K. Crim et al. (Nashville: Abingdon, 1976): 797– 98; ibid., “Over All Asia? The Extent of the Scythian Domination in Herodotus,” JBL 92 (1973): 523–30; L. G. Perdue, “Jeremiah in Modern Research: Approaches and Issues,” in A Prophet to the Nations, ed. L. G. Perdue and B. W. Kovaks (Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1984), 7–8; H. Cazelles, “Sophonie, Jérémie, et les Scythes en Palestine,” RB 74 NS (1967): 24–44; and R. K. Harrison, Introduction to the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1969), 803, n. 6; McKane, Jeremiah 1, 19–21. See comments on 4:5–6. 21 See Isa 44:9–20; 46:1–7; Jer 10:1–10 for ridicule of those who would worship lifeless idols. 22 Brueggemann, Jeremiah 1–25, 28. 23 The MT says, “Gird up your loins.” The idiom refers to a practice of tying the long flowing robe around the waist so as not to bind the freedom of movement when running (1 Kgs 18:46; 2 Kgs 4:29). Other translations include “prepare yourself for action” (NJB), “brace yourself” (Moffatt, NEB), “get up and dress” (TLB). A contemporary paraphrase would be “roll up your sleeves.” 24 For “terrified” KJV says “dismayed,” but this is too weak a translation; the word literally means to shatter or break in pieces. J. Bright (Jeremiah, AB [Garden City: Doubleday, 1965], 4) translates, “Don't lose your nerve. … Lest I shatter your nerve.” The NEB says, “Do not let your spirit break at sight of them … or I will break you.” Holladay (Jeremiah 1, 44) proposes, “Do not be panicked”; cf. Isa 8:9. The NRSV says, “Do not break down … or I will break you.” 25 “People of the land” may mean land owners, peasants, or all the people, depending on the context. Bright (Jeremiah, 6) believes the term here means important landowners. For further study of the term see E. W. Nicholson, “The Meaning of the Expression in the OT,” JSS 10 (1965): 59–66; J. H. Hayes and J. M. Miller, eds., Israelite and Judean History, OTL (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1977), 393, 456–58; M. H. Pope, “' Am Ha'arez,” IDB, ed. G. A. Buttrick et al. (Nashville: Abingdon, 1962), 1:106–7.

26

For a possible use of this passage in Matthew's Gospel, see B. T. Dahlberg, “The Typological Use of Jeremiah 1:4–19 in Matthew 16:13– 23,” JBL 94 (1975): 73–80. R. K. Harrison discusses the comparison between Jesus and Jeremiah in Jeremiah and Lamentations, 36–37.

SECTION OUTLINE III. WARNINGS OF JUDGMENT FROM JEREMIAH'S EARLY MINISTRY (2:1–6:30) 1. God's Rebuke of Judah's Faithlessness (2:1–37) (1) Forsaking of God for Worthless Idols (2:1–19) (2) Irresistible Attraction to Other Gods (2:20–28) (3) Refusal by Judah to Acknowledge Its Guilt (2:29–37) 2. An Appeal to Return to God (3:1–4:4) (1) Judah as an Unfaithful Wife (3:1–5) (2) Comparison of Judah and Israel (3:6–11) (3) Promise of Forgiveness to a Reunited People (3:12–18) (4) Promise of Blessing to a Repentant People (3:19–4:4) 3. Announcement of an Invasion from the North (4:5–31) (1) Bitter Punishment of a Wicked People (4:5–18) (2) Jeremiah's Anguished Response (4:19–22) (3) A Time of Devastation and Ruin (4:23–31) 4. The Total Sinfulness of Judah (5:1–31)

(1) Jeremiah's Vain Search for a Righteous Person (5:1–6) (2) God's Justification for Judah's Punishment (5:7–13) (3) The Coming of a Distant Nation against Judah (5:14–19) (4) Warning to a Foolish and Rebellious People (5:20–31) 5. The Coming Siege and Fall of Jerusalem (6:1–30) (1) An Appeal to Flee the Coming Siege (6:1–8) (2) Punishment of a Shameless People (6:9–15) (3) Refusal to Heed God's Warnings (6:16–20) (4) The Terrors of the Approaching Enemy (6:21– 26) (5) A People Rejected by God (6:27–30)

III. WARNINGS OF JUDGMENT FROM JEREMIAH'S EARLY MINISTRY (2:1–6:30) The placement of these chapters immediately after Jeremiah's call experience (1:4–19) suggests that they contain his earliest public messages. If so, they were delivered before the death of King Josiah (640–609 B.C.; see 3:6–10). They contain accusations of Judah's unfaithfulness (2:13,17– 19; 3:2,9–10,20; 5:7–9,11,19,23) and wickedness (2:19; 3:2; 4:22; 5:1– 2,26–28; 6:7, 13), the Lord's plea to repent and return (3:12–13,22; 4:1–

4,14), his warning of coming disaster (4:5–31; 5:15–17; 6:1–6,19,21–26), and his promise of restoration (3:14–18).1

1. God's Rebuke of Judah's Faithlessness (2:1–37) This chapter contains God's severe rebuke of his people for their faithlessness during many centuries. After reminding them of his faithfulness, he invited them to make any accusations of failure on his part that would justify their disloyalty and ingratitude.2 (1) Forsaking of God for Worthless Idols (2:1–19) 1The

word of the LORD came to me: 2“Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem: “‘I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the desert, through a land not sown. 3Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of his harvest; all who devoured her were held guilty, and disaster overtook them,’” declares the LORD. 4Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, all you clans of the house of Israel. 5This is what the LORD says: “What fault did your fathers find in me, that they strayed so far from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves. 6They did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD,

who brought us up out of Egypt and led us through the barren wilderness, through a land of deserts and rifts, a land of drought and darkness, a land where no one travels and no one lives?’ 7I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce. But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable. 8The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD?’ Those who deal with the law did not know me; the leaders rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal, following worthless idols. 9“Therefore I bring charges against you again,” declares the LORD. “And I will bring charges against your children's children. 10Cross over to the coasts of Kittim and look, send to Kedar and observe closely; see if there has ever been anything like this: 11Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But my people have exchanged their Glory for worthless idols. 12Be appalled at this, O heavens, and shudder with great horror,” declares the LORD. 13“My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me,

the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. 14Is Israel a servant, a slave by birth? Why then has he become plunder? 15Lions have roared; they have growled at him. They have laid waste his land; his towns are burned and deserted. 16Also, the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes have shaved the crown of your head. 17Have you not brought this on yourselves by forsaking the LORD your God when he led you in the way? 18Now why go to Egypt to drink water from the Shihor? And why go to Assyria to drink water from the River? 19Your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you. Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the LORD your God and have no awe of me,” declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty. 2:1 Verses 1–3 serve as an introduction to the messages that follow in 2:4–6:30.3 Throughout his ministry Jeremiah frequently reminded his hearers that his messages were God's words and not his own. In these three verses he reminded his audience three times that God was the source of his message.

2:2 Israel's earlier “devotion”4 to God when it made a covenant with him at Sinai (Exod 19–24; cf. Hos 2:15) is compared to a bride's devotion to her husband. The description of the idyllic desert years does not seem to agree with the repeated acts of disobedience found in Exodus through Deuteronomy (cf. Ezek 29:13). Some scholars attribute the differences to conflicting accounts of the same events, implying that one or both accounts are inaccurate.5 Other scholars attribute the Pentateuchal account of a faithless people to a pro-Judean source, whose purpose was to show that faithlessness characterized Israel, the Northern Kingdom, but not Judah. Thus only Judah deserved to be called God's chosen people.6 A more plausible explanation for what appears to be contradictory accounts is that both versions are correct. Israel, like some Christians today, excelled in inconsistency. It is such behavior that encourages skeptical unbelievers to label all God's people as hypocrites. 2:3 Jeremiah used a second metaphor in these verses, that of the “firstfruits of his harvest” (cf. Lev 23:10–14,17; Deut 26:1–11; Jas 1:18). The phrase indicates that Israel was a choice possession of the Lord, just as the first yield from the harvest belonged to God (cf. Lev 22:10–16). The verse warns of disaster for those who harm God's people (Ps 37:12– 13,20; Zech 2:8; 2 Pet 3:3–11). Firstfruits also imply there will be a future ingathering of other people, even as the first fruit on a tree anticipates that additional fruit will follow (cf. John 1:11–12). 2:4–5 Employing the language of a court of law, God challenged the “house of Jacob”7 to accuse him of any “fault” (Heb. “injustice”) that would justify their faithlessness (cf. 1 Sam 12:3). They had become as “worthless”8 to the Lord as the idols they worshiped (Isa 41:21–24,29; Jer 10:8). The idea that we become like that which we worship is also found in Ps 115:8 and Hos 9:10. 2:6–7 They had no gratitude for what God had already done for them. He had delivered them from a land of “darkness” (the same word translated “shadow of death” in Ps 23:4) and expected a response of thankfulness and obedience (cf. Col 1:12–13). Nor had they any gratitude for the “fertile land”9 God had given them which they were defiling by their sins.

2:8 The “leaders”10 had rebelled against God's authority. The priests did not seek the Lord. Those who dealt with the law (its interpreters) did not even know the Lord. Prophets were prophesying in the name of Baal11 and worshiping worthless idols. Jeremiah was living among a people who were totally alienated from God. He singled out their leaders for condemnation because he understood the influence of those in positions of leadership (cf. Isa 9:15–16). 2:9–12 Since the people were unable to respond with accusations against God, he now became their accuser. They did what no other nation had done—they abandoned their God. Other nations who worshiped nonexistent gods sometimes changed their rank in the pantheon or added other gods, but they did not abandon their gods. By contrast Israel, who worshiped the true and living God, had abandoned him to serve worthless idols. God challenged the people to search from west to east—Kittim (Cyprus) to Kedar (home of Bedouin tribes in the Syro-Arabian desert)— for evidence to challenge his accusation. Such faithlessness should cause the heavens to be “appalled” or horrified. 2:13 Israel had committed two sins. The people had abandoned their “glory” (v. 11),12 the Lord who had brought them into the promised land and had embraced worthless idols. Jeremiah compared that decision to the exchange of a well of flowing water for a cracked cistern that could not hold water. Jeremiah's hearers would understand the comparison, for it was necessary to line the porous limestone rock cisterns of Palestine with plaster in order for them to hold water. Judah was committing the same sin that had brought about the earlier destruction of the Northern Kingdom because of its idolatrous practices (cf. Ezek 16:44–52; 23:1–48). Would anyone today be so foolish as to trade an artesian well for a broken cistern? Unfortunately, many do. Some of today's “broken cisterns” are the pursuit of wealth, power, fame, or pleasure. 2:14 In Jeremiah's world a person could become a slave by birth to slave parents, by nonpayment of debts, by purchase, or by capture in war time. Although the Lord had made Israel free (Exod 6:6–8), Jeremiah reminded the people that they had exchanged their freedom under God for bondage to idols.

2:15–18 Jeremiah compared the humiliation Israel had experienced at the hands of Egypt and Assyria to the mistreatment slaves often experienced. Israel had turned to Egypt for help (v. 18; “Shihor” refers to a branch of the Nile) but was treated like a slave by the men of Memphis13 and Tahpanhes (modern Tel Defneh in northeastern Egypt). “Shaving the crown” (v. 16) was practiced by slave owners as a mark of subjugation. Jeremiah reminded Judah that Israel had brought calamity on itself by forsaking God (2:17). Israel had not learned from its experience with Egypt (cf. Ezek 29:6–9), so it turned to Assyria (v. 18; “the River” is the Euphrates; see 2 Kgs 16:7). Jeremiah's audience knew very well that it had been the broken cistern of Assyria that had brought destruction on the Northern Kingdom. Alternatives to God always lead to destruction. 2:19 The passage closes with a solemn warning about the evil and bitter consequences of abandoning the Lord Almighty,14 a name suggesting the omnipotence of God over all creation (Gen 2:1), earthly armies (Judg 4:15), celestial bodies (Isa 40:26), and angelic beings (Ps 103:21).15 (2) Irresistible Attraction to Other Gods (2:20–28) 20“Long

ago you broke off your yoke and tore off your bonds; you said, ‘I will not serve you!’ Indeed, on every high hill and under every spreading tree you lay down as a prostitute. 21I had planted you like a choice vine of sound and reliable stock. How then did you turn against me into a corrupt, wild vine? 22Although you wash yourself with soda and use an abundance of soap, the stain of your guilt is still before me,”

declares the Sovereign LORD. 23“How can you say, ‘I am not defiled; I have not run after the Baals’? See how you behaved in the valley; consider what you have done. You are a swift she-camel running here and there, 24a wild donkey accustomed to the desert, sniffing the wind in her craving— in her heat who can restrain her? Any males that pursue her need not tire themselves; at mating time they will find her. 25Do not run until your feet are bare and your throat is dry. But you said, ‘It's no use! I love foreign gods, and I must go after them.’ 26“As a thief is disgraced when he is caught, so the house of Israel is disgraced— they, their kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets. 27They say to wood, ‘You are my father,’ and to stone, ‘You gave me birth.’ They have turned their backs to me and not their faces; yet when they are in trouble, they say, ‘Come and save us!’ 28Where then are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them come if they can save you when you are in trouble! For you have as many gods

as you have towns, O Judah. Jeremiah made use of a series of metaphors to emphasize Judah's faithlessness expressed in continued idolatry and stubborn refusal to return to God. 2:20 The first figure is that of an ox that has broken its yoke16 and refuses to serve its master. The Israelites claimed freedom from the covenant obligations they had accepted long ago at Mount Sinai (Exod 24:3) and submitted themselves to the Canaanite deities like a prostitute to her lovers. The expression “on every high hill and under every spreading tree” is found frequently in the OT to describe the fertility rites practiced throughout Israel and Judah (e.g., 1 Kgs 14:23; 2 Kgs 16:4; 17:10; Isa 57:5; Jer 3:6; Ezek 6:13). 2:21 The second figure is that of a “choice vine.”17 God had begun with good stock (the seed of Abraham) and expected an abundant harvest. But Judah had reverted to a corrupt, wild vine (cf. Isa 5:1–7; Ezek 17:5–10; Hos 10:1) and did not produce the fruit God desired. 2:22 It was impossible for Judah to cover its sin. Jeremiah compared it to a stain that remains in spite of vigorous scrubbing with mineral alkali (“soda”) and vegetable alkali (“soap”; cf. Ps 51:2,7; Isa 1:16). No amount of sacrifices brought to the temple could remove the guilt of Judah's sins (7:9–10; cf. Amos 4:4–5; Isa 1:12–15). 2:23 Judah's denial of wrongdoing is incredible. The people denied running after the Baals even though the evidence was close at hand, in the “valley” (the Valley of Hinnom, where Judah practiced child sacrifice and worshiped Baal and Molech). Judah was like a she-camel who, without a driver's control, crisscrosses her tracks as she wanders aimlessly about. 2:24–25 In a bold, vulgar metaphor Jeremiah compared Judah to a wild donkey in heat.18 It is a description of an animal consumed by carnal lust. In like manner Judah eagerly sought out its idols. The idols did not have to seek the people. They were acting like people obsessed, running after their desires until their shoes wore out or they were consumed by thirst. Their response to his appeal was, “It's no use!”19 Like a person hooked on drugs or alcohol, Judah had no desire to give up its gods in spite of warnings of

the consequences. The inability to abandon idols was a denial of the claim that the people were free (2:20). 2:26 Like the embarrassed but unrepentant thief when caught, all Israel, including its leaders, showed no remorse for its faithlessness.20 2:27–28 Verses 27–28 expose the foolishness of idolatry (cf. 10:2–16), humans created in the image of God preferring to worship something lower than themselves (Rom 1:21–23). Israel acknowledged wood and stone idols carved by human hands as the source of life. But when trouble came, the same people would turn to God and demand, “Come and save us,” a presumptuous command rather than a repentant plea (cf. 7:9–10; Hos 6:1). A modern paraphrase might be, “Get off your rocker and help us!” Like many today, the people of Judah turned to God as a last resort but expected him to answer whenever they called. With a touch of irony Jeremiah taunted the people to look for help from the gods they had made (cf. 2 Kgs 18:34–35; Isa 44:17–18). If quantity could have helped, their gods should have been able to deliver them from trouble. It was no exaggeration to say that they had as many gods as there were cities in Judah. There were at least 258 gods in the pantheon of neighboring Ugarit (perhaps not unlike later Athens, where it is said it was easier to find a god than a man; cf. Acts 17:22–23). (3) Refusal by Judah to Acknowledge Its Guilt (2:29–37) 29“Why

do you bring charges against me? You have all rebelled against me,” declares the LORD. 30“In vain I punished your people; they did not respond to correction. Your sword has devoured your prophets like a ravening lion. 31“You of this generation, consider the word of the LORD: “Have I been a desert to Israel or a land of great darkness?

Why do my people say, ‘We are free to roam; we will come to you no more’? 32Does a maiden forget her jewelry, a bride her wedding ornaments? Yet my people have forgotten me, days without number. 33How skilled you are at pursuing love! Even the worst of women can learn from your ways. 34On your clothes men find the lifeblood of the innocent poor, though you did not catch them breaking in. Yet in spite of all this 35you say, ‘I am innocent; he is not angry with me.’ But I will pass judgment on you because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’ 36Why do you go about so much, changing your ways? You will be disappointed by Egypt as you were by Assyria. 37You will also leave that place with your hands on your head, for the LORD has rejected those you trust; you will not be helped by them. These verses follow the pattern of 2:4–13. First, God asked the people to bring charges against him. Then he made his accusations against them. 2:29–30 God's question implies that the people were complaining against him, but he had rejected their complaints. He was the one who should have been accusing them because they had all rebelled against him. Past punishment had been useless (“in vain,” the same word used in Exod 20:7). They were like incorrigible children who refuse to be chastened by

discipline. One evidence of their rebellion was their killing of the prophets in order to silence their “voice of conscience” (1 Kgs 18:4,13; 19:10; 2 Chr 24:21; Neh 9:26; Amos 2:11–12; Jer 26:20–23; Matt 23:34–35). 2:31–32 God wanted to know how he had failed Israel.21 Perhaps he had the forty years of desert wandering in mind when he asked if he had been a desert to Israel or a land of darkness. The question is rhetorical, implying the answer “No, just the opposite.” The message is, “Have I not richly blessed Israel?” God wanted to know why the people felt they had cast off an unbearable bondage and were now liberated.22 The belief that rebelling against God brings freedom is a lie that goes back to the allurement of the sin of the first man and woman (Gen 3:1–7). True liberty comes from submission to God, not rebellion against him (cf. John 8:32,36). What Judah did was as unnatural as a woman forgetting to wear the tokens of her marital state, whether single or married. In ancient times women often wore a sash around the waist to indicate their marital state (see Ezek 16:8–14 for a description of bridal ornaments). A husband today would question his wife's love if she never remembered to wear her wedding ring. Israel was God's bride through a covenant sealed at Sinai, but the people had forgotten the obligations of their covenant relationship. 2:33 The OT frequently compares Israel's faithlessness to harlotry (e.g., Isa 1:21; Jer 3:1; Ezek 16:30–31; Hos 2:5; 4:10–14). The people of Judah had become so skilled in their harlotry that they had forfeited their amateur status! They could have taught others to imitate their wicked ways. 2:34–35 Jeremiah's condemnation of Judah's mistreatment of the poor is reminiscent of Amos (Amos 2:6–8; 4:1; 5:10–12). The people had often shed innocent blood (2 Kgs 21:16; 24:4; Neh 9:26; Isa 59:7). Under Mosaic law there was no guilt on the person who killed a thief caught entering his home (Exod 22:2), but the people of Judah had no justification for what they were doing. Though the blood of their victims stained their clothes, they insisted they were “innocent” (nqh, to be “clean” or “empty,” like a clean vessel).23 At that moment in history Judah was enjoying peace and prosperity. Therefore, the people assumed God was not angry with them. Quite the opposite, however, was true. Since Adam's sin and denial of blame (Gen 3:12), the human race has become skilled at side stepping guilt.

The most difficult words to form on human lips are “I was wrong; I am guilty.” 2:36–37 Perhaps with the picture of the she-camel still in mind (2:33), God accused Judah of constantly changing its political loyalties. Hosea had made a similar accusation against Israel (Hos 7:11–12), but the lesson was lost on Judah's ears. The nation had already been disappointed by its dependence on Assyria (2 Chr 28:16–21). It would be disappointed by Egypt in the coming siege of Jerusalem (Jer 37:5–8). Its dependence on other nations rather than on God was leading to national destruction. After its defeat many of the people would be led away as captives with their hands on their heads (cf. 2 Sam 13:19, where it is a gesture of mourning or shame). Nations today still depend on alliances with other nations for their security instead of looking to God. Individuals try one religion after another but will be disappointed, for they can offer no help. Only the Lord can provide the security and peace that all people seek.

2. An Appeal to Return to God (3:1–4:4) No other prophet made such frequent use of the word (“return” or 24 “turn”) as did Jeremiah. The root occurs 125 times in the book, twenty of them in chaps. 3–4.25 Jeremiah saw clearly that the only hope for Judah's survival was to return to God. In these chapters he condemns Judah for forsaking God but makes a passionate appeal for them to repent. (1) Judah as an Unfaithful Wife (3:1–5) 1“If

a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, should he return to her again? Would not the land be completely defiled? But you have lived as a prostitute with many lovers— would you now return to me?”

declares the LORD. 2“Look up to the barren heights and see. Is there any place where you have not been ravished? By the roadside you sat waiting for lovers, sat like a nomad in the desert. You have defiled the land with your prostitution and wickedness. 3Therefore the showers have been withheld, and no spring rains have fallen. Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute; you refuse to blush with shame. 4Have you not just called to me: ‘My Father, my friend from my youth, 5will you always be angry? Will your wrath continue forever?’ This is how you talk, but you do all the evil you can.” 3:1 With the divorce law of Deut 24:1–4 in mind,26 Jeremiah compared Judah to the wife who left her husband and married someone else.27 However, Judah was worse than a faithless wife divorced by her husband. Judah had not become the wife of someone else but had many lovers. It was as promiscuous as a prostitute but assumed that it could always return to God. It is not clear whether its lovers are to be understood as sexual, religious, or political, or a combination of all three. Judah's prostitution and wickedness had defiled the land (see Lev 18:24–28; Num 35:34; Ezek 23:7; Hos 6:10). The law of Deut 24:1–4 did not allow a woman to return to her first husband even if the second husband died or divorced her. In light of that law God asked Judah, “Would you now return to me?”28 The analogy suggests that it was impossible for Judah to return to God. However, he pleaded with them to return to him (3:12,14,22; 4:1). J. G. McConville explains that the dilemma is resolved in the Lord's promise in v. 22, “I will cure you of backsliding.”29 Thus an anticipation of

New Covenant theology (chaps. 30–33, esp. 30:17; 33:6) already occurs in these opening chapters. Repentance was to be enabled by an extraordinary work of divine grace. The Lord was willing to forgive in spite of Judah's faithlessness. His grace can overrule law because he is God and not man (Hos 11:9). 3:2 As proof of Judah's infidelity, all one had to do was to look around to see its idolatrous practices “on every high hill” (2:20). There was no place where it had not been “ravished.”30 Its eagerness to find lovers is compared to the prostitute who sits beside the road actively soliciting lovers (Gen 38:14–16; Prov 7:10–12; Ezek 16:25). It is also compared to the “nomad”31 lying in wait to rob a passing traveler or to trade with a passing caravan. 3:3 This verse contains a frequent OT emphasis that God withholds rain as a sign of his disfavor (Lev 26:19; Deut 11:10–17; 28:22–24; Joel 1:17– 20; Amos 4:7–8). In the arid region occupied by Israel, farmers depended on the early rains (October-November) and latter rains (March-April). If they failed, crops would shrivel and disaster would overtake the land. It was ironic that although the fertility cults were supposed to ensure rainfall, Judah's participation in them was actually the cause of drought in the land. Like the brazen prostitute plying her trade, Judah showed no shame for its idolatrous worship. 3:4–5 The people of Judah had no intention of changing their wicked ways but expected God's anger to abate. They called him “Father”32 and “friend from my youth,”33 probably to lay claim to the covenant relationship that had been established at Sinai. Perhaps a recent severe drought caused them to cry to God for relief. Their attitude was that of the adulterous wife who lost all claim on her husband by her faithlessness but still counted on his forgiveness and help. They thought that God's goodness meant that he would overlook their evil ways. Many still refuse to believe that “the wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23). Although mere words are never sufficient to move God, nevertheless he does not despise the broken and contrite heart (Ps 51:17). (2) Comparison of Judah and Israel (3:6–11)

6During

the reign of King Josiah, the LORD said to me, “Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree and has committed adultery there. 7I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me but she did not, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it. 8I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she also went out and committed adultery. 9Because Israel's immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood. 10In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense,” declares the LORD. 11The LORD said to me, “Faithless Israel is more righteous than unfaithful Judah. Knowledge of history is an insufficient antidote to repeating it. This is the implication of the Lord's complaint in 3:6–11 that Judah refused to learn from the penalty suffered by Israel for its adulteries.34 3:6–7 Verse 6 contains one of the few explicit statements of a message by Jeremiah during Josiah's reign, although it is generally agreed that 2:1– 6:30 came from that period. God asked the prophet to consider Judah's refusal to learn from Israel's experience. Judah was aware of what faithless Israel had done35 but was following the same path of idol worship. They ignored the warnings of God's punishment of Israel. Therefore their guilt was even greater (cf. Ezek 16:44–52; 23:1–49). 3:8–9 Continuing the analogy of the divorce law introduced in 3:1, God explained that the demise of Israel resulted from his divorcing them because of their adulteries. The relationship was broken in 722 B.C. when Assyria overran Israel, made it a province of their empire, and deported many of its citizens (2 Kgs 17:5–8,22–24; 18:9–12). Instead of fearing the same fate, however, Judah committed adultery with idols of stone and wood. Because of the temple in Jerusalem, they thought, It can't happen to us. 3:10 King Josiah attempted to turn the people away from the wicked practices of his grandfather Manasseh.36 His commitment to the Lord was sincere. Although he ordered the people to destroy all the pagan high places and to stop worshiping other gods (2 Kgs 23:4–25), he could not change their hearts. Their apparent return to the Lord was forced and insincere.

Therefore God did not revoke his decision to punish them (2 Kgs 24:26– 27). 3:11 How could God declare that “faithless Israel is more righteous than unfaithful Judah”? They had both engaged in the same forbidden religious practices. The answer is that Israel had no prior example to serve as a warning. Judah had the benefit of seeing what had happened to Israel but chose to ignore the warnings. Thus their guilt was greater. (3) Promise of Forgiveness to a Reunited People (3:12–18) 12Go,

proclaim this message toward the north: “‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the LORD, “I will frown on you no longer, for I am merciful,’ declares the LORD, ‘I will not be angry forever. 13Only acknowledge your guilt— you have rebelled against the LORD your God, you have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every spreading tree, and have not obeyed me,’ “ declares the LORD. 14“Return, faithless people,” declares the LORD, “for I am your husband. I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan— and bring you to Zion. 15Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding. 16In those days, when your numbers have increased greatly in the land,” declares the LORD, “men will no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of the LORD.’ It will never enter their minds or be remembered; it will not be missed, nor will another one be made. 17At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the LORD, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the LORD. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts. 18In those days the house of Judah

will join the house of Israel, and together they will come from a northern land to the land I gave your forefathers as an inheritance. These verses contain an unexpected message of hope for Israel, the Northern Kingdom conquered by Assyria a century earlier. They make an appeal to repent (vv. 12–14a) and a promise of Israel's restoration and reunification with Judah (vv. 14b-18). They may have been addressed to the north when Josiah was able to occupy some of the former territory of Israel in a time of increasing Assyrian weakness (2 Kgs 23:19–20). 3:12–13 Either these words are only rhetorical, directed to Israelite exiles in Assyria but intended to provoke Judah to jealousy,37 or they were intended for the remnant of Israel still residing in the land formerly known as Israel, to the north of Judah. “Return”38 here could be understood literally as an appeal to return from exile or to repent, as it is frequently used theologically in the OT. If they would return, God promised that he would no longer “frown” on them.39 When God forgives, he no longer is angry with the one forgiven. Though Israel no longer existed, God could appeal to the people to return because he is “merciful.”40 However, there is no cheap grace. Israel must first admit its guilt of scattering its “favors”41 to foreign gods, a reference to the sexual rites associated with Baal worship. R. E. Clements observed, “Without such acknowledgment of the reality of the situation, the notion of repentance would only be the pursuit of an illusion.”42 The first indispensable requirement for repentance and reconciliation with God is the admission of sin. 3:14 Again the appeal to return was made to the “faithless people” (Heb. “faithless sons”).43 The verse contains a mixed metaphor in which Israel is called both son and wife. God reminded them, “I am your husband,” a bold play on the word which can be either the word for “husband” or the name of the Canaanite deity Baal. Having implied in 3:1 that the marriage relationship had been broken, God now explains that an indissoluble marriage bond had been established at Mount Sinai by covenant (cf. 31:32). The Lord commanded all the people to return to him. However, even if only a few returned, his purposes for Israel would be carried out. The words

contain a suggestion of a remnant, a doctrine stated more explicitly elsewhere.44 3:15 If Israel would return, God would give them “shepherds,”45 i.e., rulers, who were like him (cf. Ezek 34). In light of 1 Sam 13:14; Ezek 34:23; Acts 13:22, the reference is to a Davidic ruler and is therefore messianic. He will be a ruler who will lead with “knowledge and understanding,” that is, he will rule wisely and well (cf. 1 Sam 2:12; Jer 2:8). 3:16–17 God looked beyond Jeremiah's day to a time after the people returned, great in number and prosperity. They would no longer mention or even remember the ark of the covenant.46 The ark and the temple symbolized God's presence with his people (Exod 25:22; Lev 16:2; 1 Sam 4:4; 2 Kgs 19:15; 1 Chr 28:2; Pss 80:1; 99:5). The venerated symbols of God's presence will no longer be needed because God himself will be present in their midst (Rev 21:22–23). At that time the people will no longer follow the “stubbornness”47 of their hearts. Jerusalem itself, God's dwelling place, will be called “the Throne of the Lord.”48 True faith does not depend on symbols or external forms in order to worship God (John 4:23). 3:18 With bold anticipation of the future, Jeremiah announced that one day Israel and Judah would be reunited. “A northern land” refers to places of exile. Jeremiah was not the only prophet who spoke of a future reunification (Isa 11:12–13; Ezek 37:16–23; Hos 3:5; Mic 2:12). Some scholars point to this prediction as evidence that it was written after 587 B.C., when Judah was also in exile. The validity of this interpretation depends on one's belief that a prophet cannot predict future events (cf. Isa 42:21–23). (4) Promise of Blessing to a Repentant People (3:19–4:4) 19“I

myself said, “‘How gladly would I treat you like sons and give you a desirable land, the most beautiful inheritance of any nation.’

I thought you would call me ‘Father’ and not turn away from following me. 20But like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you have been unfaithful to me, O house of Israel,” declares the LORD. 21A cry is heard on the barren heights, the weeping and pleading of the people of Israel, because they have perverted their ways and have forgotten the LORD their God. 22“Return, faithless people; I will cure you of backsliding.” “Yes, we will come to you, for you are the LORD our God. 23Surely the [idolatrous] commotion on the hills and mountains is a deception; surely in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel. 24From our youth shameful gods have consumed the fruits of our fathers’ labor— their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters. 25Let us lie down in our shame, and let our disgrace cover us. We have sinned against the LORD our God, both we and our fathers; from our youth till this day we have not obeyed the LORD our God.” Chapter 4 1“If you will return, O Israel, return to me,” declares the LORD.

“If you put your detestable idols out of my sight and no longer go astray, 2and if in a truthful, just and righteous way you swear, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’ then the nations will be blessed by him and in him they will glory.” 3This is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem: ‘Break up your unplowed ground and do not sow among thorns. 4Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, circumcise your hearts, you men of Judah and people of Jerusalem, or my wrath will break out and burn like fire because of the evil you have done— burn with no one to quench it. God's disappointment with Israel is expressed in vv. 19–20, followed by Israel's apparent repentance (vv. 21–25) and a call to true repentance together with an explanation of its nature (4:1–4).49 3:19–20 These verses reveal God's disappointment in his people. Like a doting parent or husband, he wanted to lavish all his riches on the nation. Under Hebrew law a woman ordinarily had no claim to an inheritance (with exceptions: Num 27:1–11; 36:1–9), but God wanted to give Israel a son's portion. It would be the “most beautiful inheritance of any nation.”50 The Bible frequently describes Israel as a “land flowing with milk and honey” (Exod 3:8; Num 14:8; Deut 6:3; Ezek 20:6,15). God had a right to expect a grateful people to call him “Father,”51 but Israel was like a woman who is unfaithful to her “husband” (not here as in v. 14 but “friend” or “companion”). By her faithlessness Israel forfeited a father-child relationship and an inheritance. Those who reject the Lord will never become what he alone can make them. 3:21 Jeremiah described a scene at one of the outdoor shrines (“on the barren heights”) that were located throughout Israel. It is not certain whether he was describing weeping and pleading directed toward God by a

repentant people or whether they were pleading with their fertility gods to hear their prayers (cf. 1 Kgs 18:26–29). 3:22a Again God called on the people to return to him by means of the same appeal made in 3:14: “Return, faithless people” (see note on that verse). He promised to heal them if they would return. The Hebrew word (“heal”) has a wide range of meaning. It can refer to healing from physical or emotional pain (6:14; 8:22; 15:18; 17:14; Lam 2:13; Gen 20:17; Lev 13:18), repair of a physical object (19:11; 1 Kgs 18:30), or purification of water (2 Kgs 2:22), and it is sometimes used as the equivalent of forgiveness (30:17; 33:6; Isa 53:5), as it is here. 3:22b-25 The people's response to God's appeal to return has been interpreted variously. “Yes, we will come to you” employs a perfect tense that would normally be translated, “We have come to you.”52 (1) It could be understood as a prophetic perfect expressing certainty that something will take place because God has said it will. (2) It could be interpreted as an ideal confession, i.e., what God wanted to hear. (3) It could be understood as a denial of the accusation of faithlessness. (4) It could be interpreted as a superficial expression of repentance that took place during Josiah's reign with no lasting effect (the most likely view).53 (5) It also has been interpreted as a confession of genuine repentance.54 If so, it is difficult to explain why God's wrath continued against the nation. The Israelites seemed to be admitting everything God wanted to hear— that their idol worship had been a deception and that salvation was found only in the Lord (3:23). From their “youth” (when the covenant was established at Sinai) they had wasted their resources of cattle, grain, and even their children as useless sacrifices to their “shameful gods.”55 The people appeared to be taking full responsibility for their folly and disobedience. “Let us lie down in our shame” suggests they were overwhelmed by guilt. If these words had been an expression of sincere repentance and return to God, the rest of Jeremiah's ministry would have been unnecessary. True repentance requires admission of sin but more than that. There must be sorrow for the sin (Ps 51:17) and genuine turning away from it (Jas 2:4). 4:1–2 God recognized the insincerity of Israel's repentance and continued to appeal to them to return to him (cf. Amos 5:4,6). If the people

genuinely repented, they must put away their “detestable idols.”56 They must no longer go “astray” (a word that means to move about aimlessly, Gen 4:14, or sway like a reed in water, 1 Kgs 14:15). They must walk in truth and righteousness and take an oath that the Lord is the only living God.57 By their faithfulness other nations would be blessed (Gen 12:3; 18:18).58 4:3 Verses 3–4 are not addressed to Israel but to the “men of Judah and Jerusalem.”59 Jeremiah employed two figures the people would understand. The first was an appeal to “break up your unplowed ground” (land that has never been plowed or has not been cultivated recently). No farmer would scatter seeds among weeds on unplowed ground and expect a harvest. If the people truly repented, they must be broken by their sins and show the fruits of repentance (Matt 3:8; 7:16; Mark 4:7). 4:4 The second figure was that of circumcision, a prescribed ritual for the covenant people (Gen 17:9–14; Lev 12:3). However, God was not requesting a physical surgical procedure but circumcision of the heart (Deut 10:16; Jer 31:33; cf. Rom 2:25–28). More than an outward mark of circumcision would be required of Judah and Jerusalem if they were to be identified as God's people. A radical change was required. The “heart” represents the totality of the inner life here, though it can also mean the mind, the thoughts, the will.60 The verse closes with a solemn warning of the consequences of continued disobedience. God's judgment is often described in terms of fire (Isa 1:31; Jer 7:20; Amos 5:6; Rev 20:14–15).

3. Announcement of an Invasion from the North (4:5– 31) Jeremiah 4:5–6:30 contains a collection of messages that cannot be dated with certainty. The speaker shifts between the Lord, Jeremiah, and the people. However, the entire section focuses on the disaster that is coming upon the rebellious people. The language is dramatic, and the description of the impending judgment is graphic.

(1) Bitter Punishment of a Wicked People (4:5–18) 5“Announce

in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem and say: ‘Sound the trumpet throughout the land!’ Cry aloud and say: ‘Gather together! Let us flee to the fortified cities!’ 6Raise the signal to go to Zion! Flee for safety without delay! For I am bringing disaster from the north, even terrible destruction.” 7A lion has come out of his lair; a destroyer of nations has set out. He has left his place to lay waste your land. Your towns will lie in ruins without inhabitant. 8So put on sackcloth, lament and wail, for the fierce anger of the LORD has not turned away from us. 9“In that day,” declares the LORD, “the king and the officials will lose heart, the priests will be horrified, and the prophets will be appalled.” 10Then I said, “Ah, Sovereign LORD, how completely you have deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’ when the sword is at our throats.” 11At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, “A scorching wind from the barren heights in the desert blows toward my people, but not to winnow or cleanse; 12a wind too strong for that comes from me. Now I pronounce my judgments against them.”

13Look!

He advances like the clouds, his chariots come like a whirlwind, his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us! We are ruined! 14O Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart and be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts? 15A voice is announcing from Dan, proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim. 16“Tell this to the nations, proclaim it to Jerusalem: ‘A besieging army is coming from a distant land, raising a war cry against the cities of Judah. 17They surround her like men guarding a field, because she has rebelled against me,’ “ declares the LORD. 18“Your own conduct and actions have brought this upon you. This is your punishment. How bitter it is! How it pierces to the heart!” 4:5–6 These verses sound the alarm that an invasion, vividly described in 4:5–31, is coming from the north.61 Nine imperative verbs in these two verses emphasize the urgency of the danger. The trumpet was blown to sound the alarm of approaching danger and to call the people to battle (cf. Judg 3:27; Ezek 33:3–4; Hos 5:8; Joel 2:1). The warning gave the people time to flee to the walled city for protection and defense. The word for “signal” could refer to a banner around which the people would rally or a fire signal to warn those farther away of the approaching enemy (cf. Isa 5:26; 18:3; Jer 51:12). 4:7–9 Like a predatory lion the enemy would lay waste the land and people (Hos 5:14; Joel 3:16; Amos 1:2; cf. 1 Pet 5:8). He would leave destruction and desolation in his wake. For Judah it was a time to put on

sackcloth, the garment worn in time of mourning (2 Sam 3:31; 2 Kgs 19:1; Lam 2:10). Jeremiah used a number of figures in vv. 7–13 to describe the enemy—lion, scorching wind, clouds, whirlwind, horses swifter than eagles. All the leaders who were leading the people astray—king, officials, priests, and prophets—would be overcome with horror and helplessness at the sight of the destruction. For Nebuchadnezzar the invasion would be motivated by political and military considerations. God's fierce anger, however, was the real cause of the coming destruction. Jeremiah told the people to go ahead and start mourning because the outcome was certain. 4:10–12 Verse 10 is difficult to interpret. Jeremiah appeared to be accusing God of deceiving the people ( also used in 29:8; 37:9; 49:16; Gen 3:13; 2 Kgs 18:29; cf. Jer 20:9). Various interpretations have been proposed for these harsh words. Some say Jeremiah was so identified with the feelings of his people that he was blaming God for the calamity. If so, it was because he was unable to understand what God was doing. He may have forgotten that God's promises of peace and blessing were conditioned upon the people's obedience. Another interpretation is that Jeremiah was repeating the people's complaint against God (see 14:13). Others believe Jeremiah was quoting what the false prophets were saying. They had often assured the people that everything was all right. “Peace, peace” was their soothing shibboleth (29:8; see also 6:14; 8:11). The enemy is compared to an ill wind that blows no good. Instead of a gentle wind that separated chaff from wheat in the winnowing process, this wind was going to scorch and destroy everything in its path. Both good and bad would be swept away, including “my people.”62 Inhabitants of the ANE were all too familiar with the dreaded sirocco, a searing wind from the east that can blow for three days to two weeks with devastating effect on people, animals, and vegetation. Jeremiah compared God's judgment to that phenomenon (cf. Hos 13:15). 4:13–18 The speaker shifts in these verses from the people to Jeremiah and then to God (although it is unclear where God begins to speak again). Even though the enemy was rapidly approaching, there was still time to repent. The people must “wash the evil”63 from their hearts to be delivered. The enemy would approach from the north, passing first through Dan, the northernmost location in Israel. He would then go through the hills of

Ephraim, not more than ten miles north of Jerusalem. The inhabitants of those regions would watch helplessly as the enemy marched toward Jerusalem but would try to send advance warnings that a “besieging army”64 was on the way. The enemy would surround Jerusalem like shepherds who put tents around grazing land to guard their animals from wandering away and to protect them from danger. Jerusalem would be surrounded, not for protection, however, but to prevent any of the inhabitants from escaping. The people of Jerusalem's own actions were bringing punishment because of their rebellion against the Lord. (2) Jeremiah's Anguished Response (4:19–22) 19Oh,

my anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. Oh, the agony of my heart! My heart pounds within me, I cannot keep silent. For I have heard the sound of the trumpet; I have heard the battle cry. 20Disaster follows disaster; the whole land lies in ruins. In an instant my tents are destroyed, my shelter in a moment. 21How long must I see the battle standard and hear the sound of the trumpet? 22“My people are fools; they do not know me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good.”

These verses have been called the “cross of Jeremiah”65 because they reveal his personal anguish for having to announce the doom of his people. He spoke as he did, however, because of his love for them (18:20). The people responded by accusing him of treason for his harsh messages of condemnation. 4:19 It is difficult to date vv. 19–21. They offer such a vivid picture of destruction that they may have been written while the siege of Jerusalem was underway. However, it is equally plausible that Jeremiah understood the “handwriting on the wall.” Thus, with a prophet's insight he could visualize Jerusalem's coming fate with dramatic realism years before it occurred. The pain he felt as he announced Jerusalem's destruction is revealed in his cry, “Oh, my anguish, my anguish!” 66 In his mind Jeremiah could already hear the trumpet sound of the approaching enemy and the battle cry of soldiers massed for an assault on his beloved city.67 The thought of such a calamity made his heart beat wildly. 4:20–21 It is uncertain whether the speaker here is Jeremiah or the people as they witness the ruin of their land, although the pronouns are singular. “My tents” and “my shelter” (cf. 10:19–20) describe the homes of nomads in the Judean desert. By Jeremiah's time, however, the words may have come to mean a home, whether a literal tent or a fixed dwelling. With the tent of meeting in mind (Exod 33:7 and about 130 times in the OT), Holladay believes that the people were lamenting the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem.68 The trumpet sound here may be the signal for the beleaguered people to flee, or it may be the rallying call to the enemy as he lifts up his battle standard.69 4:22 The speaker here must be God. The designation “my people” was often used to express the covenant relation between God and Israel (e.g., Exod 5:1; Deut 32:9; 1 Sam 9:16; Jer 11:4). He also called his people “fools,” however, the opposite of wise or prudent.70 In the OT a fool was one who ignored (i.e., “refused to know”) the Lord and his authority. God also accused them of not knowing him (cf. Isa 1:2–3); they were senseless children without understanding. Moreover, they were “skilled” in doing evil. A person's conscience can become so seared that even when caught he insists that he has done no wrong. He can become so adept in doing evil that he does not know how to do good.

Underlying God's angry words directed toward his people is an unstated note of pathos. God is like a heartbroken parent warning about the disastrous results of a choice of life-style. However, God allows everyone the freedom to determine his or her own life and destiny. (3) A Time of Devastation and Ruin (4:23–31) 23I

looked at the earth, and it was formless and empty; and at the heavens, and their light was gone. 24I looked at the mountains, and they were quaking; all the hills were swaying. 25I looked, and there were no people; every bird in the sky had flown away. 26I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert; all its towns lay in ruins before the LORD, before his fierce anger. 27This is what the LORD says: “The whole land will be ruined, though I will not destroy it completely. 28Therefore the earth will mourn and the heavens above grow dark, because I have spoken and will not relent, I have decided and will not turn back.” 29At the sound of horsemen and archers every town takes to flight. Some go into the thickets; some climb up among the rocks. All the towns are deserted;

no one lives in them. 30What are you doing, O devastated one? Why dress yourself in scarlet and put on jewels of gold? Why shade your eyes with paint? You adorn yourself in vain. Your lovers despise you; they seek your life. 31I hear a cry as of a woman in labor, a groan as of one bearing her first child— the cry of the Daughter of Zion gasping for breath, stretching out her hands and saying, “Alas! I am fainting; my life is given over to murderers.” 4:23–26 J. Bright calls this poem “one of the most powerful descriptions of the Day of Yahweh in all prophetic literature.”71 The coming destruction of Jerusalem reminded Jeremiah of primeval chaos. The same words “formless and empty” are found in Gen 1:2. Holladay describes the scene as “de-creation.”72 Thompson says it was “as if the earth had been ‘uncreated.’”73 It is an unsettling reminder that sin and rebellion against God lead to darkness and chaos. The mountains, symbols of strength and stability, will quake; and the hills will reel under the onslaught of God's judgment. Towns will lie in ruins, emptied of people. An eerie silence will descend on the once “fruitful land” (lit. “the Carmel”; see note on 2:7). The sound of birds will no longer be heard, for they will have flown away to escape the devastation. The entire picture of inescapable and total destruction is a solemn reminder that although God is patient, his patience has limits (2 Pet 3:9). When all warnings have been ignored, nothing but judgment awaits (Amos 4:11–12). 4:27–31 These verses continue the theme of total destruction just described in 4:23–26 (cf. 25:1–29). However, in the midst of God's angry denunciation of his people, his covenant love and compassion for Judah

would govern his anger (cf. Hos 11:8–9) so that he could not “destroy it completely” (an idea found five times in Jer 5:10,18; 30:11; 46:28).74 At the same time he would not “relent.”75 The decree was fixed, not because God was unwilling to forgive but because he knew that Judah would not repent. At the approach of the enemy's cavalry and archers, the people would flee to hiding places in the thickets and caves, leaving the towns deserted. In a display of brazen overconfidence, however, Jerusalem would attempt to avert the calamity by making overtures to the enemy. Judah is described as a prostitute dressed to attract her lovers. Judah shades (lit. “makes large”; cf. 2 Kgs 9:30) her eyes with paint. The painting of eyes was a common practice in ancient Egypt and in the Near East today. Judah's efforts to turn aside the wrath of the nations (called “lovers”76) who were attacking it would be fruitless because they despised Judah and sought to destroy it. Jeremiah compared Jerusalem's death throes to the pain of a woman in a difficult childbirth, reaching out for help and comfort but finding none. Instead, she found that she was surrounded by those who wished to take her life. Judah made the mistake of putting its trust in its allies and in its own cleverness rather than depending on God.

4. The Total Sinfulness of Judah (5:1–31) The theme of the approaching enemy from the north is interrupted (resumed in 5:15) to describe a people completely alienated from God. The insertion adds further justification for the coming judgment. (1) Jeremiah's Vain Search for a Righteous Person (5:1–6) 1“Go

up and down the streets of Jerusalem, look around and consider, search through her squares. If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth,

I will forgive this city. 2Although they say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’ still they are swearing falsely.” 3O LORD, do not your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain; you crushed them, but they refused correction. They made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent. 4I thought, “These are only the poor; they are foolish, for they do not know the way of the LORD, the requirements of their God. 5So I will go to the leaders and speak to them; surely they know the way of the LORD, the requirements of their God.” But with one accord they too had broken off the yoke and torn off the bonds. 6Therefore a lion from the forest will attack them, a wolf from the desert will ravage them, a leopard will lie in wait near their towns to tear to pieces any who venture out, for their rebellion is great and their backslidings many. 5:1–2 These verses contain the first recorded symbolic act performed by Jeremiah. Other symbolic acts are found in 13:1–11; 16:1–9; 18:1–12; 19:1–15; 25:15–29; 27–28; 32:1–15; 35:1–19; 43:8–13; 51:59–64. Jeremiah and Ezekiel performed more recorded symbolic acts, sometimes called enacted parables or sign acts, than any other prophet in the OT. The symbolic acts all follow the same pattern: God told the prophet what to do, the prophet performed the act, and then the interpretation was given.

Symbolic acts served to get an audience's attention. They also communicated the intended message in a visual, often dramatic, fashion. A note-burning ceremony, baptism, and the Lord's Supper are symbolic acts. Their significance lies in the message they communicate, not in the act itself. In order to show the hopeless moral condition of Jerusalem, God offered to spare the city if a single upright person could be found there.77 Scholars are divided whether “but one person” should be taken literally (Keil) or as hyperbole. The latter interpretation is more likely; it serves as an emphatic way of describing the hopeless moral condition in the city. Since the four imperatives in v. 1 are all plural, the challenge was not specifically directed to Jeremiah (cf. Isa 6:8), but he accepted it. He became like Diogenes, who went through the streets of Athens searching for an honest man. The challenge may have intentionally recalled Gen 18:22–33. In conversation with Abraham, God had agreed to spare Sodom if ten righteous people could be found. Jerusalem must have been ten times more immoral in Jeremiah's time, since God was willing to spare the city if only one upright person could be found. God was seeking honesty and “truth”78 but found only superficial piety. The people were not reluctant to make vows using the sacred, binding oath, “As surely as the Lord lives” (see note on 4:2). Their words acknowledged him as their God, but their lives denied their words. 5:3–6 Jeremiah was sure that he would find piety and integrity among the poor, so he went to them first. He discovered that they “made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent.” He probably attributed their faithlessness to lack of education and irresponsibility in spiritual matters. “The poor” are interpreted by some as poverty of knowledge and understanding rather than economic poverty and by others as the powerless and insignificant among the people. Jeremiah then turned to the “leaders” (lit. “the great ones”). He was confident they were educated, knew the law, and had a sense of responsibility as leaders. However, to his dismay he discovered they were no better than the poor (cf. Ps 62:9). He compared their rebellion to the ox that rebels against its master and breaks its yoke (cf. 2:20). Wealth and position or lack of them have nothing to do with knowing God.

For such a people, judgment was inevitable. The lion, wolf, and leopard of 5:6 are interpreted by some as literal animals who would be God's instruments of judgment79 (cf. Lev 26:22; 2 Kgs 2:24; 17:25; Ezek 14:15). They are more likely figurative representations of the nations, perhaps Babylon itself, that would be used to punish Judah (cf. Hab 1:8; Zeph 3:3). Although the verbs in this verse are translated in future tense (“will attack,” “will ravage,” etc.), the Hebrew perfect is used. It is called the prophetic perfect (or perfect of certainty), often employed by the prophets to emphasize the certainty of a coming event as though it had already occurred (e.g., Amos 5:2). When God says something will happen, it is as good as done (but cf. Jer 18:1–12).80 (2) God's Justification for Judah's Punishment (5:7–13) 7“Why

should I forgive you? Your children have forsaken me and sworn by gods that are not gods. I supplied all their needs, yet they committed adultery and thronged to the houses of prostitutes. 8They are well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for another man's wife. 9Should I not punish them for this?” declares the LORD. “Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this? 10“Go through her vineyards and ravage them, but do not destroy them completely. Strip off her branches, for these people do not belong to the LORD. 11The house of Israel and the house of Judah have been utterly unfaithful to me,”

declares the LORD. 12They have lied about the LORD; they said, “He will do nothing! No harm will come to us; we will never see sword or famine. 13The prophets are but wind and the word is not in them; so let what they say be done to them.” 5:7–9 In light of their ingratitude for all God had done for them, there was no reason why he should have forgiven Judah. They gave credit to false gods for God's abundant provision for their needs (cf. Hos 2:5,8).81 A? uence often results in arrogant self-sufficiency and immoral conduct rather than in humble gratitude and submission. The reference to sexual promiscuity in these verbs and elsewhere could be literal or figurative (for faithlessness to God, e.g., Hos 2:5–15; Ezek 16:15–22; 23:5–21,37) or both, i.e., sexual fertility rites.82 Verse 8 describes their gross carnality in some of the strongest language found in the OT (cf. Ezek 23:29). The men were like “well-fed, lusty stallions,”83 eager to commit adultery with other men's wives. No one would challenge God's right to punish such a “nation” ( a word usually reserved for nations other than Israel; cf. 5:29; 9:8). He wanted to forgive them, but in the absence of repentance he had no recourse but to punish them. 5:10–11 Having justified the necessity to punish, God now ordered the enemy to begin its devastation. The vineyards84 are to be ravaged but with a restriction: “Do not destroy them completely.”85 The mention of Israel along with Judah can be explained as a warning that the same fate awaits “the house of Judah”86 that has already overtaken Israel. 5:12–13 These verses reveal the people's indifferent response to the threat of punishment. “He will do nothing” is literally “not he” (NASB, NAB). Some versions understand it to be a denial of God's existence (NEB, JB, NJB). Others understand it as practical atheism, a denial that God will intervene—he will do nothing (NIV, NRSV, REB, GNB). Either interpretation reveals the people's unwarranted confidence that no harm

would come to them (cf. Mic 3:11, quoting the optimistic prophets of that day). It is uncertain whether in v. 13 the people were denouncing or ridiculing the true prophets by calling them “wind” (“windbags,” Moffatt, Bright).87 The LXX removes the ambiguity by translating “the word of the Lord was not in them,” i.e., in the false prophets. However, the verse probably is a rejection of the true prophets' words. (3) The Coming of a Distant Nation against Judah (5:14–19) 14Therefore

this is what the LORD God Almighty says: “Because the people have spoken these words, I will make my words in your mouth a fire and these people the wood it consumes. 15O house of Israel,” declares the LORD, “I am bringing a distant nation against you— an ancient and enduring nation, a people whose language you do not know, whose speech you do not understand. 16Their quivers are like an open grave; all of them are mighty warriors. 17They will devour your harvests and food, devour your sons and daughters; they will devour your flocks and herds, devour your vines and fig trees. With the sword they will destroy the fortified cities in which you trust. 18“Yet even in those days,” declares the LORD, “I will not destroy you completely. 19And when the people ask, ‘Why has the LORD our God done all this to us?’ you will tell them, ‘As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your own land, so now you will serve foreigners in a land not your own.’

The people refused to believe that the Lord was going to punish them. In order to convince them, Jeremiah became more explicit in his description of the coming invasion, being careful to credit his words to “the Lord God Almighty” (used elsewhere only in Jer 35:17; 38:17; 44:7; see 2:19 for the first occurrence of “Almighty” in Jeremiah). The words in his mouth88 would be like fire, a frequent OT figure for judgment (see Isa 1:31; 10:17; Amos 7:4). A skeptical people did not believe in the power of God's word to accomplish its purposes (cf. Jer 1:9; 23:29; Isa 55:11; John 15:6; Heb 4:12). They would soon discover that it would consume them as fire consumes wood. God's word will either convict of sin and lead to repentance or serve as judgment on the unrepentant. 5:15–17 These verses were addressed to the house of Israel (i.e., the entire nation). They describe the enemy with startling accuracy (cf. Deut 28:49–52, on which they are based; also see Isa 5:26–30; Hab 1:6–11). Though not named, Babylon fits the description of a distant, ancient, and established nation. Pleas for mercy will be useless, for the invader speaks another language and will not understand their appeals (cf. Deut 28:49). “Their quivers are like an open grave” has been understood in various ways. By emendation, NEB translates as “their jaws are a grave” (cf. Ps 5:9). Holladay89 understands it to mean the quiver yawns like an open tomb ready to receive the dead. The phrase may suggest that as an open grave is filled with corpses, so the quivers of the enemy are filled with missiles of death. Regardless of which interpretation is accepted, it sounds the death knell for Judah. Verse 17 describes with vivid realism what happens when an invasion takes place. The enemy lives off the land it occupies, destroying what it does not take for itself so that nothing remains for the conquered people (cf. Deut 28:51; Isa 1:7). “Devour your sons and daughters” is a metaphor for killing, famine, disease, enslavement—the consequence of conquest—and not a reference to cannibalism (cf. Deut 28:21–29). Even the fortified cities, in which the people had a misguided sense of security, would be destroyed (cf. Deut 28:52). Archaeologists have verified the scorched-earth policy of the Babylonians against the cities of Judah. Everything the false prophets had denied could happen would take place with a thoroughness they could not have envisioned.

5:18–19 Once again there is a promise that the destruction will not be total (see 5:10). Some scholars consider those prose verses to be a later insertion. However, they appropriately anticipate the question Judah would be asking during the exile: “Why?” The ultimate purpose of punishment is redemptive, not vindictive (Heb 12:6), though some never understand its real nature. Although the people of Judah were bringing judgment on themselves, they refused to accept the blame. In spite of warnings by the prophets that worship of alien gods would bring God's wrath, the people worshiped them on every high hill and under every green tree (1 Kgs 14:23; 2 Kgs 16:4; Jer 3:13) and in the temple area itself (Ezek 8). They wanted to serve the foreign gods, so with bitter irony God freed them to worship their gods on foreign soil. They were no longer to pollute his land with their abominable practices. (4) Warning to a Foolish and Rebellious People (5:20–31) 20“Announce

this to the house of Jacob and proclaim it in Judah: 21Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear: 22Should you not fear me?” declares the LORD. “Should you not tremble in my presence? I made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it cannot cross. The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail; they may roar, but they cannot cross it. 23But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts; they have turned aside and gone away. 24They do not say to themselves, ‘Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives autumn and spring rains in season,

who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.’ 25Your wrongdoings have kept these away; your sins have deprived you of good. 26“Among my people are wicked men who lie in wait like men who snare birds and like those who set traps to catch men. 27Like cages full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; they have become rich and powerful 28and have grown fat and sleek. Their evil deeds have no limit; they do not plead the case of the fatherless to win it, they do not defend the rights of the poor. 29Should I not punish them for this?” declares the LORD. “Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this? 30“A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land: 31The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end? 5:20–25 The people were as foolish and “senseless” (lit. “without heart”) as the lifeless idols they worshiped. Their gods would be unable to help them in their distress (Isa 41:23–24; 44:19–20; 46:7; Jer 10:5). They should have been able to learn from the Northern Kingdom's catastrophe, but they were blind and deaf to the warnings of the prophets, even as Israel had been (cf. Isa 6:9–10; Job 38:8–11; Ps 104:5–9). It seems that the only lesson we learn from history is that we learn no lessons from it. Judah did not understand what was about to happen because it had no fear of God. The emphasis in “should you not fear me?” is on the object (lit.

“me should you not fear?”). Judah feared and worshiped other gods, but not the true God in whose presence they should have trembled.90 Unlike the sea, which does not cross beyond the boundaries set for it (Gen 1:6–10; 9:11), Judah violated the moral restrictions placed on them as God's covenant people. They also refused to recognize that God was the source of the fall and spring rains (Oct–Dec and Mar–Apr), which assured an abundant harvest in its season.91 Instead, they gave credit to Baal (Hos 2:8). Therefore God was withholding the rain as evidence of his displeasure over their sins (3:3; 14:4–6,22; Deut 28:23–24; Amos 4:7).92 5:26–29 The Lord then named some of the sins that were responsible for the coming judgment. Wicked men exploited and oppressed their own people. Like the hunter who lures an unsuspecting bird into a trap, they plotted their tactics whereby they could accumulate their wealth. The poor were helpless to resist their evil schemes. Like cages filled with small birds used for sacrifice (Lev 1:14; 5:7–11; 14:4–7,49–53), their houses were filled with the possessions acquired by their deceitful practices. They had grown fat and “sleek” (a word used in Song 5:14 to describe polished ivory). There was no evil they were incapable of committing for their selfgratification, even at the expense of the fatherless and the rights of the poor (cf. Exod 22:22; Deut 14:29; Mal 3:5). God asked a second time, “Should I not punish them for this?” (see 5:9). 5:30–31 What was happening in Judah was “horrible” (i.e., something that causes astonishment; “wonderful,” KJV, is misleading). It was also “shocking,” a word found also in 18:13; 23:14; in 29:17 describing figs so rotten they are disgusting. Verse 31 lists reasons for the astonishment. Prophets, who claimed to be speaking for God, were proclaiming lies.93 Priests, who should rule by the authority of God's laws, ruled by their own authority (lit. “by their hands,” understood by some to mean the priests were under the authority of the false prophets). The priests had usurped God's authority for themselves. Is it possible that the priests themselves were responsible for hiding the Book of the Law that was discovered during the reign of King Josiah (2 Kgs 22:8– 23:3)? There is always a danger that religious leaders may become insensitive to the demands of God's word and substitute their own rules.

They may do this either through their own moral corruption or from a misdirected desire to win the approval of their constituency. Most astonishing of all was the fact that the people of Judah loved that kind of leadership (cf. Amos 4:5). Wickedness can so sear the conscience that sin has no limits. Human nature has a propensity for falsehood (Gen 3:1–5). If a choice must be made for one to be crucified, the mob prefers to free a Barabbas (Matt 27:21). But in the end, how will lying words and corrupt leadership serve the best interests of the people? This question would be pondered by the people of Jerusalem when their beloved city lay in smoldering ruins about them.

5. The Coming Siege and Fall of Jerusalem (6:1–30) Nowhere does Jeremiah describe more vividly the coming siege of Jerusalem than in this chapter. His words should have struck terror in the hearts of the people; but their ears were closed, and they would not hear. They showed no more fear than those today who ignore the warning of eternal punishment for those who reject Christ. (1) An Appeal to Flee the Coming Siege (6:1–8) 1“Flee

for safety, people of Benjamin! Flee from Jerusalem! Sound the trumpet in Tekoa! Raise the signal over Beth Hakkerem! For disaster looms out of the north, even terrible destruction. 2I will destroy the Daughter of Zion, so beautiful and delicate. 3Shepherds with their flocks will come against her; they will pitch their tents around her, each tending his own portion.”

4“Prepare

for battle against her! Arise, let us attack at noon! But, alas, the daylight is fading, and the shadows of evening grow long. 5So arise, let us attack at night and destroy her fortresses!” 6This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Cut down the trees and build siege ramps against Jerusalem. This city must be punished; it is filled with oppression. 7As a well pours out its water, so she pours out her wickedness. Violence and destruction resound in her; her sickness and wounds are ever before me. 8Take warning, O Jerusalem, or I will turn away from you and make your land desolate so no one can live in it.” 6:1–3 Jeremiah was concerned for the people of his own tribe, Benjamin, bordering Judah on the north. He appealed to them to get out of Jerusalem before the enemy's siege began. Although disaster was coming “out of the north” (see 1:13; 4:6; 10:22, etc.), mention of other towns reflects the encirclement of Jerusalem that actually took place before it fell to the Babylonians. Tekoa, Amos's hometown (Amos 1:1), was located about twelve miles south of Jerusalem. “Sound the trumpet” and Tekoa are a deliberate play on words because they contain the same consonants. The trumpet was sounded to warn of an approaching enemy. Fire signals were a means of communication from one place to another. The Lachish Letters contain a report by an officer in charge of an outpost several miles from Lachish and Azekah. It was written at the very time the Babylonian armies were taking the cities around Jerusalem one by one. He

wrote, “We are watching for the signals of Lachish … for we cannot see Azekah” (see 34:7). The location of Beth Hakkerem (“house of the vineyard”) is uncertain. It may be Tel Ramat Rahel (between Jerusalem and Bethlehem to the south) or 'Ain Karim, west of Jerusalem. The threat that “I will destroy” (v. 2) is a prophetic perfect, which implies that the destruction was as good as done.94 Zion (Jerusalem) is described as a beautiful and delicate woman, but her beauty would not save her from the enemy's onslaught (cf. the fate of the women of Samaria, Amos 4:1–3). Their destruction is compared to a field being stripped bare by a flock of sheep. Enemy troops under the direction of their leaders foraged on the spoils of the land they conquered, each one taking “his own portion” (lit. “his hand”). 6:4–5 These verses represent the enemy making its preparations for battle in a council of war. “Prepare for battle” (lit. “sanctify for battle”) is a reminder that in the ancient Near East warfare was considered to be a solemn religious act, i.e., holy war. Priests would bless the army before battle (Deut 20:2–4). Sacrifices were offered to the gods or God (see 1 Sam 13:9–12). Astrologers were consulted for fortuitous signs for the time and place of attack. Divination was frequently employed (Ezek 21:21–22). Soldiers were placed under taboo of sexual relations (2 Sam 11:11). Battles ordinarily began at dawn, but in their eagerness the Babylonians would attack Jerusalem in the heat of the day when armies would usually be resting. Because of their determination to get on with the task, they would continue the assault into the night (cf. Josh 10:12–13). 6:6–8 Trees were cut down either to clear obstacles before a city that was under attack or to build siege ramps (see Deut 20:19–20 for prohibitions against cutting down trees). These ramps were built on foundations of trees and large stones that were then filled with dirt. Battering rams were pushed up the ramp to break through weak places in the wall. God insisted that the “city must be punished”95 because it was filled with oppression and wickedness. Jerusalem's perpetual wickedness is compared to a constant stream of water pouring from a well supplied by an underground spring. They always had a fresh supply (cf. Prov 4:16; Luke 6:45; the spring of poisonous water healed by Elisha, 2 Kgs 2:19–22). God

warned the city filled with “violence and destruction” (a phrase also found in Amos 3:10) that he was going to make the land so desolate that no one could live in it.96 (2) Punishment of a Shameless People (6:9–15) 9This

is what the LORD Almighty says: “Let them glean the remnant of Israel as thoroughly as a vine; pass your hand over the branches again, like one gathering grapes.” 10To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the LORD is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it. 11But I am full of the wrath of the LORD, and I cannot hold it in. “Pour it out on the children in the street and on the young men gathered together; both husband and wife will be caught in it, and the old, those weighed down with years. 12Their houses will be turned over to others, together with their fields and their wives, when I stretch out my hand against those who live in the land,” declares the LORD. 13“From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike,

all practice deceit. 14They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace. 15Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when I punish them,” says the LORD. 6:9 Verses 9–15 appear to be a dialogue between God and Jeremiah. Like the grape picker running his hand through the vine again in search of a cluster that may have been overlooked, so God ordered the gleaning of the remnant of Israel.97 It is uncertain whether the metaphor indicates that the enemy would not let a single person escape or that a remnant would be saved. In the context a message of complete destruction is more likely (cf. 8:13). 6:10–11a Jeremiah is the speaker in these verses. His exasperation is apparent as he pleaded with a people who would not listen. “Their ears are closed” (lit. “uncircumcised”; cf. Acts 7:51; also Jer 4:4, “circumcise your hearts”; Exod 6:30, “uncircumcised lips”). The people now were not indifferent to the Lord's words (cf. 5:12–13). Rather, his words were offensive to them, and they found no pleasure in them. Such a reaction to God's word is typical when a person is in rebellion against God (cf. 1 Cor 2:14). The obedient heart receives God's word with pleasure (15:16). 6:11b-12 God's wrath would be poured out like boiling oil on all the inhabitants without regard to age. Neither children, young men, husband and wife, nor the aged would escape. Their homes, fields, and wives would be taken by the enemy as the spoils of warfare (cf. 6:12–15 with 8:10–12, where the words are almost identical). But the victory would not be to the enemy's credit (Isa 63:10). Babylon would be victorious because God was about to stretch out his hand against his covenant people (a figure for

striking someone; Isa 5:25; Jer 51:25; Zeph 1:4). The irony of the punishment is that the people of Judah had sought to enrich themselves by any means; now everything would be taken away from them. 6:13–15 The greed for gain was not limited to a few. From the least to the greatest, including prophets and priests, all were practicing deceit. The leaders were as corrupt as the people. The nation was totally depraved (cf. 2:26; 5:1–6 for a similar message). At the same time, the leaders were giving the people false assurances that everything was well. They were like physicians putting bandages over cancer and pronouncing it healed. Their promise of peace was a hollow mockery. There is no peace for the wicked (Isa 48:22; 57:21), nor can empty assuring words avert punishment (1 Thess 5:3). Such people should have been ashamed of their loathsome conduct, but their habitual wickedness had seared their consciences so that they did not know how to blush. Any nation is doomed to destruction when its people no longer feel any shame for their sins and when even its religious leaders refuse to identify sin for what it is but prefer to satisfy the people's ears with words of false hope and assurance. (3) Refusal to Heed God's Warnings (6:16–20) 16This

is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ 17I appointed watchmen over you and said, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But you said, ‘We will not listen.’ 18Therefore hear, O nations; observe, O witnesses, what will happen to them. 19Hear, O earth:

I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their schemes, because they have not listened to my words and have rejected my law. 20What do I care about incense from Sheba or sweet calamus from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable; your sacrifices do not please me.” 6:16 In spite of their past wickedness, God was willing to show them how they could avert the coming punishment. They must go back to the fork in the road and decide which way to go. If they listened to God's instruction and took the “ancient paths” (the Mosaic law that required morality, holiness, obedience, and compassion), they would find rest (cf. Matt 11:28–30). These words should not be taken as a polemic against progress or stubborn intransigence against change but rather as a commitment to submit to God's ways. Four verbs in v. 16 describe how this “good way” is found: “stand … look … ask … walk.” The good way is the way that God approves. It is the way that is best for us (cf. 29:11; Rom 12:2). 6:17–18 Over many centuries and through many prophets God had tried to warn his people of the consequences of continued disobedience. He compared his prophets to the watchman on the city wall, charged with the duty to scan the horizon for approaching danger and sound the alarm (Ezek 3:17–21; 33:1–19). Because the people refused to listen to the prophets, God summoned other nations to be witnesses to their fate (cf. Amos 3:9).98 6:19–20 Judah had sown the wind and would now reap the whirlwind. The Bible is clear that people will reap what they sow (Prov 22:8; Hos 8:7; 10:12; Gal 6:7–8). Jerusalem's inhabitants were going to receive the “fruit of their schemes”—disaster—because they refused to listen to God's words (cf. Jas 1:15). God did not want their costly offerings of incense (Sheba was a center of trade in incense and spices in southwest Arabia) or sweet calamus (an ingredient used in the holy anointing oil, Exod 30:23–25), nor did he accept their sacrifices. God was not rejecting the sacrificial system he had

instituted at Mount Sinai. The offerings, however costly or good in themselves, were meaningless because they came from a wicked and disobedient people. They could not be substituted for obedience. All rituals and superficial acts of “righteousness” are useless if one's relationship with God is wrong. Rather than opposing the sacrificial system, verses like 1 Sam 15:22; Ps 40:6–8; Isa 1:11–14; Hos 6:6; Amos 5:21–24; Mic 6:6–8 raise the question, “What was the purpose of sacrifice?” Sacrifices and offerings were not a means to buy God's favor but to reveal an attitude of submissiveness to God in all areas of life. (4) The Terrors of the Approaching Enemy (6:21–26) 21Therefore

this is what the LORD says: “I will put obstacles before this people. Fathers and sons alike will stumble over them; neighbors and friends will perish.” 22This is what the LORD says: “Look, an army is coming from the land of the north; a great nation is being stirred up from the ends of the earth. 23They are armed with bow and spear; they are cruel and show no mercy. They sound like the roaring sea as they ride on their horses; they come like men in battle formation to attack you, O Daughter of Zion.” 24We have heard reports about them, and our hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped us, pain like that of a woman in labor. 25Do not go out to the fields

or walk on the roads, for the enemy has a sword, and there is terror on every side. 26O my people, put on sackcloth and roll in ashes; mourn with bitter wailing as for an only son, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us. 6:21 The disaster that was coming is described as “obstacles” that God was going to bring upon all the people, over which they would stumble and perish. 6:22–23 The power of the army approaching from the north would be invincible (cf. 50:41–42, where similar words are directed against Babylon). The description should have struck terror among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The invader, armed with bow and “spear” ( understood by some translators as a sword), would be cruel and merciless. The noise of the approaching army would be like the sound of a raging sea. Both the Assyrians and Babylonians were noted for cruel treatment of conquered peoples. They cut off the hands and noses of prisoners, put out eyes (39:7), impaled bodies on spears, piled up severed heads, flayed victims alive, or burned them in a furnace (Dan 3:11).99 6:24–26 The people of Jerusalem were well aware of the reputation of the Babylonians. They were paralyzed by a feeling of helplessness (“our hands hang limp”; cf. 50:43; Ezek 7:18). Their pain is compared to that of a woman in labor. Jeremiah advised the people to make themselves inconspicuous to escape the notice of the “enemy” (the first time this word is used by Jeremiah). When the invasion came, there would be “terror on every side” (20:3,10, the name given by Jeremiah to Pashhur; cf. 46:5; 49:29; Ps 31:13). Jeremiah (or God?) appealed to the people to put on sackcloth and roll in ashes, the customary symbols of mourning (cf. 1 Cor 5:2). They should have grieved as for the death of an only son (cf. Amos 8:10). The most terrible tragedy that could happen to an Israelite was the loss of an only son,

for through him the family name was perpetuated and property was transmitted to the next generation. Unfortunately, the appeals to repent fell on deaf ears. (5) A People Rejected by God (6:27–30) 27“I

have made you a tester of metals and my people the ore, that you may observe and test their ways. 28They are all hardened rebels, going about to slander. They are bronze and iron; they all act corruptly. 29The bellows blow fiercely to burn away the lead with fire, but the refining goes on in vain; the wicked are not purged out. 30They are called rejected silver, because the LORD has rejected them.” 6:27–30 God commissioned Jeremiah to be a “tester of metal.”100 Gold and silver were refined by submitting ore mixed with lead to intense heat. When heated, the lead oxidized and carried off the dross, leaving the pure metal. The people of Judah (“the ore”) had become “hardened rebels” (or “super-rebels,” lit. “rebels of rebels,” a superlative expression like “Song of Songs”). For them the refining process (i.e., chastisement) was in vain. The testing would determine how the people measured up to God's requirements (cf. 5:14; Amos 7:7–8). Previous chastisement and warnings had done no good; they did not purge out the wicked from Judah. Because no righteous people could be found (cf. 5:1–6), they would be set aside as useless to God. They would become like “rejected silver” because the Lord had rejected them (a play on words). As E. A. Martens notes, in spite of the “intense warnings, earnest appeals to repentance, and dire threats” of chaps.

2–6, “the defiance of a stubborn people remains. There is no trace of genuine metal.”101 When people become useless to God because of their faithlessness, they will be set aside. 1

Note the promise in 4:27; 5:10,18 to refrain from complete destruction, repeated in 30:11; 46:28. Cf. the complete destruction assumed for God's enemies in 12:17; 49:20; 50:21,26,45; Mal 1:2–5. 2 R. D. Patterson (“Of Bookends, Hinges, and Hooks: Literary Clues to the Arrangements of Jeremiah's Prophecies,” WTJ 51 [1989]) identifies the unit as 2:1–3:5 and understands it as presenting the themes for chaps. 2–24 as the divine punishment of Judah. 3 For vv. 1–2 the LXX reads, “And he said, This is what the Lord says, I remember.” NIV inadvertently omits “This is what the Lord says” in v. 2. This phrase, found frequently in the OT, is called the “messenger formula.” Messengers in the ANE used similar introductory words to announce their ruler's decrees to his subjects. By naming the ruler, authority for the edict was immediately established for the hearers. When the people heard “this is what the king of … says,” they knew they must obey (cf. 2 Kgs 18:19,31; 2 Chr 18:26; 32:10). When the prophets proclaimed, “This is what the Lord says,” the people understood they were invoking the authority of their ruler, the Lord himself. 4 Heb. (hesed) is a word with a wide range of meaning, including faithfulness, kindness, loyalty, covenant love, mercy, and devotion. It is ordinarily used of God's attitude toward his people and less frequently of the people's devotion to God. For detailed studies of the word see N. Glueck, Hesed in the Bible, trans. A. Gottschalk (Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College Press, 1967) and K. D. Sakenfeld, The Meaning of Hesed in the Hebrew Bible (Missoula, Mont.: Scholars, 1978). 5 R. P. Carroll (Jeremiah, OTL [Philadelphia: Westminster, 1986], 120) says: “Seen side by side the stories are contradictions. Such contradictions are a normal feature of the Bible in relation to historical matters because the essential point of such traditions is not their historical accuracy but their theological function.”

6

This interpretation is advocated by G. W. Coats, Rebellion in the Wilderness (Nashville: Abingdon, 1968). 7 “House of Jacob” is used twenty times in the OT rather than the more customary “house of Israel.” Both are inclusive terms for all the tribes of Israel. 8 lit. “empty,” is the same word found in Eccl 1:2, “vanity of vanities” (KJV; “meaningless, meaningless,” NIV). The prophets condemned idols as unreal, without substance, and unable to help those who called on them (cf. 1 Cor 8:4). 9 Heb. (“the land of Carmel”). Carmel (a word that means orchard), a wooded mountain range on the Mediterranean coast, was noted for its fruit trees in ancient times. 10 Heb. “shepherds,” was a word frequently used of rulers in the ANE. Gudea, governor of Lagash (ca. 2050 B.C.) was called “faithful shepherd.” Pharaohs were sometimes called “herdsmen.” Hammurapi (1786–1690 B.C.) called himself a shepherd (cf. Ezek 34; John 10:1–19). 11 This is the first mention by Jeremiah of the Canaanite storm god worshiped elsewhere in the ANE as Hadad. The word means master or husband. See also 7:9; 11:13,17; 12:16; 19:15; 23:13,27; 32:29,35. 12 , “its glory,” is a tiqqune soperîm (“corrections of the scribes”), originally “my Glory,” i.e., God himself. For an explanation of see E. Würthwein, The Text of the Old Testament, 4th ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979), 18–19. 13 Heb. once the capital of Lower Egypt. 14 Lit. “Yahweh of hosts,” a name for God found most frequently in Isaiah (fifty-six times), Jeremiah (eighty-two times), Haggai (fourteen times), Zechariah (fifty-three times), and Malachi (twenty-four times). 15 C. L. Seow, “Hosts, Lord of,” ABD, ed. D. N. Freedman (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 304–7. 16 “I broke your yoke” (MT), but NIV and most modern translations follow the LXX and the Vg., “You broke your yoke.” The latter translation is explained as an old second person feminine ending mistaken by the Masoretes for the first person. It makes better sense in the context, although “I broke,” understood as a reference to Israel's deliverance from Egyptian

bondage, also makes good sense. For “I will not serve” ( Ketib), KJV has “I will not transgress” ( Qere). The Ketib is more in keeping with the context. 17 The Hebrew mentioned only here and Isa 5:2, refers to an excellent variety of red grapes (Zech 1:8) that grew in the Wadi al-Sarar between Jerusalem and the Mediterranean Sea. See Flora and Fauna of the Bible (New York: UBS, 1972), 188–92. 18 For a vivid description of the behavior of a donkey in heat, see K. E. Bailey and W. L. Holladay, “The ‘Young Camel’ and ‘Wild Ass’ in Jer 2:23–25,” VT 18 (1968): 256–60. 19 Heb. is an interjection that expresses hopelessness. 20 J. G. McConville (“Jeremiah: Prophet and Book,” TB 42 [1991]: 84) rightly objects to the NRSV and GNB translation of the Heb. perfect “is disgraced,” as a future. The disgrace, he says, was Israel's destruction at the hands of the Assyrians in whom they had trusted. “Contemporary Judah is in grave danger because of a present apostasy which is in organic continuity with the apostatizing tendency exhibited in Israel's history.” These ideas, he says, are developed in 3:6–11. 21 “You of this generation, consider the word of the Lord” is taken as a gloss by many scholars, e.g., B. Duhm, W. Rudolph, J. Bright, and J. A. Thompson. NEB relegates it to a footnote. “Consider” (lit. “see”) the word of the Lord is similar to expressions in Isa 2:1; Amos 1:1; Mic 1:1. Cf. A. J. O. van der Wal, “Jeremiah 2:31: A Proposal,” VT 41 (1991): 360–63. 22 The meaning of the word translated “we are free to roam” is uncertain. BDB and most modern translators take it from (“roam”), but the LXX (“we will not be ruled over”) and KJV (“we are lords”) take it from (“tread,” “rule,” “subdue”). 23 Verse 34 contains some textual problems. The LXX and Syr translate “on your clothes” as “on your palms” (i.e., hands). “Yet in spite of all this” (NIV; “but on all these,” MT) is translated by the LXX as “but at every oak” (i.e., “by the sacrifices you offer at every oak”). The differences, however, are not theologically significant. 24 For a study of see W. L. Holladay, The Root in the Old Testament with Particular Reference to Its Usages in Covenantal Texts

(Leiden: Brill, 1958), especially 128–39 for Jeremiah's use of the word. 25 J. G. McConville (“Jeremiah: Prophet and Book,” TB 42 [1991]: 86) notes the play on the root in this section. The verb is translated “return” in 3:1,7,10,12,14,22; 4:1; it is translated “turn” in 3:19; 4:8,28. The adj. is translated “faithless” in 3:14,22. The noun is translated “faithless” in 3:6,8,11,12 and “backsliding” in 3:22 (also 2:19; 5:6; 14:7; 15:6). The people, McConville notes, “have a strong tendency to ‘turn’ indeed but to turn away from God rather than to him.” 26 See T. R. Hobbs, “Jeremiah 3:1–5 and Deuteronomy 24:1–4,” ZAW 86 (1974): 23–29. 27 NIV omits the first word of 3:1 (“saying”) with the LXX and Syr. J. Bright (Jeremiah: Introduction, Translation, and Notes, AB [Garden City: Doubleday, 1965], 19) says it may be a fragment of “The word of the LORD came to me, saying” (as found in 2:1). 28 is understood as an imperative by the Syr and KJV (“Yet return again to me”). It is better understood as an infinitive absolute translated either as a statement, “Yet you claim the right to come back to me” (NJB), or as a question (NIV). 29 McConville, “Jeremiah,” 86. Note his evaluation (88–92) of recent studies of the theme of repentance in Jeremiah by T. M. Raitt, A Theology of Exile: Judgment and Deliverance in Jeremiah and Ezekiel (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1977) and J. Unterman, From Repentance to Redemption: Jeremiah's Thought in Transition (Sheffield: JSOT, 1987). 30 The word (“ravished”) was considered obscene by the Masoretes, so they substituted the Qere (“lie with”) here and in three other passages where the same word occurs (Deut 28:30; Isa 13:16; Zech 14:2). 31 (“nomad”) is translated “Arab” (NRSV) or “Arabian” (NKJV), “bandit” (NJPS), and “Bedouin” (McKane, Jeremiah, vol. 1, ICC [Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1986], 58). 32 A wife sometimes called her husband “Father” in the ANE as acknowledgment of his authority and protection. Judah was like a wayward wife trying to soothe the anger of her husband with loving words. 33 (“friend”) is not the usual Hebrew word for “friend.” It can mean tribal head, companion, ox, or a trusted person. It is not used elsewhere to

refer to God. W. McKane (Proverbs, OTL [Philadelphia: Westminster, 1970], 286) cites Prov 2:17 and Jer 13:21 to show the word can also mean teacher; see also idem, Jeremiah 1, 61. 34 J. Bright (Jeremiah, 25–27) follows many commentators in the view that 3:6–18, mostly prose, was originally independent of 3:1–5 and 3:19– 4:4, which are in poetic form. It supposedly interrupts the continuity between vv. 5,19 and was inserted by a later editor. J. A. Thompson (The Book of Jeremiah, NICOT [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980], 188) says Jeremiah could write both prose and poetry but “how much of the present section is genuinely Jeremianic may be impossible to decide.” R. P. Carroll (Jeremiah, 145) views 3:6–11 as “a very late addition.” The section 2:1–3:5, he says, originally referred to Judah and was an announcement of inevitable destruction and the impossibility of repentance. The editor who added 3:6– 11, he claims, misinterpreted the previous section as referring to northern Israel. See McConville, “Jeremiah,” 84–86 for an argument for Jeremianic authorship of the passage and that “Israel” in 2:1–3:5 always refers to the Northern Kingdom. 35 (“faithless,” from “return”) is translated as “backsliding” (KJV). Nine of the twelve OT occurrences of this word are in Jeremiah. 36 See introduction regarding the corruption during Manasseh's reign. 37 C. L. Feinberg (Jeremiah, EBC 6 [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986], 400) says that the call to Israel to return was intended to provoke Judah to jealousy. E. W. Nicholson (Jeremiah 1–25, CBC [Cambridge: University Press, 1973], 46) believes that “Israel” here means the entire nation and not the Northern Kingdom. However, this interpretation does not take v. 18 into consideration. 38 To show that “return” and “faithless” are from the same Heb. word, Bright (Jeremiah, 22) proposes, “Come back, backslidden Israel.” Holladay (Jeremiah 1–25, 59) is better: “Return, turnable children.” “Turn back, back turning Israel” comes closest to reflecting the wordplay. 39 Lit. “let my face fall on you,” an expression also found in Gen 4:5; cf. Job 29:24. 40 from which the Hasidim derived their name, is used exclusively of God in the OT and occurs only here and in Ps 145:17. It is related to the

word (hesed; see note on 2:2) and is translated “merciful” (NIV, NRSV, KJV, NJB), “gracious” (NASB), and “my love is unfailing” (REB). 41 Lit. “your ways.” A. Weiser (Das Buch des Propheten Jeremia, ATD 20/21 [Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1960], 24) and W. Rudolph (Jeremia, HAT 12 [Tübingen: Mohr, 1968], 24) both emend to “your loves.” Bright (Jeremiah, 24) is correct that though the idea is unusual, emendation is not necessary. 42 Clements, Jeremiah, INT, 35. 43 W. Thiel (Die deuteronomistische Redaktion von Jeremia 1–25, WMANT 41 [Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener, 1973], 91–92) lists ten arguments to support his view that vv. 14–17 are post-Deuteronomistic. 44 See G. Hasel, The Remnant (Berrien Springs, Mich.; Andrews University Press, 1972) for a detailed study of the doctrine of the remnant. There are approximately eighty-five occurrences of all words for “remnant” in the OT, and the idea is sometimes present when the word is not. The remnant is the necessary outgrowth of humanity's failure and God's unwavering determination to carry out his redemptive purposes. Whatever else may be understood about this doctrine, it teaches that our ultimate hope is based on God's grace. 45 See note on 2:6 for meaning of “shepherds.” The KJV translation “pastors” is misleading to modern readers. 46 The ark of the covenant is first mentioned in Exod 25:10–22; it was constructed in the desert (Exod 37:1–9). It was captured in battle by the Philistines (1 Sam 4:10–11) but returned by them to Beth Shemesh (1 Sam 6:13–16). It was later removed to Kiriath Jearim (1 Sam 7:1) and taken by David to Jerusalem (2 Sam 6:1–15). It was placed in Solomon's Temple (1 Kgs 8:5–6) and last mentioned in 2 Chr 35:3. It was either destroyed or taken to Babylon as a trophy of war in 587 B.C. Second Maccabees 2:4–7 says that Jeremiah hid it in a cave where it will remain undiscovered until God regathers his people. Revelation 11:19 mentions the “ark of his covenant” in God's temple in heaven, an archetype or heavenly counterpart of the earthly ark in Jerusalem. 47 (“stubbornness”) is used eight times by Jeremiah and elsewhere in the OT only in Deut 29:19 and Ps 81:12. It is always used in a negative

sense. 48

Other names for Jerusalem in the OT are found in Isa 1:26; 62:2–4; Jer 33:16; Ezek 48:35; Zech 8:3. All people will gather at the throne of God; cf. Isa 2:2–3; 56:6–8; 60:11–14; Mic 4:1–3; Zech 8:20–23; 14:16. 49 Many commentators have concluded that 3:19–25 is a continuation from 3:5 and that 3:6–18 was added by a later redactor. 50 The Heb. is lit. “beautiful of beautiful,” i.e., “the most beautiful.” Whereas NIV takes as a plural of (“beauty”), KJV takes it as a plural of (“hosts”) and translates as “a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations.” 51 Thompson, Jeremiah, 207, translates as a command, “You must call me, ‘My Father.’” 52 For “we will come to you” the LXX reads, “We are your servants,” a translation that suggests submissive obedience. 53 Thompson, Jeremiah, 208, suggests “an empty mouthing of penitential phrases.” 54 Feinberg, “Jeremiah,” EBC, 403–4. 55 (“shameful gods”; lit. “the shame”) is a word that was sometimes substituted for Baal by scribes who did not want to mention his name. At the same time they were making a theological statement by the substitution (see Hos 9:10; Jer 11:13). Examples are Jerub-Besheth (2 Sam 11:21) for Jerub-Baal (Judg 9:1) and Ish-Bosheth (2 Sam 2:8) for Esh-Baal (1 Chr 8:33). 56 (lit. “your detested things”) is used a number of ways in the OT. It can refer to filth (Nah 3:6), food offered to idols (Zech 9:7), worshipers of false gods (Hos 9:10), and the false gods themselves (2 Kgs 23:13; Isa 66:3). 57 “As surely as the Lord lives” is a common oath in the OT. It is used at least sixty-six times, either by the people (Judg 8:19; Ruth 3:13; 1 Sam 19:6) or by the Lord himself (Num 14:21; Ezek 5:11). Those who prefaced a statement with this oath were emphasizing the truth or reliability of their words. It carried the same weight as an oath taken today with one hand on the Bible.

58

P. C. Craigie et al. (Jeremiah 1–25 [Dallas: Word, 1991], 69) note that in thinking about repentance the focus “must not be only upon those called upon to repent but also upon the larger world that God desires to reach through the transformed lives of the repentant and forgiven.” 59 Thompson (Jeremiah, 214) understands this as the remnant of Israel. 60 The parts of the human body are often used with symbolical significance in the OT. See H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1974). 61 The “north” is mentioned twenty-five times in Jeremiah, sometimes in reference to an enemy against Judah and other times against Egypt, the Philistines, or Babylon (3:12; 3:18; 16:15; 23:8; 31:8). Scholars no longer equate the enemy from the north with the Scythians, a nomadic people from the region north of the Black Sea who crossed the Caucasus into eastern Anatolia in the eighth century B.C. The most natural identification of the enemy is Babylon. Also see comments on 1:13–14. 62 Lit. “the daughter of my people” (NJB), understood appositionally as “my daughter people” (Holladay, Jeremiah 1, 156); “My Daughter-My People” (Bright, Jeremiah, 29), “my poor people” (NJPS). 63 (“wash”) is a Piel from a root that means to tread or subjugate. It suggests that Judah's cleansing will be harsh and thorough before they can be restored to God's favor. The same verb is found in Ps 51:2. 64 is from a word that means keep watch or guard. By emendation it is sometimes translated “enemies” (JB; Bright, Jeremiah, 29). Craigie et al., Jeremiah 1–25, 75, translate “criers” based on an alternate root. 65 H. W. Robinson, The Cross in the Old Testament (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1955), 115–92. This section in Robinson is on the “Cross in Jeremiah.” 66 “My bowels, my bowels” (KJV) is less euphemistic than “my anguish” (NIV), “my agony” (NJB), “my soul” (NASB), or “my suffering” (NJPS); but it is a literal translation of the Heb. In Heb. thought the bowels (i.e., intestines) were considered to be the seat of the emotions rather than the heart. Even today we speak of feeling fear or anger in the pit of the stomach.

67

The Hebrew of “I have heard” may not be the first person but an archaic form of the second person feminine singular (“you have heard, O my soul,” NASB; Bright, 30; cf. “my soul has heard,” LXX). 68 Holladay, Jeremiah 1, 162. 69 “How long shall I see fugitives?” (LXX, Vg, Syr) instead of “How long must I see the battle standard?” NIV is based on reading 70 “fool,” from a root meaning thick, occurs fifty-one times in the OT in all its forms, forty-one of them in Proverbs but only here in Jeremiah. H. W. Wolff (Hosea, Her [Philadelphia: Fortress, 1974], 156) translates the word as “blockhead.” 71 Bright, Jeremiah, 32–33. 72 Holladay, Jeremiah 1, 164. 73 Thompson, Jeremiah, NICOT, 230. 74 Emending to “to it,” (i.e., the earth) yields “I will destroy it completely” (so REB; McKane, Jeremiah 1, 108–9). Though the MT seems to contradict the context, which warns of total destruction, the idea of a remnant, found first in Lev 26:44, is often announced in the OT (e.g., 44:27–28; Isa 6:13; Amos 9:8; Mic 2:12; Zeph 3:13). 75 translated “repent” (KJV, NAB) or “changing my mind” (NASB, NJB), is misleading since it would suggest admission of a mistake. The word conveys the emotion of deep grief, like the sorrow of a parent for a wayward child. The usual word that can mean “repent” ( “turn back,” NIV) is also found in v. 28. See H. Van Dyke Parunak, “A Semantic Survey of NHM,” Bib 56 (1975): 512–32. 76 (“lovers”) is not the usual word for lover It means to have a sensual desire for someone and is found only here and in Ezek 23:5,7,9,12,16,20, where Samaria and Jerusalem are characterized as harlots. 77 The LXX adds “says the Lord” to v. 1 to remind the reader that the speaker is the Lord, not Jeremiah. 78 (“amen” is from this word) is translated “reliability” by W. Brueggemann (Jeremiah 1–25; To Pluck Up, To Tear Down: A Commentary on Jeremiah 1–25, ITC [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988], 59) and as

“trustworthiness, integrity” by Holladay (Jeremiah 1, 176). The word can encompass all these translations. 79 A. W. Streane (Jeremiah and Lamentations, CB [Cambridge: University Press, 1892], 46) and Keil (123) argue for a literal interpretation of the animals in v. 6. 80 See G. L. Klein, “The ‘Prophetic Perfect,’ “JNSL 15 (1990): 45–60. 81 By taking the root in v. 7 translated “supplied” as (to swear) instead of (“to be satiated,” MT), the phrase could be translated “I took their oath” instead of “I supplied all their needs” and would serve as a reminder of a solemn covenant Israel made with God at Mt. Sinai. 82 (“thronged”) could be translated from “they inflict cuts on themselves,” a reflection of participation in Canaanite religious practices (cf. 1 Kgs 18:28). The NIV takes the word as a derivative of “military troops,” hence, “thronged to” (NIV); “trooped to” (NRSV); cf. LXX “they lodged” (from based on confusion between and The “houses of prostitutes” may be literal or the prophet's way of referring to the Canaanite places of worship, where cultic prostitution was practiced. 83 The word translated “well-fed” occurs only here. It may be a hop. ptcp. from and so “well-fed” (BDB), or a pu. ptcp. from “be in heat” (KB). 84 From KJV translates “walls” from 85 Rudolph (Jeremia, 34) omits (“not”) as a gloss and translates “make a full end.” This would mean that Judah was to experience the same judgment as Israel—total destruction. See comments on 4:27. 86 JB, Rudolph (Jeremia, 34), and D. P. Volz (Der Prophet Jeremia [Leipzig: A. Deichertsche Verlagsbuchhandlung D. Weiner Scholl, 1928], 60) take “and the house of Judah” as a gloss, but there is no good reason to delete the phrase here (so Weiser, Jeremia, 47, n. 1). 87 Perhaps a play on words is intended, since the word for “wind” can also mean spirit. Those who ought to have the “Spirit” in them only have “wind.” 88 “The people” in NIV is added for clarity. Hebrew has “because of your [pl.] speaking,” referring to what the people have just said. “Your mouth” is singular; therefore it refers to the words in Jeremiah's mouth.

89

Jeremiah 1, 188. 90 M. I. Gruber (“Fear, Anxiety, and Reverence in Akkadian, biblical Hebrew and Other NorthWest Semitic Languages,” VT 40 [1990]: 411–22) explains that the Hebrew “fear,” could have two meanings depending on the context. It could refer to justified fear that would lead one to take action to avoid a danger (“fear of God” as “fright at the contemplation of the consequences of transgressing God's prohibitions”) or unjustified fear or pathological anxiety that would result in inactivity, an unfortunate attitude of mind, which the awareness of God's presence can dispel (1:8,19). 91 “The regular weeks of harvest” refer to the seven weeks between Passover and the Feast of Weeks (Lev 23:15–16). 92 Two words for sin are found in 5:25: (“wrongdoings”), from a word that means to be bent or twisted, and (“sins”), from a word that means to miss the mark. A third Hebrew word for sin is found in v. 26, (“wicked”), from a word that means to be disjointed. The other Hebrew word for sin (“rebellion”) is found in the Book of Jeremiah only in 5:6. 93 For a study of lying, see T. W. Overholt, The Threat of Falsehood: A Study in the Theology of the Book of Jeremiah (London: SCM, 1970); M. A. Klopfenstein, Die Lüge nach dem Alten Testament (Zürich: Gotthelf, 1964). 94 The word translated “I will destroy,” from the root , can also mean to be like, or to compare. Translators are divided about which meaning is intended here (“destroy,” NIV, NASB, NJB, NJPS, RSV; “to be like,” KJV, JB, NRSV, Holladay, Jeremiah 1). “Destroy” fits the context better. 95 “City” is a feminine noun, but “must be punished” is a masculine participle, an exception to the rules of agreement. By emendation Holladay (Jeremiah 1, 203, 207) translates as “Woe, licentious city!” 96 The NEB poignantly paraphrases v. 8 “lest my love for you be torn from my heart,” reminding of the effect of such judgment on the heart of God. 97 A number of translations follow the LXX, “glean, glean,” a repeated imperative (JB, NAB, NEB, REB), instead of “let them glean thoroughly” (infinitive absolute followed by the imperfect; KJV, NIV, RSV). The meaning is essentially the same.

98

Verse 18 is difficult to translate. Bright (Jeremiah, 45) proposes, “Therefore hear, O nations” and leaves the rest of the verse untranslated because of textual difficulties. A literal translation of the MT would be, “Therefore, hear, O nations, and know, O congregation, what [is] in them.” 99 See E. Bleibtreu, “Grisly Assyrian Record of Torture and Death,” BAR 17.1 (1991): 52–61, 75. 100 “A tower and a fortress” (KJV) for “tester of metal” is based on reading as (“watchtower”). (“fortress”) is emended by some to read (“tester”), which fits the context of a refining process. Holladay (Jeremiah 1, 228) rejects the revocalization and prefers to explain the word as a gloss. However, if a mixed metaphor is allowed, “tower and fortress” make good sense by recalling God's words to Jeremiah in 1:18. The testing of metal as a metaphor is found elsewhere in the OT (e.g., Job 23:10; Zech 13:9). For a careful explanation of the process of refining silver, see Holladay, Jeremiah 1, 230–32; R. A. Coughenour, “Refine,” ISBE 4:64–65. 101 E. A. Martens, Jeremiah, 69.

SECTION OUTLINE IV. JEREMIAH'S TEMPLE SERMON AND OTHER MESSAGES OF WARNING (7:1–10:25) 1. The Temple Sermon (7:1–15) (1) Misplaced Trust in Deceptive Words (7:1–11) (2) Warning from Shiloh's Fate (7:12–15) 2. Worship of the Queen of Heaven (7:16–20) 3. A Disobedient Nation (7:21–29) 4. Coming Judgment of Human Sacrifice (7:30–34) 5. Desecration of Graves by the Enemy (8:1–3) 6. Stubborn Refusal to Return to God (8:4–13) 7. The People's Resignation to the Coming Invasion (8:14–17) 8. Lament for a Stricken People (8:18–9:6) 9. God's Justification for the Coming Punishment (9:7–16) 10. A Lament over Jerusalem's Destruction (9:17–22) 11. The Only Basis for Boasting (9:23–24) 12. The Worthlessness of Circumcision (9:25–26) 13. Preparation for Exile (10:1–25) (1) The Foolishness of Idolatry (10:1–16) (2) Announcement of Exile (10:17–22)

(3) Jeremiah's Prayer (10:23–25)

IV. JEREMIAH’S TEMPLE SERMON AND OTHER MESSAGES OF WARNING (7:1–10:25) Chapters 7–10 are believed to contain messages of Jeremiah delivered on different occasions and for the most part during the rule of King Jehoiakim (609–598 B.C.). This section is comprised of the temple sermon (7:1–15), miscellaneous oracles with regard to Judah's sin (idolatry, child sacrifice, etc.), and the destruction of Jerusalem. The section closes with an announcement of their going to exile and Jeremiah's prayer for God's righteous judgment (10:17–25).

1. The Temple Sermon (7:1–15) Chapter 7 contains the first lengthy prose section in the Book of Jeremiah. The style and phrasing represent the strong influence of Deuteronomic theology on the messages. However, Holladay denies a widely held belief that 7:1–15 is the work of a Deuteronomistic redactor.1 If the sermon recorded here is the same as the one in chap. 26, it can be dated at the beginning of the reign of King Jehoiakim (26:1), perhaps 608 B.C. However, it is not impossible that Jeremiah delivered a similar sermon on more than one occasion. The sermon reveals that the reforms of King Josiah, who died in 609, had been quickly abandoned with the encouragement of the people's new ruler, Jehoiakim. The sermon may have been delivered during one of the three great religious festivals when large crowds would have been in Jerusalem (Deut 16:16). Jeremiah took his life in his hands by denouncing the people's confidence in the temple (see their

reaction in chap. 26). His words were blasphemous to them because they equated the temple with God's presence. It was a time of crisis when the people needed the assurance of God's protection. The Assyrian Empire had just been overthrown by the Babylonians after its undisputed control of the Near East since TiglathPileser III began his conquests in 745 B.C. Judah was still reeling from the shocking death of King Josiah in battle against the Egyptians (2 Kgs 23:29– 30). The Egyptians were in military control of the land and appointed Josiah's successor and son, Jehoiakim, who as yet was an unproven leader, after a brief rule by another son, Jehoahaz. A military showdown between Egypt and Babylon would escalate to war at Carchemish in 605. In such turbulent times the people grasped at any symbol of security, which for them was the temple. Jeremiah's sermon, however, exposed the fallacy of their trust. Their only real security lay not in a building but in moral uprightness, faithfulness, and obedience to their God.2 (1) Misplaced Trust in Deceptive Words (7:1–11) 1This

is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2“Stand at the gate of the LORD's house and there proclaim this message: “‘Hear the word of the LORD, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the LORD. 3This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. 4Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD!” 5If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, 6if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, 7then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers for ever and ever. 8But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless. 9“‘Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, 10and then

come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things? 11Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the LORD. 7:1–2 The sermon began with an introduction that was characteristic of many of Jeremiah's messages (e.g., 2:1; 3:6; 11:1)—a reminder that his messages were from the Lord.3 God told him to proclaim the message at “the gate of the Lord's house.” The identity of the gate cannot be determined; Kimchi, a Jewish medieval Bible scholar, said there were seven gates. It may have been a gate that connected the outer and inner courts through which the worshipers would enter the sacred precincts. It was undoubtedly a place where great throngs of worshipers congregated. 7:3–8 Like a prosecuting attorney in court, the Lord accused the people of misplaced trust and misguided behavior. He warned them to reform their ways along with a promise, “I will let you live in this place.”4 Sometimes the “place” (a word occurring eight times in 7:1–8:3) refers to the shrine (7:12), to Jerusalem (7:3), and sometimes to the entire land (7:7). In v. 7 it means the land of Judah. The people of Judah had placed their trust in the temple rather than in God. They could not believe there was any real danger (cf. Mic 3:11). After all, they could argue that God had made a covenant with Abraham, giving him and his descendants the land in perpetuity (Gen 15:18; 17:7–8). At Sinai he had made them his chosen people (Exod 19:5–6). He made a covenant with David that his kingdom would be established forever (2 Sam 7:16). For Judah the temple was a visible reminder of God's presence and protective power about the city (Ps 132:13–14). Judah also had other assurances of God's protection. Had the nation not been spared the fate of Israel in 722? Had not God spared it again from destruction by Sennacherib in 701? Unfortunately, the temple had become a kind of good luck charm or talisman like the ark of the covenant at an earlier time (1 Sam 4:3). They had forgotten God required obedience as a condition for enjoying his blessings (Deut 7:12–15; 28; cf. 1 Kgs 8:27; Isa 57:15). They were trusting in deceptive words. The threefold repetition of “the temple of the Lord” shows how strongly they felt about the “temple

theology.”5 The same misplaced confidence in the temple continued into NT times (Matt 26:61; Mark 14:58; John 2:19–20; Acts 6:13–14). In vv. 5–7 Jeremiah defined the kind of religion that pleases God (cf. Ezek 18:5–9; Mic 6:6–8; Jas 1:26–27). He made it clear that God's promise to let them remain in the land was conditional. If they practiced justice with one another (Deut 16:20), did not oppress others (Exod 22:21–22; Deut 24:17; 27:19), did not shed innocent blood (Deut 19:10), or worship other gods (Exod 20:3–4), he would let them remain in the land. All the conditions laid down were capable of fulfillment if the people would obey. God never requires more than his people are able to accomplish (1 Cor 10:13; Phil 4:13). However, Judah preferred to trust in worthless words and claim the privileges of a covenant relationship without assuming its responsibilities (cf. the admonition to Christians in 2 Pet 1:2–11 to avoid the sin of presumption). 7:9–11 Jeremiah accused the people of repeated violations of the Ten Commandments, specifically mentioning six of them (Eight, Six, Seven, Nine, One, and Two; see Exod 20:1–17; cf. Hos 4:2).6 They felt no shame about breaking the moral laws of God and then coming to stand7 in the temple that bore God's name (i.e., belonged to him; Num 6:27; 1 Kgs 9:3). There they would say, “We are safe.” They believed that observing the temple rituals freed them to return to their “detestable things” (a word that often bears sexual overtones) without fear of punishment. So far as God was concerned, the temple was a “den of robbers” (quoted by Jesus in Matt 21:13 combined with Isa 56:7). Bandits often took refuge in caves in the Judean hills for protection until their pursuers gave up searching for them. They would then emerge to commit other crimes. The temple had become the refuge for the people to perform the rituals they believed freed them to continue their wicked practices.8 However they were not deceiving God. He warned, “I have been watching!” (lit. “Look, I also can see!” cf. 1:12). (2) Warnings from Shiloh's Fate (7:12–15)

12“‘Go

now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for my Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel. 13While you were doing all these things, declares the LORD, I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen; I called you, but you did not answer. 14Therefore, what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears my Name, the temple you trust in, the place I gave to you and your fathers. 15I will thrust you from my presence, just as I did all your brothers, the people of Ephraim.’ 7:12–15 As further warning that the temple was not exempt from God's wrath, he reminded them to consider the fate of Shiloh (Ps 78:56–64). Located about eighteen miles north of Jerusalem, it was the first permanent location of the tabernacle in Canaan (Josh 18:1) and the place where the land was divided among the tribes (Josh 18:8–10; 19:51). The shrine was still located there when Eli was high priest (1 Sam 1:3) and Samuel was called to be God's prophet (1 Sam 3:1,21). Nevertheless, the city apparently was destroyed by the Philistines around 1050 B.C. after the battle described in 1 Sam 4.9 If God would destroy the city where the tabernacle and ark were located because of Israel's sins, how could Jerusalem expect to escape a similar fate? God reminded Judah that he had warned them “again and again” (lit. “rising up early and speaking,” an anthropomorphism that expresses God's urgent concern for his people).10 Now he was going to cast them from his presence, as he had done earlier to Ephraim (as a leader among the ten northern tribes, Ephraim was often used synonymously with Israel; cf. Isa 7:2).

2. Worship of the Queen of Heaven (7:16–20) 16“So

do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them; do not plead with me, for I will not listen to you. 17Do you not see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough and make cakes of bread for the Queen of

Heaven. They pour out drink offerings to other gods to provoke me to anger. 19But am I the one they are provoking? declares the LORD. Are they not rather harming themselves, to their own shame? 20“‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: My anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place, on man and beast, on the trees of the field and on the fruit of the ground, and it will burn and not be quenched. After declaring that Judah's punishment was inevitable, God gave Jeremiah a startling command (v. 16): “Do not pray for this people” (also in 11:14; 14:11). No one would be so foolish as to use these words as a proof text to cease praying for others. God knew that the hearts of the people of Judah were so hardened that they had already made their irrevocable decision to ignore his warnings. Therefore prayer was useless. Sometimes it is too late to pray for another person. We are not privileged as Jeremiah was, however, to know by special revelation when that time has come. Jeremiah had only to observe what the people were doing in order to understand God's prohibition to him. The entire family was involved in making cakes of bread for the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to other gods (v. 18). The queen of heaven (mentioned elsewhere in the OT only in Jer 44:17–25) is usually identified as the AssyroBabylonian deity Ishtar (Canaanite Astarte), goddess of love and fertility,11 though her exact identity remains unknown.12 By their idolatry the devotees of the queen of heaven intended to provoke the Lord to anger (a favorite expression in Jeremiah), but they would discover that they were only hurting themselves. The scoffer and atheist should ask who is really being hurt when he or she defies God. In this case God's anger was going to be poured out on the land like burning pitch that would not be quenched until it had consumed everything it touched (v. 20).

3. A Disobedient Nation (7:21–29)

21“‘This

is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go ahead, add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves! 22For when I brought your forefathers out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, 23but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you. 24But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward. 25From the time your forefathers left Egypt until now, day after day, again and again I sent you my servants the prophets. 26But they did not listen to me or pay attention. They were stiff-necked and did more evil than their forefathers.’ 27“When you tell them all this, they will not listen to you; when you call to them, they will not answer. 28Therefore say to them, ‘This is the nation that has not obeyed the LORD its God or responded to correction. Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips. 29Cut off your hair and throw it away; take up a lament on the barren heights, for the LORD has rejected and abandoned this generation that is under his wrath. 7:21–26 With bitter sarcasm God told the people to go ahead and offer their burnt offerings along with their other sacrifices. The law required that the burnt offering be consumed totally in the fire (Lev 1:3–9); none of it was to be eaten. God was telling the people to go ahead and eat the meat. He did not care what they did with the sacrifices, since all of them were unacceptable. Their sacrifices and offerings, however numerous, could not be substituted for faith and obedience (1 Sam 15:22; Prov 15:8; Isa 1:11– 13; Hos 6:6; Amos 4:4–5; 5:21–22; Mic 6:6–8; cf. Matt 23:23). Scholars do not agree on the interpretation of v. 22 (cf. Amos 5:25).13 Three major interpretations have been proposed for the verse. First, sacrifice was not part of the cult in the wilderness. This interpretation must be rejected because it would invalidate the historicity of the sacrificial system as given in Leviticus. A second interpretation insists there was no opportunity in the wilderness to sacrifice. This view also denies the historicity of events during the wilderness wanderings. The most plausible

interpretation (followed by the NIV, which supplies “just”) holds that sacrifice was not the central and foremost aspect of worship but rather obedience. In Jeremiah's time Judah had made sacrifice and ritual central but had ignored the moral demands of God. God did not say they were not to bring sacrifices but that sacrifice was to be an evidence of faith rather than a substitute for it (Deut 5:29; Rom 1:5; Heb 3:18–19; John 14:15). The people of Judah have been followed by many throughout history and in the “church” today who find that ritual is easier to observe than God's moral laws. If Judah would obey, he would be their God, and they would be his people (a phrase found in Exod 6:7; Lev 26:12; frequently in Jeremiah: 11:4; 24:7; 30:22; 31:1,33; 32:38; and Ezek 11:20; 14:11; 36:28; 37:23,27). They became worse instead of better. They ignored the prophets the Lord had sent them “day after day”14 from the time their ancestors left Egypt. Each succeeding generation was “stiff-necked” (a phrase also found in 17:23; 19:15) and became more wicked than the previous generation. 7:27–29 Preaching to a people who would not listen must have been frustrating for Jeremiah (cf. Isa 6:9–10). His words would have saved the “nation” ( a term usually reserved for Gentiles) if they had obeyed. Instead, the people preferred to listen to the reassuring words of their false prophets. The command to “cut off your hair” (a verb ordinarily used of sheep) is a feminine imperative. It was, therefore, addressed to the city and not to Jeremiah. The command has been related to the Nazirite vow not to cut the hair (Num 6:1–21), which was a symbol of consecration to God. The vow was broken if the Nazirite had been defiled by coming in contact with the dead, and he was required to shave his head (Num 6:9). The implication in Jeremiah would be that Israel had been defiled. The word for hair is literally “crown,” used of the high priest's crown (Exod 29:6; Lev 8:9) and Saul's crown (2 Sam 1:10). In the context it is preferable to interpret the command as a call to Jerusalem to lament their coming punishment because the Lord had rejected and abandoned the people. Cutting the hair was a customary way of expressing mourning in the ANE (Job 1:20; Isa 15:2; Mic 1:16).15

4. Coming Judgment of Human Sacrifice (7:30–34) 30“‘The

people of Judah have done evil in my eyes, declares the LORD. They have set up their detestable idols in the house that bears my Name and have defiled it. 31They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind. 32So beware, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when people will no longer call it Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter, for they will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. 33Then the carcasses of this people will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to frighten them away. 34I will bring an end to the sounds of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride and bridegroom in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, for the land will become desolate. 7:30–34 The people of Judah did not try to hide their idolatry. They boldly put their idols in the temple itself, perhaps as a result of the earlier influence of King Manasseh (2 Kgs 21:5; cf. Ezek 8). It was the same temple that they acknowledged as the place where God dwelt. Furthermore, for the sake of their own well-being, they were following the most hideous and deplorable practice of idolatry, child sacrifice, a practice clearly forbidden by law (Lev 18:21; 20:2–6) and contrary to the biblical teaching that a child is a gift of God to be treasured (Ps 127:3–4). The Lord is a life-giving, not a life-taking, God. Topheth is from an Aramaic word, “fireplace,” and is perhaps pointed with the vowels of “shame,” or , “spitting” (a gesture of contempt). It was a place where victims offered to Molech were burned (2 Kgs 16:3; 21:6).16 The practice was abolished by Josiah (2 Kgs 23:10) but apparently was reinstated by Jehoiakim. The Valley of Ben Hinnom, located south of Jerusalem outside the city wall, probably was named for a previous owner. After being a place for human sacrifice, the area may have become a place in later times where garbage was burned. Because of the earlier repugnant associations, by NT times Gehenna (“valley of Hinnom”) had become the name of the place of eternal punishment in Jewish thought (cf. Neh 11:30; Matt 18:9; Mark 9:47–48).

In the place where they had slaughtered their children, they were going to be slaughtered by the Babylonians. The valley would be renamed Valley of Slaughter to match its identification as an immense burial ground. The number killed would be so great that there would not be room to bury all of them. The unburied corpses would become food for birds of prey and wild beasts (anticipated in Deut 28:26, but not to be confused with the feast of birds in Ezek 39:17–18; Rev 19:17–21). Denying the dignity of burial was considered to be an unspeakable horror (and a curse on the corpse, 2 Sam 21:5–10). When that day of judgment came, no joyful sounds, such as were heard at weddings, would be heard in any of the towns of Judah or in Jerusalem itself. The land would be desolate (cf. Ezek 26:13; Isa 16:10; 24:8; Lam 5:15).

5. Desecration of Graves by the Enemy (8:1–3) 1“‘At

that time, declares the LORD, the bones of the kings and officials of Judah, the bones of the priests and prophets, and the bones of the people of Jerusalem will be removed from their graves. 2They will be exposed to the sun and the moon and all the stars of the heavens, which they have loved and served and which they have followed and consulted and worshiped. They will not be gathered up or buried, but will be like refuse lying on the ground. 3Wherever I banish them, all the survivors of this evil nation will prefer death to life, declares the LORD Almighty.’ 8:1–3 These verses continue the description of the carnage and devastation that was going to overtake Jerusalem. Victorious armies often desecrated the graves of their conquered foes as a deliberate insult and to show contempt for the helplessness of their enemies (2 Kgs 9:37; 23:16; Jer 25:33; Amos 2:1). Graves were often vandalized for valuables that were buried with the deceased. Desecration of graves was abhorrent to the Hebrews, who somehow linked immortality with proper burial. Ironically, the bones of kings, prophets, priests, and common people alike would be scattered over the ground like manure before the astral “gods” they had loved and worshiped. Survivors of the devastation would

be exiled but would wish they had died in the siege (2 Kgs 25:5–7; Ps 137:1–3; Hos 10:8; Luke 23:30).

6. Stubborn Refusal to Return to God (8:4–13) 4“Say

to them, ‘This is what the LORD says: “‘When men fall down, do they not get up? When a man turns away, does he not return? 5Why then have these people turned away? Why does Jerusalem always turn away? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return. 6I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right. No one repents of his wickedness, saying, “What have I done?” Each pursues his own course like a horse charging into battle. 7Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration. But my people do not know the requirements of the LORD. 8“‘How can you say, “We are wise, for we have the law of the LORD,” when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely? 9The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped.

Since they have rejected the word of the LORD, what kind of wisdom do they have? 10Therefore I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. 11They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. “Peace, peace,” they say, when there is no peace. 12Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when they are punished, says the LORD. 13“‘I will take away their harvest, declares the LORD. There will be no grapes on the vine. There will be no figs on the tree, and their leaves will wither. What I have given them will be taken from them.’” 8:4–7 When a person makes a mistake, it is natural to correct the error. The natural response to falling is to get up quickly. However, Judah's response was unnatural. The people refused to admit they had fallen. They had turned away from God, but instead of repenting they refused to return.17 They had no desire to return to God, though they had every opportunity to do so. Instead, the people deliberately charged ahead in their sinful practices like a war horse “charging into battle.”18

Jeremiah made another comparison to underscore Judah's unnatural behavior. Birds know instinctively the seasons for migration from one place to another.19 In like manner a people who had experienced God's love and blessing should have known instinctively what he required of them, but Judah did not. The metaphor raises the question, Are we most fully human (i.e., what God intended us to be) when we obey or disobey God? 8:8–9 The people exhibited a smug confidence that they were wise because they had the law of the Lord (Deut 4:6–8). Unfortunately, they were victims of the lying scribes, who were not just copyists but interpreters of the law. They interpreted the Law (Heb. “torah,” the five books of Moses) falsely, probably in a way that encouraged the people to continue in their sins without fear of punishment. This is the first reference to scribes as a professional class in the OT, although they were active earlier (recognized as clans, 1 Chr 2:55; compilers of proverbs in Hezekiah's time, Prov 25:1; involved in Josiah's reforms, 2 Chr 34:13).20 Because they handled the law falsely, they were going to be “put to shame … dismayed … trapped.” These verbs are Heb. prophetic perfects (see comment on 5:6), indicating a future event is as good as done. Though they called themselves wise, how could anyone be wise who rejects the word of the Lord? Perhaps the best commentary on these verses is Prov 1:7, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.” 8:10–12 These verses repeat, with minor variations, 6:12–15 (q.v.). Some scholars insist they are a later insertion here. However, it should not be surprising that Jeremiah would repeat a theme he had previously proclaimed.21 8:13 Deuteronomic theology promised blessing for obedient people (Deut 28:3,11) but cursing for the disobedient (Deut 28:18–42). Verse 13 reiterates that warning. Judah had become an unfruitful vine (a theme found frequently in the Bible, Isa 5:1–7; Hos 9:10,16; Mark 11:12–14; Luke 13:6– 9; John 15:2). The land's abundant fruitfulness which God had provided would be taken from them.22

7. The People's Resignation to the Coming Invasion (8:14–17) 14“Why

are we sitting here? Gather together! Let us flee to the fortified cities and perish there! For the LORD our God has doomed us to perish and given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against him. 15We hoped for peace but no good has come, for a time of healing but there was only terror. 16The snorting of the enemy's horses is heard from Dan; at the neighing of their stallions the whole land trembles. They have come to devour the land and everything in it, the city and all who live there.” 17“See, I will send venomous snakes among you, vipers that cannot be charmed, and they will bite you,” declares the LORD. 8:14–16 These verses reflect the panic and despair of the people at the the approach of the enemy. Either the invasion had already begun or Jeremiah was able to anticipate what the people would say when it did. Those living outside the walled cities would flee into them in times of danger. The people seemed to admit their sin, but there was no true repentance (cf. Saul, 1 Sam 15:24–26). Instead, they accused God of

dooming them to perish (damah can also mean “be silent” as in KJV). They also claimed that he gave them “poisoned water” to drink. This may be a reference to the potion a wife was required to drink to test her faithfulness to her husband (Num 5:11–31; so Duhm, Rudolph).23 Israel, as the spouse of the Lord, would be shown to be guilty of adultery. When invasion came, the prophets' false assurances of peace would be shattered (8:11). When they heard the sound of the enemy cavalry approaching from the north through the land of Dan, the people would have to face the consequences of Jeremiah's ignored warnings, and there would be no escape from the rapacious enemy (cf. Amos 5:19). 8:17 The enemy is described as “venomous snakes” and “vipers that cannot be charmed.” If these poisonous snakes should be understood literally rather than as a figure for the Babylonian army, there would have been no antidote such as God had provided in the wilderness (Num 21:6–9).

8. Lament for a Stricken People (8:18–9:6) 18O

my Comforter in sorrow, my heart is faint within me. 19Listen to the cry of my people from a land far away: “Is the LORD not in Zion? Is her King no longer there?” “Why have they provoked me to anger with their images, with their worthless foreign idols?” 20“The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved.” 21Since my people are crushed, I am crushed; I mourn, and horror grips me. 22Is there no balm in Gilead?

Is there no physician there? Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people? Chapter 9 1Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people. 2Oh, that I had in the desert a lodging place for travelers, so that I might leave my people and go away from them; for they are all adulterers, a crowd of unfaithful people. 3“They make ready their tongue like a bow, to shoot lies; it is not by truth that they triumph in the land. They go from one sin to another; they do not acknowledge me,” declares the LORD. 4“Beware of your friends; do not trust your brothers. For every brother is a deceiver, and every friend a slanderer. 5Friend deceives friend, and no one speaks the truth. They have taught their tongues to lie; they weary themselves with sinning. 6You live in the midst of deception;

in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,” declares the LORD. This passage probably earned Jeremiah his reputation as the “weeping prophet” (along with 14:17), but God is also weeping in this passage, as evidenced by the fivefold “my people,” a phrase frequently expressing God's covenant relationship with Israel (first found in Exod 5:1). In further support of this interpretation, 9:3 could only be God speaking. T. Fretheim says that Jeremiah is an “enfleshment of the emotions of God over what is about to occur.” Brueggemann suggests that it is “likely that the pathos of God and of the poet here are indistinguishable.”24 Only a parent who has experienced pain and heartsickness for a dearly loved hurting child can fully identify with this passage. 8:18–19 The meaning of the Hebrew word translated “comforter” is uncertain,25 but the thought of his people crying throughout the land brought sorrow and faintness of heart to the speaker. Their anguished cry arose from the conclusion that God had deserted them. The speaker in v. 19b is unmistakably God, probing the people to know why they provoked him to anger with their worthless foreign idols. They had forgotten that when he first made a covenant with them at Mount Sinai they agreed to have no other gods (Exod 20:3). 8:20 The speaker is now the people, quoted in v. 20 bemoaning the passing of the harvest season. Grain harvest was in April-June, and fruit harvest was later in the summer. If either or both harvests failed, famine and starvation ensued. The political situation in Judah was as desperate as a time of failed harvests. God seemed to have deserted his people, the crops had failed, and the enemy was ravaging the country. The title of R. G. Lee's well-known sermon appropriately describes Judah's predicament: “Payday Someday.” 8:21–22 The cross in the NT is not the only place that displays how deeply our sins hurt God. “I am crushed” is echoed in Ezek 6:9: “How I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts.” “I mourn” is literally “I am dark” or “black,” the color of mourning attire (Job 30:28; Ps 35:14; Ezek 31:15). God's wrath toward sin is usually emphasized, but his suffering is equally intense. It is like that of the parent watching a wayward child

destroy his or her life by wrong choices. Nothing will deter us from sin quite so effectively as the awareness of how much God suffers when we sin.26 “Balm in Gilead” was a metaphor the people would have understood. Its use here is explained in the parallel line, “Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people?” Gilead was a mountainous region east of the Jordan River and north of Moab. It was famous for its healing ointment made from the resin of a tree whose identity is uncertain (Gen 37:25; Jer 46:11).27 There was a remedy for the people's wound—repentance—but they had not applied it. There was a physician who could heal their spiritual sickness—the prophet with God's word—but they refused to consult him. Therefore there could be no “healing” (lit. “new flesh,” i.e., the flesh that heals over a wound; see also 30:12–17). 9:1–3 These verses belong with 8:21–22, as suggested by the Hebrew text, which numbers 9:1 as 8:23; 9:2 becomes 9:1.28 In an unprecedented display of emotion God (or Jeremiah) revealed the depth of his grief for the suffering the people were bringing on themselves.29 The unrestrained weeping pictured here should cause us to evaluate our own attitude toward the sins of others. God (or Jeremiah) was so wearied by the unresponsiveness of the people that momentarily he expressed a desire to get far away from them (cf. Mal 2:17). Desert inns were not comfortable places that provided food and solicitous hosts. They were desolate, lonely places that provided only shelter for the weary traveler. The sentiments expressed here have been experienced by many ministers who desired to leave their ministry because of the unresponsiveness of the people. The people he wished to leave are described as “adulterers,” “unfaithful,” and those who “shoot lies” like arrows from their tongues. But the worst sin was their refusal to “acknowledge” (lit. “know”) God (cf. Eli's sons in 2 Sam 2:12, NASB). 9:4–6 The people had become so wicked that they could not trust one another. Every brother was a “deceiver,” an unmistakable pun on Jacob's name (cf. Gen 27:36), who is infamous for his deception of his brother Esau. It is from the same root and could be translated, “Every brother is a Jacob/supplanter”). Friends did not hesitate to deceive friends (even as

Judas Iscariot did). They were people who had practiced lying until they were skilled at it. Lying is contrary to human nature; it must be learned. A small child naturally tells the truth. When he discovers that he can lie, it makes him uncomfortable at first, but later it becomes easy. God reminded Jeremiah that he lived in the midst of deception.30 In 9:3 God had said, “They do not know me” (NASB); but 9:6 makes clear that they refused to know him (Isa 1:3).

9. God's Justification for the Coming Punishment (9:7– 16) 7Therefore

this is what the LORD Almighty says: “See, I will refine and test them, for what else can I do because of the sin of my people? 8Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaks with deceit. With his mouth each speaks cordially to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets a trap for him. 9Should I not punish them for this?” declares the LORD. “Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this?” 10I will weep and wail for the mountains and take up a lament concerning the desert pastures. They are desolate and untraveled, and the lowing of cattle is not heard. The birds of the air have fled and the animals are gone. 11“I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals;

and I will lay waste the towns of Judah so no one can live there.” 12What man is wise enough to understand this? Who has been instructed by the LORD and can explain it? Why has the land been ruined and laid waste like a desert that no one can cross? 13The LORD said, “It is because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them; they have not obeyed me or followed my law. 14Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts; they have followed the Baals, as their fathers taught them.” 15Therefore, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “See, I will make this people eat bitter food and drink poisoned water. 16I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will pursue them with the sword until I have destroyed them.” 9:7–9 The metaphor of refining is employed once again (see 6:27–30). Here God rather than the prophet is the refiner and tester. Sometimes when all warnings fail, God submits a life to the crucible of suffering (cf. Isa 48:10; Amos 4:12; Zech 13:9). There was no other recourse for God because of his people's sins. However, even though judgment was inescapable, he still called them “my people” (cf. Heb 12:6). Lying words are often condemned in the Scriptures (e.g., Lev 19:11; Jas 3:6). The damage to a person's reputation by lying words can be as harmful as a deadly arrow that pierces the heart (cf. 9:3). God condemned the hypocrisy of speaking cordially to a person's face while at the same time setting a trap behind his back to harm him. For a third time God asked if such a nation should not be punished (cf. 5:9,29). 9:10–11 Again it is uncertain whether the speaker in v. 10 is God (RSV) or Jeremiah (NIV). Since God is clearly the speaker in v. 11, he probably also speaks in v. 10, and we have another reminder that God weeps over the judgment he must inflict on his people (see comments on 8:18–9:6). His judgment on Judah would leave the land desolate. Even the birds and animals would flee from a ravaged land (cf. Isa 13:22; 34:13–14; Jer 10:22; 49:33; 51:37).31 9:12 Most modern translations take vv. 12–16 to be prose. Verse 12 questions whether anyone is wise enough to understand why God's anger

with Judah was so violent (cf. Hos 14:10). It is usually impossible to understand why calamity occurs. But in this case the answer had been given. 9:13–16 The answer to the question of v. 12 is that Judah had disobeyed God's laws. As a people they had agreed to obey at Mount Sinai (Exod 19:5; 24:3). Instead, they had a history of stubborn rebellion against his laws. Successive generations continued to worship the Baals (see 2:8) in spite of repeated warnings by the prophets. Their conduct raises a question every generation must confront, “Why do people turn away from the living God to worship false gods—gods that can give no help because they themselves are helpless?” A bitter future was in store for a people who had forsaken God's laws. It was a fate described figuratively as “bitter food” (“wormwood,” KJV, a shrub with leaves and fruit that have an extremely bitter taste; cf. Amos 5:7). Their punishment would also be like poisoned water (perhaps a reference to the trial by ordeal, Num 5:11–31; see Jer 8:14). The people of Judah would have to learn the painful lesson that “the wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23). Their punishment would also include the scattering of the people to distant lands. Even there they would not escape God's wrath because he would continue to pursue and punish them (cf. 44:27; Amos 9:1–4).

10. A Lament over Jerusalem's Destruction (9:17–22) 17This

is what the LORD Almighty says: “Consider now! Call for the wailing women to come; send for the most skillful of them. 18Let them come quickly and wail over us till our eyes overflow with tears and water streams from our eyelids. 19The sound of wailing is heard from Zion:

‘How ruined we are! How great is our shame! We must leave our land because our houses are in ruins.’” 20Now, O women, hear the word of the LORD; open your ears to the words of his mouth. Teach your daughters how to wail; teach one another a lament. 21Death has climbed in through our windows and has entered our fortresses; it has cut off the children from the streets and the young men from the public squares. 22Say, “This is what the LORD declares: “‘The dead bodies of men will lie like refuse on the open field, like cut grain behind the reaper, with no one to gather them.’” 9:17–19 When death or calamity came to a community or family, it was customary in the ANE to call for professional mourners (Esth 4:1–3; Eccl 12:5; Ezek 27:32; Amos 5:16; Matt 9:23). They would wail loudly, tear their clothes, and throw dust on their heads as expressions of grief. Their actions brought profuse tears to the eyes of the bereaved. The bold figure was a reminder that Judah's “funeral” was imminent. Therefore it was time to call the most skillful (lit. “wise”) of mourners for a nation in its death throes. There is no suggestion in these verses that the weeping and wailing was for their sins. Rather, they were mourning because they were going to have to leave their land and houses that were in ruins (cf. Isa 6:11–12). 9:20–21 So widespread would be the death and ruin in the land that there would not be enough professional mourners to respond to the calls of all the grieving families. To meet the demands, those already skilled as mourners would teach their daughters how to wail. Jeremiah employed the figure of death climbing through a window to show that there was no escape from the carnage that would accompany Jerusalem's fall (cf. Joel

2:9). The figure has a parallel in the Ugaritic myth of Baal, who refused to have a window in his palace to prevent Mot (Death) from entering and taking his family members. There is also a Babylonian text that mentions a demon named Lamashtu who entered the windows of babies and young people. 9:22 This verse continues the picture of death and carnage awaiting Judah. The slaughter would be so widespread that bodies would remain unburied like “refuse” 32 or like a field of grain that has been cut but not harvested.

11. The Only Basis for Boasting (9:23–24) 23This

is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, 24but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD. 9:23–24 The theme changes from indictments of sin and descriptions of judgment to an exhortation to seek what is truly worthwhile in life. The Lord rejects the usual grounds for boasting—wisdom, strength, and riches. Ironically, these are the things people like to boast about—how successful they are, how strong they are, or how rich they are. These verses put life's values in proper perspective. When all the nonessentials are laid aside, the only appropriate basis for boasting is that a person knows and understands the Lord (see 1 Cor 1:31; 2 Cor 10:7; cf. Gal 6:14; Jas 1:9–10). Nothing apart from this fact has lasting worth. Whoever has that knowledge understands that the Lord exercises kindness ( better translated as

“loyalty” or “faithful love”; see note on Jer 2:2). He also is the God who exercises “justice” ( a legal term suggesting God's actions with regard to people are right because of his just nature). He also exercises righteousness ( that which measures up to the norm of what is right). These three terms express the very heart of Hebrew religion. They are not only the attributes of God; he delights in those who manifest these same qualities.

12. The Worthlessness of Circumcision (9:25–26) 25“The

days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh—26Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab and all who live in the desert in distant places. For all these nations are really uncircumcised, and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.” 9:25–26 Circumcision was widely practiced in the ANE (exceptions included the Philistines and Babylonians), including all the nations mentioned in v. 26.33 By placing Judah between Egypt and Edom in the list of nations, the Lord was saying that it was no different. Judah, like those nations, practiced physical circumcision but was uncircumcised in heart.34 When God gave the command for circumcision to Abraham, the ritual was intended to identify him and his descendants as the covenant people of God (Gen 17:11). However, the Lord never intended a physical ritual to substitute for moral integrity and obedience (cf. Gal 5:1–6). Circumcision only in the flesh (lit. “circumcised in foreskin”) was no protection from punishment. A circumcised (i.e., submissive) heart was what God wanted (Jer 4:4; Deut 10:16; Ps 51:17; Ezek 44:7,9; Gal 6:15). Punishment would also include those who “live in the desert in distant places.” Therefore God's judgment was going to fall on pagan and Jew alike (Amos 9:7; cf. Acts 10:34).

13. Preparation for Exile (10:1–25)

No sin is condemned more severely in the OT than the sin of idolatry. No prophet denounced this sin more frequently or scathingly than did Jeremiah and Isaiah (see Isa 40:18–20; 41:7,29; 44:9–20; 45:16,20; 46:1– 7). It was a recurring attraction for the Israelites from their earliest history (e.g., Exod 32; Num 25:1–3) although specifically forbidden by Mosaic law (Exod 20:4–6). It could be assumed that the temptation would increase when Israel found itself in exile in pagan surroundings. (1) The Foolishness of Idolatry (10:1–16)35 1Hear

what the LORD says to you, O house of Israel. 2This is what the LORD says: “Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the sky, though the nations are terrified by them. 3For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. 4They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter. 5Like a scarecrow in a melon patch, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good.” 6No one is like you, O LORD; you are great, and your name is mighty in power.

7Who

should not revere you, O King of the nations? This is your due. Among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is no one like you. 8They are all senseless and foolish; they are taught by worthless wooden idols. 9Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish and gold from Uphaz. What the craftsman and goldsmith have made is then dressed in blue and purple— all made by skilled workers. 10But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King. When he is angry, the earth trembles; the nations cannot endure his wrath. 11“Tell them this: ‘These gods, who did not make the heavens and the earth, will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.’” 12But God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding. 13When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses. 14Everyone is senseless and without knowledge; every goldsmith is shamed by his idols. His images are a fraud; they have no breath in them.

15They

are worthless, the objects of mockery; when their judgment comes, they will perish. 16He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these, for he is the Maker of all things, including Israel, the tribe of his inheritance— the LORD Almighty is his name. This passage contains a stinging rebuke of the folly of idol worship alternating36 with contrasting words of praise for the incomparability of God (note especially vv. 6,7,16).37 10:1–5 Jeremiah addressed his words to the house of Israel, i.e., the entire nation. He appealed to the people not to be influenced by the religious beliefs and practices of their neighbors. They believed that extraordinary signs in the sky, such as eclipses, comets, or an unusual conjunction of stars were the work of malevolent forces, and they were terrified by them. They also studied the sun, moon, and stars for the “signs” supposedly revealed by them and often worshiped them as deities (Gen 1:14; 2 Kgs 23:5). However, such “customs”38 (i.e., religious ordinances; Lev 18:3) were “worthless,” that is, empty or ephemeral like a vapor (hebel occurs in vv. 3,8,15; see 2:5; Eccl 1:2). The same word is found in Eccl 1:2. Such phenomena might have terrified the pagans, but they should not have frightened the covenant people. God created the heavenly bodies and therefore was in control of them. They were not to be worshiped or feared. The biblical prohibition against idols raises the question, Why does God forbid the making of an image? Could not a beautifully carved representation of God or a magnificent cathedral inspire or be a valuable aid to worship without being worshiped itself? There are valid reasons, however, for the prohibition. It would be impossible even for a Michelangelo to make a representation of God that would do justice to the sum of his attributes. An image would tend to restrict our concept of him because we would associate our thoughts about him with his visual representation. A greater danger is that the image could become the object of worship instead of the God it represents (cf. Deut 4:12–19). Finally, there is the danger that we will become like the object of our worship (Hos 9:10).

A cold, lifeless god produces a cold, lifeless faith. Furthermore, it is degrading for creatures made in God's image to worship something of a lower order of creation than ourselves (Gen 1:26–27; Rom 1:21–25). Hosea 5:3–4 compares such practices to prostitution. How could people worship a piece of wood they had carved from a tree decorated with gold and silver overlay and then fastened securely with hammer and nails so it would not topple over? Jeremiah mocked these manmade gods by comparing them to “a scarecrow in a melon patch.”39 Unable to speak, move, or walk, they were helpless to do either harm or good; therefore, there was no reason to fear them. We are incredulous at the gullibility of people who would worship such gods. If we define a “god,” however, as anything more important to us than the living God, are not the “gods” we sometimes worship just as foolish— the gods of possessions, power, pleasure, and a thousand other ephemeral things that take priority over our relation with the Lord? The command not to learn the ways of the nations, then, is similar to Paul's command not to conform to the “pattern of this world” (Rom 12:2). The child of God should not be awed by worldly affluence or enticed by worldly pleasures because they are ephemeral and worthless. 10:6–10 These verses stand in striking contrast to Jeremiah's ridicule of the worthless idols. They describe the uniqueness, power, and greatness of God. He deserves to be worshiped as King of all nations. No wise men among all the nations could be found who had his wisdom. They are justifiably called “senseless and foolish” people because their teachers were “worthless wooden idols.”40 They look to idols for instruction, but a piece of wood cannot instruct. Even that which is foolishness to God would be wiser than the most profound human wisdom (1 Cor 1:25). Continuing his description of the adornment of idols in v. 9, Jeremiah allowed that even the best silver could be used, imported from Tarshish.41 The finest gold from Uphaz could also be used to adorn the idols.42 The work of the craftsman and the goldsmith could then be dressed in blue and purple fabrics made by skilled workers (lit. “wise ones”). In ancient times blue and purple were reserved only for the most expensive garments and usually for royalty. They were used for the ephod (Exod 28:6), the breast piece (Exod 28:15), and other parts of the priestly garments (Exod 28:4–5,

33). But even though they were artistically carved and beautifully decorated, the idols were still only pieces of wood. Embellishment did not transform them into living gods. Though the gods of this world are often beautiful on the outside, they are “worthless” (hebel) on the inside. They amount to nothing. The contrast between the gilded idols and the true God ( “truth, reliability, permanence, faithfulness” is an antonym of hebel) is set forth with striking simplicity in v. 10. He is true; they are false. He is living; they are lifeless. He is eternal; they are subject to decay and destruction. He is powerful in his wrath; they are powerless before him (v. 11). Jeremiah could well have asked the question, Why would people want to worship something so foolish and helpless as an idol? Answers to this question would help explain why idol worship was so widespread in the ancient world. Human nature is such that we want to believe in something, even if it is not worthy of our faith. Also people prefer to see what they are worshiping. It is more difficult to worship God in spirit and truth (John 4:23). It is also appealing to consider that a god made by human hands can be controlled to do one's bidding. By contrast, our God is sovereign and cannot be controlled by sacrifices, incantations, or threats. Perhaps the greatest appeal of an idol was that it did not demand holy living. Our God, however, insists, “Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy” (Lev 19:2). 10:11 This verse is the only example in the Bible of a single Aramaic verse in an otherwise Hebrew passage. The other Aramaic passages are Ezra 4:8–6:18; 7:12–26; Dan 2:4b–7:28. Scholars are not agreed on an explanation for the use of Aramaic in v. 11. Many believe it was added as a personal comment (gloss) in the margin of a scroll by a later scribe.43 Then, as the scroll was recopied, the marginal comment found its way into the text. Some believe it was a proverb that circulated in Aramaic rather than in Hebrew. We also have sayings that we quote in another language (e.g., Que será, será!). Since Aramaic was well known in Jeremiah's time, it is entirely possible that Jeremiah employed it here for emphasis. Rather than serving as an interruption between vv. 10 and 12, as is often supposed, it appears to be a summary of vv. 12–16 or even vv. 1–16.44

10:12–16 These verses are repeated in 51:15–19. The theme is the power of the true God contrasted with the powerlessness of idols. His power is manifested in his creation and control of the heavens and the earth.45 His control over the rain demonstrates his superiority to the pagan storm gods (Sumerian Enlil, Babylonian Adad and Marduk, Canaanite Baal). Those who worship such gods are as “senseless” (or “brutish,” i.e., like dumb animals) as the gods themselves. Those who make them should be shamed by their foolishness because their images are a fraud. They are without breath and are “worthless” (see vv. 3,8). When the time comes for their judgment, they will perish. By contrast, God is not like the idols. He is called the “Portion of Jacob,” an expression found elsewhere only in Jer 51:19. Jacob is used here as a synonym for Israel. A “portion” or “share” is something that belongs to someone, such as a piece of land (Josh 18:6; 2 Kgs 9:37), food (Deut 18:8), or an inheritance (Gen 31:14). The Levites were not given a portion of land when it was divided among the tribes of Israel. Instead, the Lord was their portion (Num 18:20; cf. Pss 16:5; 73:26; Lam 3:24). Furthermore, he is the Maker of all things, including the trees from which the idols were made. He had chosen Israel as the tribe of his inheritance, his special possession, his portion (Deut 32:9; see also Deut 4:20; Ps 74:2). (2) Announcement of Exile (10:17–22) 17Gather

up your belongings to leave the land, you who live under siege. 18For this is what the LORD says: “At this time I will hurl out those who live in this land; I will bring distress on them so that they may be captured.” 19Woe to me because of my injury! My wound is incurable!

Yet I said to myself, “This is my sickness, and I must endure it.” 20My tent is destroyed; all its ropes are snapped. My sons are gone from me and are no more; no one is left now to pitch my tent or to set up my shelter. 21The shepherds are senseless and do not inquire of the LORD; so they do not prosper and all their flock is scattered. 22Listen! The report is coming— a great commotion from the land of the north! It will make the towns of Judah desolate, a haunt of jackals. 10:17–18 Perhaps these words were proclaimed by Jeremiah while Jerusalem was under siege in 598–597 or 588–587. Jeremiah advised the people to go ahead and pack their belongings for exile. Those who had believed the soothing words of the false prophets were in for a rude awakening because they would be rounded up by the Babylonians and carried into exile.46 They would be hurled out of the land like a rock from a sling (cf. 1 Sam 17:49; 25:29). 10:19–22 The speaker in these verses may be an anguished Jeremiah, so closely identified was he with his people. He agonized and wept for them, though they had no regard for him. A more likely alternative is that Jerusalem speaks as a mother grieving over her ruined home (“tent”) and children who have been destroyed. The time was coming when Jerusalem would have to acknowledge that its situation was hopeless, like an incurable sickness that must be endured. The choice young men would be carried away from Jerusalem, leaving no one to rebuild the ruined city. Jeremiah placed a major share of responsibility on the rulers (“shepherds”) for Judah's calamity. It is unlikely that “shepherds” here are false prophets, even though it was said that they did “not inquire of the

Lord,” a function of prophets. Rulers also inquired of the Lord (3:15; 21:1– 2; 38:14). Their failure to seek the Lord would result in the scattering of the people, like a flock without a shepherd (Ezek 34:5–6; Zech 10:1–3). Invasion was already on its way from the north. Shepherds of Christ's church who attempt to lead without seeking the Lord's guidance and help are not only foolish but harmful to their flocks (Acts 20:27–32; 1 Pet 5:1– 4). (3) Jeremiah's Prayer (10:23–25) 23I

know, O LORD, that a man's life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps. 24Correct me, LORD, but only with justice— not in your anger, lest you reduce me to nothing. 25Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge you, on the peoples who do not call on your name. For they have devoured Jacob; they have devoured him completely and destroyed his homeland. 10:23–25 Though he prayed in the first person singular, Jeremiah identified himself so closely with his people that he spoke in their name what they should be praying (LXX uses plural “us” for the MT “me” in v. 24). He acknowledged God's total control. He understood that persons' lives are not their own (1 Cor 6:19–20). We know that we are unable to direct our steps aright apart from God (Ps 37:23–24; Prov 3:5–6; 16:9; 19:21; 20:24). On behalf of his people Jeremiah confessed that their punishment was justified (cf. Ezra 9:6–15; Ps 51:4). Nevertheless, he appealed for God to punish with justice but not anger, with “corrective judgment” rather than “punitive judgment.”47 He knew that God's full wrath when unleashed would reduce the nation to nothing because no one can stand before the wrath of God (Rev 6:17).

Jeremiah closed his prayer with a plea for God to punish all nations and peoples who do not acknowledge him as God.48 He probably had the Babylonians in mind, but Israel had experienced many other invasions over the centuries, e.g., Egypt, Assyria, Syria, and Edom. All of them deserved punishment, for they did not honor God as their sovereign. As Creator of all peoples, God has the right to judge them. The messages of the prophets against foreign nations are evidence of this principle (e.g., Isa 13–23; Jer 46–51; Ezek 25–32; Amos 1–2). 1

W. Holladay, Jeremiah 1, Her (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1986), 240. 2 W. Brueggemann (To Pluck Up, To Tear Down: A Commentary on Jeremiah 1–25 [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988], 74) suggests that the “temple sermon” is “perhaps the clearest and most formidable statement we have of the basic themes of the Jeremiah tradition.” 3 The LXX omits all of 7:1 and only has “Hear the word of the Lord, all Judah” in 7:2. Some scholars argue that the LXX represents the original text and that the MT is a later expansion. 4 By vocalizing the Heb. word differently, JB, Vg, NAB, Rudolph, and Volz read “I will dwell with you in this place” instead of “I will let you dwell in this place.” 5 Jeremiah may have employed subtle irony by repeating the phrase in order to accuse them of “vain repetitions” (Matt 6:7; “babbling,” NIV) or to mock their magical incantations. Threefold repetition of words is also found in Jer 22:29; Isa 6:3; and Ezek 21:27. Jeremiah used the word “temple” in only three other passages (24:1; 50:28; 51:11); elsewhere he referred to it as a “house.” is translated “this is”; since it is a plural pronoun, it probably refers to the whole complex of buildings that constituted the temple. 6 Six infinitive absolutes are used in 7:9, drawing attention to the indictment. The infinitive absolute usually occurs with a finite verb to emphasize the certainty of the verbal action. 7 (“stand”) in the OT often has the meaning of serving, e.g., presenting oneself before a ruler to receive his orders (Gen 41:46; Deut 10:8; 1 Kgs 1:2; 17:1; 2 Kgs 3:14).

8

D. Kidner, The Message of Jeremiah (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1987), 49, has written: “The temple could only give sanctuary. Let man take it over, and God would have left it. This is the point which Jesus made, when he quoted our verse 11 and went on to speak of your house, and to foretell its destruction. (Has he cause at all, we may wonder, to use the words ‘your church?’)” 9 Scholars argue whether Jeremiah was referring to the destruction at Shiloh in 1050 (J. Bright, A History of Israel [Philadelphia: Westminster, 1981], 186; Holladay, Jeremiah 1, 247–48), an eighth-century capitulation to Sargon during his campaign against Samaria (T. W. Overholt, The Threat of Falsehood: A Study in the Theology of the Book of Jeremiah, SBT 16 [London: SCM, 1970], 19, n. 46), or to a destruction around 600 B.C. (IDBSup, 822). Jeremiah's reference would be appropriate only to a time when the tabernacle was located in Shiloh before the city's destruction in 1050. 10 “Again and again” is a phrase found frequently in Jeremiah but not elsewhere in the OT (7:13; 7:25; 11:7; 25:3–4; 26:5; 29:19; 32:33; 35:14– 15; 44:4). It has been translated “persistently,” NJPS, NRSV; “untiringly,” NAB; “so urgently, so persistently,” JB; “I took pains to speak,” NEB. 11 The LXX translates as “host of heaven” in 7:18 but as “queen of heaven” in 44:17–19, 25 (LXX, 51:17–19,25). The Aramaic Targum translates as “the stars of heaven.” On an Egyptian stele from Beth Shean, Anat is called the queen of heaven. Fifth-century Aramaic papyri from the Jewish colony at Elephantine in Egypt reveal that the name was still in use. 12 P. C. Craigie et al., Jeremiah 1–25, WBC (Dallas: Word, 1991), 123. 13 See J. Milgrom, “Concerning Jeremiah's Repudiation of Sacrifice,” ZAW 89 (1977): 273–75. The verse lit. reads, “For I did not tell your forefathers, nor did I command them on the day I brought them from the land of Egypt about matters of burnt offering and sacrifice.” 14 Heb. says “day” instead of “day after day.” Syr. reads Perhaps one was lost through haplography. 15 Prohibitions in the Torah, however, against disfiguring the body (Lev 19:27–28; 21:15; Deut 14:1) may suggest that the command here was ironic like v. 21.

16

On human sacrifice in antiquity see A. R. W. Green, The Role of Human Sacrifice in the Ancient Near East (Missoula: Scholars, 1975); L. E. Stager and S. R. Walff, “Child Sacrifice at Carthage—Religious Rite or Population Control?” BAR 10,1 (1984): 31–51. 17 Several verbal forms of are found a total of five times in 8:4–5: “turn away … return.” 18 (“charging”) is a word that ordinarily describes a flood of running water (Isa 28:2; 30:28; 66:12; Ezek 13:11,13). Only here does it describe a running horse. 19 The identity of the four birds named in 8:7 is uncertain (cf. the versions for the variety of names given to them). However, their identity is not crucial for understanding the message. 20 Some scholars believe the basis for their condemnation was their acceptance of the written “law of the Lord” and rejection of the prophets' oral “word of the Lord.” However, there is no justification for making a distinction between Torah and word of the Lord. 21 Other examples of repetition in Jeremiah include 8:15 (14:19); 5:9 (5:29; 9:9); 7:31–33 (19:5–7; 32:35); 10:12–16 (51:15–19); 15:13–14 (17:3–4); 16:14–15 (23:7–8); 23:5–6 (33:15–16); 23:19–20 (30:23–24). 22 The meaning of the last part of 8:13 is uncertain. The MT says lit. “and I gave to them; they will pass by them.” The LXX, NAB, NEB, REB omit it altogether. Cf., “Whatever I have given them is gone” (NJPS); “I have found them people to trample on them” (NJB). Jeremiah 8:13–9:24 is read in the synagogues on the Ninth of Ab, a day set aside to commemorate the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem in 587 B.C. 23 (translated “poisoned,” NIV; “gall,” KJV) can also mean head. Holladay (Jeremiah 1, 291) therefore suggests the translation “water of the head,” i.e., tears. 24 W. Brueggemann, Jeremiah 1–25, 87. See also J. Goldingay, God's Prophet, God's Servant (Greenwood: Attic, 1984), 38–42. Carroll (Jeremiah, 235) proposes that the speaker is neither Jeremiah nor God but metaphorically Jerusalem itself. 25 If related to Arabic, could mean “to shine, illuminate,” hence, “a source of brightness” or “comfort” (“cheerfulness,” BDB; i.e., brightness in

sorrow). By reading as two words (with the LXX, Bright, Carroll, Rudolph, BHS), it could mean without healing and is read with the close of v. 17, “they will bite you mortally,” i.e., with no possibility of healing. See W. McKane, Jeremiah, vol. 1, ICC (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1986), 194, for additional interpretations that have been proposed. 26 See T. E. Fretheim, The Suffering of God: An Old Testament Perspective, OBT (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984) for an insightful study of the passibility of God. 27 The balm of Gilead may have been made from the mastic or storax (or styrex) tree. For other suggestions see Fauna and Flora of the Bible, HT XI (London: UBS, 1972), 93, 177. 28 The addition of chapter divisions to the text was done in the middle ages. 29 Cf. Elisha weeping in anticipation of the harm Hazael would inflict on the Israelites (2 Kgs 8:11). 30 “You live” is an infinitive with a masculine singular suffix so the words of this verse are unmistakably addressed by God to Jeremiah. 31 The exact identity of “jackals,” is uncertain. Cf. “wolves,” NEB; “dragons,” KJV. 32 “Dung” (KJV, NASB, REB) but translated as “for an example” (LXX). 33 J. M. Sasson, “Circumcision in the Ancient Near East,” JBL 85 (1966): 473–76. 34 The Heb. of this phrase only says “those trimmed [cut] of the edge [side].” The versions reflect two interpretations derived from these enigmatic words. Some interpret the phrase as a reference to those living on the fringes of the desert (NIV, NEB, REB). Others interpret it as a pagan custom of cutting the hair as a religious rite (LXX, JB, NAB, NASB, NJB, NJPS, NRSV). Hair was a common offering to the deity in the ANE although forbidden in Israel (see Lev 19:27; 21:5; cf. Jer 25:23; 49:32). 35 Scholars who deny 10:1–16 to Jeremiah include Graf, Rudolph, Lindblom, Bright, and Carroll. Giesebrecht, Volz, Hyatt, and S. R. Driver deny the passage to Jeremiah on the assumption that it presupposes a situation in which the audience addressed is already living abroad among

those who worship other gods and therefore needs to be warned against idolatry. This argument lacks validity because idolatry was a constant stumbling block to the Israelites long before the exile (e.g., Exod 32; Num 25:1–3). Furthermore, like much of Jeremiah, the passage assumes that exile is going to occur (vv. 17–22) and may be placed here to prepare them for that eventuality (v. 11). Weiser, 87–88, believes the actual words of Jeremiah lie behind the passage. P. R. Ackroyd (“Jeremiah X. 1–16,” JTS NS 14 [1963]: 385–90) also questions the validity of complete rejection of Jeremianic authorship, as well as T. W. Overholt (“The Falsehood of Idolatry: An Interpretation of Jer. X. 1–16,” JTS NS 16 [1965]: 1–12). He considers the passage an address to the northern tribes already in exile. He is followed in this by M. Margaliot, “Jeremiah 10:1–16: A Fresh ReExamination,” VT 30 (1980): 295–308. R. K. Harrison (Jeremiah and Lamentations, TOTC [London: Tyndale, 1973], 92) says it is unlikely that anyone other than Jeremiah was the author of 10:1–16. 36 The abrupt changes in topic may have led to the textual difficulties observed when comparing the LXX, which omits vv. 6–8,10 and places v. 9 in the middle of v. 5; 4QJerb supports the LXX. P. C. Craigie et al. (Jeremiah 1–25, 158) reject attempts to reconstruct the text on the basis of the LXX. 37 C. J. Labuschagne, The Incomparability of Yahweh in the Old Testament (Leiden: Brill, 1966) argues that the distinctiveness of Israel's religion is the incomparability of Yahweh. On the contrast of the Lord with idols, see Craigie et al., Jeremiah 1–25, 158. 38 Bright (Jeremiah, 78) and JB emend (“customs”; lit. “statutes”) to (“fear”) and read “customs of the peoples” as “fear of the peoples.” 39 The KJV translates as “upright as the palm tree.” The consonants for “scarecrow” and “palm tree” are the same, 40 The exact meaning of 10:8b is uncertain. The MT says, “The instruction of nothing is wood” (cf. 10:3). Moffatt translates as, “What idols teach is wooden like themselves!” 41 The location of Tarshish is uncertain, but it is generally considered to be Tartessus in Spain or perhaps an island in the Mediterranean. Ezekiel

27:12 states that Tarshish exchanged silver, iron, tin, and lead for Tyre's merchandise. 42 The exact location of Uphaz is unknown. Most modern versions emend Uphaz to Ophir, following the Targum and Syr. Instead of a proper name, however, it may be a metallurgical term for “refined gold,” as in Dan 10:5 (“finest gold”). 43 R. K. Harrison, Jeremiah and Lamentations, TOTC (London: Tyndale, 1973), 92–93; J. Bright, Jeremiah: Introduction, Translation, and Notes (Garden City: Doubleday, 1965), 79; W. McKane, Jeremiah, vol. 1, ICC (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1986), 218; D. R. Jones, Jeremiah, NCB, 175. 44 For a literary and linguistic argument that v. 11 is original, the center and main verse of a chiastic structure in vv. 3–16, see E. R. Clendenen, “Discourse Strategies in Jeremiah 10,” JBL (1988): 401–8. 45 Compare God's rebuke of Job by describing his sovereignty over all creation in Job 38–39; cf. Ps 135:7. 46 Jeremiah 10:18 in the MT concludes with what appears to be an incomplete statement, “I will bring affliction to them so that they will find.” The LXX has the passive and translates “that the plague may be discovered.” Other translations that attempt to clarify include “that they may find it so” (KJV); “that they may feel it” (NRSV, NJPS); “and squeeze them dry” (REB); “to see if they will find me then” (JB); “that they may be taken” (NAB); “that they may be found” (NASB); “so that they may be captured” (NIV). Does it mean they would find God through affliction or that they would be punished by means of exile? 47 J. A. Thompson, The Book of Jeremiah, NICOT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980), 337–38. 48 Jeremiah 10:25 is so similar to Ps 79:6–7 that the question has been raised whether Jeremiah was quoting the psalm or vice versa.

SECTION OUTLINE V. THE BROKEN COVENANT AND JEREMIAH'S COMPLAINTS (11:1–15:21) 1. The Broken Covenant (11:1–8) 2. Inescapable Punishment of the Covenant Breakers (11:9–13) 3. Jeremiah Forbidden to Pray for the People (11:14– 17) 4. A Plot against Jeremiah's Life (11:18–12:6) (1) The Plot Revealed to Jeremiah (11:18–20) (2) God's Assurance of Punishment of the Conspirators (11:21–23) (3) A Question about the Prosperity of Wicked People (12:1–6) 5. God's Rejection of His Inheritance (12:7–13) 6. A Conditional Promise for Israel's Neighbors (12:14–17) 7. A Corrupt People and Their Punishment (13:1–27) (1) The Ruined Linen Garment (13:1–11) (2) The Smashed Wineskins (13:12–14) (3) Threat of Captivity (13:15–19)

(4) The Humiliation of an Unclean People (13:20– 27) 8. Catastrophes That Cannot Be Averted (14:1–15:9) (1) A Severe Drought (14:1–6) (2) A Presumptuous Plea for Mercy (14:7–9) (3) The Lord's Rejection of the Plea (14:10–12) (4) Judgment on False Prophets (14:13–16) (5) Jeremiah's Lament and Supplication (14:17–22) (6) The Futility of Intercession (15:1–4) (7) The End of God's Pity (15:5–9) 9. Jeremiah's Complaint and God's Rebuke (15:10– 21) (1) The Prophet's Accusation against God (15:10– 18) (2) God's Rebuke of the Prophet (15:19–21)

V. THE BROKEN COVENANT AND JEREMIAH'S COMPLAINTS (11:1–15:21) This section begins with one of the classic texts in the OT on the covenant between God and Israel (11:1–17). From the “broken” covenant the text reports a personal attack on Jeremiah by his family over his role as a prophet (11:18–23). Jeremiah then utters his first confession (12:1–4) to God and receives a reply (12:5–6). God's lament over the people (12:7–13)

follows. Jeremiah's “loincloth” incident (13:1–11) is significant for Israel in terms of the judgment that is to come to Israel (14:1–15:9). The section closes with Jeremiah's second confession (15:10–21). These two confessions, along with the others in 17:14–18; 18:18–23; 20:7–18, reveal Jeremiah's passionate and troubled relationship with God over both his calling and the future of Israel. Many scholars thought chap. 11 was the work of Deuteronomic editors around 550 B.C. who may have used some of Jeremiah's words or composed them in the spirit of Jeremiah.1 In view of the questionable nature of the theory of Deuteronomic editing and the evidence to the contrary, however, we will assume that Jeremiah authored the entire chapter and that he used phrases taken from Deuteronomy. By so doing, he revealed his sympathy for the Deuteronomic reforms of Josiah.

1. The Broken Covenant (11:1–8) 1This

is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2“Listen to the terms of this covenant and tell them to the people of Judah and to those who live in Jerusalem. 3Tell them that this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Cursed is the man who does not obey the terms of this covenant—4the terms I commanded your forefathers when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the iron-smelting furnace.’ I said, ‘Obey me and do everything I command you, and you will be my people, and I will be your God. 5Then I will fulfill the oath I swore to your forefathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey’— the land you possess today.” I answered, “Amen, LORD.” 6The LORD said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: ‘Listen to the terms of this covenant and follow them. 7From the time I brought your forefathers up from Egypt until today, I warned them again and again, saying, “Obey me.” 8But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts. So I brought on them all

the curses of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but that they did not keep.’” 11:1–5 The imperative verb “listen” (lit. “hear”) in v. 2 is plural. The command was not initially addressed only to Jeremiah (cf. Isa 6:8; Jer 5:1) but either to all the people or to the leaders of Judah. The verb “tell” of v. 3, however, is singular; thus the emphasis of the message was transferred to Jeremiah. While some scholars argue that “this covenant” refers to the covenant that became the basis of Josiah's reforms, others believe it meant the Sinaitic covenant. The discussion is irrelevant since there was only one covenant—the Sinai covenant, which was the basis of the Deuteronomic reforms under Josiah.2 In solemn Deuteronomic language the Lord warned that the person who disobeyed the terms of the covenant was cursed (Deut 27:26). The invoking of curses was common in the ANE. They were written on papyrus, clay, and tomb walls as well as spoken. Once pronounced, the curse was believed to unleash supernatural power that could only be thwarted by neutralizing it with a blessing (see Judg 17:1–2). Curses served to protect the terms of a contract (Gen 31:49) or to prevent the altering of inscriptions. They also were pronounced to insure the truth or reliability of one's words (Job 31:19– 22,38–40) or to punish people who had committed a crime. They also were invoked for protection against enemies (2 Sam 18:32) or to protect tombs from desecration by grave robbers.3 Jeremiah was proclaiming the same covenant that God had ordered the forefathers to obey. God had brought them out of the “iron-smelting furnace” of Egypt, a metaphor for the bitter affliction they endured there (cf. Deut 4:20; 1 Kgs 8:51; Isa 48:10). He reminded them of the conditional nature of the covenant. If they obeyed the Lord, he would be their God (Exod 19:5–6) and would give them a land flowing with milk and honey.4 Jeremiah's answer to God's curse on those who would forget his covenant was “Amen.” It was a customary way of expressing agreement with the words or deeds of another person (see Num 5:22; Deut 27:15–26; 1 Kgs 1:36; Neh 5:13). The Hebrew word is from a root that means to confirm, be stable, reliable, enduring. When we say “amen,” we are giving assent to the reliability of the words being spoken. If only the people had been of the same mind as Jeremiah, how different Judah's subsequent

history would have been. Obedience to the covenant was the key to blessing for the people of Judah, but they never took it seriously. 11:6–8 The command to proclaim the words “in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem” may imply that Jeremiah had an itinerant ministry. Bright and Carroll do not believe it was necessary for him to go up and down the land preaching. However, if God could command him to travel to the Euphrates River to bury a garment (chap. 13), it is not inconceivable that Jeremiah traveled about Judah proclaiming the Lord's messages. The Lord wanted Jeremiah to remind his hearers of the faithlessness of their ancestors concerning the covenant. He had warned them “again and again” (lit. “rising early and warning”) to obey. Because they did not listen (cf. 7:24), he brought all the curses on them imposed by the covenant. They failed to learn the lesson that judgment awaits people who continue to disobey God's commands and are unrepentant.

2. Inescapable Punishment of the Covenant Breakers (11:9–13) 9Then

the LORD said to me, “There is a conspiracy among the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem. 10They have returned to the sins of their forefathers, who refused to listen to my words. They have followed other gods to serve them. Both the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken the covenant I made with their forefathers. 11Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them. 12The towns of Judah and the people of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they burn incense, but they will not help them at all when disaster strikes. 13You have as many gods as you have towns, O Judah; and the altars you have set up to burn incense to that shameful god Baal are as many as the streets of Jerusalem. ’

11:9–13 The Lord revealed to Jeremiah that there was a conspiracy among the people. It may have been a conspiracy during Josiah's lifetime to rebel against his stringent religious reforms. More likely it involved a decision to return to their old ways soon after his death. Israel had broken the covenant and suffered the consequences. Now Judah was following the same road to ruin. Just as their forefathers had done, Judah was worshiping other gods. The time would come when they would cry out to God for help, but he would not listen. They would appeal to their many gods, who would be powerless to help them (cf. 1 Kgs 18:26).5

3. Jeremiah Forbidden to Pray for the People (11:14– 17) 14“Do

not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for

them, because I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their distress. 15“What is my beloved doing in my temple as she works out her evil schemes with many? Can consecrated meat avert [your punishment]? When you engage in your wickedness, then you rejoice.” 16The LORD called you a thriving olive tree with fruit beautiful in form. But with the roar of a mighty storm he will set it on fire, and its branches will be broken. 17The LORD Almighty, who planted you, has decreed disaster for you, because the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done evil and provoked me to anger by burning incense to Baal. For the second time God told Jeremiah not to pray for his people (see 7:16). They presumptuously believed they could cling to their idols and also

receive God's help whenever they needed it. They assumed he could be placated by their sacrifices apart from obeying his moral laws (cf. Amos 5:22; Isa 1:11–13). God insisted that such people had no right to enter his temple or to expect the consecrated meat (see Hag 2:12) of their animal sacrifices to avert punishment.6 Their attitude raises an important question: “Who has the right to be in God's house?” (cf. Ps 15). Some people think they do the Lord a favor by attending church services instead of seeing worship both as fulfilling the covenant and as a privilege. The Lord compared Judah to a thriving olive tree, a symbol of fruitfulness, beauty, and usefulness (cf. Ps 52:8; Hos 14:6). However, like lightning that strikes a tree and sets it ablaze, God was going to bring destruction on Judah (cf. Isa 5:1–7). The reason for the decreed disaster is stated explicitly—they had committed evil and burned incense to Baal; they had forsaken God.

4. A Plot against Jeremiah's Life (11:18–12:6) Several passages in chaps. 11–20 contain the most intimate glimpses into the thought life of a prophet to be found anywhere in the OT (11:18– 23; 12:1–6; 15:10–21; 17:12–18; 18:18–23; 20:7–18). They reveal the inner tension that exists between idealism and reality. The principle by which they are distributed among these chapters cannot be determined. Some believe they once circulated separately. Others believe they are arranged chronologically according to the course of Jeremiah's life. They are usually called the “Confessions of Jeremiah.” They have also been considered soliloquies, laments, prayers, and intimate papers of Jeremiah. They could be called the complaints of Jeremiah since each contains a protest against some evil or plot directed against him. The confessions follow the structure of individual laments. They also contain some elements of a legal case. Each was addressed to God by the prophet. The situation that elicited the complaint is described briefly. In every case Jeremiah called for vengeance on his enemies. Sometimes God responded to the complaint (11:21–23; 12:5–6; 15:19–21), but at other times there is no recorded response.

The most likely time when Jeremiah would find himself an object of intense persecution was during the reign of King Jehoiakim, his bitter adversary. Some scholars question that the confessions were Jeremiah's, but there are no valid grounds for denying their authenticity. Reventlow proposed that the “I” of these passages should be understood as Jeremiah voicing the complaints of the people, but this is unlikely.7 Some important lessons can be gleaned from a careful study of Jeremiah's confessions. They reveal that Jeremiah was a real human being, subject to the same emotional highs and lows as ordinary people. They remind us that even the most dedicated person may at times find it difficult to do God's will. They also show that God uses imperfect people to do his work. He does not wait until we become perfected saints to use us. Finally, they remind us that we should not be reluctant to admit our weaknesses, fears, and doubts. (1) The Plot Revealed to Jeremiah (11:18–20) 18Because

the LORD revealed their plot to me, I knew it, for at that time he showed me what they were doing. 19I had been like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter; I did not realize that they had plotted against me, saying, “Let us destroy the tree and its fruit; let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name be remembered no more” 20But, O LORD Almighty, you who judge righteously and test the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you I have committed my cause. 11:18–19a The Lord made Jeremiah aware of a plot against his life. The discovery made Jeremiah feel like a lamb being led to the slaughter (cf. Isa 53:7). No reason is given for the plot, but it probably was a reaction to his denunciation of the people's sins. His appeals to surrender to Babylon had already made him a traitor in the eyes of his people (see 11:21; 12:6). The

threats were especially painful because they came from men of his own hometown, Anathoth, about three miles northeast of Jerusalem. Abiathar the priest was banished there by Solomon (1 Kgs 2:26–27). Its name is preserved in the modern village of πnata, though the ancient city itself was about half a mile away. 11:19b-20 Jeremiah's enemies were determined to “destroy the tree and its fruit.”8 By killing Jeremiah they felt confident that he would have no posterity and that even his name would be forgotten. Like the defendant in court who casts himself on the mercy of the judge, Jeremiah appealed to God as one who judges righteously. He was confident of his innocence and therefore made his bold appeal. He knew that nothing was hidden from God, who tests the “heart and mind” (lit. “kidneys and heart”). Ancient Israelites believed that the kidneys were the seat of emotions and that the heart was the seat of intellect and will. Without exception in each confession Jeremiah asked God to punish his enemies (11:20; 12:3; 15:15; 17:18; 18:21–22; 20:12). The reader may be uncomfortable with a prophet of God demanding vengeance on his enemies. We would have preferred to hear, “Father, forgive them,” but we have to understand that Jeremiah was reacting out of his fallen human nature. When anyone hurts us or attacks our integrity, our initial reaction is to seek revenge. A prayer to forgive that person often comes only after intensive struggle. Nevertheless, Jeremiah was unwilling to take vengeance into his hands. He was confident that God would vindicate him. Therefore he “committed” (lit. “revealed”) his cause to the Lord (cf. Deut 32:35; Ps 22:8; Rom 12:19; Heb 10:30). (2) God's Assurance of Punishment of the Conspirators (11:21–23) 21“Therefore

this is what the LORD says about the men of Anathoth who are seeking your life and saying, ‘Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD or you will die by our hands’—22therefore this is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘I will punish them. Their young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters by famine. 23Not even a

remnant will be left to them, because I will bring disaster on the men of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.’” 11:21–23 The Lord responded to Jeremiah's plea by assuring him that he was going to punish his persecutors. They would die by sword and famine (cf. Amos 2:12).9 The actual year of their punishment was 587, when Judah fell to the Babylonians. The threat that “not even a remnant” would remain applied only to the conspirators, not to the entire population of Anathoth. Ezra 2:23 says that 128 men of Anathoth returned from exile in Babylon under the leadership of Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and others. Jeremiah was discovering that preaching God's word does not always make a person popular with his audience (Mark 6:1–4; Luke 4:24). (3) A Question about the Prosperity of Wicked People (12:1–6) 1You

are always righteous, O LORD, when I bring a case before you. Yet I would speak with you about your justice: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease? 2You have planted them, and they have taken root; they grow and bear fruit. You are always on their lips but far from their hearts. 3Yet you know me, O LORD; you see me and test my thoughts about you. Drag them off like sheep to be butchered! Set them apart for the day of slaughter! 4How long will the land lie parched and the grass in every field be withered? Because those who live in it are wicked, the animals and birds have perished. Moreover, the people are saying,

“He will not see what happens to us.” 5“If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan? 6Your brothers, your own family— even they have betrayed you; they have raised a loud cry against you. Do not trust them, though they speak well of you. Most scholars consider these verses to be a continuation of the confession begun in 11:18.10 Nevertheless, the focus of 12:1–6 on the prosperity of the wicked justifies treating the two passages separately. 12:1–3 Jeremiah raised a question that has been asked many times: Why do wicked people seem to prosper (cf. Job 21:7; Pss 37; 49; 73; Hab 1:2–4; Mal 2:17; 3:14–15). In language of the court Jeremiah first affirmed that God was righteous so it would be clear that he was not questioning God's integrity. “Righteous” refers to that which is right; it meets an established norm or standard, not of society but of God's word. Righteousness cannot be earned or bought. It is a gift of God (Gen 15:6; Rom 3:21–22; 4:1–6; Titus 3:5). An Israelite demonstrated his righteousness by keeping the requirements of the covenant (Ezek 18:5–9). However, Jeremiah could not reconcile God's justice with the fact that wicked people (the men of Anathoth?) appeared to prosper and live at ease. He seemed to say, “You are right, but I still will argue with you.” To Jeremiah's credit he took his question to God. Even more puzzling to Jeremiah than their prosperity was his belief that God had planted them (cf. 2 Sam 7:10). Using the analogy of a tree, he observed that they took root, grew,11 and bore fruit (see similarities with Ps 1:3). They were outwardly religious. Their words appeared to be pious (cf. Isa 29:13; Matt 7:21). Inwardly, however, Jeremiah knew that the Lord was

far from their “hearts” (lit. “kidneys,” the seat of the conscience and emotions). God did not influence their decisions. Was it possible that the Lord, who knew everything about Jeremiah, could not know the hearts of the wicked? Jeremiah reminded the Lord that he had tested his “thoughts” (lit. “heart,” the seat of intellect and will). Jeremiah's testing included rejection, ridicule, loneliness, and threats. He was close to concluding that God was not fair, was unaware, or was being fooled by their display of piety. Any of those conclusions would be a serious accusation against God. Jeremiah knew what should be done with his enemies. He demanded that the Lord drag them away like sheep to be slaughtered (cf. Isa 53:7). “Drag” is a word that can be used of ripping up tent cords (Isa 33:20) or a vine from the soil (Ezek 17:9). Jeremiah's harsh demand for vengeance on his enemies reveals a human response. Forgiving one's enemies does not come easily. However, the issue may be more about God's vindication and righteousness than about Jeremiah's anger. 12:4 Some scholars believe that this verse is out of place, except for the last part. However, there is no textual support for deleting it, and it does pick up the theme of the wicked begun in v. 1. Drought as an evidence of God's disfavor is a common theme in the OT because of the Deuteronomic curses (e.g., Deut 28:23–24; Amos 4:7). Jeremiah was suggesting that others were suffering the consequences of the deeds of wicked people who appeared to be exempt from those hardships. The interpretation of the words “he will not see what happens to us” depends on the identification of “he.” If it is God, they were denying the possibility of punishment from a God they believed did not know or did not care what was happening.12 If “he” is Jeremiah, the words contain a veiled threat that Jeremiah would die long before his enemies did. 12:5–6 God did not console Jeremiah as he did in 11:21–23, nor did he answer Jeremiah's question about the prosperity of the wicked. Instead, by means of gentle irony, he warned Jeremiah that if he could not cope with difficulties he was then experiencing, he should consider what he would do in a really serious situation. Expressed more colloquially, he was saying: “Cheer up, Jeremiah. The worst is yet to come!”

The Lord used two analogies to make his point. If a footrace with men would tire Jeremiah, how could he “compete” (an unusual use of the word “to burn”) in a race with horses? If he stumbled13 in “safe country” (lit. “land of peace”), how could he manage in the jungle-like thickets that grew along the Jordan River?14 The verse contains a well-advised warning to count the cost of serving God (cf. Luke 9:62; 14:28–32). It also suggests that a person who cannot solve his own problems cannot be very helpful to others in their time of trouble. The most hurtful knowledge for Jeremiah was that members of his own family were among those who had betrayed him and were involved in the plot against his life (11:19). God warned Jeremiah to place no trust in them even though they publicly spoke well of him. Trust placed in people may fail, but trust placed in the Lord is never misplaced (cf. Isa 12:2).

5. God's Rejection of His Inheritance (12:7–13) 7“I

will forsake my house, abandon my inheritance; I will give the one I love into the hands of her enemies. 8My inheritance has become to me like a lion in the forest. She roars at me; therefore I hate her. 9Has not my inheritance become to me like a speckled bird of prey that other birds of prey surround and attack? Go and gather all the wild beasts; bring them to devour. 10Many shepherds will ruin my vineyard and trample down my field;

they will turn my pleasant field into a desolate wasteland. 11It will be made a wasteland, parched and desolate before me; the whole land will be laid waste because there is no one who cares. 12Over all the barren heights in the desert destroyers will swarm, for the sword of the LORD will devour from one end of the land to the other; no one will be safe. 13They will sow wheat but reap thorns; they will wear themselves out but gain nothing. So bear the shame of your harvest because of the LORD's fierce anger.” 12:7–8 “I will forsake my house, [I will] abandon” are prophetic perfects (translated “I have forsaken… I have abandoned,” NRSV; see comment on 5:6). What God was going to do was as good as done. In the following verses several figures are used to describe Judah: house, inheritance, the one I love (wife), lion, bird of prey, vineyard, field, wasteland. “House” (v. 7) has been interpreted as the temple (so 1 Kgs 7:12), Israel (so 1 Sam 7:2), or the people (so Hos 8:1). Though he loved the people, he was going to hand them over to their enemies. Judah had become openly defiant, opposing God like a wild animal. The same God who had just said he loved the people of Judah (12:7) now said he hated them (cf. the use of those contrasting terms of choosing and rejecting in Mal 1:3). By withdrawing his protecting presence, it was as though his love had changed to hate. However, discipline is as much a part of God's nature as his love (Prov 3:11; Heb 12:6). 12:9–12 God compared Judah to a “speckled bird of prey.”15 It was subject to attacks like a bird whose unusual plumage would attract other “birds of prey” ( ; Gen 15:11; Job 28:7; Isa 46:11; Ezek 39:4) to attack it. God invited wild beasts (i.e., Judah's enemies) to come and devour the

nation. He warned that many shepherds would ruin his vineyard and turn Judah into a wasteland. “Shepherds” are often used as a figure for Judah's rulers (Ezek 34), but in this context it is more likely they are the Babylonian invaders (cf. 6:3), called “destroyers” in 12:12. Though other nations would be used as God's instrument of judgment on Judah, it was “the sword of the Lord” that was bringing calamity on the nation. No one would be safe from it. 12:13 Judah would continue “business as usual” to the bitter end, unwilling to heed the warnings. The people would continue to plant grain but would reap thorns (cf. Isa 40:24; Hos 8:7) because the invasion would not permit owners to take care of their fields. The failed harvest would be evidence of God's displeasure. When the people saw it, they should have experienced shame, knowing their disobedience caused the disaster.

6. A Conditional Promise for Israel's Neighbors (12:14–17) 14This

is what the LORD says: “As for all my wicked neighbors who seize the inheritance I gave my people Israel, I will uproot them from their lands and I will uproot the house of Judah from among them. 15But after I uproot them, I will again have compassion and will bring each of them back to his own inheritance and his own country. 16And if they learn well the ways of my people and swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the LORD lives’—even as they once taught my people to swear by Baal—then they will be established among my people. 17But if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy it,” declares the LORD. 12:14–17 Though God had just announced judgment on his own people, their wicked neighbors would not escape punishment. Those neighbors would include Babylonia, Syria, Edom, Moab, and Ammon (cf. 1:10). The passage indicates God's sovereignty over all nations and his right to judge them. This passage is unusual because it combines threat of punish ment on the enemies of Judah with compassion for those same nations (cf. 48:47;

49:6). Though they were used as his instruments of judgment on Judah, they would also be held accountable for their sins. The Lord extended a remarkable invitation for the other nations to be established among his people if they would acknowledge him as Lord. God is willing to bless any nation that will accept his lordship (Isa 56:6–8). The invitation contained a twofold condition: “If they learn well… if any nation does not listen.” The verses teach the freedom of choice with which God has endowed the human race. We are free to accept his lordship and be blessed or to reject him and experience punishment.

7. A Corrupt People and Their Punishment (13:1–27) This chapter is composed of five units: 1–11,12–14,15–17,18–19,20–27. The first two are prose; the remaining three are poetry. No exact date can be assigned to them. They probably were delivered between 605 and 597. The theme of impending judgment on Judah is the thread that holds this section together. (1) The Ruined Linen Garment (13:1–11) 1This

is what the LORD said to me: “Go and buy a linen belt and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water.” 2So I bought a belt, as the LORD directed, and put it around my waist. 3Then the word of the LORD came to me a second time: 4“Take the belt you bought and are wearing around your waist, and go now to Perath and hide it there in a crevice in the rocks.” 5So I went and hid it at Perath, as the LORD told me. 6Many days later the LORD said to me, “Go now to Perath and get the belt I told you to hide there.” 7So I went to Perath and dug up the belt and took it from the place where I had hidden it, but now it was ruined and completely useless. 8Then the word of the LORD came to me: 9“This is what the LORD says: ‘In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great

pride of Jerusalem. 10These wicked people, who refuse to listen to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts and go after other gods to serve and worship them, will be like this belt—completely useless! 11For as a belt is bound around a man's waist, so I bound the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to me,’ declares the LORD, ‘to be my people for my renown and praise and honor. But they have not listened. ’ 13:1–2 Verses 1–11 contain an account of the second symbolic act performed by Jeremiah. He was to purchase a “linen belt.”16 Linen was used for priestly garments (Lev 16:4), and Judah was a priestly nation (Exod 19:6). No reason is given for the command not to let the garment touch water although soaking in water would have made it softer and more comfortable to wear. 13:3–5 Jeremiah was then told to take the garment to the Perath, also translated “Euphrates” (KJV, NRSV, NJB).17 Perath was a spring in in Farah, about four miles northeast of Anathoth. The Euphrates River was more than 350 miles from Jerusalem. Two trips would have required more than fifteen hundred miles of travel by foot for Jeremiah. Because of what appears to be an unreasonable distance required to perform the symbolic act, some scholars have interpreted the entire narrative as a vision (Maimonides, Calvin, Rudolph). Others have called it a spoken parable (Volz, Cornill). It took Ezra four months to travel from Babylon to Jerusalem (Ezra 7:8–9). It is true that a nearby spring of water would have accomplished the purpose of the symbolic act adequately, but there is no valid reason for denying the Euphrates as the actual destination. Traveling to that river to bury the garment and then returning to recover it would have made a stronger impression on Jeremiah's audiences. Whatever the location, the Lord told Jeremiah to hide the garment in a crevice in the rocks. Later the Lord instructed him to retrieve it. By then, of course, it was rotted and totally unfit to wear. 13:8–11 As in the other symbolic acts, the Lord then gave the interpretation. The linen undergarment represented Judah. Like a garment worn next to the body, it symbolized God clothing himself with Judah. He intended for them to cling to him as his people, but instead they clung to Baal. Because of their idolatry, they now were as useless to God as the

rotted garment. Therefore God determined to spoil the pride (the temple?) of Judah and Jerusalem. Interpretations that link Jeremiah's trips to the Euphrates as a symbol of Judah's exile in Babylon read more into the symbolic act than is justified. Judah's exile was not intended to show the nation was then worthless to God. It served as a time of purging and cleansing in anticipation of future restoration (see Jer 24). God intended Judah to be a people for his renown, praise, and honor; but they did not listen. Punishment was inevitable for the rebellious people. The spiritual life is like the loin cloth; left unattended it “rots.” (2) The Smashed Wineskins (13:12–14) 12“Say

to them: ‘This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Every wineskin should be filled with wine.’ And if they say to you, ‘Don't we know that every wineskin should be filled with wine?’ 13then tell them, ‘This is what the LORD says: I am going to fill with drunkenness all who live in this land, including the kings who sit on David's throne, the priests, the prophets and all those living in Jerusalem. 14I will smash them one against the other, fathers and sons alike, declares the LORD. I will allow no pity or mercy or compassion to keep me from destroying them.’” 13:12–14 The Lord ordered Jeremiah to speak a popular proverb to the people: “Every wineskin18 should be filled with wine.” See 17:11; 31:29; and Ezek 18:2, where other popular proverbs were used by the prophets. Jeremiah may have spoken the proverb to arouse the attention of his audience. Instead of proclaiming a dire warning of punishment, which they had come to expect of him, he used words so familiar and trite that they began to ridicule him for his banality. They would say: “What is so startling about that information? Don't we know what wine jars are for?” The meaning of the proverb requires examination. It is unlikely that Jeremiah was quoting the proverb only to get attention. The saying may have originated as a raucous cry at a drunken feast, but it probably had become a confident expression that God would continue to prosper the

people. If so, Jeremiah turned it into a promise of certain judgment, perhaps with the figure of the cup of wrath in mind (see 25:15–29).19 Like a person filling jars with wine, God was going to fill the people with drunkenness, including their leaders—kings, priests, and false prophets. “Drunkenness” here is a figure to describe the helplessness of the people to defend themselves from the enemy's attack (cf. Ps 60:3; Isa 51:21–22; Jer 25:16). God would smash them against one another. In their confusion and panic they would fight among themselves and destroy one another. Women would boil their own children for food (Lam 4:10). Children would eat their fathers; and fathers, their children (Ezek 5:10). God was going to smash them like the clay jars they joked about, without pity or compassion. These words of judgment are a reminder of the conditional nature of the covenant God made with Israel. His blessings were conditioned on obedience. The disobedient people should have known that they could not presume on God's continued favor. (3) The Threat of Captivity (13:15–19) 15Hear

and pay attention, do not be arrogant, for the LORD has spoken. 16Give glory to the LORD your God before he brings the darkness, before your feet stumble on the darkening hills. You hope for light, but he will turn it to thick darkness and change it to deep gloom. 17But if you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly, overflowing with tears,

because the LORD's flock will be taken captive. 18Say to the king and to the queen mother, “Come down from your thrones, for your glorious crowns will fall from your heads.” 19The cities in the Negev will be shut up, and there will be no one to open them. All Judah will be carried into exile, carried completely away. 13:15 By appealing to the people to hear and pay attention to the Lord's words, Jeremiah was announcing that there was still time to avert judgment. Their arrogant contempt for the prophet's warnings blinded them from recognizing their sins. They refused to believe that the Lord had spoken through Jeremiah. Instead, they clung to the deceptive words of the false prophets: “Peace, peace” (6:14; 8:11). 13:16–17 Jeremiah appealed to the people to give glory to God. His appeal could be understood to mean “confess your sins” (Josh 7:19; Mal 2:2; John 9:24) or to give the honor (i.e., respect) that was due to God (1 Sam 6:5). If they did not, “darkness” 20 (a symbol of evil, Prov 4:19) was going to descend on them like the darkness overtaking a traveler on a mountain before he can reach shelter. Unlike that frightened traveler waiting for the light of day to deliver him (Isa 59:9), Judah was going to find its hope turning to deep gloom and “thick darknes”21 (the same word translated “shadow of death,” Ps 23:4, KJV). In spite of all warnings the people still clung to the belief that somehow everything was going to be all right. If the people would not listen to Jeremiah, he could only weep for them in solitude.22 He took no delight in what was about to happen to his people. Their stubborn pride would not allow them to admit their sins. The verb in the clause “the Lord's flock will be taken captive” is a Hebrew perfect tense and could be translated “has been taken captive” (NRSV, NASB; see comment on 5:6).

13:18–19 These verses contain a lament in the qinah meter for the king and his mother. The king is usually identified as Jehoiachin, who was carried into exile in 597. He was taken along with his mother, Nehushta, after ruling only three months, never to return to Judah (2 Kgs 24:8–15). Mention of his mother suggests the political influence of the queen mother in the ANE (see 1 Kgs 2:19). Nehushta's influence would have been especially apparent because of Jehoiachin's youthful age; he became king at age eighteen. Their glorious crowns would fall from their heads when they became Nebuchadnezzar's prisoners. Jehoiachin remained in exile as a prisoner until after Nebuchadnezzar's death, but he was not allowed to return to Judah (52:31–34). The verbs in v. 19 are also perfects as in v. 17. This use of the verb may indicate that the invasion had already begun and the cities in the Negev (the southern part of Judah; from a word meaning dry) were closing their gates to prepare for siege. All efforts to save themselves would be futile; no one would come to their rescue. All Judah would be carried into exile. “All” must be understood as an example of poetic exaggeration because many people remained in the land after the invasions of 597 and 588/87 (see 52:28–29 for the numbers actually carried away). “All” suggests that God's punishment was going to be total and complete according to his purposes. (4) The Humiliation of an Unclean People (13:20–27) 20Lift

up your eyes and see those who are coming from the north. Where is the flock that was entrusted to you, the sheep of which you boasted? 21What will you say when [the LORD] sets over you those you cultivated as your special allies? Will not pain grip you like that of a woman in labor? 22And if you ask yourself, “Why has this happened to me?”—

it is because of your many sins that your skirts have been torn off and your body mistreated. 23Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil. 24“I will scatter you like chaff driven by the desert wind. 25This is your lot, the portion I have decreed for you, ” declares the LORD, “because you have forgotten me and trusted in false gods. 26I will pull up your skirts over your face that your shame may be seen— 27your adulteries and lustful neighings, your shameless prostitution! I have seen your detestable acts on the hills and in the fields. Woe to you, O Jerusalem! How long will you be unclean?” 13:20–21 The Lord reminded the people of Jerusalem to lift up their eyes and see23 the enemy approaching from the north (see note on 4:6). The urgency of the words suggests that the invasion had already begun. He taunted the beleaguered city to take notice of how its inhabitants had scattered like sheep deserted by their shepherd. He reminded them that those they had cultivated as “special allies” would turn on them and subjugate them.24In Hosea's time Israel had turned to Assyria and then to Egypt for help like a senseless dove (Hos 7:11). Now the people of Judah were making a similar mistake by their attempted alliances with Babylon and Egypt. When they saw how their confidence had been betrayed, their

pain would be as intense as that of a woman in labor (see 4:31; 6:24; 22:23 for the same figure). 13:22–24 Jeremiah challenged the people to ask why the calamity had come on them. Without waiting for an answer, he told them because of their many sins their skirts had been torn off and their bodies mistreated.25 The crude description is that of the public humiliation inflicted on a harlot, an appropriate figure for faithless Judah (cf. Isa 47:3; Hos 2:3,10; Nah 3:5). It could also describe the violence done to women by soldiers of a conquering army. Jeremiah held out little hope for the people to change their evil ways. Quoting a popular proverb, he declared that there was as little possibility of their changing their evil ways as for an Ethiopian (lit. “Cushite”) to change the color of his skin or a leopard to change its spots. The proverb should not be misused to teach that freedom of choice can inevitably be lost. However, sin can become so habitual that it is almost impossible to break its bonds. Because Judah's situation was hopeless, God was going to scatter the people like chaff driven by the desert wind (a wind that blew in from the Arabian desert). 13:25–26 Such was to be the portion decreed for the people of Judah because they had forgotten their God and put their trust in false gods. The word “portion” is found only here in Jeremiah but is found elsewhere in the OT as the “lot” (e.g., Lev 16:8; Num 26:55; Neh 10:34; Jonah 1:7). Returning to the distasteful picture of the public humiliation of a harlot, Jeremiah reminded them that they were going to be exposed for all to see their adulteries. He accused them of “lustful neighings” (a word used of an animal in heat; see 5:8). God had witnessed their shameless prostitution and their abominable acts throughout the land, on the hills, and in their fields. Jeremiah probably was referring to the altars set up to other gods on every high hill (cf. 3:6; 2 Kgs 17:10; Ezek 6:13). 13:27 The chapter closes with a pronouncement of woe on Jerusalem. At the same time there is a suggestion that God has not completely given up on them. The question, “How long will you be unclean?” implies that it was not necessary for them to remain unclean. This would have been understood as an appeal to repentance. It was characteristic of a prophet to proclaim words of both judgment and hope because that is what God had instructed

the prophets to do on many occasions (see 18:1–12 for an example of how both can be a part of the same oracle.

8. Catastrophes That Cannot Be Averted (14:1–15:9) This section is composed of several units, but all of them deal with the coming calamity on Judah and with Jeremiah's appeals on behalf of his people. They bring into focus the tension that exists between God's judgment and his love. (1) A Severe Drought (14:1–6) 1This

is the word of the LORD to Jeremiah concerning the drought: 2“Judah mourns, her cities languish; they wail for the land, and a cry goes up from Jerusalem. 3The nobles send their servants for water; they go to the cisterns but find no water. They return with their jars unfilled; dismayed and despairing, they cover their heads. 4The ground is cracked because there is no rain in the land; the farmers are dismayed and cover their heads. 5Even the doe in the field deserts her newborn fawn because there is no grass.

6Wild

donkeys stand on the barren heights and pant like jackals; their eyesight fails for lack of pasture.” 14:1–2 The passage begins with an unusual introductory formula, literally “which was the word of the Lord to Jeremiah.” It is found for the first time in the OT here (also see 46:1; 47:1; 49:34). A severe drought, not uncommon in the ANE, was devastating Judah. “Drought” is plural in the MT, suggesting either the intensity of the calamity or a series of droughts. If the rains do not fall at the appropriate time in that part of the world, the results can be devastating (cf. 3:3; 12:4; 23:10; see note at 3:3). With a few carefully chosen words, the writer painted a word picture of the crisis in v. 2. Judah mourned. Its “cities” (lit. “gates,” the place where the people congregated) “languished” (the word can also mean dry up as in a drought).26 14:3–4 The “nobles” (from a word that means splendor) sent their servants to find water. The word for servant here is not the usual one found in the OT; it literally means little ones. The cisterns, artificial reservoirs for collecting and storing water, were dry, so the servants returned to their masters in despair. The servants covered their heads, a customary gesture to show grief or confusion (2 Sam 15:30; Esth 6:12). Because there had been no rain, the ground was “cracked” (lit. “dismayed,” an unusual use of a word that ordinarily describes people). The farmers looked at their dried lands and were “dismayed” (lit. “ashamed”) because they were unable to work the soil and had no expectation of a harvest. They also covered their heads to express their grief and bewilderment. 14:5–6 All classes were affected by the drought—nobles, servants, farmers, and animals. The doe was proverbially known for its devoted care of its young. However, it deserted its newborn fawn and left it to die because there was no grass. Wild donkeys were accustomed to the desert and had the ability to find grass anywhere. However, they now stood on the barren heights, gasping for breath in the stifling heat “like jackals”27 (cf.

Joel 1:18,20). As they looked in vain for grazing ground, their eyes glazed over in death or weakness. (2) A Presumptuous Plea for Mercy (14:7–9) 7Although

our sins testify against us, O LORD, do something for the sake of your name. For our backsliding is great; we have sinned against you. 8O Hope of Israel, its Savior in times of distress, why are you like a stranger in the land, like a traveler who stays only a night? 9Why are you like a man taken by surprise, like a warrior powerless to save? You are among us, O LORD, and we bear your name; do not forsake us! 14:7–9 Verses 7–9 contain a response to the desperate situation created by the drought. It is uncertain whether the people were confessing their sins or Jeremiah was confessing on their behalf and pleading with God for relief. If Jeremiah was speaking for himself, his words contain a strong accusation against God. That is not impossible since Jeremiah on other occasions spoke harshly against God (15:18; 20:7). However, here it is more likely that the words reflect a presumptuous attitude of the people. They believed they could call on God whenever they were in trouble (cf. 7:9–10). They were not as concerned about their “backsliding” (the same word in 2:19; 3:6,8,11,12,22) as they were about what they felt was God's indefensible position. They taunted him that his honor was at stake so he must do something for the sake of his name, i.e., his reputation (cf. Ps 31:3; Isa 66:5; Ezek 20:9). In the ANE it was believed that a person's name could reveal his essential character. A study of the various names for God in the OT reveals

some of his attributes (e.g., Creator, Self-existence, Eternality). The phrase “for the sake of your name” refers to the divine revelation to Moses in Exod 3, where the Lord calls Moses to service and reveals his name (Exod 3:13– 15). After the exodus from Egypt, Moses led the people once again to Sinai to receive the Commandments (Exod 19–20) and to establish the covenant (Exod 24). The giving of the covenant at Sinai is intricately linked to the name of god, and therefore to do something for the “sake of your name” would be a prayer of the people for God to keep the covenant.28 Judah believed that God must deliver the people in order to protect his reputation. They did not understand that it was necessary for him to punish them to protect his reputation. If the people were truly confessing their sins, why did God not revoke their punishment? In Jer 3–4 Jeremiah repeatedly pled with the people to return to the Lord. His appeals implied that God would forgive if they returned. The only explanation is that they did not confess with broken hearts (cf. Ps 51:17). Do people still sin but presumptuously claim the promises of God's blessings? The issue here appears to be that of hypocrisy. Though they called God the “Hope of Israel” and “Savior in times of distress” (14:8; cf. 17:13), their words were tinged with sarcasm. They accused him of being like a stranger in the land, though they were the ones who had made themselves strangers to him. They compared him to a traveler passing through who had no intimate relationship or interest in the people or its land. They chose to forget that he had made a covenant with them, owned the land, and brought them there to live in it. They continued their accusations against God (v. 9). The words are so harsh that it is difficult to accept the view of some scholars that Jeremiah was venting his own feelings. They could not understand why God would not come to their rescue, so they concluded that he was like a person “taken by surprise” (a word that means bewildered, confused).29 Though they frequently forgot the Lord, now they reminded him that they bore his name like the child who bears the name of his parents (cf. Deut 28:10; Dan 9:19; 2 Chr 7:14). Therefore they believed that he was obligated not to forsake them (2:27).

(3) The Lord's Rejection of Their Plea (14:10–12) 10This

is what the LORD says about this people: “They greatly love to wander; they do not restrain their feet. So the LORD does not accept them; he will now remember their wickedness and punish them for their sins.” 11Then the LORD said to me, “Do not pray for the well-being of this people. 12Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry; though they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword, famine and plague.” 14:10 The Lord rejected their appeals. They could not presume upon him endlessly and then expect him to respond whenever they beckoned him. They were proud to be the chosen people, bearing his name, but they shamelessly pursued other gods. By so doing, they had rejected him. Now he was rejecting them and was going to punish them for their sins. 14:11–12 For the third time God told Jeremiah not to pray for the people (see 7:16; 11:14). His refusal to hear prayers of the people was not due to indifference or lack of compassion. He knew their hearts were hardened and that they were not going to change, so Jeremiah's prayers would be futile. Judah was making the same mistake Israel had made in Amos's time (Amos 4:4–5; 5:21–22). The people assumed that if they observed certain rituals, such as fasting and burnt offerings and grain offerings, God would relent and forgive. However, no ritualistic expression of repentance moves God (cf. Zech 7:5–6 for God's attitude toward fasting; cf. Matt 7:16–18). Instead of forgiving and accepting them, God announced that he was going to destroy them with the sword, famine, and plague. These three instruments of judgment are mentioned together fifteen times in Jeremiah (cf. Lev 26:25–26; 2 Sam 24:13; Isa 51:19). The drought they were experiencing was only the beginning of their calamities. Warfare, starvation, and disease would also be their lot. (4) Judgment on False Prophets (14:13–16)

13But

I said, “Ah, Sovereign LORD, the prophets keep telling them, ‘You will not see the sword or suffer famine. Indeed, I will give you lasting peace in this place.’” 14Then the LORD said to me, “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds. 15Therefore, this is what the LORD says about the prophets who are prophesying in my name: I did not send them, yet they are saying, ‘No sword or famine will touch this land.’ Those same prophets will perish by sword and famine. 16And the people they are prophesying to will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and sword. There will be no one to bury them or their wives, their sons or their daughters. I will pour out on them the calamity they deserve. 14:13 Jeremiah could not keep silent because of his love for the people. He protested that the blame for the people's sins should be placed on the false prophets. They had assured the people that Judah would not experience war or famine but only “lasting peace” (lit. “peace of truth”). Could the people be held responsible for believing their leaders? (Cf. 4:10.) 14:14–16 God agreed with Jeremiah that the prophets were leading the people astray by their reassuring words. However, he had not appointed them or spoken to them. They were deceiving the people by various means. They claimed to have visions, though they were false. They practiced divinations and idolatry. They deluded themselves to believe they were actually speaking God's words although their messages came from “their own minds” (lit. “their heart”). These words contain a warning for today's preacher that he must be careful not to cloak his own desires under the guise of being God's desires. They also warn people to be responsible in discernment when listening to “prophetic” voices (John 4:1). God warned that he had not sent the prophets who were confidently insisting that sword or famine would not touch the land. Those same prophets would perish by sword and famine. God rejected Jeremiah's appeal that the people should not be held accountable for believing the false prophets. Their corpses would be thrown in the streets and left unburied. To

remain unburied was considered to be one of the worst fates that could befall a person in ancient Israel (cf. Ezek 6:5; Amos 2:1). (5) Jeremiah's Lament and Supplication (14:17–22) 17“Speak

this word to them: “‘Let my eyes overflow with tears night and day without ceasing; for my virgin daughter—my people— has suffered a grievous wound, a crushing blow. 18If I go into the country, I see those slain by the sword; if I go into the city, I see the ravages of famine. Both prophet and priest have gone to a land they know not.’” 19Have you rejected Judah completely? Do you despise Zion? Why have you afflicted us so that we cannot be healed? We hoped for peace but no good has come, for a time of healing but there is only terror. 20O LORD, we acknowledge our wickedness and the guilt of our fathers; we have indeed sinned against you. 21For the sake of your name do not despise us; do not dishonor your glorious throne. Remember your covenant with us

and do not break it. 22Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies themselves send down showers? No, it is you, O LORD our God. Therefore our hope is in you, for you are the one who does all this. 14:17–18 These verses contain a dirge over Judah's calamity. It is unclear whether Jeremiah or God was lamenting the downfall of Judah. Also it is uncertain whether he was describing an event that had already taken place or one that was going to occur. “My virgin daughter—my people” suggests that God is the speaker. It is surprising to find Judah called a “virgin” when elsewhere it is compared to a harlot (2:20; Ezek 16:15; 23:11,17; cf. Isa 47:1; Jer 31:21 and comments there; 46:11; Amos 5:2). Prophets and priests, those who had led the people astray, had “gone to a land they know not” (lit. “and they know not”).30 By omitting “and,” the statement means they were going into a strange land. By preserving the “and,” it has been interpreted to mean they did not know what to do or that they had no knowledge of God. 14:19–21 Again there is a question of the identity of the speaker. Was Jeremiah accusing God of rejecting his people completely, or were the people asking these questions? They had hoped for healing but found only terror (cf. 8:15). It seems more likely that Jeremiah was speaking on behalf of the people, confessing their sins in the spirit of Ezra (Ezra 9:6–15).31 He made a threefold appeal to God for mercy. First, for the sake of God's name (see 14:7), that is, his nature, he should not “despise” Zion (cf. Num 14:13– 19). “Despise” is from which means to treat as foolish or to esteem lightly. The second appeal was for God not to dishonor his glorious throne. “Throne” as used here is generally understood to be a reference to Jerusalem (3:17; Ezek 43:7), or more specifically the temple, which was considered to be the abode of God among his people. Because they believed God was enthroned in the temple, they were confident that no harm could come to them. They had not understood, however, that God sought to dwell in their hearts, not in a building (Jer 7:1–15).

Finally, Jeremiah appealed to God not to carry out the covenant promises (contra the people's wish in 14:7) of judgment on Israel. The people of Judah had broken the covenant repeatedly but assumed that they could always count on God's favor. They did not hesitate to emphasize God's obligations to them but ignored their duties to him. 14:22 Verse 22 suggests that the people are now speaking. The pronouns in the second half of the verse are first common plural, indicating that the people are addressing God in a type of confession voice. The other alternative, however, is that Jeremiah is speaking with the voice of the people in expressing that though worthless idols could not bring rain, the people thought they could (cf. 1 Kgs 18; Hos 2:5,8). Jeremiah knew that the Lord was their only hope; they did not. They trusted in Baal, the Canaanite storm god, to provide rain at the right time if they brought their sacrifices and offerings to him. Jeremiah's admission of Judah's sin and his belief in God as their only hope could not serve to appease God's anger. One person, however devout, cannot confess the sins or the faith of another. (6) The Futility of Intercession (15:1–4) 1Then

the LORD said to me: “Even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before me, my heart would not go out to this people. Send them away from my presence! Let them go! 2And if they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ tell them, ‘This is what the LORD says: “‘Those destined for death, to death; those for the sword, to the sword; those for starvation, to starvation; those for captivity, to captivity. ’ 3“I will send four kinds of destroyers against them,” declares the LORD, “the sword to kill and the dogs to drag away and the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. 4I will make them abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Manasseh son of Hezekiah king of Judah did in Jerusalem. 15:1–2 By its placement 15:1–4 appears to be God's rejection of Jeremiah's intercession on behalf of his people.32 He told the prophet that

Moses and Samuel could not avail to change the coming punishment of Judah. There is a limit to God's mercy and patience. Moses was an effective intercessor when God was about to destroy the people (Exod 32:11–14; 32:30–34; Num 14:13–19; Deut 9:18–20,25–29). Samuel also was remembered for his prayers on behalf of Israel (1 Sam 7:5–9; 12:19–23; Ps 99:6). But neither of these great intercessors would be heard now. God could no longer tolerate the stubbornness of the people. “Send them away from my presence” was his decision. “Send” is the same verb found in Exod 5:1, where it is translated, “Let my people go.” There may be an intentional play on the Exodus language, but here it has an ominous meaning. The Lord anticipated that the people would respond, “Where should we go?” His answer was harsh and unrelenting; he seemed to say: “I will not help you. I no longer care what happens to you.” Their destination would be death, sword, starvation, and captivity, the usual accompaniments of the horrors of warfare. 15:3–4 He then declared that he would send four kinds of destroyers against them. The description of what was going to happen is abhorrent, but Judah's wickedness was abhorrent to God and even to the surrounding nations. The sword would kill, and dogs would drag away the dead bodies (cf. 2 Kgs 9:35–36). What the dogs did not consume, birds would eat and wild animals would devour (cf. Ezek 39:17–20; Rev 19:17–18,21). The Lord justified the severity of the punishment on the grounds of what Manasseh had done in Jerusalem (2 Kgs 21:3–16). He had the longest rule of any of the kings of Judah and is generally considered to have been the most wicked of them. He encouraged Baal worship and worship of the starry hosts of heaven. He erected altars to them in the temple. He sacrificed his own son, practiced sorcery and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists. It is true that he encouraged the idolatrous worship practices of the people by his example, but they willingly followed him. Therefore judgment would come on them, not because of Manasseh's sins but because of their own. Care must be taken not to interpret passages like this one to mean that one generation (or person) is punished for the sins of another. We may be affected by the sins of others, but each one is held individually responsible

for his or her own sins. See Jer 31:29–30 and Ezek 18:2–4 for unequivocal statements of individual responsibility. (7) The End of God's Pity (15:5–9) 5“Who

will have pity on you, O Jerusalem? Who will mourn for you? Who will stop to ask how you are? 6You have rejected me,” declares the LORD. “You keep on backsliding. So I will lay hands on you and destroy you; I can no longer show compassion. 7I will winnow them with a winnowing fork at the city gates of the land. I will bring bereavement and destruction on my people, for they have not changed their ways. 8I will make their widows more numerous than the sand of the sea. At midday I will bring a destroyer against the mothers of their young men; suddenly I will bring down on them anguish and terror. 9The mother of seven will grow faint and breathe her last. Her sun will set while it is still day; she will be disgraced and humiliated. I will put the survivors to the sword before their enemies,” declares the LORD. 15:5–6 The time was going to come when no one would take pity on Jerusalem (Lam 1:17,21; Zeph 2:15; Jer 18:16). No one would stop to “ask”

about their welfare. “Ask” is from the same root as Sheol, the abode of the dead; therefore a play on words may be intended. God insisted that he had not first rejected Judah. The Hebrew states clearly, “It was you who abandoned me” (v. 6). Therefore God was going to show no more compassion to them. 15:7–9 Judah's punishment was compared to the winnowing of grain with a winnowing fork by a farmer. He pitched the grain into the air with the fork. The wind would blow the chaff away, leaving the grain to fall to the ground to be collected (Isa 41:16; Matt 3:12; Luke 3:17). The people would understand that the figure represented the scattering of Judah. The people would be scattered to the “city gates of the land,” i.e., the outlying cities. There they would be bereaved and destroyed because they showed no indication of changing their ways. Because of the number of male casualties in wartime, the number of widows would increase. God warned that the widows of Judah would be more numerous than the sands of the sea (figurative describing a great number). The figure here becomes an ironic reversal of a promise made to Abraham (see Gen 22:17; 32:12). God would bring the destroyer at midday, a time when attack would be least expected. The destroyer would come against the mothers of their young men.33 Reference to “mother of seven” suggests a large family. Numerous offspring were considered to be a great blessing (Ps 127:4–5). In the Bible seven is a symbolic number representing completeness; it may suggest that complete happiness was going to turn to total destruction (cf. Ruth 4:15; 1 Sam 2:5). The people would not only witness the death of their sons but would themselves breathe their last (lit. “breathed out her life”).34 Some understand the expression to mean only that they would grow faint. All their hope was going to be crushed, as though the sun were setting while still day. They would be overcome by disgrace and humiliation. Those who survived the initial slaughter would be sought out and put to the sword. None could escape the wrath of God's punishment. These warnings should have terrified Judah, but no one listened to the prophet, even as today many refuse to heed the warnings of God's judgment.

9. Jeremiah's Complaint and God's Rebuke (15:10–21) These verses contain one of Jeremiah's bitterest complaints against God (see the introductory section to 11:18–12:6 for an introduction to the confessions of Jeremiah). For a prophet his “confessions,” or “laments,” were harsh words directed toward God; but God's mercy and patience allowed Jeremiah to speak his mind as did Moses, Job, and the psalmist (the lament psalms).35 (1) The Prophet's Accusation against God (15:10–18) 10Alas,

my mother, that you gave me birth, a man with whom the whole land strives and contends! I have neither lent nor borrowed, yet everyone curses me. 11The LORD said, “Surely I will deliver you for a good purpose; surely I will make your enemies plead with you in times of disaster and times of distress. 12“Can a man break iron— iron from the north—or bronze? 13Your wealth and your treasures I will give as plunder, without charge, because of all your sins throughout your country. 14I will enslave you to your enemies in a land you do not know, for my anger will kindle a fire that will burn against you.” 15You understand, O LORD;

remember me and care for me. Avenge me on my persecutors. You are long-suffering—do not take me away; think of how I suffer reproach for your sake. 16When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God Almighty. 17I never sat in the company of revelers, never made merry with them; I sat alone because your hand was on me and you had filled me with indignation. 18Why is my pain unending and my wound grievous and incurable? Will you be to me like a deceptive brook, like a spring that fails? 15:10–11 Jeremiah's message was in the best interest of the people. Had it been heeded, Judah would have averted the ensuing disaster. Yet it became the source of strife and contention aimed at the prophet. He became so discouraged that he wished that his mother had not given birth to him (cf. 20:14–18; Job 3:1–10). He was dangerously close to renouncing his prophetic commission by denouncing his birth. To compound his anguish, he could find nothing that he had done to provoke such hostility. He had not lent or borrowed money, two practices that can cause misunderstanding even between friends (cf. Deut 23:19–20; Ps 15:5). However, everyone was cursing him.36 Jeremiah would not be the last to discover that good intentions are often misunderstood. Verse 11 is a difficult verse. The Lord responded to Jeremiah's distress by assuring him that he was going to deliver him for a good purpose (cf. 1:19).37 He informed Jeremiah that the time would come when his enemies would plead with him. Those who had abused him would seek his help (a prediction fulfilled in 21:1–2; 37:3; 38:14–27; 42:2–3). Verse 11 contains

God's promise to Jeremiah, although he may have assumed that if he obeyed God, he would be exempt from strife and opposition. 15:12–14 The subject of “can a man break iron?” has been identified as Jeremiah, Nebuchadnezzar, the Jewish people, or the Babylonian Empire. If it refers to Jeremiah, he was saying that the task God had given him to avert the coming Babylonian invasion (“from the north”) was an impossible one. Resistance would be futile. Another reading is “will iron break iron, from the north and bronze.”38 The most likely meaning of the enigmatic words is that there was as little possibility of escaping the Babylonian invasion as of crushing iron. An iron that was hard as steel came from the region of the Black Sea and probably is to be identified as “iron from the north.”39 Verses 13–14 are partially repeated in 17:3–4. The Lord was going to give the wealth of Judah as plunder to the Babylonians as punishment for Judah's sins. The people would be carried away by the enemy to a land they had not known. There they would become servants of the enemy.40 15:15–16 The preceding verses seem to be an interruption to Jeremiah's complaint, which is resumed in v. 15. Jeremiah reminded the Lord, “You understand” (lit. “you know”). Did he mean you know me, know my faithfulness, know my zeal, or know what I have suffered? The latter is more likely since he immediately demanded that God avenge him on his persecutors. The urgency of his request is revealed in the four imperatives that follow: “remember,” “care,” “avenge,” and “do not take me away.” Jeremiah wanted vengeance because of his own mistreatment rather than a desire to defend God's honor. It seems disrespectful to a modern reader that Jeremiah would command God. The imperatives have been explained as evidence of “an established relationship that permits bold and candid speech.”41 They also reveal Jeremiah's agitated emotional state. Jeremiah's anger toward his enemies is revealed by his appeal to God not to “take me away” ( , a verb used of Enoch, Gen 5:24), i.e., not let him die. He did not want vengeance to be meted out only after his death. Jeremiah was convinced that the reproach he bore for the Lord's sake merited the satisfaction of witnessing his foes’ punishment.

For a moment Jeremiah relived the exhilaration he had initially experienced when he accepted God's commission (chap. 1). He described the acceptance of God's messages as eating God's words. The phrase suggests intimate identification with the message he was to deliver. Ezekiel had a similar experience (Ezek 2:8–3:3, where he ate a scroll containing God's words; see also Rev 10:9–10). Jeremiah at that time had no awareness of the problems he would encounter as the Lord's spokesman. He only remembered the delight of being chosen. This is the one text in the book that says Jeremiah found joy in his call. Part of the joy of his call experience was the realization that he bore the Lord's name. Later the prophet would realize the full responsibility of possessing the word of the Lord (20:7–9). 15:17–18 Jeremiah reflected on what it had cost him to accept his prophetic commission. As he reviewed the events subsequent to his call, the honor and joy of being a prophet was replaced by self-pity. In his devotion to his calling, he had not sat among the revelers or indulged in their merrymaking (cf. Ps 1:1–2). He had experienced nothing but loneliness and isolation from his people. Had he forgotten that God was with him (1:8,19; cf. Rom 8:31)? He felt the heavy hand of the Lord on him, separating him and constraining him (cf. Ezek 1:3; 3:14; 37:1). There is often a price to pay for leadership. It may be the price of loneliness, misunderstanding, or separation from human associations. Jeremiah was so identified with God's thoughts that he experienced the same indignation that God felt for the people's sins. As Jeremiah struggled to understand his grievous and incurable wound, he was led to an inescapable but mistaken conclusion. God had deceived him. Jeremiah apparently had forgotten the words recorded in 1:17–19 that speak of persecution and rejection. Because he had forgotten, he compared the Lord to a “deceptive brook (lit., “a liar”), a spring of water that fails (cf. Job 6:15–20). Ironically, earlier he had compared God to a never-failing spring of living water (2:13). Jeremiah was now guilty of the same sin as the people of Judah. He had forgotten God's word. Like many today, Jeremiah wrote his own job description. He formed his expectations of God that did not include rejection by his people or failure to convince them that he was God's spokesman.

He had not anticipated that suffering could also accompany service for God (cf. John 16:33; Phil 1:29). One's call experience is the anchor of one's life with God. Whenever doubt arises, one should always go back to the initial experience and remember that God's promise includes his merciful and comforting presence, but it does not include the removal from persecution and oppression. In essence, to follow God means to be willing to face such obstacles (Matt 10:34–42). (2) God's Rebuke of the Prophet (15:19–21) 19Therefore

this is what the LORD says: “If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman. Let this people turn to you, but you must not turn to them. 20I will make you a wall to this people, a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you to rescue and save you,” declares the LORD. 21“I will save you from the hands of the wicked and redeem you from the grasp of the cruel.” 15:19 By accusing God of deceiving him and of failing him when he needed him, Jeremiah had overstepped the bounds of what a servant of God can say. His harsh accusations were about to cost Jeremiah his prophetic ministry. The Lord rebuked him but was willing to give him a second chance. If Jeremiah would repent of his words and attitude, God would restore his prophetic ministry.

With deliberate irony God used the verb four times in v. 19 (“repent,” “restore,” “turn,” “return”). It was the same word Jeremiah had used repeatedly to appeal to Judah to return to the Lord (see especially chaps. 3–4). Now the same word was being directed to him. Jeremiah could not be God's prophet by mouthing “worthless” words. If he would speak words worthy of a prophet, he could once again serve the Lord. The Lord was giving Jeremiah a second chance to be his “spokesman” (lit. “my mouth”; the same expression was used of Aaron in Exod 4:16). God cautioned him that his task was to turn the people to the Lord. He must not turn to them, that is, compromise his words, or conform to the people's beliefs in order to gain their approval. Christians in general are confronted with the same temptation today to conform. Some find themselves tempted to compromise their life-style in order to be accepted by their friends. 15:20–21 These verses are a variant of God's words to Jeremiah at the time of his initial call (cf. 1:18–19). They serve as further evidence that Jeremiah had forfeited his prophetic ministry by his careless words. They convey a renewal of his call as well as a renewal of the promise of God's protection. Like Jonah he was being given a second chance to carry out the commission that had been given to him earlier (Jonah 3:1). God promised to save him from the hands of his wicked opponents. (Did he mean Jehoiakim and his supporters?) He would redeem Jeremiah from the grasp of cruel enemies. “Redeem” is from the word padah, which means to pay a price to obtain the release of another or to achieve the transfer of ownership of that one. Jeremiah's response to God's offer of a second chance is not recorded, but it was not necessary to do so. Jeremiah did repent and return. He continued to be God's spokesman until the fall of Jerusalem and beyond. The exchange between Jeremiah and the Lord in vv. 18–21 serves as a reminder of the humanity of the prophet of God. It also suggests that each person has the freedom to accept or reject God's call. However, when a person accepts the call, God expects total obedience (cf. Luke 9:62; 14:26– 31). It also serves as a reminder that faithfulness in serving God does not exempt the servant from hardship and rejection by friends and family. The passage also teaches that the reward for faithful service may be more difficult service. Jeremiah's most difficult years of ministry were still ahead.

1Literature

on the question of Deuteronomic influence on the Book of Jeremiah is voluminous. See J. Bright, “Date of the Prose Sermons of Jeremiah,” JBL 70 (1951): 15–36; R. P. Carroll, Jeremiah, OTL (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1986), 267–71; H. Cazelles, “Jeremiah and Deuteronomy,” RSR 38 (1951): 5–36; W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah 1, Her (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1986), 349–51; J. P. Hyatt, “Jeremiah and Deuteronomy,” JNES 1 (1942): 156–73; idem, “The Deuteronomic Editor of Jeremiah,” Vanderbilt Studies in the Humanities I (1951): 71–95; W. McKane, Jeremiah 1, ICC (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1986), xli-l; E. W. Nicholson, Preaching to the Exiles: A Study of the Prose Traditions in the Book of Jeremiah (New York: Schocken Books, 1971); idem, Jeremiah 1– 25, CBC (Cambridge: University Press, 1973): 107–9; H. H. Rowley, “The Prophet Jeremiah and the Book of Jeremiah,” in Studies in Old Testament Prophecy, ed. H. H. Rowley (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1957): 157–74; W. Thiel, Die Deuteronomistische Redaktion von Jeremia 1–25, WMANT 41 (Neukirchen: Neukirchener, 1973); H. Weippert, Die Prosareden des Jeremiabuches, BZAW (Berlin: Alfred Töpelmann, 1973). 2Carroll, Jeremiah, 269. The covenant is one of the most important concepts in the OT. Helpful studies include K. Baltzer, The Covenant Formulary (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1971); J. Bright, Covenant and Promise (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1976); W. Eichrodt, Theology of the Old Testament, vol. 1 (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1961); E. Kutsch, Verheissung und Gesetz: Untersuchungen zum sogenannten “Bund” in Alten Testament (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1973); D. J. McCarthy, Old Testament Covenant: A Survey of Current Opinions (Richmond: John Knox, 1972) contains an excellent bibliography; G. Mendenhall, Law and Covenant in Israel and the Ancient Near East (Pittsburgh: The Biblical Colloqium, 1955). 3For further study on the subject of curses see H. C. Brichto, The Problem of “Curse” in the Hebrew Bible, JBLMS XIII (Philadelphia: SBL, 1973); W. Schottroff, Der Altisraelitische Fluchspruch, WMANT 30 (1968); C. Westermann, Basic Forms of Prophetic Speech (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1967), 194–98.

4This

phrase was used to describe the fertility of soil that would produce verdant grazing land for cattle and vineyards from which grape honey would be made. The phrase is found frequently in the Pentateuch (e.g., Exod 3:8; Deut 6:3; 11:9; 31:20). Outside the Pentateuch it is found only in Josh 5:6; Jer 11:5; 32:22; Ezek 20:6,15. 5Cf. Jer 2:27–28, where the words are similar to those in 11:12–13. 6Jeremiah 11:15 is not an easy verse to translate. For further discussion of the textual difficulties of this verse, see Bright, Jeremiah, 82; Carroll, Jeremiah, 272; Holladay, Jeremiah 1, 347–48; J. P. Hyatt, “The Original Text of Jeremiah 11:15–16,” JBL 60 (1941): 57–60; McKane, Jeremiah 1, 247–49. 7H. G. Reventlow, Liturgie und prophetisches Ich bei Jeremia (Gütersloh: Gerd Mohn, 1963). He classifies them as communal laments with Jeremiah acting as spokesman in the cult. His interpretation has met with little acceptance among scholars. For additional reading on the confessions of Jeremiah, see J. L. Crenshaw, A Whirlpool of Torment (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984), 31–56; A. R. Diamond, The Confessions of Jeremiah in Context, JSOTSup 45 (Sheffield, England: JSOT, 1987); N. Ittmann, Die Konfessionen Jeremias; Ihre Bedeutung für die Verkundigung des Propheten, WMANT 54 (Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener, 1981); K. O'Conner, The Confessions of Jeremiah: Their Interpretation and Their Role in chapters 1–25. SBLDS 94 (Atlanta: Scholars, 1988); G. von Rad, “The Confessions of Jeremiah.” Reprinted in A Prophet to the Nations: Essays in Jeremiah Studies, ed. L. G. Perdue and B. W. Kovacs (Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1984): 339–48; R. Youngblood, “The character of Jeremiah,” CTR 5 (1991): 171–82. 8 (“fruit,” lit. “bread”) is an appropriate translation since bread can mean food in the OT. It seems unnecessary to emend (“with its bread”) to read (“in its sap”) with Thompson, Jeremiah, NICOT 347 (following Hitzig, Duhm, and Rudolph). The LXX and Vg read, “Let us put wood into his bread.” 9The Hebrew negative particle in “do not prophesy” is it expresses permanent prohibition and here could be translated, “Don't ever prophesy.”

10Many

of them rearrange the verses of the two passages for what appears to be a more logical order. For proposed rearrangement of verses in 11:18–12:6 see Bright, Jeremiah, 89; Holladay, Jeremiah 1, 365; F. D. Hubmann, Untersuchungen zum den Konfessionen Jer 11, 18–12, 6 und Jer 15, 10–21, FB 30 (Würzburg: Echter, 1978). Care should always be exercised in rearranging verses of a text. We may be superimposing modern Western logic over ancient Semitic ways of thinking. 11 (“they grow”) is an unusual use of the verb (“walk”). 12This is the interpretation given by the LXX, which translates by emendation, “God will not see our ways.” 13Taken from an Arabic cognate, (lit. “trust”) can mean “stumble” (so NIV, NASB, NEB). Vaticanus puts “not” in front of G. R. Driver (“Difficult Words in the Hebrew Prophets,” in Studies in Old Testament Prophecy, ed H. H. Rowley [Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1957], 59) translates, “If thou fallest flat on thy belly in a land of peace, how then wilt thou fare in the rising surge of the stream?” 14 (“thickets,” “pride,” “swelling”). The KJV translation suggests flooding; also Driver, see n. 13 above. Cf. 49:19; 50:44; Zech 11:13. “Flooding” does not provide a parallel thought with “stumble in safe country.” 15The exact meaning of (“speckled bird of prey”) is uncertain. BDB gives its meaning as “colored, variegated,” but KB says “hyena” (NAB, cf. “hyena's cave,” LXX, NEB). NJPS preserves both meanings by translating “like a bird of prey [or] a hyena.” 16Versions vary about the exact nature of the garment. Cf. “girdle” (KJV, NEB), “waistcloth” (RSV, NJB), “waistband” (NASB), “loincloth” (NAB, NJPS, NRSV, REB). It probably was a linen undergarment. 17Perath contains the same consonants as Euphrates ( e.g., Gen 2:14; 15:18; 2 Sam 8:3). Holladay translates as Parah, a village five and a half miles northeast of Jerusalem near Anathoth (Josh 18:23) and says it represents the Euphrates. Attempts to explain Perath as an abbreviation of Ephrathah (see Mic 5:2), an earlier name for Bethlehem or the district in which it was located, have met with little acceptance. Thiel (Jer 1–25, 169) called it one of the “most disputed and discussed texts of the Book of

Jeremiah.” Cf. Ezek 8:3, where God transported the prophet from Mesopotamia to Jerusalem. 18 (“wineskin”) should be translated here as an earthen jar. It was a clay storage jar for wine, oil, wheat, etc. Cf. 13:14, where the figure of “smashing” would negate “wineskin” as an appropriate translation. See also Job 38:37; Isa 30:14; Jer 48:12; Lam 4:12, where is an earthen jar, although the word is used in other contexts for a wineskin (1 Sam 1:24; 10:3; 2 Sam 16:1). There may be an intended play on the word “fool.” 19See W. McKane, “Jeremiah 13:12–14: A Problematic Proverb,” in Israelite Wisdom, ed. J. G. Gammie et al. (Missoula, Mont.: Scholars, 1978): 107–20, for a careful discussion of this passage. 20The Heb. is 21The Heb. is 22The LXX makes Judah the one weeping instead of Jeremiah, “Your eyes shall pour down tears.” Consideration should be given to the possibility that the one weeping here is God (see 8:18–9:6). 23“Lift up” and “see” are both feminine singular imperatives, suggesting that the city of Jerusalem is the object of the appeal. In support of this interpretation, the LXX adds the vocative “O Jerusalem.” 24The MT of 13:21 is difficult to understand when translated literally. See McKane, Jeremiah 1–25, 308–10 for a discussion of the problem. 25For “body mistreated” the MT says, “Your heels suffered violence.” “Heels” is generally understood as a euphemism for the public exposure of the nakedness of a harlot. It has also been interpreted as a picture of the woman being driven barefoot into exile as a prisoner of war. 26Cf. Deut 12:12; 14:21; 17:2; 1 Kgs 8:37, where the gates also represent the city. The people “wailed,” lit. “grew dark”; the word may suggest the mourning attire they wore or their despondent mood. 27Some emend “jackals” to read “crocodile” because “jackals” has that meaning in Ezek 29:3; 32:2. In context the emendation is without justification. 28See W. C. Kaiser, “Name,” in ZPEB, vol. 4, ed. M. Tenney (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976), 360–66, and “Names of God,” in HBD, ed. T.

Butler (Nashville: Holman, 1991), 1004–6; Eichrodt, Theology of the Old Testament 2:40–45; J. A. Motyer, The Revelation of the Divine Name (London: Tyndale, 1956), 3–31; J. G. McConville, “God's ‘Name’ and God's ‘Glory,’ “TB 30 (1979): 149–63, C. R. Gianotti, “The Meaning of the Divine Name YHWH,” BSac 142 (1985): 38–51. The divine name is transliterated as YHWH and is denoted in the NIV as LORD; the word Lord in the NIV is the rendering for the Heb. word for “master,” “owner,” or “ruler.” 29Instead of “taken by surprise” ( a hapax legomenon), the LXX translates as “asleep” (from ), suggesting that God was unaware or disinterested. Cf. Elijah's taunt of the prophets of Baal, 1 Kgs 18:27. 30Instead of “have gone to a land they knew not,” NRSV says “ply their trade through the land and have no knowledge,” based on understanding to mean travel about like a merchant seeking a livelihood. NEB translates as “go begging,” based on a Syr meaning of Bright says the meaning of the word is uncertain. 31See W. Holladay, “The Background of Jeremiah's Self-Understanding: Moses, Samuel, and Ps 22,” JBL 83 (1964): 153–64 and S. Balentine, “The Prophet as Intercessor,” JBL 103, 2 (1984): 161–73. 32Balentine, “Prophet as Intercessor.” 33The MT is lit. “mother of a young man,” i.e., a warrior. Some say “mother” should be understood as Jerusalem and the “young man” as Nebuchadnezzar, but the interpretation, though clever, seems forced. In context the NIV translation preserves the intended meaning. 34The MT says “breathed out her life” NIV, KJV, and NAB understand the phrase to mean that she dies. NRSV and NEB understand it to mean fainting. NASB and NJB interpret as having difficulty in breathing. 35See J. Bright, “A Prophet's Lament and Its Answer: Jeremiah 15:10– 21,” in A Prophet to the Nations: Essays in Jeremiah Studies, ed. L. G. Perdue and B. W. Kovacs (Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1984), 325–38, and the commentaries by Holladay, Brueggemann, and Thompson. 36The last two words of v. 10 contain a textual problem. is usually explained as an incorrect division of words. By dividing as the translation “all of them curse me” is derived.

37“I

will deliver you” is based on the Qere and some manuscripts that read (a piel form of “to deliver,” “to let loose”) instead of the MT, a short spelling for “your remnant,” with KJV and NJPS). JB and NAB take from “I have served you.” NEB reads as “I will strengthen you.” A comparison of different translations of this verse verifies the difficulty of finding an acceptable translation. 38For “bronze” KJV says “steel.” Elsewhere the KJV usually translates this word as “brass.” However, brass, an alloy of copper and zinc, was unknown in Jeremiah's time. Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin. 39P. C. Craigie et al., Jeremiah 1–25, WBC (Dallas: Word, 1991), 210. Another interpretation is offered by W. Holladay, Jeremiah 1, 454–55, who suggests that the subject of v. 12 is Hananiah (see ch. 28). Holladay believes that this confession is linked to the prophetic conflict recorded in Jer 28, which speaks of yokes of wood and iron and the foe from the north. 40KJV, following the MT verb translates as “I will make thee to pass with thine enemies.” NIV, NRSV, NJB, JB, REB following the LXX and Syr read the verb as and translate, with variations, as “I will enslave you to your enemies.” 41W. Brueggemann, Jeremiah 1–25, 140.

SECTION OUTLINE VI. WARNINGS, EXHORTATIONS, AND A PROPHET'S DESPAIR (16:1–20:18) 1. Threats and Promises (16:1–21) (1) Jeremiah Forbidden to Marry (16:1–4) (2) Jeremiah Forbidden to Mourn or Feast (16:5–9) (3) Explanation of Judah's Coming Punishment (16:10–13) (4) Promise of Restoration to the Land (16:14–15) (5) Futility of Hiding from God (16:16–18) (6) Ultimate Acknowledgment of God by the Nations (16:19–21) 2. Further Warnings and Exhortations (17:1–27) (1) Judah's Indelible Sin (17:1–4) (2) A Choice of Cursing or Blessing (17:5–8) (3) The Desperate Condition of the Human Heart (17:9–13) (4) Jeremiah's Appeal for Vindication (17:14–18) (5) Warnings about Sabbath Observance (17:19– 27) 3. Jeremiah's Visit to the Potter (18:1–23)

(1) The Message of the Potter (18:1–12) (2) Punishment of a Forgetful People (18:13–17) (3) A Plot against Jeremiah (18:18–23) 4. Lessons from a Broken Clay Jar (19:1–15) (1) Assembling at the Valley of Ben Hinnom (19:1–9) (2) The Broken Jar and Its Symbolic Meaning (19:10–15) 5. Jeremiah's Humiliation and Despair (20:1–18) (1) Pashhur's Punishment of Jeremiah (20:1–6) (2) Jeremiah's Struggle with His Call (20:7–10) (3) Jeremiah's Prayer for Vengeance (20:11–13) (4) A Curse on the Day of His Birth (20:14–18)

VI. WARNINGS, EXHORTATIONS, AND A PROPHET'S DESPAIR (16:1– 20:18) Jeremiah continued to warn and exhort the people to return to God although he encountered threats and rejection that at times drove him to despair. The rest of his confessions are found in these chapters (see 11:18). They probably reflect his discouragement in face of the opposition that was instigated by King Jehoiakim, his formidable adversary.

1. Threats and Promises (16:1–21) Chapter 16 contains a message of approaching judgment that Jeremiah was to deliver (vv. 10–13,16–18) and to illustrate (vv. 2–9) with a life-style of celibacy and social detachment. It is interrupted by a brief promise of restoration (vv. 14–15) and concludes with Jeremiah's vision of a future Gentile conversion on a worldwide scale (vv. 19–21).1 (1) Jeremiah Forbidden to Marry (16:1–4) 1Then

the word of the LORD came to me: 2“You must not marry and have sons or daughters in this place.” 3For this is what the LORD says about the sons and daughters born in this land and about the women who are their mothers and the men who are their fathers: 4“They will die of deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried but will be like refuse lying on the ground. They will perish by sword and famine, and their dead bodies will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.” 16:1–4 The price paid for being a prophet is nowhere else expressed more painfully than by God's command to Jeremiah not to marry (cf. the command to Hosea to marry, Hos 1:2). This command would have caused Jeremiah inner turmoil. The OT teaches that God ordained marriage (Gen 1:28; 2:24; Deut 7:14) and that sons and daughters were a blessing (Pss 113:9; 127:3–4). Barrenness was considered to be a curse on a woman (Gen 16:2; 20:18; 1 Sam 1:5), and children were essential in order to keep inherited land in the family and to preserve the family name from extinction (Ruth 4:5). A man was expected to marry and usually did by the time he was eighteen or twenty. Marriage at fourteen or fifteen was not uncommon. The Talmud pronounces a curse on a young man who was not married by age twenty. Celibacy was the exception in NT times as well (1 Cor 7:26). Why was Jeremiah not permitted to marry when the institution was established and blessed by God? The question can best be answered by understanding the command to Jeremiah as a symbolic act (see 5:1–6). A symbolic act could cause a temporary inconvenience or embarrassment to a

prophet in order to communicate the Lord's message more effectively. However, in Jeremiah's case he was denied the happiness and comfort of a family as long as he lived. The syntax in v. 2 expresses permanent prohibition (“Do not ever”).2 By refraining from marriage, Jeremiah would be a constant reminder of the imminence of the nation's destruction. It was not a time to enjoy normal family life or to have children (cf. Matt 24:19). They would die of deadly diseases in such great numbers that there would be no time for mourning or proper burial. Killed by sword and famine, their exposed bodies would become food for birds and beasts (cf. Deut 28:26; Jer 7:33). Jeremiah's life added credence to his message. By being denied home life, wife, and children, Jeremiah would undergo symbolically what the entire nation would soon experience. His life also serves as a reminder that it may be necessary to abandon our plans and desires if God's purposes are to be accomplished through us (see Prov 16:9; 19:21). As J. Goldingay has written, “Jeremiah is a man who before Christ embodies a saying of Christ —’If a man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me' (Mark 8:34).”3 (2) Jeremiah Forbidden to Mourn or Feast (16:5–9) 5For

this is what the LORD says: “Do not enter a house where there is a funeral meal; do not go to mourn or show sympathy, because I have withdrawn my blessing, my love and my pity from this people,” declares the LORD. 6“Both high and low will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned, and no one will cut himself or shave his head for them. 7No one will offer food to comfort those who mourn for the dead—not even for a father or a mother—nor will anyone give them a drink to console them. 8“And do not enter a house where there is feasting and sit down to eat and drink. 9For this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Before your eyes and in your days I will bring an end to the sounds of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride and bridegroom in this place.

16:5–7 Jeremiah was then told that he could not participate in the normal customs of mourning. He could not enter a house where there was a “funeral meal.”4 The command would further isolate and alienate Jeremiah from his people because they would interpret his actions as uncaring (cf. 15:17). By showing no grief for the dead through a symbolic act, Jeremiah was saying that God was going to withdraw comfort from Jerusalem. When destruction came, there would be so much death that there would be no time for mourning and no mourners left. That their dead would not be buried was considered to be the worse curse that could come to an Israelite. No one would cut himself or shave his head for the dead, an ironic reference to the pagan mourning practices current in Judah at the time.5 The time would come when no one would offer food to comfort the mourners. No one would give them a drink to console them (lit “cup of consolation,” a custom not mentioned elsewhere in the OT; cf. Prov 31:6–7). 16:8–9 Not only was Jeremiah prohibited from mourning; he was also forbidden to celebrate. His refusal to join the festivities would further alienate him and add to his reputation as an eccentric. This behavior was necessary, however, to accent his message of condemnation and judgment. The coming disaster made celebration absurd. Normal life was coming to an end when all sounds of joy and gladness, including weddings, would no longer be heard in Judah. (3) Explanation of Judah's Coming Punishment (16:10–13) 10“When

you tell these people all this and they ask you, ‘Why has the LORD decreed such a great disaster against us? What wrong have we done? What sin have we committed against the LORD our God?’ 11then say to them, ‘It is because your fathers forsook me,’ declares the LORD, ‘and followed other gods and served and worshiped them. They forsook me and did not keep my law. 12But you have behaved more wickedly than your fathers. See how each of you is following the stubbornness of his evil heart instead of obeying me. 13So I will throw you out of this land into a land neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you will serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor. ’

16:10–13 The Lord instructed Jeremiah to be prepared for the people's question: “Why has the Lord decreed such a great disaster against us?” (cf. 5:19). It is incredible that they would ask such a question. They should have known, but their question only shows how blind they were to their sins (cf. 17:9; Mal 1:6–7; 2:17; 3:7–8,13). The Lord patiently replied to their question with a twofold answer. Their fathers had forsaken the Lord and disobeyed his law, and they were worse than their fathers (cf. Amos 2:4). Judah was not going to be punished for the sins of the fathers but for their own sins (cf. Ezek 18:2–4). The people had behaved more wickedly than previous generations. They followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts instead of obeying God. For punishment God was going to “throw” them out of the land (cf. Lev 18:28). The same verb is used here that describes Saul hurling a spear at David (1 Sam 18:11) and at Jonathan (1 Sam 20:33). It also describes a storm hurled against the boat carrying Jonah (Jonah 1:4) and the sailors throwing Jonah overboard (Jonah 1:15). God promised with irony that in a foreign land away from his presence they could serve their foreign gods all they wanted and reap the rewards of their wickedness (cf. Rom 1:24). (4) Promise of Restoration to the Land (16:14–15) 14“However,

the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when men will no longer say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’ 15but they will say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ For I will restore them to the land I gave their forefathers. 16:14–15 The contrast6 between these words of assurance and the words of judgment in the preceding (and following) verses is striking (cf. Hos 1:9–10 for a similar abrupt change). After denouncing the people and describing their impending fate in harsh language, God announced a regathering of the people and a restoration that could be called a second exodus (cf. Isa 43:16–20; 48:20–21; 51:9–11). Such contrast served to highlight the message of hope and to prepare for the more extensive section

in the “book of consolation” in chaps. 30–33. It also served to explain that the withdrawal of blessing, love, and pity in v. 5 was temporary.7 (5) Futility of Hiding from God (16:16–18) 16“But

now I will send for many fishermen,” declares the LORD, “and they will catch them. After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them down on every mountain and hill and from the crevices of the rocks. 17My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes. 18I will repay them double for their wickedness and their sin, because they have defiled my land with the lifeless forms of their vile images and have filled my inheritance with their detestable idols.” 16:16–18 To emphasize the impossibility of escaping the coming punishment, God employed the figure of fishermen and hunters. Like the fisherman gathering fish into his nets, the enemy would catch and carry into captivity those who attempted to flee to safety (cf. Ezek 12:13; 29:4–5; Amos 4:2; Hab 1:14–17). No one would escape (cf. Zeph 1:2–3,18). Like the hunter stalking his prey, the enemy would hunt down and capture or kill those who tried to escape. It would be useless to try to flee (cf. Amos 9:1–4). The imagery of the hunter reflects a Persian military tactic of forming an unbroken line of soldiers who would march from one end of an island to another seeking their victims. It is unnecessary to press the interpretation, as some do, that fishermen and hunters refer to two deportations, one in 597 and the other in 587. The Lord reminded the people that his eyes were on all their ways (1:12). They had not successfully hidden their sins from him. Before the restoration promised in vv. 14–15, he was going to repay them “double.” The word should not be pressed to mean literally two times. Rather, it suggests full and ample punishment (cf. 17:18; Isa 40:2).8 The justification for their punishment is declared again. It was because of their idol worship that had filled the land, thereby defiling a land that belonged to the Lord. (6) Ultimate Acknowledgment of God by the Nations (16:19–21)

19O

LORD, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in time of distress, to you the nations will come from the ends of the earth and say, “Our fathers possessed nothing but false gods, worthless idols that did them no good. 20Do men make their own gods? Yes, but they are not gods!” 21“Therefore I will teach them— this time I will teach them my power and might. Then they will know that my name is the LORD. 16:19–20 The chapter closes with an affirmation of Jeremiah's confidence in God as his “strength” and “fortress” (both words come from the same root, ) as well as his refuge in time of distress. In what has been interpreted as an eschatological statement, Jeremiah foresaw a time when the nations would come from the ends of the earth and acknowledge the Lord as the true God (see Zech 14:16; Rev 21:24). Their eyes would be opened to see that the gods they had made and worshiped were not gods at all (cf. Isa 44:9–20; Jer 2:11; 10:1–5). 16:21 When they acknowledged him, he would teach them his “power” (lit. “hand”) and might.9 When that takes place, they will know that his “name is the Lord” (see 14:7 for the significance of this expression; cf. Exod 3:13–15).

2. Further Warnings and Exhortations (17:1–27) This chapter contains a collection of messages that seem to be unrelated (17:1–4,5–8,9–10,11,12–13,14–18,19–27). Bright calls it Jeremiah's miscellaneous file. However, they share a common purpose to show that the people had sinned and therefore must be punished. All but the last message

(17:19–27) are in a poetic format. Verses 5–13 are proverbial in nature. The themes of the heart (vv. 1,5,9,10) and the object of one's hope or trust (vv. 5,7,13) unite vv. 1–13. (1) Judah's Indelible Sin (17:1–4) 1“Judah's

sin is engraved with an iron tool, inscribed with a flint point, on the tablets of their hearts and on the horns of their altars. 2Even their children remember their altars and Asherah poles beside the spreading trees and on the high hills. 3My mountain in the land and your wealth and all your treasures I will give away as plunder, together with your high places, because of sin throughout your country. 4Through your own fault you will lose the inheritance I gave you. I will enslave you to your enemies in a land you do not know, for you have kindled my anger, and it will burn forever.” 17:1–2 The bankruptcy of the “old” covenant is not seen better anywhere than in this image of the permanence of the nation's sin. The marvelous but nationally superficial revivals (3:10) of Asa, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josiah had only been ointment on Judah's national disease of sin. The problem was not in the provisions of their covenant but in the indelible nature of their wickedness. What was needed, as Jeremiah later reveals in 31:27–34, was radical spiritual surgery on individual human

hearts (cf. 24:7). Judah's sin was so deeply ingrained that it was as though its sin had been engraved with an “iron tool” (cf. Job 19:24), with a “flint point,” an instrument used to carve inscriptions on stone.10 Judah's sin was engraved in the people's hearts, i.e., their inner beings (4:4; Deut 10:16).11 It was also engraved on the horns of their altars, a symbol for the sinful worship practices at altars dedicated to other gods (4:4; Exod 27:2; 1 Kgs 2:28; 2 Kgs 23:12,15). Blood was smeared by the priests on the horns of the altar of burnt offering for the removal of sins (Exod 27:2; 29:12; Lev 4:7,30,34; 8:15; 16:18), but the plural “altars” suggests that altars of Baal are intended because there was only one altar in the Jerusalem temple. Though the altars should have been symbols of cleansing, they had made them symbols of sin.12 So widespread were the pagan worship practices that even the children remembered and were profoundly impressed by the altars and the Asherah poles.13 The Asherah poles were wooden poles set up as objects of worship to represent the Canaanite fertility deity, Asherah. Though forbidden by law (Deut 16:21), they were located under trees and on hills throughout the land (cf. 2:20).14 17:3–4 Verses 3–4 are a variant of 15:13–14. “My mountain in the land” probably refers to Jerusalem. God announced that he was going to give away their wealth and treasures as plunder to the enemy because of their sins. Judah experienced a partial plundering by Nebuchadnezzar in 597 (2 Kgs 24:13–14). An even more thorough ransacking occurred when the Babylonians captured Jerusalem in 587 (2 Kgs 25:13–15). God made clear that Judah was going to lose its inheritance through its own fault.15 The people would be carried into exile to an unfamiliar land because they had kindled the Lord's anger. Their idolatry had earned his permanent hostility; it would “burn forever.” The message was clear: disobedience to God's laws was going to incur punishment. (2) A Choice of Cursing or Blessing (17:5–8) 5This

is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man,

who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD. 6He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. 7“But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. 8He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” These verses are classified as a wisdom saying. They set forth two ways to live: (1) trust in human resources or (2) trust in divine resources. They express ideas similar to those found in Psalm 1 (contra Rudolph16). 17:5–6 The Lord pronounced a curse on the person who trusts in human resources. Some commentators equate “man” with Jehoiakim or Zedekiah, but it is preferable to interpret the statement as a generalization about human conduct. Those who depend on flesh (instead of Spirit, Isa 31:3) for “strength” (lit. “arm”) are satisfied with their own abilities. They do not believe they need divine help (cf. Prov 28:26; John 15:5). That kind of person is compared to a “bush in the wastelands.”17 The person who trusts in self and human resources will have a dried up, empty life. That life will be as barren and unattractive as a desert plant struggling for survival on land that has been salted to prevent the growth of any vegetation (cf. Judg 9:45; Job 39:6; Ps 107:34). 17:7–8 The difference between trusting in people and trusting in the Lord is the difference between “cursed” (v. 5) and “blessed” (v. 7; cf. Deut 28; Ps 40:4). Though drought and heat may come, a tree planted by water will flourish. Its leaves will remain green, and it will bear fruit. The figure suggests a person who can endure life's adversities without anxiety18 and is

stable and productive. It is the OT equivalent of the “abundant life” Jesus mentioned (John 10:10). (3) The Desperate Condition of the Human Heart (17:9–13) 9The

heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? 10“I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.” 11Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay is the man who gains riches by unjust means. When his life is half gone, they will desert him, and in the end he will prove to be a fool. 12A glorious throne, exalted from the beginning, is the place of our sanctuary. 13O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the LORD, the spring of living water. These verses make two affirmations: the deceitfulness of the human heart and the accountability of those who forsake the Lord. 17:9–10 Verse 9 is another wisdom saying. It contains an emphatic denial of a popular belief that people are basically good (cf. Isa 64:6; Rom 3:23). Judah's problem of sin is a common one, extending to the whole fallen human race. The word “deceitful,” is elsewhere translated “stained” (Hos 6:8) and “rough ground” (Isa 40:4). A similar word “deception,” describes Jehu's tricks by which he slaughtered the servants of Baal (2 Kgs 10:19). The root occurs first in Gen 3:15 in the word for “heel”

where Satan would attack Eve's messianic offspring (cf. Pss 41:9; 89:51). Deceitfulness is said to be characteristic of Satan and his followers (John 8:44). The same word, is translated “ambush” in Josh 8:13, describing Joshua's strategy of deceit by which he conquered Ai (cf. Job 18:9). The name of Jacob, the great deceiver, is also from the same root (Gen 25:26; 27:36). The human heart has an unlimited capacity for wickedness and deceit so that human resources are incapable of dealing with it (Mark 7:21–23; Gal 5:19–21). The only remedy is a radical change, nothing less than rebirth (John 3:7; 2 Cor 5:17). Verse 10 contains the answer to the question asked in v. 9. The Lord, who searches the “heart” and examines the “mind” (lit. “kidneys,” the seat of conscience or perhaps the emotions), is the only one who understands human nature. Human motives, intentions, and schemes, while a mystery to the most advanced techniques of modern science, are open before God. Nothing is hidden from him; he rewards us according to what we have done. 17:11 This verse is another wisdom saying that was well known in Jeremiah's day. It contains a warning against ill-gotten gain. It was based on a popular belief that the partridge hatches eggs that it did not lay (cf. Prov 23:5). It is then later deserted by its alien brood when they instinctively recognize that the partridge is not their mother. The identity of the bird is disputed. Some think that it is a sand grouse, which hatches the eggs of other birds (the word is found elsewhere only in 1 Sam 26:20). But the application of the saying is unmistakable. The person who amasses wealth by unjust means will have it taken away (cf. Luke 12:20). Such a person will prove to be a fool. 17:12–13 Jeremiah eulogized the sanctuary as the throne of God (see also 14:21; Ezek 43:7). Jerusalem is sometimes called the throne (3:17), as was also the ark of the covenant (Exod 25:22). There is also a transcendent throne (Ps 2:4; Isa 66:1; Ezek 1:26; Dan 7:9). Some scholars doubt that Jeremiah would describe the temple in such complimentary language in light of his condemnation of those who placed their confidence in it (7:1– 15). In chap. 7, however, he was condemning the false confidence that the temple would protect them. It was, nevertheless, the preeminent symbol of God's presence and rulership, built according to his instruction.

Jeremiah understood that the Lord, not the temple itself, was Israel's only hope (cf. 14:8; 50:7). He warned that those who forsook him by breaking the covenant would be brought to shame when God judged them (cf. 1:16). They would be “written in the dust,” a statement that usually is interpreted as meaning they would disappear like writing in the dust and be quickly forgotten. However, based on Ugaritic, Dahood says “dust” ( “earth”) represents the underworld so it means they will be marked for death.19 There is little practical difference between interpretations. By forsaking the Lord, they had forsaken the source of living water (2:13; cf. John 4:10). (4) Jeremiah's Appeal for Vindication (17:14–18) 14Heal

me, O LORD, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise. 15They keep saying to me, “Where is the word of the LORD? Let it now be fulfilled!” 16I have not run away from being your shepherd; you know I have not desired the day of despair. What passes my lips is open before you. 17Do not be a terror to me; you are my refuge in the day of disaster. 18Let my persecutors be put to shame, but keep me from shame; let them be terrified, but keep me from terror. Bring on them the day of disaster; destroy them with double destruction. These verses contain Jeremiah's fourth confession (though some would say it begins with v. 12). They contain some of the elements of a psalm of

lament. Jeremiah addressed God (v. 14a) and pleaded for deliverance (v. 14b–c). His complaint, or lament, is also recorded (vv. 15,18). Jeremiah spoke of his history of faithfulness to God (v. 16). He called for his enemy to be destroyed (v. 18c). Finally, he revealed his trust in the Lord (vv. 1,17b).20 17:14–15 Although in 15:18 Jeremiah had spoken of a pain that refused to be healed, here he pleaded for healing. His “wounds” were the taunts and hostility of his enemies (cf. Deut 32:39; Pss 22:1–2; 30:2; Hos 6:1). His plea to be saved refers not to the NT equivalent of salvation (cf. Acts 4:12; Rom 1:16; 1 Thess 5:9) but to deliverance from the enemies and the scorn they heaped on him (see Exod 14:13; Hab 3:8 as examples of OT “salvation” or deliverance). His words reveal that he trusted in God and turned to him as the only one who could help him. The source of Jeremiah's anguish was the ridicule of his enemies that his woeful predictions would never take place. They may have been frightened when Jeremiah first began warning of coming judgment, but as each year passed with no evidence of judgment, they had become confident that there would be no intervention by God. They mockingly asked that the Lord's words be fulfilled at once (cf. Isa 5:19; Ezek 12:22; Zeph 1:12; 2 Pet 3:4; Rev 10:6). Their arrogant challenge was based on their conclusion that Jeremiah was a false prophet because his predictions had not come to pass (Deut 18:15–22). Unfortunately, when his warnings were fulfilled, it was too late to repent and avert judgment. Nevertheless, it was the fulfillment of God's word that eventually persuaded the people after the exile that Jeremiah was a true prophet, and his words became Scripture. Ridicule is perhaps the most devastating form of persecution, perhaps more powerful than physical abuse. When faced with ridicule, the best response is not the “stiff upper lip” but an admission to God that the words hurt and then a request that God forgive the ridiculers. 17:16–18 Jeremiah reminded the Lord that he had not shirked from being God's “shepherd”21 The word is often used to describe a ruler (see 2:8; 3:15). Only in this verse is “shepherd” used to describe a prophet.22 Jeremiah reminded the Lord that he did not delight in announcing Jerusalem's “day of despair” (“despair” is translated in 17:9 as “beyond

cure”). Jeremiah's judgment messages were not his own but God's. Therefore, he felt justified in demanding that his detractors be punished. Jeremiah hoped that the Lord would not be a terror to him; God was his only refuge in the day of disaster (16:19; 17:7–8,13). As in all his confessions, Jeremiah did not fail to demand that his persecutors be punished. He wanted them to be shamed (v. 13) and terrified but asked that the same fate not come on him. He pressed God to bring the day of disaster on his enemies who were ridiculing him that his threats would never be realized. He demanded that God destroy his taunters with “double destruction” (see comments on 16:18). He would not be satisfied with a slap on the wrist. He wanted them to be destroyed completely even as they had earlier plotted the same fate for him (see 11:19). Jeremiah's vindictiveness makes the reader uncomfortable. We would have preferred to hear pious words of “Father, forgive them.” His vindictive spirit, however, is a reminder of his humanity. Jeremiah reacted the way most of us would react in similar circumstances. The lack of response from God to Jeremiah's complaint may imply his disapproval of Jeremiah's desire for vengeance. On the other hand, Jeremiah's identification with the Lord may suggest that his prayers of vengeance reflected God's attitude and will, since the treatment Jeremiah received resulted from his enemies’ rejection of the Lord. (5) Warnings about Sabbath Observance (17:19–27) 19This

is what the LORD said to me: “Go and stand at the gate of the people, through which the kings of Judah go in and out; stand also at all the other gates of Jerusalem. 20Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah and all people of Judah and everyone living in Jerusalem who come through these gates. 21This is what the LORD says: Be careful not to carry a load on the Sabbath day or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem. 22Do not bring a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your forefathers. 23Yet they did not listen or pay attention; they were stiff-necked and would not listen or respond to

discipline. 24But if you are careful to obey me, declares the LORD, and bring no load through the gates of this city on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy by not doing any work on it, 25then kings who sit on David's throne will come through the gates of this city with their officials. They and their officials will come riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by the men of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever. 26People will come from the towns of Judah and the villages around Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin and the western foothills, from the hill country and the Negev, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings, incense and thank offerings to the house of the LORD. 27But if you do not obey me to keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying any load as you come through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an unquenchable fire in the gates of Jerusalem that will consume her fortresses.’” Some commentators believe these verses are postexilic, but there is no reason to deny them to Jeremiah. Sabbath observance was part of the covenant obligations (Exod 20:8–11; Deut 5:12–15; Isa 58:13–14). Centuries earlier Amos and Isaiah had rebuked the people for their abuse of the Sabbath (Amos 8:5; Isa 1:13). Being the son of a priest, and a prophet called by God, Jeremiah must have had a deep respect for the Sabbath. 17:19–20 The Lord instructed Jeremiah to go stand at the “gate of the people,” a gate not mentioned elsewhere in the OT. It is interpreted as the Benjamin Gate by NAB, NEB, and RSV (“People's Gate,” NRSV) but without textual support.23 It has been understood as one of the city gates or a special gate for the kings of Judah to go in and out. Most likely it was a gate of the common people that led to the temple. It was a place where there would have been crowds at any time of the day to hear the prophet's words. 17:21–23 The people were warned not to carry a load on the Sabbath, either through the city gates or out of their houses. Nor were they to do work of any kind.24 What appears to us to be an overemphasis on the Sabbath may have been an important indicator of one's relationship with God, and whoever refused to keep the Sabbath thereby demonstrated his rebellion against God (Num 15:32–36). The person who kept the Sabbath revealed his willingness to obey God in every area of life. It also gave an

opportunity for him to worship God. Sabbath laws, as well as all the Mosaic laws, if observed, were evidences of trust in God, whether or not the person understood the reasons for the commands. The true spirit of obedience does not ask God why but accepts his commands as good. Judah's response to the Sabbath regulations was indicative of the people's attitude toward all God's commands. They did not listen or pay attention. They were stiff-necked and would not respond to his discipline. 17:24–26 The Lord promised political stability for the nation if the people would observe the Sabbath. However, it would be presumptuous to conclude that he would still bless them if they kept only that one law and broke all the others. Judah would remain the religious center of the nation. People from surrounding towns and villages, from the territory of Benjamin to the north, the western foothills (the Shephelah, lowlands that began east of the Philistine Plain), the hill country (north and south of Jerusalem), and the Negev (the desert land to the south) would bring their offerings and sacrifices to the temple. 17:27 If they did not keep the Sabbath, God threatened to destroy Jerusalem (26:12–19; cf. Mic 3:12). Judah's political autonomy would come to an end. Jerusalem would no longer be a place to bring sacrifices and offerings because the temple would have been destroyed.25

3. Jeremiah's Visit to the Potter (18:1–23) Although no satisfactory explanation has been proposed for the arrangement of all Jeremiah's messages, scholars agree that chaps. 18–19 were placed together because of the common theme of pottery. Bright adds chap. 20 as part of the editorial unit. (1) The Message of the Potter (18:1–12)26 1This

is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2“Go down to the potter's house, and there I will give you my message.” 3So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel.

4But

the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. 5Then the word of the LORD came to me: 6“O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?” declares the LORD. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, 8and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. 9And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, 10and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it. 11“Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the LORD says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’ 12But they will reply, ‘It's no use. We will continue with our own plans; each of us will follow the stubbornness of his evil heart.’” 18:1–4 Jeremiah's visit to the potter was another of the symbolic acts he performed (see comments on 16:1–4; 5:1–6). By observing the potter at work, Jeremiah was reminded about the sovereignty of God. Like the potter who determines the shape the clay will take, God as Creator27 has that same authority over every nation and every person. Whereas the Bible uses the figure of shepherd and sheep to stress God's wisdom to guide and compassion to care for his people (Ps 23:1–4; Isa 40:11; Jer 23:3–4; Ezek 34:11–16; John 10:11–18), this figure of the potter and the clay stresses the Lord's authority over his people and the importance of their submission to his will (Isa 29:16; 45:9; 64:8). However, Jeremiah also saw that God's sovereignty is tempered by his mercy and patience. As the potter carefully reworks the clay to achieve the desired result, so God does not give up when we fail him. Especially in view here is God's right to change his will concerning a people in response to their behavior. If they should repent of evil, he has the right to forgive (vv. 7–8). If they should do wickedness and refuse to repent, he has the right to withdraw blessings (vv. 9–10; cf. 2 Sam 12:8).28

The command to go down to the potter's house suggests that Jeremiah was to go to a lower part of the city, probably to the Valley of Hinnom. Making pottery was an ancient and important occupation (Job 10:9; Isa 29:16; 45:9; 64:8; Sir 38:29–30). Jeremiah had undoubtedly seen a potter at work many times, but on that day he learned something new about God. Jeremiah watched the potter at his “wheel” (lit. “two stones”).29 The lower stone was turned with the feet. It was attached by an axle to the upper wheel. As the lower wheel was turned, the upper wheel, on which the lump of clay was placed, rotated. As the wheel turned, the potter skillfully shaped the clay into a vessel by the pressure of his fingers against the pliable material. If the clay did not achieve the desired shape, he did not throw it away. Instead, he patiently reworked it until it became the vessel he wanted it to be. If it became misshapen as he worked it, it was not because of his lack of skill. The clay may have been of an inferior quality, may have contained defects, or perhaps was not sufficiently moist and pliable. Just as the potter works with clay until he has shaped the pot the way he wants it, so God has a plan for each believer's life (see 29:11). He does not reject us when we fail but continues his patient work until he makes us what he wants us to be (Phil 1:6). He is the God of the “second chance” (as he was with Jonah and Peter). God's sovereignty as taught in these verses, however, must not be interpreted as arbitrary or capricious. He always acts in ways consistent with his character and in accordance with how we respond to him. 18:5–6 The symbolism of the potter at work is clear. He represents God (cf. Isa 29:16; 45:9; 64:8). The clay represents Israel or any nation (v. 70). God reminded Israel that, like the potter with his clay, God's power is absolute (Rom 9:19–24). In our age of emphasis on individual autonomy the doctrine of God's sovereignty has largely been lost or rejected. 18:7–10 In these verses God announced that if “at any time” (lit. “suddenly”) a nation repents of its evil, God will alter his response to that nation (e.g., Jonah 3:1–10). That reprieve is available even for a nation marked to be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed (see 1:10 for these words). This does not suggest that God is unpredictable or that his control over events is less than sovereign. The reverse is true. We can be sure that if we obey, he will bless; if we disobey, he will punish.

The translation “I relent” is much preferred to the KJV (and RSV) “I will repent” (18:8), the traditional translation of .30 “Repent” in modern English implies that a mistake has been made that must be corrected, but God does not make mistakes. The word suggests that grief is so deep that God finds an alternate response for the necessity of punishment when we repent. When we change, God can change his actions toward us without compromising his sovereignty or holiness. Brueggemann summed up the principle: “The clay cannot challenge the potter, but Israel can act so that Yahweh will change.”31 18:11–12 The Lord warned Judah and those living in Jerusalem that he was “preparing a disaster” for them. The word “preparing” is literally “shaping,” from the same root as “potter.” God was “devising a plan” (lit. “thinking a thought”) against them but appealed for them to turn from their evil ways. Only a radical change on their part could avert the coming punishment. Because he knew their hearts, he knew what their reply would be: “It's no use.”32 It was as though they said: “We don't deny your accusations of faithlessness or your threats of punishment, but we are not going to change. We will follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts” (cf. 3:17). (2) Punishment of a Forgetful People (18:13–17) 13Therefore

this is what the LORD says: “Inquire among the nations: Who has ever heard anything like this? A most horrible thing has been done by Virgin Israel. 14Does the snow of Lebanon ever vanish from its rocky slopes? Do its cool waters from distant sources ever cease to flow? 15Yet my people have forgotten me; they burn incense to worthless idols,

which made them stumble in their ways and in the ancient paths. They made them walk in bypaths and on roads not built up. 16Their land will be laid waste, an object of lasting scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and will shake their heads. 17Like a wind from the east, I will scatter them before their enemies; I will show them my back and not my face in the day of their disaster.” 18:13–15 Jeremiah frequently emphasized the unnaturalness of Judah's faithlessness (see 2:11,32; 5:22–23; 8:7). Inquiry among other nations would reveal that they did not abandon their gods as Judah had done (cf. 2:11). Judah's apostasy was a “most horrible thing.” How could God call the nation “Virgin Israel” (18:13; 31:4,21) when he had previously compared it to a prostitute (2:20; 3:1,6,8; cf. Amos 5:2)? Perhaps he intended to trouble their conscience to recall the purity of their relationship at Mount Sinai. Perhaps he wanted to remind the people that they could again enjoy that relationship if they would repent (cf. Jesus calling Judas “friend,” Matt 26:50). Although translations of 18:14 are uncertain at best,33 the essential meaning seems clear. The snow that falls on the fields (i.e., mountains) of Lebanon remains there. Snow is no longer snow if it leaves the place where it falls. Israel could no longer be Israel if it departed from God. Although snow and running water are dependable, the covenant people were not. They had forgotten God and burned incense to worthless idols. Worship of those idols had caused the people to stumble in their ways. They had departed from the ancient paths (i.e., the paths walked by those who were obedient to the covenant; cf. 6:16). The way they were walking was not “built up,” i.e., it had no direction and no certain destination.

18:16–17 Because of their unnatural conduct in abandoning God, his punishment was going to be severe. They would experience the curses of a broken covenant (see Deut 28:15–68). The land would be devastated, “an object of lasting scorn” (lit. “to be hissed at forever”). People would pass by and see the devastation and be appalled. They would shake their heads, not in contempt or glee but in amazement (cf. 1 Kgs 9:8). Passersby would not understand the stupidity of a people who would arouse the ire of their God to such intensity. Like the hot wind from the east (the sirocco, a scorching wind that blows from the desert and shrivels the vegetation it touches), God would scatter Judah. That “hot wind” would prove to be the Babylonian armies. When that time came, God would turn his back on his people, and they would not see his face. He would be hidden from them and refuse to hear their cries (cf. Pss 13:1; 27:8–9; Mic 3:4). They had turned their backs on him (2:27); now he would do the same to them. (3) A Plot against Jeremiah (18:18–23) 18They

said, “Come, let's make plans against Jeremiah; for the teaching of the law by the priest will not be lost, nor will counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophets. So come, let's attack him with our tongues and pay no attention to anything he says.” 19Listen to me, O LORD; hear what my accusers are saying! 20Should good be repaid with evil? Yet they have dug a pit for me. Remember that I stood before you and spoke in their behalf to turn your wrath away from them. 21So give their children over to famine; hand them over to the power of the sword. Let their wives be made childless and widows; let their men be put to death,

their young men slain by the sword in battle. 22Let a cry be heard from their houses when you suddenly bring invaders against them, for they have dug a pit to capture me and have hidden snares for my feet. 23But you know, O LORD, all their plots to kill me. Do not forgive their crimes or blot out their sins from your sight. Let them be overthrown before you; deal with them in the time of your anger. The remaining verses in this chapter contain Jeremiah's fifth confession. They record his most bitter call for vengeance on his enemies. 18:18 Jeremiah's preaching did get results, but not the kind he desired. He wanted the people to believe his warnings and thereby avert the decreed punishment. Instead, his words only aroused his enemies’ fury and strengthened their determination to destroy him. They rejected Jeremiah's warnings. They could not believe that a time was coming when the priests would no longer be teaching the law, when the wise would no longer be giving counsel, or, above all, when prophets would no longer be speaking words from God (cf. Ezek 7:26). They believed they could get along quite well without Jeremiah. So they determined to attack him with their tongues, that is, destroy his credibility or reputation by slander and malicious stories. They resolved to pay no attention to anything he said.34 The Syr says, “Let us smite him with his own tongue,” i.e., use his own words against him, perhaps to show he was a traitor or perhaps to show he was a false prophet because his predictions had not come to pass. 18:19–20 Jeremiah's reaction to their plot was petulant as he spoke to God. Like an angry child who feels he is being ignored, Jeremiah said, “Listen to me” (the word means pay attention). He demanded that God “hear what my accusers are saying.” Jeremiah could not understand why his good intentions to save Judah from judgment were repaid with hostility and threats. Jeremiah had forgotten God's warning that his task would not

become easier (12:5–6). He felt like a hunted animal for whom a pit had been dug to ensnare it. 18:21–23 Jeremiah's demands for punishment are so shocking that Duhm and Cornill reject them as being unworthy of a prophet of God. The same man who once pleaded with God to spare the people now was asking that their suffering be extended to wives and children. These words are unworthy but should not be dismissed as a later addition. Instead, they serve to reinforce the humanity of the prophet. It would be a natural reaction to lash out at those who want to harm you when you have done good things for them. Jeremiah's anger here cannot be explained as his identification with God's wrath against sin. His desire to see his enemies suffer was the direct result of their mistreatment of him. With uncontrollable anger he demanded that there be no forgiveness for them.35 Furthermore, he insisted that God punish them “in the time of your anger.” He did not want God to be in a calm, forgiving mood when he judged the people. It probably is intentional that no response from God is recorded to Jeremiah's emotional outburst. God waited for the prophet to come around to his way of thinking (cf. Jonah 4:9–11). Curses on one's enemies are found frequently in the OT (e.g., Pss 35:4– 8; 40:14–15; 58:6–11; 69; 109; 129:5–6; 137:8–9). They make us uncomfortable in light of NT teachings: “forgive your enemies,” “love one another,” “turn the other cheek.” How does one deal with these imprecations found in the Scriptures? C. S. Lewis offers the following solution: ignore them, understand that they are resentment expressed freely, and realize that they are an understandable reaction of a person who has been hurt. Lewis also insists that, though such a reaction is profoundly natural, it is profoundly wrong. He further suggests that the absence of any reaction could be an alarming symptom. He concludes that when we are near to God, we react with his anger toward sin, that is, we see sin as God sees it.36

4. Lessons from a Broken Clay Jar (19:1–15)

The pottery theme of 18:1–12 is continued in chap. 19. The chapter contains another of the symbolic acts performed by Jeremiah. Many scholars include 20:1–6 as part of this narrative because it continues the record of Jeremiah's public persecution. (1) Assembling at the Valley of Ben Hinnom (19:1–9) 1This

is what the LORD says: “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take along some of the elders of the people and of the priests 2and go out to the Valley of Ben Hinnom, near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. There proclaim the words I tell you, 3and say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah and people of Jerusalem. This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Listen! I am going to bring a disaster on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle. 4For they have forsaken me and made this a place of foreign gods; they have burned sacrifices in it to gods that neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent. 5They have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as offerings to Baal—something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind. 6So beware, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when people will no longer call this place Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. 7“‘In this place I will ruin the plans of Judah and Jerusalem. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, at the hands of those who seek their lives, and I will give their carcasses as food to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth. 8I will devastate this city and make it an object of scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff because of all its wounds. 9I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another's flesh during the stress of the siege imposed on them by the enemies who seek their lives. ’ 19:1–2 The Lord instructed Jeremiah to purchase from a potter a clay “jar.” Then he was to “take along”37 some of the elders of the people and

“elders of the priests” (i.e., senior priests; a designation also found in 2 Kgs 19:2). They would serve as witnesses to the symbolic act he was about to perform. Considering the low opinion most people had of Jeremiah, it is surprising that they were willing to accompany him. Jeremiah was instructed to take them to the Valley of Ben Hinnom, on the south side of the city (see 7:31). Because child sacrifice had been practiced there, Josiah desecrated the valley (2 Kgs 23:10). It later became a place for burning garbage. Because of the repugnant association with the smoldering fires of garbage being burned, Gehenna (lit. valley of Hinnom) is the NT word commonly translated “hell.” Jeremiah was to assemble the elders and priests at the entrance of the Potsherd Gate, a gate otherwise unknown and mentioned only here in the OT.38 It is sometimes identified with the Dung Gate (Neh 2:13) and may have been the place where potters discarded broken and ruined pottery outside the city wall. However, knowing its exact location is not essential to the interpretation of the symbolic act. 19:3–6 Although Jeremiah's audience was elders and priests, he was instructed to address the kings of Judah and the people of Jerusalem. The smaller audience symbolically represented the larger audience to whom he would later repeat the message (19:14–15). The plural “kings” suggests that the entire dynasty was included, for it shared the guilt for Judah's religious apostasy. The Lord announced that he was going to bring “disaster” (lit. “evil”) on that place. It would be of such magnitude that it would cause the ears of those who heard about it to tingle (cf. 1 Sam 3:11; 2 Kgs 21:12). Verses 4–5 contain justification for the coming punishment. The people had forsaken the Lord and had made Judah like a foreign land by worshiping their foreign gods there (cf. Ezek 8). They were sacrificing to gods that not even their ancestors and kings had worshiped. They had shed the blood of innocent ones (cf. 2 Kgs 21:16; 24:4), probably a reference to child sacrifice but including people innocent of any crimes. Verses 5–6 are almost identical with 7:31–32 and serve as an additional reminder that human sacrifice was abhorrent to God.39 19:7–9 In the very place where the elders and priests stood, Jeremiah announced that God was going to “ruin” the people's plans. “Ruin” is from the same root as “jar” (19:1), a play on words; the word literally means to

empty. God pronounced a curse on them that reflects the curses pronounced in Deut 28. They would fall by the sword before their enemies (cf. Deut 28:25). The unburied bodies would be eaten by birds and animals (Deut 28:26; cf. Jer 7:33; 16:4; 34:20). The devastation of the city would be so thorough that it would become an object of “scorn” (lit. “hissing”; cf. 18:16). Passersby would “scoff “(from the same root as “hiss”) because of its “wounds” (lit. “blows”; cf. 1 Kgs 9:8; Lam 2:15–16). In their desperation during the protracted siege of the city, the people would resort to cannibalism, eating their own children, thereby fulfilling the Deuteronomic curse (Deut 28:53–57; cf. Lev 26:29; 2 Kgs 6:26–29; Lam 2:20; 4:10). (2) The Broken Jar and Its Symbolic Meaning (19:10–15) 10“Then

break the jar while those who go with you are watching, 11and say to them, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty says: I will smash this nation and this city just as this potter's jar is smashed and cannot be repaired. They will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. 12This is what I will do to this place and to those who live here, declares the LORD. I will make this city like Topheth. 13The houses in Jerusalem and those of the kings of Judah will be defiled like this place, Topheth—all the houses where they burned incense on the roofs to all the starry hosts and poured out drink offerings to other gods.’” 14Jeremiah then returned from Topheth, where the LORD had sent him to prophesy, and stood in the court of the LORD's temple and said to all the people, 15“This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Listen! I am going to bring on this city and the villages around it every disaster I pronounced against them, because they were stiffnecked and would not listen to my words.’” 19:10–13 Jeremiah was then instructed to break the jar on the ground before the eyes of the elders and priests. There was a popular belief that the performance of such a symbolic act unleashed the power of the curse (or blessing) contained in the act. The prophets did not share this superstitious

belief in magical efficacy of the symbolic act. They saw it only as a symbol, a dramatic way of communicating God's message. A smashed clay jar was worthless. It could not be reassembled and used again. The message was unmistakable. God was going to smash Judah just as the potter's jar was smashed and could not be repaired. In its present state of sin, Judah was useless to God. This is a message that was repeated in the symbolic act of the ruined linen undergarment (13:1–7) and the stick charred at both ends (Ezek 15). A potter could reshape the clay while it was soft and pliable (18:4); but when it became hard and brittle, it could not be repaired if broken. The carnage would be so extensive that they would “bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room.” This symbolic act was time conditioned, i.e., Judah as it was would never again be reassembled, but Judah would come back from the exile newly created ( cf. 31:22,31–34; Isa 42:9; 43:19; 48:6; 65:17; 66:22). The people who made up the new Judah (or Israel) would gather to hear the Word of God read (Neh 8:1–18) and would admit that their ancestors had strayed from the will of God (Neh 9:1–37). The houses, mentioned in v. 13, in Jerusalem, even royal dwellings, would be defiled like Topheth. The unburied bodies of those slain in the houses would make the entire city unclean (see Lev 21:1; Num 5:2; 6:6–7). These were the same houses where the people had burned incense on their roofs to all the starry hosts of heaven (see 32:29; Zeph 1:5). The flat rooftops of homes were used for drying flax (Josh 2:6) and for exercise (2 Sam 11:2). Several commentators observe that there is no statement that Jeremiah actually carried out the symbolic act as he had been instructed to do. However, there is no valid reason to doubt that he smashed the jar in front of the elders and priests before returning to the city. It would seem strange that he went out to Topheth if he did not actually perform the symbolic act there. 19:14–15 The narrative of 19:14–20:6 is in the third person and suggests that Baruch, Jeremiah's scribe, may have been the author of these verses. Jeremiah stood in the court of the temple and repeated his warnings of the approaching “disaster” ( “evil”) on “this city and the villages

around it” (lit. “upon this city and upon all its cities,” an unusual expression but correctly translated by the NIV). Judgment was certain because the people were stiff-necked (lit. “they have stiffened their neck”) and refused to listen to the Lord's words delivered through his prophet. In this chapter Judah is referred to as a broken jar, i.e., its punishment was irrevocable. Its future, however, was not. To the contrary, its future was very bright according to the promise of the new covenant. In this period of Judah's history, there was a shift from corporate responsibility to individual responsibility (Jer 31:27–30; Ezek 18:1–32). No longer would the people suffer for the sins of their ancestors. It is the same today. When people stand before God in a state of sin, they need to be broken like the jar that cannot be reassembled as it was; but now in the hands of the Potter, the repentant person can be reformed (18:1–12) into a new creation (2 Cor 5:17).

5. Jeremiah's Humiliation and Despair (20:1–18) No other chapter in Jeremiah contains a comparable series of fluctuating moods as are encountered here. Anger and vindictiveness (vv. 1–6), bewilderment and blasphemy (vv. 7–10), confidence (vv. 11–12), exuberant praise (v. 13), and bleak despair (vv. 14–18) follow each other in rapid succession. Because the mood of the verses is so strikingly diverse, some commentators argue that the verses were placed together by a later editor. It is equally credible that such rapid mood changes reflect Jeremiah's reaction to a painful experience that could not otherwise be understood. (1) Pashhur's Punishment of Jeremiah (20:1–6) 1When

the priest Pashhur son of Immer, the chief officer in the temple of the LORD, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, 2he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put in the stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin at the LORD's temple. 3The next day, when Pashhur released him from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The LORD's name for you is not Pashhur, but Magor-Missabib. 4For this is what the LORD says:

‘I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; with your own eyes you will see them fall by the sword of their enemies. I will hand all Judah over to the king of Babylon, who will carry them away to Babylon or put them to the sword. 5I will hand over to their enemies all the wealth of this city—all its products, all its valuables and all the treasures of the kings of Judah. They will take it away as plunder and carry it off to Babylon. 6And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house will go into exile to Babylon. There you will die and be buried, you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied lies.’” 20:1–2 When the priest Pashhur heard Jeremiah's dire warnings of doom, he determined to silence the prophet. “These things” he heard may refer to the events of chap. 19 or to Jeremiah's messages in general. Pashhur was a common name in the OT, though its meaning is debated. McKane believes it was Egyptian in origin and means son of Horus. Pashhur is also called the “son of Immer” (either his father's name or the name of a family of priests; see 1 Chr 9:12; Ezra 2:38; Neh 7:41). Pashhur may have been the father of Gedaliah (38:1). He was the chief officer in the temple, perhaps a position next to the high priest (2 Kgs 25:18). It was his responsibility to preserve order in the temple and its precincts and to deal with troublemakers (see 29:26). Using his authority, Pashhur had Jeremiah beaten.40 He may have imposed the forty lashes required by Deut 25:3 (by later custom reduced to forty minus one). Then he had Jeremiah put in “stocks” (a word found only here and 29:26; 2 Chr 16:10 in the OT; from a root “to overthrow”; cf. Acts 16:24). It is uncertain whether the stocks were an instrument of bodily confinement and torture or a place of imprisonment (“in the dungeon,” LXX; “cell,” NJPS). If the latter, the victim would be confined to a small room that would force the body into a cramped position. If the stocks were an instrument of confinement and torture, the head, arms, and legs were bound in a way that prevented the victim from moving. Jeremiah's place of punishment, the Upper Gate of Benjamin, was in a prominent location where all could view his pain and humiliation. There was a gate by the same name on the north side of the city wall facing the territory of Benjamin.

However, in the context of 20:2 (“at the LORD's temple”) it was a gate in the temple precincts. While Jeremiah was helpless in the stocks, his enemies must have hurled taunts at him, such as: “What word do you have from the Lord now?” “Weep for yourself, not for us” (cf. Luke 22:63–65; 23:35). 20:3–5 The next day when Pashhur released him, Jeremiah sentenced him with a new name, Magor-Missabib (“terror on every side”).41 Names were often changed to reflect a change in circumstances (e.g., Gen 17:5; 32:28; 35:10; 41:45; Dan 1:7). “Terror on every side” is also found in 6:25 (where it describes the “enemy from the North”); 20:10; 46:5; 49:5,29; Ps 31:13; Lam 2:22. The new name described the terror that Babylon would inflict on Judah and, more particularly, the fate Pashhur would suffer, i.e., the terror that would engulf him when God's judgment fell on him (v. 4). Pashhur was going to become a terror to himself and his “friends,” probably referring to his colleagues who were associated with him in the temple. He would see many of them put to death. Others would be carried away as prisoners of the king of Babylon (the enemy from the north now identified for the first time).42 The city would also be plundered of its wealth and the treasures of the king. 20:6 Then Jeremiah turned his attention again to Pashhur to announce his fate. He and his entire household would be taken into exile where he would die and be buried. Burial in an unclean land was an abhorrent fate to a Hebrew. This was to be Pashhur's punishment as a false prophet (cf. 29:16–17; Amos 7:17; 2 Pet 2:1). Evidently he was to be punished because he had “prophesied lies” to the people. He was both priest and prophet, though a false prophet. He may have been one of those prophets predicting that no harm would come to the nation (cf. 14:13). His punishment probably was carried out in 597 when the first deportation took place (see 2 Kgs 24:8–17; Jer 29:1–2). Later his office was occupied by Jehoiada and then by Zephaniah (29:24–26,29). (2) Jeremiah's Struggle with His Call (20:7–10) 7O

LORD, you deceived me, and I was deceived;

you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me. 8Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the LORD has brought me insult and reproach all day long. 9But if I say, “I will not mention him or speak any more in his name, ” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot. 10I hear many whispering, “Terror on every side! Report him! Let's report him! ” All my friends are waiting for me to slip, saying, “Perhaps he will be deceived; then we will prevail over him and take our revenge on him.” This last of Jeremiah's confessions or complaints in vv. 7–18 is very bitter and has sometimes been called his Gethsemane (cf. 11:18–12:6; 15:10–21; 17:14–18; 18:18–23). The placement of the confession immediately after Jeremiah's punishment suggests that the events of 20:1–6 may have served as the background that led to this outburst. This complaint serves as a reminder that even a faithful servant of the Lord can become discouraged. 20:7–8 In his strongest language yet, Jeremiah accused the Lord of deceiving him (cf. 15:18). “Deceive” is used in the OT as a technical term for the seduction of a maiden by a man (Exod 22:16; cf. Ezek 14:9, where it is translated “persuaded”; and Judg 16:5; 1 Kgs 22:20, “lure”).43 Jeremiah's

pain was not only physical; he felt that he had become the “laughingstock” (from the same word as Isaac, “laughter”) of his people. God had not deceived Jeremiah. He had warned him that the people would resist his words (1:8,19; 12:5). But in his hurt and confusion, Jeremiah lashed out at God and accused him of forcing him against his will to be a prophet. “You prevailed” continues the figure of seduction (cf. Deut 22:25; 2 Sam 13:11,14; Prov 7:13 for other examples of seduction) and is employed repeatedly by Jeremiah in these verses (20:7,9–11). Jeremiah was deeply offended because people did not take him seriously. They laughed at him and mocked him in disbelief that God would punish them. His pain was intensified by the fact that the only messages he could speak were of “violence and destruction” when he would have preferred to speak comforting words.44 God's word, which would have saved Judah had the nation listened, only brought incessant (“all the day”) insults and reproach, threats and ridicule, even physical abuse. 20:9–10 At one point Jeremiah must have determined that he would no longer proclaim God's words or even “mention his name” (lit. “remember him”). Jeremiah faced an impossible dilemma. If he spoke, his audiences would abuse him. If he did not speak, he had no inner peace. Jeremiah discovered that “his word” (not in the Heb. but understood in the context) was in his heart like a burning fire shut up in his bones (cf. Exod 24:17; Deut 4:24; 9:3, where God is called a “consuming fire”). Though proclaiming the word brought ridicule and pain to Jeremiah, he was exhausted from holding it in (cf. 6:11, where it was the Lord's wrath he could not hold in). Jeremiah never questioned that God had called him to be his spokesman, but he could not understand why it brought him such affliction. No other passage in the Bible reveals so clearly the divine compulsion to speak God's word (cf. Amos 3:8; 1 Cor 9:16). Jeremiah was aware of the talk behind his back (“whispering,” i.e., rumors, deliberate talk). It was calculated to destroy his credibility (cf. Gen 37:2; Prov 10:18; 14:5). Now his enemies turned the words on him he had hurled at Pashhur: “terror on every side.” It probably was a nickname they gave him because his messages always warned of terrible things that would overwhelm them. Even his “friends” (lit. “men of my peace,” those he would greet with a wish for their well-being) were watching for him to

make a false step or say something they could use against him (cf. Jesus’ audience, Matt 22:15–22). It is surprising that he could call such people “friends.” They hoped he would be “deceived” (the same word used in 20:7 against God). Then they would overcome him and take their revenge on him. (3) Jeremiah's Prayer for Vengeance (20:11–13) 11But

the LORD is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten. 12O LORD Almighty, you who examine the righteous and probe the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you I have committed my cause. 13Sing to the LORD! Give praise to the LORD! He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked. Duhm (followed by McKane) believed that 20:11–13 was added later by Jeremiah when he was in a calmer mood. Rudolph's view is more likely, that the rapid change of emotion from joy to despair was the natural result of trying to understand what was happening. Weiser and Bright accepted 20:7–13 as a unity. 20:11–12 Jeremiah began to reassure himself by remembering the promise that the Lord was with him (1:19) like a “mighty warrior.”45 He acknowledged the Lord as the one who “examines” the righteous. He also probes the “heart” (lit. “kidneys,” the seat of the conscience and emotions) and the “mind” (lit. “heart,” seat of the thought and will). Then, as in all his previous confessions, Jeremiah asked that he might see the Lord's vengeance on his persecutors because he had committed his cause to the Lord (11:20; 12:3–4; 15:15; 17:18; 18:21–23).

20:13 Because this verse reflects such an abrupt change in mood, many scholars question its authenticity (including Cornill, Duhm, Giesebrecht, Volz). However, it can justifiably be explained as a sudden mood change (so Rudolph). It has frequently been observed that psalms of lament often end with an expression of confidence (e.g., 6:1–3; 7:1,17; 13:1,5–6; 25:17– 21).46 Jeremiah's previous despair was now replaced by a state of euphoria, as he shouted, “Sing to the Lord; give praise to the Lord” (both these verbs are plural imperatives). Jeremiah probably had himself in mind when he said, “He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked.” (4) A Curse on the Day of His Birth (20:14–18) 14Cursed

be the day I was born! May the day my mother bore me not be blessed! 15Cursed be the man who brought my father the news, who made him very glad, saying, “A child is born to you—a son!” 16May that man be like the towns the LORD overthrew without pity. May he hear wailing in the morning, a battle cry at noon. 17For he did not kill me in the womb, with my mother as my grave, her womb enlarged forever. 18Why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame? Some (including Giesebrecht, Duhm, Baumgartner, and Rudolph) argue that Job 3:1–12 was influenced by Jer 20:14–18; others argue that the opposite occurred. Each stands on its own merit, however, without resorting to borrowing as an explanation. Job 3:1–12 expresses disillusionment with

life in general whereas Jer 20:14–18 is Jeremiah's personal reaction to his own suffering. 20:14–16 Although it cannot be proved that vv. 14–18 originally followed v. 13, it is not unusual for deep depression to follow on the heels of a mood of exaltation. Anyone who has experienced fluctuating moods in the midst of a difficult situation knows it is possible for people to praise God one moment and despair the next. Growing out of his despair, Jeremiah pronounced a series of curses on himself. He could not bring himself to curse God, but these imprecations come close to doing just that. First, he cursed the day he was born (cf. 15:10; 1 Kgs 19:1–4; Job 3). Ordinarily the birth of a baby was a joyful occasion in any home, but for Jeremiah his birth day had become an evil day. Jeremiah could not curse his parents. Violence against parents was a capital offense in the Mosaic legislation (cf. Exod 21:15,17; Lev 20:9), so he cursed the person who brought the news of his birth to his father. Usually the bearer of such good news was rewarded (cf. Isa 52:7; 2 Sam 1:1–16), especially if he announced a son (Luke 2:10–11). The birth of a son guaranteed that the family land would remain within the family and that the family name would continue. Jeremiah's only reward for the bearer of the news of his birth would have been a curse. He wanted that person to be “like the towns the Lord overthrew without pity.” This is an undisputed reference to Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19:24–28; cf. Isa 1:9; 3:9; Ezek 16:49–50). Jeremiah also desired that person to hear nothing but wailing from the moment he awoke in the morning, and he wanted him to experience the battle cry of the enemy at noon. Jeremiah's harsh words against the announcer of his birth must be understood as another way of saying he wished he had never been born. 20:17–18 Jeremiah's despair had not yet been exhausted. He regretted that he had not been killed “in the womb.” Although the phrase is literally “from womb” (suggesting immediately after birth, cf. Job), the rest of the verse supports the meaning “in the womb.” He was expressing a desire that his mother's womb should have been his tomb. It would have been better never to have been born than to experience the trouble and sorrow he had

endured (cf. Eccl 4:1–3). The words are shocking. They can only be understood against the background of Jeremiah's agitated emotional state. The reader is not told whether God rebuked Jeremiah for this violent outburst as he had on other occasions (12:5; 15:19). Nor is the reader told how long his pessimistic mood lasted. However, there must have come a time when he could say like Job, “He knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold” (Job 23:10). The so-called confessions of Jeremiah end here. If he experienced similar struggles later, they are not recorded. When he was imprisoned (37:15–16), lowered into a cistern to die (38:6), or forced to go to Egypt against his will (43:4–6), there were no angry outbursts or recriminations. Jeremiah finally became the “fortified city, iron pillar and bronze wall” (1:18) that God had promised. Jeremiah learned, as many others have, that testing, even severe testing, may be the most effective means of strengthening one's faith. However, it is significant that no further complaints are found in the rest of the book. By means of hardships he experienced during this period, Jeremiah finally became the “iron pillar and bronze wall” (1:18) that enabled him to stand against the whole land and not be overcome by his enemies. 1Scholars

are not agreed on which of these verses are poetry and which are prose. Most understand vv. 19–21 as poetry and the remaining verses as prose. Several verses are considered by many to be later additions either by Jeremiah himself or various Deuteronomic editors; see R. Carroll, Jeremiah, OTL (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1986) and W. McKane, Jeremiah 1– 25, ICC (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1986). There is no compelling reason, however, to deny Jeremianic authorship. See P. C. Craigie et al., Jeremiah 1–25, WBC (Dallas: Word, 1991), 215–16 and J. Thompson, Jeremiah, NICOT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980), 409, 413– 14. 2T. O. Lambdin, Introduction to Biblical Hebrew (New York: Scribner39;s, 1971), 114.

3J.

Goldingay, God's Prophet, God's Servant (Greenwood, S.C.: Attic, 1984), 9. 4“House where there is a funeral meal” is lit. “house of mourning” . appears elsewhere in the OT only in Amos 6:7, where it describes a banquet. In the context of Jer 16:5, it means a mourning meal, i.e., a memorial meal for the deceased, as in Aramaic. See the discussion in G. V. Smith, Amos: A Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1989), 193– 94. 5See Lev 19:28; 21:5; Deut 14:1; Isa 15:2; 22:12; Jer 41:5; 47:5; Ezek 7:18; Amos 8:10; Mic 1:16. For further reading on funeral practices in the ANE, see R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 2 vols. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1965), 1:56–61; T. H. Gaster, Myth, Legend, and Customs in the Old Testament (New York: Harper & Row, 1969), 590–604. 6The word translated “however” is and occurs 188 times in the OT; it usually is rendered “therefore” (as in KJV, NRSV, NASB). Waltke and O'Connor (IBHS [Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1991], 666) explain that “usually introduces a proposed or anticipated response after a statement of certain conditions.” In addition to the common translation “therefore,” they suggest in some cases “that being so.” Thus, the word introduces how the writer or speaker intends to respond to a situation without necessarily specifying the logical relationship between the situation and the response. Note the NIV translates the word “nevertheless” in Judg 11:8 and “but” in Jer 48:12; 49:2; 51:52, where the response involves the reversal of the situation. The Lord's action in 16:14–15 of bringing Israel back to the land is a reversal of the exile announced in v. 13. 7Because an almost exact equivalent of these verses is found in 23:7–8 and fits the context better there, many scholars believe they were later transferred to chap. 16 to soften the harshness of the judgment messages. However, R. K. Harrison (Jeremiah and Lamentations [Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1973], 105) argues that we need not consider the verses to have been displaced. He points out that it was characteristic of the preexilic prophets to intersperse messages of denunciation with messages of hope for a brighter future (e.g., Joel 3:18–21; Amos 9:11–15; Zeph 3:9–20).

8M.

G. Kline, “Double Trouble,” JETS 32 (1989): 176–77, advocates translating the term “equivalent” here and in 17:18. 9“I will teach them” occurs twice in v. 21, but the form of the verb is different. The first occurrence is a participle with a form of denoting certainty and immanency (Waltke and O'Connor, IBHS, 627). The second is an imperfect form that expresses simple future action. 10 (point) is found only one other time in the OT, where it means a fingernail (Deut 21:12), but it could not have that meaning here. (flint) is translated as “diamond” by most translations (KJV, NAB, NJB, NASB, NRSV, JB, REB), but the diamond was unknown until several centuries later. The word has also been translated as “emery” (Holladay) and “adamant” (NEB, NJPS; an imaginary stone of impenetrable hardness). 11Jeremiah referred at least ten times to Judah's stubborn and evil hearts (3:17; 4:14; 5:23; 7:24; 9:14; 11:8; 13:10; 16:12; 18:12; 23:17). For a study of “heart” in the OT, see H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1974), 40–58. 12D. R. Jones, Jeremiah, NCB (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992), 238. 13“Children” can be read as the subject (so NIV and most versions) of the infinitive construct “remember.” As object the clause would read “as [parents] remember their children,” i.e., their love for their idols would be as great as love for their children. 14See J. Day, “Asherah in the Hebrew Bible and Northwest Semitic Literature, JBL 105 (1986): 385–408. 15The MT is not clear: “and you shall drop and in you.” By emending BHS (“even in you”) to (“your hand”), it can read “and you shall drop your hand,” i.e., “you can lose your possessions” (cf. Deut 15:3). 16W. Rudolph, Jer, HAT 12 (TÜbingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 1968), 99. 17The “bush” has been variously identified by translators as heath (KJV), juniper (NEB, REB, Holladay), tamarisk (LXX; a dwarf plant that grows in the barren desert), scrub (JB), and shrub (NRSV). 18Parallel to (“see”) in v. 6, the MT ketib has “fear” in v. 8, translated by the LXX, NIV, NAB, NEB. The Massoretes preferred which is read by the Tg and KJV. Either could be correct.

19M.

J. Dahood, “The Value of Ugaritic for Textual Criticism,” Bib 40 (1959): 164–66. 20On the elements of a lament, see J. Limburg, “Psalms, Book of,” ABD, ed. D. N. Freedman (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 531–32. 21“Shepherd” as “pastor” here (KJV) and seven other times in Jeremiah is misleading to the modern reader. Elsewhere KJV translates the word as “shepherd.” 22The Heb., “I did not hasten from a shepherd after you,” is difficult to understand. A number of emendations have been proposed; see J. Bright, Jeremiah: Introduction, Translation, and Notes, AB (Garden City: Doubleday, 1965), 116; Carroll, Jeremiah, 360; Thompson, Jeremiah, NICOT, 424–25. NIV reflects a correct understanding of the Heb. 23Holladay, Jeremiah 1, 510. 24For a succinct summary of rabbinic interpretations that were imposed on the Sabbath, see A. Cohen, Everyman's Talmud (1932; reprint, New York: E. P. Dutton, 1962), 154–58. 25On the theology of the Sabbath and its fulfillment under the new covenant, see C. Blomberg, “The Sabbath as Fulfilled in Christ,” in The Sabbath in Jewish and Christian Traditions, ed. T. Eskenazi et al. (Denver: Denver University, 1991), 196–206, and D. Carson, ed., From Sabbath to Lord's Day: A Biblical, Historical, and Theological Investigation (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1982). 26Scholars are not agreed on the unity of 18:1–12. Duhm denied vv. 1– 12 to Jeremiah as being trivial. His criticism ignores the fact that God may use commonplace things as a means of revelation. E. W. Nicholson (Jeremiah 1–25, CBC [Cambridge: University Press, 1975]) says vv. 1–6 appear to contain the original sayings of Jeremiah and vv. 7–12 are the work of a Deuteronomist editor. Rudolph says the apparent unity of vv. 1– 12 is the work of a Deuteronomist. Bright argues for the unity of vv. 1–12. See McKane, Jeremiah 1, 420–27, for further discussion of various views. 27The word for “potter,” is a participle from the verb “to form,” which is often used in parallel with “create,” and “make” (e.g., Ps 95:5; Isa 27:11; 43:1,7; 45:7,18; Amos 4:13).

28One

of many fine studies of the issue of divine sovereignty is D. A. Carson, Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility: Biblical Perspectives in Tension (Atlanta: John Knox, 1981). 29For a description of the potter's work see J. L. Kelso, “The Ceramic Vocabulary of the Old Testament,” BASOR, Supplemental Series 5 and 6 (New Haven: ASOR, 1948), 9–10; E. A. Leslie, Jeremiah (New York: Abingdon, 1954), 191–92; R. H. Johnston, “Potter; Pottery,” ISBE, rev. ed., s.v. 30Other translations include “change my mind” (JB, NJPS, NRSV), “think better” (NEB), and “think again” (REB). 31Brueggemann, Jeremiah 1–25, 161. On the meaning of see H. Parunak, “A Semantic Survey of NHM,” Bib 56 (1975): 512–32. 32The phrase translates a single Hebrew word, , occurring also in 2:25; Isa 57:10. It is a niphal participle from “to despair,” used as an interjection. The Vg translates it as a word of hopelessness; the LXX and Syr, as defiance. Holladay, Jeremiah 1, 517, follows Rashi in translating as indifference, “we don't care.” Perhaps all were involved. 33The Heb. of 18:14 is extremely difficult to understand. Numerous emendations have been proposed, but none has met with general acceptance. The Heb. says, “Will the snow of Lebanon leave from [the] rock of [the] field or will foreign waters be plucked up, cold flowing streams?” (“field”) has been associated with Akk. (“mountain”) and is thus translated “rock of the mountain.” Some read (a name for Mount Hermon, Deut 3:9) for and translate as “leaves the mountain of Sirion.” W. F. Albright (“A Catalog of Early Hebrew Lyric Poems (Psalm LXVIII),” HUCA 23 [1950/51]: 23–24) reads (“flint”) for (“from the rock”) with the resulting translation, “Do flints leave the fields?” The consonants of (“plucked up”) may be transposed to (“dried up”). (“foreign”) is emended by some to (“flowing”). For further study of this difficult verse, see McKane, Jeremiah 1, 1CC, 429–32; Carroll, Jeremiah, OTL, 375–76; Holladay, Jeremiah 1, Her, 519, 523–24; Bright, Jeremiah, AB, 122. 34For “pay no attention” the LXX omits “no” and reads, “We will hear all his words.” The resulting meaning is that they would listen carefully to

Jeremiah's words in the hopes of using them to bring accusations against the prophet. 35D. Kidner (The Message of Jeremiah [Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1987], 78) explains: “The prayer of verse 23 against forgiveness needs to be read in Old Testament terms of punishment in this world rather than the next, and of judicial sentencing. Yet granted all this, the gulf between praying down famine on even the adversaries’ children… and praying down forgiveness on one's tormentors, is the gulf between the resentful ‘lamb led to the slaughter' (as Jeremiah described himself, 11:19) and the uncomplaining Lamb of God.” 36C. S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms (New York: HBJ, 1958), 20– 33. 37“Take along” is not in the MT, but the verb is needed for sense in English. 38KJV translates Potsherd Gate as “east gate,” based on the meaning of as sun. The Targum and JB (in a footnote) call it the “Dung Gate” (cf. “The Gate of the Potsherds, or Pottery Gate,” NJB footnote; see also Neh 2:13). NJPS translates as “Harsith Gate.” 39The expression “days are coming” occurs thirteen times in Jeremiah, at 7:32; 9:25; 16:14; 19:6; 23:5,7; 30:3; 31:27,38; 33:14; 48:12; 49:2; 51:52. Elsewhere it is found only in Amos 8:11; 9:13. 40Jeremiah 20:2 contains the first occurrence in the book of “the prophet” attached to the name Jeremiah. The Heb. says Pashhur himself struck Jeremiah (so translated by KJV, LXX, NJB). 41See A. M. Honeyman, “ and Jeremiah's Pun,” VT 4 (1954): 424–26; W. L. Holladay, “The Covenant with the Patriarchs Overturned: Jeremiah's Intention in ‘Terror on Every Side’ (Jer 20:1–6),” JBL 91 (1972): 305–20; D. Christensen, “‘Terror on Every Side’ in Jeremiah,” JBL 92 (1973): 498–502; and McKane, Jeremiah 1, 1CC, 461– 64, for further discussion of this name. 42Babylon is not mentioned in chaps. 1–19 but is found 170 times in chaps. 20–52. The next highest occurrences of the word are in 2 Kings (thirty-three times), Ezekiel (seventeen times), and Daniel (seventeen times).

43D.

J. A. Clines and D. M. Gunn, “‘You Tried to Persuade Me’ and ‘Violence! Outrage!’ in Jeremiah XX 7–8,” VT 28 (1978): 20–23. They argue that the word does not mean seduce or deceive but instead attempt to persuade. Cf. R. P. Carroll, From Chaos to Covenant: Prophecy in the Book of Jeremiah (New York: Crossroad, 1981), for defense of the traditional meaning, seduce. 44It is unlikely that he was speaking of violence and destruction inflicted on him, as some scholars have argued. 45The word translated “mighty” is from a word that means to terrify (like a tyrant). Only here in the OT is the word applied to the Lord (cf. 15:21, where it is used of Jeremiah's enemies). 46See J. G. McConville, “Statement of Assurance in Psalms of Lament,” IBS 8 (1986): 43ff.; P. D. Miller, “Trouble and Woe: Interpreting Biblical Laments,” Int 37 (1983): 32–45, C. Westermann, Praise and Lament in the Psalms (Atlanta: John Knox, 1981); W. Baumgartner, Jeremiah's Poems of Lament (Sheffield: Almond, 1987); and M. S. Smith, The Laments of Jeremiah and Their Contexts: A Literary and Redactional Study of Jeremiah 11–20, SBLMS (Atlanta: Scholars, 1990).

SECTION OUTLINE VII. MESSAGES TO JUDAH AND THE NATIONS (21:1–25:38) 1. Messages against the Kings of Judah (21:1–22:30) (1) Jeremiah's Reply to Zedekiah's Inquiry (21:1– 10) (2) A Warning to the House of David (21:11–12) (3) A Warning to a Complacent City (21:13–14) (4) A Message for the King and the City (22:1–9) (5) A Message of Judgment on Shallum (22:10–12) (6) A Message of Judgment on Jehoiakim (22:13– 19) (7) The Consequences of Jerusalem's Disobedience (22:20–23) (8) The Fate of Coniah (Jehoiachin) (22:24–30) 2. The Promise of a Better Day (23:1–8) (1) Wicked Shepherds and Their Fate (23:1–4) (2) Announcement of a Coming Righteous King (23:5–6) (3) Return of a Banished People (23:7–8) 3. Messages against False Prophets (23:9–40)

(1) Condemnation of Godless Prophets and Priests (23:9–12) (2) Evil Prophets of Samaria and Jerusalem (23:13–15) (3) Rejection of Unauthorized Prophets (23:16–22) (4) A Declaration of God's Greatness (23:23–24) (5) Rejection of Lying Prophets (23:25–32) (6) The Burden of the Lord (23:33–40) 4. Two Baskets of Figs (24:1–10) (1) Description of the Figs (24:1–3) (2) Meaning of the Good Figs (24:4–7) (3) Meaning of the Bad Figs (24:8–10) 5. God's Wrath against Judah and Other Nations (25:1–38) (1) Judah's Refusal to Listen to the Prophets (25:1– 7) (2) Seventy Years of Punishment (25:8–14) (3) The Cup of God's Wrath (25:15–29) (4) God's Coming Judgment on All Nations (25:30–38)

VII. MESSAGES TO JUDAH AND THE NATIONS (21:1–25:38)

The only unity in these chapters appears to be the dual theme of judgment and hope. The focus of chaps. 21–22 is on the last four kings of Judah: Zedekiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, and Jehoiachin. The placement of Zedekiah, the last king, before the others is a reminder that the messages in the book are not always arranged chronologically. After a brief promise of shepherds and a king whom God would provide (23:1–8), Jeremiah turned his attention to the false prophets (23:9–40). He then announced the fate of those who would remain in Judah and those who would go into exile (24:1– 10). The section closes with an announcement of judgment on Judah, Babylon, and other nations (25:1–38).

1. Messages against the Kings of Judah (21:1–22:30) Jeremiah's ministry spanned the rules of the last five kings of Judah. Except for Josiah, he condemned the remaining four without exception. (1) Jeremiah's Reply to Zedekiah's Inquiry (21:1–10) 1The

word came to Jeremiah from the LORD when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur son of Malkijah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah. They said: 2“Inquire now of the LORD for us because Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is attacking us. Perhaps the LORD will perform wonders for us as in times past so that he will withdraw from us.” 3But Jeremiah answered them, “Tell Zedekiah, 4'This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I am about to turn against you the weapons of war that are in your hands, which you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Babylonians who are outside the wall besieging you. And I will gather them inside this city. 5I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm in anger and fury and great wrath. 6I will strike down those who live in this city—both men and animals—and they will die of a terrible plague. 7After that, declares the LORD, I will hand over Zedekiah king of Judah, his

officials and the people in this city who survive the plague, sword and famine, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to their enemies who seek their lives. He will put them to the sword; he will show them no mercy or pity or compassion.’ 8“Furthermore, tell the people, ‘This is what the LORD says: See, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death. 9Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague. But whoever goes out and surrenders to the Babylonians who are besieging you will live; he will escape with his life. 10I have determined to do this city harm and not good, declares the LORD. It will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will destroy it with fire.’ After the deportation of 597, Judah submitted to Babylonian rule without resistance. However, in 588, encouraged by promises of military help from Pharaoh Hophra (Apries) of Egypt (37:5), Zedekiah rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar. The Babylonians sent an army to quell the rebellion and laid siege to the city.1 In panic Zedekiah remembered that Jeremiah had been warning of an enemy from the north. Although Jeremiah's advice routinely had been ignored in the past, his prophecies were being fulfilled. He could no longer be dismissed now that Jerusalem was under siege by the Babylonians. 21:1 The king sent Pashhur, son of Malkijah, an avowed enemy of Jeremiah (38:1; not to be confused with the Pashhur of 20:1). He also sent the priest Zephaniah, who apparently was not hostile to Jeremiah (29:25,29; 37:3). If he was the same priest mentioned in 52:24, he was second in rank to the high priest. These men represented the political and religious leadership of Judah. 21:2 The two men asked Jeremiah to “inquire” (lit. “seek”) of the Lord for a message. They did not go to their false prophets now. They were like many today who turn to God as a last resort. They had good reason to be alarmed; Nebuchadnezzar was attacking the city at that very time. This is the first time he is mentioned by name in the book.2 The men hoped the Lord would perform wonders for them “as in times past” (cf. Ps 86:10). They remembered past miraculous interventions on Israel's behalf, including deliverance from Egyptian bondage (Exod 12:31–14:31), Jehoshaphat's defeat of the Moabites and Ammonites (2 Chr 20), the lifting

of the siege of Samaria (2 Kgs 7:1–7), and deliverance from Sennacherib during Hezekiah's rule (2 Kgs 19:17,35; Isa 37:1–7). In spite of their faithlessness, they expected God to come to their rescue whenever their own resources failed. 21:3–6 Jeremiah's answer was not what they wanted to hear. It was the same message of doom he had preached countless times. There was going to be no miraculous deliverance from Nebuchadnezzar's siege. Instead, God was going to fight against them. He would “turn the weapons of war that are in your hands” against them. The unusual expression may mean that their weapons, which should have been used against the besiegers, would be turned against them by the Lord. It also could refer to Judah's troops, who would fail them in their hour of crisis. The enemy is called the “Chaldeans, “i.e., Babylonians (NIV), for the first time in 21:4. Though Babylon was to be God's instrument of judgment, God was clearly fighting against Judah. The people remembered when God fought on their side, but now he was aligned with the enemy. Jeremiah 21:5 reveals God's anger with the people. God was going to fight with outstretched hand and mighty arm (cf. Deut 4:34; 5:15; 26:8; Ps 136:12; Jer 27:5; 32:21). The intensity of God's wrath is expressed in three words: “anger” (from the same root as “nose” and suggesting heavy breathing; e.g., Num 11:1; 2 Sam 6:7); “fury” (from a word meaning hot; e.g., Deut 29:28; Ps 79:6); and “wrath” (from a word meaning be bitter; e.g., 2 Chr 29:8; Isa 60:10). The destruction was going to be complete. Those not killed by the enemy would die of a terrible plague.3 21:7 Now Jeremiah added a personal word for Zedekiah, who had sent Pashhur and Zephaniah to him.4 He warned that those who survived the plague, sword, and famine, including Zedekiah and his officials, would become prisoners of Nebuchadnezzar (a prediction fulfilled in 39:5). There would be no mercy, pity, or compassion.5 The words sound harsh and insensitive to modern ears that have a faulty understanding of God's attitude toward sin and how it offends his holiness. It should be remembered that these words were not spoken in a moment of anger. For years God had patiently warned Judah of its fate if it did not repent and turn back. Judah should have learned a lesson from what had happened to Israel in 722.

21:8–10 Verses 8–10 are not addressed to the king but to the people. Because they seem to contradict the previous announcement of no escape from punishment, some scholars believe 21:8–10 was not part of Jeremiah's answer to the king's representatives. God's judgment, however, is tempered by a desire to forgive. Throughout the Scriptures God offers a choice—the way of life or the way of death.6 The Lord was announcing that the city and the monarchy would be destroyed but individuals could still choose to be saved. The choice presented to the people must have sounded like the advice of a traitor. Jeremiah explained that those who refused to surrender to the Babylonians would die. Those who surrendered would be spared. They would escape with their lives (lit. “have his life as booty,” i.e., the spoils of war). A conquering army carried away the spoils of war, but for a defeated one, escape with their lives was their only booty (cf. 38:2; 39:18; 45:5; 49:32; 50:10). The response required by faith is not always reasonable by human logic. Jeremiah seemed to be offering bondage in Babylon in exchange for freedom the people enjoyed in Judah. The reverse proved to be true. Those who freely surrendered enjoyed a more comfortable life in Babylon than those left in Jerusalem (cf. Jer 24). Judah's fate was sealed. God was “determined” (lit. “I have set my face against this city”; cf. 44:11; Isa 50:7; Ezek 15:7; cf. Luke 9:51 and Jer 21:10, LXX) to destroy Jerusalem. (2) A Warning to the House of David (21:11–12) 11“Moreover,

say to the royal house of Judah, ‘Hear the word of the

LORD; 12O house of David, this is what the LORD says: “‘Administer justice every morning; rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed, or my wrath will break out and burn like fire because of the evil you have done— burn with no one to quench it.

21:11–12 These verses were addressed to the monarchy to remind the kings of their responsibilities under the law.7 They were to administer justice “every morning.” Bright says it may refer to the administration of justice at the city gate by the king in the morning hours (cf. 2 Sam 15:2–4).8 Rulers were expected to deliver the oppressed and exploited (cf. 4:14). If they were negligent in those duties, God's wrath would burst out like a fire that could not be extinguished. Fire was a common metaphor in the OT for God's judgment (e.g., 4:4; 17:4,27). Because of the power for good or evil that is at the disposal of rulers, they are accountable to God for how they use that power. The human race was given the command to subdue the earth (Gen 1:28), but history is largely the story of subjugation and exploitation of other people in order to satisfy the vanity and ambition of rulers. (3) A Warning to a Complacent City (21:13–14) 13I

am against you, [Jerusalem,] you who live above this valley on the rocky plateau, declares the LORD— you who say, “Who can come against us? Who can enter our refuge?” 14I will punish you as your deeds deserve, declares the LORD. I will kindle a fire in your forests that will consume everything around you.’” 21:13 Although “Jerusalem” is not in the Heb. of the phrase “I am against you, Jerusalem,” its inclusion is justified. “You” is a feminine pronoun that is the normal gender for referring to a city in the Hebrew language. The NIV translation “you who live above this valley on the rocky plateau” is intended to make the words of the Heb. of 21:13 describe Jerusalem. The Heb. says literally “the inhabitant of the valley; the rock of the plain.” But Jerusalem was not in a valley, nor was it located on a plain. It was surrounded by valleys on three sides and could be described as located on a rocky plateau.9

Jerusalem was a wise choice for David's new capital after he became king of the united tribes of Israel (2 Sam 5:6–7). Its location made it difficult for an enemy to capture it with the weapons of warfare available then. By remembering previous times when God delivered them from their enemies, encouraged by false prophets (7:4), the people developed a sense of confidence in the invulnerability of the city. Their boasting was much like that of Edom (see Obad 3–4). Their complacency is revealed by their question: “Who can enter our refuge?” The answer they overlooked was, “God can!” 21:14 Jerusalem's proud boasting is answered in 21:14. The Lord announced punishment that would match their deeds (lit. “according to the fruit of your doings”). “I will punish you” refers to the people since the pronoun here is masculine plural. God's threat to “kindle a fire in your forests” has been interpreted a number of ways because there were no great forests in the vicinity of Jerusalem. One explanation holds that the houses and buildings were clustered together, giving the appearance of a forest. More likely it is a reference to the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon (1 Kgs 7:2; 10:21) because of the great amount of cedar used in its construction (22:6–7). Some defend a literal interpretation in the belief that forests once covered a larger area of Judah than they did in later centuries. The fiery judgment would consume everything “around” the proud city. Judah was following the same disastrous path taken by Israel less than a century and a half earlier. It could not later claim that it had not been warned. The attitude of the people of Judah toward Jeremiah's words was the same as those today who refuse to accept the warnings of someone who speaks God's words. Many today are inclined to accept any philosophy or life-style other than the true way (John 14:6). (4) A Message for the King and the City (22:1–9) 1This

is what the LORD says: “Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and proclaim this message there: 2‘Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, you who sit on David's throne—you, your officials

and your people who come through these gates. 3This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. 4For if you are careful to carry out these commands, then kings who sit on David's throne will come through the gates of this palace, riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by their officials and their people. 5But if you do not obey these commands, declares the LORD, I swear by myself that this palace will become a ruin.’” 6For this is what the LORD says about the palace of the king of Judah: “Though you are like Gilead to me, like the summit of Lebanon, I will surely make you like a desert, like towns not inhabited. 7I will send destroyers against you, each man with his weapons, and they will cut up your fine cedar beams and throw them into the fire. 8“People from many nations will pass by this city and will ask one another, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this great city?’ 9And the answer will be: ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God and have worshiped and served other gods.’” Chapter 22 is a collection of messages that had been proclaimed by the prophet on previous occasions. Following a general message to the Davidic dynasty (22:1–9), it contains a message to Shallum (22:10–12), Jehoiakim (22:13–19), Jerusalem (22:20–23), and Jehoiachin (22:24–30). The messages may have been collected to serve as a reminder that all the kings prior to Zedekiah had been warned of the impending punishment of the nation. 22:1–2 Some scholars want to identify the “king of Judah” (22:1) as either Jehoiakim or Zedekiah although most believe that the Davidic dynasty is intended. Duhm, Rudolph, Thiel, and others believe 22:1–5 is

derived from 21:11–12. The theme is the same, but it is difficult to see that one is a variant of the other. Jeremiah was told to “go down” to the king's palace to proclaim his message (cf. 7:1). The verb suggests that he was at the temple (on a higher elevation than the palace) when the Lord commanded him (cf. 26:10). His message was directed to the king, his “officials” (lit. “servants”), and those who “come through these gates.” The gates named here probably were the gates leading into the palace rather than the city gates (see 22:4). 22:3 The Lord reminded the rulers of their obligation to do what is just and right. Because of his position and influence, the king was supposed to be an example to the people in his observance of God's laws (see Deut 17:18–20). He was expected to be a protector of the weak and defenseless (the robbed, alien, fatherless, and widow; cf. Jer 7:6; Deut 10:18–19). He also was warned not to shed innocent blood (see 7:6). The Mosaic law was unique in ancient times for its concern for the oppressed and helpless (Exod 22:23–24; Deut 10:12–11:32). 22:4–5 If the kings kept the laws and enforced them in the land, the continuation of their dynasty was assured. If they did not, even the “palace” (lit. “house”; the same word sometimes refers to the temple) would be destroyed. In order to impress the rulers with the gravity of his threat, the Lord said, “I swear by myself “to carry out his warning. There was none higher by whom the Lord could swear. No oath could be uttered that was more solemn than that one (cf. Gen 22:16; Isa 45:23; Amos 6:8; Jer 49:13; 51:16). The palace would literally be destroyed, but it stood for the entire royal dynasty and its destruction. 22:6–7 Gilead and Lebanon were noted for their forests, Lebanon especially for its cedar that was widely valued for construction. David described his palace as a house of cedar (2 Sam 7:2,7). One part of Solomon's palace complex was called the House of the Forest of Lebanon (1 Kgs 7:2–5; 10:17, 21), so named for its rows of cedar pillars and beams. The Lord warned that invaders would come and cut down and burn the buildings, as a woodsman would cut down trees. Their beauty would not save them from destruction. So thorough would be the destruction that Jerusalem would be like a desert or an uninhabited town. The invaders are called “destroyers” whom God “will send” (lit. “will sanctify,” i.e., set

apart). This is the language of holy war. Soldiers were prepared beforehand for battle against the enemy by certain rituals (e.g., offering sacrifices, 1 Sam 13:7–10; vows of sexual abstinence, 2 Sam 11:11). It was another reminder that God was going to fight against his people (see 21:5). 22:8–9 Jerusalem's devastation was going to be of such magnitude that people from other nations, upon seeing the ruins, would know that only an angry deity could be responsible for such destruction. They would want to know why he had destroyed such a great city. The modern reader cannot appreciate the shock waves that must have reverberated throughout Judah and its surrounding neighbors when the ancient city lay in smoldering ruins. There was only one explanation for the calamity—the people had forsaken the covenant they had made with the Lord and served other gods. (5) A Message of Judgment on Shallum (22:10–12) 10Do

not weep for the dead [king ] or mourn his loss; rather, weep bitterly for him who is exiled, because he will never return nor see his native land again. 11For this is what the LORD says about Shallum son of Josiah, who succeeded his father as king of Judah but has gone from this place: “He will never return. 12He will die in the place where they have led him captive; he will not see this land again.” 22:10 Jeremiah had composed laments in honor of the beloved Josiah (2 Chr 35:25). Now the Lord gave orders not to weep for Josiah. Rather, they should weep for the one who had been exiled and would never return to Judah. These words could apply to Jehoiachin (2 Kgs 24:15) or Zedekiah (2 Kgs 25:7), but the following verse indicates Shallum was intended. Shallum, also known by his throne name Jehoahaz, was the fourth son of Josiah (1 Chr 3:15). He was chosen by the people of the land as Josiah's successor (2 Chr 36:1). No explanation is given for his choice over his older brothers. He must have been anti-Egyptian, for Pharaoh Neco deposed him after a brief rule of three months and imprisoned him in Egypt, never to return (2 Kgs 23:31–33; 2 Chr 36:2–3).

22:11–12 These verses are a prose comment on the poetic announcement of the preceding verse. (6) A Message of Judgment on Jehoiakim (22:13–19) 13“Woe

to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice, making his countrymen work for nothing, not paying them for their labor. 14He says, ‘I will build myself a great palace with spacious upper rooms.’ So he makes large windows in it, panels it with cedar and decorates it in red. 15“Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He did what was right and just, so all went well with him. 16He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?” declares the LORD. 17“But your eyes and your heart are set only on dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood and on oppression and extortion.” 18Therefore this is what the LORD says about Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: “They will not mourn for him: ‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’ They will not mourn for him: ‘Alas, my master! Alas, his splendor!’ 19He will have the burial of a donkey—

dragged away and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem.” 22:13–14 Verses 13–17 are an accusation speech against Jehoiakim, successor to Shallum. He was made king by Neco, who changed his name from Eliakim to Jehoiakim (2 Kgs 23:34,36–37; 24:1–6; 2 Chr 36:4–8). He was Jeremiah's most bitter adversary, a cruel and despotic ruler. Though not identified by name until v. 18, Jehoiakim was intended in the announcement of woe in 22:13.10 He built his “palace” (lit. “house”) by unrighteous means. He forced his own people to build his palace, a monument to his vanity. He did what some modern politicians do; he used the privilege of his position for private purposes. He did not pay his “countrymen” (lit. “neighbors”) for their labor, a clear violation of the duty of the king to protect individual rights and not oppress his people. Perhaps he envisioned himself as a worthy successor to Solomon and copied his forced-labor policies (1 Kgs 5:13–14; 12:3–4). He said, “I will build myself a great palace.” It would contain upper rooms (which would be cooler than the lower rooms), large windows, cedar paneling, and would be decorated in red (a color favored by kings; a word found only here and in Ezek 23:14). 22:15–16 Employing some of the most sarcastic language found in the book, the Lord asked Jehoiakim if it made him a king “to have more and more cedar.”11 In his vanity he imagined that outdoing other kings in great building programs would establish his reputation as a king. Perhaps he assumed he could establish himself as the equal of Solomon by his impressive surroundings. The Lord contrasted him with his father Josiah, who lived well. All went well with him because he did what was right and just. He was careful to defend the cause of the poor and needy, i.e., he had kept God's law (see comment on 22:3). Those were the qualities that made him a king in God's eyes. More than that, acting with justice and righteousness and taking the side of the poor and needy are evidences that a person knows the Lord. Verse 16 is a remarkable and profound statement of what it means to know God. In the OT to know God means to believe with the heart (i.e., knowledge of God) and body, i.e., one's actions reflect such knowledge (Deut 6:5; cf. Gen 22; Jas 1:22–2:13).

22:17 The accusation against Jehoiakim in 22:17 implies that the king did not know the Lord. Rather than being a worthy successor of Josiah, he was more akin to his great-grandfather Manasseh, who was also accused of shedding innocent blood (2 Kgs 21:16; cf. 24:4). 22:18–19 These verses announce the judgment that the Lord decreed for Jehoiakim. There would be no mourning for him when he died like there had been for Josiah. He would be denied the ceremony of burial (not to be buried was considered a curse, Deut 28:26). Rather, his corpse would be unceremoniously dragged outside the city gates like a donkey (considered an unclean animal; Lev 11:1–8; Deut 14:3–8). This description of Jehoiakim's fate appears to differ from 2 Kgs 24:6, which says he “rested with his fathers,” a statement that suggests a peaceful burial, and 2 Chr 36:5–8, which says Nebuchadnezzar “bound him … to take him to Babylon.” One explanation of the seeming inconsistency is that Jeremiah's prophecy was not fulfilled; it was only intended to frighten the king so that perhaps he would repent. A better explanation is that Jehoiakim was given a peaceful burial, but when the Babylonians took the city, they disinterred the remains and scattered them on the ground. This would have been the ultimate humiliation of a defeated enemy (Ezek 6:5; Pss 53:5; 141:7; cf. Jer 36:30).12 The text of 2 Chr 36:5–8 says nothing about Jehoiakim's death, nor does it say he necessarily went to Babylon. R. B. Dillard explains that for thematic reasons “instead of reporting Jehoiakim's death, the Chronicler chooses to report an incident from earlier in his reign in which Jehoiakim was either taken into temporary exile or at least prepared for it.”13 (7) The Consequences of Jerusalem's Disobedience (22:20–23) 20“Go

up to Lebanon and cry out, let your voice be heard in Bashan, cry out from Abarim, for all your allies are crushed. 21I warned you when you felt secure, but you said, ‘I will not listen!’ This has been your way from your youth; you have not obeyed me.

22The

wind will drive all your shepherds away, and your allies will go into exile. Then you will be ashamed and disgraced because of all your wickedness. 23You who live in ‘Lebanon,’ who are nestled in cedar buildings, how you will groan when pangs come upon you, pain like that of a woman in labor! 22:20–21 Jeremiah 22:20–23 is addressed to all the people rather than to the kings. The people are told to look around to discover that all their “allies” had been crushed (lit. “lovers”; the word can refer to other gods, Hos 2:7, or to other nations, Ezek 23:5,9). Lebanon and Bashan were to the north of Israel, and Abarim was a mountain range southeast of Judah across the Dead Sea. Moses was allowed to see the promised land from Mount Nebo, a part of the Abarim range (Deut 32:49). God had warned them countless times, but they had refused to listen. They had been characterized by disobedience from their youth (i.e., from the very beginning of their relationship with the Lord in the wilderness). 22:22–23 The wind was going to drive away their shepherds (lit. “the wind will shepherd your shepherds,” i.e., their leaders would be taken away). Their “allies” (lit. “lovers”; cf. 22:20; Hos 8:9) would also go into exile. Though the statement suggests foreign allies, Judah stood alone at the end without allies. Therefore the reference may be to the leaders of Judah or even to their foreign gods. When they were totally defeated, then they would be ashamed and feel their disgrace. Those who lived in Lebanon (not the country but another reference to the palace in Jerusalem; see 22:6–7) were secure in their beautiful buildings paneled with cedar (cf. Obad 3–4). However, they would soon be groaning with the pain of a woman in childbirth.14 The people of Judah were about to experience the truth of Prov 16:18, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” (8) The Fate of Coniah (Jehoiachin) (22:24–30) 24“As

surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “even if you, Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on my right hand, I

would still pull you off. 25I will hand you over to those who seek your life, those you fear—to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to the Babylonians. 26I will hurl you and the mother who gave you birth into another country, where neither of you was born, and there you both will die. 27You will never come back to the land you long to return to.” 28Is this man Jehoiachin a despised, broken pot, an object no one wants? Why will he and his children be hurled out, cast into a land they do not know? 29O land, land, land, hear the word of the LORD! 30This is what the LORD says: “Record this man as if childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime, for none of his offspring will prosper, none will sit on the throne of David or rule anymore in Judah.” 22:24–27 Jehoiachin15 was eighteen years of age when he became king (2 Kgs 24:8–17; 2 Chr 36:9–10). His father, Jehoiakim, had rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, who sent an army to put down the insurrection. It is uncertain whether he died before or during the brief siege, or whether his own people murdered him in order to make peace with the enemy. Jehoiachin, his successor, only ruled three months before being taken to Babylon as a prisoner. He remained in prison until Nebuchadnezzar died in 562. Nebuchadnezzar's successor, Evil-Merodach (or Amel-Marduk, his Babylonian name) freed him and provided for him the rest of his life but did not allow him to return to Jerusalem (52:31–34). Jehoiachin's punishment is introduced by the solemn oath, “As surely as I live” (see note on 4:2). God's unequivocal rejection of the ruler is expressed in the words, “If you … were a signet ring … I would still pull you off.” The signet ring was a symbol of the authority of its owner. It was jealously regarded and never removed from one's person. It was used to imprint the owner's name on an official document (Esth 8:8; Hag 2:23). Jehoiachin along with his mother and others were taken to Babylon as prisoners (2 Kgs 24:12,15–16). There he would die without ever being

allowed to return to the land he longed for,16 but he was remembered favorably (2 Kgs 25:27–30). 22:28–30 Jehoiachin is called a “broken pot,”17 i.e., one who was totally worthless. Along with his children, he would be “hurled out” of the land (the same verb is used of Saul hurling a javelin, 1 Sam 18:11, and God hurling a storm, Jonah 1:4). The appeal “land, land, land” has an air of exasperation as well as the emphasis associated with words repeated (see 7:4). There is no conflict in the statement in 22:30, “as if childless,” and 1 Chr 3:17, which says Jehoiachin had seven children.18 Since his son would not succeed him to the throne, it was as though he had no children. His grandson Zerubbabel was among those who returned after the exile (1 Chr 3:19; Ezra 2:2; 3:2,8). Though the chapter contains messages directed to different people, the underlying message is the same. God gave warning after warning to the rulers who could have changed the course of Judah's history had they listened. Their refusal to turn back to God and influence their people also to return brought punishment on each of them and on the entire nation.

2. Promise of a Better Day (23:1–8) 1“Woe

to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the LORD. 2Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,” declares the LORD. 3“I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. 4I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the LORD.

There are three distinct units in this passage (vv. 1–4,5–6,7–8) although they should be treated as a whole (so Rudolph, Bright, and Thompson). They warn of God's coming punishment on those responsible for the scattering of his people and promise a Davidic king to rule the regathered people in righteousness (vv. 4–8). (1) Wicked Shepherds and Their fate (23:1–4) 23:1–2 These verses are a woe oracle (see 22:13) upon the “shepherds” responsible for scattering and destroying the sheep of God's pasture. “Shepherd” was a word widely used of rulers in the ANE. The language is figurative, but the meaning is clear. The “shepherds” included the kings of Judah and other leaders (see 10:21; cf. 25:34–38; Ezek 34; John 10:1–18). The verbs “scattering and destroying” are both participles, thus indicating a continual practice. “The sheep of my pasture” continues the metaphor (cf. Ezek 34:31). The sheep were the people of Judah for whom the Lord had tender concern because of their mistreatment at the hands of their rulers. The Lord had harsh words of judgment for the “shepherds who tend my people” (lit. “shepherds who shepherd my people”). They were doing the exact opposite of what a shepherd's responsibilities were in relation to the sheep. Instead of protecting them, they were scattering and driving them away. In a deliberate play on a word with a twofold meaning (“visit” and “punish”), the Lord said because they had not bestowed care on the sheep, he was going to “bestow” punishment on them. 23:3–4 The Lord would assume the role of the shepherd and gather the remnant of his flock from all the places he had driven them. The remnant is a major theme in the Book of Jeremiah (mentioned nineteen times). It is mentioned frequently elsewhere in the OT (e.g., Isa 37:32; Ezek 5:10; Amos 5:15; Mic 2:12). The remnant is that part of Israel that will remain after God's purging through punishment. Attention has been called to a seeming conflict between 23:2 and 23:3. Jeremiah 23:2 states that the shepherds drove the flock away; 23:3 says the Lord drove them away. Both statements are correct. They describe Judah's punishment from both human and divine perspectives. Compare 21:5, where God said he would fight against Judah, but it was the Babylonians

who did the actual fighting. The Lord promised that the returnees would be fruitful and increase in number (cf. Gen 1:28; Deut 28:4). He would also “place shepherds [i.e., rulers] over them who would tend them” and protect them from danger. (2) Announcement of a Coming Righteous King (23:5–6) 5“The

days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. 6In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness. 23:5–6 These verses contributed to the developing messianic belief in Israel. There are only a few messianic prophecies in Jeremiah (23:5–6; 30:8–9; 30:21; 33:15–16). All the kings had failed, so God determined to provide his own ruler from the Davidic dynasty, who came to be called the Messiah (i.e., the Anointed One). “Days are coming” (see 7:32) when the Lord will raise up one called a righteous “Branch” (from a word that means to grow, sprout; cf. 33:15). Rudolph, Bright, and McKane translate this term as a “legitimate shoot.” In Zech 3:8 and 6:12 the word has become a messianic title. Its significance has been clarified by the discovery that the Phoenicians used the word to refer to the rightful heir to the throne.19 This ideal king will rule “wisely” (a word that means to prosper or to have insight; cf. Isa 52:13 for the same word). This ruler will do what is “just and right.” Both Judah and Israel (i.e., the descendants of the original and united Davidic kingdom) will be saved and live in safety under this ruler. This message was most likely delivered during the reign of King Zedekiah. His name means The Lord is righteous or The Lord is my righteousness. The name of the new ruler was intended as a repudiation of Zedekiah. He will be an exact opposite of rulers such as Zedekiah and Jehoiakim. He will be called “The Lord Our Righteousness.” The name of this coming ruler implies that a time will come when all the people will

acknowledge the Lord as the only source of righteousness. In the NT, Paul applied the title to Jesus (1 Cor 1:30); thus Jesus is the one who is the true Branch, the Messiah for all people (Isa 9:1–7; 11:1–9; Mark 8:27–33; Rom 1:1–6). (3) Return of a Banished People (23:7–8) 7“So

then, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’ 8but they will say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ Then they will live in their own land.” 23:7–8 Verses 7–8 are found also in 16:14–15 with slight variations. They speak of a time that will surely come when those carried away will be brought back. The promise of return is prefaced by “as surely as the Lord lives” to emphasize its certainty (see note on 4:2 for the significance of this oath).20 When God brings his people back from the lands where they have been scattered, it will be an event of such magnitude that their ancestors' liberation from Egypt will be forgotten. This second exodus promises to be greater than the first.

3. Messages against False Prophets (23:9–40)21 The remaining verses in this chapter are a series of messages against the false prophets. No other OT prophet denounced them more vehemently or frequently than Jeremiah. His greatest struggle during his forty-year ministry was with his own people, who preferred to believe the false prophets and brand him as the fraud (see 5:31). The false prophet's messages were leading the people to their doom, whereas Jeremiah spoke words that would have saved them had they believed him. Even after he was proven to be a true prophet, the people would not listen to his advice (43:2).

(1) Condemnation of Godless Prophets and Priests (23:9–12) 9Concerning

the prophets: My heart is broken within me; all my bones tremble. I am like a drunken man, like a man overcome by wine, because of the LORD and his holy words. 10The land is full of adulterers; because of the curse the land lies parched and the pastures in the desert are withered. The [prophets] follow an evil course and use their power unjustly. 11“Both prophet and priest are godless; even in my temple I find their wickedness,” declares the LORD. 12“Therefore their path will become slippery; they will be banished to darkness and there they will fall. I will bring disaster on them in the year they are punished,” declares the LORD. 23:9–10 Jeremiah was so distraught by the people's sins and their confidence in the false prophets that he could not control his emotions. Because he could foresee the suffering they would experience, his heart was broken. Bright, on the basis that the “heart” is the equivalent of the mind, translates as “my reason is staggered,” i.e., upset, disturbed. Jeremiah's bones “trembled” (the same verb is found in Gen 1:2; Deut 32:11, where it means to hover). He felt as helpless as a drunken man overcome by wine (cf. Jer 25:16; 1 Sam 1:13–15; Acts 2:13). His almost uncontrollable emotional agitation was the result of his awareness that the people would not listen to the Lord and his holy words. Instead, they listened to the false prophets who were leading the nation to ruin.

Judah was filled with “adulterers,” a word that can be understood literally. It can also be used figuratively for those who participated in the Canaanite Baal cult with its immoral fertility rites. The Deuteronomic curse was upon the land (Deut 28:23–24; cf. Isa 24:6–7; Amos 4:7–8). Contrary to their expectations, their worship of Baal did not provide the rain he was supposed to give. Instead, the land was experiencing a severe drought (“lies parched,” NIV; lit. “mourns”; cf. 14:1–6). The prophets exercised great influence on the people but followed an evil course and used their power unjustly to lead the nation to ruin. 23:11–12 The speaker in these verses was God. He added the priests to his indictment of the rulers and prophets. Like them, the priests were also “godless” (from a word that means pollute, profane). The pagan cults that Josiah had removed while king were once again allowed in the temple itself (see Ezek 8; 2 Kgs 23:4–16). The Lord pronounced judgment on both prophet and priest. The year of their punishment would coincide with the Babylonian conquest (cf. a similar pronouncement on the men of Anathoth, Jer 11:23). (2) Evil Prophets of Samaria and Jerusalem (23:13–15) 13“Among

the prophets of Samaria I saw this repulsive thing: They prophesied by Baal and led my people Israel astray. 14And among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen something horrible: They commit adultery and live a lie. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns from his wickedness. They are all like Sodom to me; the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.” 15Therefore, this is what the LORD Almighty says concerning the prophets: “I will make them eat bitter food and drink poisoned water,

because from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has spread throughout the land.” 23:13–14 The Lord continued his indictment of the prophets of Jerusalem by comparing them to the prophets of Samaria. In Samaria he had seen their “repulsive” conduct (a word that means tasteless, insipid, unsavory; i.e., something that would leave a bad taste in the mouth; cf. Job 1:22; 6:6). They led the people of Israel astray by encouraging them to worship Baal, certain proof they were false prophets (see Deut 13:1–3). The prophets of Samaria were idolaters, but the prophets of Jerusalem were worse. What God saw among them was “horrible.” The only other occurrence of this word is in 5:30, but it is from the same root found in 29:17, where it refers to rotten figs (i.e., something inedible, disgusting; see also 18:13; Hos 6:10). They committed adultery (both physical and religious adultery probably are intended here, contrary to Nicholson, who argues for physical adultery only). By the lie they were living (lit. “walk in the lie”) and their preaching, they were encouraging immorality and faithlessness rather than turning the people from evil (cf. Mal 2:8). God could only compare such people to Sodom and Gomorrah, names that were synonymous with immorality and perversion of the most vulgar kind (see Gen 18:20–19:29; cf. Isa 1:9–10; Ezek 16:46,48; Matt 10:15; 2 Pet 2:6; Jude 7). 23:15 Their punishment would include the eating of “bitter food” (“wormwood,” KJV, NRSV, NJB; see Jer 9:15; Deut 29:18; Prov 5:4; Lam 3:15; Amos 5:7). They would drink poisoned water (8:14). Some interpret these words as literal poisoning, but they are better understood as figures for the bitter judgment that was going to overtake the prophets because of the “ungodliness” (from a word that means profane or pollute) that had spread through the land because of their evil influence. (3) Rejection of Unauthorized Prophets (23:16–22) 16This

is what the LORD Almighty says: “Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes.

They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD. 17They keep saying to those who despise me, ‘The LORD says: You will have peace.’ And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts they say, ‘No harm will come to you.’ 18But which of them has stood in the council of the LORD to see or to hear his word? Who has listened and heard his word? 19See, the storm of the LORD will burst out in wrath, a whirlwind swirling down on the heads of the wicked. 20The anger of the LORD will not turn back until he fully accomplishes the purposes of his heart. In days to come you will understand it clearly. 21I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied. 22But if they had stood in my council, they would have proclaimed my words to my people and would have turned them from their evil ways and from their evil deeds. These verses describe some of the characteristics of false prophets: (1) their messages were not from God (vv. 16,18,21), (2) they gave false assurance to the people (vv. 16–17), and (3) they did not turn the people from their evil ways (v. 22). 23:16–17 The Lord warned the people not to listen to the false prophets. They were filling the people's minds with “false hopes” (“hope” is not in the MT; lit. “they make you vain,” a word that means emptiness, wind; it is the word translated “vanity” in Eccl 1:2, KJV).

Their words were false because the source of their visions was their own “minds” (lit. “heart”). They sincerely may have imagined their messages were from God, or they may have deliberately told the people what they wanted to hear. They repeatedly promised unconditional peace.22 They said no harm would come to a people who despised the Lord and followed the inclinations of their stubborn hearts (cf. Deut 29:19; Jer 6:14; 8:11; Mic 3:5). They should have known there could be no peace when the Lord's judgment was about to descend on them like a violent storm, but they refused to believe they might be wrong. 23:18 How could they speak God's word when they had not stood in “the council of the LORD”? This council is mentioned several times in the OT (1 Kgs 22:19–22; Job 1–2; 15:8; Pss 82:1; 89:6–7). It was an assembly of divine beings presided over by God whom he took into his confidence concerning his plans. The question asked in 23:18 must be understood in a rhetorical sense since Jeremiah was a true prophet, although he had not been lifted to heaven to participate in the heavenly council (cf. 1 Kgs 22:1– 24; Isa 6). 23:19–20 These verses are repeated in 30:23–24 with variations. The Lord's judgment is compared to a storm that would burst forth or a whirlwind swirling down on the heads of the wicked (see Hos 8:7). The Lord's anger would not abate until he had fully accomplished his purposes. The people would understand why God had punished them so severely in “days to come” (lit. “at the end of days”). The phrase should not be understood in an eschatological sense here but with the meaning of afterwards. In Jeremiah's day they would not understand why God punished them because they were so confident that his protection was unconditional. 23:21–22 These verses deny the legitimacy of the false prophets. The Lord did not send them, i.e., he did not call them as he had called Jeremiah and other prophets (cf. 1:5–7; Isa 6:8; Ezek 2:3; Amos 7:14). He had not spoken a word to them. They were not authorized to act as his spokesmen, but they went about eagerly sharing their messages, as though they were speaking for him. Like Christians today, Jeremiah was not the only voice but was competing with many zealous proclaimers of falsehood who would lure the people to their destruction. If the false prophets had stood in the Lord's council (see 23:18), they would have been proclaiming his words. A

true prophetic voice would not have encouraged the people in their evil ways but would have attempted to turn them away from such practices, as Jeremiah had tried to do for years (cf. Matt 7:16). (4) A Declaration of God's Greatness (23:23–24) 23“Am

I only a God nearby,” declares the LORD, “and not a God far away? 24Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?” declares the LORD. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the LORD. 23:23–24 At first reading, these verses do not seem to be related closely to what precedes or follows at first reading. The Lord asked two rhetorical questions that deal with the transcendence and immanence of God. The first, “Am I only a God nearby?” denies that he is a mere local deity with limited power and one from whom a person could hide or escape. The second question, “Am I not a God far away?” should not be interpreted as indicating a God who is indifferent. Rather, it is an affirmation that he is the God of the whole universe. Nothing can be hidden from him (cf. Ps 139:7– 16; Isa 66:1; Amos 9:2–4). The insertion of these questions here may have been intended to warn the false prophets that they could not escape God's wrath. (5) Rejection of Lying Prophets (23:25–32) 25“I

have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’ 26How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions of their own minds? 27They think the dreams they tell one another will make my people forget my name, just as their fathers forgot my name through Baal worship. 28Let the prophet who has a

dream tell his dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?” declares the LORD. 29“Is not my word like fire,” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces? 30 “Therefore,” declares the LORD, “I am against the prophets who steal from one another words supposedly from me. 31Yes,” declares the LORD, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, ‘The LORD declares.’ 32Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,” declares the LORD. “They tell them and lead my people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the least,” declares the LORD. These verses contrast dreams with God's word as modes of revelation. Dreams were widely recognized in the ANE as a legitimate means of discovering the will of the deity.23 Dreams as a means of revelation are not condemned in the Bible (see 31:26; Gen 37:5–10; Num 12:6; 1 Sam 28:6; Dan 2; Matt 1:20). Yet dreams could be deceptive and a means of deceiving others. They were never to be trusted apart from the prophetic gift of interpretation or when they contradicted the more clearly revealed word of God. 23:25–27 When the prophets said, “I had a dream, I had a dream” (repeated for emphasis), the source was the delusion of their own minds. Their dreams were lulling the people into a false sense of security, causing them to forget God's name just as Baal worship had caused their ancestors to forget his name (i.e., his essential character). 23:28–29 With a touch of sarcasm the Lord told the prophets to tell their dreams—they were going to anyway! At the same time he invited those who had his word to speak it faithfully. The contrast between dreams and God's words should be as obvious as the difference between straw and grain. Just as straw has no food value as contrasted with grain, their dreams were subjective experiences without substance. The word of the Lord is like fire in that it purifies and separates that which is valuable from that which is worthless (see Isa 1:25; Zech 13:9). By its convicting power, God's word is also like a hammer that can break a

rock in pieces. It shatters all pretension and self-confidence (cf. Heb 4:12). It is far different from the soothing words of the false prophets. 23:30–32 Lest any doubt lingered, the Lord stated three times that he was against the prophets (vv. 30,31,32). They were so devoid of divine inspiration that they would steal messages from one another that they supposed were from God. With sharp ridicule he accused the prophets of creating messages if they could not steal one. They “wag their own tongues” (lit. “lift up their tongue”) and declare, “The Lord declares” (lit. “they oracle an oracle,” the only occurrence of this word in the OT as a verb; as a noun it appears 376 times in the OT). For the third time the Lord said he was against those prophets who prophesied false dreams. His reasons were threefold: they led the people astray, God did not send them, and their dreams were of no benefit at all to the people. (6) The Burden of the Lord (23:33–40) 33“When

these people, or a prophet or a priest, ask you, ‘What is the oracle of the LORD?’ say to them, ‘What oracle? I will forsake you, declares the LORD.’ 34If a prophet or a priest or anyone else claims, ‘This is the oracle of the LORD,’ I will punish that man and his household. 35This is what each of you keeps on saying to his friend or relative: ‘What is the LORD's answer?’ or ‘What has the LORD spoken?’ 36But you must not mention ‘the oracle of the LORD’ again, because every man's own word becomes his oracle and so you distort the words of the living God, the LORD Almighty, our God. 37This is what you keep saying to a prophet: ‘What is the LORD's answer to you?’ or ‘What has the LORD spoken?’ 38Although you claim, ‘This is the oracle of the LORD,’ this is what the LORD says: You used the words, ‘This is the oracle of the LORD,’ even though I told you that you must not claim, ‘This is the oracle of the LORD.’ 39Therefore, I will surely forget you and cast you out of my presence along with the city I gave to you and your fathers. 40I will bring upon you everlasting disgrace—everlasting shame that will not be forgotten.”

The key word in these verses is It can mean burden or oracle. It is from the word to lift up; thus the word can refer to something that is lifted physically—a burden. It can describe the lifting of the voice with a message—an oracle. 23:33–34 The Lord instructed Jeremiah how to answer when people taunted him with the question, “What is the oracle of the LORD?” He was to reply, “What oracle?”24 23:35–40 The Lord further warned that if a prophet, priest, or anyone claimed to have an oracle from the Lord when he did not, that person would be punished. They were confusing their private opinions with God's word and were proclaiming their opinions as if they were from God. So many were claiming to have messages from the Lord that the prophetic office had lost credibility. The Lord gave his word only to one who was a true prophet of his. He would “forget”25 those who continued to claim their messages were from God. They would be cast out of the Lord's presence when he destroyed “the city,” i.e., Jerusalem.26 They would be stigmatized with everlasting disgrace and shame that would not be forgotten. Chapter 23 is a solemn warning against falsely claiming revelations from God (whether words or dreams). Whether persons sincerely believe their messages are from God when they are not or they deliberately make that claim in order to deceive or influence others, they will be held accountable (see Matt 12:36).

4. Two Baskets of Figs (24:1–10) After Jehoiachin and others had been carried away to Babylon in 597 (2 Kgs 24:15–16), those who remained in Jerusalem concluded that they were favored over those in exile. Their logic seemed reasonable—those taken were being punished, and those remaining were being rewarded. However, God's logic is not always the same as human reasoning (see Isa 55:9). He wished to correct the erroneous conclusions of the people of Jerusalem about themselves and about the exiles by means of two baskets of figs.

(1) Description of the Figs (24:1–3) 1After

Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and the officials, the craftsmen and the artisans of Judah were carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the LORD showed me two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of the LORD. 2One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early; the other basket had very poor figs, so bad they could not be eaten. 3Then the LORD asked me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” “Figs,” I answered. “The good ones are very good, but the poor ones are so bad they cannot be eaten.” 24:1 The events of this chapter took place between 597 and 587.27 Jehoiachin had already been taken into exile along with officials, “craftsmen,”28 and “artisans.”29 One day the Lord showed Jeremiah two baskets of figs that had been placed in front of the temple. It is uncertain just how soon after Jehoiachin's deportation that Jeremiah saw the baskets of figs. “The Lord showed me” is sufficiently ambiguous to leave open the question of whether he was experiencing a vision or objective reality.30 Although visions are not mentioned frequently in the book (only in 1:10–16 and perhaps 25:15– 29),31 it seems preferable to describe the encounter with the figs as a vision. It is unlikely that Jeremiah actually would have seen a basket of rotten figs at the temple as an offering to God. Only the best was to be brought as offerings (see Mal 1:6–9). 24:2–3 One basket of figs was described as being “very good.” They were like the first-ripe figs gathered in June and considered to be a special delicacy. The usual fig harvest time was in August. The second basket contained “very poor” figs (most versions say “very bad”), so rotten they could not be eaten.32 The Lord's question is also found in 1:11 and Amos 7:8; 8:1. (2) Meaning of the Good Figs (24:4–7)

4Then

the word of the LORD came to me: 5“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians. 6My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. 7I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart. 24:4–5 If inhabitants of Jerusalem were asked to say which basket represented the favored people and which basket represented those under God's wrath, they would have answered that they were the good figs and the exiles were the bad figs. To their surprise, God identified the good figs as those in exile. Their deportation was not an accident but a part of God's redemptive purposes. The future of the nation was going to be with them, not with those in Jerusalem. By means of the baskets of figs the Lord was announcing a remarkable theological concept. His evaluations are not based on people's goodness but on his sovereign grace. It was a dramatic reminder that God chooses differently from the way we choose (see 1 Cor 1:26–29; cf. Joseph's statement in Gen 50:20). The life-style of those in exile would be enviable when compared to the hardships those left behind would endure —hunger, disease, and attacks by enemies (see 14:11–12). 24:6–7 God promised his protection to those in exile. One day he would also bring them back to their own land. The verbs in v. 6—build, tear down, plant, uproot—are the same verbs found in 1:10, though in a different order. In words that come close to the “new creation” language of 2 Cor 5:17, God said he would give them “a heart to know me.” There is no exact parallel to this expression in the OT although Deut 30:6; Jer 31:33; 32:38–39; Ezek 11:19; 36:26 point toward the same idea. The statement further implies that the only way a person can know God is for God to give that person a heart (i.e., mind, will) to do so. By means of covenant language God stated that he would be their God and they would be his people. This statement is found with variations seven times in Jeremiah (e.g., 31:33; 32:38). When they returned from exile, he said they would return with total sincerity (“with all their heart”). On another occasion Jeremiah reminded the exiles that they would find God

“when you seek me with all your heart,” i.e., with total sincerity (29:13). Joshua had made a similar appeal centuries earlier (Josh 24:14). (3) Meaning of the Bad Figs (24:8–10) 8“‘But

like the poor figs, which are so bad they cannot be eaten,’ says the LORD, ‘so will I deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials and the survivors from Jerusalem, whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt. 9I will make them abhorrent and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword, an object of ridicule and cursing, wherever I banish them. 10I will send the sword, famine and plague against them until they are destroyed from the land I gave to them and their fathers.’” 24:8 After interpreting the symbolism of the good figs, God then explained the significance of the poor figs. Zedekiah, his officials, and other survivors of Jerusalem's fall would be punished (a prediction realized in 39:5–7). Punishment would be meted out on both those who remained in the land and on those who fled to Egypt when Jehoahaz was taken there by Pharaoh (2 Kgs 24:15–16). However, it seems unlikely that Egypt would have been an attractive refuge at a time when the two nations were not on the best of terms. Some identify them as pro-Egyptian Jews who fled to Egypt during the reign of Jehoiakim. Still other scholars believe they were the people who fled to Egypt after the murder of Gedaliah (42:1–43:7; so Nicholson and Carroll). However, the mention of Zedekiah as king would mean Jerusalem had not yet fallen and Gedaliah had not become governor (40:5). A more general interpretation is preferable—punishment was in store for all those who were living in Egypt regardless of the time they went there. 24:9–10 The curse the Lord pronounced on the people should have frightened them. He declared that he would make them abhorrent and an offense to all the kingdoms on the earth. He would also make them a reproach and “byword” (Heb. ; the same word is translated elsewhere as “proverb”). They would also become an object of ridicule and cursing wherever he banished them (cf. Deut 28:37). There was no place they could flee where they would be able to escape God's wrath (cf. Amos 9:1–4).

It should have been clear from these words why the exiles were the “good figs.” They were not included in the indictment. Those remaining were going to be “destroyed from the land” by “sword, famine, and plague” (see 14:12 for this same triad). When Jeremiah proclaimed the message he learned from the baskets of figs, his audiences must have been incredulous. They had written off the exiles as objects of God's wrath and considered themselves to be the fortunate recipients of his blessings. They were not going to allow their theology to be upset by words from a prophet of God. The Lord did have a future in store for his people, but not the future anticipated by the inhabitants of Jerusalem. “This God seems indeed to make the future with those whom the world judges to be without a future.”33 The NT continues the same thrust that the most unlikely ones—the poor, lame, downtrodden, sinners, exploited—are the objects of God's grace rather than those we might expect—the priests, scribes, and Pharisees.

5. God's Wrath against Judah and Other Nations (25:1–38) The events in this chapter precede those of chap. 24 (cf. 25:1 and 24:1), another reminder that the book is not arranged in a strict chronological sequence. The date in 25:1 has led some scholars to conclude that vv. 1–7 are the introduction to the scroll dictated by Jeremiah to Baruch (36:2,4). After reminding the people that they had not listened to God's word through the prophets (vv. 1–7), Jeremiah then conveyed that seventy years of exile would be their punishment (vv. 8–14). There follows a remarkable section on the cup of God's wrath (vv. 15–29). The chapter concludes with word about God's judgment on all the nations (vv. 30–38). The chapter also contains a number of textual differences with the LXX.34 (1) Judah's Refusal to Listen to the Prophets (25:1–7)

1The

word came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, which was the first yearof Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. 2So Jeremiah the prophet said to all the people of Judah and to all those living in Jerusalem: 3For twenty-three years—from the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah until this very day—the word of the LORD has come to me and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened. 4And though the LORD has sent all his servants the prophets to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention. 5They said, “Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land the LORD gave to you and your fathers for ever and ever. 6Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them; do not provoke me to anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you.” 7“But you did not listen to me,” declares the LORD, “and you have provoked me with what your hands have made, and you have brought harm to yourselves.” 25:1 For the first time since 1:2 Jeremiah's prophecies are carefully dated. It was the fourth year of Jehoiakim's reign (605) and the first year of the rule of Nebuchadnezzar; 605 also was the year of Nebuchadnezzar's defeat of the Egyptians at the Battle of Carchemish. As a result of that victory Jehoiakim transferred his allegiance from Egypt to Babylon. That was the same year that Jeremiah dictated his messages to Baruch that were read to Jehoiakim (36:1–4). 25:2–3 Jeremiah addressed his words to all the people of Judah and Jerusalem. At that time he had been proclaiming God's messages for twenty-three years, i.e., since 627, the year of his call and the thirteenth year of Josiah's reign. He was still able to appear in public without fear for his life (cf. 36:19). Jeremiah had warned the people countless times, but they would not listen to him. He had remarkable tenacity to continue preaching to such a nonresponsive audience. What pastor would remain in a church even two years if no one in his congregation listened to him? The secret of his perseverance is contained in his frequent reminder to his audiences, “The word of the Lord has come to me.”35

25:4–7 The people of Judah could not claim they had not been warned about the consequences of their faithlessness. The Lord had sent “his servants the prophets again and again,” but the people would not listen (cf. 7:25b-26a for similar words). Their message was essentially the same as Jeremiah's—put away your gods and your evil practices and God will not punish you. The people refused to listen. They seemed determined to provoke God's anger. They did not believe that continued disobedience would bring disaster. (2) Seventy Years of Punishment (25:8–14) 8Therefore

the LORD Almighty says this: “Because you have not listened to my words, 9I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,” declares the LORD, “and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin. 10I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp. 11This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 12“But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt,” declares the LORD, “and will make it desolate forever. 13I will bring upon that land all the things I have spoken against it, all that are written in this book and prophesied by Jeremiah against all the nations. 14They themselves will be enslaved by many nations and great kings; I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.” 25:8–9 Their continued disobedience resulted in the harsh sentence pronounced in 25:8–11. God was going to summon “all the peoples of the north” against Judah (i.e., the Babylonians and their allies). They would be under the leadership of “my servant Nebuchadnezzar” (a phrase also found in 27:6; 43:10). It seems strange that God would call both the prophets (25:4) and a pagan ruler his “servants.” The Persian ruler Cyrus is called

“my shepherd” (Isa 44:28) and “anointed” (Isa 45:1; the same Hebrew word for messiah). The designation of Nebuchadnezzar as “servant” is a reminder of God's sovereignty. He can use a person to accomplish his purposes whether that person is intentionally or unwittingly serving him (cf. Rom 9:17).36 The Babylonians would be the instrument of judgment by whom God would “completely destroy” Judah (from a root ). Judah's fate would be the reverse of the “holy wars,” better called wars of extermination, when God ordered the complete destruction of Israel's enemies (e.g., Deut 20:17; Josh 6:21; 10:28; 1 Sam 15:3). His determination to make them an “everlasting ruin” must be interpreted in light of statements such as Ps 103:9. The Hebrew word can mean forever, but it can also mean an indefinite period of time, as it does in 25:9. 25:10 The happy sounds associated with daily life in Judah would be replaced by oppressive silence in wake of the devastation (cf. Rev 18:22– 23). The joyful voices of bride and bridegroom would be stilled. The “sound of millstones” would not be heard grinding grain, for there would be no grain. There would be no oil for lamps to provide light when the darkness of night descends. 25:11 “These nations” refers to Judah and other nations that would be subject to Babylon. Scholars are divided on how to interpret “seventy years.” If the term represents a literal number of years, what are the beginning and ending years? The years 587–539 should be the years of punishment (from the fall of Jerusalem to the overthrow of Babylon by the Persians). However, those dates total fewer than fifty years. Some have suggested 609–539 (from the end of the Assyrian Empire to the overthrow of Babylon), but 609 seems to be an arbitrary date. Dates of 587–516 have their advocates (from the fall of Jerusalem to the rebuilding of the second temple, symbolically marking the end of God's disfavor).37 The years 605– 536 also have been proposed (from the establishment of the NeoBabylonian Empire and the first Judean exile [Dan 1:1] to the year the first exiles returned home under Cyrus's decree; so Harrison, but it is uncertain which year they actually returned). The seventy years also have been interpreted as the length of the Babylonian Empire (605–539; cf. 25:12; 29:10; Keil strains one's credulity to make these dates equal exactly seventy years).

Because the “literal” interpretations have fllaws, a figurative or symbolical interpretation is favored by many scholars. They suggest that seventy represents the complete period of punishment, whatever time that may include. Rudolph, Weiser, Bright, and Holladay interpret it as a normal life span, the amount of time for that generation to die. Carroll says any of these interpretations of the seventy years could be correct. Feinberg remarks that both liberal and conservative scholars interpret the seventy years as a round number. Daniel's reference to the seventy years is not relevant for interpreting the seventy years of Jer 25:11–12 (Dan 9). 25:12 Jeremiah's announcement of Judah's punishment at the hands of the pagan Babylonians must have puzzled the covenant people of Judah. The same question was raised by Habakkuk (Hab 1:12–17). Verse 12 sets the problem to rest—God was going to use Babylon to punish his people, but that nation would also be punished for its sins. The announcement of the brevity of the Babylonian Empire (less than seventy years, 605–539), shortly after its emergence as the undisputed world power, was remarkable. No other ancient empire of similar power lasted such a short time. An inscription of Esarhaddon (680–669) also anticipated a seventy-year period when Babylon would lie desolate. 25:13 This verse affirms that God will accomplish all the warnings prophesied by Jeremiah that were written “in this book.” The statement is puzzling because the Book of Jeremiah was far from complete at that time. It has been explained as an editorial insertion. Bright believes it refers to the scroll of Jeremiah's prophecies that underlies chaps. 1–25.38 25:14 In retribution for all its wickedness, the Lord announced that Babylon would be subjugated by many nations. The prediction was fulfilled when a coalition of Medes and Persians under Cyrus overthrew the Babylonian Empire in 539. The question has been raised about why Babylon became the personification of evil in the NT rather than Assyria or Rome (see Rev 14:8; 16:19; 17:5; 18:1–24). Assyria had terrorized smaller nations by its atrocious acts of cruelty on them. However, Babylon probably received this dubious distinction by destroying the temple in Jerusalem. In the eyes of the Hebrew people, no more abhorrent sin could be committed than the destruction of the temple.

(3) The Cup of God's Wrath (25:15–29) 15This

is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. 16When they drink it, they will stagger and go mad because of the sword I will send among them.” 17So I took the cup from the LORD's hand and made all the nations to whom he sent me drink it: 18Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a ruin and an object of horror and scorn and cursing, as they are today; 19Pharaoh king of Egypt, his attendants, his officials and all his people, 20and all the foreign people there; all the kings of Uz; all the kings of the Philistines (those of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the people left at Ashdod); 21Edom, Moab and Ammon; 22all the kings of Tyre and Sidon; the kings of the coastlands across the sea; 23Dedan, Tema, Buz and all who are in distant places; 24all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the foreign people who live in the desert; 25all the kings of Zimri, Elam and Media; 26and all the kings of the north, near and far, one after the other—all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. And after all of them, the king of Sheshach will drink it too. 27“Then tell them, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Drink, get drunk and vomit, and fall to rise no more because of the sword I will send among you.’ 28But if they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink, tell them, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty says: You must drink it! 29See, I am beginning to bring disaster on the city that bears my Name, and will you indeed go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am calling down a sword upon all who live on the earth, declares the LORD Almighty.’ 25:15–16 The Lord ordered Jeremiah to take a cup of “the wine of my wrath” and force the nations to whom God would send him to drink it. The scope of the command raises a question whether Jeremiah actually went to all the nations named. It seems highly unlikely that he would have traveled to all the nations mentioned. Nor could he have entered the court of Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, or any of the other kings named and demanded that they drink from the cup he offered them. They probably would have

had him executed on the spot. Rudolph and Weiser solve the problem by calling the experience a vision, which it may be. However, a more meaningful interpretation is to explain it as a symbolic act. By means of a symbolic act, Jeremiah could have satisfied the command by approaching official representatives or merchants from each of those nations who were in Jerusalem. Offering them the cup would serve the purpose required by a symbolic act. In support of this interpretation, 27:3 verifies that representatives of other nations were in Jerusalem. Whether interpreted literally, symbolically, or as a vision, the meaning is the same. The customs of hospitality are the key to its interpretation. God was the host, though in a reversal of the role of the hospitable host. Instead of providing the guests (the nations) choice wine, the drink (judgment) he offered them through his cupbearer (Jeremiah) would make them “stagger” and go insane. Those who had brought suffering on Judah would themselves suffer. The cup of wrath in these verses is not a new figure in the Bible.39 It probably finds its origin in Num 5:11–31. If a man suspected his wife of being unfaithful, she was required to drink a potion prepared by a priest. If she was innocent, the drink would have no effect on her. If guilty, she would experience bitter suffering. 25:17–25 Jeremiah sought out a representative from each of the nations named by God and made that person drink the cup. Jerusalem and Judah are named first, along with their kings and officials. The placement of Judah first was an intentional reminder that judgment begins with God's people (Amos 3:2; Mal 3:1–5; 1 Pet 4:17). Pharaoh (from a word that means great house) and his court and all his people, including “foreign people” (lit. “the mixture”; perhaps including the Jews in Egypt) would also drink the cup. The precise location of Uz is unknown (see Gen 22:21; Job 1:1). Four of the five chief Philistine cities are named, including the people still remaining in Ashdod. Ashdod had been destroyed twenty-five years earlier by Psammaticus I of Egypt (663–609) after a siege of twenty-nine years, according to Herodotus (II, 157). Only Gath of the Philistine cities is not named (it is omitted also in Amos 1:7–8; Zeph 2:4; Zech 9:5–6). Edom, Moab, and Ammon to the east and Tyre and Sidon to the west are also

named, including kings of coastlands across the sea (probably overseas colonies of Tyre and Sidon). Lesser known peoples included Dedan, a northwest Arabian tribe descended from Abraham by Keturah (Gen 25:3). Tema (modern Teima), a descendant of Ishmael (Gen 25:15), was located in northwest Arabia also. Buz, a desert tribe (its location is uncertain, but it may also have been in northwest Arabia), was descended from Nahor, Abraham's brother (Gen 22:21). Others “in distant places” were also included.40 Kings of Arabia and kings of foreign people living in the desert were also named. Kings of Zimri were also included (its location is unknown; it is not mentioned elsewhere in the OT).41 Elam and Media to the east of Babylon were also included for judgment. 25:26 Finally, all kings of the north and all other kingdoms on the face of the earth not already named would drink of the cup of God's wrath. Then as a final and climactic addition, Sheshach (NIV spelling; Sheshak is preferable) is named for judgment. Sheshach is an athbash for Babylon. An athbash is a cryptogram formed by substituting the last letter of the alphabet for the first, the next to the last for the second, etc. It could be compared to z-y-x for a-b-c. Thus becomes bbl, the consonants for Babylon. Earlier scholars believed Jeremiah used the cryptic name for Babylon out of fear for his life if the Babylonians learned that he announced judgment on them. This explanation must be rejected since Babylon is mentioned frequently elsewhere in Jeremiah (e.g., 25:8–14). It is mentioned in 51:1 with Leb Kamai, an athbash for Chaldea, i.e., Babylon. Babylon is also mentioned in 51:41 with the athbash Sheshach. It would also have been an insult to the intelligence of the Babylonians to suggest that they could not decipher such a simple athbash since the athbash as a cryptogram was widely known. Nicholson says there is new evidence that Sheshach was not an athbash but a genuine name for Babylon.42 If the evidence is correct, it does not explain the meaning of the name. Perhaps the reversal of the letters implied something sinister. 25:27–29 The objects of God's wrath would be as helpless as a drunk person facing the sword of a skillful warrior. None would be able to refuse the cup, i.e., escape judgment. If God would not spare the city that bears his name (i.e., Jerusalem), how could other nations expect to escape his wrath?

The expression “the city that bears his name” is unique here to Jeremiah and Dan 9:18–19. The more usual expression in Jeremiah is “the house that bears his/my name” (e.g., 7:10–11,14,30). The judgment messages against other nations are not insignificant, though the reader's attention is usually focused on Judah. They contain some important theological implications. God is the God of all peoples, whether or not they acknowledge him. Because he is Creator, all peoples are accountable to him. Because of his holiness, he takes sin seriously; he will punish it wherever he finds it. (4) God's Coming Judgment on All Nations (25:30–38) 30“Now

prophesy all these words against them and say to

them: “‘The LORD will roar from on high; he will thunder from his holy dwelling and roar mightily against his land. He will shout like those who tread the grapes, shout against all who live on the earth. 31The tumult will resound to the ends of the earth, for the LORD will bring charges against the nations; he will bring judgment on all mankind and put the wicked to the sword,’” declares the LORD. 32This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Look! Disaster is spreading from nation to nation; a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth.” 33At that time those slain by the LORD will be everywhere—from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned or gathered up or buried, but will be like refuse lying on the ground. 34Weep and wail, you shepherds; roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock.

For your time to be slaughtered has come; you will fall and be shattered like fine pottery. 35The shepherds will have nowhere to flee, the leaders of the flock no place to escape. 36Hear the cry of the shepherds, the wailing of the leaders of the flock, for the LORD is destroying their pasture. 37The peaceful meadows will be laid waste because of the fierce anger of the LORD. 38Like a lion he will leave his lair, and their land will become desolate because of the sword of the oppressor and because of the LORD's fierce anger. 25:30–31 Like a lion roaring in anticipation of seizing his victim, the Lord would roar against Judah in judgment (cf. Amos 1:2; Joel 3:16; Isa 66:6). “His holy dwelling” in 25:30 should be understood as heaven, not the temple in Jerusalem because it is parallel with “on high.” Another figure describes God like those treading grapes and shouting with animated energy as they work (see 48:33; Isa 16:9–10; 63:2–3; Rev 14:19–20). By means of highly figurative language, the sound of battle that would bring down God's enemies is said to reverberate to the ends of the earth. By means of courtroom language, the Lord is said to bring charges against the nations, i.e., on all humankind. He will put the wicked to the sword. 25:32–33 Verses 30–33 contain a series of metaphors to describe God coming in judgment—a lion, treader of grapes, court prosecutor, warrior; and now his judgment is described as a mighty storm that would leave the slain unburied from one end of the earth to the other, like so much dung (cf. Ezek 39:12). It is a shocking and abhorrent picture of God's judgment that here becomes universal in scope. 25:34–37 The concluding verses of this chapter are directed once again to the shepherds (i.e., rulers; see 23:1–4 for the same figure). They should weep and wail (cf. Joel 1:13–14) and roll in the dust (a symbol of mourning or humiliation; cf. 6:26; Ezek 27:30; Mic 1:10). Those who had been slaughtering the sheep would now be slaughtered. They would be shattered like “fine pottery.”43 The shepherds would not be able to escape from the

Lord's wrath. They would cry out and wail as they witnessed the Lord destroying their “pasture” (i.e., their land) and their peaceful meadows. 25:38 The figure of the lion is resumed in the closing verse of the chapter. “He will leave his lair” may be interpreted as God's judgment coming on a complacent people, even as the lion emerges from his lair to pounce on his unsuspecting prey. The statement that follows, “the land will become desolate,” supports a different interpretation of “leave his lair.” It could suggest that like the lion that will abandon his lair that has been destroyed, so the Lord is going to abandon Jerusalem and the land he gave to Israel (cf. Ezek 10:18). The sword of the oppressor (i.e., God's instrument of judgment) is in reality the sword of the Lord.44 1Many

scholars (including Duhm, Rudolph, and Thiel) believe 37:3–10 serves as the background for 21:1–7. Those verses describe the interval when the siege was lifted long enough for the Babylonians to chase away the Egyptian threat. But if the siege was lifted and the threat apparently was over, why would Zedekiah send Pashhur and Zephaniah to Jeremiah to ask him to intercede before the Lord on their behalf? 2Nebuchadnezzar became king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire upon the death of his father Nabopolassar (626–605) and ruled as Nebuchadnezzar II from 605 to 562. In the MT his name is spelled both as Nebuchadnezzar and Nebuchadrezzar. Nebuchadrezzar is closer to the Akkadian Nabukudurri-usur. His name is understood to mean Nabu protects the crown or Nabu protects the boundary. A. van Selms (“The Name Nebuchadnezzar,” in Travels in the World of the Old Testament, Studies Presented to Professor M. A. Beek on the Occasion of His 65th Birthday [Assen: Van Gorcum, 1974]: 223–29) has proposed that the Hebrew spelling Nebuchadnezzar means may Nabu protect the mule and was intended as a deliberate insult to the Babylonian monarch. 3 Jeremiah 21:5–6 describes the wars of total destruction, elsewhere called a The city was encircled and totally destroyed along with everyone and everything in it, much like a whole burnt offering (e.g., Josh 6:17; 1 Sam 15:21; 1 Kgs 20:42).

4

Jeremiah 21:7 is the longest verse in the book. In the MT it contains forty-two words for a total of 160 letters. 5 The MT of 21:7 is the third person “He will show them no mercy.” The LXX is in first person, “I will show them,” thus making God the avenger, not Nebuchadnezzar. 6 The participial form of the verb (“I am setting”) suggests a continual offer of a way of escape. “The way of life and death” is based on Deut 30:19; cf. Josh 24:15; 1 Kgs 18:21; Matt 7:13. 7It has been argued that 21:11–14 was a message delivered during the reign of Jehoiakim because it does not seem to reflect that the siege of 588 was underway. 8J. Bright, Jeremiah, AB (Garden City: Doubleday, 1965), 140. 9The context requires Jerusalem as the object of God's judgment although some argue that the words could refer to Moab (see 48:8,21,28). However, it would seem strange that such a noticeable displacement of a message directed to Moab would have escaped the notice of those responsible for the final arrangement of the book. 10See W. Janzen, Mourning Cry and Woe Oracle, BZAW 125 (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1972), for a study of the woe oracle. 11The LXX reads, “Will you rule because you are provoked with your father Ahaz?” instead of, “Are you a king because you compete in cedar?” (MT; 22:15). The Heb. words for Ahaz and cedar are similar. The LXX may be a reference to some building activity on the part of King Ahaz (2 Kgs 16:18). 12Feinberg, 514–15, who also points out (from 2 Kgs 15:38; 16:20; 24:6) that the expression “rested with his fathers” does not always mean the same thing as “buried with the fathers,” i.e., in the family tomb. 13R. B. Dillard, 2 Chronicles, WBC (Waco: Word, 1987), 299. 14 may be a metathesis of which in turn is taken as a variant of from the root “to groan.” It may also be from the root (“be pitied”) or from a root (“groan”) found in Ugaritic. 15The MT, “Coniah”; a spelling found only here, 22:28; and 37:1 and is a shortened form of Jeconiah; a spelling found only in 24:1; 27:20; 28:4;

29:2; 1 Chr 3:16–17; Ezra 2:6. Second Kings 24:8 says Jehoiachin was eighteen when he became king. The MT of 2 Chr 36:9 says he was eight years old (although one Heb. MS, some LXX MSS, and the Syr say eighteen). 16The Heb. of 22:27, “to the land you long to return to” (NIV), reads “to the land to which they are lifting up their soul” NIV captures the intent of the idiom. 17 (“pot,” NIV) is a hapax legomenon from a word that means form or shape; KJV translates as “idol,” from the word (cf. 1 Sam 31:9). 18Monthly rations of oil for Jehoiachin have been confirmed by the finding of a number of ration tablets near the Ishtar Gate in Babylon that date between 595 and 570 B.C. inscribed with “Ya'-u-kin [Jehoiachin] king of the land of Yahud [Judah].” Three jar handles in Palestine have been found with the words “Zedekiah steward of “Ya'-u-kin” inscribed on them, suggesting that his property in Judah was being managed by a steward in his absence. 19For further reading on “Branch,” see S. Mowinckel, He That Cometh (Nashville: Abingdon, 1954), 161; W. Holladay, Jeremiah 1, Her (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1986), 618; J. G. Baldwin, as a Technical Term in the Prophets,” VT 14 (1964): 93–97. See also J. Becker, Messianic Expectation in the Old Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1980); H. L. Ellison, The Centrality of the Messianic Idea for the Old Testament (London: Tyndale, 1953); J. B. Payne, Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy (New York: Harper & Row, 1973); G. van Groningen, Messianic Revelation in the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1990), 704. 20Most occurrences of “as surely as the Lord lives” appear without descriptive modifiers (as in 23:7–8). First Samuel 14:39 is another example of this oath formula with a modifier. 21For further reading on false prophets/prophecy in the OT, see J. L. Crenshaw, Prophetic Conflict: Its Effect upon Israelite Religion, BZAW 124 (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1971); I. Meyer, Jeremia und die Falschen Propheten (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1977); T. W. Overholt, The Threat of Falsehood (London: SCM, 1970); H. W. Wolff, Confrontations with Prophets (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1983), 63–76; G.

Quell, Wahre und Falsche Propheten: Versuch einer Interpretation (Gütersloh: C. Bertelsmann, 1952). 22“They keep saying” (23:17) is based on the participle followed by the infinitive absolute, which expresses repeated action; the LXX only has the participle, which expresses characteristic action. Also see J. Sisson, “Jeremiah and the Jerusalem Conception of Peace,” JBL 105,3 (1986): 429– 42. 23For further reading on dreams, see E. L. Erlich, Der Traum im Alten Testament, BZAW 73 (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1953); M. T. Kelsey, God, Dreams and Revelation: A Christian Interpretation of Dreams (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1968); L. Oppenheim, The Interpretation of Dreams in the Ancient Near East: With a Translation of an Assyrian Dream Book (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1956). 24By dividing the Hebrew letters differently ( “What oracle?”), they can be translated, “You are the burden” The latter translation is more understandable and does not require an explanation for an otherwise inexplicable sign of the definite object 25“I will surely forget you” (23:39) is based on the MT “forget.” Another translation, “I will surely lift you up,” is attested by five Hebrew manuscripts and several ancient versions ( “lift up”). 26Some scholars question the statement “the city I gave to you and your fathers” for the more expected “the land I gave to you and your fathers.” However, Jeremiah frequently warned of the impending destruction of Jerusalem. 27Scholars are not agreed on the date of Jeremiah's vision of the two baskets of figs. Rudolph, Weiser, and Bright date it between 597 and 587. Hyatt, McKane, and Nicholson attribute it to a later Deuteronomic redactor, around 550 B.C. 28“Carpenters” (KJV) is an unlikely translation. 29The occupation of “artisans” is uncertain; hence, translations vary, e.g., “smiths” (KJV, NRSV); “prisoners” (LXX). Whatever their occupation, they were surely chosen for the help they could give Nebuchadnezzar in his construction projects (see Dan 4:30).

30The

words could be interpreted as a visionary experience, but they could also be understood to mean that one day Jeremiah passed two baskets of figs at the temple and with heightened understanding from God saw that they represented the exiles and those left in Jerusalem. For further reading on the phenomenon of visions, see S. Niditch, The Symbolic Vision in Biblical Tradition, HSM 30 (Chico, Cal.: Scholars, 1983). 31The events of 25:15–29 should be interpreted as a symbolic act performed by Jeremiah rather than as a vision. See 25:15–29 for an explanation. 32The KJV describes them as “naughty figs,” but the word has a different meaning today from when the KJV translation was made. 33W. Brueggemann, To Pluck Up, To Tear Down: A Commentary on Jeremiah 1–25, ITC (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988), 212. 34The major difference between the MT and the LXX is that in the LXX chaps. 46–51 (of the MT) appear just after 25:13, with v. 13 introducing Babylon as Israel's nemesis. In this context chaps. 46–51, which comprise the oracles against the nations, would read with rising intensification and conclude with the oracles against Babylon. This different order naturally raises the question of which text, the MT or the LXX, is closer to the original autograph of Jeremiah; on this, see D. Christensen, “In Quest of the Autograph of the Book of Jeremiah: A Study of Jeremiah 25 in Relation to Jeremiah 46–51,” JETS, 33,2 (1990): 145–53. The textual differences with the LXX are so numerous that only a few will be noted below; the LXX text of chap. 25 is considerably shorter than the MT text. J. G. Janzen (Studies in the Text of Jeremiah, HSM 6 [Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1973]) says that the differences between the MT and the LXX are the result of a later expansion of the MT. See also W. McKane (Jeremiah, vol. 1, ICC [Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1986], 618–23) for a discussion of the textual differences and the question of their authorship. He concludes that although the Hebrew Vorlage of the LXX represents an earlier and shorter text, “it is the duty of a commentator on the Hebrew text to maintain the final form of that text in MT” (623). See also Bright (Jeremiah, 162–64) and J. A. Thompson (The Book of Jeremiah, NICOT [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980], 510–11).

35For

25:3, “the word of the LORD has come to me,” the LXX says, “I [i.e., God] have spoken to you.” Throughout 25:3–7 the LXX has God as the speaker rather than Jeremiah; however, the former is the usual wording in the MT. 36See T. W. Overholt, “King Nebuchadnezzar in the Jeremiah Tradition,” CBQ 30 (1968): 39–48 and W. E. Lemke, “‘Nebuchadnezzar, My Servant,’ “CBQ 28 (1966): 45–50, for discussion of Nebuchadnezzar as a servant of the Lord. 37These dates are proposed by C. F. Whitley, “The Term Seventy Years Captivity,” VT 4 (1954): 60–72; ibid., “The Seventy Years Desolation—A Rejoinder,” VT 7 (1957): 416–18. 38The LXX omits the rest of 25:13 (“and prophesied by Jeremiah against all the nations”) and all of 25:14. Instead, it inserts chaps. 46–51, the series of messages against foreign nations, after 25:13a. It also arranges the nations in a different order from the MT. 39Other references to the cup of judgment include Job 21:20; Ps 75:8; Isa 51:17,22; Jer 49:12; 51:7; Lam 4:21; Ezek 23:31–34; Obad 16; Nah 3:11; Hab 2:16; Zech 12:2; Mark 10:38; Luke 22:42; Rev 14:10. When our Lord prayed that the cup could pass from him (Luke 22:42), he must have been thinking of the OT cup of God's wrath. He understood that God's wrath against sin would fall on him at the cross. 40“In distant places” of 25:23 is lit. “the cutting of the fringe” (found also in 9:26). It is an ambiguous expression that is interpreted either as cutting the edge of the hair (e.g., LXX, NRSV; “Crop-Heads,” JB) or as those who live on the fringe of the desert (e.g., NIV, REB). 41Zimri is read by Rudolph as Zimki, which would be an athbash for Elam ( for ). Volz reads as Simri, located in the region of Elam and Media. 42E. W. Nicholson, Jeremiah 26–52, CBC (Cambridge: University Press, 1975), 222–23. 43By emendation “fine pottery” (lit. “a desirable vessel”; similarly translated by KJV, NJB, NJPS) can also be read as “choice rams” (LXX, NAB, JB, NEB, REB, RSV). The translation as “rams” fits the context of

shepherds better but does not fit the verb “you will fall” (translated “fall and be shattered”). 44For the MT of 25:38, “anger of the oppressor,” NIV, JB, NAB, NEB, REB have “sword of the oppressor,” based on reading “anger” as “sword” with some Hebrew MSS, LXX, Vg, and Targum. RSV translates with an inexplicable “sword of the Lord,” corrected by NRSV to read “cruel sword.”

SECTION OUTLINE VIII. JEREMIAH'S CONTROVERSY WITH THE FALSE PROPHETS (26:1–29:32) 1. The Temple Sermon and Its Consequences (26:1– 24) (1) Summary of the Sermon (26:1–6) (2) Arrest and Trial of Jeremiah (26:7–19) (3) Arrest and Slaying of Uriah the Prophet (26:20–23) (4) The Release of Jeremiah (26:24) 2. Jeremiah's Symbolic Yoke (27:1–22) (1) Warning to the Nations to Serve Nebuchadnezzar (27:1–11) (2) Warning to King Zedekiah to Serve Nebuchadnezzar (27:12–15) (3) Warning to the Priests and All the People (27:16–22) 3. Conflict between Jeremiah and Hananiah (28:1– 17) (1) Hananiah's False Prophecy (28:1–4) (2) Jeremiah's Response to Hananiah (28:5–9) (3) Hananiah's Symbolic Act (28:10–11)

(4) Jeremiah's Denunciation of Hananiah (28:12– 17) 4. Jeremiah's Letter to the Exiles (29:1–32) (1) Sending of the Letter (29:1–3) (2) A Warning against the False Prophets (29:4– 23) (3) Jeremiah's Response to Shemaiah's Letter (29:24–28) (4) A Message to the Exiles about Shemaiah (29:29–32)

VIII. JEREMIAH’S CONTROVERSY WITH THE FALSE PROPHETS (26:1–29:32) Chapters 26–45 record events in Jeremiah's life that include the fall of Jerusalem and Jeremiah's last known messages from Egypt. It is generally agreed that the narratives contained in these chapters were recorded by Jeremiah's scribe, Baruch, and others. The reader will observe that most of the narratives in 26–45 are written in the third person, whereas 1–25 for the most part are in the first person. It is not surprising that Jeremiah's messages resulted in conflict with the religious and political leaders of Judah. He blamed them for much of the calamity that was about to overtake the nation. They defended their rejection of his warnings on the basis of their understanding of God's relationship with his people. At Mount Sinai, God had made a covenant with Israel as his chosen people (Exod 19:5–6). The leaders concluded that their privileged position was secure regardless of their disobedience to God's commands. They also believed that the land was an unconditional gift

to them; therefore it could not be taken from them by an enemy. They interpreted the covenant God made with David as assurance that a descendant of David would always occupy the throne (2 Sam 7). They believed that observance of rituals, holy days, and various offerings and sacrifices was all that God required of them. The flaw in their belief was that they neglected the demands for obedience and faithfulness that were required in order to receive God's blessings (1 Sam 15:22; Isa 1:10–14). If they had believed Jeremiah, one can only speculate about what the subsequent history of Israel would have been. Their error was the same as that of many people today whose theology is so inflexible that they cannot see the working of God. Those prophets who claimed to speak for God were a major influence on the people's false confidence in the nation's security. Therefore it is not surprising that Jeremiah tried to expose them for what they were: false prophets. Chapters 26–29 describe some of Jeremiah's attempts to combat the teaching of the false prophets that exile would be brief and peace would reign in Judah.1

1. The Temple Sermon and Its Consequences (26:1– 24)2 (1) Summary of the Sermon (26:1–6) 1Early

in the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came from the LORD: 2“This is what the LORD says: Stand in the courtyard of the LORD's house and speak to all the people of the towns of Judah who come to worship in the house of the LORD. Tell them everything I command you; do not omit a word. 3Perhaps they will listen and each will turn from his evil way. Then I will relent and not bring on them the disaster I was planning because of the evil they have done. 4Say to them, ‘This is what the LORD says: If you do not listen to me and follow my law, which I have set before you, 5and if you

do not listen to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I have sent to you again and again (though you have not listened), 6then I will make this house like Shiloh and this city an object of cursing among all the nations of the earth.’” 26:1–2 The opening words of chap. 26 are another reminder that the Book of Jeremiah is not arranged in a strict chronological order. Chapter 25 records events in the fourth year of Jehoiakim (605 B.C.; see 25:1), whereas the events of chap. 26 occurred “early in the reign of Jehoiakim” (lit. “in the beginning of “). Most scholars believe this is a technical term for the time from the accession of the king to the throne to the following new year, when his first regnal year would officially begin. It was the equivalent of the Akkadian (the period between the king's accession and the new year). Thus Jeremiah's sermon would have been proclaimed between August/September 609 and March/April 608.3 It would have been the second earliest dated event in Jeremiah's ministry (cf. 1:2). Jehoahaz had been deposed and taken to Egypt after a reign of three months. His brother Jehoiakim succeeded him to the throne. Jeremiah discerned that the idolatrous practices of the king and his encouragement for the people to participate in those rituals would bring God's wrath on the nation. Therefore he felt compelled to warn the people of what was going to happen unless they returned to God. The Lord instructed Jeremiah to go to the “courtyard of the LORD's house” to speak to the crowds that would be there (cf. 19:14). The area was the outer court where the people were allowed to assemble. It may have been a festival day when great throngs of worshipers would have been at the temple. It was an appropriate place to denounce the people's misplaced trust in the temple to protect them from outside threats. Most scholars agree that the temple sermon of chap. 26 was the same sermon described in 7:1–15. The emphasis of 7:1–15 was on the content of the sermon whereas chap. 26 focuses on the reaction of the people to the message. However, it is not impossible that Jeremiah delivered a similar message at the temple on more than one occasion. Jeremiah was admonished not to omit a word from what God commanded him to speak (cf. Deut 4:2; 12:32). Jeremiah's messages would result in threats against his life. Therefore it would have been tempting for

him to modify the messages in order to receive a favorable hearing from his audiences or to escape harm to himself. He did not fall to this temptation and courageously proclaimed God's word in the midst of conflict. The same dilemma confronts those today who have been entrusted with a message from the Lord that will not be favorably received but who at the same time want to be popular. Believers today must follow the example of Jeremiah's courage and faithfulness. 26:3–5 These verses imply that we are free to accept or reject God's words, but we will suffer the consequences. God blesses obedience and punishes disobedience. God's attitude toward sin and disobedience does not change, but we can change. The disobedient can become obedient; the obedient can become disobedient (18:1–12; cf. Ezek 18:21,24). Judah refused to listen to the Lord's prophets, though he had sent prophets to them “again and again” (lit., “rising early and sending,” a favorite expression of Jeremiah; it is found elsewhere in the OT only in 2 Chr 36:15). 26:6 If the people continued to ignore God's warnings, he threatened to destroy Jerusalem and the temple, even as he had destroyed Shiloh. Jerusalem would become an object of cursing among other nations. By referring to Shiloh, once the place where Israel worshiped God (Josh 18:1; 1 Sam 1:3),4 Jeremiah was attacking the misplaced belief of the people that God would never allow the temple to be destroyed. By threatening a curse on the temple, Jeremiah should have anticipated a violent reaction from the people. His words were blasphemous to them. An attack on the temple was an attack on their religious system (cf. Jesus' warnings of destruction of the temple; Mark 13:2; Luke 19:44–48). (2) Arrest and Trial of Jeremiah (26:7–19) 7The

priests, the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speak these words in the house of the LORD. 8But as soon as Jeremiah finished telling all the people everything the LORD had commanded him to say, the priests, the prophets and all the people seized him and said, “You must die! 9Why do you prophesy in the LORD's name that this house will be like Shiloh and this city will be desolate and

deserted?” And all the people crowded around Jeremiah in the house of the LORD. 10When the officials of Judah heard about these things, they went up from the royal palace to the house of the LORD and took their places at the entrance of the New Gate of the LORD's house. 11Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials and all the people, “This man should be sentenced to death because he has prophesied against this city. You have heard it with your own ears!” 12Then Jeremiah said to all the officials and all the people: “The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the things you have heard. 13Now reform your ways and your actions and obey the LORD your God. Then the LORD will relent and not bring the disaster he has pronounced against you. 14As for me, I am in your hands; do with me whatever you think is good and right. 15Be assured, however, that if you put me to death, you will bring the guilt of innocent blood on yourselves and on this city and on those who live in it, for in truth the LORD has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing.” 16Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “This man should not be sentenced to death! He has spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God.” 17Some of the elders of the land stepped forward and said to the entire assembly of people, 18“Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah. He told all the people of Judah, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty says: “‘Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.’ 19“Did Hezekiah king of Judah or anyone else in Judah put him to death? Did not Hezekiah fear the LORD and seek his favor? And did not the LORD relent, so that he did not bring the disaster he pronounced against them? We are about to bring a terrible disaster on ourselves!”

This passage contains the most complete account of a trial in the OT. It describes the arrest (v. 8), accusation against the defendant (v. 9), the actual trial, including the defendant's defense testimony (vv. 10–15), and the verdict (v. 16). 26:7–9 Jeremiah's audience was composed of priests, prophets,5 and “all the people.” This last phrase only means those who were present to hear Jeremiah. It does not imply that every person in Jerusalem was present. This phrase is repeated in vv. 8–9,11–12,16. It should be noted that in vv. 11–12,16 “all the people” sided with the officials who supported Jeremiah. In vv. 7–9 they appear to have been supporting the priests and prophets who opposed Jeremiah. The reaction to Jeremiah's seemingly blasphemous words was immediate and violent. There was an outcry from priests, prophets, and the people to put Jeremiah to death ( expressed emphatically in Hebrew as “to die you shall die”). The angry crowd was certain that no true prophet would announce the destruction of the sacred temple and city. They were confident that they were obeying the Scriptures that required a false prophet be put to death (Deut 18:20). 26:10–11 Fortunately for Jeremiah some of the officials (or “princes”) heard what was happening and intervened. Some believe that members of the royal household intervened. Others believe that they were only court officials, civil rulers, or heads of influential families. The officials sat down at the entrance of the New Gate of the Lord's house, a gate otherwise difficult to identify. It may have been the gate rebuilt by Jotham (2 Kgs 15:35). The purpose of the gathering was to try Jeremiah on the spot to determine if he had committed blasphemy. If so, he should be put to death as the priests demanded. 26:12 Jeremiah was allowed to speak on his own behalf. His only defense was that the Lord had sent him; therefore he must speak (20:9; cf. Amos 3:8). 26:13–15 The accused became the accuser as Jeremiah warned the people to reform their ways and actions and obey the Lord. That was the only way God would relent and not bring about the disaster he had promised. Jeremiah then cast himself on the mercy of the officials who were serving as judges of the dispute. He was willing for them to do

whatever they thought was good and right. At the same time he warned them of the consequences of shedding innocent blood (7:6; 22:3; cf. 2:34; 22:17; Deut 19:10; 21:8; Jonah 1:14). Jeremiah proclaimed his innocence by insisting that the Lord had sent him to warn the people of the consequences of their faithlessness. 26:16 To their credit the officials, now joined by the people, made the right decision. Jeremiah's eloquent defense convinced them, at least for the moment, that his message was not worthy of his death. They rejected the accusation of the priests and prophets by acquitting Jeremiah of the charges. For the moment Jeremiah was vindicated as a true prophet in the eyes of the people, but they were not convinced. Subsequent events would indicate that they did not continue to believe that Jeremiah was a true prophet (e.g., 43:2). 26:17–18 To give further support to the decision of the officials, some of the elders stepped forward and addressed the assembly of people. The Hebrew word for “elder” can refer to older men in general; however, it became a technical term for an important body of leaders in ancient Israel (Num 11:24–25). The elders reminded the people that Micah of Moresheth had warned of Jerusalem's coming destruction in words equally as harsh as Jeremiah's words. Moresheth-Gath (Mic 1:14) was located near Gath, a Philistine city. It has been identified as Tell ej-Judeideh, about twenty-five miles southwest of Jerusalem. Micah prophesied in the days of King Hezekiah (715–687), one of two kings of Judah cited by the writers of 1, 2 Kings for their faithfulness, the other being Josiah. The elders quoted Mic 3:12 verbatim (the only time in the OT that another prophet is quoted by name). The fact that Micah was quoted shows that the words of the prophets were already being collected and preserved in written form. Micah's similar prophecy was indirectly responsible for saving Jeremiah's life. Micah had warned that Zion would be leveled to the ground like a plowed field. “Zion” in the OT sometimes refers to the city of Jerusalem, to the temple area, or to the people of Jerusalem. The context will determine which meaning is intended. Micah further warned that the city itself would become a heap of rubble. No traces of the temple would remain. The hill on which it once stood would become overgrown with thickets.

26:19 The elders reminded the people that though Micah's words were as judgmental as Jeremiah's, he was not put to death. Hezekiah was a king who feared the Lord and sought his favor.6 The expression “seek his favor” is lit. “smooth the face.” It suggests that one would seek a favorable response from another by stroking the face to soften the countenance. It later came to mean seek the favor, without reference to its original meaning. Though unstated, an implied contrast was being made between the two kings, Hezekiah and Jehoiakim. One listened to the prophet; the other did not. (3) Arrest and Slaying of Uriah the Prophet (26:20–23) 20(Now

Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath Jearim was another man who prophesied in the name of the LORD; he prophesied the same things against this city and this land as Jeremiah did. 21When King Jehoiakim and all his officers and officials heard his words, the king sought to put him to death. But Uriah heard of it and fled in fear to Egypt. 22King Jehoiakim, however, sent Elnathan son of Acbor to Egypt, along with some other men. 23They brought Uriah out of Egypt and took him to King Jehoiakim, who had him struck down with a sword and his body thrown into the burial place of the common people.) Verses 20–23 appear to interrupt the narrative about Jeremiah's trial and acquittal. They are about an otherwise unknown prophet named Uriah (Urijah, KJV). It is not known when the events took place other than in the reign of Jehoiakim. Most scholars believe the verses were deliberately placed here to show how much Jeremiah's life was in jeopardy because of his preaching. Uriah spoke words very much like Jeremiah and was put to death. Another reason for the insertion of the narrative here may have been to contrast Jehoiakim with Hezekiah. Hezekiah listened to Micah, and disaster was averted; Jehoiakim refused to listen to Jeremiah. The intended conclusion the reader was expected to draw is obvious—Jehoiakim was bringing disaster to Judah.

26:20 “Uriah” is not to be confused with Uriah in the David and Bathsheba story (2 Sam 11, some four hundred years prior to Jeremiah). Uriah was from Kiriath Jearim, the resting place of the ark of the covenant for twenty years (1 Sam 7:1–2; called Baalah of Judah, 2 Sam 6:2). Kiriath Jearim has been identified as Tell el-Azar, nine miles northwest of Jerusalem, near Kuriet el-Enab. Uriah prophesied similar warnings as did Jeremiah “against this city” (i.e., Jerusalem). 26:21–22 When Jehoiakim and his officials heard Uriah's message, the king determined to put him to death. Uriah fled to Egypt in fear for his life. His response paralleled that of Elijah, who fled from the threats of Jezebel (1 Kgs 19:1–3). At the time Uriah prophesied, Judah was an Egyptian vassal (2 Kgs 23:34), so it was easy for Jehoiakim to request the authorities to extradite a man accused of treason. Jehoiakim sent Elnathan son of Acbor along with some other men to bring Uriah back from Egypt. Elnathan was one of those who urged Jehoiakim not to burn the scroll of Jeremiah that was read to him (36:12,25; cf. 2 Kgs 22:12–14). If Elnathan son of Acbor in 26:22 is the same as Elnathan in 2 Kgs 24:8, he was Jehoiakim's father-in-law. 26:23 When Uriah was taken to Jehoiakim, the monarch ordered his immediate execution. To bring further dishonor on the murdered prophet, Uriah was denied burial in his family tomb. Jehoiakim ordered his body to be buried in the burial place of the common people, located in the Kidron Valley (2 Kgs 23:6). This place was usually reserved for those who were too poor to purchase their own burial plot. Such people were quickly forgotten, but Uriah has been remembered through Scripture as a prophet of God who lost his life because of his faithful preaching of God's word. (4) The Release of Jeremiah (26:24) 24Furthermore,

Ahikam son of Shaphan supported Jeremiah, and so he was not handed over to the people to be put to death. 26:24 Verse 24 resumes the narrative interrupted by vv. 20–23 and gives the outcome of Jeremiah's trial. He was not handed over to the people to be executed. Instead, he was set free under the protection of Ahikam son of Shaphan. The mention of Ahikam serves as a reminder that Jeremiah had

friends in high places, even within the royal court itself. Second Kings 22:12 lists Ahikam as one of five sent by Josiah to consult the prophetess Huldah about the Book of the Law found in the temple. He was the father of Gedaliah, who was appointed governor of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar (39:14). He may have been the son of Shaphan, called the secretary (2 Kgs 22:12). Baruch read Jeremiah's scroll in the room of another son of Shaphan (Jer 36:10). It was unfortunate for Uriah that he did not have an advocate who could protect him. Chapter 26 records the story of two faithful and courageous prophets, Jeremiah and Uriah. Believers today can learn much from these prophets. First, believers should never be afraid to proclaim (i.e., speak and live) the word of God. Second, in the presence of known and unknown enemies, God's promise to Jeremiah (1:19) is also a promise to those who are faithful to God's will. Third, persecution of such believers can be severe (death of Uriah) and trying (Jeremiah's trial); nevertheless, such faithfulness to God is rewarded by knowing that God is present at all times in the lives of such faithful witnesses.7

2. Jeremiah's Symbolic Yoke (27:1–22) Chapters 27–29 form a literary unit that deals with Jeremiah's continuing struggle with the false prophets. These messages should have put to rest any false hopes that Babylon's rule would be brief. Historically, they remind us that Jeremiah was unable to convince the people, either in Jerusalem or among the exiles in Babylon, that he was God's prophet. Biblically, they reveal how Jeremiah's words were remembered and how these words became Scripture, i.e., that his words eventually came to pass, thus proving that he was God's prophet (Deut 18:15–22). (1) Warning to the Nations to Serve Nebuchadnezzar (27:1–11) 1Early

in the reign of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2This is what the LORD said

to me: “Make a yoke out of straps and crossbars and put it on your neck. 3Then send word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon through the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. 4Give them a message for their masters and say, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Tell this to your masters: 5With my great power and outstretched arm I made the earth and its people and the animals that are on it, and I give it to anyone I please. 6Now I will hand all your countries over to my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; I will make even the wild animals subject to him. 7All nations will serve him and his son and his grandson until the time for his land comes; then many nations and great kings will subjugate him. 8“‘“If, however, any nation or kingdom will not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon or bow its neck under his yoke, I will punish that nation with the sword, famine and plague, declares the LORD, until I destroy it by his hand. 9So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your interpreters of dreams, your mediums or your sorcerers who tell you, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’ 10They prophesy lies to you that will only serve to remove you far from your lands; I will banish you and you will perish. 11But if any nation will bow its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let that nation remain in its own land to till it and to live there, declares the LORD.” ‘ “ Chapters 27–28 contain the longest recorded account of one of Jeremiah's symbolic acts. Chapter 27 is composed of three prose sections: (1) a warning to other nations (vv. 1–11), (2) a warning to King Zedekiah (vv. 12–15), and (3) a warning to the priests and the people (vv. 16–22). The warning was essentially the same to each of those addressed—serve Nebuchadnezzar in order to live. 27:1–2 Verses 1–11, directed to other nations, imply that God has authority over nations that do not recognize him as God (cf. 25:15–29). As Creator he is sovereign over all nations. Deliverance could come to other nations on the same terms offered to Judah—submit to Babylon. It should be noted that Jeremiah was called to be a prophet to the nations (1:5).

The Lord instructed Jeremiah8 to perform a symbolic act “early in the reign of Zedekiah.” 9 He told Jeremiah to make a yoke (lit. “yokes”) out of straps and crossbars and place it on his neck. The ox yoke was a wooden bar or bars fastened about the neck by leather thongs. It was placed on cattle or oxen for plowing or threshing. The plural “yokes” has been interpreted to mean Jeremiah wore more than one yoke on his neck to represent the various kings who should submit to Babylon. The plural is better explained as a wooden bar over the neck and another under the neck joined by thongs. The purpose of the symbolic act was to show the nations how they could escape destruction: through unconditional surrender. Such an act may seem contrary to God's will, i.e., submitting to the enemy, but God does not think as humans do. To find life in God during Jeremiah's day was to give up home, country, and temple, which the people of Judah were not anxious to do. They believed that God could be found only in the temple (7:4) when God wanted to be found in their hearts (4:4; 31:31–34). 27:3–5 The verses that follow interpret the symbolic act. The yoke and crossbars represented submissiveness of the nations to Babylon (cf. 1 Kgs 22:11; Ezek 7:23; see also Isa 20:1–6, where Isaiah's symbolic act revealed that Egypt would submit to Assyria). Jeremiah was instructed to “send word” (lit. “send them”10) to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon. Since those rulers were not in Jerusalem, the message would reach them through their envoys who were in Jerusalem. They would observe Jeremiah wearing the yoke and then take the message contained in the symbolic act to their rulers. No reason is given for the gathering of the envoys in Jerusalem. It is quite likely they were there to plot rebellion against Babylon. Verse 5 is a remarkable proclamation of the sovereignty of God over all nations. God had made the earth by his great power and “outstretched arm”11 and everything in it. Therefore he could give it to whomever he pleased. He could do whatever he desired with the nations. 27:6–7 The Lord announced that he was going to “hand all your countries” to Nebuchadnezzar, the Lord's servant.12 (See 25:9 for a discussion of Nebuchadnezzar as the Lord's servant; cf. 43:10.) Even the wild animals would be subject to him, a dramatic way of expressing the sovereignty of God over all creation (cf. Isa 11:6–9).

Submission to Babylon would be temporary. All nations would serve Nebuchadnezzar, his son, and his grandson until time for Babylon's punishment. The expression “his son and his grandson” (lit. “son's son”) must not be taken literally. It is an idiom for a long period of time. A literal interpretation would require that only two kings succeeded Nebuchadnezzar before Babylon was subjugated by others nations (cf. 25:14). Historically, Nebuchadnezzar was succeeded by his son Amel-marduk (the biblical EvilMerodach), but not by a grandson. Amel-marduk was succeeded by Neriglissar, his brother-in-law. He was followed by Nabonidus (and Belshazzar, who served as regent during his father's absence from Babylon; Dan 5). The Babylonian Empire was toppled by Persia under Cyrus in 539, even as 27:7 anticipated. 27:8 The Lord had a warning for any nation or kingdom that would not submit to Nebuchadnezzar's yoke. That nation would be punished by sword, famine, and plague (see 14:12 for the first occurrence of this triad in Jeremiah). It would be destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar's “hand” (i.e., his military might). 27:9–10 Judah was not the only nation plagued by false prophets. The Lord warned the other nations not to listen to their prophets or diviners. Diviners were people who read omens and claimed to communicate with higher powers through the reading of omens (cf. Josh 13:22; Ezek 13:9).13 Judah was warned not to listen to “interpreters of dreams” (lit. “your dreams”; cf. Deut 13:1–5; Jer 23:25–32). They also were warned not to listen to “mediums” (translated as “soothsayers,” RSV; “diviners,” NJPS), a people whose function was uncertain. Consulting them was prohibited by Deut 18:9–13 (cf. Mic 5:12). Sorcerers, those who practiced magic, were also assuring the people that they would not serve Babylon (cf. Exod 22:18; Lev 19:26; Mal 3:5). Their reassuring lies only stiffened the people's resistance against Jeremiah's warnings. Their refusal to listen to Jeremiah would result in their removal from their land. They would perish in faraway places. 27:11 The people would not go into exile if they would submit to the Babylonian yoke and serve Nebuchadnezzar. God's plan of deliverance did not agree with their logic. Domination by a foreign power hardly seemed to be an attractive option for those who heard Jeremiah's words. Resistance

appeared to be the only viable alternative; yet following that course would eventually lead to the nation's downfall. (2) Warning to King Zedekiah to Serve Nebuchadnezzar (27:12–15) 12“I

gave the same message to Zedekiah king of Judah. I said, “Bow your neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and you will live. 13Why will you and your people die by the sword, famine and plague with which the LORD has threatened any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14Do not listen to the words of the prophets who say to you, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they are prophesying lies to you. 15‘I have not sent them,’ declares the LORD. ‘They are prophesying lies in my name. Therefore, I will banish you and you will perish, both you and the prophets who prophesy to you.’” 27:12–13 The same message that had been given to the nations was now given to Zedekiah. Perhaps he was considering rebellion and needed to be warned that his course of action would lead to calamity for Judah. He was admonished to bow his neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him in order to live. Jeremiah warned him not to listen to the prophets who were advising him against submission to Babylon. That decision would only lead to death and exile. 27:14–15 Though 27:12 is addressed to Zedekiah, the plural pronoun “you” (27:14–15) and the plural verbs used throughout 27:12–15 (“bow … serve … live … die … listen … perish”) show that the entire nation was included in the appeal to Zedekiah. The Lord warned Zedekiah, as he had warned the rulers in 27:1–11, not to listen to the lies of the prophets because he had not sent them. Because they believed the false prophets, the Lord declared that he would banish both Zedekiah and the prophets who were leading him astray (see 39:5–7, where the fate predicted here for Zedekiah overtook him). (3) Warning to the Priests and All the People (27:16–22)

16Then

I said to the priests and all these people, “This is what the LORD says: Do not listen to the prophets who say, ‘Very soon now the articles from the LORD's house will be brought back from Babylon.’ They are prophesying lies to you. 17Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon, and you will live. Why should this city become a ruin? 18If they are prophets and have the word of the LORD, let them plead with the LORD Almighty that the furnishings remaining in the house of the LORD and in the palace of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem not be taken to Babylon. 19For this is what the LORD Almighty says about the pillars, the Sea, the movable stands and the other furnishings that are left in this city, 20which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take away when he carried Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem—21yes, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says about the things that are left in the house of the LORD and in the palace of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem: 22'They will be taken to Babylon and there they will remain until the day I come for them,’ declares the LORD. ‘Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.’” 27:16 Verses 16–22 contain the same warning as found in vv. 1–15. Now the warning was directed to the priests and the people. They were warned not to listen to the prophets who assured them that the articles previously taken from the temple would soon be brought back from Babylon. These included the treasures made by Solomon (1 Kgs 7:15–50) and shown by Hezekiah to the Babylonians (2 Kgs 20:12–18). Some of the treasures had been taken to Babylon at the time of Jehoiachin's exile (2 Kgs 24:13; cf. Dan 5:2). 27:17–18 The Lord told the priests and people not to listen to their prophets. Their only hope of survival was to repent and surrender to the king of Babylon. With undisguised irony, Jeremiah challenged the false prophets to pray to prevent the remaining furnishings from being carried away to Babylon. 27:19–21 Among the articles that remained in the city, which would be taken, were the bronze pillars called Jakin and Boaz that stood in front of the temple (1 Kgs 7:15–22; 2 Chr 3:15–17). The bronze Sea, where the

priests washed their hands and feet before offering sacrifices, would be taken (1 Kgs 7:23–26; 2 Chr 4:4–5). The movable bronze stands that supported the ten basins where the sacrificial animals were washed would also be taken (1 Kgs 7:27–37; 2 Chr 4:6). All other furnishings not taken when Jehoiachin was carried into exile would also be taken away along with the nobles of the country. Because of the size of the pillars, the Sea, and movable stands, all made of bronze, the Babylonians broke them into smaller pieces before transporting them to Babylon (2 Kgs 25:13–17; Jer 52:17). 27:22 The chapter closes on a note of hope for the future. Even though the temple vessels would be taken to Babylon, a day would come when the Lord would return them and restore them to their rightful place in the temple. Ezra 1:7–11 says they were brought back by order of King Cyrus when he permitted the exiles to return after he defeated the Babylonians in 539. Though the major emphasis of Jer 27 is on God's threat of punishment if the people refused to submit to the Babylonian yoke, it also speaks of another facet of God's nature. He is always ready to forgive and give an opportunity for a new beginning. The same God who pronounces judgment on sin also proclaims hope for those who will turn to him. God forgives and gives second chances.

3. Conflict between Jeremiah and Hananiah (28:1–17) Jeremiah's encounter with Hananiah in chap. 28 is a continuation of Jeremiah's symbolic act performed in chap. 27. First, the prophecy of Hananiah is recorded (vv. 1–4). Jeremiah's response to Hananiah follows (vv. 5–9). Next, Hananiah offers his own symbolic act (vv. 10–11). Jeremiah leaves for a while, and when he returns, he denounces Hananiah (vv. 12–17). The theme of the chapter seems to be centered in the idea of truth. Who is proclaiming the true word of God? Both prophets claim that they are, but in the end it was Jeremiah who proved to be the true prophet of God.

(1) Hananiah's False Prophecy (28:1–4) 1In

the fifth month of that same year, the fourth year, early in the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, said to me in the house of the LORD in the presence of the priests and all the people: 2“This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3Within two years I will bring back to this place all the articles of the LORD's house that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon removed from here and took to Babylon. 4I will also bring back to this place Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and all the other exiles from Judah who went to Babylon,’ declares the LORD, ‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’” 28:1–2 It is generally assumed that the events of this chapter are to be dated the same as 27:1—July/August 594. However, the MT is ambiguous: “It occurred in that year at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah in the fourth year in the fifth month.” The NIV and NJPS attempt to harmonize “at the beginning” with “in the fourth year” by translating “at the beginning” as “early in the reign.”14 A prophet named Hananiah appears in this chapter as an adversary of Jeremiah. He is not mentioned elsewhere in the OT; nothing else is known about him. His name, a common one in ancient Israel, means The Lord has been gracious. Hananiah is identified as the son of an otherwise unknown Azzur from Gibeon. Gibeon was located in the territory of Benjamin, as was Jeremiah's hometown, Anathoth. It was one of the priests' cities (Josh 21:17), which suggests that Hananiah may himself have been a priest. If so, his credibility as a prophet would have been enhanced because of his priestly status. Gibeon had important historical associations in the memory of Israel (Josh 9:1–26; 10:1–14; 2 Sam 2:12–17; 20:8–13; 1 Kgs 3:4–15). Hananiah confronted Jeremiah in the temple in the presence of priests and a number of people. He began to speak to him (“to me,” MT; the only time in this chapter that Jeremiah speaks in the first person; elsewhere in chap. 28 he is referred to in the third person). The bold language and demeanor of Hananiah raises a question, “Was he sincere though selfdeceived, or was he deliberately pretending to be a prophet of God?” In

support of his sincerity, he contradicted Jeremiah's warnings with a show of authority. He boldly used the same introductory formula as Jeremiah: “This is what the LORD … says.” Furthermore, he was called a prophet, just as was Jeremiah.15 When he announced “I will break the yoke,” he used the prophetic perfect (also called the perfect of certainty). Thus his statement could be translated, “I have broken the yoke” (LXX, NRSV). This use of the verb (perfect) indicates a future event as already completed; it more commonly occurs in the prophets. Moreover, Hananiah set definite dates (“two years”) and used specific names (“Jehoiachin”; Jeconiah, MT, a variant of Jehoiachin). He confidently broke the yoke worn by Jeremiah and announced that Babylon's domination was soon coming to an end. To risk such exactness of words and actions would seem unlikely if he wanted to protect himself by stating his predictions in more vague language. Hananiah may have been emboldened to make his predictions because of turmoil in Babylon. The Babylonian Chronicles indicate that Nebuchadnezzar was putting down a revolt in Babylon at that time. His preoccupation with troubles elsewhere may have encouraged Hananiah's optimistic belief of imminent return of the exiles. It is probable, therefore, that Hananiah thought of himself as a real prophet of God. People must, however, be cautious when they confuse their own desires and ideas (i.e., Hananiah) with those of God. 28:3–4 Hananiah announced that the temple vessels would be returned within two years. His prediction contradicted Jeremiah's statement in 27:21–22 that the vessels would not be returned for a long time (cf. Ezra 1:7–11, which records the decree of Cyrus that permitted the return of the temple vessels back to Jerusalem). Not only did Hananiah say the vessels would be returned, but he also announced that Jehoiachin and all the other exiles from Judah would return. This was a contradiction of Jeremiah's prophecy that Jehoiachin would not return (22:26–27). Many commentators call attention to the mention of the temple vessels before the king and assume the order was intended to downplay the importance of the king. However, prior mention of the vessels may not be significant. The temple and anything connected with it would have been held in higher esteem than the king himself. Hananiah erred in stating that Jehoiachin would return

soon. However, his prediction does indicate that Jehoiachin was still considered to be the legitimate ruler of Judah, though in exile.16 (2) Jeremiah's Response to Hananiah (28:5–9) 5Then

the prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah before the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the LORD. 6He said, “Amen! May the LORD do so! May the LORD fulfill the words you have prophesied by bringing the articles of the LORD's house and all the exiles back to this place from Babylon. 7Nevertheless, listen to what I have to say in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people: 8From early times the prophets who preceded you and me have prophesied war, disaster and plague against many countries and great kingdoms. 9But the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the LORD only if his prediction comes true.” 28:5–6 Jeremiah understood that Hananiah was challenging his authority as a prophet. His response, “Amen!” [which occurs elsewhere in Jeremiah only in 11:517] “May the Lord do so!” has been interpreted by many scholars as a sarcastic response, but Jeremiah was sincere. He did not defend himself or challenge Hananiah by saying, “You are lying,” as might be expected. Because of his love for his people, he hoped that Hananiah was correct. However, Hananiah's prophecy must have caused Jeremiah to wonder if the Lord had bypassed him. He did not presumptuously assume that he was the only one who could speak for God. 28:7–9 Jeremiah reminded Hananiah that other prophets before them had prophesied “war, disaster, and plague.”18 Such messages were not popular. The people preferred to hear reassuring words and paid those prophets who spoke what they wanted to hear (cf. Mic 3:5). Jeremiah reminded Hananiah that one who preached peace would be vindicated as a prophet only if his predictions came true.19 Jeremiah must have had in mind the fulfillment test of Deut 18:20–22, the best evidence of the truthfulness of a prophet's predictions. In the contest between Jeremiah and Hananiah, time would tell which prophet was right.

(3) Hananiah's Symbolic Act (28:10–11) 10Then

the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it, 11and he said before all the people, “This is what the LORD says: ‘In the same way will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon off the neck of all the nations within two years.’” At this, the prophet Jeremiah went on his way. 28:10–11 Emboldened by Jeremiah's reluctance to challenge him, Hananiah proceeded to perform his own symbolic act. He removed the yoke from Jeremiah's neck and broke it in the presence of the people. His purpose was to nullify Jeremiah's symbolic act by counteracting it with another (cf. Isa 9:4). By means of his symbolic act, Hananiah announced that the Lord was going to break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar from all the nations. Then he added a specific time for fulfillment—”within two years.” His bold words would incite those who wanted to rebel against their Babylonian masters. They would also encourage those who refused to settle down in Babylon because they believed they would return home soon (see 29:5–6). (4) Jeremiah's Denunciation of Hananiah (28:12–17) 12Shortly

after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 13“Go and tell Hananiah, ‘This is what the LORD says: You have broken a wooden yoke, but in its place you will get a yoke of iron. 14This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I will put an iron yoke on the necks of all these nations to make them serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they will serve him. I will even give him control over the wild animals.’” 15Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen, Hananiah! The LORD has not sent you, yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in lies. 16Therefore, this is what the LORD says: ‘I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. This very year you are going to die, because you have preached rebellion against the LORD.’”

17In

the seventh month of that same year, Hananiah the prophet

died. 28:12–14 We are not told how much time elapsed before the Lord's reassurance came to Jeremiah. It is important to observe that the text never says that the word of the Lord came to Hananiah, but it did come to Jeremiah. W. Holladay suggests that the confession in 15:10–21 is centered in this conflict with Hananiah. Thus Jeremiah may have questioned his prophetic commission, but in the end (15:19–21), God and Jeremiah were together on this issue. Jeremiah received God's promise once again that he would be present with Jeremiah, and deliverance was assured.20 The Lord instructed Jeremiah to return to Hananiah and tell him that although he broke a wooden yoke, an iron yoke would take its place (cf. 15:12). Iron could not be broken like wood; Judah would not escape Babylon's yoke. God was going to put an iron yoke on the neck of the nations, forcing them to serve Nebuchadnezzar. There is a time to rebel, and there is a time to submit (cf. Eccl 3:1). For Judah it was a time to submit. Earlier Hezekiah had resisted the Assyrians in 701, and God delivered Judah from the military threat (2 Kgs 19:14–19, 35–36; cf. Ahaz and Isaiah in Isa 7). However, if the people of Judah resisted the Babylonians in Jeremiah's day, God was not going to deliver them. Resistance would be considered an act of rebellion against God. The Babylonian ruler's control would extend even over the wild animals, an emphatic way of emphasizing his absolute sovereignty over the nations he conquered (cf. 27:5–6). 28:15–16 After reaffirming the Lord's inescapable judgment on Judah, Jeremiah turned to Hananiah and pronounced judgment on him. Because Hananiah had persuaded the nation to “trust in lies,” he would die that same year.21 Death was the Deuteronomic penalty for false prophets (Deut 13:5; 18:20). Hananiah had preached rebellion against the Lord by announcing that the period of punishment would end quickly. 28:17 Hananiah's punishment was swift. He had said two years would pass before deliverance for Judah, but he died only two months after his confrontation with Jeremiah (cf. 28:1 and 28:17). His sudden death for lying reminds of Pelatiah's death (Ezek 11:13) and the deaths of Ananias

and Sapphira (Acts 5:1–11). These are isolated incidents and are not the norm. They do, however, illustrate the seriousness of sin: one should never lie to or about God. Hananiah's encounter with Jeremiah contains some significant theological truths: (1) God's ways may not seem logical, but one had better follow them. Judah's deliverance would come through submission, not resistance. The NT speaks of achieving greatness through servanthood (Matt 23:11; Luke 22:26) and of being set free through submission to Christ (John 8:32–36). It speaks of death in order to live (Matt 16:25), of giving in order to receive (Luke 6:38), of forgiving as we are forgiven (Matt 6:14–15; Luke 6:37). (2) The passage also serves as a solemn reminder not to teach what is contrary to God's Word, even if sincere. We must not confuse our own beliefs and desires with the will of God. We are held accountable for every careless word spoken (Matt 12:36). (3) Underlying the entire passage is the implicit warning of the necessity of obeying God in order to be blessed. Disobedience will result in punishment (Deut 11:26–28; 28:15–68). (4) The absolute sovereignty of God over history and human affairs is explicitly taught in chap. 28. There was no escape from the iron yoke of submission to Nebuchadnezzar in spite of Hananiah's bold words and the hope of the people in those words. Hope does not bring deliverance, but God does and in his own way.

4. Jeremiah's Letter to the Exiles (29:1–32) Chapter 29 is composed mainly of letters that were sent between Jerusalem and Babylon. Jeremiah received information that false prophets in Babylon were telling the exiles they would return home soon. The exiles made little or no effort, therefore, to adjust to their new surroundings for a long stay. Disturbed by their unrealistic attitude, Jeremiah sent a letter, exhorting them to settle down, build homes, and plant gardens; for he knew they would be in Babylon many years (25:11). (1) Sending of the Letter (29:1–3)

1This

is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets and all the other people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2(This was after King Jehoiachin and the queen mother, the court officials and the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen and the artisans had gone into exile from Jerusalem.) 3He entrusted the letter to Elasah son of Shaphan and to Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It said: 29:1–2 The exact date of the letter Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem is unknown, but it probably was soon after 597 (see v. 2). The letter is a valuable reminder that communication from one country to another was not uncommon in the ANE.22 Jeremiah's letter was addressed to several of the exiles, including the “surviving elders.” The word translated “surviving” ordinarily means remnant or remainder. Those elders may be ones who survived the journey to Babylon, were still living since arriving there, or were those who had not been executed by Nebuchadnezzar. The letter was also addressed to the priests, prophets, and all the people Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem to Babylon in 597 (52:28 says that number was 3,023). Verse 2 indicates the kind of people Nebuchadnezzar selected for exile. In addition to King Jehoiachin (Heb. Jeconiah), who was a political prisoner, the queen mother, Nehushta (2 Kgs 24:8; cf. Jer 13:18), and certain court officials were taken. The word translated “court officials” can also mean eunuch (cf. 2 Kgs 20:18; Esth 1:10). The word is used of Potiphar (Gen 39:1), but since he was married, its meaning is not limited to eunuch.23 Others taken who would be helpful to the Babylonians included leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, craftsmen, and artisans. 29:3 Jeremiah entrusted his letter to two men. One was Elasah son of Shaphan. Elasah probably was the brother of Ahikam (see 26:24) and perhaps the son of Josiah's secretary (2 Kgs 22:8). The other was Gemariah son of Hilkiah, not the Gemariah of 36:10–12,25. It cannot be determined whether this Hilkiah was Josiah's high priest (2 Kgs 22:4) or, though unlikely, Jeremiah's father (1:1). The two men appeared to have been friendly to Jeremiah, a reminder that he had friends in high places. They

were being sent to Nebuchadnezzar. The nature of their mission is not stated, but they may have been summoned by the Babylonian ruler to reassure him of Judah's loyalty. If so, they probably took tribute as tangible proof of Zedekiah's fealty. (2) A Warning against the False Prophets (29:4–23) 4This

is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5“Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” 8Yes, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. 9They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the LORD. 10This is what the LORD says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. 11For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” 15You may say, “The LORD has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,” 16but this is what the LORD says about the king who sits on David's throne and all the people who remain in this city, your countrymen who did not go with you into exile—17yes, this is what the

LORD Almighty says: “I will send the sword, famine and plague against them and I will make them like poor figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten. 18I will pursue them with the sword, famine and plague and will make them abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth and an object of cursing and horror, of scorn and reproach, among all the nations where I drive them. 19For they have not listened to my words,” declares the LORD, “words that I sent to them again and again by my servants the prophets. And you exiles have not listened either,” declares the LORD. 20Therefore, hear the word of the LORD, all you exiles whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon. 21This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies to you in my name: “I will hand them over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will put them to death before your very eyes. 22Because of them, all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse: ‘The LORD treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon burned in the fire.’ 23For they have done outrageous things in Israel; they have committed adultery with their neighbors' wives and in my name have spoken lies, which I did not tell them to do. I know it and am a witness to it,” declares the LORD. 29:4–6 Verses 4–23 contain the contents of Jeremiah's letter to the exiles. It is significant that the Lord, not Nebuchadnezzar, said, “I carried into exile.” The first person pronoun served notice to the exiles that what had recently happened to them was under God's sovereign control. The thrust of the message to the exiles was to settle down in Babylon for a long stay; the exile would not be brief. Apparently the exiles were impatient to return home, encouraged by the false prophets among them. They were given considerable freedom in Babylon, being able to move about freely and have normal life with only the restriction that they were not allowed to return to Judah. Life in Babylon was not rigorous as evidenced by the fact that when allowed to go home, some did not want to return (Ezra 8:15). The exiles were the “good figs” Jeremiah had spoken about (chap. 24). 29:7 In addition to exhorting the exiles to settle down in Babylon, Jeremiah appealed to them to pray for the peace and prosperity of “the city”

(in context, Babylon, not Jerusalem, is intended). Volz points out that this is the only place in the OT where prayer for one's enemies and for unbelievers is commended (cf. Matt 5:43–48; Rom 12:21; Titus 3:1–2; 1 Pet 2:18).24 It was practical advice though difficult to put into practice. It has never been easy to pray for one's enemies. However, it was in their best interest to do so. If Babylon prospered, the exiles would prosper also. Praying for the government has become a Jewish custom. Even today prayers for the head of state and other political leaders is part of Sabbath and festival services (cf. Wis 6:1–11; Rom 13:1–7). 29:8–9 Jeremiah reinforced his appeals of vv. 5–7 by warning the people not to let their prophets and “diviners” (mentioned elsewhere in Jeremiah only in 27:9) deceive them. All the false prophets or deceptive dreams25 were not in Jerusalem. They were prophesying lies in the Lord's name though he had not sent them. If the people were incited by their lies to rebel against the Babylonians, swift punishment would be inflicted on them. 29:10 Only through revelation would Jeremiah have been able to know that the empire days of Babylon would be so brief—seventy years (see 25:11–12 for discussion). When Babylon fell, Judah's time of punishment would end, and restoration would begin. God would keep his promise to return the exiles to their own land (see 27:22). 29:11–12 The Lord assured the people that what had happened was not a series of unplanned, accidental events. He said, “I know the plans” (lit. “I, I know”; emphatic in Heb.). His plan was not intended to hurt them but to give them “hope and a future” (perhaps a hendiadys, “a hopeful future”). He encouraged them to pray, for he would listen to them. However, see 11:14 and 14:11, where he told Jeremiah not to pray, for he would not listen. 29:13–14 Verse 13 is one of the great evangelistic texts of the OT (cf. Deut 4:29). It says God is accessible. If we seek him, we will find him when we want him more than all else (“with all your heart,” i.e., with the mind, the will). God assured his people that when they sought him wholeheartedly, he would be found. He would then gather them from all nations where he had scattered them and bring them back from captivity after they repented (cf. Deut 30:1–5). Those who interpret every mention of Israel's future return to the land as being fulfilled in the present era should

consider Deut 30:2–3, “When you … return [i.e., repent] … and obey … then the Lord … will gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you.” 29:15–17 The people insisted that the Lord had raised up prophets for them in Babylon, but he had not (cf. vv. 21–23).26 The pronouncement of judgment had not been lifted on Judah in spite of their reassuring words. He was still going to send sword, famine, and plague against them. They would become the “poor figs”27 so bad they could not be eaten (cf. chap. 24). 29:18 Continuing his pronouncement of judgment against Judah, the Lord repeated his threat to pursue them with sword, famine, and plague (a triad first mentioned in 14:12; cf. 29:17). He would make them abhorrent to all nations where he would drive them. They would become an object of cursing and “scorn” (lit. “whistling”; “hissing,” NRSV). The sight would be so shocking people would gasp in unbelief. 29:19 All these things would come on them because the people of Judah had not listened to the Lord's words through his servants the prophets he had sent “again and again” (lit. “rising early and sending”). Jeremiah reminded the exiles they had not listened either. 29:20–21 By way of warning concerning the fate of the false prophets who were leading the people astray, Jeremiah told the exiles of the coming fate of two of their prophets. The two prophets were Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah. Nothing else is known about the two men. Apparently their messages were treasonous. Perhaps they encouraged the people to revolt against their overlords and return home. They would be put to death on orders of Nebuchadnezzar with the exiles as witnesses. 29:22–23 Their horrible fate would make a lasting impression on the exiles. Later they would invoke the names of Ahab and Zedekiah as a curse on their enemies: “The Lord treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab.” Not only did those men speak lies in the Lord's name, but they committed adultery with their neighbors' wives. For punishment they would be burned in the fire by Nebuchadnezzar, a common form of Babylonian punishment (see Dan 3:20).28 Jeremiah's letter to the exiles ends with v. 23. Holladay's words are insightful: “Jeremiah here displays unlimited confidence in the power of the word of Yahweh to work through him across space and time.”29 This text should be read in light of Isa 55:10–11:

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out of my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. (3) Jeremiah's Response to Shemaiah's Letter (29:24–28) 24Tell

Shemaiah the Nehelamite, 25“This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You sent letters in your own name to all the people in Jerusalem, to Zephaniah son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the other priests. You said to Zephaniah, 26'The LORD has appointed you priest in place of Jehoiada to be in charge of the house of the LORD; you should put any madman who acts like a prophet into the stocks and neck-irons. 27So why have you not reprimanded Jeremiah from Anathoth, who poses as a prophet among you? 28He has sent this message to us in Babylon: It will be a long time. Therefore build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.’” Jeremiah's letter must have infuriated the false prophets in Babylon when they read it. One of them named Shemaiah wrote a letter in which he urged Zephaniah the priest to silence Jeremiah. Shemaiah's letter was read to Jeremiah. His reply is found in vv. 24–32. 29:24–25 Jeremiah addressed Shemaiah as the Nehelamite, which may be a family name or the name of an otherwise unknown town. Scholars have rejected the root of the word as “to dream” (hence, “the 30 dreamer”). Shemaiah is not mentioned elsewhere in the OT. Jeremiah informed Shemaiah that he was aware of the letter Shemaiah had sent in

“your own name,” i.e., not in the Lord's name or with his authority. He had sent it to “all the people in Jerusalem” and to Zephaniah son of Maaseiah the priest as well as to “all the other priests.” Zephaniah is mentioned in 21:1; 37:3. In 52:24 and 2 Kgs 25:18 he is next in rank to the high priest. Maaseiah is the name of the father of Zedekiah, the executed prophet (29:21). However, it is not certain that he is the same as the father of Zephaniah. 29:26–27 In vv. 26–28 Jeremiah quoted Shemaiah's letter to Zephaniah in his reply to Shemaiah. Shemaiah had reminded Zephaniah that the Lord appointed him priest to replace Jehoida (otherwise unknown). He was appointed to be in charge of the temple, the same function of Pashhur (see 20:1). He told Zephaniah that he should put “any madman [from a word that means “to howl”; cf. 2 Kgs 9:11; Hos 9:7] who acts like a prophet into the stocks and neck-irons.” Bright translates “any crazy fellow who takes himself for a prophet.”31 The neck irons would have kept a prisoner immobile while in the stocks. Lest anyone doubt that Shemaiah had Jeremiah in mind, he rebuked Zephaniah, “Why have you not reprimanded Jeremiah … who poses as a prophet?” Shemaiah considered himself to be a true prophet and Jeremiah a false prophet. 29:28 Shemaiah based his evaluation of Jeremiah as a false prophet on Jeremiah's advice to the exiles to settle down in Babylon for an extended stay. (4) A Message to the Exiles about Shemaiah (29:29–32) 29Zephaniah

the priest, however, read the letter to Jeremiah the prophet. 30Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 31“Send this message to all the exiles: ‘This is what the LORD says about Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, even though I did not send him, and has led you to believe a lie, 32this is what the LORD says: I will surely punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants. He will have no one left among this people, nor will he see the good things I will do for my people, declares the LORD, because he has preached rebellion against me.’”

29:29 Zephaniah read Shemaiah's threatening letter to Jeremiah, either as a friend or to warn him that what he was saying was being reported. It is more likely that he was Jeremiah's friend since he made no attempt to imprison him. 29:30–32 The Lord instructed Jeremiah to write a letter to the exiles concerning Shemaiah. In the letter the Lord repudiated Shemaiah's claim to be a prophet. Because he had not been sent by the Lord but was causing the people to believe his lies, the Lord pronounced punishment on him. He would die childless, considered the worst fate that could happen to an Israelite. Nor would he himself see the good things God was going to do for Judah. Like Hananiah's words, his lying words were equivalent to rebellion (cf. 28:16). The reader is not told when Shemaiah's sentence was carried out, but there is no reason to doubt that it was. His punishment is another solemn reminder of the seriousness of claiming to speak for God. Three themes are evident in Jer 26–29. First is the theme of truth: which prophet voiced the true words of God? In each case the answer is Jeremiah. This is in keeping with the law of recognizing a true prophet of God (Deut 18:15–22). Second, optimistic words do not mean that they are God's words. Many speak of being optimistic in crisis situations. And though there is nothing wrong with hope, hope is found in God's will, but optimism can be (as here in 26–29) blind to God's will. Third, people may often doubt whether or not they are faithfully proclaiming God's word when someone else is speaking just the opposite message. The answer is in prayer, i.e., conversation with God. If these chapters are reflected in the confessions, especially 15:10–21, then if one doubts one's message, prayer is the only way to know at the time that God is present (15:19–21). Jeremiah may have doubted, but when “the Word of the LORD came unto” him, he knew that he was God's prophet (26:1; 27:1; 28:12; 29:30). 1See

J. P. Sisson, “Jeremiah and the Jerusalem Conception of Peace,” JBL 105 (1986): 429–42. 2See R. P. Carroll, From Chaos to Covenant: Prophecy in the Book of Jeremiah (New York: Crossroad, 1981), 84–106, for a good discussion of the temple sermon(s) in Jer 7; 26.

3W.

Holladay, Jeremiah 2, Her (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1989), 103. 4See Josh 18:1; Judg 18:31; 21:19; 1 Sam 1:3; 2:14; 4:17–21; Ps 78:56– 64. 5Called

pseudoprophets in the LXX in vv. 7,8,11,16. The exact term “false prophet” is not found in the MT. 6For further study of “seek the favor,” see K. Seybold, in TDOT, ed. G. J. Botterweck and H. Ringgren (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980), 4:407– 9. 7See Holladay, Jeremiah 2, 110. 8The MT has a slightly different spelling of the name Jeremiah in all occurrences of the name in 27:1–29:1 Elsewhere in Jeremiah the usual spelling is found 9Jeremiah 28:1 specifically defines “early in the reign” of 27:1 as the fourth year, i.e., 594. The MT says Jehoiakim, but vv. 3,12,20 and 28:1 leave no doubt that Zedekiah is correct (with NIV and all modern translations). Syriac and a few Hebrew and Arabic MSS say Zedekiah. Some scholars attribute the confusion of names to a scribe who may have copied 26:1 by mistake for 27:1. The LXX lacks 27:1 altogether. 10The MT's “send them” could be interpreted as a command to send the yokes to the various kings, but this interpretation is unlikely. Only one yoke was made (or a pair of yokes), and it was worn by Jeremiah. 11“Irresistible might” (J. Bright, Jeremiah: Introduction, Translation, and Notes, AB [Garden City: Doubleday, 1965]). 12The name of the Babylonian monarch is spelled in the Hebrew as Nebuchadnezzar in chaps. 27–29, except for 29:21, where it is given the normal spelling Nebuchadrezzar. 13On various types of divination practiced in the ANE see W. W. Hallo and W. K. Simpson, The Ancient Near East: A History (New York: HBJ, 1971), 158–62; J. L. McKenzie, A Theology of the Old Testament (Garden City: Doubleday, 1974), 67–69. 14The LXX removes the ambiguity of the MT and reads: “It occurred in the fourth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fifth month.”

15The

MT of chap. 28 attaches “the prophet” to every occurrence of Hananiah's name (28:1, 5,10,12,15,17) except in 28:11,13,15. “The prophet” is attached to every occurrence of Jeremiah's name (28:5– 6,10,11,12,15) except one (28:12). The careful repetition of “theprophet” probably was intended to emphasize the differences in the claims of the two men to the prophetic office. The LXX calls Hananiah “false prophet” in 28:1, but nowhere else in the chapter does it call him or Jeremiah “the prophet.” 16Some Babylonian receipts for oil that refer to Jehoiachin king of Judah were found in the gateway of Babylon. Seal stamps have been found with the words “Belonging to Eliakim, the steward of Yaukin” (Jehoiachin). It is futile to speculate whether Zedekiah would have gracefully stepped down from the throne had Jehoiachin returned. 17“Amen” is from a word that means faithful, enduring, secure, stable. In 28:6 it has been translated as “I hope so” (JB); “So be it” (NJB); “May it be so” (NEB), and as “Amen” (NIV, KJV, NRSV, NAB, NJPS). 18Many MSS and the Vg read (“famine”) for the MT (“disaster”; lit. “evil”). “Famine” is a more usual word in the series, “war, famine, and plague.” 19See Sisson, “Jerusalem Conception of Peace.” 20W. Holladay, Jeremiah 2, 454–55. 21Verses 15–16 contain a deliberate wordplay: “The Lord has not sent you. … I am about to remove [lit. “send”] you.” in v. 15 is a Qal perfect; in v. 16 it is a Piel participle. 22D. Pardee, Handbook of Ancient Hebrew Letters, SBLSBS 15 (Chico, Cal.: Scholars, 1982). The OT mentions letters forty-eight times, e.g., David to Joab (2 Sam 11:14), Elijah to Jehoram (2 Chr 21:12–15), Sennacherib to Hezekiah (2 Kgs 19:9–14), Artaxerxes to Ezra (Ezra 7:11–26), and Sanballat to Nehemiah (Neh 6:5–7). 23For further reading on (“eunuch”), see TWOT 2:634–35; ISBE rev., 2:200–202; R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1965), 1:121. 24P. Volz, Der Prophet Jeremia, KAT 10 (Leipzig: Deichert, 1928), 269.

25The

MT is not clear whether the reference is to dreams of the people or dreams of the false prophets. The MT says, “Do not listen to your dreams which you cause to dream.” The LXX reads “your dreams which you dream.” One's translation depends on whether is taken as a causative (so NIV, REB, Holladay) or not (so NRSV, NASB, NJB, NJPS). 26The LXX omits vv. 16–20, except for the LXXL, which has the following order of verses: 14,16–20,15,21–23. Most commentators point out that vv. 16–20 interrupt the narrative between vv. 15 and 21. Such a lengthy passage must have been deliberately placed between vv. 15 and 21, whether or not the modern reader can understand the rationale for the placement. 27“Poor figs” is translated as “vile figs” (KJV, RSV), as “rotten figs” (NJB, REB), and as “loathsome figs” (NJPS). The word occurs only here, though the figure is in chap. 24. (“poor”) is from a word that means “horrible, disgusting” (BDB) or “split open” (KB). 28There is a play on words in vv. 21–22: (“Kolaiah”), (“curse”), and (“burn”). Execution by immolation is found in the Hammurapi law code 25, 110, 157. 29Holladay, Jeremiah 2, 144. 30This was a theory proposed by L. Yaure, “Elymas—Nehelamite— Pethor,” JBL 79 (1960): 297–314, esp. 306–9. However, the gentilic ending on Nehelamite negates the translation “dreamer.” 31Bright, AB, 206.

SECTION OUTLINE IX. MESSAGES OF HOPE FOR RESTORATION (30:1–33:26) 1. Promises of Restoration (30:1–24) (1) Introduction to the Messages (30:1–3) (2) Promise of Restoration for Jacob (30:4–11) (3) Promise of Healing for an Incurable Wound (30:12–17) (4) Promise of Restoration of the Fortunes of Jacob (30:18–22) (5) The Fierce Anger of the Lord (30:23–24) 2. The New Covenant (31:1–40) (1) The Rebuilding of Israel (31:1–6) (2) Return of the Scattered People (31:7–14) (3) The End of Rachel's Weeping for Her Children (31:15–22) (4) Description of Future Blessing (31:23–28) (5) Repudiation of a Popular Saying (31:29–30) (6) Announcement of a New Covenant (31:31–34) (7) God's Assurance of Israel's Eternal Duration (31:35–37)

(8) God's Promise That Jerusalem Would Be Rebuilt (31:38–40) 3. Jeremiah's Purchase of a Field in Anathoth (32:1– 44) (1) Jeremiah's Confinement During the Siege of Jerusalem (32:1–5) (2) Jeremiah's Purchase of a Field from a Cousin (32:6–15) (3) Jeremiah's Prayer (32:16–25) (4) God's Response to the Prayer (32:26–44) 4. Promise of Restoration (33:1–26) (1) The Rebuilding of Judah and Jerusalem (33:1– 9) (2) The Restoration of Joy and Thanks (33:10–11) (3) The Restoration of Pastures and Flocks (33:12– 13) (4) Restoration of the Davidic Dynasty and the Levitical Priesthood (33:14–26)

IX. MESSAGES OF HOPE FOR RESTORATION (30:1–33:26) The dominant emphasis in previous chapters of Jeremiah has been on judgment, occasionally interspersed with messages of hope (e.g., 2:1–3; 3:14–18; 23:1–8; 24:4–7). However, most of the book's messages of hope are found in chaps. 30–33, called collectively the Book of Consolation or the Book of Comfort. These chapters have been placed in the midst of

mostly biographical material. They anticipate a restoration of Israel to God's favor and a return of the people to their homeland. Chapter 30 is concerned primarily with recovery of the land; chapter 31, with recovery of their relationship with God; the prose chapters 32–33 elaborate these themes.1 J. A. Thompson has pointed out that this is one of the most highly developed sections in the book concerning date, authorship, and interpretation.2 Scholars have dated some of the messages as early as the reign of Josiah (612) and others as late as the time of Ezra-Nehemiah (465–445). Few scholars doubt that Jeremiah was the author of at least some of these messages. Most see evidence of editorial revision. Some portions sound like parts of Isaiah 40–66, suggesting to some that borrowing took place (in either direction—many date “Deutero-Isaiah” in the exile).3 With Jer 1:10, Jeremiah is to be understood as a prophet of punishment and hope, of uprooting, and tearing down, of building and planting. These chapters are in theological alignment with the call of Jeremiah as a prophet of God.

1. Promises of Restoration (30:1–24) (1) Introduction to the Messages (30:1–3) 1This

is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you. 3The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their forefathers to possess,’ says the LORD.” 30:1–3 These verses serve as an introduction or superscription for the collection of messages in chaps. 30–31 and perhaps 32–33 as well. The Lord instructed Jeremiah to write in a “book” (better understood as a scroll) all the words he had spoken to him (see also 29:1; 36:2; 51:60). This refers not to the scroll written by Baruch (36:32) but to the messages of hope collected in these chapters. The significance of the first two verses is that the source of these words of hope was not the wishes or expectation of

Jeremiah. The hope here described is the Lord's program of redemption revealed to Jeremiah for his people. The Lord announced to Jeremiah that “days are coming” when he would bring Israel and Judah “back from captivity.”4 He was going to restore them to the land he had given to their ancestors (cf. Gen 17:8; 28:13; Exod 3:17; Josh 1:3). “Days are coming” is an expression that may refer to events in the near future or remote future.5 “I will surely save … your descendants” (30:10) could not be an immediate future. (2) Promise of Restoration for Jacob (30:4–11) 4These

are the words the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah: 5“This is what the LORD says: “‘Cries of fear are heard— terror, not peace. 6Ask and see: Can a man bear children? Then why do I see every strong man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor, every face turned deathly pale? 7How awful that day will be! None will be like it. It will be a time of trouble for Jacob, but he will be saved out of it. 8“‘In that day,’ declares the LORD Almighty, ‘I will break the yoke off their necks and will tear off their bonds; no longer will foreigners enslave them. 9Instead, they will serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them. 10“‘So do not fear, O Jacob my servant; do not be dismayed, O Israel,’ declares the LORD.

‘I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their exile. Jacob will again have peace and security, and no one will make him afraid. 11I am with you and will save you,’ declares the LORD. ‘Though I completely destroy all the nations among which I scatter you, I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you but only with justice; I will not let you go entirely unpunished.’ 30:4–7 Again Israel and Judah are linked. As they both would experience God's judgment, also they both would experience his blessing and together would be reunited and in their own land. The horrors of God's judgment would cause even strong men to double up in pain “like a woman in labor.” The faces of those engulfed in the catastrophe would turn deathly pale as they experienced the impact of God's anger. “In that day,” “that day,” and similar expressions are found frequently in the OT for the “Day of the Lord.” Some interpret “that day” in these verses as the day of Babylon's overthrow. Others relate it to the time of Jerusalem's fall in 587. Still others say this is apocalyptic imagery approaching the mood of 4:23–26 and refers to the tribulation in the end time before Israel's final restoration (cf. Amos 5:18–20; Isa 2:12–21; Zeph 1:14–18). Though the expression could refer to any of those times, all agree that it does contain two aspects—judgment and restoration. That day will be “awful,” a time of trouble for Jacob. Jacob is sometimes equated with the Northern Kingdom, but in the overall context it may include both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms—all Israel. A transition to the main point is provided by the final clause of v. 7; in spite of approaching agony, the nation would survive. 30:8–9 Verses 8–9 seem to interrupt the connection between vv. 5–7 and 10–11 with their warnings of punishment and references to Jacob. Verses 8–9 anticipate the day when the Lord will break the yoke off “their neck” and tear off “their bonds” (Isa 9:4–5).6 The oppressor is not named, but with Babylon's yoke of 27:8–11 in mind, the verses probably refer

primarily to Babylon's overthrow. The last part of v. 8, however, suggests freedom forever from all foreign oppressors, a promise that has eschatological implications. In chaps. 27–28 the Lord had decreed a time of servitude for Judah to foreign powers by use of the yoke on Jeremiah as a symbol for Judah's yoke. These verses speak of liberation from servitude. Instead of serving other nations, they will serve the Lord.7 He will raise up David their king to rule over them (cf. 23:1–8; Ezek 34:23–24; 37:24– 25; Hos 3:5). The promise of a Davidic ruler suggests these words were written after 587, when Judah had no king. Verse 9 refers to the ideal messianic king, not a resurrected David (cf. Amos 9:11).8 The Targum identifies this idealized king as “Messiah, the son of David.” New Testament writers were careful to link Jesus to the family of David as evidence that he was the fulfillment of the coming Messiah anticipated in the OT (Matt 1:17,20; Luke 1:67–71; 2:10–11). Van Groningen points out that “the LORD” and “David” are parallel. “To serve Yahweh is to serve David as well. Yahweh and David are inseparable.”9 Thus this messianic ruler, a descendant of David, is to be understood as the fulfillment of the Davidic covenant (2 Sam 7; Isa 7; 9; 11; Jer 23:1–8). This is the third messianic passage in the book, the others being 3:14–17; 23:1–8; 31:31–40; and 33:14–26.10 Jeremiah makes the point clearly that the approaching national disaster and the judgment on the last kings of the Davidic monarchy would not annul the promises God had made to David. 30:10–11 Verse 10 resumes the thought of v. 7 in that the word for “save” is repeated. The verse begins with which could be translated, “But as for you.” The appropriate response of believers in Israel and Judah to the Lord's message of judgment and deliverance would be courage and confidence in the Lord's promise of protection and in his presence through the time of discipline. The same is true of believers in every age who are experiencing the Lord's discipline (Hab 2:4; Heb 12:5–11). Jacob, “my servant,” had no more reason to be afraid than a sheep under the watchful care of a shepherd. The promise “I am with you” is an assuring refrain often found in the Scriptures (e.g., 1:19; Gen 28:15; Exod 3:12; Josh 1:9; Hag 2:4; Matt 28:19–20). The Lord will destroy all the nations where Israel has been scattered, but he will not completely destroy Israel (cf. 4:27; Mal 1:2–5). Because he could not overlook their sins, he would discipline

them but with justice (cf. 17:15, where the people defiantly requested punishment). To overlook sin altogether would place God in an untenable position of compromising his holiness and righteousness. (3) Promise of Healing for an Incurable Wound (30:12–17) 12“This

is what the LORD says: “‘Your wound is incurable, your injury beyond healing. 13There is no one to plead your cause, no remedy for your sore, no healing for you. 14All your allies have forgotten you; they care nothing for you. I have struck you as an enemy would and punished you as would the cruel, because your guilt is so great and your sins so many. 15Why do you cry out over your wound, your pain that has no cure? Because of your great guilt and many sins I have done these things to you. 16“‘But all who devour you will be devoured; all your enemies will go into exile. Those who plunder you will be plundered; all who make spoil of you I will despoil. 17But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,’ declares the LORD, ‘because you are called an outcast, Zion for whom no one cares.’ 30:12–13 Verses 12–15 describe the hopelessness of Israel's situation. Feminine forms of the pronoun “your” in vv. 12–13 indicate that the nation or the city is addressed rather than an individual. Sin so permeated the nation that its condition was terminal (17:9; cf. Mic 1:9; Nah 3:19). The

imagery of injury and sickness occurs throughout the passage to describe Israel's suffering for sin (cf. 8:11,15,21–22).11 Such imagery is common in the rest of Scripture as well to describe the effects of God's wrath on individuals and nations (e.g., Deut 28:21–22,27,35,58–61; Ps 38:3–11; Isa 1:5–6; 30:26; Hos 5:12–6:2; Nah 3:19). The imagery is also extended to describe the forgiveness of God and its effects (Pss 41:4; 103:3; 147:3; Isa 53:4–5; 57:15–19; Hos 14:4), the availability of which Jesus was to proclaim by miracles of healing (Matt 8:17). Though the injury was beyond healing, v. 17 says God would heal the wound (cf. Hos 6:1; 7:1). There is no contradiction in these statements. God is not a human being; his ways cannot always be understood (cf. Isa 31:3; Hos 11:9). Verse 13 contains a mixed metaphor of Israel as a defendant deserted in a lawsuit and a person with an incurable disease. There was no one who could plead Israel's case because its sin was so self-incriminating and God's judgment was final. 30:14 Furthermore, all its “allies” (lit. “lovers”; cf. 22:20) had deserted Israel. The word translated “care for,” can mean seek. It is commonly used with shepherd imagery to describe the shepherd's seeking out and caring for sheep (see Ezek 34:2–16, esp. vv. 6,8,10–11, where occurs). The people of Israel would be like sheep abandoned by their shepherds.12 Judah had depended on many allies in the past, especially Assyria and Egypt (cf. Hos 7:11; 2 Kgs 16:7–9). The allies had failed in the past, but the people had not learned to put their trust in the Lord rather than in political allies. As a result, the Lord was treating Israel as an enemy (the effect of choosing God's enemies as its allies). His purpose, however, was redemptive as well as punitive. The word translated “punishment” usually refers to corrective discipline (e.g., Prov 1:7; 3:11; 23:12–13; Jer 17:23; 32:33). 30:15 The Lord anticipated that the people would ask why the incurable wound (repeated from v. 12) had been inflicted on them. His answer was unequivocal. They were being punished because of their great guilt and many sins (repeated from v. 14). Therefore, what right did they have to complain about the suffering they had brought on themselves? They were only receiving the penalties for disobedience set forth in the Mosaic covenant (Deut 28:15–68). Crying out was both useless and unjustified.

30:16–17 In the context of the so-called Book of Consolation, how could vv. 12–15 bring consolation to Israel? The answer is found in vv. 16– 17. Those who would bring suffering to Israel would also be caused to suffer, the devourers would be devoured, the exilers would be exiled, the plunderers would be plundered, the spoilers would be spoiled.13 The wicked nations the Lord would use in punishing Israel would get away with nothing. Their wickedness motivated by evil hearts would not be overlooked just because the Lord's wisdom and power were able to direct it to serve his purposes. The enemies who would be “devoured” are not identified, but Babylon would head the list (cf. 2:3; 5:17; 8:16; 10:25). Verse 17 presents a paradox—a cure for the incurable. The one who had said there would be no healing (v. 15) now offers to be the healer who would “restore you to health” (cf. Hos 6:1; 7:1; 11:3; 14:4; the image of new flesh forming on a wound as it heals, 2 Cor 5:17). The abruptness of the change from vv. 12–15 to vv. 16–17 has caused many to identify different sources somewhat clumsily joined by (usually translated as “therefore” but here “but”).14 D. R. Jones explains the use of laken as introducing the Lord's answer to Israel's pathetic condition.15 W. Brueggemann argues that the connection is furnished in v. 17. The Lord's action to save is motivated by the insult of the nations who call Israel an outcast “for whom no one cares” (the same verb daras in v. 14). The Lord will not allow the nations to take credit for devastating Israel as if Israel's God could not have stopped them. Both the judgment and the deliverance demonstrate his sovereignty.16 (4) Promise of Restoration of the Fortunes of Jacob (30:18–22) 18“This

is what the LORD says: “‘I will restore the fortunes of Jacob's tents and have compassion on his dwellings; the city will be rebuilt on her ruins, and the palace will stand in its proper place. 19From them will come songs of thanksgiving and the sound of rejoicing. I will add to their numbers,

and they will not be decreased; I will bring them honor, and they will not be disdained. 20Their children will be as in days of old, and their community will be established before me; I will punish all who oppress them. 21Their leader will be one of their own; their ruler will arise from among them. I will bring him near and he will come close to me, for who is he who will devote himself to be close to me?' declares the LORD. 22“‘So you will be my people, and I will be your God.’” 30:18–20 Judah would go through trying times of chastisement, but an era of blessing lay beyond. God promised that he would “restore the fortunes” (the same phrase translated “bring back from captivity” in 30:3) of Jacob's tents. Tents in the OT can be literal or a synonym for clans, i.e., those who dwell together in tents (Num 24:5–6). As evidence of his restored favor, Jerusalem would be rebuilt on its “ruins” on the hill where Solomon's Temple had stood. The word “ruins” is from an Arabic cognate, tell, that means a mound or heap. A tell is a mound where the ruins of a destroyed or abandoned city are found.17 The God of miraculous reversals promised to change the ruins of Jerusalem into a place of rejoicing. In the time of restoration the palace would be rebuilt. Instead of sounds of wailing and lament that would be heard when Jerusalem was destroyed, the rebuilt city would resound with songs of thanksgiving and sounds of rejoicing. The population would increase. Respect for Israel as a nation now disdained would be restored. The verses are a description of a time of prosperity and prestige that had been enjoyed in the days of David and Solomon. The Lord would not permit anyone to oppress them; those who did would be punished (Zech 2:8). 30:21–22 The messianic king referred to in v. 9 appears in v. 21. The restored city was promised a leader who would be one of his own people, not a foreign suzerain as they had known.18 The verse is messianic but not

as specific as others in Jeremiah (e.g., 23:5–6). The description that he would “arise from among them” is a reference to the Mosaic promise (Deut 17:15) of a divinely chosen king “from among your own brothers” (cf. 1 Sam 16:1–13). It may also suggest that he would come from a family of lowly social status (cf. Matt 8:20; Luke 2:7). Though the word for king is not used, there is no evidence that the word was intentionally avoided, as some scholars have claimed. This leader would also have priestly qualities. “I will bring him near; he will come close to me” is the picture of a priest entering the Lord's presence (Exod 28:35). No one but the priests were permitted to enter the holy place to minister there. Only the high priest could enter the holy of holies once a year on the Day of Atonement to offer a blood sacrifice for the sins of the people (Lev 16). Anyone who entered the divine presence unauthorized risked death (Exod 28:34–35; cf. Uzziah's leprosy in 2 Chr 26:16–21). The verb translated “devote,” is used frequently elsewhere to mean become responsible for someone (Gen 43:9; Prov 6:1; 11:15). With “heart” (“himself “), as its object here, Holladay translates “risks one's life.” The point is that no one would dare approach the Lord's presence on his or her own initiative (cf. Heb 5:1–6). This verse, then, prophesies a priest-king through whom the Lord would restore Israel. The result of God's delivering and restoring Israel under the messianic king would be the renewal of the covenant relationship (v. 22). Israel would be his people, and he would be their God. This is the traditional covenant formula (cf. Gen 17:7–8; Exod 6:7; 19:6; Lev 26:12; Jer 7:23; Ezek 36:28). As van Groningen explains, “The Davidic king is the covenant mediator through whom all the promises and responsibilities of the covenant will become realities.”19 The relationship would not be restored on the basis of the old Mosaic covenant, however, but by a new covenant that is announced in 31:31–34. (5) The Fierce Anger of the Lord (30:23–24) 23See,

the storm of the LORD will burst out in wrath, a driving wind swirling down on the heads of the wicked.

24The

fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back until he fully accomplishes the purposes of his heart. In days to come you will understand this. 30:23–24 These verses occur in 23:19–20 with minor variations. They close the chapter with a warning that punishment would be visited on the wicked, especially those who have oppressed Israel. It would burst in full fury like a storm. The Lord's anger would not abate until his purposes were accomplished. It is not always possible at a given moment to understand what God is doing. However, the chapter closes with a cryptic statement that a time would come when there would be understanding (cf. Heb 12:11).

2. The New Covenant (31:1–40) The main theme of this chapter is that a restored and reunited Israel would enjoy a new covenant relationship with God. The people would be spiritually as well as physically restored. The theme is expressed succinctly in the first verse, which serves as an introduction to the chapter. Verses 2– 22 speak of the future of the Northern Kingdom. Verses 23–26 anticipate the Southern Kingdom's restoration. Verses 27–40 describe coming days of blessing for both Israel and Judah. (1) The Rebuilding of Israel (31:1–6) 1“At

that time,” declares the LORD, “I will be the God of all the

clans of Israel, and they will be my people.” 2This is what the LORD says: “The people who survive the sword will find favor in the desert; I will come to give rest to Israel.” 3The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying:

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. 4I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out to dance with the joyful. 5Again you will plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria; the farmers will plant them and enjoy their fruit. 6There will be a day when watchmen cry out on the hills of Ephraim, ‘Come, let us go up to Zion, to the LORD our God.’” 31:1 The opening verse declares that “at that time” (a time not defined but presumably the same as “in days to come” in 30:34, “in that day” in 30:8, and the days are “coming” in 30:3) the Lord would be the God “of all the clans” of Israel, and they would be his people (cf. 30:22). The verse serves as a remarkable reminder of God's love and forgiveness for Israel in spite of its history of faithlessness. 31:2 The language of v. 2 supports two interpretations: (1) it looks back to the exodus from Egypt and God's provision in the wilderness, or (2) it looks ahead to the return from exile. Supportive of the first interpretation is the reference to the desert and the Heb. verb form (perfect) “find,” normally translated as past tense. On the other hand, mention of surviving the sword fits the Assyrian and Babylonian conquests better than liberation from slavery in Egypt (51:50). In view of the verb forms, which are all perfect in vv. 2–3 and switch to imperfect in v. 4, J. A. Thompson's interpretation is probably best, that God was pointing to his delivering Israel from Egypt and caring for them in the wilderness as a pattern or paradigm for what he was about to do in caring for them in their new “wilderness” experience and restoring them from exile (cf. Isa 40:3–5).20 31:3–6 The Lord's appearance referred to in v. 3 may be the Sinai theophany where he declared his love for Israel (Exod 20:6; Deut 7:7–9; 10:15) or his reassuring Israel in exile. The adverb translated “in the

past,” is lit. “from afar” and can refer to distance as in 30:10: “I will surely save you out of a distant place” (cf. 23:23; 31:10). Removal from God's land did not mean removal from his love. Verse 3 is a moving statement of God's unchangeable love for Israel, expressed as “everlasting love” and “loving-kindness” ( “faithfulness”). In spite of Israel's history of rebellion, God still loved his people. The rebellious child was still the father's child. The entire OT is in one sense a story of a prodigal son for whose return the father is anxiously waiting (cf. Luke 15:11–32). It is also the story of a faithful shepherd actively seeking a wayward sheep. The verb “draw” or “drag,” is used of Joseph's being delivered from the pit (Gen 37:28) and Jeremiah's deliverance from the cistern (38:13). Hosea used the term to compare the Lord's patience with Israel to a workman gently and compassionately correcting and leading an animal to food (11:4).21 Because his love had not changed, the Lord announced that he was going to reunite Israel (“Samaria” in v. 5, “Ephraim” in v. 6) and Judah (“Zion” in v. 6) and restore the joy of their celebrations (v. 4), their labors (v. 5), and their worship (v. 6). Israel's restoration is described in terms of idyllic pastoral beauty and innocence. It implies that the curse of Deut 28:30–42 would be lifted. The assurance that they “will plant vineyards” in Samaria speaks of peace and security. Viticulture would not be practical in wartime since the vine required several years to produce a crop after it was planted. Leviticus 19:23–25 (cf. Deut 20:6; 28:30) required that the fruit not be eaten for the first three years and that the fourth year's harvest belonged to God. Only in the fifth year did the crop belong to the owner. When the four restricted years passed and the fruit was no longer considered holy, it could then be put to common use for food. That is the meaning of “enjoy their fruit” (lit. “and they will profane it”). It would be a time when “watchmen” cried out from the hills of Ephraim with an invitation to go to Zion to worship the Lord. In time of danger watchmen stood on the city wall to watch for an approaching enemy. That function is not appropriate in this context. The watchmen here were those who sat on a hill watching for the first appearance of the new moon or for the arrival of other pilgrims. They would then give the signal to begin the festal procession to the temple. Verse 6 speaks of a time when the

people of the Northern Kingdom would return to Jerusalem to worship there, marking the end of separated worship dating back to Rehoboam's rule (931–913 B.C.; 1 Kgs 12:26–33). (2) Return of the Scattered People (31:7–14) 7This

is what the LORD says: “Sing with joy for Jacob; shout for the foremost of the nations. Make your praises heard, and say, ‘O LORD, save your people, the remnant of Israel.’ 8See, I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them will be the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women in labor; a great throng will return. 9They will come with weeping; they will pray as I bring them back. I will lead them beside streams of water on a level path where they will not stumble, because I am Israel's father, and Ephraim is my firstborn son. 10“Hear the word of the LORD, O nations; proclaim it in distant coastlands: ‘He who scattered Israel will gather them and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.’ 11For the LORD will ransom Jacob and redeem them from the hand of those stronger than they. 12They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will rejoice in the bounty of the LORD— the grain, the new wine and the oil, the young of the flocks and herds.

They will be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more. 13Then maidens will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow. 14I will satisfy the priests with abundance, and my people will be filled with my bounty,” declares the LORD. These verses, composed of two separate sayings (vv. 7–9 and vv. 10– 14), emphasize the joy Israel was to experience after the exile. 31:7–9 Great faith would have been required in the aftermath of 587 to sing with joy (cf. Isa 12:4–6; 48:20; 49:13). The uninhibited elation resulting from anticipation of return home is reflected in the description of Israel as the “foremost” (lit. “chief “or “head”) of the nations. Israel was hardly a great nation at that time in terms of wealth or power. But God promised that his elect nation, once a reproach (24:9; 29:18) and an outcast among the nations (30:17), would attain preeminence like that of a firstborn son (v. 9; cf. Ps 89:5; Isa 61:7) and would lead all the nations in worshiping the true God (Isa 2:2; cf. Amos 6:1). God promised to bring a remnant of Israel (6:9; 23:3–7) out of the land of the north. Throughout the Book of Jeremiah that is the direction from which the enemy was to come (4:6). This was to be a new exodus on a grander scale in which God would judge the nations, deliver and regather his people from the ends of the earth, and shepherd them through the wilderness into the promised land of rest.22 None would be excluded— blind, lame, expectant mothers, or women in labor (cf. Isa 35:5–6; Mic 4:6– 8; Zeph 3:14–20). It is uncertain whether their tears would be tears of sorrow for their past faithlessness or tears of joy for being back in their land (cf. Ezra 3:12; Neh 8:9; Jer 50:40). But the Lord promised to make their way pleasant and easy (cf. Deut 8:7; Isa 40:3–5,11; Ps 23:2–3). God justified his benevolent treatment on the basis that he was Israel's father (Deut 32:6; Hos 11:1–6) and Ephraim was his “firstborn son” (but see Gen 29:32; 49:3). As “firstborn,” Israel was God's choice over other nations (cf. Exod 4:22).

31:10–11 Throughout the OT as well as the NT, the Lord shows his desire to be known by more than just Israel (Gen 1:28; 9:1; 12:3; Isa 12:4– 6; 49:6; 52:10–15; 55:3–5; 66:18–19; Jer 1:5,10; 3:17). His actions on Israel's behalf would demonstrate to all his compassionate grace as well as his sovereign power and holiness. Thus the same one who scattered his people was to regather them (cf. Ezek 36:16–23). “Ransom” and “redeem” are words that have been lifted from secular life to theological levels— God's payment of the ransom and his redemption of his people (see Exod 4:23; Deut 7:8; 15:15). “Ransom” finds its origin in commercial life. It is the “transfer of ownership from one to another through the payment of a price.”23 “Redeem” describes acts of deliverance and restoration (Exod 6:6).24 It comes from the context of obligations to family members, such as buying back an enslaved member (Exod 6:6; Lev 25:47–49), avenging the death of a murdered relative (Num 35:19), or buying back land that has been sold (Lev 25:25; Ruth 4:4–6; Jer 32:8). 31:12–14 The word translated “rejoice” can mean to flow (“shall flow together,” KJV; cf. Isa 2:2; Jer 51:44) or to shine (“they shall be radiant,” NRSV; cf. Ps 34:5; Isa 60:5). The Lord's bounty would include all the necessities for a staple diet—grain, new wine, oil, flocks, and herds. These items are often found in passages stressing complete and abundant provision (e.g., Num 18:12; Deut 7:13; 2 Chr 31:4–10; 32:27–29; Hos 2:8; Joel 2:19–26). The people are compared to “a well-watered garden,” a meaningful figure in the Near East, where drought was an ever-present threat (cf. Gen 13:10; Isa 51:3; 58:11; 61:11; Hos 14:7). The “abundance” to satisfy the priests is lit. “fat” and may suggest renewed sacrifices (Lev 7:31–34). Since priests were supplied from the tithes and offerings of the people (Num 18:8–19), the people's abundance was to result in blessings for the priests. The priests and their families would be generously provided for. Abundant offerings from the people were to result from the increased productivity of the land (cf. Amos 9:13). (3) The End of Rachel's Weeping for Her Children (31:15–22) 15This

is what the LORD says: “ A voice is heard in Ramah,

mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because her children are no more.” 16This is what the LORD says: “Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded,” declares the LORD. “They will return from the land of the enemy. 17So there is hope for your future,” declares the LORD. “Your children will return to their own land. 18“I have surely heard Ephraim's moaning: ‘You disciplined me like an unruly calf, and I have been disciplined. Restore me, and I will return, because you are the LORD my God. 19After I strayed, I repented; after I came to understand, I beat my breast. I was ashamed and humiliated because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’ 20Is not Ephraim my dear son, the child in whom I delight? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore my heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him,” declares the LORD. 21“Set up road signs; put up guideposts. Take note of the highway, the road that you take.

Return, O Virgin Israel, return to your towns. 22How long will you wander, O unfaithful daughter? The LORD will create a new thing on earth— a woman will surround a man.” 31:15 A new oracle begins in v. 15 that graphically describes the emotional pain of exile (v. 15), the Lord's compassionate love and promise of deliverance (vv. 16–17,20–22), and Israel's sorrowful repentance (vv. 18– 19). The grief for Israel's ruin is expressed here as only parents of a rebellious child can fully understand. It describes the lamentation of Jacob's wife Rachel as she watches her descendants carried away into exile and fears that they will never again be a nation (“her children are no more”; cf. Gen 42:36). Her wails could be heard in Ramah, where the Judean exiles were gathered before deportation to Babylon (40:1). Ramah (modern erRam) was five miles north of Jerusalem near Ephraim's border on the road to Bethel, but it was in the territory of Benjamin, which was part of the Southern Kingdom (Josh 18:25). It may have been the site of Rachel's tomb. According to Gen 35:16–20 and 48:7, Rachel died on the way to Bethlehem and was buried somewhere between Bethel and Bethlehem.25 First Samuel 10:2 locates the tomb at the unidentified site of Zelzah in the territory of Benjamin.26 As Feinberg points out, however, the text says only that the sound of Rachel's weeping could be heard (metaphorically) in Ramah. It does not locate her tomb there.27 Rachel was the mother of Joseph and Benjamin and the grandmother of Ephraim and Manasseh. Her connection with both northern and southern tribes suggests that although her weeping may have been primarily for the Assyrian exiles (Isa 10:29), we should associate it with the Babylonian exile as well.28 Rachel died having just given birth to Benjamin, whom she sorrowfully named “Son of my Trouble” (Gen 35:18; Jacob changed it to “Son of my right hand”). J. H. Sailhamer suggests from the allusion to Rachel's lamentation in Jer 31:15 and Matt 2:18 that “Rachel's agony in the birth of Benjamin had later become a picture of the painful waiting of the sons of Israel for the promised Messiah.”29 Rachel is noted for her determination to have children (“Give me children, or I'll die!” in Gen 30:1) and for the

sorrow that those children brought her. She died in sorrow and figuratively continued to grieve as her descendants were carried into exile for their sins and again later when the children were brutally murdered because of the unbelief of the Jews in rejecting their Messiah (Matt 2:16–18).30 But the Lord promised to bring about their repentance and restoration through a descendant of David. R. H. Gundry focuses on this context of hope and explains the connection between Jer 31:15 and Matt 2:18 that in both cases God promises to turn lamentation into rejoicing.31 Van Groningen explains that although Jer 31:15 is not strictly a messianic prophecy, it was fulfilled typologically by events surrounding the birth of Jesus. Based upon their understanding of the “organic unity of Yahweh's dealing with his people,” NT writers saw the two events as analogous.32 Furthermore, D. A. Carson argues that Matthew had in mind the broader context of the new covenant (31:31–34) and the reference to Israel as “my firstborn son” (v. 9) and “my dear son, the child in whom I delight” (v. 20). The tears of the exile, he writes, “are climaxed and ended by the tears of the mothers of Bethlehem. The heir to David's throne has come, the Exile is over, the true Son of God has arrived, and he will introduce the new covenant (26:28) promised by Jeremiah.”33 31:16–17 God is depicted as comforting Rachel with the assurance that her children would return from exile. The exile was meant to preserve Israel and lead it to repentance. The return to the land promised here and elsewhere in the OT has been interpreted by some as fulfilled historically during the restoration under Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah. The evident lack of spiritual transformation at that time, however, which is promised here and elsewhere, suggests further fulfillment,34 either in the present church age or more literally in a still future age.35 31:18–20 These verses furnish a miniature theology of repentance centering on the verb “turn,” which occurs seven times in vv. 16–21. It is used of Israel's physical return to the land (vv. 16–17,21), of their sinful turning from God (translated “strayed” in v. 19), and of their spiritual return to God (translated “restore” and “return” in v. 18). In vv. 18–19 God quoted Israel's penitential confession which he desired and determined to hear. The quotation, therefore, served both as instruction and prophecy.

Because his people had “strayed” from the life-style God had commanded, as an unruly calf that refuses to accept the yoke (Hos 4:16), God had “disciplined” them ( “correction which results in education” and is “grounded in the covenant relationship which Yahweh establishes with his people”36; cf. Lev 26:14–45; Deut 8:2–5; 11:2–7; Prov 3:11–12; Hos 5:2; 7:12). God's fatherly discipline was prompted by his covenant love for his “dear son” which he “remembered” (cf. Lev 26:45; 2 Chr 6:42; Ps 25:7; Amos 1:9)37 and thus maintained in spite of Israel's history of rebellion and ingratitude (Hos 11:1–4,8–9). Their sin caused God's heart to “yearn” (an idiomatic expression also used in Gen 43:30; 1 Kgs 3:26; Song 5:4; Isa 63:15; cf. Eph 4:30) for them with “great compassion” ( related to the word for “womb”). The Lord's grief, pity, and longing for his wayward children is even stronger than that of Rachel or any other human parent. Although Israel earlier had refused to respond to the Lord's discipline (2:30; 5:3; 7:28; 17:23; 32:33), these verses describe a time to come when they would feel the full weight of their guilt and beat their breasts in shame and humiliation (Ezek 21:12). At that time they would again acknowledge the Lord as their God and plead with him for restoration, admitting their dependence upon his power even to repent (lit “turn me and I will turn” in v. 18; cf. 32:39– 40). 31:21–22 In a figurative passage intended to stress the certainty of Israel's return, the Lord tells the exiles to set up road signs to mark the way back (cf. 6:16). The succession of imperatives gives the passage a sense of urgency.38 Verse 22, however, shows that the return was to have a spiritual aspect as well (cf. 50:4–5). Isaiah frequently uses the figure of a highway connecting Jerusalem with the rest of the world, on which there would be an amazing ease of access to God's presence (Isa 11:16; 35:8; 40:3; 42:16; 43:1–7; 49:11–12; 62:10).39 The last line of v. 22 continues to puzzle scholars. Suggested interpretations are numerous. Jerome and others in the early church viewed the verse as a messianic prediction.40 The term for “woman” is a general word for “female” (Gen 1:27). “Man” (geber), however, is more specifically “man as strong, distinguished from women, children, and noncombatants whom he is to defend.”41 The verb translated “surround”

is common in the OT, and the form found here (polel) is used figuratively elsewhere to express protection and care (Deut 32:10; Ps 32:7,10). One interpretation is that it is an ancient proverb used to describe something unusual and difficult to believe, referring to the “new thing” that God was going to “create” ( a verb whose subject is always God42), i.e., Israel's return. Beyond this, in view of references to Israel as a woman in the immediate context and elsewhere in the book, the woman is often taken as symbolic of Israel. Calvin took the meaning to be that Israel would become stronger than the Babylonians.43 Understanding the change to be a spiritual and moral one, van Groningen suggests that although Israel had been morally weak, a prostitute, wandering and faithless (cf. Hos 7:11), God was going to purify and transform Israel miraculously into “Virgin Israel” through the new covenant.44 (4) Description of Future Blessing (31:23–28) 23This

is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “When I bring them back from captivity, the people in the land of Judah and in its towns will once again use these words: ‘The LORD bless you, O righteous dwelling, O sacred mountain.’ 24People will live together in Judah and all its towns—farmers and those who move about with their flocks. 25I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.” 26At this I awoke and looked around. My sleep had been pleasant to me. 27“The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will plant the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the offspring of men and of animals. 28Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the LORD. 31:23–25 Up to this point the chapter ostensibly has been about Ephraim's restoration (with occasional hints of broader application). These verses make it clear that the restoration will apply to Judah as well. The blessing in v. 23 was the type uttered by pilgrims going up to Jerusalem at

festival times (cf. Ps 133). Zion would be blessed because God was there (cf. Heb 12:22–24), ruling in righteousness and holiness, insuring peace. 31:26 This verse is unexpected and enigmatic. It suggests that the messages to this point (or at least from 30:1) had been given to Jeremiah in a dream (cf. Gen 37:5; Dan 2:28; 10:9; Zech 4:1). Jeremiah's response to revelation was not always so positive (cf. 20:7–10), and from what we know, his experience generally was far from pleasant (e.g., 15:10,15–18). Therefore it must indeed have been delightful to receive in a prophetic sleep such dreams of reassurance concerning the future of his people. 31:27–28 The remaining verses of this chapter are clearly addressed jointly to Israel and Judah. In these verses God promises to repopulate the land (cf. 4:23–29; Hos 2:21–23). After Babylon's conquest, Judah lay in ruins. The population had been decimated by war, disease, and famine. The Lord had brought about their uprooting, tearing down, overthrowing, and destruction. Here he promised to be responsible for their rebuilding and replanting (note the same verb as 1:10 with the addition of “bring disaster”). The verse reminds one of God's sovereign control; he punishes and he blesses. Furthermore, as W. Brueggemann notes, the fact that the five negative verbs had been “fully enacted” gave assurance that the positive verbs would be as well. God's watchfulness would see to it (1:12).45 (5) Repudiation of a Popular Saying (31:29–30) 29“In

those days people will no longer say, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge.’ 30Instead, everyone will die for his own sin; whoever eats sour grapes—his own teeth will be set on edge. 31:29–30 While in exile the people concluded out of self-pity and fatalistic despair that they were being punished unjustly for sins of previous generations (cf. Lam 5:7). This popular proverb summed up their attitude. Perhaps their conclusion was based on their incorrect interpretation of Exod 20:5–6.46 Jeremiah rejected their theology that God punishes one person for the sins of another and insisted on individual responsibility for sin. Each

will be punished for his or her sins, not for the sins of another.47 As D. Kidner expresses it, “Each person counts and will be held accountable.”48 Ezekiel quoted the same proverb and developed the doctrine of individual responsibility at even greater length (Ezek 18:2–4; cf. Deut 24:16; 2 Kgs 14:6). In view of the following passage on the new covenant, we may observe that in addition to maintaining the continuity of his own faithfulness (Lam 3:22–32), it is because God is able to break the continuity between past sins and present or future experience (see comments on v. 20) that he could provide Israel with a “new” covenant. (6) Announcement of a New Covenant (31:31–34) 31“The

time is coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 32It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. 33“This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD.

“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” Because of changing circumstances, especially occasioned by Israel's sin, the religious history of Israel had been dotted with covenant renewals under Moses (Exod 34; Deuteronomy), Joshua (Josh 23–24), Samuel (1 Sam 12), and Hezekiah (2 Chr 29–31). When King Josiah led Judah in the greatest of all covenant renewals to remove idolatry and to reinstitute true worship in Judah in accordance with the Mosaic covenant (2 Chr 34:3–7; see introduction), it may have looked to many (perhaps even Jeremiah at first) like the dawn of a new spiritual day for God's people. Discovery of the Book of Law (2 Kgs 22:8–10; 2 Chr 34:8–18) led to the celebration of the greatest Passover feast since Samuel (2 Kgs 23:1–25; 2 Chr 34:19–35:19). Nevertheless, even such great revivals could not turn the tide of sins committed and wrath deserved because of the extensiveness of sin and the greatness of wrath (2 Kgs 23:26–27) and because of the superficiality of the revivals (2 Kgs 23:9; 2 Chr 34:24–25; 36:15–16; Jer 3:10; 25:1–3; 37:1–2). What was needed, as God revealed through Jeremiah in this passage,49 was not another covenant renewal but an internal transformation of the people based upon the divine provision of complete forgiveness. These would be the provisions of what the Lord referred to here as a “new covenant,” which he promised to institute with Israel and Judah in days to come to replace the one made at Sinai (11:1–17).50 This new covenant relationship would not be “skin-deep” and subject to the waywardness of the people but “heartdeep” and permanently enduring.51 Probably the best known and certainly one of the most important passages in Jeremiah, this announcement of a new covenant, according to J. A. Thompson, expresses “one of the deepest insights in the whole OT.”52 D. R. Jones calls it “the defining of the new divine dispensation in terms of new and deeper appropriation of the divine instruction (Torah) which has made this passage central to the Christian Bible and given a name to the New Testament.”53 31:31–32 The exact phrase “new covenant” is found nowhere else in the OT, although the ideas associated with it are frequently expressed.54 A covenant is an agreement between two or more parties in which obligations are placed on one or both. One type common in the ANE (a “treaty”) was

between parties of unequal power, in which the stronger placed obligations on the weaker party (e.g., 1 Sam 11:1–2; Exod 19–24). Another type (a “contract”) was between parties of equal bargaining power and consisted of mutual obligations (e.g., Jacob and Laban's agreement in Gen 29:15–18). Perhaps the most interesting type theologically, the type most applicable in this passage, was the “grant.” It was between parties of unequal power in which the stronger obligated himself for the benefit of the weaker party without reciprocal demands (e.g., with Noah in Gen 9:8–17, with Abraham in Gen 12:1–3, and with David in 2 Sam 7:11–16).55 The covenant was the primary model God chose to use in communicating to Israel the nature of the relationship they would have with him. The foundation for that relationship was God's promise to Abraham of an innumerable offspring and a land where he would bless them forever. They would also be the channel through which he would bless all the nations (Gen 12:1–3; 15:1–21; 17:1–27). There was a conditional element to the covenant in that faith, signified by circumcision and by right behavior (Gen 17:9–14; 18:19; Deut 10:12–22; 30:6), was required of Abraham's descendants in order to qualify as heirs of the promises. Nevertheless, it was a grant in that Abraham was assured of its ultimate fulfillment and of a perpetual “remnant” of believing descendants.56 After creating in Egypt an innumerable offspring (Exod 1:7), God formalized his relationship with them in the Mosaic covenant (Exod 19– 24), a “treaty” that made specific the right behavior he required57 and also made provisions for infractions of those regulations. It made no provision, however, for failure to respond to God's grace (note “though I was a husband to them” in v. 3258) with loyalty to the Lord of the covenant. Such disloyalty or treachery would be signified by such behavior as idolatry (e.g., Exod 32:2–35; Deut 4:23–31), blasphemy (Lev 24:15–16), adultery or sexual perversion (Lev 18:6–30; Num 5:11–31), injustice (Isa 1:16–31; 10:1–6; Mic 3:1–12; 6:8–16), or by rejection of such basic stipulations as the law of the Sabbath (Exod 31:14; Num 15:30–36; Deut 5:12–15) or the tithe (Deut 14:22–29; 26:12–19; Mal 3:7–12). These evidences of disloyalty would be judged individually (Deut 29:18–21) by death or removal from the safety of the covenant community.59 They would be judged nationally by the discipline of the covenant curses (Lev 26:14–45; Deut 27:12–26;

28:15–68). It was just such disloyalty that the generations of Israel had displayed time after time throughout their history (see 3:25; Ps 78; Isa 24:5; Neh 9:16–38), disqualifying themselves from the blessings and inviting upon themselves the curses God had promised. It was apparent that although there would always be individuals who would put God's laws on their hearts,60 the people as a whole never would (cf. 13:23; 17:1). It was this failure of the Mosaic covenant caused by the sinful nature of the people (“because they broke my covenant” in v. 32; cf. 11:10; Exod 32:9) that led to the promise of a new covenant (“not … like the covenant I made with their forefathers”) to supersede it (cf. Heb 7:18–29,22; 8:6–13; 9:10).61 The substitution would not come immediately, however (note “the time is coming” in v. 31).62 The Mosaic covenant would remain in effect, governing the lives of the people until the inauguration of the new one, which the incarnate Lord of the covenant declared would be at his crucifixion (Luke 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25; cf. Heb 10:1–8).63 Nevertheless, even though this passage is quoted in the NT64 and applied to the church (2 Cor 3:5–18; Heb 8:8–12; 10:16–17), the statement in v. 31 should not be missed that it was with Israel and Judah that the Lord intended to establish the new covenant.65 According to the apostle Paul, it was because the chosen people in general temporarily rejected the new covenant in the NT era that it was then offered to the Gentiles (Rom 9:30–33; 11:11–32; cf. Matt 28:19–20; John 1:11–13; Acts 10:9–47). A premillennial interpretation of these verses concludes that although the blessings of the new covenant are now being experienced in a partial way by the church, a time is yet coming when a reunited ethnic Israel66 is converted and blessed (Zech 12:10–13:1), together with believing Gentiles, with the fulness of the new covenant promises.67 The five “I wills” in the passage, together with references to “my covenant,” “my law,” and “my people,” demonstrate clearly that as in the other major theological covenants, it would be God taking the initiative. Human history since the garden of Eden (Gen 3:8–10) has been the story of humankind's flight from God and his pursuit of us. The God who speaks in these verses is a pursuing God, who refuses to leave his people alone to follow their own self-destructive paths. He is a God of new beginnings (v. 22; Isa 42:9; 43:18–19; 48:6) who will never give up but will always do

whatever is necessary to work out his best in our lives (Rom 8:28). Although he decrees and accomplishes what he desires (Isa 40:8; 55:11), he is also a God who responds. When Israel proved to be incapable of relating to God according to the Mosaic covenant, he provided a new one that would compensate for their lack. He is a God who not only comes down to us (Phil 2:6–8) but in the process lifts us up toward him (Eph 2:5–7). 31:33–34 These verses describe the unique differences of the new covenant.68 H. W. Wolff says the “first completely new element” in the new covenant is the manner in which God's guiding directions would be mediated.69 Rather than on tables of stone (Exod 31:18; Deut 4:13), God promised to write the law on “minds” (qereb, better “inmost being,” a more general term than “heart”70) and “hearts” (cf. 17:1–2; Rom 7:4–6; 2 Cor 3:3,6–16). The radical nature of this change is emphasized elsewhere by speaking of a “new heart” and a “new spirit” (Ezek 18:31; 36:26; cf. Ezek 11:19; Jer 24:7; 32:39). It is to be performed by God's Spirit (Ezek 36:27; 37:14) and can be called in NT terms “regeneration” or “rebirth” (see John 1:10–13; 3:1–10; Titus 3:5; 1 Pet 1:3,23; 1 John 4:7; 5:18). External law is burdensome and irritates. Fallen human nature rebels against bowing to external demands or threats to obey.71 Those under the new covenant will obey God not out of duty or fear but out of a God-given desire and ability to do so (cf. Rom 8:1–4; 2 Cor 5:14).72 Thus, there would be no more need to modify the covenant, since Israel would no longer be breaking it (3:17); it is to be everlasting (32:40). As Brueggemann writes, “Obeying will be as normal and as readily accepted as breathing and eating.… All inclination to resist, refuse, or disobey will have evaporated.”73 The result of the new covenant is to be the universal knowledge of God. The Mosaic law required the people to teach the law to their children (e.g., Deut 6:4–9; 11:19). According to Wolff, v. 34 spells the end of the teaching profession in the covenant community.74 To “know the Lord,” however, is the result of faith rather than instruction (cf. 2:8; Exod 5:2; 1 Sam 3:7; Isa 11:9; Hos 4:1; Hab 2:14; Isa 54:13 as quoted in John 6:45). It is exhortation rather than instruction that is to be rendered superfluous by the new covenant. Having the law written on one's heart is not so much a matter of immediate knowledge as transformed attitudes and behavior (22:16). The result is said to be not just the knowledge of the law but the knowledge of

the Lord, i.e., a relationship with the Lord of the covenant by faith, the goal of all the earlier covenants.75 Van Groningen writes, “As a bride knows her groom and his desires and will, so Yahweh will be known, loved, and honored.”76 Perhaps the most distinctive feature of the new covenant is its extent. All Israel is to be saved from sin and unbelief (Rom 11:26; Joel 2:28–29). These verses do not teach universal salvation but describe a time when the wicked have been removed from the earth (Matt 25:31–33; Rev 20:11–15). No longer are there to be weeds among the wheat (Matt 13:24– 30). Furthermore, there is to be no age, economic, educational, or social barriers under the new covenant; for the basis of the new relationship to God is to be God's total forgiveness.77 Before God can fill human hearts with his law, he must remove the sin that is written there (17:1). All memory of sins is to be erased (see comments on v. 20). Thus the experience and practice of forgiveness is a major aspect of the gospel of the NT (e.g., Matt 6:12; 26:28; Mark 1:4; Luke 1:76; 7:47–49; Acts 5:31; 10:43; Rom 4:7–8). Within the OT context, it appears that the law to be written on Israel's heart was the Mosaic law, as many argue.78 The NT teaching, however, on the changed relationship of the believer to the Mosaic law calls this into question,79 if as we have said the Christian is in some sense under the new covenant. That “my law” specified in v. 33 could refer to something more basic or foundational than its specific manifestation in the Mosaic law is suggested by the statement in Gen 26:5 that Abraham obeyed “my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws.” This possibility is also suggested by Paul's reference in 1 Cor 9:21 to “the law of God” and “the law of Christ” as distinct in some way from the Mosaic law.80 Furthermore, if the point of Jer 31:33–34 is primarily a changed nature rather than the acquisition of facts, and if the goal of the law rather than the law itself is in view (Lev 18:5; Deut 4:1; Rom 13:10; Gal 5:23; 1 Tim 1:5– 11),81 then nothing need or can be said about the law referred to here except that it is from God. (7) God's Assurance of Israel's Eternal Duration (31:35–37)

35This

is what the LORD says, he who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the LORD Almighty is his name: 36“Only if these decrees vanish from my sight,” declares the LORD, “will the descendants of Israel ever cease to be a nation before me.” 37This is what the LORD says: “Only if the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth below be searched out will I reject all the descendants of Israel because of all they have done,” declares the LORD. 31:35–37 To emphasize the unchangeable nature of God's love (cf. Rom 8:38–39), Jeremiah stated there is as much chance of God's rejecting Israel as for the fixed order of nature to break down (cf. 33:20–26).82 Israel's existence as a nation, the Lord says, is as permanent as creation itself, and his promise is as sure as the greatness of his power and the faithfulness of his character (cf. 32:17–20; 33:2). The preservation of the Jewish people today is inexplicable apart from acknowledging that divine will has preserved them. With further emphasis on the impossibility of his rejection of Israel (see Rom 9–11), God said he would do so only if the heavens above could be measured and the foundations of the earth below could be searched out, which in Jeremiah's day was impossible. W. Brueggemann notes that the clause “because of all they have done” means that “all of that evil cannot undo God's powerful choosing.”83 (8) God's Promise That Jerusalem Would Be Rebuilt (31:38–40)

38“The

days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when this city will be rebuilt for me from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39The measuring line will stretch from there straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn to Goah. 40The whole valley where dead bodies and ashes are thrown, and all the terraces out to the Kidron Valley on the east as far as the corner of the Horse Gate, will be holy to the LORD. The city will never again be uprooted or demolished.” 31:38–40 Earlier God had said Jerusalem would be destroyed (e.g., 2 Kgs 21:10–15, which also mentions a measuring line). Here he said it would be rebuilt. The various locations named in these verses probably are intended to mark the limits of the city. The Tower of Hananel was a tower in the north wall of the city mentioned in Neh 3:1; 12:39; and Zech 14:10. The Corner Gate was located at the northwest corner of the city (see 2 Kgs 14:13; 2 Chr 25:23; 26:9; Zech 14:10). Gareb and Goah are otherwise unknown, occurring nowhere else in the OT. Parallel references to measuring in restoration contexts are found in Ezek 40:3–35; 42:15–20; Zech 1:16; 2:1.84 The imagery of measuring serves to emphasize the reality and certainty of fulfillment. Just as the people would experience purification (vv. 21–22), so also would the city. Uncleanness would even be removed from the valley where dead bodies85 and sacrificial ashes86 were thrown (probably referring to Hinnom), and the city would be sanctified. The Horse Gate was located at the southeast end of the temple complex (Neh 3:28). The term “terraces” translates a word not found elsewhere in the OT. It is usually assumed to be a scribal corruption of a similar word that refers to a certain kind of cultivated land (Deut 32:32). It was in such “fields” of the Kidron Valley that King Josiah had Hilkiah the high priest burn the objects of idolatry purged from the temple (2 Kgs 23:4).87 Thus the point of v. 40 is that the defilement caused by Judah's sins (2:7,23; 7:30–34; 19:13; 32:34– 35) would be reversed forever and that consequently the city would never again fall under the Lord's curse of destruction (17:25; 33:17–22).88 The rebuilt city is to become the center of God's presence among his people and forever under his protection (3:14–18; cf. Isa 65:17; 66:12; Rev 21:3). In spite of continual failures, God's children need never despair. Even his people who broke his covenant, spurned his grace, and forgot his ways were

assured of restoration in a city sanctified by his presence and embraced by his eternal protection.

3. Jeremiah's Purchase of a Field in Anathoth (32:1– 44) This chapter is structured around Jeremiah's purchase of a piece of family land. The chapter is composed of three parts: vv. 1–15, the purchase of the land; vv. 16–25, Jeremiah's prayer; and vv. 26–44, the Lord's response to his prayer. The primary theme is that of God's eventual restoration of the people of Judah in a new covenant relationship (31:31–34; 32:36–41).89 (1) Jeremiah's Confinement during the Siege of Jerusalem (32:1–5) 1This

is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace of Judah. 3Now Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him there, saying, “Why do you prophesy as you do? You say, ‘This is what the LORD says: I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will capture it. 4Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape out of the hands of the Babylonians but will certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon, and will speak with him face to face and see him with his own eyes. 5He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, where he will remain until I deal with him, declares the LORD. If you fight against the Babylonians, you will not succeed.’” 32:1–2 The tenth year of Zedekiah's reign would be 588/587. The siege of Jerusalem had begun in the ninth year of his reign (39:1). After eighteen months it would end with Jerusalem's capitulation during the fourth month of Zedekiah's eleventh year (39:2). It was also the eighteenth year of

Nebuchadnezzar's rule (cf. 25:1; 52:12; 2 Kgs 25:8), counted from his accession year in 605. If reckoned from his first regnal year (604/603; see 52:29), 588/587 was Nebuchadnezzar's seventeenth year. The courtyard of the guard was a place where privileged prisoners were kept instead of being confined in a dungeon. Jeremiah probably was kept under arrest because his calls for surrender were demoralizing the will of the people to resist the enemy (32:3–5). 32:3–5 Though the reader knows Jeremiah was a true prophet, his people considered him to be a traitor for calling on them to surrender to the Babylonians. Zedekiah could not understand why Jeremiah would prophesy against the city and against the king. Jeremiah correctly predicted that Zedekiah would speak to Nebuchadnezzar “face to face” (lit. “his mouth with his mouth”) and “see him with his own eyes” (lit. “and his eyes with his eyes”; see 39:5–7). He would then be taken as a prisoner to Babylon, where Nebuchadnezzar would “deal with” (lit. “visit”) him. “Visit” can be used in a good sense (e.g., 27:22; 29:10) and in a bad sense (e.g., 6:15; 49:8, where it is translated as “punish”). Its meaning is threatening here. Zedekiah was either executed or he died in prison in Babylon. (2) Jeremiah's Purchase of a Field from a Cousin (32:6–15) 6Jeremiah

said, “The word of the LORD came to me: 7Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is going to come to you and say, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth, because as nearest relative it is your right and duty to buy it.’ 8“Then, just as the LORD had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. Since it is your right to redeem it and possess it, buy it for yourself.’ “I knew that this was the word of the LORD; 9so I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out for him seventeen shekels of silver. 10I signed and sealed the deed, had it witnessed, and weighed out the silver on the scales. 11I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions, as well

as the unsealed copy—12and I gave this deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed and of all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard. 13“In their presence I gave Baruch these instructions: 14'This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, both the sealed and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time. 15For this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.' 32:6–8 The account of Jeremiah's purchase of a field presents another symbolic act performed by the prophet (see 5:1–6; 16:1–4; etc.). Its interpretation is given in 32:44. The Lord alerted Jeremiah that his cousin Hanamel (a name not found elsewhere in the OT), son of Shallum, Jeremiah's uncle, was on his way to ask Jeremiah to buy his field at Anathoth. Hanamel's visit must have occurred while the siege was lifted; otherwise he could not have entered the city. As the Lord had told Jeremiah, Hanamel came to the prophet in the courtyard of the guard and told him to buy the field. Hanamel's statement, “It is your right to redeem it,” reflects the law of redemption (Lev 25:25– 34; cf. Ruth 4:1–12). Family land was considered to be a sacred inheritance. It was important to keep it from passing into the hands of someone else (1 Kgs 21:3). If Jeremiah was the nearest relative, Hanamel probably was childless, unless other family members with prior claim had refused to buy the land. Hanamel's motive for offering the field to Jeremiah is not stated. He may have been in financial straits and about to lose the property. However, he may have been one of Jeremiah's enemies in Anathoth (11:21; 12:6) and was testing Jeremiah to see if he was sincere in his belief that God would deliver his people. If so, it was a “put-your-money-where-yourmouth-is” test of Jeremiah. 32:9–12 These verses are remarkable and unique in the OT for the details of how business was transacted in Jeremiah's time. The prophet bought the field and weighed out seventeen shekels of silver as the purchase price. The reader is not told the source of Jeremiah's income. It would have required great faith to purchase land when the silver could have been used

to purchase scarce food in the city. Coinage was not in general use until the postexilic period, hence the weighing of the silver, estimated at about seven ounces. It is impossible to know whether the price he paid was high, average, or low since neither the size of the field nor the purchasing power of silver at that time is known. Abraham paid four hundred shekels for the field of Ephron as a burial place for Sarah (Gen 23:16). David paid fifty shekels for Araunah's threshing floor (2 Sam 24:24). Some commentators believe the amount paid was small. If so, it would mean the area of land was small or prices were very low (or that only a short time remained before the Year of Jubilee, if practiced; see Lev 25:8–17,28). One thing is certain: property titles were worthless with the Babylonians poised to overrun the land. Jeremiah then signed and sealed the deed in the presence of witnesses to guarantee its legality. He took the two copies of the “deed of purchase” (lit. “the document of acquisition”), one sealed and one unsealed, that contained the terms and conditions. One copy was rolled up and tied with straps and sealed for ready verification in event the ownership was challenged. The sealed copy would prevent tampering with the wording. It could be opened if questions arose about the unsealed document. Jeremiah then gave the copies of the deed to Baruch, his scribe. Baruch's grandfather Mahseiah is mentioned in the book only one other time (51:59). Jeremiah gave the deed to Baruch in the presence of “my cousin Hanamel.”90 32:13–15 Jeremiah then instructed Baruch to place both copies of the deed in a clay jar for safe keeping. The clay jars were usually sealed with pitch to insure the preservation of the documents for an indefinite time. Documents found at Elephantine were stored the same way. The Dead Sea Scrolls found at Qumran in 1947 were stored in clay jars. Verse 15 gives the reason for preserving the title deeds: “Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought and sold in this land.” Jeremiah's symbolic act expressed confidence that life would return to normal and title deeds would once again be valid. This was a remarkable statement of hope for the future to be expressed in 587 B.C.

(3) Jeremiah's Prayer (32:16–25) 16“After

I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD: 17“Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. 18You show love to thousands but bring the punishment for the fathers' sins into the laps of their children after them. O great and powerful God, whose name is the LORD Almighty, 19great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds. Your eyes are open to all the ways of men; you reward everyone according to his conduct and as his deeds deserve. 20You performed miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt and have continued them to this day, both in Israel and among all mankind, and have gained the renown that is still yours. 21You brought your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror. 22You gave them this land you had sworn to give their forefathers, a land flowing with milk and honey. 23They came in and took possession of it, but they did not obey you or follow your law; they did not do what you commanded them to do. So you brought all this disaster upon them. 24“See how the siege ramps are built up to take the city. Because of the sword, famine and plague, the city will be handed over to the Babylonians who are attacking it. What you said has happened, as you now see. 25And though the city will be handed over to the Babylonians, you, O Sovereign LORD, say to me, ‘Buy the field with silver and have the transaction witnessed.’” 32:16 Jeremiah then prayed as he sought “ultimate clarity.”91 The only other time Jeremiah was said to pray is found in 42:2–4 (but cf. 37:3), though he was frequently told not to pray for Judah's deliverance (7:16; 11:14; 14:11).92 Perhaps Jeremiah was having second thoughts about purchasing land at such a critical time. If so, the prayer was a complaint rather than praise. 32:17–19 These verses describe the greatness of God. They speak of his power in creation, his omnipotence, his love, his justice, his wisdom, and his mighty acts. For such a God “nothing is too hard.” “Hard” is from a

word that means extraordinary, difficult, marvelous. The same affirmation is found as a question in Gen 18:14 (cf. Luke 1:37; 18:27; Eph 3:20; Phil 4:13). “Show love to thousands” (v. 18) is a reflection of Exod 20:6; Deut 5:10 (cf. Exod 34:7; Deut 7:9). Volz, Rudolph, and Bright reject “nothing is too hard for you” as authentic, though Holladay defends it based on 32:27, where God asks, “Is anything too hard for me?” The parallel between v. 17b and v. 27b gives evidence to the authenticity of v. 17b. 32:20–23 Jeremiah then recited a summary history of Israel to illustrate God's greatness (Deut 26:5–9). God had performed miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt (a reference to the plagues) and continued to perform them to the present moment. His “renown” (lit. “name”) had not diminished because he was still performing signs and wonders. He brought Israel out of Egypt (cf. Deut 26:8) and created terror in the hearts of the Egyptians and others who threatened his people. He also gave them the land “flowing with milk and honey” (see 11:5 for this phrase). Verse 23 explains why God had brought the disaster on them—they did not obey his commands and laws. 32:24–25 The Babylonians had already built siege ramps to take the city. Jeremiah could foresee the city's surrender to the Babylonians as a result of sword, famine, and plague. Jeremiah acknowledged that what God said would happen was then taking place. His statement, “You … say to me, ‘Buy the field’ “is capable of two interpretations. It may be a statement of Jeremiah's unshakable faith. He may have been confident that in spite of impending ruin and defeat, God would have him buy a piece of family land to show that life would return to normal one day. His words could also be interpreted as an incredulous reaction: “In this hopeless situation, why would you have me buy a field?” If the latter, it may parallel our own response in a difficult situation. We readily affirm that God can do great things, such as create the universe. But do we really trust him in life's decisions? (4) God's Response to the Prayer (32:26–44) 26Then

the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 27“I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me? 28Therefore, this is what the LORD says: I am about to hand this city

over to the Babylonians and to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will capture it. 29The Babylonians who are attacking this city will come in and set it on fire; they will burn it down, along with the houses where the people provoked me to anger by burning incense on the roofs to Baal and by pouring out drink offerings to other gods. 30“The people of Israel and Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their youth; indeed, the people of Israel have done nothing but provoke me with what their hands have made, declares the LORD. 31From the day it was built until now, this city has so aroused my anger and wrath that I must remove it from my sight. 32The people of Israel and Judah have provoked me by all the evil they have done—they, their kings and officials, their priests and prophets, the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem. 33They turned their backs to me and not their faces; though I taught them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline. 34They set up their abominable idols in the house that bears my Name and defiled it. 35They built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech, though I never commanded, nor did it enter my mind, that they should do such a detestable thing and so make Judah sin. 36“You are saying about this city, ‘By the sword, famine and plague it will be handed over to the king of Babylon’; but this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 37I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety. 38They will be my people, and I will be their God. 39I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them. 40I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. 41I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul. 42“This is what the LORD says: As I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will give them all the prosperity I have promised them. 43Once more fields will be bought in this land of which

you say, ‘It is a desolate waste, without men or animals, for it has been handed over to the Babylonians.’ 44Fields will be bought for silver, and deeds will be signed, sealed and witnessed in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, because I will restore their fortunes, declares the LORD.” 32:26–29 In response to Jeremiah's prayer, the “word of the Lord came to Jeremiah.” He repeated Jeremiah's question but as an affirmation: “Nothing is impossible for me.” God would reveal his power to Judah in two ways: (1) by his judgment on Jerusalem; the city would be captured and destroyed (32:28–29); (2) by his subsequent restoration of the people (32:37). He reminded the people why he was going to allow the city to be destroyed (32:29). The people had provoked him to anger by forsaking him. Apparently Josiah's reforms had little lasting effect on them (cf. 19:13). He had prohibited the worship of other gods and destroyed their high places (2 Kgs 23:4–16). Now the people were openly worshiping other deities as they had in the days of Josiah's grandfather Manasseh (2 Kgs 21:2–9). 32:30–32 “From their youth” (i.e., from their beginning as a nation), Israel had a history of wickedness. Jeremiah placed their youthful beginning at the time of the exodus (2:2). They had provoked him “with what their hands have made” (a reference to their man-made idols; cf. Deut 4:28; 2 Kgs 19:18; Isa 44:9–20; Jer 10:3–9; Hab 2:18–19). 32:33–35 The Lord had “taught them again and again” (lit. “rising early and teaching”). However, they would not listen or respond to his discipline (for God as teacher, see Ps 71:17; Isa 48:17; Hos 11:3). In their arrogant defiance of the Lord, they set up their idols in the temple itself (see Ezek 8). As if that were not enough, they had built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom (see 2:23; 7:30–8:3) to offer their children as sacrifices to Molech.93 The cult of Molech was widespread in the ANE. An alternative is that Molech is derived from a word that means king (mlk) with the vowels of another word (“shame”). Hence, the present king could be referred to here in connection to the pagan god. 32:36–39 The theme of v. 27 is resumed here. God announced that he had a glorious future in store for Israel and Judah. Although the city would be punished by “sword, famine, and plague” (for this frequent triad in

Jeremiah, see 14:12; 21:7; 24:10; 27:8; 29:18), the Lord was not through with it. He had not rejected his people. He planned to bring them back from all the places where he was going to scatter them (cf. Deut 30:1–5). Once again there would be a covenant relation between God and his people, a new covenant (31:31–34; cf. 31:1,22; see comments on 31:31–34). Verse 39 is a restatement of 31:33. In order for his people to have a proper relationship with him, God would “give them singleness of heart and action.”94 The result is that they would “fear [God].” The word fear in the OT has a wide range of meaning. It can mean dread (Deut 1:29), respect (Ps 19:9), reverence (2 Kgs 17:7), love (Deut 10:12,20), knowledge or wisdom (Prov 1:29), service (Deut 6:13; 10:20), or obedience to the divine commands (Gen 20:11; Job 1:8).95 In the context of the verse, it carries the dual meaning of obedience and respect for God. 32:40–41 The new covenant would be everlasting, a phrase found fourteen times in the OT and implied in other verses (e.g., Gen 9:16; 2 Sam 23:5; Isa 55:3; Ezek 16:60; 37:26). God's love under the new covenant is unconditional. He would “never stop doing good to them,” and they would never again desire to turn away from him. He would take delight in doing them good (cf. 31:28; Deut 30:9; Isa 62:5; 65:19). He would “assuredly plant” (“plant in faithfulness,” MT) them in the land. His promise of restoration is just as sure as his promise of punishment. He would do these things with “all my heart [leb] and soul .” This is the only time this dual expression, heart and soul, is used of God. “Soul” is often not the best translation of A better translation is often “self “or “being” to avoid association with the Greek concept of soul, which is foreign to Hebrew thought. Humans are (Gen 2:7), as are animals (Gen 1:30; Lev 24:18). 32:42–44 God would punish his people. Then he would forgive them and restore them to their land. He would then bless them with “prosperity” (lit. “good”). The chapter closes with the Lord's interpretation of Jeremiah's symbolic act of the purchase of Hanamel's field. The purpose of the purchase was to assure Judah that the Babylonian occupation would end. One day life would return to normal. Fields would be bought and sold. Deeds would be signed, sealed, and witnessed throughout Judah (see 17:26 for the places named in v. 44).

It would have required great faith to believe the promises announced by Jeremiah when siege ramps were already in place against the city. The Babylonians would soon return after driving away the Egyptian army. Those who heard Jeremiah no more believed his messages of restoration than they had believed his warnings of judgment that were at that moment being fulfilled. It would have required greater faith in God than Judah possessed to believe there was a future. Hebrews 11:1 has been paraphrased, “Faith is seeing the unseeable and believing the unbelievable.” Judah did not have that kind of faith, but Jeremiah did. In the midst of eventual disaster, Jeremiah's faith and trust in God is unimaginable. Why did God give him good news at that time? It was news that would give hope to the exiles in a foreign land. God's timing for this good news may be an issue to some, but the worst thing that could happen to the people was to lose their possessions and be sent far away. The best thing that could happen was to come home. Jeremiah had illustrated this “fact” by purchasing a field in his home territory as a sign that restoration was waiting for them. The good news came at that time because it was needed by the people. At an individual level, only when people realize that their lives are a disaster and that they have virtually nothing and they begin to look for God, then and only then does the good news come to them and restore them to the life God had intended for them.

4. Promise of Restoration (33:1–26) This final chapter of the Book of Consolation (chaps. 30–33) continues the themes of destruction and restoration.96 Although the city would be devastated (vv. 2–5), God would bring “health” and “peace” to it (vv. 6–9). Verses 10–26 focus almost entirely on the future restoration of Judah: its animals and shepherds (vv. 12–13), the Davidic kingdom (vv. 14–16), and the covenant (vv. 19–26). The words in chaps. 30–33 would give hope and comfort to the exiles even during their experience of punishment (Ps 137). God's love and grace are so great that even in exile he gave his people hope for the future. Ultimately, their hope was found in a hope for the Messiah (vv. 14–16) who would deliver and redeem them.

(1) The Rebuilding of Judah and Jerusalem (33:1–9) 1While

Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD came to him a second time: 2“This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it—the LORD is his name: 3'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.' 4For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the houses in this city and the royal palaces of Judah that have been torn down to be used against the siege ramps and the sword 5in the fight with the Babylonians: ‘They will be filled with the dead bodies of the men I will slay in my anger and wrath. I will hide my face from this city because of all its wickedness. 6“‘Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security. 7I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before. 8I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me. 9Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.’ 33:1–3 Jeremiah was still in the courtyard of the guard when the Lord spoke to him a second time (cf. 32:2). A further link with chap. 32 is found in the reminder that the one whose name is the Lord is the sovereign Creator of the earth and the one who established it (cf. 32:17).97 The “LORD” (Heb. yhwh) is from a word that means he exists, or he causes to exist, i.e., he creates. The verbs “made” and “formed” are both found in the creation story (“made,” Gen 1:7,16,25–26,31; 2:2,4,18; “formed,” Gen 2:7–8,19). The words of praise of God as Creator in v. 2 are not unrelated to the context but serve as a reminder that he who created this world has the power to restore Israel and Judah. Though the verbs “call” and “tell” in v. 3 are singular, the invitation probably is directed to the people as a whole rather than only to Jeremiah. The use of a singular word to address a plural audience is not unusual in the

Hebrew language. In the Ten Commandments (Exod 20:1–17) all the verbs are singular, though no one would insist the commands were addressed only to one person. Verse 3 is a remarkable reminder that God's knowledge far exceeds ours and that he is always ready to hear our appeals. The verse links revelation with prayer. “The invitation suggests that divine revelation becomes reality when it is sought” (see Matt 7:7; cf. Jas 4:2–3).98 The word translated “unsearchable” is a word that means inaccessible or impregnable. The word can be used to describe a fortified city (34:7).99 The NT equivalent of this verse is John 16:13, but neither of them justifies a “crystal-ball” mentality that seeks to know the future. There is no “secret” formula for unlocking the doors to the future. God can reveal what he desires to whom he desires and when he desires. 33:4–5 In desperation the defenders of the city would have demolished houses and heaped their rubble to fill gaps in the city wall and to reinforce the wall (cf. Isa 22:9–10).100 Because the city will be filled with corpses, the purpose of the demolition of houses may have been to dispose of the corpses. In the coming battle with the Babylonians (lit. Chaldeans), access to cemeteries, all of which were outside the city, would be blocked (cf. Num 19:11–13). In his anger God would hide his face from the city, i.e., he would not hear the pleas of the people when they cried to him for relief. The figure of God hiding his face is found frequently in the OT to describe his anger and the withdrawal of his favor and protection (cf. Deut 31:17; Job 13:24; Ps 44:24; Isa 45:15; 59:2; Micah 3:4; 2 Cor 4:3). 33:6–8 However, the same God who appears to show no mercy in the previous verse now promises that he would bring “health” (lit. “new flesh”) and healing to the same people he had condemned. It is a dramatic reversal of the threat of 8:22. It promises that the past sufferings of the people would be replaced by abundant “peace and security” (lit. “peace and truth”; cf. 14:13, “lasting peace”; lit. “peace of truth”). The promise in v. 7 that Judah and Israel101 would be brought back from captivity is followed by a verse that contains the three chief words for sin in the OT. NIV translates them as “sin” ( from a word that means twisted or bent), “sins” ( from a word that means “to miss the mark or way”), and “rebellion” ( from a word that means to rebel). Each of these words adds a facet of understanding of the nature of sin. It seems that the closer the nation edged

toward destruction the more insistent was the emphasis on hope for the future. The prophets never adopted an I-told-you-so posture when their warnings were realized because they took no delight in the sufferings of their people. Therefore Jeremiah's messages anticipating the rebuilding of the nation to be as it was before the kingdoms were divided are not without precedent among the prophets. Not only would God return the people from captivity and rebuild the nation, but he also would cleanse them from the sins they had committed against him (cf. 31:34; 50:20; Ps 51:4). 33:9 When it was restored, Jerusalem would be a means of bringing “renown” (lit. “a name”), joy, praise, and honor to itself before all nations (cf. 13:11; Deut 26:19). When the nations learned about all the good things God did for his people, they would tremble in awe at Israel's prosperity and peace (cf. Isa 64:3). The “peace” that comes from God is not the peace prophesied by the false prophets (6:14; 8:11; 23:17; 28:9). The “peace” of God prophesied by Jeremiah (30:10; 33:6,9; 46:22) comes after the disaster, not in place of it. (2) The Restoration of Joy and Thanks (33:10–11) 10“This

is what the LORD says: ‘You say about this place, “It is a desolate waste, without men or animals.” Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, inhabited by neither men nor animals, there will be heard once more 11the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the LORD, saying, “Give thanks to the LORD Almighty, for the LORD is good; his love endures forever.” For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,’ says the LORD. Verses 10–13 describe Jerusalem after its fall and are therefore usually dated after 587. The text vividly describes the desolation of the city and the horror of destruction. The text ends with a cry of resounding hope in the future restoration of Judah based on the goodness of God.

33:10–11 Jerusalem is described as a desolate place, devoid of people or animals. Although the verses describe the city in its state of devastation, Jerusalem would again become a bustling, joyful city. There would be a complete reversal of the judgment announced in 7:34; 16:9; and 25:10. The voices of bride and groom would be heard again, sounds that are associated with unrestrained celebration. The temple would be rebuilt, and people would again bring their thank offerings to it. At the same time they would acknowledge that “the Lord is good; his love endures forever” (cf. Pss 100:5; 106:1; 107:1; 118:1,29; 136). The description of Jerusalem's future joy is paralleled by the joy that comes when the old life is exchanged for the new and abundant life in Christ (John 10:10; 2 Cor 5:17). (3) The Restoration of Pastures and Flocks (33:12–13) 12“This

is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘In this place, desolate and without men or animals—in all its towns there will again be pastures for shepherds to rest their flocks. 13In the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah, flocks will again pass under the hand of the one who counts them,’ says the LORD. 33:12–13 Shepherds would once again find pastures where their flocks could rest. A similar promise of a future era of peace and tranquility is also made in 31:24. In all the geographical regions enumerated in v. 13 (cf. 17:26; 32:44), each night when the shepherd brought his sheep to the fold, he would count them to see that all were there. Even in the darkness he could determine that none was missing by counting the sheep as they passed under his hand (see 31:24; cf. Luke 15:4–7; John 10:14–18). (4) Restoration of the Davidic Dynasty and the Levitical Priesthood (33:14–26) 14“‘The

days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will fulfill the gracious

promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. 15“‘In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David's line; he will do what is just and right in the land. 16In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.’ 17For this is what the LORD says: ‘David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, 18nor will the priests, who are Levites, ever fail to have a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices.’” 19The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 20“This is what the LORD says: ‘If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time, 21then my covenant with David my servant—and my covenant with the Levites who are priests ministering before me—can be broken and David will no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne. 22I will make the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister before me as countless as the stars of the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore.’” 23The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 24“Have you not noticed that these people are saying, ‘The LORD has rejected the two kingdoms he chose’? So they despise my people and no longer regard them as a nation. 25This is what the LORD says: ‘If I have not established my covenant with day and night and the fixed laws of heaven and earth, 26then I will reject the descendants of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his sons to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes and have compassion on them.’” The LXX omits all of vv. 14–26. For this reason many commentators believe the verses were not original but were a later addition to the chapter,

probably composed during or after the exile. Verses 19 and 23 attribute the messages to Jeremiah. As such, vv. 14–26 are an integral part not only of the Book of Consolation (chaps. 30–33) but also to the Book of Jeremiah and the entire Bible. The future restoration of Judah is a dominant theme in Jeremiah as first stated in 1:10, which speaks about the role of Jeremiah as a builder and planter. By purchasing a field in Anathoth (chap. 32), Jeremiah had acted on his belief that the words of restoration (33:14–26) would definitely come to pass. 33:14 The section begins with a well-known phrase that alerts the reader to future events: “days are coming” (see 30:3). The time will come when God will fulfill “the gracious promise” (lit. “the good word”; cf. 29:10) he had made to Israel and Judah. 33:15–16 These verses are a prose parallel to the poetic messianic statement of 23:5–6 but with a slight difference in emphasis.102 The verses promise the restoration of the Davidic dynasty. “A righteous Branch” (see 23:5 for explanation of “Branch”) of David's family would do what is just and right, as contrasted with the many wicked kings who occupied the throne since David's death. Under the leadership of this new ruler, Judah would be saved and the people would live in safety. The city would be given a new name: “The LORD our righteousness.”103 In 23:6 the name was promised to the coming ruler, but here the name is given to the city. The meaning of the new name is that Jerusalem would finally become what God intended for it to be all along—a city noted for its righteousness. See also Isa 1:26; 62:2–4; Jer 3:17; Ezek 48:35; Zech 8:3; Rev 11:8 for other descriptive names of Jerusalem. 33:17–18 These verses contain a promise that the Davidic and Levitical lines in Israel would be permanent. As a renewal of the covenant promise to David (2 Sam 7:8–16), here God affirmed that a descendant of David would always be on Israel's throne (cf. 1 Kgs 2:4; 8:25 = 2 Chr 6:16; and 1 Kgs 9:5 = 2 Chr 7:18). Because no descendant of David has been on Israel's throne for centuries, nor has Israel been a monarchy for centuries, one of several conclusions may be drawn from the promise of v. 17. One is that the promise has failed or that God changed his mind and withdrew the promise. Another is that Jeremiah was not a true prophet and was only speaking his own words. Neither interpretation satisfies the reader who has a high view

of inspiration of the Scriptures and the reliability of God's promises. A third interpretation advocated by many is that Christ (the “king of kings,” Rev 19:16), descendant of David through his earthly genealogy (Matt 1:6,16), is the fulfillment of this as well as other messianic texts (Rev 22:16). The prophecy of Jeremiah, therefore, was not fulfilled completely with the restoration of Judah in the communities of Ezra and Nehemiah but is fulfilled in Jesus Christ (in his present reign and future return). Verse 18 appears to parallel v. 17 with its promise of the restoration of the priests who were Levites and the sacrificial system with its burnt offerings, grain offerings, and sacrifices. It is the only statement in the book that appears to refer to renewal of the priesthood. Those who follow the hermeneutical principle that prophecy is to be interpreted literally whenever possible usually interpret v. 18 to mean that the OT sacrificial system would be literally reinstituted at a future time. This interpretation, however, is contrary to the biblical explanation that Christ abolished the sacrificial system once and for all (cf. Gal 3:1–3; Heb 10:1–16; cf. v. 16 and Jer 31:33). Christ as King-Priest would fulfill the promises of vv. 17–18 (see Ps 110:4). If the promise of a Davidic king is considered to be fulfilled in Christ, it is not unreasonable to conclude that Christ in his priestly role fulfills the Levitical priestly role (see Zech 6:13; Heb 7:23–28). 33:19–22 These verses repeat the thought of 31:36–37. The hypothetical proposition is put forward that if God's covenant with day and night could be broken (i.e., if one could alter the fixed cycle of night and day; cf. Gen 1:5; 8:22), then his covenants with David and the Levites could be broken (cf. Gen 8:22; Jer 31:35–37; for the covenant with the Levites, see Exod 32:27–29; Num 25:10–13; Neh 13:29; Mal 2:4–9). The hypothetical (but impossible) termination of day and night is an emphatic way of stating that those covenants cannot be broken. In addition, the Lord promised that the increase of the descendants of David and the Levites would be as countless as the stars and as measureless as the sand on the seashore. The Abrahamic promise of innumerable posterity would be applied to the descendants of David and of the priests (cf. Gen 13:16; 15:5; 22:17).

33:23–26 The Lord addressed a question to Jeremiah (the “you” of v. 24 is singular in Heb.). Was the prophet aware that people were saying that God had rejected the “two kingdoms” (lit. “two families”)? The “two kingdoms” have been taken to refer to (1) David and Levi, (2) Jacob and David, (3) Jacob and Levi, or (4) Israel and Judah. Context would suggest the latter interpretation is most likely correct. Because they assumed that God had rejected the two kingdoms, Israel and Judah, other nations despised the people and no longer considered them to be a nation. The closing verses of the chapter repeat the thought of vv. 19–20. If God's covenant with day and night and the fixed laws of heaven and earth could not stand, then he would reject Jacob's descendants as his people and David's descendants to rule over the tribes.104 In spite of what appeared to be a hopeless situation at the time, God could announce the restoration of the people and his compassion for them because of his sovereign control over events and peoples. Though stated implicitly here, it should be noted that a renewal of a relationship between God and Israel could only be possible through God's forgiveness and grace (see 31:34). 1E.

Martens, Jeremiah, BCBC (Scottdale, Penn.: Herald, 1986), 186. 2J. A. Thompson, The Book of Jeremiah, NICOT (Eerdmans, 1980), 551. 3W. Rudolph (Jeremia, HAT 12 [Tübingen: Mohr-Siebeck], 188–89) says much of chaps. 30–31 was written to Israel during the early part of Jeremiah's ministry. He believed that references to Judah were added when it became evident that Judah was undergoing much of what Israel had already experienced. 4 (“bring … back from captivity”) is lit. “I will turn the turning.” It is also translated as “bring back the captives” (NJB), “change the lot” (NAB), and “restore the fortunes” (NJPS, REB, NRSV). 5The expression is used elsewhere in announcements of judgment (7:32; 9:25; 19:6 [see note]; 48:12; 49:2; 51:52) as well as blessing (16:14; 23:5,7; 31:27,38; 33:14). G. van Groningen, in Messianic Revelation in the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1990), 704, claims that Jeremiah used the expression to introduce a major point.

6“Your

neck … Your bonds” (MT). Switching person (third to second) is not uncommon in Hebrew. 7Van Groningen (Messianic Revelation, 712) notes the element of responsibility in this reference to serving the Lord: “Failure to act, as before the exile, will result in further estrangement from Yahweh and additional tragic consequences.” 8S. Mowinckel (He That Cometh [Oxford: Blackwell, 1959], 20) understood these verses as expressing a postexilic hope for a revival monarchy. 9Van Groningen, Messianic Revelation, 712. 10Ibid., 678. Verses 10–11 are repeated in 46:27–28 with minor variations. The LXX omits the verses here but preserves them in 46:27–28 (LXX, 26:27–28). Similarity of language of v. 10 with Isa 40–66 has frequently been noted (e.g., Isa 41:8–9,13–14; 43:1,5; 44:1–2). Thus many scholars say 30:10–11 were influenced by Isa 40–66, but others argue the influence was the other way around. W. Holladay (Jeremiah: Spokesman Out of Time [Philadelphia: Pilgrim, 1974], 112) says vv. 10–11 are genuine words of Jeremiah in spite of perceived problems. 11See J. Muilenburg, “The Terminology of Adversity in Jeremiah,” in Translating and Understanding the Old Testament, ed. W. L. Reed (Nashville: Abingdon, 1970), 45–48. 12See W. Brueggemann, “The ‘Uncared for’ Now Cared For,” JBL 104 (1985): 421. 13 P. D. Miller, Jr., Sin and Judgment in the Prophets (Chico, Cal.: Scholars, 1982), 69. This is the lex talionis applied to the nations (Exod 21:24). 14R. P. Carroll, From Chaos to Covenant (New York: Crossroad, 1981), 207. 15D. R. Jones, Jeremiah, NCB (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992), 380. See also T. M. Ludwig, “The Shape of Hope: Jeremiah's Book of Consolation,” CTM 39 (1968): 534–35. 16Brueggemann, “The ‘Uncared for’ Now Cared for,” 424–26. The deliverance also demonstrates his compassion and faithfulness. The Good Shepherd must discipline his sheep, but he cannot remove them from his

heart. God's sympathies are always with the outcast and oppressed of the world and the ones for whom no one else cares. He is willing and wants to forgive those who have sinned against him. 17In ancient times when the earthen homes were destroyed by war, erosion, or age, new dwellings and entire new cities were built on the ruins of the old, forming a new level of occupation on top of the old. Tepe Gawra in northern Iraq, an ancient city dating from before 3000 B.C., is a tell composed of twenty-six successive layers of civilization. Tells are found all over the Middle East today. Some towns preserve the word in their name, e.g., Tel-Aviv (Ezek 3:15), Tell El-Amarna (ancient Akhetaton), Tell Mardikh (ancient Ebla). 18KJV incorrectly translates as “nobles.” The noun is singular and is related to the verb meaning be majestic, glorious. It is translated as “leader” (NIV), “prince” (NJB, NRSV), “chieftain” (NJPS), and “ruler” (REB). 19Van Groningen, Messianic Revelation, 713–14. 20J. A. Thompson, The Book of Jeremiah, 566. He points out that the phrase “find favor” occurs five times in Exod 33:12–17. Translation of the last line of v. 2 is difficult. The main verb is infinitive absolute of and the subject is unclear. The word “Israel” is at the end of the clause either as a nominative or accusative absolute. If it is accusative, then “the LORD” is the implied subject (as NIV). The hiphil verb [gr in the infinitive construct may mean either “find rest” (Deut 28:65) or “provide rest” (Jer 50:34; CHAL). Since a new subject is not marked in the final clause, we probably should assume that from the previous clause is still the topic, marked by the nominative absolute. Hence the NASB translation, “Israel, when it went to find its rest.” 21The verb can also mean to extend or prolong, yielding the translation, “Therefore, I have prolonged faithfulness to you” (NRSV, Thompson, Holladay). See also Pss 36:10; 109:12; 85:5. 22R. E. Watts, “Consolation or Confrontation? Isaiah 40–55 and the Delay of the New Exodus,” TB 41 (1990): 32–35. Cf. Isa 27:12–13; 35:1– 10; 43:14–21; 48:20–21; 51:9–11; 52:11–12; Jer 23:7; Hos 2:14–23; 11:5– 11; Amos 9:7–15.

23TWOT

2:716. Cf. Exod 13:13–15; 21:30; Num 3:46; 18:15–16; 1 Chr 17:21; Ps 49:5–15; Mic 4:10. 24E. A. Martens, God's Design (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1981), 18. 25It is unclear just how far from Ephrath (Bethlehem) is indicated by the phrase KB translates “a good stretch” and Holladay “a little way.” It is in the context of Herod's having the children in Bethlehem killed that Matt 2:18 quotes Jer 31:5. 26See J. G. Baldwin, First and Second Samuel, TOTC (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1988), 91. R. F. Youngblood (“1, 2 Samuel,” in EBC [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992], 628) argues that Jer 31:15 cannot be used to locate Rachel's tomb since the reference to Rachel there is metaphorical and Ramah “is merely a representative town where some of the exiles were living.” 27Ibid., “Jeremiah,” EBC (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986), 572. 28Feinberg, “Jeremiah,” 569; van Groningen, Messianic Revelation, 715; against Jones, Jeremiah, 392 and Thompson, Jeremiah, 573. 29J. H. Sailhamer, “Genesis,” EBC (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1990), 219. 30According to C. L. Blomberg, Matthew, NAC (Nashville: Broadman, 1992), 63–66, Herod acted in concert with Jewish religious leaders, and their reaction to the report of the Magi foreshadowed the final Jewish rejection of Jesus as the Christ. He also notes that in Gen 42:36 Joseph and Benjamin are threatened with being “no more.” E. F. Tupper (“The Massacre—Christology against Providence?” RevExp 88 [1991]: 410) adds that reference was being made to Pharaoh's slaughter of male babies in Exod 1:22. See also R. Gundry, Matthew: A Commentary on His Literary and Theological Art (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1982), 34–37. 31R. H. Gundry, The Use of the Old Testament in St. Matthew's Gospel (Leiden: Brill, 1975), 210. 32G. van Groningen, Messianic Revelation in the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1990), 215–16. See 153–67 for a helpful discussion of typology. Blomberg (Matthew, 67) explains that Matthew saw “striking parallels in the patterns of God's activities in history that he could not account for by coincidence.” He views Matthew's use of Hos 11:1 as well as

Jer 31:15 as typological exegesis, or more specifically “analogical correspondence.” Matthew's use of the term (“fulfill”) is discussed in D. J. Moo, “The Law of Moses or the Law of Christ, in Continuity and Discontinuity: Perspectives on the Relationship between the Old and New Testaments, ed J. S. Feinberg (Westchester, Ill.: Crossway, 1988), 204–6. He explains that it is “the key term chosen by Matthew to depict the impact of Jesus' coming on the OT.” He asserts that Matthew presents a theology of salvation history that pictures the entire OT as anticipating and looking forward to Jesus.” See also idem, “The Problem of Sensus Plenior,” in Hermeneutics, Authority, and Canon, ed. D. A. Carson and J. D. Woodbridge (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986), especially 204–11. 33D. A Carson, “Matthew,” EBC (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984), 95. 34J. G. McConville, “Ezra-Nehemiah and the Fulfillment of Prophecy, VT 36 (1986): 205–24. 35See B. K. Waltke, “Kingdom Promises as Spiritual,” and W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Kingdom Promises as Spiritual and National,” in Continuity and Discontinuity, ed. J. S. Feinberg (Westchester, Ill.: Crossway, 1988), 263– 87, 289–307. 36TWOT, 386–87. 37From the abundant references in Scripture to the Lord's remembering, we must infer that he never acts capriciously but always on the basis of past relationships and actions. In addition to covenant contexts as here, the expression is found in contexts of deliverance (15:15; Num 10:9; Judg 16:28; 1 Sam 1:11,19; 2 Kgs 20:3; Ps 106:4; Lam 5:1) and punishment for sin (14:10; 44:21; Pss 109:14; 137:7; Ezek 21:24; Hos 8:13). The Lord's not remembering sins is another way of describing forgiveness. It means that under certain conditions he refrains from acting in accordance with past sins (31:34; Isa 64:9). 38Feinberg, “Jeremiah,” 570. 39J. N. Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 1–39, NICOT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986), 625. 40See Feinberg, “Jeremiah,” 571, for an argument against this view. 41BDB, 150.

42See

especially Gen 1:1; Exod 34:10; Num 16:30; Deut 4:32; Ps 51:10; Isa 4:5; 41:20; 43:7; 48:3–8; 57:17–19; 65:17–19. 43J. Calvin, Commentaries on the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah, 5 vols. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1950), 4.115. 44G. van Groningen, Messianic Revelation in the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990), 717; see also Thompson, Jeremiah, 576. D. R. Jones (Jeremiah, 395) observes a contrastive wordplay between the words for “faithless” and “surround” He sees the point of the proverb, however, that Israel would experience a role reversal (cf. 30:6) from protected to protector, i.e., of the nations. 45W. Brueggemann, To Build, To Plant: A Commentary on Jeremiah 26– 52 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991), 67–68. 46See W. Kaiser, More Hard Sayings of the Old Testament (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1992), 243–45. 47R. E. Clements (Jeremiah, INT [Atlanta: John Knox, 1988], 189) writes: “For the Old Testament understanding of the nature of man there is an inalienable element of human freedom, assured through the openness and reality of the human relationship to God, which made repentance a genuine possibility and the future an authentic part of God's creative purpose.” 48D. Kidner, Message of Jeremiah, 110. 49Although some scholars doubt that Jeremiah was the author of these words (e. g., Clements, Jeremiah, 190), their arguments are unconvincing. See Bright, Jeremiah, 284–287; H. D. Potter, “The New Covenant in Jeremiah 31:31–34,” VT 33 (1983): 347–357; W. Holladay, Jeremiah 2, 164–165; D. R. Jones, Jeremiah, 399–401. Nevertheless, we should not neglect the testimony of Heb 10:15 that whoever the human author, the message came from God. As Van Groningen (Messianic Revelation, 729) says: “Jeremiah's prophetic messianic messages did not arise from his heart. And neither did he give expression to a developing messianic hope as Sigmund Mowinckel, George Riggen, and other of their school have posited.” 50C. J. H. Wright, Knowing Jesus through the Old Testament (London: Marshall Pickering, 1992), 93. Van Groningen (Messianic Revelation, 719)

claims that with the object (“covenant”) in v. 31 the verb (“cut”) as opposed to (“erect”) “was most often used when reference was to the setting up of a totally new arrangement or when some specifically new dimension was added.” He elaborates, however (721), that what the new covenant entails is a covenant renewal and that “the main elements of Yahweh's covenant with Abraham, Moses, Israel, and David remain in force in Jeremiah's proclamations.” Does this understanding, however, do justice to the declared discontinuity between the new and Mosaic covenants (“not … like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt”)? Although the new covenant is clearly an extension of the Abrahamic (and Davidic?) covenant(s), the relationship to the Mosaic covenant is clearly not the same. 51D. Kidner, Message of Jeremiah, 110. 52Thompson, Jeremiah, 579–80. Bright (Jeremiah, 287) considers it the “high point” of Jeremiah's theology and “one of the profoundest and most moving passages in the entire Bible.” Carroll (Jeremiah, 612), on the other hand, exhibits amazing nearsightedness in considering the passage as expressing only a “pious hope” and a “utopianism” that “represents a fundamental weakness of biblical prophecy.” He rejects attempts to interpret the text from a Christian perspective as “irrelevant for the meaning of the text.” 53D. R. Jones, Jeremiah, 401. 54See, e.g., Isa 41:18–20; 42:6–13; 43:18–21,25; 44:3–5,21–23; 45:14– 17; 49:8–13; 51:3–8; 54:9–10; 55:3; 59:21; 60:15–22; 61:1–9; 65:17–25; Jer 50:4–5; Ezek 16:60–63; 34:11–31; 36:8–15,22–38; 37:11–14,21–28; Joel 2:18–32. W. C. Kaiser, Jr. (“The Old Promise and the New Covenant: Jeremiah 31:31–34,” JETS 15 [1972]: 14) identifies “sixteen or seventeen major passages on the new covenant.” See also W. J. Dumbrell, Covenant and Creation: A Theology of OT Covenants (Nashville: Nelson, 1984), 164–200. 55W. Eichrodt structured his theology around the covenant as the central OT theme in his Theology of the Old Testament, 2 vols. (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1961). For further reading on covenant, see B. K. Waltke, “The Phenomenon of Conditionality within Unconditional Covenants,” in Israel's Apostasy and Restoration, ed. A. Gileadi (Grand Rapids: Baker,

1988), 123–39; J. Jocz, The Covenant: A Theology of Human Destiny (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1968); D. R. Hillers, Covenant: The History of a Biblical Idea (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1969); D. J. McCarthy, Old Testament Covenant (Richmond: John Knox, 1972); ibid., Treaty and Covenant, AnBib 21 (Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1963); G. E. Mendenhall, “Covenant Forms in Israelite Tradition,” BA 17 (1954): 62; M. Weinfeld, “Berit—Covenant vs. Obligation,” Bib 56 (1975): 120–28; idem, “The Covenant of Grant in the Old Testament and in the ANE,” JAOS 90 (1970): 184–203; T. E. McComiskey, The Covenants of Promise: A Theology of the Old Testament Covenants (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1985); Waltke, “Phenomenon of Conditionality,” 123–39. 56Waltke, “Phenomenon of Conditionality,” 128–30; Wright, Knowing Jesus, 83–85. 57Ibid., 135. 58Thompson (Jeremiah, 581) argues that the translation of the verb “I was lord,” better fits the context. The LXX, quoted in Heb 8:9, has “I turned away.” Feinberg (“Jeremiah,” 578) thinks that the LXX was translating the Heb. word (“I abhorred”) rather than the MT The NT, he says, “follows the LXX because it does no violence to the sense of the passage or the purpose of the sacred writer.” See also M. Silva, “The NT Use of the OT: Text Form and Authority,” in Scripture and Truth, ed. D. A. Carson and J. D. Woodbridge (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1983), 147–65. 59Note the expression “cut off from his people” in Gen 17:14; Exod 30:33; 31:14; Lev 7:20; 17:4; 18:29; 20:3; 23:29; Num 9:13; 15:30; Ezek 14:8. 60Pss 37:31; 40:8; Isa 51:7; cf. 4:4; Deut 6:6; 10:16; 11:18; 30:11–14; 32:46–47; Josh 22:5. 61The failure of the covenant is predicted even in the law itself; cf. Lev 26:44–45; Deut 30:1–6. P. E. Hughes (A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1977], 300) writes, “Jeremiah's prophecy, therefore, was like a shaft of light penetrating the darkness of desperate apostasy and focusing on a glorious future time when God would be truly loved and obeyed.”

62Clements

(Jeremiah, 190–91) says that Israel's transgression was on such a scale “as to render the covenant effectively annulled” so that “it was no longer in force.” Against this, Van Groningen (Messianic Revelation, 722) states that the Mosaic covenant was not annulled by Israel's breaking it. By his grace God would continue for a time to administer his people by the Mosaic covenant. It was the basis, for example, of the restoration under Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi (see, e.g., Ezra 3:2; 7:10; 10:3; Neh 8:1–9:3; 10:28–29; 13:29; Mal 3:7–12; 4:4). Hughes (Hebrews, 302) explains from Heb 8:13, “The first covenant can be regarded only as ‘becoming obsolete and growing old,’ and therefore as ‘ready to vanish away’ when in due course the new and eternal covenant of grace is established.” 63According to B. A. Ware (“The New Covenant and the People(s) of God,” in Dispensationalism, Israel and the Church, ed. C. A. Blaising and D. L. Bock [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992], 84–91), Christ's resurrection and ascension were also necessary to the inauguration of the new covenant. Feinberg (“Jeremiah,” 575) explains that as the Passover memorialized the Mosaic covenant the Lord's Supper would memorialize the new covenant. 64E. A. Martens (Jeremiah, 195) observes that this is the longest OT passage quoted in the NT. 65See Ware (“New Covenant,” 70–73). 66The reuniting of Israel is one of the promises of the new covenant; cf. 3:18; Ezek 37:15–28. Note that Israel and Judah as the recipients of the new covenant in v. 31 have become Israel in v. 33. Hughes (Hebrews, 300) suggests that this “was symbolical of the healing of every human breach and the reconciliation of all nations and persons in Christ” (Eph 2:14). 67Feinberg, “Jeremiah,” 575; H. A. Kent, Jr., “The New Covenant and the Church,” GTJ 6 (1985): 290–98; R. E. Showers, There Really Is a Difference! A Comparison of Covenant and Dispensational Theology (Bellmawr, N.J.: Friends of Israel, 1990), 99–111; R. L. Saucy, “Israel and Church: A Case for Discontinuity,” in Continuity and Discontinuity: Perspectives on the Relationship between the Old and New Testaments, ed. J. S. Feinberg (Westchester, Ill.: Crossway, 1988), 239–59; Ware, “New Covenant,” 92–97; J. L. Burns, “The Future of Ethnic Israel in Romans 11,”

in Dispensationalism, Israel and the Church, ed. C. A. Blaising and D. L. Bock (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992), 188–229. Against a premillennial view, see M. H. Woudstra, “Israel and the Church: A Case for Continuity,” in Continuity and Discontinuity, 221–38. 68See the discussion of what was new about the new covenant in W. C. Kaiser, Jr., Toward an Old Testament Theology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1978), 231–35. 69H. W. Wolff, Confrontations with Prophets (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1983), 54. 70TWOT, 813; Van Groningen, Messianic Revelation, 722. 71W. Eichrodt (Theology of the Old Testament, 1.91) has written that “a national law can never attain its goal so long as it remains a system reluctantly endured and effective only by compulsion; it must be founded on the inward assent of the people.” 72J. G. McConville (“Jeremiah: Prophet and Book,” TB 42 [1991]: 93) explains that “the idea of God enabling the obedience is precisely Jeremiah's answer to the basic problem” of maintaining the covenant “in which the obedience of the human partner is indispensable.” G. von Rad (Old Testament Theology, vol. 2 [New York: Harper, 1965], 213–14) says, “What is here outlined is the picture of a new man, a man who is able to obey perfectly because of a miraculous change of his nature.” 73 W. Brueggemann, To Build, To Plant: A Commentary on Jeremiah 26–52 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991), 71. 74Wolff, Confrontations, 57. But see McComiskey, Covenants of Promise, 86–87; Feinberg, “Jeremiah,” 577, who notes that at least during the church age of partial fulfillment there are still teachers (1 Cor 12:28–29; Eph 4:11–12). 75Note the expression “I will be their God and they will be my people” in v. 33 found also in various forms in 7:23; 11:4; 24:7; 30:22; 32:38; Gen 17:7–8; Exod 6:7; 29:45; Lev 26:12; Deut 26:17–18; Ezek 11:20; 36:28, etc. Waltke (“Phenomenon of Conditionality,” 129) explains that this was like a marriage formula. See also H. B. Huffmon, “The Treaty Background of Hebrew BASOR 181 (1966): 31–37. Brueggemann (Jeremiah 26– 52, 71), citing 22:15–17, states that to know the Lord probably means

“affirmation of Yahweh as sovereign Lord with readiness to obey the commands for justice that are the will of Yahweh.” See also Thompson, Jeremiah, 581. Hughes (Hebrews, 301) explains that “it is only eschatologically, with the introduction of the new heaven and the new earth, populated with the multitude of the redeemed, that this covenant promise attains its ultimate fulfillment.” 76Van Groningen, Messianic Revelation, 723. 77Van Groningen points out that (“forgive”) is “used only of God; he alone can and does completely pardon” (cf. Isa 55:7; Mic 7:18–20). Only he can make the “unfaithful daughter” into a virgin again (vv. 21–22). 78See, e.g., Van Groningen, Messianic Revelation, 722; McComiskey, Covenant of Promise, 84–85. 79Cf. Gal 3:23–25; 5:1–6; Eph 2:14–16; Col 2:16–17; Heb 7:11–12,18– 22; 8:13. 80On the issue of continuity and discontinuity of the Mosaic law under the new covenant see McComiskey, Covenant of Promise, 91–93; K. Chamblin, “The Law of Moses and the Law of Christ” and D. J. Moo, “The Law of Moses or the Law of Christ,” in Continuity and Discontinuity, 181– 202, 203–18; D. A. Dorsey, “The Law of Moses and the Christian: A Compromise,” JETS 34 (1991): 321–34; Showers, There Really Is a Difference, 187–205; D. K. Lowery, “Christ, the End of the Law in Romans 10:4,” in Dispensationalism, Israel and the Church, 230–47; S. Westerholm, Israel's Law and Church's Faith: Paul and His Recent Interpreters (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988). 81As P. E. Hughes (Hebrews, 293) has written, “The new not only replaces but also fulfils (sic) the old.” 82Verse 35 is an allusion to Gen 1:17, where the same verb is used (translated here “appoints” and there “set” in NIV). On the Lord's power over the seas, see also Isa 51:15; cf. Jer 10:10–13. 83Brueggemann, Jeremiah 26–52, 76. 84According to B. Halpern (“The Ritual Background of Zechariah's Temple Song,” CBQ 40 [1978]: 178) the measuring line was a “symbol of restoration.” K. L. Barker (“Zechariah,” in EBC, 616) adds that it symbolizes “preparation for rebuilding and restoring Jerusalem and the

temple, ultimately in the messianic kingdom.” The rebuilding under Nehemiah and his colleagues was only the initial stage of fulfillment. Van Groningen (Messianic Revelation, 728) says that the return from exile would be “the first eschatological event and the fountainhead from which other eschatological events will flow.” 85The term used here signifies a decaying corpse (Isa 34:3), usually the result of divine judgment (e.g., 1 Sam 17:46; Isa 14:19; Amos 8:3; Nah 3:3). TWOT, 715. On the defilement of the dead see Num 19:11–22; Ezek 44:25. 86Lit. “fat,” referring to “the burnt wood of the fire soaked in fat” (Thompson, Jeremiah, 583); cf. Lev 4:12; 6:10–11; Num 19:9–10. 87See K. B. Thompson (Jeremiah, 584) suggests by analogy with a Ug. expression (shdmt, “field of death” or “field of Mot”) that Jeremiah was referring to cemeteries in the Kidron Valley where victims of human sacrifice were buried. 88Cf. Gen 9:11, where God promised never to destroy the earth again by flood. As Brueggemann (Jeremiah 26–52, 78) writes, God's power would bring to Israel a new future “as stunning and profound as the ways in which resurrection nullifies and overrides crucifixion.” 89On Jer 32 see the following: M. Wang, “Jeremiah's Message of Hope in Prophetic Symbolic Action—The ‘Deed of Purchase’ in Jer 32,” SEAJT 14/2 (1972/73): 13–20 and W. Holladay, Jeremiah 2, 202–20. 90The MT says “Hanamel my uncle,” but v. 7 states that Hanamel was the son of Jeremiah's uncle, Shallum. NIV follows the LXX and the Syr (“son of my father's brother”) and translates as “my cousin Hanamel.” 91W. Rudolph, Jeremia, HAT 12 (Tübingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 1968), 179. 92J. Bright, Jeremiah: Introduction, Translation, and Notes, AB (Garden City: Doubleday, 1965), 298. Some have argued that vv. 16–25 are secondary. Bright says Jeremiah's prayer originally consisted only of v. 16, the first words of v. 17, and vv. 24–25 and was later expanded to include vv. 17b-23. He offers no evidence and admits those portions contain nothing foreign to Jeremiah's thought. 93“Sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech” (v. 35) is lit. “make their sons and daughters pass through [i.e., “pass through the fire”] to

Molech.” Human sacrifice was abhorrent to God and forbidden (see Lev 20:2; Deut 12:30–31; 2 Kgs 16:3; 17:31; Jer 7:30–32; 19:3–5; Ezek 16:20– 21). On the cult of Molech, see J. Day, Molech: A God of Human Sacrifice in the Old Testament (Cambridge: University Press, 1989). 94“Another way and another heart” (LXX); “a new heart and a new spirit” (Syr); cf. Ezek 11:19; 18:31; 36:26 95See G. von Rad, Genesis, OTL (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1961), 236–37, on the fear of God; cf. F. B. Huey, Jr., Jeremiah, BSC (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1981), 108, n. 5. 96Verses 14–26 in this chapter are omitted in the LXX; thus it is the largest text found in the MT but not the LXX of Jeremiah. 97The Heb. of v. 2 reads lit., “Thus says the Lord, who made it.” “It” has no stated antecedent. Therefore the LXX is preferred by many: “Thus says the Lord, who made the earth.” 98F. B. Huey, Jr., Jeremiah, BSC (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1981), 108. 99For (“unsearchable”) some MSS read (“hidden”) by changing one letter. The latter is found in a similar statement in Isa 48:6. 100Many commentators call vv. 4b-5a hopelessly corrupt. The MT says “which were torn down to the siege ramps and to the sword coming to fight the Chaldeans and to fill them [with] the corpses of the man” (=men). Though the verses are difficult, the general meaning is that of the coming destruction of Jerusalem. 101Some of the LXX MSS have “Jerusalem” for “Israel” (v. 7), which may fit better the context of chaps. 32–33, but this is not the first time Jeremiah's expressions of hope for the future included both Judah and Israel (cf. 30:3; 31:27,31). 102Van Groningen, Messianic Revelation, 724–29. Scholars sometimes are unable to agree whether a passage is prose or poetry. NIV, JB, and NJB put the verses in a poetic format here as well as in 23:5–6. NAB, NJPS, REB, and NRSV prefer a prose format here. 103“Name” is not in the MT; lit. “and this [is] which will call to her,” i.e., “and this is by which she will be called.” The Vg and some Gr MSS supply the word “name.”

104Verse

26 does not contain the usual spelling for Isaac instead it reads This variant spelling is found elsewhere only in Ps 105:9 and Amos 7:9,16.

SECTION OUTLINE X. EVENTS AND MESSAGES FROM 605 B.C. TO THE FALL OF JERUSALEM (34:1–39:18) 1. A Warning to Zedekiah of His Fate (34:1–7) 2. Treacherous Dealings with the Slaves (34:8–22) (1) A Broken Promise of Freedom for the Slaves (34:8–11) (2) God's Denunciation of the Broken Promise (34:12–16) (3) Punishment for Not Freeing the Slaves (34:17– 22) 3. Jeremiah and the Recabites (35:1–19) (1) Jeremiah's Test of the Recabites' Loyalty (35:1– 5) (2) Refusal to Break Jonadab's Vow (35:6–11) (3) The Lesson for Judah (35:12–17) (4) Commendation of the Recabites (35:18–19) 4. Jehoiakim's Reaction to Jeremiah's Written Messages (36:1–32) (1) The Command to Write the Messages on a Scroll (36:1–3) (2) Baruch Commanded to Write the Scroll (36:4– 7)

(3) Public Reading of the Scroll at the Temple (36:8–10) (4) Reading of the Scroll before the Officials (36:11–19) (5) Reading of the Scroll to the King (36:20–26) (6) Rewriting of the Destroyed Scroll (36:27–32) 5. Jeremiah's Arrest and Imprisonment (37:1–21) (1) The King's Request for Prayer (37:1–5) (2) Jeremiah's Reply to the King (37:6–10) (3) Jeremiah's Arrest (37:11–15) (4) Jeremiah's Secret Interview with the King (37:16–21) 6. Jeremiah's Confinement in a Cistern (38:1–28) (1) The Demand for Jeremiah's Punishment (38:1– 6) (2) Jeremiah's Rescue from the Cistern (38:7–13) (3) Another Secret Interview with Zedekiah (38:14–26) (4) The Officials' Questioning of Jeremiah (38:27– 28) 7. The Fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians (39:1–18) (1) The Capture of the City (39:1–3) (2) Zedekiah's Flight and Capture (39:4–7) (3) Destruction of the City (39:8–10)

(4) The Release of Jeremiah (39:11–14) (5) Promise of Deliverance for Ebed-Melech (39:15–18)

X. EVENTS AND MESSAGES FROM 605 B.C. TO THE FALL OF JERUSALEM (34:1–39:18) Chapters 34–39 mainly deal with Jeremiah's role during the siege and fall of Jerusalem (588–587 B.C.). They narrate events that took place during the reign of King Jehoiakim, Zedekiah's predecessor. The message of the section concerns the faithfulness of God's word of judgment. In this section the continuing persecution of Jeremiah is vividly portrayed. Chapter 35 discloses that the faithfulness of the Recabites should serve as an example to both Jeremiah and Judah. Chapter 36 is the climax of Judah's rejection of God's word; in it Jehoiakim assures Judah of its punishment by literally cutting to pieces the Word of God. Chapters 37–39 record events during the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar's army and the trials of the people imprisoned in their own city.

1. A Warning to Zedekiah of His Fate (34:1–7) 1While

Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army and all the kingdoms and peoples in the empire he ruled were fighting against Jerusalem and all its surrounding towns, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Go to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him, ‘This is what the LORD says: I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down. 3You will not escape from his grasp but will surely be captured and handed over to him. You will see the king of Babylon with your

own eyes, and he will speak with you face to face. And you will go to Babylon. 4“‘Yet hear the promise of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah. This is what the LORD says concerning you: You will not die by the sword; 5you will die peacefully. As people made a funeral fire in honor of your fathers, the former kings who preceded you, so they will make a fire in your honor and lament, “Alas, O master!” I myself make this promise, declares the LORD.’” 6Then Jeremiah the prophet told all this to Zedekiah king of Judah, in Jerusalem, 7while the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and the other cities of Judah that were still holding out—Lachish and Azekah. These were the only fortified cities left in Judah. Chapter 34 contains an account of events during the closing months of Judah's independent existence. The early stages of the final assault on Jerusalem by the Babylonians had already begun. 34:1–3 Nebuchadnezzar was joined in the fight by “all the kingdoms and peoples in the empire he ruled.” These would have been his vassals, who were required to provide military assistance for their overlord against his enemies. Vassalage agreements also required the suzerain to protect the vassal from the latter's enemies. With his superior forces Nebuchadnezzar was overcoming all opposition in Judah as he simultaneously attacked Jerusalem and the surrounding towns. During the height of the siege, the Lord sent Jeremiah to King Zedekiah with another warning (cf. 21:1–7). He told the king that the city was going to be taken by Nebuchadnezzar and burned. Zedekiah himself would be taken to Babylon as a prisoner of war. Since the Lord instructed Jeremiah to go to Zedekiah, the prophet could not have been in prison at that time. Therefore the events of this chapter must have occurred prior to the events of chaps. 32–33 (cf. 34:2 with 32:3). From the demonstration in chaps. 34–39 of the faithfulness of God's word of judgment, Jeremiah's readers should be assured that his words of hope and consolation are also reliable. Zedekiah was not as strong-willed as his predecessor, Jehoiakim. He revealed his weak character when he claimed that he could not prevent Jeremiah's arrest. He confessed fear of his own people if he surrendered to

the enemy, as Jeremiah was advising him to do (see 38:14–26). Zedekiah's indecisiveness cost him his throne and brought about Jerusalem's destruction. Jeremiah's warning of the king's fate was literally fulfilled. He would see Nebuchadnezzar with his “own eyes” (lit. “your eyes will see the eyes of the king of Babylon”). Also, Nebuchadnezzar would speak with him “face to face” (lit. “his mouth will speak with your mouth”). Nebuchadnezzar realized that he had to deal with a rebellious vassal promptly and harshly as a warning to other vassals who might entertain similar thoughts of rebellion. Though there is no record of Zedekiah's actual fate in Babylon, he probably languished in a Babylonian prison until he died. 34:4–5 The Lord added that Zedekiah would not be executed by the sword but would “die peacefully,” i.e., a natural death as opposed to a violent one. The text describes the honors that would be accorded to him as ruler at the time of his death. (See 2 Chr 16:14; 21:19 for references to this burial practice.) The fire in his honor is not a reference to cremation, which was not practiced by the Israelites, but to the custom of burning aromatic spices in honor of the deceased. It is unlikely that the Jews in exile would have been allowed to honor Zedekiah on his death in the manner described; therefore vv. 4–5 should be understood as a conditional promise, made explicit in 38:17. Zedekiah would die a natural death and receive full honors in his own land if he would surrender to the Babylonians. Though Zedekiah's death is not recorded, his capture was anything but peaceful (chaps. 21–22; 39:5–8). 34:6–7 Jeremiah delivered his message to Zedekiah while Jerusalem and other cities of Judah were under attack by Nebuchadnezzar's army. The only fortified cities in Judah that had not yet surrendered were Lachish and Azekah. Lachish (modern Tell ed-Duweir) was about twenty-three miles southwest of Jerusalem. Azekah (modern Tell ez-Zakariyeh) was about eighteen miles southwest of Jerusalem. Both cities were near the Egyptian border. In 1935 and 1938 archaeological excavations at Lachish uncovered twenty-one letters written on broken pottery (ostraca) and dated near the end of Zedekiah's reign. Ostracon IV probably was sent by a subordinate officer Hoshayahu (mentioned by name in Ostracon III) to Yaosh, the

military governor of Lachish. It said, “We are watching for the signals of Lachish, according to all the indications which my lord hath given, for we cannot see Azekah.”1 It seems likely that Azekah had already fallen and only Lachish had not been taken.

2. Treacherous Dealings with the Slaves (34:8–22) The events described in these verses took place during the temporary lifting of the siege (cf. 34:21; 37:5,11). Slave holders had freed their slaves during the siege. However, thinking the danger was past, they took them back, contrary to the covenant they had made with one another before God. (1) A Broken Promise of Freedom for the Slaves (34:8–11) 8The

word came to Jeremiah from the LORD after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to proclaim freedom for the slaves. 9Everyone was to free his Hebrew slaves, both male and female; no one was to hold a fellow Jew in bondage. 10So all the officials and people who entered into this covenant agreed that they would free their male and female slaves and no longer hold them in bondage. They agreed, and set them free. 11But afterward they changed their minds and took back the slaves they had freed and enslaved them again. 34:8–11 If an Israelite could not pay his debts, he sometimes sold himself, his family, or his children to serve the creditor for a period of years. However, the Mosaic law provided for the freeing of Israelite slaves after six years of servitude (see Exod 21:2–11; Lev 25:39–46; Deut 15:1,12–18; cf. Neh 5:8).2 Lifetime servitude of a Hebrew was prohibited by the law. Apparently slave owners had been ignoring the law, which is not surprising since they violated most of the other laws (see 7:9–10). However, during the siege Zedekiah “made” (lit. “cut”)3 a covenant with the people of Jerusalem to proclaim freedom for the slaves.4 Reasons for their change of heart are not given, but several explanations have been proposed. The most

likely reason for their decision to release the slaves is that while under siege it was not economically practical for the owners to feed and care for the slaves, so they released them to fend for themselves. Another possible rationale for freeing the slaves was the belief that they would be more likely to help defend the city if freed. Some owners may have believed that by obeying the law and freeing the slaves, they would gain favor with God and he would deliver them from the Babylonians.5 Verse 10 indicates that all the officials and people who entered the covenant released their slaves. Afterward, during a lull in the siege (see 34:21–22; 37:5–11), they violated the law of release (see Deut 15:1,12–18) and took back the slaves they had freed. They probably assumed that the danger had passed and that the Babylonian army would not return. No explanation is given for the compliance of the freed slaves to submit again to bondage. They must have remained in the city after having been freed, not suspecting that their former owners would break their covenant and enslave them again.6 (2) God's Denunciation of the Broken Promise (34:12–16) 12Then

the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 13“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant with your forefathers when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I said, 14'Every seventh year each of you must free any fellow Hebrew who has sold himself to you. After he has served you six years, you must let him go free.' Your fathers, however, did not listen to me or pay attention to me. 15Recently you repented and did what is right in my sight: Each of you proclaimed freedom to his countrymen. You even made a covenant before me in the house that bears my Name. 16But now you have turned around and profaned my name; each of you has taken back the male and female slaves you had set free to go where they wished. You have forced them to become your slaves again. 34:12–14 The Lord was not pleased with what the slave owners had done. He reminded them7 that he had made a covenant with their forefathers when he brought them out of Egypt, out of the “land of slavery”

(lit. “house of bondage”; cf. Exod 13:3,14; 20:2; Deut 5:6; 7:8; 13:5). A people who had experienced slavery in their past should have had a more compassionate attitude toward others who were enslaved. Jeremiah reminded them that the law required that every seventh year they must free any Hebrew who had sold himself to them. After serving for six years the slave was to be freed (Exod 21:2–11; Deut 15:12–18). The RSV follows the LXX and reads “sixth” year instead of “seventh” year, although the NRSV reverts to “seventh.” However, the words are a quotation from Deut 15:1 and should not be emended. There is no contradiction between “seventh” and “sixth” in the same verse. The slave was released from the obligation to work at the end of the sixth year, although he was not legally free until the end of the seventh year. The seventh year was considered to be a year of rest for the slave, as well as for the land (see Exod 23:10–11). 34:15–16 God was pleased when the slave owners decided to release the slaves “recently” (lit. “today”). Their act of liberation was right in his sight. He reminded them of the seriousness of their commitment by making a covenant in the temple. Now he was angry because they had turned away from their commitment. By repudiating such a solemn agreement, the effect was to profane his name. “Profane” is a word that means to pierce. It can also mean to pollute (see Num 18:32, KJV; “defile”). It is the same word that is found in Isa 53:5, “pierced for our transgressions.” They had freed the slaves unconditionally, allowing them “to go where they wished” (lit. “according to their cf. Deut 21:14; the traditional translation of is “soul,” but it means desire in this case). They retook them by force in total disregard for their covenant with God. (3) Punishment for Not Freeing the Slaves (34:17–22) 17“Therefore,

this is what the LORD says: You have not obeyed me; you have not proclaimed freedom for your fellow countrymen. So I now proclaim ‘freedom’ for you, declares the LORD—‘freedom’ to fall by the sword, plague and famine. I will make you abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth. 18The men who have violated my covenant and have not fulfilled the terms of the covenant they made before me, I will treat like the calf they cut in two and then walked between its pieces.

19The

leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials, the priests and all the people of the land who walked between the pieces of the calf, 20I will hand over to their enemies who seek their lives. Their dead bodies will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth. 21“I will hand Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials over to their enemies who seek their lives, to the army of the king of Babylon, which has withdrawn from you. 22I am going to give the order, declares the LORD, and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, take it and burn it down. And I will lay waste the towns of Judah so no one can live there.” 34:17–20 In one of the most stinging rebukes of the people found in the book, the Lord announced the fate of the rebellious people. They had not given freedom to the slaves, so, by use of irony, God was now going to give them freedom. It was not a freedom they would desire but freedom to fall by the sword, plague, and famine (a frequently repeated triad in Jeremiah, e.g., 21:7). The severity of his punishment would be interpreted by other nations as the deity's wrath on his own people and would make Judah abhorrent to them (see 15:1–4). The punishment of those who violated their covenant would be more severe than a slap on the wrist. God announced that he would treat them like a calf they cut in two by making them walk between its pieces. The threat is based on the practice described in Gen 15:9–17 (cf. Judg 19:29; 1 Sam 11:7, where the cutting of the animal in pieces served a different purpose). In the ANE various ceremonies were used to seal a covenant once an agreement had been reached. It could be a shared meal between the covenanting parties, each one licking a piece of salt (Num 18:19), giving an article of clothing to the other (1 Sam 18:1–4), sprinkling blood (Exod 24:6,8), or walking between the cut up pieces of an animal. The latter practice symbolized that each of the contracting parties was pronouncing a curse on himself that he would be cut up in pieces if he violated his part of the covenant.8 All the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem and “court officials” would be handed over to their enemies. They would not be given honorable burial, an

omission that was considered a horrible fate by the Hebrews (cf. 7:33). Their unburied corpses would become food for birds and wild animals. Whatever other lessons and warnings may be gleaned from God's angry announcement of punishment, it reminds us that he takes covenants seriously. He does not require that we make them. It is better not to enter a covenant than to enter it and not keep it (cf. Num 30:2; Deut 23:21–23; Josh 9:15–18; Eccl 5:4–5; Matt 21:28–32). 34:21–22 The chapter closes with a further warning to Zedekiah of his fate (cf. the previous warning in 34:2–3). For the first time in the chapter an explanation is given for the retaking of the slaves. The Babylonian army had withdrawn temporarily to drive away the Egyptian army that had come to the aid of the beleaguered city (see 37:5,11). The people concluded that the danger had passed and so were returning to “business as usual.” But the Lord was going to bring the Babylonians back to fight against the city and burn it down. His wrath would extend to other towns, which would be so devastated that no one would be able to live in them. The word translated “waste” is found fifteen times in Jeremiah (e.g., 6:8; 9:11; 12:10–11; 32:43). The chapter reveals again the treachery and hardness of the hearts of the leaders and people of Jerusalem. The broken covenant and the retaking of the slaves served as one more justification for the punishment that was already decreed. God is not mocked. Whatever one sows, one reaps (cf. Prov 22:8; Luke 19:21; 2 Cor 9:6; Gal 6:7–8). Judah had sown the wind. Now Judah would reap the whirlwind (Hos 8:7).

3. Jeremiah and the Recabites (35:1–19) Jeremiah's encounter with the Recabites is another of the symbolic acts performed by the prophet (see 5:1–2 for explanation of a symbolic act). In dramatic fashion it reveals a remarkable loyalty of a nomadic family to keep a command given by an ancestor who lived two and a half centuries earlier. Jeremiah used the occasion to contrast their faithfulness to the commands of a dead ancestor with the faithlessness of the people of Judah to the commands of the living God. Chapters 35–36 break the chronological

continuity between chaps. 32–34 and 37–44. The latter chapters describe events that took place during and after the siege that resulted in Jerusalem's destruction in 587. The events in chaps. 35–36 took place earlier, during the reign of Jehoiakim (609–598). The basis for their insertion cannot be determined, but it is fairly certain they were not misplaced by accident or through a redactor's ignorance of the chronology of events. They may have been inserted here as further emphasis that Judah's disobedience, the basis for its punishment, had begun much earlier than the closing years of Zedekiah's reign. Many commentators believe chap. 35 was Deuteronomistic in origin. Weippert concluded that the phrases found in the chapter are characteristic of Jeremiah.9 Bright believes the chapter contains Jeremiah's own reminiscences as he related them to Baruch.10 (1) Jeremiah's Test of the Recabites' Loyalty (35:1–5) 1This

is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD during the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: 2“Go to the Recabite family and invite them to come to one of the side rooms of the house of the LORD and give them wine to drink.” 3So I went to get Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons—the whole family of the Recabites. 4I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the room of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah the man of God. It was next to the room of the officials, which was over that of Maaseiah son of Shallum the doorkeeper. 5Then I set bowls full of wine and some cups before the men of the Recabite family and said to them, “Drink some wine.” 35:1–2 The chapter begins with a reminder, as is often found in Jeremiah, that the Lord spoke to the prophet (“the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord”; cf. 21:1; 32:1; 34:8; 40:1 for the same introductory phrase). The message came during the reign of Jehoiakim, so what follows could not have taken place during the final siege of Jerusalem that began in 588. However, scholars cannot agree on the exact year of Jeremiah's meeting with the Recabites. Dates from 606 to 598 have their

advocates. Daniel 1:1–2 suggests a date of 606 or 605 (“the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim”).11 Holladay argues for 599–598 after Jehoiakim's revolt that incited Nebuchadnezzar to send troops to quell the revolt.12 On the basis of 2 Kgs 24:1–2 Nicholson proposes a date of 598.13 Nebuchadnezzar had experienced a temporary setback in his military campaign at the hands of the Egyptians. While regrouping his forces, he made raids into Judah, 600–598. The flight of the Recabites to the safety of Jerusalem occurred during that time. The Lord instructed Jeremiah to go to the “Recabite family [lit. house of the Recabites]”14 Most commentators believe “house of the Recabites” should be understood as the clan or family. However, Holladay15 and Carroll16 say it probably refers to the house they occupied in Jerusalem. The Recabites were of Kenite descent (Judg 1:16; 4:11; 1 Chr 2:55), a seminomadic clan that was associated with Israel's ancestors during the exodus from Egypt. The current generation of Recabites were descendants of Jonadab (thus spelled in 35:6,10,19; spelled Jehonadab in 35:8,14,16,18), the son of Recab. Jonadab joined Jehu (842–815 B.C.) on his chariot in the bloody purge of the house of Omri (2 Kgs 10:15–27).17 The Lord told Jeremiah to “invite them to come” (lit. “speak with them and bring them”) to one of the side rooms in the temple. These were rooms in the temple court that were used for storage, living quarters of the priests, and meetings of various kinds (see 1 Kgs 6:5; 1 Chr 28:12; 2 Chr 31:11). There Jeremiah was told to give them wine to drink. 35:3–5 Jeremiah went to get Jaazaniah, probably the leader of the Recabites who had taken refuge in the city. His was not an uncommon name in the ANE. It has been found on a seal at Tell en-Nasbeh (probably ancient Mizpah) that is dated ca. 600 B.C.18 He is identified as the son of Jeremiah (not to be confused with the prophet Jeremiah), son of Habazziniah. Jeremiah invited the entire “family” (lit. “house”) of Recabites into the temple. There he took them into the room of the sons of Hanan, son of Igdaliah,19 which was next to the room of the temple officials. Hanan is mentioned nowhere else in the OT. It can only be surmised that he was sympathetic to Jeremiah by allowing him to meet in his room.

Hanan is called “the man of God.” The phrase is not found elsewhere in Jeremiah, and “man of Yahweh” is never found in the OT. However, “man of God” is frequently found elsewhere in the OT. Moses (Deut 33:1), Samuel (1 Sam 9:6), unnamed prophets (1 Sam 2:27; 1 Kgs 13:1), David (2 Chr 8:14), Elijah (2 Kgs 1:9), and Elisha (2 Kgs 4:7) are called men of God. Lindblom defines a man of God as “a man endowed with supernatural gifts.”20 The term may be used of prophet, priest, or king. In context it appears that Hanan was a priest, though some believe he was a prophet. The location of the meeting place is further described as a room over that of Maaseiah, son of Shallum the doorkeeper. Maaseiah probably was the father of Zephaniah (see 21:1; 29:25; 37:3). The “doorkeeper” was an important priestly office occupied by three people (52:24; 2 Kgs 25:18). It was their duty to prevent anyone from entering the temple who was ceremonially unclean. They were also in charge of funds that were allocated for repairs on the temple (2 Kgs 12:9–10). Jeremiah set before the men of the Recabite family large bowls of wine from which cups were filled (Gen 44:2–17; see also Exod 25:31–34; 37:17– 20). He then commanded the Recabites to drink the wine. It was a tempting opportunity for the Recabites to break the command of their ancestor if they had been so inclined. (2) Refusal to Break Jonadab's Vow (35:6–11) 6But

they replied, “We do not drink wine, because our forefather Jonadab son of Recab gave us this command: ‘Neither you nor your descendants must ever drink wine. 7Also you must never build houses, sow seed or plant vineyards; you must never have any of these things, but must always live in tents. Then you will live a long time in the land where you are nomads.’ 8We have obeyed everything our forefather Jonadab son of Recab commanded us. Neither we nor our wives nor our sons and daughters have ever drunk wine 9or built houses to live in or had vineyards, fields or crops. 10We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed everything our forefather Jonadab commanded us. 11But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded this land, we said,

‘Come, we must go to Jerusalem to escape the Babylonian and Aramean armies.’ So we have remained in Jerusalem.” 35:6–7 The men informed Jeremiah that they did not drink wine because their “forefather” (lit. “father,” but in the context “forefather” is correct, since Jonadab lived about 250 years earlier) had commanded them never to drink wine. No explanation is given for Jonadab's command, but the life-style described in v. 7 is that of a nomadic people. Perhaps Jonadab became repulsed and disillusioned by the corruption and immorality he saw in city life and determined to separate himself and his family from its evil influences. The Hebrew negative particles in v. 7 are which expresses permanent prohibition (“don't ever do”), as opposed to which expresses immediate prohibition (“don't” or “stop doing”). They were never to build houses, sow seed, plant vineyards and had to live in tents “always” (lit. “all your days”). The life-style he prescribed for his descendants was that of a nomadic shepherd, who had no permanent dwelling place and could move at any time as Israel had done during the desert wanderings (Exod 13:21–22; Num 14:14). Jonadab pronounced a blessing on his descendants if they would obey his command. They would live a “long time” (lit. “many days”) in the land “where you are nomads” (lit. “when you sojourn,” a participial form of the verb). A similar blessing is given in Exod 20:12 for those who honor their parents. 35:8–10 The Recabites informed Jeremiah that they had never broken the command of their “forefather” (lit. “father”) Jonadab either by drinking wine, building houses, or planting vineyards or crops. They had continued living in tents and had conscientiously obeyed all the commands of Jonadab. Their careful obedience to a command of their long-dead ancestor underscores the disobedience of Israel to the commands of the living God. 35:11 Then they explained to Jeremiah what appeared to be an inconsistency with their vow, for they were now living in houses in Jerusalem. Carroll says it is ironic they were living in houses, but he misses the point that their stay in Jerusalem was only temporary.21 They were there because of Nebuchadnezzar's invasion of the land. They had only entered Jerusalem for protection from the Babylonian (lit. “Chaldean”) and Aramean armies.22 The Arameans, or Syrians, were allies of the

Babylonians at that time and participated in the invasion of Judah during Jehoiakim's reign (2 Kgs 24:2). Though not stated, it is certain the Recabites planned to leave Jerusalem as soon as the danger had passed. (3) The Lesson for Judah (35:12–17) 12Then

the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying: 13“This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem, ‘Will you not learn a lesson and obey my words?' declares the LORD. 14‘Jonadab son of Recab ordered his sons not to drink wine and this command has been kept. To this day they do not drink wine, because they obey their forefather's command. But I have spoken to you again and again, yet you have not obeyed me. 15Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets to you. They said, “Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and reform your actions; do not follow other gods to serve them. Then you will live in the land I have given to you and your fathers.” But you have not paid attention or listened to me. 16The descendants of Jonadab son of Recab have carried out the command their forefather gave them, but these people have not obeyed me.’ 17“Therefore, this is what the LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Listen! I am going to bring on Judah and on everyone living in Jerusalem every disaster I pronounced against them. I spoke to them, but they did not listen; I called to them, but they did not answer.’” 35:12–13 While Jeremiah was still with the Recabites (see v. 18), again the word of the Lord “came to Jeremiah.”23 The Lord instructed Jeremiah to go to the people of Jerusalem to confront them with the lesson they needed to learn from the Recabites. Their example should have shamed Judah to obey the Lord.24 35:14–16 The Lord was not necessarily commending the nomadic lifestyle of the Recabites or their asceticism, but he did emphatically commend their obedience to the commands of a dead ancestor not to drink wine. By contrast the Lord had spoken to his people “again and again” (lit.

“rising early and speaking,” an idiom found also in 7:25; 25:4; 26:5; 29:19; 44:4), but they did not obey him. Sometimes secular loyalties to some cause or person put to shame the loyalty of God's people to him and his commands. Jonadab had spoken his command long ago, and his descendants obeyed him. The Lord sent “my servants the prophets” (a phrase also found in 7:25; 25:4; 26:5; 29:19; 44:4) to his people “again and again.” Those prophets had faithfully communicated God's warnings that the people must turn from their wicked ways and “reform” (lit. “make good”) their actions and not serve other gods. If they would obey him, he promised that they would remain in the land he had given them and their ancestors. But their history proved they had “not paid attention” (lit. “incline your ear”) to the Lord. The contrast between the Recabites' obedience and Judah's disobedience was painfully apparent. Obedience to the Lord's commands is not a problem unique to the Hebrews. From the beginning of history the human race has insisted on asserting its independence from God. It has not yet learned the lesson that declaring one's independence from God does not bring happiness or blessing that the tempter promises (see Gen 3:5). 35:17 Because of their continued disobedience, the Lord announced that he was going to bring on them “every disaster” (lit. “all the evil”) he had already pronounced against them. They were like a disobedient child who refuses to answer when the parent calls. (4) Commendation of the Recabites (35:18–19) 18Then

Jeremiah said to the family of the Recabites, “This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘You have obeyed the command of your forefather Jonadab and have followed all his instructions and have done everything he ordered.’ 19Therefore, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Jonadab son of Recab will never fail to have a man to serve me.’” 35:18–19 Jeremiah then spoke to the Recabites and commended them for their obedience to their ancestor's command. Because of their faithfulness, the Lord pronounced a blessing on them through Jeremiah. He

promised they would “never fail to have a man to serve me.” The Heb. says literally “will not be cut off to stand before me all the days” (cf. a similar blessing on the descendants of David and the Levites, 33:17–18). “Stand before me” is an expression that can mean to stand before someone with an attitude of service. It is found over one hundred times in the OT and is used of prophets (1 Kgs 17:1), priests (Num 16:9), and kings (1 Kgs 10:8). The blessing to the Recabites does not imply that they would assume a priestly role, although there is a later tradition in Judaism that they did become involved in the service of the temple. Here the blessing is a promise that they would not be destroyed as a family. Nehemiah 3:14 mentions a descendant of Recab approximately 150 years later who was faithfully serving the Lord.25 The example of the Recabites served as a searing rebuke to the people of Judah, though they failed to be convicted by it. It is quite remarkable that anyone would keep a vow made by an ancestor hundreds of years earlier or consider it still binding on the descendants. It is equally remarkable that anyone who enters into a covenant relationship with God through the new covenant today (see 31:31–34) would be inclined to a life of disobedience. The commendation of the Recabites for their faithfulness and the warning to Judah for its unfaithfulness contain a valid lesson for the present generation.

4. Jehoiakim's Reaction to Jeremiah's Written Messages (36:1–32) Chapter 36 is an extremely important chapter in the Book of Jeremiah. Bright calls it “one of the most noteworthy in the entire book.”26 It sometimes has been called the “pen and the penknife” and is important for several reasons. It is the only passage in the OT that shows one way a prophet's oral messages reached their written form. It also reveals the close relationship between Jeremiah and Baruch. Insight is given into the role and influence of scribes and officials in government. Furthermore, it shows that not all the leaders in Judah opposed Jeremiah.

Theologically, the chapter develops the twin themes of God's Word and Judah's response to it. The most important thing about this chapter is that, historically, it reveals that Judah's opportunity to repent had passed. Up until this encounter between Jehoiakim and the Word of God, Judah could have repented. Now, with Jehoiakim's cutting to pieces the scroll of Jeremiah, Judah's fate would be assured: it would be destroyed. The careful listing of names and description of events suggest that the chapter was written by an eyewitness or one who talked with an eyewitness.27 (1) The Command to Write the Messages on a Scroll (36:1–3) 1In

the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2“Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah and all the other nations from the time I began speaking to you in the reign of Josiah till now. 3Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about every disaster I plan to inflict on them, each of them will turn from his wicked way; then I will forgive their wickedness and their sin.” 36:1–3 The events of chap. 36 took place in the fourth year of Jehoiakim's reign, 605 B.C. It was the twenty-third year of Jeremiah's ministry and the year that Babylon established its political and military supremacy in the ANE by defeating Egypt in battle at Carchemish. In that critical time the Lord's word came to Jeremiah. The Lord instructed Jeremiah to write on a scroll28 all the words he had spoken to the prophet since the beginning of his ministry to the present time (627–605 B.C.). Scrolls were made of papyrus or leather sheets sewn together with the writing placed in columns. Jeremiah's scroll probably was written on papyrus since it would have been easier to burn than leather (see 36:23). A typical scroll measured thirty feet by ten inches. It was wrapped on wooden rollers and rolled from one side to the other as it was read. A written message perhaps would have made a more profound impression on an audience than one spoken extemporaneously. It cannot be determined whether Jeremiah dictated all the messages from memory or had kept written notes. Scholars still debate which parts of the canonical Book of

Jeremiah comprised the scroll. J. Lundbom concluded that the original scroll referred to in chap. 36 consisted of the present chaps. 1–20.29 “All” in 36:2 could not mean every word the prophet had uttered during the preceding twenty-three years because v. 32 reminds us he added more words. The first scroll must have been fairly brief since it was read on three occasions in one day (vv. 10,15,21). The messages were “concerning” Israel, Judah, and the other nations. The preposition (“concerning”) is a preposition that can also mean “against.”30 However, “against” suggests that only oracles of woe were recorded. The more neutral translation “concerning” is preferable. The Lord hoped that when the people were reminded of every disaster he was going to inflict on them, they would abandon their wicked ways and be forgiven (cf. 26:3 with 36:3 for similar words). (2) Baruch Commanded to Write the Scroll (36:4–7) 4So

Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and while Jeremiah dictated all the words the LORD had spoken to him, Baruch wrote them on the scroll. 5Then Jeremiah told Baruch, “I am restricted; I cannot go to the LORD's temple. 6So you go to the house of the LORD on a day of fasting and read to the people from the scroll the words of the LORD that you wrote as I dictated. Read them to all the people of Judah who come in from their towns. 7Perhaps they will bring their petition before the LORD, and each will turn from his wicked ways, for the anger and wrath pronounced against this people by the LORD are great.” 36:4 Jeremiah enlisted Baruch (from a word that means blessed), son of Neriah31 to record his messages as he dictated them to the scribe.32 Chronologically, this is the first appearance of Baruch in the book although his name appears first in 32:12 during the reign of Zedekiah. He apparently was a person of high standing, a grandson of Maasaiah (2 Chr 34:8), who was ruler of Jerusalem in Josiah's reign. Baruch was a brother of Seraiah, King Zedekiah's staff officer (51:59).

36:5–6 Jeremiah requested Baruch to go to the temple on a fast day and read the scroll to the people because he was “restricted” and unable to go himself. The word can mean “imprisoned” (as in 33:1; 39:15), but that meaning is unlikely here since vv. 19,26 indicate he was free to move about. The word can also mean that he was in danger and hiding and therefore was not allowed in the temple (cf. 1 Chr 12:1). It is possible that he was ceremonially unclean, a condition that would have barred him from the temple. However, the most plausible interpretation of the word here is that the temple authorities saw him as a troublemaker and would not permit him to speak there, perhaps because of his temple sermon (see 26:7–19; also cf. Gen 16:2, “The Lord has kept me,” where it means prevented from doing something. The fast day was a time when large crowds would be gathered in the temple. The OT does not mention fixed fast days during the preexilic period, but they were called in times of crisis or emergency. The presence of the Babylonian army in the region at that time would have been reason enough for Judah to call a fast day. 36:7 The Lord was reluctant to deliver his people to judgment. He hoped that the reading of the scroll would convict them so they would turn away from their wickedness before the Lord's wrath fell on them. (3) Public Reading of the Scroll at the Temple (36:8–10) 8Baruch

son of Neriah did everything Jeremiah the prophet told him to do; at the LORD's temple he read the words of the LORD from the scroll. 9In the ninth month of the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, a time of fasting before the LORD was proclaimed for all the people in Jerusalem and those who had come from the towns of Judah. 10From the room of Gemariah son of Shaphan the secretary, which was in the upper courtyard at the entrance of the New Gate of the temple, Baruch read to all the people at the LORD's temple the words of Jeremiah from the scroll. 36:8–9 Baruch carefully carried out Jeremiah's instructions. He read the scroll before the people at the temple in the ninth month of the fifth year of

Jehoiakim's reign (November-December 604). No explanation is given for the lapse of a year from the writing of the scroll to the time it was read (see 36:1).33 Some time was required for writing the messages, and since there were no stated fast days, he waited for a called fast day. The occasion for one was provided in December 604 when the Babylonian army captured and sacked Ashkelon on the Philistine plain. Fear must have gripped the people of Judah because they had been allied with Egypt since Josiah's death. In light of events since 605, Jehoiakim realized that it was in his best interest to transfer his allegiance to the Babylonians. 36:10 The detailed description of the events that followed supports the belief that the narrative came from an eyewitness. Baruch read to the people34 from the room of Gemariah, son of Shaphan the secretary, which was in the upper courtyard at the entrance of the New Gate of the temple. Second Kings 22:10 says Shaphan read to Josiah the Book of the Law that was discovered by Hilkiah. If the Shaphan who held an important position under King Josiah (see 2 Kgs 22:3,8) is the same here and in 26:24, Gemariah was a brother of Ahikam, Jeremiah's protector and Gedaliah's uncle (cf. 29:3; 40:5). He must have been favorably inclined toward Jeremiah to allow Baruch to use his room.35 The upper courtyard was the inner court of 1 Kgs 6:36; 7:12. (See Jer 26:10–11 for identification of the New Gate.) Baruch probably was in an open area where the people gathered in the courtyard could see and hear him. Their reaction to the reading of the scroll is not recorded (cf. 26:7–9 for the violent response to Jeremiah's words on an earlier occasion). (4) Reading of the Scroll before the Officials (36:11–19) 11When

Micaiah son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the LORD from the scroll, 12he went down to the secretary's room in the royal palace, where all the officials were sitting: Elishama the secretary, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Acbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. 13After Micaiah told them everything he had heard Baruch read to the people from the scroll, 14all the officials sent Jehudi son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to say to Baruch,

“Bring the scroll from which you have read to the people and come.” So Baruch son of Neriah went to them with the scroll in his hand. 15They said to him, “Sit down, please, and read it to us.” So Baruch read it to them. 16When they heard all these words, they looked at each other in fear and said to Baruch, “We must report all these words to the king.” 17Then they asked Baruch, “Tell us, how did you come to write all this? Did Jeremiah dictate it?” 18“Yes,” Baruch replied, “he dictated all these words to me, and I wrote them in ink on the scroll.” 19Then the officials said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah, go and hide. Don't let anyone know where you are.” 36:11–12 When Micaiah, Gemariah's son, heard the messages, he immediately went to the secretary's room in the royal palace where all the officials were gathered. The room was a meeting place for the king's counselors, who today would be called cabinet officials. Five officials are named. If Elishama was the same one in 41:1 and in 2 Kgs 25:25, he was of royal descent and the grandfather of Gedaliah's assassin, Ishmael. He is also mentioned in 36:20–21. Nothing is known about Delaiah; he is mentioned only in 36:12,25. Elnathan's father Acbor was involved in finding the scroll during Josiah's reign (2 Kgs 22:12). He may have been King Jehoiakim's father-in-law (2 Kgs 24:8). Elnathan was sent by Jehoiakim to Egypt to extradite Uriah (26:22). If he at that time was a supporter of Jehoiakim, it appears that his loyalty was no longer with the king. He is mentioned again in 36:25. Gemariah probably is the same Gemariah named in 36:10. His father Shaphan participated in the discovery of the Book of the Law (2 Kgs 22:12, 14). He is mentioned again in 36:25. Nothing is known about Zedekiah since he is mentioned only in 36:12. It cannot be determined whether he was a son of Hananiah the prophet who confronted Jeremiah (see 28:1–17). 36:13–15 When Micaiah described the contents of the scroll to the officials, they sent Jehudi to Baruch to ask him to bring the scroll and read it to them, which he did. It was the second time the scroll was read that day. Jehudi's ancestry is traced back three generations to Cushi. Since he is otherwise unknown in the OT, the inclusion of his genealogy is

inexplicable. He may have been an important person in his day.36 The name Cushi (which means Ethiopian) has raised the question of whether Jehudi was of Ethiopian descent (cf. Zeph 1:1 for the same name in the genealogy of the prophet Zephaniah). The officials received Baruch politely; they invited him to “sit down, please.” If they had looked on him as an inferior or an adversary, he probably would not have been treated with such deference. 36:16–17 The reaction of the officials upon hearing Baruch read the scroll was one of fear (lit. “they trembled, a man to his companion,” i.e., each before the other). Their response seems unexpected because it could not have been the first time in twenty-three years they had heard Jeremiah's warnings. Apparently, however, the impact of his messages touched them for the first time. They agreed that they must report the words to the king,37 not because they were talebearers who wished to embroil Jeremiah in more trouble but because they felt they had a solemn duty to bring the messages to the king's attention. Whether the words were from the prophet or were composed by the scribe, the inquiry suggests that many recognize Jeremiah's divine gift and authority. Scribal authorship would not have impressed them as would prophetic authorship. 36:18 Baruch's answer was an affirmation that Jeremiah “dictated all these words to me” (lit. “he read from his mouth”). Baruch's contribution was to write the messages on the scroll “in ink.” This is the only mention of ink in the OT (possibly made by mixing soot or lampblack with an aqueous solution of gum arabic or gum acacia). In light of the situation, it took great courage for Baruch to admit to having had a part in the production of the scroll. 36:19 Out of concern for the safety of Jeremiah and Baruch and in anticipation of the king's response, the officials urged Baruch and Jeremiah to hide themselves (cf. 1 Kgs 18:1–6). Their concern was not unfounded (see 36:26). They probably recalled how the monarch sought out Uriah and had him executed (26:22–23). The courtesy of the officials and their concern for the two men indicate their sympathy for Jeremiah and his messages.

(5) Reading of the Scroll to the King (36:20–26) 20After

they put the scroll in the room of Elishama the secretary, they went to the king in the courtyard and reported everything to him. 21The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and Jehudi brought it from the room of Elishama the secretary and read it to the king and all the officials standing beside him. 22It was the ninth month and the king was sitting in the winter apartment, with a fire burning in the firepot in front of him. 23Whenever Jehudi had read three or four columns of the scroll, the king cut them off with a scribe's knife and threw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll was burned in the fire. 24The king and all his attendants who heard all these words showed no fear, nor did they tear their clothes. 25Even though Elnathan, Delaiah and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. 26Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the LORD had hidden them. 36:20–22 The officials knew the king well enough to anticipate his violent reaction. Therefore, in order to protect the scroll, they deposited it for safekeeping in the room of Elishama the secretary. Then they went to the king and reported the scroll's existence and its contents to him. The king sent Jehudi to bring it from Elishama's room. He brought it and read it to the king and his officials who were standing beside him. Verse 22 states that it was the “ninth month,” i.e., December. The king was in his winter “apartment” (NIV, NRSV; a better translation than “house” [RSV] because it was not a separate building). A first-floor dwelling could be better heated in winter. In the summer, living quarters were moved to the second floor for better ventilation (cf. Amos 3:15). There was a fire burning in the “fire pot.”38 The firepot contained charcoal and was placed in the middle of the room to provide heat. 36:23–24 As Jehudi would read three or four “columns” (lit. “doors”; this is the only time in the OT delet is found in the sense of columns), “the king cut them off “(lit. “he cut them off,” which could refer to the king or to Jehudi).39 The NIV removes the ambiguity by inserting “the king.” Jehudi could have done the actual cutting at the orders of the king, although 36:29,

“You burned that scroll,” suggests that the king did the cutting. From what is known of his character, he probably received greater satisfaction by personally destroying the scroll piece by piece in the fire. The king used a scribe's knife to cut the scroll. These knives were used for cutting sheets of papyrus and for making erasures from scrolls. The irony here is that Jehoiakim destroyed the scroll with a tool that is normally used to create a scroll. Jehoiakim perhaps intended more by cutting the scroll than to show his contempt for Jeremiah's messages or to show that he did not take them seriously. He may have believed that he was destroying the power of the words as well as the words themselves. Neither the king nor his “attendants” (lit. “servants”) showed any “fear” (cf. 3:8; 5:22–24; 10:5; 22:25; 26:19; 32:39–40). The same word for “fear” is found in 36:16 to describe the officials' response when the scroll was read to them. The king and his attendants also showed their indifference by not tearing their clothes as a gesture of mourning. Josiah's response to the reading of the law had been markedly different from that of Jehoiakim when the Book of the Law was read to him. He tore his robes when he heard the Word of God (2 Kgs 22:11); Jehoiakim tore the scroll. A comparison of the response of the two men is unavoidable. There are less dramatic ways of rejecting God's Word today. It can be ignored, ridiculed, or interpreted in a way that would deny its authority. Even as rejection of the Word led to judgment on Jehoiakim and his people at that time, so judgment comes on those today who reject God's Word. 36:25–26 Jehoiakim refused to listen to the pleas of Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah not to burn the scroll. He only hardened his resistance to the warnings. He ordered Jerahmeel, son of the king,40 and Seraiah son of Azriel (otherwise unknown) and Shelemiah son of Abdeel (otherwise unknown) to arrest Baruch and Jeremiah. The earlier concern of the officials for the safety of the two men was justified (36:19). Jehoiakim was not satisfied with destroying the scroll; he wanted to destroy those who were responsible for it. However, the Lord “had hidden them.” The reader is not told how long they remained in hiding, but apparently the king's wrath subsided, and it became safe for Jeremiah to move about freely again (see chap. 35).

(6) Rewriting of the Destroyed Scroll (36:27–32) 27After

the king burned the scroll containing the words that Baruch had written at Jeremiah's dictation, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 28“Take another scroll and write on it all the words that were on the first scroll, which Jehoiakim king of Judah burned up. 29Also tell Jehoiakim king of Judah, ‘This is what the LORD says: You burned that scroll and said, “Why did you write on it that the king of Babylon would certainly come and destroy this land and cut off both men and animals from it?” 30Therefore, this is what the LORD says about Jehoiakim king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on the throne of David; his body will be thrown out and exposed to the heat by day and the frost by night. 31I will punish him and his children and his attendants for their wickedness; I will bring on them and those living in Jerusalem and the people of Judah every disaster I pronounced against them, because they have not listened.’” 32So Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah, and as Jeremiah dictated, Baruch wrote on it all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to them. 36:27–28 After the king had burned the scroll, the Lord instructed Jeremiah to take another scroll and write on it all the words contained on the first scroll. There is a parallel here with the rewriting of the Ten Commandments on the stone tablets that Moses had smashed (cf. Exod 32:19; 34:1). Only an excessively literal and misguided interpretation of the command to write all the words that were on the first scroll conclude that Jeremiah was disobedient to the command because he added words that were not on the first scroll (v. 32). 36:29–31 Jeremiah was also to transmit a message to the king that he would have no heir to succeed him as ruler (cf. the poetic parallel of 22:18– 19). In reality Jehoiachin succeeded his father and ruled for three months, but there is no contradiction with the judgment pronounced on Jehoiakim. Jehoiachin had no successor since Zedekiah, his uncle, succeeded him (2 Kgs 24:15–17). Thus succession through Jehoiakim's children ended, as Jeremiah prophesied.

God's punishment (the seeming discrepancy between this text and 2 Chr 36:5–8 has been discussed in the comments on 22:18–19) would include Jehoiakim's “children” (lit. “seed”; i.e., his descendants), his servants, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and “the people of Judah.” Every word of judgment previously pronounced would fall on them because they refused to listen to Jeremiah. Verse 31 serves as a reminder that leaders are held responsible for their actions, but those who follow them without protesting immoral leadership are also held accountable. When leaders commit wicked or immoral acts and their people say nothing, the people are in effect giving assent to their leaders' deeds. Therefore they should expect to reap the consequences of their silence. 36:32 The chapter closes with an account of the rewriting of the scroll. Jeremiah took another scroll and dictated the messages as Baruch wrote them on the scroll. It was not just a copy of the first scroll because he added “many similar words.” The verse gives valuable insight on how the Scriptures reached their written form. There is reason to think the expanded version included messages that are now embedded in chaps. 1–25. Chapter 36 begins and ends with a command to record God's messages on a scroll (36:2,28,32). The chapter serves as an important reminder that “the word of our God stands forever” (Isa 40:8). Attempts to deny it, ban it, truncate it, or eradicate it have been made through the centuries, but it cannot be destroyed. The passage also serves as a reminder that many have risked and some have lost their lives in order to preserve the Word of God or to make it more accessible, e.g., John Wycliffe, John Huss, and William Tyndale.

5. Jeremiah's Arrest and Imprisonment (37:1–21) Chapters 37–44 give a detailed account of the siege and fall of Jerusalem and some events that followed that catastrophe.41 Jeremiah had faithfully proclaimed God's messages to Judah for forty years. Now all his warnings were being fulfilled with the imminent fall of Jerusalem. Events

were vindicating him as a true prophet (Deut 18:15–22; Jer 28). The people should have begun to believe him, but instead they considered him a traitor for encouraging them to surrender to the Babylonians. Furthermore, his warnings that the temple could be destroyed, that the land of their forefathers could be taken from them, and that the Davidic dynasty could be overthrown were blasphemous to them. His messages, which, if heeded, could have saved Judah, only hardened the hearts of the people. (1) The King's Request for Prayer (37:1–5) 1Zedekiah

son of Josiah was made king of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; he reigned in place of Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim. 2Neither he nor his attendants nor the people of the land paid any attention to the words the LORD had spoken through Jeremiah the prophet. 3King Zedekiah, however, sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah with the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah to Jeremiah the prophet with this message: “Please pray to the LORD our God for us.” 4Now Jeremiah was free to come and go among the people, for he had not yet been put in prison. 5Pharaoh's army had marched out of Egypt, and when the Babylonians who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them, they withdrew from Jerusalem. 37:1–2 Verses 1–2 are considered to be a superscription for the narratives that follow in chaps. 37–44. After Jehoiachin (Heb. Coniah, a variant spelling) ruled for three months, Nebuchadnezzar replaced him with Zedekiah, another son of Josiah (2 Kgs 24:17). Jehoiachin's removal completed God's judgment on Jehoiakim that he would not have descendants on the throne (36:30). However, Zedekiah was no different from his predecessors. Neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land heeded the words the Lord had spoken through Jeremiah. “People of the land” has been understood as referring to country people, landowners, all the people in general, representatives of the people in government, a term of contempt for the lower classes, or as a term to refer to the people in general.42

37:3 Zedekiah sent men to Jeremiah to ask him to pray for the nation. It was the second time Zedekiah sent men to Jeremiah during the siege to ask him to seek help from the Lord (see 21:1–2). It is ironic that they had consistently ignored Jeremiah's messages but now asked for his prayers. The Babylonians were at that very moment besieging the city. One of the men sent by Zedekiah was Jehucal son of Shelemiah (spelled Jucal, 38:1). He was not a friend of Jeremiah because he was among those who demanded the prophet's death (38:1,4). The other was the deputy high priest Zephaniah, son of Maaseiah (mentioned elsewhere only in 21:1; 29:25,29; 52:24). He had been part of the earlier mission to Jeremiah (21:1). Some think the king was taunting Jeremiah by asking him to pray for them, but his request was an act of desperation (cf. 1 Sam 12:19). The king may have thought the Lord would deliver Jerusalem from the enemy as he had done in Hezekiah's time (see 2 Kgs 19:35–36). 37:4–5 At that time Jeremiah was “free to come and go among the people,” for he had not yet been imprisoned. Events of chap. 37 are usually harmonized with those of chap. 32 but with difficulty. In chap. 32 Jeremiah already was in prison when Hanamel came to him to sell his field. In chap. 37 he was free to leave the city to look at the field he had bought.43 Pharaoh Hophra (589–570; known by his Greek name, Apries; see Herodotus ii.169) kept his promise of military aid if Judah would rebel against Nebuchadnezzar (cf. Ezek 17:11–18). He sent an army in the spring or summer of 588 when the siege of Jerusalem was already under way. When the Babylonians44 heard of the Egyptians' approach, they lifted the siege to deal with the Egyptian threat. (2) Jeremiah's Reply to the King (37:6–10) 6Then

the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet: 7“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of me, ‘Pharaoh's army, which has marched out to support you, will go back to its own land, to Egypt. 8Then the Babylonians will return and attack this city; they will capture it and burn it down.’

9“This

is what the LORD says: Do not deceive yourselves, thinking, ‘The Babylonians will surely leave us.’ They will not! 10Even if you were to defeat the entire Babylonian army that is attacking you and only wounded men were left in their tents, they would come out and burn this city down.” 37:6–8 The Lord instructed Jeremiah to inform Zedekiah that though the siege had been lifted, the Babylonians would soon return to attack Jerusalem. They would capture it and “burn it down” (lit. “burn it with fire”). Pharaoh's army would return to its own land without providing any relief for the besieged city. It was not a message the king would want to hear. It is not certain whether the Egyptians were defeated in battle by the Babylonians or retreated without a fight in face of the superior enemy. 37:9–10 Jeremiah warned not to “deceive yourselves” (lit. “do not cause to lift up your souls”) that the Babylonians would withdraw.45 He dashed their optimism with a curt “They will not!” Employing rhetorical exaggeration, Jeremiah added that even if Judah should defeat the entire Babylonian army, the “wounded” (lit. “pierced”) men left in their tents would get up and burn the city down. The meaning of Jeremiah's words could not be missed—there was no escape from the coming destruction of the city. (3) Jeremiah's Arrest (37:11–15) 11After

the Babylonian army had withdrawn from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh's army, 12Jeremiah started to leave the city to go to the territory of Benjamin to get his share of the property among the people there. 13But when he reached the Benjamin Gate, the captain of the guard, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah, arrested him and said, “You are deserting to the Babylonians!” 14“That's not true!” Jeremiah said. “I am not deserting to the Babylonians.” But Irijah would not listen to him; instead, he arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. 15They were angry with

Jeremiah and had him beaten and imprisoned in the house of Jonathan the secretary, which they had made into a prison. 37:11–13 Jeremiah took advantage of the lull in the siege to go to the territory of Benjamin to “get his share of the property,” i.e., to claim some property that belonged to him.46 Some commentaries connect his departure with the completion of the transaction of chap. 32 (Bright, Holladay, Volz, Rudolph, Harrison). Others say 37:12 cannot be connected with chap. 32 because the events recorded there took place after Jeremiah's imprisonment and after the siege of Jerusalem had been resumed (Nicholson, Feinberg; see note 43 for a solution). Jeremiah approached the Benjamin Gate in the north wall of the city (cf. 38:7; Zech 14:10). Travelers going to the territory of Benjamin, northeast of Jerusalem, would have exited the city by that gate. The “captain of the guard,” a term found only here, was more than a sentry. It was his duty to watch those who passed through the city gate. His name was Irijeh, a grandson of Hananiah, not the false prophet who challenged Jeremiah earlier (cf. 28:1,10). He is not mentioned elsewhere in the OT. Irijeh arrested Jeremiah and accused him of “deserting” (lit. “falling”) to the Babylonians. His accusation against Jeremiah is understandable. Jeremiah had urged the people to surrender to the Babylonians (21:9; cf. 38:2). Some had already deserted to the enemy (38:19; 39:9; 52:15). Jeremiah's announcement of a Babylonian victory must have demoralized the people under siege (37:10). 37:14–15 Jeremiah denied the accusation, but Irijah would not listen to his protests. He took him into custody and brought him to the officials. They could not have been the same officials of 36:12,19 because ten years had passed, and they were replacements for those who had been deported in 598. They showed no sympathy for Jeremiah, as the former officials had done. They had him beaten and imprisoned in the house of Jonathan the secretary. His house may have been made into an improvised prison because the others were already filled, or this one may have been set aside for those who were considered to be especially dangerous political prisoners. Jeremiah may have been confined there so special watch could be kept on him to keep him from further demoralizing the people with his appeals to surrender.

(4) Jeremiah's Secret Interview with the King (37:16–21) 16Jeremiah

was put into a vaulted cell in a dungeon, where he remained a long time. 17Then King Zedekiah sent for him and had him brought to the palace, where he asked him privately, “Is there any word from the LORD?” “Yes,” Jeremiah replied, “you will be handed over to the king of Babylon.” 18Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “What crime have I committed against you or your officials or this people, that you have put me in prison? 19Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, ‘The king of Babylon will not attack you or this land’? 20But now, my lord the king, please listen. Let me bring my petition before you: Do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary, or I will die there.” 21King Zedekiah then gave orders for Jeremiah to be placed in the courtyard of the guard and given bread from the street of the bakers each day until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard. 37:16–17 Jeremiah was transferred to a “vaulted cell” (a word not found elsewhere in the OT) in an underground “dungeon” (lit. “house of the pit”). He would surely have died if left there. Zedekiah had Jeremiah brought to the palace for a private interview. He was a weak-willed ruler who apparently wanted to believe Jeremiah but feared what his officials, who were pro-Egyptian, might do to him. He did not want it known that he was consulting Jeremiah (cf. Nicodemus's nocturnal visit to Jesus, John 3:2). He wasted no time in stating his business: “Is there any word from the LORD?” (cf. 21:1–2; 1 Kgs 22:1–28). Jeremiah likewise wasted no time with his reply: “Yes, you will be handed over to the king of Babylon.” Zedekiah's fate was sealed because he did not have the courage to stand against his own people. 37:18–20 In vv. 18–20 we are reminded of Jeremiah's humanity. In one of his rare displays of self-interest, he asked the king what “crime” (lit. “sin”) he had committed to justify his imprisonment (cf. Gen 20:9).

Jeremiah seemed to taunt the king; he asked him where those prophets were who said the king of Babylon would not attack Judah. Jeremiah had endured much abuse, so it was only natural to lash back when the opportunity presented itself. The prophets had proved to be false prophets and perhaps were in hiding to escape the punishment decreed by law for false prophets (Deut 13:5; 18:20). Jeremiah appealed to the king not to return him to Jonathan's house because he would die there. It was unusual for Jeremiah to show concern for himself. He must have been harshly mistreated by Jonathan to make such a request. 37:21 In an unexpected display of mercy, Zedekiah gave orders to place Jeremiah in the courtyard of the guard, a place adjacent to the palace (32:12; Neh 3:25). Conditions there would have been much better than the dungeon. The king further ordered that bread be given to Jeremiah from the street of the bakers each day until all the bread in the city was gone. The amount of bread was rationed and would have been only enough to keep him alive. Since the city was under siege, the only supplies were ones that were in the city prior to the attack. Once the bread was gone, either starvation or the enemy would eventually overtake the Israelites; thus Jeremiah's plea to surrender was the most logical way out. Mention of the bakers' street refers to the practice of setting aside certain streets for designated businesses and professions. Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard until Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians (38:28). Many people throughout history have been imprisoned for being faithful to God. In the NT, Paul, Barnabas, and others were arrested because of their faith in Christ. Since the NT many believers have suffered the same fate. Like Jeremiah, believers must be willing to make the supreme sacrifice in the life of faith. God calls people to obey him at any cost (Mark 8:34–38).

6. Jeremiah's Confinement in a Cistern (38:1–28) Most commentaries call attention to the similarities between 37:11–21 and chap. 38. Some conclude that they contain parallel accounts of the same event by calling attention to their similarities.47 In both chapters Jeremiah was arrested and imprisoned. Both mention confinement in the house of

Jonathan. Both describe a secret meeting between King Zedekiah and Jeremiah in which the content of the prophet's message was essentially the same. Both accounts conclude with Jeremiah's confinement in the court of the guard. Differences in the details of the two accounts, however, are numerous and support the belief that they refer to different occasions.48 Differences include the occasion for the arrest and the location of Jeremiah's imprisonment. Chapter 38 also contains a detailed account of Jeremiah's rescue from the cistern, not mentioned in chap. 37. Evidence is not sufficient to support one interpretation to the exclusion of the other.49 (1) The Demand for Jeremiah's Punishment (38:1–6) 1Shephatiah

son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah heard what Jeremiah was telling all the people when he said, 2“This is what the LORD says: ‘Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague, but whoever goes over to the Babylonians will live. He will escape with his life; he will live.’ 3And this is what the LORD says: ‘This city will certainly be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon, who will capture it.’” 4Then the officials said to the king, “This man should be put to death. He is discouraging the soldiers who are left in this city, as well as all the people, by the things he is saying to them. This man is not seeking the good of these people but their ruin.” 5“He is in your hands,” King Zedekiah answered. “The king can do nothing to oppose you.” 6So they took Jeremiah and put him into the cistern of Malkijah, the king's son, which was in the courtyard of the guard. They lowered Jeremiah by ropes into the cistern; it had no water in it, only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud. 38:1–3 If chap. 38 is a continuation of events of chap. 37 (and not a parallel account), Jeremiah's messages were still reaching the people through those permitted to visit him, though he was confined in the court of

the guard (37:21). Among those who heard his warnings of judgment on Jerusalem were Shephatiah son of Mattan, who is not mentioned elsewhere in the OT, and Gedaliah son of Pashhur. Gedaliah was not the governor of that name (39:14), but he may have been the son of Jeremiah's nemesis who put him in stocks (20:1–3) or the son of Pashhur of 21:1. Others were Jehucal (Heb. Jucal) son of Shelemiah, also mentioned in 37:3, and Pashhur son of Malkijah, sent with the priest Zephaniah to Jeremiah earlier (21:1). The four men wanted Jeremiah put to death because he continued to warn that anyone who remained in Jerusalem would die by sword, famine, or plague (a triad mentioned frequently in Jeremiah, e.g., 14:12; 21:7,9; 24:10; 27:8). However, any who would surrender to the Babylonians50 would “escape with his life” (lit. “his life will be to him for plunder”).51 Jeremiah stated unequivocally that “the city will certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon.”52 38:4–5 The “officials” insisted that Jeremiah be put to death. He was “discouraging” the soldiers who were left to defend the city.53 His appeals to surrender were demoralizing the soldiers' will to fight as well as the people's resistance. From their point of view he was not seeking their “good” ( often translated “peace”) but their “ruin.” King Zedekiah54 showed his vacillating, weak character in a Pilate-like attempt to relieve himself of any responsibility for Jeremiah's blood by telling the accusers that Jeremiah was in their hands (cf. 26:14). His insistence that he could do nothing to oppose them was not true because he later acted unilaterally to countermand their deed (38:10). Zedekiah may have wanted to do the right thing, but he did not have the fortitude to stand up to Jeremiah's enemies. 38:6 They put Jeremiah in the cistern of Malkijah, the king's son.55 Cisterns were dug out of limestone rock of varying depths and were used to collect and store water. They were pear shaped with a narrow opening at the top that could be covered. In 37:15 Jeremiah's confinement was in the house of Jonathan; here it was in a cistern in the courtyard of the guard, indicating a different imprisonment from that in 37:15–16. They “put” ( lit. “threw”) Jeremiah in the cistern, lowering him “by ropes.” The water had already evaporated; only mud remained. Jeremiah sank into it, left by his tormentors to die (cf. Ps 69:14).

No reason is given for putting Jeremiah in the cistern to die rather than killing him outright (cf. Joseph, Gen 37:22–24). Perhaps they wanted him to suffer, but it is more likely that they had a superstitious fear of killing a prophet or shedding innocent blood. Shedding of innocent blood was considered to be one of the most abhorrent sins that could be committed (cf. Deut 19:10,13; 21:8; Jonah 1:14). (2) Jeremiah's Rescue from the Cistern (38:7–13) 7But

Ebed-Melech, a Cushite, an official in the royal palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. While the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate, 8Ebed-Melech went out of the palace and said to him, 9“My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have thrown him into a cistern, where he will starve to death when there is no longer any bread in the city.” 10Then the king commanded Ebed-Melech the Cushite, “Take thirty men from here with you and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.” 11So Ebed-Melech took the men with him and went to a room under the treasury in the palace. He took some old rags and worn-out clothes from there and let them down with ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern. 12Ebed-Melech the Cushite said to Jeremiah, “Put these old rags and worn-out clothes under your arms to pad the ropes.” Jeremiah did so, 13and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard. 38:7–9 Jeremiah's rescue came from an unexpected source. EbedMelech (a name that means servant of the king) is introduced with no mention of a prior relation with Jeremiah or why he sympathized with the prophet. He is identified as a Cushite, i.e., a person of color from the upper Nile region. An earlier Cushite took the news of Absalom's death to David at the risk of his life (2 Sam 18:31–32; see also Jer 13:23). He is also identified as an “official” ( a word that can also be translated as “eunuch”) in the royal palace. Scholars are divided about whether the word

should be translated here as “eunuch” or as “official” (as in 29:2). The same word is used to describe Potiphar, who was married (Gen 39:1). If he was a eunuch, he probably was in charge of the women's quarters in the palace. It is ironic that none of Jeremiah's own people cared enough to try to rescue him. That effort was left to a foreigner. Upon learning that Jeremiah had been placed in a cistern, Ebed-Melech immediately went out of the palace to the king, who at that time was sitting in the Benjamin Gate on the north side of the city. He was there to hear complaints, settle disputes, and administer justice among the people (cf. 2 Sam 15:2–4; 19:8; Ps 69:2; Prov 22:22; Amos 5:10,15). Nicholson suggests that he was there to inspect the city's defenses.56 That he was dispensing justice in one place while permitting a terrible act of injustice to take place in another part of the city is ironic. Ebed-Melech risked his life or at least the wrath of the king by confronting him with the wickedness of what was being done to Jeremiah (cf. Nathan's cautious approach to King David before accusing him, 2 Sam 12:1–10). Ebed-Melech boldly approached the king and accused the men of acting wickedly by what they had done to Jeremiah.57 Ebed-Melech's concern that “he will starve to death” is literally “he has died,” i.e., “he is as good as dead if left there.”58 Ebed-Melech's concern for Jeremiah's life is a moving example of one person's concern for another that transcends the color of skin. 38:10 The king was perhaps conscience stricken or hoped that by his freeing Jeremiah the Lord would remove the Babylonian threat. He ordered Ebed-Melech to take thirty men with him to lift Jeremiah out of the cistern.59 He now seemed to be acting independently of his officials, whereas earlier he said he could do nothing to oppose their demands (38:5). It was another indication of his indecisive nature. The king had good reason to expect opposition and ordered such a large number of guards to prevent interference from Jeremiah's enemies when they learned that he was being released. 38:11–13 Ebed-Melech made haste to carry out the king's orders. He went to a room under the treasury in the palace (a wardrobe storeroom)60 and obtained some “old rags” and “worn-out clothes” (term not found elsewhere in the OT), which he lowered with ropes to Jeremiah in the

cistern. The rags and clothes were used for padding under Jeremiah's arms to keep the ropes from cutting him as he was lifted from the cistern (cf. Pss 18:16; 40:2). After he was removed, Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard. Nothing is said about his enemies' reaction to his release. (3) Another Secret Interview with Zedekiah (38:14–26) 14Then

King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and had him brought to the third entrance to the temple of the LORD. “I am going to ask you something,” the king said to Jeremiah. “Do not hide anything from me.” 15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I give you an answer, will you not kill me? Even if I did give you counsel, you would not listen to me.” 16But King Zedekiah swore this oath secretly to Jeremiah: “As surely as the LORD lives, who has given us breath, I will neither kill you nor hand you over to those who are seeking your life.” 17Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, your life will be spared and this city will not be burned down; you and your family will live. 18But if you will not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, this city will be handed over to the Babylonians and they will burn it down; you yourself will not escape from their hands.’” 19King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have gone over to the Babylonians, for the Babylonians may hand me over to them and they will mistreat me.” 20“They will not hand you over,” Jeremiah replied. “Obey the LORD by doing what I tell you. Then it will go well with you, and your life will be spared. 21But if you refuse to surrender, this is what the LORD has revealed to me: 22All the women left in the palace of the king of Judah will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon. Those women will say to you: “‘They misled you and overcame you— those trusted friends of yours.

Your feet are sunk in the mud; your friends have deserted you.’ 23“All your wives and children will be brought out to the Babylonians. You yourself will not escape from their hands but will be captured by the king of Babylon; and this city will be burned down.” 24Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Do not let anyone know about this conversation, or you may die. 25If the officials hear that I talked with you, and they come to you and say, ‘Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you; do not hide it from us or we will kill you,’ 26then tell them, ‘I was pleading with the king not to send me back to Jonathan's house to die there.’” 38:14–16 Again Zedekiah had a secret meeting with Jeremiah (see the parallel meeting in 37:17). He had the prophet brought “to the third entrance to the temple.” The entrance is otherwise unknown, but it must have been well known then and required no explanation. It may have been a private royal entrance to the temple (cf. 2 Kgs 16:18). This was Jeremiah's last encounter with the king before the city fell. Zedekiah said, “I am going to ask you ‘something,’ “but he never did ask the question. He warned Jeremiah not to hide anything from him (cf. 1 Sam 3:17; 2 Sam 14:18). By now Jeremiah was wary of the king with good reason not to trust him. He was still remembering the experience in the cistern. He was afraid that the king would kill him if he gave an answer.61 Furthermore, he told the king that he would not listen to his counsel. The king swore secretly a solemn oath to Jeremiah, “As surely as the LORD lives” (see 4:2, note 29 for explanation of this oath). He added “who has given us breath” (lit. “who has made us this life He promised immunity to Jeremiah regardless of what the prophet said to him. He assured Jeremiah that he would neither kill him nor hand him over to those seeking his life (but see 38:24, where he threatened to break his word!). 38:17–18 Reassured by the king's word, Jeremiah told Zedekiah again that the only way to save the city, his own life, and that of his family was to surrender to the Babylonians (21:8–10; 38:2–3).62 The options had not changed. It was a message that had already caused Jeremiah much personal suffering, but he had no other choice but to declare it again. Earlier he had

complained that when he opened his mouth, he spoke “violence and destruction” (20:8) and consequently experienced only reproach and insult. Jeremiah warned the king that if he did not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, the city would be taken by the Babylonians and they would burn it down. Furthermore, the king would be captured by the enemy. Zedekiah could have spared the city and its people even at that late hour if he had taken Jeremiah's advice. Like many political leaders of the past (e.g., Napoleon, Hitler), the king was willing to sacrifice his people for his own ambitions and vanity. 38:19 The king attempted to justify his reluctance to follow Jeremiah's counsel. He expressed fear that the Babylonians would hand him over to those Jews who had already “gone over” (lit. “fallen”) to the enemy. He had reason to believe they would mistreat him. The same word is used for the treatment of the Levite's concubine (“abused,” Judg 19:25) and for the plagues on the Egyptians (“dealt harshly,” Exod 10:2; “treated harshly,” 1 Sam 6:6). Zedekiah must have known that defeated kings were often tortured and mutilated before being put to death (cf. Ziklag, 1 Sam 15:33). 38:20–23 Jeremiah assured the frightened king that they would not hand him over to the Judahites. He made one final appeal to Zedekiah to obey God. If he would obey the Lord by following Jeremiah's advice, his life would be spared. The alternative to surrender would be ridicule of his weakness by the women left in the palace (i.e., the royal harem) when they were brought out to the Babylonian officials. It was a common practice of a conqueror to claim the harem of the defeated enemy (cf. Absalom, 2 Sam 16:21–22). Those women would taunt the king and remind him that his “trusted friends” (lit. “the men of your peace”; cf. 20:10 for the same expression) had misled him and overcome him. Even as Jeremiah had been in the mud, the women would remind Zedekiah ironically that his feet were sunk in the mud. Their words were not based on knowledge that Jeremiah had been in the mud. Instead, they were repeating what probably was a well-known saying describing a person in a difficult situation from which he could not extricate himself (cf. Obad 7 for a similar statement).63 Jeremiah found himself in the mud because of his obedience. Zedekiah would find himself in a different kind of mud for his disobedience.

Jeremiah again described the fate of the king if he continued in his obstinacy. All his wives and children would be given to the Babylonians, he would be captured, and “this city” would be “burned down.” The Hebrew could also be read, “You will burn the city,”64 which could be a way of saying that Zedekiah was as much responsible for the destruction of Jerusalem as if he had set it afire himself. 38:24–26 Zedekiah's only response was to express concern for himself. He asked Jeremiah not to let anyone know the content of their conversation or he would die. Either the king was already forgetting his promise that Jeremiah would not die, or he knew the officials would kill Jeremiah if they learned of the conversation.65 Zedekiah instructed Jeremiah about what he should tell the officials if they questioned him about their conversation. He should tell them only that he had petitioned the king not to send him back to Jonathan's house to die there (cf. 37:20). This reference to Jonathan's house is cited as support for the belief that the interview in chap. 38 is the same interview in chap. 37. However, Jeremiah may have feared he would be returned to Jonathan's house a second time and was protesting that possibility. (4) The Officials' Questioning of Jeremiah (38:27–28) 27All

the officials did come to Jeremiah and question him, and he told them everything the king had ordered him to say. So they said no more to him, for no one had heard his conversation with the king. 28And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard until the day Jerusalem was captured. 38:27 Even as Zedekiah anticipated, the officials did question Jeremiah about his conversation with the king. Jeremiah answered as the king had instructed him. Jeremiah's answer creates a troublesome question about his ethics. Hyatt called it a “white lie” or “half truth.”66 It raises the question of whether there is ever an appropriate situation not to be truthful. In defense of Jeremiah, some have said he was not concealing the truth to protect himself but to protect the people, who would have been subjected to a bloody purge if they had heeded Jeremiah's advice and had begun

surrendering to the enemy. Others have suggested that Jeremiah was protecting the king's life by not revealing the true conversation; they reason that it is right to lie if it means saving a life. Some have justified Jeremiah by saying he was not untruthful but did not reveal the entire conversation. He may have asked Zedekiah not to return him to Jonathan's house. The most likely explanation for Jeremiah's response is that it reveals his humanity (as did the confessions in chaps. 11–20). In a weaker moment of remembering past abuse and anticipating more suffering, and perhaps still picking mud from between his toes, Jeremiah complied with the king's request. For the moment he had no desire for further abuse and possible death. The men accepted his version of the conversation because none of them had been present to hear the actual words. Jeremiah's moment of weakness is a reminder that all have their times of weakness and sin, but if the sin is confessed, God will forgive (1 John 1:9). 38:28 The episode closes with the statement that Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard “until the day Jerusalem was captured.” The chapter in Heb. closes with the words, “This is how Jerusalem was taken,”67 which is an introduction to the following episode. In retrospect Jeremiah's forty years of identification with the Word of God had brought him a sense of purpose in life that indelibly altered his life (see his call, 1:4–10). His experiences brought a level of maturity that he earlier denied when he said, “I am only a child” (1:6). His ministry resulted in hostility from his people, even from his own family, as well as physical suffering and threats of death. But his obedience to the ministry the Lord gave him blessed him with fellowship with God that few have experienced. He used the expression Yahweh (“declares the Lord”) more than anyone else in the OT (176 times; see 1:8 for explanation of this phrase). His years of identification brought him a rich variety of experiences with all kinds of people, good and bad, friend and enemy. His obedience took him to many places—to a dungeon, a cistern, and exile in Egypt. For Jeremiah, doing the Lord's work meant anything but an uneventful life.

7. The Fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians (39:1–18)

The major question associated with 39:1–18 and 40:1–6 is whether they contain one or two accounts of Jeremiah's liberation by the Babylonians. If read as two accounts, Jeremiah was released from the courtyard of the guard to the protection of Gedaliah and remained among his people (39:11– 14). Jeremiah 40:1–6 describes Jeremiah as being led away in chains to Babylon when he was recognized by Nebuzaradan and released at Ramah. However, the two passages do not contradict each other.68 They can be harmonized as follows: Jeremiah was released from the court of the guard on Nebuchadnezzar's orders and committed to the care of Gedaliah. In the confusion of captives being led away to Babylon, Jeremiah was not recognized and was arrested again and put in chains. He was recognized by officials in Ramah and released on Nebuzaradan's orders.69 (1) The Capture of the City (39:1–3) This is how Jerusalem was taken: 1In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army and laid siege to it. 2And on the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah's eleventh year, the city wall was broken through. 3Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came and took seats in the Middle Gate: Nergal-Sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-Sarsekim a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer a high official and all the other officials of the king of Babylon. 39:1–2 The fall of Jerusalem was an event of such magnitude that the dates of the beginning of the siege and the final fall of the city are carefully preserved in these verses. The tenth month of the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign would have been December 589/January 588. Jeremiah 52:4; 2 Kgs 25:1; and Ezek 24:1 add that it began on the tenth day of the month. That date marked the beginning of the siege that lasted eighteen months. Calendar years in Judah at that time were reckoned from the Babylonian New Year that began in March/April. After eighteen months of bitter resistance, “the city wall was broken through” on the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah's eleventh year. That would have been June/July 587. The city was forced to surrender when

the food supply was exhausted and the people resorted to cannibalism (52:4–6; Lam 4:10). 39:3 A month after the wall was broken through (see 2 Kgs 25:8), the Babylonian officials triumphantly entered the city. They took seats in the Middle Gate, otherwise unknown but perhaps located between the upper and lower sections of the city.70 The NIV names three officials, but the translations and commentators do not agree on the number.71 One was Nergal-Sharezer (AKK, Nergal-šar-usur, meaning Nergal protect the king) of Samgar. It is now known that Simmagar (i.e., Samgar) was a district in Babylonia. Nergal-Sharezer is identified with Neriglissar, who succeeded Amel-Marduk (562–560), son and successor of Nebuchadnezzar. Neriglissar is believed to have deposed Amel-Marduk by a coup d'etat or to have had him murdered in order to claim the throne for himself. The second was Nebo-Sarsekim, a chief officer otherwise unknown unless he is the same as Nebushazban of v. 13. “Chief officer” may be transliterated as Rabsaris (AKK, meaning chief who is at the head or less likely chief of eunuchs). The third man is identified as NergalSharezer, a high official who some believe was the same as the first NergalSharezer. However, it was a common name, so there is no evidence for insisting they were one and the same. “High official” may be transliterated as Rabmag (AKK, rab mugi, whose meaning is uncertain; “chief astrologer” NJB). Other unnamed officials joined these men at the gate. (2) Zedekiah's Flight and Capture (39:4–7)72 4When

Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled; they left the city at night by way of the king's garden, through the gate between the two walls, and headed toward the Arabah. 5But the Babylonian army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They captured him and took him to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced sentence on him. 6There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes and also

killed all the nobles of Judah. 7Then he put out Zedekiah's eyes and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon. 39:4–5 When Zedekiah and all his remaining soldiers saw them, they fled the city. They left by night by way of the king's garden, located near the Pool of Siloam (Neh 3:15). They went through a gate, probably the Fountain Gate of Neh 2:14; 3:15; 12:37, located between the two walls (probably a reference to a breach in the walls). Ezekiel predicted their flight by means of a symbolic act (12:12–13). They headed toward the Arabah, the deep valley of the Jordan River north of the Dead Sea that extends to the head of the Gulf of 'Aqaba. They were fleeing in the direction of Jericho, perhaps intending to hide in that region or to cross the Jordan into Moab. The Babylonians pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho.73 They took him to Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah in the land of Hamath. Riblah was an ancient Syrian town on the Orontes River about ten miles south of Kadesh. It was located at a crossing of the highways between Egypt and Mesopotamia; thus it was strategically located for Nebuchadnezzar's military headquarters from where he directed his campaign against Judah. An inscription at Wadi Brissa alludes to the time he directed his military operations from Riblah. Riblah also had served as the headquarters of Pharaoh Necho in 609 in his campaign to assist Assyria against the Babylonians (2 Kgs 23:33). Hamath is the modern city of Hama in Syria. 39:6–7 At Riblah, Nebuchadnezzar inflicted his vengeance on the rebellious Zedekiah. First, he slaughtered ( a word mostly used of slaughtering animals) his sons before his very eyes. He then killed all the nobles, probably including the ones who had opposed Jeremiah (38:1), though a different word is used here for “nobles” Next, he put out Zedekiah's eyes, a common form of punishment in ancient times (cf. Judg 16:21). Then he bound him with bronze shackles and led him away to Babylon, where he languished in prison till his death (52:11). Verse 7 contains the fulfillment of two prophecies: (1) that Zedekiah would see the king of Babylonia and then be taken to that country (32:4–5; 34:3) and (2) that he would die in Babylonia without seeing it (Ezek 12:13).

(3) Destruction of the City (39:8–10) 8The

Babylonians set fire to the royal palace and the houses of the people and broke down the walls of Jerusalem. 9Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard carried into exile to Babylon the people who remained in the city, along with those who had gone over to him, and the rest of the people. 10But Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people, who owned nothing; and at that time he gave them vineyards and fields. 39:8 The Babylonians set about systematically to destroy the entire city. In 2 Kgs 25:8 Nebuzaradan gave the orders for destruction a month after the city fell. The Babylonians set fire to the “royal palace” (lit. “house of the king”). Both 52:13 and 2 Kgs 25:9 add that they also burned the temple. They also burned the “houses [lit. “house”] of the people.”74 39:9–10 Nebuzaradan (a name that means Nabu has given seed, i.e., offspring) was “commander of the imperial guard.”75 He was responsible for rounding up the people who remained in the city who could be helpful to the Babylonians (including craftsmen, 52:15). The statement could not mean that all the people were taken to Babylon (cf. 52:29, where it says 832 were exiled). He also took those who “had gone over to him” (lit. “who fell to him”).76 Nebuzaradan left behind some of the poor people (cf. 52:15, where he took some of the poor people), knowing they would not be a source of revolt. He gave them vineyards and fields to tend.77 There would be no benefit to the Babylonians to depopulate the region entirely (cf. 52:16; 2 Kgs 25:12). Those who were permitted to remain would be able to supply food for any of the army left as a “police” force or for a returning army, if that became necessary. (4) The Release of Jeremiah (39:11–14) 11Now

Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had given these orders about Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard: 12“Take him and look after him; don't harm him but do for him

whatever he asks.” 13So Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard, Nebushazban a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer a high official and all the other officers of the king of Babylon 14sent and had Jeremiah taken out of the courtyard of the guard. They turned him over to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him back to his home. So he remained among his own people. 39:11–14 Scholars have long debated whether 39:11–14; 40:1–6 are different (e.g., Nicholson, Carroll) or complementary accounts (e.g., Bright, Thompson, Feinberg) of Jeremiah's release. In chap. 39 Jeremiah was freed; in chap. 40 he was set free again. Nebuchadnezzar gave orders to treat Jeremiah with special consideration. He must have heard of the strange prophet in Jerusalem who was encouraging his own people to surrender and therefore wanted to reward him. Jeremiah, therefore, received better treatment at the hands of the enemy than from his own people whom he loved. Nebuchadnezzar instructed Nebuzaradan to look after him, not to harm him, and to do for him whatever he asked. Nebuzaradan ordered Nebushazban (Akk, Nabū-šuzibanni, meaning may Nabu save me) and other Babylonian officials to release Jeremiah from the court of the guard (cf. 37:21; 38:13,28). They released him into the care of Gedaliah son of Ahikam (not the Gedaliah of 38:1 but the soon-to-be governor, 40:7). This is the first mention of Gedaliah in the book. Gedaliah's grandfather Shaphan was an important official under Josiah and was involved in the finding of the law scroll (see 2 Kgs 22:3–20). Gedaliah's father, Ahikam, already had proved to be Jeremiah's friend (see 26:24). Gedaliah took Jeremiah back to “his home,” referring either to Gedaliah's home or Jeremiah's. Jeremiah was now a free person. He was not taken as an exile to Babylon. He chose to stay with his people because he understood that the work of tearing down and overthrowing was finished; it was now time to build and to plant (1:10). (5) Promise of Deliverance for Ebed-Melech (39:15–18) 15While

Jeremiah had been confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD came to him: 16“Go and tell Ebed-Melech the Cushite, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I

am about to fulfill my words against this city through disaster, not prosperity. At that time they will be fulfilled before your eyes. 17But I will rescue you on that day, declares the LORD; you will not be handed over to those you fear. 18I will save you; you will not fall by the sword but will escape with your life, because you trust in me, declares the LORD.’” 39:15–18 Chronologically, these verses belong in the narrative of events before Jerusalem's fall. They may have been placed at the end of chap. 39 to avoid an interruption in the account of events leading up to the fall of Jerusalem. More likely, they conclude the account to highlight the veracity of God's word of punishment (i.e., Jerusalem) and salvation for the individual who trusts (e.g., Ebed-Melech). While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the Lord's word came to him to go and deliver a message to Ebed-Melech. The literalness of “go” need not be pressed since Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard. He was to inform Ebed-Melech that God was about to fulfill his threats against Jerusalem through “disaster” and not “prosperity.” At that time they would be fulfilled “before your eyes.” For Ebed-Melech's courage in confronting the king with the injustice of putting Jeremiah in the cistern, God promised to reward him. He promised that Ebed-Melech would not be handed over “to those you fear.” The ambiguity of “those you fear” has led some scholars to interpret them as the officials of 38:1. Ebed-Melech did have reason to fear them because it was risky for a palace servant to accuse officials of wicked deeds. Jeremiah 39:18 supports the interpretation that those he feared were the Babylonians. Ebed-Melech's reward was a promise that “I will save you.”78 The Lord promised that Ebed-Melech would escape with his life (lit. “your life will be to you for plunder”; cf. 38:2; 45:5 for the same expression). EbedMelech's trust in the Lord saved him from the fate of the rest of the city. God did not commend Ebed-Melech for his compassion or courage but only for his trust in God. His life was saved because he risked it to save Jeremiah's life (cf. “whoever loses his life for me … will save it,” Mark 8:35). The passage serves as encouragement that the person who trusts the Lord will experience the Lord's protection. It also serves as a subtle warning

against self-centeredness, only doing what will benefit oneself. 1For

the full text see ANET, 321–22; see also D. W. Thomas, ed., Documents from Old Testament Times (New York: Harper & Row, 1958), 212–17. 2For additional study on the practice of slavery in Israel and the ANE, see I. Mendelsohn, “Slavery in the OT,” IDB; W. Zimmerli, “Slavery in the OT,” IDBSup; S. S. Bartchy, “Slavery,” ISBE, rev. ed.; R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1965), 1:80–90. 3“Cut a covenant” (34:8) is the normal Hebrew expression for making a covenant. It probably originated in the practice of sacrificing an animal as part of the covenant ceremony. In chap. 34 the expression is found four times (34:8,13,15,18) and five additional times elsewhere in the book. 4The same Heb. phrase, (“proclaim freedom,” 34:8), is translated as “proclaim liberty” in Lev 25:10 in connection with the Jubilee Year regulations. 5Attempts have been made to relate the freeing of the slaves to the Sabbatical Year of release since all were freed, not just those who had served six years. See N. Sarna, “Zedekiah's Emancipation of Slaves and the Sabbatical Year,” in Orient and Occident: Essays Presented to Cyrus H. Gordon on the Occasion of His Sixty-Fifth Birthday, ed. H. A. Hoffner, Jr. (Neukirchen: Neukirchener, 1973): 143–49. 6“Enslaved them again” is from a strong word that means tread down or subjugate. See Gen 1:28 for the same word, translated “subdue it,” i.e., the earth. 7Verse 12 is lit. “the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD .” Bright says “from the LORD” is “redundant and harsh to our ears.” At the same time he acknowledges that “redundancy is characteristic of the prose discourses of Jeremiah” and that “the words may be original.” J. Bright, Jeremiah, AB (Garden City: Doubleday, 1966), 221– 22. 8 W. R. Smith (The Religion of the Semites: The Fundamental Institutions [1889; reprint, New York: Schocken, 1972], 481) said the ceremony was not a self-imprecation but that “the parties stood between the

pieces as a symbol that they were taken within the mystical life of the victim.” T. W. Gaster (Myth, Legend, and Custom in the Old Testament [New York: Harper & Row, 1969], 143–53) proposes two explanations: (1) a retributive theory, i.e., the cutting of the victim symbolizes the retribution that will come on the party that breaks the covenant; (2) a sacramental or purificatory theory, i.e., the theory proposed by Smith (see above). Gaster combines the two ideas. Cutting the victim was retributive; passing between the pieces was sacramental. Gaster argued that the two explanations are complementary and provide a complete explanation for the ritual. See also B. K. Waltke, “The Phenomenon of Conditionality within Unconditional Covenants,” Israel's Apostasy and Restoration, ed. A. Gileadi (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1988), 127. 9H. Weippert, Die Prosareden des Jeremiabuches, BZAW (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1973), 121–48. 10Bright, Jeremiah, AB, 190, called by Bright “the Biographer.” 11See D. J. Wiseman, ed., Notes on Some Problems in the Book of Daniel (London: Tyndale, 1965), 16–18, for Wiseman's arguments for a date of 605. 12W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah 2, Her (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1989), 246. 13E. W. Nicholson, Jeremiah 26–52, CBC (Cambridge: University Press, 1973), 100–101. 14Rechabite is the preferred spelling of most versions over Recabite (NIV). 15Holladay, Jeremiah 2, 247. 16R. P. Carroll, Jeremiah, OTL (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1986), 651. 17For further reading on the Kenites, see N. Glueck, “Kenites and Kenizzites,” PEQ (1940): 22–24; N. Gottwald, The Tribes of Yahweh (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 1979), 577–80; H. Schmökel, “Jahwe und die Keniter,” JBL 52 (1933): 212–29; G. M. Landes, “Kenites,” IDB; J. A. Thompson, “Kenites,” ISBE rev. For further reading on the Recabites, see J. H. Charlesworth, The History of the Rechabites, vol. 1, The Greek Recension (Chico, Cal.: Scholars, 1982); J. D. Levenson, “On the Promise to the Rechabites,” CBQ 38 (1976): 508–14; M. H. Pope, “Rechab,” IDB; P. K. McCarter, Jr., “Rechab,” ISBE rev.; R. L. Pratt, Jr., ibid., “Rechabites.”

18DOTT,

222. 19Igdaliah is a longer spelling of the more familiar name Gedaliah. It is not found with this spelling elsewhere in the OT. The LXX and Syr read as Gedaliah. 20J. Lindblom, Prophecy in Ancient Israel (Oxford: Blackwell, 1963), 60. For further reading on “man of God,” see R. Hallevy, “Man of God,” JNES 17 (1958): 237–44; J. A. Holstein, “The Case of Reconsidered: Philological Analysis versus Historical Reconstruction,” HUCA 48 (1977): 69–81. 21Carroll, Jeremiah, 652. 22For “Aramean” the LXX reads “Assyrian”; Syr reads “Edom.” 23The LXX says “came to me,” a variant that preserves the first person narrative of the preceding verses. 24“Will you not learn a lesson?” is lit., “Will you not receive instruction?” 25The LXX makes the promise to the Recabites even more emphatic by closing v. 19 with the words “to stand before my face [i.e., “serve me”] while the earth remains.” 26J. Bright, Jeremiah, AB, 181. 27S. Mowinckel attributed the chapter to what he called the B source, the Biographer, identified by many scholars as Baruch. S. Mowinckel, Zur Komposition des Buches Jeremiah (Oslo: Dybwad, 1914), 24. 28 (lit. “scroll of a writing”) is found in 36:2,4 (and Ps 40:7; Ezek 2:9). is found in 36:14 (two times), 20, 21, 23, 25, 27, 28 (two times), 29, and 32. is found in 36:6. is found in 36:8,10–11,13,18,32. No pattern can be discovered for the alternation of these words in chap. 36; they all refer to the same scroll. “Book” (KJV) as a translation is an anachronism since the book or codex format did not appear until the first or second century A.D. 29J. Lundbom, Jeremiah: A Study in Ancient Hebrew Rhetoric, SBLDS 18 (Missoula, Mont.: Scholars, 1975), 118. 30As pointed out by W. Rudolph, Jeremia, HAT (Tübingen: MohrSiebeck, 1968), 228.

31A

bulla (a small piece of baked clay inscribed with a name) has been found that reads (“belonging to Berechiah, son of Neriah the scribe”). There is general agreement Berechiah was Jeremiah's scribe, Baruch. See N. Avigad, Hebrew Bullae from the Time of Jeremiah (Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1986), no. 9. No. 7 reads, “Neriah, son of the king.” 32Every occurrence of “dictate/dictated/dictation” in chap. 36 is lit. “from the mouth of “(vv. 4,27,32), “from my mouth” (v. 6), or “from his mouth” (vv. 17–18). M. Buttenweiser (The Prophets of Israel [New York: Macmillan, 1914], 133) said Jeremiah used a scribe because he was unable to write. Such opinions are not taken seriously by scholars today. 33The LXX reads “eighth year” (36:9), a lapse of three years, which would seem difficult to explain. However, N. Lohfink (“Die Gattung der ‘Historischen Kurzgeschichte’ in den letzten Jahren von Juda und in der Zeit des babylonischen Exils,” ZAW 90 [1978]: 324–28), followed by Holladay (Her 2:255–56), prefers the LXX. It is true that the eighth year would coincide with the septennial cyclical reading of Deuteronomy (see Deut 31:9–13). Lohfink believes Jeremiah deliberately planned for his scroll to be read when the reading of Deuteronomy took place. It is a clever theory and would explain the LXX variant, but there is nothing in chap. 36 that implies Deuteronomy was being read on that fast day. 34“Read to all the people” is lit. “read in the ears of.” Cf. the same idiom in 36:6 (two times), 10,13–14,20,21 (two times); “in our ears” (36:15); and “in their ears” (36:15). 35A bulla was found in 1983 in the ruins of the City of David just south of the present city of Jerusalem with the inscription “belonging to Gemariah, son of Shaphan the scribe”; Y. Shiloh (“A Group of Hebrew Bullae from the City of David,” IEJ 36 [1986]: 16–38. N. Avigad (Hebrew Bullae from the Time of Jeremiah [Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1986]: 129, n. 164) questions this identification of Gemariah with the Gemariah named on the bulla. 36C. H. Cornill (Das Buch Jeremia [Leipzig: B. Tauchnitz, 1905] and Rudolph emend the genealogy of Jehudi to read “Jehudi son of Nethaniah

and Shelemiah son of Cushi,” but the emendation is unnecessary. The genealogy, though inexplicable, should stand as in the Heb. 37“We must report” is lit. “telling [infinitive absolute] we will tell” (imperfect lcp), an emphatic construction in Hebrew suggesting here a sense of urgency. 38Older commentaries (e.g., Streane, CB, 244) reject the translation “hearth” (KJV) on the grounds that a hearth was unknown at that time. However, Holladay (Her 2:259) says it could have been a fixed hearth rather than a portable firepot. See also R. K. Harrison, “Hearth,” ISBE rev. 39There is a play on words in 36:23–24: (“read”), (“cut off “), and (“tear”). 40Scholars do not agree on the identity of Jerahmeel as “son of the king” (so NASB, NJB, NJPS, NRSV). Some say he could not have been the king's son if the king was only thirty years old at the time. However, since marriages took place at early ages, the son could have been fourteen or fifteen at the time. KJV takes the Hebrew as a proper name (“son of Hammelek”). Other translations are “a royal prince” (NAB, NEB, REB) and “prince” (JB). B. T. Dahlberg (“Jerahmeel,” IDB) suggests he may have been a brother of the king. Avigad (Bullae, no. 8) calls attention to a bulla that reads (“belonging to Jerahmeel, son of the king”). He must be the same as the Jerahmeel named in 36:26. 41These chapters form part of what Mowinckel designated as Source B (the Biographer, identified by many as Baruch). Except for 38:22b, all the chapters are prose narrative. Some commentators (e.g., Carroll, Nicholson, Thompson) include chap. 45 with chaps. 37–44, but chronologically chap. 45 precedes the events of chaps. 37–44 and should not be grouped with them (so Bright, Holladay). 42For further reading on “people of the land,” consult S. Daiches, “The Meaning of in the OT,” JTS 30 (1928–1929): 241–49; E. W. Nicholson, “The Meaning of the Expression in the OT,” JSS 10 (1965): 59–66; A. Oppenheimer, “The ha-Aretz,” in A Study in the Social History of the Jewish People in the Hellenistic-Roman Period (Leiden: Brill, 1977); M. H. Pope, in IDB 1:106–7; G. von Rad, Studies in Deuteronomy, SBT 9 (London: SCM, 1953), 63–66; C. R. Seitz,

Theology in Conflict: Reaction to the Exile in the Book of Jeremiah, BZAW 176 (New York: Walter de Gruyter, 1989), 42–51, 55–71; J. A. Soggin, “Der Judäische und das Königtum in Juda,” VT 13 (1963): 187–95; S. Talmon, “The Judean in Historical Perspective,” in King, Cult, and Calendar in Ancient Israel (Jerusalem: Magnes, 1986), 68–78. 43The events of chaps. 32 and 37 can be harmonized by placing the events of chap. 37 before chap. 32 as follows. The siege was underway; Jeremiah had not yet been imprisoned. The Babylonian army had withdrawn to drive away the Egyptians. At that time Jeremiah started to leave the city to claim some property (not the same that Hanamel later sold him) and was arrested and eventually placed in the courtyard of the guard. Then the events of chap. 32 followed. Jeremiah was still in the courtyard of the guard when Hanamel came to sell a field to him. It is generally understood that Hanamel entered the city while the siege was lifted, but the siege had already been lifted in chap. 37, which allowed Jeremiah to attempt to leave the city. However, Hanamel may already have been in the city or could have entered earlier while the siege was lifted. This harmonization of events is predicated on the assumption that Hanamel's field (32:8) was not the same as the one Jeremiah went to claim (37:12). 44“Babylonians” is lit. “Chaldeans” here and almost everywhere in the OT. For the meaning and relationship between the two terms, see HBD, s.v. “Chaldea.” 45The Hebrew is emphatic: lit. “to go” (Qal inf. absolute); “they will go” (Qal imperfect 3 m.p.). 46 (37:12; a Hiphil inf. construct) means to cause to divide [one's share of property]. The word is used this way, e.g., in Josh 19:51; Mic 2:4; Joel 3:2; Dan 11:39. 47See J. Skinner, Prophecy and Religion (1922; reprint, Cambridge: University Press, 1961), 258–59; Bright, Jeremiah, AB, 233; Nicholson, Jeremiah 26–52, CBC, 118; Thompson, Jeremiah, NICOT, 637. 48Holladay, Jeremiah 2, 282. 49R. K. Harrison, Jeremiah and Lamentations, TOTC (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1973), 154–55. 50Lit. “Chaldeans.”

51Jeremiah

38:2 contains almost the same wording as 21:9. Rudolph and Leslie delete v. 2 as a gloss because of its similarity to 21:9. Their deletion, however, is arbitrary. The prophet must have repeated this warning many times. 52Lit. “being given” (Niphal infinitive absolute); “it will be given” (imperfect) is an emphatic construction in Heb. Cf. 21:7; 34:2,22; 37:8 for similar statements about Jerusalem's capture. 53Ostracon VI of the Lachish Letters contains the same expression: “The words of the princes are not good to weaken our hands” (ANET, 322). 54The LXX omits many words and brief phrases that are found in the MT of chap. 38. The LXX shows a preference for common nouns and pronouns instead of proper names. For “King Zedekiah” the LXX says “the king” (38:5,14,16,19). For “Zedekiah” the LXX says “the king” (38:15,24) and “him” (38:17). For “Jeremiah” the LXX says “him” (38:6 [four times],13,14, 16,24) and omits his name altogether in 38:12. For “Jeremiah the prophet” the LXX says “this man” (38:9), “him” (38:10,14). For “EbedMelech” the LXX says “he” (38:8), and for “Ebed-Melech the Cushite” the LXX says “he” (38:12). Bright (Jeremiah, AB, 228) observed, “One can seldom be sure which tradition represents the more original text.” 55A similar problem is encountered here as was noted in 36:26. Did the king have a son old enough to participate in the plot against Jeremiah? KJV says “son of Hammelech” for “son of the king”; JB says “prince”; NEB and REB omit the phrase altogether. 56Nicholson, Jeremiah 26–52, CBC, 121. 57The LXX directs the accusation to the king, not to other men: “You have done evil in what you have done to kill this man with hunger.” 58By revocalizing (MT: “and he has died”) as it can be read as “and he will die.” 59Thompson, Harrison, Carroll, Bright, Duhm, Cornill, Volz, Rudolph, and several modern versions prefer “three men” based on one Heb. text instead of the MT “thirty”). They argue that thirty men would not have been needed to lift Jeremiah from the cistern. 60By emending (lit. “to under the storeroom”), it may be read as (“from the wardrobe,” Nicholson, Jeremiah 26–52, CBC, 121;

“to the wardrobe storeroom,” Bright, Jeremiah, AB, 227; cf. Thompson, Jeremiah, NICOT, 639, n. 6). 61“Will you not kill me” (38:15) is lit. “killing” (infinitive absolute); “will you not kill me?” (imperfect), an emphatic construction in Hebrew perhaps suggesting certainty. 62“If you surrender” (38:17) is lit. “if to go out” (infinitive absolute); “you will go out” (imperfect), an emphatic construction perhaps meaning here “if and only if.” 63The women's taunt in 38:22 is structured in the qinah meter (one line with three accented syllables, the second line with only two). It was a meter used for dirges and laments. Much of the Book of Lamentations was composed in the qinah meter. For further reading on irony in the OT, see W. Booth, The Rhetoric of Irony (Chicago: University Press, 1974); E. M. Good, Irony in the Old Testament, 2d ed. (Sheffield, England: Almond, 1981); L. R. Klein, The Triumph of Irony in the Book of Judges (Sheffield, England: Almond, 1987); J. G. Williams, “Irony and Lament: Clues to Prophetic Consciousness,” in Literary Critical Studies of Biblical Texts, ed. R. W. Funk (Missoula, Mont.: Scholars, 1977), 51–74. 64NIV, LXX, and other versions revocalize (“you will burn”) to (“it will be burned,” a Niphal feminine form of the verb to agree with “city” [f.]), thus the reading “this city will be burned down.” 65P. Volz (Der Prophet Jeremia, NICOT [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980]) believed that 38:24–28 should be placed after the interview reported in 37:17–21. 66J. P. Hyatt, “The Book of Jeremiah: Introduction and Exegesis,” IB, vol. 5 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1956), 1078. 67These words are lacking in the LXX and have been placed with the paragraph beginning in 39:1 by NIV, NASB, and JB. 68Bright, Jeremiah, AB, 246. 69Thompson, Jeremiah, NICOT, 645. 70N. Avigad (Discovering Jerusalem [Nashville: Nelson, 1983], 50–59) has published the discovery of a gate structure in the middle of the northern wall of Jerusalem of that period that he identifies with the Middle Gate of 39:3.

71The

KJV lists six names: Nergal-sharezar, Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim, Rab-saris, Nergal-Sharezar, and Rab-mag (following the MT and LXX). NASB, NJB, NJPS, NRSV, GNB, and Thompson (Jeremiah, NICOT, 644) list four: Nergal-sharezer, Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim the Rabsaris, and Nergal sharezer the Rabmag. NIV, NEB, REB, and Nicholson (Jeremiah 26– 52, CBC 2:126) list three: Nergal-Sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-Sarsekim (a chief officer), and Nergal-Sharezer (a high official). NAB, JB, Bright (Jeremiah, AB, 243), Rudolph (HAT, 208), and Holladay (Jeremiah 2, Her, 268) list two: Nergal-Sharezer, the official of Sinmagir the Rabmag, and Nebushazban the Rab-Saris. 72Verses 4–13 are omitted by the LXX, another example of its shorter text. 73Syriac and a few MSS add, “Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him” (found in 52:8; 2 Kgs 25:5). 74Nicholson (CBC, 128) prefers to translate as “house of the people.” He says it may have been a general assembly hall or a council building. F. Landsberger (“The House of the People,” HUCA 22 [1949]: 149–55) says it was the temple. Some understand it to be a veiled reference to the synagogue, which they believe existed before the exile (Bab Talmud Megillah 27a; cf. J. Gutmann, The Synagogue [New York: KTAV, 1975], 370). However, 52:13 is plural (“houses”) and supports the NIV translation here, “houses of the people.” 75Lit. “chief executioner”; Bright translates as “chief butcher”; Heb. It may have been an archaic title that was maintained even though the function of the office had changed completely. 76The concluding phrase of v. 9, “and the rest of the people,” is an exact duplicate of the phrase translated “the people who remained in the city” in the same verse. For that reason many scholars delete “and the rest of the people” as an example of dittography. See 52:15, where some commentators may go for support to emend this text to read “and the rest of the craftsmen.” 77The Vg reflects Heb. (“cisterns”) for (“fields,” MT, Syr), which does not fit the context.

78The

Heb. construction is emphatic: “saving” (infinitive absolute); “I will save you” (imperfect), i.e., “I will surely save you.”

SECTION OUTLINE XI. EVENTS AFTER THE FALL OF JERUSALEM (40:1–45:5) 1. Release of Jeremiah (40:1–6) 2. The Governorship of Gedaliah (40:7–41:18) (1) The People's Response to Gedaliah's Appointment (40:7–12) (2) A Warning to Gedaliah of an Assassination Plot (40:13–16) (3) The Assassination of Gedaliah (41:1–3) (4) Other Violent Acts by Ishmael (41:4–10) (5) Rescue of Ishmael's Captives (41:11–18) 3. The Flight to Egypt (42:1–43:7) (1) A Request for Jeremiah's Advice (42:1–6) (2) Jeremiah's Advice to the People (42:7–22) (3) Rejection of Jeremiah's Advice (43:1–3) (4) The Journey to Egypt (43:4–7) 4. Jeremiah's Messages in Egypt (43:8–44:30) (1) A Symbolic Announcement of Egypt's Fate (43:8–13) (2) Condemnation of Idolatry in Egypt (44:1–14) (3) Allegiance to the Queen of Heaven (44:15–19)

(4) Condemnation of the People's Decision (44:20– 28) (5) A Sign of Punishment (44:29–30) 5. A Message to Baruch (45:1–5) (1) Baruch's Complaint (45:1–3) (2) The Lord's Assurance (45:4–5)

XI. EVENTS AFTER THE FALL OF JERUSALEM (40:1–45:5) This section of the book begins with Jeremiah's release. Though it largely focuses on the prophet after Jerusalem's fall to the Babylonians, he is absent from the narrative from 40:7 to 42:2. Nicholson observed: “It is, therefore, a mistake to understand these chapters in terms of a biography of Jeremiah or as merely a chronicle of events in Judah after 587 B.C. Their central concern is theological.”1 The stricken people were having to rethink their theology to allow for a God who could punish as well as bless and protect.

1. Release of Jeremiah (40:1–6) 1The

word came to Jeremiah from the LORD after Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard had released him at Ramah. He had found Jeremiah bound in chains among all the captives from Jerusalem and Judah who were being carried into exile to Babylon. 2When the commander of the guard found Jeremiah, he said to him, “The LORD your God decreed this disaster for this place. 3And now the LORD has brought it about; he has done just as he said he would. All this happened because you people sinned against the LORD and did not obey him. 4But today I am freeing you from the chains on your wrists.

Come with me to Babylon, if you like, and I will look after you; but if you do not want to, then don't come. Look, the whole country lies before you; go wherever you please.” 5However, before Jeremiah turned to go, Nebuzaradan added, “Go back to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed over the towns of Judah, and live with him among the people, or go anywhere else you please.” Then the commander gave him provisions and a present and let him go. 6So Jeremiah went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah and stayed with him among the people who were left behind in the land. The question of whether 40:1–6 is a parallel account of Jeremiah's release already has been discussed (see 39:11–14). The two accounts can be harmonized by understanding that Jeremiah was arrested a second time after being released from the courtyard of the guard. He may have deliberately joined the exiles being led away as proof of his identification with them. Recognized later, he was released at Ramah, where his conversation with Nebuzaradan in these verses is recorded. 40:1 Verse 1 contains a customary introduction to an oracle: “The word came to Jeremiah from the LORD,” but no message follows. The Lord does not actually speak until 42:9. Nebuzaradan “found” (lit. “took”) Jeremiah bound in chains among the captives taken from Jerusalem and Judah. He released him at Ramah, apparently the place where captives were taken before being deported to Babylon. Ramah (meaning height) was about five miles north of Jerusalem and is identified with modern Er-Ram (see note on 31:15). 40:2–3 Nebuzaradan reminded Jeremiah that the prophet's God had decreed the “disaster” that had overtaken Judah. It is unusual that a worshiper of Marduk would acknowledge the enemy's God as the cause of Judah's defeat (but cf. Isa 36:7). However, Nebuzaradan surely was not a worshiper of the Lord (cf. Dan 4:2–3,34–37, where Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged the Most High God). He probably was quoting Jeremiah's own words that had been reported to him during the siege of Jerusalem. Now he reminded Jeremiah that God had done just as he said he would. For the moment Nebuzaradan became a theologian as he explained that the

calamity fell on Judah because the people had sinned against their Lord and did not obey him.2 40:4 Upon freeing Jeremiah, Nebuzaradan invited him to come with him to Babylon, “if you like” (lit. “if good in your eyes”). However, if Jeremiah did not want to come (lit. “but if evil in your eyes”), Nebuzaradan added, “then don't come.” Jeremiah was free to go wherever he pleased. 40:5–6 As Jeremiah turned to go,3 Nebuzaradan suggested that he join Gedaliah. Gedaliah is first mentioned in 39:14, and his name means the Lord is great.4 Nebuchadnezzar had appointed him as governor over the towns of Judah. A seal impression dated in the early sixth century B.C. was found at Lachish; it reads: “Belonging to Gedaliah, over the house.” It is not certain that it refers to Gedaliah the governor. If it does, Gedaliah must have served as an administrative official under Zedekiah since “over the house” was a term used of the king's chief minister. Nebuzaradan again invited Jeremiah to “go anywhere else you please” (lit. “to all the right in your eyes to go, go”). As Jeremiah departed, Nebuzaradan gave him provisions and a present for the journey back as an expression of courtesy and esteem for the prophet who had alienated himself from his own people by the messages he preached. Jeremiah joined Gedaliah at Mizpah. Its location is disputed. It has been identified by some as Nebi Samwil, five miles north of Jerusalem. Others identify it as Tel en-Nasbeh, eight miles north of Jerusalem. Jeremiah had made a decision to remain among his people to help with the rebuilding of the nation. That decision should have squelched accusations that he was a collaborator with the Babylonians against his own people.

2. The Governorship of Gedaliah (40:7–41:18) (1) The People's Response to Gedaliah's Appointment (40:7–12) 7When

all the army officers and their men who were still in the open country heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam as governor over the land and had put him in charge of

the men, women and children who were the poorest in the land and who had not been carried into exile to Babylon, 8they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite, and their men. 9Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, took an oath to reassure them and their men. “Do not be afraid to serve the Babylonians,” he said. “Settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you. 10I myself will stay at Mizpah to represent you before the Babylonians who come to us, but you are to harvest the wine, summer fruit and oil, and put them in your storage jars, and live in the towns you have taken over.” 11When all the Jews in Moab, Ammon, Edom and all the other countries heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, as governor over them, 12they all came back to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, from all the countries where they had been scattered. And they harvested an abundance of wine and summer fruit. 40:7–8 From 40:7 until 42:2 Jeremiah is not mentioned in the narrative. Many of the army officers and their men had escaped the Babylonian mopup operation after Jerusalem's fall and were hiding in the “open country,” probably in the Judean hills. Some may have been continuing to fight as guerrillas, not willing to surrender to the enemy. However, when they heard that Nebuchadnezzar had appointed Gedaliah, one of their own, as governor, they joined him at Mizpah. Gedaliah had been put in charge of the poorest in the land and those not carried away as exiles. Mizpah was apparently the new seat of government chosen by Nebuchadnezzar. It had not been damaged as Jerusalem had been. It had rich religious and political associations in the minds of the Israelites (1 Sam 7:5–12). The first king was chosen there (1 Sam 10:17). Among those joining Gedaliah were Ishmael the son of Nethaniah (also a grandson of Elishama, 41:1), who later would slay Gedaliah. Johanan and Jonathan (2 Kgs 25:23 and the LXX omit “Jonathan”), sons of Kareah, are also named. Others were Seraiah son of Tanhumeth (only mentioned here and the parallel verse in 2 Kgs 25:23) and the sons of Ephai (also spelled Ophai) the

Netophathite. Netophah was a village near Bethlehem, probably modern Khirbet Bedd Falûh. The other person named was Jaazaniah (Heb. Jezaniah but spelled Jaazaniah in 2 Kgs 25:23). He was the son of a man from Maacah, located in the Golan Heights south of Mount Hermon (see Gen 22:24). 40:9–10 Sensing that some of the men were reluctant to come out of hiding, Gedaliah took an oath to reassure them that they should not “be afraid to serve the Babylonians.”5 Apparently Nebuchadnezzar had told Gedaliah there would be no retaliation against them. He may even have granted the power of amnesty to Gedaliah. Furthermore, Gedaliah assured them that he would remain in Mizpah to “represent” (lit. “stand”) them before the “Babylonians” as a mediator and advocate on behalf of the people's interests. In the meantime he encouraged the people to harvest the grapes, other summer fruit, and the olives for oil and to put them in storage jars. Summer harvest began in August. Grain is not mentioned because it could not have been planted or cultivated during the months of siege, so another year would pass before there would be a grain harvest. The Babylonians had not destroyed the vineyards and trees, so the vineyards produced their fruit as usual. Gedaliah also encouraged the people to live in the towns they had occupied with or without permission of the Babylonian army, which was in the process of withdrawing from Judah. Though Judah was now a Babylonian province, the new rulers did not colonize the nation with foreigners as Assyria had done with Israel in 722 B.C. (see 2 Kgs 17:24). 40:11–12 When the Israelites who had fled to the surrounding countries, including Moab, Ammon, and Edom, heard that the Babylonians had not depopulated Judah and had appointed Gedaliah as their governor, they began returning from all the countries where they had been scattered. The appointment of one of their own people as governor gave them confidence about the future. They were able to harvest an abundance of wine and summer fruit, which would see them through the first year until crops could be planted and harvested again on a regular basis. However, just as life appeared to be returning to normal, a terrible tragedy occurred.

(2) A Warning to Gedaliah of an Assassination Plot (40:13–16) 13Johanan

son of Kareah and all the army officers still in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah 14and said to him, “Don't you know that Baalis king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah son of Ahikam did not believe them. 15Then Johanan son of Kareah said privately to Gedaliah in Mizpah, “Let me go and kill Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and no one will know it. Why should he take your life and cause all the Jews who are gathered around you to be scattered and the remnant of Judah to perish?” 16But Gedaliah son of Ahikam said to Johanan son of Kareah, “Don't do such a thing! What you are saying about Ishmael is not true.” 40:13–14 Johanan, son of Kareah, and all the army officers who had remained in the open country came to Gedaliah with the news of a plot against his life. They had learned that the Ammonite king, Baalis, was sending Ishmael to assassinate Gedaliah.6 Baalis is otherwise unknown.7 His reasons for wanting Gedaliah out of the way are not known. Perhaps he had a personal grudge against Gedaliah, or perhaps he had territorial designs and intended to annex parts of Judah in the turmoil that would follow Gedaliah's assassination. He appears to have been involved in a political plot in 594 (see 27:3). It is more difficult to determine why Ishmael would want to be a party to the plot. He had been among the first to come to Gedaliah when he became governor (40:8). He may have considered Gedaliah to be a traitor worthy of death. His motive may have been jealousy because he was of the royal family and Gedaliah was not (2 Kgs 25:25). Perhaps he felt he should have been made governor and took this means to show his displeasure. Or he may have wanted to take vengeance on Nebuchadnezzar for what he had done to the royal family. He may have wanted to undermine Babylonian authority and make as much trouble for the conqueror as possible. He may have had ambitions to establish a new independent Jewish nation under Ammonite protection in which he would have a leading role. His true

motive may have been no more than the pay he received from Baalis for serving as assassin. Duhm dismissed him as a ruthless guerrilla.8 Gedaliah refused to believe the plot against his life. Why he felt no concern cannot be fathomed, but his refusal cost him his life. Perhaps he had a trusting nature and was unwilling to believe the worst about a man whom he already knew and considered to be a friend (cf. Julius Caesar and his assassin-friend Brutus). 40:15–16 In a private conversation Johanan asked Gedaliah to let him kill Ishmael and no one would know about it. His concern was that if Gedaliah was killed, those Israelites who had rallied around him would be scattered and the remnant of Judah would perish (cf. John 11:50 for Caiaphas's advice that it was better for one person to die). Johanan was convinced that the welfare of the nation was linked to Gedaliah. He also had good reason to fear Babylonian retaliation if the governor appointed by them was murdered. Gedaliah was unwilling to believe that the accusations against Ishmael were true. Perhaps he believed that no one would be so foolish as to attack him and thus bring down the wrath of Babylon on all the people. Gedaliah's trust in Ishmael has been interpreted as a sign of weakness, i.e., the inability to make objective evaluations about people's character. It has also been seen as a sign of strength, i.e., not wanting to believe the worst about others (cf. John 2:24). (3) The Assassination of Gedaliah (41:1–3) 1In

the seventh month Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was of royal blood and had been one of the king's officers, came with ten men to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah. While they were eating together there, 2Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him got up and struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword, killing the one whom the king of Babylon had appointed as governor over the land. 3Ishmael also killed all the Jews who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, as well as the Babylonian soldiers who were there.

41:1–3 The reader is only told that the assassination of Gedaliah took place in the seventh month. Some believe it was the same year in which Jerusalem fell, 587 (so Volz, Rudolph, Holladay, Nicholson, Carroll). If so, his death occurred only about three months after Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians. Although three months would allow sufficient time for the harvest of summer fruit, it does not allow sufficient time for all the events to transpire that are recorded here. Therefore it may have been the seventh month of the following year. Some believe that the seventh month was five years later in 582 B.C. since 52:30 mentions a third deportation in that year. It is argued that the 582 deportation was Nebuchadnezzar's retribution for Gedaliah's murder. Gedaliah's death was so devastating to Judah that postexilic Judaism observed the third of Tishri (the seventh month) as a solemn fast day to mark the occasion (Zech 7:5; 8:19). Ishmael, who had been “one of the king's officers,”9 came with ten men to dine with Gedaliah. While at the table, Ishmael and his men murdered Gedaliah. Commentaries call the crime dastardly, outrageous, shocking, and perfidious; and it was all of these. It was an unbelievable violation of the hospitality customs in the ANE. The host was obligated to protect the guests in his home, and guests were expected to reciprocate with equal goodwill. Gedaliah ignored the warning in 40:13–16 and trusted Ishmael since dining together implies they already may have been friends. In a manner reminiscent of Jehu's bloody purge (2 Kgs 10:11–28), Ishmael murdered all the Jews at Mizpah with Gedaliah, as well as the Babylonian soldiers there. The statement could not mean that he killed all Jews in Mizpah because he carried others away with him (41:10). It must mean only that he killed those guests at the meal with Gedaliah. The murder of the Babylonian soldiers, even though they probably were a small detachment, would surely bring retaliation from Nebuchadnezzar on Judah. (4) Other Violent Acts by Ishmael (41:4–10) 4The

day after Gedaliah's assassination, before anyone knew about it, men who had shaved off their beards, torn their clothes and cut themselves came from Shechem, Shiloh and Samaria, bringing grain offerings and incense with them to the house of the LORD. 5eighty

6Ishmael

son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he went. When he met them, he said, “Come to Gedaliah son of Ahikam.” 7When they went into the city, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the men who were with him slaughtered them and threw them into a cistern. 8But ten of them said to Ishmael, “Don't kill us! We have wheat and barley, oil and honey, hidden in a field.” So he let them alone and did not kill them with the others. 9Now the cistern where he threw all the bodies of the men he had killed along with Gedaliah was the one King Asa had made as part of his defense against Baasha king of Israel. Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled it with the dead. 10Ishmael made captives of all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah—the king's daughters along with all the others who were left there, over whom Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam. Ishmael son of Nethaniah took them captive and set out to cross over to the Ammonites. 41:4–5 The next day eighty pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem came to Mizpah. By their appearance they were in mourning. They had shaved their beards, torn their clothes, and gashed themselves. These were all common mourning practices in the ANE (cf. Lev 19:27–28; 21:5; Deut 14:1, where such practices were forbidden by law). They probably were mourning the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem or the disappearance of Judah as an independent nation. The pilgrims came from Shechem (located at Tell Balatah, east of Nablus), Shiloh (about nineteen miles from Jerusalem), and Samaria (about forty-two miles from Jerusalem). All three towns were located in Ephraim and were towns that earlier had felt the effects of the harsh Assyrian policies of conquest (2 Kgs 17:6,24). The pilgrims were bringing grain offerings10 and incense. These were the only kinds of offerings that could be brought since the temple had been destroyed and there were no facilities or cult available for sacrificing animals. They probably were intending to observe the Feast of Ingathering (also called Booths or Tabernacles; Exod 23:16; Lev 23:34; Deut 16:13). The seventh month (41:1) was the time of the autumn festivals and the cultic New Year. The civil New Year began in March/April, following the Babylonian calendar, but the religious year began in September/October, following the Canaanite calendar. The entire episode reveals that though the

temple had been destroyed, its site was still considered holy, and Israelites continued going there to worship in its ruins. 41:6–7 Ishmael went out of the city weeping to meet the pilgrims. The LXX says that it was the pilgrims who were weeping, which seems reasonable. Bright, however, says the MT is preferable and reveals the hypocrisy of Ishmael to lure the unsuspecting pilgrims inside to kill them.11 No explanation is given for his invitation to the pilgrims to come to Gedaliah. He could have made an excuse for the governor's absence, and they would have continued their journey. However, as soon as they entered the city, Ishmael and his men slaughtered seventy of the eighty and threw them into a cistern (cf. 38:6). 41:8 Ten of the pilgrims saved their lives by offering Ishmael wheat, barley, oil, and honey hidden in a field in exchange for their lives. Grain was often stored in cisterns, which were then sealed with plaster and covered over with soil to hide them from marauders. 41:9 Ishmael disposed of the bodies of the seventy by throwing them into a cistern “along with Gedaliah.”12 It probably was dug by King Asa for a water reserve as part of his defense against Baasha, king of Israel, three hundred years earlier (1 Kgs 15:22; 2 Chr 16:6). Baasha had fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from entering or leaving Asa's territory. Asa made an alliance with Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, who attacked towns in Israel, forcing Baasha to abandon Ramah. Asa was then able to carry away the stones and timber from Ramah that Baasha had used for his fortification. He used them to build up Geba and Mizpah. 41:10 Ishmael rounded up the remaining people in Mizpah, including the king's daughters, and set out with them as captives to cross over to the Ammonites. If his motive for killing the seventy pilgrims was to keep them from spreading news of the murder of Gedaliah and the Babylonian soldiers, it seems he would also have killed the remaining pilgrims and all the people remaining in Mizpah. Perhaps he intended to sell the people he took with him as slaves or use them as hostages if the Israelites attacked him. It is likely that Jeremiah was among the captives, since he probably was still in Mizpah when the assassination occurred (see 40:6).

(5) Rescue of Ishmael's Captives (41:11–18) 11When

Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers who were with him heard about all the crimes Ishmael son of Nethaniah had committed, 12they took all their men and went to fight Ishmael son of Nethaniah. They caught up with him near the great pool in Gibeon. 13When all the people Ishmael had with him saw Johanan son of Kareah and the army officers who were with him, they were glad. 14All the people Ishmael had taken captive at Mizpah turned and went over to Johanan son of Kareah. 15But Ishmael son of Nethaniah and eight of his men escaped from Johanan and fled to the Ammonites. 16Then Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers who were with him led away all the survivors from Mizpah whom he had recovered from Ishmael son of Nethaniah after he had assassinated Gedaliah son of Ahikam: the soldiers, women, children and court officials he had brought from Gibeon. 17And they went on, stopping at Geruth Kimham near Bethlehem on their way to Egypt 18to escape the Babylonians. They were afraid of them because Ishmael son of Nethaniah had killed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed as governor over the land. 41:11–12 Johanan's whereabouts at the time of the assassination are unknown. He seems to have been negligent in protecting Gedaliah, knowing the plot on his life. But when he heard about Ishmael's crimes, he ordered his men to pursue him. They overtook Ishmael near the great pool in Gibeon. This is doubtlessly the pool of Gibeon, six miles northwest of Jerusalem, originally a cistern for collecting and storing rain water. The cistern was eighty-two feet deep and had a balustraded spiral stairway cut out of the rock with ninety-three steps leading from the ground surface to the water below. Today called el-Jib, it was earlier the location of a bloody contest between the soldiers of Abner and Jehu (2 Sam 2:12–16). 41:13–15 When Ishmael's captives saw Johanan and the others approaching, they were glad. In order to save themselves, Ishmael and eight of his men fled across the Jordan River to Ammon, leaving their hostages free to join Johanan. Two of Ishmael's men must have been killed because

he had ten when he dined with Gedaliah (41:1). Neither Baalis nor Ishmael is mentioned again. 41:16–18 Johanan and his men, along with those he freed from Ishmael, journeyed southward toward Egypt to escape the fierce retribution they anticipated from Nebuchadnezzar for Gedaliah's murder. They did not return to Mizpah. The group included soldiers, women, children, and “court officials” ( also translated as “eunuchs”; so the LXX, Bright, NJB, NRSV, REB). “Eunuchs” is the preferred translation here since they would have accompanied the princesses to protect them. They stopped at Geruth Kimham near Bethlehem, a place not mentioned elsewhere in the OT; its location is unknown. Geruth means lodging place, and Kimham probably was named for the son of Barzillai, a friend of King David. Geruth Kimham probably was part of land David had given to Kimham in appreciation for his father's loyalty to David (2 Sam 19:31–40). The LXX adds that they fled to Egypt “for fear of the Chaldeans” (41:17). There is no suggestion that they sought God's guidance in their decision to flee to Egypt, though for them it seemed to be a wise course of action. However, chap. 42 confirms that what they were doing was not God's will, nor did they want to obey him. Humanly speaking, going to Egypt was the right thing to do, but God's ways are not always our ways (Isa 55:8). As Nicholson has written (cited at the beginning of this section), chaps. 40–41 are not so much biography as theology. The central theme is the complete loss of the land. Since the exodus from Egypt, the people had lived in Israel for over seven hundred years. Now even the remnant had left for Egypt. Where was God? Why had God taken them out of their land? The answer is found in understanding that the land was not the ultimate gift of God at Sinai but rather it was his presence, and wherever the people went, whether to Babylon or to Egypt, God would be with them (for Jeremiah personally, 1:19, and for the people, see 7:23; 11:4; 24:7; 30:22; 31:1). God is not found in a “land” or in a “temple” (7:4) but in one's heart (31:31–34). This was the miracle of the exile: when the people lost everything they thought important, they found God in their hearts. History records that the Jews thrived in Babylon and Egypt, and when they were released by King Cyrus of Persia in 537 B.C., many of them remained in Babylon. The land remained important as a gift from God, but belief and

faith are centered not in a “geographical place” but in one's heart and soul (Deut 6:4–5).

3. The Flight to Egypt (42:1–43:7) (1) A Request for Jeremiah's Advice (42:1–6) 1Then

all the army officers, including Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest approached 2Jeremiah the prophet and said to him, “Please hear our petition and pray to the LORD your God for this entire remnant. For as you now see, though we were once many, now only a few are left. 3Pray that the LORD your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do.” 4“I have heard you,” replied Jeremiah the prophet. “I will certainly pray to the LORD your God as you have requested; I will tell you everything the LORD says and will keep nothing back from you.” 5Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with everything the LORD your God sends you to tell us. 6Whether it is favorable or unfavorable, we will obey the LORD our God, to whom we are sending you, so that it will go well with us, for we will obey the LORD our God.” 42:1–3 The people fleeing to Egypt approached Jeremiah to ask the Lord where they should go and what they should do. They included Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, not the Jaazaniah of 40:8. Some think he was the Azariah of 43:2 since the LXX calls him Azariah in both passages. However, the LXX names Maasaeas as the father in both 42:1 and 43:2. It is possible that Jezaniah had two names, or Jezaniah and Azariah may have been brothers. Earlier Jeremiah had been hated and persecuted, but now all the people from the least to the greatest came to him. They turned to him with an urgent appeal to “hear our petition” (lit. “let our petition fall before you”).

They asked him to pray to “the LORD your God.” Commentators are divided on the significance of the alternation between “the LORD your God” and “the LORD our God” in the exchange between Jeremiah and the people. Bright13 and Thompson14 say the play on words is interesting but not significant. Holladay says the shifts are not accidental and that each side is making points (cf. a similar exchange between Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai, Exod 32:7,11).15 They requested prayer on behalf of “this entire remnant.” The “remnant” here means those people contemplating flight to Egypt, not all the people left in Judah after the 597 and 587 deportations. It is ironic that the people had not listened to Jeremiah for forty years, when his warnings could have saved the nation. It is possible that their request was not sincere, as borne out by their subsequent rejection of his advice; if sincere, however, it was because they feared the future. They already had determined to go to Egypt (41:17). They only wanted confirmation of their plans. It is all too easy to make one's plans and then seek God's stamp of approval. 42:4 Jeremiah agreed to pray to “the LORD your God.” He assured the people he would keep nothing from them. His statement implies that they would not like what he was going to tell them. 42:5–6 With a pious display of sincerity, they assured Jeremiah that God could punish them if they did not obey him. Twice in v. 6 they promised to obey the Lord whether his reply was “favorable or unfavorable.”16 It is difficult to understand why their vow to obey was so emphatic, but when tested, they refused to obey. Perhaps they were confident that God would approve the plans they had made. From their perspective it did seem reasonable to flee to Egypt to escape Nebuchadnezzar's anticipated retribution for Gedaliah's murder. However, their motives were too complex and uncertain to dismiss their promise lightly, as some commentators do, by saying they were playing at prayer. (2) Jeremiah's Advice to the People (42:7–22)17

7Ten

days later the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah. 8So he called together Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers who were with him and all the people from the least to the greatest. 9He said to them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition, says: 10'If you stay in this land, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you, for I am grieved over the disaster I have inflicted on you. 11Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you now fear. Do not be afraid of him, declares the LORD, for I am with you and will save you and deliver you from his hands. 12I will show you compassion so that he will have compassion on you and restore you to your land.' 13“However, if you say, ‘We will not stay in this land,’ and so disobey the LORD your God, 14and if you say, ‘No, we will go and live in Egypt, where we will not see war or hear the trumpet or be hungry for bread,’ 15then hear the word of the LORD, O remnant of Judah. This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you are determined to go to Egypt and you do go to settle there, 16then the sword you fear will overtake you there, and the famine you dread will follow you into Egypt, and there you will die. 17Indeed, all who are determined to go to Egypt to settle there will die by the sword, famine and plague; not one of them will survive or escape the disaster I will bring on them.’ 18This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘As my anger and wrath have been poured out on those who lived in Jerusalem, so will my wrath be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. You will be an object of cursing and horror, of condemnation and reproach; you will never see this place again.’ 19“O remnant of Judah, the LORD has told you, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’ Be sure of this: I warn you today 20that you made a fatal mistake when you sent me to the LORD your God and said, ‘Pray to the LORD our God for us; tell us everything he says and we will do it.’ 21I have told you today, but you still have not obeyed the LORD your God in all he sent me to tell you. 22So now, be sure of this: You will die by the sword, famine and plague in the place where you want to go to settle.”

42:7–10 Jeremiah 42:7 gives valuable insight into the nature of biblical prophecy. The prophet could not set the time for hearing from God, nor did he speak until he was sure he had discerned God's message. Jeremiah had to wait ten days before the word of the Lord came to him. (Cf. 28:11–12, where Jeremiah waited for a message concerning Hananiah, the false prophet.) He must have spent the time in much prayer. He did not want to confuse his desires with God's will. The tension and suspense on the part of the people during the wait can only be imagined. Armed with God's reply, Jeremiah called the people together. He prefaced his words with a reminder that he was delivering God's word in response to their appeal to seek a word from the Lord. It would not be the first time Jeremiah would deliver an unpopular message (see 20:8). If they would stay in the land,18 God would “build … plant,” not “tear down … uproot” (words taken from 1:10). He would show compassion because he was “grieved” over the “disaster” he had inflicted on them. Bright captures the intent of the term “grieved” with his translation, “I am sorry about the hurt that I have had to inflict on you.”19 42:11–12 Jeremiah assured them that they had no reason to fear Nebuchadnezzar if they would remain in Judah. Leaving would imply guilt for Gedaliah's assassination. They should fear him now only if they persisted in their plans to go to Egypt (see 42:16). The basis of assurance was the promise, “I am with you” (see 1:8,19).20 The promise of God's presence with the people should have been sufficient assurance to remove their fears. The Lord would show them “compassion” ( , a word that suggests tender, motherly love; cf. Gen 43:14; 1 Kgs 8:50; its root is associated with the womb, e.g., Exod 13:2; 1 Sam 1:5–6; Jer 1:5). Because of the Lord's compassion, “he” (i.e., Nebuchadnezzar) would “have compassion” and would restore them to their own land. 42:13–17 After assuring his audience that there was no reason to leave Judah, Jeremiah warned them of the consequences of not remaining there. If they persisted in going to Egypt in hopes of escaping war and hunger, they were making a mistake. Egypt was no safer from God's presence than Judah. The prophet Jonah had learned a similar lesson when he attempted to flee to Tarshish from God's presence (Jonah 1:4,12). The people's confidence that they would not experience the rigors of hunger in Egypt

parallels their ancestors' desire to return to Egypt, where they claimed they “ate all the food [they] wanted” (cf. Exod 16:3; Num 11:5). Jeremiah warned that if they were “determined” (lit. “you set your faces”; cf. 42:17) to go, what they feared would overtake them there. God warned that if they insisted on going to Egypt, they would die there by sword, famine, and plague (a triad frequently found in Jeremiah, e.g., 14:12; 29:18). What they hoped would be a life of freedom and ease would only bring hardship and death. Those who reject what they know to be the will of God always invite disaster (Rom 6:16). 42:18 The wrath of God had already been poured out on Jerusalem. Now he would pour it out on those who were going to Egypt. They would become objects of cursing and horror and never again see Judah (cf. 19:18; Lam 2:15–16). It seemed that they had learned no lessons from Jerusalem's punishment. The smoldering ruins of Jerusalem should have been sufficient evidence to convince them of the veracity of God's word.21 42:19–22 Jeremiah warned the remnant of Judah not to go to Egypt.22 He admonished them that they had made a “fatal mistake”23 by asking him to seek God's will for them when they had no intention of keeping their promise. It was a mistake that would cost them their lives. Those who seek God's will and then refuse to do it risk God's punishment (cf. Jas 1:23; 4:17). Even as he spoke, Jeremiah could see by the faces of the people that they had no intention of obeying his counsel. Before they could reply, he told them that their disobedience would bring death by sword, famine, and plague in the very place they hoped to settle in order to escape the rigors of war, hunger, and disease. It is clear that they had learned nothing from the calamity of 587. They were the same disobedient people after Jerusalem's fall as before. Unfortunately, Judah's obstinacy was no exception; it continues to be all too characteristic of people today. (3) Rejection of Jeremiah's Advice (43:1–3) 1When

Jeremiah finished telling the people all the words of the LORD their God—everything the LORD had sent him to tell them—

2Azariah

son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, “You are lying! The LORD our God has not sent you to say, ‘You must not go to Egypt to settle there.’ 3But Baruch son of Neriah is inciting you against us to hand us over to the Babylonians, so they may kill us or carry us into exile to Babylon.” 43:1–3 As soon as Jeremiah finished speaking, Azariah (see 42:1), Johanan, and all the “arrogant” (from a root that means boil up) men responded, “You are lying!” They flatly denied that the Lord had sent Jeremiah to dissuade them from continuing their journey to Egypt. Jeremiah ironically had frequently accused others of lying (e.g., 8:8; 9:4; 14:14; 23:25–26,32; 28:15; 29:21), but now the same charge was hurled at him. It is incredible that the people were unwilling to believe him since the fulfillment of his warnings about Jerusalem's destruction proved he was a true prophet (see Deut 18:22). That event should have been incontrovertible proof that Jeremiah was a prophet of God. Perhaps some of them suspected Jeremiah of being a Babylonian sympathizer who did not want them to escape Nebuchadnezzar's retaliation for Gedaliah's death. Others already had determined they were going to Egypt before consulting Jeremiah. They craved the fleshpots of Egypt as their ancestors had (Exod 16:3). There they hoped to find peace and plenty. In repeating Jeremiah's warnings, “Do not go to Egypt,” they substituted the negative particle that expresses permanent prohibition (43:2, “Don't ever go to Egypt”). Jeremiah had used the negative particle that expresses immediate prohibition (42:19). When our desires are contrary to God's word, our tendency to deny God's word finds its origin in the garden of Eden. The serpent first created doubt about God's words (Gen 3:1). Then it denied God's word outright (Gen 3:4) and finally made sin and rebellion appear to be attractive (Gen 3:5). The people accused Baruch of inciting Jeremiah against them to hand them over to the Babylonians in order to kill them or take them into exile in Babylon. Their accusation implies that they believed Jeremiah was Baruch's puppet or at least under his influence. The statement suggests that Baruch was more than Jeremiah's scribe. He was seen as a person of influence, perhaps with personal ambition (see 45:3).

(4) The Journey to Egypt (43:4–7) 4So

Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers and all the people disobeyed the LORD's command to stay in the land of Judah. 5Instead, Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers led away all the remnant of Judah who had come back to live in the land of Judah from all the nations where they had been scattered. 6They also led away all the men, women and children and the king's daughters whom Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard had left with Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch son of Neriah. 7So they entered Egypt in disobedience to the LORD and went as far as Tahpanhes. 43:4–7 Even as the people in Jerusalem had broken their pledge to free their slaves (see 34:10–11), Johanan and those accompanying him broke their promise to obey the Lord's commands spoken through Jeremiah (42:5). Instead, they led away all the remnant of Judah who had returned to live in the land of Judah.24 They took all those whom Nebuzaradan had left with Gedaliah. They also took Jeremiah and Baruch. It is not clear whether Jeremiah went voluntarily or was forced against his will to accompany them. Those who argue the former say he felt it was his duty to remain with them to help them, even though they had made the wrong decision. It is more likely, however, that he was forced to go because he would not willingly have defied God's command to remain in Judah. Jeremiah was learning a bitter lesson that God had tried to teach him years earlier (see 12:5): the reward for faithful service may be more rigorous service. The question remains unanswered why they would want Jeremiah to accompany them since they repudiated him as God's spokesman. Perhaps they valued him as a hostage who could be exchanged for their safety in the event Nebuchadnezzar pursued and overtook them. So Jacob's descendants returned to Egypt after having been liberated from the land of bondage centuries earlier. They went as far as Tahpanhes, modern Tell Defneh, a royal city on the northeastern edge of the Nile Delta. It may have been necessary for them to halt there in order to gain permission to enter Egypt.

4. Jeremiah's Messages in Egypt (43:8–44:30) No indication is given of how much time elapsed between the time the fugitives arrived in Tahpanhes and the messages delivered by Jeremiah in 43:8–44:30. Jeremiah was still God's prophet. His geographical location did not determine whether he could be God's spokesperson. His messages were introduced in Egypt as they had been in Judah: “The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah” (43:8; cf. 33:1; 35:12; 42:7). The last preserved messages of Jeremiah are contained in these verses (chaps. 46–51 probably were spoken throughout his life but were collected in a group around the theme of God's word for the nations. (1) A Symbolic Announcement of Egypt's Fate (43:8–13) 8In

Tahpanhes the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 9“While the Jews are watching, take some large stones with you and bury them in clay in the brick pavement at the entrance to Pharaoh's palace in Tahpanhes. 10Then say to them, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I will send for my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will set his throne over these stones I have buried here; he will spread his royal canopy above them. 11He will come and attack Egypt, bringing death to those destined for death, captivity to those destined for captivity, and the sword to those destined for the sword. 12He will set fire to the temples of the gods of Egypt; he will burn their temples and take their gods captive. As a shepherd wraps his garment around him, so will he wrap Egypt around himself and depart from there unscathed. 13There in the temple of the sun in Egypt he will demolish the sacred pillars and will burn down the temples of the gods of Egypt.’” 43:8–9 The Lord instructed Jeremiah to perform a symbolic act while the Jews watched (see 5:1 for significance of symbolic acts). He was told to take some large stones and bury them in clay in the brick pavement at the entrance to Pharaoh's palace in Tahpanhes.25 Since Tahpanhes was not the seat of Pharaoh's government, the palace probably was a government

building or Pharaoh's official residence when he was in that city. F. Petrie's excavations at Tel Defneh uncovered a large paved area in front of what he concluded was the palace mentioned in 43:9. The Elephantine Papyri mention “the king's house” in Tahpanhes.26 43:10–13 As in other symbolic acts, the interpretation was then given. It symbolized the fate of the exiles in Egypt as well as Egypt's fate at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. God was going to bring Nebuchadnezzar to Egypt, where he would “spread his throne.”27 Nebuchadnezzar would spread his “royal canopy” (used only here) above the stones. This has been understood as a canopy over the throne, a carpet under the throne, or the pavilion itself. The message was clear; it was useless to flee to Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar would pursue them to Egypt to the very place where Jeremiah had hidden the stones. Jeremiah described the havoc Nebuchadnezzar would create in Egypt by his invasion. He would bring death, captivity, and the sword to those destined for those fates. He would set fire to the temples of the Egyptian gods.28 He would carry their gods away to be paraded in a triumphal victory procession in Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar's conquest of Egypt would be as effortless as a shepherd wrapping a garment around himself. The word translated in the NIV as “wrap” has a double meaning. It can mean to wrap oneself with a garment, or it can mean to remove lice; the latter translation suggests Nebuchadnezzar would plunder Egypt of its riches as a shepherd would pick lice from his garment. Resistance would be negligible, and Nebuchadnezzar would depart from Egypt “unscathed” (lit. “in peace”). Nebuchadnezzar would demolish the sacred pillars in the “temple of the sun” in Egypt (lit. “house of the sun”; Heb. but not to be confused with Beth Shemesh in Judah). The “temple of the sun” was almost certainly Heliopolis (“city of the sun”; its Hebrew name was On; see Gen 41:45), the center of sun worship in Egypt that was located about ten miles northeast of Cairo. Nebuchadnezzar invaded Egypt in his thirty-seventh year, 568–567. Hophra had been overthrown by Amasis, who was now on the throne. There is a fragmentary text suggesting that Nebuchadnezzar fought with the Egyptians, but it does not indicate the outcome of the battle. It is clear that Egypt retained its independence, for Amasis remained on the throne and

later established friendly relations with the Babylonians. The invasion probably was a punitive campaign intended to halt Egyptian interference in Babylon's imperialistic ambitions. (2) Condemnation of Idolatry in Egypt (44:1–14) 1This

word came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews living in Lower Egypt—in Migdol, Tahpanhes and Memphis—and in Upper Egypt: 2“This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You saw the great disaster I brought on Jerusalem and on all the towns of Judah. Today they lie deserted and in ruins 3because of the evil they have done. They provoked me to anger by burning incense and by worshiping other gods that neither they nor you nor your fathers ever knew. 4Again and again I sent my servants the prophets, who said, ‘Do not do this detestable thing that I hate!’ 5But they did not listen or pay attention; they did not turn from their wickedness or stop burning incense to other gods. 6Therefore, my fierce anger was poured out; it raged against the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem and made them the desolate ruins they are today. 7“Now this is what the LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Why bring such great disaster on yourselves by cutting off from Judah the men and women, the children and infants, and so leave yourselves without a remnant? 8Why provoke me to anger with what your hands have made, burning incense to other gods in Egypt, where you have come to live? You will destroy yourselves and make yourselves an object of cursing and reproach among all the nations on earth. 9Have you forgotten the wickedness committed by your fathers and by the kings and queens of Judah and the wickedness committed by you and your wives in the land of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem? 10To this day they have not humbled themselves or shown reverence, nor have they followed my law and the decrees I set before you and your fathers. 11“Therefore, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I am determined to bring disaster on you and to destroy all

Judah. 12I will take away the remnant of Judah who were determined to go to Egypt to settle there. They will all perish in Egypt; they will fall by the sword or die from famine. From the least to the greatest, they will die by sword or famine. They will become an object of cursing and horror, of condemnation and reproach. 13I will punish those who live in Egypt with the sword, famine and plague, as I punished Jerusalem. 14None of the remnant of Judah who have gone to live in Egypt will escape or survive to return to the land of Judah, to which they long to return and live; none will return except a few fugitives.” Nicholson points out that chap. 44 is written in the characteristic Deuteronomic style. Its themes and motifs are evident in the chapter. It is also the last recorded message by Jeremiah that has been preserved.29 44:1–3 This message is not a continuation of the one directed to those who had fled to Egypt (see 43:8–13). It was directed to all the Jews living in Egypt who had settled there over a long period of time. Jews already were living in Egypt before the fall of Jerusalem. Some lived in lower Egypt in Migdol. Its location is uncertain, but it was perhaps near Pelusium on Egypt's northern boundary (Exod 14:2). Some lived in Tahpanhes (see 2:16; 43:7) and others in Memphis (Heb. Noph), the capital of Lower Egypt near the Delta and Heliopolis. Others settled in Upper Egypt (Heb. Pathros; that is, southern Egypt). Jeremiah reminded them of the great “disaster” that the Lord had brought on Jerusalem and the towns of Judah (cf. 2 Kgs 22:16–17). He had punished them because they burned incense to other gods and “worshiped” (lit. “served”) them. The word translated “burning incense” can also mean to offer sacrifices of animals (Lev 1:9; 3:11; 1 Sam 2:16). 44:4–6 He reminded them that he had sent his servants the prophets “again and again” (lit. “rising early and sending”) to warn them not to worship other gods. God called such devotion detestable and something he hated. The warnings had been futile. The people did not “pay attention” (lit. “incline their ear”) or abandon their other gods. Therefore God poured out his wrath on Jerusalem and the towns of Judah and made them desolate ruins. 44:7–8 The Lord appealed to his people not to repeat the tragedy that had overtaken Judah. If they persisted in their idolatry, the entire nation

would be destroyed without a remnant. Why would they provoke him to anger with what their hands had made (i.e., their idols) or by burning incense in Egypt? If they did, they would “destroy [themselves]” (lit. “cut [themselves] off “) and become an object of cursing and ridicule among other nations. 44:9–10 It is incredible that they could forget the lessons from their past history. Could they forget the consequences of the wicked deeds committed by their ancestors and by their rulers as well as their own wicked deeds in Judah and Jerusalem? In spite of what had happened, there was no evidence they had “humbled themselves” (lit. “crushed themselves”; cf. Ps 94:5; Isa 19:10; 53:10; 57:15; Lam 3:34). They showed no “reverence” (“fear,” KJV, NAB, NJB, NRSV), nor did they obey the law. 44:11–14 Because there was no evidence that the present generation was going to repent, the Lord announced his determination to bring disaster on them (lit. “set my face against you”). Their punishment is described in vv. 12–14. Those who were “determined” (lit. “set their faces”) to settle in Egypt would all perish there by sword and famine. The people were determined to have their way. God was equally determined that they would suffer the consequences of their rebellion. He would punish them in Egypt with sword, famine, and plague, even as he had punished Jerusalem. None of those who had fled to Egypt would escape his wrath or ever return to Judah. Even though they would “long to return” (lit. “lift up their to return”), none would ever return except a few fugitives. God saw that there was no hope for building the future on those left in Judah or Egypt. The future would be with the exiles in Babylon (see chaps. 24; 29). There is a parallel between that generation and their earlier ancestors who perished in the desert without seeing the promised land because of their disobedience (Num 14:20–23). (3) Allegiance to the Queen of Heaven (44:15–19) 15Then

all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, along with all the women who were present—a large assembly—and all the people living in Lower and Upper Egypt, said to Jeremiah, 16“We will not listen to the message you have spoken to us in

the name of the LORD! 17We will certainly do everything we said we would: We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and will pour out drink offerings to her just as we and our fathers, our kings and our officials did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food and were well off and suffered no harm. 18But ever since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have had nothing and have been perishing by sword and famine.” 19The women added, “When we burned incense to the Queen of Heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, did not our husbands know that we were making cakes like her image and pouring out drink offerings to her?” 44:15–18 Then the men and their wives who had been listening to Jeremiah's warnings responded. Jeremiah 44:15 says “all the people living in Lower and Upper Egypt” were present. “All” should not always be taken literally when the word appears in the Scriptures. Here it would have been impossible for all those living throughout Egypt who gathered to hear Jeremiah. C. L. Feinberg says the word is sometimes a “literary generalization used for emphasis and should not be taken literally.”30 Their response was unequivocable; they refused to listen to Jeremiah (cf. 42:5). Moreover, they defiantly declared that they would do everything “we said we would” (lit. “which goes out from our mouth”).31 They vowed to burn incense and pour out drink offerings to the queen of heaven as they and their ancestors had formerly done (see 7:18 for discussion of the queen of heaven). They reasoned that when they worshiped her they were well off. They had plenty of food and “suffered no harm.” But when they stopped their idolatrous practices, probably as a result of Josiah's reforms (2 Kgs 23:4–20), they had experienced nothing but hardship and privation. From their vantage point it seemed that the idols had done more for them than had the living God. Their reasoning was a forerunner of the contemporary prosperity cult, i.e., it pays off in material advantages to worship the right god. The question of why a person serves God has been asked through the centuries. The adversary (Satan) asked God, “Does Job fear God for nothing?” (Job 1:9). Peter complained: “We have left everything to follow you! What then

will there be for us?” James and John wanted privileged positions in the kingdom (Matt 20:21). Followers of the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel ignore promises such as “in this world you will have trouble (John 16:33); “consider it pure joy … whenever you face trials of many kinds” (Jas 1:2); “do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering” (1 Pet 4:12). 44:19 The women added that when they burned incense, poured out drink offerings, and made cakes to worship the queen of heaven (see Hos 3:1), they did it with their husbands' consent. They argued that they had their husbands' permission required by the law (Num 30:3–16), so Jeremiah had no right to interfere or condemn what they were doing. (4) Condemnation of the People's Decision (44:20–28) 20Then

Jeremiah said to all the people, both men and women, who were answering him, 21“Did not the LORD remember and think about the incense burned in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem by you and your fathers, your kings and your officials and the people of the land? 22When the LORD could no longer endure your wicked actions and the detestable things you did, your land became an object of cursing and a desolate waste without inhabitants, as it is today. 23Because you have burned incense and have sinned against the LORD and have not obeyed him or followed his law or his decrees or his stipulations, this disaster has come upon you, as you now see.” 24Then Jeremiah said to all the people, including the women, “Hear the word of the LORD, all you people of Judah in Egypt. 25This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You and your wives have shown by your actions what you promised when you said, ‘We will certainly carry out the vows we made to burn incense and pour out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven.’ “Go ahead then, do what you promised! Keep your vows! 26But hear the word of the LORD, all Jews living in Egypt: ‘I swear by my great name,’ says the LORD, ‘that no one from Judah living anywhere in Egypt will ever again invoke my name or swear, “As surely as the

Sovereign LORD lives.” 27For I am watching over them for harm, not for good; the Jews in Egypt will perish by sword and famine until they are all destroyed. 28Those who escape the sword and return to the land of Judah from Egypt will be very few. Then the whole remnant of Judah who came to live in Egypt will know whose word will stand— mine or theirs. 44:20–23 Both Jeremiah and the people based their argument on the same principle that was at stake—the belief that the fate of the people of Judah and the land was bound up with the worship of the proper deity. They came to different conclusions. The people concluded that failure to worship the queen of heaven had resulted in their plight. Jeremiah said it was because of their idolatrous practices that calamity had overwhelmed them. When the Lord could no longer endure their detestable practices, he made the land an object of cursing and a desolate waste. He had not failed them; they failed him, and he could no longer bless them. 44:24–25 Jeremiah then announced a final word of judgment on the people who were in Egypt. The Lord said that the men and their wives have “shown by your actions” (lit. “have spoken with your mouths and with your hands”) that they were going to carry out their vows to worship the queen of heaven.32 God's patience with his people had been exhausted, and now the prophet shared that same attitude. In exasperation he said: “Go ahead then, do what you promised. Keep your vows!”33 The reader must understand the sarcasm of these words. Jeremiah meant just the reverse. It was as though he said: “I finally give up on you. You have made your decision. Now see what the consequences will be.” The contrast between the Jews' broken vow in Egypt and the faithfulness of the Recabites to their vow is striking (see chap. 35). 44:26–28 As a result of their idolatry the Lord swore “by my great name” that none of the Jews in Egypt would ever again invoke his name or swear by the “Sovereign LORD” (“LORD God” in KJV, NRSV, REB, and most other translations). There was none greater by whom the Lord could swear (cf. 22:5; 32:22; 49:13; 51:14). By forbidding them to invoke his name, he was announcing that a covenant relationship no longer existed between them and that they could never again expect him to help them when they called on him. They had forfeited that right and privilege by

breaking the basic tenet of the Mosaic law: “You shall have no other gods before me … not make for yourself an idol” (Exod 20:3–4). In the past the Lord had watched over his people for good, but now he was “watching” over them for harm (cf. 1:12; 31:28 for the same word). The Jews in Egypt would all be destroyed. The harshness of the statement should not be interpreted to mean that God no longer cared. His punishment was evidence that he did care. The calamities and disasters that come are intended to bring us back to God instead of driving us away from him. God's announcement of judgment in the OT is often tempered with a message of hope. If chap. 44 ended with v. 27, there would have been only despair and hopelessness for the Jews in Egypt. Jeremiah's final word, however, was that not everyone would be destroyed. Though “very few” (lit. “men of number,” i.e., those able to be counted), there would be a remnant who would live to know whether it was God's word or the word of the rebellious people that would prevail. Centuries earlier a similar contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal had taken place (1 Kgs 18:22–39). The outcome in Jeremiah's day would be the same as it was earlier in Elijah's time: “The LORD—he is God.” (5) A Sign of Punishment (44:29–30) 29“‘This

will be the sign to you that I will punish you in this place,’ declares the LORD, ‘so that you will know that my threats of harm against you will surely stand.’ 30This is what the LORD says: ‘I am going to hand Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt over to his enemies who seek his life, just as I handed Zedekiah king of Judah over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the enemy who was seeking his life.’” 44:29–30 In order to emphasize the certainty of punishment of the Jews in Egypt, the Lord gave a sign. “Sign” is the same word found in Exod 3:12 and Isa 7:14; it has been defined as an external reality that points to something else. It has also been defined as an act of God that points to something beyond itself and functions to display his credibility and reveal his power and glory.

Pharaoh Hophra would be handed over to his enemies as a sign, just as the Lord had handed Zedekiah over to Nebuchadnezzar (Jer 39:5–7). Hophra (also known as Apries) ruled Egypt from 589 to 570 B.C. He promised help for Zedekiah in his rebellion against the Babylonians (37:5). Part of his army rebelled against him and declared Amasis (also called Ahmosis II) to be king in 570. Hophra and Amasis ruled as coregents for three years; then Hophra was overthrown and executed. Amasis continued to rule alone until his death in 526. On one occasion Hophra confidently declared, “Not even a god can move me from my throne.” The fate of Jeremiah is not known. Some think he returned to Judah after a few years in Egypt. Others believe he accepted Nebuchadnezzar's invitation to live in Babylon, where he died. One tradition says he was stoned in Tahpanhes and his bones were later removed to Alexandria by Alexander the Great. The abruptness with which Jeremiah's story ends is a reminder that the word of the Lord is important, not the one who bears the word. The lone exception to this is, of course, Jesus Christ, who both brought the word and was the Word.

5. A Message to Baruch (45:1–5) This brief chapter has not been placed in chronological sequence. It contains a rebuke by Jeremiah of his scribe Baruch in the fourth year of Jehoiakim's reign, 605 B.C. It should have followed chap. 36 after Baruch had written down the messages Jeremiah dictated to him. No explanation is given for its placement here. One suggestion is that it was added by Baruch as a modest postscript to the rest of the collection of messages. Skinner and Hyatt reject the 605 date and insist that its placement means the rebuke occurred after the fall of Jerusalem and near the end of Jeremiah's life.34 There is no justification, however, for arbitrarily rejecting the date given in 45:1. For the most part Baruch is a shadowy figure. He was from a noble family, the grandson of Mahseiah (32:12), who was the governor of Jerusalem during Josiah's reign (2 Chr 34:8). His brother, Seraiah, was a

staff officer in Zedekiah's court (51:59). Only in chap. 45 does the reader get a glimpse of Baruch's humanity. (1) Baruch's Complaint (45:1–3) 1This

is what Jeremiah the prophet told Baruch son of Neriah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, after Baruch had written on a scroll the words Jeremiah was then dictating: 2“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch: 3You said, ‘Woe to me! The LORD has added sorrow to my pain; I am worn out with groaning and find no rest.’” 45:1–3 Jeremiah was aware of Baruch's complaint of accusing God of adding sorrow to his pain. Baruch was worn out with his groaning and found no rest from his misery (cf. Ps 6:6, which Baruch may have been quoting). His complaint sounds much like Jeremiah's laments in his confessions (e.g., 15:18). It is as vague as Paul's “thorn in the flesh” (2 Cor 12:7) and has elicited numerous theories about its nature. He may have had an unpleasant experience, even as Jeremiah did, of threats of bodily harm. He may have been a person of personal ambition but realized that Jeremiah was not going to be successful. Therefore his own reputation, so closely linked to that of Jeremiah, was ruined. Perhaps he was agonizing with the question, “What have I gotten out of this for all my sacrifice?” (cf. Matt 19:27). It has also been suggested, though without foundation, that he was unhappy because he had not received the prophetic mantle of succession from Jeremiah (as did Elisha from Elijah, 2 Kgs 2:9–10,13). (2) The Lord's Assurance (45:4–5) 4[The

LORD said,] “Say this to him: ‘This is what the LORD says: I will overthrow what I have built and uproot what I have planted, throughout the land. 5Should you then seek great things for yourself? Seek them not. For I will bring disaster on all people, declares the LORD, but wherever you go I will let you escape with your life.’”

45:4–5 Jeremiah was instructed by the Lord to tell Baruch that he would overthrow what he had built and uproot what he had planted (cf. 1:10; 32:28; 42:10). He reminded Baruch of his sovereign control over human affairs. Verse 4 may be the best clue to Baruch's complaint. It may not have had a personal basis; rather, he may have been overwhelmed by the knowledge of the tragedy that was coming on Jerusalem that would include his family and friends. He needed to be reminded that God was in control of Judah's fate. Verse 5 suggests that Baruch was personally ambitious, hence the rebuke. Perhaps Baruch envisioned himself as the great deliverer of his people from the coming judgment and would thereby leave a lasting name among his people. God cautioned him not to seek greatness since the disaster could not be averted. Baruch's only reward for his faithful service would be that he would escape with his life (lit. “I will give you your life as the plunder of warfare”). A similar promise had been made to Ebed-Melech (39:15–18). The same metaphor is also found in 21:9 and 38:2. It is drawn from the practice of a conqueror stripping his defeated enemies of their valuables. Baruch should be grateful that he would escape the coming holocaust with his life, like a soldier escaping after his army has been defeated in battle. That should have been sufficient reward for his faithful service to Jeremiah. Verse 5 is concerned with the theology of rewards and punishment. Deuteronomic theology, which is reflected frequently in the OT and in the Book of Jeremiah, can be summed up in the words, “Obey and you will be blessed; disobey and you will be cursed.” Sincere Christians would not question the principle, but they sometimes impose their own understanding of blessing. Blessing is often equated with material prosperity, even as it was in ancient Israel. The lesson to be derived from Baruch's complaint is that God determines the nature of rewards for faithful service. It may or may not be what we would expect. W. Holladay sums up his commentary on 45:1–5 with a word to Baruch: “It is not a fair world, Baruch, but at least you have your life.”35 The best summary, however, is from the words of the German pastor D. Bonhoeffer, who, in the face of Nazism, lost his life. He said: “When a person has completely given up the idea of making something of himself … then one

throws oneself entirely into the arms of God, then one no longer takes seriously his own suffering, but rather the suffering of God in the world … I think that is faith. … How is a person to become proud of success or to go astray at failures when one shares God's sufferings in the life of this world.”36 1E.

Nicholson, Jeremiah 26–52, CBC (New York: Cambridge, 1975),

133. 2The

LXX of chaps. 40–41 lacks many phrases that are found in the MT. Only a few of the variants are included in these notes. 3The MT of 40:5 is difficult. It begins, “And still he will not turn [imperfect], return” [imperative]. The LXX reads, “But if not, depart, return.” W. Rudolph, Jeremia, HAT 12 (Tübingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 1968), 246, reads: “If it be pleasing in your eyes to return, return.” 4The LXX often omits the family name in chaps. 40–41. “Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan” is “Gedaliah” in the LXX (40:9; 41:2). “Gedaliah son of Ahikam” is “Gedaliah” in the LXX (40:6–7,14,16; 41:1,6,18 but omitted altogether in LXX 41:16). “Ishmael son of Nethaniah” is “Ishmael” in the LXX (40:14–15; 41:2,6,9,11,15–16,18) and “he” (41:7, 10) and “him” (41:12). “Johanan son of Kareah” is “Johanan” in the LXX (40:15–16; 41:13–14,16). Other occurrences of these names in chaps. 40–41 are the same in the MT and LXX. 5The Hb. term here, “from serving” (NIV, “to serve”) is the qal infinitive construct joined to the preposition In the parallel verse in 2 Kgs 25:24, the form joined to the preposition is “servants of,” rather than the infinitive. The NIV renders it “Do not be afraid of the Babylonian officials.” Whether one text should be corrected to match the other is uncertain, but the difference in sense is minimal. 6“Don't you know?” (40:14) is lit. “to know [an infinitive absolute] do you know?” (Qal imperfect 2 m.s.), an emphatic construction in the Hebrew language. 7Siran Bottle has been excavated that bears the name of a King and has been dated 667–580. F. Cross identifies him with King Baalis of 40:13– 14 (see G. E. Wright, “Newsletter of ASOR,” 1974).

8B.

Duhm, Das Buch Jeremia, KHAT XI (Tübingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 1901), 319. 9The MT of 41:1 is difficult. It reads “and the chief officers of the king.” The phrase is missing in 2 Kgs 25:25 and the LXX. NIV reads “had been one of the king's officers,” which makes good sense. 10The LXX has “manna,” an unusual alternative to “grain offerings.” 11J. Bright, Jeremiah, AB (New York: Doubleday, 1965), 249. 12“Along with Gedaliah” (41:9) is lit. “by the hand of Gedaliah.” The LXX, however, says “was a large cistern” by reading for the MT 13J. Bright, Jeremiah: Introduction, Translation, and Notes, AB (Garden City: Doubleday, 1965), 225. 14J. A. Thompson, The Book of Jeremiah, NICOT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980), 664. 15See W. Holladay, Jeremiah 2, Her (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1989), 298. In these verses the people spoke to Jeremiah, “The Lord your God” in 42:2– 3,5. They said, “The Lord our God” in 42:6 (two times), 20; 43:2. In speaking to the people, Jeremiah said, “The Lord your God” in 42:4,13,20– 21. 16“We are sending you” contains the only occurrence of (“we”) in the OT, though it was commonly used in postbiblical times. The usual form of the pronoun is 17Nicholson (CBC, 144) says 42:7–22 “is composed in the characteristic prose style of the book … however, this does not mean that the historicity of the events described need be questioned.” 18“If you stay” (42:10) follows the LXX and Syr, . The MT reads “if to return, you return” and may reflect the omission of a yod by a scribe in 19Bright, Jeremiah, AB, 256. Other translations of ; in 42:10 include “repent” (KJV), “regret” (NJPS), “grieve” (REB), “I am sorry” (NJB, NRSV). The variety of translations of this word reveals the difficulty of finding one English word that expresses the word adequately. See comments and notes on 18:7–10.

20The

promise of God's presence is found frequently in the OT. See note

on 1:8. 21Rudolph (HAT, 256) and Bright (AB, 252) propose reading 43:1–3 between 42:18 and 42:19. Holladay (Her 2:274), Carroll (Jeremiah, OTL [Philadelphia: Westminster, 1986],720), and Thompson (NICOT, 667) see no reason for rearranging the text. Nicholson (CBC 2:147) says that although it is plausible to place 42:19–22 after 43:1–3, the “artistry and intention of a good author are not always best served by strict logic.” Those who rearrange the verses argue that the people already had made up their minds; therefore, Jeremiah's words in 42:19–22 were his reply to their arrogant words in 43:1–3. 22“Be sure of this” (42:19) is lit. “knowing [infinitive absolute] you will know” (imperfect), an emphatic construction stressing certainty (repeated in 42:22). 23“You have made a fatal mistake” (42:20) is lit. “you have led astray in your souls”; the verb should have an object: “led [someone] astray.” See Holladay (Jeremiah, Her 2:301) for a discussion of the textual problem. 24Qumran fragment 4QJerb on 43:3–9 reads “in the land of Egypt.” The MT is the preferred reading since they were still in Judah. 25 (“clay”), a hapax legomenon, is generally understood to be the mortar in the clay flooring of the “brick pavement” ( a word found elsewhere in the OT only in 2 Sam 12:31 and Nah 3:14). 26Bright, Jeremiah, AB, 263. 27The MT uses first person, but the LXX, Syr read, “He will spread his throne.” The throne would be placed on the very stones “I have buried there” (the MT again uses first person, but the LXX and Syr read “you have buried there”). The use of the first person (i.e., God) is not impossible since Jeremiah was completely identified with the Lord when he spoke for him. 28The MT says, “I will set fire”; “he will set fire” follows the LXX, Syr, and the Vg and is likely original. 29Nicholson, Jeremiah 26–52, 152. 30Feinberg, “Jeremiah,” EBC 6 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986), 642.

31

(44:17) is lit. “doing [infinitive absolute] we will do” (imperfect), an emphatic construction in Heb. 32 is lit. “doing [Qal infinitive absolute] we will do” (Qal imperfect 1 c.p.). 33 is lit. “to do [Qal infinitive absolute] you will do” [Qal imperfect 2 f.p.] your vows.” 34J. Skinner, Prophecy and Religion: Studies in the Life of Jeremiah (Cambridge: University Press, 1961), 346, and Hyatt, “Jeremiah,” IB 5:1101–2. 35Holladay, Jeremiah 2, 311. 36Widerstand und Ergebung (Munich: C. Kaiser, 1952), 248–49.

SECTION OUTLINE XII. MESSAGES CONCERNING FOREIGN NATIONS (46:1–51:64) 1. Introduction to the Messages (46:1) 2. Egypt (46:2–28) (1) The Defeat of Egypt's Army (46:2–12) (2) Egypt's Coming Conquest by Nebuchadnezzar (46:13–24) (3) A Word of Hope to Egypt (46:25–26) (4) Words of Assurance to Israel (46:27–28) 3. Philistia (47:1–7) 4. Moab (48:1–47) (1) The Destruction of Moab (48:1–10) (2) The Humbling of a Complacent Nation (48:11– 17) (3) Judgment on Moab's Cities (48:18–25) (4) The Futility of Moab's Insolence (48:26–30) (5) A Lament for Moab (48:31–39) (6) Moab's Punishment and Restoration (48:40–47) 5. Ammon (49:1–6) 6. Edom (49:7–22)

7. Damascus (49:23–27) 8. Kedar and Hazor (49:28–33) 9. Elam (49:34–39) 10. Babylon (50:1–51:64) (1) Announcement of Babylon's Doom (50:1–10) (2) Explanation for Their Punishment (50:11–17) (3) The Restoration of Israel (50:18–20) (4) God's Wrath against Babylon (50:21–32) (5) The Desolation of Babylon (50:33–40) (6) Babylon's Helplessness (50:41–46) (7) The Lord's Vengeance on Babylon (51:1–14) (8) A Hymn of Praise to the Lord (51:15–19) (9) God's Power against Enemies (51:20–26) (10) Nations Summoned against Babylon (51:27– 32) (11) A Call for Retribution (51:33–35) (12) Further Description of Babylon's Fall (51:36– 44) (13) An Appeal to Flee from Babylon (51:45–48) (14) Another Warning of Babylon's Coming Destruction (51:49–58) (15) Seraiah's Symbolic Act against Babylon (51:59–64)

XII. MESSAGES CONCERNING FOREIGN NATIONS (46:1–51:64) Chapters 46–51 contain a collection of messages against nine foreign nations (counting Kedar and Hazor as one message). Scholars do not agree on their authorship. Some say all were by Jeremiah (e.g., Feinberg). Others say he was the author of some of them (e.g., Bardtke, Cornill, Leslie, Rudolph, Bright, Hyatt, Holladay). Still others deny any to Jeremiah (e.g., Schwally, Duhm, Volz, Skinner). One argument used against Jeremianic authorship is that he would not call for Judah's submission to Babylon and also announce judgment on Babylon. There is no conflict in the two messages. Babylon was God's instrument of judgment on Judah but would also be held accountable for its sins. Since Jeremiah was called to be a prophet to the nations, he had messages for other nations. All of the prophets announced judgment against foreign nations with the exception of Hosea. The major oracles are found in Isa 13–23; Jer 46–51; Ezek 25–32; and Amos 1–2. The combined oracles in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel alone contain twenty-five chapters totaling 603 verses, more than many entire books of the NT. Except for Jonah, there is no explicit statement that a prophet actually traveled to another nation for the purpose of announcing judgment on it (the only exception might be Amos, but he traveled from the Southern Kingdom, Judah, to the Northern Kingdom, Israel). The prophet's primary burden was to speak to Israel or Judah. Why, then, did he also proclaim messages to other nations? One practical purpose was to get the attention of his Hebrew audiences. They would have been delighted to hear that God was going to punish their enemies. Once the prophet gained their attention, he could then announce God's judgment on them (e.g., Amos 1–2). Messages against other nations served as a reminder that God's judgment on the nations was not vindictive; neither did he show partiality to Israel. His justice required that he punish sin wherever he found it, whether in Israel or

in another nation. A study of history reveals that the chief cause of the downfall of nations has been internal decadence, not outside invasion. Since the prophets’ principal mission was to their own people, even messages against other nations indirectly spoke to Israel. The messages served as warning that God punishes evil wherever he finds it. If nations who did not know God were subject to his judgment, how much more could the covenant people expect to be held accountable. Another reason is rhetorical, i.e., persuasive speech. Jeremiah's words, though intended for the nations, also had a message for Judah. The message for Judah was clear: God is in control of history, not just Judah's history but the history of all the nations. In essence the Lord is larger than they ever imagined, and he is righteous. Although messages against foreign nations are prominent in the prophetic literature, they usually are given slight attention by Bible students. One reason for lack of interest in them is that they are about little known people and events. Another factor is that their vengeful spirit may make uncomfortable a reader who is conditioned to think of God only as a God of love and forgiveness. Also students often assume that these messages are not theologically significant since they do not deal with Israel. They contain, however, important theological teaching on the universal sovereignty of God; no nation can escape his judgment. They warn of the fate of all those who ignore his appeals. They imply that God's moral laws have universal validity. They also reveal how one nation can be used as an instrument of judgment on another. Their occasional message of hope for a foreign nation teaches that God cares for those nations that reject him and that he desires to bless them. These messages also reveal the effectiveness of God's word when it is proclaimed. The message would reach its intended destination whether or not delivered in person by the prophet (see Isa 55:11). The messages, classified by form as judgment speeches, follow a recognizable structure. First, the nation singled out for judgment is named. There are nine, unless Kedar and Hazor are considered separately; the longest message is against Babylon. Second, but not always, a specific sin (or sins) is named; most frequently it is the sin of pride. Third, punishment

is announced; in every message God sends an enemy who will defeat that nation in battle. Sometimes the nation used as the instrument of judgment is named. Most often it was Babylon, which in turn would be destroyed by its enemies. Fourth, there is an unexpected message of hope for four nations: Egypt (46:26), Moab (48:47), Ammon (49:6), and Elam (49:39). Evidence is not sufficient for scholars to determine the original setting for the oracles against other nations. Some believe they found their origin in wartime when prophets would be summoned to curse the enemy before the battle began. Others believe they originated in the cult, perhaps in an enthronement festival or covenant renewal ceremony. Some believe the nations symbolized the forces of chaos pitted against the Lord. They may have found their origin in the royal court, where foreign nations would have been the object of the king's political concerns. Such oracles were not unique to Israel. Comparative material from Mari shows their existence there.1 Whatever their origin, these messages reveal an emerging understanding in Israel that God was the God of all nations, not just of Israel.2

1. Introduction to the Messages (46:1) 1This

is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations: 46:1 This verse, lacking in the LXX, serves as a superscription for all the messages against foreign nations in chaps. 46–51. The unusual introductory formula there translated, “This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah” (lit. “which was the word of the LORD to Jeremiah”) is also found in 14:1; 47:1; 49:34.

2. Egypt (46:2–28) (1) The Defeat of Egypt's Army (46:2–12)

2Concerning

Egypt: This is the message against the army of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: 3“Prepare your shields, both large and small, and march out for battle! 4Harness the horses, mount the steeds! Take your positions with helmets on! Polish your spears, put on your armor! 5What do I see? They are terrified, they are retreating, their warriors are defeated. They flee in haste without looking back, and there is terror on every side,” declares the LORD. 6“The swift cannot flee nor the strong escape. In the north by the River Euphrates they stumble and fall. 7“Who is this that rises like the Nile, like rivers of surging waters? 8Egypt rises like the Nile, like rivers of surging waters. She says, ‘I will rise and cover the earth; I will destroy cities and their people. ’

9Charge,

O horses! Drive furiously, O charioteers! March on, O warriors— men of Cush and Put who carry shields, men of Lydia who draw the bow. 10But that day belongs to the Lord, the LORD Almighty— a day of vengeance, for vengeance on his foes. The sword will devour till it is satisfied, till it has quenched its thirst with blood. For the Lord, the LORD Almighty, will offer sacrifice in the land of the north by the River Euphrates. 11“Go up to Gilead and get balm, O Virgin Daughter of Egypt. But you multiply remedies in vain; there is no healing for you. 12The nations will hear of your shame; your cries will fill the earth. One warrior will stumble over another; both will fall down together.” Chapter 46 is composed of two poems (not including vv. 27–28), both of which announce Egypt's destruction by the Babylonians (vv. 2–12,13– 24). Most scholars do not question Jeremianic authorship of vv. 2–12, but some attribute vv. 13–24 to a later source.3 Verses 2–6 describe Egypt's defeat by the Babylonians in the Battle of Carchemish. Verses 7–12 describe the utter humiliation of the once proud Egypt. 46:2 Egypt had dominated Syria and Palestine for most of the second millennium B.C., but in the latter part of that period its power declined. After the nineteenth dynasty (ca. 1306–1200), it was never again the great power it once had been. However, its rulers still had pretensions of greatness and often engaged in political and military intrigue among the nations. Pharaoh Neco (610–594) was on his way to aid the beleaguered Assyrians in their final struggle with Babylon in 609 when he was

intercepted by King Josiah at Megiddo. The battle that followed resulted in Josiah's death and Egypt's control of the region. The Egyptians also occupied Carchemish, located about sixty-three miles northeast of Aleppo on the upper Euphrates. Its name means fort of Chemosh (the god of the Moabites). However, in one of the decisive battles of history, Babylon defeated Egypt at Carchemish in 605 B.C. and became the undisputed power in the ANE. Nebuchadnezzar pursued Neco to Egypt but was interrupted by news that his father, Nabopolassar, had died. He immediately returned to Babylon to secure his father's throne for himself. 46:3–6 By means of vigorous staccato-like language, Jeremiah captured the frenzied preparations for battle in these verses and also the disastrous defeat and flight of the Egyptian army. Before the battle the officers ordered their charioteers to prepare their shields for action. The large shield was usually rectangular or oval and protected the soldier's entire body. The small shield was usually circular and held in the left arm to ward off blows of arrows or spears (see 1 Kgs 10:16–17 for mention of both types of shields). The officers ordered their troops to put on their helmets, probably of leather and worn only in battle. With the command “polish your spears” and clad in armor, either leather or material to which metal scales were affixed, the Egyptians faced the enemy. Verse 5 omits a description of the battle that followed and only describes the rout of the Egyptian army.4 By ignoring the battle, a subtle but ironic contrast between the elaborate preparations of the Egyptians and their humiliating defeat and flight is emphasized. Their warriors were “defeated” (lit. “crushed” or “beaten to pieces,” a word also used of idols, Mic 1:7) and fled in haste.5 They experienced “terror on every side,” a favorite expression of Jeremiah (see 6:25, where it refers to the enemy from the north; 20:4, Jeremiah's nemesis, Pashhur; and 20:10, Jeremiah's enemies; cf. Ps 31:13). Here the phrase means there was no escape from the Babylonians. Even the swiftest could not escape but stumbled and fell in the confusion of flight. 46:7–8 The advancing Egyptian army is compared to the annual flooding of the Nile (cf. Isa 8:7–8, where the same metaphor is used for Assyria). Egypt boasted that it would conquer the earth in the same

irresistible way as the Nile floods the land. It also boasted that it would destroy cities and their people. 46:9–10 Mercenary troops formed the major part of Egypt's armies from the time of Psammetichus I (664–610). They included men of Cush, Put, and Lydia (cf. Ezek 30:5). Cush is equated with Ethiopia or the region along the Nile south of Egypt. The location of Put is uncertain.6 Some emend which would be Libya (supported by the spelling in Nah 3:9). Though their origin cannot be identified with certainty, the mercenaries would experience the Lord's vengeance. Verse 10 offers a theological explanation for Egypt's defeat—God was punishing Egypt, perhaps to avenge the death of King Josiah.7 The sword is compared to a wild animal that devours its victims until sated (cf. Deut 32:42; Jer 2:30). The slaughter of the Egyptians at Carchemish is described as a sacrifice the Lord would offer (cf. Isa 34:5–7; Zeph 1:7 for the same metaphor). 46:11–12 Egypt is addressed as “Virgin Daughter,” a term usually applied to Israel (18:13; 31:4; Amos 5:2; Isa 47:1, where it is Babylon). The unusual designation may suggest that Egypt's geographical position enabled it to enjoy safety and protection like a virgin living at home under her father's protection. Jeremiah taunted the Egyptians to obtain balm from Gilead for healing (see 8:22; 30:13). Gilead was noted for its medicinal value as early as the third millennium B.C. However, in the present crisis no remedy would bring healing to the Egyptians. Their wound was incurable. The metaphor communicated an uncompromising warning that its defeat was certain. Other nations would hear of their shame as Egypt's cries were heard throughout the earth.8 In a humorous scene, Egypt's warriors are depicted as stumbling and falling over each other in their effort to escape the enemy. (2) Egypt's Coming Conquest by Nebuchadnezzar (46:13–24) 13This

is the message the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet

about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to attack Egypt:

14“Announce

this in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol; proclaim it also in Memphis and Tahpanhes: ‘Take your positions and get ready, for the sword devours those around you. ’ 15Why will your warriors be laid low? They cannot stand, for the LORD will push them down. 16They will stumble repeatedly; they will fall over each other. They will say, ‘Get up, let us go back to our own people and our native lands, away from the sword of the oppressor. ’ 17There they will exclaim, ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is only a loud noise; he has missed his opportunity. ’ 18“As surely as I live,” declares the King, whose name is the LORD Almighty, “one will come who is like Tabor among the mountains, like Carmel by the sea. 19Pack your belongings for exile, you who live in Egypt, for Memphis will be laid waste and lie in ruins without inhabitant. 20“Egypt is a beautiful heifer, but a gadfly is coming against her from the north. 21The mercenaries in her ranks are like fattened calves. They too will turn and flee together, they will not stand their ground, for the day of disaster is coming upon them,

the time for them to be punished. 22Egypt will hiss like a fleeing serpent as the enemy advances in force; they will come against her with axes, like men who cut down trees. 23They will chop down her forest,” declares the LORD, “dense though it be. They are more numerous than locusts, they cannot be counted. 24The Daughter of Egypt will be put to shame, handed over to the people of the north.” Verse 13 serves as a superscription for a second poem about Egypt's fate in vv. 14–24. Though some deny the poem to Jeremiah, it reveals intimate knowledge of the land, which he would have had. Bright, Holladay, Thompson, and Rudolph consider it authentic Jeremiah and date it ca. 605/4 B.C. Holladay dates it 588,9 whereas Carroll10 dates it 568. He argues it could not have been written by Jeremiah because Babylon did not invade Egypt until 568–567, and Jeremiah probably was no longer living then. However, after defeating Egypt at Carchemish in 605, Nebuchadnezzar proceeded toward Egypt. His campaign was interrupted by news of his father's death in Babylon. He returned in 604 and took Ashkelon (47:7). There was an indecisive battle with Neco in 601. The poem describes Egypt's terror at Babylon's approach. 46:13–17 The enemy had reached Egypt's borders. The alarm to prepare for battle had been sounded in Migdol (see 44:1), Memphis (Heb. Noph; see 2:16), and Tahpanhes (see 2:16).11 When a nation was defeated in battle in ancient times, defeat was attributed to its deities. If its army was victorious, the gods were given credit rather than the skill of the generals or superior forces or battle techniques. Egypt would fall, not by the might of Nebuchadnezzar but because “the Lord will push them down.” The same verb is found in Ezek 34:21 to describe cattle shoving one another.

The warriors would stumble and fall over one another in their frantic flight from the Babylonians.12 The mercenaries would decide to return to “our native lands” (46:16; lit. “land of our birth”) to escape the oppressor's sword. Pharaoh's detractors would show their disdain for Pharaoh by calling him a “loud noise.”13 Pharaoh “missed his opportunity” (lit. “let the appointed time pass”).14 He did not prepare adequately to defend Egypt against the enemy; some think the statement means he did not seek God's mercy and help. 46:18–19 With a solemn oath, “As surely as I live” (see note on 4:2 for significance of this oath), the true king spoke, not the “loud noise” Hophra. He announced that one would come (i.e., Nebuchadnezzar) who would tower over Egypt, even as Mount Tabor and Mount Carmel tower over the landscape. Mount Tabor, modern Jebel et-Tôr, is an isolated limestone mountain that rises 1,843 feet above sea level six miles east of Nazareth at the east end of the Valley of Jezreel. Mount Carmel is a prominent limestone mountain range on the Mediterranean coast about thirty miles in length that reaches a height of 470 feet on the promontory with a maximum elevation of 1,742 feet near Esfia. Neither mountain is unusually tall but appears to be because of its distance from other mountains and its sharp rise from the surrounding plain. The Lord warned “you who live in Egypt” (lit. “inhabitants of the daughter of Egypt”; cf. 4:11; 8:11; 14:17) to pack for exile. Memphis would be laid waste and would “lie in ruins” (lit. “be burned”). 46:20–21 The prophet described Egypt in figurative language as a “beautiful heifer” (perhaps a subtle reference to Apis, the Egyptian bull god). However, a “gadfly” (a hapax legomenon from a word that means to nip)15 “from the north” (see note on 4:6 for explanation of this expression found frequently in Jeremiah) is coming against them. The gadfly is an insect that buzzes loudly and inflicts a painful but not fatal bite on cattle. The meaning of the metaphor is clear. Nebuchadnezzar's invasion of Egypt would be like the sting of the gadfly—painful but not mortal. In earlier times of glory Egypt was noted for its disdain for foreigners. Now it was using mercenaries in its ranks. However, the Egyptians were like fatted, pampered calves and would fail in the day of conflict with

Nebuchadnezzar because they were not disciplined for the rigors of warfare. They would flee before the invading enemy. 46:22–24 As the enemy advanced, Egypt would respond with the impotent hiss of a fleeing serpent,16 whose appearance can be frightening but who glides harmlessly away in the face of danger. The enemy would come against Egypt like woodsmen with axes cutting down all the trees as they advance in pursuit of the serpent through the forest, however “dense though it be” (lit. “though it cannot be explored”). The Babylonian invaders would be as numerous as locusts (see Joel 1:4, where the enemy is also compared to a locust plague). Egypt would be “put to shame” (a figure to describe a young woman being violated) and handed over to the enemy from the north, Babylon. Egypt's fate verifies the truth of Prov 16:18 that “pride goes before destruction.” (3) A Word of Hope to Egypt (46:25–26) 25The

LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “I am about to bring punishment on Amon god of Thebes, on Pharaoh, on Egypt and her gods and her kings, and on those who rely on Pharaoh. 26I will hand them over to those who seek their lives, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. Later, however, Egypt will be inhabited as in times past,” declares the LORD. 46:25–26 The messages of judgment on Egypt are followed by an unexpected word of hope for the proud but impotent nation. God was going to punish Amon, the chief “god of Thebes” (“Amon of No,” MT), who was worshiped in the temple of Karnak. Amon eventually was merged with Re to become Amon-Re, the supreme deity over all Egypt. Verse 26 holds out a word of hope for Egypt. After being handed over to Nebuchadnezzar, Egypt would later be inhabited as in times past. Babylon's conquest of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar in 568 was temporary. Destruction by his armies was minimal, and he soon withdrew without imposing political and military suzerainty (see Isa 19:25; Ezek 29:13–16 for similar messages of hope for Egypt).

(4) Words of Assurance to Israel (46:27–28) 27“Do

not fear, O Jacob my servant; do not be dismayed, O Israel. I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their exile. Jacob will again have peace and security, and no one will make him afraid. 28Do not fear, O Jacob my servant, for I am with you,” declares the LORD. “Though I completely destroy all the nations among which I scatter you, I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you but only with justice; I will not let you go entirely unpunished.” 46:27–28 These verses are found in 30:10–11 with minor variations.17 They appear to be more appropriate in that context than here as an appendage to messages directed against Egypt. Perhaps the verses were repeated here as an intentional contrast between Egypt's fate and the promise of hope for Israel's future. If Egypt's humiliation was not permanent (46:26), then Israel could take comfort that its humiliation also would be temporary.

3. Philistia (47:1–7) 1This

is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines before Pharaoh attacked Gaza: 2This is what the LORD says: “See how the waters are rising in the north; they will become an overflowing torrent.

They will overflow the land and everything in it, the towns and those who live in them. The people will cry out; all who dwell in the land will wail 3at the sound of the hoofs of galloping steeds, at the noise of enemy chariots and the rumble of their wheels. Fathers will not turn to help their children; their hands will hang limp. 4For the day has come to destroy all the Philistines and to cut off all survivors who could help Tyre and Sidon. The LORD is about to destroy the Philistines, the remnant from the coasts of Caphtor. 5Gaza will shave her head in mourning; Ashkelon will be silenced. O remnant on the plain, how long will you cut yourselves? 6“‘Ah, sword of the LORD,’ [you cry,] ‘how long till you rest? Return to your scabbard; cease and be still. ’ 7But how can it rest when the LORD has commanded it, when he has ordered it to attack Ashkelon and the coast?” The Philistines were a non-Semitic people, who probably migrated from the Aegean Islands for reasons that have not been determined (Amos 9:7), some of them, known also as the Sea Peoples, attempted to settle on the Egyptian coast; but Ramses III (ca. 1188 B.C.) repulsed them, and they

settled on the eastern Mediterranean coast, mostly in southwestern Canaan. They became the principal threat to Israel until subdued by David (2 Sam 8:1). Little is known of their language or religion, though they were wor shipers of Dagon, a grain deity (see Judg 16:23; 1 Sam 5:2–7; 1 Chr 10:10). “Palestine” received its name from them. By Jeremiah's time they were only a small colony on the coast and no longer a threat to their neighbors.18 Once the scourge of Israel, David's lament for Saul and Jonathan would have been applicable for the Philistines in Jeremiah's time: “How the mighty have fallen!” (2 Sam 1:19). 47:1 The message against the Philistines begins with the same unusual formula found in 46:1. The verse gives a clue to the date of the message, but unfortunately the reference to Pharaoh's attack on Gaza is obscure. The pharaoh is not named; he could have been Psammetichus I, who attacked Gaza near the end of his reign before his death in 610 B.C. If he was Neco, the attack on Gaza may have occurred in 609 before or after the battle of Megiddo. Herodotus, the Greek historian, recorded that after Neco defeated Josiah at Megiddo, he conquered the city of Kadytis, generally believed to be Gaza. The attack could have been in 605 when he was retreating following his defeat at Carchemish. It could have been in 601 after Neco defeated Nebuchadnezzar. However, all the suggestions are only speculation without historical support. 47:2–3 The same metaphor of flood waters that described Egypt in 46:8 is now applied to the Babylonian army (see also Isa 8:7–8). After Nebuchadnezzar's victory at Carchemish in 605, he continued down the coastal plain as far as the Philistines’ territory. He returned to Babylon briefly in 605 after the death of his father but resumed his campaign in 604. The Babylonian Chronicles record his capture of Ashkelon in 604. Like an overflowing torrent, he would overrun the land of Egypt and its people. The noise of galloping hoofs and the rumble of chariot wheels would so terrorize the Egyptians (cf. 8:16; Isa 5:28; Nah 2:4) that parents would forget all natural affection and abandon their own children in an attempt to save themselves. The weapons and noises of warfare may change, but the terror and ruin they bring do not. 47:4–5 Not only would the Philistines be destroyed, but all who attempted to help Tyre and Sidon. Mention of Tyre and Sidon may suggest

that an alliance existed between those cities and the Philistines, though there is no historical evidence that such an alliance existed after 605 B.C. Caphtor is usually identified with Crete, which is generally considered to be the place of origin of the Philistines (cf. Deut 2:23; Amos 9:7). The Philistine Pentapolis was composed of five city-states: Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, Ekron, and Ashdod. Two of them are singled out for punishment in 47:5. Gaza, about two and one-half miles inland from the sea, “will shave her head [lit. “baldness has come on Gaza”]. This may refer to complete destruction of the city or to a mourning practice common in the ANE (cf. 16:6; 41:5; 48:37). Ashkelon, ten miles north of Gaza, would “be silenced.” The Heb. word can mean to be silent or to destroy. The Lord asked the “remnant on the plain”19 to consider how long they were going to cut themselves (another mourning practice; see 41:5). 47:6–7 The sword of the Lord (cf. 12:12), a symbol of judgment, is addressed in 47:6. Some say there is a hint of delight over the anticipated destruction, but the words do not appear to convey malicious glee or hatred. However, the sword would not “rest” until its work of judgment had been completed since it was the Lord who commanded it to attack Ashkelon and the coast. The prediction that Ashkelon would be silenced was fulfilled in 604 B.C. when Nebuchadnezzar besieged and took the city as punishment for resisting his authority, and he deported the inhabitants to Babylon.

4. Moab (48:1–47) Moab was located on a high plateau east of the Dead Sea. Its borders fluctuated, but Moab principally was between the Arnon and Zered Rivers. Genesis 19:37 traces Moab's ancestry to Lot. The tribe of Reuben was assigned its portion in Moab (Num 32; Josh 13:15–23). Relations between Israel and Moab at times were peaceful; for example, Naomi's family lived there during a time of famine in Judah (Ruth 1:1). At other times there was hostility between them. David subjugated the Moabites (2 Sam 8:2,12), and Solomon continued his control over them. After Ahab's death Moab rebelled against Israel and regained its independence under Mesha ca. 850 B.C. (2 Kgs 1:1; 3:4–27). His successful revolt was recorded on the

Moabite stone (also called the Mesha Stele). After Mesha the influence of Moab declined. Moab became a vassal of Assyria; there is a record of Moab paying tribute to Tiglath-Pileser III in 734. It came under Babylonian control in 605 but did not participate in Judah's rebellion under Jehoiakim ca. 600–598 B.C. (2 Kgs 24:2); instead, it aided Babylon. It apparently was involved in a plot to rebel against Babylon in 594 that did not materialize (Jer 27:3). It was not involved in Judah's revolt that led to Jerusalem's destruction in 587. Josephus indicated that both Moab and Ammon lost their independence to Nebuchadnezzar in 582. Soon after there was an Arab invasion from the east, and Moab ceased to exist as a nation.20 An unusual feature of Jeremiah's oracles against Moab, which were mostly poetic in form, is their length. Except for Babylon, Moab received more attention from Jeremiah than any other nation, including Egypt. Considering its minor political role and influence, no satisfactory explanation has been proposed for the disproportionate attention given to Moab. Due to other prophets who pronounced judgment on Moab (Isa 15– 16; Ezek 25:8–11; Amos 2:1–3; Zeph 2:8–11; as well as Jer 9:26; 25:21), Moab likely was a more bitter enemy than is normally thought. Another unusual feature of the Moabite oracles is the great number of place names, altogether twenty-five, many of which have not yet been identified. Similarities with portions of Isa 15–16 have frequently been observed.21 (1) The Destruction of Moab (48:1–10) 1Concerning

Moab: This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Woe to Nebo, for it will be ruined. Kiriathaim will be disgraced and captured; the stronghold will be disgraced and shattered. 2Moab will be praised no more; in Heshbon men will plot her downfall: ‘Come, let us put an end to that nation. ’

You too, O Madmen, will be silenced; the sword will pursue you. 3Listen to the cries from Horonaim, cries of great havoc and destruction. 4Moab will be broken; her little ones will cry out. 5They go up the way to Luhith, weeping bitterly as they go; on the road down to Horonaim anguished cries over the destruction are heard. 6Flee! Run for your lives; become like a bush in the desert. 7Since you trust in your deeds and riches, you too will be taken captive, and Chemosh will go into exile, together with his priests and officials. 8The destroyer will come against every town, and not a town will escape. The valley will be ruined and the plateau destroyed, because the LORD has spoken. 9Put salt on Moab, for she will be laid waste; her towns will become desolate, with no one to live in them. 10“A curse on him who is lax in doing the LORD's work! A curse on him who keeps his sword from bloodshed! 48:1–3 Woe was pronounced on Nebo, not the mountain of Deut 32:49; 34:1 but a Moabite city east of the Dead Sea, a city given to the tribe of Reuben (Num 32:38) and mentioned on the Moabite Stone, a major archaeological discovery found in 1868. Nebo may be Khirbet el-

Mekhaiyet, five miles southwest of Heshbon. Kiriathaim, also a city of Reuben (Josh 13:19), five miles northwest of Dibon, probably modern elQereiyat, would be disgraced and captured. The same fate would overtake the “stronghold” (“Misgah,” if the proper name of a city; otherwise unknown; NEB, REB). There is a play on words in “Heshbon” and “plot” and Madmen with “be silenced” .22 Heshbon, a well-known city in Moab mentioned thirty-eight times in the Bible, modern Hesban, was assigned to Reuben (Num 32:37; Josh 13:17) and was a Levitical city (Josh 21:39) ten miles east of the Jordan River opposite Jericho. It was King Sihon's capital (Num 21:25–30; Deut 2:24). “Madmen” is otherwise unknown, but some read the name as Dimon (as in Isa 15:9, an alternate spelling of Dibon), identified with Khirbet Dimneh, eight miles from the Dead Sea east of Masada. These cities would share in Moab's downfall along with Horonaim, mentioned on the Moabite Stone as Hauronen but whose location is uncertain. 48:4–5 One of the tragedies of warfare is the suffering of innocent children. The “little ones” in Moab would cry out23 as they went “weeping bitterly” (lit. “with weeping, weeping will go up”). They would be led up to Luhith (at a higher elevation, but its location is unknown) on the road down to Horonaim. 48:6–9 The people were encouraged to flee for their lives and become like a “bush in the desert,” a figure whose meaning is uncertain. It may mean they would seek to be inconspicuous and unnoticed.24 Moab's sin is revealed in 48:7 as its pride in its “deeds and riches.” Even its chief god Chemosh would prove to be helpless when his image is carried away as a trophy of war, along with his priests and officials, a common practice of victorious armies in ancient times (Isa 46:1–2). The Moabite Stone calls him Ashtar-Chemosh. Since Ashtar was the god of the planet Venus, it probably means Chemosh was considered to be an astral deity. In his apostate years, King Solomon built a shrine for him (1 Kgs 11:7). The message should have been unmistakable—a god that could not save himself was in no position to help others (cf. Isa 41:23–24; 44:20; 46:7). Judgment on Moab would be so thorough that not a single town would escape the “destroyer” (i.e., the enemy; 48:8). The “valley” (i.e., the Jordan

Valley that bounded part of Moab on the west; cf. Josh 13:27) and the “plateau” (i.e., the high tableland from the Arnon north to Heshbon where most Moabite cities were located; cf. Josh 13:15–17) would be destroyed. The command to “put salt on Moab” refers to a practice of scattering salt on the ruins of a defeated city as a curse that nothing would ever live or grow in that place again (cf. Judg 9:45).25 48:10 This verse is considered by many to be an editorial insertion pronouncing a curse on anyone who would be lax in doing the Lord's work, specifically those who would hesitate to shed enemy blood. The object of the curse is not indicated, but it may have been directed to Babylon as a warning not to draw back from destroying Moab. (2) The Humbling of a Complacent Nation (48:11–17) 11“Moab

has been at rest from youth, like wine left on its dregs, not poured from one jar to another— she has not gone into exile. So she tastes as she did, and her aroma is unchanged. 12But days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will send men who pour from jars, and they will pour her out; they will empty her jars and smash her jugs. 13Then Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed when they trusted in Bethel. 14“How can you say, ‘We are warriors, men valiant in battle’? 15Moab will be destroyed and her towns invaded;

her finest young men will go down in the slaughter,” declares the King, whose name is the LORD Almighty. 16“The fall of Moab is at hand; her calamity will come quickly. 17Mourn for her, all who live around her, all who know her fame; say, ‘How broken is the mighty scepter, how broken the glorious staff! ’ 48:11–13 Moab had escaped invasion and destruction all too long, but its complacency and false confidence were about to be destroyed. Its tranquility is compared to “wine left on its dregs, not poured from one jar to another” (cf. Zeph 1:12). The flavor of wine improves by aging and resting on its sediment. If poured from one vessel to another, it loses its fragrance and taste. Verse 12 continues the metaphor of v. 11 with a warning that Moab's serenity was about to be disrupted. The Lord was going to “send men who pour from jars” (lit. “send tilters who will tilt him”). As men would pour out the wine and then smash the jars, so Moab was going to be destroyed. This metaphor must be interpreted with care. Wine that is undisturbed improves in quality, but Moab was not being praised for its relative peacefulness. Wine that is left too long undisturbed becomes syrupy and unfit to drink. Ease and affluence of a nation may lead to weakness and internal decay; that was Moab's condition. If we are to become everything the Lord wants us to be, there must be a certain divine discontent and striving to realize one's fullest potential. A willingness to be “shaken” in order to grow and mature does not contradict the advice of Phil 4:11 and Heb 13:5, correctly understood and linked to Phil 3:14. Moab's most painful “shaking” would come with the realization that Chemosh had failed it completely. The people would lose their confidence in him when they realized how powerless he was to help them. Their shame in Chemosh is compared to the people of Israel's shame when their trust in Bethel failed. The mention of Bethel may recall one of the idolatrous shrines erected by Jeroboam (1 Kgs 12:26–33). The golden calves did not

save Israel from the Assyrians. Many scholars, however, point out that Bethel was also the name of a god worshiped in Syria and elsewhere in the ANE. He is mentioned in the Elephantine Papyri as a god worshiped in the fifth century B.C. in the Jewish colony located there. The warning is the same: whether Bethel is understood as a place of bull worship or as a god, Bethel would fail them. 48:14–17 The time would come when Moab would no longer boast of the valiant exploits of its warriors in battle. Its towns would be invaded, and its choice young men would fall in battle.26 The one responsible for Moab's doom was “the King, whose name is the Lord Almighty.” The statement is a declaration that the Lord is King of kings, whether nations or individuals acknowledge him as such (Phil 2:10–11). Judgment can come on the scoffer at any time, even as Moab's calamity would “come quickly” (cf. 48:16 with Deut 32:35 for similar language). Neighboring nations were called to mourn for it. They would acknowledge that its scepter and staff were broken, symbolizing the end of its power and glory (cf. Gen 49:10; Ps 110:2; Ezek 19:11). (3) Judgment on Moab's Cities (48:18–25) 18“Come

down from your glory and sit on the parched ground, O inhabitants of the Daughter of Dibon, for he who destroys Moab will come up against you and ruin your fortified cities. 19Stand by the road and watch, you who live in Aroer. Ask the man fleeing and the woman escaping, ask them, ‘What has happened? ’ 20Moab is disgraced, for she is shattered. Wail and cry out! Announce by the Arnon

that Moab is destroyed. 21Judgment has come to the plateau— to Holon, Jahzah and Mephaath, 22to Dibon, Nebo and Beth Diblathaim, 23to Kiriathaim, Beth Gamul and Beth Meon, 24to Kerioth and Bozrah— to all the towns of Moab, far and near. 25Moab's horn is cut off; her arm is broken,” declares the LORD. 48:18–25 These verses contain the names of ten Moabite cities. They are a judgment message on these cities and all the towns in Moab. They include Dibon, eleven miles east of the Dead Sea and three miles north of the Arnon River (modern Diban). It is mentioned on the Moabite Stone, which was found in Dibon in 1868. The people of Dibon were told to “sit on the parched ground,”27 a description of their helplessness as they awaited the orders of their captors leading them away into exile. Verse 19 contains a taunt against those living in Aroer. It is uncertain whether this is the Aroer of Num 32:34 because there were several cities of this name; it probably was Aroer north of the Arnon River near Dibon (Josh 13:16). The fleeing refugees would be asked what happened. Verses 20–24 give the reason for their flight. The cities of Moab had been shattered and destroyed. They included Holon (not mentioned elsewhere; its location is unknown) and Jahzah (an alternate form of Jahaz; see Num 21:23; Jer 48:34), where Moses defeated Sihon (Num 21:23–24). Jahzah was later a Levitical city (Josh 21:36), but its location is unknown. Mephaath was another Levitical city (Josh 21:37); its location is also uncertain. Dibon (see 48:18), Nebo (see 48:1), and Beth Diblathaim (not mentioned elsewhere in the OT; it is listed on the Moabite Stone; it means house of two figs) are also named for destruction. Other cities named are Kiriathaim (see 48:1), Beth Gamul (not mentioned elsewhere; its location is unknown), and Beth Meon (the same as Beth Baal Meon of Josh 13:17 and Baal Meon of Num 32:38; also mentioned on the Moabite Stone). Beth Meon probably was a place of Baal worship located about four miles southwest of Nedeba.

Destruction would extend to Kerioth (lit. “cities”). It is mentioned on the Moabite Stone, but its location is unknown (cf. Amos 2:2). Other cities marked for destruction include Bozrah (not the Bozrah of 49:13 or Isa 63:1 in Edom). Bozrah probably was Bezer, a Levitical city of refuge fifteen miles east of where the Jordan enters the Dead Sea (cf. Deut 4:43; Josh 20:8). The mention of a number of Moabite towns reveals the extensiveness of the destruction that was going to overtake the nation. Moab's horn would be cut off and its arm broken. The “horn” and “arm” are both symbols of strength and authority in the OT (cf. Exod 6:6; Pss 18:2; 75:4–5; 92:10; Ezek 17:9). (4) The Futility of Moab's Insolence (48:26–30) 26“Make

her drunk, for she has defied the LORD. Let Moab wallow in her vomit; let her be an object of ridicule. 27Was not Israel the object of your ridicule? Was she caught among thieves, that you shake your head in scorn whenever you speak of her? 28Abandon your towns and dwell among the rocks, you who live in Moab. Be like a dove that makes its nest at the mouth of a cave. 29“We have heard of Moab's pride— her overweening pride and conceit, her pride and arrogance and the haughtiness of her heart. 30I know her insolence but it is futile,” declares the LORD,

“and her boasts accomplish nothing. 48:26–28 Verse 26 describes Moab's fate with a figure that is intentionally repulsive. “Make her drunk” is the same metaphor found in 25:15–16, 27–29 for the cup of God's wrath that the nations would be forced to drink (cf. Isa 49:26; 51:21–23). It describes the confusion and helplessness of Moab before the invader (cf. Lam 4:21 concerning Edom). “Let Moab wallow in her vomit” is a disgusting picture of its total degradation.28 The point of the abhorrent metaphor is that Moab would now become an object of ridicule just as Israel had been ridiculed by Moab (Zeph 2:8–10). Israel had not been caught in any criminal act that would deserve Moab's scorn. Moab was advised to abandon its towns to escape the enemy and to hide in places concealed from the enemy and inaccessible to him (cf. 4:29). 48:29–30 Verses 29–38 should be carefully compared with Isa 15:2–7 and 16:1–11 to note the many similarities. It cannot be determined whether Jeremiah was quoting Isaiah or whether both were drawing from a common source. Pride was the chief sin of Moab; it is mentioned by means of six synonyms in 48:29 (a variant of Isa 16:6). Moab's insolence would be silenced, however, and its boasting was idle talk that would accomplish nothing. (5) A Lament for Moab (48:31–39) 31Therefore

I wail over Moab, for all Moab I cry out, I moan for the men of Kir Hareseth. 32I weep for you, as Jazer weeps, O vines of Sibmah. Your branches spread as far as the sea; they reached as far as the sea of Jazer. The destroyer has fallen on your ripened fruit and grapes. 33Joy and gladness are gone

from the orchards and fields of Moab. I have stopped the flow of wine from the presses; no one treads them with shouts of joy. Although there are shouts, they are not shouts of joy. 34“The sound of their cry rises from Heshbon to Elealeh and Jahaz, from Zoar as far as Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah, for even the waters of Nimrim are dried up. 35In Moab I will put an end to those who make offerings on the high places and burn incense to their gods,” declares the LORD. 36“So my heart laments for Moab like a flute; it laments like a flute for the men of Kir Hareseth. The wealth they acquired is gone. 37Every head is shaved and every beard cut off; every hand is slashed and every waist is covered with sackcloth. 38On all the roofs in Moab and in the public squares there is nothing but mourning, for I have broken Moab like a jar that no one wants,” declares the LORD. 39“How shattered she is! How they wail! How Moab turns her back in shame! Moab has become an object of ridicule, an object of horror to all those around her.”

48:31–33 The prophets did not enjoy denouncing the people but were under divine compulsion to do so. Verses 31–39 are usually interpreted as Jeremiah's personal lament that reveals his great compassion even for people who did not know the Lord. The personal “I” is prominent in the lament. However, the “I” of vv. 33,35,38 could only be God speaking. If the entire lament is understood as God revealing his sorrow for the sins of the Moabites, the impact of the message is greater than if Jeremiah were speaking for himself (cf. a similar interpretation proposed for 8:18–9:6). Verse 31 is a variant of Isa 16:7 and is a lament for Kir Hareseth (“wall of potsherds”; the chief fortified city of Moab and its ancient capital, sixteen miles south of the Arnon River). Verse 32 finds its parallel in Isa 16:8–9. Jazer was a Levitical city (Josh 21:39) whose location is uncertain but perhaps was near Heshbon (Num 21:32). Sibmah probably was near Heshbon and was noted for the outstanding quality of its grapes. Its influence was felt as far away as “the sea” (i.e., the Dead Sea). But its famous vineyards were going to be destroyed. Verse 33 (cf. with Isa 16:10) describes the desolation and silence where once the joyful shouts of wine treaders had been heard (cf. 25:30). Those shouts would be replaced by the shouts of the invaders as they trampled down the vineyards (cf. 51:14). 48:34–35 Verses 34–36 should be compared with Isa 15:2–6; 16:11–12 for similarities. The cry of anguish would be heard from one end of Moab to the other (“from Heshbon… as far as Horonaim”). Elealeh was two miles north of Heshbon. The location of Eglath Selishiyah is unknown.29 The location of Nimrim is also unknown. The Lord was going to put an end to the idolatrous worship practices of all those cities. 48:36–38 Jeremiah's lament (or God's?) would be like a flute, an instrument played at funerals (cf. 48:36 with Isa 16:11). Verse 37 furthers the theme of mourning with the description of customary mourning practices in the ANE (see 4:8; 16:6; 41:5; cf. Isa 15:2–3). Mourning would be openly expressed on rooftops (places where cultic rituals were practiced; see 19:13) and in the public squares. Moab was beyond hope, unwanted and useless like a jar that has been broken and tossed away (cf. 22:28, where the same figure describes Jehoiachin).

48:39 The lament closes with a description of a shattered nation, shamed and an object of ridicule and horror to the nations roundabout (cf. 20:7; 48:26–27). Its downfall was caused by its insufferable pride, its complacency, and confidence in its idols. These were the same sins that brought Israel's downfall and are sins still displeasing to God. (6) Moab's Punishment and Restoration (48:40–47) 40This

is what the LORD says: “Look! An eagle is swooping down, spreading its wings over Moab. 41Kerioth will be captured and the strongholds taken. In that day the hearts of Moab's warriors will be like the heart of a woman in labor. 42Moab will be destroyed as a nation because she defied the LORD. 43Terror and pit and snare await you, O people of Moab,” declares the LORD. 44“Whoever flees from the terror will fall into a pit, whoever climbs out of the pit will be caught in a snare; for I will bring upon Moab the year of her punishment,” declares the LORD. 45“In the shadow of Heshbon the fugitives stand helpless, for a fire has gone out from Heshbon, a blaze from the midst of Sihon;

it burns the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of the noisy boasters. 46Woe to you, O Moab! The people of Chemosh are destroyed; your sons are taken into exile and your daughters into captivity. 47“Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab in days to come,” declares the LORD. Here ends the judgment on Moab. 48:40–42 The enemy is described as an eagle (the word could be translated “vulture”) swooping down over Moab. A favorite symbol of a conqueror, the eagle represents Babylon (see Deut 28:49; Ezek 17:3; cf. Ezek 17:7–8, where it is Egypt). Josephus confirms that Babylon invaded Moab, Ammon, and Judah in 582. Verse 42 gives the reason for Moab's punishment—it defied (lit. “made himself great against”) the Lord. Moab's warriors would become as fearful as a woman in labor at the sight of the enemy. As a result of later invasions by Arabs and Nabateans, the Moabites disappeared as a people, thus fulfilling Jeremiah's prophecy. 48:43–44 Verses 43–46 contain elements found in Isa 24:17–18 and Num 21:28–29; 24:17b. The assonance of Jeremiah's words in 48:43 is lost in translation: “terror” , “pit” , “snare” . There would be no escape. If they escaped the terror, they would fall in a pit. If they climbed out of the pit, they would be caught in a snare (see Amos 5:19 for a similar argument with different imagery). 48:45–46 Verses 45–46 should be compared with Num 21:28–29; 24:17b for similarities.30 Balaam's oracle against Moab was about to be realized. Wherever the people would flee, the fire (i.e., the enemy) would reach out and burn their “foreheads” (lit. “the corner,” i.e., the hair on the side of the head). Chemosh would not be able to save them from destruction and captivity. 48:47 The oracle against Moab ends surprisingly on a word of hope for future restoration “in days to come,” a phrase interpreted by some without

eschatological meaning31 and by others as definitely eschatological.32 No justification for God's mercy on Moab is offered. The verse may have been intended to give encouragement to Israel. If God could restore pagan Moab, he could restore Israel, his chosen people. The length of the message of judgment on Moab may have been intended to underscore the seriousness of the sins of pride, complacency, and idol worship and to teach the sovereignty of God over all nations and their accountability to him.

5. Ammon (49:1–6) 33 1Concerning

the Ammonites: This is what the LORD says: “Has Israel no sons? Has she no heirs? Why then has Molech taken possession of Gad? Why do his people live in its towns? 2But the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will sound the battle cry against Rabbah of the Ammonites; it will become a mound of ruins, and its surrounding villages will be set on fire. Then Israel will drive out those who drove her out,” says the LORD. 3“Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is destroyed! Cry out, O inhabitants of Rabbah! Put on sackcloth and mourn; rush here and there inside the walls,

for Molech will go into exile, together with his priests and officials. 4Why do you boast of your valleys, boast of your valleys so fruitful? O unfaithful daughter, you trust in your riches and say, ‘Who will attack me? ’ 5I will bring terror on you from all those around you,” declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty. “Every one of you will be driven away, and no one will gather the fugitives. 6“Yet afterward, I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites,” declares the LORD. Chapter 49 contains several shorter oracles against foreign nations, mostly poetic in format. They appear in a different order in the LXX. The origin of the Ammonites is traced to Lot (Gen 19:38). They settled between the Arnon and Jabbok Rivers with Moab on their southern border. They were engaged in warfare with Israel from time to time since the days of the Judges. Nahash invaded Israel early in Saul's reign (1 Sam 11:1–11). David defeated the Ammonites after they insulted his envoys (2 Sam 10). When Tiglath-pileser III carried away many people living east of the Jordan, many of the Gadites were taken (cf. Num 32:29,31; 2 Kgs 15:29). Ammon took advantage of the situation and occupied the Gadite territory. They assumed the Gadites would never return to reclaim their land. Ammon was a prosperous vassal of Assyria in the seventh century B.C., but with Assyria's collapse Ammon probably submitted to Babylon in 605. It joined Nebuchadnezzar's forces to put down Judah's revolt of 600–597 B.C. (2 Kgs 24:2) but joined the abortive plot to rebel against Babylon in 594 (27:3). It was disloyal to Babylon during Judah's revolt of 588–587 (Ezek 21:18–32). The Ammonite ruler Baalis instigated the assassination of Gedaliah after Jerusalem's fall in 587 (40:13–41:15). Along with Moab and

Judah, it was the object of Nebuchadnezzar's vengeance in 582. Later Ammon was invaded by Arabs. By the middle of the sixth century B.C., Ammon no longer existed as a nation.34 49:1–3 Jeremiah rebuked Ammon for occupying Gad after its inhabitants were exiled. Though Ammonite forces actually took Gad, credit was given to Molech, the Ammonite god (cf. 1 Kgs 11:5,7,33).35 For its crime, God warned that an unnamed enemy would come against Rabbah and make it a mound of ruins and destroy its “surrounding villages” (lit. “her daughters”). Rabbah, located on the Jabbok, fourteen miles northeast of Heshbon, was the chief city in Ammon. It is the present Amman, capital of Jordan. Heshbon and Ai would also be destroyed. Heshbon was a Moabite city, apparently controlled by Ammon at that time (cf. Judg 11:26; Jer 48:2). Ai (the word means ruin) is only mentioned here in the OT as an Ammonite city. It could not have been Ai near Bethel (Josh 7:2; 8:1–29) but is otherwise unknown. The “inhabitants of Rabbah” (lit. “daughters of Rabbah,” which could be understood as “women” or as “daughter villages”) were called to mourning. The call to “rush here and there inside the walls” is based on an uncertain meaning of the Hebrew.36 It could be a picture of the confusion inside the besieged city. The people would mourn over the destruction of Rabbah and the capture of their god Molech (“Malcam,” MT) along with his priests and officials (cf. Amos 1:15; Jer 48:7). 49:4–5 The Ammonites boasted of their “valleys so fruitful” that they felt gave them protection from enemies (cf. 21:13).37 Like complacent Moab (48:11) and Edom (49:16), Ammon felt secure from invasion because the people lived in an inaccessible region and because of their great wealth. But the Lord was going to bring terror on them (cf. 48:43) from those around them (cf. 6:25; 20:3). “Every one” (lit. “each man to his face”) would be driven away with no one to rally or help “the fugitives.” 49:6 Like Egypt (46:26) and Moab (48:47), the judgment message against Ammon ends with a hopeful word. It is not clear how their fortunes were to be restored. Later, under Persian rule Tobiah was a local governor of Ammon (Neh 2:10,19; 4:7).

6. Edom (49:7–22) 38 7Concerning

Edom: This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom decayed? 8Turn and flee, hide in deep caves, you who live in Dedan, for I will bring disaster on Esau at the time I punish him. 9If grape pickers came to you, would they not leave a few grapes? If thieves came during the night, would they not steal only as much as they wanted? 10But I will strip Esau bare; I will uncover his hiding places, so that he cannot conceal himself. His children, relatives and neighbors will perish, and he will be no more. 11Leave your orphans; I will protect their lives. Your widows too can trust in me.” 12This is what the LORD says: “If those who do not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, why should you go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, but must drink it. 13I swear by myself,” declares the LORD, “that Bozrah will become a ruin and an object of horror, of reproach and of cursing; and all its towns will be in ruins forever.” 14I have heard a message from the LORD: An envoy was sent to the nations to say, “Assemble yourselves to attack it! Rise up for battle!”

15“Now

I will make you small among the nations, despised among men. 16The terror you inspire and the pride of your heart have deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks, who occupy the heights of the hill. Though you build your nest as high as the eagle's, from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD. 17“Edom will become an object of horror; all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff because of all its wounds. 18As Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown, along with their neighboring towns,” says the LORD, “so no one will live there; no man will dwell in it. 19“Like a lion coming up from Jordan's thickets to a rich pastureland, I will chase Edom from its land in an instant. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? Who is like me and who can challenge me? And what shepherd can stand against me?” 20Therefore, hear what the LORD has planned against Edom, what he has purposed against those who live in Teman: The young of the flock will be dragged away; he will completely destroy their pasture because of them. 21At the sound of their fall the earth will tremble; their cry will resound to the Red Sea.

22Look!

An eagle will soar and swoop down, spreading its wings over Bozrah. In that day the hearts of Edom's warriors will be like the heart of a woman in labor. Edom was located southeast of the Dead Sea. Its territory extended from the Gulf of Aqabah to the Wadi Zered, about one hundred miles. Genesis 36:1 traces the Edomites’ ancestry to Esau. Their rulers were hostile to Israel (Num 20:14–30; Judg 11:17). The rivalry and ill feelings between the brothers Jacob and Esau continued through their descendants. David brought Edom under his control (2 Sam 8:13–14), but the Edomites revolted in the days of Joram (2 Kgs 8:20–22) and finally became independent of Judah (2 Kgs 16:5–6). Like other smaller nations, Edom paid tribute to Assyria but transferred its loyalty to Nebuchadnezzar in 605. Edom joined Judah in the abortive revolt against Babylon in 594 B.C. (27:3), but when Zedekiah rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar in 589, Edom joined the Babylonians (Ps 137:7; Lam 4:21; Ezek 25:12–14). Edom was later overrun by Arab tribes and moved into southern Judah north of Hebron, occupying the area that became known as Idumea.39 49:7–8 Teman, which was either a city or district in Edom or a way of referring to Edom as a whole (Hab 3:3), was named for a grandson of Esau (Gen 36:11).40 Edom was noted for its wisdom (Obad 8), but now that wisdom had “decayed” (lit. “become spoiled”). The people of Dedan, a city in northwest Arabia, not part of Edom (though some of them were living in Edom at the time), were advised to flee the invader and hide in caves. They were warned to disassociate themselves from Edom as quickly as possible lest they be caught up in Edom's coming disaster. 49:9–11 Verses 9–10 should be compared with Obad 5–6 for obvious similarities. Scholars debate which prophet “borrowed” from the other or whether both were citing an older source. The law required that grape pickers leave gleanings on the vine for widows and orphans (Lev 19:10; Deut 24:21). Jeremiah reminded his listeners of this law and added that thieves would only take as much as they wanted. But God was going to strip Esau bare (cf. 6:9).41 There would be no place of hiding (cf. 23:24; Amos 9:1–4). The nation would be destroyed completely. The threat is

softened by an expression of God's compassionate care for widows and orphans (49:11). They would be protected in the midst of the judgment that would engulf Edom. 49:12–13 In 25:15–29 the Lord spoke about the cup of wrath that the nations must drink. Employing this metaphor for punishment again, Jeremiah asked if those who did not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, why should the guilty Edomites expect to escape punishment. Those “who do not deserve” could be a reference to Judah. Elsewhere, however, the prophet was not blind to Judah's sins. Therefore the reference here must be to any innocent victims who are caught up in the horror of warfare and who must suffer along with the guilty. Edom's guilt was not debatable; Amos 1:11 describes Edom's guilt as hatred of his kinsmen Israel (cf. Isa 34:5– 15). The Lord swore by himself, the most solemn oath that could be pronounced, that Bozrah would be destroyed. Bozrah, not to be confused with Moabite Bozrah (48:24), was once the chief city of Edom situated twenty-five miles southeast of the Dead Sea. Its destruction would be interpreted by viewers as a curse that fell on it. 49:14–16 Verses 14–16 contain close parallels with Obad 1–4. Jeremiah had a “message” (lit. “a hearing”) from the Lord that other nations would be assembled to attack Edom. Edom would be reduced to an insignificant role among the nations (“make you small”; cf. Amos 7:2,5). Edom was overrun by the Nabateans in the third century B.C. and forced out of its land. The cause of Edom's downfall, like Moab's, was its pride and confidence that it was secure from all enemies. It had inspired “terror.” Its remote location in the clefts of the “rocks” (Heb. ; as a proper name Sela is identified by some as Petra). Even if they could be as far removed from their enemies as an eagle's nest, God could bring them down (cf. Prov 16:18). Pride and smug self-confidence have been the downfall of many a nation other than Edom. 49:17–18 Because of all its wounds Edom would become an object of horror (cf. 19:8). Those who viewed its ruins would be shocked and would “scoff “(see 18:16). Its destruction would be as complete as that of Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns (cf. Gen 14:2,8; 19:24–25; Deut

29:23; Isa 13:19). Jeremiah 49:18 is also found in 50:40 as a judgment message applied to Babylon. No “man” would live in Edom. 49:19–22 Verses 19–21 are almost identical with 50:44–46, where the threat is applied to Babylon. God compared himself to a hungry lion emerging from Jordan's thickets in search of a victim for food (cf. 12:5; 25:38; Hos 13:7). The identity of the instrument of judgment on Edom is not answered by the question “Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this?” Shepherds were expected to protect their sheep from wild beasts even at the risk of their lives. No “shepherd” (i.e., ruler) would be able to thwart God's judgment on Edom. Verse 20 continues the metaphor of God as a rapacious lion. Like the lion dragging away its victim while the shepherd watches helplessly, so the Lord would destroy the Edomites, even their pasture (i.e., a figure for their homeland). Though Edom seemed to be a relatively insignificant nation, the earth would tremble at its fall (cf. 4:24; 8:16). Its cry of agony would be heard throughout its land (lit. “to the Red Sea,” the extent of Edomite territory at one time; 1 Kgs 9:26).42 Edom's nemesis is not named, but the metaphor of an eagle swooping down over Bozrah makes it likely that Babylon was intended (see 48:40; cf. Ezek 17:2–6). When that day of judgment comes, the hearts of Edom's brave warriors would become like the heart of a woman in labor (see note on 48:40–42; a figure found frequently in the OT; e.g., 48:41; 50:43; Isa 26:17; Mic 4:9).

7. Damascus (49:23–27)43 23Concerning

Damascus: “Hamath and Arpad are dismayed, for they have heard bad news. They are disheartened, troubled like the restless sea.

24Damascus

has become feeble, she has turned to flee and panic has gripped her; anguish and pain have seized her, pain like that of a woman in labor. 25Why has the city of renown not been abandoned, the town in which I delight? 26Surely, her young men will fall in the streets; all her soldiers will be silenced in that day,” declares the LORD Almighty. 27“I will set fire to the walls of Damascus; it will consume the fortresses of Ben-Hadad.” Damascus, located near Mount Hermon, was the Aramean center in OT times and the capital city of three Syrian states that included Hamath and Arpad (2 Kgs 18:34; 19:13). Hamath was on the Orontes River in Syria, 110 miles north of Damascus. Arpad, also in northern Syria, was about twenty miles north of Aleppo. Hamath and Arpad became Assyrian vassals prior to 738 B.C. (cf. Isa 10:9; 36:19; 37:13). Damascus fell to Assyria in 732 (2 Kgs 16:9) but became a vassal of Babylon in 605 after Assyria's fall. Its army joined Nebuchadnezzar in his attack on Judah in 599/598. 49:23–27 The sin of these cities that resulted in their judgment is not named. The bad news they heard (the coming invasion?) made them “disheartened, troubled like the restless sea” (lit. “they melt, in the sea of anxiety”; a verb applied to the Canaanites in Exod 15:15). In the face of the enemy, Damascus is described as “feeble” (lit. “slack”), in flight, gripped by panic, and seized by anguish and pain like a woman in labor (see 49:22). The negative wording of the question in 49:25 causes difficulties. One solution is to emend the negative to an emphatic lamed . It would then read, “Why has the city of renown been completely abandoned?” Jeremiah 49:26 (repeated in 50:30, where it is applied to Babylon) describes the alltoo-common aftermath of battle. The streets would be filled with the bodies of young men who have been silenced forever. The point, however, may be that the population was doomed and should not tarry.

Though the Lord used human means to bring his judgment on the nations, Jeremiah frequently reminds the reader that it is God who is acting. Notice the frequent first person: “I will sound the battle cry” (49:2); “I will bring terror” (49:5); “I will strip” (49:10); “I will make you small” (49:15); “I will chase” (49:19); “I will set fire” (49:27); “I will scatter” (49:32). The Lord would set fire to Damascus's walls (cf. Amos 1:4,14). That fire would consume the fortresses of Ben-Hadad (a ninth-eighth century dynasty in Syria as well as the name of several of its rulers; cf. 1 Kgs 15:18; 20:1–34; 2 Kgs 13:3,24).

8. Kedar and Hazor (49:28–33) 28Concerning

Kedar

and

the

kingdoms

of

Hazor,

Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked: This is what the LORD says: “Arise, and attack Kedar and destroy the people of the East. 29Their tents and their flocks will be taken; their shelters will be carried off with all their goods and camels. Men will shout to them, ‘Terror on every side! ’ 30“Flee quickly away! Stay in deep caves, you who live in Hazor,” declares the LORD. “Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has plotted against you; he has devised a plan against you. 31“Arise and attack a nation at ease, which lives in confidence,”

which

declares the LORD, “a nation that has neither gates nor bars; its people live alone. 32Their camels will become plunder, and their large herds will be booty. I will scatter to the winds those who are in distant places and will bring disaster on them from every side,” declares the LORD. 33“Hazor will become a haunt of jackals, a desolate place forever. No one will live there; no man will dwell in it.” Kedar was an important nomadic Arab tribe mentioned often in the OT (e.g., Gen 25:13; Isa 21:16; Jer 2:10). They lived in the Syro-Arabian desert east of Palestine. The Babylonian Chronicle records Nebuchadnezzar's invasion of Kedar in 599. Hazor, not the city of northern Palestine (Josh 11:1–13), was the name of an Arab tribe in the eastern desert. It is understood by some as the area occupied by those Arab nomads. Verse 33 may infer that Hazor was a city, but none by that name has been found. 49:28–29 No reason is stated for the destruction of these two peoples and the “peoples of the east” (cf. Gen 29:1; Judg 6:3; Job 1:3 for this term describing people living east of Israel). Perhaps the purpose for including these relatively insignificant peoples was to show that no one, however unimportant by our standards, would escape God's judgment. “Their tents” (i.e., their dwellings) along with their flocks, camels, and all their goods would be seized by the enemy. They would be surrounded by enemies and experience “terror on every side” (see 6:25; 20:3 for this phrase). 49:30 The enemy is not always named in the messages against foreign nations. Here, however, he is identified as Nebuchadnezzar, who plotted his conquest of Kedar and Hazor. 49:31–33 Verse 31 is a call to Babylon to attack a nation at ease and living in confidence (cf. Moab, 48:11; also see Ezek 38:11). Some cities placed their confidence in their defenses and the strength of their city walls.

As seminomads, Kedar and Hazor had no cities or city walls for protection. Their isolation and mobility gave them a sense of false security. All their animals would become plunder for the enemy. He would scatter them “to the winds” (i.e., in every direction). The victims are described as “those who are in distant places.”44 Verse 33 warns that Hazor would become a “haunt of jackals” (cf. 9:11; 10:22). Its destruction would be so thorough that no “man” (lit. “son of man”)45 would live there again.

9. Elam (49:34–39) 46 34This

is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, early in the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah: 35This is what the LORD Almighty says: “See, I will break the bow of Elam, the mainstay of their might. 36I will bring against Elam the four winds from the four quarters of the heavens; I will scatter them to the four winds, and there will not be a nation where Elam's exiles do not go. 37I will shatter Elam before their foes, before those who seek their lives; I will bring disaster upon them, even my fierce anger,” declares the LORD. “I will pursue them with the sword until I have made an end of them. 38I will set my throne in Elam and destroy her king and officials,”

declares the LORD. 39“Yet I will restore the fortunes of Elam in days to come,” declares the LORD. Elam was an ancient center of civilization, two hundred miles east of Babylon in what would be the southwest part of modern Iran. It was conquered by the Assyrians under Ashurbanapal, ca. 640 B.C. but regained its independence with Assyria's collapse. It joined forces with Nabopolassar to destroy Nineveh in 612 B.C. The Babylonian Chronicle seems to indicate there was a conflict between Nebuchadnezzar and Elam, 596–594. In 539 the Elamites helped overthrow the Babylonian Empire. 49:34 The message given to Jeremiah against the Elamites is dated as “early in the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah.”47 Most scholars equate the phrase with the accession year of Zedekiah, 597, but it could have been several years later, perhaps 594. It seems unusual that Jeremiah would announce judgment on a people so remote from Judah with no actual contact with Judah; however, Jeremiah was a prophet to the nations (1:10). Perhaps Elam was included as a reminder of the sovereignty of God over all nations. God as the avenger is more prominent in the judgment message against Elam than in the other judgment oracles in chap. 49 (notice the frequent use of “I”). 49:35–38 The Elamites were famed as bowmen, but that major source of their military power would be broken (cf. Isa 22:6; Hos 1:4–5). Ammon depended on Molech and its riches (49:3–4). Edom depended on wisdom and its inaccessible location (49:7,16). Damascus depended on its fame (49:25). Kedar depended on its remoteness (49:31) and Elam on its bow, but all of them failed. The fate of those nations is a solemn reminder that dependence on human resources rather than on God will always fail (see 9:23–24). Unnamed invaders would attack Elam from all sides and scatter the people in every direction. There would be no nation where Elam's exiles could not be found. The Lord would set his throne in Elam, a figurative way of affirming God's sovereignty and judgment on the Elamites. In the ANE

kings would set up their thrones in prominent places when they conquered a land (cf. 43:8–13). 49:39 In spite of the harshness of judgment on Elam, the message closes with a word of hope similar to the one given to Egypt (46:28), Moab (48:47), and Ammon (49:6). Elam, with its capital at Susa, became the center of the Persian Empire after 539 B.C., perhaps fulfilling this message (cf. Neh 1:1; Dan 8:2). The message of hope teaches there are no limits on God's sovereignty. It may include judgment on a nation; it may include exaltation of that same nation (cf. 23:23–24). The collection of messages against several nations in chap. 49 serves to affirm God's universal sovereignty. All nations are subject to God's law and will be held accountable.

10. Babylon (50:1–51:64) 48 The judgment messages against Babylon are the longest of all the judgment messages in chaps. 46–51 (a total of 110 verses). They are almost as long as all the messages together in chaps. 46–49 (121 verses). Their length suggests the importance of Babylon and the severity of its anticipated punishment, which was the central issue to the exiles. The underlying theme of these two chapters is the imminent overthrow of Babylon and the restoration of the exiles to their homeland. There is general agreement that the messages were composed before 539 since Persia, Babylon's conqueror, is not mentioned. The passage in 51:59–64 is the only dated message among them, the fourth year of Zedekiah's reign (594/593 B.C.) and acts almost like an appendix to these oracles. (1) Announcement of Babylon's Doom (50:1–10) 1This

is the word the LORD spoke through Jeremiah the prophet concerning Babylon and the land of the Babylonians: 2“Announce and proclaim among the nations,

lift up a banner and proclaim it; keep nothing back, but say, ‘Babylon will be captured; Bel will be put to shame, Marduk filled with terror. Her images will be put to shame and her idols filled with terror. ’ 3A nation from the north will attack her and lay waste her land. No one will live in it; both men and animals will flee away. 4“In those days, at that time,” declares the LORD, “the people of Israel and the people of Judah together will go in tears to seek the LORD their God. 5They will ask the way to Zion and turn their faces toward it. They will come and bind themselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten. 6“My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray and caused them to roam on the mountains. They wandered over mountain and hill and forgot their own resting place. 7Whoever found them devoured them; their enemies said, ‘We are not guilty, for they sinned against the LORD, their true pasture, the LORD, the hope of their fathers. ’ 8“Flee out of Babylon; leave the land of the Babylonians,

and be like the goats that lead the flock. 9For I will stir up and bring against Babylon an alliance of great nations from the land of the north. They will take up their positions against her, and from the north she will be captured. Their arrows will be like skilled warriors who do not return empty-handed. 10So Babylonia will be plundered; all who plunder her will have their fill,” declares the LORD. 50:1 This verse serves as a superscription for chaps. 50–51, a collection of messages against the “Babylonians” (lit. “Chaldeans,” here and vv. 8,25, 35,45). Babylon was located on the Euphrates River in what is now southern Iraq. It was part of an ancient civilization that dated back to the third millennium B.C. It became a powerful empire under Hammurapi (1793–1750) but suffered centuries of decline after defeat by the Hittites, followed by Kassite control from 1600–1150 B.C. Babylon cast off foreign domination under Nebuchadnezzar I (1124–1103) and enjoyed a time of resurgence until it came under Assyrian domination in the ninth century B.C. that continued until the Assyrian Empire collapsed in 609. In 626 Nabopolassar achieved independence from a weakened Assyria and established the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The empire reached its zenith of power under Nebuchadnezzar II (605–562). His successors were not of his caliber, and the empire steadily declined until it was overthrown, with little resistance, by the Persians in 539. Alexander the Great made it the capital of his new empire, but by the beginning of the Christian era the city was largely deserted. 50:2–3 The Lord commanded Jeremiah to announce the coming capture of Babylon.49 Bel (meaning lord) was the title of Enlil, a Sumerian storm god, the equivalent of Baal. When Marduk became chief deity of the Babylonians, he was also called Bel. The word translated “idols” is literally “dung pellets,” a deliberate ridicule of the idols (cf. Lev 26:30; Deut 29:17; 1 Kgs 15:12; Ezekiel uses the word thirty-nine times). Ironically, the nation

that earlier was the enemy from the north (1:14; 4:6; 6:1; etc.) now would be attacked “from the north.” Since the Persians came from the east, the expression should be understood here as a vague term for the source of anything sinister. 50:4–5 The overthrow of the Babylonians would be a signal for the exiles, both Israel and Judah, to repent and prepare to return home. In that time they would renew the everlasting covenant they had neglected (cf. 32:40). 50:6–7 In these verses God is the speaker and employs the shepherdsheep analogy. He accused Judah's leaders (“shepherds”) of having led the nation astray. They encouraged the people's participation in idolatrous practices that were abhorrent to God. They forgot their own “resting place,” probably a figurative reference to the temple. Like unprotected sheep they were devoured by others (cf. 2:3; 30:16). Their enemies argued that they incurred no guilt by devouring the Israelites because they had sinned against their God. 50:8–10 The Lord exhorted the people to flee from Babylon like the he goat that is the first to rush out of the sheepfold when it is opened. There was a sense of urgency in the appeal because God was about to bring a coalition of nations against Babylon (cf. 51:27–28). Their arrows would find their marks as surely as the victorious soldiers returned from battle with the spoils of victory. The enemy was going to plunder Babylon until it had taken all it wanted. Babylon's fate is a testimony to the truth that “you may be sure that your sin will find you out” (Num 32:23). (2) Explanation for Its Punishment (50:11–17) 11“Because

you rejoice and are glad, you who pillage my inheritance, because you frolic like a heifer threshing grain and neigh like stallions, 12your mother will be greatly ashamed; she who gave you birth will be disgraced. She will be the least of the nations—

a wilderness, a dry land, a desert. 13Because of the LORD's anger she will not be inhabited but will be completely desolate. All who pass Babylon will be horrified and scoff because of all her wounds. 14“Take up your positions around Babylon, all you who draw the bow. Shoot at her! Spare no arrows, for she has sinned against the LORD. 15Shout against her on every side! She surrenders, her towers fall, her walls are torn down. Since this is the vengeance of the LORD, take vengeance on her; do to her as she has done to others. 16Cut off from Babylon the sower, and the reaper with his sickle at harvest. Because of the sword of the oppressor let everyone return to his own people, let everyone flee to his own land. 17“Israel is a scattered flock that lions have chased away. The first to devour him was the king of Assyria; the last to crush his bones was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.” 50:11–13 Babylon was rejoicing in its victory over God's inheritance, i.e., the land God had given his people. Its unabashed exultation is compared to the high spirits of a heifer “threshing grain.”50 Babylon, “your mother,” would be ashamed like a mother who is disgraced by the behavior of her child. Babylon, which had been first among the nations (cf. Amos

6:1), would now become the least of the nations. It would be as desolate as an uninhabited desert. Those who see its ruins would react in shocked horror and ridicule (see 6:8; 9:10–11; 12:10; 18:16; 19:8; cf. 49:17, where Edom is described in similar language). 50:14–16 The Lord called on the enemy in these verses to begin the siege of Babylon. He urged them to spare none of its weapons because Babylon “has sinned against the LORD.” The Babylonians would learn, as did David (Ps 51:4), that all sin is against God and would be punished. Babylon's sin against the Lord was its attack on Judah. Verse 15 describes the Lord's vengeance on Babylon. Surrounded on every side, it “surrenders” (lit. “it has given its hand,” a gesture of submission; cf. 1 Chr 29:24; 2 Chr 30:8). Its “towers” would fall (a hapax legomenon, whose exact meaning is uncertain). Its walls would be torn down, a threat that did not actually occur because Cyrus took the city without resistance. Because of the invasion, farmers would not be able to plant their crops or harvest them. It would be the opportune time for the exiles to flee Babylon and return to their own land (cf. Isa 13:14; Jer 46:16). 50:17 Israel is now compared to a flock of sheep that has been scattered and devoured by lions. The first “lion” to devour Israel was the king of Assyria, a reference to Israel's conquest by Sargon II in 722 B.C. (2 Kgs 17:1–6). The most recent “lion” to “crush his bones” was Nebuchadnezzar. (3) The Restoration of Israel (50:18–20) 18Therefore

this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel,

says: “I will punish the king of Babylon and his land as I punished the king of Assyria. 19But I will bring Israel back to his own pasture and he will graze on Carmel and Bashan; his appetite will be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead. 20In those days, at that time,”

declares the LORD, “search will be made for Israel's guilt, but there will be none, and for the sins of Judah, but none will be found, for I will forgive the remnant I spare. 50:18–20 History repeats itself, but nations and peoples are slow to learn its lessons. Even as God had punished the king of Assyria, he would punish the king of Babylon. After the death of Ashurbanapal in 627 B.C., the last of the great Assyrian rulers, Assyria rapidly declined and was overthrown by the Babylonians in 612 with the taking of Nineveh. Now Babylon was facing a similar fate. Like a shepherd leading his flock to pasture, God would bring Israel back to its own land, where it would have its appetite satisfied (cf. Ezek 34:13–14). “In those days, at that time” (an expression considered by many to be a messianic utterance) no sin or guilt would be found in Israel or Judah because God would have forgiven the remnant he would spare. (4) God's Wrath against Babylon (50:21–32) 21“Attack

the land of Merathaim and those who live in Pekod. Pursue, kill and completely destroy them,” declares the LORD. “Do everything I have commanded you. 22The noise of battle is in the land, the noise of great destruction! 23How broken and shattered is the hammer of the whole earth! How desolate is Babylon among the nations! 24I set a trap for you, O Babylon,

and you were caught before you knew it; you were found and captured because you opposed the LORD. 25The LORD has opened his arsenal and brought out the weapons of his wrath, for the Sovereign LORD Almighty has work to do in the land of the Babylonians. 26Come against her from afar. Break open her granaries; pile her up like heaps of grain. Completely destroy her and leave her no remnant. 27Kill all her young bulls; let them go down to the slaughter! Woe to them! For their day has come, the time for them to be punished. 28Listen to the fugitives and refugees from Babylon declaring in Zion how the LORD our God has taken vengeance, vengeance for his temple. 29“Summon archers against Babylon, all those who draw the bow. Encamp all around her; let no one escape. Repay her for her deeds; do to her as she has done. For she has defied the LORD, the Holy One of Israel. 30Therefore, her young men will fall in the streets; all her soldiers will be silenced in that day,” declares the LORD.

31“See,

I am against you, O arrogant one,” declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty, “for your day has come, the time for you to be punished. 32The arrogant one will stumble and fall and no one will help her up; I will kindle a fire in her towns that will consume all who are around her.” 50:21 The Lord gave orders to the enemy to attack and completely destroy the people of Merathaim and Pekod. Merathaim was a region in southern Babylon near the mouth of the Tigris and Euphrates known as the Mat Marratim (“bitter river”) district. Pekod was the name of a tribe, the Puqudu, in eastern Babylon (Ezek 23:23). Both names contain a play on words. Merathaim is from mrh and means two rebellions. Pekod is from pqd and means punishment or visitation. The enemy was ordered to “pursue” (lit. “go up”) and “completely destroy” (from , meaning “the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them,” NIV note; cf. 50:26; Josh 8:26). 50:22–24 The battle noises suggest the great destruction being inflicted on the Babylonians. With clever irony the Lord observed, “How broken and shattered is the hammer of the whole earth!” The “hammer” that had smashed other nations mercilessly was going to be shattered and pounded into submission and desolation. Actually, Cyrus took Babylon in 539 by diverting the Euphrates so the troops entered the city without a siege and were welcomed without resistance by the populace (cf. Dan 5:1–30). Like a bird snared in a trap, Babylon would be captured. A theological explanation is given in v. 24 for Babylon's catastrophe, for it had opposed the Lord. Jeremiah gave credit to God for Babylon's defeat. The Cyrus Cylinder, which gives an account of the same event, gave credit to the guidance of Marduk. Earlier the Israelites had given the queen of heaven credit for their blessings instead of the Lord (cf. 44:16–18). 50:25–27 Verse 25 continues to emphasize the Lord as the one responsible for Babylon's destruction. It was his arsenal and his weapons that would destroy Babylon, though they would be manned by human

armies. Verse 26 continues the picture of the pillage and despoiling of Babylon. The enemy would pillage Babylon's granaries and loot it as the enemy seized heaps of grain as the spoils of war. The order to “kill all her young bulls” could be interpreted literally, but it may refer to warriors, the choice young men of Babylon (cf. Ps 22:12; Ezek 39:18). The latter interpretation is more likely, for the slaughter of the “young bulls” is described as the time of their punishment. 50:28 Those fugitives and refugees from Babylon returning to Zion (“Zion” can refer to the temple hill or to Jerusalem) would bring the news of Babylon's destruction. Earlier, news of Jerusalem's fall to Babylon in 587 was taken to Babylon by a refugee (see Ezek 33:21–22). They would acknowledge that the Lord had taken “vengeance for his temple” (cf. 51:11). The temple was destroyed in 587, but vengeance did not come for almost fifty years when Persia overran Babylon in 539. Babylon became the epitome of evil in the NT (see Rev 14:8; 16:19; 17:5; 18:2,10,21). It might be expected that Rome would receive that dubious distinction, but it was Babylon, although it had not been a threat to Israel for over five hundred years. Memory of the most terrible blasphemy of which a Jew could conceive—the destruction of the temple—gained Babylon this sinister identity in the Book of Revelation. 50:29–30 The description of Babylon's anticipated ruin continues in these verses. Archers were summoned and charged to surround Babylon and to allow no one to escape.51 It had defied the Lord. He is called “the Holy One of Israel” only in 50:29 and 51:5 in the Book of Jeremiah. However, the designation is found often in Isaiah (e.g., 1:4; 5:19; 43:3; 45:11; 60:14). Verse 30 is a repetition of 49:26, where it was used with regard to Damascus. 50:31–32 These verses are a variation of 21:13–14, which spoke of Judah. Babylon's sin of pride is singled out as the basis for its punishment. It is addressed as “Oh, arrogant one” (Bright says “Sir Pride”).52 No one would be able to help it in that hour. The Lord would kindle a fire in its towns. (5) The Desolation of Babylon (50:33–40)

33This

is what the LORD Almighty says: “The people of Israel are oppressed, and the people of Judah as well. All their captors hold them fast, refusing to let them go. 34Yet their Redeemer is strong; the LORD Almighty is his name. He will vigorously defend their cause so that he may bring rest to their land, but unrest to those who live in Babylon. 35“A sword against the Babylonians!” declares the LORD— “against those who live in Babylon and against her officials and wise men! 36A sword against her false prophets! They will become fools. A sword against her warriors! They will be filled with terror. 37A sword against her horses and chariots and all the foreigners in her ranks! They will become women. A sword against her treasures! They will be plundered. 38A drought on her waters! They will dry up. For it is a land of idols, idols that will go mad with terror. 39“So desert creatures and hyenas will live there, and there the owl will dwell. It will never again be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation.

40As

God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah along with their neighboring towns,” declares the LORD, “so no one will live there; no man will dwell in it. 50:33–34 Returning to the present situation, the Lord acknowledged that the people of Israel and Judah were being oppressed (cf. 7:6; 21:12). Their captors would not free them, but Babylon's conqueror would. Their release would come through their strong Redeemer.53 He would defend their cause like a counsel for the defense in a court case (cf. Isa 34:8). He would bring “rest” to the land but “unrest” to Babylon (a subtle play on words). 50:35–38 Verses 35–38 could be called the Sword Song (cf. Ezek 21:1– 17). The sword is mentioned five times in these verses. Repetition of words was a deliberate literary device to express emphasis. The sword would be directed against all the inhabitants of Babylon, its officials and wise men, its “false prophets,”54 and its warriors. Like Israel's false prophets, Babylon's false prophets would be made to appear foolish (cf. Isa 44:25), and its warriors would be filled with terror. The sword would also be inflicted against its horses and chariots. The “foreigners” (lit. “mixed people,” i.e., its mercenary troops; the same Heb. word is found in Exod 12:38) would become like women. The derogatory comparison to women must be understood in light of the cultural context of the times, which considered women weak and fearful. A severe “drought” would dry up Babylon's water supply. By changing one vowel, the Hebrew word could be read as “sword” . The LXX, JB, and REB prefer “sword” since it was the sword of the enemy that caused the irrigation canals to be neglected. This translation would also be in keeping with the emphasis on the sword in these verses. Elsewhere in the OT drought is a sign of divine disfavor (e.g., Deut 28:22–24; Amos 4:7–8); it is the preferred translation of KJV, NIV, NRSV, NJB, JPSV. Verse 38 states another reason for Babylon's punishment in addition to its insufferable pride (see 50:32). It was its worship of idols, contemptuously described as going mad with terror.

50:39–40 These verses are similar to Isa 13:19–22 (cf. Isa 34:11–17), where similar words are applied to Edom. Deserted Babylon would become the haunt of desert creatures and hyenas. Scholars differ about the identification of each of these creatures (cf. the versions for the differences in translation). Some understand the creatures to be “demons of the desert and evil spirits” on the assumption that animals probably would not inhabit a ruined city.55 Bright translates as “goblins and ghouls.”56 Babylon's destruction would be so thorough that it could only be compared to the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah (v. 40 repeats Jer 49:18,33b). (6) Babylon's Helplessness (50:41–46) 41“Look!

An army is coming from the north; a great nation and many kings are being stirred up from the ends of the earth. 42They are armed with bows and spears; they are cruel and without mercy. They sound like the roaring sea as they ride on their horses; they come like men in battle formation to attack you, O Daughter of Babylon. 43The king of Babylon has heard reports about them, and his hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped him, pain like that of a woman in labor. 44Like a lion coming up from Jordan's thickets to a rich pastureland, I will chase Babylon from its land in an instant. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? Who is like me and who can challenge me? And what shepherd can stand against me?” 45Therefore, hear what the LORD has planned against Babylon,

what he has purposed against the land of the Babylonians: The young of the flock will be dragged away; he will completely destroy their pasture because of them. 46At the sound of Babylon's capture the earth will tremble; its cry will resound among the nations. 50:41–43 These verses, directed to Babylon, are adapted from 6:22–24, which was addressed to Judah. They anticipate the coming of an “army” (lit. “a people”) from the north (cf. 50:3). A coalition of nations and rulers (understood in retrospect as Persia and its allies; cf. 51:27–28), armed with bows and spears, would attack Babylon. They would show no mercy. Their charging horses would sound like the roaring sea, so great would be their number. Babylon's ruler would be paralyzed by fear (lit. “his hands hang limp”) and gripped by anguish like a woman in labor (see e.g., 30:6; 48:41; 49:22 for this same figure). 50:44–46 These verses are found also in 49:19–21, but there they are applied to Edom instead of Babylon. Since their sins were similar, it was appropriate that their punishment be alike. The cries of Edom would be heard as far away as the Red Sea (49:21), but because of its greater importance, the cry of Babylon would be heard among all the nations when it fell. (7) The Lord's Vengeance on Babylon (51:1–14) 1This

is what the LORD says: “See, I will stir up the spirit of a destroyer against Babylon and the people of Leb Kamai. 2I will send foreigners to Babylon to winnow her and to devastate her land; they will oppose her on every side in the day of her disaster. 3Let not the archer string his bow,

nor let him put on his armor. Do not spare her young men; completely destroy her army. 4They will fall down slain in Babylon, fatally wounded in her streets. 5For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken by their God, the LORD Almighty, though their land is full of guilt before the Holy One of Israel. 6“Flee from Babylon! Run for your lives! Do not be destroyed because of her sins. It is time for the LORD's vengeance; he will pay her what she deserves. 7Babylon was a gold cup in the LORD's hand; she made the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore they have now gone mad. 8Babylon will suddenly fall and be broken. Wail over her! Get balm for her pain; perhaps she can be healed. 9“‘We would have healed Babylon, but she cannot be healed; let us leave her and each go to his own land, for her judgment reaches to the skies, it rises as high as the clouds. ’ 10“‘The LORD has vindicated us; come, let us tell in Zion what the LORD our God has done. ’ 11“Sharpen the arrows,

take up the shields! The LORD has stirred up the kings of the Medes, because his purpose is to destroy Babylon. The LORD will take vengeance, vengeance for his temple. 12Lift up a banner against the walls of Babylon! Reinforce the guard, station the watchmen, prepare an ambush! The LORD will carry out his purpose, his decree against the people of Babylon. 13You who live by many waters and are rich in treasures, your end has come, the time for you to be cut off. 14The LORD Almighty has sworn by himself: I will surely fill you with men, as with a swarm of locusts, and they will shout in triumph over you. Judgment messages against Babylon in this chapter alternate with appeals to the Jewish exiles to flee the doomed city. The chapter is composed of a number of smaller units, mostly poetic. They describe an eagerly awaited event, Babylon's fall, and therefore were composed before 539 B.C. 51:1–2 The Lord announced that he was about to “stir up the spirit of a destroyer” (cf. 50:9 for the same verb, “stir up”). The phrase could be translated “destroying wind” because can mean both spirit and wind. The latter translation would fittingly anticipate the winnowing metaphor of v. 2. Leb Kamai is an athbash for Babylon.57 It literally means the heart of those who rise against me. This cryptic name for Babylon may have developed to protect a writer from retaliation, or perhaps it had some

magical significance. It had lost its function as a cryptogram, however, since Babylon is openly named in the same verse. The Lord announced that he would send foreigners to winnow Babylon. By a slight revocalization, (“foreigners,” MT) can be read as (“winnowers”; so Aquila, Symmachus, Vg; cf. 4:11), which then agrees with the verb “winnow.” Babylon would be destroyed in the same manner as grain is winnowed to separate it from the chaff. The foreigners would “devastate” the land (from a verb bqq, “to make a gurgling sound,” as liquid poured from a bottle; thus the meaning to empty; cf. 19:7, where NIV translates “ruin”). It would be the day of Babylon's “disaster” (lit. “evil”). 51:3–5 The Hebrew of v. 3 is difficult. Translated literally it says, “Unto let bend [“string”], let bend the archer his bow, and unto let him stand in his armor.” Though somewhat obscure, it is a call to Babylon's enemy to prepare for battle. By emending “unto” to “not” it reads “let not the archer.” Thus it warns the Babylonian defenders that it was useless to resist their foe, who had been charged to “completely destroy” Babylon's army (see 25:9; 50:21,26 for the same verb, ). Even as Jerusalem's inhabitants had been “slain” (lit. “pierced”; cf. 14:18; 41:9), so Babylon's streets would be filled with its own fatally wounded. The announcement of Babylon's doom would remind Israel and Judah that they had “not been forsaken” (lit. “not been widowed”) in spite of their “guilt” (Heb. , the only occurrence of this word in Jeremiah). It is uncertain whether “their land” refers to Babylon or Israel (cf. 23:10). Verse 5 is a remarkable affirmation of God's willingness to forgive in spite of his people's sins (cf. Isa 54:4–8; Hos 11:8–9). 51:6–8 The people of Judah were exhorted to flee from Babylon to escape its destruction (cf. 50:8). “Run for your lives” is literally “let each man save his life” (also found in 51:45; cf. 48:6). There was no reason for the exiles to be caught up in Babylon's punishment for its sins. The time had come for the Lord's vengeance on a nation that deserved punishment (see this same theme in 46:10; 50:15,18,28–29; 51:36). Babylon was once a “gold cup” in the Lord's hand, a figure that suggests its wealth and power. In 25:15 the “cup” represented God's wrath on the nations. Here it is God's instrument of judgment on other nations, i.e., Babylon. Nations that “drank its wine” (i.e., experienced Babylon's

wrath) went mad (cf. 50:38). Now it would be forced to drink from the same cup (cf. Isa 51:17,22; Jer 49:12). Afterwards it would be broken like a discarded cup. Jeremiah 51:8 is a remarkable statement of God's compassion, even for those he punishes. He appealed to the Jews and other exiles in Babylon to weep for it. The appeal for balm for its pain (cf. 8:22; 46:11) contains an implied note of sadness for Babylon's incurable condition that no balm could help. It is an OT teaching similar to our Lord's command to “love your enemies” (Matt 5:44; cf. 1 Tim 2:1–7). 51:9–10 Israel is the speaker in these verses. The exiles would have tried to heal Babylon, i.e., tried to help save the city. Healing was impossible, however, because God had already marked it for punishment. Therefore the wise course was for everyone to leave Babylon and return to their own land. Like smoke ascending skyward, Babylon's judgment (i.e., guilt) reached heaven. There may be a veiled reference in v. 9 to an earlier effort on the part of humankind to exalt itself by erecting the tower of Babel (cf. Gen 11:4; Jonah 1:2). The statement that the “Lord has vindicated us” (lit., “The Lord has brought forth our righteousness”) does not imply that Judah had been guiltless. Rather, the nation had been sufficiently punished. The people would return to Zion and acknowledge that the Lord was responsible for their return. 51:11–12 The instrument of God's vengeance was admonished to prepare for battle. The warriors were to sharpen their arrows and “take up the shields” (meaning of the Heb. word is uncertain; it may be related to AKK , meaning shield). The agent of vengeance is identified as the “kings of the Medes.” This is the first mention of Media as the agent of Babylon's destruction. Media was an ancient kingdom northwest of Persia; its capital was Ecbatana. It was subjugated in 550 B.C. by Cyrus, whose mother was a Mede. It would be easier to explain the singular “king” (LXX) than “kings” (MT). However, a vassal ruler under another political power could still be “king” in his own domain. Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz, vassals of the Medes, are called kingdoms in v. 27. All those kings were under Median authority and were obligated to fight with the Medes. The reason for destroying Babylon is stated in 51:11 as vengeance

for the destruction of the Lord's temple (cf. 50:28; Ps 74:3–8 for a description of its destruction). Verse 12 continues the appeal to attack Babylon (see 4:6 for the phrase “lift up a banner,” translated there as “raise the signal”). A blockade of the walls would be part of the military strategy. Strengthening the guard, stationing watchmen to protect against a surprise attack, and planning an ambush were all part of the carefully worked-out plan of attack. Verse 12 indicates that it was not the Medes but the Lord who would “carry out his purpose” (lit. “has planned and done”; cf. Lam 2:17) against the Babylonians. 51:13–14 The Lord announced that the end had come for Babylon (cf. Amos 8:2), made wealthy by the looting of conquered peoples (cf. 2 Kgs 24:13; 25:13–17). The city is described as living by many waters (cf. Ps 137:1). This is a reference to the Euphrates River, which supplied water for the city. Some think the “many waters” may preserve a memory of the mythological underground ocean that Babylon believed was the source of the water that fertilized the earth. “The time for you to be cut off “is a figure for death taken from weaving. When the woven fabric reaches its desired length, it is cut off from the loom (“the thread of your life is cut,” RSV; cf. Isa 38:12). The most solemn oath that could be spoken is, “The Lord has sworn by himself “(lit. “by his ”; cf. Isa 62:8; Amos 6:8). Enemy soldiers would fill the city (lit., “I have filled you with men,” viewed as already having taken place) like a swarm of locusts (cf. Joel 1:4; Nah 3:15–17). They would shout in triumph with unrestrained joy like grape treaders who shout while doing their work (cf. 25:30). (8) A Hymn of Praise to the Lord (51:15–19) 15“He

made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding. 16When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.

He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses. 17“Every man is senseless and without knowledge; every goldsmith is shamed by his idols. His images are a fraud; they have no breath in them. 18They are worthless, the objects of mockery; when their judgment comes, they will perish. 19He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these, for he is the Maker of all things, including the tribe of his inheritance— the LORD Almighty is his name. These verses are repeated from 10:12–16 with minor variations (note the omission of Israel in v. 19; cf. 10:16). Many examples of repeated or similar words are encountered in Jeremiah in different contexts. In chap. 10 the words were used to ridicule Israel's powerless idols. Here the same words describe the impotent Babylonian idols. (9) God's Power against Enemies (51:20–26) 20“You

are my war club, my weapon for battle— with you I shatter nations, with you I destroy kingdoms, 21with you I shatter horse and rider, with you I shatter chariot and driver, 22with you I shatter man and woman, with you I shatter old man and youth, with you I shatter young man and maiden, 23with you I shatter shepherd and flock, with you I shatter farmer and oxen,

with you I shatter governors and officials. 24“Before your eyes I will repay Babylon and all who live in Babylonia for all the wrong they have done in Zion,” declares the LORD. 25“I am against you, O destroying mountain, you who destroy the whole earth,” declares the LORD. “I will stretch out my hand against you, roll you off the cliffs, and make you a burned-out mountain. 26No rock will be taken from you for a cornerstone, nor any stone for a foundation, for you will be desolate forever,” declares the LORD. 51:20–23 The crucial issue for understanding this passage is the identification of the one addressed. It could not be God because he is the speaker. It has been identified as Babylon (Calvin, Duhm, Volz, Cornill, Rudolph) since Babylon has been called the hammer (cf. 50:23); however, it is here the one who would be shattered. Some argue that Jeremiah was the one who shattered, but this seems unlikely, although he was called “to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow” (1:10). Holladay prefers Israel, explaining that Jeremiah envisioned a great reversal when Israel would be Babylon's devastator.58 The one who shatters could be the yet unidentified instrument of Babylon's overthrow, who proved to be Cyrus. “With you I shatter” is found nine times in vv. 20–23. 51:24 This verse serves as a prose transition between the preceding verses and vv. 25–26. The phrase “before your eyes” does not come at the beginning of the sentence in Hebrew. Rather, it reads (lit.) “all their wrong which they did in Zion before your eyes.” It refers to those who witnessed Jerusalem's destruction in 587. Babylon had been God's instrument, but he would punish it for all its evil (cf. Ps 91:8). 51:25–26 The context of v. 25 suggests that Babylon is the one addressed as “O destroying mountain” (lit. “a burnt mountain”). The same

phrase is found in 2 Kgs 23:13 (“Hill of Corruption”) when the Mount of Olives was a place of unrestrained idolatrous worship. The description could not be literal because Babylon was on a plain. Many scholars conclude Babylon was being compared to a volcano that explodes with destructive force. Since volcanoes were unknown in Mesopotamia, that explanation is unlikely. Babylon could be called a “mountain” because it was elevated above the other countries because of its military and political power. But God was going to roll it “off the cliffs” (lit. “from the rocks”) and make it a burned-out mountain. The city would experience such total destruction that none of its remaining stones would be fit for use in future construction. It would never be rebuilt. (10) Nations Summoned against Babylon (51:27–32) 27“Lift

up a banner in the land! Blow the trumpet among the nations! Prepare the nations for battle against her; summon against her these kingdoms: Ararat, Minni and Ashkenaz. Appoint a commander against her; send up horses like a swarm of locusts. 28Prepare the nations for battle against her— the kings of the Medes, their governors and all their officials, and all the countries they rule. 29The land trembles and writhes, for the LORD's purposes against Babylon stand— to lay waste the land of Babylon so that no one will live there. 30Babylon's warriors have stopped fighting; they remain in their strongholds. Their strength is exhausted;

they have become like women. Her dwellings are set on fire; the bars of her gates are broken. 31One courier follows another and messenger follows messenger to announce to the king of Babylon that his entire city is captured, 32the river crossings seized, the marshes set on fire, and the soldiers terrified.” 51:27–28 Another call to rally for an attack on Babylon is sounded (cf. 4:5–6; 51:12). “Prepare the nations” (lit. “sanctify the nations,” from the verb ) is a reminder that religious rituals were performed before armies engaged in battle, seeking protection and victory from the deity (cf. 6:4; 1 Sam 13:8–12; also cf. Uriah's vow of chastity during war, 2 Sam 11:11). Vassal kingdoms of the Medes would be enlisted in the battle. They included Ararat, which was ancient Urartu, located in the region north of Lake Van in what is today eastern Turkey. A second kingdom enlisted to help the Medes against Babylon was Minni, the ancient Mannai, south of Lake Urmia. A third was Ashkenaz, ancient Ashguzai, comprised of nomads who lived east of Lake Urmia and identified by many as the Scythians. Ashkenaz was an ally of Mannai in a revolt against Assyria, ca. 673 B.C. “Commander” is a word derived from AKK tupsarru and found only here and Nah 3:17, where the officials are compared to a swarm of locusts. The invading army would include a great horde of horses and riders that could only be compared to a “swarm of locusts” (lit. “bristling locusts,” though what is meant by “bristling” is uncertain). The appeal to prepare the nations for battle is repeated in v. 28 from v. 27. It includes the “kings” (“king,” LXX; but see discussion on 51:11) of the Medes as well as other officials. 51:29–32 The figure of the land trembling and writhing finds parallels in Judg 5:4; Nah 1:5; Hab 3:6 and describes the awesome coming of God against his enemies. His purposes to make Babylon uninhabitable would stand. A vivid description of the capitulation of the city follows in vv. 30–

32 (cf. 50:30,36–38). Its defenders would stop fighting, cowering in their strongholds with strength “exhausted” (lit. “dried up”; cf. Isa 19:5; 41:17). They are compared to women, a figure often found in Jeremiah (e.g., 30:6; 48:41; 49:22; 50:37). The bars of the city gates, vital to an ancient city's defense, would be broken, and the enemy would pour in. Babylon was noted for its messenger system that could carry messages by runners from one part of the kingdom to another in a matter of days (cf. 2 Sam 18:19,23). In the final struggle one runner after another would come from every direction to tell the Babylonian king that his city had been taken. They would also inform him that the river crossings had been seized and the “marshes set on fire” (lit. “pools set on fire,” but since pools cannot burn, swamp reeds probably were intended). The marshes were burned to prevent escaping fugitives from hiding there. (11) A Call for Retribution (51:33–35) 33This

is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “The Daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time it is trampled; the time to harvest her will soon come.” 34“Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured us, he has thrown us into confusion, he has made us an empty jar. Like a serpent he has swallowed us and filled his stomach with our delicacies, and then has spewed us out. 35May the violence done to our flesh be upon Babylon,” say the inhabitants of Zion. “May our blood be on those who live in Babylonia,” says Jerusalem. 51:33 The Lord compared Babylon to a threshing floor that is trampled to prepare it for harvest time. At the beginning of harvest, the threshing floor was made ready for threshing the grain by pounding it down until it

was hard and level. In like manner, Babylon would be trampled down until nothing was left. The verse employs another figure, that of the harvest of grain. Babylon would soon be stripped of its wealth and splendor, even as grain is harvested. 51:34–35 All the pronominal suffixes in these two verses are first person plural (“our/us,” either following the ketib or taking the qere “my/me” as a collective singular; cf. REB, NRSV, NJPS, NJB, NAB, NASB, which translate, like the LXX, as singular) referring to “the inhabitants of Zion.” They cried out that the king of Babylon had devoured them and thrown them into “confusion” (hmm, a word that can also mean drain out). The Babylonian ruler made Zion like “an empty jar,” i.e., he left nothing. He is also likened to a serpent gulping down its victim, filling its stomach with its prey and then vomiting it up.59 Verse 35 is a curse pronounced by the Jews on Babylon to bring about its destruction. (12) Further Description of Babylon's Fall (51:36–44) 36Therefore,

this is what the LORD says: “See, I will defend your cause and avenge you; I will dry up her sea and make her springs dry. 37Babylon will be a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, an object of horror and scorn, a place where no one lives. 38Her people all roar like young lions, they growl like lion cubs. 39But while they are aroused, I will set out a feast for them and make them drunk, so that they shout with laughter—

then sleep forever and not awake,” declares the LORD. 40“I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams and goats. 41“How Sheshach will be captured, the boast of the whole earth seized! What a horror Babylon will be among the nations! 42The sea will rise over Babylon; its roaring waves will cover her. 43Her towns will be desolate, a dry and desert land, a land where no one lives, through which no man travels. 44I will punish Bel in Babylon and make him spew out what he has swallowed. The nations will no longer stream to him. And the wall of Babylon will fall. 51:36–39 The Lord responded to the appeals for vengeance and promised to be their defender and avenger. He would demonstrate his superior power over the enemy by drying up its sea. This sea is understood by some as a reservoir made by Queen Nitocris, wife of Nebuchadnezzar, and by others as the Euphrates (cf. Isa 18:2; 19:5, where the Nile is called a sea). He further promised that he would make Babylon a heap of ruins and a haunt of jackals (cf. 9:11; 10:22; 50:39 for similar words). The great city would become a place where no one lives. It is a reminder of “how the mighty have fallen” (2 Sam 1:19,25). Tyrants may have had their day in the sun, but they would eventually come under God's judgment. The Babylonians had in the past gloated over their victims like young lions roaring in anticipation of devouring their prey (cf. Amos 3:4). But

even while “they are aroused” (lit. “they are hot,” i.e., exulting over the spoils taken from their victims), the Lord would provide a feast for them. They would have their time of celebration, but afterwards he would make them drunk, i.e., make them drink of the cup of wrath (see 25:26). In their intoxicated condition they would shout with laughter and fall into a drunken sleep from which they would not awake. 51:40 The Lord would lead them to the slaughter like unsuspecting lambs (cf. 50:27; Isa 34:6; 53:7; Ezek 39:18). 51:41–44 Verses 41–44 are a taunt song against Babylon (cf. 50:23). “Sheshach” would be captured, and the once boastful city would become a horror to other nations (see 25:26 for the explanation of Sheshach as an athbash). Since Babylon is mentioned in the same verse and also in vv. 42,44, Sheshach may not be interpreted here as a cryptogram. There is some evidence now that it was a genuine name for Babylon. The sea that would engulf Babylon is not the Euphrates (51:42; cf. 51:36) but is a metaphor for Babylon's enemies. Some see the enemy compared to the sea as a faint allusion to the mythological chaotic waters of the primeval ocean, Tiamat, who was killed by Marduk. Babylon was renowned for its god Bel (see 50:2) and the walls that surrounded the city (see 50:15; 51:58). The outer wall was twelve feet thick, and the inner wall was twenty-one feet thick with twenty-three feet separating them. Towers were located on the walls at intervals of sixty feet. There was a ditch outside the wall that was filled with water. Both these symbols of Babylon's security would be destroyed. The defeat of a god in the ANE was tantamount to the nation's defeat. Bel would be forced to give up the wealth of nations he had taken. This was the same god the Babylonians had credited for the Lord's defeat in Jerusalem in 587. Now the Lord would show his superiority over Bel by bringing his people back to their land. The Lord had not been defeated by Bel; rather, he had used the Babylonians to punish his people. Babylon's glory days were ending. Nations would no longer stream to it (cf. Isa 2:2; Zech 14:16; Rev 21:24). (13) An Appeal to Flee from Babylon (51:45–48) 45“Come

out of her, my people!

Run for your lives! Run from the fierce anger of the LORD. 46Do not lose heart or be afraid when rumors are heard in the land; one rumor comes this year, another the next, rumors of violence in the land and of ruler against ruler. 47For the time will surely come when I will punish the idols of Babylon; her whole land will be disgraced and her slain will all lie fallen within her. 48Then heaven and earth and all that is in them will shout for joy over Babylon, for out of the north destroyers will attack her,” declares the LORD. 51:45–48 These verses contain another urgent appeal to the exiled Jews to flee the doomed city (cf. 50:8; 51:6). The warning “run for your lives” (lit. “let every man save his life”) contained the same urgency as an earlier warning to flee Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19:12–13). Near the end rumor upon rumor would be heard concerning Babylon's imminent fall. The final collapse of the city would be preceded by rumors of violence in the land. Ruler would set himself against ruler. Babylon did not remain a stable empire after Nebuchadnezzar's death. His successor, Amel-Marduk, was assassinated in 560 by his brother-in-law Neriglissar (560–556). His successor, Labashi-Marduk, ruled only a few months until replaced by Nabonidus (556–539). The punishment of Babylon's idols was certain (cf. 50:38). When the people saw their idols’ impotence and the dead bodies, the entire land would be ashamed of its misplaced confidence. The entire universe would rejoice over Babylon's fall (cf. Isa 49:13 for a similar expression).

(14) Another Warning of Babylon's Coming Destruction (51:49–58) 49“Babylon

must fall because of Israel's slain, just as the slain in all the earth have fallen because of Babylon. 50You who have escaped the sword, leave and do not linger! Remember the LORD in a distant land, and think on Jerusalem.” 51“We are disgraced, for we have been insulted and shame covers our faces, because foreigners have entered the holy places of the LORD's house.” 52“But days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will punish her idols, and throughout her land the wounded will groan. 53Even if Babylon reaches the sky and fortifies her lofty stronghold, I will send destroyers against her,” declares the LORD. 54“The sound of a cry comes from Babylon, the sound of great destruction from the land of the Babylonians. 55The LORD will destroy Babylon; he will silence her noisy din. Waves [of enemies] will rage like great waters; the roar of their voices will resound. 56A destroyer will come against Babylon; her warriors will be captured,

and their bows will be broken. For the LORD is a God of retribution; he will repay in full. 57I will make her officials and wise men drunk, her governors, officers and warriors as well; they will sleep forever and not awake,” declares the King, whose name is the LORD Almighty. 58This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Babylon's thick wall will be leveled and her high gates set on fire; the peoples exhaust themselves for nothing, the nations’ labor is only fuel for the flames.” 51:49–50 Another justification for Babylon's fall is stated in v. 49. It would happen because of the people of Israel and of other nations it had slain. The law of lex talionis (i.e., law of retaliation; Exod 21:24–25) would be turned on it (cf. Rev 18:2,20). Another appeal is directed to the Jews in Babylon to linger no longer but to “think on Jerusalem” (lit. “let Jerusalem go up on your heart”). It was time to begin to make their plans to return home and reestablish the covenant with their God. 51:51 The exiles recalled the disgrace and insult (cf. 3:24–25) they had experienced because foreigners had committed the ultimate blasphemy— they entered the “holy places” of the Lord's house. The plural form could refer to the entire complex of buildings in the temple area. 51:52–53 Again the Lord declared that he was going to punish Babylon's idols (cf. 51:44). Its “wounded” (lit. “pierced”; the same word in Isa 53:5) soldiers would groan in their death throes. Nothing could save Babylon. Even if it could build fortifications reaching the sky, the Lord would destroy it. Verse 53 contains a faint suggestion of God's judgment on the building of the tower of Babel (Gen 11:1–9). 51:54–57 In their hour of catastrophe, Babylon's cries of anguish would be heard. The Lord would silence its “noisy din” (lit. “great voice,” i.e., the usual noises heard in a bustling city). Wave after wave of the enemy would

engulf the city like a great tidal wave washing over it (cf. 5:22; 6:23). Babylon's warriors would be captured and its weapons of war broken. The Lord would repay in full for what Babylon had done to other nations.60 Verse 57 is a prose variant of 51:39, with its suggestion of Babylon's leaders being forced to drink the cup of God's wrath. 51:58 Again the destruction of Babylon's wall is announced (cf. 51:44). Its city walls were one of the wonders of the ancient world. Its tall gates that ordinarily protected the city from invaders would be set on fire. The defenders would exhaust themselves to no avail. All their efforts would only serve as fuel for the destructive flames (see Hab 2:13 for a similar statement, suggesting that the words of 51:58 were a popular saying in Judah, known to both prophets). (15) Seraiah's Symbolic Act against Babylon (51:59–64) 59This

is the message Jeremiah gave to the staff officer Seraiah son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went to Babylon with Zedekiah king of Judah in the fourth year of his reign. 60Jeremiah had written on a scroll about all the disasters that would come upon Babylon—all that had been recorded concerning Babylon. 61He said to Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud. 62Then say, ‘O LORD, you have said you will destroy this place, so that neither man nor animal will live in it; it will be desolate forever.’ 63When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates. 64Then say, ‘So will Babylon sink to rise no more because of the disaster I will bring upon her. And her people will fall.’” The words of Jeremiah end here. 51:59–60 Attached at the end of chap. 51 is the account of a symbolic act. It was not performed by Jeremiah but was carried out on his instructions by Seraiah, son of Neriah and brother of Baruch (cf. 32:12; 45:1). As “staff officer” (lit. “official of the resting place”), Seraiah had the responsibility of going ahead of an official group to make arrangements for an overnight resting place. Seraiah accompanied King Zedekiah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign, 594/593 B.C. No reason is given for the

journey, but there is no reason to question its historicity.61 Zedekiah may have been summoned by Nebuchadnezzar as one of his vassals to answer charges that he was involved in a plot to rebel against Babylon (cf. 27:3; 2 Chr 36:13). 51:61–64 Jeremiah wrote the fate of Babylon on a scroll (cf. 25:13). He instructed Seraiah to take the scroll and perform a symbolic act with it when he arrived in Babylon. He was to read the written messages aloud and add an oral message of doom for Babylon (51:62). The reader is not told whether the audience would be large or small or even whether the presence of an audience was necessary. As soon as he read the scroll, he was to tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates. As he watched the message sink in the river, he was to announce that Babylon would sink in the same manner and that its “people will fall” (lit. “they shall weary themselves”; also found in 51:58). Symbolically, he would be spelling Babylon's doom that it would disappear and never rise again as a world power. The chapter closes with, “The words of Jeremiah end here.” J. Lundbom62 has pointed out that this phrase forms an inclusio with 1:1 that begins, “The words of Jeremiah.” The inclusio gives a suggestion of unity to the entire book. This inclusio is even more certain when the fall of Babylon here in 50–51 is paralleled with Babylon's having been implied in 1:11–19 as the “boiling pot” turned on top of Judah; that which God used to destroy Jerusalem (1:13–15) was now in turn destroyed (50–51). The “fall of Babylon” was the message the exiles desired to hear. After having served in exile, the people saw the fall of Babylon as a sign that the Lord is God, not Marduk; it was time to go home (Isa 55:1). 1For

further reading on Mari parallels see A. Malamat, “Prophetic Revelations in New Documents from Mari and the Bible,” Volume de Congrès: Genève 1965, VTSup 15 (London: Brill, 1966), 207–27; W. L. Moran, “New Evidence from Mari on the History of Prophecy,” Bib 50 (1969): 15–56. For theories about the origin of messages against foreign nations, see J. H. Hayes, “The Usage of Oracles against Foreign Nations in Ancient Israel,” JBL 87 (1968): 81–92; D. L. Christensen, Transformations of the War Oracle in Old Testament Testament Prophecy: Studies in the War Oracles against the Nations, SBLDS (Missoula, Mont.:Scholars, 1975); R.

E. Clements, Prophecy and Tradition (Atlanta: John Knox, 1975); J. B. Geyer, “Mythology and Culture in the Oracles against the Nations,” VT 36 (1986): 129–45. 2The LXX text of chaps. 46–51 differs from the MT in several respects: (1) the LXX places 46–51 after 25:13a, omitting v. 14; (2) the messages are arranged differently and omit Hazor; (3) there are also textual differences, the LXX being a shorter text. R.H. Pfeiffer (Introduction to the Old Testament [New York: Harper, 1941], 487) suggested that the nations were grouped geographically (e.g., Egypt-Philistia). J. Hyatt (“Jeremiah,” IB [Nashville: Abingdon, 1956], 1104) thinks they were arranged chronologically according to the history of the nations. J. A. Thompson (The Book of Jeremiah, NICOT [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980], 686) believes the LXX arranged the messages in order of each nation's political importance. R. P. Carroll (Jeremiah, OTL [Philadelphia: Westminster, 1986], 759) probably is correct when he says no discernible order can be detected. Some scholars believe the LXX preserves the original position after 25:13a (Carroll, Jeremiah, 759; E. Nicholson, Jeremiah 26–52, CBC [New York: Cambridge, 1975]; W. Holladay, Jeremiah 2, Her (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1989), 313. The MT may preserve the original order of the nations (Holladay, Jeremiah, Her 2:313; Hyatt, IB 5:1104) if not the position. See also the careful work of J. W. Watts (“Text and Redaction in Jeremiah's Oracles against the Nations,” CBQ 54 [1992]: 432–47), who concludes that the oracles against the nations reflect two different redactions of Jeremiah. According to Watts, the differences between the LXX and the MT oracles against the nations were the work of a single redactor and thus these oracles are valuable in understanding both the composition of the book and its entire interpretation. Watts has rightly pointed out that these oracles should be considered instrumental in understanding the Book of Jeremiah. 3J. Bright, Jeremiah: Introduction, Translation, and Notes, AB (Garden City: Doubleday, 1965), 308, and Nicholson, Jeremiah 26–52, 165. 4The Heb. (“What do I see?”; 46:5) is difficult, lit., “Why have I seen?” NIV probably reflects the correct meaning of the question. 5Lit. “and the flight they flee.” The construction is unusual. Instead of the expected infinitive absolute followed by the finite verb to express emphasis, a noun has taken its place.

6Bright,

Jeremiah, 306. Rudolph and Bright proposed that it may have been Punt on the east coast of Africa, a theory rejected by Holladay. IDB says it was part of Libya. Lydia ( , MT) is generally equated with Lydia in Asia Minor, though Bright proposed that it may have been in North Africa near Egypt. 7Thompson, Jeremiah, 689. 8Jeremiah 46:12 contains perfect tense verbs, lit. “heard… filled… stumbled… fallen” (followed by the LXX). They are all translated as future in NIV: “will hear… will fill… will stumble… will fall.” However, all other major versions maintain past or present tense translation of these verbs. The NIV understands the verbs as expressions of events yet to take place although expressed in completed action. 9Bright, Jeremiah, 308; Holladay, Jeremiah 2, 328; Thompson, Jeremiah, 691; Rudolph, Jeremia, 271. 10Carroll, Jeremiah, 765. 11Instead of, “Why will your warriors be laid low?” (46:15), the LXX divides nis (“laid low,” a translation followed by NIV, NJPS, NASB) to to read, “Why did Haf flee?” (translated by his other name Apis in NEB, NAB, REB, NJB). Haf is better known as Apis, the bull god worshiped in Memphis. Earlier he was considered to be an incarnation of Ptah, but later he became associated with Osiris, a fertility god. For the MT “they cannot stand” (46:15), the LXX reads, “Your bull cannot stand,” a further reference to Haf. 12The MT text of 46:16 is difficult. It reads, “He increased [or “he made many”] stumbling, also a man [or “each one”] fell to his friend.” Cf. the versions for attempted solutions. 13Cf. “King Bombast,” NEB, REB; “Noisy Braggart,” GNB; “Fatality,” Moffatt; “noisy one,” RSV; “Braggart,” NRSV, NJPS; “big noise,” NASB; “a noise,” KJV; “Much-noise,” NJB; “Loudmouth,” Harrison. 14 ( , “let pass”) may be a pun on Hophra's name, Apries, (46:17). 15 is generally translated as “gadfly” (NIV, NEB, REB, NJB, NRSV) but as “mosquito” (Holladay, CHAL; but translated as “horseflies” in Jeremiah 2, 324), “horsefly” (NAB, NASB), “destruction” (KJV, LXX),

“stinging fly” (GNB), “herdsmen” (Moffatt). The variety of translations suggests the uncertainty of absolute identification. Bright (Jeremiah, 304) offers the least controversial translation: “‘a fly’ (precise meaning unknown).” 16The MT, “Her voice [is] like the serpent going away.” The serpent was part of the royal insignia, the coiled uraeus, and was important in Egyptian religion. Thus, the serpent is an apt symbol for Egypt in 46:22. 17Jeremiah 30:11 omits repetition of “Do not fear, O Jacob my servant” found in 46:28. “To save you” (30:11) is not found in 46:28. 18For further reading on the Philistines, see T. Dothan and M. Dothan, People of the Sea: The Search for the Philistines (New York: Macmillan, 1992); R. A. S. Macalister, The Philistines: Their History and Civilization (London: Oxford University Press, 1914); T. C. Mitchell, “Philistia,” in AOTS, ed. D. W. Thomas (Oxford: Clarendon, 1967), 405–28; K. A. Kitchen, “Philistines,” in POTT, ed. D. J. Wiseman (Oxford: Clarendon, 1973), 53–78; T. Dothan, The Philistines and Their Material Culture (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1982); W. F. Albright, “Syria, the Philistines, and Phoenicia,” in CAH II, part 2, ed. I. E. S. Edwards et al. (Cambridge: University Press, 1975), 507–36; R. D. Barnett, “The Sea Peoples,” ibid, 359–78; see also articles on the Philistines in IDB, IDBSup, and ISBE rev. 19Nicholson (Jeremiah 26–52, 176) and Thompson (Jeremiah, 698) point out a Ugaritic parallel for “plain” (“valley,” KJV, NJB) that means strength, a translation followed by NEB and NRSV. The LXX, followed by RSV, translates “remnant on the plain” as “remnant of the Anakim,” based on a slight variant from the MT ( for ). The Anakim (Anakites, NIV) were a race of giants (see Num 13:33; Deut 2:10). Though the meaning of the MT is not clear, Harrison (Jeremiah and Lamentations, 173) says the LXX reading is pure conjecture. 20For further reading on the Moabites, see A. H. van Zil, The Moabites (Leiden: Brill, 1960); J. R. Bartlett, “The Moabites and Edomites,” in POTT, ed. D. J. Wiseman (Oxford: Clarendon, 1973), 229–58, and J. M. Miller, “Moab,” ABD, vol. 4, ed. D. N. Freedman (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 882–93. 21See Holladay, Jeremiah 2, 346–55, for a complete textual analysis.

22The

LXX, followed by Syr and Vg, reads, “She will be completely silenced” by reading as (an infinitive absolute). “Be silenced” could be translated as “will wail” if taken from a similar root. Bright (AB, 319) takes it from a word meaning dung heap. 23The LXX reads “her little ones will cry out” as “proclaim it in Zoar,” one of the cities on the plain that included Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 13:10; 14:2), following Isa 15:5, a reading accepted by RSV, NEB, REB, JB, NAB but rejected by NRSV and NJB. 24Heb. for “bush” is also translated as “Aroer” (JPSV; but the meaning is unclear); “wild ass” (LXX, NAB, RSV); “a desert shrub” (Vg); “heath” (KJV). Nicholson (CBC 2:181) says the translation problem has been settled by the discovery of a cognate Arabic word meaning “sand-grouse” (NEB). 25The NIV translation is based on Moran's translation of sis based on a Ugaritic word. See W. L. Moran, “Ugaritic and Hebrew sis (Eccles 43, 19; Jer 48, 9),” Bib 39 (1958): 69–71. Another proposed meaning of the word will yield the translation, “Give wings to Moab, for she will fly away.” 26The Heb. is difficult, . “Her towns invaded” (NIV) lit. reads “her towns” (a feminine plural noun) “he has gone up” (a masculine singular verb). 27Meaning of the Heb. is disputed. The MT, followed by KJV, says “sit in thirst.” The LXX translates as “sit in a damp place.” By emending to or , Bright (AB, 315) translates as “sit in filth,” and Holladay (Jeremiah 2, 342) translates as “sit in dung.” 28The Heb. word translated “wallow” means to clap the hand or slap the thigh (cf. Num 24:10; Jer 31:19). It may refer to the frantic gestures of a person holding his stomach while vomiting, or it may mean to slap one's thigh in helpless anger or disgust (cf. Bright, AB, 321). It has been interpreted as splashing about in vomit. G. R. Driver (“Difficult Words in the Hebrew Prophets,” in Studies in Old Testament Prophecy, Presented to Theodore H. Robinson, ed. H. H. Rowley [Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1957], 61–62) proposes the meaning “overflow” for , based on Aramaic and Syr

evidence. The LXX reads as “Moab will clap his hands,” perhaps as a gesture of frustration. 29 is lit. “a three-year-old heifer” but is understood as a proper name by most modern versions. The name may mean there were three cities named Eglath or that it was part of a confederation of three cities. 30The LXX omits vv. 45–47 and follows v. 44 with 25:15–38. 31Carroll, Jeremiah, 794. 32See Harrison, Jeremiah and Lamentations, 178; Feinberg, “Jeremiah,” EBC, 663; and Keil, Jeremiah, 234. 33On the Ammonites see the article by that name in The Holman Bible Dictionary, ed., T. Butler (Nashville: Broadman, 1991), 44–45. 34Other oracles against Ammon are found in Jer 9:25; Amos 1:13–15; Ezek 21:18–32; 25:1–7; Zeph 2:8–11. 35Malcam (MT; lit. “their king”), Milcom (LXX, Vg, Syr), and Molech are all derived from (“king”) by a change of vowels. First Kings 11:7 identifies Milcom with Molech. See Deut 12:31; 1 Kgs 11:5,7 for the Lord's attitude toward the gods of other nations. See also G. C. Heider, The Cult of Molek: A Reassessment, JSOTSup 43 (Sheffield: JSOT, 1985). 36The MT says “among the sheep pens” , which is difficult to understand. Many prefer “with gashes” by a slight emendation. Cutting the flesh was a common mourning practice in the ANE. 37“Valleys so fruitful” is lit. “valley flowing.” The phrase could be understood as a valley that flows with abundant productivity or as a reference to the inhabitants who would be carried into exile. Bright (Jeremiah, 325) and others translate “valley” as “strength,” based on a Ugaritic meaning proposed by M. J. Dahood, “The Value of Ugaritic for Textual Criticism,” Bib 40 (1959): 166–70, thus the translation, “Why boast of your strength?” 38See HBD, 395–97. 39For further study of the history of Edom, see J. R. Bartlett, “The Moabites and Edomites,” POTT (Oxford: Clarendon, 1973), 229–58. For other oracles against Edom, see Isa 21:11–12; 34:5–15; 63:1–6; Ezek 25:12–14; 35:1–15; Joel 3:19; Amos 9:12; Obad 1–21.

40See

R. de Vaux, “ ?” RB 76 (1969): 379–85. 41The verbs in 49:10 are perfect forms of the verb (i.e., completed action): “have stripped… have uncovered… have perished.” This verbal form is the perfect of certainty (also called prophetic perfect) and emphasizes that what is going to take place is as good as done. 42Many scholars for some time have substituted Sea of Reeds (Heb. ) for Red Sea when it appears in the OT. However, the argument of B. F. Batto (“The Reed Sea: Requiescat in Pace,” JBL 102 [1983]: 27–38) that yam does mean the Red Sea has caused many scholars to return to the traditional translation. It clearly is intended here. 43HBD, 330–32. 44Lit. “those who cut the edge” (of the hair), a reference to those who cut the corners of their hair (see 9:26). 45See note on 49:18 for the same phrase. 46HBD, 405. 47The verse's unusual introductory formula is also found in 46:1; 47:1. 48For further reading on Babylon, see HBD, 141–44; D. Dockery, ed., Holman Bible Handbook (Nashville: Holman, 1992), 410–11; and W. G. Lambert, “The Babylonians and Chaldeans,” POTT, ed. D. J. Wiseman (Oxford: Clarendon, 1973), 179–96. 49Though NIV translates several verbs in 50:2 in future tense, the Heb. expresses completed action, lit., “Babylon has been captured”; “Bel has been put to shame”; “idols have been filled with terror.” These are examples of the perfect of certainty (see comment on 5:6). 50The LXX says “like heifers in grass,” which fits the context better. A heifer threshing grain would not likely be frolicking at the same time. 51The MT reads (“a host”). Revocalizing as a participle of , it can be read as (“archers”). 52Bright, Jeremiah, 355. 53The (from a word meaning to redeem) was a near kinsman who had certain obligations to members of his family. See Lev 25:25,35,47–49; Num 35:19; Deut 25:5–10, and additional discussion on Jer 31:10–11.

54

is perhaps a play on (i.e., priests in Babylon, who practiced divination). This interpretation was suggested by Bright (AB, 355). 55This interpretation was proposed by C. C. Torrey, The Second Isaiah: A New Interpretation (New York: Scribner's, 1928), 289–90. 56Bright, Jeremiah, 344. 57See 25:26 for explanation of an athbash. Thus, becomes or Chaldea, i.e., Babylon. 58Holladay, Jeremiah 2, 407. 59For (“spewed us out”) the MT reads (“rinsed me out”), which fits well with the figure of an empty jar and therefore does not need to be abandoned. 60“He will repay in full” is lit. “paying he will pay,” infinitive absolute followed by the imperfect, an emphatic construction in Heb. 61A recently discovered bulla stamp seal contains the words “[belonging] to Seraiah [son of] Neriah.” See N. Avigad, “ ,” Eretz-Israel 14 (1978): 86–87. 62J. Lundbom, Jeremiah: A Study in Ancient Hebrew Rhetoric, SBLDS 18 (Missoula, Mont: Scholars, 1975), 25.

SECTION OUTLINE XIII. A SUMMARY OF EVENTS FROM 597 B.C. to 561 B.C. (52:1–34) 1. The Rule of King Zedekiah (52:1–11) 2. The Destruction of Jerusalem (52:12–27) 3. Three Deportations to Babylon (52:28–30) 4. Release of Jehoiachin from Prison (52:31–34)

XIII. A SUMMARY OF EVENTS FROM 597 B.C. TO 561 B.C. (52:1–34) Chapter 52 is essentially the same as 2 Kgs 24:18–25:30 with two important differences: (1) chap. 52 omits the appointment and assassination of Gedaliah (41:1–3; cf. 2 Kgs 25:22–26); (2) 52:28–30 includes the number taken in the three deportations, not found in 2 Kings. The 2 Kings passage probably was added by an editor to the Book of Jeremiah to emphasize that Jeremiah's prophecies of judgment on Judah had been fulfilled, although there is a rabbinic tradition that Jeremiah wrote 1 Kings and 2 Kings as well as the book that bears his name.

1. The Rule of King Zedekiah (52:1–11) 1Zedekiah

was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother's name was Hamutal

daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. 2He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, just as Jehoiakim had done. 3It was because of the LORD's anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah, and in the end he thrust them from his presence. Now Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. 4So in the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. They camped outside the city and built siege works all around it. 5The city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 6By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat. 7Then the city wall was broken through, and the whole army fled. They left the city at night through the gate between the two walls near the king's garden, though the Babylonians were surrounding the city. They fled toward the Arabah, 8but the Babylonian army pursued King Zedekiah and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered, 9and he was captured. He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced sentence on him. 10There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes; he also killed all the officials of Judah. 11Then he put out Zedekiah's eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon, where he put him in prison till the day of his death. 52:1–3 Verses 1–11 contain a summary of Zedekiah's eleven-year rule over Judah. The twenty-one-year-old son of Josiah was made king by Nebuchadnezzar in 597 after deporting his nephew Jehoiachin (cf. 2 Kgs 24:15–17). His mother was Hamutal (cf. 2 Kgs 23:31 for same spelling; but Hamital in 2 Kgs 24:18). She was the daughter of Jeremiah, not the prophet but a third person by that name in the book (cf. 35:3). She was from Libnah, an important city in the Shephelah of Judah whose exact location is unknown. Zedekiah did evil in the eyes of the Lord (a frequently encountered phrase in the books of Kings), just as Jehoiakim had done, though no specific sin is named.

The syntax of v. 3 is ambiguous. The verse reads literally, “Indeed upon the anger of the LORD it was in Jerusalem and Judah until he cast them from his presence” (cf. similarities with 32:31). The JB and NJB suggest that God's wrath was the cause of the sin in Judah; however, it was the sin that incurred his wrath. 52:4–5 As a result of Zedekiah's rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar, on the “tenth day” (lacking in 39:1) of the “tenth month” of Zedekiah's ninth year (i.e., January 588), Nebuchadnezzar's army laid siege to Jerusalem (see Ezek 24:2 for his knowledge of the beginning of the siege). The siege's beginning was memorialized in later Judaism by the institution of a fast on that date (cf. Zech 8:19). The siege continued until Zedekiah's eleventh year. 52:6–8 By the ninth day “of the fourth month” (omitted by 2 Kgs 25:3, i.e., July 587), the city's food supply was exhausted. The suffering resulting from the lack of food is described in Lam 2:12; 4:4,9–10. In their weakened condition the people were unable to defend the city walls, which were broken by the besieged people themselves in order to escape the doomed city. The army fled the city by night toward the Arabah, i.e., in the direction of the Jordan Valley (see Ezek 12:12–14 for additional details of the escape). No explanation is given for their ability to escape through the cordon of soldiers about the city. Their familiarity with the surrounding terrain, however, would have enabled them to escape undetected through enemy lines. The Babylonian army pursued King Zedekiah and captured him in the plains of Jericho (the semidesert plains south of Jericho). His troops deserted him, each seeking to save his own life. 52:9–11 Zedekiah was taken to Nebuchadnezzar at his headquarters in Riblah “in the land of Hamath” (lacking in 2 Kgs 25:6; cf. 39:5–7). Riblah was an ancient Syrian town south of Kadesh on the Orontes River where several military roads between Mesopotamia and Egypt intersected. There Nebuchadnezzar pronounced sentence on Zedekiah and had his sons and all the captured officials killed before his eyes. Then Zedekiah was blinded, bound in bronze shackles, and taken to Babylon. There he was put in prison (lit. “the house of punishment”). He was kept in prison until his death. Zedekiah probably was spared from execution with his sons in order to parade him through the streets of Babylon as a trophy of war.

2. The Destruction of Jerusalem (52:12–27) 12On

the tenth day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard, who served the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 13He set fire to the temple of the LORD, the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down. 14The whole Babylonian army under the commander of the imperial guard broke down all the walls around Jerusalem. 15Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard carried into exile some of the poorest people and those who remained in the city, along with the rest of the craftsmen and those who had gone over to the king of Babylon. 16But Nebuzaradan left behind the rest of the poorest people of the land to work the vineyards and fields. 17The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars, the movable stands and the bronze Sea that were at the temple of the LORD and they carried all the bronze to Babylon. 18They also took away the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes and all the bronze articles used in the temple service. 19The commander of the imperial guard took away the basins, censers, sprinkling bowls, pots, lampstands, dishes and bowls used for drink offerings—all that were made of pure gold or silver. 20The bronze from the two pillars, the Sea and the twelve bronze bulls under it, and the movable stands, which King Solomon had made for the temple of the LORD, was more than could be weighed. 21Each of the pillars was eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference; each was four fingers thick, and hollow. 22The bronze capital on top of the one pillar was five cubits high and was decorated with a network and pomegranates of bronze all around. The other pillar, with its pomegranates, was similar. 23There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides; the total number of pomegranates above the surrounding network was a hundred. 24The commander of the guard took as prisoners Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest next in rank and the three doorkeepers.

25Of

those still in the city, he took the officer in charge of the fighting men, and seven royal advisers. He also took the secretary who was chief officer in charge of conscripting the people of the land and sixty of his men who were found in the city. 26Nebuzaradan the commander took them all and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27There at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the king had them executed. So Judah went into captivity, away from her land. Verses 12–22 are almost identical with 2 Kgs 25:8–17. They describe the systematic destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. 52:12–16 Nebuzaradan entered Jerusalem on the tenth day of the fifth month (August) of Nebuchadnezzar's nineteenth year as Babylon's ruler. Second Kings 25:8 says seventh day, but the difference could be explained as an interval between the arrival of Nebuzaradan and his actual entry into the city. Verse 29 says it was Nebuchadnezzar's eighteenth year. The difference can be explained as a different system of reckoning. Verse 12 was counted from his actual accession to power in 605 (nineteen years), whereas v. 29 was reckoned from the following new year, 604 (eighteen years), the time of his actual coronation. Nebuzaradan's entry was remembered in later Judaism by a fast day (see Zech 7:3; 8:18). Nebuzaradan entered the city a month after the actual breach in the walls (cf. 52:6, ninth day of fourth month, and 52:12, tenth day of fifth month). He set about to level it to the ground. He burned the temple, the royal palace, other houses, and every “important building” (lit. “great house”). The army broke down the walls that surrounded the city. Excavations overlooking the Kidron Valley on Jerusalem's east side have verified the thoroughness of the wall's destruction. He also carried into exile “some of the poorest people” (a phrase not found in 39:9 or 2 Kgs 25:11). He also took craftsmen who could be useful to the Babylonians and those who had transferred their allegiance to Nebuchadnezzar. Others of the poorest people were left in the land to work the vineyards and fields, which had been neglected during the Babylonian invasion. 52:17–19 Before destroying the city, the Babylonians looted the temple of its bronze, silver, and gold articles that would be of value to them (cf. 2

Kgs 25:13–17; see 1 Kgs 7:15–50). They broke the bronze articles into smaller pieces for ease of transportation. They included the bronze pillars (probably Jakin and Boaz, 1 Kgs 7:21) and the stands used to move smaller lavers from place to place. Also taken was the bronze Sea, fifteen feet in diameter and seven and one-half feet high of cast bronze three inches thick and used for ritual washing (see 1 Kgs 7:23–26). Verses 18–19 contain details not found in 2 Kgs 25:14–15. The Babylonians had carried away some temple articles in 597 (cf. 1 Kgs 14:26; 2 Kgs 24:13; Jer 27:16). Apparently replacements had been made during the intervening years. Jeremiah had warned that articles not taken in 597 would later be carried away (27:19–22). Other articles taken included pots and shovels (used to remove ashes of offerings on the altar), wick trimmers (to trim lamp wicks), sprinkling bowls (used to dash the blood of animal sacrifices against the altar), and dishes. “Dishes” is from a word that means palm of the hand, suggesting a small pan that was perhaps used for burning incense. All other bronze articles used in the temple services also were taken. Nebuzaradan also took articles of gold and silver, including basins, censers (probably firepans for carrying live coals to and from the altar), and sprinkling bowls to hold the blood of sacrificed animals (Exod 12:22–23). He also took pots (see v. 11), lampstands (Exod 25:31–40), and dishes and bowls used for drink offerings (Exod 25:29; 1 Kgs 7:49–50 mentions most of these articles.) 52:20–23 The bronze articles mentioned in vv. 17–18 as well as the twelve bronze bulls under the Sea were of such quantity that they were more than could be weighed. Each of the pillars (see v. 17) was eighteen cubits high (about twenty-seven feet, calculating a cubit at eighteen inches). The LXX says thirty-five cubits high, which could not be correct since the temple was only thirty cubits in height (1 Kgs 6:21; cf. 2 Chr 3:15). The pillars were twelve cubits in circumference (about eighteen feet) and four fingers thick (less than three inches) and hollow. The bronze capital on top of each pillar was five cubits high (about seven and one-half feet; 2 Kgs 25:17 gives the height as three cubits). It was decorated with a network and pomegranates of bronze all around (cf. 1 Kgs 7:16–20). Pomegranates were a common ornament in the ANE on buildings

and weapons and were frequently a symbol of fertility. They were also part of the high priest's garment (Exod 28:33–34; 39:24–26). There were ninetysix pomegranates on the sides with an additional four, totaling one hundred. First Kings 7:20,42 says each capital had two hundred pomegranates in two rows. 52:24–27 These verses are almost identical with 2 Kgs 25:18–21. Nebuzaradan took the chief priest Seraiah, who was the grandson of Josiah's high priest Hilkiah (1 Chr 6:13–15). He also took Zephaniah, the priest next in rank. He may have been the same priest mentioned in 21:1; 29:24–28; and 37:3. He also took the three “doorkeepers” (lit. “keepers of the threshold”). They occupied an important temple position probably as high ranking priests serving as custodians in the temple (see commentary on 35:4). Nebuzaradan also took the “officer” ( sometimes translated “eunuch” but here understood as a military officer; see commentary on 29:2) in charge of the fighting men. He took seven “royal advisers” (lit. “those who saw the king's face,” i.e., men who were in the king's inner circle with ready access to him; cf. Esth 1:14). Others taken included the secretary, the chief scribe and officer in charge of conscripting “the people of the land” (see note on 1:18 for discussion of “people of the land”). Sixty of his men found in the city were also taken (lit. “sixty men of the people of the land”). All were taken to Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah, where he had them executed. All those enumerated in 52:25 probably were singled out as a warning to others who might entertain thoughts of rebelling.

3. Three Deportations to Babylon (52:28–30) 28This

is the number of the people Nebuchadnezzar carried into exile: in the seventh year, 3,023 Jews; 29in Nebuchadnezzar's eighteenth year, 832 people from Jerusalem; 30in his twenty-third year, 745 Jews taken into exile by Nebuzaradan

the commander of the imperial guard. There were 4,600 people in all. These verses contain valuable information about the exact number of people carried away in each of the deportations of 597, 587, and 582, details not included in 2 Kgs 25. A fourth deportation is not mentioned here (see Dan 1:1–3). Judah was not completely depopulated by the Babylonians. Those taken were the “good figs” (see chap. 24), who would form the nucleus of the restored community. 52:28–30 There were 3,023 taken in the seventh year, which would be 598/97 B.C. by Babylonian reckoning from the beginning of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, 605. Second Kings 24:14 says ten thousand were taken; 2 Kgs 24:16 names an additional eight thousand for a total of eighteen thousand. The discrepancy between the larger figures of 2 Kgs and 52:28 usually is explained as the inclusion of women and children, whereas 3,023 only included the men.1 In the eighteenth year, the year Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians, 832 people were taken into exile (see comments on 52:12 for the statement that it was the nineteenth year). An additional 745 were taken into exile in Nebuchadnezzar's twenty-third year. This group may have been taken in retaliation for the murder of the Babylonian-appointed governor, Gedaliah (41:1–2). In the three deportations a total of forty-six hundred people were taken, not a large number over a period of more than fifteen years.

4. Release of Jehoiachin from Prison (52:31–34) 31In

the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the year Evil-Merodach became king of Babylon, he released Jehoiachin king of Judah and freed him from prison on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month. 32He spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat of honor higher than those of the other kings who were with him in Babylon. 33So Jehoiachin put aside his prison clothes and for the rest of his life ate regularly at the king's table. 34Day by day the king of

Babylon gave Jehoiachin a regular allowance as long as he lived, till the day of his death. 52:31–34 These verses are also found in 2 Kgs 25:27–30 with minor variations. It is unlikely that Jeremiah was still living since he would have been almost ninety years of age. In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin (the LXX inexplicably says Jehoiakim), which was the year Evil-Merodach become king of Babylon, he freed the imprisoned ruler of Judah. The Babylonian ruler's Akkadian name was Awel-Marduk (also spelled Amel Marduk), meaning man of Marduk. The Hebrew misspelling probably was intentional since Evil means fool or stupid. The accession of a new king customarily was a time for gracious acts by the new ruler, such as granting amnesty to prisoners. Amel-Marduk ruled only two years (562–560). He alienated his subjects by his extravagance and debauchery and was assassinated by his brother-in-law Neriglissar, who succeeded him to the throne (560–556). On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month he released Jehoiachin (lit. “lifted up the head of Jehoiachin,” an expression that can indicate favor, Gen 40:13, or disfavor, Gen 40:19). Second Kings 25:27 says it was the twenty-seventh day. Thirty-seven years was an exceedingly long period of imprisonment for one who ruled only three months. Amel-Marduk gave Jehoiachin a seat of honor above all the other subjugated kings who sat at his table. It was a common practice for a victorious ruler to keep captive kings at his court as a reminder of his victories and also as a warning to the subjects of that king not to rebel. For the rest of Jehoiachin's life, he “ate regularly” (lit. “ate bread”) at the king's table (cf. 2 Sam 9:7; 19:33). Every day until his death he was given a regular allowance by the king. Tablets from the Ishtar Gate in Babylon confirm that Jehoiachin did receive a regular food supply from the king.2 The inclusion of Jehoiachin's release as the conclusion of the Book of Jeremiah probably was intended to communicate hope to the despondent Jews that just as Jehoiachin had been freed, so one day the nation would be free. Thus the book ends on a positive note that a descendant of David was still alive and through him the kingdom could be reestablished. Jeremiah promised a restored Davidic ruler in 23:5–6; 30:8–9,21; 33:14–17.

Therefore chap. 52 is not an unnecessary postscript or anticlimax to the book. Rather, “The chapter seems to say: the divine word has been fulfilled —and will be fulfilled.”3 1T.

Laetsch (Bible Commentary: Jeremiah [St. Louis: Concordia, 1952], 370) argues that vv. 28–30 do not contain a total of all the deportees but rather state the number deported not recorded elsewhere. The 3,023 Jews deported in Nebuchadnezzar's seventh year (v. 38) were those taken after Jehoiakim's death as a warning to others not to rebel. However, a rebellion against Jehoiakim's son Jehoiachin in Nebuchadnezzar's eighth year (2 Kgs 24:12) resulted in an additional ten thousand being carried away. 2Excavations by R. Koldewey at Babylon uncovered a number of cuneiform tablets that list allocations for various foreigners, including Jehoiachin and his sons, of daily rations of oil. Cf. ANET, 308; DOTT, 84–86. 3J. Bright, Jeremiah: Introduction, Translation, and Notes, AB (Garden City: Doubleday, 1965), 370.

Lamentations INTRODUCTION OUTLINE 1. Title 2. Authorship 3. Date 4. Structure of the Book 5. Historical Setting 6. Theological Values

INTRODUCTION The Book of Lamentations appears after the Book of Jeremiah in our English Bibles. In the Hebrew Bible it is found in the third division (called Ketubim, “Writings”). There it is grouped with four other books (Ruth, Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, and Esther), which together are called the Megilloth (“Scrolls”). It contains a mournful cry of sorrow over Jerusalem's destruction together with an anguished confession of the sin that caused the calamity. The book is read in synagogues each year on a fast day, the Ninth of Ab (the fifth Hebrew month), to commemorate the anniversary of the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in 587 B.C.

1. Title

Its title in the Hebrew Bible is (“how!” or “in what way?”), the first word in 1:1; 2:1; and 4:1, a stereotyped opening word for a dirge in ancient times. Talmudic and rabbinic writers called it Qinot (“dirges”). The Septuagint translators called the book Threnoi (“dirges”) of Jeremiah and placed it after the Book of Jeremiah.1 Jerome also placed it after Jeremiah in his Latin translation (the Vulgate). He added to the title Threni a subtitle, Id est Lamentationes Jeremiae Prophetae (“that is, Lamentations of Jeremiah the Prophet”). Some English versions call it The Lamentations of Jeremiah (KJV, NRSV, and NASB). Others call it Lamentations (NIV, NJB, JPSV, and NEB). The various titles given to the book reflect its underlying theme: lament over the destruction of Jerusalem.

2. Authorship The tradition that Jeremiah was the author of Lamentations is quite ancient among the Jewish people (m. B. Bat. 15a; Josephus) as well as the church fathers, although his name is nowhere found in the book. The Septuagint and Vulgate titles are also ancient witnesses to the Jeremiah tradition. Jeremiah was well qualified to be its author, both as an eyewitness to the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 B.C. and as a known composer of elegiac poetry. Second Chronicles 35:25 may be the source of the Jeremiah tradition although the verse refers to the death of King Josiah. Jeremiah's intense love for Jerusalem and its people as indicated in his prophecy would have qualified him to be the author of the book.2 H. von der Hardt, as can best be determined, in 1712 was the first to question Jeremianic authorship.3 He attributed the five chapters that compose the book to Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and King Jehoiachin! Arguments against Jeremianic authorship include significant differences in style (acrostics are not present in Jeremiah) and vocabulary (words and expressions that do not occur in Jeremiah but are in Lamentations).4 His defenders reply to these arguments that the different theme would require a different style and choice of words. It has been argued that Jeremiah would not have penned statements such as 2:9c (condemnation of prophets); 4:7 (praise of rulers); and 5:7 (sorrow

over Jerusalem's destruction) in light of statements such as Jer 7:25; 22:1– 30; and 7:20 (cf. Jer 23:9–40). It is not inconsistent for Jeremiah to condemn false prophets while acknowledging that there were true prophets or to describe the former grandeur of rulers and also condemn their wickedness, or to grieve over Jerusalem's suffering and at the same time announce judgment on the city (Jer 9:1; 13:17; 17:16). Jeremianic authorship has been questioned on the basis of the acrostic structure of the poems.5 Would a person whose heart was breaking and overcome with grief express his emotions in such a carefully structured manner? The answer is that a poet could. Some of the greatest poetry has been written under the influence of a shattering emotional experience. Another argument against Jeremianic authorship is based on the poet's appeal for retribution on the Babylonians who were responsible for Jerusalem's misery (3:64–66) since Jeremiah considered them to be God's agents of punishment on his people (Jer 24:5; 32:5; 38:18). The Book of Jeremiah, however, contains similar appeals (25:12; 50:1–51:58). There is no inconsistency in seeing Babylon both as an instrument of judgment and the object of God's judgment. Many scholars deny the unity of the book, insisting that the poems were written by different authors over a period of years and eventually collected.6 However, the similarities of style, vocabulary, and theological outlook, as well as the uniform historical setting, are strong arguments for one author for all five poems. Jeremianic authorship cannot be proven as the preceding discussion demonstrates. However, it is certainly possible, especially if one takes seriously the weight of Jewish and Christian tradition and the virtual certainty that the author witnessed the destruction of Jerusalem. However, inspiration and value of Scripture do not depend on certain identification of the human author or authors. We can know he was an eyewitness to Jerusalem's fall, a skillful poet, a person who had deep feelings about his people, and one who loved his country; this qualifies Jeremiah as the author of Lamentations. Authorship was not necessarily linked to who held the “pen” but rather who spoke the words. In this case there is no reason to doubt that Jeremiah uttered these laments, thus making him the author.

3. Date Because of the emotionally charged nature of the laments over Jerusalem's destruction, the author must have been an eyewitness to the city's fall. There is almost universal agreement that the book was written soon after 587 B.C.,7 while the events were still vivid in the author's memory. Attempts to prove that Jeremiah wrote Lamentations prophetically after King Josiah's death in 609 have no merit. Equally unconvincing have been attempts to date the book hundreds of years later, during the Persian or Maccabean period or after the capture of Jerusalem by Pompey in 63 B.C. It is unlikely that one removed from such a catastrophe by centuries would be able to capture the mood of heartbreak and despair, even as a poet today, however skillful, could not recapture the spirit of unrestrained jubilation felt by the British after Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo in 1815.

4. Structure of the Book Lamentations is a skillfully structured book of five separate poems. Each poem is complete in itself and independent of its predecessor or successor, yet all share a common theme of sorrow over Jerusalem's fall, though from different perspectives.8 Sometimes the grief is individual; sometimes it is an expression of national grief. The funeral mood was communicated to those who first heard or read Lamentations by the dirgelike meter (Qinah meter) that characterizes much of the book.9 Its simplest form is two lines, the first with three accented syllables and the second with two. The effect was a mournful sound to the ears of those who heard it, which is lost to modern ears in English translations. Scholars differ about the classification of the literary types found in the five poems, although all agree there is a mixture. The individual lament, communal lament, funeral dirge, wisdom instruction, and song of thanksgiving have been identified in Lamentations.10 The structure's most striking feature is the use of the acrostic, or alphabetical arrangement, in which successive lines of the poem begin with

consecutive letters of the alphabet. The acrostics employed in Lamentations are, of course, not apparent in English translations. There are twenty-two verses in chaps. 1–2, corresponding to the twentytwo letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Each verse is composed of three lines; the first word of each verse begins with a consecutive Hebrew letter.11 Chapter 3 has sixty-six verses of one line each. The first three verses begin with the first letter of the alphabet; the next three verses begin with the second letter, and so on. Chapter 4 has twenty-two verses of two lines each; the first word of each verse begins with consecutive Hebrew letters. Chapter 5 contains twenty-two verses, but it is not an acrostic (cf. Ps 103); nor does it contain the Qinah meter. Perhaps the breakdown in the pattern that characterizes the previous chapters was deliberate in order to suggest chaos and despair. No explanation for the acrostic structure of the five poems has met with universal agreement. Some think they were composed as a pedagogic device to teach schoolboys the alphabet.12 Some think the acrostic was intended to facilitate memorization of the poems. Some believe it reveals a belief in the magical powers of letters. Others believe the poems were deliberately structured as acrostics with a view to liturgical usage to commemorate Jerusalem's destruction in solemn religious services. The most likely explanation for the use of acrostics in Lamentations is that they symbolized a complete and exhaustive expression of grief, even as we might say, “Everything from A to Z has been said on the subject.” Gottwald believes that the acrostic also served to express a complete cleansing of conscience through total confession of sin.13

5. Historical Setting The Babylonians' capture of Jerusalem in 587 B.C.14 was not the first time the city had experienced invasion and plunder by enemies (cf. 1 Kgs 14:25–26; 2 Kgs 14:13–14; 23:33; 2 Chr 21:16–17; 2 Chr 25:22–24; 33:11). However, no previous enemy had wrought such total destruction on the city

that included the razing of Solomon's temple. In 588 King Zedekiah, with some encouragement from the Egyptians, rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar in an attempt to reassert Judah's independence. After an eighteen-month siege by the Babylonian army, Jerusalem was taken, looted, and then destroyed. Many of its inhabitants were put to death, enslaved, exiled, or fled to Egypt. King Zedekiah and other leaders were taken to Babylon (Jer 39:1–10; 52:29).

6. Theological Values More devastating to the morale of Judah than the destruction of the temple and loss of independence was the theological crisis created by the catastrophe. Human suffering always precipitates probing questions about God. The faith of many Jews must have been shattered by the events. They had believed that Jerusalem was inviolable and that God's temple could not be destroyed because he dwelt there (cf. Jer 7:1–8). Also he would surely fight the battles of his people. This may have been prompted by the deliverance of Jerusalem from Sennacherib in 701 B.C. (2 Kgs 19). Because of the disastrous defeat, some must have concluded that God had been powerless before the gods of the Babylonian armies (cf. Isa 50:2). Others, who could not believe God was powerless to help them, concluded that he had abandoned them, an equally devastating conclusion. However, there must have been a few who realized that recent events were God's punishment upon a nation that had refused to heed the repeated warnings of the prophets of God's coming wrath if they did not repent. Those few began to understand the prophets' announcements that a purged remnant would be spared to rebuild the nation (Jer 24:5–6; 29:10,14; Ezek 6:8–9; 11:17).15 Can a book written centuries ago about the downfall of an ancient city be of value or interest to a twentieth-century audience? This issue was of great concern to the Jews in Babylon years later (cf. Ps 137). It serves as a reminder that God keeps his word concerning judgment. Also 2 Tim 3:16 justifies a search for a contemporary message in this ancient book.

Contemporary applications that can be made from the Book of Lamentations include the following: (1) the wickedness of any people will eventually result in the disintegration of that society; (2) we should never take God's past blessings as assurance that they will continue when we continue in sin; (3) our nation and our churches are subject to God's judgment when they are no longer faithful; (4) God fulfills his word; (5) though many solutions for human suffering have been proposed, ultimately the only satisfactory way to deal with it is through deep and abiding faith in God in spite of the circumstances. God is patient and compassionate, not willing that any should perish (2 Pet 3:9; 1 Tim 2:4); but when all warnings are ignored, nothing remains but his judgment. We should never presume upon God's mercy and compassion. The Book of Lamentations contains the implied warning that sometimes it is too late to weep and repent; nonetheless, God is always faithful (3:23). 1See

B. Albrektson, Studies in the Text and Theology of the Book of Lamentations, Studia Theologica Lundensia 21 (Lund: CWK Gleerup, 1963), 208–13, for an evaluation of the LXX translation of Lamentations; cf. W. Rudolph, “Der Text der Klagelieder,” ZAW 56 (1938): 101–22. 2Scholars who favor Jeremianic authorship are few. They include C. F. Keil, “The Lamentations of Jeremiah,” in Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Prophecies of Jeremiah, vol. 2, ed. C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1956), 339–50; A. W. Streane, Jeremiah and Lamentations, CB (Cambridge: University Press, 1892), 358; H. Wiesmann, “Die literarische Art der Klagelieder des Jeremias,” TQ 110 (1929): 381–428; idem, “Der Verfasser des Buchleins der Klagelieder ein Augenzeuge der behandelten Ereignisse?” Bib 17 (1936): 71–84; G. L. Archer, Jr., A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, rev. ed. (Chicago: Moody, 1974), 366–67. 3G. Ricciotti, Le Lamentazioni de Geremia (Turin and Rome, 1924), 35. For a balanced discussion of the question of authorship of Lamentations, see R. K. Harrison, Introduction to the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1969), 1069–70; D. R. Hillers, Lamentations: Introduction,

Translation, and Notes, AB, rev. ed. (Garden City: Doubleday, 1992), 10– 15; Keil, “Lamentations of Jeremiah,” 340. 4Hillers, AB, 10–15; cf. S. R. Driver, An Introduction to the Literature of the Old Testament (New York: Meridian, 1958), 462, for a list of similarities of expression between Jeremiah and Lamentations. M. Löhr, “Der Sprachgebrauch des Buches der Klagelieder,” ZAW 14 (1894): 31–50, cites parallels with Jeremiah's phraseology and also with that of Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Psalms. 5N. K. Gottwald, Studies in the Book of Lamentations, SBT 14 (London: SCM, 1962), 25–30. An acrostic is a poetic arrangement in which the first letters of successive lines appear in alphabetical order. For an explanation of the acrostic structure of the Book of Lamentations, see the discussion under the heading “Structure of the Book.” 6O. Eissfeldt, The Old Testament: An Introduction, trans. P. R. Ackroyd (New York: Harper, 1965), 504–5; A. Weiser, The Old Testament: Its Formation and Development, trans. D. M. Barton (New York: Association, 1961), 306–7; R. H. Pfeiffer, Introduction to the Old Testament (New York: Harper, 1948), 722–23; H. L. Ellison, “Lamentations,” EBC, vol. 6, ed. F. E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986), 716. 7W. Rudolph, Das Buch Ruth, Das Hohe Lied, Die Klagelieder, KAT xvii, 1–3 (Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlaghaus Gerd Mohn, 1962), 193, argues that chap. 1 was written shortly after the first capitulation of Jerusalem in 597 B.C. 8N. Gottwald, The Hebrew Bible: A Socio-Literary Introduction (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1985), 542, says the five chapters follow a chiastic principle in arrangement. 9Chapter 5 does not employ the Qinah meter. Qinah meter was first identified by K. Budde, “Das hebraische Klagelied,” ZAW 2 (1882): 1–52; 3 (1883): 299–306; cf. W. H. Shea, “The Qinah Structure of the Book of Lamentations,” Bib 60 (1979): 103–7. 10For a more detailed analysis of the literary types found in Lamentations, consult O. Kaiser, Introduction to the Old Testament, trans. J. Sturdy (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1975), 356–58; E. Sellin and G. Fohrer,

Introduction to the Old Testament, 10th ed., trans. D. E. Green (Nashville: Abingdon, 1968), 296–97; Eissfeldt, 501–3; Gottwald, Studies, 33–46. 11In chaps. 2–4 the order of the Hebrew letters and is reversed. No satisfactory explanation has been proposed for this reversal. 12Gottwald (Studies, 23–32) discusses a number of explanations for the acrostic structure of Lamentations. H. Kraus, Klaaelieder (Threni), BKAT XX (Neukirchen: Neukirchener, 1960), 6, cites literary finds from Ugarit that show that an alphabetical sequence was employed in instruction. 13Ibid., 28,30. 14J. H. Hayes and P. K. Hooker (A New Chronology for the Kings of Israel and Judah and Its Implications for Biblical History and Literature [Atlanta: John Knox, 1988], 97) argue for mid-July 586 B.C. as the date of Jerusalem's fall. 15For the theology of Lamentations, see Gottwald, Studies, 47–111; Albrektson, 214–39; A. Weiser, Klagelieder, Das Alte Testament Deutsch 16/2 (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1958), 44–47; H. J. Kraus, Klagelieder (Threni), BKAT 20, 2nd ed. rev. (Neukirchen Kreis Moers: Neukirchener, 1960), 15–18. See M. S. Moore, “Human Suffering in Lamentations,” RB 90 (1983): 534–55, for a critique of both Gottwald and Albrektson.

OUTLINE OF THE BOOK I. The Misery and Desolation of Jerusalem (1:1–22) 1. A Description of the City's Destruction (1:1–11) 2. The City's Plea for Compassion (1:12–17) 3. The City's Confession of Sin (1:18–20) 4. An Appeal for Punishment of Jerusalem's Enemies (1:21–22) II. God's Judgment on the City (2:1–22)

1. God's Wrath Expressed in Jerusalem's Destruction (2:1–9) 2. The Suffering of the People (2:10–13) 3. Misleading Advice of False Prophets (2:14) 4. Ridicule by the Enemies (2:15–17) 5. An Anguished Appeal to God (2:18–22) III. Hope of Relief through Loving-Kindness (3:1–66) 1. An Individual's Description of the Suffering (3:1– 20) 2. God's Past Mercies as the Basis for Future Hope (3:21–39) 3. An Appeal for God's Mercy (3:40–51) 4. An Appeal for Deliverance and a Call for Vengeance (3:52–66) IV. Sorrows of the People Resulting from the Siege (4:1–22) 1. Remembrances of Better Days (4:1–11) 2. The Sins of Prophets and Priests (4:12–16) 3. A Vain Search for Help (4:17–20) 4. Edom's Coming Punishment (4:21–22) V. A Prayer for Mercy and Deliverance (5:1–22) 1. The Affliction and Suffering of the People (5:1– 13) 2. The Loss of Joy and Hope (5:14–18)

3. An Appeal for the Lord's Restored Favor (5:19–22)

SECTION OUTLINE I. THE MISERY AND DESOLATION OF JERUSALEM (1:1–22) 1. A Description of the City's Destruction (1:1–11) 2. The City's Plea for Compassion (1:12–17) 3. The City's Confession of Sin (1:18–20) 4. An Appeal for Punishment of Jerusalem's Enemies (1:21–22)

I. THE MISERY AND DESOLATION OF JERUSALEM (1:1–22) Jerusalem had suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Babylonians. The once-proud city had been looted and destroyed. Disease, famine, and death are the usual consequences for a defeated people; but for Jerusalem an even more painful affliction was added: God seemed to pay no attention to the cries of the suffering survivors.

1. A Description of the City's Destruction (1:1–11) 1How

deserted lies the city, once so full of people! How like a widow is she, who once was great among the nations!

She who was queen among the provinces has now become a slave. 2Bitterly she weeps at night, tears are upon her cheeks. Among all her lovers there is none to comfort her. All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies. 3After affliction and harsh labor, Judah has gone into exile. She dwells among the nations; she finds no resting place. All who pursue her have overtaken her in the midst of her distress. 4The roads to Zion mourn, for no one comes to her appointed feasts. All her gateways are desolate, her priests groan, her maidens grieve, and she is in bitter anguish. 5Her foes have become her masters; her enemies are at ease. The LORD has brought her grief because of her many sins. Her children have gone into exile, captive before the foe. 6All the splendor has departed from the Daughter of Zion. Her princes are like deer that find no pasture; in weakness they have fled before the pursuer. 7In the days of her affliction and wandering Jerusalem remembers all the treasures that were hers in days of old.

When her people fell into enemy hands, there was no one to help her. Her enemies looked at her and laughed at her destruction. 8Jerusalem has sinned greatly and so has become unclean. All who honored her despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; she herself groans and turns away. 9Her filthiness clung to her skirts; she did not consider her future. Her fall was astounding; there was none to comfort her. “Look, O LORD, on my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed.” 10The enemy laid hands on all her treasures; she saw pagan nations enter her sanctuary— those you had forbidden to enter your assembly. 11All her people groan as they search for bread; they barter their treasures for food to keep themselves alive. “Look, O LORD, and consider, for I am despised.” 1:1 Lamentations begins on a mournful note that is sustained throughout the book. Jerusalem had been destroyed by the Babylonians. The once-thriving nation's commercial and religious center was now devastated and largely deserted. Formerly a “princess” ( , a noble lady), Jerusalem was now compared to a widow bereaved of husband and children. The widow is a frequent biblical figure for loneliness and despair (Deut 24:19–21; 1 Kgs 17:9–24; Isa 10:2; 47:8; 54:4–5; Ezek 22:7). She

who had once ruled nations such as Moab and Edom during the reigns of David and Solomon was now reduced to the status of “slave” (mas; a word that means forced labor, “vassal”; cf. Judg 1:30, 35; 2 Chr 8:8). The verse is a graphic picture of before and after. 1:2 One of life's most painful experiences is to be deserted or betrayed in time of need by those we thought were friends. Judah had frequently put its trust in other nations rather than in the Lord (1 Kgs 15:16–20; 2 Kgs 16:5–7; Hos 2:7; 7:11; 8:9–10; Jer 22:20–22; Ezek 23:1–48). The phrase “among all her lovers” sounds like Jer 3:1. Judah had not listened to the prophets' warnings and now was suffering the consequences of misplaced trust. Egypt's promise of help had proved to be undependable (Jer 37:5–8); and Judah's long-time enemy, Edom, joined in the plunder of the fallen city (Obad 11–14). “She weeps at night” expresses the unending grief of the city, the result of foolishly relying on human support rather than on the Lord. 1:3 The interpretation of this verse depends on a correct understanding of how the preposition min is used.1 If causal (“because of,” KJV, “from,” NAB), it means that Judah went voluntarily to Egypt (cf. Jer 43:4–7) and other lands to escape the servitude imposed by the Babylonians. Ezekiel 12:3 and 2 Sam 15:19 are cited in support of this interpretation of exile as voluntary migration. NIV and JB prefer a temporal translation of the preposition (“after”). They understand the verse to mean that after a long period of trouble and hardship prior to the exile, calamity had now fallen on Judah. NRSV translates “with.” “She dwells among the nations” has been understood as a reference to the scattering of the people through exile (Jer 40:11–12) or simply as a statement that once Judah had been a sovereign nation among other nations. 1:4 This verse is a reminder that the roads that led to Jerusalem once were crowded with pilgrims but were now deserted. The priests groaned because the temple, formerly the center of their life and activity, was no more. “Her maidens grieve”2 because their chances for marriage and family were now precarious. 1:5 Judah's enemies had now become its “masters” (lit. “head”). The verse makes clear that it was the Lord who had brought “grief”3 on Judah as punishment for its sins (lit. “rebellions”; cf. Deut 28:36,41). The verse is

also a painful reminder that innocent children often suffer the consequences of the sins of parents (Exod 20:5). 1:6 This verse probably is a reference to Zedekiah and his courtiers, who fled the doomed city (2 Kgs 25:4; Jer 39:4) like frightened deer. They were not concerned for those they left behind but were so weak from fear and hunger they could not escape their pursuers. The leaders who could have averted the disaster if they had surrendered as Jeremiah advised them to do (Jer 38:17) now only thought of themselves.4 1:7 Jerusalem remembered its past glory and present misery.5 The Babylonians had laughed at the destruction they left in Jerusalem.6 The verse serves as a warning against smug confidence that affluence and security can never be taken away (Prov 16:18). 1:8 Jerusalem's sin, first mentioned in v. 5, is now considered more closely. It is a major theological emphasis of the book. The image is of a woman once honored and sought after but now shunned as an unclean person (Lev 12:2,5; 15:19).7 Nakedness probably refers to one of sullied reputation, one who has become a harlot and shamelessly flaunts her nakedness (i.e., her sins). Judah's harlotry was its participation in the immoral Baal rites (Hos 2:8,13; cf. Isa 47:3; Ezek 16:37). The people now recognized their sin and turned away in shame to hide themselves. 1:9 This verse continues the figure of the harlot whose sins have now caught up with her and are visible to all. “Her skirts” is a reference perhaps to Jer 13:22,26 (cf. Isa 47:2). Jerusalem was indifferent to its covenant responsibility to reflect the holiness of God in daily living. The people serve as a warning to those who weaken the credibility of the Christian witness by their immorality. Jerusalem's devastating fall seems to have brought the need to cry out to God for relief from suffering and from the mockery of enemies (an appeal repeated in v. 11). Like Judah, many turn to God only after a time of affliction and suffering.8 1:10 Jerusalem remembered how the Babylonians broke into the city after an eighteen-month siege and plundered it of its “treasures.”9 No greater abomination or humiliation could befall the Hebrews than for pagans to enter their beloved temple (Deut 23:2–3; Neh 13:7–9; Ezek

44:7,9). Even an Israelite who was not a priest could not enter the sacred building. 1:11 To their spiritual affliction was added the physical affliction of hunger. The inhabitants of Jerusalem were forced to give up their prized possessions (including their children, who were eaten or sold as slaves) in order to procure “food”10 (cf. 2 Kgs 6:25–29; Jer 37:21; 38:9; 52:6) “to keep themselves alive”11 during and after the siege.

2. The City's Plea for Compassion (1:12–17) 12“Is

it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look around and see. Is any suffering like my suffering that was inflicted on me, that the LORD brought on me in the day of his fierce anger? 13“From on high he sent fire, sent it down into my bones. He spread a net for my feet and turned me back. He made me desolate, faint all the day long. 14“My sins have been bound into a yoke; by his hands they were woven together. They have come upon my neck and the Lord has sapped my strength. He has handed me over to those I cannot withstand. 15“The Lord has rejected all the warriors in my midst; he has summoned an army against me to crush my young men. In his winepress the Lord has trampled the Virgin Daughter of Judah.

16“This

is why I weep and my eyes overflow with tears. No one is near to comfort me, no one to restore my spirit. My children are destitute because the enemy has prevailed.” 17Zion stretches out her hands, but there is no one to comfort her. The LORD has decreed for Jacob that his neighbors become his foes; Jerusalem has become an unclean thing among them. 1:12 Jerusalem spoke as a person who had experienced unparalleled suffering but finds no sympathetic response (cf. Job 19:21–22 for a similar poignant appeal for human pity).12 The poet acknowledged that the suffering was being inflicted because of God's wrath. 1:13 The horrors of the siege are expressed graphically by use of figures of fire, a net, and sickness within the city. Fire burned deep within the city. No one was able to escape; and the people were weak from fear, disease, and hunger. The verse leaves no doubt that God was the source of the calamity that had befallen the city (cf. Ezek 9). 1:14 Another figure is used to describe the present ruin and helplessness of Jerusalem. Like a heavy yoke about the neck, Jerusalem's sins were heavy and could not be shaken off. In a weakened condition, Jerusalem was an easy prey for the enemy. In spite of the textual problems of the verse,13 its meaning is clear. 1:15 “Rejected” ( , MT; NJB, NASB; “spurned,” JB; “treated with scorn,” NEB) has also been understood to mean “take away forcibly” (Keil), “heaped up” (from sll, Hillers 14), “trodden under foot” (KJV), “rejected” (NRSV). The meaning, however, is essentially the same: the Lord was no longer supporting his people in their struggle against the enemy. “Army” , a solemn assembly or festival (KJV, RSV), is difficult to understand here, since normally it was a joyful occasion. Here it must have been a festive celebration by the enemy as a result of its victory over

Jerusalem's army, unless taken as (used only in Isa 14:31 and is uncertain in meaning; “an army,” NIV, JB, NAB, NEB; “host,” NJB). Since can also mean “an appointed time” (NASB), it could mean that the Lord had proclaimed the fixed time for Jerusalem's defeat. The “winepress” (a figure for God's wrath, Isa 63:3; Rev 14:19; 19:15) vividly represents the crushed resistance and the defenders' lifeblood shed like grapes crushed in a winepress. The verse is a solemn reminder that God's people are not exempt from punishment when they sin.15 1:16 “My eyes overflow with tears” (lit. “my eye, my eye runs down with water”).16 Though expressed in the first person singular, the writer was speaking on behalf of the entire city. The lack of a comforter, human or divine, is mentioned frequently in this chapter (1:2,9,16,17,21). Grief is always intensified when it seems as though no one cares (Job 16:2; 19:21). 1:17 Jerusalem is compared to a desperately sick or needy person with outstretched hand pleading for pity or help. Instead of finding help, there was no one to comfort or console because the Lord had ordered its destruction. Jerusalem's neighbors, who should have been sympathetic, exulted in the spectacle of its ruin. Sin made it unclean like the woman declared ceremonially unclean under Mosaic law (Lev 12:2,5; 15:19–26; see also Ezek 7:19–20; 18:6). Sin is frequently compared in the OT to something that is repulsive (Isa 64:6; Ezek 16:51; 23:5–21; Mic 3:2–3).

3. The City's Confession of Sin (1:18–20) 18“The

LORD is righteous, yet I rebelled against his command. Listen, all you peoples; look upon my suffering. My young men and maidens have gone into exile. 19“I called to my allies but they betrayed me. My priests and my elders perished in the city

while they searched for food to keep themselves alive. 20“See, O LORD, how distressed I am! I am in torment within, and in my heart I am disturbed, for I have been most rebellious. Outside, the sword bereaves; inside, there is only death. 1:18–19 Jerusalem acknowledged both the righteousness of God and its own sin (“I rebelled” translates a word that means to behave obstinately; cf. Num 20:10,24). It had deliberately ignored God's commands17 and was now suffering the consequences. There is no questioning of divine justice here as in the Book of Job. The way to reconciliation with God must begin with confession of sin (Ps 51). Even though Jerusalem was willing to confess its sin, it felt the need for human sympathy. Again Judah summoned all peoples to observe its suffering (cf. 1:12). It had seen its young men and women carried into exile and betrayed by its “allies” (lit. “lovers,” cf. 1:2), especially by Egypt. It also had watched the priests and elders (the very leaders who had ignored Jeremiah's warnings) die of starvation during the siege while scrounging for food that could not be found.18 1:20 In v. 18 Jerusalem appealed for the sympathy of other peoples; here it appealed to God to take notice of its suffering.19 Again Jerusalem admitted its rebelliousness that had led to death and pestilence in the streets and in the homes (cf. Deut 32:25).20 “In my heart I am disturbed” describes severe inner suffering. In Hos 11:8 a similar phrase is translated to denote compassion, “My heart is changed within me.”

4. An Appeal for Punishment of Jerusalem's Enemies (1:21–22) 21“People

have heard my groaning, but there is no one to comfort me. All my enemies have heard of my distress;

they rejoice at what you have done. May you bring the day you have announced so they may become like me. 22“Let all their wickedness come before you; deal with them as you have dealt with me because of all my sins. My groans are many and my heart is faint.” 1:21–22 Jerusalem's enemies heard of its “distress”;21 but instead of giving comfort, they rejoiced that God had brought punishment on his people. Jerusalem's response was to call on God to punish its enemies, even as he had punished it. Jeremiah also frequently appealed to God to bring vengeance on those who were persecuting him (Jer 11:20; 12:3; 15:15; 17:18; 18:21–23; 20:11; cf. Ps 109:1–20).22 Invoking a curse on one's enemies was a common practice in ancient times. It is common response to those who have hurt us, but Jesus invokes a different principle, “Love your enemies” (Matt 5:44). The first lament has focused on the misery and desolation of a city that suffered the consequences of ignoring the prophets' warnings that God punishes those who sin. It serves as a solemn reminder of the ultimate misery and sorrow of all who think they can escape God's punishment. 1R.

B. Salters, “Lamentations 1:3. Light from the History of Exegesis,” in A Word in Season: Essays in Honour of William McKane, ed. J. D. Martin and P. R. Davies (Sheffield, England: JSOT, 1986), 73–90, for an analysis of the problems of this verse. Also see D. Hillers, Lamentations, AB, rev. ed. (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 66–67. 2NRSV follows the LXX and OL, “Her maidens have been dragged away,” i.e., as captives. 3Lit., “has afflicted her” (i.e., tormented her). The same word is used in v. 4 about the maidens who “grieve” the Lord , who is mentioned for the first time in Lamentations in this verse. occurs fourteen times in

Lamentations; (the LORD), thirty-two times; (God), once; and (Most High), twice. (God) does not occur in the book. 4The verse begins with a (“and”), though there is no grammatical connection with what has preceded. It was chosen here by the author to preserve the acrostic. There are only ten words in the Hebrew Bible that begin with seven of them being proper names. The author would have found it difficult to use one of them, so he chose the ubiquitous conjunction “and” that begins many verses in the Hebrew Bible and fifteen books (Exod, Lev, Num, Josh, Judg, Ruth, Ezra, Esth, 1–2 Sam, 1–2 Kgs, 2 Chr, Ezek, Jonah). 5JB, NEB, NAB, NJB, and many commentators omit “all the treasures that were hers in days of old” because it breaks the metrical pattern of three Qinah lines by adding a fourth. Some believe the phrase was transferred here from v. 10. 6“Destruction” is translated as “sabbaths” (KJV) and as “captivity” (LXX). The word is a hapax legomenon, probably from the word that means to cease, thus cessation or destruction. 7The translation “unclean” is based on the Hebrew word : (“menstrual flow”; NJB, NIV, NEB, NASB, and NAB translate the word with the meaning of unclean or filthy). However, in this verse and nowhere else it is : (“shaking of the head,” hence an act of mockery, NRSV); CHAL, 237; Hillers, Lamentations, 70; “she is removed,” KJV). 8The OL reads, “Look, Lord, on her misery” instead of “… on my affliction” to coincide with third person in the Heb. 9Most commentators restrict this word to the valuable articles of the temple, but Keil, 366–67, argues for a wider meaning of the word (cf. 2 Chr 36:10,18; Isa 64:11; Hos 9:6; Joel 3:5). 10KJV says “meat,” but the Hebrew word has the broader meaning of “food.” 11“To keep themselves alive” is lit., “to cause life to return.” 12Commentators differ as to the correct rendering of the phrase, , lit., “not to you.” The Talmud and older Jewish commentators understood it as a statement, “Let it not come to you.” may express a wish, “Oh that” (“Oh that among you who pass by, you would look and see …”). It can also

be a negative (“no/not”), either a simple negative (“It is nothing to you”) or a negative of interrogation (“Is it nothing to you?”; as a question, the words are more poignant). 13 occurs nowhere else in the OT. Its meaning here (“bound,” KJV, NIV, NEB, NRSV, NASB) is uncertain. With a slight emendation to (with several Hebrew MSS; from a word, “to be watchful”) and (“yoke”) to (“over”), the line is translated, “He kept watch over my sins” (LXX, NAB, NJB). By emending (“my sins”) to (“my steps”), Hillers, Lamentations, 73–74, translates as “Watch is kept over my steps.” He reads the next line, “they (i.e., my steps) are entangled by his hand.” “The Lord had sapped my strength” is lit. “he caused my strength to stumble.” 14Hillers, Lamentations, 74–75. 15Many MSS have instead of in this verse as well as v. 14. The LXX has “out of my midst” for “in my midst” and adds “for these things I weep” at the end of the verse. 16The repetition of “my eye” is understood as dittography by some commentators and is omitted in several Hebrew MSS, the LXX, Syr, and Vg; but those who favor Jeremianic authorship point out that repetition is often used to express emphasis and is characteristic of Jeremiah's style (Jer 4:19; 6:14; 8:11; 22:9; 23:25). 17“Against his command” is lit. “his mouth” (cf. LXX, “I have provoked his mouth”). 18The LXX adds to this verse “and did not find it.” 19“I am in torment within” is lit. “my inward parts [i.e., bowels] are burning.” The bowels were considered by the Semites to be the seat of emotions while the heart was the locale of the mind or intellect. 20Because of the grammatical awkwardness of the preposition prefixed to (lit. “like the death”), Hillers reads (with no textual support) , “famine” for “outside the sword killed my children; inside, it was famine.” The Syr omits the and is the easiest reading but does not explain the MT. R. Gordis, The Song of Songs and Lamentations: A Study, Modern Translation and Commentary (New York: KTAV, 1974), 159, identifies the as asseverative and translates as “there was death.”

21The

LXX and Syr have an imperative (followed by NJB, NAB, RSV, NEB), “Hear” instead of a statement, “People [lit. “they”] have heard my groaning” (cf. KJV, NASB, NRSV). 22Expressed as a wish, “May you bring the day” (NIV, NASB), this phrase is also translated as a prophetic perfect, “Thou wilt bring the day” (KJV, ASV); as an imperative, “Bring the day” (Syr, JB, NAB, NJB, NRSV, NEB); and as a statement of completed action, “You have brought the day” (LXX, with the MT).

SECTION OUTLINE II. GOD'S JUDGMENT ON THE CITY (2:1–22) 1. God's Wrath Expressed in Jerusalem's Destruction (2:1–9) 2. The Suffering of the People (2:10–13) 3. Misleading Advice of False Prophets (2:14) 4. Ridicule by the Enemies (2:15–17) 5. An Anguished Appeal to God (2:18–22)

II. GOD’S JUDGMENT ON THE CITY (2:1–22) The second lament focuses in greater detail on the terrible destruction that had overtaken Jerusalem. It places greater emphasis than the first lament on God as the source of the disaster. There is no confession of sin or appeal for human sympathy as in the preceding lament. This text relates a dark day in the history of Jerusalem: God's hand of blessing has been withdrawn (v. 3), but his hand of punishment remains (v. 8). The “law” has no place there, and the Lord no longer gives “visions” to the prophets (v. 9). Just as chaos was just before the creation (Gen 1:1–2), the withdrawal of God's presence from Jerusalem has caused a new chaos (vv. 20–22).

1. God's Wrath Expressed in Jerusalem's Destruction (2:1–9)

1How

the Lord has covered the Daughter of Zion with the cloud of his anger! He has hurled down the splendor of Israel from heaven to earth; he has not remembered his footstool in the day of his anger. 2Without pity the Lord has swallowed up all the dwellings of Jacob; in his wrath he has torn down the strongholds of the Daughter of Judah. He has brought her kingdom and its princes down to the ground in dishonor. 3In fierce anger he has cut off every horn of Israel. He has withdrawn his right hand at the approach of the enemy. He has burned in Jacob like a flaming fire that consumes everything around it. 4Like an enemy he has strung his bow; his right hand is ready. Like a foe he has slain all who were pleasing to the eye; he has poured out his wrath like fire on the tent of the Daughter of Zion. 5The Lord is like an enemy; he has swallowed up Israel. He has swallowed up all her palaces and destroyed her strongholds. He has multiplied mourning and lamentation for the Daughter of Judah. 6He has laid waste his dwelling like a garden; he has destroyed his place of meeting. The LORD has made Zion forget her appointed feasts and her Sabbaths; in his fierce anger he has spurned

both king and priest. Lord has rejected his altar and abandoned his sanctuary. He has handed over to the enemy the walls of her palaces; they have raised a shout in the house of the LORD as on the day of an appointed feast. 8The LORD determined to tear down the wall around the Daughter of Zion. He stretched out a measuring line and did not withhold his hand from destroying. He made ramparts and walls lament; together they wasted away. 9Her gates have sunk into the ground; their bars he has broken and destroyed. Her king and her princes are exiled among the nations, the law is no more, and her prophets no longer find visions from the LORD. 2:1 God's wrath covered the nation like a storm cloud that had unleashed its fury on the helpless inhabitants below. Jerusalem is compared to a star that has fallen from heaven (cf. Isa 14:12, which describes the fall of Babylon, and Ezek 28:17, which describes the fall of Tyre). A nation that once enjoyed a privileged position with God through its covenant relationship never seemed to grasp the moral and spiritual obligations that such a relationship required. The symbol of that relationship, the temple (“the splendor of Israel,” cf. Isa 64:11), had been leveled (cf. Jer 7:2–4). The “footstool” has been interpreted as the city, the temple (Ps 132:7; Isa 60:13), or the ark of the covenant (1 Chr 28:2). The false prophets had instilled a false sense of security among the people with their words “the temple, the temple” (Jer 7:4). Their lie was unmasked but too late to save the city.1 2:2 With even more graphic language the poet compared the devastation of Judah to that of a warrior on a rampage with such words as “swallowed up,” “torn down,” “brought … down … in dishonor,” all without pity. God 7The

brought the once proud, self-sufficient nation and its leaders down to the ground in a humiliating defeat.2 A modern paraphrase might be, “He rubbed their nose in the dirt.” 2:3 The description of Judah's total destruction continues in this verse. “Horn” is a frequent figure for strength and pride in the OT (1 Sam 2:10; Ps 132:17; Jer 48:25). Instead of coming to the defense of his people, the Lord had completely withdrawn his help (“his right hand”; some take “his” as a reference to Judah). God had become their enemy, even as the prophets said (Jer 21:5; Ezek 5:8–10). Fire as a symbol for judgment is a frequent figure in the OT (Ps 11:6; Isa 29:6; Amos 2:4–5; 7:4; Zeph 3:8; Matt 18:8; Rev 20:10). Many people today take lightly the warnings of God's coming judgment on sin, even as Jerusalem did before its destruction. 2:4–5 In anthropomorphic language the Lord is described as Jerusalem's enemy. The hand that in past times had symbolized the Lord's help was now turned against Judah. Though historically Babylon was the enemy that destroyed Israel,3 theologically it was God who used Babylon as the instrument of punishment (cf. Jer 25). The OT frequently speaks of God as the instigator of trouble when we would say, “He permitted the evil” (cf. Exod 4:21; 14:7; 1 Sam 4:3; 16:14; Isa 45:7). This way of speaking affirms God's sovereignty over human affairs.4 2:6–7 The figure of God as a destroying enemy is continued. These verses emphasize the destruction of the temple, “his dwelling” (here called the , “booth”; perhaps “fence”) like a ravaged garden (“vine,” LXX). All the rituals and holy days associated with the temple had ceased. The altar, which once symbolized a place of reconciliation with God, was no more. The enemy's shouts of victory filled the despoiled temple with sounds reminiscent of the joyful, festive sounds of the worshipers on one of the appointed feast days. The verse serves as warning that no amount of ritual can avert God's judgment or take the place of obedience and a broken and contrite heart (1 Sam 15:22; Ps 51:17; Isa 1:10–20; Mic 6:6–8). 2:8–9 To avoid any misconception that Jerusalem's calamity could be explained solely as a result of Babylon's imperialistic policies, these verses make clear that God deliberately planned and carried out the city's destruction (cf. Ezek 9). The walls that once gave a sense of security because of their seeming impregnability had been broken down (2 Kgs

25:10; Jer 52:14). They would not be repaired until the arrival of Nehemiah nearly 150 years later (Neh 1:1–6:15). In Lam 2:3 God withheld his hand from protecting the people; here he did not withhold his hand of punishment. This verse is vitally important in understanding the reasons for the fall of Jerusalem. The kings by their wickedness had forfeited their right to rule; the priests had forfeited their right to administer the law . The prophets, by their faithlessness, no longer received God's “visions.” Proverbs 29:18 (KJV) serves well in the interpretation of this verse: Where there is no vision, the people perish; but he that keepeth the law [tôrâ], happy is he.

2. The Suffering of the People (2:10–13) 10The

elders of the Daughter of Zion sit on the ground in silence; they have sprinkled dust on their heads and put on sackcloth. The young women of Jerusalem have bowed their heads to the ground. 11My eyes fail from weeping, I am in torment within, my heart is poured out on the ground because my people are destroyed, because children and infants faint in the streets of the city. 12They say to their mothers, “Where is bread and wine?” as they faint like wounded men in the streets of the city, as their lives ebb away in their mothers' arms.

13What

can I say for you? With what can I compare you, O Daughter of Jerusalem? To what can I liken you, that I may comfort you, O Virgin Daughter of Zion? Your wound is as deep as the sea. Who can heal you? 2:10 Jerusalem's calamity left the people grief stricken. Their sorrow was shared by the elders (local dignitaries or ruling bodies over a clan, tribe, or local community from the days of Joseph to the time of Ezra: Gen 50:7; Exod 18:12; Deut 19:12; 25:7–9; Judg 8:14; Ezra 10:8,14) and the “young women” (“virgins”). Some commentators believe the inclusion of elders and young women should be understood as a merismus (two parts that represent the whole; thus elders and young women would represent all the people of Judah in mourning). The mourning practices mentioned in this verse were common in ancient times. They included sitting on the ground, usually in silence (Josh 7:6; 2 Sam 13:31; Job 2:13; Ezek 26:16), sprinkling dust on the head (2 Sam 13:19; Neh 9:1; Job 2:12; Ezek 27:30), and wearing sackcloth (Gen 37:34; 2 Sam 3:31; Esth 4:1; Isa 15:3; Jonah 3:5). Other mourning practices not mentioned here include wailing and weeping, tearing of garments, cutting oneself, and fasting. The young women bowed their heads to the ground,5 overcome by grief and humiliation (Pss 35:14; 44:24–25). 2:11–12 The poet reflected his own personal anguish at the unparalleled suffering experienced by Jerusalem, especially over small children dying from hunger in the streets or in their mother's arms. Expressions of grief, such as “I am in torment” (lit. “my bowels are burning”; cf. Lam 1:20) and “my heart [lit. “liver”; “glory,” LXX] is poured out on the ground” (a phrase that appears nowhere else in the OT) could only have been written by an eyewitness (cf. Jer 9:1; 13:17; 14:17). Compare the stark tragedy of this scene with the description of carefree, happy children once again playing in the streets of Jerusalem when the city is restored (Jer 30:18–20; Zech 8:5). The verse is a sobering reminder that innocent children are often the victims who suffer the most as a result of their elders' sins.

2:13 The writer's identification with the suffering of his people continues in this verse. He desired to reach out in an all-inclusive embrace of comfort and healing but was helpless to do so (cf. Matt 23:37). Jerusalem's wound was too deep to be healed.6 There are times when people can do nothing to alleviate another's pain as much as they would desire.

3. Misleading Advice of False Prophets (2:14) 14The

visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity. The oracles they gave you were false and misleading. 2:14 The false prophets are given a large measure of blame for Jerusalem's tragedy for having given the people false and empty assurances of Jerusalem's security. Their words were “false and worthless” (cf. Jer 14:13–16; 23:13; Ezek 12:24; 13:3–23; Mic 3:6; 2 Pet 2:17–19).7 Their theology contained an element of truth—God could have protected Jerusalem from seizure by an enemy—but it contained a fatal flaw. It ignored the fact that God's blessings were conditioned on the people's obedience (Deut 11:26–29; 28:1–68), which required worship of God alone and moral integrity. If the false prophets had exposed the people's sins and warned them of the consequences, the calamity could have been avoided (Jer 23:18–22). The verse serves as a solemn reminder of our responsibility to warn (Ezek 3:17–21) and our accountability if we keep silent or give false hope (Ezek 13:15–16; Matt 12:36).

4. Ridicule by the Enemies (2:15–17) 15All

who pass your way clap their hands at you;

they scoff and shake their heads at the Daughter of Jerusalem: “Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of the whole earth?” 16All your enemies open their mouths wide against you; they scoff and gnash their teeth and say, “We have swallowed her up. This is the day we have waited for; we have lived to see it.” 17The LORD has done what he planned; he has fulfilled his word, which he decreed long ago. He has overthrown you without pity, he has let the enemy gloat over you, he has exalted the horn of your foes. 2:15 The city that for centuries had been the pride of Israel had now been reduced to rubble to the delight of its enemies. The enemies expressed their contempt and satisfaction by several gestures. They clapped their hands in glee (“snap their fingers at you,” NEB: cf. Job 27:23), scoffed in derision (lit. “whistled/hissed”; 1 Kgs 9:8; Job 27:23; Jer 19:8), and shook their heads in scornful amazement at the ruined city (Job 16:4; Pss 22:7; 109:25; Isa 37:22). They could not believe that Jerusalem could once have been called “the perfection of beauty” (cf. Ps 50:2; Ezek 27:3; 28:12) and “the joy of the whole earth” (Ps 48:2). No crueler treatment can be inflicted on another person than to laugh at that one's misery and suffering. Verbal abuse can be more painful emotionally than physical abuse (cf. Jeremiah's reaction to his enemies who attacked him with their tongues, Jer 18:18–23). 2:16 Jerusalem's enemies took credit for the city's downfall (“we have swallowed her up”), an event they had desired to witness for a long time. They gnashed their teeth (cf. Job 16:9; Pss 35:16; 37:12) at the complete destruction of the once great metropolis.8 2:17 Though the enemies were taking credit for Jerusalem's overthrow, the Lord made clear that he had decided “long ago” (lit. “from ancient

days”) to destroy the city (cf. Lev 26:14–45; Deut 28:15–68; Jer 51:12; Zech 1:6). Moreover, he had allowed the enemies to gloat over its fall and to exalt their “power” (lit. “horn,” cf. 2:3) at Judah's expense. There is no conflict in these verses between God's unalterable sovereign control over human affairs and human freedom of choice. He gives us the freedom to choose the course we follow; but when that decision violates God's moral laws, his inexorable judgment will be experienced.

5. An Anguished Appeal to God (2:18–22) 18The

hearts of the people cry out to the Lord. O wall of the Daughter of Zion, let your tears flow like a river day and night; give yourself no relief, your eyes no rest. 19Arise, cry out in the night, as the watches of the night begin; pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint from hunger at the head of every street. 20“Look, O LORD, and consider: Whom have you ever treated like this? Should women eat their offspring, the children they have cared for? Should priest and prophet be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord? 21“Young and old lie together in the dust of the streets; my young men and maidens

have fallen by the sword. You have slain them in the day of your anger; you have slaughtered them without pity. 22“As you summon to a feast day, so you summoned against me terrors on every side. In the day of the LORD's anger no one escaped or survived; those I cared for and reared, my enemy has destroyed.” 2:18 An abrupt transition of theme occurs between vv. 17 and 18 even though the acrostic pattern continues. As a result of the ridicule and exultation by Jerusalem's enemies, the author appealed to the city to call on God to look with pity at the unparalleled suffering of his people.9 “O wall of the daughter of Zion” could be understood as an appeal, even to the ruined walls that once encircled and protected Jerusalem, to weep for the destroyed city (cf. 2:18).10 It is not certain whether the tears are to be understood as tears of repentance or tears brought about by the people's intense suffering, apart from any acknowledgment of guilt. Jerusalem was exhorted to pray without ceasing (“give yourself no relief,” i.e., relaxation; the word only occurs here in the OT). “Your eyes” is literally “the daughter [i.e., pupil; “apple,” LXX; cf. Deut 32:10; Ps 17:8] of your eyes.” 2:19 The poet continued his plea to Jerusalem to give itself wholly to petition (“cry out in the night”).11 They were to pray “as the watches of the night” began. The twelve hours of the night were divided into three “watches” of four hours each, the first beginning at sunset. There was a middle watch (Judg 7:19) and a morning watch (Exod 14:24). Here it could mean they were to pray only in the first watch or pray at the beginning of each watch (i.e., throughout the night). Their grief should melt their hearts (“pour out your heart like water”; cf. Ps 22:14). The city was exhorted to pray especially for the children who were fainting and dying of hunger.12 2:20–21 In a tone of unanticipated reproach, the poet (or should vv. 20– 21 be understood as Jerusalem speaking?) accused God of treating Jerusalem with a harshness not experienced by any other people (cf. Job 9:22; 16:12–14; 23:12; Jer 17:18 for similar accusations against God). Women were forced by desperation to eat their own children (as they had

been warned; cf. Deut 28:53; 2 Kgs 6:24–29; Jer 19:9). Priests and prophets were murdered in the temple, having fled there for refuge in the mistaken belief that God would protect them in that hallowed place (cf. Jer 7:4). The slaughter was indiscriminate; it included young and old, young men and maidens. The poet acknowledged what God had already said repeatedly— the Lord was responsible for Jerusalem's calamity (cf. Lam 1:5,12–15,17, 21–22; 2:1–9,17). The Babylonians were nothing more than the instruments of judgment (cf. Jer 25:9–11). 2:22 The lament closes with another acknowledgment (cf. 2:17) that God had decreed the city's destruction as deliberately as a priest would announce a religious feast day ( ; see 1:15; cf. Ezek 39:17–20; Rev 19:17–18, where God's judgment is described in terms of a feast). In like manner as the feast would draw throngs of worshipers from all around, so God's judgment had surrounded Jerusalem with “terrors on every side” (a phrase used frequently by Jeremiah: Jer 6:25; 20:3,10; 46:5; 49:29; cf. Ps 31:13). Jerusalem spoke about its people here as a mother would speak about the loss of her own children whom she cared for and reared. 1The

LXX places “in the day of his anger” at the beginning of verse 2. 2For “Daughter of Judah,” the Vulgate has “virgin of Judah.” 3In the OT “Israel” sometimes refers to Jacob (Gen 32:28), sometimes to the Northern Kingdom during the period of the divided monarchy after Solomon's death (Hos 4:1), and sometimes, as in v. 5, to all the Jews (Mal 1:1). 4The translation “mourning and lamentation” loses the similar sounds of the Hebrew, . It could be translated “mourning and moaning.” The Vg preserves the alliteration with humiliatum et humiliatam. 5Instead of “the young women … have bowed their heads,” the LXX says “they have brought down to the ground the chief virgins.” 6For “your wound is deep as the sea” (lit. “great like the sea is your breaking”), the LXX has “the cup of your destruction is made great.” 7 (“worthless”) can also mean “whitewash” (NJB; cf. Ezek 13:10–15; 22:28; “painted shams,” NEB).

8In

the acrostic, the normal order of the Hebrew letters and is reversed in vv. 16–17 and also in chaps. 3–4. 9“The hearts of the people cry out” in the MT has no expressed subject and reads, “Their heart cried out.” Several versions read as an imperative, “Cry out” (or “cry aloud”) to the Lord” (NRSV, NJB, NAB, NEB). 10“Wall of the Daughter of Zion” could be understood as an unusual appellation for God by repunctuating: “Cry out to the Lord, the wall of the Daughter of Zion.” For the figure of God as a protective wall, see Zech 2:5. 11For “cry out in the night” the LXX has “rejoice in the night” by taking (from ) as a shout of joy rather than a cry of lament although the latter is more appropriate to the context; cf. T. Collins, “The Physiology of Tears in the Old Testament: Part I,” CBQ 33 (1971): 18–38, for the Hebrew understanding of tears. 12Many commentators believe that “who faint from hunger at the head of every street” is a fourth line which has been added to this verse; the other verses in chaps. 1–2 have only three lines (except 1:7). That 1:7 also has four lines is evidence enough that variations occurred in these acrostic poems.

SECTION OUTLINE III. HOPE OF RELIEF THROUGH LOVINGKINDNESS (3:1–66) 1. An Individual's Description of the Suffering (3:1– 20) 2. God's Past Mercies as the Basis for Future Hope (3:21–39) 3. An Appeal for God's Mercy (3:40–51) 4. An Appeal for Deliverance and a Call for Vengeance (3:52–66)

III. HOPE OF RELIEF THROUGH LOVING-KINDNESS (3:1–66) This lament has been interpreted either as a reflection of the personal experiences of the writer or as a personification of Jerusalem speaking for all the suffering people of the city. R. Gordis has argued for the individual as the speaker in this text.1 Were it not in the Book of Lamentations, it is unlikely that the suffering described would be associated with the travail of Jerusalem, except for vv. 40–51. Similarly, in Isa 42:1–4; 49:1–6; 50:4–11; 52:13–53:12 there is a possibility of understanding the sufferer to be either an individual or corporate Israel. The other verses could describe any individual's painfully distressing situation. The lament includes a number of phrases taken from lament psalms with which the author was familiar. See the Introduction for an explanation of the acrostic pattern used in chap. 3. This chapter is most

notably recognized for vv. 22–26, which speak of the Lord's love and faithfulness and the people's hope in the “salvation of the LORD” (v. 26).

1. An Individual's Description of the Suffering (3:1–20) 1I

am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. 2He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light; 3indeed, he has turned his hand against me again and again, all day long. 4He has made my skin and my flesh grow old and has broken my bones. 5He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship. 6He has made me dwell in darkness like those long dead. 7He has walled me in so I cannot escape; he has weighed me down with chains. 8Even when I call out or cry for help, he shuts out my prayer. 9He has barred my way with blocks of stone; he has made my paths crooked. 10Like a bear lying in wait, like a lion in hiding, 11he dragged me from the path and mangled me and left me without help. 12He drew his bow and made me the target for his arrows. 13He pierced my heart with arrows from his quiver. 14I became the laughingstock of all my people; they mock me in song all day long.

15He

has filled me with bitter herbs and sated me with gall. 16He has broken my teeth with gravel; he has trampled me in the dust. 17I have been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is. 18So I say, “My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped from the LORD.” 19I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. 20I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. These verses are a reversal of the image of God as the caring, protective, and providing shepherd found in Ps 23. 3:1–3 The author understood that the “affliction” (“poverty,” LXX) he had experienced was imposed by the rod of God's judgment (2 Sam 7:14; Job. 9:34; Pss 2:9; 89:32; Isa 10:5; Mic 5:1) The alienation from God's favor is described as being “driven away” ( , cf. 1 Sam 30:20; Job 24:3). It also is compared to darkness (cf. Job 12:25; Ps 82:5; Isa 50:10; Amos 5:18). There was no relief from the constant awareness that God had “turned his hand against” the afflicted one (a phrase used nowhere else in the OT to describe God's hostile activity toward people). The absence of God's name in vv. 1–20 (except in v. 18) may have been intentional to emphasize the sense of abandonment and alienation from God. 3:4–6 This highly figurative passage effectively communicates the severity of the affliction. It is compared to the weariness of aging and the pain of broken bones (cf. Ps 51:8; Isa 38:13; Mic 3:1–3). The wasting away of vital force is a typical motif in expressions of lament (Pss 32:3–4; 38:2– 3). Verse 5 could be an oblique reference to the horrors felt during the siege of Jerusalem or to the “bitterness”2 experienced by a person surrounded by insurmountable trouble. The intensity of the suffering is compared to the darkness of the abode of the forgotten departed dead (cf. Job 10:21–22; Pss 88:5–7,12; 143:3; Eccl 6:4; 11:8). 3:7–9 The poet felt as though God had built a wall around him and bound him with heavy chains to make sure there was no escape from his

affliction. Like a prisoner in a dungeon, his cries to God went unanswered. Like people seeking their way out of a maze, whatever direction they turned for relief was blocked and thwarted (cf. Job 3:23; 13:27; 19:8; Pss 22:2; 88:8; Isa 59:2). One of life's darkest moments is to experience the absence of God and have one's prayers go unanswered (Ps 88:13–14). 3:10–11 God is now compared to a wild beast who has pounced on his victim and is tearing him apart. Judah had been dismembered by its conquerors and was their helpless prey (cf. Hos 13:8; Amos 5:19; Pss 10:9; 22:13; Isa 38:13; Jer 49:19). God had not only cut off all avenues of escape but was actively pursuing his victim to bring about its total destruction. 3:12–13 The writer employed another dramatic figure to describe the victim's helpless plight. God is compared to a skilled archer who takes deliberate aim at his target and hits the bull's-eye every time (cf. Job 6:4; 16:12–13; Ps 38:2; Lam 2:4, where the same figure recurs).3 3:14–15 Verse 14 is difficult to explain if the subject is the personified Jerusalem describing its affliction, although it is true that the city had become the laughingstock of other nations (Lam 1:21; 2:15).4 The verse is more descriptive of an individual (cf. Jer 20:8) who finds no sympathy even among his own people. Instead, he is the object of their ridicule and laughter, thus making his suffering even more bitter (cf. Job 9:18). This interpretation aptly describes Jeremiah (cf. the confessions of Jeremiah). 3:16–18 Verse 16 contains the most violent figure in 3:1–16 to describe the brutality the speaker had experienced. It was as though God had broken the victim's teeth by forcing him to eat rocks and then trampled him in the dust.5 He had been deprived of peace (i.e., happiness and well-being in the broadest sense; cf. Isa 26:3) and prosperity. He had been stripped of his former “splendor” (“strength,” JB, NASB, NEB; “future,” NAB). The speaker reached the lowest ebb of despair in v. 18 with the declaration that all his hope in the Lord had been destroyed. Suffering and the Lord's seeming indifference had driven him to this conclusion (cf. Ps 31:22; Matt 27:46). 3:19–20 The sufferings were so deeply impressed in the heart of the victim that he found himself constantly thinking about them.6 His memory left him depressed and despondent.7

2. God's Past Mercies as the Basis for Future Hope (3:21–39) 21Yet

this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: 22Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” 25The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; 26it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. 27It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young. 28Let him sit alone in silence, for the LORD has laid it on him. 29Let him bury his face in the dust— there may yet be hope. 30Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him, and let him be filled with disgrace. 31For men are not cast off by the Lord forever. 32Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. 33For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men. 34To crush underfoot all prisoners in the land, 35to deny a man his rights before the Most High,

36to

deprive a man of justice— would not the Lord see such things? 37Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it? 38Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come? 39Why should any living man complain when punished for his sins? 3:21 At the moment of his deepest despair and as he recalled his bitter affliction, a remarkable transition in his attitude took place. His hopelessness expressed in vv. 18–20 turned to hope as he remembered the Lord. 3:22–24 The unbroken mood of despair was displaced by a beautiful affirmation of hope in spite of suffering (cf. Job 1:21; Hab 3:17–18; Rom 5:3; 1 Pet 4:12–13). The basis for renewed hope is God's “great love.” The Hebrew word , sometimes translated as “covenant love” or “loyal love,” is a word that has the basic meaning of loyalty or faithfulness, especially as related to the covenant initiated by God; the word involves obligations to family, friends, and the community.8 Another basis of hope is God's unfailing “compassions” ( ; from a word related to the womb, it describes the tender, caring love of a mother), which are experienced in a fresh and new way every day. Whereas earlier the writer accused God of cruelty and faithlessness, now he exalted God's love and “faithfulness.” Verse 23 is the best known verse in Lamentations (memorialized by the popular hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”). In the midst of chaos and depression, the poet revealed a deep faith (vv. 22–24) in the trustworthiness of God: “Great is your faithfulness” . This word is from in the verb and is connected to the word , which means so be it, the word that closes prayers. Its meaning in English is connected to truth, faith, and trustworthiness. With reference to God, this word occurs only during the exile and after the exile (Jer 52). The semantic field of the word is that of constancy, reliability. It was a unique characteristic of the Lord.9 Contrary to the way neighboring peoples viewed their gods, the Jews now understood their God to be faithful to them, and there is no greater hope than knowing that God is totally

reliable. God had always been faithful (Exod 34:6–7), but the point here is that the people finally realized it. Often in life people do not realize the faithfulness of God until the “bottom has fallen out” of their lives. In Lam 3 the “faithfulness” of God is to be interpreted in light of his promise to destroy, which he has done, and his promise to restore, which he would do. The poet realized that restoration was on its way, both nationally and individually. In a metaphor made bold by such a context of judgment, he claimed God as his “portion” . This is a word that describes something that belongs to someone: “Yahweh is all I have” (NJB; cf. Num 18:20; Deut 32:9; Pss 16:5; 73:26; 119:57; Isa 61:7). 3:25–27 Each of the verses in this triad begins with “good” in the MT. The Hebrew word has a broad range of meaning: practical or material good, abstract goodness such as beauty, and moral good. This word is the same used in Gen 1:1–2:4, where the creation is described as being “good.” It may be understood here in the sense of God's re-creating Israel after the destruction of Jerusalem (cf. the destruction of the world and the recreation of it in Gen 6–9). Lamentations 3:25–27 reveals some qualities of genuine faith: (1) belief in God's goodness to those who trust in him; (2) confidently and without complaint waiting for God's help; and (3) willingness to accept hardship and testing, knowing that they strengthen faith. Those who truly trust in the Lord do not complain or despair even when in trouble (cf. Pss 34:9; 86:5; Isa 30:15; Matt 11:28–30). Those who learn in youth10 to bear suffering are better prepared for the hardships that may come in old age. 3:28–30 Yoke bearing is profitable only if it is done in the right way— without complaint or retaliation. These verses describe practical ways that the yoke may be borne. Yoke bearers, who sometimes must bear their burdens alone (Ps 1:1; Jer 15:17), do not complain when maligned or unjustly treated. They bear it patiently, for they know the Lord has allowed it (3:28).11 They are submissive; they bury their faces (lit. “mouth”) “in the dust” (an expression found only here in the OT). Falling prostrate on the ground was an ancient way of acknowledging complete submission to another person (3:29; cf. Ps 72:9; Mic 7:17). Yoke bearers accept physical abuse, even disgrace (3:30); for they know they will be vindicated and that “it is mine to avenge, … says the Lord” (Rom 12:19). Submitting the cheek to the smiter was a symbol of total surrender (Job 16:10; Isa 50:6; Mic 5:1;

Matt 5:39; 26:67; 1 Pet 2:20–23). There is a progressive severity in these verses: first, accepting the burden in silence (which is the easiest), then, burying the face in the dust but maintaining hope (which is more difficult), and finally, accepting physical abuse and disgrace for one's faith (which is the hardest of all to accept). 3:31–33 These verses give the reasons that make it possible to accept life's trials and tribulations in quiet confidence. Affliction can be borne more easily when one knows that rejection and alienation from God, as well as suffering, do not last indefinitely since they are not God's ultimate purpose for his people (cf. Job 5:18; Pss 30:5; 77:8; Isa 54:8; Jer 3:5,12; 32:42; Hos 6:1). Further, there is confidence that the trials will be replaced by God's compassion because of the abundance of his “unfailing love” ( ; translated as “great love” in 3:22). There also is understanding that God does not “willingly” (lit. “from his heart”) bring affliction (but God chastises us “for the sake of,” “to promote” our spiritual well-being; Ps 119:75; Acts 14:22; Rom 8:18; 2 Cor 4:17; Heb 12:6).12 3:34–36 The Lord (called only in 3:35,38 in Lamentations) is aware of suffering and injustice, although some might charge otherwise. Nothing that takes place, good or evil, escapes God's notice (Pss 64:5; 94:2–7; Jer 12:4; Ezek 9:9; Amos 5:12; Matt 10:29–31). He does not condone mistreatment of prisoners or the denial of a person's rights or access to justice (Exod 23:6; Ps 69:33; Isa 10:1–2; Jer 8:3; Amos 8:4–7). 3:37–39 The writer again affirms that nothing can happen, good or evil, that God has not “decreed,” lit. “commanded.” Instead of “decreed” we would say God “permitted” evil (Ps 33:9; Isa 45:7; Amos 3:6; cf. Rom 9:14; Jas 1:13–15; see discussion on Lam 2:17). No one is justified to “complain” (a word found elsewhere in the OT only in Num 11:1) when punishment is meted out for sins committed (Pss 38:3; 51:3–4; Rom 6:23). God is patient and compassionate. He gives ample warning (Exod 34:6–7; Amos 3:7; 4:6–11; Jonah 4:2; 2 Pet 3:9), but there comes an end to his forbearance (Amos 4:12).

3. An Appeal for God's Mercy (3:40–51)

40Let

us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD. 41Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven, and say: 42“We have sinned and rebelled and you have not forgiven. 43“You have covered yourself with anger and pursued us; you have slain without pity. 44You have covered yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can get through. 45You have made us scum and refuse among the nations. 46“All our enemies have opened their mouths wide against us. 47We have suffered terror and pitfalls, ruin and destruction.” 48Streams of tears flow from my eyes because my people are destroyed. 49My eyes will flow unceasingly, without relief, 50until the LORD looks down from heaven and sees. 51What I see brings grief to my soul because of all the women of my city. 3:40–42 Here the writer has called for all the people to submit to selfexamination (cf. Ps 139:23–24; Prov 20:27; 1 Cor 11:28). He anticipated they would see how far they had wandered from the Lord and would desire to return to him (cf. Jer 3:12–14).13 They were exhorted to pray to God (“the lofty one,” LXX) with their hearts as well as with their hands; formal prayer was not enough. God had not forgiven because they had not repented. These verses take a step toward reconciliation with God that must always begin with confession of sin, which is the result of honest selfexamination. 3:43–45 These verses should not be read as bitter accusations against God but as contrite recognition that the people's sins had brought God's

punishment. God had hidden himself from them like one hiding in a cloud and who refused to hear their prayers (cf. Isa 59:2). Other nations looked down on them as “scum” (“rubbish,” JB; “offscouring,” KJV, RSV, NAB, NEB; “sweepings,” a word found only here in the OT; cf. 1 Cor 4:13). They had become a completely worthless people (cf. Ezek 15:1–7). 3:46–47 Verse 46 repeats the thought of 2:16. Verse 47 is a summary of the destruction that had devastated Jerusalem (cf. Isa 24:17–18; Jer 48:43– 44). The destruction is expressed in alliterative words: . Hillers suggests “panic and pit … wreck and ruin” to maintain the alliteration of the Hebrew (“panic and pitfall … devastation and destruction,” NRSV).14 3:48–51 The poet revealed himself as an eyewitness to Jerusalem's downfall and as a person of deep sensitivity. He was overwhelmed with grief because of the ruin of his people, especially because of the suffering of the women of the city (lit. “daughters of my city”; “daughters of the city,” LXX). The poet would weep unceasingly until God answered from heaven. Some scholars prefer to interpret these verses as personified Jerusalem, weeping tears of repentance (cf. Ps 119:136; Jer 9:1; 14:17; Lam 1:16; 2:18).15

4. An Appeal for Deliverance and a Call for Vengeance (3:52–66) 52Those

who were my enemies without cause hunted me like a bird. 53They tried to end my life in a pit and threw stones at me; 54the waters closed over my head, and I thought I was about to be cut off. 55I called on your name, O LORD, from the depths of the pit. 56You heard my plea: “Do not close your ears to my cry for relief.”

57You

came near when I called you, and you said, “Do not fear.” 58O Lord, you took up my case; you redeemed my life. 59You have seen, O LORD, the wrong done to me. Uphold my cause! 60You have seen the depth of their vengeance, all their plots against me. 61O LORD, you have heard their insults, all their plots against me— 62what my enemies whisper and mutter against me all day long. 63Look at them! Sitting or standing, they mock me in their songs. 64Pay them back what they deserve, O LORD, for what their hands have done. 65Put a veil over their hearts, and may your curse be on them! 66Pursue them in anger and destroy them from under the heavens of the LORD. Verses 52–66 have been understood by some to refer to the personal experiences of Jeremiah. Jeremiah had enemies without a reason (Jer 17:16; 18:20). He was put in a cistern to die (Jer 38:6; cf. Ps 88:6). There is no record that he was stoned, but he may have been.16 He frequently called for vengeance on his enemies (Jer 11:20; 12:3; 15:15; 17:18; 18:21–22; 20:12). Another interpretation could be a personification of the sufferings of the entire nation. 3:52–54 Figuratively interpreted, these verses describe a nation or a person (Jeremiah?) that had been persecuted, hunted like a bird (cf. Pss 11:1–2; 124:7) and engulfed by the destruction that had swept over it like a flood (cf. Job 27:20; Pss 69:2; 88:17; Isa 43:2; Jonah 2:5). “Stones” (“stone” MT) could refer to the stone that covered a cistern to prevent escape by a prisoner. 3:55–66 The remaining verses consist of a prayer for deliverance and an expression of confident trust that the prayer had been answered. The lament

closes with the plea for God to punish those responsible for the suffering. The insistence that “wrong [has been] done to me” (3:59) describes an individual better than the nation because Judah was being punished justly for its sins. Calling for a curse on one's enemies was common in biblical times (cf. Num 22:6; Pss 35:4–8; 40:14–15; 58; 69; 109; 129:5–6; Jer 17:21–23). 1R.

Gordis, “Commentary on the Text of Lamentations (Part Two),” JQR 58 (1967): 14–33, says the principle of “fluid personality” should be applied to this lament. The poet begins with his personal lot, then moves to the tragic destiny of his people, returns to his own sad condition, and closes with a prayer for retribution on his nation's enemies. 2 , an unidentified poisonous plant; “bitterness” (NIV, NRSV, NASB); “gall” (KJV); “my head” (LXX); cf. Ps 69:21; Jer 8:14; Matt 27:34. AB and NAB read as , “poverty,” instead of , “bitterness.” 3NIV has “he pierced my heart,” but the MT is “kidneys” (KJV, NEB). According to the OT, next to the heart the kidneys are the most important internal organ; they would be an especially sensitive and vulnerable target; they are mentioned thirty-one times in the OT. See H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, trans. M. Kohl (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1974), 65–66 for a discussion of the biblical significance of the kidneys. 4As a Sebir (an ancient textual conjecture by Jewish scholars), the Syr and a number of Hebrew MSS say “to all peoples/nations” (cf. NAB, NRSV, NEB) instead of “to/of all my people” (LXX, MT, KJV, NIV, NASB, NJB). “To all peoples” would be more appropriate as a collective prayer of Jerusalem. “Of all my people” is cited as evidence by some scholars that an individual is the speaker rather than personified Jerusalem. For an analysis of the different “voices” in Lamentations, see W. F. Lanahan, “The Speaking Voice in the Book of Lamentations,” JBL 93 (March 1974): 41–49. 5NASB, following BDB, translates as “he has made me cower in the dust” (NRSV “ashes”); but cf. “he hath covered me with ashes” (KJV); “he had fed me with ashes” (LXX, JB, NEB, NJB). The word on which the translation hinges is and only occurs here in the OT.

6

may be understood as an infinitive, “remembering my affliction” (KJV, JB, NEB) or as an imperative, “Remember my affliction” (NASB; cf. NJB). The NIV follows the LXX, “I remember my affliction.” 7Verse 20 contains a tiqqune sopherim (“correction of the scribes”) that reads “your soul” instead of “my soul.” 8See J. , “The Source of Hope in the Book of Lamentations,” VT 42,2 (1992): 223–233. The NRSV translates the first line of 3:22 as “the steadfast love of the LORD never ceases,” following the Syr and Targum (cf. JB, NAB, NASB, NEB). The LXX adds at the end of 3:22: “Pity (us), O Lord, early in the morning, for we are not brought to an end because his compassions are not exhausted.” See K. D. Sakenfeld, The Meaning of in the Hebrew Bible: A New Inquiry (Missoula, MT: Scholars Press, 1978), for a study of the word 9“ ” in TDOT 1, ed., G. J. Botterweck and H. Ringren (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974), 292–323. 10Some Hebrew and Greek MSS, the OL, and Vg read “from his youth” (also JB, NJB, NAB) instead of “in his youth” (MT; also KJV, RSV, NEB, NASB). 11T. F. McDaniel, “Philological Studies in Lamentations,” Bib 49 (1968): 40, says that of 3:28 should be translated “Let him [sit] moaning” instead of “in silence,” since can mean to mourn/moan as well as to be silent. 12T. E. Fretheim, The Suffering of God: An Old Testament Perspective (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984), shows persuasively that God suffers when we sin. 13The use of the preposition with instead of the preposition means to return all the way to the Lord and not a half-hearted, superficial return. Cf. Hos 6:1, “to the LORD” with Hos 14:1, “to the LORD.” 14Hillers, Lamentations, 111. 15The MT of v. 51 is lit., “My eye has dealt to my soul from the daughters of my city.” Cf. KJV, NRSV, NIV, NASB, NAB, NEB, NJB for various attempts to make good sense of the Hebrew. 16See the pseudepigraphical work 4 Baruch, esp. 9:23–32, in The Old Testament Pseude-pigrapha, vol. 2, ed. J. H. Charlesworth (New York:

Doubleday, 1985), 413–25.

SECTION OUTLINE IV. SORROWS OF THE PEOPLE RESULTING FROM THE SIEGE (4:1–22) 1. Remembrances of Better Days (4:1–11) 2. The Sins of Prophets and Priests (4:12–16) 3. A Vain Search for Help (4:17–20) 4. Edom's Coming Punishment (4:21–22)

IV. SORROWS OF THE PEOPLE RESULTING FROM THE SIEGE (4:1–22) This lament (which begins with ; cf. 1:1) differs from the previous chapters by dwelling more on the sufferings of various classes of leaders (princes, prophets, and priests; see 2:9). It states more explicitly that the sufferings were the result of the nation's sin. It closes with a curse pronounced on Edom.

1. Remembrances of Better Days (4:1–11) 1How

the gold has lost its luster, the fine gold become dull! The sacred gems are scattered at the head of every street. 2How the precious sons of Zion,

once worth their weight in gold, are now considered as pots of clay, the work of a potter's hands! 3Even jackals offer their breasts to nurse their young, but my people have become heartless like ostriches in the desert. 4Because of thirst the infant's tongue sticks to the roof of its mouth; the children beg for bread, but no one gives it to them. 5Those who once ate delicacies are destitute in the streets. Those nurtured in purple now lie on ash heaps. 6The punishment of my people is greater than that of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment without a hand turned to help her. 7Their princes were brighter than snow and whiter than milk, their bodies more ruddy than rubies, their appearance like sapphires. 8But now they are blacker than soot; they are not recognized in the streets. Their skin has shriveled on their bones; it has become as dry as a stick. 9Those killed by the sword are better off than those who die of famine; racked with hunger, they waste away for lack of food from the field. 10With their own hands compassionate women have cooked their own children, who became their food when my people were destroyed.

11The

LORD has given full vent to his wrath; he has poured out his fierce anger. He kindled a fire in Zion that consumed her foundations. 4:1–2 Verse 1 has been interpreted as the gold of the destroyed temple and the stones on the high priest's robe (Exod 28:9–12). Verse 2 suggests that the “gold” and “sacred gems”1 are more likely an appropriate metaphor for the people of Jerusalem, a holy nation and a kingdom of priests (Exod 19:6). They now had as little value as clay pots, which were proverbial for their cheapness in ancient times (cf. Jer 18:1–4; 22:28; Hos 8:8).2 4:3–4 In their time of calamity the people revealed their cruelty toward one another. They treated their young as no animal (“jackals”; “whales,” REB) would. They are compared to the ostrich, noted for its neglect of its young (Job 39:13–18; cf. Isa 1:3; Jer 8:7). There was no shortage of water during the siege of Jerusalem. The city was supplied with water that entered through a tunnel dug on orders of Hezekiah from a spring outside the city (2 Kgs 20:20). The tongues of infants swelled because no one bothered to quench their thirst (or the verse may mean that the mother's milk failed during the siege). Food was so scarce in the city that people ate their own children (cf. Lam 4:10). Those who had food jealously guarded it, unwilling to share it with hungry children who roamed the streets begging for bread. These verses are a stark reminder that desperation may lead a person to act in a perverse and selfish way. 4:5–6 A sobering contrast is drawn between the past and present condition of the people in vv. 5–11 (cf. 2 Sam 1:19; Isa 3:16–26; Jer 48:36– 39; Amos 4:1–3). Those who formerly enjoyed the finest delicacies now search the streets for a scrap of food. Those who once were clothed in costly apparel (“purple”; “scarlet,” KJV; Prov 31:21) now “lie on ash heaps.”3 Judah's punishment is declared to be more severe than that of Sodom, proverbial for its wickedness (cf. Gen 19:24–25; Isa 13:19; Jer 23:14; Ezek 16:48; Matt 10:15; Heb 10:31).4 Sodom's destruction took place in a moment, but Jerusalem's agonies were prolonged with no end in sight. 4:7–8 Punishment fell on nobles and commoners. The language used here to describe the former and present state of the “princes”5 is a dramatic

hyperbole. Their former impressive appearance (compared to snow, to the whiteness of milk, and to rubies and sapphires) would have attracted respectful attention wherever they went. Now they walked the streets indistinguishable from others. They suffered the same malnutrition and dehydration as the peasants (cf. Job 30:30). 4:9–11 Those killed by the sword were better off than those left to die of slow starvation. The scarcity of food during the siege is nowhere described more starkly than in v. 10. The compassion, self-sacrifice, and protectiveness that normally characterize a mother for her children had been replaced by one motive—self-preservation (cf. 2 Kgs 6:24–29). Mothers were committing an unbelievable atrocity; they were cooking and eating their own children. God's wrath had surely been poured out on Jerusalem with devastating fury (cf. Luke 23:30; Rev 6:16).

2. The Sins of Prophets and Priests (4:12–16) 12The

kings of the earth did not believe, nor did any of the world's people, that enemies and foes could enter the gates of Jerusalem. 13But it happened because of the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who shed within her the blood of the righteous. 14Now they grope through the streets like men who are blind. They are so defiled with blood that no one dares to touch their garments. 15“Go away! You are unclean!” men cry to them. “Away! Away! Don't touch us!” When they flee and wander about, people among the nations say, “They can stay here no longer.” 16The LORD himself has scattered them;

he no longer watches over them. The priests are shown no honor, the elders no favor. 4:12–13 The statement that no one in the world believed Jerusalem could be taken is a hyperbole. The city had been overrun on several occasions (1 Kgs 14:25–26; 2 Kgs 14:13–14; 23:33; 2 Chr 21:16–17; 25:22–24; 33:11). Its elevated location and walls, which made it almost impregnable from military takeover, as well as its belief that it was a holy city under God's special protection, gave Jerusalem a sense of false security (cf. Edom, Obad 3–4). The mighty Babylonian army required eighteen months to force Jerusalem's surrender. The explanation for its fall is given in v. 13—it was God's punishment for the sins of their prophets and priests (cf. Jer 6:13; 23:11; 26:8; Lam 2:14). The false prophets had given the people unfounded confidence by messages they claimed were from God (Jer 23:9–40). The priests failed to instruct the people in the law and did not rebuke them when they sinned. Therefore those leaders were blamed for the bloodshed that had overtaken Jerusalem. Verse 13 should not be understood as a negation of individual responsibility (cf. Jer 31:30; Ezek 18); rather, it implies that those in leadership positions have greater accountability than others. 4:14–16 The wicked prophets and priests had now been exposed and repudiated by the people. The problem was stated clearly in 2:9. Once honored and revered for being responsible for the “law” and “visions,” they became abhorred as though they had leprosy (Lev 13:45; cf. Deut 28:28; Isa 29:9; Jer 23:12). They were driven from place to place because no one wanted them in their midst (Deut 28:65). The Lord (lit. “the face of the LORD”) had scattered them. They no longer enjoyed his protection or the respect of the people. Elders (see 2:10) are included also for condemnation (unless the word should be translated “old men,” i.e., the prophets and priests).6

3. A Vain Search for Help (4:17–20)

17Moreover,

our eyes failed, looking in vain for help; from our towers we watched for a nation that could not save us. 18Men stalked us at every step, so we could not walk in our streets. Our end was near, our days were numbered, for our end had come. 19Our pursuers were swifter than eagles in the sky; they chased us over the mountains and lay in wait for us in the desert. 20The LORD's anointed, our very life breath, was caught in their traps. We thought that under his shadow we would live among the nations. 4:17–20 During the siege Jerusalem placed its last desperate hope on help from Egypt, but Nebuchadnezzar quickly drove the invading Egyptian army away (Jer 37:5–7). No one else offered assistance. Neighbors such as Edom rejoiced in Jerusalem's downfall (Obad 11–14). Survivors were afraid to venture in the streets for fear of being arrested. There was no escape for those who fled the doomed city (cf. Amos 6:9–10), for the pursuers were swifter than eagles (cf. Deut 28:49; 2 Sam 1:23; Jer 4:13 for this same figure). King Zedekiah, though called “our very life breath”7 and the “LORD's anointed,” was a vacillating and corrupt king. He, like other rulers in history, thought only of saving himself in the final moments of defeat. However, he was unable to make good his escape (Jer 39:4–7; 52:7–11). The people had put their trust in the Davidic dynasty as well as in the temple and the prophets and priests, but they failed to put their trust in God, the only One who could have saved them.8

4. Edom's Coming Punishment (4:21–22)

21Rejoice

and be glad, O Daughter of Edom, you who live in the land of Uz. But to you also the cup will be passed; you will be drunk and stripped naked. 22O Daughter of Zion, your punishment will end; he will not prolong your exile. But, O Daughter of Edom, he will punish your sin and expose your wickedness. 4:21–22 The curse on Edom seems unrelated to what had preceded, but since it is part of the acrostic, it could not have been a later addition. The verses serve to remind just how bitter was the enmity between Edom and Israel. It was a rivalry that went back to their ancestors Esau and Jacob (Gen 25:23; 36:1; cf. Jer 49:7–22; Ezek 25:12–14; 35:1–15; Amos 9:12; Obad 10–16). Edom was located southeast of Judah in a region called here Uz (cf. Gen 10:23; Job 1:1; Jer 25:20; the LXX omits Uz). Edom refused to help Judah against the Babylonians. As a reward for their diplomacy and for help during the final days of the campaign (Ps 137:7; Ezek 25:12–14; Joel 3:19–21; Obad 11–14), Nebuchadnezzar gave the rural areas of Judah to the Edomites. “Rejoice and be glad” should be understood as derisive irony, i.e., “rejoice while you can; your rejoicing will be short-lived; punishment is coming.” The “cup” is a frequent symbol for God's wrathful judgment in the Scriptures. Its origin may be the ordeal of jealousy (Num 5:11–31; cf. Job 21:20; Ps 75:7–8; Isa 51:17,22; Jer 25:15–29; 49:12; Ezek 23:31–34; Obad 16; Hab 2:16; Zech 12:2; Matt 26:39). As a sign of restored divine favor, Zion (often used representing Jerusalem) was consoled that its punishment and exile would end. Edom could anticipate that its day of judgment lay ahead. 1See

J. A. Emerton, “The Meaning of in Lamentations 4:1,” ZAW 79 (1967): 233–36, for a discussion of “sacred gems.” 2Various emendations have been proposed for the first part of v. 1 based on the observation that gold does not tarnish, but such caviling is unnecessary; the meaning is clear. The LXX has “silver” for the second reference to gold in v. 1.

3

, from , means to embrace (“lie”). The statement could also mean that they were digging in the garbage in search of food or that their corpses had been tossed on garbage heaps. 4 , “punishment” (NIV, KJV, NAB, NEB, NRSV) literally means iniquity (NASB; “wickedness,” NJB). 5 (“their princes,” NIV, NAB, NRSV), normally translated “Nazirites” (LXX; “Nazarites,” KJV), can also describe a person set apart by rank or distinguishing qualities (Gen 49:26; Deut 33:16). In this verse it is also translated as “consecrated ones” (NASB), “young men” (JB), and as “crowned princes” (NEB). If Nazirite is the correct translation, it means that those especially dedicated to God did not escape the horrors of the siege. Translations differ about the identity of the jewels named in v. 7: “rubies” (NIV, KJV; “coral,” RSV, NJB, NAB) and “sapphires” (KJV, RSV, NIV; “lapis lazuli” (NASB, NEB, AB). Whatever the correct identity of the jewels may be, the meaning of the verse is clear. 6The translation of the verbs in v. 16 as singular suggests that God is the subject (NAB, NEB). However, the MT is plural and the subject is indefinite: “They did not show honor … they did not show favor” (cf. KJV, NASB). Thus, the verse may refer to the conquerors rather than to the prophets and priests. NIV and NRSV make the subject indefinite by translating the verbs in the passive voice. JB says, “People respected the priests no longer.” 7 “Breath of our nostrils” (MT) found only here in the OT, was used in Canaan a thousand years earlier as evidenced by the Amarna letters. It was also used of Rameses II in an inscription at Abydos. It means the people were dependent on the kings for their existence. See 1 Sam 24:6; 26:9; 2 Sam 1:14 for David's high regard for Saul, the anointed king, even though Saul sought to kill him. The verse is not a tribute to Zedekiah but to the office he occupied. 8These verses are cited by some scholars as evidence against Jeremianic authorship of Lamentations because he would not have expected help from Egypt, nor would he have grieved over King Zedekiah's capture. The speaker, whether Jeremiah or someone else, may personally have shared the

hopes of the people or here is only reflecting the views of the people by identifying with the people.

SECTION OUTLINE V. A PRAYER FOR MERCY AND DELIVERANCE (5:1–22) 1. The Affliction and Suffering of the People (5:1– 13) 2. The Loss of Joy and Hope (5:14–18) 3. An Appeal for the Lord's Restored Favor (5:19–22)

V. A PRAYER FOR MERCY AND DELIVERANCE (5:1–22) The fifth lament does not employ the acrostic or the Qinah meter although the number of verses equals the number of letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The writer, speaking on behalf of all the people in stacatto-like fashion, describes the suffering endured by the people as he appealed to God for relief. The lament closes with a prayer of hope that God would restore them to their days of old.

1. The Affliction and Suffering of the People (5:1–13) 1Remember,

O LORD, what has happened to us; look, and see our disgrace. 2Our inheritance has been turned over to aliens, our homes to foreigners. 3We have become orphans and fatherless, our mothers like widows.

4We

must buy the water we drink; our wood can be had only at a price. 5Those who pursue us are at our heels; we are weary and find no rest. 6We submitted to Egypt and Assyria to get enough bread. 7Our fathers sinned and are no more, and we bear their punishment. 8Slaves rule over us, and there is none to free us from their hands. 9We get our bread at the risk of our lives because of the sword in the desert. 10Our skin is hot as an oven, feverish from hunger. 11Women have been ravished in Zion, and virgins in the towns of Judah. 12Princes have been hung up by their hands; elders are shown no respect. 13Young men toil at the millstones; boys stagger under loads of wood. 5:1–3 The lament opens with a plaintive appeal to God to take notice of the humiliation and suffering that had come upon the covenant people. Their inheritance, the promised land (Deut 4:21), had been overrun by aliens and foreign troops. The people felt they were all alone, as defenseless as orphans and widows. There is an implied appeal for God to act on behalf of his people because of his well-known concern for widows and orphans (Exod 22:22; Deut 10:18; 14:29; Pss 68:5; 146:9; Isa 1:17; Jer 49:11). They only had to heed Jeremiah's words (7:5–7) to avoid having become what they had ignored: aliens, widows, and orphans (Deut 10:12–11:32). 5:4–5 Life for the conquered people was extremely harsh. Even life's necessities such as water and wood, commodities once in abundance and free for the asking, were now obtained only “at a price” (“with silver,” Heb.) because of Babylon's strict control and exploitation of the land. There seemed to be no end to harassment by their enemies even in defeat.1

5:6–7 The people remembered when they made alliances with Egypt and Assyria2 in order to survive in the midst of the political and military intrigues that swirled around them. Verse 7 may imply that their ancestors sinned by making alliances with foreign powers from time to time rather than depending on God. The present generation was bearing the consequences of their sins (see Exod 20:5; but cf. Jer 31:29; Ezek 18:2; John 9). It is theologically essential to maintain a distinction between being punished for another's sins and experiencing the evil consequences of that person's sins. Failing to do so makes God unjust in his dealings and serves to excuse us from our responsibility for our sins. 5:8–10 Judah was experiencing the oppressive rule of the Babylonians through their appointed officials, some of whom may have been former slaves of the people of Jerusalem (cf. Jer 34:8–9; Prov 30:22). If so, they would have had no sympathy for their former masters. No effort was made by the victor to help rebuild the shattered nation or to alleviate the people's hardships. Food was as difficult to obtain as it had been during the siege. Marauding Babylonians or Bedouins were a constant threat to those who ventured from the protection of the city to harvest crops (cf. Deut 28:33, 48). The dehydrating effect of their hunger on the skin is compared to that of the heat of an oven. 5:11–13 Judah experienced the typical retribution inflicted on any defeated people in ancient times. Their women were ravaged; princes were tortured and executed publicly; elders were shown no respect by the arrogant conqueror. Men and boys became slave laborers,3 forced to do what was normally the work of women or slaves (cf. Judg 16:21). This renewal of the social order was a theological as well as political issue. The question remains, How?

2. The Loss of Joy and Hope (5:14–18) 14The

elders are gone from the city gate; the young men have stopped their music. 15Joy is gone from our hearts; our dancing has turned to mourning.

16The

crown has fallen from our head. Woe to us, for we have sinned! 17Because of this our hearts are faint, because of these things our eyes grow dim 18for Mount Zion, which lies desolate, with jackals prowling over it. 5:14–18 The elders who customarily sat in the city gates administering justice no longer exercised that responsibility. The eclipse of joy was evidenced by the cessation of music and dancing among the people. “The crown has fallen from our head” could refer to the end of the Davidic dynasty with King Zedekiah's capture. It more likely is a general statement of former prosperity and prestige among the nations that was no more (cf. Job 19:9; Ps 21:3; Isa 28:1,3; Jer 13:18). Jackals were now free to prowl the ruins of the once-prosperous city and its temple, which had been the central symbol of God's presence among his people (cf. Isa 13:21–22; 34:11–17; Jer 7:4; Ezek 13:4; Mic 3:11; Zeph 2:13–15). The cause of the people's desperate plight is found in the admission “we have sinned.”

3. An Appeal for the Lord's Restored Favor (5:19–22) 19You,

O LORD, reign forever; your throne endures from generation to generation. 20Why do you always forget us? Why do you forsake us so long? 21Restore us to yourself, O LORD, that we may return; renew our days as of old 22unless you have utterly rejected us and are angry with us beyond measure. 5:19–22 The lament closes with an acknowledgment of God's sovereignty, permanence, and stability. It is immediately followed by the troubling question, “Why do you always forget us?” (Cf. Jer 12:1–2, where the prophet acknowledged God's righteousness and then raised a question about God's justice.) An appeal was made for restoration to God's favor (cf.

Ps 51:12; Jer 31:18), unless in his anger God had completely rejected his people. If he had, there was no hope for reconciliation.4 Israel's prophets had warned the people for centuries of God's punishment if they did not repent. All warnings had been ignored, and now Jerusalem lay in ruins. The devastated people and land serve as a stark reminder that we cannot violate God's moral laws without suffering the painful consequences. The book closes similarly to the way it began by asking God a serious question: “How?” (1:1); “Why do you always forget us?” (5:20). The answer to these questions is found in the problem (2:9) and the consequences (2:1–22; 3:37–39). Judah had not listened to Jeremiah. Consequently, Judah suffered because it refused to return to God (Jer 2–6). The response of faith in 3:22–24 is one deep in suffering and pain, oppression and social chaos. For the poet serious questions arose, but the answer was that it was not God's fault but rather was that of the people. Hope is present, but only when it is realized that hope rests in knowing who God is: God is love (3:22; 1 John 4:16). His compassions are new every day, and they reveal his faithfulness (3:23). While many may remain in a state of utter despair, hope is in acknowledging, in that despair, that God is “good to those whose hope is in him” and wait for the “salvation of the LORD” (3:25–26). The prayer of anyone suffering in any capacity should be that of 3:21: “Restore us to yourself, O LORD, that we may return; renew our days as of old” (5:21). 1The

Hebrew of v. 5 presents some difficulty in translation. The MT says, “We are pursued upon our necks.” It may refer to the practice of a warrior placing his foot on the neck of his prostrate enemy to show complete subjugation (Isa 51:23). NJB, NAB, NEB, NRSV (following Symmachus) translate “the yoke on our neck.” NIV's “at our heels” is an example of a dynamic equivalence translation. 2“We submitted to Egypt and Assyria” is lit., “We gave a hand to … “; “came to terms with … “(NEB). Some believe this reference to Assyria should be Babylon, since Assyria had already been conquered by Babylon (cf. Ezra 6:22, where the king of Persia is called “king of Assyria”). However, it is better understood as a reference to previous alliances with Assyria (2 Kgs 15:19–20; 16:7; 17:3; Hos 5:13; 7:11).

3The

meaning of “boys stumble under the wood” (MT) is that they staggered under the burden of hard work. The Vg translates as, “Young men were sexually abused.” 4RSV translates v. 22 as a question instead of a statement. The proper translation hinges on the meaning of the opening words, . They can be translated “for if” (NEB), “unless” (NRSV, NIV, NASB, NJB), “but” (KJV, Vg, AB); “for truly” (NJPS; cf. NAB); “even if,” “although” (R. Gordis, “The Conclusion of the Book of Lamentations [5:22],” JBL 93 [1974]: 291). Because this book and Ecclesiastes, Isaiah, and Malachi end on a negative note, it is customary in the synagogues to repeat the preceding verse after the last verse in order to end with comforting words.

Selected Subject Index1 Adultery 71, 73, 89–90, 118, 213, 255, 454 Assassination 353, 356, 360 Assurance 385–86, 448 Authorship 26–29, 260, 379, 444–45 Baal worship 21, 32, 74, 127, 144, 156, 213, 218 Blessing 172–74, 278, 281, 315, 317, 347, 371, 373, 448 Boasting 121–22, 202 Circumcision 79, 122–23, 282 Covenant 105, 131–34, 152, 156, 267–68, 282, 303, 308–12, 369, 412, 431, 462 Curse 172–74, 195 Discipline 142 Divorce 71, 73 Exodus 357 Faith/Faithfulness 104, 126, 164, 270, 279, 296, 317, 332, 372, 448, 471– 74 Faithlessness 71–78, 102, 149, 224, 238, 277, 287, 312, 449 Fall of Jerusalem 22, 34, 55, 95–103, 120–22, 148, 243, 305–46, 413, 437–41, 444, 463 False prophets 90, 92, 109, 129, 191, 212–14, 218, 244, 246, 250, 252– 54, 299, 445, 465 Firstfruits 62–63

Fulfillment 343, 362, 441, 449 Healing 176–77, 265 Holiness 127, 200, 263, 272, 277 Hope 169, 257, 259, 297, 300, 385–86, 402, 474–77, 487, 489 Idolatry 33, 36, 52, 63–64, 66–67, 89, 92, 108, 110, 124–25, 127–28, 157, 170, 204, 214, 280, 282, 288, 295, 365–69, 383, 399, 412, 418, 424, 430 Judgment/Punishment 20, 31–32, 47, 53, 55, 73, 80, 82, 86, 88, 91, 110– 11, 122, 129–30, 143, 145, 153, 156, 159, 184, 190, 198, 205, 215, 225–32, 245, 250, 254–57, 260, 262, 272, 296, 310–12, 326, 333, 358, 361, 369–70, 376–77, 389, 393, 399, 402, 405–6, 409, 417, 422, 432, 445, 449, 461, 469, 472, 486, 490 Law 63, 94, 109, 113, 152, 204, 284–87, 291, 303, 309, 321–25, 368, 404, 457 Love/Loving-kindness 150, 269, 276, 296–97, 300, 377, 422, 474–77 Marriage 166–67, 453 Military 20, 35, 96, 104, 319–20, 329, 344, 380–81, 383 Mourning/weeping 121, 168, 274, 354, 465 Murder 353–55, 483 New covenant 71, 189, 268–87, 296 Obedience/submission 89, 100, 104, 109, 134, 146, 164, 316–17, 338, 340, 358, 361, 372 Peace 82, 193, 248, 297, 299, 338 Potter 179–82, 186

Prayer 135–36, 257, 292–95, 327–28, 358, 468, 475, 478, 480, 487 Preaching/Message 35, 47, 184, 234–40, 326–27, 332, 360, 371, 378 Priests 47, 94, 126, 188, 190, 213, 237, 244–45, 252, 256, 273, 281, 300– 303, 391, 401, 439, 458, 482, 486 Promise 165–70, 210–13, 262–63, 282, 302–3, 346–47, 360 Prophetic ministry 21–22, 49–52, 56, 192–93, 219, 223, 362–63, 453 Rebellion 93, 276, 307, 325 Repentance/Forgiveness 67, 70–71, 74, 77–79, 90–91, 102, 115, 137, 181, 269, 274–75, 280, 303, 318–19, 377, 422, 449, 468, 478 Righteousness/Justice 139–40, 206, 211–12, 263, 277, 293, 335–36, 376 Sabbath 178–79 Sacrifices 35, 66, 109, 234, 245, 302, 366, 381 Salvation/Restoration 78, 260, 266, 291, 301, 398–99, 414, 490 Sin/Guilt 35, 66, 73–74, 79, 85, 91, 99, 113, 117, 121, 137, 153, 156, 189, 200, 264, 279, 286, 288, 331, 340, 348, 361, 376, 391, 397, 404, 412, 414, 436, 454, 457–58, 465, 478, 484, 488 Slaves 64, 310–12 Sovereignty 51, 180–82, 221–22, 242, 251, 253, 272, 293, 298, 303, 369, 372, 399, 409, 467, 490 Symbolic acts 87, 363–65 Temple 55, 66, 75, 103–7, 157, 172, 175, 189, 234–40, 245, 247, 288, 300, 314, 317, 320–22, 337, 347, 364, 416, 438, 448, 462–63, 482, 486, 489 Textual differences, e.g. 30–31, 223, 333, 456 Threats 165–70 Truth 88, 245, 360–61, 412, 466, 475 Vision 53, 154, 220–21, 461, 464

Will of God 242, 250, 356, 359, 362 Worship 76, 93, 109, 125, 172, 236, 270–72, 354, 424, 469 Wrath 78, 98, 126, 145, 156, 159, 217, 222–38, 264, 268, 298, 320, 352, 369, 404, 414–16, 422, 429, 436, 448, 456–57, 462, 483 _________________ 1 Indexes were prepared by Lanese Dockery.

Person Index Achtemeier, E. 25 Ackroyd, P. R. 27, 123, 445 Albrektson, B. 443, 448 Albright, W. F. 50, 183, 387 Archer, G. L., Jr. 31, 50, 444 Avigad, N. 320–21, 325, 342, 433 Bailey, K. E. 66 Baldwin, J. G. 211, 274 Balentine, S. 156, 157 Baltzer, K. 133 Bardtke, H. 52, 376 Barker, K. L. 288 Barnett, R. D. 387 Bartchy, S. S. 308 Bartlett, J. R. 389, 403 Barton, D. M. 445 Batto, B. F. 405 Baumgartner, W. 194 Becker, J. 211 Beck, M. A. 199 Berridge, J. M. 51 Blaising, C. A. 283–84 Bleibtreu, E. 101 Blomberg, C. L. 179, 275 Bock, D. L. 283–84 Bonhoeffer, D. 373

Booth, W. 339 Botterweck, G. J. 238, 476 Brichto, H. C. 133 Bright, J. 23–26, 29, 31, 56, 68, 70, 72, 74, 82–83, 85, 90, 100, 107, 116, 123, 125, 127, 131, 134–35, 139, 155, 159, 177, 179, 183, 193, 201, 210–11, 213, 220, 224, 226–27, 242, 256, 280–81, 293, 309, 312, 318, 327, 330, 332, 334, 336, 341–42, 355–56, 358, 360–61, 364, 376, 380–81, 383–84, 390, 394–95, 401, 417–19, 441 Brueggemann, W. 35–36, 53, 55, 88, 104, 116, 159, 162, 181, 223, 264– 66, 278, 285, 287, 289 Budde, K. 446 Burns, J. L. 284 Bush, F. W. 29 Butler, T. 152, 399 Buttenweiser, M. 320 Buttrick, G. A. 56 Calvin, J. 144, 277, 425 Carroll, R. P. 49, 51, 62, 72, 116, 123, 131, 133–35, 159, 166, 177, 183, 192, 222, 226, 234, 265, 281, 313, 316, 327, 336, 345, 353, 361, 378, 383, 399 Carson, D. A. 179–80, 275, 282 Cazelles, H. 28, 54, 131 Chamblin, K. 286 Charlesworth, J. H. 314, 480 Childs, B. S. 29, 51 Christensen, D. L. 224, 378 Clements, R. E. 51, 74–75, 279–80, 283, 378 Clendenen, E. R. 127 Clines, D. J. A. 192 Coats, G. W. 62 Cohen, A. 178

Collins, T. 468 Cornill, C. H. 144, 185, 194, 323, 336, 376, 425 Coughenour, R. A. 102 Craigie, P. C. 79, 82, 108, 124, 161, 166 Crenshaw, J. L. 136, 212 Crim, K. 54 Cross, F. M. 30, 352 Dahlberg, B. T. 57, 325 Dahood, M. J. 175, 401 Daiches, S. 328 Davies, P. R. 453 Day, J. 172 Delitzsch, F. 444 Diamond, A. R. 136 Dockery, D. 410 Dorsey, D. A. 286 Dothan, M. 387 Dothan, T. 387 Driver, G. R. 140, 395 Driver, S. R. 28–29, 123, 444 Duhm, B. 26–28, 54, 68, 115, 137, 179, 185, 193–94, 198, 203, 336, 352, 376, 425 Dumbrell, W. J. 281 Edwards, I. E. S. 387 Eichrodt, W. 133, 152, 282, 285 Eissfeldt, O. 24–26, 445–46 Ellison, H. L. 211, 445 Emerton, J. A. 482 Erlich, E. L. 218

Eskenazi, T. 179 Feinberg, C. L. 29, 74, 78, 226, 274, 277, 282–85, 330, 345, 367, 376, 399 Feinberg, J. S. 275–76 Fohrer, G. 136, 446 Freedman, D. N. 64, 176, 389 Fretheim, T. E. 116–17, 477 Funk, R. W. 339 Gaebelein, F. E. 29, 445 Gammie, J. G. 145 Gaster, T. H. 167, 311 Geyer, J. B. 378 Gianotti, C. R. 152 Giesebracht, F. 30, 123, 194 Gileadi, A. 282 Glueck, N. 62, 313 Goldingay, J. 24, 116, 167 Good, E. M. 339 Gordis, R. 458, 471, 490 Gordon, C. H. 309 Gordon, R. P. 27 Gottschalk, A. 62 Gottwald, N. K. 313, 445–48 Graf, K. H. 30, 123 Green, A. R. W. 110 Green, D. E. 446 Gruber, M. I. 93 Gundry, R. H. 275 Gunn, D. M. 192

Gutmann, J. 344 Habel, N. 51 Hallevy, R. 314 Hallo, W. W. 243 Halpern, B. 288 von der Hardt, H. 444 Harris, R. L. 50 Harrison, R. K. 25, 29, 54, 57, 123, 127, 169, 226, 324, 330, 333, 336, 383, 388, 399, 444 Hasel, G. 75 Hayes, J. H. 56, 378, 447 Heider, G. C. 401 Herrmann, S. 28 Hillers, D. R. 282, 444, 453–54, 456, 458, 479 Hitler 338 Hitzig, F. 137 Hobbs, T. R. 70 Hoffner, H. A., Jr. 309 Holladay, W. L. 23, 26, 29–32, 46–47, 54, 56, 66, 70, 74, 82, 84–85, 88, 91, 96–97, 102–3, 107, 115, 132, 135, 139, 144, 156, 159, 161, 172– 73, 178, 182–83, 211, 226, 235, 240, 249, 253, 255, 263, 270, 274, 280, 289, 293, 313, 321, 324, 327, 330, 333, 342, 353, 358, 361, 373, 376, 378, 381, 383–84, 389, 394, 425, 454 Holstein, J. A. 314 Honeyman, A. M. 190 Hooker, P. K. 447 Hubbard, D. A. 29 Hubmann, F. D. 139 Huey, F. B., Jr. 296, 298 Huffmon, H. B. 50, 285 Hughes, P. E. 283–84, 286–87

Hyatt, J. P. 23, 28, 34, 47, 123, 132, 135, 220, 340, 371, 376, 378 Ittmann, N. 136 Janssen, E. 28 Janzen, J. G. 31, 224 Janzen, W. 206 Jerome 277 Jocz, J. 282 Johnston, R. H. 180 Jones, D. R. 47, 127, 172, 265, 274, 277, 280–81 Josephus 389, 399, 444 Kaiser, O. 446 Kaiser, W. C., Jr. 152, 276, 279, 281, 284, 373 Kaufmann, Y. 29 Keil, C. F. 88, 226, 399, 444, 455–56 Kelsey, M. T. 218 Kelso, J. L. 180 Kent, H. A., Jr. 284 Kidner, D. 50, 106, 185, 279, 281 Kitchen, K. A. 27, 32, 387 Klein, L. R. 339 Kline, M. G. 170 Klopfenstein, M. A. 94 Knight, D. A. 27 Kohl, M. 473 Koldewey, R. 441 Kovacs, B. W. 24, 28, 54, 136, 159 Krašovec, J. 475 Kraus, H. J. 447–48

Kutsch, E. 133 Labuschagne, C. J. 124 Laetsch, T. 440 Lambdin, T. O. 166 Lambert, W. G. 410 Lanahan, W. F. 473 Landes, G. M. 314 Landsberger, F. 344 LaSor, W. S. 29 Lee, R. G. 117 Lemke, W. E. 225 Leslie, E. A. 26, 180, 334, 376 Levenson, J. D. 314 Lewis, C. S. 185 Limburg, J. 176 Lindblom, J. 50, 123, 314 Lohfink, N. 321 Lohr, M. 444 Lowery, D. K. 286 Ludwig, T. M. 265 Lundbom, J. 319, 433 Macalister, R. A. S. 387 McCarter, P. K., Jr. 314 McCarthy, D. J. 133, 282 McComiskey, T. E. 282, 285–86 McConville, J. G. 29, 67, 71–72, 152, 194, 276, 285 McDaniel, T. F. 476 McKane, W. 46–47, 49, 54, 71–72, 86, 116, 127, 132, 135, 145, 148, 159, 166, 179, 183, 190, 193, 211, 220, 224, 453

McKenzie, J. L. 243 Malamat, A. 377 Margaliot, M. 123 Martens, E. A. 36, 102, 260, 272, 283 Martin, J. D. 453 Mendelsohn, I. 308 Mendenhall, G. E. 133, 282 Merrill, E. H. 19 Meyer, I. 212 Milgrom, J. 109 Miller, J. M. 56, 389 Miller, P. D., Jr. 194, 265 Min, Y.-J. 30 Mitchell, T. C. 387 Moo, D. J. 275, 286 Moore, M. S. 448 Moran, W. L. 377, 391 Motyer, J. A. 152 Mowinckel, S. 27–29, 211, 262, 280, 318 Muilenburg, J. 264 Napoleon 338 Nicholson, E. W. 25, 28, 56, 74, 132, 179, 214, 220, 222, 226, 229–30, 313, 327, 328, 330, 332, 335–36, 342, 344–45, 347, 353, 359, 361, 366, 378, 380, 388, 391 Niditch, S. 220 Noth, M. 27 O'Brien, M. 28 O'Conner, K. 136, 169–70 Oppenheim, L. 218

Oppenheimer, A. 328 von Orelli, C. 30 Oswalt, J. N. 277 Overholt, T. W. 94, 107, 123, 212, 225 Pardee, D. 251 Patterson, R. D. 26, 51, 60 Payne, J. B. 27, 211 Perdue, L. G. 24, 28, 54, 136, 159 Petrie, F. 364 Pfeiffer, R. H. 378, 445 Pope, M. H. 56, 314, 328 Potter, H. D. 280 Pratt, R. L., Jr. 314 Pritchard, J. B. 308 Quell, G. 212 von Rad, G. 52, 136, 285, 296, 328 Raitt, T. M. 71 Reed, W. L. 264 Reventlow, H. G. 49, 136 Ricciotti, G. 444 Riggen, G. 280 Ringgren, H. 238, 476 Robinson, H. W. 83 Robinson, T. H. 395 Rowley, H. H. 132, 140, 395 Rudolph, W. 28, 46, 68, 74, 90, 105, 115–16, 123, 137, 144, 173, 179, 193–94, 198, 203, 210–11, 220, 226, 228–29, 260, 292–93, 319, 323, 330, 334, 336, 342, 349, 353, 361, 376, 381, 383, 425, 443, 446

Saggs, H. W. F. 19, 22 Sailhamer, J. H. 274 Sakenfeld, K. D. 62, 475 Salters, R. B. 453 Sarna, N. 309 Sasson, J. M. 122 Saucy, R. L. 284 Schmidt, W. H. 52 Schmokel, H. 314 Scholl, D. W. 90 Schottroff, W. 133 Seitz, C. R. 328 Sellin, E. 446 van Selms, A. 199 Seow, C. L. 64 Seybold, K. 238 Shea, W. H. 446 Shiloh, Y. 321 Showers, R. E. 284, 286 Siebeck, P. 54 Silva, M. 282 Simpson, W. K. 243 Sisson, J. P. 216, 234, 248 Skinner, J. 332, 371, 376 Smith, J. E. 211 Smith, M. S. 194 Smith, W. R. 311 Soderlund, S. 31 Soggin, J. A. 25–26, 328 Stager, L. E. 110

Streane, A. W. 30, 88, 444 Sturdy, J. 446 Talmon, S. 30, 328 Tenney, M. 152 Terrien, S. 52 Thackeray, H. 30 Thiel, W. 28, 75, 132, 144, 198, 203 Thomas, D. W. 308, 387 Thompson, J. A. 25–26, 31, 68, 72, 77–79, 85, 137, 159, 166, 177, 210, 224, 226, 260, 269–70, 274, 277, 281–82, 286, 288, 314, 327, 332, 336, 341–42, 345, 358, 361, 378, 381, 383, 388 Thompson, K. B. 288 Torrey, C. C. 419 Tov, E. 30–31 Tupper, E. F. 275 Unterman, J. 71 Vaggione, R. P. 54 Van Dyke Parnak, H. 86 Van Groningen, G. 261–63, 267–68, 274–75, 277, 280, 283–86, 288, 301 de Vaux, R. 167, 308, 404 Volz, D. P. 90, 105, 123, 144, 194, 229, 253, 293, 330, 336, 339, 353, 376, 425 van der Wal, A. J. O. 68 Walff, S. R. 110 Waltke, B. K. 50, 169–70, 276, 282, 285 Wang, M. 289 Ware, B. A. 283–84

Watts, J. W. 378 Watts, R. E. 272 Weidner, E. F. 441 Weinfield, M. 27–28, 282 Weippert, H. 29, 132, 312 Weiser, A. 74, 90, 123, 193, 220, 226, 228, 445, 448 Wellhausen, J. 26 Westerholm, S. 286 Westermann, C. 133, 194 Whitley, C. F. 47, 226 Williams, J. G. 339 Wilson, R. R. 29 Wiseman, D. J. 313, 387, 389, 410 Wiesmann, H. 444 Wolff, H. W. 79, 84, 172, 212, 284–85, 473 Woodbridge, J. D. 275, 282 Woudstra, M. H. 49, 284 Wright, C. J. H. 280, 282 Wright, G. E. 352 Würthwein, E. 64 Yaure, L. 256 Youngblood, R. F. 274 van Zil, A. H. 389 Zimmerli, W. 308

Selected Scripture Index Genesis 1:1

277

1:1-2

461

1:1-2:4

476

1:2

85, 213

1:5

303

1:6-10

93

1:7

298

1:14

125

1:16

298

1:17

287

1:25-26

298

1:26-27

125

1:27

277

1:28

166, 201, 211, 272, 309

1:30

296

1:31

298

2:1

64

2:2

298

2:4

298

2:7

50, 296

2:7-8

298

2:14

144

2:16-17

51

2:18

298

2:19

298

2:24

166

3:1

362

3:1-5

95

3:1-7

68

3:4

362

3:5

317, 362

3:8-10

284

3:12

69

3:13

82

3:15

174

4:5

74

4:14

79

5:24

162

8:22

303

9:1

272

9:8-17

281

9:11

93, 289

9:16

296

10:23

486 432

11:1-9 11:4

423

12:1-3

281

12:3

79, 272

13:10

273, 391

13:16

303

14:2

391, 405

14:8

405

15:1

51

15:1-21

281

15:5

303

15:6

139

15:9-17

311

15:11

142

15:18

105, 144

16:2

166, 320

17:1-8

32

17:1-27

281

17:5

190

17:7-8

105

17:8

261

17:9-14

79, 282

17:11

122

17:14

282 293

18:14 18:18

79

18:19

50, 282

18:20-19:29

214

18:22-23

88

19:8

50

19:12-13

430

19:24-25

405, 483

19:24-28

195

19:37

388

19:38

400

20:9

331

20:11

296

20:17

78

20:18

166

22:16

204

22:17

159, 303

22:21

229

22:24

350

23:16

291

25:3

229

25:13

407

25:15

229

25:23

486 286

26:5 27:2

50

27:36

118, 174

28:13

261

28:15

52, 263

29:1

408

29:15-18

281

29:32

272

30:1

275

31:14

128

31:49

133

32:12

159

32:28

190, 463

35:10

190

35:18

274

36:1

403, 486

36:11

404

37:2

51, 193

37:5

278

37:5-10

217

37:22-24

334

37:25

117

37:28

270

37:34

465 71

38:14-16 39:1

251, 335

40:13

441

40:19

441

41:45

190, 365

41:46

106

42:36

274

43:9

267

43:14

360

43:30

276

44:2-17

315

49:3

272

49:10

393

49:26

483

50:7

465

50:20

221

Exodus 1:7

282

1:22

275

2:6

51

3:1-4:17

49

3:8

77, 133

3:11

51

3:12

52, 263, 370 152, 171

3:13-15 3:17

261

4:10

51

4:11-12

52

4:14

51

4:16

164

4:21

463

4:22

272

4:23

272

5:1

84, 116, 157

5:2

285

6:6

272, 395

6:6-8

64

6:7

109, 267, 285

6:30

98

10:2

338

12:22-23

438

12:31-14:31

199

12:38

418

13:2

360

13:3

309

13:13-15

272

13:14

309

13:21-22

315 366

14:2 14:7

463

14:13

176

14:14

56

14:15

56

15:15

406

16:3

360, 362

18:12

465

19:5

120

19:5-6

105, 133, 233

19:6

144, 267, 482

20:1-17

106, 298

20:2

309

20:3

55, 117

20:3-4

106, 370

20:4-6

123

20:5

454, 488

20:5-6

279

20:6

269, 293

20:7

68

20:8-11

178

20:12

315

20:16

340

21:2-11

308, 310 195

21:15 21:17

195

21:24

265

21:24-25

431

21:30

272

22:2

69

22:16

192

22:18

243

22:21

106

22:22

94, 488

22:23-24

204

23:6

477

23:10-11

310

23:16

354

24:3

66, 120

24:6

311

24:8

311

24:17

192

25:10-22

75

25:22

75, 175

25:29

438

25:31-34

315

25:31-40

438

27:2

172 126

28:4-5 28:6

126

28:9-12

482

28:15

126

28:33

126

28:33-34

439

28:34-35

267

28:35

267

29:6

110

29:12

172

29:45

285

30:23-25

100

30:33

282

31:14

282

31:18

284

32:2-35

282

32:7

358

32:9

283

32:11

358

32:11-14

157

32:19

326

32:27-29

303

32:30-34

157

33:7

84 269

33:12-17 34:1

326

34:6-7

476–77

34:7

293

34:10

277

37:1-9

75

37:17-20

315

39:24-26

439

Leviticus 1:3-9

109

1:9

366

1:14

94

3:11

366

4:7

172

4:12

288

4:30

172

4:34

172

5:7-11

94

5:25

94

6:10-11

288

7:20

282

7:31-34

273

8:9

110

8:15

172 207

11:1-8 12:2

454, 457

12:3

79

12:5

454, 457

13:18

78

13:45

484

14:4-7

94

14:49-53

94

15:19

454

15:19-26

457

16:2

75

16:4

144

16:8

149

16:18

172

17:4

282

18:3

125

18:5

287

18:6-30

282

18:21

110

18:24-28

71

18:28

168

18:29

282

19:2

127

19:10

404 119

19:11 19:23-25

270

19:26

243

19:27

122

19:27-28

110, 354

19:28

167

20:2

295

20:2-6

110

20:3

282

20:9

195

21:1

188

21:5

122, 167, 188

21:15

110

22:10-16

62

23:10-14

62

23:15-16

94

23:17

62

23:29

282

23:34

354

24:15-16

282

24:18

296

25:8-17

291

25:10

308

25:25

272, 418 291

25:25-34 25:28

291

25:35

418

25:39-46

308

25:47-49

272, 418

26:12

109, 267, 285

26:14-45

276, 282, 467

26:19

71

26:22

88

26:25-26

153

26:29

187

26:30

412

26:44

86

26:44-45

283

26:45

276

Numbers 3:46

272

5:2

188

5:11-31

115, 120, 228, 282, 486

5:22

133

6:1-21

110

6:6-7

188

6:9

110

6:27

106 50

8:19 9:13

282

10:9

276

11:1

200, 477

11:5

360

11:24-25

238

12:6

217

13:33

388

14:8

77

14:13-19

156–57

14:14

315

14:20-23

367

14:21

79

15:30

282

15:30-36

282

15:32-36

178

16:9

317

16:30

277

18:8-19

273

18:12

272

18:15-16

272

18:19

311

18:20

128, 476

18:32

310 288

19:9-10 19:11-13

298

19:11-22

288

20:10

458

20:14-30

403

20:24

458

21:6-9

115

21:23

394

21:23-24

394

21:25-30

390

21:28-29

399

21:32

397

21:34

51

22:6

480

23:5

52

24:5-6

266

24:10

395

24:17

399

25:1-3

123

25:1-5

55

25:10-13

303

26:55

149

27:1-11

77

30:2

311 368

30:3-16 32:23

412

32:29

400

32:31

400

32:34

394

32:37

390

32:38

390, 394

35:19

272, 418

35:34

71

36:1-9

77

Deuteronomy 1:29

295

2:10

388

2:23

388

2:24

390

3:9

183

3:22

33

4:1

287

4:2

235

4:6-8

113

4:12-19

125

4:13

284

4:20

128, 133

4:21

488 282

4:23-31 4:24

192

4:28

295

4:29

33, 254

4:32

277

4:34

200

4:43

395

5:6

309

5:9

32

5:10

293

5:12-15

178, 282

5:15

200

5:17-20

32

5:20

340

5:29

109

6:3

133

6:4

33

6:4-5

357

6:4-9

21, 33-34, 285

6:5

206

6:6

33, 283

6:13

295

7:4

33

7:7-9

269 272, 309

7:8 7:9

293

7:12-15

105

7:13

272

7:14

166

7:28

105

8:2-5

276

8:7

272

9:3

192

9:18-20

157

9:25-29

157

10:8

106

10:12

295

10:12-22

34, 282

10:12488 11:32204, 10:15

269

10:16

32, 79, 122, 172, 283

10:18

488

10:18-19

204

10:18-20

32

10:20

295

11:2-7

276

11:9

133

11:10-17

71

11:18

283

11:19

285

11:26-28

33, 55, 250

11:26-29

466

12:12

150

12:30-31

295

12:31

401

12:32

235

13:1-3

214

13:1-5

243

13:5

250, 309, 332

14:1

110, 167, 354

14:3-8

207

14:21

150

14:22-29

282

14:29

94, 488

15:1

308–10

15:3

172

15:12-18

308–10

15:15

272

16:13

354

16:16

104

16:20

106

16:21

172

17:2

150

17:15

267

17:18-20

204

18:8

128

18:9-13

243

18:15-22

176, 240, 257, 327

18:18

52

18:20

237, 250, 332

18:20-22

248

18:22

362

19:10

106, 237, 335

19:12

465

19:13

335

20:2-4

96

20:6

270

20:17

225

20:19-20

97

21:8

237, 335

21:12

171

21:14

310

22:25

192

23:2-3

455

23:19-20

160

23:21-23

311 70–71

24:1-4 24:16

279

24:17

106

24:19-21

453

24:21

404

25:3

190

25:5-10

418

25:7-9

465

26:1-11

62

26:5-9

293

26:8

200, 293

26:12-19

282

26:17-18

285

27:12-26

282

27:15-26

133

27:19

106

27:26

133

28:1-68

55, 466

28:3

114

28:4

211

28:10

153

28:11

114

28:15-68

33, 183, 250, 265, 282, 467

28:18

114 264

28:21-22 28:21-29

92

28:22-24

71, 418

28:23-24

94, 140, 213

28:25

187

28:26

111, 167, 187, 207

28:27

264

28:28

484

28:30

71, 270

28:30-42

270

28:33

488

28:35

264

28:36

454

28:37

222

28:41

454

28:48

488

28:49

91, 399, 485

28:49-52

91

28:51

92

28:52

92

28:53

469

28:53-57

187

28:58-61

264

28:65

269, 484 250

29:1-32 29:17

412

29:18

214

29:18-21

282

29:19

76, 216

29:23

405

29:28

200

30:1-5

254, 295

30:1-6

283

30:1-15

33

30:2-3

254

30:6

222, 282

30:9

296

30:11-14

283

30:19

200

31:6-8

56

31:9-13

321

31:17

299

31:20

133

32:6

272

32:9

84, 128, 476

32:10

277, 468

32:11

213

32:25

458 288

32:32 32:35

137, 393

32:39

176

32:42

381

32:46-47

283

32:49

208, 390

33:1

314

33:16

483

34:1

390

34:10

50

Joshua 1:3

261

1:5

51–52

1:6-9

56

1:9

263

2:6

188

5:6

133

6:17

200

6:21

225

7:2

401

7:6

465

7:19

146

8:1-29

401

8:13

174 416

8:26 9:1-26

246

9:12

190

10:1-14

246

10:12-13

96

10:28

225

11:1-13

407

13:15-17

391

13:15-23

388

13:16

394

13:17

390, 394

13:19

390

13:22

243

13:27

391

18:1

107, 236

18:6

128

18:8-10

107

18:23

144

19:51

107, 330

20:4

55

20:8

395

21:17

246

21:17-18

46

21:36

394 394

21:37 21:39

390, 397

22:5

283

24:14

222

24:15

200

Judges 1:16

313

1:30

453

1:35

453

3:27

81

4:11

313

4:15

64

5:4

427

6:3

408

6:16

52

7:19

468

8:14

465

8:19

79

9:1

79

9:45

173, 312, 391

11:8

169

11:17

403

11:26

401

16:5

192 343, 489

16:21 16:23

387

16:28

276

17:1-2

133

19:25

338

19:29

311

21:11

50

Ruth 1:1

389

3:13

79

4:1-12

291

4:4-6

272

4:5

166

4:15

159

1 Samuel 1:3

47, 107, 236

1:5

166

1:5-6

360

1:11

276

1:13-15

213

1:19

276

1:24

51, 145

2:5

159

2:10

463 75, 118

2:12 2:16

366

2:27

314

3:1

107

3:1-21

49

3:7

285

3:11

187

3:17

337

3:21

107

4:3

105, 463

4:4

75

4:10-11

75

5:2-7

387

6:5

146

6:6

338

6:13-16

75

7:1

75

7:1-2

239

7:2

141

7:5-9

157

7:5-12

350

9:6

314

9:16

84

10:2

274 145

10:3 10:17

350

11:1-2

281

11:1-11

400

11:7

311

12:3

63

12:19

328

12:19-23

157

13:8-12

426

13:9-12

96

13:14

75

14:3

47

14:39

212

15:3

225

15:21

200

15:22

100, 109, 234, 463

15:24-26

115

15:32-35

207

15:33

338

16:1-13

267

16:6-7

52

16:14

463

17:46

288

17:49

128 311

18:1-4 18:11

168, 209

19:6

79

20:33

168

24:6

485

25:29

128

26:9

485

26:20

175

28:6

217

30:20

472

31:9

209

2 Samuel 1:1-16

195

1:10

110

1:14

485

1:19

387, 429, 483

1:23

485

1:25

429

2:8

79

2:12-16

356

2:12-17

246

2:14

51

3:31

81, 465

5:6-7

202 75

6:1-15 6:2

239

6:7

200

7:2

204

7:7

204

7:8-16

302

7:10

139

7:11-16

281

7:14

472

7:16

105

8:1

387

8:2

389

8:3

144

8:12

389

8:13-14

403

9:7

441

11:2

188

11:11

96, 204, 426

11:14

251

11:21

79

12:1-10

336

12:8

180

12:31

364

13:11

192

13:14

192

13:19

69, 465

13:31

465

14:18

337

15:2-4

201, 335

15:19

453

15:30

151

16:1

145

16:21-22

338

18:19

427

18:23

427

18:31-32

335

13:32

133

19:8

335

19:31-40

356

19:33

441

20:8-13

246

21:5-10

111

23:5

296

24:13

153

24:24

291

1 Kings 1:2

106

1:7

47 133

1:36 2:4

302

2:19

147

2:26-27

47, 137

2:27

47

2:28

172

3:4-15

246

3:7

51

3:26

276

5:13-14

206

6:5

314

6:21

439

6:36

322

7:2

202

7:2-5

204

7:12

141, 322

7:15-22

245

7:15-50

245, 438

7:16-20

439

7:20

439

7:21

438

7:23-26

245, 438

7:27-37

245

7:42

439 438

7:49-50 8:5-6

75

8:25

302

8:27

105

8:37

150

8:50

360

8:51

133

9:3

106

9:5

302

9:8

183, 187, 466

9:26

405

10:8

317

10:16-17

380

10:17

204

10:21

202, 204

11:5

401

11:7

391, 401

11:33

401

12:3-4

206

12:26-33

270, 393

13:1

314

13:20

47

14:15

79

14:23

66, 92 447, 484

14:25-26 14:26

438

15:12

412

15:16-20

453

15:18

407

15:22

355

17:1

106, 317

17:9-24

453

18:1

47

18:1-6

323

18:4

68

18:13

68

18:21

200

18:22-39

370

18:26

134

18:26-29

78

18:27

153

18:28

89

18:30

78

18:46

56

19:1-3

239

19:10

68

19:14

195

19:19-21

49 407

20:1-34 20:42

200

21:1-18

32

21:3

291

22:1-24

216

22:1-28

331

22:11

242

22:19-22

216

22:20

192

2 Kings 1:1

389

1:9

314

2:9-10

372

2:13

372

2:19-22

97

2:22

78

2:24

88

3:4-27

389

3:14

106

4:7

314

4:29

56

4:38

54

6:24-29

469, 483

6:25-29

455 187

6:26-29 7:1-7

199

8:11

117

8:20-22

403

9:11

256

9:30

86

9:35-36

157

9:37

111, 128

10:11-28

353

10:15-27

313

10:19

174

12:9-10

314

13:3

407

13:24

407

14:6

279

14:13

288

14:13-14

447, 484

15:19-20

488

15:29

400

15:35

237

16:3

110, 295

16:4

66, 92

16:5-6

403

16:5-7

453 64, 488

16:7 16:7-8

20

16:7-9

32, 265

16:9

406

16:18

206, 337

17:1-6

414

17:3

488

17:5-8

73

17:6

354

17:7

295

17:10

66, 149

17:22-24

73

17:24

351, 354

17:25

88

17:31

295

18:9-12

73

18:19

62

18:29

82

18:31

62

18:34

406

18:34-35

67

19:1

81

19:2

186

19:9-14

251 406

19:13 19:14-19

249

19:15

76

19:17

199

19:18

295

19:35

199

19:35-36

249, 328

20:3

276

20:4

47

29:12-18

245

20:18

251

20:20

482

21:1-18

47

21:2-9

21, 295

21:3-16

157

21:5

110

21:6

110

21:10-15

288

21:12

187

21:16

69, 187, 207

22:3

321

22:3-13

32

22:3-20

345

22:4

251 46, 251, 321

22:8 22:8-10

280

22:8-23:3

94

22:10

321

22:11

325

22:12

240, 322

22:12-14

239

22:14

322

22:16-17

366

23:1-25

280

23:4

288

23:4-14

32

23:4-16

214, 295

23:4-20

368

23:4-25

73

23:5

125

23:6

240

23:9

280

23:10

186

23:12

172

23:13

79, 425

23:15

172

23:15-20

32

23:16

111 74

23:19-20 23:24-35

33

23:26-27

34, 280

23:29-30

104

23:31

46, 436

23:31-33

205

23:33

343, 447, 484

23:34

206

23:36-37

33, 206

24:1

20

24:1-2

313

24:1-6

206

24:2

316, 389, 400

24:3-4

21

24:4

69, 187, 207

24:6

207, 326

24:8

20, 209, 239, 251, 322

24:8-15

147

24:8-17

191

24:12

209, 440

24:13

245, 423, 438

24:13-14

172

24:14

440

24:15

205 209, 220, 222

24:15-16 24:15-17

326, 436

24:16

440

24:17

328

24:18-25:21

34

24:18-25:30

435–36

24:24-27

73

25:1

341

25:1-21

21

25:3

436

25:4

454

25:5

343

25:5-7

111

25:6

436

25:7

205

25:8

289, 342, 344, 437

25:8-17

437

25:9

55, 344

25:10

464

25:11

438

25:12

344

25:13-15

55, 172

25:13-17

245, 423, 438

25:14-15

438

25:17

439

25:18

190, 256, 314

25:18-21

439

25:22-26

21, 435

25:23

350

25:25

322, 352–53

25:26

21

25:27

441

25:27-30

207, 209, 440

1 Chronicles 2:55

113, 313

3:15

205

3:16-17

209

3:17

209

3:19

209

5:24

46

6:13-15

439

8:33

79

10:10

387

12:1

320

12:4

46

12:10

46

12:13

46

17:21

272 76, 462

28:2 28:12

314

29:24

413

2 Chronicles 3:15

439

3:15-17

245

4:4-5

245

4:6

245

6:16

302

6:42

276

7:14

153

7:18

302

8:8

453

8:14

314

16:6

355

16:10

190

16:14

307

18:26

62

21:12-15

251

21:16-17

447, 484

21:19

307

24:21

68

25:22-24

447, 484

25:23

288 288

26:9 26:16-21

267

28:16-21

69

29:8

200

30:8

413

31:4-10

272

31:11

314

32:10

62

32:27-29

272

33:11

447, 484

34:3-7

21, 280

34:6-7

20

34:8

320, 371

34:8-18

32, 280

34:8-28

22

34:13

113

34:19-35:19

280

34:24-25

280

35:3

75

35:20-24

20

35:20-27

33

35:25

47, 205, 444

36:1

205

36:2-3

205 206

36:4-8 36:5-8

207, 326

36:9

209

36:10

455

36:13

433

36:15-16

280

36:18

455

Ezra 1:7-11

245, 247

2:2

209

2:6

209

2:23

138

3:2

209, 283

3:8

209

3:12

272

4:8-6:18

127

6:22

488

7:8-9

144

7:10

283

7:11-26

251

7:12-26

127

8:15

253

9:6-15

129

10:3

283 465

10:8 10:14

465

Nehemiah 1:1

410

1:1-6:15

464

2:10

402

2:13

187

2:14

343

2:19

402

3:1

288

3:14

318

3:15

343

3:25

332

3:28

288

4:7

402

5:8

308

5:13

133

6:5-7

251

7:41

190

8:1-18

188

8:1-9:3

283

8:9

272

9:1

465

9:1-37

188 38

9:16 9:26

68–69

10:2

46

10:28-29

283

10:34

149

11:30

111

12:1

46

12:34

46

12:37

343

12:39

288

13:7-9

455

13:29

283, 303

Esther 1:10

251

1:14

439

4:1

465

4:1-3

121

6:12

151

8:8

209

Job 1:1

229, 486

1:3

408

1:8

296

1:9

368 110

1:20 1:21

475

1:22

214

2:12

465

2:13

465

3:1-10

160

3:1-12

194

3:3-12

194

3:23

473

5:18

477

6:4

473

6:6

214

6:15-20

163

9:18

473

9:22

469

9:34

472

10:9

180

10:21-22

473

12:25

472

13:24

299

13:27

473

15:8

216

16:2

457

16:4

466 467

16:9 16:10

477

16:12-13

473

16:12-14

469

18:9

174

19:8

473

19:9

489

19:21

457

19:21-22

456

19:24

171

21:7

139

21:20

228, 486

23:10

102, 195

23:12

469

24:3

472

27:20

480

27:23

466

28:7

142

29:24

74

30:28

117

30:30

483

31:19-22

133

31:38-40

133

38:8-11

93 145

38:37 39:6

173

39:13-18

482

Psalms 1:1

476

1:1-2

162

1:3

139

1:8

162

1:19

162

2:4

175

2:9

472

4:9

174

5:9

91

6:6

371

9:4

55

10:9

473

11:1-2

480

11:6

463

13:1

183

15:5

160

16:5

128, 476

17:8

468

18:2

395

18:16

336 295

19:9 21:3

489

22:1-2

176

22:2

473

22:7

466

22:8

137

22:12

416

22:13

473

22:14

468

23:1-4

180

23:2-3

272

23:4

63, 147

25:7

276

27:8-9

183

30:2

176

30:5

477

31:3

152

31:13

101, 190, 381, 469

31:22

474

32:3-4

473

32:7

277

32:10

277

33:9

477

34:5

272 476

34:9 35:4-8

185, 480

35:14

117, 465

35:16

467

36:10

270

37:12

467

37:12-13

62

37:20

62

37:23-24

129

37:31

283

38:2

473

38:2-3

473

38:3

477

38:3-11

264

40:2

336

40:4

173

40:6-8

100

40:7

319

40:8

283

40:14-15

185, 480

41:4

264

44:24

299

44:24-25

465

46:10

56 466

48:2 49:5-15

272

50:2

466

51:2

66, 82

51:3-4

477

51:4

129, 299, 413

51:7

66

51:8

472

51:10

277

51:12

490

51:17

72, 79, 122, 152, 463

52:8

135

58:6-11

185

58:69

185

58:109

185

60:3

145

60:8

54

62:9

88

64:5

477

68:5

488

69:2

335, 480

69:14

334

69:21

473

69:33

477

71:17

295

72:9

477

73:26

185, 476

74:2

128

74:3-8

423

75:4-5

395

75:7-8

486

75:8

228

77:8

477

78:56-64

107

79:6

200

80:1

76

81:12

76

82:1

216

82:5

472

85:5

270

86:5

476

86:10

199

88:5-7

473

88:6

480

88:8

473

88:12

473

88:13-14

473

88:17

480 271

89:5 89:6-7

216

89:32

472

89:51

174

91:8

425

92:10

395

94:2-7

477

94:5

367

95:5

180

99:5

76

99:6

157

100:5

300

103:3

264

103:9

226

103:21

64

104:5-9

93

105:9

303

106:1

300

106:4

276

107:1

300

107:34

173

109:1-20

459

109:12

270

109:14

276 466

109:25 110:2

393

110:4

303

113:9

166

115:8

63

118:1

300

118:29

300

118:136

300

119:57

476

119:75

477

119:136

479

122:5

55

124:7

480

127:3-4

110, 166

127:4-5

159

129:5-6

185, 480

132:7

462

132:13-14

105

132:17

463

135:7

127

136:12

200

137:1

423

137:1-3

111

137:7

276, 403, 486 185

137:8-9 139:4

50

139:7-16

217

139:16

50

139:23-24

478

143:3

473

145:17

74

146:9

488

147:3

264

Proverbs 1:7

113, 265

1:29

295

2:17

72

3:5-6

129

3:11

142, 265

3:11-12

276

4:16

97

4:19

146

5:4

214

6:1

267

7:10-12

71

7:13

192

10:18

193

11:15

267 193

14:5 15:8

109

16:9

129, 167

16:18

208, 385, 405, 454

19:21

129, 167

20:24

129

20:27

478

22:8

100, 312

22:22

335

23:5

175

23:12-13

265

25:1

113

28:26

173

29:18

464

30:22

488

31:6-7

168

31:21

483

Ecclesiastes 1:2

63, 125, 215

3:1

249

3:3

52

3:7

56

4:1-3

195

5:4-5

311 473

6:4 11:8

473

12:5

121

Song of Songs 5:4

276

5:14

94

Isaiah 1:1

46

1:2-3

84

1:3

118, 482

1:4

417

1:5-6

264

1:7

92

1:9

195

1:9-10

214

1:10-14

234

1:10-20

463

1:11-13

109, 135

1:11-14

100

1:12-15

66

1:13

178

1:16

66

1:16-31

282

1:17

488 69

1:21 1:25

218

1:26

76, 302

1:31

80, 91

2:1

68

2:2

271, 272, 430

2:2-3

76

2:12-21

262

3:9

195

3:16-26

483

4:4

283

4:5

277

5:1-7

66, 114, 135

5:2

66

5:19

176, 417

5:25

98

5:26

81

5:26-30

91

5:28

387

6:1-13

49

6:3

105

6:7

52

6:8

88, 132, 216

6:9-10

93, 109 121

6:11-12 6:13

86

7:1-8:18

20

7:2

107

7:14

370

8:7-8

381, 387

8:9

56

9:4

249, 262

9:5

262

9:15-16

63

10:1-2

477

10:1-6

282

10:2

453

10:5

472

10:9

406

10:12

20

10:17

91

10:29

274

11:1

211

11:6-9

242

11:9

285

11:12-13

76

11:16

277

12:2

141 271–72

12:4-6 13:14

413

13:16

71

13:19

405, 483

13:19-22

419

13:21-22

489

13:22

119

14:12

462

14:19

288

14:24-25

20

14:31

457

15:2

110, 167

15:2-3

397

15:2-6

397

15:2-7

396

15:3

465

15:5

391

15:9

390

16:1-11

396

16:6

396

16:7

397

16:8-9

397

16:9-10

231

16:10

111, 397 397

16:11 16:11-12

397

18:2

429

18:3

81

19:5

427, 429

19:10

367

19:25

385

20:1-6

242

21:11-12

403

21:16

407

22:6

409

22:9-10

298

22:12

167

24:5

283

24:6-7

213

24:8

111

24:17-18

399, 478

26:3

474

26:17

405

27:11

180

27:12-13

272

28:1

489

28:2

113

28:3

489 463

29:6 29:9

484

29:13

139

29:16

180–81

30:14

145

30:15

476

30:26

264

30:28

113

31:3

173, 264

33:20

140

34:3

288

34:5-7

381

34:5-15

403–4

34:6

429

34:8

418

34:11-17

419, 489

34:13-14

119

35:1-10

272

35:5-6

272

35:8

277

36:19

406

37:1-7

199

37:13

406

37:22

466

37:32

210

38:12

423

38:13

472–73

40:2

170

40:3

277

40:3-5

269, 272

40:4

174

40:8

284, 327

40:11

180, 272

40:18-20

123

40:24

142

40:26

64

41:7

123

41:8-9

263

41:13-14

263

41:16

158

41:17

427

41:18-20

281

41:20

277

41:21-24

63

41:23-24

93, 391

41:29

63, 123

42:1-4

471

42:6-13

281 188, 282

42:9 42:16

277

42:21-23

76

43:1

180, 263

43:1-7

277

43:2

480

43:3

417

43:5

263

43:7

180, 277

43:14-21

272

43:16-20

169

43:18-19

284

43:18-21

281

43:19

188

43:25

281

44:1-2

263

44:3-5

281

44:9-20

55, 123, 170, 295

44:17-18

67

44:19-20

93

44:20

391

44:21-23

281

44:25

418

44:28

225 225

45:1 45:7

180, 463, 477

45:9

180–81

45:11

417

45:14-17

281

45:15

299

45:16

123

45:18

180

45:20

123

45:23

204

46:1-2

391

46:1-7

55, 123

46:7

93, 391

46:11

142

47:1

155, 381

47:2

454

47:3

149, 454

47:8

453

48:3-8

277

48:6

188, 284, 298

48:10

119, 133

48:17

295

48:20

271

48:20-21

169, 272 99

48:22 49:1

50

49:1-6

471

49:6

272

49:8-13

281

49:11-12

277

49:13

271, 430

49:26

395

50:2

448

50:4-11

471

50:6

477

50:7

201

50:10

472

51:3

273

51:3-8

281

51:7

283

51:9-11

169, 272

51:15

287

51:16

52

51:17

228, 486

51:19

153

51:21-22

145

51:21-23

395

51:22

228, 486 488

51:23 52:7

195

52:10-15

272

52:11-12

272

52:13

211

52:13-53:12

471

53:4-5

264

53:5

78, 310, 432

53:7

137, 140, 429

53:10

367

54:4-5

453

54:4-8

422

54:8

477

54:9-10

281

54:13

285

55:1

433

55:3

281, 296

55:3-5

272

55:7

286

55:8

356

55:9

220

55:10-11

255

55:11

47, 91, 284, 377

56:6-8

76, 143 106

56:7 57:5

66

57:10

182

57:15

105, 367

57:15-19

264

57:17-19

277

57:21

99

58:11

273

58:13-14

178

59:2

299, 473, 478

59:7

69

59:9

146

59:21

181

60:5

272

60:10

200

60:11-14

76

60:13

462

60:14

417

60:15-22

281

61:1-9

281

61:7

271, 476

61:11

273

62:2-4

76, 302

62:5

296 423

62:8 62:10

277

63:1

395

63:1-6

403

63:2-3

231

63:10

98

63:15

276

64:3

299, 457

64:6

174, 457

64:8

180–81

64:9

276

64:11

455, 462

65:17

188, 289

65:17-19

277

65:17-25

281

65:19

296

66:1

175, 217

66:3

79

66:5

152

66:6

231

66:12

113, 289

66:18-19

272

66:22

188

Jeremiah 21, 46, 252, 433

1:1 1:1-2

62

1:1-3

46

1:1-8

448

1:1-9

49

1:2

21, 23, 224, 235

1:2-3

47

1:2-4

47

1:4

47, 49

1:4-5

50

1:4-10

49-50, 340

1:4-12

51

1:4-19

49, 57, 59

1:5

47, 57, 241, 272, 360

1:5-7

216

1:6

47, 51, 340

1:7-8

51

1:8

52, 57, 93, 192, 340, 360

1:9

91

1:9-10

52, 57

1:10

34, 142, 181, 221, 260, 272, 278, 301, 345, 360, 372, 409, 425

1:10-16

221

1:11

49, 221

1:11-12

52–53

1:11-16

46, 53

1:11-19

31, 433

1:12

53, 106, 170, 278, 370

1:13

49, 96

1:13-14

46, 54, 81

1:13-15

433

1:13-16

53

1:13-19

51

1:14

412

1:14-16

34

1:15

52, 55

1:15-16

46, 54

1:16

55, 175

1:17

56

1:17-19

46, 55, 57, 162

1:18

47, 102, 195-96, 439

1:18-19

56, 164

1:19

52, 57, 93, 161, 192-93, 240, 263, 357, 360

2:1

62, 70, 105

2:1-3

62, 259

2:1-19

60

2:1-37

60

2:1-3:5

60, 72

2:1-4:4

24 59, 73

2:1-6:30 2:2

62, 74, 122, 295

2:3

62, 265, 412

2:4-5

63

2:4-13

68

2:4-6:30

62

2:5

125

2:6

75

2:6-7

63

2:7

85, 288

2:8

47, 63, 75, 120, 177, 285

2:9-12

63

2:10

407

2:11

64, 170, 182

2:1359,

64, 163, 175

2:14

64

2:15-18

64

2:16

64, 366, 383

2:17

64

2:17-19

59

2:18

64

2:19

59, 64, 70, 91, 152

2:20

66-67, 71, 88, 155, 172, 182

2:20-28

65 66

2:21 2:22

66

2:23

66, 288, 295

2:23-25

66

2:24-25

66

2:25

182

2:26

67, 99

2:27

153, 183

2:27-28

67, 134

2:29

457

2:29-30

68

2:29-37

67

2:30

276, 381

2:31

68

2:31-32

68

2:32

182

2:33

69

2:34

69, 238

2:34-35

69

2:36-37

20, 69

3:1

69, 70, 73, 75, 182, 453

3:1-5

70, 72

3:1-4:4

70

3:2

59, 71

3:3

71, 94, 150

3:4-5

72

3:5

72, 77, 477

3:6

66, 70, 73, 105, 149, 152, 182

3:6-7

73

3:6-10

59

3:6-11

67, 72

3:6-14

33

3:6-18

77

3:7

70

3:8

70, 152, 182

3:8-9

73

3:9-10

59

3:1070,

73, 171, 280

3:11

70, 73, 152

3:12

70-71, 81, 152, 477

3:12-13

59, 74

3:12-14

74, 478

3:12-18

73

3:13

92

3:14

35, 70-71, 75, 78

3:14-17

75, 263

3:14-18

60, 74, 259, 289

3:15

75, 129, 177 75

3:16-17 3:17

156, 172, 175, 182, 272, 285, 302

3:18

76, 284

3:19

70, 72

3:19-20

77

3:19-25

77

3:19-4:4

72, 76

3:20

59

3:21

78

3:21-25

77

3:22

59, 70-71, 78, 152

3:22-25

78

3:23

78

3:24-25

431

3:25

283

4:1

70–71

4:1-2

79

4:1-4

59, 77

4:2

88, 209, 212, 338, 384

4:3

79

4:3-4

79

4:4

32, 34, 79, 98, 122, 172, 201, 242

4:5-6

81, 426

4:5-18

80 31, 60, 80–81

4:5-31 4:5-6:30

24, 80

4:6

96, 148, 272, 384, 412, 423

4:7-9

81

4:7-13

81

4:8

70, 397

4:10

82

4:10-12

82

4:11

384, 421

4:13

485

4:13-18

82

4:14

59, 172, 201

4:19

83, 457

4:19-21

83

4:19-22

83

4:20-21

84

4:22

59, 84

4:23-26

85-86, 262

4:23-29

278

4:23-31

84

4:24

405

4:27

60, 90, 263

4:27-31

86

4:28

70, 86 396

4:29 4:31

148

5:1

35, 87-88, 132, 364

5:1-2

59, 87, 312

5:1-6

87, 99, 102, 166, 290

5:1-31

86, 290

5:3

276

5:3-6

88

5:6

53, 70, 88, 94, 113, 141, 147, 411

5:7

89, 141

5:7-9

59, 89

5:7-13

89

5:8

89, 149

5:9

94, 114, 119

5:10

60, 86, 92

5:10-11

90

5:11

59

5:12-13

90, 98

5:13

90

5:14

102

5:14-19

90

5:15

86

5:15-17

60, 91

5:17

92, 265 60, 86

5:18 5:18-19

92

5:19

59, 168

5:20-25

93

5:20-31

92

5:22

35, 432

5:22-23

182

5:23

59, 172

5:26

94

5:26-28

59

5:26-29

94

5:29

90, 114, 119

5:30

214

5:30-31

94

5:31

94, 212

6:1

412

6:1-3

96, 194

6:1-6

60

6:1-8

95

6:1-30

95

6:2

96

6:4

426

6:4-5

96

6:6-8

97 59

6:7 6:8

97, 413

6:9

98, 272, 404

6:9-15

97–98

6:10-11

98

6:11

192

6:11-12

98

6:12-15

98, 114

6:13

47, 59, 484

6:13-15

98

6:14

32, 78, 82, 146, 216, 299, 457

6:15

290

6:16

99, 183, 277

6:16-20

99

6:17-18

100

6:18

100

6:19

60

6:19-20

100

6:21

101

6:21-26

60, 100

6:22-23

101

6:22-24

419

6:23

432

6:24

148 101

6:24-26 6:25

190, 381, 402, 408, 469

6:26

231

6:27-30

54, 102, 119

7:1

105, 194, 203

7:1-2

105

7:1-11

104

7:1-15

33, 103, 156, 175, 235

7:1-8:3

105

7:1-10:25

103

7:2

105

7:2-4

462

7:3

105

7:3-8

105

7:4

202, 209, 242, 357, 463, 469

7:4-15

55

7:5-7

32, 106, 488

7:6

204, 237, 418

7:7

105

7:9

63, 106

7:9-10

66-67, 152, 308

7:9-11

106

7:10-11

33, 230

7:11

106 105

7:12 7:12-15

106–7

7:13

107, 317

7:14

47, 230, 236

7:16

108, 135, 153, 293

7:16-19

33

7:16-20

34, 107

7:17

194

7:18

108, 368

7:20

80, 108, 445

7:21

110

7:21-26

109

7:21-29

108

7:22

109

7:23

267, 285, 357

7:24

134, 172

7:25

107, 317, 445

7:25-26

225

7:27-29

109

7:28

276

7:30

230

7:30-32

295

7:30-34

110, 288

7:30-8:3

295 186

7:31 7:31-32

187

7:31-33

114

7:32

187, 211, 261

7:33

167, 187, 311

7:34

300

8:1-3

111

8:3

477

8:4-5

113

8:4-7

113

8:4-13

112

8:7

113, 182, 482

8:8

362

8:8-9

113

8:10-12

98, 114

8:11

82, 115, 146, 216, 264, 299, 384, 457

8:13

98, 114

8:13-9:24

114

8:14

120, 215, 473

8:14-16

114

8:14-17

24, 114

8:15

114, 156, 264

8:16

265, 387, 405

8:17

115–16 116

8:18-19 8:18-9:6

115, 119, 147, 397

8:19

117

8:20

117

8:21-22

117, 264

8:22

78, 299, 381, 422

8:23

117

9:1

117, 445, 465, 479

9:1-3

117

9:2

117

9:3

116, 118, 119

9:4

362

9:4-6

118

9:6

118

9:7-9

119

9:7-16

118

9:8

90

9:9

114

9:10

119

9:10-11

119, 413

9:11

119, 408, 429

9:12

119–20

9:12-16

119

9:13-16

120 172

9:14 9:15

214

9:17-19

121

9:17-22

120

9:20-21

121

9:22

121

9:22-10:18

30

9:23-24

121, 409

9:25

187, 261, 401

9:25-26

122

9:26

122, 229, 389, 408

10:1-5

125, 170

10:1-10

55

10:1-16

35, 123

10:1-25

123

10:2-16

67

10:3

125–27

10:3-9

295

10:3-16

127

10:5

93, 124

10:6

124

10:6-8

124

10:6-10

126

10:7

124

10:8

63, 125–27

10:9

124, 126

10:10

124, 126

10:10-13

287

10:11

123, 126–27

10:12

127

10:12-16

114, 127

10:15

125

10:16

124

10:17-18

128

10:17-22

123, 128

10:17-25

103

10:18

128

10:19-20

84

10:19-22

129

10:21

210

10:22

96, 119, 408, 429

10:23-25

129

10:24

129

10:25

265

11:1

105

11:1-5

132

11:1-8

132

11:1-17

132, 280 131

11:1-15:21 11:2

132

11:3

133

11:4

84, 109, 270, 285, 357

11:5

133, 248, 293

11:6-8

134

11:7

107

11:8

172

11:9-13

134

11:10

283

11:12-13

134

11:13

63, 79

11:14

108, 153, 254, 293

11:14-17

135

11:15

135

11:15-16

135

11:17

63

11:18

139, 165

11:18-19

137

11:18-20

136

11:18-23

132, 135

11:18-12:16

135, 139, 159, 192

11:19

141, 177, 185

11:19-20

137 23, 137, 194, 459, 480

11:20 11:21

137, 291

11:21-23

136, 138, 140

11:23

214, 293

12:1

140

12:1-2

490

12:1-3

139

12:1-4

132

12:1-6

136, 138–39

12:3

137, 459, 480

12:3-4

194

12:4

140, 150, 477

12:5

192, 195, 363, 405

12:5-6

132, 136, 140, 185

12:6

137, 291

12:7

142

12:7-8

141

12:7-13

132, 141

12:9-12

142

12:10

413

12:12

388

12:13

142

12:14-17

142

12:16

63 60

12:17 13:1

194

13:1-2

143

13:1-7

188

13:1-11

87, 132, 143

13:1-27

143

13:3-5

144

13:5-6

194

13:8-11

144

13:10

172

13:11

299

13:12-14

143, 145

13:13

47

13:14

145

13:15

146

13:15-17

143

13:15-19

146

13:16-17

146

13:17

445, 465

13:18

81, 251, 489

13:18-19

143, 147

13:19

147

13:20-21

148

13:20-27

143, 147 72, 148

13:21 13:22

454

13:22-24

148

13:23

35, 283, 335

13:25-26

149

13:26

454

13:27

149

14:1

378

14:1-2

150

14:1-6

150, 213

14:1-15:9

132, 149

14:2

150

14:3-4

150

14:4-6

94

14:5-6

151

14:7

70, 156, 171

14:7-9

151

14:8

152, 175

14:9

152

14:10

153, 276

14:10-12

153

14:11

108, 254, 293

14:11-12

153, 221

14:12

223, 243, 254, 295, 333, 360 154, 191, 299

14:13 14:13-16

154, 466

14:14

362

14:14-16

154

14:17

116, 384, 465, 479

14:17-18

155

14:17-22

154

14:18

422

14:19

114

14:19-21

156

14:21

175

14:22

94, 156

15:1-2

157

15:1-4

156-57, 311

15:3-4

157

15:5-6

158

15:5-9

158

15:6

70, 158

15:7-9

158

15:10

160, 195, 278

15:10-11

160

15:10-18

159

15:10-21

132, 136, 159, 192, 249, 257

15:11

161 161, 249

15:12 15:12-14

161

15:13-14

114, 161, 172

15:15

137, 161, 194, 276, 459, 480

15:15-16

161

15:15-18

278

15:16

33, 35, 47, 52, 57, 98

15:17

167, 476

15:17-18

162

15:18

52, 78, 151, 176, 192, 371

15:18-21

164

15:19

163, 195

15:19-21

136, 163, 249, 257

15:20

56

15:20-21

164

15:21

193

16:1-4

23, 166

16:1-9

87

16:1-21

165

16:1-20:18

165

16:2

47, 166

16:2-9

165

16:4

187

16:5

167 167

16:5-7 16:5-9

167

16:6

388, 397

16:8-9

168

16:9

300

16:10-13

165, 168

16:12

172

16:13

169

16:14

187, 261

16:14-15

114, 166, 168-70, 212

16:15

81

16:16-18

165, 169

16:18

177

16:19

177

16:19-20

170

16:19-21

166, 170

16:21

170

17:1

35, 171, 176, 286

17:1-2

171

17:1-4

171

17:1-13

171

17:1-27

171

17:3-4

114, 161, 172

17:4

201 35, 171, 173

17:5 17:5-6

173

17:5-8

171–72

17:5-13

171

17:6

173

17:7

171, 173

17:7-8

173, 177

17:8

173

17:9

168, 171, 174, 177, 264

17:9-10

171, 174

17:10

171, 174

17:11

145, 171, 175

17:12

176

17:12-13

171, 175

17:12-18

136

17:13

152, 171, 177

17:14

78, 176

17:14-15

176

17:14-18

132, 171, 175, 192

17:15

176, 263

17:16

176, 445, 480

17:16-18

176

17:17

176

17:18

137, 170, 176, 194, 459, 469, 480 178

17:19-20 17:19-27

171, 177

17:21-22

178

17:21-23

480

17:23

109, 178, 265, 276

17:24-26

178

17:25

289

17:26

296, 300

17:27

179, 201

18:1-4

180, 482

18:1-6

179

18:1-12

34, 87, 89, 149, 179, 185, 189, 235

18:1-23

179

18:2-4

50

18:4

188

18:5-6

181

18:7

181

18:7-8

180

18:7-10

52, 181

18:7-12

179

18:8

181

18:9-10

180

18:11-12

181

18:12

172

18:13

94, 214, 381

18:13-15

182

18:13-17

182

18:14

182

18:16

158, 187, 405, 413

18:16-17

183

18:18

31

18:18-23

132, 136, 183-84, 192, 467

18:19-20

184

18:20

83, 480

18:21-22

137, 480

18:21-23

185, 194, 459

18:23

185

19:1

187

19:1-2

186

19:1-9

186

19:1-15

87, 185

19:1-20:6

31

19:3-5

295

19:3-6

187

19:4-5

187

19:5-6

187

19:5-7

114

19:6

187, 261 422

19:7 19:7-9

187

19:8

413, 466

19:9

469

19:10-13

188

19:10-15

187

19:11

78

19:13

289, 295, 398

19:14

235

19:14-15

187, 189

19:14-20:6

189

19:15

63, 109

19:18

361, 405

20:1

199, 256

20:1-2

190

20:1-3

333

20:1-6

185, 189, 192

20:1-18

189

20:2

190

20:3

101, 402, 408, 469

20:3-5

190

20:4

190, 381

20:6

191

20:7

151, 192-93, 398 52, 192

20:7-8 20:7-9

162

20:7-10

189, 191, 278

20:7-13

193

20:7-18

132, 136, 192

20:8

338, 360, 473

20:9

35, 47, 50, 82, 237

20:9-10

192

20:9-11

192

20:10

101, 190, 338, 381, 469

20:11

459

20:11-12

189, 193

20:11-13

193

20:12

137, 480

20:13

189, 194

20:14-18

160, 189, 194

20:17-18

195

21:1

199, 256, 313, 314, 328, 333, 439

21:1-2

129, 161, 328, 331

21:1-7

26, 198, 306

21:1-10

198

21:1-22:30

198

21:1-25:38

197

21:2

199 199

21:3-6 21:4

199

21:5

33, 199, 204, 211, 463

21:5-6

200

21:7

200, 295, 311, 333–34

21:8-10

200, 338

21:9

330, 333-34, 372

21:10

201

21:11-12

201, 203

21:11-14

201

21:11-23:8

24

21:12

418

21:13

202, 401

21:13-14

201, 417

21:14

202

22:1

203

22:1-2

203

22:1-5

203

22:1-9

203

22:1-17

20

22:1-30

26, 445

22:3

204, 206, 237

22:4

203

22:5

369 204, 208

22:6-7 22:8-9

204

22:10

205

22:10-12

203–4

22:11

205

22:11-12

205, 359

22:13

206, 210

22:13-14

206

22:13-17

206

22:13-19

203, 205

22:15

206

22:15-16

206

22:15-17

285

22:16

206

22:17

207, 238

22:18

206

22:18-19

207, 326

22:20

208, 264

22:20-21

207

22:20-22

453

22:20-23

203, 207

22:22-23

208

22:23

148, 208

22:24-30

203, 208 247

22:26-27 22:27

209

22:28

209, 398, 482

22:28-30

209

22:29

105

22:30

209

23:1-2

210

23:1-3

210

23:1-4

210, 231

23:1-8

33-34, 197, 210, 259, 262–63

23:2

211

23:3

211

23:3-4

180, 210

23:3-7

272

23:4-5

204

23:4-8

210

23:5

187, 261, 302

23:5-6

114, 210-11, 267, 301-2, 441

23:6

302

23:7

187, 261, 272

23:7-8

114, 169, 210, 212

23:8

81

23:9-10

213

23:9-12

213 24, 35, 198, 212, 445, 484

23:9-40 23:10

111, 150, 422

23:11

47, 484

23:11-12

213

23:12

484

23:13

63, 466

23:13-14

214

23:13-15

214

23:14

94, 483

23:15

214

23:16

215

23:16-17

215

23:16-22

215

23:17

172, 216, 299

23:18

215–16

23:18-22

466

23:19-20

114, 216, 268

23:21

215

23:21-22

216

23:22

215

23:23

269

23:23-24

217, 410

23:24

404

23:25

457 362

23:25-26 23:25-27

218

23:25-32

217, 243

23:27

63

23:28-29

218

23:29

56, 91

23:30

218

23:30-32

218

23:31

218

23:32

218, 362

23:33-34

219

23:33-40

218

23:35-40

219

23:39

219

24:1

105, 209, 220, 223

24:1-3

220

24:1-10

198, 220

24:2

221

24:3

221

24:4-5

221

24:4-7

109, 171, 285

24:5

445

24:5-6

448

24:6

52, 221 221

24:6-7 24:7

109, 171, 285, 357

24:8

222

24:8-10

222

24:9

271

24:9-10

222

24:10

295, 333

25:1

223-24, 234, 289

25:1-3

280

25:1-7

223

25:1-14

31

25:1-29

86

25:1-38

198, 223

25:2-3

224

25:3

47, 224, 317

25:3-4

107

25:3-7

224

25:4

225, 317

25:4-7

224

25:8-9

225

25:8-11

225

25:8-14

223, 225, 229

25:9

226, 242, 422

25:9-11

469 226, 300

25:10 25:11

226

25:11-12

226, 253

25:12

226, 251, 445

25:13

30, 224, 227, 378, 433

25:14

227, 243, 378

25:15

422

25:15-16

228, 395

25:15-29

51, 87, 145, 221, 223, 227, 241, 404, 486

25:15-38

399

25:16

145, 213

25:17-21

194

25:17-25

228

25:20

486

25:21

389

25:23

122, 229

25:26

421, 429

25:27-28

87

25:27-29

230, 395

25:30

231, 397, 424

25:30-31

231

25:30-33

231

25:30-38

223, 230

25:32-33

231

25:33

111

25:34-37

231

25:34-38

210

25:38

231-32, 405

26:1

104, 241, 257

26:1-2

234

26:1-6

234

26:1-24

31-33, 234

26:1-29:32

233

26:3

319

26:3-5

235

26:5

107, 317

26:6

47, 235

26:7-9

237, 322

26:7-19

236, 320

26:8

237, 484

26:8-9

237

26:9

237

26:10

203

26:10-11

237, 322

26:10-15

237

26:11-12

237

26:12

237

26:12-19

179 237

26:13-15 26:14

334

26:16

237–38

26:17-18

238

26:17-19

32

26:19

238

26:20

239

26:20-23

68, 239–40

26:21-22

239

26:22

239, 322

26:22-23

324

26:23

239

26:24

240, 251, 321, 345

26:28

275

27:1

241, 246, 257

27:1-2

241

27:1-11

241, 244

27:1-15

244

27:1-22

240

27:1-29:1

241

27:3

228, 241, 352, 389, 400, 403, 433

27:3-5

242

27:5

200, 242

27:5-6

250 225

27:6 27:6-7

242

27:7

243

27:8

243, 295, 333

27:8-11

262

27:9

253

27:9-10

243

27:11

243

27:12

241, 244

27:12-13

244

27:12-15

241, 243–44

27:14-15

244

27:16

244, 438

27:16-22

241, 244

27:17-18

245

27:19-21

245

27:19-22

438

27:20

209, 241

27:21-22

247

27:22

245, 254, 290

28:1

241, 246-47, 250, 330

28:1-2

246

28:1-4

245–46

28:1-17

245, 323 247

28:3-4 28:4

209

28:5

246

28:5-6

248

28:5-9

245, 247

28:6

248

28:7-9

248

28:9

299

28:10

246, 330

28:10-11

32, 245, 248

28:10-13

33

28:11

246

28:12

47, 246, 257

28:12-14

249

28:12-17

245, 249

28:13

246

28:15

246, 250, 362

28:15-16

250

28:16

250, 257

28:17

246, 250

29:1

260

29:1-2

191, 251

29:1-3

251

29:2

209, 251, 335, 439 251, 321

29:3 29:4-6

253

29:4-23

252

29:5-6

249

29:5-7

253

29:7

253

29:8

82

29:8-9

253

29:10

253, 290, 301, 448

29:11

99, 181

29:11-12

254

29:13

33, 222, 254

29:13-14

254

29:14

254, 448

29:15

254

29:15-17

254

29:16-17

191

29:16-20

30, 254

29:17

94, 214, 254

29:18

254, 271, 295, 360

29:19

107, 254, 317

29:20-21

254

29:21

242, 254, 256, 362

29:21-22

255 254

29:21-23 29:22-23

255

29:23

255

29:24-25

255

29:24-26

191

29:24-28

255, 439

29:24-32

255

29:25

199, 314, 328

29:26

190

29:26-27

256

29:26-28

256

29:28

256

29:29

191, 199, 256, 328

29:29-32

256

29:30

257

29:30-32

256

30:1

278

30:1-3

260

30:1-24

260

30:1-33:26

259

30:3

187, 266, 269, 299

30:4-7

262

30:4-11

261

30:5-7

262 277, 420, 427

30:6 30:7

262–63

30:8

262, 269

30:8-9

211, 262, 441

30:9

262, 267

30:10

261, 263, 269, 299

30:10-11

262-63, 272, 386

30:11

60, 86, 386

30:12

265

30:12-13

264

30:12-15

264–65

30:12-17

263

30:13

264, 381

30:14

264–65

30:15

265

30:16-17

265

30:17

71, 78, 264-65, 271

30:18-20

266, 465

30:18-22

266

30:21

211, 267, 441

30:21-22

267

30:22

109, 267, 269, 285, 357

30:23-24

114, 216, 268

30:24

269 109, 269, 357

31:1 31:1-6

268

31:1-40

268

31:2

269

31:2-3

269

31:2-22

268

31:3

269–70

31:3-6

269

31:4

269-70, 381

31:5

270, 274

31:6

270

31:7-9

271

31:7-14

270

31:8

81

31:9

271, 275

31:10

269

31:10-11

418

31:10-14

271

31:12-14

272

31:13

188

31:15

275-75, 348

31:15-22

273

31:16-17

274–76

31:16-21

276 276-77, 490

31:18 31:18-19

274, 276

31:18-20

276

31:19

276, 395

31:20

275, 279, 286

31:20-22

274

31:21

276

31:21-22

277, 286, 288

31:22

188, 277, 284

31:23

278

31:23-25

278

31:23-26

268

31:23-28

278

31:24

300

31:26

218, 278

31:27

187, 261, 299

31:27-28

52, 278

31:27-30

189

31:27-34

171

31:27-40

268

31:28

53, 296, 370

31:29

145, 488

31:29-30

158, 278–79

31:30

484 280, 283, 299

31:31 31:31-32

281

31:31-34

34, 188, 242, 268, 275, 279-81, 289, 295-96, 318, 357

31:31-40

263

31:32

75, 282–83

31:33

35, 79, 109, 222, 285-86, 295, 302

31:33-34

284, 286

31:34

276, 285, 299, 303

31:35

287, 295

31:35-37

287, 303

31:36-37

303

31:38

187, 261

31:38-40

288

31:40

288

32:1

313

32:1-2

289

32:1-5

289

32:1-15

87, 289

32:1-44

34, 289

32:2

298

32:3

307

32:3-5

290

32:4-5

343

32:5

445

32:6-8

290

32:6-15

290

32:7

292

32:8

272, 329

32:9

24

32:9-12

291

32:12

320, 332, 371, 432

32:13-15

292

32:15

292

32:16

292–93

32:16-25

289, 292–93

32:17

293, 298

32:17-19

293

32:17-20

287

32:17-23

293

32:18

293

32:20-23

293

32:21

200

32:22

133, 369

32:24-25

293

32:26-29

294

32:26-44

289, 294

32:27

293, 295

32:28

372

32:28-29

294

32:29

63, 188, 295

32:30-32

295

32:31

436

32:33

107, 265, 276

32:33-35

295

32:34-35

289

32:35

63, 114

32:36-39

295

32:36-41

289

32:37

295

32:38

109, 222, 285

32:38-39

222

32:39

285, 295

32:39-40

277

32:40

285, 296, 412

32:40-41

296

32:42

477

32:42-44

296

32:44

290, 296, 300

33:1

47, 320, 363

33:1-3

298

33:1-9

297

33:1-26

297 287, 298

33:2 33:2-5

297

33:3

298

33:4-5

298

33:6

71, 78, 299

33:6-8

299

33:6-9

297

33:7

299

33:9

299

33:10-11

299–300

33:10-13

300

33:10-26

297

33:12-13

297, 300

33:13

300

33:14

187, 261, 301

33:14-16

297

33:14-17

441

33:14-26

30, 263, 297, 300–301

33:15

211

33:15-16

114, 211, 301

33:16

76, 302

33:17

302

33:17-18

302-3, 317

33:17-22

289 302

33:18 33:19

301

33:19-20

303

33:19-22

303

33:19-26

297

33:20-26

287

33:23

301

33:23-26

303

33:24

303

33:26

303

34:1-3

306

34:1-7

306

34:1-39:18

305

34:2

307, 334

34:2-3

311

34:3

343

34:4-5

307

34:6-7

307

34:7

96, 298

34:8

308, 313

34:8-9

488

34:8-11

308

34:8-22

308

34:10

309 362

34:10-11 34:12-14

309

34:12-16

309

34:13

308

34:15

308

34:15-16

310

34:17-20

310

34:17-22

310

34:18

308

34:20

187

34:21

308

34:21-22

307, 309, 311

34:22

334

35:1-2

313

35:1-5

312

35:1-19

87, 312

35:3

46, 436

35:3-5

314

35:4

439

35:6

313

35:6-11

315

35:7

315

35:8

313

35:8-10

315 313

35:10 35:11

316

35:12

363

35:12-13

316

35:12-17

316

35:14

313

35:14-15

107

35:14-16

316

35:16

313

35:17

91, 317

35:18

313, 316

35:18-19

317

35:19

313, 318

36:1

321

36:1-3

318–19

36:1-4

224

36:1-26

31

36:1-32

33, 318

36:2

223, 260, 319, 327

36:3

319

36:4

223, 319–20

36:4-7

319

36:5-6

320

36:6

319–21 320

36:7 36:8

319

36:8-9

321

36:8-10

321

36:9

321

36:10

240, 319, 321–22

36:10-11

319

36:10-12

251

36:11-19

322

36:12

239, 322-23, 331

36:13

319

36:13-14

321

36:13-15

323

36:14

319

36:15

319, 321

36:16

325

36:16-17

323

36:17-18

320

36:18

319, 323

36:19

224, 320, 323, 325, 331

36:20

319

36:20-21

321–22

36:20-22

324

36:20-26

324 319

36:21 36:22

324

36:23

319

36:23-24

324

36:25

239, 251, 319, 322

36:25-26

325

36:26

320, 324-25, 334

36:27

47, 319–20

36:27-28

326

36:27-32

326

36:28

319, 327

36:29

319, 324

36:29-31

326

36:30

328

36:31

326

36:32

260, 319-20, 327

37:1

209

37:1-2

280, 328

37:1-5

327

37:1-21

327

37:3

161, 199, 256, 314, 328, 333, 439

37:3-10

198

37:4-5

329

37:5

198, 308, 312, 329, 370 485

37:5-7 37:5-8

69, 453

37:5-11

309

37:6-8

329

37:6-10

329

37:8

334

37:8-11

329

37:9

82

37:9-10

329

37:10

331

37:11

308, 312

37:11-13

330

37:11-15

330

37:11-16

31

37:11-21

332

37:12

329–30

37:13-14

329

37:14-15

331

37:15

334

37:15-16

195, 334

37:16-17

331

37:16-21

331

37:17-21

339

37:18-20

331 339

37:20 37:21

332-33, 345, 455

38:1

190, 199, 328, 343, 345–46

38:1-3

333

38:1-6

333

38:1-16

31

38:1-28

332

38:2

200, 330, 333–34, 346, 372

38:2-3

338

38:4

328

38:4-5

334

38:5

334, 336

38:6

195, 334, 355, 480

38:7

330

38:7-9

335

38:7-13

335

38:8

334

38:9

334, 455

38:10

334, 336

38:11-13

336

38:12

334

38:13

270, 334, 345

38:14

129, 334

38:14-16

337 307, 336

38:14-26 38:14-27

161

38:15

334, 337

38:16

334

38:17

91, 307, 334, 337-38, 454

38:17-18

338

38:18

445

38:18-19

333

38:19

331, 334, 338

38:20-23

338

38:22

327, 339

38:23

333

38:24

334, 338

38:24-26

339

38:24-28

339

38:27

340

38:27-28

339

38:28

332, 340, 345

39:1

289, 340, 436

39:1-2

341

39:1-3

341

39:1-10

207, 448

39:1-18

341

39:2

289 54, 340, 342

39:3 39:4

454

39:4-5

343

39:4-7

342, 486

39:4-13

30, 342

39:5

200

39:5-7

222, 244, 290, 370, 436

39:5-8

307

39:6-7

343

39:7

101, 343

39:8

344

39:8-10

343

39:9

331, 438

39:9-10

344

39:11-14

341, 344-45, 347–48

39:13

342

39:14

240, 333, 349

39:15

47, 320

39:15-18

345-46, 372

39:18

200, 346

40:1

313, 348

40:1-6

22, 341, 345, 347–48

40:1-12

21

40:1-44:30

47

40:1-45:5

347

40:2-3

348

40:4

349

40:5

222, 321, 349

40:5-6

349

40:6

355

40:6-7

349, 351

40:7

345, 347, 350

40:7-8

350

40:7-12

349

40:7-41:18

349

40:8

352, 357

40:9

349, 351

40:9-10

350

40:11-12

351, 453

40:13-14

351

40:13-16

351, 353

40:13-41:15

401

40:14

349, 351–52

40:14-15

349

40:14-16

351

40:15-16

349, 352

40:16

349, 351

41:1

322, 349-51, 353-54, 356 440

41:1-2 41:1-3

21, 353, 435

41:2

349, 351

41:3

350

41:4-5

354

41:4-10

354

41:5

167, 388, 397

41:6

349, 351

41:6-7

355

41:7

349, 351

41:8

355

41:9

349, 351, 355, 422

41:10

349, 351, 353, 355

41:11

349, 351

41:11-12

356

41:11-18

355

41:12

349, 351

41:13-14

349, 351

41:13-15

356

41:15-16

349, 351

41:16

349, 351

41:16-18

356

41:17

356, 358

41:18

349–51 357, 362

42:1 42:1-3

357

42:1-6

357

42:1-43:7

21, 222, 357

42:2

347, 350

42:2-3

161, 358

42:4

292, 358

42:5

358, 363, 367

42:5-6

358

42:6

358

42:7

47, 359, 363

42:7-10

359

42:7-22

359

42:9

348

42:10

52, 360, 372

42:11-12

360

42:13

358

42:13-17

360

42:16

360

42:17

360

42:18

361

42:19

361–62

42:19-22

361

42:20

358, 361 358

42:20-21 42:22

361

43:1-3

361–62

43:1-6

22

43:2

212, 238, 357-58, 362

43:3-9

30, 363

43:4-6

195

43:4-7

362, 453

43:7

366

43:8

47, 363

43:8-9

364

43:8-13

55, 87, 363, 366, 409

43:8-44:30

363

43:9

364

43:10

225, 242

43:10-13

364

44:1

383

44:1-3

366

44:1-14

365

44:4

107, 317

44:4-6

366

44:7

91

44:7-8

366

44:9-10

366 201

44:11 44:11-14

367

44:12-14

367

44:15

367

44:15-18

367

44:15-19

367

44:16-18

416

44:17

368

44:17-18

34

44:17-19

108

44:17-25

108

44:19

368

44:20-23

369

44:20-28

369

44:21

276

44:24-25

369

44:25

108, 369

44:26-28

369

44:27

120, 370

44:27-28

86

44:29-30

370

45:1

371, 432

45:1-3

371

45:1-5

371, 373 362

45:3 45:4

52, 372

45:4-5

372

45:5

200, 346, 372

46:1

150, 378, 387, 409

46:1-51:64

51, 376

46:2

380

46:2-6

380

46:2-12

378–79

46:2-28

378

46:3-6

380

46:5

101, 190, 380, 469

46:7-8

381

46:7-12

380

46:8

387

46:9-10

381

46:10

381, 422

46:11

117, 155, 422

46:11-12

381

46:12

381

46:13

383

46:13-17

383

46:13-24

379-80, 382

46:14-24

383 383

46:15 46:16

383, 413

46:17

384

46:18-19

384

46:20-21

384

46:22

299, 384

46:22-24

384

46:25-26

385

46:26

377, 385-86, 402

46:27-28

379, 385–86

46:28

60, 86, 386

47:1

150, 378, 387, 409

47:1-7

386

47:2-3

387

47:4-5

388

47:5

167, 388

47:6

388

47:6-7

388

47:7

383

48:1

394

48:1-3

390

48:1-10

389

48:1-47

388

48:2

401 391

48:4-5 48:6

422

48:6-9

391

48:7

391, 401

48:8

202, 391

48:10

391

48:11

392, 401, 408

48:11-13

392

48:11-17

392

48:12

145, 169, 187, 261, 392

48:14-17

393

48:16

393

48:18

394

48:18-25

393

48:19

394

48:20-24

394

48:21

202

48:24

404

48:25

463

48:26

395

48:26-27

398

48:26-28

395

48:26-30

395

48:28

202 396

48:29 48:29-30

396

48:29-38

396

48:31

397

48:31-33

397

48:31-39

396–97

48:32

397

48:33

231, 397

48:34

394

48:34-35

397

48:34-36

397

48:35

397

48:36

397

48:36-38

397

48:36-39

483

48:37

388, 397

48:38

397

48:39

398

48:40

405

48:40-42

398

48:40-47

398

48:41

405, 420, 427

48:42

399

48:43

399, 401 399, 478

48:43-44 48:43-46

399

48:44

399

48:45-46

399

48:45-47

399

48:47

143, 377, 399, 402, 410

49:1-3

401

49:1-6

399

49:2

169, 187, 261, 407

49:3-4

409

49:4-5

401

49:5

407

49:6

143, 377, 402, 410

49:7

409

49:7-8

404

49:7-22

402, 486

49:8

290

49:9-10

404

49:9-11

404

49:10

404, 407

49:11

404, 488

49:12

228, 422, 486

49:12-13

404

49:13

204, 369, 395

49:14-16

404

49:15

407

49:16

82, 401, 409

49:17

413

49:17-18

405

49:18

405, 408, 419

49:19

140, 407, 473

49:19-21

405, 420

49:19-22

405

49:20

60, 405

49:21

420

49:22

406, 420, 427

49:23-27

406

49:25

406, 409

49:26

406, 417

49:27

407

49:28-29

408

49:28-33

407

49:29

101, 190, 469

49:30

408

49:31

408–9

49:31-33

408

49:32

122, 200, 407

49:33

119, 407-8, 419 150, 378, 409

49:34 49:34-39

408

49:35-38

409

49:39

377, 409

50:1

411

50:1-10

410

50:1-51:58

445

50:1-51:64

410

50:2

34, 411, 429

50:2-3

411

50:3

419

50:4-5

277, 281, 412

50:6-7

412

50:7

175

50:8

411, 422, 430

50:8-10

412

50:9

421

50:10

200

50:11-13

413

50:11-17

412

50:14-16

413

50:15

413, 422, 429

50:17

414

50:18

422 414

50:18-20 50:20

299

50:20-23

425

50:21

60, 415, 422

50:21-32

414

50:22-24

416

50:23

425, 429

50:24

416

50:25

411, 416

50:25-27

416

50:26

60, 416, 422

50:27

429

50:28

105, 416, 423

50:28-29

422

50:29

417

50:29-30

417

50:30

406, 417, 427

50:31-32

417

50:32

418

50:33-34

418

50:33-40

417

50:34

269

50:35

411

50:35-38

418 427

50:36-38 50:37

427

50:38

34, 418, 422, 430

50:39

429

50:39-40

419

50:40

272, 405, 419

50:41-42

101

50:41-43

419

50:41-46

419

50:43

101, 405

50:44

140

50:44-46

405, 420

50:45

60, 411

51:1

229

51:1-2

421

51:1-14

420

51:2

421

51:3

422

51:3-5

422

51:5

417, 422

51:6

430

51:6-8

422

51:7

228

51:8

422 422

51:9 51:9-10

422

51:11

105, 416, 423, 426

51:11-12

423

51:12

81, 423, 426, 467

51:13-14

423

51:14

369, 397

51:15-19

114, 127, 424

51:16

204

51:17

422

51:19

127

51:20-23

425

51:22

422

51:24

425

51:25

98, 425

51:25-26

425

51:27

423, 426

51:27-28

412, 419, 426

51:27-32

425

51:30-32

427

51:33

427

51:33-35

427

51:34-35

427

51:35

428 422, 429

51:36 51:36-39

429

51:37

119

51:39

432

51:40

429

51:41

229

51:41-44

429

51:41-49

30

51:42

429

51:44

272, 429, 432

51:45-48

430

51:47

34

51:49

431

51:49-50

431

51:49-58

430

51:50

269

51:51

431

51:52

169, 187, 261

51:52-53

432

51:53

432

51:54-57

432

51:57

432

51:58

429, 432–33

51:59

292, 320, 371 432

51:59-60 51:59-64

87, 410, 432

51:60

260

51:61-64

433

51:62

433

52:1-3

436

52:1-11

435–36

52:1-34

435

52:3

436

52:4

341

52:4-5

436

52:4-6

342

52:6

438, 455

52:6-8

436

52:7-11

486

52:8

343

52:9-11

436

52:11

343, 438

52:12

289, 438, 440

52:12-16

437

52:12-22

437

52:12-27

437

52:13

344

52:14

464 331, 344

52:15 52:16

344

52:17

245, 439

52:17-18

438

52:17-19

438

52:18-19

438

52:20-23

438

52:24

199, 256, 314, 328

52:24-27

439

52:25

439

52:27-30

30

52:28

251, 440

52:28-29

147

52:28-30

439, 440, 435

52:29

344, 437, 439, 448

52:30

21, 353

52:31-34

34, 147, 440

Lamentations 1:1

443, 452, 481, 490

1:1-11

451

1:1-22

451

1:2

453, 457–58

1:3

453

1:4

453 453

1:5 1:6

454

1:7

454, 468

1:8

454

1:9

454, 457

1:10

454, 455

1:11

455

1:12

456, 458

1:12-15

469

1:12-17

455

1:13

456

1:14

456–57

1:15

456, 469

1:16

457, 479

1:17

158, 457, 469

1:18

458

1:18-19

458

1:18-20

457

1:20

458, 465

1:21

158, 457, 473

1:21-22

458-59, 469

2:1

443, 462

2:1-9

461, 469

2:1-22

461, 490 463

2:2 2:3

461, 463-64, 467

2:4

473

2:4-5

463

2:5

463

2:6-7

463

2:8

461

2:8-9

464

2:9

444, 461, 481, 484

2:10

81, 465, 484

2:10-13

464

2:11-12

465

2:12

436

2:13

78, 465

2:14

465, 484

2:15

466, 473

2:15-16

187, 361

2:15-17

466

2:16

467, 478

2:17

423, 467-69, 477

2:18

468, 479

2:18-22

467

2:19

468

2:20

187 469

2:20-21 2:20-22

461

2:22

190, 469

3:1-3

472

3:1-20

471–72

3:1-66

471

3:4-6

472

3:5

473

3:7-9

473

3:10-11

473

3:12-13

473

3:14

473

3:14-15

473

3:15

215

3:16

474

3:16-18

474

3:18

472, 474

3:18-20

475

3:19-20

474

3:20

474, 490

3:21

475

3:21-39

474

3:22

475, 477, 490

3:22-24

475, 490

3:22-26

471

3:22-32

279

3:23

475, 490

3:24

128

3:25-26

490

3:25-27

476

3:26

471

3:28

476

3:28-30

476

3:29

477

3:30

477

3:31-33

477

3:34

367

3:34-36

477

3:35

477

3:37-39

477, 490

3:38

477

3:40-42

478

3:40-51

471, 477

3:43-45

478

3:46

478

3:46-47

478

3:47

478

3:48-51

479 479

3:51 3:52-54

480

3:52-66

479–80

3:55-66

480

3:59

480

3:64-66

445

4:1

443, 482

4:1-2

482

4:1-11

481

4:1-22

481

4:2

186, 482

4:3-4

482

4:4

436

4:5-6

483

4:5-11

483

4:7

444, 483

4:7-8

483

4:9-10

436

4:9-11

483

4:10

145, 187, 342, 482–83

4:12

145

4:12-13

484

4:12-16

483

4:13

484 484

4:14-16 4:16

485

4:17-20

485

4:21

228, 395, 403

4:21-22

486

5:1

276

5:1-3

488

5:1-13

487

5:1-22

487

5:4-5

488

5:5

488

5:6-7

488

5:7

279, 444, 488

5:8-10

488

5:11-13

489

5:14-18

489

5:15

111

5:19-22

489–90

5:20

490

5:21

490

5:22

490

Ezekiel 1:1-3:15

49

1:3

47, 162 175

1:26 2:3

216

2:8-3:3

162

2:9

319

2:9-3:2

52

3:9

56

3:14

162

3:15

267

3:17-21

100, 466

3:18

56

3:24-26

56

3:27

56

5:8-10

463

5:10

145, 210

5:11

79

6:3

142

6:5

154

6:8-9

448

6:9

117

6:13

66, 149

7:18

101, 167

7:19-20

457

7:23

242

7:26

184 55

9:1-10:8 9:9

477

10:18

232

11:13

250

11:17

448

11:19

222, 285, 295

11:20

109, 285

12:3

453

12:12-13

343

12:12-14

436

12:13

169, 343

12:22

176

12:24

466

13:3-23

466

13:4

489

13:9

243

13:10-15

466

13:11

113

13:13

113

13:15-16

466

14:8

282

14:9

192

14:11

109

14:15

88 478

15:1-7 15:7

201

16:8-14

69

16:15

155

16:15-22

89

16:20-21

295

16:25

71

16:30-31

69

16:37

454

16:44-52

64, 73

16:46

214

16:48

214, 483

16:49-50

195

16:51

457

16:60

296

16:60-63

281

17:2-6

405

17:3

399

17:5-10

66

17:7-8

399

17:9

140, 395

17:11-18

329

18:1-32

189

18:2

145, 488 158, 168, 279

18:2-4 18:5-9

106, 139

18:6

457

18:21

235

18:24

235

18:31

285, 295

19:9

207

19:11

393

20:6

77, 133

20:9

152

20:15

77, 133

21:1-17

418

21:12

276

21:18-32

401

21:21

96

21:24

276

21:27

105

22:7

453

22:28

466

23:1-48

64, 453

23:1-49

73

23:5

86, 208

23:5-21

89

23:7

71, 86 86, 208

23:9 23:11

155

23:12

86

23:14

206

23:16

86

23:17

155

23:20

86

23:23

416

23:29

90

23:31-34

228, 486

23:37

89

24:1

341

24:2

436

24:11

54

25:1-7

401

25:8-11

389

25:12-14

403, 486

26:13

111

26:16

465

27:3

466

27:12

126

27:30

231, 465

27:32

121

28:12

466 462

28:17 29:3

151

29:4-5

169

29:6-9

64

29:13

62

29:13-16

385

30:5

381

31:15

117

32:2

151

33:1-19

100

33:3-4

81

33:21-22

416

34:2-16

264

34:5-6

129

34:6

264

34:8

264

34:10-11

264

34:11-16

180

34:11-31

281

34:13-14

414

34:21

383

34:23

75

34:23-24

262

34:31

210 403, 486

35:1-15 36:8-15

281

36:16-23

272

36:22-38

281

36:26

222, 285, 295

36:28

109, 267, 285

37:1

162

37:11-14

281

37:14

285

37:15-28

284

37:16-23

76

37:21-28

281

37:23

109

37:26

296

37:27

109, 285

37:31

284

37:33

284

38:11

408

39:4

142

39:12

231

39:17-18

111

39:17-20

157, 469

39:18

416, 429

40:3-35

288 288

42:15-20 43:7

156

44:7

122, 455

44:9

122, 455

44:25

288

44:35

76, 302

Daniel 1:1-2

207, 313

1:1-3

440

1:7

190

2:4-7:28

127

2:28

278

3:11

101

3:20

255

4:2-3

348

4:30

220

4:34-37

348

5:1-30

416

5:2

245

7:9

175

8:2

410

9:18-19

230

9:19

153

10:5

126 278

10:9 10:12

51

11:39

330

Hosea 1:1

46

1:2

49, 166

1:4-5

409

1:9-10

169

2:3

149

2:5

69, 89, 156

2:5-15

89

2:7

208, 453

2:8

89, 94, 156, 272, 454

2:10

149

2:13

454

2:14-23

272

2:15

62

2:21-23

278

3:1

368

3:5

76, 262

4:1

285, 463

4:2

106

4:10-14

69

4:16

276

5:2

276

5:3-4

125

5:8

81

5:12-6:2

264

5:13

488

5:14

81

6:1

67, 176, 264-65, 477–78

6:6

100, 109

6:8

174

6:10

71, 214

7:1

264–65

7:11

148, 265, 277, 453, 488

7:11-12

69

7:12

276

8:1

141

8:7

100, 142, 216, 312

8:8

482

8:9

208

8:9-10

453

8:13

276

9:6

455

9:7

256

9:10

63, 79, 114, 125

9:16

114 66

10:1 10:8

111

10:12

100

11:1

275

11:1-4

276

11:1-6

272

11:3

265, 295

11:5-11

272

11:8

458

11:8-9

86, 276, 422

11:9

71, 264

13:7

405

13:8

473

13:15

82

14:1

478

14:4

264–65

14:6

135

14:7

273

14:10

119

Joel 1:4

385, 423

1:13-14

231

1:17-20

71

1:18

151 151

1:20 2:1

81

2:9

121

2:18-32

281

2:19-26

272

2:28-29

286

3:2

330

3:5

455

3:16

81, 231

3:18-21

169

3:19

403

3:19-21

486

Amos 1:1

46, 68, 96

1:2

81, 231

1:4

407

1:7-8

229

1:9

276

1:11

404

1:13-15

401

1:14

407

1:15

401

2:1

111, 154

2:1-3

389 394

2:2 2:4

168

2:4-5

463

2:6-8

69

2:6-16

32

2:11-12

68

2:12

138

3:1-6:14

32

3:2

228

3:4

429

3:6

477

3:7

477

3:8

193, 237

3:9

100

3:10

97

3:15

324

4:1

69

4:1-3

96, 483

4:2

169

4:4-5

66, 109, 153

4:5

94

4:6-11

477

4:7

94, 140

4:7-8

71, 213, 418 86

4:11-12 4:12

119, 477

4:13

180

5:2

89, 155, 182, 381

5:4

79

5:6

79–80

5:7

120, 215

5:10

335

5:10-12

69

5:12

477

5:15

211, 335

5:16

121

5:18

472

5:18-20

262

5:19

115, 399, 473

5:21-22

109, 153

5:21-24

100

5:22

135

5:25

109

6:1

271, 413

6:7

167

6:8

204, 423

6:9-10

485

7:2

405 91, 463

7:4 7:5

405

7:7-8

102

7:8

221

7:9

303

7:14

216

7:14-15

49

7:16

303

7:17

191

8:1

221

8:1-2

53

8:2

423

8:3

288

8:4-7

477

8:5

178

8:10

101, 167

8:11

187

9:1-4

120, 170, 222, 404

9:2-4

217

9:7

122, 388

9:7-15

272

9:8

86

9:11

262

9:11-15

169 403, 486

9:12 9:13

187, 273

Obadiah 1-4

404

1-21

403

3-4

202, 208, 484

5-6

404

7

339

8

404

10-16

486

11-14

453, 485–86

16

228, 486

Jonah 1:1-2

49

1:2

423

1:4

168, 209, 360

1:7

149

1:12

360

1:14

238, 335

1:15

168

2:5

480

3:1

164

3:1-10

181

3:5

465 477

4:2 4:9-11

185

Micah 1:1

46, 68

1:7

380

1:9

264

1:10

231

1:14

238

1:16

110, 167

2:4

330

2:12

76, 86, 211

3:1-3

472

3:1-12

282

3:2-3

457

3:4

183, 299

3:5

216, 248

3:6

466

3:11

90, 105, 489

3:12

179, 238

4:1-3

76

4:6-8

272

4:9

405

4:10

272

5:1

472, 477 144

5:2 5:2-5

32

5:12

243

6:6-8

100, 106, 109, 463

6:8-16

282

7:17

477

7:18-20

286

Nahum 1:5

427

2:4

387

2:8-3:19

20

3:3

288

3:5

149

3:6

79

3:9

381

3:11

228

3:14

364

3:15-17

423

3:17

426

3:19

264

Habakkuk 1:2-4

139

1:5-11

54

1:6-11

91 88

1:8 1:12-17

226

1:14-17

169

2:13

432

2:14

285

2:16

228, 486

2:18-19

295

3:3

404

3:6

427

3:8

176

3:17-18

475

Zephaniah 1:1

323

1:2-3

169

1:4

98

1:4-5

21

1:5

188

1:7

381

1:12

176, 392

1:14-18

262

1:18

169

2:4

229

2:8-10

396

2:8-11

389, 401 489

2:13-15 2:15

158

3:3

88

3:8

463

3:9-20

169

3:13

86

3:14-20

272

Haggai 1:1

47

1:13

52

2:4

263

2:12

135

2:23

209

Zechariah 1:1

47

1:6

467

1:8

66

1:16

288

2:1

288

2:5

468

2:8

62, 267

3:8

211

4:1

278

4:6

52

6:12

211

6:13

303

7:3

438

7:5

353

7:5-6

153

8:3

76, 302

8:5

465

8:18

438

8:19

353, 436

8:20-23

76

9:7

79

10:1-3

129

11:13

140

12:2

228, 486

12:10-13:1

284

13:9

102, 119, 218

14:2

71

14:10

288, 330

14:16

76, 170, 430

Malachi 1:1

463

1:2-5

60, 263

1:3

142

1:6-7

168 221

1:6-9 2:2

146

2:4-9

303

2:8

214

2:17

118, 139, 168

3:1-5

228

3:5

94, 243

3:7-8

168

3:7-12

282–83

3:10

152, 373

3:13

168

3:14-15

139

4:4

283

Matthew 1:6

302

1:16

302

1:17

263

1:19-20

218

1:20

263

2:16-18

275

2:18

274–75

3:8

79

3:12

158

5:39

477 253

5:43-48 5:44

422, 459

6:7

105

6:12

286

6:14-15

250

7:7

298

7:13

200

7:16

79, 216

7:16-18

153

7:21

139

8:17

264

8:20

267

9:23

121

10:15

214, 483

10:29-31

477

10:34-42

163

11:28-30

99, 476

12:36

219, 250, 466

13:24-30

286

16:13-23

57

16:14

23

16:25

250

18:8

463

18:9

111 372

19:27 20:21

368

21:13

106

21:28-32

311

22:15-22

193

23:11

250

23:23

109

23:34-35

68

23:37

465

24:9

47

24:19

166

25:21

47

25:31-33

286

26:28

286

26:39

486

26:50

182

26:61

105

26:67

477

27:21

95

27:34

473

27:46

474

28:5

51

28:19-20

263, 283

28:20

52

Mark 1:4

286

4:7

79

6:1-4

138

7:21-23

174

8:34

167

8:34-38

332

8:35

346

9:47-48

111

10:38

228

11:12-14

114

11:12-18

236

14:58

105

Luke 1:37

293

1:67-71

263

1:76

286

2:7

267

2:10-11

195, 263

3:17

158

4:24

138

5:10

51

6:37

250

6:38

250 97

6:45 7:47-49

286

9:51

201

9:62

140, 164

12:20

175

13:6-9

114

14:26-31

164

14:28-32

140

14:28-33

56

15:4-7

300

15:11-32

270

18:27

293

19:21

312

19:44-48

236

22:20

283

22:26

250

22:42

228

22:63-65

190

23:10

111

23:30

483

23:35

190

24:36

299

John 1:10-13

285 63

1:11-12 1:11-13

284

2:19-20

105

2:24

353

3:1-10

285

3:2

331

3:7

174

3:16

50

4:1

154

4:10

175

4:23

76, 127

6:45

285

8:32

68

8:32-36

250

8:36

68

8:44

174

9:24

146

10:1-18

210

10:1-19

63

10:10

173, 300

10:11-18

180

10:14-18

300

11:50

352

14:6

203 109

14:15 15:2

114

15:5

173

15:6

91

15:18-21

47

16:13

298

16:13

163, 368

17:14

47

Acts 2:13

213

4:12

176

5:1-11

250

5:31

286

6:13-14

105

7:51

98

10:9-47

284

10:34

122

10:43

286

13:22

75

14:22

477

16:24

190

17:22-23

67

20:27-32

129

27:24

51

Romans 1:5

109

1:16

176

1:21-23

67

1:21-25

125

1:24

168

2:25-28

79

3:21-22

139

3:23

174

4:1-6

139

4:7-8

286

5:3

475

6:16

361

6:23

72, 120, 477

7:4-6

284

8:1-4

285

8:18

477

8:28

284

8:29

50

8:31

57, 162

8:38-39

287

9:14

477

9:17

225

9:19-24

181 283

9:30-33 10:4

286

11:11-32

283

11:26

286

12:2

99, 126

12:19

137, 477

12:21

253

13:1-7

253

13:10

287

1 Corinthians 1:25

126

1:26-29

221

1:30

212

2:14

98

4:2

56

4:13

478

5:2

101

6:19-20

129

7:26

166

8:4

63

9:16

193

9:21

286

10:13

106

11:25

283 285

12:28-29 2 Corinthians 3:3

284

3:5-18

283

3:6-16

284

4:3

299

4:17

477

5:14

285

5:17

174, 189, 222, 265, 300

9:6

312

10:7

122

12:7

371

12:9

52

Galatians 1:15

50

3:1-3

302

3:23-25

286

5:1-6

122, 286

5:19-21

174

5:23

287

6:7-8

100, 312

6:14

122

6:15

122

Ephesians

1:4

50

2:5-7

284

2:14

284

2:14-16

286

3:20

293

4:11-12

285

4:30

276

6:11

56

6:17

56

Philippians 1:6

181

1:29

163

2:6-8

284

2:10-11

393

2:13

49

3:14

393

4:11

393

4:13

49, 106, 293

Colossians 1:12-13

63

2:16-17

286

1 Thessalonians 5:3

99

5:9

176

1 Timothy 1:5-11

287

2 Timothy 3:16

448

Titus 3:1-2

253

3:5

139, 285

Hebrews 3:18-19

109

4:12

91, 218

5:1-6

267

7:11-12

286

7:18-22

286

7:18-29

283

7:22

283

7:23-28

303

8:6-13

283

8:8-12

283

8:9

282

8:13

283, 286

9:10

283

10:1-8

283

10:1-16

302

10:15

280 283

10:16-17 10:30

137

10:31

483

11:1

296

12:5-11

263

12:6

92, 119, 142, 370, 477

12:11

268

12:22-24

278

13:5

393

James 1:2

368

1:9-10

122

1:13-15

477

1:15

100

1:18

62

1:23

361

1:26-27

106

2:4

79

3:6

119

4:2-3

298

4:17

361

1 Peter 1:3

285

1:23

285 253

2:18 2:20-23

477

4:12

368

4:12-13

475

4:17

228

5:1-4

129

5:8

56, 81

2 Peter 1:2-11

106

2:1

191

2:6

214

2:17-19

466

3:3-11

62

3:4

176

3:9

86, 477

1 John 1:9

340

4:7

285

4:16

490

5:18

285

Jude 214

7 Revelation 6:16

483 130

6:17 10:6

176

10:9-10

162

11:8

302

11:19

75

14:8

227, 416

14:10

228

14:19

457

14:19-20

231

16:19

227, 416

17:5

227, 416

18:1-24

227

18:2

416, 431

18:10

416

18:20

431

18:21

416

18:22-23

226

19:15

457

19:16

302

19:17-18

157, 469

19:17-21

111

19:21

157

20:10

463

20:11-15

286 80

20:14-15 21:3

52, 289

21:22-23

76

21:24

170, 430

22:3-4

52

22:16

302