CHAPTER 31
1. This is what YHWH says: “The people that survived the sword has found favor in the wilderness—Israel, when I go to provide him with rest.”
LXX, I found them warm in the wilderness with them that were slain with the sword; go and do not destroy Israel.
2. YHWH has appeared to me from far away, [saying], “I have loved you [with] an eternal love; on account of this I have, in mercy, allowed you to continue [to exist].
3. “Again I will build you up, and you will be [permanently] established, O maiden Israel. Again you will put on your drums and proceed out to the whirling dance of those who laugh in merriment.
Maiden: or virgin, but with the root meaning of being separated, as one who has been promised in marriage to a particular man. Drums: The term can include the timbrel or any percussion instrument.
4. “Again you will plant vineyards on the mountains of Shomron; the planters will plant them, then begin [again],
The mountains of Shomron: part of the very area most disputed in Israel today—the “West Bank”. Then begin again: Aramaic, eat them as common produce.
5. “because there [will be] a day [when] the watchmen on the mountains of Efrayim will call out, ‘Get up, and let’s go up to Tzion—to YHWH our Elohim!’
Watchmen: Aramaic, The righteous who have kept My law from of old… Their portion is the Land of Israel, because they were longing for the years of consolations which are coming, saying, “When will we arise and go up to Tzion?” But Y’shua says the same blessing will be shared with those who came back to the Torah even in the eleventh hour because no one taught them the truth earlier, yet they were just as eager to work. (Mat. 20) These mountains of Efrayim are the same as the Mountains of Shomron in v. 4. That they are again called this means that not only Yehudah, but the other tribes will also be back in the Land at this time.
6. “for this is what YHWH says: ‘Gladly sing [a ringing song of victory] for Yaaqov, and give a shrill cry in the first of the nations. Make it heard! Rave as if [you were] a madman and say, “O YHWH, rescue Your people, the remnant of Israel!”
7. “‘Here I am, bringing them from the land of the north, having gathered them from the recesses of the earth, and along with them the blind and those who hobble, together with those who are pregnant and giving birth—a great congregation they will return here.
Bringing them: the Aramaic adds “suddenly”. Land of the north: or, hidden land. LXX, from the end of the earth to the Feast of the Passover, and the people will beget a great multitude. Blind and those who hobble: spiritually, those who do not understand and fence-sitters who go back and forth between two ideologies (the same term used in 1 Kings 18:21). But why are they singled out here? Perhaps to reassure those who are literally blind and lame, since David will be ruling (30:9), and he said he hated such people (2 Shmuel 5:6-8) when they were used to mock him. YHWH would not let his hasty reaction curse the truly needy. Y’shua healed specifically the blind and the lame as a sign that He would one day complete the process. (Mat. 21:14)
8. “‘With overflowing tears they will come; I will cause them to be conducted along with requests for favor. I will cause them to walk by dried-up riverbeds [now filled again with] water. I will lead them by a level path on which they will not be made to stumble, because I will be a Father to Israel, and Efrayim is My firstborn.’
Requests for favor: i.e., “letters of recommendation” from Himself to the hosts of the nations through which they have to pass, just as He gave us favor in the eyes of the Egyptians as we were leaving. Cause them to walk: LXX, cause them to lodge; Aram., I will lead them to streams of water by a straight road. Stumble: LXX, err. Efrayim is My firstborn: Aram., is beloved before Me; not only is he counted as Yaaqov’s firstborn (Gen. 48:5; cf. 49:3), but as YHWH’s own firstfruits.
9. “Listen to a word [from] YHWH, O nations, and cause it to be announced in the coastlands from afar off: ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him and keep watch over him as a shepherd [watches over] his flock,
10. “‘because YHWH has ransomed Yaaqov, and redeemed him from the hand of one stronger than he.
11. “’Then they will come and sing on the elevation of Tzion and be radiant about how YHWH [has acted] rightly in regard to grain, new wine, fresh oil, and offspring of the flock and the herd, and their soul will become like a garden that has drunk its fill, and they will never again languish.
12. “‘Then the virgin will rejoice in the dancing, both young men [in their prime] and bearded [elders] together. I will turn their mourning into joy, and will be moved to have compassion [on] them, and gladden them from their sorrow,
Virgin: Aramaic, the assembly of Israel. Compare Zech. 8:19. Dance: LXX, assembly of youth.
13. “‘and I will abundantly saturate the soul of the priests with fatness, and My people will be [more than] satisfied with My beneficence’, declares YHWH.”
LXX, I will expand and cheer with wine the soul of the priests and the sons of Levi. This means people will be bringing their tithes and that they will have great prosperity from which to tithe.
14. This is what YHWH says: “A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and bitterly overflowing with tears—Rachel weeping for her descendants. She refuses to be comforted in regard to her descendants, because none of them are there.”
Her descendants: the house of Yoseyf, which left the covenant. The Aramaic targum confirms the interpretation that “none of them are here” refers to the House of Israel (the ten tribes, often called Yoseyf; see note on v. 19) being in exile. But it adds that the lament will be like Yirmeyahu’s when Nebuzaradan, chief of the killers, sent him with a dirge from Ramah. It substitutes Yerushalayim for Rachel. Ramah is in the territory of Binyamin, another of her sons, and is Shmuel the prophet's birthplace and the site of his tomb. But Matithyahu 2:18 quotes this verse in regard to the infant boys in Beyth-Lechem killed in Herod’s attempt to snuff out Y’shua’s life. Ramah is on the far side of Yerushalayim and the outcry would have to be miraculously loud to reach so far. There was another Ramah not far from Beyth-Lechem, yet both were in Yehudah, which is not the tribal land of either of Rachel's sons, so what is the connection? Rachel was buried at Beyth-Lechem, "while there was still some ways to go to Efrath". (Gen. 35:16) Efrath (which means "fruitfulness") links us to the name Efrayim, which means "doubly fruitful", but this fulfillment was still a long way off as well. (30:24) Ramah was indeed in the hills of Efrayim, son of Yoseyf (1 Shmuel 1:1). And Efrayim led the straying of the "Lost Sheep of the House of Israel" (cf. 10:6; Yirmeyahu 50:6), whom Y'shua specifically had come to regather from among the nations--which is specifically the context of the verses in this immediate context! (Compare Yeshayahu/ Isaiah 49:20ff; 54:1-10) She is told to stop weeping, because they will return--thanks to the accomplishment of the one male infant who survived this massacre…
15. YHWH says this: “Withdraw your voice from weeping, and your eyes from [shedding] tears, because there is reward for your labor,” declares YHWH, “and they will return from the land of an enemy!
16. “Moreover, there is hope for your posterity,” declares YHWH, “[in that] your descendants will return to their territory.
17. “I have indeed heard Efrayim bemoaning himself: ‘You have disciplined me severely, and I was corrected, like an untrained bull-calf. Turn me back, and I will return, because you are YHWH, my Elohim,
18. “‘since after I had turned away, I [made myself] regret [it], and after it was revealed to me, I slapped my thigh; I was ashamed and also humiliated, because I bore the reproach of my youth.”
After I had turned away: LXX, after my captivity. Slapped my thigh: or, euphemistically, clapped my hands over my loins in shame)—i.e., recognizing that I had again become uncircumcised (without covenant).
19. “Isn’t Efrayim a precious son to Me [after all? Isn’t he] a pleasing child? Because as often as I have threatened him, still I keep recalling him to mind. Because of this, my emotions are stirred up for him; I will by all means have deep compassion on him,” declares YHWH.
Efrayim: a shorthand for the Northern Kingdom, since Yarav’am, its leader in secession, was from this tribe. Pleasing: or, delightful. As often as I have threatened him: or, spoken against him. LXX, because My words are in Him… therefore I made haste to help him. Since well before Y’shua’s birth, “The Prodigal Son” was the name of this haftarah (passage used to teach a part of the Torah when it was forbidden by Gentile rulers to teach Torah). Indeed, Efrayim, Yaaqov’s youngest son (actually his grandson, but adopted, along with his brother, into Yoseyf’s place), went far away from YHWH among the Gentiles and wasted his inheritance. In the first part of our return, we did think of ourselves as only spectators, glad to participate in practices we knew belonged to Yehudah. But then our Father revealed to us that we were actually part of the household of Israel as well.
20. Set up signposts for yourself; direct yourself by marking out guideposts. Set your heart on the highway, the same way by which you departed. Return, O virgin of Israel! Return to your cities—these ones!
LXX: Prepare yourself, O Tzion; execute vengeance. Highway: compare Yeshayahu 35:8.
21. How long will you gad about, you daughter of backsliding? Because YHWH has created something new in the Land—a female will encircle a warrior!
Now in Hebrew weddings the bride encircles the groom seven times to “build a wall” around him. LXX, How long, O disgraced daughter, will you turn away? For YHWH has created safety for a new plantation; men will go about in safety. The Aramaic targum identifies the “new thing” He does as the House of Israel pursuing the Torah. Backsliding: The House of Israel could have gone back to the Land after the Assyrian empire ended, and some indeed did, but then left again. Perhaps we could take it even further and say that since the “daughter” is delaying too long, YHWH will actually let a man give birth, for the word for female here really means “pierced one” (as is the case in sexual terms) and Y’shua was indeed pierced. He will “surround” (bind) the strong man (Mark 3:27). But the encircling may be in terms of the birth canal (30:6), this time giving birth to a full-grown man, ready for war. Ovadyah 18 and Yehezqel 37 show that the House of Israel (Yoseyf) is to be a great army.
22. This is what YHWH [Master] of Armies, the Elohim of Israel, has said: “Again they will say this word in the Land of Yehudah and in its cities, when I bring back their captives: ‘May YHWH bless you, O home of what is right [and normal], O mountain of [what is] set apart!’
Compare Yeshayahu 26:1, 2—a song for Yom Teruah.
23. “And in unity Yehudah and all its cities will dwell in it—[both] those who work the land and those who lead flocks about,
24. “because I have caused the exhausted soul to drink its fill, and have replenished every soul that had grown faint.”
25. Upon this, I woke up and was seeing [clearly], and my sleep had been pleasant to me!
Pleasant: or, sweet. This may be an allusion also to the resurrection.
26. “Indeed, the days are coming,” declares YHWH, “when I will sow the House of Israel and the House of Yehudah with the seed of Adam and the seed of animal[s].
27. “And it will come about [that] just as I have remained alert to uproot them and to tear them down and to overthrow them and to make them get lost and to cause them injury, in the same way I will stay alert to rebuild them and to establish them,” declares YHWH.
28. “In those days they will never again say, ‘The parents have eaten a sour grape, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’
Set on edge: or dulled, made blunt (by the grinding). The Aramaic interprets this as the children being punished for their fathers’ sins. We will no longer be held accountable for what our ancestors did wrong. (We have been paying for what they did 2,740 years ago.) YHWH has mercy, but there is also now no room for excuses; we will also not get away with our own sins:
29. “Rather, each one will die in his own perversity; every man who eats a sour grape, his own teeth will be set on edge.
30. “Indeed, the days are coming,” declares YHWH, “when I will cut a renewed covenant with the House of Israel and the House of Yehudah--
31. “not like the covenant that I cut with their ancestors in the day [when] I held firmly to their hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, since they violated My covenant, though I fulfilled the role of a husband to them,” declares YHWH,
Not like: in that “they violated it” (broke it in two, split or cracked it—as Moshe did with the physical tablets on which YHWH had written it, in perfect symbolism of what they had done). The Aramaic interprets “violated” as “changed”—the very thing the Northern Kingdom, after being exiled and even after being introduced to Y’shua, tried to claim YHWH had done! In all other ways, a renewed covenant must be as much like the original as possible, with only minor adjustments to reflect a change that may have taken place in the situation of one party or the other since the first was made. Though I fulfilled…: LXX, and I disregarded them.
32. “because this is the covenant that I will cut with the House of Israel after those days,” declares YHWH: “I will set My instruction in their innermost parts, and on their heart I will write it, and I will come to be an Elohim for them, and they will become a people for Me!
Or, I will put My Torah right in their midst [where they draw near]. This does not mean we will obey like robots; something comes to be written on our hearts by constant meditation on it and habitual rehearsing it in our minds until it becomes second nature. “Write” can mean “engrave with a chisel”—a painful process! But what is on our hearts is not easily forgotten (compare Ps. 119:11); it is certainly not something we can ignore and consider dead and gone! When Y’shua rules with a rod of iron (Ps. 2:9), there will be no option but to learn His Torah. (Zech. 14:18)
33. “And each [one] will no longer teach his fellow [citizen] or [each] man his brother, saying, ‘Get acquainted with YHWH!’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares YHWH, “because I will forgive their crookedness, and their missings-of-the-target I will never remember again!”
Y’shua Himself will be living among us. We will be trained to know YHWH. No one will be able to say, like Pharaoh, “Who is this YHWH?”
34. This is what YHWH says—[the One] who provides the sun to be a light by day and the moon and the stars for light at night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—YHWH [Master] of Armies is His Name:
Who stirs up: alt., who gives rest to the sea when its waves roar (Aramaic, rebuking the sea, as He did through Y’shua, Mark 4:39), or, who divides the sea when its waves roar (as He did through Moshe, Ex. 14).
35. “If those laws [of nature] cease [to operate] from before Me,” declares YHWH, “the seed of Israel too will stop being a nation before Me for all time.”
Laws: set patterns, prescribed tasks and limits, enactments. Cease: recede, depart, be removed. Seed is a very physical thing just like these natural laws. Thus despite Israel’s falling away as a recognizable nation, we cannot just spiritualize it away and say someone else has replaced them! We must trust His promise and deduce that (most of) those who have accepted the Messiah’s kingship, from whatever part of the world they come, are actually (at least in part) Avraham, Yitzhaq, and Yaaqov’s physical descendants as well.
36. This is what YHWH says: “If the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth beneath can be searched out, [then] I will also reject the seed of Israel on account of all they have done,” declares YHWH.
Measured: LXX, raised to a great height. Searched out: or investigated, found, thoroughly examined; LXX, sunk lower.
37. “Indeed, days are coming,” declares YHWH, “when the city belonging to YHWH will be rebuilt, from the Tower of Chanan'el, to the Gate of the Corner,
Gate of the corner: At the site of today's Jaffa Gate on the west side—a reparation of the part of the wall destroyed as part of our war between the Northern and Southern kingdoms. (2 Kings 14:13; compare Nehemyah 3; Zech. 14:10 as the rebuilding began.)
39. "and the measuring line will proceed from in front of it still further to the [front of the] hill of Garev, then turn toward Goath
Turn toward Goath (the pool of lowing calves): LXX, be compassed with a circular wall of choice stones.
40. "and the whole Valley of the Corpses and the Ashes, and all the fields up to the Wadi Qidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate on the east, will be set apart unto YHWH. It will never again be torn up or completely overthrown, into eternity."
Valley of the Corpses: Aramaic adds, of the camp where the Assyrians fell. Corner Gate: Aram. Adds, the place of the king’s race-course. All of these sites are toward the north and west from the city that stood in Yirmyahu's day. Custance notes that at that time it seemed to be growing toward the south, while the Valley of Dead Bodies, etc., wouldn't have appeared a likely direction to expand. But from Roman times onward, 700 years later, it began growing toward the north. The building of the city from the tower of Chanan'el (northwest of the Temple) to the Corner Gate was completed by Y’shua's day. In modern days, the development has continued in exactly the order prophesied here, and the main business district is right in this area. Never again: “The city will be rebuilt as a permanent structure” is part of the liturgy welcoming the Sabbath, which foreshadows this Messianic Kingdom.
CHAPTER 32
1. The word that came to Yirmeyahu from YHWH in the tenth year of Tzidqiyahu, king of Yehudah (which was the eighteenth year of Nevukhadretzar,
2. because at that time the king of Bavel’s force had raised a siege-ramp against Yerushalayim, and Yirmeyahu the prophet was being held in the court of the prison-warden that was in the house of the king of Yehudah,
Court of the prison-warden: not the dungeon itself, as he was from an important house in Israel, but in custody nonetheless.
3. since Tzidqiyahu the king of Yehudah had locked him up, saying, “Why do you prophesy, ‘This is what YHWH says: “Here I am, giving this city into the hand of the king of Bavel, and he will capture it,
4. “‘“and Tzidqiyahu the king of Yehudah will not escape from the hand of the Khasdim, but will certainly be handed over to the king of Bavel, and he will speak with him mouth to mouth and see him eye to eye,
5. “‘“and he will lead Tzidqiyahu away [to] Bavel, and he will be there until I need him,” declares YHWH. “Though you fight against the Khasdim, you will not be successful”’?”)
Need him: or visit him, call him to account, or attend to him.
6. So Yirmiyahu said, “The word of YHWH came to me, saying,
7. “‘Look, Chanam’el, the son of your uncle Shallum, is coming to you to say, “Buy my field that is at Anathoth for yourself, because the right of redemption to buy it is yours.”’”
Chanam’el means “YHWH has shown favor”, apparently being a variation on Chanan’el. Though Levites were not to have a regular inheritance in a particular region like other Israelites, they were able to own a limited amount of land around the cities in which they were spread throughout the Land to serve all Israel.
8. And Chanam’el, the son of my uncle, did come to the court of the prison-warden according to YHWH’s promise, and said, “Please buy my field that is at Anathoth, which is in the territory of Binyamin, because the right of inheritance and redemption is yours. Buy it for yourself!” Then I knew that this had been YHWH’s word.
Then I knew: after it came to pass. (Compare Deut. 18:22) Apparently he had some doubt as to whether he was truly hearing from YHWH, because it made no sense to buy property in a land that was about to be taken away by a foreign king! Son of my uncle: according to the Torah (Lev.25:25, 49), Yirmeyahu was eligible to perform the duty of a kinsman-redeemer. This much he could prove. But anyone else looking at the situation would have said it was futile to buy this land when it was time to “dump assets”. But the one who wrote the book on futility (Ecclesiastes/Qoheleth, with which Yirmeyahu would have been familiar) did not conclude that we should give up trying to figure it out”, still advises us, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do with all your heart.” (9:10) So he proceeds with confidence even when it looked hopeless:
9. So I went ahead and bought the field from Chanam’el, my uncle’s son that was at Anathoth, and weighed out the payment for him--seventeen sheqels of silver.
Seventeen sheqels: literally, seven sheqels and ten. The Aramaic interprets it as seven units of one currency and ten of another—possibly because he was impoverished and was scrounging it up wherever he could. Compare the price Avraham was charged for a field in Gen. 23:15.
10. Then I recorded it in a register and affixed a seal, and had witnesses affirm that I was weighing out the money in the scales,
Register: or simply, book or scroll; Aramaic, bond.
11. then took the certificate of purchase that was sealed [according to] the commandment and the prescribed ordinance as well as the unsealed [copy],
12. and gave the certificate of purchase to Barukh, the son of Neriyah, the son of Machaseyah in the sight of Chanam’el, my uncle’s [son] and in the sight of the witnesses who had signed the certificate of purchase in the sight of all the Jews who sat in the court of the prison-warden.
Barukh means “blessed”. Neriyah means “lamp of YHWH”. Machaseyah means “YHWH is a refuge”, so his whole line’s names have positive meanings.
13. And I gave orders to Barukh in their sight, saying,
14. “This is what YHWH [Master] of Armies, the Elohim of Israel, says: ‘Take these documents of this certificate of purchase (both the sealed and this unsealed scroll) and put them in an earthenware vessel so that they can endure many days’,
“We have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the power may be far more from Elohim than from ourselves.” (2 Cor. 4:7) This relates to verse 17 below. The treasure, in part, is shown here to be our title-deed to an inheritance in His Land! We are the vessels in which He has placed His words, written on our hearts. The Dead Sea Scrolls show us how long something in an earthen vessel can last under the right conditions.
15. “‘because this is what YHWH [Master] of Armies, the Elohim of Israel, says: ‘Houses and fields and vineyards will again be bought in this Land.’”
If as a Levite the land would not stay in his family past the 50th year, it was in his prophetic role that he performed this as a symbolic act meant to give confidence to the whole nation. YHWH had not actually said this to him—at least not overtly here; it seems a deduction he made based on the fact that he was being told to buy land despite the fact that the whole land was about to be taken out of Yehudah’s hands, But after this he seems to wonder if he assumed too much. Anathoth, the place he bought his field, means “answers”, and this is what he needed in face of such an unlikely scenario:
16. Now after I had given the certificate of purchase to Barukh, the son of Neriyah, I prayed to YHWH, saying,
17. “Oh, Adonai YHWH! Indeed You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and Your outstretched arm, and nothing is beyond Your reach--
18. “[You] who exercise lovingkindness for thousands and who repay the guilt of fathers into the lap of their sons after them—the great, the champion El; YHWH [Master] of Armies is His Name,
Their sons after them: Aramaic, on the sons when they go on to commit sins after them.
19. “large in purpose and abounding in effect, You whose eyes are open over all the ways of the sons of Adam, to give to each according to his ways and according to the fruit of his practices,
Ways: i.e., habits, moral character. Though the New Testament often upholds this viewpoint, many have taken YHWH’s amnesty for our ancestors’ rebellion to mean we can do anything we want with impunity just because we once asked Him for mercy! But the principle remains that what we put our energy into multiplies; we can empower the spirits either for benefit or for evil. Our motives for our deeds will also affect their fruit, as will their timeliness; if we are too late in doing what is right, the fruit will also be spoiled or forfeited.
20. “who has put distinguishing signs and wonders in place in the land of Egypt until this day, and in Israel and among [all] mankind you have made a name for yourself as [it is] this day,
He recognized that YHWH had never stopped being able to do what appeared impossible.
21. “and have brought Your people Israel out from the land of Egypt with distinguishing signs and with wonders, with a strong hand, with an outstretched arm, and with great deeds that inspire awe.
22. “You also gave them this Land, which you had promised their ancestors with an oath to give to them—a Land gushing with milk and honey.
23. “But when they came in and took possession of it, they did not obey Your voice or walk in Your instructions; they have not done all that You commanded them to do, so You have caused all this trouble to come upon them.
While his overall message was one of hope, things would not look optimistic in the short run, because the people owed the land a rest (Lev. 26:34; 2 Chron. 36:21) and they needed a time of correction. His voice was heard at Sinai, where the contract was made, and they had broken their wedding vows.
24. “Look [at] the siege-mounds! They have come up to the city to capture it, and the city is turned over into the hand of the Khasdim, who are fighting against it, due to the presence of the sword, the famine, and the plague, and what You threatened has come about; indeed [I am] looking at it!
25. “Yet You have told me, O Adonai YHWH, ‘Buy the field for yourself with silver, and have witnesses affirm [it]’—when the city has [already] been given into the hand of the Khasdim!”
He did not voice his doubts to the people who depended on him for direction, but brought them straight to YHWH. And this is why some things are not so clear-cut: YHWH wants us to come directly to Him--to interact directly with Him—this time, not a formula He has to respond to every time. (This is how religions get started; but Israel means “the one who wrestles with Elohim”.) He starts with formalities, to show proper respect, but gets far beyond liturgy to a very personal prayer, much like David’s in half of the psalms.
26. Then the word of YHWH came to Yirmeyahu, saying,
27. “Behold, I am YHWH, the Elohim of all flesh! Is there anything that is out of My reach?”
He does get an answer that seems to satisfy him and put YHWH’s stamp of approval on his prediction. The Babylonians still came and took them away. But this reassurance was enough for him to keep going despite the uncertainty of whether he himself would live the 70 more years before he could see the prophecy come true. So he stayed faithful and made his link in chain as strong as could be, so those who did take his authority seriously had hope to hold onto and the best possible footing for part they must contribute to keeping the chain going—to our own day. Now it is up to us to do the same.
.
28. Therefore, this is what YHWH says: “Here I am, turning this city over into the hand of the Khasdim (that is, into the hand of Nevukhadretzar, king of Bavel), and he will capture it.
29. “Then the Khasdim, who are fighting against this city will come in and set fire to this city and burn it as well as the houses on whose roofs they burned incense to Ba’al and poured out libations to other elohim, for the purpose of provoking Me to anger,
30. “because the sons of Israel and the sons of Yehudah have only been doing what is evil in My eyes since their youth, because the sons of Israel are just provoking Me to anger with the undertakings of their hands!” declares YHWH,
31. “for to Me this city has been after My anger and after My rage since the day they built it until this day, to cause [Me] to take it away from in front of My face,
32. “on [account of] the evil that the sons of Israel and the sons of Yehudah have done to provoke Me to anger—they themselves, their kings, their princes, their priests and their prophets, as well as [each] man of Yehudah and the inhabitants of Yerushalayim.
33. “Moreover, they have turned the back to Me and not the face, when I have been teaching them (rising up early and teaching, yet none of them listens to receive correction).
34. “Rather, they put their disgustingly filthy things in the House that was called by My Name, to defile it!
Was called: In this condition, He wants no association with it, yet He claims the right to better treatment there. Israel is acting like the Greeks who brought a swine onto the Temple altar. The same happened once the Messianic community was co-opted by the institutional Church and much paganism was brought in.
35. “Also, they have started building the cultic platforms of Ba’al in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom to make their sons and daughters pass through the fire to Molech—[something] that I never commanded! It never even entered My mind to [have them] do this abhorrent thing for the sake of inducing Yehudah to sin!
Molech means “the one who reigns”—the name of a pagan deity. The Valley of the Son of Hinnom is immediately south and west of Yerushalayim.
36. “So now, therefore, this is what YHWH, the Elohim of Israel, says to this city which you say is turned over into the hand of the king of Bavel by the sword, by the famine, and by the plague:
37. “‘Here I am, collecting them [back] out of all the countries into which I had banished them in My anger and My heated wrath and immense, crashing fury, and I will bring them back to this place and cause them to settle down to [a sense of] safety.
38. “‘And they will become My people, and I will come to serve as an Elohim to them,
39. “‘and I will give them one heart and a unified manner of life, to reverence Me for all time for their benefit and [that of] their children after them,
Aramaic, one heart and one way to fear Me… We will no longer be each going in our own direction, trying to find His will as individuals, but will be carrying it out together as one unit.
40. “‘and I will cut for them an everlasting covenant [in] which I will not turn away from backing them in order to make things right for them, and I will put [fearful] respect [for] Myself in their hearts to keep them from turning aside from Me.
41. ‘And I will be [more than] glad to do what is beneficial to them, and I truly will plant them in this Land with all [of] My heart and with all [of] My soul!’
With all My heart: literally, in all [of] My heart.
42. “Because this is what YHWH says: ‘Just as I have brought on this nation all this intense adversity, I am likewise bringing on them all the benefit that I have promised them.
43. “‘Fields will indeed be bought in this Land of which [many of] you are saying, “It is desolate since there is not a man or a beast; it has been turned over into the hand of the Khasdim.”
44. “‘Fields will be bought with silver and record it in the register and seal them up and have witnesses affirm [it] in the territory of Binyamin and in the environs of Yerushalayim and in the cities of Yehudah and in the cities of the mountainous region and in the cities of the Sh’felah, and in the cities of the Negev, because I will cause their captives to return,’ declares YHWH.”
Territory of Binyamin: where part of the Temple complex stood, straddling the border with Yehudah’s. Sh’felah: the lowland—literally, the falling-off, the transition between the mountains and the coastal plain. Negev: the large desert in southern Israel. Captives: Aramaic, exiles.
CHAPTER 33
1. Then a word came to Yirmeyahu from YHWH another time, while he was still locked up in the court of the prison-warden, saying,
2. “Thus says YHWH, her Maker, who fashioned her [in such a way as to] make her stable—YHWH is His Name:
3. “‘Call out to Me and I will respond to you, and make known to you great and unattainable things with which you are not familiar,’
Unattainable things: inaccessible, inscrutable mysteries that have been secreted away beyond our reach.
4. “because this is what YHWH, the Elohim of Israel, has said about the houses of this city and the homes of the kings of Yehudah—those [that are] being torn down to [be used] against the siege-mounds and against the sword:
Siege-mounds: literally, those that are raised up. The Aramaic clarifies that the stones from the houses were being used to strengthen the wall so it could not be breached.
5. “‘They are coming to fight the Khasdim, but will cause them to fill them up with the corpses of human beings that I have struck down in My anger and My heated wrath and on account of whose wickedness I have hidden My face from this city.
I.e., those who are trying to defend the city will be buried in the houses they are dismantling to make into a barricade against a battering ram. (Compare Y’hoshua 6:26; 2 Kings 23:14.) Hidden My face: Aramaic, taken up My Sh’kinah (dwelling presence).
6. “‘Behold, I am raising her back to soundness and health, and will [certainly] restore her to favor and disclose to them an abundance of peace and truth,
7. “‘and I will bring back the captives of Yehudah and the captives of Israel, and will rebuild them as at the earliest [time].
The captives of Israel (the northern kingdom) had already been gone from the Land for over a century, yet Yirmeyahu prophesies of their return as well. This has never yet taken place in its fullness. Indeed, some Orthodox Jews refuse to return to the Land until the Messiah brigs the other tribes as well. But He began to do so 2,000 years ago, and this focus was lost by His followers until very recently.
8. “‘Then I will cleanse them from their guilt [by] which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon [them] for all their perversities [by] which they have forfeited Me and rebelled against Me,
Forfeited Me: another meaning of the word for committing sin.
9. “‘and it will become for Me a name of rejoicing, for praise and splendor to all the nations of the earth who will hear of all the prosperity that I Myself will bring about for them, and they will be in awe and quiver from excitement over all the prosperity and total well-being that I will bring about for her.’
10. “This is what YHWH says: ‘In this place about which you are saying, “It is a wasteland, since there is not a man or a beast [in it],” there will again be heard
11. “‘a voice of joy and a voice of gladness, a voice of a bridegroom, and a voice of a bride, a voice of those who say, “Thank YHWH, [Master] of Armies, because YHWH is beneficent, since His lovingkindness [endures] forever!”, who bring thanks [to the] House of YHWH—because I will bring back the Land’s captives as in the earliest [times], says YHWH.
Thank YHWH, because…: This is a quote from numerous psalms of David. Bring thanks: or thank-offerings. These are a specific type of offering brought to the Temple—a lamb voluntarily given as a token of one’s thanks for an extraordinary kindness YHWH has shown. It must be eaten within the Temple complex within two days, so it is shared with any who are willing to come hear the story of what YHWH has done. (Lev. 7:12; 22:29) Doing whatever remnant of this we can do without the Temple is an integral part of our return, and only our love for the Babylonian system or wrongly-placed loyalties stand in the way.
12. “Thus says YHWH [Master] of Armies: ‘Again in this place—the “wasteland” since there is not a man or beast—and in its cities, there will be an abode of shepherds who cause their flocks to stretch out.
An abode of shepherds: usually an idiom for a depopulated place (Tyndale), but this time Yerushalayim will be “home” to those who truly concern themselves with bringing breadth to YHWH’s flocks in the present age.
13. “‘In the cities of the mountainous region, in the cities of the Sh’felah, the cities of the Negev, in the territory of Binyamin, in the environs of Yerushalayim, and in the cities of Yehudah, the flock will again pass over the hand of the one who counts them,’ declares YHWH.
Pass over the hand of the one who counts them: to make sure all were present when entering the fold, but also to determine what one’s tithe should be. (Lev. 27:32) interpreted in Aramaic as “eagerly pursue the words of the Messiah.”
14. “‘Indeed, the days are coming,’ declares YHWH, ‘when I will carry out the pleasant word that I have spoken to the House of Israel and to the House of Yehudah.
15. “‘In those days and at that time, I will cause a branch of righteousness to sprout for David, and He will bring about justice and righteousness in the Land.
Branch: an offshoot from David, i.e., the Messiah. In the Land: or, on the earth.
16. “‘In those days Yehudah will be liberated and Yerushalayim will settle down to [carefree] safety, and this is what they will call her: “YHWH is our Righteousness,”’
Liberated: from the occupying forces of the world government set up perhaps as “peacekeepers”. Call her: compare 23:5, 6, where the same title is given to the Branch mentioned both there and here. The city, which in Hebrew is a feminine noun, will be called by the same name as her bridegroom, for the people who make up the city will be married to Y’shua as His bride.
17. “because this is what YHWH says: ‘The one sitting on the throne of the House of Israel on David’s behalf will never be cut off .
House of Israel: Here, the entire reunited nation.
18. “‘Nor for the Levitical priests will there ever fail from before My face to be a man causing ascending-offerings to rise, making contributions smoke with incense, or carrying out a slaughter for all time.’”
A slaughter for all time: Even now when there is no physical Temple, as the book of Hebrews details, Y’shua has served as a “slaughter for all time”.
19. Then the word of YHWH came to Yirmeyahu, saying,
20. “This is what YHWH says: ‘If you can annul My covenant of the day and My covenant of the night, so that day and night would be kept from coming at their proper time,
21. “‘then My covenant with My servant David can be annulled as well, so that he would not have a son reigning on his throne—or with the Levites who officiate [as priests], My ministering [servants].
This verse should have precluded many interpretations of the New Testament, but still many have tried to claim His earlier covenants have been annulled.
22. “‘Just as the armies of heaven cannot be counted, nor can the sand of the sea be measured, so will I increase the offspring of David and the Levites who wait on Me.’”
Armies: or hosts, i.e., the stars. Measured: Aramaic, weighed.
23. Furthermore, the word of YHWH came to Yirmeyahu, saying,
24. “Haven’t you noticed what this people [group] is saying? [And] I quote: ‘Both families that YHWH chose, He has rejected!’ They also treat My people with contempt, not allowing them to be a nation in their presence any longer!
Both families: i.e., that of David, the ruling line, and that of Aharon, the priestly lineage. My people: Israel as a whole, whether this means spurning the Jews, whom they identified as the only descendants of Yaaqov, or refusing to consider the many “saved” individuals to be the literal nation of Israel, though that is who they were all along. Not allowing: like Pharaoh; perhaps we will receive similar opposition from leaders of those Israelites who do not wish to return to being one people, and will try not to allow the rest of us to do so.
25. “This is what YHWH says: ‘If the covenant with day and night is not Mine, and I have not set in place the prescribed patterns of heaven and earth,
26. ‘then I can also reject the seed of Yaaqov and of My servant David, and not take from his seed those who govern the seed of Avraham, Yitzhaq, and Yaaqov, because I will bring their captives back and have compassion on them!’”
I.e., if day and night cease to exist, then and only then might He forsake His people.
CHAPTER 34
[588-587 B.C.E.]
1. The word that came to Yirmeyahu from YHWH when Nevukhadretzar, king of Bavel and its whole army and all the kingdoms of earth from the rule of his hands, and all ethnic groups, made war on Yerushalayim and on all her cities:
2. “Thus says YHWH, the Elohim of Israel: ‘Go and speak to Tzidqiyahu, king of Yehudah, and tell him, “This is what YHWH says: ‘Indeed, I am handing this city over to the king of Bavel, and he will burn it with fire.
3. “‘“‘Nor will you escape from his hand, because you will certainly be captured and delivered into his hand. And your eyes will see the eyes of the king of Bavel, and his mouth will speak with your mouth, and you will go to Bavel.
4. “‘“‘But listen to the word of YHWH, O Tzidqiyahu, king of Yehudah! This is what YHWH says about you: you will not die by the sword.
5. “‘“‘You will die in peace, and like the burning [of incense] for your ancestors, the former kings who came before you, so they will burn [incense] for you, and wail for you, “Alas, master!”, because I have spoken the word,’ declares YHWH.”’”
6. (Now Yirmeyahu the prophet said all these things to Tzidqiyahu, king of Yehudah, in Yerushalayim,
7. when the king of Bavel’s army was making war on Yerushalayim and on all the cities of Yehudah that were left—against Lakhish and against Azeqah, because these [alone] were the ones that remained of the fortified cities among the cities of Yehudah.
Lakhish and Azeqah were the last and strongest of a chain of defense cities built along the Sh’felah (foothills) to withstand an Egyptian attack on Yerushalayim. Lakhish means “invincible”; it was nearly so, having two walls, once of them 6 meters thick. But YHWH had let it fall once before because it had opened the door for sin in the Land. (Micha 1:13) That time He spared Yerushalayim because of Hizqiyahu’s prayers, but this time He would not. Azeqah means “dug for a fence”, and it is quite close to where David killed Golyath. Letters have been found from this specific time confirming that all the other fortress-cities that defended Yerushalayim had been snuffed out, and that the writers were looking for the light-signal from Lakhish because the light had already gone out at Azeqah.
8. The word that came to Yirmeyahu from YHWH after King Tzidqiyahu had cut a covenant with all the people who were in Yerushalayim, to proclaim liberty to them--
Proclaim liberty: the command given in Lev. 25:10 in regard to the 50th year. The king, knowing that the reason for the prophesied captivity was the failure to give the land its rest every seventh year, seems to have been trying a last-ditch effort to evade capture by obeying another law that had to do with the seventh-year release. (v. 14)
9. for each man to let his male or female slave (a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman) go free, so that [each] man among them should avoid enslaving his brother [who was] a Jew.
10. And all the leaders obeyed, and all the people who had entered into the covenant (for each man to let his male slave or his female slave go free so that they would never again work [any from] among them as slaves) also obeyed and set them free.
11. But afterward they actually turned around and made the male and female slaves whom they had set free come back, and forced them to serve as slaves and maidservants.
The laws of slavery in Israel are to benefit the slave (to enable him to get out of debt) more than to benefit the slaveholder. This action proves that they had not understood this principle at all. When the pressure was off (v. 21), they went back on their word. There had to be societal support for the slaves being freed; they could not just leave on their own, though YHWH had given them the right to go free at this time. Another reason YHWH hated this is that it was just what Pharaoh had tried to do after he sent the Israelites out of Egypt. (Ex. 14:5)
12. So the word of YHWH came to Yirmeyahu from YHWH, saying,
13. “This is what YHWH, the Elohim of Israel, says: ‘I Myself cut a covenant with your ancestors on the day I brought them out of Egypt, out of the household of slaves, saying,
14. “‘“From the termination of seven years, each man must let his brother go—[any] Hebrew who has been sold to him. When he has served you six years, you must let him go free from being with you.” [Deut. 15:12] Yet your ancestors neither obeyed to Me nor held out their ear.
Termination: or border; the context would seem to indicate the beginning. Been sold: or, sold himself (usually done as a way to pay a debt). Held out their ear: at least tried to understand what He was asking of them, if they were not sure what He meant.
15. “‘Now today you had come back and done what is right in My eyes by [each] man issuing a proclamation of liberty to his fellow and cutting a covenant before Me in the House that is called by My Name,
16. “‘but [then] you retracted and are profaning My Name and each [of you is] making each slave or maidservant, whom you had set free to themselves, come back and is forcing them to serve as slaves and maidservants.
Profaning My name: acting as if a binding contract made with Him meant nothing at all. To themselves: LXX, at their own disposal.
17. “‘Therefore, this is what YHWH says: “You have not obeyed Me by each man proclaiming liberty for his fellow. [So] here I am proclaiming liberty for you,” declares YHWH—“to the sword, to the plague, and to the famine, and I have made you a cause for trembling to all the kingdoms of the earth.
Note YHWH’s sarcasm toward those who had proven they did not love their neighbors. The Northern Kingdom, too, proclaimed the wrong type of freedom (from Torah instead of from sin and tyranny), and for a time YHWH gave us up to our desires. Made you a cause for trembling: LXX, given you up to dispersion.
18. “‘“And I will hand over the men who have crossed [the line from] My covenant—who have not upheld the word of the covenant that they have cut before Me (the bull-calf that they cut in two and passed between its pieces)--
Passed between its pieces: a traditional way of expressing the thought, “May the same befall me if I do not keep my side of the agreement.” The nation of Israel was indeed cut in two when we did not keep the covenant we had made with YHWH. The covenant referred to here is one of agreeing to obey an existing covenant that had been broken. (v. 8) But this is the way Avraham himself made a covenant with YHWH, and they were spitting on it and not taking it seriously at all—but YHWH was.
19. “‘“the leaders of Yehudah and the leaders of Yerushalayim, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the Land who passed between the pieces of the bull-calf--
20. “‘“indeed, I will hand them over to their enemies and to those who are seeking their life, and their corpses will come to serve as food for the fowls of the sky and for the beasts of the earth!
21. “‘“Then I will hand over Tzidqiyahu, king of Yehudah, and his princes to their enemies and those who are seeking their life—that is, to the army of the king of Bavel, who is withdrawing from being upon you.
Withdrawing: the history of this period is recounted in 2 Chron. 36:4-17, where we are told that Nevukhadretzar sent into exile those who tried to escape from him.
22. “‘“Here I am giving them orders,” declares YHWH. “I have given them permission to come back to this city, and they will make war on her, and capture her, and burn her with fire. I will also make the cities of Yehudah a wasteland because of having no inhabitant.”’”
Since Yehudah went back on their commitment, YHWH reversed the deliverance He had brought.
CHAPTER 35
1. The word that came to Yirmeyahu from YHWH in the days of Yehoyaqim, son of Yoshiyahu, king of Yehudah:
2. “Walk to the house of the Rekhavites and speak with them, and bring them into one of the chambers of the House of YHWH, and offer them wine to drink.”
Rekhavites: possibly from the tribe of Binyamin (2 Shmuel 4:2), possibly descendants of Chemath the Qeynite (1 Chron. 2:55). Chambers: very large rooms or halls within the Temple complex. Notice the flattery by which Yirmeyahu tested the resolve of this clan.
3. So I fetched Ya’azanyah the son of Yirmeyahu the son of Khabatzinyah and all his brothers and all his children and the whole household of the Rekhavites,
He brought the whole family as part of the test, to see whether the weakest link might give in. Ya’azanyah means “YHWH gives ear”. Yirmeyahu (not the prophet) means “YHWH has raised up”. Khabatzinyah appears to mean “brightness of YHWH” or “strong fragrance of YHWH”.
4. and I brought them into the House of YHWH—into the Chamber of the sons of Chanan the son of Yigdalyahu, the man of Elohim, which was beside the Chamber of the Overseers, which was above the Chamber of Ma’aseyahu the son of Shallum, who guards the threshold.
This shows that some people actually had permanent dwelling places in the complex of Shlomo’s Temple; this was not the case in the second Temple period. Chanan means “he has shown favor”; Yigdalyahu means “Magnified by YHWH”. Ma’aseyahu means “work of YHWH”; Shallum means “payback”.
5. Then I set jars full of wine and cups in front of the household of the Rekhavites, and told them, “Drink [some] wine!”
6. But they said, “We should not drink wine, because Yonadav the son of Rekhav our ancestor placed [strict] orders over us, saying, ‘You must not drink wine—neither you nor your descendants forever,
Yonadav means “YHWH is generous”. Rekhav means “one who mounts up and rides”, or possibly, “one who reduces demands”. Yet his descendants proved that this is not what they were! Yonadav’s story of heroism against the worshippers of Ba’al with Yehu is told in 2 Kings 10:15ff.
7. “’nor may you build houses or sow seed or plant a vineyard, nor shall you own anything, because you must dwell in tents all your days, so that you may live many days on the ground upon which you are sojourning.’
This was a family that could not violate the laws of the seventh year (as the rest of the nation had, ch. 34) since they had neither houses for slaves to work in nor fields to leave fallow.
8. “So we have obeyed the voice of Y’honadav, the son of our ancestor Rekhav, for all that he ordered us—to avoid drinking wine all of our days (we, our wives, our sons, and our daughters),
Y’honadav: the full version of the name shortened to Yonadav in vv. 6 and 10. YHWH’s name is more discernible in the longer form.
9. “nor to build houses for ourselves to dwell in, and we own no vineyard or field or seed.
10. “Rather, we have been living in tents and have been obedient and done everything just as Yonadav our ancestor ordered us [to].
11. “But [what] happened [was that] when Nevukhadretzar, king of Bavel, came up against the Land, we said, ‘Come on, let’s go to Yerushalayim, [to get] away from where the army of the Khasdim and the army of Aram are.’ That is why we have been staying in Yerushalayim.”
12. Then the word of YHWH came to Yirmeyahu, saying,
13. “This is what YHWH of Armies, the Elohim of Israel, says: ‘Go and say to the man of Yehudah and the inhabitants of Yerushalayim, “Won’t you receive correction, to obey My words?”, declares YHWH.
14. “‘“The words of Y’honadav, son of Rekhav, in which he ordered his descendants not to drink wine, are being upheld, and to this day they have not drunk [any], because they have been obeying their father’s order. Yet I Myself have spoken to you—getting up early to say [it]—but you have not listened to Me.
If they have so meticulously obeyed the words of a mere man, how much more should they have obeyed YHWH’s own commands? Wine is usually an integral part of the celebration of the Sabbath and quite allowable at His festivals (Deut. 14:26) unless one is a Nazirite (Num. 6:3) or a priest on active duty (Lev. 10:9). But though YHWH Himself had been the one to give the command through His prophet, these people still stuck with an agreement they had made with their ancestor. Of all the times they could have made an excuse! This was the Lawgiver of lawgivers telling them what they were free to do. Yet they paid homage to the law that was closest to them, and YHWH both honored and commended this. “No scripture is of private interpretation.” (2 Kefa/Peter 1:20-21) In Israel there must be a protocol of authority structure for interpersonal dealings to flow smoothly. Just because the Torah allows something does not mean an individual may choose his own way. The lowest standard allowed is that of the household (extended family ruled by a patriarch), and from there it proceeds upward to the captains of tens, fifties, hundreds, and thousands. (Ex. 18:21-25)
15. “‘“I have also been sending you My prophets—getting up early and sending [them]—to say, ‘Turn around, please! Each [of you turn back] from the harmful direction he [is going in], make your practices right, and no [longer] go after other elohim to serve them, and remain on the ground that I have given to you and your ancestors.’ But you have not offered your ear or listened to Me.
16. “‘“Because the descendants of Y’honadav the son of Rekhav have upheld the command of their ancestor, but this people has not obeyed Me,
17. “‘“therefore, thus says YHWH [Master] of Armies, the Elohim of Israel: ‘Behold, I am bringing to Yehudah and to all the inhabitants of Yerushalayim all that trouble that I have threatened against them, because I spoke to them, but they would not listen, and I have been calling to them, but they have not responded.”’”
18. But to the House of the Rekhavites, Yirmeyahu said, “Thus says YHWH [Master] of Armies, the Elohim of Israel: ‘On account of the fact that you have consented to a command of Y’honadav your ancestor, and have kept all his orders and done everything just as he commanded you,
19. “‘therefore this is what YHWH, the Elohim of Israel, has said: “For Yonadav, never will a man be cut off [from] standing before Me for all time.”’”
Standing before Me: Aramaic, ministering before Me. For all time: literally, for all days; LXX, while the earth remains. Thus at least one of his male descendants is alive today! The same type of promise was given conditionally to David (and Shlomo) in 1 Kings 2:4, and now it was being rescinded because their descendants did not keep their obligations. But it was being transferred to these “bedouins” who were loyal to their own household.
CHAPTER 36
1. Now in the fourth year of Yehoyaqim, son of Yoshiyahu, king of Yehudah, what took place is that this word came to Yirmeyahu from YHWH:
2. “Take for yourself an accounting-scroll and write in it all the words that I have said to you about Israel and about Yehudah and about all the nations since the day I spoke to you—from the days of Yoshiyahu up until this day.
3. “Maybe the House of Yehudah will realize all the trouble I plan to cause for them, so that they may each turn away from his wicked way, and I can forgive their guilt and their sin.”
So that I can: YHWH limits Himself to a particular order. Their sin: What He is punishing is their collective sin, but it is made up of the sins of individuals.
4. So Yirmeyahu called for Barukh, the son of Neriyah, and Barukh wrote from Yirmeyahu’s dictation all of YHWH’s words that He had said to him on an accounting-scroll.
Dictation: literally, mouth.
5. Then Yirmeyahu gave Barukh orders, saying, “I am locked up; I am unable to go to the House of YHWH,
6. “so you go and read in the scroll the words of YHWH that you have written from my dictation, in the hearing of the people in the House of YHWH on the day of fasting, and also read them in the hearing of any [from] Yehudah who come from their cities.
7. “Maybe their plea for consideration will alight in YHWH’s presence, and maybe [each] man will repent of the evil direction [in which] he [is going], because the anger and burning rage with which YHWH has threatened this people.”
Alight: literally, fall. We must lower ourselves and ask Him even to allow us to repent, because repentance, too, is something He must grant us before we can experience it. The first step toward breaking down the barrier with Him is to say, “I am guilty.”
8. So Barukh, the son of Neriyah, carried out everything about which Yirmeyahu had given him orders (to read YHWH’s words in the book in the House of YHWH).
9. Then what came about in the fifth year of Yehoyaqim the son of Yoshiyahu, king of Yehudah, [was that] in the ninth month all the people in Yerushalayim and all the people who had come from the cities of Yehudah to Yerushalayim proclaimed a fast,
The fifth year: a year (or at least nine months) later than the events at the beginning of the chapter. The ninth month: often a time when other nations warred against Israel, e.g., the Greeks in the days of the Maccabees.
10. and in the House of YHWH (in the Chamber of Gemaryahu the son of Shafan the scribe, in the highest courtyard of the entrance to the new gate of the House of YHWH), Barukh read the words of Yirmeyahu in the book in the hearing of all the people.
11. When Michayahu the son of Gemaryahu the son of Shafan heard all the words of YHWH from within the book,
Michayahu means “Who is like YHWH?”
12. he then went down [to] the king’s house over the scribes’ chamber, and there were all the leaders, sitting down: Elishama the scribe, along with Delayahu the son of Shema’yahu, Elnathan the son of Akhbor, Gemaryahu the son of Shafan, Tzidqiyahu the son of Chananyahu and all the [other] leaders.
Leaders: or, princes. Elishama means “My Elohim has heard”. Delayahu means “YHWH has drawn up”. Shema’yahu means “YHWH has listened”. Gemaryahu means “YHWH has completed (His accomplishment)”. Shafan means “rock hyrax”. Tzidqiyahu means “YHWH is my righteousness”. Chananyahu means “YHWH has shown favor”. Notice that all of their names say something positive about YHWH.
13. So Michayahu reported to them all the words in the book that he had heard when Barukh had read [it] in the hearing of the people.
14. Then all the leaders sent Yehudi the son of Nethanyahu, the son of Shelemyahu, the son of Kushi to Barukh, saying, “Bring the scroll in which you have been reading in the hearing of the people, and come.” So Barukh the son of Neriyahu brought the scroll and came to them,
Yehudi: means a Judahite (or “Jew”). Shelemyahu means “Repaid by YHWH”. Kushi: a dark-skinned person.
15. and they told him, “Please sit down and read it in our hearing.” So Barukh read [it] in their hearing.
16. And it turned out that when they had heard all the words, they [turned to] each other in fear and said, “We really need to report all these things to the king!”
17. And they asked Barukh, “Please tell us how you wrote all these things. By his dictation?”
18. And Barukh told them, “He recited all these words to me from his [own] mouth, and I recorded them on the book with the ink!”
19. Then the leaders told Barukh, “Go, hide yourself—you and Yirmeyahu—and don’t let anyone know where you are!”
20. Then they went into the courtyard to the king, but they left the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe for safe-keeping, and reported all the words to the king verbally.
21. But the king sent Yehudi to get the scroll, and he brought it from the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and Yehudi read it in the hearing of the king and in the hearing of all the leaders who stood around the king [a little ways off].
22. Now the king was sitting [in] the winter lodge, [it being] the ninth month, and with [a fire] burning [in] the hearth in front of him.
The ninth month: the same month in which Hanukkah begins, usually overlapping with November and December. Hearth: or brazier, a small metal fire-pan; Aramaic, coals.
23. However, when Yehudi had read three or four columns, he would tear it off with the scribe’s razor and throw it into the fire that was in the hearth, until the whole scroll was consumed by the fire that [was] in the hearth,
He: the king. Scribe’s razor: or pen-knife, which he would use to scrape off an error he had written, much as an eraser is used today. Perhaps, like Thomas Jefferson, he had the audacity to cut out the parts he did not agree with, thinking that if he ignored it long enough, the truth would go away. But people do this in more subtle ways by translating Scripture to hide what it really says: “Christ is the end of the Law” instead of “Messiah is the goal toward the Torah aims”, etc. Another king (James) cut off the whole Torah in this way because it did not suit his theology or political aims, and thus he and other theologians left Israel a powerless, lob-sided people. But genericizing the truth or taking it out of context does not make it any less true, and a day of reckoning must come.
24. and neither the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words had [any] apprehension, nor did they tear their garments,
Tear their garments: a sign of mourning and repentance. This action gave the king no pangs of conscience at all. They had no respect for YHWH, so He would show them no respect. Their only fear was that no one would respect their position if they let Yirmeyahu get away with saying all these things against him.
25. though Elnathan, Delayahu, and Gemaryahu had indeed tried to persuade the king not to burn the scroll, but he would not listen to them.
After His blanket disapproval of these leaders, YHWH made sure these men who were the exception received the credit for acting in opposition to the majority.
26. Then the king ordered Yerachme’el the king’s son, Serayah the son of Azriel, and Shelemyahu the son of Avd’el to arrest Barukh the scribe and Yirmeyahu the prophet, but YHWH kept them hidden.
Yerachme’el means “Elohim will have mercy”—an assumption that was presumptuous to make. Serayah means “YHWH exerts power”. Azriel means “Elohim is my help”. Shelemyahu means “repaid by YHWH” and Avd’el means “servant of Elohim”. Their names would make one think they were on YHWH’s side, and they probably thought they were, but in actuality they were not.
27. Then the word of YHWH came to Yirmeyahu after the king had burned the scroll with the words that Barukh had written from Yirmeyahu’s dictation, saying,
28. “Go back and take another scroll for yourself and write in it all the original words that were in the first scroll which Yehoyaqim the king of Yehudah burned.
29. “And tell Yehoyaqim the king of Yehudah, ‘This is what YHWH says: “You have burned this scroll, saying, ‘Why have you written therein [that] the king of Bavel will certainly come and spoil this Land and cause there to stop from being [any] man or beast there?’”
30. “‘Therefore, this is what YHWH says about Yehoyaqim, king of Yehudah: “He will have no one to sit on the throne of David, and his dead body will be thrown out [and exposed] to the parching heat in the daytime and the frost by night,
31. “‘“and I will hold him and his seed and his servants accountable for their perversity, and I will cause to come upon them and on the inhabitants of Yerushalayim and on the man of Yehudah all the trouble that I have threatened against them, since they did not listen.”’”
Because he did not listen to the warnings, the punishment would now be even worse.
32. So Yirmeyahu took another scroll and gave it to Barukh the son of Neriyah, the scribe, and he wrote in it, at the dictation of Yirmeyahu, all the words of the book that Yehoyaqim, king of Yehudah, had burned in the fire, and many more of the same kind of words were added over [and above] them.
CHAPTER 37
1. Then Tzidqiyahu the son of Yoshiyahu began to reign as king in place of Konyahu the son of Yehoyaqim, whom Nevukhadretzar, king of Bavel, had made king in the land of Yehudah.
In place of: or, under.
2. But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of YHWH, which He had spoken by the hand of Yirmeyahu the prophet,
3. yet King Tzidqiyahu sent Yehukhal the son of Shelemyahu and Ts’fanyahu the son of Ma’aseyah the priest to Yirmeyahu the prophet, saying, “Please pray to YHWH our Elohim for us.”
They thought they could still simply ask for the prophet’s (and YHWH’s) help while ignoring his words.
4. Yirmeyahu even came and went among the people, nor had they [yet] committed him [to] any place of restraint.
36:19 tells us that he was to hide. So where did he hide? Among the crowds, just as Y’shua did. (Yochanan 18:20) Y’shua did little that one or another of the prophets before Him had not done, even raising the dead. But He brought together something of what each had done, as a sign that He was the one they all pointed to.
5. Then an army of Pharaoh came out from Egypt, and when the Khasdim who were besieging Yerushalayim heard the report of them, they withdrew from around Yerushalayim.
Withdrew: literally, went up.
6. Then the word of YHWH came to Yirmeyahu the prophet, saying,
7. “This is what YHWH, the Elohim of Israel, says: ‘You must speak like this to the king of Yehudah, who is sending you to Me to ask something from Me: “Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which is coming out to help you, will return to his own land of Egypt.
8. “‘“Then the Khasdim will come back and wage war against this city and capture it and burn it with fire.
9. “‘“This is what YHWH says: ‘Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Khasdim will proceed to leave us”, because they will not leave!
10. “‘“‘For even if you struck down the whole army of the Khasdim who are engaging you in battle, though [all that] remained among them were the mortally wounded, each man in his tent would [still] rise up and burn this city with fire.’”’”
No natural advantage or probability was going to prevent YHWH from bringing justice upon them.
11. Now when the Khasdim withdrew from around Yerushalayim because of the presence of Pharaoh’s army,
12. Yirmeyahu started to leave Yerushalayim to go into the land of Binyamin to receive a portion [that was divided] there among the people,
Receive a portion: LXX, buy a property.
13. but it turned out that when he [got to] the Gate of Binyamin, a captain of the guard was there, and his name was Yir’iyah, the son of Shelemyah the son of Chananyah, and he arrested Yirmeyahu the prophet, saying, “You are defecting to the Khasdim!”
Captain of the guard: LXX, a man with whom he lodged. Yir’iyah means “YHWH sees me”. Chananyah: a common name, but perhaps the same man mentioned in 36:14.
14. But Yirmeyahu said, “Wrong! I am not defecting to the Khasdim.” But he did not listen to him; rather, Yir’iyah held Yirmeyahu and took him to the leaders,
Wrong: or, false! A lie!
15. and the leaders became enraged with Yirmeyahu and beat him and put him, tied up, in the house of Yehonathan, because they had made it the prison.
16. When Yirmeyahu had gone into the dungeon and into the cells, Yirmeyahu remained there many days.
17. Then King Tzidqiyahu sent and brought him out, and in his house the king consulted him secretly, saying, “Is there a word from YHWH?” And Yirmeyahu said, “There is.” And he said, “You will be handed over to the king of Bavel.”
Maybe this king is different from his predecessors—at least softening (even if not publicly) when he sees the prophecies coming to pass.
18. Yirmeyahu also said to King Tzidqiyahu, “How have I sinned against you or your servants or this people, that you have put me in the prison?
19. “Where are they now—your prophets who prophesied to [all of] you, saying, ‘The king of Bavel will not come upon you or onto this Land’?
20. “Please listen, my master the king! Let my plea for favor fall out before your face, and do not make me return to the house of Yehonathan the scribe, so I will not die there!”
21. So Tzidqiyahu the king gave the order that they should cause Yirmeyahu to be looked after in the court of the prison-warden, and give him a loaf of bread daily from the bakers’ yard until all the bread was consumed from out of the city. So Yirmeyahu remained in the court of the prison-warden.
Despite his sins, the king still had some degree of respect for YHWH. Perhaps this is why YHWH did not let him be killed in battle. Consumed from out of the city: i.e., until the siege caused them to run out of supplies. The siege began on the tenth day of the tenth month, and it is common to fast on that day in commemoration. (Zech. 8:19)
CHAPTER 38
1. When Sh’fatyah the son of Mathan, Gedalyahu the son of Pash’hur, Yukhal the son of Shelemyahu, and Pash’hur the son of Malkhiyah heard the words that Yirmeyahu had spoken to all the people
2. (“This is what YHWH says: ‘Whoever remains in this city will die by the sword, the famine, or the plague, but whoever goes out to the Khasdim will survive; his life will belong to him as plunder, but he will survive.’
Goes out: i.e., to surrender. Plunder: LXX, a treasure discovered.
3. “This is what YHWH says: ‘This city will certainly be handed over to the king of Bavel’s army, and he will capture it’”),
4. then [these] leaders told the king, “Please have this man executed, because this way he keeps disheartening the hands of the warriors who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people—by telling them things like this, because this man is not seeking the people’s welfare, but rather its harm.”
Disheartening: LXX, weakening. All Yirmeyahu would have to do was compromise by toning down his message; after all, he might have saved some lives! But he did not consider this an option.
5. And Tzidqiyahu the king said, “Look, he’s here, within your power, because the king can’t do anything against you!”
Aramaic, the king cannot answer you a word. I.e., the king was now as powerless as everyone else in the city, as the siege wore on. Also, these four men (in v. 1, and perhaps others) were so influential that they actually had more control over the people than the king did.
6. So they took Yirmeyahu and threw him into the pit of Malchiyahu, the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the prison-warden, and they let Yirmeyahu down with ropes. Now there was no water in the pit, but [there was] mud, and Yirmeyahu sank down into the mud.
This was a literal example of the “broken cisterns that can hold no water” (2:13) Water is a symbol of YHWH’s word, and a cistern is related in Hebrew to the word for “well”, whose common root means “a place to find clarity or explanation”. Instead, this one did just the opposite: it muddied everything. It was symbolic of the state that Yerushalayim was in, since it was the place which, of all places, was meant to bring clarity. It had been clouded by the shepherds of Israel. (Compare Yehezqel 34:18ff.) They were trying to claim Yirmeyahu was the one doing this (v. 4), but it was their cistern he was put in, and it was the muddy one.
7. When Eved-Melekh, a Kushite man (a eunuch, and he was from the king’s house), heard that they had put Yirmeyahu into the pit, while the king was sitting at the Gate of Binyamin,
Eved-Melekh means “a servant of the king”, but it was not king Tzidqiyahu that he proved to be serving, but the King of Kings, YHWH. Kushite: LXX, Ethiopian—which many Kushites were indeed, but the descendants of Kush also included Nimrod’s line in the land of Shinar (Babylonia). The word itself simply means a dark-skinned person. Eunuch: or simply, a court official, since he would not technically be a “man” if he was a eunuch. Tradition says he was the only pious man among the courtiers of the king. (Ginzberg)
8. then Eved-Melekh came out from the king’s house and spoke to the king, saying,
9. “My master the king, these people have been wrong in all that they have done to Yirmeyahu the prophet, whom they have thrown into the pit, and he will die of hunger at the bottom of it because there is no more bread in the city.”
He will die: could be translated, he has died. Tradition says that since Yehonathan the jailer had a habit of making annoying comments to mock Yirmeyahu, he did not answer when Eved-Melekh called him either, and Eved-Melekh thought he had already died. It was not until Eved-Melekh began to weep that Yirmeyahu realized that he was a pious man instead, and thereupon replied. (Ginzberg)
10. So the king gave Eved-Melekh the Kushite orders, saying, “Take in your hand thirty men from this [place] and bring Yirmeyahu up out of the pit before he dies.”
Thirty men: David had thirty particularly mighty men. (2 Shmuel 23) This probably indicates that he was bringing along a whole military unit to guard him as he rescued Yirmeyahu, rather than meaning he was stuck so fast in the mud that it required thirty men to extricate him. In your hand: LXX, with you.
11. So Eved-Melekh took the thirty men in his hand and went into the king’s house to the lower level of the storehouse and got from there old [torn-up] rags and worn-out scraps and sent them down to Yirmeyahu in the pit with ropes.
The lower level of the storehouse: or, underneath the treasury. Scraps: from the word for dissipating or becoming scattered, a common root with the word for salt. Luke 14:33-34 links salt losing its savor with refusing to forsake all that one has to follow Y’shua. But it is the scattered (exiled from Israel) who are instrumental in the resurrection of the One New Man of which Y’shua is the Head. (Yirmeyahu lived out a foreshadowing of Y’shua’s resurrection, as one appointed over the nations, 1:9-10) These particular scraps appear to have been from the king’s old clothes (or perhaps the garments of the priests). At one time they were very useful in identifying the one who wore them. Once the king had the ability to sustain the people, but he did not uphold Torah, so even his influence was only a shred of what it had been (v. 5), yet this once he did the right thing, so even what was cast off (the remnant of what had once been) brought deliverance to the faithful. Genesis 35:2 links putting away foreign gods with changing one’s garments. The garment we changed into after putting away idolatry—the Torah and the authority once taken away from Israel—will save what is left of a once-awesome nation. It is our responsibility to restore the “salt” by making new salt—disciples who will indeed forsake all for Y’shua and His Kingdom, Israel.
12. Then Eved-Melekh the Kushite told Yirmeyahu, “Please put the worn-out rags and scraps under your arm-joints where the ropes [will] rest.” So Yirmeyahu did just that.
Joints: probably armpits, but perhaps elbows. Eved-Melekh was considerate enough to think of the detail of Yirmeyahu’s comfort even during his rescue, rather than merely saying, “This is the best I can do.”
13. and they began to pull Yirmeyahu with the ropes and bring him up from the pit, and Yirmeyahu was sitting in the courtyard of the prison-warden.
14. Then Tzidqiyahu the king sent and had Yirmeyahu brought to him at the third entrance that is in the House of YHWH, and the king said to Yirmeyahu, “I am asking you a word; don’t hide anything from me.”
The third entrance: This was also the third time the king asked for an audience with Yirmeyahu, but did not heed his words.
15. But Yirmeyahu said to Tzidqiyahu, “When I tell you, won’t you put me to death for sure? And if I give you advice, you won’t listen to me!”
16. But Tzidqiyahu swore an oath to Yirmeyahu secretly, “[As] YHWH lives, who formed this soul for us, I will neither put you to death nor hand you over to these men who are [intensely] seeking your life.”
17. So Yirmeyahu told Tzidqiyahu, “This is what YHWH [Master] of Armies, the Elohim of Israel, says: ‘If you will indeed go out to the princes of the king of Bavel, then you yourself will survive, and this city will not be burned with fire. Both you and your household will survive.
The Temple could have been spared if he had been obedient. This may be a prophecy of the need for today’s Yehudah to “surrender” to joining the rest of the tribes which are still in Babylon in order that the whole nation of Israel may survive. Y’shua said there would again be a time to flee from the Land of Yehudah (Mark 13:14) before the whole nation could return and be permanently placed in the Land. They were bowing to Egypt in hopes that Bavel would not be able to conquer them, much as Yehudah today bows to the wishes of the United States in order to escape subjugation to the United Nations. However, whatever she regards as her security is an idol, and will have to prove disappointing because Israel belongs to YHWH and no one else.
18. “‘But if you will not go out to the princes of the king of Bavel, then this city will be given into the hands of the Khasdim, and they will burn it with fire, and you will not be delivered from their hand.’”
What was the point of YHWH’s wanting them to surrender? It would show that they were willing to admit their wrong and take their due in punishment. It was actually Him to whom they would be surrendering, and He would accordingly be merciful. Today we again have the occasion to confess the guilt we have inherited from our ancestors (16:19). What stood in this king’s way was the fear of men:
19. Then Tzidqiyahu the king told Yirmeyahu, “I am in dread that the Jews who have fallen into the hands of the Khasdim may hand me over to them, and they will abuse me.”
Have fallen: Aramaic, who desert; LXX, who have gone over (which was in obedience to YHWH). Abuse: the Heb. term includes dealing ruthlessly with someone, mocking him, thrusting him through, or making a fool of him.
20. But Yirmeyahu said, “They don’t need to hand you over. I beg you, obey the voice of YHWH which I am declaring to you, so it may go well for you, and you yourself can survive.
21. “But if you refuse to go out, this is the thing that YHWH has shown me:
22. “There are all of the women who are left [alive] in the household of the king of Yehudah being brought out to the princes of the king of Bavel, and they are saying, ‘Your men of peace have enticed you and succeeded in defeating you; your feet have been made to sink in the mire, and they have turned their backs.’
Men of peace: LXX, men who were at peace with you; Aramaic, confederates. Sink in the mire: the very sentence they had forced Yirmeyahu to live through. It would come back on their own heads.
23. “And they are bringing all of your wives and your children to the Khasdim, and you will not be delivered out of their hand, because you will be seized by the hand of the king of Bavel, and this city will be burned with fire.”
24. Then Tzidqiyahu told Yirmeyahu, “No man may know about these words, and you will not die.
25. “But if the rulers hear that I have talked to you, and they come and say to you, ‘Please tell us what you said to the king; do not keep it hidden from us, and we will not kill you’, or, ‘What did the king say to you?’,
26. “then tell them, ‘I was laying my plea for favor before the king to not let me go back to the house of Yehonathan to die there.’”
27. And all the leaders did come to Yirmeyahu and started to interrogate him, so he reported to them such words as all that the king had ordered, and they turned from him in silence, because the matter was not perceived.
Perceived: or, regarded (as being of any consequence).
28. So Yirmeyahu remained in the courtyard of the prison-warden until the day that Yerushalayim was captured, and he was [present] as Yerushalayim was taken.
CHAPTER 39
1. In the ninth year of Tzidqiyahu, king of Yehudah, in the tenth month, Nebukhadretzar, king of Bavel came to Yerusahalayim with his armed force, and they began to impose a siege upon it.
Prophetically this may have a second fulfillment in the siege described in Zech. 13-14.
2. By Tzidqiyahu’s eleventh year, in the fourth month, on the ninth of the month, the city was broken through into,
This date is “Tesha b’Av”, when a fast is often held to commemorate this event. (Zech. 8:19) The city wall was again breached on this same date in A.D. 70, and the second Temple destroyed the next day, according to the historian Josephus.
3. and all the princes of the king of Bavel entered and sat at the inner gate—Nergal-Shar’etzer, Samgar-Nevo, Sarskim (the chief eunuch), Nergal-Shar’etzer [being] the chief astrologer, along with all the rest of the king of Bavel’s rulers.
Inner gate: LXX, middle gate.
4. And it turned out that when Tzidqiyahu, king of Yehudah, and all the men of war saw them, they hurried out of the city at night by way of the king’s garden through the gate between the two [joined] walls, and left by way of the Aravah.
5. But the armed force of the Khasdim chased after them and overtook Tzidqiyahu on the plain of Yericho, and they seized him and brought him up to Nevukhadretzar, king of Bavel, at Rivlah in the land of Chamath, where he pronounced sentences against him.
Jewish tradition says he tried to escape through a cave that led from his house to Yericho, but YHWH sent a deer into the camp of the Khasdim (Chaldeans), which, when chased, led them directly to the opening at the other end of the cave at the precise moment Tzidqiyahu was reaching it. (Ginzberg) Joseph Good sees a parallel here with the Counterfeit Messiah’s capture since he will be thrown alive into the Lake of Fire (Rev. 19:20), which is how the Dead Sea was described when solid petroleum deposits would bubble up from fissures in its depths, and be set on fire by lightning. These fissures were sealed off by an earthquake in 1840, but another earthquake, when the Messiah sets His foot on the Mount of Olives (Zech. 14:4) may open it up again. The Dead Sea is very close to the plain of Yericho. Jewish legend says Tzidqiyahu had broken faith with Nevukhadretzar on several occasions, publicly shaming him with knowledge he had sworn not to reveal, and Nevukahdretzar told him that, while according to the Torah and the laws of the state, he should receive the death penalty for his false oaths, he could be spared if he remained loyal. Again he swore to this to save his life, but then went back on his promise. (Ginzberg)
6. Then the king of Bavel began to slaughter Tzidqiyahu’s sons in his sight at Rivlah, and the king of Bavel slaughtered all the freeborn nobles of Yehudah.
Freeborn nobles: those who had abused Yirmeyahu. The prophet had told Tzidqiyahu that he would be exiled to Babylonia (34:3), but that he would never see that land. According to tradition, the king thought this was contradictory, and therefore untrue, but this is how the two prophecies converged:
7. Then he blinded Tzidqiyahu’s eyes and bound him with bronze fetters to bring him to Bavel.
Fetters: Aramaic, chains.
8. The Khasdim also burned the king’s house and the people’s houses with fire, and pulled down the wall of Yerushalayim.
9. Now the rest of the people who were left in the city and the fallen who had prostrated themselves to him, Nevuzar’adan, captain of the guard, carried away into exile in Bavel.
Captain of the guard: alt., chief butcher (as of those who massacre men) or chief executioner (as borne out by the Aramaic translation).
10. But the poor, who did not have anything, Nevuzar’adan, the captain of the guard, left in the land of Yehudah and gave them vineyards and plowed fields on that day.
Poor: here, the weak, languishing, or low. He made them rich through a form of socialism that kept them docile, but under the wrong agreement; they were still used by those truly in power in a foreign land. They would be likely to tell their sons what Babylon did for them rather than what YHWH did for them. This trick is still used today to keep churches towing the line of political agendas. The nobility who did surrender, however, such as Daniel, were treated well in their exile, and actually had government posts.
11. Then Nevukhadretzar, king of Bavel, gave orders concerning Yirmeyahu by the hand of Nevuzar’adan, the captain of the guard, saying,
12. “Fetch him and set your eyes upon him, and do not do any harm to him, but whatever he tells you, that [is what] you shall do with him.”
13. So Nevuzar’adan, the captain of the guard sent [for him]; Nevushazban (chief of the eunuchs), Nergal-Shar’etzer (the chief astrologer), and all the chiefs of the king of Bavel
14. also sent and brought Yirmeyahu out of the courtyard of the prison-warden, and they entrusted him to Gedalyahu, the son of Akhiqam the son of Shafan, to conduct him out to [his] home, and he lived among the people.
15. Now the word of YHWH had come to Yirmeyahu while he was being detained in the courtyard of the prison-warden, telling [him]
16. to go and tell Eved-Melekh the Kushite, “Thus says YHWH [Master] of Armies, the Elohim of Israel: ‘Here I am, bringing to pass My pronouncements against this city for harm and not for benefit, and they will be [done] in front of your face in that day.
17. “‘But I will deliver you on that day,” declares YHWH, “and you will not be handed over to the men before whose faces you are afraid,
Y’shua said that anyone who aided one of His brothers who was in prison would also receive great reward. (Mat. 25:35ff; compare Psalm 91:7-8.)
18. “‘because I will let you slip away to escape, and you will not fall by the sword; rather, your life will be yours as plunder since you have put your trust in Me,’” declares YHWH.
Escape: a privilege that the king himself was not allowed. Since you have put your trust in Me: compare Yeshayahu 53:12; Psalm 91:9-10.
CHAPTER 40
1. The word that came to Yirmeyahu from YHWH after Nevuzar’adan, captain of the guard, had sent him from Ramah, when he was taken, bound [in chains], among all the exiles from Yerushalayim and Yehudah who were being carried away captive into Bavel:
2. Now the captain of the guard fetched Yirmeyahu and said to him, “YHWH your Elohim had threatened [to bring] this trouble against this place,
This “word from YHWH” actually came through the Babylonian official!
3. “and [now] YHWH has [begun to] bring it about and to do what He said, since you sinned against YHWH and would not obey His voice. So this thing has come upon you.
4. “But now I have loosed you today from the chains that are on your hands. If it [seems] agreeable in your eyes to come with me to Bavel, [then] come, and I will set my eye over you; but if it is wrong in your eyes to come with me to Bavel, [then] stay. Look, the whole land is before you! Wherever it is pleasing or appropriate in your eyes to go, go there!”
Set my eye over you: Aramaic, take good care of you. Stay: literally, forebear, stop, leave undone.
5. While he still had not gone back, [he added], “Or, go back to Gedalyah the son of Akhiqam the son of Shafan, whom the king of Bavel has appointed overseer over the cities of Yehudah, and settle with him among the people—or go to wherever it is appropriate in your eyes to go.” And the captain of the guard gave him a ration and a loan, and sent him off,
Loan: or contribution.
6. and Yirmeyahu went into Mitzpah to Gedalyah the son of Akhiqam, and settled with him among the people who remained in the Land.
Mitzpah: or simply, a watchtower.
7. Now when all the captains of the forces that were in the field—they and their men—heard that the king of Bavel had appointed Gedalyahu the son of Akhiqam as overseer in the Land, and had entrusted to him men, women, and toddlers, as well as some of the poorest of the Land from [among] those who were not taken into exile in Bavel,
Forces in the field: i.e, those of Yehudah.
8. then they came to Gedalyah at Mitzpah (namely Yishma’el the son of Nethanyahu, Yochanan and Yonathan, the sons of Qareach, Serayah the son of Tanchumeth, the sons of Eufei the Netofite, and Yezanyahu the son of the Maakhathite, along with their men),
Yishma’el means “Elohim has heard.” Yochanan means “YHWH has shown favor”. Yonathan means “YHWH has given.” Serayah means “YHWH has contended”. Eufei means “gloomy”. Yezanyahu (if a shortened form of Yaazanyahu) means “YHWH has given ear”.
9. and Gedalyahu the son of Akhiqam, the son of Shafan, swore to them and to their men, saying, “Don’t be afraid of serving the Khasdim. Settle in the Land and serve the king of Bavel, and it will go well for you.
Go well for you: LXX, be better for you.
10. “Now I [myself] am staying at Mitzpah to stand before [any] Khasdim who may come against us, but you collect wine, summer [fruit], and oil, put them in your containers, and settle in your cities that you have held.
Apparently he was distributing food for them as a gift from the king of Bavel. Summer fruit: Aramaic, figs. Held: LXX, obtained possession of.
11. Also, when all the Jews who were in Moav and among the sons of Ammon and in Edom or who were in any [other] lands heard that the king of Bavel had permitted some from Yehudah to remain and had appointed Gedalyah the son of Akhiqam, the son of Shafan over them,
12. then all the Jews came back from all the places into which they had been banished, and came into the Land of Yehudah to Gedalyah at Mitzpah and collected wine and summer [fruits] in very great quantities.
The land had had its rest during the siege because many had fled to Yerushalayim for refuge from the enemies. (35:11) So now it was producing in abundance. After a much longer exile, the Land of Israel is again becoming very fruitful on many levels. It looked as if things were not so bad for those still in the Land.
13. But Yochanan the son of Qareach and all the captains of the forces that were in the field came to Gedalyah at Mitzpah,
14. and told him, “I’m sure you realize that Ba’alis the king of the sons of Ammon has sent Yishma’el the son of Nethanyah to destroy your life!” But Gedalyahu the son of Akhiqamdid not believe them.
This is very much like those in the Land today who simply will not believe that the descendants of the original Yishma’el do not have peaceful intentions toward Yehudah.
15. Yochanan the son of Qareach even spoke to Gedalyahu in secret at Mitzpah, saying, “Please let me go and kill Yishma’el the son of Nethanyah, and no one will know. Why should he destroy [your] life and [let] all the Jews that have gathered to you be scattered, and what’s left of Yehudah be done away with?
16. But Gedalyahu the son of Akhiqam told Yochanan the son of Qareach, “Do not do this thing, because you are telling a lie against Yishma’el.”
CHAPTER 41
1. Now it turned out that in the seventh month, Yishma’el the son of Nethanyah the son of Elishama (from the royal seed and of the king’s chief men) came to Gedalyah the son of Akhiqam at Mitzpah, and ten men were with him, and they ate bread together there at Mitzpah.
Having ten men with him, he is a picture of the Counterfeit Messiah. (Joseph Good) Gedalyah was not of the royal line of David, but was someone who served at Babylon’s pleasure, just as the leaders of Yehudah today operate at the behest of the U.S. and the U.N. The unique present-day combination of this factor, the fruitfulness of the Land, and the refusal to believe there is an enemy may suggest that the remainder of the scenario in this chapter may also have prophetic significance in the coming days.
2. Then Yishma’el the son of Nethanyah rose up along with the ten men who were with him, and struck down Gedalyahu the son of Akhiqam with the sword; thus they killed the one whom the king of Bavel had appointed overseer over the Land.
A fast is held each year in Gedalyahu’s memory to this day. Ten men: symbolic of an entire congregation, so perhaps these portray the religious Muslims who perpetrate suicide bombings.
3. Yishma’el also struck down all the Jews who were with him (with Gedalyahu) at Mitzpah, along with the Khasdim (the men of war) who were found there.
4. Then on the second day [after] he had killed Gedalyahu, while no one [yet] knew [about it],
5. men came from Sh’khem, Shilo, and Shomron—eighty men with beards shaven off, clothes torn, and cutting themselves, having a tribute and frankincense in their hand to bring to the House of YHWH,
Beards shaven: a sign of deep mourning. Cutting themselves: Aramaic, mutilating. They were not completely familiar with the Torah’s commands, but they appear to have been headed for a Yom Kippur service at the Temple, perhaps not yet knowing it had been destroyed. Or perhaps they wished to mourn its loss on its former site. Yet all of these men were from the Northern Kingdom’s territory, so they probably represent Christians who want to worship YHWH, yet are used to worshipping in a pagan manner, since they are not taught the right way. A tribute: LXX, manna.
6. and Yishma’el the son of Nethanyah went out to meet them, shedding tears as he walked along, and when he joined them he said, “Come to Gedalyahu the son of Akhiqam!”
Gedalyahu pretended to be one of these naïve people.
7. But it turned out that when they came into the middle of the city, Yishma’el the son of Nethanyah slaughtered them toward the middle of the cistern—he and the men who were with him.
The Muslims claim that after they kill the “Saturday people” (v. 3), they will then kill the “Sunday people”.
8. But ten men were found among them who said to Yishma’el, “Don’t kill us, because we have caches of wheat, barley, oil, and honey in the field!” So he held back and did not have them put to death along wit their brothers.
Ten men: one congregation remained. Caches: much like the five virgins in Y’shua’s parable who had an extra reserve of oil. (Mat. 25)
9. Now the cistern where Yishma’el had thrown all the corpses of the men he had struck down was the one that the king, Asa, had made because of the presence of Baasha, king of Israel. Yishma’el the son of Nethanyah filled it with those who were [mortally] pierced.
Because of the presence of Baasha: LXX, for fear of Baasha. As long as he and Asa were both on the throne, there was war between them. (1 Kings 15:16, 32) In fact, Mitzpah was built with the stones of the dismantled Ramah, which Baasha had built in order to stage a siege of Yerushalayim. (15:22) This cistern was for the purpose of maintaining a water supply in the city despite the siege, much like the spring-fed pool Hizqiyahu had built during the siege of Sennacheriv of Ashur. (2 Chron. 32:30)
10. And Yishma’el began carrying away captive all the rest of the people who were in Mitzpah—the king’s daughters, and all the people who were left in Mitzpah, whom Nevuzar’adan the captain of the guard had entrusted to Gedalyahu the son of Akhiqam. When Yishma’el the son of Nethanyah had taken them captive, he started walking, [intending] to cross over to the sons of Ammon.
11. But when Yochjanan the son of Qareach and all the captains of the forces who were with him heard [about] all the evil that Yishma’el the son of Nethanyah had done,
12. they took all the men and went to fight with Yishma’el the son of Nethanyah, and they came upon him at the abundant waters that are at Giv’on.
Giv’on is only a few miles north of Yerushalayim, near the well-known modern Arab city of Ramallah. It is where King Shlomo had asked YHWH for wisdom when YHWH had offered him whatever he wanted.
13. Now when all the people who were with Yishma’el saw Yochanan the son of Qareach and all the captains of the forces who were with him, they rejoiced,
14. and all the people whom Yishma’el had taken captive from Mitzpah turned around and followed Yochanan the son of Qareach.
15. But Yishma’el the son of Nethanyah escaped from Yochanan’s presence with eight men, and went to the sons of Ammon.
He thus lost two of his captains.
16. Then Yochanan the son of Qareach and all the captains of the forces who were with him took those of the people from Mitzpah who remained, whom he had recovered from Yishma’el the son of Nethanyah after he had struck down Gedalyah the son of Akhiqam—the heroic men of war, the women, the toddlers, and the eunuchs whom he had brought back from Giv’on.
17. So they went and stayed at the inn of Kimoham which is just beside Beyth-Lekhem in order to leave and go into Egypt,
Kimoham means “awaiting with longing”. Perhaps this was the inn that had no room when Y’shua was about to be born. Though they were in a place of longing and so close to the “place of bread” (Beyth-Lekhem), they still were seeking their protection from a place YHWH had forbidden Israel to go to for protection. (Deut. 17:16)
18. because of the presence of the Khasdim, since they were afraid of them on account of Yishma’el the son of Nethanyah’s having killed Gedalyahu the son of Akhiqam, whom the king of Bavel had appointed [as overseer] in the Land.
THE WRITINGS OF THE PROPHET
Yirmeyahu
(Jeremiah)
INTRODUCTION: Yirmeyahu, traditionally called Jeremiah in English, was a priest, and therefore from the tribe of Levi, and a reluctant prophet due to his young age. He prophesied beginning almost 100 years after the fall of the Northern Kingdom (Israel), just after Yoshiyahu’s widespread reforms, and just prior to the fall of the Southern Kingdom (Yehudah). The reigns spanned were the fifth-last and (skipping the three-month reign of Yehoakhaz) the final three kings of the Southern Kingdom. (Yehoyachin is not mentioned in 1:3, but he reigned for three months between the reigns of Yehoyaqim and Tzidqiyahu.) The time frame was 628 B.C.E.—about 60 years after Yeshayahu’s death--and from 609 through 586 B.C.E. (2 Kings 22-25; 2 Chron. 34-36) During this time Yoshiyahu was killed for meddling in Pharaoh Nekho’s military affairs, his son Yehoachaz was taken to Egypt, Nevukhadnetzar of Babylon made Yehudah a vassal, Yehoyaqim rebelled and was then plagued with Chaldean, Aramean, Moavite, and Ammonite raiders, Nevukhadnetzar again besieged Yerushalayim, Yehoyaqim surrendered and was taken captive to Babylon along with the temple and royal treasures (to be imprisoned 37 years, then treated well by the Babylonians until he died, as per 52:31). Tzidqiyahu was installed in his place, until he too rebelled and Yerushalayim was burned and the walls broken down. This particular Yirmeyahu is also mentioned in the 2 Chronicles 36 account, but that this was a common name in his generation is evident from several others mentioned throughout the books of Kings, Chronicles, and Nechemyah, including the grandfather of King Yehoakhaz.
32:6-27 is a haftarah (companion passage) to Torah portion B'Har.
