10And when you tell this people all these words, and they say to you, “Why has the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us? What is our iniquity? What is the sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?” 11then you shall say to them: It is because your ancestors have forsaken me, says the LORD, and have gone after other gods and have served and worshiped them, and have forsaken me and have not kept my law; 12and because you have behaved worse than your ancestors, for here you are, every one of you, following your stubborn evil will, refusing to listen to me. 13Therefore I will hurl you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your ancestors have known, and there you shall serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor.
God Will Restore Israel
14Therefore, the days are surely coming, says the LORD, when it shall no longer be said, “As the LORD lives who brought the people of Israel up out of the land of Egypt,” 15but “As the LORD lives who brought the people of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the lands where he had driven them.” For I will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their ancestors.
16I am now sending for many fishermen, says the LORD, and they shall catch them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks. 17For my eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from my presence, nor is their iniquity concealed from my sight. 18Andb I will doubly repay their iniquity and their sin, because they have polluted my land with the carcasses of their detestable idols, and have filled my inheritance with their abominations.
19OLORD, my strength and my stronghold,
my refuge in the day of trouble,
to you shall the nations come
from the ends of the earth and say:
Our ancestors have inherited nothing but lies,
worthless things in which there is no profit.
20Can mortals make for themselves gods?
Such are no gods!
21“Therefore I am surely going to teach them, this time I am going to teach them my power and my might, and they shall know that my name is the LORD.”
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a Two Mss Gk: MT break for them
b Gk: Heb And first
16.1–13 Celibacy and judgment. A prose sermon, added by later editors, combines an announcement of judgment with a symbolic act: the prophet is commanded by the Lord not to marry and have a family (cf. symbolic acts in 13.1–11, 12–14). The prohibition against marriage and family is to underscore the coming death and destruction that will face parents and children. Even burial will be denied the dead. The theme of lament is repeated in God’s refusal to allow Jeremiah to intercede on the people’s behalf (7.16;14.11–12; 15.1). He is also forbidden to rejoice with them, for joy will be taken from the land during the impending destruction and exile.
16.5 House of mourning, the room or hall in a house in which a funeral banquet that included feasting and drinking occurred (see Am 6.7, where “the revelry of the loungers” refers to participants at funeral banquets; also see the bread and the cup in Jer 16.7 and the corresponding expression house of feasting in v. 8).
16.6 Gashing and shaving of the head were funerary practices associated with pagan worship and forbidden by Israelite law (Lev 19.28; 21.5; Deut 14.1).
16.10–13 The question and answer form is common in the prose tradition (5.19; 13.12–14; 15.1–4; 22.8–9).
16.14–15 The return from exile. A prose sermon of hope predicts the future return of the exiles from Babylonia. This passage duplicates almost exactly 23.7–8. The return from exile will be remembered and celebrated in religious faith and practice, as once was the exodus from Egypt.
16.16–18, 21 Fishers and hunters of Judah. The prose sermon continues v. 13.
16.16 The fishermen and hunters may represent, respectively, the Egyptians (Isa 19.5–10) and Babylonians (Lam 4.18–19).
16.18 Being repaid double may suggest the defeat by the Egyptians (Neco II) and the Babylonian conquest.
16.19–20 A fragment of a lament and possibly a thanksgiving psalm that speaks of Jeremiah’s faith in God and the conversion of the nations (see Ps 22; Isa 2.3; Mic 4.2).
16.21 A continuation of v. 18.
JEREMIAH 17
Judah’s Sin and Punishment
1The sin of Judah is written with an iron pen; with a diamond point it is engraved on the tablet of their hearts, and on the horns of their altars, 2while their children remember their altars and their sacred poles,a beside every green tree, and on the high hills, 3on the mountains in the open country. Your wealth and all your treasures I will give for spoil as the price of your sinb throughout all your territory. 4By your own act you shall lose the heritage that I gave you, and I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, for in my anger a fire is kindledc that shall burn forever.
5Thus says the LORD:
Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals
and make mere flesh their strength,
whose hearts turn away from the LORD.
6They shall be like a shrub in the desert,
and shall not see when relief comes.
They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness,
in an uninhabited salt land.
7Blessed are those who trust in the LORD,
whose trust is the LORD.
8They shall be like a tree planted by water,
sending out its roots by the stream.
It shall not fear when heat comes,
and its leaves shall stay green;
in the year of drought it is not anxious,
and it does not cease to bear fruit.
9The heart is devious above all else;
it is perverse—
who can understand it?
10I the LORD test the mind
and search the heart,
to give to all according to their ways,
according to the fruit of their doings.
11Like the partridge hatching what it did not lay,
so are all who amass wealth unjustly;
in mid-life it will leave them,
and at their end they will prove to be fools.
12O glorious throne, exalted from the beginning,
shrine of our sanctuary!
13O hope of Israel! O LORD!
All who forsake you shall be put to shame;
those who turn away from youd shall be recorded in the underworld,e
for they have forsaken the fountain of living water, the LORD.
Jeremiah Prays for Vindication
14Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed;
save me, and I shall be saved;
for you are my praise.
15See how they say to me,
“Where is the word of the LORD?
Let it come!”
16But I have not run away from being a shepherdf in your service,
nor have I desired the fatal day.
You know what came from my lips;
it was before your face.
17Do not become a terror to me;
you are my refuge in the day of disaster;
18Let my persecutors be shamed,
but do not let me be shamed; let them be dismayed,
but do not let me be dismayed;
bring on them the day of disaster;
destroy them with double destruction!
Hallow the Sabbath Day
19Thus said the LORD to me: Go and stand in the People’s Gate, by which the kings of Judah enter and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem, 20and say to them: Hear the word of the LORD, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter by these gates. 21Thus says the LORD: For the sake of your lives, take care that you do not bear a burden on the sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. 22And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the sabbath or do any work, but keep the sabbath day holy, as I co
mmanded your ancestors. 23Yet they did not listen or incline their ear; they stiffened their necks and would not hear or receive instruction.
24But if you listen to me, says the LORD, and bring in no burden by the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but keep the sabbath day holy and do no work on it, 25then there shall enter by the gates of this city kingsg who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their officials, the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city shall be inhabited forever. 26And people shall come from the towns of Judah and the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the Shephelah, from the hill country, and from the Negeb, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and frankincense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the LORD. 27But if you do not listen to me, to keep the sabbath day holy, and to carry in no burden through the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates; it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem and shall not be quenched.
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a Heb Asherim
b Cn: Heb spoil your high places for sin
c Two Mss Theodotion: you kindled
d Heb me
e Or in the earth
f Meaning of Heb uncertain
g Cn: Heb kings and officials
17.1–4 Judgment against Judah. This prose sermon, deriving from the exile or the postexilic period, indicts Judah for involvement in Canaanite religion. Despoliation and exile are the judgment.
17.1 Iron pen, used to incise wood or metal (Job 19.24). Diamond point, an engraving instrument; the point was probably not diamond, but rather a very hard stone, perhaps emery. Engraved on the tablet of their hearts calls to mind engraving the Ten Commandments on tablets of stone (Ex 31.18; 32.16). Altars, places for the offering of oblations, foodstuffs, incense, and animals. Some altars had horns, i.e., projections from their four corners (Ex 27.2) on which the blood of sacrificial animals was placed (Lev 4.7). Those who desired asylum could cling to the altar’s horns (1 Kings 1.50–51; 2.28–34). Tablets were made of stone, metal, or wood. Engraved writings, especially on stone and metal, were meant to endure permanently, unlike writings on leather and papyrus or notes and records written with ink on broken pottery. Writing or engraving Judah’s sins on the tablets of its people’s hearts and on the horns of its stone altars suggests a record that will endure for a very long time. This contrasts with the writing of the law on the hearts of the faithful generation in the future (31.33).
17.2 Sacred poles (Hebrew ’asherim), carved wood (Judg 6.25) or living trees (Deut 16.21) representing the goddess Asherah. A Canaanite goddess, Asherah was the consort of El and perhaps of Baal at Ugarit, but certainly of Baal in Israel (see 1 Kings 15.13; 18.19; 2 Kings 21.7; 23.4; Mic 5.13–14). Scholars are still debating her possible role in Israelite worship.
17.5–11 These verses consist of a wisdom poem (vv. 5–8), a rhetorical question (v. 9), a first-person proverb (v. 10), and a comparative proverb (v. 11). These are forms typically found in wisdom literature (Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes). Although it is possible Jeremiah used wisdom texts, it is more probable that these materials were inserted by later editors.
17.5–8 A poem of two strophes (vv. 5–6, vv. 7–8) very similar to Ps 1. Ps 1 emphasizes that avoidance of the wicked and study of the Torah are the key to blessing; the poem in Jeremiah finds the key to well-being in trusting in the Lord. Tree planted by water, imagery suggesting the “tree of life,” a common motif taken from mythology and associated with wisdom (Prov 3.13–18). For the sages who wrote wisdom literature, wisdom is the ability to perceive the order of God in creation, the intelligence to act in accordance with God’s order, and moral behavior that leads to well-being. Wise behavior produces life in all of its fullness.
17.9 Rhetorical questions, common in wisdom texts, are queries that do not expect answers, for the answers are obvious (see “the voice from the whirlwind” in Job 38–41; Am 3.3–8). For the sages, the heart is the mind and seat of volition (will; Prov 14.10; 16.9, 23; 25.3).
17.10 In wisdom literature, God is the one who oversees the just order in nature and society. God is able to distribute to all their just deserts because of divine knowledge of the human heart (see 20.12; Pss. 7.10; 17.3; 139.14).
17.11 Comparative proverbs bring together two different things to discover a common feature. This proverb expresses clearly the theory of retribution (the righteous are rewarded and the wicked punished), so common to proverbial wisdom.
17.12–13 A fragment of a hymn that praises both the Lord and the sacred ark; it probably is a later addition to vv. 5–11. Hymns are common in the Psalter (see, e.g., Pss 8; 19; 33; 47). The throne is the ark, located in the temple, considered the seat of the invisible deity and guarded by cherubim (see note on 3.16).
17.14–18 Jeremiah’s fourth lament (see note on 11.18–23). Unlike the earlier laments, Jeremiah’s complaint is not answered. The prophet cries out for healing and redemption (see Pss 41.4; 147.3).
17.16 Jeremiah denies he has desired the fatal day (see day of disaster in v. 18), i.e., the “day of the LORD” when destruction from the invading enemy will come (see Am 5.18; 8.9–14; Zeph 1.14–18). Jeremiah has seen his role as intercessor, hoping to move Judah to repentance and to avert the wrath from the northern enemy.
17.19–27 Honor the sabbath. This probably postexilic prose sermon calls upon Judah, in the form of “either-or,” to honor the sabbath day. It is a matter of life and death, punishment and blessing. Sabbath occurs seven times in this text. The sabbath was the seventh day of the week and was observed as a day of rest and worship (see Ex 16.23; 20.8–11; 23.12; 31.12–17; Lev 23.3; Deut 5.12–15). Its observance was central to the Mosaic covenant. Am 8.5 points to abstaining from business on the sabbath, while Nehemiah in the fifth century BCE locked the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath to prevent commercial activity (Neh 13.15–22). The passage in Jeremiah promises the possibility of the restoration of kingship and kingdom if the people observe the sabbath and recalls the temple sermon in 7.1–15, where Jeremiah stands at a temple gate, addresses kings and people, and underscores obedience to God’s law as necessary for salvation.
17.19 People’s Gate, probably one of the gates to the temple.
17.26 The geographical areas are those near Jerusalem, making temple worship accessible. The Shephelah designates the low hills that separate the coastal plain from the central hill country. See 32.44; 33.13. Most biblical references are to the Shephelah of Judah. The Negeb is the southern region of Judah. For burnt offerings, sacrifices, and frankincense, see note on 6.20. For grain offerings, see note on 14.12. Frankincense was associated with grain offerings (Lev 2). A thank offering, consisting of meat and breads that could be eaten by priests and worshipers, is the type of sacrifice offered in thanks for salvation of various types (e.g., recovery from an illness; see Lev 7.11–18; Ps 107).
JEREMIAH 18
The Potter and the Clay
1The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2“Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” 3So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.
5Then the word of the LORD came to me: 6Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the LORD. Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7At one moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, 8but if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring on it. 9And at another moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, 10but if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will change my mind about the good that I had intended to do to it. 11Now, therefore, say to the people of Juda
h and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the LORD: Look, I am a potter shaping evil against you and devising a plan against you. Turn now, all of you from your evil way, and amend your ways and your doings.
Israel’s Stubborn Idolatry
12But they say, “It is no use! We will follow our own plans, and each of us will act according to the stubbornness of our evil will.”
13Therefore thus says the LORD:
Ask among the nations:
Who has heard the like of this?
The virgin Israel has done
a most horrible thing.
14Does the snow of Lebanon leave
the crags of Sirion?a
Do the mountainb waters run dry,c
the cold flowing streams?
15But my people have forgotten me,
they burn offerings to a delusion;
they have stumbledd in their ways,
in the ancient roads,
and have gone into bypaths,
not the highway,
16making their land a horror,
a thing to be hissed at forever.
All who pass by it are horrified
and shake their heads.
17Like the wind from the east,
I will scatter them before the enemy.
I will show them my back, not my face,
in the day of their calamity.
A Plot against Jeremiah
18Then they said, “Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah—for instruction shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, let us bring charges against him,e and let us not heed any of his words.”
19Give heed to me, O LORD,
and listen to what my adversaries say!
20Is evil a recompense for good?
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