Jeremiah 23:17

23:17 They continually say ¹  to those who reject what the Lord has said, ² 

‘Things will go well for you!’ ³ 

They say to all those who follow the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts,

‘Nothing bad will happen to you!’

Jeremiah 23:2

23:2 So the Lord God of Israel has this to say about the leaders who are ruling over his people: “You have caused my people ⁴  to be dispersed and driven into exile. You have not taken care of them. So I will punish you for the evil that you have done. ⁵  I, the Lord, affirm it! ⁶ 

Jeremiah 18:5

18:5 Then the Lord said to me, ⁷ 

Jeremiah 18:10-12

18:10 But if that nation does what displeases me and does not obey me, then I will cancel the good I promised to do to it. 18:11 So now, tell the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem ⁸  this: The Lord says, ‘I am preparing to bring disaster on you! I am making plans to punish you. ⁹  So, every one of you, stop the evil things you have been doing. ¹⁰  Correct the way you have been living and do what is right.’ ¹¹  18:12 But they just keep saying, ‘We do not care what you say! ¹²  We will do whatever we want to do! We will continue to behave wickedly and stubbornly!’” ¹³ 

Jeremiah 18:19-21

18:19 Then I said, ¹⁴ 

“Lord, pay attention to me.

Listen to what my enemies are saying. ¹⁵ 

18:20 Should good be paid back with evil?

Yet they are virtually digging a pit to kill me. ¹⁶ 

Just remember how I stood before you

pleading on their behalf ¹⁷ 

to keep you from venting your anger on them. ¹⁸ 

18:21 So let their children die of starvation.

Let them be cut down by the sword. ¹⁹ 

Let their wives lose their husbands and children.

Let the older men die of disease ²⁰ 

and the younger men die by the sword in battle.

¹ tn The translation reflects an emphatic construction where the infinitive absolute follows a participle (cf. GKC 343 §113.r).

² tc The translation follows the Greek version. The Hebrew text reads, “who reject me, ‘The Lord has spoken, “Things…”’” The Greek version is to be preferred here because of (1) the parallelism of the lines “reject what the Lord has said” // “follow the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts;” (2) the preceding context which speaks of “visions of their own imaginations not of what the Lord has given them;” (3) the following context which denies that they have ever had access to the Lord’s secrets; (4) the general contexts earlier regarding false prophecy where rejection of the Lord’s word is in view (6:14 [see there v. 10]; 8:11 [see there v. 9]); (5) the meter of the poetic lines (the Hebrew meter is 3/5/4/3; the meter presupposed by the translation is 5/3/4/3 with the 3’s being their words). The difference is one of vocalization of the same consonants. The vocalization of the MT is יְהוָה מְנַאֲצַי דִּבֶּר [mÿna’atsay dibber yÿhvah]; the Hebrew Vorlage behind the Greek would be vocalized as מְנַאֲצֵי דְּבַר יְהוָה (mÿna’atsey dÿvar yÿhvah).

³ tn Heb “You will have peace.” But see the note on 14:13. See also 6:14 and 8:11.

⁴ tn Heb “about the shepherds who are shepherding my people. ‘You have caused my sheep….’” For the metaphor see the study note on the previous verse.

⁵ tn Heb “Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who should be shepherding my people: You have scattered my sheep and driven them away and you have not taken care of them. Behold I will visit upon you the evil of your deeds.” “Therefore” announces the judgment which does not come until “Behold.” It is interrupted by the messenger formula and a further indictment. The original has been broken up to conform more to contemporary English style, the metaphors have been interpreted for clarity and the connections between the indictments and the judgments have been carried by “So.”

⁶ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

⁷ tn Heb “Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying.”

⁸ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁹ sn Heb “I am forming disaster and making plans against you.” The word translated “forming” is the same as that for “potter,” so there is a wordplay taking the reader back to v. 5. They are in his hands like the clay in the hands of the potter. Since they have not been pliable he forms new plans. He still offers them opportunity to repent; but their response is predictable.

¹⁰ tn Heb “Turn, each one from his wicked way.” See v. 8.

¹¹ tn Or “Make good your ways and your actions.” See the same expression in 7:3, 5.

¹² tn Heb “It is useless!” See the same expression in a similar context in Jer 2:25.

¹³ tn Heb “We will follow our own plans and do each one according to the stubbornness of his own wicked heart.”

¹⁴ tn The words “Then I said” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity to show that Jeremiah turns from description of the peoples’ plots to his address to God to deal with the plotters.

¹⁵ tn Heb “the voice of my adversaries.”

¹⁶ tn Or “They are plotting to kill me”; Heb “They have dug a pit for my soul.” This is a common metaphor for plotting against someone. See BDB 500 s.v. כָּרָה Qal and for an example see Pss 7:16 (7:15 HT) in its context.

¹⁷ tn Heb “to speak good concerning them” going back to the concept of “good” being paid back with evil.

¹⁸ tn Heb “to turn back your anger from them.”

¹⁹ tn Heb “be poured out to the hand [= power] of the sword.” For this same expression see Ezek 35:5; Ps 63:10 (63:11 HT). Comparison with those two passages show that it involved death by violent means, perhaps death in battle.

²⁰ tn Heb “be slain by death.” The commentaries are generally agreed that this refers to death by disease or plague as in 15:2. Hence, the reference is to the deadly trio of sword, starvation, and disease which were often connected with war. See the notes on 15:2.