5:5 I will go to the leaders 4
and speak with them.
Surely they know what the Lord demands. 5
Surely they know what their God requires of them.” 6
Yet all of them, too, have rejected his authority
and refuse to submit to him. 7
5:14 Because of that, 8 the Lord, the God who rules over all, 9 said to me, 10
“Because these people have spoken 11 like this, 12
I will make the words that I put in your mouth like fire.
And I will make this people like wood
which the fiery judgments you speak will burn up.” 13
5:15 The Lord says, 14 “Listen, 15 nation of Israel! 16
I am about to bring a nation from far away to attack you.
It will be a nation that was founded long ago
and has lasted for a long time.
It will be a nation whose language you will not know.
Its people will speak words that you will not be able to understand.
8:6 I have listened to them very carefully, 17
but they do not speak honestly.
None of them regrets the evil he has done.
None of them says, “I have done wrong!” 18
All of them persist in their own wayward course 19
like a horse charging recklessly into battle.
14:14 Then the Lord said to me, “Those prophets are prophesying lies while claiming my authority! 20 I did not send them. I did not commission them. 21 I did not speak to them. They are prophesying to these people false visions, worthless predictions, 22 and the delusions of their own mind.
20:9 Sometimes I think, “I will make no mention of his message.
I will not speak as his messenger 23 any more.”
But then 24 his message becomes like a fire
locked up inside of me, burning in my heart and soul. 25
I grow weary of trying to hold it in;
I cannot contain it.
1 sn This would have been August, 586
2 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
3 tn Heb “and it [the word of the
4 tn Or “people in power”; Heb “the great ones.”
5 tn Heb “the way of the
6 tn Heb “the judgment [or ordinance] of their God.”
7 tn Heb “have broken the yoke and torn off the yoke ropes.” Compare Jer 2:20 and the note there.
8 tn Heb “Therefore.”
9 tn Heb “The
sn Here the emphasis appears to be on the fact that the
10 tn The words, “to me” are not in the text but are implicit in the connection. They are supplied in the translation for clarification.
11 tn Heb “you have spoken.” The text here דַּבֶּרְכֶם (dabberkhem, “you have spoken”) is either a case of a scribal error for דַּבֶּרָם (dabberam, “they have spoken”) or an example of the rapid shift in addressee which is common in Jeremiah.
12 tn Heb “this word.”
13 tn Heb “like wood and it [i.e., the fire I put in your mouth] will consume them.”
14 tn Heb “oracle of the
15 tn Heb “Behold!”
16 tn Heb “house of Israel.”
17 tn Heb “I have paid attention and I have listened.” This is another case of two concepts being joined by “and” where one expresses the main idea and the other acts as an adverbial or adjectival modifier (a figure called hendiadys).
18 tn Heb “What have I done?” The addition of the word “wrong” is implicit in the context and is supplied in the translation for clarity. The rhetorical question does not function as a denial of wrongdoing, but rather as contrite shock at one’s own wrongdoing. It is translated as a declaration for the sake of clarity.
19 tn Heb “each one of them turns aside into their own running course.”
sn The wordplay begun in v. 4 is continued here. The word translated “turns aside” in the literal translation and “wayward” in the translation is from the same root as “go the wrong way,” “turn around,” “turn away from me,” “apostasy,” “turn back to me.” What God hoped for were confessions of repentance and change of behavior; what he got was denial of wrongdoing and continued turning away from him.
20 tn Heb “Falsehood those prophets are prophesying in my name.” In the OT, the “name” reflected the person’s character (cf. Gen 27:36; 1 Sam 25:25) or his reputation (Gen 11:4; 2 Sam 8:13). To speak in someone’s name was to act as his representative or carry his authority (1 Sam 25:9; 1 Kgs 21:8).
21 tn Heb “I did not command them.” Compare 1 Chr 22:12 for usage.
22 tn Heb “divination and worthlessness.” The noun “worthlessness” stands as a qualifying “of” phrase (= to an adjective; an attributive genitive in Hebrew) after a noun in Zech 11:17; Job 13:4. This is an example of hendiadys where two nouns are joined by “and” with one serving as the qualifier of the other.
sn The word translated “predictions” here is really the word “divination.” Divination was prohibited in Israel (cf. Deut 18:10, 14). The practice of divination involved various mechanical means to try to predict the future. The word was used here for its negative connotations in a statement that is rhetorically structured to emphasize the falseness of the promises of the false prophets. It would be unnatural to contemporary English style to try to capture this emphasis in English. In the Hebrew text the last sentence reads: “False vision, divination, and worthlessness and the deceitfulness of their heart they are prophesying to them.” For the emphasis in the preceding sentence see the note there.
23 tn Heb “speak in his name.” This idiom occurs in passages where someone functions as the messenger under the authority of another. See Exod 5:23; Deut 18:19, 29:20; Jer 14:14. The antecedent in the first line is quite commonly misidentified as being “him,” i.e., the
24 tn The English sentence has again been restructured for the sake of English style. The Hebrew construction involves two vav consecutive perfects in a condition and consequence relation, “If I say to myself…then it [his word] becomes.” See GKC 337 §112.kk for the construction.
25 sn Heb “It is in my heart like a burning fire, shut up in my bones.” In addition to standing as part for the whole, the “bones” for the person (e.g., Ps 35:10), the bones were associated with fear (e.g., Job 4:14) and with pain (e.g., Job 33:19, Ps 102:3 [102:4 HT]) and joy or sorrow (e.g., Ps 51:8 [51:10 HT]). As has been mentioned several times, the heart was connected with intellectual and volitional concerns.
26 sn It is generally agreed that the incident recorded in this chapter relates to the temple message that Jeremiah gave in 7:1-15. The message there is summarized here in vv. 3-6. The primary interest here is in the response to that message.
27 tn Heb “For in truth the
28 tn It is commonly assumed that this word is explained by the two verbal actions that follow. The word (נְבָלָה, nÿvalah) is rather commonly used of sins of unchastity (cf., e.g., Gen 34:7; Judg 19:23; 2 Sam 13:12) which would fit the reference to adultery. However, the word is singular and not likely to cover both actions that follow. The word is also used of the greedy act of Achan (Josh 7:15) which threatened Israel with destruction and the churlish behavior of Nabal (1 Sam 25:25) which threatened him and his household with destruction. The word is also used of foolish talk in Isa 9:17 (9:16 HT) and Isa 32:6. It is possible that this refers to a separate act, one that would have brought the death penalty from Nebuchadnezzar, i.e., the preaching of rebellion in conformity with the message of the false prophets in Jerusalem and other nations (cf. 27:9, 13). Hence it is possible that the translation should read: “This will happen because of their vile conduct. They have propagated rebellion. They have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives. They have spoken words that I did not command them to speak. They have spoken lies while claiming my authority.”
29 tn Heb “prophesying lies in my name.” For an explanation of this idiom see the study notes on 14:14 and 23:27.
30 tn Heb “Oracle of the
31 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” For this title see 7:3 and the study note on 2:19.
32 tn Heb “35:12 And the word of the
33 tn Heb “Oracle of the
34 tn The words “from this” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They have been supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
35 tn Heb “Will you not learn a lesson…?” The rhetorical question here has the force of an imperative, made explicit in the translation.