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33 They have turned away from me instead of turning to me.[a] I tried over and over again[b] to instruct them, but they did not listen and respond to correction.[c] 34 They set up their disgusting idols in the temple that I have claimed for my own[d] and defiled it. 35 They built places of worship for the god Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom so that they could sacrifice their sons and daughters to the god Molech.[e] Such a disgusting practice was not something I commanded them to do. It never even entered my mind to command them to do such a thing! So Judah is certainly liable for punishment.’[f]

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 32:33 tn Heb “they have turned [their] backs to me, not [their] faces.” Compare the same idiom in 2:27.
  2. Jeremiah 32:33 tn For the idiom involved here see the translator’s note on 7:13. The verb that introduces this clause is a Piel infinitive absolute that is functioning in place of the finite verb (see, e.g., GKC 346 §113.ff and compare usage in Jer 8:15 and 14:19. This grammatical point means that the versions cited in BHS fn a may not be reading a different text after all, but may merely be interpreting the form as syntactically equivalent to a finite verb, as the present translation has done.).sn This refers to God teaching them through the prophets whom he has sent, as indicated by the repeated use of this idiom elsewhere in 7:13, 25; 11:7; 25:3, 4; 26:5, 19.
  3. Jeremiah 32:33 tn Heb “But they were not listening so as to accept correction.”
  4. Jeremiah 32:34 tn Heb “the house that is called by my name” (cf. 7:10, 11, 14, and see the translator’s note on 7:10 for the explanation for this rendering).
  5. Jeremiah 32:35 sn Cf. Jer 7:30-31; 19:5; and the study notes on 7:30. The god Molech is especially associated with the practice of child sacrifice (Lev 18:21; 20:2-5; 2 Kgs 23:10). In 1 Kgs 11:7 this god is identified as the god of the Ammonites, who is also called Milcom in 1 Kgs 11:5 and 2 Kgs 23:13. Child sacrifice, however, was not confined to this god; it was also made to the god Baal (Jer 19:5) and to other idols that the Israelites had set up (Ezek 16:20-21). Yet this behavior was strictly prohibited in Israel (Lev 18:21; 20:2-5; Deut 12:31; 18:10). It was this practice, as well as other pagan rites that Manasseh had instituted in Judah, that ultimately led to Judah’s demise (2 Kgs 24:3-4). Though Josiah tried to root these pagan traditions (2 Kgs 23:4-14) out of Judah, he could not do so. The people had only made a pretense of following his reforms; their hearts were still far from God (Jer 3:10; 12:2).
  6. Jeremiah 32:35 tn Heb “They built high places to Baal, which are in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, to cause their sons and daughters to pass through [the fire] to Molech, [a thing] which I did not command them and [which] did not go up into my heart [= “mind” in modern psychology], to do this abomination so as to make Judah liable for punishment.” For the use of the Hiphil of חָטָא (khataʾ) to refer to the liability for punishment, see BDB s.v. חָטָא Hiph.3 and compare the usage in Deut 24:8. Coming at the end as this does, this nuance is much more likely than “cause Judah to sin,” which is the normal translation assigned to the verb here. The particle לְמַעַן (lemaʿan) that precedes it is here once again introducing a result and not a purpose (compare other clear examples in 27:10, 15). The sentence has been broken down in conformity to contemporary English style, and an attempt has been made to make clear that what is detestable and not commanded is not merely child sacrifice to Molech but child sacrifice in general.

33 They turned their backs(A) to me and not their faces; though I taught(B) them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline.(C) 34 They set up their vile images(D) in the house that bears my Name(E) and defiled(F) it. 35 They built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom(G) to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molek,(H) though I never commanded—nor did it enter my mind(I)—that they should do such a detestable(J) thing and so make Judah sin.(K)

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