Jeremiah 13:1–14

Symbol of the Linen Sash

13

13:1 Thus the LORD said to me: “Go and get yourself a linen sash, and put it around your waist, but do not put it in water.” ² So I got a sash according to the word of the LORD, and put it around my waist.

* Who’s Controlling Carchemish? (Jer. 46:2)

Carchemish was a major city with a strategic location on the Upper Euphrates River. Its position 120 miles inland from the northeastern corner of the Mediterranean put it near the main route from Egypt through Palestine to Assyria and Babylonia.

The city was sometimes independent and sometimes under foreign control. The Egyptians controlled it in the 15th century B.C., and the Hittites in the 13th century. Later on the Assyrians forced Carchemish to pay them taxes, and in 717 B.C. they conquered and destroyed the city (see Is. 10:9).

Carchemish was a key site in the struggle of Assyria and Egypt against Babylon. In 609 B.C. Pharaoh Necho of Egypt moved his army northward to help the Assyrians against Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. King Josiah of Judah for some reason tried to stop Necho, engaging the Egyptians at Megiddo, but was killed in the attempt (2 Kin. 23:29, 30; 2 Chr. 35:20–25).

Eventually, Necho was able to occupy and fortify Carchemish for Egypt. But in 605 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians defeated Necho at the battle of Carchemish. This defeat, which Jeremiah mentions (Jer. 46:2), put the Egyptians out of the way and allowed the Babylonians to bring their forces down to Judah.

Judah was a small nation pressed between the Egyptians to the south and the Assyrians and Babylonians to the north. Josiah’s Judean army was no match for the more powerful Egyptians in 609. However, Jeremiah prophesies that Judah’s God, who is sovereign over political powers, would end Egypt’s control of Carchemish in 605. God had planned a sacrifice “in the north country by the River Euphrates” (Jer. 46:10).

³ And the word of the LORD came to me the second time, saying, ⁴ “Take the sash that you acquired, which is around your waist, and arise, go to the Euphrates,^a and hide it there in a hole in the rock.” ⁵ So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me.

⁶ Now it came to pass after many days that the LORD said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there the sash which I commanded you to hide there.” ⁷ Then I went to the Euphrates and dug, and I took the sash from the place where I had hidden it; and there was the sash, ruined. It was profitable for nothing.

⁸ Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ⁹ “Thus says the LORD: ‘In this manner I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. ¹⁰ This evil people, who refuse to hear My words, who follow the dictates of their hearts, and walk after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be just like this sash which is profitable for nothing. ¹¹ For as the sash clings to the waist of a man, so I have caused the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to cling to Me,’ says the LORD, ‘that they may become My people, for renown, for praise, and for glory; but they would not hear.’

The Battle of Carchemish

Symbol of the Wine Bottles

¹² “Therefore you shall speak to them this word: ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel: “Every bottle shall be filled with wine.” ’

“And they will say to you, ‘Do we not certainly know that every bottle will be filled with wine?’

¹³ “Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land—even the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—with drunkenness! ¹⁴ And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together,” says the LORD. “I will not pity nor spare nor have mercy, but will destroy them.” ’ ”

Jeremiah 18:1–17

The Potter and the Clay

18

18:1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying: ² “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.” ³ Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. ⁴ And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.

Science & Technology

A potter’s wheel (Jer. 18:3) is a horizontal platform that rotates and allows the workman to form circular vessels accurately. If the rotation is fast enough and has adequate momentum, the potter makes the vessel by pressing and pulling the clay as it turns. A half-shaped vessel can be folded down and remolded into a new one with no particular effort (18:4).

⁵ Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: ⁶ “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the LORD. “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel! ⁷ The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, ⁸ if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. ⁹ And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, ¹⁰ if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.

¹¹ “Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Behold, I am fashioning a disaster and devising a plan against you. Return now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.” ’ ”

God’s Warning Rejected

¹² And they said, “That is hopeless! So we will walk according to our own plans, and we will every one obey the dictates of his evil heart.”

¹³ Therefore thus says the LORD:

“Ask now among the Gentiles,

Who has heard such things?

The virgin of Israel has done a very horrible thing.

¹⁴ Will a man leave the snow water of Lebanon,

Which comes from the rock of the field?

Will the cold flowing waters be forsaken for strange waters?

¹⁵ “Because My people have forgotten Me,

They have burned incense to worthless idols.

And they have caused themselves to stumble in their ways,

From the ancient paths,

To walk in pathways and not on a highway,

¹⁶ To make their land desolate and a perpetual hissing;

Everyone who passes by it will be astonished

And shake his head.

¹⁷ I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy;

I will show them^a the back and not the face

In the day of their calamity.”

Transition

Jeremiah’s Scroll

By the 4th year of Jehoiakim’s reign (605 B.C.), when Babylon affirmed its supremacy at the battle of Carchemish, Jeremiah was well known to the Jerusalem leadership. Indeed, his constant condemnations of Judah’s leaders had led them to banish him from the temple. There would be no more sermons at the temple gates (see “Jeremiah’s Temple Sermon” at Jer. 26:1). Jeremiah was not so easily silenced, though. The prophet dictated a message to his friend and scribe, Baruch, and sent him to read the scroll on the day of fasting (Jer. 36:1–10). Baruch had to wait over a year before a day of fasting was proclaimed. The 9th month of Jehoiakim’s 5th year (36:9, 22), following the Babylonian calendar, would place the fast in December, 604 B.C.

The exact contents of this scroll are uncertain, although it may have contained large portions of what is now Jer. 1–25. The message of Jer. 25:1–14 must have been a part of the scroll, since the superscription (25:1) dates these verses in Jehoiakim’s 4th year, and the phrase “this book” (25:13) may refer to the scroll. Jeremiah reminds the people (25:3) that 23 years have passed since his calling in the 13th year of Josiah’s reign (627 B.C.), and he has spoken to them repeatedly.

The second of Jeremiah’s Confessions (15:10–21) can be read as an appropriate response to the king’s rejection and burning of Jeremiah’s written oracle (36:11–32). Jeremiah’s friend Baruch also suffered and made his complaint, to which Jeremiah responds strongly (45:1–5). Baruch’s brother, Seraiah, served as a high official under King Zedekiah. Baruch had good reason to believe that he, too, could have gained a responsible position in Judah’s court (both were sons of Neriah, 32:12; 51:59). He forfeited that dream by siding with Jeremiah and alienating Judah’s rulers.

• Jeremiah 36:1–10
• Jeremiah 25:1–14
• Jeremiah 36:11–32
• Jeremiah 45:1–5
• Jeremiah 15:10–21

The younger brothers of Kamanas, king of Carchemish, playing games

Jeremiah 36:1–10

The Scroll Read in the Temple

36

36:1 Now it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, that this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying: ² “Take a scroll of a book and write on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel, against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah even to this day. ³ It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the adversities which I purpose to bring upon them, that everyone may turn from his evil way, that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.”

* Jehoiakim Resists Babylon’s Control (Jer. 36:1)

Jehoiakim, whose personal name was Eliakim, was one of the last three kings of the Judean monarchy (609–598 B.C.). He began his reign as a vassal to Egypt. After the death of his father Josiah at the battle of Megiddo (609 B.C.), Jehoiakim’s brother Jehoahaz became Judah’s new king. The Egyptian pharaoh Necho II removed Jehoahaz from the throne, deporting him to Egypt and replacing him with his brother Jehoiakim. Paying tribute to Egypt was Jehoiakim’s task as a puppet ruler under Egypt’s control.

After the battle of Carchemish, which took place in Jehoiakim’s 4th year (605 B.C.; Jer. 25:1; 36:1), the Judean king was obliged to shift allegiance to the new power in the area, Chaldean Babylon. The Babylonian Chronicle records that Nebuchadnezzar II marched to the west in 605 B.C. and conducted campaigns in Syria-Palestine from 605 to 601 B.C. It was probably the campaign of 604–603 B.C. for which the Babylonian Chronicle notes that Nebuchadnezzar exacted tribute from many of the Palestinian rulers, which would have included Jehoiakim.

The Judean monarch subsequently continued to pay tribute for the next 3 or 4 years, until the Babylonians suffered setbacks from Egypt. Jehoiakim then rebelled. Nebuchadnezzar did not immediately move against Jerusalem, possibly because, according to the Babylonian Chronicle, he remained in Babylon resupplying his army during his 5th year (599 B.C.).

Jehoiakim’s luck would not last forever. The Babylonian Chronicle relates the capture of Jerusalem 2 years later (597 B.C.) by the Babylonian forces. Jehoiakim died either during or as a result of the siege. His son Jehoiachin was deposed, and enormous amounts of tribute were sent to Babylon.

⁴ Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah; and Baruch wrote on a scroll of a book, at the instruction of Jeremiah,^a all the words of the LORD which He had spoken to him. ⁵ And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, “I am confined, I cannot go into the house of the LORD. ⁶ You go, therefore, and read from the scroll which you have written at my instruction,^a the words of the LORD, in the hearing of the people in the LORD’s house on the day of fasting. And you shall also read them in the hearing of all Judah who come from their cities. ⁷ It may be that they will present their supplication before the LORD, and everyone will turn from his evil way. For great is the anger and the fury that the LORD has pronounced against this people.” ⁸ And Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading from the book the words of the LORD in the LORD’s house.

⁹ Now it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, that they proclaimed a fast before the LORD to all the people in Jerusalem, and to all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem. ¹⁰ Then Baruch read from the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the LORD, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the upper court at the entry of the New Gate of the LORD’s house, in the hearing of all the people.

Jeremiah 25:1–14

Seventy Years of Desolation

25

25:1 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), ² which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying: ³ “From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, this is the twenty-third year in which the word of the LORD has come to me; and I have spoken to you, rising early and speaking, but you have not listened. ⁴ And the LORD has sent to you all His servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear. ⁵ They said, ‘Repent now everyone of his evil way and his evil doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD has given to you and your fathers forever and ever. ⁶ Do not go after other gods to serve them and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands; and I will not harm you.’ ⁷ Yet you have not listened to Me,” says the LORD, “that you might provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.

⁸ “Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Because you have not heard My words, ⁹ behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,’ says the LORD, ‘and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations. ¹⁰ Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. ¹¹ And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

* A Faithful Friend and Scribe (Jer. 36:4, 32)

Jeremiah dictated his prophetic message to a certain Baruch, the son of Neriah (Jer. 36:4). When temple officials forbade Jeremiah to enter the temple with his message of judgment, Baruch took the scroll into the temple courtyard and faithfully read it there (36:9, 10). Ultimately, the king destroyed the scroll, only to have Jeremiah dictate another to Baruch (36:20–24, 32). For his efforts, Baruch received a warrant for his arrest, and had to go into hiding (36:26).

Throughout the Book of Jeremiah, Baruch is pictured as Jeremiah’s loyal friend, scribe, and lawyer. Baruch witnessed and sealed the legal transaction for Jeremiah’s purchase of land and personally held the deed for Jeremiah (36:12–16). When the military forced Jeremiah to move to Egypt as a refugee following the destruction of Jerusalem, Baruch went with him (43:5, 6). Baruch was evidently Jeremiah’s “right-hand man.”

Yet Baruch was also a very important person in Jerusalem’s society. A seal impression reading “Belonging to Berechiah, son of Neriah, the scribe” has been found in a royal archive. This seal of “Berechiah” (the long form of the name “Baruch”) identifies Baruch’s profession as a scribe, yet also suggests that he was probably a royal scribe from a prominent scribal family.

Not just anyone had a seal, only those with wealth and influence. Such a seal was a ring used to grant legal status to documents and transactions. Pressed into soft clay, it made the document legally binding based upon the status and character of the person. Baruch’s seal impression matches two imprints, or bullae, which were made by the seal. Apparently, Jeremiah’s friend and scribe had important connections within Jerusalem’s society.

¹² ‘Then it will come to pass, when seventy years are completed, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity,’ says the LORD; ‘and I will make it a perpetual desolation. ¹³ So I will bring on that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied concerning all the nations. ¹⁴ (For many nations and great kings shall be served by them also; and I will repay them according to their deeds and according to the works of their own hands.)’ ”

Jeremiah 36:11–32

The Scroll Read in the Palace

36

36:11 When Michaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the LORD from the book, ¹² he then went down to the king’s house, into the scribe’s chamber; and there all the princes were sitting—Elishama the scribe, Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, Elnathan the son of Achbor, Gemariah the son of Shaphan, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the princes. ¹³ Then Michaiah declared to them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read the book in the hearing of the people. ¹⁴ Therefore all the princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, “Take in your hand the scroll from which you have read in the hearing of the people, and come.” So Baruch the son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand and came to them. ¹⁵ And they said to him, “Sit down now, and read it in our hearing.” So Baruch read it in their hearing.

¹⁶ Now it happened, when they had heard all the words, that they looked in fear from one to another, and said to Baruch, “We will surely tell the king of all these words.” ¹⁷ And they asked Baruch, saying, “Tell us now, how did you write all these words—at his instruction?”^a

¹⁸ So Baruch answered them, “He proclaimed with his mouth all these words to me, and I wrote them with ink in the book.”

¹⁹ Then the princes said to Baruch, “Go and hide, you and Jeremiah; and let no one know where you are.”

The King Destroys Jeremiah’s Scroll

²⁰ And they went to the king, into the court; but they stored the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and told all the words in the hearing of the king. ²¹ So the king sent Jehudi to bring the scroll, and he took it from Elishama the scribe’s chamber. And Jehudi read it in the hearing of the king and in the hearing of all the princes who stood beside the king. ²² Now the king was sitting in the winter house in the ninth month, with a fire burning on the hearth before him. ²³ And it happened, when Jehudi had read three or four columns, that the king cut it with the scribe’s knife and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth. ²⁴ Yet they were not afraid, nor did they tear their garments, the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words. ²⁵ Nevertheless Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah implored the king not to burn the scroll; but he would not listen to them. ²⁶ And the king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s^a son, Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the LORD hid them.

Jeremiah Rewrites the Scroll

²⁷ Now after the king had burned the scroll with the words which Baruch had written at the instruction of Jeremiah,^a the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying: ²⁸ “Take yet another scroll, and write on it all the former words that were in the first scroll which Jehoiakim the king of Judah has burned. ²⁹ And you shall say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, ‘Thus says the LORD: “You have burned this scroll, saying, ‘Why have you written in it that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and cause man and beast to cease from here?’ ” ³⁰ Therefore thus says the LORD concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: “He shall have no one to sit on the throne of David, and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat of the day and the frost of the night. ³¹ I will punish him, his family, and his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring on them, on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and on the men of Judah all the doom that I have pronounced against them; but they did not heed.” ’ ”

³² Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote on it at the instruction of Jeremiah^a all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And besides, there were added to them many similar words.

Jeremiah 45:1–5

Assurance To Baruch

45

45:1 The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book at the instruction of Jeremiah,^a in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, ² “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch: ³ ‘You said, “Woe is me now! For the LORD has added grief to my sorrow. I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest.” ’

⁴ “Thus you shall say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Behold, what I have built I will break down, and what I have planted I will pluck up, that is, this whole land. ⁵ And do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, I will bring adversity on all flesh,” says the LORD. “But I will give your life to you as a prize in all places, wherever you go.” ’ ”

Jeremiah 15:10–21

Jeremiah’s Dejection

15

15:10 Woe is me, my mother, That you have borne me,

A man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth!

I have neither lent for interest,

Nor have men lent to me for interest.

Every one of them curses me.

¹¹ The LORD said:

“Surely it will be well with your remnant;

Surely I will cause the enemy to intercede with you

In the time of adversity and in the time of affliction.

¹² Can anyone break iron,

The northern iron and the bronze?

¹³ Your wealth and your treasures

I will give as plunder without price,

Because of all your sins,

Throughout your territories.

¹⁴ And I will make you cross over with^a your enemies

Into a land which you do not know;

For a fire is kindled in My anger,

Which shall burn upon you.”

¹⁵ O LORD, You know;

Remember me and visit me,

And take vengeance for me on my persecutors.

In Your enduring patience, do not take me away.

Know that for Your sake I have suffered rebuke.

¹⁶ Your words were found, and I ate them,

And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;

For I am called by Your name,

O LORD God of hosts.

¹⁷ I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers,

Nor did I rejoice;

I sat alone because of Your hand,

For You have filled me with indignation.

¹⁸ Why is my pain perpetual

And my wound incurable,

Which refuses to be healed?

Will You surely be to me like an unreliable stream,

As waters that fail?

Arts & Literature

Before the time of Christ, books were written on scrolls made of leather or papyrus, a kind of paper. A typical papyrus scroll was 10 inches high and 15 feet long, with the text written in columns. The scroll that Baruch wrote and then rewrote probably included a significant part of the present Book of Jeremiah, though it is impossible to know which sections exactly (Jer. 36:27).

The LORD Reassures Jeremiah

¹⁹ Therefore thus says the LORD:

“If you return,

Then I will bring you back;

You shall stand before Me;

If you take out the precious from the vile,

You shall be as My mouth.

Let them return to you,

But you must not return to them.

²⁰ And I will make you to this people a fortified bronze wall;

And they will fight against you,

But they shall not prevail against you;

For I am with you to save you

And deliver you,” says the LORD.

²¹ “I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked,

And I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible.”

Transition

The Droughts

In his early prophecies, Jeremiah calls repeatedly for the people to return to the Lord (e.g., 4:1–4), but in his later oracles he seems less hopeful that the people can repent. Perhaps the continual rejection of his message by the people and the king led to this bleak new perspective.

The mention of “the droughts” (Jer. 14:1) does not specify when these droughts occurred; however, the oracles that follow fit the later years of Jehoiakim’s reign. These passages are difficult to place historically, but because of their similarity in theme and their recurring images of deserts and desolation, they can be read in the context of those droughts.

This was a time for weeping, not just by the doomed nation but by the prophet who proclaimed that doom. Jeremiah’s laments in Jer. 14:1–15:9 emphasize that Judah’s reality would be droughts, war, and famine. The prophet’s lifestyle —forbidding marriage, childbearing, attendance at funerals and weddings —was to be a constant reminder of Judah’s imminent tragedy (16:1–17:27). Themes of Judah’s evil and the consequences of judgment continue in Jer. 8:4–10:16. At times Jeremiah could weep without ceasing (9:1); at other times he wanted to flee from his people (9:2). His discouragement is especially evident in 17:14–18, the third of his “Confessions.”

• Jeremiah 14:1–15:9
• Jeremiah 16:1–17:27
• Jeremiah 8:4–10:16

Jeremiah 14:1–15:9

Sword, Famine, and Pestilence

14

14:1 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the droughts.

² “Judah mourns,

And her gates languish;

They mourn for the land,

And the cry of Jerusalem has gone up.

³ Their nobles have sent their lads for water;

They went to the cisterns and found no water.

They returned with their vessels empty;

They were ashamed and confounded

And covered their heads.

⁴ Because the ground is parched,

For there was no rain in the land,

The plowmen were ashamed;

They covered their heads.

⁵ Yes, the deer also gave birth in the field,

But left because there was no grass.

⁶ And the wild donkeys stood in the desolate heights;

They sniffed at the wind like jackals;

Their eyes failed because there was no grass.”

⁷ O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us,

Do it for Your name’s sake;

For our backslidings are many,

We have sinned against You.

⁸ O the Hope of Israel, his Savior in time of trouble,

Why should You be like a stranger in the land,

And like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night?

⁹ Why should You be like a man astonished,

Like a mighty one who cannot save?

Yet You, O LORD, are in our midst,

And we are called by Your name;

Do not leave us!

¹⁰ Thus says the LORD to this people:

“Thus they have loved to wander;

They have not restrained their feet.

Therefore the LORD does not accept them;

He will remember their iniquity now,

And punish their sins.”

¹¹ Then the LORD said to me, “Do not pray for this people, for their good. ¹² When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.”

¹³ Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, the prophets say to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.’ ”

¹⁴ And the LORD said to me, “The prophets prophesy lies in My name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart. ¹⁵ Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who prophesy in My name, whom I did not send, and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not be in this land’—‘By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed! ¹⁶ And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; they will have no one to bury them—them nor their wives, their sons nor their daughters—for I will pour their wickedness on them.’

¹⁷ “Therefore you shall say this word to them:

‘Let my eyes flow with tears night and day,

And let them not cease;

For the virgin daughter of my people

Has been broken with a mighty stroke, with a very severe blow.

¹⁸ If I go out to the field,

Then behold, those slain with the sword!

And if I enter the city,

Then behold, those sick from famine!

Yes, both prophet and priest go about in a land they do not know.’ ”

The People Plead for Mercy

¹⁹ Have You utterly rejected Judah?

Has Your soul loathed Zion?

Why have You stricken us so that there is no healing for us?

We looked for peace, but there was no good;

And for the time of healing, and there was trouble.

²⁰ We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness

And the iniquity of our fathers,

For we have sinned against You.

²¹ Do not abhor us, for Your name’s sake;

Do not disgrace the throne of Your glory.

Remember, do not break Your covenant with us.

²² Are there any among the idols of the nations that can cause rain?

Or can the heavens give showers?

Are You not He, O LORD our God?

Therefore we will wait for You,

Since You have made all these.

Beliefs & Ideas

The famine resulting from lack of water was a natural calamity, yet the people responded with shame (Jer. 14:4). They felt responsibility for the famine because they considered it to be a punishment for their sins (14:7, 10). The control of the weather and especially rain was exclusively reserved to Judah’s God Yahweh (14:22), while surrounding religions attributed this power to Baal.

The LORD Will Not Relent

15

15:1 Then the LORD said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel stood before Me, My mind would not be favorable toward this people. Cast them out of My sight, and let them go forth. ² And it shall be, if they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you shall tell them, ‘Thus says the LORD:

* Manasseh’s Repentance and Forgiveness (Jer. 15:4)

Many of the prayers and hymns of the ancient Near East concern forgiveness for sins committed against a certain deity. The gods could be petitioned for forgiveness because they were viewed as merciful to those who freely confessed their sins. Restoration of health, property, or position were considered signs that forgiveness had been granted. Proper devotion to the god seems to have been enough in ancient times to cancel almost any kind of sin, whether committed with or without knowledge.

One example of a forgiveness prayer is Ludlul bel Nemeqi, a Mesopotamian text from the Kassite period (c. 1595–1157 B.C.). The text describes the sufferings of the author and his prayer to the Babylonian god Marduk for relief. The writer admits that he has sinned against the god, even though he is not exactly certain what the transgression was, and asks for mercy. Marduk accepts the petitioner’s prayer, forgives his sin, and restores him to health and fortune.

During a long reign (697–642 B.C.) King Manasseh had infuriated Yahweh with his heretical cult innovations. The devastating influence of this king’s actions on Judah’s national course was still remembered a half-century later by the prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 15:4). The Chronicler records Manasseh’s punishment by exile, his prayer of repentance, and acceptance by Yahweh (2 Chr. 33:11–13). As with other Near Eastern forgiveness prayers, Manasseh is restored to his kingdom (33:13).

“Such as are for death, to death;

And such as are for the sword, to the sword;

And such as are for the famine, to the famine;

And such as are for the captivity, to the captivity.” ’

³ “And I will appoint over them four forms of destruction,” says the LORD: “the sword to slay, the dogs to drag, the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. ⁴ I will hand them over to trouble, to all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.

⁵ “For who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem?

Or who will bemoan you?

Or who will turn aside to ask how you are doing?

⁶ You have forsaken Me,” says the LORD,

“You have gone backward.

Therefore I will stretch out My hand against you and destroy you;

I am weary of relenting!

⁷ And I will winnow them with a winnowing fan in the gates of the land;

I will bereave them of children;

I will destroy My people,

Since they do not return from their ways.

⁸ Their widows will be increased to Me more than the sand of the seas;

I will bring against them,

Against the mother of the young men,

A plunderer at noonday;

I will cause anguish and terror to fall on them suddenly.

⁹ “She languishes who has borne seven;

She has breathed her last;

Her sun has gone down

While it was yet day;

She has been ashamed and confounded.

And the remnant of them I will deliver to the sword

Before their enemies,” says the LORD.

Jeremiah 16:1–17:27

Jeremiah’s Lifestyle and Message

16

16:1 The word of the LORD also came to me, saying, ² “You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place.” ³ For thus says the LORD concerning the sons and daughters who are born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bore them and their fathers who begot them in this land: ⁴ “They shall die gruesome deaths; they shall not be lamented nor shall they be buried, but they shall be like refuse on the face of the earth. They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, and their corpses shall be meat for the birds of heaven and for the beasts of the earth.”

⁵ For thus says the LORD: “Do not enter the house of mourning, nor go to lament or bemoan them; for I have taken away My peace from this people,” says the LORD, “lovingkindness and mercies. ⁶ Both the great and the small shall die in this land. They shall not be buried; neither shall men lament for them, cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them. ⁷ Nor shall men break bread in mourning for them, to comfort them for the dead; nor shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or their mother. ⁸ Also you shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and drink.”

⁹ For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will cause to cease from this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.

¹⁰ “And it shall be, when you show this people all these words, and they say to you, ‘Why has the LORD pronounced all this great disaster against us? Or what is our iniquity? Or what is our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?’ ¹¹ then you shall say to them, ‘Because your fathers have forsaken Me,’ says the LORD; ‘they have walked after other gods and have served them and worshiped them, and have forsaken Me and not kept My law. ¹² And you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, each one follows the dictates of his own evil heart, so that no one listens to Me. ¹³ Therefore I will cast you out of this land into a land that you do not know, neither you nor your fathers; and there you shall serve other gods day and night, where I will not show you favor.’

God Will Restore Israel

¹⁴ “Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “that it shall no more be said, ‘The LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ ¹⁵ but, ‘The LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them.’ For I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers.

¹⁶ “Behold, I will send for many fishermen,” says the LORD, “and they shall fish them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks. ¹⁷ For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity hidden from My eyes. ¹⁸ And first I will repay double for their iniquity and their sin, because they have defiled My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable and abominable idols.”

¹⁹ O LORD, my strength and my fortress,

My refuge in the day of affliction,

The Gentiles shall come to You

From the ends of the earth and say,

“Surely our fathers have inherited lies,

Worthlessness and unprofitable things.”

²⁰ Will a man make gods for himself,

Which are not gods?

²¹ “Therefore behold, I will this once cause them to know,

I will cause them to know

My hand and My might;

And they shall know that My name is the LORD.

Judah’s Sin and Punishment

17

17:1 “The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron;

With the point of a diamond it is engraved

On the tablet of their heart,

And on the horns of your altars,

² While their children remember

Their altars and their wooden images^a

By the green trees on the high hills.

³ O My mountain in the field,

I will give as plunder your wealth, all your treasures,

And your high places of sin within all your borders.

⁴ And you, even yourself,

Shall let go of your heritage which I gave you;

And I will cause you to serve your enemies

In the land which you do not know;

For you have kindled a fire in My anger which shall burn forever.”

⁵ Thus says the LORD:

“Cursed is the man who trusts in man

And makes flesh his strength,

Whose heart departs from the LORD.

⁶ For he shall be like a shrub in the desert,

And shall not see when good comes,

But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness,

In a salt land which is not inhabited.

* A Prophet Without a Family (Jer. 16:2)

A prophet’s life often characterized the message that God had given that prophet to proclaim. The symbolism of the single life takes on dark overtones for Jeremiah (Jer. 16:2–13).

God prohibited Jeremiah from marrying, and thus from having children: “You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place” (Jer. 16:2). By prohibiting marriage, God emptied the prophet’s life of any future significance from the perspective of his society.

Israelite society was grounded upon the social institution of the family. Not only did the family provide stability for the present, it also carried the status of the family into the future. The man governed the family, and heirs provided the means for his “name,” his status and honor, to continue into new generations.

Marriage, then, represented the first step toward achieving an honorable future. Marriage was not so much about “falling in love” as it was a social compact between two families in the hope of gaining more status (honor) for both. Children were the expected fruit of a marriage, cementing the relationship between the families and providing an inheritor to carry on the family’s name into the future. With no children, one’s household had no future; without a wife, a man had no legitimate children.

By depriving Jeremiah of a family, God symbolically pronounced the depth and extent of His judgment upon Israel. Even without a family, Jeremiah would be better off than his peers. The children of his peers would die “gruesome deaths” (16:3, 4) so frequently that even the parents would not observe the proper mourning rituals (16:5–7). Given the depth of destruction, even celebrations, such as those at weddings, would not occur (16:9). Such would be the price for Judah forsaking Yahweh and walking after other gods (16:10, 11).

* Mourning at the Banquet Hall (Jer. 16:5, 8)

Banqueting houses were common in ancient times, as evidenced by the texts and material remains of the ancient Near East. They were places where individuals (as well as “gods”) came for the express purpose of drinking. The writer of Ecclesiastes planted “vineyards” and built “houses” (Eccl. 2:4), by which he could be referring to wine cellars, places where wine was drunk, ritual banquet houses, or even taverns. The prophet Jeremiah was commanded by God not to enter a “house of feasting … to eat and drink” (Jer. 16:8) because of the impending doom upon the nation.

The Hebrew term marzeah refers to some type of “house,” but is ambiguous in meaning. It is translated both as “banquets” (Amos 6:7) and as a “house of mourning” (Jer. 16:5). Whatever its meaning, it is apparently synonymous with the “house of feasting” in Jer. 16:8. The common denominator between the “house of mourning” in Jeremiah and the “banquets” in Amos may be drinking, and not mourning, as scholars have traditionally understood marzeah.

The house represented by marzeah is found in many written records outside of the Bible. At Ugarit, a Canaanite town with writings dating from 1400 to 1200 B.C., the marzeah appears to have been a meeting place for some kind of organization. The primary activity there was drinking. The marzeah organization owned much property, including vineyards, and often made large real estate transactions, as recorded in the Ugaritic texts.

The marzeah is also found in Phoenician writings from Carthage, as well as in Aramaic texts from Elephantine in Egypt, Palmyra, and Nabatea. It is also mentioned in a text from the Transjordan and in later Hebrew rabbinic writings. From this information, it appears that the marzeah was an organization known for its drinking festivals. Sometimes it was associated with funeral feasts, as many there would drink in order to console themselves. Jeremiah’s “house of mourning” (Jer. 16:5) and “house of feasting” (16:8) were possibly the same house.

⁷ “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,

And whose hope is the LORD.

⁸ For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,

Which spreads out its roots by the river,

And will not fear^a when heat comes;

But its leaf will be green,

And will not be anxious in the year of drought,

Nor will cease from yielding fruit.

⁹ “The heart is deceitful above all things,

And desperately wicked;

Who can know it?

¹⁰ I, the LORD, search the heart,

I test the mind,

Even to give every man according to his ways,

According to the fruit of his doings.

¹¹ “As a partridge that broods but does not hatch,

So is he who gets riches, but not by right;

It will leave him in the midst of his days,

And at his end he will be a fool.”

¹² A glorious high throne from the beginning

Is the place of our sanctuary.

¹³ O LORD, the hope of Israel,

All who forsake You shall be ashamed.

“Those who depart from Me

Shall be written in the earth,

Because they have forsaken the LORD,

The fountain of living waters.”

Jeremiah Prays for Deliverance

¹⁴ Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed;

Save me, and I shall be saved,

For You are my praise.

¹⁵ Indeed they say to me,

“Where is the word of the LORD?

Let it come now!”

¹⁶ As for me, I have not hurried away from being a shepherd who follows You,

Nor have I desired the woeful day;

You know what came out of my lips;

It was right there before You.

¹⁷ Do not be a terror to me;

You are my hope in the day of doom.

¹⁸ Let them be ashamed who persecute me,

But do not let me be put to shame;

Let them be dismayed,

But do not let me be dismayed.

Bring on them the day of doom,

And destroy them with double destruction!

Hallow the Sabbath Day

¹⁹ Thus the LORD said to me: “Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, by which the kings of Judah come in and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem; ²⁰ and say to them, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter by these gates. ²¹ Thus says the LORD: “Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; ²² nor carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, nor do any work, but hallow the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. ²³ But they did not obey nor incline their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear nor receive instruction.

²⁴ “And it shall be, if you heed Me carefully,” says the LORD, “to bring no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work in it, ²⁵ then shall enter the gates of this city kings and princes sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, accompanied by the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city shall remain forever. ²⁶ And they shall come from the cities of Judah and from the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin and from the lowland, from the mountains and from the South, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, bringing sacrifices of praise to the house of the LORD.

²⁷ “But if you will not heed Me to hallow the Sabbath day, such as not carrying a burden when entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.” ’ ”

Jeremiah 8:4–10:16

The Peril of False Teaching

8

8:4 “Moreover you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD:

“Will they fall and not rise?

Will one turn away and not return?

⁵ Why has this people slidden back,

Jerusalem, in a perpetual backsliding?

They hold fast to deceit,

They refuse to return.

⁶ I listened and heard,

But they do not speak aright.

No man repented of his wickedness,

Saying, ‘What have I done?’

Everyone turned to his own course,

As the horse rushes into the battle.

⁷ “Even the stork in the heavens

Knows her appointed times;

And the turtledove, the swift, and the swallow

Observe the time of their coming.

But My people do not know the judgment of the LORD.

⁸ “How can you say, ‘We are wise,

And the law of the LORD is with us’?

Look, the false pen of the scribe certainly works falsehood.

⁹ The wise men are ashamed,

They are dismayed and taken.

Behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD;

So what wisdom do they have?

¹⁰ Therefore I will give their wives to others,

And their fields to those who will inherit them;

Because from the least even to the greatest

Everyone is given to covetousness;

From the prophet even to the priest

Everyone deals falsely.

¹¹ For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of My people slightly,

Saying, ‘Peace, peace!’

When there is no peace.

¹² Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination?

No! They were not at all ashamed,

Nor did they know how to blush.

Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;

In the time of their punishment

They shall be cast down,” says the LORD.

¹³ “I will surely consume them,” says the LORD.

“No grapes shall be on the vine,

Nor figs on the fig tree,

And the leaf shall fade;

And the things I have given them shall pass away from them.” ’ ”

¹⁴ “Why do we sit still?

Assemble yourselves,

And let us enter the fortified cities,

And let us be silent there.

For the LORD our God has put us to silence

And given us water of gall to drink,

Because we have sinned against the LORD.

¹⁵ “We looked for peace, but no good came;

And for a time of health, and there was trouble!

¹⁶ The snorting of His horses was heard from Dan.

The whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of His strong ones;

For they have come and devoured the land and all that is in it,

The city and those who dwell in it.”

¹⁷ “For behold, I will send serpents among you,

Vipers which cannot be charmed,

And they shall bite you,” says the LORD.

The Prophet Mourns for the People

¹⁸ I would comfort myself in sorrow;

My heart is faint in me.

¹⁹ Listen! The voice,

The cry of the daughter of my people

From a far country:

“Is not the LORD in Zion?

Is not her King in her?”

“Why have they provoked Me to anger

With their carved images—

With foreign idols?”

²⁰ “The harvest is past,

The summer is ended,

And we are not saved!”

²¹ For the hurt of the daughter of my people I am hurt.

I am mourning;

Astonishment has taken hold of me.

²² Is there no balm in Gilead,

Is there no physician there?

Why then is there no recovery

For the health of the daughter of my people?

9

9:1 Oh, that my head were waters, And my eyes a fountain of tears,

That I might weep day and night

For the slain of the daughter of my people!

² Oh, that I had in the wilderness

A lodging place for travelers;

That I might leave my people,

And go from them!

For they are all adulterers,

An assembly of treacherous men.

³ “And like their bow they have bent their tongues for lies.

They are not valiant for the truth on the earth.

For they proceed from evil to evil,

And they do not know Me,” says the LORD.

⁴ “Everyone take heed to his neighbor,

And do not trust any brother;

For every brother will utterly supplant,

And every neighbor will walk with slanderers.

⁵ Everyone will deceive his neighbor,

And will not speak the truth;

They have taught their tongue to speak lies;

They weary themselves to commit iniquity.

⁶ Your dwelling place is in the midst of deceit;

Through deceit they refuse to know Me,” says the LORD.

⁷ Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts:

“Behold, I will refine them and try them;

For how shall I deal with the daughter of My people?

⁸ Their tongue is an arrow shot out;

It speaks deceit;

One speaks peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth,

But in his heart he lies in wait.

⁹ Shall I not punish them for these things?” says the LORD.

“Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?”

¹⁰ I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains,

And for the dwelling places of the wilderness a lamentation,

Because they are burned up,

So that no one can pass through;

Nor can men hear the voice of the cattle.

Both the birds of the heavens and the beasts have fled;

They are gone.

¹¹ “I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a den of jackals.

I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.”

¹² Who is the wise man who may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD has spoken, that he may declare it? Why does the land perish and burn up like a wilderness, so that no one can pass through?

¹³ And the LORD said, “Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice, nor walked according to it, ¹⁴ but they have walked according to the dictates of their own hearts and after the Baals, which their fathers taught them,” ¹⁵ therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink. ¹⁶ I will scatter them also among the Gentiles, whom neither they nor their fathers have known. And I will send a sword after them until I have consumed them.”

The People Mourn in Judgment

¹⁷ Thus says the LORD of hosts:

“Consider and call for the mourning women,

That they may come;

And send for skillful wailing women,

That they may come.

¹⁸ Let them make haste

And take up a wailing for us,

That our eyes may run with tears,

And our eyelids gush with water.

¹⁹ For a voice of wailing is heard from Zion:

‘How we are plundered!

We are greatly ashamed,

Because we have forsaken the land,

Because we have been cast out of our dwellings.’ ”

* Death Comes Through Your Windows (Jer. 9:21)

The prophet warns Jerusalem to prepare for deep mourning. The city will be so shattered by the death toll of war that its women will wail with grief. As Jeremiah explains, death will no longer be outside, but rather inside the city. Indeed, death will come through the “windows” into the very homes of the people (Jer. 9:20, 21).

The Hebrew word for “death” is mot. In the Hebrew Bible, mot not only refers to the place of death, but is also personified, referring to the person “Death.” The prophets knew that Yahweh could redeem His people from the plagues of Death (Hos. 13:14). In Ugaritic mythology, Mot was the god of death, who was understood to have final power over all humans, since all people die.

Throughout the ancient Near East there were numerous deities of death. The notion that Death creeps into personal dwellings to steal away the living can be found expressed in almost the same terms in an elegy from Assyria. Written as if by a woman who has died, the poem describes how Death crept into her bedroom and drove her away from her husband.

In both the Bible and the Assyrian text, Death is unwelcome and, like a thief, breaks into one’s seemingly safe home to kill without mercy or warning. Jerusalem’s women would certainly mourn, “Death has come through our windows” (Jer. 9:21).

²⁰ Yet hear the word of the LORD, O women,

And let your ear receive the word of His mouth;

Teach your daughters wailing,

And everyone her neighbor a lamentation.

²¹ For death has come through our windows,

Has entered our palaces,

To kill off the children—no longer to be outside!

And the young men—no longer on the streets!

²² Speak, “Thus says the LORD:

‘Even the carcasses of men shall fall as refuse on the open field,

Like cuttings after the harvester,

And no one shall gather them.’ ”

²³ Thus says the LORD:

“Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,

Let not the mighty man glory in his might,

Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;

²⁴ But let him who glories glory in this,

That he understands and knows Me,

That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.

For in these I delight,” says the LORD.

²⁵ “Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “that I will punish all who are circumcised with the uncircumcised— ²⁶ Egypt, Judah, Edom, the people of Ammon, Moab, and all who are in the farthest corners, who dwell in the wilderness. For all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.”

Idols and the True God

10

10:1 Hear the word which the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel.

² Thus says the LORD:

“Do not learn the way of the Gentiles;

Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven,

For the Gentiles are dismayed at them.

³ For the customs of the peoples are futile;

For one cuts a tree from the forest,

The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.

⁴ They decorate it with silver and gold;

They fasten it with nails and hammers

So that it will not topple.

⁵ They are upright, like a palm tree,

And they cannot speak;

They must be carried,

Because they cannot go by themselves.

Do not be afraid of them,

For they cannot do evil,

Nor can they do any good.”

Architecture & Building

The people of Canaan worshiped in many centers. The most prominent element in their worship was the wooden poles set up in honor of their female goddess (Jer. 10:3–5). It is doubtful that these poles were freestanding sculpture, but they could have been carved in low relief. Except under unusual circumstances, such as the dry climate of Egypt, wood does not survive for archaeologists to discover.

⁶ Inasmuch as there is none like You, O LORD

(You are great, and Your name is great in might),

⁷ Who would not fear You, O King of the nations?

For this is Your rightful due.

For among all the wise men of the nations,

And in all their kingdoms,

There is none like You.

⁸ But they are altogether dull-hearted and foolish;

A wooden idol is a worthless doctrine.

* Oracles in Heaven (Jer. 10:2)

Jeremiah dismisses the idea of reading the future by looking at the skies. Even though Gentile nations studied the “signs of heaven” and were “dismayed at them” (Jer. 10:2), Judah was not to follow their example. Ancient people had two ways of trying to read the future in the skies: one way studied atmospheric conditions; the other, the movement of planets and stars.

The atmospheric method looked to various weather-related conditions as indicators of what events would occur on earth. The way the wind blew, how the rain fell, the formation of clouds, or the color of the morning or evening sky were recorded and checked against the omen books to see what they meant. People did not think that these weather conditions caused the earthly events. Rather, the event was simply associated with a particular weather condition.

More famous, because it has been retained to the present age, is the reading of the stars and planets. Early forms of astronomy and astrology merged to tell both time and the future. By the 1st Dynasty in Egypt (c. 3000 B.C.) scribes associated the flooding of the Nile with the rising of the star Sirius. From the 9th Dynasty (c. 2160 B.C.) onward a series of stars (known as “rams” in Egypt) were thought to control individual destinies.

The zodiac and other familiar forms of astrology were developed in Mesopotamia. The earliest Mesopotamian astrological references date from the Dynasty of Accad (c. 2300 B.C.). The Old Babylonian period (c. 2017–1595 B.C.) provides the first extensive series of celestial “charts,” collected in a work entitled Enuma Anu Enlil.

At first the system was used to predict events for the nation itself and for the royal family. By the Neo-Assyrian period (934–612 B.C.) all the elements which now make up the zodiac appeared in an Assyrian text. The formal 12-sign, 4-season structure appeared later in the Neo-Babylonian (626–539 B.C.) or early Persian (539–530 B.C.) periods. The prophets dismissed the endeavors of astrologers and stargazers as meaningless (Jer. 10:2; Is. 47:13).

⁹ Silver is beaten into plates;

It is brought from Tarshish,

And gold from Uphaz,

The work of the craftsman

And of the hands of the metalsmith;

Blue and purple are their clothing;

They are all the work of skillful men.

¹⁰ But the LORD is the true God;

He is the living God and the everlasting King.

At His wrath the earth will tremble,

And the nations will not be able to endure His indignation.

¹¹ Thus you shall say to them: “The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens.”

¹² He has made the earth by His power,

He has established the world by His wisdom,

And has stretched out the heavens at His discretion.

¹³ When He utters His voice,

There is a multitude of waters in the heavens:

“And He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth.

He makes lightning for the rain,

He brings the wind out of His treasuries.”^a

¹⁴ Everyone is dull-hearted, without knowledge;

Every metalsmith is put to shame by an image;

For his molded image is falsehood,

And there is no breath in them.

¹⁵ They are futile, a work of errors;

In the time of their punishment they shall perish.

¹⁶ The Portion of Jacob is not like them,

For He is the Maker of all things,

And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance;

The LORD of hosts is His name.

Transition

Jehoiakim’s Rebellion Against Babylon

Despite his promises to remain faithful to Egypt, Jehoiakim had to bow to Babylonian authority. The Babylonian Chronicle reports that Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar campaigned in Syria-Palestine each year from 605 to 601 B.C. It was probably during the long campaign of 604–603 that Nebuchadnezzar showed his power in Jerusalem, and Jehoiakim became his subject. Jehoiakim always preferred alliances with Egypt though, and he rebelled against Babylon as soon as he thought he could get away with it. Sometime around 601 B.C. the Babylonian army suffered a military setback while fighting Pharaoh Necho in Egypt. Jehoiakim thought that this was his opportunity. He was mistaken.

• 2 Kings 24:1–4

2 Kings

Judah Overrun By Enemies

24

24:1 In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him. ² And the LORD sent against him raiding bands of Chaldeans, bands of Syrians, bands of Moabites, and bands of the people of Ammon; He sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD which He had spoken by His servants the prophets. ³ Surely at the commandment of the LORD this came upon Judah, to remove them from His sight because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, ⁴ and also because of the innocent blood that he had shed; for he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, which the LORD would not pardon.

Transition

The Rechabites

When Nebuchadnezzar swept through the land of Judah on the way to Jerusalem, he drove all the inhabitants before him. One family that was driven to take refuge in Jerusalem was the family of Rechab (Jer. 35:11). This family, the Rechabites, had rigorously obeyed the arbitrary injunctions of their ancestor Jonadab, and Jer. 35 highlights their obedience as an example of loyalty not found in Judah in its last days.

The notable member of this family, who appears to be the founder, was Jonadab (Jer. 35:6; also spelled Jehonadab). He is mentioned in 2 Kin. 10:15, 16 as one who opposed the worship of Baal in Israel, joining Jehu in his “zeal for the LORD.” Jonadab and his Rechabite descendants displayed a faithfulness and devotion towards Yahweh that was lacking in disobedient Judah.

• Jeremiah 35:1–19

Jeremiah

The Obedient Rechabites

35

35:1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, ² “Go to the house of the Rechabites, speak to them, and bring them into the house of the LORD, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.”

³ Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, his brothers and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites, ⁴ and I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which was by the chamber of the princes, above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the door. ⁵ Then I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites bowls full of wine, and cups; and I said to them, “Drink wine.”

⁶ But they said, “We will drink no wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, ‘You shall drink no wine, you nor your sons, forever. ⁷ You shall not build a house, sow seed, plant a vineyard, nor have any of these; but all your days you shall dwell in tents, that you may live many days in the land where you are sojourners.’ ⁸ Thus we have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters, ⁹ nor to build ourselves houses to dwell in; nor do we have vineyard, field, or seed. ¹⁰ But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us. ¹¹ But it came to pass, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, ‘Come, let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans and for fear of the army of the Syrians.’ So we dwell at Jerusalem.”

* The Obedient Rechabites (Jer. 35:2)

The Rechabites are an enigmatic people mentioned by name only in Jeremiah 35. We can assume that the Rechabite family members encountered by Jeremiah were quite few in number, since all of them were able to fit in just one area of the temple (Jer. 35:2).

The Rechabites were not usually city dwellers, since they did not build, or live, in houses, nor plant gardens or vineyards (Jer. 35:7). They lived in tents as seasonal nomads, following the available water sources for their animals. In addition to the usual nomadic lifestyle, the Rechabites did not drink wine because Rechab (the ancestor from whom they derived their name) had commanded them saying “You shall drink no wine, you nor your sons, forever” (Jer. 35:6). It is possible that, in some way, the Rechabites were related to the Kenites (1 Chr. 2:55). This link with the Kenites would make the Rechabites distant relatives of Moses (Judg. 1:16).

Jeremiah pays special attention to the Rechabites partly because of their loyalty to their father. The prophet cites the example of the Rechabites as the basis for an earnest plea to a disobedient Judah (Jer. 35:12–16). This family had rigorously obeyed the arbitrary injunctions of an earthly father. Why could not Judah obey the injunctions of their God Yahweh?

The reward for the Rechabites was the promise that their family would always continue (Jer. 35:19; Neh. 3:14). Implicit in this promise was hope that, if the Judahites would return to Yahweh, they too would continue to exist.

¹² Then came the word of the LORD to Jeremiah, saying, ¹³ “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “Will you not receive instruction to obey My words?” says the LORD. ¹⁴ “The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, which he commanded his sons, not to drink wine, are performed; for to this day they drink none, and obey their father’s commandment. But although I have spoken to you, rising early and speaking, you did not obey Me. ¹⁵ I have also sent to you all My servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, ‘Turn now everyone from his evil way, amend your doings, and do not go after other gods to serve them; then you will dwell in the land which I have given you and your fathers.’ But you have not inclined your ear, nor obeyed Me. ¹⁶ Surely the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father, which he commanded them, but this people has not obeyed Me.” ’

¹⁷ “Therefore thus says the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will bring on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the doom that I have pronounced against them; because I have spoken to them but they have not heard, and I have called to them but they have not answered.’ ”

¹⁸ And Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Because you have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts and done according to all that he commanded you, ¹⁹ therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not lack a man to stand before Me forever.” ’ ”

Transition

False Prophets

No prophet since Elijah had more trouble with false prophets than Jeremiah. As Nebuchadnezzar approached Jerusalem, Jeremiah declared that God would give the city to the armies of Babylon, but other prophets proclaimed that Jerusalem could never be captured, never be destroyed. These false prophets of Judah would bear responsibility for Jerusalem’s coming fall, for they had confirmed the people in their sinful ways (Jer. 23:9–40).

Jeremiah’s message of imminent doom led inevitably to more persecution. The narratives of chs. 18–20 show both the message and the response it was given. The last two of Jeremiah’s Confessions also appear here (18:19–23 and 20:7–18). The final Confession, especially, is a wrenching cry from a man who never wanted to be a prophet but who could not stop, from a messenger whose greatness as a prophet is only magnified by his human frailty.

• Jeremiah 23:9–40
• Jeremiah 18:18–20:18

Jeremiah 23:9–40

False Prophets and Empty Oracles

23

23:9 My heart within me is broken Because of the prophets;

All my bones shake.

I am like a drunken man,

And like a man whom wine has overcome,

Because of the LORD,

And because of His holy words.

¹⁰ For the land is full of adulterers;

For because of a curse the land mourns.

The pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up.

Their course of life is evil,

And their might is not right.

¹¹ “For both prophet and priest are profane;

Yes, in My house I have found their wickedness,” says the LORD.

¹² “Therefore their way shall be to them

Like slippery ways;

In the darkness they shall be driven on

And fall in them;

For I will bring disaster on them,

The year of their punishment,” says the LORD.

¹³ “And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria:

They prophesied by Baal

And caused My people Israel to err.

¹⁴ Also I have seen a horrible thing in the prophets of Jerusalem:

They commit adultery and walk in lies;

They also strengthen the hands of evildoers,

So that no one turns back from his wickedness.

All of them are like Sodom to Me,

And her inhabitants like Gomorrah.

* True or False Prophet? (Jer. 23:16–27)

Jeremiah relentlessly proclaimed a message of God’s judgment, warning that the Babylonians would come and completely devastate Judah and Jerusalem. The sufferings he described of the Babylonian siege and subsequent victory were terrifying (Jer. 18:21).

To say the least, this did not exactly make him a popular speaker in Jerusalem. People then, as now, wanted an optimistic, upbeat message. Jeremiah, therefore, often had conflict with others, especially the aristocracy of Jerusalem, over the content of his prophecy. Among other things, Jeremiah once ended up in stocks outside the temple as the leaders of Jerusalem tried to get him to change his vision of the future (Jer. 20:1–6).

Jeremiah, however, was not the only prophet at work in Jerusalem at that time. Other prophets worked the streets as well, and they were a little more sensitive to public sentiments than Jeremiah. As one might expect, these prophets were much more popular.

These other prophets recalled that the prophet Isaiah had correctly prophesied that God would save Jerusalem from the Assyrians merely a century earlier (Is. 37:21–35). From this they concluded, and publicly prophesied, that God again would save Jerusalem, and His temple, from defeat. Even though the Babylonians pressed near, there would be “peace” (Jer. 23:17).

In Jeremiah’s time it was not easy to distinguish between a false prophet and a true prophet: Which prophet had really received counsel from God? The key difference, claimed Jeremiah, was moral: the false prophets’ oracles had brought about no change in the Judahites’ evil lifestyle (23:22). This indicated that these prophets spoke “a vision of their own heart, not from the mouth of the LORD” (23:16).

¹⁵ “Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets:

‘Behold, I will feed them with wormwood,

And make them drink the water of gall;

For from the prophets of Jerusalem

Profaneness has gone out into all the land.’ ”

¹⁶ Thus says the LORD of hosts:

“Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you.

They make you worthless;

They speak a vision of their own heart,

Not from the mouth of the LORD.

¹⁷ They continually say to those who despise Me,

‘The LORD has said, “You shall have peace” ’;

And to everyone who walks according to the dictates of his own heart, they say,

‘No evil shall come upon you.’ ”

¹⁸ For who has stood in the counsel of the LORD,

And has perceived and heard His word?

Who has marked His word and heard it?

¹⁹ Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD has gone forth in fury—

A violent whirlwind!

It will fall violently on the head of the wicked.

²⁰ The anger of the LORD will not turn back

Until He has executed and performed the thoughts of His heart.

In the latter days you will understand it perfectly.

²¹ “I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran.

I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.

Religion & Worship

People knew the prophets by their appearance and way of life (2 Kin. 1:8), their visible experiences (1 Sam. 19:24), and their prophetic word (2 Chr. 18:7). Evidently some or most of these signs could be counterfeited by false prophets, claiming to speak for Yahweh (Jer. 23:25). Priests and diviners who publicly claimed to represent other gods were more easily identified and excluded (Deut. 13:2).

²² But if they had stood in My counsel,

And had caused My people to hear My words,

Then they would have turned them from their evil way

And from the evil of their doings.

²³ “Am I a God near at hand,” says the LORD,

“And not a God afar off?

²⁴ Can anyone hide himself in secret places,

So I shall not see him?” says the LORD;

“Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the LORD.

²⁵ “I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in My name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’ ²⁶ How long will this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies? Indeed they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart, ²⁷ who try to make My people forget My name by their dreams which everyone tells his neighbor, as their fathers forgot My name for Baal.

²⁸ “The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream;

And he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully.

What is the chaff to the wheat?” says the LORD.

²⁹ “Is not My word like a fire?” says the LORD,

“And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?

³⁰ “Therefore behold, I am against the prophets,” says the LORD, “who steal My words every one from his neighbor. ³¹ Behold, I am against the prophets,” says the LORD, “who use their tongues and say, ‘He says.’ ³² Behold, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,” says the LORD, “and tell them, and cause My people to err by their lies and by their recklessness. Yet I did not send them or command them; therefore they shall not profit this people at all,” says the LORD.

³³ “So when these people or the prophet or the priest ask you, saying, ‘What is the oracle of the LORD?’ you shall then say to them, ‘What oracle?’^a I will even forsake you,” says the LORD. ³⁴ “And as for the prophet and the priest and the people who say, ‘The oracle of the LORD!’ I will even punish that man and his house. ³⁵ Thus every one of you shall say to his neighbor, and every one to his brother, ‘What has the LORD answered?’ and, ‘What has the LORD spoken?’ ³⁶ And the oracle of the LORD you shall mention no more. For every man’s word will be his oracle, for you have perverted the words of the living God, the LORD of hosts, our God. ³⁷ Thus you shall say to the prophet, ‘What has the LORD answered you?’ and, ‘What has the LORD spoken?’ ³⁸ But since you say, ‘The oracle of the LORD!’ therefore thus says the LORD: ‘Because you say this word, “The oracle of the LORD!” and I have sent to you, saying, “Do not say, ‘The oracle of the LORD!’ ” ³⁹ therefore behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you and forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and will cast you out of My presence. ⁴⁰ And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.’ ”

Jeremiah 18:18–20:18

Jeremiah Persecuted

18

18:18 Then they said, “Come and let us devise plans against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come and let us attack him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.”

¹⁹ Give heed to me, O LORD,

And listen to the voice of those who contend with me!

²⁰ Shall evil be repaid for good?

For they have dug a pit for my life.

Remember that I stood before You

To speak good for them,

To turn away Your wrath from them.

²¹ Therefore deliver up their children to the famine,

And pour out their blood

By the force of the sword;

Let their wives become widows

And bereaved of their children.

Let their men be put to death,

Their young men be slain

By the sword in battle.

²² Let a cry be heard from their houses,

When You bring a troop suddenly upon them;

For they have dug a pit to take me,

And hidden snares for my feet.

²³ Yet, LORD, You know all their counsel

Which is against me, to slay me.

Provide no atonement for their iniquity,

Nor blot out their sin from Your sight;

But let them be overthrown before You.

Deal thus with them

In the time of Your anger.

The Sign of the Broken Flask

19

19:1 Thus says the LORD: “Go and get a potter’s earthen flask, and take some of the elders of the people and some of the elders of the priests. ² And go out to the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the Potsherd Gate; and proclaim there the words that I will tell you, ³ and say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will bring such a catastrophe on this place, that whoever hears of it, his ears will tingle.

⁴ “Because they have forsaken Me and made this an alien place, because they have burned incense in it to other gods whom neither they, their fathers, nor the kings of Judah have known, and have filled this place with the blood of the innocents ⁵ (they have also built the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command or speak, nor did it come into My mind), ⁶ therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “that this place shall no more be called Tophet or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. ⁷ And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place, and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies and by the hands of those who seek their lives; their corpses I will give as meat for the birds of the heaven and for the beasts of the earth. ⁸ I will make this city desolate and a hissing; everyone who passes by it will be astonished and hiss because of all its plagues. ⁹ And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and everyone shall eat the flesh of his friend in the siege and in the desperation with which their enemies and those who seek their lives shall drive them to despair.” ’

TIME CAPSULE 605 to 604 B.C.

605 • Nebuchadnezzar defeats Necho at the battle of Carchemish

605–601 • Nebuchadnezzar campaigns in Syria-Palestine each year

605 • Possible deportation of Judeans, including Daniel, from Jerusalem

604–603 • Nebuchadnezzar exacts tribute from many Palestinian rulers

604 • Ashkelon’s king Aga killed and prisoners deported to Babylon

* Broken Pieces in the Garbage Dump (Jer. 19:1–13)

Refuse disposal is a necessity not only for contemporary society, but was also for urban life in ancient Israel. Much like pioneer America where the refuse pile was just off the back step of the house, Jerusalemite society used a valley just outside its walls, the Valley of Hinnom, to dispose of its garbage.

Large pots served as the “garbage cans” to deliver the refuse to its proper place. Therefore, the gate that provided access to this valley was called the Potsherd Gate. In postexilic Judah, in the time of Nehemiah, the same gate was called the Refuse Gate (Neh. 2:13; 3:14). It probably was not a pleasant place to spend an afternoon!

The Valley of Hinnom was also not a place that the “elders of the people” and “the elders of the priests” (Jer. 19:1), the leaders of Jerusalemite society, frequented very often. They, no doubt, had others to carry out their garbage. Yet it was in the midst of the city dump that Jeremiah called these important leaders of Jerusalem and Judah (19:2).

If the elders were not pleased at the location, they probably were not pleased with Jeremiah’s message, either. Jeremiah used the setting to proclaim the tragedy that would soon befall Jerusalem, a tragedy so great as to make the ears “tingle” (19:3). The gist of Jeremiah’s oracle is that all Judah and Jerusalem will become like broken pots in the garbage dump (19:6–9, 11–13). Jeremiah punctuated this oracle of judgment by shattering a pot in front of the elders (19:10, 11).

Through the combination of location and action, therefore, Jeremiah made God’s coming judgment of Judah clear. Destruction awaited.

¹⁰ “Then you shall break the flask in the sight of the men who go with you, ¹¹ and say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Even so I will break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter’s vessel, which cannot be made whole again; and they shall bury them in Tophet till there is no place to bury. ¹² Thus I will do to this place,” says the LORD, “and to its inhabitants, and make this city like Tophet. ¹³ And the houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah shall be defiled like the place of Tophet, because of all the houses on whose roofs they have burned incense to all the host of heaven, and poured out drink offerings to other gods.” ’ ”

¹⁴ Then Jeremiah came from Tophet, where the LORD had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the court of the Lord’s house and said to all the people, ¹⁵ “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will bring on this city and on all her towns all the doom that I have pronounced against it, because they have stiffened their necks that they might not hear My words.’ ”

Architecture & Building

In the Middle East the roofs of houses can be used like the deck or porch of a North American house. Archaeologists have discovered evidence that the people of Ashkelon, a Philistine town, burned incense on the roofs of their houses (Jer. 19:13). In ancient societies, religious rituals were carried out not just by the state, but also by individuals and households.

The Word of God To Pashhur

20

20:1 Now Pashhur the son of Immer, the priest who was also chief governor in the house of the LORD, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things. ² Then Pashhur struck Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the high gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the LORD.

³ And it happened on the next day that Pashhur brought Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then Jeremiah said to him, “The LORD has not called your name Pashhur, but Magor-Missabib.^{a 4} For thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and your eyes shall see it. I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive to Babylon and slay them with the sword. ⁵ Moreover I will deliver all the wealth of this city, all its produce, and all its precious things; all the treasures of the kings of Judah I will give into the hand of their enemies, who will plunder them, seize them, and carry them to Babylon. ⁶ And you, Pashhur, and all who dwell in your house, shall go into captivity. You shall go to Babylon, and there you shall die, and be buried there, you and all your friends, to whom you have prophesied lies.’ ”

Jeremiah’s Unpopular Ministry

⁷ O LORD, You induced me, and I was persuaded;

You are stronger than I, and have prevailed.

I am in derision daily;

Everyone mocks me.

⁸ For when I spoke, I cried out;

I shouted, “Violence and plunder!”

Because the word of the LORD was made to me

A reproach and a derision daily.

⁹ Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him,

Nor speak anymore in His name.”

But His word was in my heart like a burning fire

Shut up in my bones;

I was weary of holding it back,

And I could not.

¹⁰ For I heard many mocking:

“Fear on every side!”

“Report,” they say, “and we will report it!”

All my acquaintances watched for my stumbling, saying,

“Perhaps he can be induced;

Then we will prevail against him,

And we will take our revenge on him.”

¹¹ But the LORD is with me as a mighty, awesome One.

Therefore my persecutors will stumble, and will not prevail.

They will be greatly ashamed, for they will not prosper.

Their everlasting confusion will never be forgotten.

¹² But, O LORD of hosts,

You who test the righteous,

And see the mind and heart,

Let me see Your vengeance on them;

For I have pleaded my cause before You.

¹³ Sing to the LORD! Praise the LORD!

For He has delivered the life of the poor

From the hand of evildoers.

¹⁴ Cursed be the day in which I was born!

Let the day not be blessed in which my mother bore me!

¹⁵ Let the man be cursed

Who brought news to my father, saying,

“A male child has been born to you!”

Making him very glad.

Beliefs & Ideas

Although the Romans dignified suicide, regarding it as an acceptable way of leaving this world, the Judeans were much less approving of it. They did not criticize Saul for taking his own life in the wake of defeat in war, thus escaping abuse from his enemies (1 Sam. 31:4). Yet to curse the gift of life was understood to be an extreme act, practically an insult to God (Jer. 20:14; Job 2:9, 10).

¹⁶ And let that man be like the cities

Which the LORD overthrew, and did not relent;

Let him hear the cry in the morning

And the shouting at noon,

¹⁷ Because he did not kill me from the womb,

That my mother might have been my grave,

And her womb always enlarged with me.

¹⁸ Why did I come forth from the womb to see labor and sorrow,

That my days should be consumed with shame?

Transition

Do Not Hope in King Jehoiachin

The attack on Egypt’s border in 601 B.C. by Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian army was repelled by Pharaoh Necho. Babylon recovered from this battle, but Egypt did not. In the last few years before his death in 595 B.C., Pharaoh Necho could do no more than keep Babylon from invading Egypt (2 Kin. 24:7).

Before Nebuchadnezzar could capture Jerusalem, Jehoiakim died. Given the situation, one could speculate that he was assassinated, but such an event is unknown. In any case, he does not appear to have been much missed, if Jeremiah’s comments on his death are representative (Jer. 22:18–23).

Jehoiakim was succeeded by his son Coniah (also spelled Jeconiah), who is very often mentioned alongside his mother Nehushta. When Coniah became king, he assumed the throne name Jehoiachin. Though pleased to be rid of Jehoiakim, Jeremiah did not greet the new king with optimism. His warnings now carried with them the conviction that it was too late (Jer. 13:15–27). The king and his mother would be taken into exile (Jer. 22:24–30; 13:18, 19). Jehoiachin ruled for only 3 months in 598–597 B.C. before surrendering to Nebuchadnezzar.

• 2 Kings 24:5–9
• Jeremiah 22:18–30
• Jeremiah 13:15–27

2 Kings 24:5–9

24

24:5 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? ⁶ So Jehoiakim rested with his fathers. Then Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.

⁷ And the king of Egypt did not come out of his land anymore, for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Brook of Egypt to the River Euphrates.

* Pharaoh Necho Battles the Babylonians (2 Kin. 24:7)

Pharaoh Necho II, who reigned from 610 to 595 B.C., was the second king of the 26th Dynasty of Egypt. He is known for his defeat of Judah and killing of King Josiah at Megiddo in 609 B.C., and for his own defeat at the hands of Babylon at Carchemish in 605 B.C.

During the last years of the Assyrian Empire, Necho assisted the weakened Assyrians in their struggles against the rising power of the Babylonians. Accadian sources relate that in 609 Necho was moving his army north to help the Assyrians recapture Haran from the Babylonians. On the way, he encountered Josiah. In 605, Babylon completely annihilated Necho’s Egyptian army at Carchemish.

The pharaoh was successful in repelling a Babylonian invasion deep into Palestine in 601 B.C. This evidently caused Judah’s king Jehoiakim to rebel against Babylonian control (2 Kin. 24:1). Apparently Necho’s forces could not recover from the 601 battle in order to conduct future campaigns: Necho “did not come out of his land anymore” (2 Kin. 24:7). After 601, it appears that Egypt and Babylon were not hostile, but nothing more is mentioned about Necho, who died in 595 B.C.

The Reign of Jehoiachin

⁸ Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. ⁹ And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done.

Jeremiah 22:18–30

Message To Jehoiakim

22

22:18 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

“They shall not lament for him,

Saying, ‘Alas, my brother!’ or ‘Alas, my sister!’

They shall not lament for him,

Saying, ‘Alas, master!’ or ‘Alas, his glory!’

¹⁹ He shall be buried with the burial of a donkey,

Dragged and cast out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.

²⁰ “Go up to Lebanon, and cry out,

And lift up your voice in Bashan;

Cry from Abarim,

For all your lovers are destroyed.

²¹ I spoke to you in your prosperity,

But you said, ‘I will not hear.’

This has been your manner from your youth,

That you did not obey My voice.

²² The wind shall eat up all your rulers,

And your lovers shall go into captivity;

Surely then you will be ashamed and humiliated

For all your wickedness.

²³ O inhabitant of Lebanon,

Making your nest in the cedars,

How gracious will you be when pangs come upon you,

Like the pain of a woman in labor?

Message To Coniah

²⁴ “As I live,” says the LORD, “though Coniah^a the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were the signet on My right hand, yet I would pluck you off; ²⁵ and I will give you into the hand of those who seek your life, and into the hand of those whose face you fear—the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the hand of the Chaldeans. ²⁶ So I will cast you out, and your mother who bore you, into another country where you were not born; and there you shall die. ²⁷ But to the land to which they desire to return, there they shall not return.

²⁸ “Is this man Coniah a despised, broken idol—

A vessel in which is no pleasure?

Why are they cast out, he and his descendants,

And cast into a land which they do not know?

²⁹ O earth, earth, earth,

Hear the word of the LORD!

³⁰ Thus says the LORD:

‘Write this man down as childless,

A man who shall not prosper in his days;

For none of his descendants shall prosper,

Sitting on the throne of David,

And ruling anymore in Judah.’ ”

Jeremiah 13:15–27

Pride Precedes Captivity

13

13:15 Hear and give ear: Do not be proud,

For the LORD has spoken.

¹⁶ Give glory to the LORD your God

Before He causes darkness,

And before your feet stumble

On the dark mountains,

And while you are looking for light,

He turns it into the shadow of death

And makes it dense darkness.

¹⁷ But if you will not hear it,

My soul will weep in secret for your pride;

My eyes will weep bitterly

And run down with tears,

Because the LORD’s flock has been taken captive.

¹⁸ Say to the king and to the queen mother,

“Humble yourselves;

Sit down,

For your rule shall collapse, the crown of your glory.”

¹⁹ The cities of the South shall be shut up,

And no one shall open them;

Judah shall be carried away captive, all of it;

It shall be wholly carried away captive.

²⁰ Lift up your eyes and see

Those who come from the north.

Where is the flock that was given to you,

Your beautiful sheep?

²¹ What will you say when He punishes you?

For you have taught them

To be chieftains, to be head over you.

Will not pangs seize you,

Like a woman in labor?

²² And if you say in your heart,

“Why have these things come upon me?”

For the greatness of your iniquity

Your skirts have been uncovered,

Your heels made bare.

²³ Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots?

Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil.

²⁴ “Therefore I will scatter them like stubble

That passes away by the wind of the wilderness.

²⁵ This is your lot,

The portion of your measures from Me,” says the LORD,

“Because you have forgotten Me

And trusted in falsehood.

²⁶ Therefore I will uncover your skirts over your face,

That your shame may appear.

²⁷ I have seen your adulteries

And your lustful neighings,

The lewdness of your harlotry,

Your abominations on the hills in the fields.

Woe to you, O Jerusalem!

Will you still not be made clean?”

Transition

Jehoiachin Is Taken Captive

The new king Jehoiachin had little time to enjoy his throne. The Babylonian Chronicle reports that Nebuchadnezzar left Babylon in December, 598 B.C. in a campaign against Judah and besieged the city. Jeremiah’s call to submit to Babylon was finally obeyed, though unwillingly, when it was clear that defeat was inevitable. In March, 597 B.C., Jehoiachin and his mother went into exile, and Mattaniah, another son of Josiah’s and therefore uncle to Jehoiachin, was placed on the throne, changing his name to Zedekiah.

• 2 Kings 24:10–17

2 Kings

24

24:10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. ¹¹ And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, as his servants were besieging it. ¹² Then Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his princes, and his officers went out to the king of Babylon; and the king of Babylon, in the eighth year of his reign, took him prisoner.

The Captivity of Jerusalem

¹³ And he carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house, and he cut in pieces all the articles of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said. ¹⁴ Also he carried into captivity all Jerusalem: all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land. ¹⁵ And he carried Jehoiachin captive to Babylon. The king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officers, and the mighty of the land he carried into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. ¹⁶ All the valiant men, seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths, one thousand, all who were strong and fit for war, these the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.

* Jehoiachin’s Exile in Babylon (2 Kin. 24:10–17)

Jehoiachin ruled briefly as king of Judah for 3 months, from about December, 598 to March, 597 B.C. He was the son of Jehoiakim, the previous king who had rebelled against Babylonian rule around 601 B.C. Jehoiachin was the unfortunate successor who was but 18 years old when the Babylonians returned to take the city of Jerusalem and dethrone Judah’s monarch.

The Babylonian Chronicle records that the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar left Babylon in the month of Kislev in his 7th year (December, 598 B.C.) on a campaign against Judah, and ultimately captured Jerusalem and its king. The text states that the king was deported, although his name is not explicitly mentioned, and that another king was appointed in his place. Obviously, the Babylonian Chronicle refers to Jehoiachin being deposed and deported to Babylon, while Mattaniah was put on the throne and given the throne name “Zedekiah” (2 Kin. 24:10–17).

Babylonian cuneiform texts, which date between 595 and 570 B.C., thus contemporary with the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II (605–562 B.C.), list rations distributed to several captives and skilled workers. Named among them is Jehoiachin. It is probable that the Judean king and his family were under house arrest, but enjoyed relative freedom.

Jehoiachin continued to be imprisoned until the reign of Evil-Merodach, successor to Nebuchadnezzar. This release from prison is dated in the 37th year of Jehoiachin’s captivity (2 Kin. 25:27; Jer. 52:31), which corresponds to about 561 B.C., at the beginning of Evil-Merodach’s reign. Neither the Babylonian nor biblical sources describe Jehoiachin’s fate, though he apparently dined in Babylon with other exiled kings until he died (Jer. 52:34).

Zedekiah Reigns in Judah

¹⁷ Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s^a uncle, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

Transition

Priestly Account: Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin

Chronicles, which normally gives more detail about the kings of Judah, is surprisingly brief in its account of Jehoiakim. The Chronicler adds one detail, that Jehoiakim was bound in chains to be taken to Babylon. It is not clear whether the king died before the Babylonians could carry him into captivity.

Chronicles also omits many details of Jehoiachin’s reign, providing no reference to Nebuchadnezzar’s siege of Jerusalem. True to his priestly focus, the Chronicler does include comment about the treasures which were taken from the temple for tribute (2 Chr. 36:10).

• 2 Chronicles 36:5–10

2 Chronicles

The Reign and Captivity of Jehoiakim

36

36:5 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD his God. ⁶ Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against him, and bound him in bronze fetters to carry him off to Babylon. ⁷ Nebuchadnezzar also carried off some of the articles from the house of the LORD to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon. ⁸ Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, the abominations which he did, and what was found against him, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. Then Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.

The Reign and Captivity of Jehoiachin

⁹ Jehoiachin was eight^a years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD. ¹⁰ At the turn of the year King Nebuchadnezzar summoned him and took him to Babylon, with the costly articles from the house of the LORD, and made Zedekiah, Jehoiakim’s^a brother, king over Judah and Jerusalem.

Politics & Government

The Babylonian Chronicle is an official writing covering events of southern Mesopotamia, dating from Sargon of Accad (c. 2350 B.C.) to the Persian period (c. 539 B.C.). The entries include a selection of events and are brief. Only parts of the Chronicle survive. The date that Jerusalem fell to Nebuchadnezzar (2 Chr. 36:10) is given as 2 Adar, or March 16, 597 B.C.

Transition

Prophetic Account: Zedekiah and Jeremiah

Judah was divided. Its leadership had been removed from the land with Jehoiachin in 597 B.C., leaving in Jerusalem those of lesser importance. One who stayed was Jeremiah. Although the prophet had had only strained relations with the leaders of Judah, now that they were gone, Jeremiah considered them Jerusalem’s best hope. It was the exiles, not the people remaining in Judah, whom God would use to redeem His land and His people. In a vision (Jer. 24:1–10) Jeremiah sees that the exiled people are actually “good figs.” It is the survivors in Jerusalem, the “bad figs,” who will face a terrible fate.

• Jeremiah 24:1–10

The Sons of Josiah Rule on Judah

Jeremiah

The Sign of Two Baskets of Figs

24

24:1 The LORD showed me, and there were two baskets of figs set before the temple of the LORD, after Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the princes of Judah with the craftsmen and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon. ² One basket had very good figs, like the figs that are first ripe; and the other basket had very bad figs which could not be eaten, they were so bad. ³ Then the LORD said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”

And I said, “Figs, the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, which cannot be eaten, they are so bad.”

⁴ Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ⁵ “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: ‘Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge those who are carried away captive from Judah, whom I have sent out of this place for their own good, into the land of the Chaldeans. ⁶ For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land; I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. ⁷ Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart.

⁸ ‘And as the bad figs which cannot be eaten, they are so bad’—surely thus says the LORD—‘so will I give up Zedekiah the king of Judah, his princes, the residue of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt. ⁹ I will deliver them to trouble into all the kingdoms of the earth, for their harm, to be a reproach and a byword, a taunt and a curse, in all places where I shall drive them. ¹⁰ And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence among them, till they are consumed from the land that I gave to them and their fathers.’ ”

Transition

The Book of Daniel

Among the exiles taken to Babylon was the young man Daniel, who began immediately his training to become a courtier in Nebuchadnezzar’s court (Dan. 1). His long life as a faithful Jew in a pagan land is told in chs. 1–6 of the Book of Daniel, while chs. 7–12 consist of Daniel’s symbolic visions of the future.

The Book of Daniel presents many difficulties to chronological arrangement. To begin with, Dan. 1:1 places Nebuchadnezzar’s siege and the beginning of Daniel’s exile in the “third year of the reign of Jehoiakim” (605 B.C.). No other text describes a siege and captivity in that year, which was Nebuchadnezzar’s 1st year. To resolve the difficulty, some scholars favor an otherwise unknown siege in 605 B.C. Then, it is suggested, Nebuchadnezzar sent Chaldean (Babylonian) armies against Judah (2 Kin. 24:2), bound Jehoiakim in chains, and carried off vessels from the Jerusalem temple (2 Chr. 36:6, 7), along with Daniel and other exiles. Then another, final, siege in 597 B.C. led to the much larger deportation described in other biblical accounts.

Other interpreters are more skeptical about an unknown event in 605 B.C. The historian of Kings recounts only the sieges of 597 B.C.2 Kin. 24:10, 11) and of 588 B.C.2 Kin. 25:1, 2). The prophet Jeremiah summarized the deportations of Judeans from Jerusalem (Jer. 52:28–30), recording three deportations that possibly correspond to 597, 586, and 581 B.C. (see “Various Deportations to Babylon” at Jer. 52:28). Jeremiah does not list a deportation for 605 B.C.

It is difficult to imagine why both Kings and Jeremiah neglect to mention such an important event as an invasion and deportation. Perhaps the dates given in Dan. 1:1; 2:1, locating these narratives at the beginning of King Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, serve a thematic purpose —to shift the focus away from Judah’s history to Babylon’s. Indeed, in many ways, the main character in Dan. 1–4 is not Daniel but Nebuchadnezzar.

The first large deportation, and thus the beginning of the Babylonian exile, occurred in Nebuchadnezzar’s 8th year (597 B.C.; 2 Kin. 24:12), when Jehoiachin was taken captive to Babylon. Regardless of when Daniel was deported, the experiences of this most famous Judean exile can be read in that context.

A second chronological difficulty has to do with identifying the times referred to in the visions of Daniel (chs. 7–12). On the one hand, the visions themselves say that they refer to the “latter time” (8:19), and they are even today very often interpreted as referring to events that have not yet occurred. On the other hand, the more explicit visions (chs. 10–12) quite clearly refer to the end of the Persian Empire and the rise of the Greek Empire of the 4th through 2nd centuries B.C. (e.g., 11:2, 3; see “Daniel and the Greeks” at Dan. 10:1).

To say that Daniel’s visions speak specifically of events in the Persian-Greek period does not, however, mean that they cannot also refer to the “latter time.” Daniel’s visions are densely packed with obscure and surprising images; they resist being restricted to any single meaning. For this reason, many scholars understand them to have multiple fulfillments. Thus, Dan. 7–12 can be read in light of historical events at the end of the 1st millennium B.C., while keeping in mind the possible references to an ultimate fulfillment. See “The Apocalyptic Visions of Daniel” at Dan. 7:1.

Because the visions describe the events of the Greek era so clearly and in such detail, scholars often suggest that they were actually written during Greek times and attributed to the historical figure of Daniel. Other scholars, though, less puzzled by such explicit foretelling of future events among the prophets, accept the traditional attribution of the book to Daniel himself.

• Daniel 1:1–21

Daniel

Daniel and His Friends Obey God

1

1:1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. ² And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the articles of the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the articles into the treasure house of his god.

³ Then the king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the king’s descendants and some of the nobles, ⁴ young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans. ⁵ And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king’s delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the king. ⁶ Now from among those of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. ⁷ To them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: he gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abed-Nego.

Deportations from Jerusalem to Babylon

Culture & Society

Some people were born into slavery, but many others lost their freedom as a result of war. In this way the rich and the nobility could be enslaved as well as the poor. Nebuchadnezzar chose slaves for his palace from the defeated Judeans, requiring them to be physically healthy, wellborn, and well-educated (Dan. 1:3, 4). They received new names as a token of his authority over them.

⁸ But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. ⁹ Now God had brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs. ¹⁰ And the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who has appointed your food and drink. For why should he see your faces looking worse than the young men who are your age? Then you would endanger my head before the king.”

¹¹ So Daniel said to the steward^a whom the chief of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, ¹² “Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. ¹³ Then let our appearance be examined before you, and the appearance of the young men who eat the portion of the king’s delicacies; and as you see fit, so deal with your servants.” ¹⁴ So he consented with them in this matter, and tested them ten days.

¹⁵ And at the end of ten days their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king’s delicacies. ¹⁶ Thus the steward took away their portion of delicacies and the wine that they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.

¹⁷ As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.

¹⁸ Now at the end of the days, when the king had said that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹ Then the king interviewed them,^a and among them all none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore they served before the king. ²⁰ And in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm. ²¹ Thus Daniel continued until the first year of King Cyrus.

Transition

Daniel’s Time in Babylon

Two different contexts appear in Dan. 2. The narrative of ch. 2 includes a symbolic dream that is, in many ways, parallel to Daniel’s visions of the future in chs. 7 and 8. Thus the dream could be read alongside those two visions, in light of their future reference (see “The Apocalyptic Visions of Daniel” at Dan. 7:1). Because Nebuchadnezzar’s dream is essential to the story set in his time, though, it should be read with chs. 1–6, rather than in the Greek period with the visions of chs. 7; 8.

The chronological note in Dan. 2:1 places the narrative in Nebuchadnezzar’s 2nd year (604 B.C.) and assumes that Daniel and his three friends were taken captive a year earlier in 605 B.C. Besides the historical questions that surround these dates and make them puzzling to many scholars (see “The Book of Daniel” at Dan. 1:1), there are a few other chronological features of Daniel’s career evident in Dan. 1; 2.

The Book of Daniel provides information that pictures a long life for the Judean Daniel in Babylon. Whether one begins with Nebuchadnezzar’s 1st year (605 B.C.; Dan. 1:1) or with the first year of the exile as reported in Kings and Jeremiah (597 B.C.; Jer. 28:1–4), Daniel’s longevity in the court was remarkable. He is reported to have continued his public ministry in the royal court until the “first year of King Cyrus” (Dan. 1:21). Cyrus took the throne of Persia in 559 B.C.; however, this 1st year very likely refers to 539 B.C. when Cyrus defeated Babylon and became its ruler. The Book of Daniel thus describes an impressive record of from 60 to 70 years for Daniel in Babylon.

The story of Dan. 1 places the Hebrew exiles in “training” for 3 years after coming to Babylon (Dan. 1:5). Thus, Daniel’s interpretation of the king’s dream in 604 (his 2nd year; Dan. 2:1) is set before the end of the 3 years of training, and one must picture a very youthful Daniel in the king’s court.

• Daniel 2:1–4:37

Daniel

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

2

2:1 Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him. ² Then the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. ³ And the king said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to know the dream.”

⁴ Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic,^a “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”

⁵ The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “My decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash heap. ⁶ However, if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation.”

⁷ They answered again and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will give its interpretation.”

⁸ The king answered and said, “I know for certain that you would gain time, because you see that my decision is firm: ⁹ if you do not make known the dream to me, there is only one decree for you! For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the time has changed. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can give me its interpretation.”

¹⁰ The Chaldeans answered the king, and said, “There is not a man on earth who can tell the king’s matter; therefore no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. ¹¹ It is a difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

¹² For this reason the king was angry and very furious, and gave the command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. ¹³ So the decree went out, and they began killing the wise men; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them.

God Reveals Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

¹⁴ Then with counsel and wisdom Daniel answered Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon; ¹⁵ he answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, “Why is the decree from the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the decision known to Daniel.

¹⁶ So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, that he might tell the king the interpretation. ¹⁷ Then Daniel went to his house, and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, ¹⁸ that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁹ Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

²⁰ Daniel answered and said:

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,

For wisdom and might are His.

²¹ And He changes the times and the seasons;

He removes kings and raises up kings;

He gives wisdom to the wise

And knowledge to those who have understanding.

²² He reveals deep and secret things;

He knows what is in the darkness,

And light dwells with Him.

²³ “I thank You and praise You,

O God of my fathers;

You have given me wisdom and might,

And have now made known to me what we asked of You,

For You have made known to us the king’s demand.”

Daniel Explains the Dream

²⁴ Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; take me before the king, and I will tell the king the interpretation.”

²⁵ Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king, and said thus to him, “I have found a man of the captives^a of Judah, who will make known to the king the interpretation.”

²⁶ The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation?”

²⁷ Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, “The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king. ²⁸ But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these: ²⁹ As for you, O king, thoughts came to your mind while on your bed, about what would come to pass after this; and He who reveals secrets has made known to you what will be. ³⁰ But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but for our sakes who make known the interpretation to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart.

³¹ “You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome. ³² This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs^a of bronze, ³³ its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.^{a 34} You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. ³⁵ Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

³⁶ “This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. ³⁷ You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; ³⁸ and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all—you are this head of gold. ³⁹ But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. ⁴⁰ And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. ⁴¹ Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. ⁴² And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. ⁴³ As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. ⁴⁴ And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. ⁴⁵ Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.”

Science & Technology

Iron replaced bronze as the most common metal for tool and weapons, starting about 1200 B.C. The process of replacement lasted some time. For one thing, iron has to have some carbon in it, then it can be hardened by heating and quenching. Weapons were known to bend during use and the soldiers had to straighten them in the midst of battle. Yet in the end iron was recognized as the common symbol of war (Dan. 2:40).

* Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon (Dan. 3:1)

Nebuchadnezzar II reigned from 605 to 562 B.C., becoming the second and most famous king of the Neo-Babylonian or Chaldean dynasty (Dan. 3:1). As crown prince, he orchestrated the victory over the Egyptians at the crucial battle of Carchemish in 605 B.C.

The Chaldean king spent a great deal of effort in campaigning to the west —in Syria and Palestine —primarily to check Egyptian influence in the region. The Babylonian Chronicle, the primary historical source for the early periods of the Chaldean kingdom, records how Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem in 597 B.C. and deposed King Jehoiachin of Judah.

The destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C., related by the historian of Kings (2 Kin. 25:1–21), is not mentioned in cuneiform records, since the Babylonian Chronicle breaks off after 594 B.C. The Jewish historian Josephus (A.D. 37–100) does record Jerusalem’s end in an account that apparently depends upon the Book of 2 Kings as a source.

Nebuchadnezzar was also known for his great building projects, especially in Babylon. These included a summer palace, a fortification of the city, the ziggurat (sometimes associated with the tower of Babel described in Gen. 11), and the famous royal hanging gardens.

This Chaldean king is also well known from later Greek, Latin, and Jewish sources. The classical writers were impressed with his monumental building activity, while the Jewish writers, understandably, condemned him for his destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.

Daniel and His Friends Promoted

⁴⁶ Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel, and commanded that they should present an offering and incense to him. ⁴⁷ The king answered Daniel, and said, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.” ⁴⁸ Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts; and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. ⁴⁹ Also Daniel petitioned the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel sat in the gate^a of the king.

The Image of Gold

3

3:1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its width six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. ² And King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to gather together the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. ³ So the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered together for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. ⁴ Then a herald cried aloud: “To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, ⁵ that at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, you shall fall down and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up; ⁶ and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.”

⁷ So at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, harp, and lyre, in symphony with all kinds of music, all the people, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the gold image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

Daniel’s Friends Disobey the King

⁸ Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and accused the Jews. ⁹ They spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! ¹⁰ You, O king, have made a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the gold image; ¹¹ and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. ¹² There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego; these men, O king, have not paid due regard to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up.”

¹³ Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, gave the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. So they brought these men before the king. ¹⁴ Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? ¹⁵ Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?”

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. ¹⁷ If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. ¹⁸ But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

Saved in Fiery Trial

¹⁹ Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. ²⁰ And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. ²¹ Then these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, their turbans, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. ²² Therefore, because the king’s command was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. ²³ And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

²⁴ Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?”

They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”

²⁵ “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”^a

Nebuchadnezzar Praises God

²⁶ Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here.” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire. ²⁷ And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.

²⁸ Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel^a and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God! ²⁹ Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this.”

³⁰ Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego in the province of Babylon.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Second Dream

4

4:1 Nebuchadnezzar the king,

To all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth:

Peace be multiplied to you.

² I thought it good to declare the signs and wonders that the Most High God has worked for me.

³ How great are His signs,

And how mighty His wonders!

His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

And His dominion is from generation to generation.

⁴ I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house, and flourishing in my palace. ⁵ I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts on my bed and the visions of my head troubled me. ⁶ Therefore I issued a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. ⁷ Then the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers came in, and I told them the dream; but they did not make known to me its interpretation. ⁸ But at last Daniel came before me (his name is Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god; in him is the Spirit of the Holy God), and I told the dream before him, saying: ⁹ “Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the Spirit of the Holy God is in you, and no secret troubles you, explain to me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and its interpretation.

¹⁰ “These were the visions of my head while on my bed:

I was looking, and behold,

A tree in the midst of the earth,

And its height was great.

¹¹ The tree grew and became strong;

Its height reached to the heavens,

And it could be seen to the ends of all the earth.

¹² Its leaves were lovely,

Its fruit abundant,

And in it was food for all.

The beasts of the field found shade under it,

The birds of the heavens dwelt in its branches,

And all flesh was fed from it.

¹³ “I saw in the visions of my head while on my bed, and there was a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven. ¹⁴ He cried aloud and said thus:

‘Chop down the tree and cut off its branches,

Strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit.

Let the beasts get out from under it,

And the birds from its branches.

¹⁵ Nevertheless leave the stump and roots in the earth,

Bound with a band of iron and bronze,

In the tender grass of the field.

Let it be wet with the dew of heaven,

And let him graze with the beasts

On the grass of the earth.

¹⁶ Let his heart be changed from that of a man,

Let him be given the heart of a beast,

And let seven times^a pass over him.

¹⁷ ‘This decision is by the decree of the watchers,

And the sentence by the word of the holy ones,

In order that the living may know

That the Most High rules in the kingdom of men,

Gives it to whomever He will,

And sets over it the lowest of men.’

¹⁸ “This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar, declare its interpretation, since all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation; but you are able, for the Spirit of the Holy God is in you.”

Beliefs & Ideas

A “watcher” is a kind of angel not mentioned anywhere in the Bible except Dan. 4:13, 23. Nevertheless, watchers are a prominent part of Jewish speculation of the last few centuries B.C. The medieval Jewish scholar Rashi explained the name by its similarity to the Hebrew word for “awake.” Like God, the angels do not sleep (Ps. 121:3, 4).

Daniel Explains the Second Dream

¹⁹ Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonished for a time, and his thoughts troubled him. So the king spoke, and said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation trouble you.”

Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord, may the dream concern those who hate you, and its interpretation concern your enemies!

²⁰ “The tree that you saw, which grew and became strong, whose height reached to the heavens and which could be seen by all the earth, ²¹ whose leaves were lovely and its fruit abundant, in which was food for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and in whose branches the birds of the heaven had their home— ²² it is you, O king, who have grown and become strong; for your greatness has grown and reaches to the heavens, and your dominion to the end of the earth.

Nebuchadenezzar’s “body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.”

²³ “And inasmuch as the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave its stump and roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze in the tender grass of the field; let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let him graze with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him’; ²⁴ this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king: ²⁵ They shall drive you from men, your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make you eat grass like oxen. They shall wet you with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.

²⁶ “And inasmuch as they gave the command to leave the stump and roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be assured to you, after you come to know that Heaven rules. ²⁷ Therefore, O king, let my advice be acceptable to you; break off your sins by being righteous, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps there may be a lengthening of your prosperity.”

Nebuchadnezzar’s Humiliation

²⁸ All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. ²⁹ At the end of the twelve months he was walking about the royal palace of Babylon. ³⁰ The king spoke, saying, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?”

³¹ While the word was still in the king’s mouth, a voice fell from heaven: “King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! ³² And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.”

³³ That very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.

Nebuchadnezzar Praises God

³⁴ And at the end of the time^a I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever:

For His dominion is an everlasting dominion,

And His kingdom is from generation to generation.

³⁵ All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing;

He does according to His will in the army of heaven

And among the inhabitants of the earth.

No one can restrain His hand

Or say to Him, “What have You done?”

³⁶ At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and splendor returned to me. My counselors and nobles resorted to me, I was restored to my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added to me. ³⁷ Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down.

Transition

Zedekiah’s Alliances

While the exiles, including King Jehoiachin, were taken to Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar placed Jehoiachin’s uncle Mattaniah on the throne, no doubt with clear instructions to remain faithful to Babylon. Mattaniah was given the throne name “Zedekiah.”

Although Zedekiah was placed on the throne in Jerusalem by the Babylonians, and certainly swore fidelity to Babylon, his was a weak allegiance. Like his brother Jehoiakim before him, Zedekiah was often tempted by promises from Egypt. As far as Israel’s political alliances were concerned, Zedekiah could just as well have been Jehoiakim again.

The final chapter of the Book of Jeremiah (ch. 52) appears to have been taken almost word for word from 2 Kin. 24:18–25:30. Some scholars suggest that a later editor, noting how the Book of Jeremiah jumps back and forth in time, felt the need to provide a chronological overview of Jeremiah’s times.

• 2 Kings 24:18, 19
• Jeremiah 52:1, 2

2 Kings 24:18, 19

24

24:18 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ¹⁹ He also did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.

Jeremiah 52:1, 2

52

52:1 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ² He also did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.

Transition

Zedekiah’s Jerusalem Conference

Almost immediately after becoming king, Zedekiah sponsored a conference of local nations. At this conference in Jerusalem, messengers from these neighboring lands discussed the possibility of a united rebellion against their Babylonian master. Excited by the possibilities, many prophets in Jerusalem began to foretell a great victory and the restoration of all that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the city. As usual, Jeremiah was the lone dissenting voice. He declared that Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon was only doing God’s will (Jer. 27:6), and prophesied disaster on all who opposed Babylon.

Many of the oracles against the foreign nations (chs. 46–51) fit in this context. Jeremiah’s message to Judah’s neighbors was that the Lord would allow them to survive if they surrendered to the control of Babylon (Jer. 27:1–11). Those who did not would fall to the invading Babylonian armies (48:1–49:39; 25:15–38). He had the same message for Zedekiah and Judah, despite the predictions of peace by such false prophets as Hananiah (27:12–28:17).

This conference is placed by Jer. 27:1 at “the beginning” of Jehoiakim’s reign. Some Hebrew manuscripts and some major versions read “Zedekiah” in place of “Jehoiakim,” and Jer. 27:3 refers to King Zedekiah. Since the oracle takes place after Nebuchadnezzar had plundered the temple in 597 B.C. (27:20), it should be dated with Jer. 28:1 in Zedekiah’s 4th year (593 B.C.).

• Jeremiah 27:1–11
• Jeremiah 48:1–49:39
• Jeremiah 25:15–38
• Jeremiah 27:12–28:17

Jeremiah 27:1–11

Symbol of the Bonds and Yokes

27

27:1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim^a the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,^{b 2} “Thus says the LORD to me: ‘Make for yourselves bonds and yokes, and put them on your neck, ³ and send them to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon, by the hand of the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. ⁴ And command them to say to their masters, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel—thus you shall say to your masters: ⁵ ‘I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are on the ground, by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and have given it to whom it seemed proper to Me. ⁶ And now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant; and the beasts of the field I have also given him to serve him. ⁷ So all nations shall serve him and his son and his son’s son, until the time of his land comes; and then many nations and great kings shall make him serve them. ⁸ And it shall be, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and which will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation I will punish,’ says the LORD, with the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. ⁹ Therefore do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers, or your sorcerers, who speak to you, saying, “You shall not serve the king of Babylon.” ¹⁰ For they prophesy a lie to you, to remove you far from your land; and I will drive you out, and you will perish. ¹¹ But the nations that bring their necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let them remain in their own land,’ says the LORD, ‘and they shall till it and dwell in it.’ ”

Science & Technology

The basic motor power available for agriculture was the muscles of humans and animals. Animals pulled loads by means of a wooden yoke, a basic item known to everyone (Jer. 27:2). The yoke was thus a symbol for doing work at the command of another. At its worst this was slavery or humiliation in war (Lev. 26:13). At the other extreme it was a symbol for following the commandments of God (Lam. 3:27; Matt. 11:29).

Jeremiah 48:1–49:39

Judgment On Moab

48

48:1 Against Moab. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:

“Woe to Nebo!

For it is plundered,

Kirjathaim is shamed and taken;

The high stronghold^a is shamed and dismayed—

² No more praise of Moab.

In Heshbon they have devised evil against her:

‘Come, and let us cut her off as a nation.’

You also shall be cut down, O Madmen!^a

The sword shall pursue you;

³ A voice of crying shall be from Horonaim:

‘Plundering and great destruction!’

⁴ “Moab is destroyed;

Her little ones have caused a cry to be heard;^a

⁵ For in the Ascent of Luhith they ascend with continual weeping;

For in the descent of Horonaim the enemies have heard a cry of destruction.

⁶ “Flee, save your lives!

And be like the juniper^a in the wilderness.

⁷ For because you have trusted in your works and your treasures,

You also shall be taken.

And Chemosh shall go forth into captivity,

His priests and his princes together.

⁸ And the plunderer shall come against every city;

No one shall escape.

The valley also shall perish,

And the plain shall be destroyed,

As the LORD has spoken.

⁹ “Give wings to Moab,

That she may flee and get away;

For her cities shall be desolate,

Without any to dwell in them.

¹⁰ Cursed is he who does the work of the LORD deceitfully,

And cursed is he who keeps back his sword from blood.

¹¹ “Moab has been at ease from his^a youth;

He has settled on his dregs,

And has not been emptied from vessel to vessel,

Nor has he gone into captivity.

Therefore his taste remained in him,

And his scent has not changed.

¹² “Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD,

“That I shall send him wine-workers

Who will tip him over

And empty his vessels

And break the bottles.

¹³ Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh,

As the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence.

¹⁴ “How can you say, ‘We are mighty

And strong men for the war’?

¹⁵ Moab is plundered and gone up from her cities;

Her chosen young men have gone down to the slaughter,” says the King,

Whose name is the LORD of hosts.

¹⁶ “The calamity of Moab is near at hand,

And his affliction comes quickly.

¹⁷ Bemoan him, all you who are around him;

And all you who know his name,

Say, ‘How the strong staff is broken,

The beautiful rod!’

¹⁸ “O daughter inhabiting Dibon,

Come down from your glory,

And sit in thirst;

For the plunderer of Moab has come against you,

He has destroyed your strongholds.

¹⁹ O inhabitant of Aroer,

Stand by the way and watch;

Ask him who flees

And her who escapes;

Say, ‘What has happened?’

²⁰ Moab is shamed, for he is broken down.

Wail and cry!

Tell it in Arnon, that Moab is plundered.

²¹ “And judgment has come on the plain country:

On Holon and Jahzah and Mephaath,

²² On Dibon and Nebo and Beth Diblathaim,

²³ On Kirjathaim and Beth Gamul and Beth Meon,

Geography & Environment

Moab was located on the plateau southeast of the Dead Sea. The Moabites kept herds of sheep and goats and farmed wheat and barley. They worshiped the god Chemosh (Jer. 48:13). A stone celebrating the victories of the king of Moab over Israel was discovered at Dibon, near the Dead Sea (48:18). The stone records how the Moabites consecrated Ataroth, an Israelite town, to Chemosh, thus killing the inhabitants.

²⁴ On Kerioth and Bozrah,

On all the cities of the land of Moab,

Far or near.

²⁵ The horn of Moab is cut off,

And his arm is broken,” says the LORD.

²⁶ “Make him drunk,

Because he exalted himself against the LORD.

Moab shall wallow in his vomit,

And he shall also be in derision.

²⁷ For was not Israel a derision to you?

Was he found among thieves?

For whenever you speak of him,

You shake your head in scorn.

²⁸ You who dwell in Moab,

Leave the cities and dwell in the rock,

And be like the dove which makes her nest

In the sides of the cave’s mouth.

²⁹ “We have heard the pride of Moab

(He is exceedingly proud),

Of his loftiness and arrogance and pride,

And of the haughtiness of his heart.”

³⁰ “I know his wrath,” says the LORD,

“But it is not right;

His lies have made nothing right.

³¹ Therefore I will wail for Moab,

And I will cry out for all Moab;

I^a will mourn for the men of Kir Heres.

³² O vine of Sibmah! I will weep for you with the weeping of Jazer.

Your plants have gone over the sea,

They reach to the sea of Jazer.

The plunderer has fallen on your summer fruit and your vintage.

The Neo-Babylonian Empire

In 605 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar’s 2-year siege of Carchemish proved successful, and most of the Assyrian Empire rapidly became the Babylonian Empire. In 586 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar conquered all of Judah, besieging and destroying Jerusalem and the Jewish temple in the process. At its zenith in 560 B.C. Babylon ruled the entire fertile crescent and Arabia, although Egypt regained autonomy.

³³ Joy and gladness are taken

From the plentiful field

And from the land of Moab;

I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses;

No one will tread with joyous shouting—

Not joyous shouting!

³⁴ “From the cry of Heshbon to Elealeh and to Jahaz

They have uttered their voice,

From Zoar to Horonaim,

Like a three-year-old heifer;^a

For the waters of Nimrim also shall be desolate.

³⁵ “Moreover,” says the LORD,

“I will cause to cease in Moab

The one who offers sacrifices in the high places

And burns incense to his gods.

³⁶ Therefore My heart shall wail like flutes for Moab,

And like flutes My heart shall wail

For the men of Kir Heres.

Therefore the riches they have acquired have perished.

³⁷ “For every head shall be bald, and every beard clipped;

On all the hands shall be cuts, and on the loins sackcloth—

³⁸ A general lamentation

On all the housetops of Moab,

And in its streets;

For I have broken Moab like a vessel in which is no pleasure,” says the LORD.

³⁹ “They shall wail:

‘How she is broken down!

How Moab has turned her back with shame!’

So Moab shall be a derision

And a dismay to all those about her.”

⁴⁰ For thus says the LORD:

“Behold, one shall fly like an eagle,

And spread his wings over Moab.

⁴¹ Kerioth is taken,

And the strongholds are surprised;

The mighty men’s hearts in Moab on that day shall be

Like the heart of a woman in birth pangs.

⁴² And Moab shall be destroyed as a people,

Because he exalted himself against the LORD.

⁴³ Fear and the pit and the snare shall be upon you,

O inhabitant of Moab,” says the LORD.

⁴⁴ “He who flees from the fear shall fall into the pit,

And he who gets out of the pit shall be caught in the snare.

For upon Moab, upon it I will bring

The year of their punishment,” says the LORD.

⁴⁵ “Those who fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon

Because of exhaustion.

But a fire shall come out of Heshbon,

A flame from the midst of Sihon,

And shall devour the brow of Moab,

The crown of the head of the sons of tumult.

⁴⁶ Woe to you, O Moab!

The people of Chemosh perish;

For your sons have been taken captive,

And your daughters captive.

⁴⁷ “Yet I will bring back the captives of Moab

In the latter days,” says the LORD.

Thus far is the judgment of Moab.

Judgment On Ammon

49

49:1 Against the Ammonites.

Thus says the LORD:

“Has Israel no sons?

Has he no heir?

Why then does Milcom^a inherit Gad,

And his people dwell in its cities?

² Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD,

“That I will cause to be heard an alarm of war

In Rabbah of the Ammonites;

It shall be a desolate mound,

And her villages shall be burned with fire.

Then Israel shall take possession of his inheritance,” says the LORD.

³ “Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is plundered!

Cry, you daughters of Rabbah,

Gird yourselves with sackcloth!

Lament and run to and fro by the walls;

For Milcom shall go into captivity

With his priests and his princes together.

⁴ Why do you boast in the valleys,

Your flowing valley, O backsliding daughter?

Who trusted in her treasures, saying,

‘Who will come against me?’

⁵ Behold, I will bring fear upon you,”

Says the Lord GOD of hosts,

“From all those who are around you;

You shall be driven out, everyone headlong,

And no one will gather those who wander off.

⁶ But afterward I will bring back

The captives of the people of Ammon,” says the LORD.

TIME CAPSULE 604 to 601 B.C.

604 • Baruch reads Jeremiah’s scroll at the temple (Jer. 36:10)

604 • Jehoiakim burns Jeremiah’s scroll (Jer. 36:22, 23)

603 • Nebuchadnezzar destroys Philistine city during campaign in Palestine

601 • Necho repels a Babylonian invasion of Egypt’s border

601 • King Jehoiakim rebels against Babylonian rule

Judgment On Edom

⁷ Against Edom.

Thus says the LORD of hosts:

“Is wisdom no more in Teman?

Has counsel perished from the prudent?

Has their wisdom vanished?

⁸ Flee, turn back, dwell in the depths, O inhabitants of Dedan!

For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him,

The time that I will punish him.

⁹ If grape-gatherers came to you,

Would they not leave some gleaning grapes?

If thieves by night,

Would they not destroy until they have enough?

¹⁰ But I have made Esau bare;

I have uncovered his secret places,^a

And he shall not be able to hide himself.

His descendants are plundered,

His brethren and his neighbors,

And he is no more.

¹¹ Leave your fatherless children,

I will preserve them alive;

And let your widows trust in Me.”

¹² For thus says the LORD: “Behold, those whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunk. And are you the one who will altogether go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you shall surely drink of it. ¹³ For I have sworn by Myself,” says the LORD, “that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse. And all its cities shall be perpetual wastes.”

¹⁴ I have heard a message from the LORD,

And an ambassador has been sent to the nations:

“Gather together, come against her,

And rise up to battle!

¹⁵ “For indeed, I will make you small among nations,

Despised among men.

¹⁶ Your fierceness has deceived you,

The pride of your heart,

O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock,

Who hold the height of the hill!

Though you make your nest as high as the eagle,

I will bring you down from there,” says the LORD.^a

¹⁷ “Edom also shall be an astonishment;

Everyone who goes by it will be astonished

And will hiss at all its plagues.

¹⁸ As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah

And their neighbors,” says the LORD,

“No one shall remain there,

Nor shall a son of man dwell in it.

¹⁹ “Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the floodplain^a of the Jordan

Against the dwelling place of the strong;

But I will suddenly make him run away from her.

And who is a chosen man that I may appoint over her?

For who is like Me?

Who will arraign Me?

And who is that shepherd

Who will withstand Me?”

²⁰ Therefore hear the counsel of the LORD that He has taken against Edom,

And His purposes that He has proposed against the inhabitants of Teman:

Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out;

Surely He shall make their dwelling places desolate with them.

²¹ The earth shakes at the noise of their fall;

At the cry its noise is heard at the Red Sea.

²² Behold, He shall come up and fly like the eagle,

And spread His wings over Bozrah;

The heart of the mighty men of Edom in that day shall be

Like the heart of a woman in birth pangs.

Judgment On Damascus

²³ Against Damascus.

“Hamath and Arpad are shamed,

For they have heard bad news.

They are fainthearted;

There is trouble on the sea;

It cannot be quiet.

²⁴ Damascus has grown feeble;

She turns to flee,

And fear has seized her.

Anguish and sorrows have taken her like a woman in labor.

²⁵ Why is the city of praise not deserted, the city of My joy?

²⁶ Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets,

And all the men of war shall be cut off in that day,” says the LORD of hosts.

²⁷ “I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus,

And it shall consume the palaces of Ben-Hadad.”^a

Geography & Environment

The people of Kedar were basically the same people later called Arabs (Jer. 49:28). They were nomads, living in tents made of black goat hair (Ps. 120:5; Song 1:5). They kept sheep and goats (Ezek. 27:21), but lived in the wilderness rather than in towns or pasturelands. Isaiah recalls their archers (Is. 21:17). Their traditional ancestor was one of the sons of Ishmael (Gen. 25:13).

Judgment On Kedar and Hazor

²⁸ Against Kedar and against the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon shall strike.

Thus says the LORD:

“Arise, go up to Kedar,

And devastate the men of the East!

²⁹ Their tents and their flocks they shall take away.

They shall take for themselves their curtains,

All their vessels and their camels;

And they shall cry out to them,

‘Fear is on every side!’

³⁰ “Flee, get far away! Dwell in the depths,

O inhabitants of Hazor!” says the LORD.

“For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has taken counsel against you,

And has conceived a plan against you.

³¹ “Arise, go up to the wealthy nation that dwells securely,” says the LORD,

“Which has neither gates nor bars,

Dwelling alone.

³² Their camels shall be for booty,

And the multitude of their cattle for plunder.

I will scatter to all winds those in the farthest corners,

And I will bring their calamity from all its sides,” says the LORD.

³³ “Hazor shall be a dwelling for jackals, a desolation forever;

No one shall reside there,

Nor son of man dwell in it.”

Judgment On Elam

³⁴ The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, ³⁵ “Thus says the LORD of hosts:

‘Behold, I will break the bow of Elam,

The foremost of their might.

³⁶ Against Elam I will bring the four winds

From the four quarters of heaven,

And scatter them toward all those winds;

There shall be no nations where the outcasts of Elam will not go.

³⁷ For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies

And before those who seek their life.

I will bring disaster upon them,

My fierce anger,’ says the LORD;

‘And I will send the sword after them

Until I have consumed them.

³⁸ I will set My throne in Elam,

And will destroy from there the king and the princes,’ says the LORD.

³⁹ ‘But it shall come to pass in the latter days:

I will bring back the captives of Elam,’ says the LORD.”

Jeremiah 25:15–38

Judgment On the Nations

25

25:15 For thus says the LORD God of Israel to me: “Take this wine cup of fury from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it. ¹⁶ And they will drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.”

¹⁷ Then I took the cup from the LORD’s hand, and made all the nations drink, to whom the LORD had sent me: ¹⁸ Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and its princes, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and a curse, as it is this day; ¹⁹ Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his princes, and all his people; ²⁰ all the mixed multitude, all the kings of the land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the Philistines (namely, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod); ²¹ Edom, Moab, and the people of Ammon; ²² all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastlands which are across the sea; ²³ Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who are in the farthest corners; ²⁴ all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the mixed multitude who dwell in the desert; ²⁵ all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes; ²⁶ all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the world which are on the face of the earth. Also the king of Sheshach^a shall drink after them.

²⁷ “Therefore you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Drink, be drunk, and vomit! Fall and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.” ’ ²⁸ And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “You shall certainly drink! ²⁹ For behold, I begin to bring calamity on the city which is called by My name, and should you be utterly unpunished? You shall not be unpunished, for I will call for a sword on all the inhabitants of the earth,” says the LORD of hosts.’

³⁰ “Therefore prophesy against them all these words, and say to them:

‘The LORD will roar from on high,

And utter His voice from His holy habitation;

He will roar mightily against His fold.

He will give a shout, as those who tread the grapes,

Against all the inhabitants of the earth.

³¹ A noise will come to the ends of the earth—

For the LORD has a controversy with the nations;

He will plead His case with all flesh.

He will give those who are wicked to the sword,’ says the LORD.”

³² Thus says the LORD of hosts:

“Behold, disaster shall go forth

From nation to nation,

And a great whirlwind shall be raised up

From the farthest parts of the earth.

³³ “And at that day the slain of the LORD shall be from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth. They shall not be lamented, or gathered, or buried; they shall become refuse on the ground.

³⁴ “Wail, shepherds, and cry!

Roll about in the ashes,

You leaders of the flock!

For the days of your slaughter and your dispersions are fulfilled;

You shall fall like a precious vessel.

³⁵ And the shepherds will have no way to flee,

Nor the leaders of the flock to escape.

³⁶ A voice of the cry of the shepherds,

And a wailing of the leaders to the flock will be heard.

For the LORD has plundered their pasture,

³⁷ And the peaceful dwellings are cut down

Because of the fierce anger of the LORD.

³⁸ He has left His lair like the lion;

For their land is desolate

Because of the fierceness of the Oppressor,

And because of His fierce anger.”

* Ekron Drinks God’s Wine Cup of Fury (Jer. 25:20)

Ekron was one of the cities of the Philistine Pentapolis —an alliance of five cities which also included Ashkelon, Gath, Ashdod, and Gaza. It was located in the Shephelah, bordering on Judah’s territory.

By the time of Jeremiah the Pentapolis was reduced by one, as Gath is no longer mentioned by the prophets Jeremiah (Jer. 25:20), Zephaniah (Zeph. 2:4), or Zechariah (Zech. 9:5). The remainder of the Philistine cities were also in danger of being destroyed, as Jeremiah’s prophecy suggests. The kings of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and Ashdod are included among those Jeremiah made to drink God’s “wine cup of fury” (Jer. 25:15–17, 20).

Moreover, an Aramaic letter, known as the Saqqara Papyrus in Egypt, supports Jeremiah’s warnings of coming destruction. The letter, written by a certain King Adon of one of the Philistine city-states, urgently requests aid from Egypt because of an approaching Babylonian invasion of Palestine. Such a letter could have been sent during or shortly after the time of Egypt’s King Psammetichus I (664–610 B.C.), who had reunited Egypt and then aided Assyria against the rising power of Babylon. Some scholars suppose that Adon may indeed have been the king at Ekron.

The Babylonian Chronicle describes the destruction of a Philistine city during the campaign in 603 B.C. by Nebuchadnezzar II. The name of the Philistine city, however, is not mentioned, and so possibly could have been Ekron. That Ekron did drink the “wine cup of fury” is possible, since the city is not named in any records again until the late Hellenistic period (after 150 B.C.).

Jeremiah 27:12–28:17

27

27:12 I also spoke to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, “Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live! ¹³ Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the LORD has spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? ¹⁴ Therefore do not listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they prophesy a lie to you; ¹⁵ for I have not sent them,” says the LORD, “yet they prophesy a lie in My name, that I may drive you out, and that you may perish, you and the prophets who prophesy to you.”

¹⁶ Also I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, “Behold, the vessels of the LORD’s house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon”; for they prophesy a lie to you. ¹⁷ Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live! Why should this city be laid waste? ¹⁸ But if they are prophets, and if the word of the LORD is with them, let them now make intercession to the LORD of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the LORD, in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, do not go to Babylon.’

¹⁹ “For thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the pillars, concerning the Sea, concerning the carts, and concerning the remainder of the vessels that remain in this city, ²⁰ which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take, when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— ²¹ yes, thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that remain in the house of the LORD, and in the house of the king of Judah and of Jerusalem: ²² ‘They shall be carried to Babylon, and there they shall be until the day that I visit them,’ says the LORD. ‘Then I will bring them up and restore them to this place.’ ”

The Fall of Jerusalem

Hananiah’s Falsehood and Doom

28

28:1 And it happened in the same year, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year and in the fifth month, that Hananiah the son of Azur the prophet, who was from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the LORD in the presence of the priests and of all the people, saying, ² “Thus speaks the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. ³ Within two full years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the LORD’s house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. ⁴ And I will bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, with all the captives of Judah who went to Babylon,’ says the LORD, ‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’ ”

⁵ Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and in the presence of all the people who stood in the house of the LORD, ⁶ and the prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! The LORD do so; the LORD perform your words which you have prophesied, to bring back the vessels of the LORD’s house and all who were carried away captive, from Babylon to this place. ⁷ Nevertheless hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people: ⁸ The prophets who have been before me and before you of old prophesied against many countries and great kingdoms—of war and disaster and pestilence. ⁹ As for the prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, the prophet will be known as one whom the LORD has truly sent.”

TIME CAPSULE 600 to 598 B.C.

600 • Epimenides, poet from Crete

600 • Greeks adopt from the East the custom of reclining at feasts

599 • Nebuchadnezzar remains in Babylon to resupply his army

598 • Nebuchadnezzar leaves Babylon in December to campaign against Judah

598–597 • Nebuchadnezzar besieges Jerusalem

598 • King Jehoiakim dies, possibly during siege of Jerusalem

¹⁰ Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck and broke it. ¹¹ And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Even so I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all nations within the space of two full years.’ ” And the prophet Jeremiah went his way.

¹² Now the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying, ¹³ “Go and tell Hananiah, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD: “You have broken the yokes of wood, but you have made in their place yokes of iron.” ¹⁴ For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him. I have given him the beasts of the field also.” ’ ”

¹⁵ Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Hear now, Hananiah, the LORD has not sent you, but you make this people trust in a lie. ¹⁶ Therefore thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will cast you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die, because you have taught rebellion against the LORD.’ ”

¹⁷ So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.

Transition

Letter to the Exiles

Jeremiah never lost his conviction that Israel’s hope lay in the exiles in Babylon (see “Prophetic Account: Zedekiah and Jeremiah” at Jer. 24:1). This hope, however, was not to be fulfilled immediately. The exiles would not return to Israel for years yet, and Jeremiah wrote to tell them so (Jer. 29:1–32). This was hardly the message that they wanted to hear. Indeed, one of the exiles, a certain Shemaiah, wrote back to Jerusalem demanding that Jeremiah be imprisoned (29:24–28). As always, Jeremiah’s message was rejected.

• Jeremiah 29:1–32

Jeremiah

Jeremiah’s Letter

29

29:1 Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the remainder of the elders who were carried away captive—to the priests, the prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon. ² (This happened after Jeconiah the king, the queen mother, the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem.) ³ The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying,

⁴ Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all who were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon:

⁵ Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. ⁶ Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters—that you may be increased there, and not diminished. ⁷ And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the LORD for it; for in its peace you will have peace. ⁸ For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are in your midst deceive you, nor listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed. ⁹ For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them, says the LORD.

¹⁰ For thus says the LORD: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place. ¹¹ For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. ¹² Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the LORD, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.

¹⁵ Because you have said, “The LORD has raised up prophets for us in Babylon”— ¹⁶ therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, concerning all the people who dwell in this city, and concerning your brethren who have not gone out with you into captivity— ¹⁷ thus says the LORD of hosts: Behold, I will send on them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like rotten figs that cannot be eaten, they are so bad. ¹⁸ And I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence; and I will deliver them to trouble among all the kingdoms of the earth—to be a curse, an astonishment, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them, ¹⁹ because they have not heeded My words, says the LORD, which I sent to them by My servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; neither would you heed, says the LORD. ²⁰ Therefore hear the word of the LORD, all you of the captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon.

²¹ Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy a lie to you in My name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall slay them before your eyes. ²² And because of them a curse shall be taken up by all the captivity of Judah who are in Babylon, saying, “The LORD make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire”; ²³ because they have done disgraceful things in Israel, have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and have spoken lying words in My name, which I have not commanded them. Indeed I know, and am a witness, says the LORD.

²⁴ You shall also speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying, ²⁵ Thus speaks the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: You have sent letters in your name to all the people who are at Jerusalem, to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, ²⁶ “The LORD has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, so that there should be officers in the house of the LORD over every man who is demented and considers himself a prophet, that you should put him in prison and in the stocks. ²⁷ Now therefore, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth who makes himself a prophet to you? ²⁸ For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, ‘This captivity is long; build houses and dwell in them, and plant gardens and eat their fruit.’ ”

²⁹ Now Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the hearing of Jeremiah the prophet. ³⁰ Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying: ³¹ Send to all those in captivity, saying, Thus says the LORD concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, and I have not sent him, and he has caused you to trust in a lie— ³² therefore thus says the LORD: Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his family: he shall not have anyone to dwell among this people, nor shall he see the good that I will do for My people, says the LORD, because he has taught rebellion against the LORD.

Transition

Oracles Against Babylon

Jeremiah had declared that Babylon was only doing what God wanted, but this did not mean that Babylon would never be punished for its own sins. In Zedekiah’s 4th year (593 B.C.), the king was summoned to Babylon (Jer. 51:59–64). Perhaps Nebuchadnezzar had heard about Zedekiah’s Jerusalem conference (Jer. 27) and wanted an explanation. In any case, Jeremiah used the king’s journey to send another letter, this one filled with his oracles about Babylon’s coming judgment (50:1–51:58).

• Jeremiah 50:1–51:64

Jeremiah

Judgment On Babylon and Babylonia

50

50:1 The word that the LORD spoke against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet.

² “Declare among the nations,

Proclaim, and set up a standard;

Proclaim—do not conceal it—

Say, ‘Babylon is taken, Bel is shamed.

Merodach^a is broken in pieces;

Her idols are humiliated,

Her images are broken in pieces.’

³ For out of the north a nation comes up against her,

Which shall make her land desolate,

And no one shall dwell therein.

They shall move, they shall depart,

Both man and beast.

* Marduk Ascends the Divine Ranks (Jer. 50:2)

Jeremiah announced the utter defeat of Babylon in the theological language of the people he had spent so much of his prophetic career confronting. The patron deity they believed in would prove to be the nothing Jeremiah had always proclaimed him to be: “Bel is shamed. Merodach is broken in pieces” (Jer. 50:2). The downfall of Babylon, the city whose armies destroyed Judah and Jerusalem, would mean also the downfall of her deities and their images.

“Merodach” is the Hebrew variant of “Marduk.” Before 2000 B.C. Marduk, one of the sons of the god Enki, was a minor deity in the pantheon of the Sumerians. He became the patron deity of Babylon, and then rose in status during the reign of Hammurabi, sixth king of the 1st Dynasty of Babylon (1792–1750 B.C.). When Hammurabi gained control over all of Mesopotamia, Marduk, the god of the ruling city, became the ruling god of the conquered territory as well. The 1st Dynasty built the temple area called Esagila to honor Marduk for the victorious expansion of power.

Marduk’s prestige waned after the 1st Dynasty. The victory of Nebuchadnezzar I over Elam (c. 1120 B.C.), however, brought new theological activity in Babylon, producing a cult with Marduk worshiped as the great cosmic ruler. The Babylonian creation epic, the Enuma Elish, relates Marduk’s creation of the universe and celebrates the order which the god maintained. The title “Bel” (meaning “lord”) became synonymous with Marduk, and from this period Bel Marduk was considered the divine lord of the universe.

In the early 1st millennium B.C. Assyria became the prominent power in Mesopotamia. Marduk was incorporated into the Assyrian pantheon, and, when the Assyrian king Sennacherib demolished Babylon in 689 B.C., the image of Marduk was reverently taken to the Assyrian capital. In accordance with ancient theology, Marduk was made subordinate to the victorious Asshur, patron deity of Assyria.

By Jeremiah’s time the Neo-Babylonian Empire (626–539 B.C.) had reestablished Babylon’s supremacy in Mesopotamia and beyond. Marduk was again seen by all the conquered people as the supreme deity whose city was victorious because of his might. Jeremiah used this theology, believed even by his contemporaries in Judah, to declare the coming end of Babylon and its god. For Jeremiah there was no doubt that Marduk was nothing; he was “broken in pieces” (Jer. 50:2). Furthermore, Israel’s God was in charge, declaring, “I will punish Bel in Babylon” (Jer. 51:44).

⁴ “In those days and in that time,” says the LORD,

“The children of Israel shall come,

They and the children of Judah together;

With continual weeping they shall come,

And seek the LORD their God.

⁵ They shall ask the way to Zion,

With their faces toward it, saying,

‘Come and let us join ourselves to the LORD

In a perpetual covenant

That will not be forgotten.’

⁶ “My people have been lost sheep.

Their shepherds have led them astray;

They have turned them away on the mountains.

They have gone from mountain to hill;

They have forgotten their resting place.

⁷ All who found them have devoured them;

And their adversaries said, ‘We have not offended,

Because they have sinned against the LORD, the habitation of justice,

The LORD, the hope of their fathers.’

⁸ “Move from the midst of Babylon,

Go out of the land of the Chaldeans;

And be like the rams before the flocks.

⁹ For behold, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon

An assembly of great nations from the north country,

And they shall array themselves against her;

From there she shall be captured.

Their arrows shall be like those of an expert warrior;^a

None shall return in vain.

¹⁰ And Chaldea shall become plunder;

All who plunder her shall be satisfied,” says the LORD.

¹¹ “Because you were glad, because you rejoiced,

You destroyers of My heritage,

Because you have grown fat like a heifer threshing grain,

And you bellow like bulls,

¹² Your mother shall be deeply ashamed;

She who bore you shall be ashamed.

Behold, the least of the nations shall be a wilderness,

A dry land and a desert.

¹³ Because of the wrath of the LORD

She shall not be inhabited,

But she shall be wholly desolate.

Everyone who goes by Babylon shall be horrified

And hiss at all her plagues.

* Sargon II Devours Israel (Jer. 50:17)

Sargon was the throne name of an Assyrian king who probably usurped the throne in the late 8th century (c. 722 B.C.). His name is mentioned only once in the Bible: the prophet Isaiah records that he received an oracle in about 712 B.C., the year that “Sargon the king of Assyria” campaigned against Ashdod (Is. 20:1).

Like his two immediate predecessors, Tiglath-Pileser III and Shalmaneser V, Sargon II mounted extensive military campaigns in Syro-Palestine. Though the Bible appears to give credit to Shalmaneser for besieging and taking Samaria (2 Kin. 17:3–6; 18:9, 10), Sargon in his annals claims to have conquered the city in 722 B.C. It is likely that both kings played a role in the conquest, with Shalmaneser conducting the siege and Sargon actually leading the Israelites into exile.

In his annals and inscriptions Sargon boasts about Samaria’s fall. One claim tallies over 27,000 inhabitants of Samaria who were deported. Another claim states that Sargon subsequently rebuilt the city “better than it was before,” and placed an Assyrian official there, as well as inhabitants brought from other lands. Archaeological excavations at Samaria from this period have revealed a fragment of a stele (stone slab) dedicated to Sargon, and a cuneiform text that mentions a local Assyrian governor.

As the prophet Jeremiah pictures Israel as “scattered sheep,” he reflects on Sargon’s capture of the northern kingdom’s capital at Samaria. Just as lions attack sheep, so did Sargon “the king of Assyria devour” Israel (Jer. 50:17).

¹⁴ “Put yourselves in array against Babylon all around,

All you who bend the bow;

Shoot at her, spare no arrows,

For she has sinned against the LORD.

¹⁵ Shout against her all around;

She has given her hand,

Her foundations have fallen,

Her walls are thrown down;

For it is the vengeance of the LORD.

Take vengeance on her.

As she has done, so do to her.

¹⁶ Cut off the sower from Babylon,

And him who handles the sickle at harvest time.

For fear of the oppressing sword

Everyone shall turn to his own people,

And everyone shall flee to his own land.

¹⁷ “Israel is like scattered sheep;

The lions have driven him away.

First the king of Assyria devoured him;

Now at last this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has broken his bones.”

¹⁸ Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:

“Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land,

As I have punished the king of Assyria.

¹⁹ But I will bring back Israel to his home,

And he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan;

His soul shall be satisfied on Mount Ephraim and Gilead.

²⁰ In those days and in that time,” says the LORD,

“The iniquity of Israel shall be sought, but there shall be none;

And the sins of Judah, but they shall not be found;

For I will pardon those whom I preserve.

²¹ “Go up against the land of Merathaim, against it,

And against the inhabitants of Pekod.

Waste and utterly destroy them,” says the LORD,

“And do according to all that I have commanded you.

²² A sound of battle is in the land,

And of great destruction.

²³ How the hammer of the whole earth has been cut apart and broken!

How Babylon has become a desolation among the nations!

²⁴ I have laid a snare for you; You have indeed been trapped, O Babylon,

And you were not aware;

You have been found and also caught,

Because you have contended against the LORD.

²⁵ The LORD has opened His armory,

And has brought out the weapons of His indignation;

For this is the work of the Lord GOD of hosts

In the land of the Chaldeans.

²⁶ Come against her from the farthest border;

Open her storehouses;

Cast her up as heaps of ruins,

And destroy her utterly;

Let nothing of her be left.

²⁷ Slay all her bulls,

Let them go down to the slaughter.

Woe to them!

For their day has come, the time of their punishment.

²⁸ The voice of those who flee and escape from the land of Babylon

Declares in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God,

The vengeance of His temple.

²⁹ “Call together the archers against Babylon.

All you who bend the bow, encamp against it all around;

Let none of them escape.^a

Repay her according to her work;

According to all she has done, do to her;

For she has been proud against the LORD,

Against the Holy One of Israel.

³⁰ Therefore her young men shall fall in the streets,

And all her men of war shall be cut off in that day,” says the LORD.

³¹ “Behold, I am against you,

O most haughty one!” says the Lord GOD of hosts;

“For your day has come,

The time that I will punish you.^a

³² The most proud shall stumble and fall,

And no one will raise him up;

I will kindle a fire in his cities,

And it will devour all around him.”

³³ Thus says the LORD of hosts:

“The children of Israel were oppressed,

Along with the children of Judah;

All who took them captive have held them fast;

They have refused to let them go.

³⁴ Their Redeemer is strong;

The LORD of hosts is His name.

He will thoroughly plead their case,

That He may give rest to the land,

And disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.

³⁵ “A sword is against the Chaldeans,” says the LORD,

“Against the inhabitants of Babylon,

And against her princes and her wise men.

³⁶ A sword is against the soothsayers, and they will be fools.

A sword is against her mighty men, and they will be dismayed.

TIME CAPSULE 598 to 597 B.C.

598 • Jehoiachin becomes king in Judah

597 • Nebuchadnezzar captures Jerusalem and deposes King Jehoiachin

597 • The prophet Ezekiel is among Judeans deported to Babylon

597 • Nebuchadnezzar replaces Jehoiachin with his uncle Mattaniah

597 • Nebuchadnezzar gives Mattaniah the throne name “Zedekiah” (2 Kin. 24:17)

597 • Zedekiah becomes king in Judah

³⁷ A sword is against their horses,

Against their chariots,

And against all the mixed peoples who are in her midst;

And they will become like women.

A sword is against her treasures, and they will be robbed.

³⁸ A drought^a is against her waters, and they will be dried up.

For it is the land of carved images,

And they are insane with their idols.

³⁹ “Therefore the wild desert beasts shall dwell there with the jackals,

And the ostriches shall dwell in it.

It shall be inhabited no more forever,

Nor shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.

⁴⁰ As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah

And their neighbors,” says the LORD,

“So no one shall reside there,

Nor son of man dwell in it.

⁴¹ “Behold, a people shall come from the north,

And a great nation and many kings

Shall be raised up from the ends of the earth.

⁴² They shall hold the bow and the lance;

They are cruel and shall not show mercy.

Their voice shall roar like the sea;

They shall ride on horses,

Set in array, like a man for the battle,

Against you, O daughter of Babylon.

⁴³ “The king of Babylon has heard the report about them,

And his hands grow feeble;

Anguish has taken hold of him,

Pangs as of a woman in childbirth.

⁴⁴ “Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the floodplain^a of the Jordan

Against the dwelling place of the strong;

But I will make them suddenly run away from her.

And who is a chosen man that I may appoint over her?

For who is like Me?

Who will arraign Me?

And who is that shepherd

Who will withstand Me?”

⁴⁵ Therefore hear the counsel of the LORD that He has taken against Babylon,

And His purposes that He has proposed against the land of the Chaldeans:

Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out;

Surely He will make their dwelling place desolate with them.

⁴⁶ At the noise of the taking of Babylon

The earth trembles,

And the cry is heard among the nations.

The Utter Destruction of Babylon

51

51:1 Thus says the LORD:

“Behold, I will raise up against Babylon,

Against those who dwell in Leb Kamai,^a

A destroying wind.

² And I will send winnowers to Babylon,

Who shall winnow her and empty her land.

For in the day of doom

They shall be against her all around.

³ Against her let the archer bend his bow,

And lift himself up against her in his armor.

Do not spare her young men;

Utterly destroy all her army.

Science & Technology

Archers riding in chariots could shoot their arrows without stopping (Jer. 51:3). One kind of armor for chariot archers was a long-sleeved leather shirt coming to the knees. Scales were sewn to the shirt, like fish scales, and a suit of armor might contain 500 to 1,000 scales and weigh about 50 pounds. This kind of armor appears in ancient Assyrian art, and many copper scales have also been discovered.

⁴ Thus the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans,

And those thrust through in her streets.

⁵ For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah,

By his God, the LORD of hosts,

Though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.”

⁶ Flee from the midst of Babylon,

And every one save his life!

Do not be cut off in her iniquity,

For this is the time of the LORD’s vengeance;

He shall recompense her.

⁷ Babylon was a golden cup in the LORD’s hand,

That made all the earth drunk.

The nations drank her wine;

Therefore the nations are deranged.

⁸ Babylon has suddenly fallen and been destroyed.

Wail for her!

Take balm for her pain;

Perhaps she may be healed.

⁹ We would have healed Babylon,

But she is not healed.

Forsake her, and let us go everyone to his own country;

For her judgment reaches to heaven and is lifted up to the skies.

¹⁰ The LORD has revealed our righteousness.

Come and let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God.

¹¹ Make the arrows bright!

Gather the shields!

The LORD has raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes.

For His plan is against Babylon to destroy it,

Because it is the vengeance of the LORD,

The vengeance for His temple.

¹² Set up the standard on the walls of Babylon;

Make the guard strong,

Set up the watchmen,

Prepare the ambushes.

For the LORD has both devised and done

What He spoke against the inhabitants of Babylon.

¹³ O you who dwell by many waters,

Abundant in treasures,

Your end has come,

The measure of your covetousness.

¹⁴ The LORD of hosts has sworn by Himself:

“Surely I will fill you with men, as with locusts,

And they shall lift up a shout against you.”

¹⁵ He has made the earth by His power;

He has established the world by His wisdom,

And stretched out the heaven by His understanding.

¹⁶ When He utters His voice—

There is a multitude of waters in the heavens:

“He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;

He makes lightnings for the rain;

He brings the wind out of His treasuries.”^a

Health & Medicine