42:1 Then all the army officers, including Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah 9 and all the people of every class, 10 went to the prophet Jeremiah.
3:1 “If a man divorces his wife
and she leaves him and becomes another man’s wife,
he may not take her back again. 17
Doing that would utterly defile the land. 18
But you, Israel, have given yourself as a prostitute to many gods. 19
So what makes you think you can return to me?” 20
says the Lord.
22:16 He upheld the cause of the poor and needy.
So things went well for Judah.’ 21
The Lord says,
‘That is a good example of what it means to know me.’ 22
18:15 Yet my people have forgotten me
and offered sacrifices to worthless idols!
This makes them stumble along in the way they live
and leave the old reliable path of their fathers. 25
They have left them to walk in bypaths,
in roads that are not smooth and level. 26
1 tn Heb “please let our petition fall before you.” For the idiom here see 37:20 and the translator’s note there.
2 tn Heb “on behalf of us, [that is] on behalf of all this remnant.”
3 tn Heb “For we are left a few from the many as your eyes are seeing us.” The words “used to be” are not in the text but are implicit. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness of English style.
4 tn Heb “I have heard” = “I agree.” For this nuance of the verb see BDB 1034 s.v. שָׁמַע Qal.1.j and compare the usage in Gen 37:27 and Judg 11:17 listed there.
5 tn Heb “all the word which the
6 tn Heb “do according to all the word which.”
7 tn Heb “you are erring at the cost of your own lives” (BDB 1073 s.v. תָּעָה Hiph.3 and HALOT 1626 s.v. תָּעָה Hif 4, and cf. BDB 90 s.v. בְּ 3 and see parallels in 1 Kgs 2:23; 2 Sam 23:17 for the nuance of “at the cost of your lives”). This fits the context better than “you are deceiving yourselves” (KBL 1035 s.v. תָּעָה Hif 4). The reading here follows the Qere הִתְעֵיתֶם (hit’etem) rather than the Kethib which has a metathesis of י (yod) and ת (tav), i.e., הִתְעֵתֶים. The Greek text presupposes הֲרֵעֹתֶם (hare’otem, “you have done evil”), but that reading is generally rejected as secondary.
8 tn Heb “According to all which the
9 sn Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah may have been the same as the Jezaniah son of the Maacathite mentioned in 40:8. The title “the Maacathite” would identify the locality from which his father came, i.e., a region in northern Transjordan east of Lake Huleh. Many think he is also the same man who is named “Azariah” in Jer 43:2 (the Greek version has Azariah both here and in 43:2). It was not uncommon for one man to have two names, e.g., Uzziah who was also named Azariah (compare 2 Kgs 14:21 with 2 Chr 26:1).
10 tn Or “without distinction,” or “All the people from the least important to the most important”; Heb “from the least to the greatest.” This is a figure of speech that uses polar opposites as an all-inclusive designation of everyone without exception (i.e., it included all the people from the least important or poorest to the most important or richest.)
11 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
12 tn Heb “will gather to the name of the
13 tn Heb “the stubbornness of their evil hearts.”
14 tn Heb “In those days.”
15 tn Heb “the house of Judah will walk together with the house of Israel.”
16 tn Heb “the land that I gave your [fore]fathers as an inheritance.”
17 tn Heb “May he go back to her again?” The question is rhetorical and expects a negative answer.
18 tn Heb “Would the land not be utterly defiled?” The stative is here rendered actively to connect better with the preceding. The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.
19 tn Heb “But you have played the prostitute with many lovers.”
20 tn Heb “Returning to me.” The form is the bare infinitive which the KJV and ASV have interpreted as an imperative “Yet, return to me!” However, it is more likely that a question is intended, expressing surprise in the light of the law alluded to and the facts cited. For the use of the infinitive absolute in the place of a finite verb, cf. GKC 346 §113.ee. For the introduction of a question without a question marker, cf. GKC 473 §150.a.
21 tn The words “for Judah” are not in the text, but the absence of the preposition plus object as in the preceding verse suggests that this is a more general statement, i.e., “things went well for everyone.”
22 tn Heb “Is that not what it means to know me.” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer. It is translated in the light of the context.
23 tn Heb “who sits on David’s throne.”
24 tn Heb “Hear the word of the
25 sn Heb “the ancient path.” This has already been referred to in Jer 6:16. There is another “old way” but it is the path trod by the wicked (cf. Job 22:15).
26 sn Heb “ways that are not built up.” This refers to the built-up highways. See Isa 40:4 for the figure. The terms “way,” “by-paths,” “roads” are, of course, being used here in the sense of moral behavior or action.