Jeremiah 22:30

22:30 The Lord says,

“Enroll this man in the register as though he were childless. ¹ 

Enroll him as a man who will not enjoy success during his lifetime.

For none of his sons will succeed in occupying the throne of David

or ever succeed in ruling over Judah.”

Jeremiah 13:7

13:7 So I went to Perath and dug up ²  the shorts from the place where I had buried them. I found ³  that they were ruined; they were good for nothing.

Jeremiah 13:10

13:10 These wicked people refuse to obey what I have said. ⁴  They follow the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts and pay allegiance ⁵  to other gods by worshiping and serving them. So ⁶  they will become just like these linen shorts which are good for nothing.

[22:30]  ¹ tn Heb “Write this man childless.” For the explanation see the study note. The word translated “childless” has spawned some debate because Jeconiah was in fact not childless. There is record from both the Bible and ancient Near Eastern texts that he had children (see, e.g., 1 Chr 3:17). G. R. Driver, “Linguistic and Textual Problems: Jeremiah,” JQR 28 (1937-38): 115, has suggested that the word both here and in Lev 20:20-21 should be translated “stripped of honor.” While that would relieve some of the difficulties here, the word definitely means “childless” in Gen 15:2 and also in Sir 16:3 where it is contrasted with having godless children. The issue is not one of childlessness but of having “one of his sons” succeed to the Davidic throne. The term for “one of his sons” is literally “from his seed a man” and the word “seed” is the same one that is used to refer to his “children” who were forced into exile with him (v. 28).

[13:7]  ² tn Heb “dug and took.”

[13:7]  ³ tn Heb “And behold.”

[13:10]  ³ tn Heb “to listen to my words.”

[13:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “and [they follow] after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for the idiom.

[13:10]  ⁵ tn The structure of this verse is a little unusual. It consists of a subject, “this wicked people” qualified by several “which” clauses preceding a conjunction and a form which would normally be taken as a third person imperative (a Hebrew jussive; וִיהִי, vihi). This construction, called casus pendens by Hebrew grammarians, lays focus on the subject, here calling attention to the nature of Israel’s corruption which makes it rotten and useless to God. See GKC 458 §143.d for other examples of this construction.