20:8 For whenever I prophesy, 1 I must cry out, 2
“Violence and destruction are coming!” 3
This message from the Lord 4 has made me
an object of continual insults and derision.
20:9 Sometimes I think, “I will make no mention of his message.
I will not speak as his messenger 5 any more.”
But then 6 his message becomes like a fire
locked up inside of me, burning in my heart and soul. 7
I grow weary of trying to hold it in;
I cannot contain it.
7:10 Amaziah the priest of Bethel 15 sent this message 16 to King Jeroboam of Israel: “Amos is conspiring against you in the very heart of the kingdom of Israel! 17 The land cannot endure all his prophecies. 18
11:45 One of the experts in religious law 19 answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things you insult 20 us too.”
9:40 Some of the Pharisees 25 who were with him heard this 26 and asked him, 27 “We are not blind too, are we?” 28
1 tn Heb “speak,” but the speaking is in the context of speaking as a prophet.
2 tn Heb “I cry out, I proclaim.”
3 tn Heb “Violence and destruction.”
4 tn Heb “the word of the
5 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
6 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.
7 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.
8 tn Heb “And Pashhur son of Immer, the priest and he [= who] was chief overseer [or officer] in the house of the
9 tn The meaning of this word is uncertain. It occurs only here, in 29:26 where it is followed by a parallel word that occurs only there and is generally translated “collar,” and in 2 Chr 16:10 where it is preceded by the word “house of.” It is most often translated “stocks” and explained as an instrument of confinement for keeping prisoners in a crooked position (from its relation to a root meaning “to turn.” See BDB 246 s.v. מַהְפֶּכֶת and KBL 500 s.v. מַהְפֶּכֶת for definition and discussion.) For a full discussion including the interpretation of the ancient versions see W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:542-43.
10 sn A comparison of Ezek 8:3 and 9:2 in their contexts will show that this probably refers to the northern gate to the inner court of the temple. It is called Upper because it was on higher ground above the gate in the outer court. It is qualified by “in the
11 tn Or “‘to us personally’…to them personally”; Heb “‘in our ears’…in their ears.” Elsewhere this has been rendered “in the hearing of” or “where they could hear.” All three of those idioms sound unnatural in this context. The mere personal pronoun seems adequate.
12 tn Heb “all the words.”
13 tn According to BDB 808 s.v. פָּחַד Qal.1 and 40 s.v. אֶל 3.a, this is an example of the “pregnant” use of a preposition where an implied verb has to be supplied in the translation to conform the normal range of the preposition with the verb that is governing it. The Hebrew text reads: “they feared unto one another.” BDB translates “they turned in dread to each other.” The translation adopted seems more appropriate in this context.
14 tn Heb “We must certainly report to the king all these things.” Here the word דְּבָרִים (dÿvarim) must mean “things” (cf. BDB 183 s.v. דָּבָר IV.3) rather than “words” because a verbatim report of all the words in the scroll is scarcely meant. The present translation has chosen to use a form that suggests a summary report of all the matters spoken about in the scroll rather than the indefinite “things.”
15 map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.
16 tn The direct object of the verb translated “sent” is elided in the Hebrew text. The words “this message” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
17 tn Heb “in the middle of the house of Israel.”
18 tn Heb “words.”
19 sn That is, an expert in the interpretation of the Mosaic law. They worked closely with the Pharisees.
20 tn For this term, see Matt 22;6; Luke 18:32; Acts 14:5; 1 Thess 2:2.
21 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
22 tn Or “The scribes” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.
23 tn Grk “tried to lay hands on him.”
24 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
25 sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.
26 tn Grk “heard these things.”
27 tn Grk “and said to him.”
28 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “are we?”).
29 tn Grk “asked him, saying.”
30 tn Grk “this one.”
31 tn Grk “in order that he should be born blind.”
32 sn The author doesn’t tell why Jesus chose to set out once more for Galilee. Some have suggested that the Pharisees turned their attention to Jesus because John the Baptist had now been thrown into prison. But the text gives no hint of this. In any case, perhaps Jesus simply did not want to provoke a confrontation at this time (knowing that his “hour” had not yet come).