Jeremiah 27:2-12

27:2 The Lord told me, ¹  “Make a yoke ²  out of leather straps and wooden crossbars and put it on your neck. 27:3 Use it to send messages to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, ³  and Sidon. ⁴  Send them through ⁵  the envoys who have come to Jerusalem ⁶  to King Zedekiah of Judah. 27:4 Charge them to give their masters a message from me. Tell them, ‘The Lord God of Israel who rules over all ⁷  says to give your masters this message. ⁸  27:5 “I made the earth and the people and animals on it by my mighty power and great strength, ⁹  and I give it to whomever I see fit. ¹⁰  27:6 I have at this time placed all these nations of yours under the power ¹¹  of my servant, ¹²  King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I have even made all the wild animals subject to him. ¹³  27:7 All nations must serve him and his son and grandson ¹⁴  until the time comes for his own nation to fall. ¹⁵  Then many nations and great kings will in turn subjugate Babylon. ¹⁶  27:8 But suppose a nation or a kingdom will not be subject to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Suppose it will not submit to the yoke of servitude to ¹⁷  him. I, the Lord, affirm that ¹⁸  I will punish that nation. I will use the king of Babylon to punish it ¹⁹  with war, ²⁰  starvation, and disease until I have destroyed it. ²¹  27:9 So do not listen to your prophets or to those who claim to predict the future by divination, ²²  by dreams, by consulting the dead, ²³  or by practicing magic. They keep telling you, ‘You do not need to be ²⁴  subject to the king of Babylon.’ 27:10 Do not listen to them, ²⁵  because their prophecies are lies. ²⁶  Listening to them will only cause you ²⁷  to be taken far away from your native land. I will drive you out of your country and you will die in exile. ²⁸  27:11 Things will go better for the nation that submits to the yoke of servitude to ²⁹  the king of Babylon and is subject to him. I will leave that nation ³⁰  in its native land. Its people can continue to farm it and live in it. I, the Lord, affirm it!”’” ³¹ 

27:12 I told King Zedekiah of Judah the same thing. I said, ³²  “Submit ³³  to the yoke of servitude to ³⁴  the king of Babylon. Be subject to him and his people. Then you will continue to live.

Ezekiel 13:5-16

13:5 You have not gone up in the breaks in the wall, nor repaired a wall for the house of Israel that it would stand strong in the battle on the day of the Lord. 13:6 They see delusion and their omens are a lie. ³⁵  They say, “the Lord declares,” though the Lord has not sent them; ³⁶  yet they expect their word to be confirmed. ³⁷  13:7 Have you not seen a false vision and announced a lying omen when you say, “the Lord declares,” although I myself never spoke?

13:8 “‘Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because you have spoken false words and forecast delusion, look, ³⁸  I am against you, ³⁹  declares the sovereign Lord. 13:9 My hand will be against the prophets who see delusion and announce lying omens. They will not be included in the council ⁴⁰  of my people, nor be written in the registry ⁴¹  of the house of Israel, nor enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the sovereign Lord.

13:10 “‘This is because they have led my people astray saying, “All is well,” ⁴²  when things are not well. When anyone builds a wall without mortar, ⁴³  they coat it with whitewash. 13:11 Tell the ones who coat it with whitewash that it will fall. When there is a deluge of rain, hailstones ⁴⁴  will fall and a violent wind will break out. ⁴⁵  13:12 When the wall has collapsed, people will ask you, “Where is the whitewash you coated it with?”

13:13 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: In my rage I will make a violent wind break out. In my anger there will be a deluge of rain and hailstones in destructive fury. 13:14 I will break down the wall you coated with whitewash and knock it to the ground so that its foundation is exposed. When it falls you will be destroyed beneath it, ⁴⁶  and you will know that I am the Lord. 13:15 I will vent my rage against the wall, and against those who coated it with whitewash. Then I will say to you, “The wall is no more and those who whitewashed it are no more – 13:16 those prophets of Israel who would prophesy about Jerusalem ⁴⁷  and would see visions of peace for it, when there was no peace,” declares the sovereign Lord.’

Micah 3:11

3:11 Her ⁴⁸  leaders take bribes when they decide legal cases, ⁴⁹ 

her priests proclaim rulings for profit,

and her prophets read omens for pay.

Yet they claim to trust ⁵⁰  the Lord and say,

“The Lord is among us. ⁵¹ 

Disaster will not overtake ⁵²  us!”

[27:2]  ¹ tn There is some disjunction in the narrative of this chapter. The introduction in v. 1 presents this as a third person narrative. But the rest of the passage reports the narrative in first person. Thus the text reads here “Thus the Lord said to me…” In vv. 12, 16 the narrative picks up in first person report and never indicates that Jeremiah carried out the command in vv. 2-4 that introduces the message which he repeats in summary form himself to Zedekiah. The report is thus an “unedited” first person report. This may create some confusion for some readers, but it is best to leave it in first person here because of the continuation in vv. 12, 16.

[27:2]  ² sn The yoke is a common biblical symbol of political servitude (see, e.g., Deut 28:48; 1 Kgs 12:4, 9, 10). From the context of 1 Kgs 12 it is clear that it applied to taxation and the provision of conscript labor. In international political contexts it involved the payment of heavy tribute which was often conscripted from the citizens (see, e.g., 2 Kgs 15:19-20; 23:34-35) and the furnishing of military contingents for the sovereign’s armies (see, e.g., 2 Kgs 24:2). Jeremiah’s message here combines both a symbolic action (the wearing of a yoke) and words of explanation as in Jer 19:1-13. (See Isa 20:1-6 for an example outside of Jeremiah.) The casting off of the yoke has been used earlier in Jer 2:20, 5:5 to refer to Israel’s failure to remain spiritually “subject” or faithful to God.

[27:3]  ³ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[27:3]  ⁴ sn The nations of Edom, Moab, and Ammon were east of Judah. They were sometimes allies and sometimes enemies. The nations of Tyre and Sidon were on the sea coast north and west of Judah. They are best known for their maritime trade during the reign of Solomon. They were more commonly allies of Israel and Judah than enemies.

[27:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “send by means of them” [i.e., the straps and crossbars made into a yoke] to…through.” The text is broken up in conformity with contemporary English style. Many English versions ignore the suffix on the end of “send” and find some support for this on the basis of its absence in the Lucianic Greek text. However, it is probably functioning metonymically here for the message which they see symbolized before them and is now explained clearly to them.

[27:3]  ⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[27:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.”

[27:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “Give them a charge to their masters saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel, “Thus you shall say unto your masters…”’” The sentence is broken up in conformity with contemporary English style.

[27:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “by my great power and my outstretched arm.” Again “arm” is symbolical for “strength.” Compare the similar expression in 21:5.

[27:5]  ¹⁰ sn See Dan 4:17 for a similar statement.

[27:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “have given…into the hand of.”

[27:6]  ¹² sn See the study note on 25:9 for the significance of the application of this term to Nebuchadnezzar.

[27:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “I have given…to him to serve him.” The verb “give” in this syntactical situation is functioning like the Hiphil stem, i.e., as a causative. See Dan 1:9 for parallel usage. For the usage of “serve” meaning “be subject to” compare 2 Sam 22:44 and BDB 713 s.v. עָבַד 3.

[27:7]  ¹⁴ sn This is a figure that emphasizes that they will serve for a long time but not for an unlimited duration. The kingdom of Babylon lasted a relatively short time by ancient standards. It lasted from 605 b.c. when Nebuchadnezzar defeated Necho at Carchemish until the fall of Babylon in 538 b.c. There were only four rulers. Nebuchadnezzar was succeeded by his son, Evil Merodach (cf. 52:31), and two other rulers who were not descended from him.

[27:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “until the time of his land, even his, comes.” The independent pronoun is placed here for emphasis on the possessive pronoun. The word “time” is used by substitution for the things that are done in it (compare in the NT John 2:4; 7:30; 8:20 “his hour had not yet come”).

[27:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “him.” This is a good example of the figure of substitution where the person is put for his descendants or the nation or subject he rules. (See Gen 28:13-14 for another good example and Acts 22:7 in the NT.)

[27:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “put their necks in the yoke of.” See the study note on v. 2 for the figure.

[27:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “oracle of the Lord.”

[27:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “The nation and/or the kingdom which will not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and which will not put its neck in the yoke of the king of Babylon, by sword, starvation, and disease I will punish [or more literally, “visit upon”] that nation, oracle of the Lord.” The long complex Hebrew sentence has been broken up in conformity with contemporary English style and the figures interpreted for the sake of clarity. The particle אֵת, the sign of the accusative, before “which will not put…” is a little unusual here. For its use to introduce a new topic (here a second relative clause) see BDB 85 s.v. אֵת 3.α.

[27:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “with/by the sword.”

[27:8]  ²¹ tc The verb translated “destroy” (תָּמַם, tamam) is usually intransitive in the stem of the verb used here. It is found in a transitive sense elsewhere only in Ps 64:7. BDB 1070 s.v. תָּמַם 7 emends both texts. In this case they recommend תִּתִּי (titi): “until I give them into his hand.” That reading is suggested by the texts of the Syriac and Targumic translations (see BHS fn c). The Greek translation supports reading the verb “destroy” but treats it as though it were intransitive “until they are destroyed by his hand” (reading תֻּמָּם [tummam]). The MT here is accepted as the more difficult reading and support is seen in the transitive use of the verb in Ps 64:7.

[27:9]  ²² sn Various means of divination are alluded to in the OT. For example, Ezek 21:26-27 alludes to throwing down arrows to see which way they fall and consulting the shape of the liver of slaughtered animals. Gen 44:5 alludes to reading the future through pouring liquid in a cup. The means alluded to in this verse were all classified as pagan and prohibited as illegitimate in Deut 18:10-14. The Lord had promised that he would speak to them through prophets like Moses (Deut 18:15, 18). But even prophets could lie. Hence, the Lord told them that the test of a true prophet was whether what he said came true or not (Deut 18:20-22). An example of false prophesying and the vindication of the true as opposed to the false will be given in the chapter that follows this.

[27:9]  ²³ sn An example of this is seen in 1 Sam 28.

[27:9]  ²⁴ tn The verb in this context is best taken as a negative obligatory imperfect. See IBHS 508-9 §31.4g for discussion and examples. See Exod 4:15 as an example of positive obligation.

[27:10]  ²⁵ tn The words “Don’t listen to them” have been repeated from v. 9a to pick up the causal connection between v. 9a and v. 10 that is formally introduced by a causal particle in v. 10 in the original text.

[27:10]  ²⁶ tn Heb “they are prophesying a lie.”

[27:10]  ²⁷ tn Heb “lies will result in your being taken far…” (לְמַעַן [lÿma’an] + infinitive). This is a rather clear case of the particle לְמַעַן introducing result (contra BDB 775 s.v. מַעַן note 1. There is no irony in this statement; it is a bold prediction).

[27:10]  ²⁸ tn The words “out of your country” are not in the text but are implicit in the meaning of the verb. The words “in exile” are also not in the text but are implicit in the context. These words have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[27:11]  ²⁹ tn Heb “put their necks in the yoke of.” See the study note on v. 2 for the figure.

[27:11]  ³⁰ tn The words “Things will go better for” are not in the text. They are supplied contextually as a means of breaking up the awkward syntax of the original which reads “The nation which brings its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and subjects itself to him, I will leave it…”

[27:11]  ³¹ tn Heb “oracle of the Lord.”

[27:12]  ³² tn Heb “I spoke to Zedekiah…according to all these words, saying.”

[27:12]  ³³ sn The verbs in this verse are all plural. They are addressed to Zedekiah and his royal advisers (compare 22:2).

[27:12]  ³⁴ tn Heb “put their necks in the yoke of.” See the study note on v. 2 for the figure.

[13:6]  ³⁵ sn The same description of a false prophet is found in Micah 2:11.

[13:6]  ³⁶ sn The Lord has not sent them. A similar concept is found in Jer 14:14; 23:21.

[13:6]  ³⁷ tn Or “confirmed”; NIV “to be fulfilled”; TEV “to come true.”

[13:8]  ³⁸ tn The word h!nn@h indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[13:8]  ³⁹ tn Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:201-2, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘h!nn#n' ?l?K>,’” ZAW 45 (1933): 101-8.

[13:9]  ⁴⁰ tn The Hebrew term may refer to the secret council of the Lord (Jer 23:18; Job 15:8), but here it more likely refers to a human council comprised of civic leaders (Gen 49:6; Jer 6:11; 15:17 Ps 64:3; 111:1).

[13:9]  ⁴¹ tn The reference here is probably to a civil list (as in Ezra 2:16; Neh 7:64) rather than to a “book of life” (Exod 32:32; Isa 4:3; Ps 69:29; Dan 12:1). This registry may have been established at the making of David’s census (2 Sam 24:2, 9).

[13:10]  ⁴² tn Or “peace.”

[13:10]  ⁴³ tn The Hebrew word only occurs here in the Bible. According to L. C. Allen (Ezekiel [WBC], 1:202-3) it is also used in the Mishnah of a wall of rough stones without mortar. This fits the context here comparing the false prophetic messages to a nice coat of whitewash on a structurally unstable wall.

[13:11]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “and you, O hailstones.”

[13:11]  ⁴⁵ sn A violent wind will break out. God’s judgments are frequently described in storm imagery (Pss 18:7-15; 77:17-18; 83:15; Isa 28:17; 30:30; Jer 23:19; 30:23).

[13:14]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “within it,” referring to the city of Jerusalem.

[13:16]  ⁴⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:11]  ⁴⁸ sn The pronoun Her refers to Jerusalem (note the previous line).

[3:11]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “judge for a bribe.”

[3:11]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “they lean upon” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV); NAB “rely on.”

[3:11]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “Is not the Lord in our midst?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course he is!”

[3:11]  ⁵² tn Or “come upon” (so many English versions); NCV “happen to us”; CEV “come to us.”