30:1 “The rebellious 2 children are as good as dead,” 3 says the Lord,
“those who make plans without consulting me, 4
who form alliances without consulting my Spirit, 5
and thereby compound their sin. 6
30:2 They travel down to Egypt
without seeking my will, 7
seeking Pharaoh’s protection,
and looking for safety in Egypt’s protective shade. 8
30:3 But Pharaoh’s protection will bring you nothing but shame,
and the safety of Egypt’s protective shade nothing but humiliation.
30:4 Though his 9 officials are in Zoan
and his messengers arrive at Hanes, 10
31:1 Those who go down to Egypt for help are as good as dead, 11
those who rely on war horses,
and trust in Egypt’s many chariots 12
and in their many, many horsemen. 13
But they do not rely on the Holy One of Israel 14
and do not seek help from the Lord.
31:2 Yet he too is wise 15 and he will bring disaster;
he does not retract his decree. 16
He will attack the wicked nation, 17
and the nation that helps 18 those who commit sin. 19
31:3 The Egyptians are mere humans, not God;
their horses are made of flesh, not spirit.
The Lord will strike with 20 his hand;
the one who helps will stumble
and the one being helped will fall.
Together they will perish. 21
1 tn Heb “in order to multiply horses.” The translation uses “do so” in place of “multiply horses” to avoid redundancy (cf. NAB, NIV).
2 tn Or “stubborn” (NCV); cf. NIV “obstinate.”
3 tn Heb “Woe [to] rebellious children.”
4 tn Heb “making a plan, but not from me.”
5 tn Heb “and pouring out a libation, but not [from] my spirit.” This translation assumes that the verb נָסַךְ (nasakh) means “pour out,” and that the cognate noun מַסֵּכָה (massekhah) means “libation.” In this case “pouring out a libation” alludes to a ceremony that formally ratifies an alliance. Another option is to understand the verb נָסַךְ as a homonym meaning “weave,” and the cognate noun מַסֵּכָה as a homonym meaning “covering.” In this case forming an alliance is likened to weaving a garment.
6 tn Heb “consequently adding sin to sin.”
7 tn Heb “those who go to descend to Egypt, but [of] my mouth they do not inquire.”
8 tn Heb “to seek protection in the protection of Pharaoh, and to seek refuge in the shade of Egypt.”
9 sn This probably refers to Judah’s officials and messengers.
10 sn Zoan was located in the Egyptian delta in the north; Hanes was located somewhere in southern region of lower Egypt, south of Memphis; the exact location is debated.
11 tn Heb “Woe [to] those who go down to Egypt for help.”
12 tn Heb “and trust in chariots for they are many.”
13 tn Heb “and in horsemen for they are very strong [or “numerous”].”
14 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
15 sn This statement appears to have a sarcastic tone. The royal advisers who are advocating an alliance with Egypt think they are wise, but the Lord possesses wisdom as well and will thwart their efforts.
16 tn Heb “and he does not turn aside [i.e., “retract”] his words”; NIV “does not take back his words.”
17 tn Heb “and he will arise against the house of the wicked.”
18 sn That is, Egypt.
19 tn Heb “and against the help of the doers of sin.”
20 tn Heb “will extend”; KJV, ASV, NASB, NCV “stretch out.”
21 tn Heb “together all of them will come to an end.”
22 tn Heb “How can you turn back the face of an official [from among] the least of my master’s servants and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?” In vv. 8-9 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 6. His reasoning seems to be as follows: “In your weakened condition you obviously need military strength. Agree to the king’s terms and I will personally give you more horses than you are capable of outfitting. If I, a mere minor official, am capable of giving you such military might, just think what power the king has. There is no way the Egyptians can match our strength. It makes much better sense to deal with us.”
23 tn Heb “the Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for the rendering “Babylonian.” The word “forces” is supplied in the translation here for the sake of clarity.
24 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
25 tn Heb “And the army of Pharaoh had set out from Egypt and the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard a report about them and they went up from besieging them.” The sentence has been restructured and reworded to give greater emphasis to the most pertinent fact, i.e., that the siege had been temporarily lifted. The word “temporarily” is not in the text but is implicit from the rest of the context. It is supplied in the translation here to better show that the information in vv. 4-5 is all parenthetical, providing a background for the oracle that will follow. For the meaning “given up their siege against” (Heb “had taken themselves away from against”) see BDB 749 s.v. עָלָה Niph.1.c(2); 759 s.v. עַל IV.2.b.
26 tn Heb “And the word of the
27 tn Or “to ask me what will happen.” The dominant usage of the verb דָּרַשׁ (darash) is to “inquire” in the sense of gaining information about what will happen (cf., e.g., 1 Kgs 14:5; 2 Kgs 8:8; 22:7-8) but it is also used in the sense of “seeking help” from (cf., e.g., Isa 31:1; 2 Chr 16:12; 20:3). The latter nuance appears appropriate in Jer 20:2 where Zedekiah is hoping for some miraculous intervention. That nuance also appears appropriate here where Zedekiah has sent messengers to ask Jeremiah to intercede on their behalf. However, it is also possible that the intent of both verbs is to find out from God whether the Egyptian mission will succeed and more permanent relief from the siege will be had.
28 tn Heb “will go back to its land, Egypt.”