Jeremiah 7:12-14

7:12 So, go to the place in Shiloh where I allowed myself to be worshiped ¹  in the early days. See what I did to it ²  because of the wicked things my people Israel did. 7:13 You also have done all these things, says the Lord, and I have spoken to you over and over again. ³  But you have not listened! You have refused to respond when I called you to repent! ⁴  7:14 So I will destroy this temple which I have claimed as my own, ⁵  this temple that you are trusting to protect you. I will destroy this place that I gave to you and your ancestors, ⁶  just like I destroyed Shiloh. ⁷ 

Jeremiah 7:1

Faulty Religion and Unethical Behavior Will Lead to Judgment

7:1 The Lord said to Jeremiah: ⁸ 

Jeremiah 4:10-12

4:10 In response to all this ⁹  I said, “Ah, Lord God, ¹⁰  you have surely allowed ¹¹  the people of Judah and Jerusalem ¹²  to be deceived by those who say, ‘You will be safe!’ ¹³  But in fact a sword is already at our throats.” ¹⁴ 

4:11 “At that time the people of Judah and Jerusalem ¹⁵  will be told,

‘A scorching wind will sweep down

from the hilltops in the desert on ¹⁶  my dear people. ¹⁷ 

It will not be a gentle breeze

for winnowing the grain and blowing away the chaff. ¹⁸ 

4:12 No, ¹⁹  a wind too strong for that will come at my bidding.

Yes, even now I, myself, am calling down judgment on them.’ ²⁰ 

Jeremiah 4:19-22

4:19 I said, ²¹ 

“Oh, the feeling in the pit of my stomach! ²² 

I writhe in anguish.

Oh, the pain in my heart! ²³ 

My heart pounds within me.

I cannot keep silent.

For I hear the sound of the trumpet; ²⁴ 

the sound of the battle cry pierces my soul! ²⁵ 

4:20 I see ²⁶  one destruction after another taking place,

so that the whole land lies in ruins.

I see our ²⁷  tents suddenly destroyed,

their ²⁸  curtains torn down in a mere instant. ²⁹ 

4:21 “How long must I see the enemy’s battle flags

and hear the military signals of their bugles?” ³⁰ 

4:22 The Lord answered, ³¹ 

“This will happen ³²  because my people are foolish.

They do not know me.

They are like children who have no sense. ³³ 

They have no understanding.

They are skilled at doing evil.

They do not know how to do good.”

Psalms 78:60-64

78:60 He abandoned ³⁴  the sanctuary at Shiloh,

the tent where he lived among men.

78:61 He allowed the symbol of his strong presence to be captured; ³⁵ 

he gave the symbol of his splendor ³⁶  into the hand of the enemy. ³⁷ 

78:62 He delivered his people over to the sword,

and was angry with his chosen nation. ³⁸ 

78:63 Fire consumed their ³⁹  young men,

and their ⁴⁰  virgins remained unmarried. ⁴¹ 

78:64 Their ⁴²  priests fell by the sword,

but their ⁴³  widows did not weep. ⁴⁴ 

[7:12]  ¹ tn Heb “where I caused my name to dwell.” The translation does not adequately represent the theology of the Lord’s deliberate identification with a place where he chose to manifest his presence and desired to be worshiped (cf. Exod 20:25; Deut 16:2, 6, 11).

[7:12]  ² sn The place in Shiloh…see what I did to it. This refers to the destruction of Shiloh by the Philistines circa 1050 b.c. (cf. Ps 78:60). The destruction of Shiloh is pertinent to the argument. The presence of the tabernacle and ark of the covenant did not prevent Shiloh from being destroyed when Israel sinned. The people of Israel used the ark as a magic charm but it did not prevent them from being defeated or the ark being captured (1 Sam 4:3, 11, 21-22).

[7:13]  ³ tn This reflects a Hebrew idiom (e.g., 7:25; 11:7; 25:3, 4), i.e., an infinitive of a verb meaning “to do something early [or eagerly]” followed by an infinitive of another verb of action. Cf. HALOT 1384 s.v. שָׁכַם Hiph.2.

[7:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “I called to you and you did not answer.” The words “to repent” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[7:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “over which my name is called.” For this nuance of this idiom cf. BDB 896 s.v. קָרָא Niph.2.d(4) and see the usage in 2 Sam 12:28.

[7:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 22, 25, 26).

[7:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “I will do to this house which I…in which you put…and to this place which…as I did to Shiloh.”

[7:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord.”

[4:10]  ⁹ tn The words “In response to all this” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to clarify the connection.

[4:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Lord Yahweh.” The translation follows the ancient Jewish tradition of substituting the Hebrew word for God for the proper name Yahweh.

[4:10]  ¹¹ tn Or “You have deceived.” The Hiphil of נָשָׁא (nasha’, “to deceive”) is understood in a tolerative sense here: “to allow [someone] to be deceived.” IBHS 446 §27.5c notes that this function of the hiphil describes caused activity that is welcome to the undersubject, but unacceptable or disagreeable to a third party. Jerusalem and Judah welcomed the assurances of false prophets who deceived them. Although this was detestable to God, he allowed it.

[4:10]  ¹² tn Heb “this people and Jerusalem.”

[4:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “Jerusalem, saying, ‘You will have peace’”; or “You have deceived the people of Judah and Jerusalem, saying, ‘You will have peace.’” The words “you will be safe” are, of course, those of the false prophets (cf., Jer 6:14; 8:11; 14:13; 23:16-17). It is difficult to tell whether the charge here is meant literally as the emotional outburst of the prophet (compare for example, Jer 15:18) or whether it is to be understood as a figure of speech in which a verb of direct causation is to be understood as permissive or tolerative, i.e., God did not command the prophets to say this but allowed them to do so. While it is not beyond God to use false prophets to accomplish his will (cf., e.g., 1 Kgs 22:19-23), he elsewhere in the book of Jeremiah directly denies having sent the false prophets to say such things as this (cf., e.g., Jer 14:14-15; 23:21, 32). For examples of the use of this figure of speech, see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 571, 823 and compare Ezek 20:25. The translation given attempts to resolve the issue.

[4:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “touches the throat/soul.” For this use of the word usually translated “soul” or “life” cf. HALOT 672 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 1, 2 and compare the use in Ps 105:18.

[4:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “this people and Jerusalem.”

[4:11]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “A scorching wind from the hilltops in the desert toward…”

[4:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “daughter of my people.” The term “daughter of” is appositional to “my people” and is supplied in the translation as a term of sympathy and endearment. Compare the common expression “daughter of Zion.”

[4:11]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “not for winnowing and not for cleansing.” The words “It will not be a gentle breeze” are not in the text but are implicit in the connection. They are supplied in the translation here for clarification.

[4:12]  ¹⁹ tn The word “No” is not in the text but is carried over from the connection with the preceding line “not for…”

[4:12]  ²⁰ tn Heb “will speak judgments against them.”

[4:19]  ²¹ tn The words “I said” are not in the text. They are used to mark the shift from the Lord’s promise of judgment to Jeremiah’s lament concerning it.

[4:19]  ²² tn Heb “My bowels! My bowels!”

[4:19]  ²³ tn Heb “the walls of my heart!”

[4:19]  ²⁴ tn Heb “ram’s horn,” but the modern equivalent is “trumpet” and is more readily understandable.

[4:19]  ²⁵ tc The translation reflects a different division of the last two lines than that suggested by the Masoretes. The written text (the Kethib) reads “for the sound of the ram’s horn I have heard [or “you have heard,” if the form is understood as the old second feminine singular perfect] my soul” followed by “the battle cry” in the last line. The translation is based on taking “my soul” with the last line and understanding an elliptical expression “the battle cry [to] my soul.” Such an elliptical expression is in keeping with the elliptical nature of the exclamations at the beginning of the verse (cf. the literal translations of the first two lines of the verse in the notes on the words “stomach” and “heart”).

[4:20]  ²⁶ tn The words, “I see” are not in the text here or at the beginning of the third line. They are supplied in the translation to show that this is Jeremiah’s vision of what will happen as a result of the invasion announced in 4:5-9, 11-17a.

[4:20]  ²⁷ tn Heb “my.” This is probably not a reference to Jeremiah’s own tents since he foresees the destruction of the whole land. Jeremiah so identifies with the plight of his people that he sees the destruction of their tents as though they were his very own. It would probably lead to confusion to translate literally and it is not uncommon in Hebrew laments for the community or its representative to speak of the community as an “I.” See for example the interchange between first singular and first plural pronouns in Ps 44:4-8.

[4:20]  ²⁸ tn Heb “my.”

[4:20]  ²⁹ tn It is not altogether clear what Jeremiah intends by the use of this metaphor. In all likelihood he means that the defenses of Israel’s cities and towns have offered no more resistance than nomads’ tents. However, in light of the fact that the word “tent” came to be used generically for a person’s home (cf. 1 Kgs 8:66; 12:16), it is possible that Jeremiah is here referring to the destruction of their homes and the resultant feeling of homelessness and loss of even elementary protection. Given the lack of certainty the present translation is rather literal here.

[4:21]  ³⁰ tn Heb “the sound of ram’s horns,” but the modern equivalent is “bugles” and is more readily understandable.

[4:22]  ³¹ tn These words are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to show clearly the shift in speaker. Jeremiah has been speaking; now the Lord answers, giving the reason for the devastation Jeremiah foresees.

[4:22]  ³² tn Heb “For….” This gives the explanation for the destruction envisaged in 4:20 to which Jeremiah responds in 4:19, 21.

[4:22]  ³³ tn Heb “They are senseless children.”

[78:60]  ³⁴ tn Or “rejected.”

[78:61]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and he gave to captivity his strength.” The expression “his strength” refers metonymically to the ark of the covenant, which was housed in the tabernacle at Shiloh.

[78:61]  ³⁶ tn Heb “and his splendor into the hand of an enemy.” The expression “his splendor” also refers metonymically to the ark of the covenant.

[78:61]  ³⁷ sn Verses 60-61 refer to the Philistines’ capture of the ark in the days of Eli (1 Sam 4:1-11).

[78:62]  ³⁸ tn Heb “his inheritance.”

[78:63]  ³⁹ tn Heb “his.” The singular pronominal suffix is collective, referring back to God’s “people” (v. 62).

[78:63]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “his.” The singular pronominal suffix is collective, referring back to God’s “people” (v. 62).

[78:63]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “were not praised,” that is, in wedding songs. The young men died in masses, leaving no husbands for the young women.

[78:64]  ⁴² tn Heb “his.” The singular pronominal suffix is collective, referring back to God’s “people” (v. 62).

[78:64]  ⁴³ tn Heb “his.” The singular pronominal suffix is collective, referring back to God’s “people” (v. 62).

[78:64]  ⁴⁴ sn Because of the invading army and the ensuing panic, the priests’ widows had no time to carry out the normal mourning rites.