Jeremiah 7:24-27

7:24 But they did not listen to me or pay any attention to me. They followed the stubborn inclinations of their own wicked hearts. They acted worse and worse instead of better. ¹  7:25 From the time your ancestors departed the land of Egypt until now, ²  I sent my servants the prophets to you again and again, ³  day after day. ⁴  7:26 But your ancestors ⁵  did not listen to me nor pay attention to me. They became obstinate ⁶  and were more wicked than even their own forefathers.’”

7:27 Then the Lord said to me, ⁷  “When you tell them all this, they will not listen to you. When you call out to them, they will not respond to you.

Deuteronomy 29:19

29:19 When such a person ⁸  hears the words of this oath he secretly ⁹  blesses himself ¹⁰  and says, “I will have peace though I continue to walk with a stubborn spirit.” ¹¹  This will destroy ¹²  the watered ground with the parched. ¹³ 

Zechariah 7:11-12

7:11 “But they refused to pay attention, turning away stubbornly and stopping their ears so they could not hear. 7:12 Indeed, they made their heart as hard as diamond, ¹⁴  so that they could not obey the Torah and the other words the Lord who rules over all had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore, the Lord who rules over all had poured out great wrath.

[7:24]  ¹ tn Or “They went backward and not forward”; Heb “They were to the backward and not to the forward.” The two phrases used here appear nowhere else in the Bible and the latter preposition plus adverb elsewhere is used temporally meaning “formerly” or “previously.” The translation follows the proposal of J. Bright, Jeremiah (AB), 57. Another option is “they turned their backs to me, not their faces,” understanding the line as a variant of a line in 2:27.

[7:25]  ² tn Heb “from the day your ancestors…until this very day.” However, “day” here is idiomatic for “the present time.”

[7:25]  ³ tn On the Hebrew idiom see the note at 7:13.

[7:25]  ⁴ tc There is some textual debate about the legitimacy of this expression here. The text reads merely “day” (יוֹם, yom). BHS suggests the word is to be deleted as a dittography of the plural ending of the preceding word. The word is in the Greek and Latin, and the Syriac represents the typical idiom “day after day” as though the noun were repeated. Either יוֹם has dropped out by haplography or a ם (mem) has been left out, i.e., reading יוֹמָם (yomam, “daily”).

[7:26]  ⁵ tn Or “But your predecessors…”; Heb “But they….” There is a confusing interchange in the pronouns in vv. 25-26 which has led to some leveling in the ancient versions and the modern English versions. What is involved here are four levels of referents, the “you” of the present generation (vv. 21-22a), the ancestors who were delivered from Egypt (i.e., the “they” of vv. 22b-24), the “you” of v. 25 which involves all the Israelites from the Exodus to the time of speaking, and the “they” of v. 26 which cannot be the ancestors of vv. 22-24 (since they cannot be more wicked than themselves) but must be an indefinite entity which is a part of the “you” of v. 25, i.e., the more immediate ancestors of the present generation. If this is kept in mind, there is no need to level the pronouns to “they” and “them” or to “you” and “your” as some of the ancient versions and modern English versions have done.

[7:26]  ⁶ tn Heb “hardened [or made stiff] their neck.”

[7:27]  ⁷ tn The words, “Then the Lord said to me” are not in the text but are implicit in the shift from the second and third person plural pronouns in vv. 21-26 and the second singular in this verse. The words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[29:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the subject of the warning in v. 18) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “in his heart.”

[29:19]  ¹⁰ tn Or “invokes a blessing on himself.” A formalized word of blessing is in view, the content of which appears later in the verse.

[29:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “heart.”

[29:19]  ¹² tn Heb “thus destroying.” For stylistic reasons the translation begins a new sentence here.

[29:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “the watered with the parched.” The word “ground” is implied. The exact meaning of the phrase is uncertain although it appears to be figurative. This appears to be a proverbial observation employing a figure of speech (a merism) suggesting totality. That is, the Israelite who violates the letter and even spirit of the covenant will harm not only himself but everything he touches – “the watered and the parched.” Cf. CEV “you will cause the rest of Israel to be punished along with you.”

[7:12]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew term שָׁמִיר (shamir) means literally “hardness” and since it is said in Ezek 3:9 to be harder than flint, many scholars suggest that it refers to diamond. It is unlikely that diamond was known to ancient Israel, however, so probably a hard stone like emery or corundum is in view. The translation nevertheless uses “diamond” because in modern times it has become proverbial for its hardness. A number of English versions use “flint” here (e.g., NASB, NIV).