Discovery BoxJeremiah 2:26-27
Context2:26 Just as a thief has to suffer dishonor when he is caught,
so the people of Israel 1 will suffer dishonor for what they have done. 2
So will their kings and officials,
their priests and their prophets.
2:27 They say to a wooden idol, 3 ‘You are my father.’
They say to a stone image, ‘You gave birth to me.’ 4
Yes, they have turned away from me instead of turning to me. 5
Yet when they are in trouble, they say, ‘Come and save us!’
Jeremiah 2:36-37
Context2:36 Why do you constantly go about
changing your political allegiances? 6
You will get no help from Egypt
just as you got no help from Assyria. 7
2:37 Moreover, you will come away from Egypt
with your hands covering your faces in sorrow and shame 8
because the Lord will not allow your reliance on them to be successful
and you will not gain any help from them. 9
[2:26] 1 tn Heb “house of Israel.”
[2:26] 2 tn The words “for what they have done” are implicit in the comparison and are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[2:27] 4 sn The reference to wood and stone is, of course, a pejorative reference to idols made by human hands. See the next verse where reference is made to “the gods you have made.”
[2:27] 5 tn Heb “they have turned [their] backs to me, not [their] faces.”
[2:36] 5 tn Heb “changing your way.” The translation follows the identification of the Hebrew verb here as a defective writing of a form (תֵּזְלִי [tezÿli] instead of תֵּאזְלִי [te’zÿli]) from a verb meaning “go/go about” (אָזַל [’azal]; cf. BDB 23 s.v. אָזַל). Most modern English versions, commentaries, and lexicons read it from a root meaning “to treat cheaply [or lightly]” (תָּזֵלִּי [tazelli] from the root זָלַל (zalal); cf. HALOT 261 s.v. זָלַל); hence, “Why do you consider it such a small matter to…”
[2:36] 6 tn Heb “You will be ashamed/disappointed by Egypt, just as you were ashamed/ disappointed by Assyria.”
[2:37] 7 tn Heb “with your hands on your head.” For the picture here see 2 Sam 13:19.
[2:37] 8 tn Heb “The
