Jeremiah 35:4

35:4 I took them to the Lord’s temple. I took them into the room where the disciples of the prophet Hanan son of Igdaliah stayed. ¹  That room was next to the one where the temple officers stayed and above the room where Maaseiah son of Shallum, one of the doorkeepers ²  of the temple, stayed.

Jeremiah 35:1

Judah’s Unfaithfulness Contrasted with the Rechabites’ Faithfulness

35:1 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah when Jehoiakim ³  son of Josiah was ruling over Judah. ⁴ 

Jeremiah 6:5-6

6:5 So come on, let’s go ahead and attack it by night

and destroy all its fortified buildings.’

6:6 All of this is because ⁵  the Lord who rules over all ⁶  has said:

‘Cut down the trees around Jerusalem

and build up a siege ramp against its walls. ⁷ 

This is the city which is to be punished. ⁸ 

Nothing but oppression happens in it. ⁹ 

Jeremiah 6:10

6:10 I answered, ¹⁰ 

“Who would listen

if I spoke to them and warned them? ¹¹ 

Their ears are so closed ¹² 

that they cannot hear!

Indeed, ¹³  what the Lord says is offensive to them.

They do not like it at all. ¹⁴ 

Jeremiah 6:1

The Destruction of Jerusalem Depicted

6:1 “Run for safety, people of Benjamin!

Get out of Jerusalem! ¹⁵ 

Sound the trumpet ¹⁶  in Tekoa!

Light the signal fires at Beth Hakkerem!

For disaster lurks ¹⁷  out of the north;

it will bring great destruction. ¹⁸ 

Jeremiah 9:26

9:26 That is, I will punish the Egyptians, the Judeans, the Edomites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, and all the desert people who cut their hair short at the temples. ¹⁹  I will do so because none of the people of those nations are really circumcised in the Lord’s sight. ²⁰  Moreover, none of the people of Israel ²¹  are circumcised when it comes to their hearts.” ²² 

Jeremiah 23:28

23:28 Let the prophet who has had a dream go ahead and tell his dream. Let the person who has received my message report that message faithfully. What is like straw cannot compare to what is like grain! ²³  I, the Lord, affirm it! ²⁴ 

Jeremiah 23:2

23:2 So the Lord God of Israel has this to say about the leaders who are ruling over his people: “You have caused my people ²⁵  to be dispersed and driven into exile. You have not taken care of them. So I will punish you for the evil that you have done. ²⁶  I, the Lord, affirm it! ²⁷ 

Jeremiah 3:9

3:9 Because she took her prostitution so lightly, she defiled the land ²⁸  through her adulterous worship of gods made of wood and stone. ²⁹ 

Jeremiah 31:11

31:11 For the Lord will rescue the descendants of Jacob.

He will secure their release ³⁰  from those who had overpowered them. ³¹ 

Ezra 8:29

8:29 Be careful with them and protect them, until you weigh them out before the leading priests and the Levites and the family leaders of Israel in Jerusalem, ³²  in the storerooms of the temple of the Lord.”

Nehemiah 13:5

13:5 He made for himself a large storeroom where previously they had been keeping ³³  the grain offering, the incense, and the vessels, along with the tithes of the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil as commanded for the Levites, the singers, the gate keepers, and the offering for the priests.

Nehemiah 13:8-9

13:8 I was very upset, and I threw all of Tobiah’s household possessions out of the storeroom. 13:9 Then I gave instructions that the storerooms should be purified, and I brought back the equipment ³⁴  of the temple of God, along with the grain offering and the incense.

Ezekiel 40:7-13

40:7 The alcoves were 10½ feet long and 10½ feet wide; between the alcoves were 8¾ feet. ³⁵  The threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate facing inward was 10½ feet. 40:8 Then he measured the porch of the gate facing inward as 10½ feet. 40:9 He measured the porch of the gate as 14 feet, ³⁶  and its jambs as 3½ feet; ³⁷  the porch of the gate faced inward. 40:10 There were three alcoves on each side of the east gate; the three had the same measurement, and the jambs on either side had the same measurement. ³⁸  40:11 He measured the width of the entrance of the gateway as 17½ feet, ³⁹  and the length of the gateway as 22¾ feet. ⁴⁰  40:12 There was a barrier in front of the alcoves, 1¾ feet ⁴¹  on either side; the alcoves were 10½ feet ⁴²  on either side. 40:13 He measured the gateway from the roof of one alcove to the roof of the other, a width of 43¾ feet ⁴³  from one entrance to the opposite one.

Ezekiel 40:16

40:16 There were closed windows toward the alcoves and toward their jambs within the gate all around, and likewise for the porches. There were windows all around the inside, and on each jamb were decorative palm trees. ⁴⁴ 

Ezekiel 41:5-11

41:5 Then he measured the wall of the temple ⁴⁵  as 10½ feet, ⁴⁶  and the width of the side chambers as 7 feet, ⁴⁷  all around the temple. 41:6 The side chambers were in three stories, one above the other, thirty in each story. There were offsets in the wall all around to serve as supports for the side chambers, so that the supports were not in the wall of the temple. 41:7 The side chambers surrounding the temple were wider at each successive story; ⁴⁸  for the structure ⁴⁹  surrounding the temple went up story by story all around the temple. For this reason the width of the temple increased as it went up, and one went up from the lowest story to the highest by the way of the middle story.

41:8 I saw that the temple had a raised platform all around; the foundations of the side chambers were a full measuring stick ⁵⁰  of 10½ feet ⁵¹  high. 41:9 The width of the outer wall of the side chambers was 8¾ feet, ⁵²  and the open area between the side chambers of the temple 41:10 and the chambers of the court was 35 feet ⁵³  in width all around the temple on every side. 41:11 There were entrances from the side chambers toward the open area, one entrance toward the north, and another entrance toward the south; the width of the open area was 8¾ feet ⁵⁴  all around.

Ezekiel 42:4-13

42:4 In front of the chambers was a walkway on the inner side, 17½ feet ⁵⁵  wide at a distance of 1¾ feet, ⁵⁶  and their entrances were on the north. 42:5 Now the upper chambers were narrower, because the galleries took more space from them than from the lower and middle chambers of the building. 42:6 For they were in three stories and had no pillars like the pillars of the courts; therefore the upper chambers ⁵⁷  were set back from the ground more than the lower and upper ones. 42:7 As for the outer wall by the side of the chambers, toward the outer court facing the chambers, it was 87½ feet ⁵⁸  long. 42:8 For the chambers on the outer court were 87½ feet ⁵⁹  long, while those facing the temple were 175 feet ⁶⁰  long. 42:9 Below these chambers was a passage on the east side as one enters from the outer court.

42:10 At the beginning ⁶¹  of the wall of the court toward the south, ⁶²  facing the courtyard and the building, were chambers 42:11 with a passage in front of them. They looked like the chambers on the north. Of the same length and width, and all their exits according to their arrangements and entrances 42:12 were the chambers ⁶³  which were toward the south. There was an opening at the head of the passage, the passage in front of the corresponding wall toward the east when one enters.

42:13 Then he said to me, “The north chambers and the south chambers which face the courtyard are holy chambers where the priests ⁶⁴  who approach the Lord will eat the most holy offerings. There they will place the most holy offerings – the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering, because the place is holy.

[35:4]  ¹ tn Heb “the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, the man of God.” The reference to “sons” and to “man of God” fits the usage of these terms elsewhere to refer to prophets and their disciples (see BDB 43-44 s.v. אֱלֹהִים 3(b) and compare usage in 2 Kgs 4:40 for the former and BDB 121 s.v. בֵּן 7.a and compare the usage in 2 Kgs 4:38 for the latter).

[35:4]  ² sn According to Jer 52:24; 2 Kgs 25:18 there were three officers who carried out this duty. It was their duty to guard the entrance of the temple to keep people out that did not belong there, such as those who were foreigners or ritually unclean (see 2 Kgs 12:9 and compare Ps 118:19-20).

[35:1]  ³ sn The introductory statement here shows that this incident is earlier than those in Jer 32–34 which all take place in the reign of Zedekiah. Jehoiakim ruled from 609/8 b.c. until 598/97 b.c. and his brother Zedekiah followed him after a brief reign of three months by Jehoiakim’s son who was captured by Nebuchadnezzar and taken to Babylon. Zedekiah ruled from 598/7 b.c. until the kingdom fell in 587/86. The position of this chapter is out of chronological order emphasizing the theme of covenant infidelity (Jer 34; 35:12-17) versus the faithfulness to his commands that God expected from Israel as illustrated by the Rechabites’ faithfulness to the commands of their progenitor. This is thus another one of those symbolic acts in Jeremiah which have significance to the message of the book (compare Jer 13, 19). This incident likely took place during the time that people living in the countryside like the Rechabites were forced to take shelter in the fortified cities because of the raiding parties that Nebuchadnezzar had sent against Jehoiakim after he had rebelled against him in 603 b.c. (compare v. 11 and Jer 4:5 with 2 Kgs 24:1-2).

[35:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, saying.”

[6:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “For.” The translation attempts to make the connection clearer.

[6:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[6:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “Cut down its trees and build up a siege ramp against Jerusalem.” The referent has been moved forward from the second line for clarity.

[6:6]  ⁸ tn Or “must be punished.” The meaning of this line is uncertain. The LXX reads, “Woe, city of falsehood!” The MT presents two anomalies: a masculine singular verb with a feminine singular subject in a verbal stem (Hophal) that elsewhere does not have the meaning “is to be punished.” Hence many follow the Greek which presupposes הוֹי עִיר הַשֶּׁקֶר (hoy ’ir hasheqer) instead of הִיא הָעִיר הָפְקַד (hi’ ha’ir hofqad). The Greek is the easier reading in light of the parallelism, and it would be hard to explain how the MT arose from it. KBL suggests reading a noun meaning “licentiousness” which occurs elsewhere only in Mishnaic Hebrew, hence “this is the city, the licentious one” (attributive apposition; cf. KBL 775 s.v. פֶּקֶר). Perhaps the Hophal perfect (הָפְקַד, hofÿqad) should be revocalized as a Niphal infinitive absolute (הִפָּקֹד, hippaqod); this would solve both anomalies in the MT since the Niphal is used in this nuance and the infinitive absolute can function in place of a finite verb (cf. GKC 346 §113.ee and ff). This, however, is mere speculation and is supported by no Hebrew ms.

[6:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “All of it oppression in its midst.”

[6:10]  ¹⁰ tn These words are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:10]  ¹¹ tn Or “To whom shall I speak? To whom shall I give warning? Who will listen?” Heb “Unto whom shall I speak and give warning that they may listen?”

[6:10]  ¹² tn Heb “are uncircumcised.”

[6:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “Behold!”

[6:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “They do not take pleasure in it.”

[6:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Flee for safety, people of Benjamin, out of the midst of Jerusalem.”

[6:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “ram’s horn,” but the modern equivalent is “trumpet” and is more readily understandable.

[6:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “leans down” or “looks down.” This verb personifies destruction leaning/looking down from its window in the sky, ready to attack.

[6:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “[It will be] a severe fracture.” The nation is pictured as a limb being fractured.

[9:26]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “all those who are cut off on the side of the head who live in the desert.” KJV and some other English versions (e.g., NIV “who live in the desert in distant places”; NLT “who live in distant places”) have followed the interpretation that this is a biform of an expression meaning “end or remote parts of the [far] corners [of the earth].” This interpretation is generally abandoned by the more recent commentaries and lexicons (see, e.g. BDB 802 s.v. פֵּאָה 1 and HALOT 858 s.v. פֵּאָה 1.β). It occurs also in 25:33; 49:32.

[9:26]  ²⁰ tn Heb “For all of these nations are uncircumcised.” The words “I will do so” are supplied in the translation to indicate the connection with the preceding statement.

[9:26]  ²¹ tn Heb “house of Israel.”

[9:26]  ²² tn Heb “And all the house of Israel is uncircumcised of heart.”

[23:28]  ²³ tn Heb “What to the straw with [in comparison with] the grain?” This idiom represents an emphatic repudiation or denial of relationship. See, for example, the usage in 2 Sam 16:10 and note BDB 553 s.v. מָה 1.d(c).

[23:28]  ²⁴ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[23:2]  ²⁵ tn Heb “about the shepherds who are shepherding my people. ‘You have caused my sheep….’” For the metaphor see the study note on the previous verse.

[23:2]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who should be shepherding my people: You have scattered my sheep and driven them away and you have not taken care of them. Behold I will visit upon you the evil of your deeds.” “Therefore” announces the judgment which does not come until “Behold.” It is interrupted by the messenger formula and a further indictment. The original has been broken up to conform more to contemporary English style, the metaphors have been interpreted for clarity and the connections between the indictments and the judgments have been carried by “So.”

[23:2]  ²⁷ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[3:9]  ²⁸ tc The translation reads the form as a causative (Hiphil, תַּהֲנֵף, tahanef) with some of the versions in place of the simple stative (Qal, תֶּחֱנַף, tekhenaf) in the MT.

[3:9]  ²⁹ tn Heb “because of the lightness of her prostitution, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood.”

[31:11]  ³⁰ sn Two rather theologically significant metaphors are used in this verse. The Hebrew word translated “will set…free” is a word used in the legal sphere for paying a redemption price to secure the freedom of a person or thing (see, e.g., Exod 13:13, 15). It is used metaphorically and theologically to refer to Israel’s deliverance from Egyptian bondage (Deut 15:15; Mic 6:4) and its deliverance from Babylonian exile (Isa 35:10). The word translated “secure their release” is a word used in the sphere of family responsibility where a person paid the price to free an indentured relative (Lev 25:48, 49) or paid the price to restore a relative’s property seized to pay a debt (Lev 25:25, 33). This word, too, was used to refer metaphorically and theologically to Israel’s deliverance from Egyptian bondage (Exod 6:6) or release from Babylonian exile (Isa 43:1-4; 44:22). These words are traditionally translated “ransom” and “redeem” and are a part of traditional Jewish and Christian vocabulary for physical and spiritual deliverance.

[31:11]  ³¹ tn Heb “from the hand/power of the one too strong for him.”

[8:29]  ³² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[13:5]  ³³ tn Heb “giving.”

[13:9]  ³⁴ tn On the usage of this Hebrew word see HALOT 478-79 s.v. כְּלִי.

[40:7]  ³⁵ tn Heb “five cubits” (i.e., 2.625 meters) according to the “long” cubit. See the note on the first occurrence of the phrase “10½ feet” in v. 5.

[40:9]  ³⁶ tn Heb “eight cubits” (i.e., 4.2 meters).

[40:9]  ³⁷ tn Heb “two cubits” (i.e., 1.05 meters).

[40:10]  ³⁸ sn The three alcoves are parallel to the city gates found at Megiddo, Hazor, and Gezer.

[40:11]  ³⁹ tn Heb “ten cubits” (i.e., 5.25 meters).

[40:11]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “thirteen cubits” (i.e., 6.825 meters).

[40:12]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “one cubit” (i.e., 52.5 cm).

[40:12]  ⁴² tn Heb “six cubits” (i.e., 3.15 meters).

[40:13]  ⁴³ tn Heb “twenty-five cubits” (i.e., 13.125 meters).

[40:16]  ⁴⁴ sn Decorative palm trees were also a part of Solomon’s temple (1 Kgs 6:29, 32, 35).

[41:5]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “house” throughout Ezek 41.

[41:5]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “six cubits” (i.e., 3.15 meters).

[41:5]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “four cubits” (2.1 meters).

[41:7]  ⁴⁸ tc The Hebrew is difficult here. The Targum envisions a winding ramp or set of stairs, which entails reading the first word as a noun rather than a verb and reading the second word also not as a verb, supposing that an initial mem has been read as vav and nun. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:549.

[41:7]  ⁴⁹ tn The Hebrew term occurs only here in the OT.

[41:8]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “reed.”

[41:8]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “six cubits” (i.e., 3.15 meters).

[41:9]  ⁵² tn Heb “five cubits” (i.e., 2.625 meters).

[41:10]  ⁵³ tn Heb “twenty cubits” (i.e., 10.5 meters).

[41:11]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “five cubits” (i.e., 2.625 meters).

[42:4]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “ten cubits” (i.e., 5.25 meters).

[42:4]  ⁵⁶ tc Heb “one cubit” (i.e., 52.5 cm). The LXX and the Syriac read “one hundred cubits” (= 175 feet).

[42:6]  ⁵⁷ tn The phrase “upper chambers” is not in the Hebrew text but is supplied from the context.

[42:7]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “fifty cubits” (i.e., 26.25 meters).

[42:8]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “fifty cubits” (i.e., 26.25 meters).

[42:8]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “one hundred cubits” (i.e., 52.5 meters).

[42:10]  ⁶¹ tc The reading is supported by the LXX.

[42:10]  ⁶² tc This reading is supported by the LXX; the MT reads “east.”

[42:12]  ⁶³ tc The MT apparently evidences dittography, repeating most of the last word of the previous verse: “and like the openings of.”

[42:13]  ⁶⁴ sn The priests are from the Zadokite family (Ezek 40:6; 44:15).