Jeremiah 27:3

27:3 Use it to send messages to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, 1  and Sidon. 2  Send them through 3  the envoys who have come to Jerusalem 4  to King Zedekiah of Judah.

Jeremiah 27:12

27:12 I told King Zedekiah of Judah the same thing. I said, 5  “Submit 6  to the yoke of servitude to 7  the king of Babylon. Be subject to him and his people. Then you will continue to live.

Jeremiah 27:19-20

27:19 For the Lord who rules over all 8  has already spoken about the two bronze pillars, 9  the large bronze basin called ‘The Sea,’ 10  and the movable bronze stands. 11  He has already spoken about the rest of the valuable articles that are left in this city. 27:20 He has already spoken about these things that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon did not take away when he carried Jehoiakim’s son King Jeconiah of Judah and the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem away as captives. 12 

1 map For location see Map1-A2; Map2-G2; Map4-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.

2 sn The nations of Edom, Moab, and Ammon were east of Judah. They were sometimes allies and sometimes enemies. The nations of Tyre and Sidon were on the sea coast north and west of Judah. They are best known for their maritime trade during the reign of Solomon. They were more commonly allies of Israel and Judah than enemies.

map For the location of Sidon see Map1-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.

3 tn Heb “send by means of them” [i.e., the straps and crossbars made into a yoke] to…through.” The text is broken up in conformity with contemporary English style. Many English versions ignore the suffix on the end of “send” and find some support for this on the basis of its absence in the Lucianic Greek text. However, it is probably functioning metonymically here for the message which they see symbolized before them and is now explained clearly to them.

4 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

5 tn Heb “I spoke to Zedekiah…according to all these words, saying.”

6 sn The verbs in this verse are all plural. They are addressed to Zedekiah and his royal advisers (compare 22:2).

7 tn Heb “put their necks in the yoke of.” See the study note on v. 2 for the figure.

8 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.” For the significance of this title see the note at 2:19.

9 tn The words “two bronze” are not in the text. They have been supplied in the translation to help identify the referent.

sn The two bronze pillars are the two free-standing pillars at the entrance of the temple (Jakin and Boaz) described in 1 Kgs 7:15-22.

10 tn The words “the large bronze basin called” are not in the text. They have been supplied in the translation to help identify the referent.

sn “The Sea” refers to the large basin that was mounted on twelve bronze bulls. It stood in front of the temple and contained water for the priests to bathe themselves (2 Chr 4:6; cf. Exod 30:17-21). It is described in 1 Kgs 7:23-26.

11 tn The words “movable bronze” are not in the text. They have been supplied in the translation to help identify the referent. See the study note for further reference.

sn The bronze stands are the movable bronze stands described in 1 Kgs 7:27-37. They were the stands for the bronze basins described in 1 Kgs 7:38-39. According to 2 Chr 4:6 the latter were used to wash the burnt offerings. The priests would have been very concerned especially about the big bronze basin and the movable stands and their basins because they involved their ritual purification apart from which they would have had no sanctity. These articles (or furnishings in this case) were broken up and the bronze carried away to Babylon along with all the other bronze, silver, and gold furnishings when the temple and the city were destroyed in 587 b.c. (see 2 Kgs 25:13-15; Jer 52:17-19).

12 tn 27:19-20 are all one long sentence in Hebrew. It has been broken up for the sake of English style. Some of the sentences still violate contemporary English style (e.g., v. 20) but breaking them down any further would lose the focus. For further discussion see the study note on v. 21.