Discovery BoxJeremiah 18:18
Context18:18 Then some people 1 said, “Come on! Let us consider how to deal with Jeremiah! 2 There will still be priests to instruct us, wise men to give us advice, and prophets to declare God’s word. 3 Come on! Let’s bring charges against him and get rid of him! 4 Then we will not need to pay attention to anything he says.”
Jeremiah 20:7-10
Context20:7 Lord, you coerced me into being a prophet,
and I allowed you to do it.
You overcame my resistance and prevailed over me. 5
Now I have become a constant laughingstock.
Everyone ridicules me.
20:8 For whenever I prophesy, 6 I must cry out, 7
“Violence and destruction are coming!” 8
This message from the Lord 9 has made me
an object of continual insults and derision.
20:9 Sometimes I think, “I will make no mention of his message.
I will not speak as his messenger 10 any more.”
But then 11 his message becomes like a fire
locked up inside of me, burning in my heart and soul. 12
I grow weary of trying to hold it in;
I cannot contain it.
20:10 I 13 hear many whispering words of intrigue against me.
Those who would cause me terror are everywhere! 14
They are saying, “Come on, let’s publicly denounce him!” 15
All my so-called friends 16 are just watching for
something that would lead to my downfall. 17
They say, “Perhaps he can be enticed into slipping up,
so we can prevail over 18 him and get our revenge on him.
Jeremiah 26:2-8
Context26:2 The Lord said, “Go stand in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple. 19 Speak out to all the people who are coming from the towns of Judah to worship in the Lord’s temple. Tell them everything I command you to tell them. Do not leave out a single word! 26:3 Maybe they will pay attention and each of them will stop living the evil way they do. 20 If they do that, then I will forgo destroying them 21 as I had intended to do because of the wicked things they have been doing. 22 26:4 Tell them that the Lord says, 23 ‘You must obey me! You must live according to the way I have instructed you in my laws. 24 26:5 You must pay attention to the exhortations of my servants the prophets. I have sent them to you over and over again. 25 But you have not paid any attention to them. 26:6 If you do not obey me, 26 then I will do to this temple what I did to Shiloh. 27 And I will make this city an example to be used in curses by people from all the nations on the earth.’”
26:7 The priests, the prophets, and all the people heard Jeremiah say these things in the Lord’s temple. 26:8 Jeremiah had just barely finished saying all the Lord had commanded him to say to all the people. All at once some 28 of the priests, the prophets, and the people grabbed him and shouted, “You deserve to die! 29
Amos 5:10-12
Context5:10 The Israelites 30 hate anyone who arbitrates at the city gate; 31
they despise anyone who speaks honestly.
5:11 Therefore, because you make the poor pay taxes on their crops 32
and exact a grain tax from them,
you will not live in the houses you built with chiseled stone,
nor will you drink the wine from the fine 33 vineyards you planted. 34
5:12 Certainly 35 I am aware of 36 your many rebellious acts 37
and your numerous sins.
You 38 torment the innocent, you take bribes,
and you deny justice to 39 the needy at the city gate. 40
Amos 7:10-17
Context7:10 Amaziah the priest of Bethel 41 sent this message 42 to King Jeroboam of Israel: “Amos is conspiring against you in the very heart of the kingdom of Israel! 43 The land cannot endure all his prophecies. 44 7:11 As a matter of fact, 45 Amos is saying this: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword and Israel will certainly be carried into exile 46 away from its land.’”
7:12 Amaziah then said to Amos, “Leave, you visionary! 47 Run away to the land of Judah! Earn your living 48 and prophesy there! 7:13 Don’t prophesy at Bethel 49 any longer, for a royal temple and palace are here!” 50
7:14 Amos replied 51 to Amaziah, “I was not a prophet by profession. 52 No, 53 I was a herdsman who also took care of 54 sycamore fig trees. 55 7:15 Then the Lord took me from tending 56 flocks and gave me this commission, 57 ‘Go! Prophesy to my people Israel!’ 7:16 So now listen to the Lord’s message! You say, ‘Don’t prophesy against Israel! Don’t preach 58 against the family of Isaac!’
7:17 “Therefore this is what the Lord says:
‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the streets 59
and your sons and daughters will die violently. 60
Your land will be given to others 61
and you will die in a foreign 62 land.
Israel will certainly be carried into exile 63 away from its land.’”
Micah 2:6-7
Context2:6 ‘Don’t preach with such impassioned rhetoric,’ they say excitedly. 64
‘These prophets should not preach of such things;
we will not be overtaken by humiliation.’ 65
2:7 Does the family 66 of Jacob say, 67
‘The Lord’s patience 68 can’t be exhausted –
he would never do such things’? 69
To be sure, my commands bring a reward
for those who obey them, 70
[18:18] 1 tn Heb “They.” The referent is unidentified; “some people” has been used in the translation.
[18:18] 2 tn Heb “Let us make plans against Jeremiah.” See 18:18 where this has sinister overtones as it does here.
[18:18] 3 tn Heb “Instruction will not perish from priest, counsel from the wise, word from the prophet.”
[18:18] 4 tn Heb “Let us smite him with our tongues.” It is clear from the context that this involved plots to kill him.
[20:7] 5 tn The translation is admittedly interpretive but so is every other translation that tries to capture the nuance of the verb rendered here “coerced.” Here the Hebrew text reads: “You [ – ]ed me and I let myself be [ – ]ed. You overpowered me and prevailed.” The value one assigns to [ – ] is in every case interpretive based on what one thinks the context is referring to. The word is rendered “deceived” or “tricked” by several English versions (see, e.g., KJV, NASB, TEV, ICV) as though God had misled him. It is rendered “enticed” by some (see, e.g., NRSV, NJPS) as though God had tempted him with false hopes. Some go so far as to accuse Jeremiah of accusing God of metaphorically “raping” him. It is true that the word is used of “seducing” a virgin in Exod 22:15 and that it is used in several places to refer to “deceiving” someone with false words (Prov 24:28; Ps 78:36). It is also true that it is used of “coaxing” someone to reveal something he does not want to (Judg 14:15; 16:5) and of “enticing” someone to do something on the basis of false hopes (1 Kgs 22:20-22; Prov 1:10). However, it does not always have negative connotations or associations. In Hos 2:14 (2:16 HT) God “charms” or “woos” Israel, his estranged ‘wife,’ into the wilderness where he hopes to win her back to himself. What Jeremiah is alluding to here is crucial for translating and interpreting the word. There is no indication in this passage that Jeremiah is accusing God of misleading him or raising false hopes; God informed him at the outset that he would encounter opposition (1:17-19). Rather, he is alluding to his call to be a prophet, a call which he initially resisted but was persuaded to undertake because of God’s persistence (Jer 1:7-10). The best single word to translate ‘…’ with is thus “persuaded” or “coerced.” The translation spells out the allusion explicitly so the reader is not left wondering about what is being alluded to when Jeremiah speaks of being “coerced.” The translation “I let you do it” is a way of rendering the Niphal of the same verb which must be tolerative rather than passive since the normal passive for the Piel would be the Pual (See IBHS 389-90 §23.4g for discussion and examples.). The translation “you overcame my resistance” is based on allusion to the same context (1:7-10) and the parallel use of חָזַק (khazaq) as a transitive verb with a direct object in 1 Kgs 16:22.
[20:8] 6 tn Heb “speak,” but the speaking is in the context of speaking as a prophet.
[20:8] 7 tn Heb “I cry out, I proclaim.”
[20:8] 8 tn Heb “Violence and destruction.”
[20:8] 9 tn Heb “the word of the
[20:9] 10 tn Heb “speak in his name.” This idiom occurs in passages where someone functions as the messenger under the authority of another. See Exod 5:23; Deut 18:19, 29:20; Jer 14:14. The antecedent in the first line is quite commonly misidentified as being “him,” i.e., the
[20:9] 11 tn The English sentence has again been restructured for the sake of English style. The Hebrew construction involves two vav consecutive perfects in a condition and consequence relation, “If I say to myself…then it [his word] becomes.” See GKC 337 §112.kk for the construction.
[20:9] 12 sn Heb “It is in my heart like a burning fire, shut up in my bones.” In addition to standing as part for the whole, the “bones” for the person (e.g., Ps 35:10), the bones were associated with fear (e.g., Job 4:14) and with pain (e.g., Job 33:19, Ps 102:3 [102:4 HT]) and joy or sorrow (e.g., Ps 51:8 [51:10 HT]). As has been mentioned several times, the heart was connected with intellectual and volitional concerns.
[20:10] 13 tn It would be difficult to render accurately the Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) that introduces this verse without lengthening the English line unduly. It probably means something like “This is true even though I…,” i.e., the particle is concessive (cf. BDB s.v. כִּי 2.c). No other nuance seems appropriate. The particle is left out of the translation, but its presence is acknowledged here.
[20:10] 14 tn The phrase translated “Those who would cause me terror are everywhere” has already occurred in 6:25 in the context of the terror caused by the enemy from the north and in 20:3 in reference to the curse pronounced on Pashhur who would experience it first hand. Some have seen the phrase here not as Jeremiah’s ejaculation of terror but of his assailant’s taunts of his message or even their taunting nickname for him. But comparison of this passage with the first two lines of Ps 31:13 (31:14 HT) which are word for word the same as these two will show that it refers to the terror inspired by the plots of his enemies to do away with him. It is also clear from the context of that passage and the following context here that the “whispering of many” (the literal translation of “many whispering words of intrigue against me) refers to intrigues to take vengeance on him and do away with him.
[20:10] 15 tn Heb “Denounce and let us denounce him.” The verb which is translated “denounce” (נָגַד, nagad) does not take an accusative object of person as it does here very often. When it does it usually means to inform someone. The only relevant passage appears to be Job 17:5 where it means something like “denounce.” What is probably involved here are the attempts to portray Jeremiah as a traitor (Jer 26:10) and a false prophet (see his conflict with Hananiah in Jer 28).
[20:10] 16 tn Heb “the men of my peace [who are concerned about my welfare].” For this phrase compare Ps 41:9 (41:10 HT); Jer 38:22. It is generally agreed that irony is being invoked here, hence “so-called” is supplied in the translation to bring out the irony.
[20:10] 17 tn Heb “watching my stumbling [for me to stumble].” Metaphorically they were watching for some slip-up that would lead to his downfall. Compare the use in Pss 35:15 and 38:17 (38:18 HT).
[20:10] 18 tn All the text says literally is “Perhaps he can be enticed so that we can prevail over him.” However the word “enticed” needs some qualification. As W. McKane (Jeremiah [ICC], 1:479) notes it should probably be read in the context of the “stumbling” (= “something that would lead to my downfall”). Hence “slipping up” has been supplied as an object. It is vague enough to avoid specifics as the original text does but suggests some reference to “something that would lead to my downfall.”
[26:2] 19 sn It is generally agreed that the incident recorded in this chapter relates to the temple message that Jeremiah gave in 7:1-15. The message there is summarized here in vv. 3-6. The primary interest here is in the response to that message.
[26:3] 20 tn Heb “will turn from his wicked way.”
[26:3] 21 tn For the idiom and translation of terms involved here see 18:8 and the translator’s note there.
[26:3] 22 tn Heb “because of the wickedness of their deeds.”
[26:4] 23 tn Heb “thus says the
[26:4] 24 tn Heb “by walking in my law which I set before you.”
[26:5] 25 tn See the translator’s note on 7:13 for the idiom here.
[26:6] 26 tn 26:4-6 are all one long sentence containing a long condition with subordinate clauses (vv. 4-5) and a compound consequence in v. 6: Heb “If you will not obey me by walking in my law…by paying attention to the words of the prophets which…and you did not pay heed, then I will make…and I will make…” The sentence has been broken down in conformity to contemporary English style but an attempt has been made to reflect all the subordinations in the English translation.
[26:6] 27 sn See the study note on Jer 7:13.
[26:8] 28 tn The translation again represents an attempt to break up a long complex Hebrew sentence into equivalent English ones that conform more to contemporary English style: Heb “And as soon as Jeremiah finished saying all that…the priests…grabbed him and said…” The word “some” has been supplied in the translation, because obviously it was not all the priests, the prophets, and all the people, but only some of them. There is, of course, rhetorical intent here to show that all were implicated, although all may not have actually participated. (This is a common figure called synecdoche where all is put for a part – all for all kinds or representatives of all kinds. See E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 614-19, and compare usage in Acts 10:12; Matt 3:5.)
[26:8] 29 tn Or “You must certainly die!” The construction here is again emphatic with the infinitive preceding the finite verb (cf. Joüon 2:423 §123.h, and compare usage in Exod 21:28).
[5:10] 30 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Israelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:10] 31 sn In ancient Israelite culture, legal disputes were resolved in the city gate, where the town elders met.
[5:11] 32 tn Traditionally, “because you trample on the poor” (cf. KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). The traditional view derives the verb from בּוּס (bus, “to trample”; cf. Isa. 14:25), but more likely it is cognate to an Akkadian verb meaning “to exact an agricultural tax” (see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 49; S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 172-73).
[5:11] 33 tn Or “lovely”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “pleasant”; NAB “choice”; NIV “lush.”
[5:11] 34 tn Heb “Houses of chiseled stone you built, but you will not live in them. Fine vineyards you planted, but you will not drink their wine.”
[5:12] 36 tn Or “I know” (so most English versions).
[5:12] 37 tn Or “transgressions,” “sins.” See the note on the word “crimes” in 1:3 and on the phrase “covenant violations” in 2:4.
[5:12] 39 tn Heb “turn aside.” They “turn aside” the needy by denying them the justice they deserve at the city gate (where legal decisions were made, and therefore where justice should be done).
[5:12] 40 sn Legal disputes were resolved in the city gate, where the town elders met.
[7:10] 41 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[7:10] 42 tn The direct object of the verb translated “sent” is elided in the Hebrew text. The words “this message” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
[7:10] 43 tn Heb “in the middle of the house of Israel.”
[7:11] 46 tn See the note on the word “exile” in 5:5.
[7:12] 47 tn Traditionally, “seer.” The word is a synonym for “prophet,” though it may carry a derogatory tone on the lips of Amaziah.
[7:12] 48 tn Heb “Eat bread there.”
[7:13] 49 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[7:13] 50 tn Heb “for it is a temple of a king and it is a royal house.” It is possible that the phrase “royal house” refers to a temple rather than a palace. See S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia), 243.
[7:14] 51 tn Heb “replied and said.” The phrase “and said” is pleonastic (redundant) and has not been included in the translation.
[7:14] 52 tn Heb “I was not a prophet nor was I the son of a prophet.” The phrase “son of a prophet” refers to one who was trained in a prophetic guild. Since there is no equative verb present in the Hebrew text, another option is to translate with the present tense, “I am not a prophet by profession.” In this case Amos, though now carrying out a prophetic ministry (v. 15), denies any official or professional prophetic status. Modern English versions are divided about whether to understand the past (JB, NIV, NKJV) or present tense (NASB, NEB, NRSV, NJPS) here.
[7:14] 54 tn Heb “gashed”; or “pierced.”
[7:14] 55 sn It is possible that herdsmen agreed to care for sycamore fig trees in exchange for grazing rights. See P. King, Amos, Hosea, Micah, 116-17. Since these trees do not grow around Tekoa but rather in the lowlands, another option is that Amos owned other property outside his hometown. In this case, this verse demonstrates his relative wealth and is his response to Amaziah; he did not depend on prophecy as a profession (v. 13).
[7:15] 56 tn Heb “from [following] after.”
[7:15] 57 tn Heb “and the
[7:16] 58 tn The verb, which literally means “to drip,” appears to be a synonym of “to prophesy,” but it might carry a derogatory tone here, perhaps alluding to the impassioned, frenzied way in which prophets sometimes delivered their messages. If so, one could translate, “to drivel; to foam at the mouth” (see HALOT 694 s.v. נטף).
[7:17] 59 tn Heb “in the city,” that is, “in public.”
[7:17] 60 tn Heb “will fall by the sword.”
[7:17] 61 tn Heb “will be divided up with a [surveyor’s] measuring line.”
[7:17] 62 tn Heb “[an] unclean”; or “[an] impure.” This fate would be especially humiliating for a priest, who was to distinguish between the ritually clean and unclean (see Lev 10:10).
[7:17] 63 tn See the note on the word “exile” in 5:5.
[2:6] 64 tn Heb “‘Do not foam at the mouth,’ they foam at the mouth.” The verb נָטַף (nataf) means “to drip.” When used of speech it probably has the nuance “to drivel, to foam at the mouth” (HALOT 694 s.v. נטף). The sinful people tell the
[2:6] 65 tc If one follows the MT as it stands, it would appear that the
[2:7] 66 tn Heb “house” (so many English versions); CEV “descendants.’
[2:7] 67 tc The MT has אָמוּר (’amur), an otherwise unattested passive participle, which is better emended to אָמוֹר (’amor), an infinitive absolute functioning as a finite verb (see BDB 55 s.v. אָמַר).
[2:7] 68 tn The Hebrew word רוּחַ (ruach) often means “Spirit” when used of the
[2:7] 69 tn Heb “Has the patience of the
[2:7] 70 tn Heb “Do not my words accomplish good for the one who walks uprightly?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course they do!” The
