25:1 In the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord spoke to Jeremiah 8 concerning all the people of Judah. (That was the same as the first year that Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon.) 9 25:2 So the prophet Jeremiah spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the people who were living in Jerusalem. 10 25:3 “For the last twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amon was ruling in Judah 11 until now, the Lord has been speaking to me. I told you over and over again 12 what he said. 13 But you would not listen. 25:4 Over and over again 14 the Lord has sent 15 his servants the prophets to you. But you have not listened or paid attention. 16 25:5 He said through them, 17 ‘Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and stop doing the evil things you are doing. 18 If you do, I will allow you to continue to live here in the land that I gave to you and your ancestors as a lasting possession. 19 25:6 Do not pay allegiance to 20 other gods and worship and serve them. Do not make me angry by the things that you do. 21 Then I will not cause you any harm.’ 25:7 So, now the Lord says, 22 ‘You have not listened to me. But 23 you have made me angry by the things that you have done. 24 Thus you have brought harm on yourselves.’
24:1 The word of the Lord came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month 25 : 24:2 “Son of man, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege 26 to Jerusalem 27 this very day.
1 tn Or “against.”
2 sn This would have been January 15, 588
3 sn According to modern reckoning that would have been July 18, 586
4 tn Heb “the people of the land.”
5 sn The king’s garden is mentioned again in Neh 3:15 in conjunction with the pool of Siloam and the stairs that go down from the city of David. This would have been in the southern part of the city near the Tyropean Valley which agrees with the reference to the “two walls” which were probably the walls on the eastern and western hills.
6 sn Heb “toward the Arabah.” The Arabah was the rift valley north and south of the Dead Sea. Here the intention was undoubtedly to escape across the Jordan to Moab or Ammon. It appears from 40:14; 41:15 that the Ammonites were known to harbor fugitives from the Babylonians.
7 tn Heb “what was evil in the eyes of the
8 tn Heb “The word was to Jeremiah.” It is implicit from the context that it was the
9 sn The year referred to would be 605
10 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
11 sn The year referred to would be 627
12 tn For the idiom involved here see the notes at 7:13 and 11:7.
13 tn The words “what he said” are not in the text but are implicit. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
14 tn For the idiom involved here see the notes at 7:13 and 11:7.
15 tn The vav consecutive with the perfect in a past narrative is a little unusual. Here it is probably indicating repeated action in past time in keeping with the idiom that precedes and follows it. See GKC 332 §112.f for other possible examples.
16 tn Heb “inclined your ear to hear.” This is idiomatic for “paying attention.” It is often parallel with “listen” as here or with “pay attention” (see, e.g., Prov 4:20; 51:1).
17 tn Heb “saying.” The infinitive goes back to “he sent”; i.e., “he sent, saying.”
18 tn Heb “Turn [masc. pl.] each person from his wicked way and from the evil of your [masc. pl.] doings.” See the same demand in 23:22.
19 tn Heb “gave to you and your fathers with reference to from ancient times even unto forever.” See the same idiom in 7:7.
20 tn Heb “follow after.” See the translator’s note on 2:5 for this idiom.
21 tn Heb “make me angry with the work of your hands.” The term “work of your own hands” is often interpreted as a reference to idolatry as is clearly the case in Isa 2:8; 37:19. However, the parallelism in 25:14 and the context in 32:30 show that it is more general and refers to what they have done. That is likely the meaning here as well.
22 tn Heb “Oracle of the
23 tn This is a rather clear case where the Hebrew particle לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) introduces a consequence and not a purpose, contrary to the dictum of BDB 775 s.v. מַעַן note 1. They have not listened to him in order to make him angry but with the result that they have made him angry by going their own way. Jeremiah appears to use this particle for result rather than purpose on several other occasions (see, e.g., 7:18, 19; 27:10, 15; 32:29).
24 tn Heb “make me angry with the work of your hands.” The term “work of your own hands” is often interpreted as a reference to idolatry as is clearly the case in Isa 2:8; 37:19. However, the parallelism in 25:14 and the context in 32:30 show that it is more general and refers to what they have done. That is likely the meaning here as well.
25 tn The date of this oracle was January 15, 588
26 tn Heb “lean on, put pressure on.”
27 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
28 sn The fasts of the fifth and seventh months, mentioned previously (7:5), are listed here along with the observances of the fourth and tenth months. The latter commemorated the siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians on January 15, 588