Discovery BoxJeremiah 3:23-25 
Context3:23 We know our noisy worship of false gods
on the hills and mountains did not help us. 1
We know that the Lord our God
is the only one who can deliver Israel. 2
3:24 From earliest times our worship of that shameful god, Baal,
has taken away 3 all that our ancestors 4 worked for.
It has taken away our flocks and our herds,
and even our sons and daughters.
3:25 Let us acknowledge 5 our shame.
Let us bear the disgrace that we deserve. 6
For we have sinned against the Lord our God,
both we and our ancestors.
From earliest times to this very day
we have not obeyed the Lord our God.’
1 tn Heb “Truly in vain from the hills the noise/commotion [and from] the mountains.” The syntax of the Hebrew sentence is very elliptical here.
2 tn Heb “Truly in the
3 tn Heb “From our youth the shameful thing has eaten up…” The shameful thing is specifically identified as Baal in Jer 11:13. Compare also the shift in certain names such as Ishbaal (“man of Baal”) to Ishbosheth (“man of shame”).
4 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 25).
5 tn Heb “Let us lie down in….”
6 tn Heb “Let us be covered with disgrace.”
