Jeremiah 2:4
Context2:4 Now listen to what the Lord has to say, you descendants 1 of Jacob,
all you family groups from the nation 2 of Israel.
Jeremiah 7:26
Context7:26 But your ancestors 3 did not listen to me nor pay attention to me. They became obstinate 4 and were more wicked than even their own forefathers.’”
Jeremiah 13:15
Context13:15 Then I said to the people of Judah, 5
“Listen and pay attention! Do not be arrogant!
For the Lord has spoken.
Jeremiah 17:15
Context17:15 Listen to what they are saying to me. 6
They are saying, “Where are the things the Lord threatens us with?
Come on! Let’s see them happen!” 7
Jeremiah 17:23
Context17:23 Your ancestors, 8 however, did not listen to me or pay any attention to me. They stubbornly refused 9 to pay attention or to respond to any discipline.’
Jeremiah 27:14
Context27:14 Do not listen to the prophets who are telling you that you do not need to serve 10 the king of Babylon. For they are prophesying lies to you.
Jeremiah 27:17
Context27:17 Do not listen to them. Be subject to the king of Babylon. Then you 11 will continue to live. Why should this city be made a pile of rubble?’” 12
Jeremiah 28:15
Context28:15 Then the prophet Jeremiah told the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord did not send you! You are making these people trust in a lie! 13
Jeremiah 34:4
Context34:4 However, listen to what I, the Lord, promise you, King Zedekiah of Judah. I, the Lord, promise that 14 you will not die in battle or be executed. 15
Jeremiah 38:15
Context38:15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I answer you, you will certainly kill me. 16 If I give you advice, you will not listen to me.”
1 tn Heb “house.”
2 tn Heb “house.”
3 tn Or “But your predecessors…”; Heb “But they….” There is a confusing interchange in the pronouns in vv. 25-26 which has led to some leveling in the ancient versions and the modern English versions. What is involved here are four levels of referents, the “you” of the present generation (vv. 21-22a), the ancestors who were delivered from Egypt (i.e., the “they” of vv. 22b-24), the “you” of v. 25 which involves all the Israelites from the Exodus to the time of speaking, and the “they” of v. 26 which cannot be the ancestors of vv. 22-24 (since they cannot be more wicked than themselves) but must be an indefinite entity which is a part of the “you” of v. 25, i.e., the more immediate ancestors of the present generation. If this is kept in mind, there is no need to level the pronouns to “they” and “them” or to “you” and “your” as some of the ancient versions and modern English versions have done.
4 tn Heb “hardened [or made stiff] their neck.”
5 tn The words “Then I said to the people of Judah” are not in the text but are implicit from the address in v. 15 and the content of v. 17. They are supplied in the translation for clarity to show the shift from the
6 tn Heb “Behold, they are saying to me.”
7 tn Heb “Where is the word of the
8 tn Heb “They.” The antecedent is spelled out to avoid any possible confusion.
9 tn Heb “They hardened [or made stiff] their neck so as not to.”
10 tn The verb in this context is best taken as a negative obligatory imperfect. See IBHS 508 §31.4g for discussion and examples. See Exod 4:15 as an example of positive obligation.
11 tn The imperative with vav (ו) here and in v. 12 after another imperative are a good example of the use of the imperative to introduce a consequence. (See GKC 324-25 §110.f and see Gen 42:18. This is a common verb in this idiom.)
12 tn According to E. W. Bullinger (Figures of Speech, 954) both this question and the one in v. 13 are examples of rhetorical questions of prohibition / “don’t let this city be made a pile of rubble.”
13 tn Or “You are giving these people false assurances.”
14 tn Heb “However, hear the word of the
15 tn Heb “by the sword.”
sn The contrast is between death in battle or by execution and death in the normal course of life. Zedekiah was captured, had to witness the execution of his sons, had his eyes put out, and was taken to Babylon where he died after a lengthy imprisonment (Jer 52:10-11).
16 tn Or “you will most certainly kill me, won’t you?” Heb “Will you not certainly kill me?” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer. In situations like this BDB s.v. לֹא 4.b(β) says that הֲלֹא (halo’) “has a tendency to become little more than an affirmative particle, declaring with some rhetorical emphasis what is, or might be, well known.” The idea of certainty is emphasized here by the addition of the infinitive absolute before the finite verb (Joüon 2:422 §123.e).