Genesis 19:27-28

19:27 Abraham got up early in the morning and went ¹  to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 19:28 He looked out toward ²  Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of that region. ³  As he did so, he saw the smoke rising up from the land like smoke from a furnace. ⁴ 

Jeremiah 17:15-16

17:15 Listen to what they are saying to me. ⁵ 

They are saying, “Where are the things the Lord threatens us with?

Come on! Let’s see them happen!” ⁶ 

17:16 But I have not pestered you to bring disaster. ⁷ 

I have not desired the time of irreparable devastation. ⁸ 

You know that.

You are fully aware of every word that I have spoken. ⁹ 

Luke 19:41-44

Jesus Weeps for Jerusalem under Judgment

19:41 Now ¹⁰  when Jesus ¹¹  approached ¹²  and saw the city, he wept over it, 19:42 saying, “If you had only known on this day, ¹³  even you, the things that make for peace! ¹⁴  But now they are hidden ¹⁵  from your eyes. 19:43 For the days will come upon you when your enemies will build ¹⁶  an embankment ¹⁷  against you and surround you and close in on you from every side. 19:44 They will demolish you ¹⁸  – you and your children within your walls ¹⁹  – and they will not leave within you one stone ²⁰  on top of another, ²¹  because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.” ²² 

[19:27]  ¹ tn The words “and went” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:28]  ² tn Heb “upon the face of.”

[19:28]  ³ tn Or “all the land of the plain”; Heb “and all the face of the land of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

[19:28]  ⁴ tn Heb “And he saw, and look, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.”

[17:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “Behold, they are saying to me.”

[17:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “Where is the word of the Lord. Let it come [or come to pass] please.”

[17:16]  ⁷ tc Heb “I have not run after you for the sake of disaster.” The translation follows the suggestion of some ancient versions. The Hebrew text reads “I have not run from being a shepherd after you.” The translation follows two Greek versions (Aquila and Symmachus) and the Syriac in reading the word “evil” or “disaster” here in place of the word “shepherd” in the Hebrew text. The issue is mainly one of vocalization. The versions mentioned are reading a form מֵרָעָה (mera’ah) instead of מֵרֹעֶה (mero’eh). There does not appear to be any clear case of a prophet being called a shepherd, especially in Jeremiah where it is invariably used of the wicked leaders/rulers of Judah, the leaders/rulers of the enemy that he brings to punish them, or the righteous ruler that he will bring in the future. Moreover, there are no cases where the preposition “after” is used with the verb “shepherd.” Parallelism also argues for the appropriateness of this reading; “disaster” parallels the “incurable day.” The thought also parallels the argument thus far. Other than 11:20; 12:3; 15:15 where he has prayed for vindication by the Lord punishing his persecutors as they deserve, he has invariably responded to the Lord’s word of disaster with laments and prayers for his people (see 4:19-21; 6:24; 8:18; 10:19-25; 14:7-9, 19-22).

[17:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “the incurable day.” For the use of this word see the note on 17:9.

[17:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “that which goes out of my lip is right in front of your face.”

[19:41]  ¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[19:41]  ¹¹ tn Grk “he.”

[19:41]  ¹² sn When Jesus approached and saw the city. This is the last travel note in Luke’s account (the so-called Jerusalem journey), as Jesus approached and saw the city before entering it.

[19:42]  ¹³ sn On this day. They had missed the time of Messiah’s coming; see v. 44.

[19:42]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “the things toward peace.” This expression seems to mean “the things that would ‘lead to,’ ‘bring about,’ or ‘make for’ peace.”

[19:42]  ¹⁵ sn But now they are hidden from your eyes. This becomes an oracle of doom in the classic OT sense; see Luke 13:31-35; 11:49-51; Jer 9:2; 13:7; 14:7. They are now blind and under judgment (Jer 15:5; Ps 122:6).

[19:43]  ¹⁶ sn Jesus now predicted the events that would be fulfilled in the fall of Jerusalem in a.d. 70. The details of the siege have led some to see Luke writing this after Jerusalem’s fall, but the language of the verse is like God’s exilic judgment for covenant unfaithfulness (Hab 2:8; Jer 6:6, 14; 8:13-22; 9:1; Ezek 4:2; 26:8; Isa 29:1-4). Specific details are lacking and the procedures described (build an embankment against you) were standard Roman military tactics.

[19:43]  ¹⁷ sn An embankment refers to either wooden barricades or earthworks, or a combination of the two.

[19:44]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “They will raze you to the ground.”

[19:44]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “your children within you.” The phrase “[your] walls” has been supplied in the translation to clarify that the city of Jerusalem, metaphorically pictured as an individual, is spoken of here.

[19:44]  ²⁰ sn (Not) one stone on top of another is an idiom for total destruction.

[19:44]  ²¹ tn Grk “leave stone on stone.”

[19:44]  ²² tn Grk “the time of your visitation.” To clarify what this refers to, the words “from God” are supplied at the end of the verse, although they do not occur in the Greek text.