27:12 I told King Zedekiah of Judah the same thing. I said, 8 “Submit 9 to the yoke of servitude to 10 the king of Babylon. Be subject to him and his people. Then you will continue to live. 27:13 There is no reason why you and your people should die in war 11 or from starvation or disease! 12 That’s what the Lord says will happen to any nation 13 that will not be subject to the king of Babylon. 27:14 Do not listen to the prophets who are telling you that you do not need to serve 14 the king of Babylon. For they are prophesying lies to you. 27:15 For I, the Lord, affirm 15 that I did not send them. They are prophesying lies to you. If you 16 listen to them, I will drive you and the prophets who are prophesying lies out of the land and you will all die in exile.” 17
27:16 I also told the priests and all the people, “The Lord says, ‘Do not listen to what your prophets are saying. They are prophesying to you that 18 the valuable articles taken from the Lord’s temple will be brought back from Babylon very soon. 19 But they are prophesying a lie to you. 27:17 Do not listen to them. Be subject to the king of Babylon. Then you 20 will continue to live. Why should this city be made a pile of rubble?’” 21 27:18 I also told them, 22 “If they are really prophets and the Lord is speaking to them, 23 let them pray earnestly to the Lord who rules over all. 24 Let them plead with him not to let the valuable articles that are still left in the Lord’s temple, in the royal palace, and in Jerusalem be taken away 25 to Babylon. 27:19 For the Lord who rules over all 26 has already spoken about the two bronze pillars, 27 the large bronze basin called ‘The Sea,’ 28 and the movable bronze stands. 29 He has already spoken about the rest of the valuable articles that are left in this city. 27:20 He has already spoken about these things that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon did not take away when he carried Jehoiakim’s son King Jeconiah of Judah and the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem away as captives. 30 27:21 Indeed, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all 31 has already spoken 32 about the valuable articles that are left in the Lord’s temple, in the royal palace of Judah, and in Jerusalem. 27:22 He has said, ‘They will be carried off to Babylon. They will remain there until it is time for me to show consideration for them again. 33 Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.’ I, the Lord, affirm this!” 34
1 tn The words “Don’t listen to them” have been repeated from v. 9a to pick up the causal connection between v. 9a and v. 10 that is formally introduced by a causal particle in v. 10 in the original text.
2 tn Heb “they are prophesying a lie.”
3 tn Heb “lies will result in your being taken far…” (לְמַעַן [lÿma’an] + infinitive). This is a rather clear case of the particle לְמַעַן introducing result (contra BDB 775 s.v. מַעַן note 1. There is no irony in this statement; it is a bold prediction).
4 tn The words “out of your country” are not in the text but are implicit in the meaning of the verb. The words “in exile” are also not in the text but are implicit in the context. These words have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
5 tn Heb “put their necks in the yoke of.” See the study note on v. 2 for the figure.
6 tn The words “Things will go better for” are not in the text. They are supplied contextually as a means of breaking up the awkward syntax of the original which reads “The nation which brings its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and subjects itself to him, I will leave it…”
7 tn Heb “oracle of the
8 tn Heb “I spoke to Zedekiah…according to all these words, saying.”
9 sn The verbs in this verse are all plural. They are addressed to Zedekiah and his royal advisers (compare 22:2).
10 tn Heb “put their necks in the yoke of.” See the study note on v. 2 for the figure.
11 tn Heb “with/by the sword.”
12 tn Heb “Why should you and your people die…?” The rhetorical question expects the answer made explicit in the translation, “There is no reason!”
13 tn Heb “…disease according to what the
14 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.
15 tn Heb “oracle of the
16 sn The verbs are again plural referring to the king and his royal advisers.
17 tn Heb “…drive you out and you will perish, you and the prophets who are prophesying lies.”
18 tn Heb “don’t listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you….” The sentence has been broken up for the sake of English style and one level of embedded quotes has been eliminated to ease complexity.
19 sn This refers to the valuable articles of the temple treasury which were carried off by Nebuchadnezzar four years earlier when he carried off Jeconiah, his family, some of his nobles, and some of the cream of Judean society (2 Kgs 24:10-16, especially v. 13 and see also vv. 19-20 in the verses following).
20 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.)
21 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.”
22 tn The words “I also told them” are not in the text, but it is obvious from the fact that the
23 tn Heb “the word of the
24 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
25 tn Heb “…speaking to them, let them entreat the
26 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.” For the significance of this title see the note at 2:19.
27 tn The words “two bronze” are not in the text. They have been supplied in the translation to help identify the referent.
28 tn The words “the large bronze basin called” are not in the text. They have been supplied in the translation to help identify the referent.
29 tn The words “movable bronze” are not in the text. They have been supplied in the translation to help identify the referent. See the study note for further reference.
30 tn 27:19-20 are all one long sentence in Hebrew. It has been broken up for the sake of English style. Some of the sentences still violate contemporary English style (e.g., v. 20) but breaking them down any further would lose the focus. For further discussion see the study note on v. 21.
31 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” For the significance of this title see the note at 2:19.
32 sn Some of the flavor of the repetitive nature of Hebrew narrative is apparent in vv. 19-21. In the Hebrew original vv. 19-20 are all one long sentence with complex coordination and subordinations. I.e., all the objects in v. 19 are all objects of the one verb “has spoken about” and the description in v. 20 is one long relative or descriptive clause. The introductory “For the
33 tn This verb is a little difficult to render here. The word is used in the sense of taking note of something and acting according to what is noticed. It is the word that has been translated several times throughout Jeremiah as “punish [someone].” It is also used in the opposite of sense of taking note and “show consideration for” (or “care for;” see, e.g., Ruth 1:6). Here the nuance is positive and is further clarified by the actions that follow, bringing them back and restoring them.
34 tn Heb “oracle of the