Jeremiah 36:23

36:23 As soon as Jehudi had read three or four columns ¹  of the scroll, the king ²  would cut them off with a penknife ³  and throw them on the fire in the firepot. He kept doing so until the whole scroll was burned up in the fire. ⁴ 

Jeremiah 51:58

51:58 This is what the Lord who rules over all ⁵  says,

“Babylon’s thick wall ⁶  will be completely demolished. ⁷ 

Her high gates will be set on fire.

The peoples strive for what does not satisfy. ⁸ 

The nations grow weary trying to get what will be destroyed.” ⁹ 

[36:23]  ¹ tn Heb “doors.” This is the only time the word “door” is used in this way but all the commentaries and lexicons agree that it means “columns.” The meaning is figurative based on the similarity of shape.

[36:23]  ² tn Heb “he.” The majority of commentaries and English versions are agreed that “he” is the king. However, since a penknife (Heb “a scribe’s razor”) is used to cut the columns off, it is possible that Jehudi himself did it. However, even if Jehudi himself did it, he was acting on the king’s orders.

[36:23]  ³ sn Heb “a scribe’s razor.” There is some irony involved here since a scribe’s razor was used to trim the sheets to be sewn together, scrape them in preparation for writing, and to erase errors. What was normally used to prepare the scroll was used to destroy it.

[36:23]  ⁴ tn Heb “until the whole scroll was consumed upon the fire which was in the fire pot.”

[51:58]  ⁵ sn See the note at Jer 2:19.

[51:58]  ⁶ tn The text has the plural “walls,” but many Hebrew mss read the singular “wall,” which is also supported by the ancient Greek version. The modifying adjective “thick” is singular as well.

[51:58]  ⁷ tn The infinitive absolute emphasizes the following finite verb. Another option is to translate, “will certainly be demolished.”

[51:58]  ⁸ tn Heb “for what is empty.”

[51:58]  ⁹ tn Heb “and the nations for fire, and they grow weary.”