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12 Then the Lord’s message came to Jeremiah. 13 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel,[a] told him, “Go and speak to the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem. Tell them,[b] ‘I, the Lord, say:[c] “You must learn a lesson from this[d] about obeying what I say.[e] 14 Jonadab son of Rechab ordered his descendants not to drink wine. His orders have been carried out.[f] To this day his descendants have drunk no wine because they have obeyed what their ancestor commanded them. But I[g] have spoken to you over and over again,[h] but you have not obeyed me. 15 I sent all my servants the prophets to warn you over and over again. They said, ‘Every one of you, stop doing the evil things you have been doing and do what is right.[i] Do not pay allegiance to other gods[j] and worship them. Then you can continue to live in this land that I gave to you and your ancestors.’ But you did not pay any attention or listen to me. 16 Yes,[k] the descendants of Jonadab son of Rechab have carried out the orders that their ancestor gave them. But you people[l] have not obeyed me! 17 So I, the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, say:[m] ‘I will soon bring on Judah and all the citizens of Jerusalem all the disaster that I threatened to bring on them. I will do this because I spoke to them but they did not listen. I called out to them but they did not answer.’”’”

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 35:13 tn Heb “Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel.” For this title see 7:3 and the study note on 2:19.
  2. Jeremiah 35:13 tn Heb35:12 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, “Go and say…‘Will you not learn…’”’” The use of the indirect introduction has been chosen here, as in 34:1-2, to try to cut down on the confusion created by embedding quotations within quotations.
  3. Jeremiah 35:13 tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”
  4. Jeremiah 35:13 tn The words “from this” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They have been supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
  5. Jeremiah 35:13 tn Heb “Will you not learn a lesson…?” The rhetorical question here has the force, made explicit in the translation, of an imperative.
  6. Jeremiah 35:14 tn Heb “The words of Jonadab son of Rechab, that he commanded his descendants not to drink wine, have been carried out.” (For the construction of the accusative of subject after a passive verb illustrated here see GKC 388 §121.b.) The sentence has been broken down and made more direct to better conform to contemporary English style.
  7. Jeremiah 35:14 tn The vav (ו) plus the independent pronoun before the verb is intended to mark a sharp contrast. It is difficult, if not impossible, to render this in English other than as “But I.”
  8. Jeremiah 35:14 tn On this idiom (which occurs again in the following verse) see the translator’s note on 7:13 and compare its use in 7:13, 25; 11:7; 25:3, 4; 26:5; 29:19; 32:33; 35:14, 15; 44:9.
  9. Jeremiah 35:15 tn Heb “Turn, each of you, from his [= your] wicked way and make good your deeds.” Cf. 18:11, where the same idiom occurs with the added term of “make good your ways.”
  10. Jeremiah 35:15 tn Heb “Don’t go after/follow other gods.” See the translator’s note on 2:5 for an explanation of the idiom and see 11:10; 13:10; 25:6 for the same idiom.
  11. Jeremiah 35:16 tn This is an attempt to represent the particle כִּי (ki), which is probably not really intensive here (cf. BDB 472 s.v. כִּי 1.e) but is one of those causal uses of כִּי that BDB discusses on 473-74 s.v. כִּי 3.c, where the cause is really the failure of the people of Judah and Jerusalem to listen/obey. That is, the causal particle is at the beginning of the sentence so as not to interrupt the contrast drawn.
  12. Jeremiah 35:16 tn Heb “this people.” However, the speech is addressed to the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem, so the second person is retained in English. In addition to the stylistic difference that Hebrew exhibits in the rapid shifts between persons (second to third and third to second, which have repeatedly been noted and documented from GKC 462 §144.p), there may be a subtle rhetorical reason for the shift here. The shift from direct address to indirect address that characterizes this verse and the next may reflect the Lord’s rejection of the people he is addressing. A similar shift takes place in Wisdom’s address to the simpleminded, fools, and mockers in Prov 1:28-32 after the direct address of 1:22-27.
  13. Jeremiah 35:17 tn Heb “Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Armies, the God of Israel.” For the title see 7:13 and the study note on 2:19. The first person address is again used in the translation because this whole section is a speech from the Lord (see vv. 12-13).

Yahweh Warns of Judah’s Discipline

12 Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, saying, 13 “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Go and say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “(A)Will you not receive discipline by listening to My words?” declares Yahweh. 14 “The (B)words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, which he commanded his sons, not to drink wine, are established. So they do not drink wine to this day, for they have listened to their father’s command. But I have spoken to you, (C)rising up early and speaking; yet you have (D)not listened to Me. 15 Also I have sent to you all My (E)slaves the prophets, rising up early and sending, saying: ‘(F)Turn now every man from his evil way and make good your deeds, and (G)do not walk after other gods to [a]serve them. Then you will (H)inhabit the land which I have given to you and to your fathers; but you have not (I)inclined your ear or listened to Me. 16 Indeed, the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have (J)established the command of their father which he commanded them, but this people has not listened to Me.’”’ 17 Therefore thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, (K)I am bringing on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the harmful evil that I have spoken against them because I (L)spoke to them but they did not listen, and I have called them but they did not answer.’”

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 35:15 Or be a slave for