Yirmeyahu: His name means “YHWH will raise up” or “appoint”. One of the priests: Aramaic, one of the leaders of the course of the priests (as listed in 1 Chron. 24:1-19). 2 Kings 22:4 mentions a high priest by this name only 5 years after the time the book begins. So if Yirmeyahu was his firstborn, he would be next in line to be high priest. Anathoth, today called Anata, sits atop a hill about 5 km. outside Yerushalayim and is visible from the road to Yericho.

This is five years after Yoshiyahu began to seek YHWH and five years before he had the Temple repaired and the Book of the Torah was found. (2 Chron. 36)

Eleventh: the Hebrew number is in the form of an afterthought, an extra added after ten, rather than the usual number for eleven, probably since he did not complete the full year as king, since he himself was taken captive. Interestingly, the reigns of the last four kings of Yehudah lasted, respectively, three months, eleven years, three months, and eleven years.

The Word of YHWH… saying: This is not redundant if it refers to the visible manifestation of YHWH known in Aramaic as His Memra (living Word) and which was later embodied as Yahshua the Messiah. (Yoch. 1:14) It is mentioned overtly in the targum of verses 8 and 19; here, the Aramaic simply has “a word of prophecy from before YHWH”.

I set you apart: Yahshua is described as being ordained before the foundation of the world (1 Kefa/Peter 1:20) then raised up (related to Yirmeyahu’s name), and we who are in Him were chosen then as well. (Eph. 1:4) To the nations: yet the whole book is essentially addressed to Yehudah and Israel. Yet Irish tradition (The Book of Wars) says that after the deportation of Yerushalayim to Bavel (Babylon), Yirmeyahu took the daughter of King Tzidqiyahu to Ireland (an area colonized by the Phoenician alliance, of which Yehudah had been a part) and founded cities there, chiefly with the tribe of Menashe. One of the families mentioned there was named Machiri—the Hebrew name for the Machirites, descendants of one of Menashe’s grandsons. Perhaps this book was only the “warm-up” for that prophetic role.

Both Moshe (Ex. 4:10; 6:12) and Yeshayahu had similar responses to their call. YHWH does not often call those who have natural confidence in their own abilities, but those who know they need His upholding. Nevertheless, He does not accept excuses:

Compare Yochanan 5:19, 30.

9. Then YHWH stretched out His hand and touched it to my mouth. And YHWH told me, “Here. I have put My words in your mouth.

Stretched out His hand: or “sent forth His Arm [i.e., the Messiah] and had Him touch my mouth.” Compare Yeshayahu 6.

Plant: or establish. He would cut things out as a doctor does (removing a cancer so the body can survive), not as a butcher does. The pattern of tearing down is how a forest is cleared to plant a field and how a foundation is dug before the house can be built upward. Before we could begin acting as Israel again, we too had to cut down many false interpretations of Scripture that we had nurtured into large trees in the past. The Aramaic adds “and over the House of Israel” before the last two phrases. Compare Ecclesiastes 3:10, which says there is a season for all these things (perhaps one reason the almond, which heralds the season, is chosen as the imagery here):

A stick from an almond tree: Aramaic, a king hastening to do evil. Interestingly enough, in light of the note on v. 5, the only place in Europe that almond trees grow is in Ireland and the British Isles.

Keep watch: the root word for “almond tree” in v. 11, so this is a play on words as a memory aid. The almond tree is called the “watched tree” its blossoming alerts us to the fact that it is time to plant barley because the new festival year, which depends on the barley being at the right stage, will begin soon. Keep watch over: could also be translated “awaken” or “alert”, thus, “I will alert My Word to perform” (i.e., He will call on Yahshua, His living Word, to act; compare Yeshayahu 50:4 where He says YHWH “awakens” Him morning by morning). After all, Yahshua is the one who sowed the Northern Kingdom in tears. (Mat. 13:37) The almond is also called the “resurrection tree” because it is the first to bloom after the “death” of winter. But it is the last tree to bear fruit, so it is a picture of the two comings of Messiah. There are two times during which the almond nut is edible. First, during its green stage, after which it is again inedible until it reaches its dry stage (possibly alluded to in Luke 23:31). Aharon’s rod that budded was an almond branch (Numbers 17:8); the “dead tree” that still bore fruit (overnight!) was a sign of his high-priestly authority. This choice of Aharon relates to YHWH’s choice of Yirmeyahu, who also might have been high priest but for the fact that there was no Temple left by that time, so YHWH gave him another distinguished role.

A seething caldron: Aramaic, a king who seethes like a caldron. Face of the north: before the hidden place, or from the place where something lurks undiscovered; Aramaic, the arrangement of his troops are advancing from the direction of the north. This repetition of the word “face” emphasizes to Yirmeyahu that though his opponents have threatening faces, YHWH has His own answer to this—faces that are meaner still. Compare v. 17 and Yahshua’s warning not to fear those who could kill the body, but those who can destroy both body and soul. (Mat. 10:28)

Though Babylon is east of Yehudah, the fertile crescent by which its armies would travel there would make them approach Yehudah from the north. The “north” can also mean “treasury” in Hebrew, so He was simply using one of the tools He had created—the Babylonian army—to carry out His discipline on Yehudah. (See Havaquq 1) Judgment often comes out of the north in Scripture. Perhaps this relates to the “Big Dipper” constellation being so juxtaposed with the North Star.

Set up his seat (or throne) at the entrance to the gates: i.e., take authority over all the decisions affecting the city. The gate is a place of judgment, so YHWH is using these other kings as His means to render His judgment:

Bowed down: Aramaic, been enslaved.

Tie together your slack garments: an idiom much like our “roll up your sleeves”; i.e., “Get to work”, securing anything that would slow you down. Aramaic, strengthen (your loins). Do not go to pieces: notice YHWH’s use of the same phrase in reply again (as in v. 13); Aramaic, do not hold back from reproving them. If we credit authority to anything but Him, He may leave us at the mercy of what we already worship (by fearing). Like Kefa with the wind and waves, things other than Him only have the power we give them by recognition.

The same is said of Yerushalayim (Zech. 12:2-3), and we are being built into the New Yerushalayim.

I am with you: Aramaic, My Memra (living Word) will be at your assistance. In addition to the calling Yirmeyahu had since before His birth (v. 5), he now had this promise to uphold him throughout the trials he was about to experience because of his faithfulness. We, too, as Israel, have a calling that precedes our birth which our ancestors agreed we would live by, and we also have countless promises that those who remain faithful through the coming time of trouble will be delivered (though imprisoned in the process) and inherit the Land which will again be like the Garden of Eden. What more incentive could we be offered to be bold and endure the short-lived attacks that the enemy tries to slip in before the throes of his defeat become obvious to all.

2. “Go, call out in the hearing of Yerushalayim, saying, ‘This is what YHWH says: “I remember [about] you the kindness of your youth, the love of your espousals, your following Me into the wilderness, in a land [that was] not seeded.

I remember about you: Aramaic, I remember in your favor. In the wilderness: the Aramaic adds, without provisions.

Aramaic, “Firstlings of harvest, the sheaf of the heave-offering, of which everyone who eats… is guilty.”

House of Israel: already in exile at this point, except for a small token remnant who had left Yarav’am’s jurisdiction and joined Yehudah (2 Chron. 11:14-16), but this word has now come to us as well.

And as Israel mixed with the Gentiles and became Gentiles themselves, their descendants have to come back now and confess that their ancestors inherited lies, vanity, and things that are unprofitable. (16:19)

7. “’“And I brought you into the Land of orchards [so you could] eat its fruit and [enjoy] its pleasantness. But when you went in, you defiled My Land, and changed My possession into something abominable.

8. “’“The priests did not say, ‘Where is YHWH?’ Nor did those who handle the Torah know Me! Even the shepherds have rebelled against Me, and the prophets prophesied under Ba’al’s [influence], so they have gone after things that do not bring benefit.

If even the foundation of the house is crooked, how can it not need to be torn down in order to rebuild it? Handle: or wield skillfully; i.e., those who were to teach others how to respond to it, but how could they when they missed the main point? Shepherds: or pastors; compare Yehjezqel 34. Under Ba’al’s influence: or, “by the Lord”—a title now thought to refer to Ba’al’s arch-enemy, but which is really a translation of Ba’al.

10. “’“For go across to the islands of Kittim and see; send [word] to Qedar, and consider carefully whether there has been anything like this:

Kittim: Cyprus and/or some of the Greek isles. Qedar: Aramaic, the province of the Arabs.

Paul was probably alluding to this in Galatians 1:6-7.

Be appalled, O heavens: a Hebrew wordplay, shamu shamayim. Aramaic, because of the Land of Israel which is to be wasted.

Cisterns: the root word also means “explanations”. Indeed, our own excuses for why we practiced Sunday worship, Christmas, Easter, etc., simply did not hold water. When we tried to pour His living water into them, they acted like sieves. It is bad enough to forsake YHWH, but to replace Him with something of our own making is even worse.

15. “’“The young lions have roared and set their voices against him, and have laid his land waste; cities of his have been set on fire from [being] without inhabitant.

Young lions: a symbol of Babylon.

Nof: Memphis, Egypt. Tahpanes (an alternate spelling for Tahpanhes): Tel Defenneh in Egypt, 18 miles (29 km.) east-southeast of Tanis.

18. “’“So what is there for you on the road to Egypt now? To drink the waters of Shikhor? Or what is there for you toward the road to Ashur? To drink the waters of the River?

Shikhor: “the dark one”, a tributary of the Nile that ran along the eastern border of Egypt at that time. Why should we want to drink black water when YHWH has pure, undefiled water for us? Aramaic, to cast your males into the river. The river: the Ferath (Euphrates).

This is the answer to verse 13. If we sow to what is “our own”, what is “our own” will come back and bite us. “You should be fearing Me instead”, He says. Fearing anything else is paganism. If fear anything else, we prove we do not truly fear YHWH. YHWH of Armies: emphasizing His rulership of those who are under command.

21. “’“Yet I Myself had planted you [as] a choice [species of] vine—a completely reliable seed! So how were you changed into the degenerate [shoots] of a vine [that was] foreign to Me?

There is another pun here: “choice vine” is soreq, but it had turned out to be surey (degenerate shoots).

23. “’“How can you say, ‘I am not defiled; I have not gone after the Ba’als’? Consider your way in the [deep] gorge! Admit what you have done! [You are like a] swift dromedary crossing [back] over her [own] tracks,

24. “’“a wild donkey accustomed to the uninhabited land, that pants after the wind in the passion of her desire during her time [of heat]; who can turn her back? None who try to find her will weary themselves; they will find her in her month.

None who try…: Aramaic, All those who seek My Law will not be forgotten; in its time they shall find it.

26. “’“As [one who is] discovered [to be] a thief is ashamed, so [it is for] the House of Israel—they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets,

27. “’“who say to a tree, ‘You are my father!’ or to a stone, ‘You gave birth to us!’, because they have turned their back to Me instead of their face, yet in their time of trouble, they will say, ‘Rise up and bring us deliverance!’

A tree: or a piece of wood.

29. “’“What will you complain to Me about? It is Me that you have all offended,” declares YHWH.

30. “’“I have struck your children in vain; they have not received correction. Your own sword has devoured your prophets like a lion that brings destruction.

31. “’“O generation, consider the Word of YHWH! Have I been a wilderness to Israel? Or a land of deep darkness? Why [then] have My people said, ‘We are restless; we will not come to You anymore’?

Generation: classified by time or characteristics; alt., dwelling-place, which is what YHWH intended Israel to be for Him, beginning in the wilderness. Consider: literally, see, i.e., look around at all He has blessed you with; why are you bored with Him? Do you call that freedom—having nothing to live for, nothing to serve but self? Restless could also be translated “in charge”. The rabbis of Yehudah, after 135 C.E., also decided they could out-vote YHWH. The way to repent for saying “We will not” is to say, “We will” and actually do it. (Mat. 21:28ff) They failed to remember that their brother Kingdom was expelled for this very reason. If we (as the latter) have decided to go back to our Father’s house (Luk. 15:17), we need to learn His ground rules; we cannot bring our own.

33. “’“How thoroughly will you beautify your manner [of walking] to try to secure love? That is why you have even taught the evil women your ways!

I.e., you are even teaching prostitutes new tricks!

Digging: looking for “dirt” on someone by snooping in secret places, breaking in where not invited. It is in plain sight, right out in the open, all over your clothes!

36. “’“How you exhaust yourself [going to and fro] to alter your course! You will be disappointed by Egypt too, just as you were disappointed by Ashur.

Alter your course: “turn over a new leaf” by seeking out a new lover rather than by confessing and returning to YHWH, her husband. Disappointed by: or, ashamed of.

Hands atop your head: i.e., as slaves, tied up; Aramaic, the shame of your sins will be upon your head. You have trusted as allies those who are aliens and know nothing about YHWH; they will indeed turn on you.

The command in question is set forth in Deut. 24:4. Companions: literally, those of the same flock; the Aramaic Targum explains that this refers to nations. So Yehudah was considering the other nations as its equal, when in YHWH’s eyes they are not to be in the same category. (Num. 23:9) The Land, however, is made up of grains of sand, each of which symbolizes a descendant of Avraham. So if any of us is profaned, YHWH cannot draw near to His dwelling place in us.

Arab: a Bedouin prostitute, in this case; remember they were not yet Muslims at this time, so their character was undoubtedly much less subdued even than it is now. Polluting: the term could even mean “defecating on”. He insists on the camp in which His presence resides being kept free of excrement (Deut. 23:12-14), and the same concept extends metaphorically to His entire Land.

Ample warning of this is given in Deut. 11:16-17; now it was coming to pass as it had in the days of Eliyahu. Forehead: Aramaic, impudence (immodesty); LXX, shamelessness. Be ashamed: Aramaic, humble herself. YHWH calls Himself Israel’s husband (Yeshayahu 54:5), so going after any other elohim is adultery or prostitution. The forehead is the place YHWH’s name (Ex. 28:36-38) and His commandments belong (Deut. 11:18). A harlot says just anyone can write his name on her head, if he gives her what she wants. (Compare Rev. 13:16; 17:5) But we do the same if we excuse our compromises by saying, “I only did what I had to do.” And Colossians 3:5 reveals that even covetousness is a form of idolatry. So we are indeed guilty of the same.

Guide: literally, tamer; Aramaic, redeemer. Youth: LXX, time of virginity.

The shakharit morning prayer includes the intent that all of our potentials be submitted to YHWH, but here, anything Yehudah could potentially have done wrong, she did!

Apostate: or backslidden; Aramaic, those who restrain themselves from returning to My worship; LXX, given to turning. YHWH reminds Yehudah of her sister, who is already long gone into exile, as an example of how not to be.

8. “But I will watch, because on account of all the reasons [for] which apostate Israel committed adultery, I dismissed her and was giving her a certificate of divorce, treacherous Yehudah, her sister, was still not afraid, and she too went off and played the prostitute!

Watch: a turn of meaning from the watching in v. 7 to watching for Israel to come back nonetheless, like the Prodigal’s father.

Frivolous noise: or, how lightly she took the error of her ways; LXX, her fornication was accounted as nothing.

Cheating: deceitfully or fraudulently, in vain, or in a feigned way; i.e., pretending, as a put-on.

12. “Go and call out these words toward the north: ‘Return, O apostate Israel!’, declares YHWH, ‘I will not make My presence fail among you, because I am kind, and will not maintain [My anger] forever.’

North: i.e., toward Ashur (Assyria), by whom the Northern Kingdom had been exiled. Note that the unfaithfulness of Yehudah (v.11) is one reason He has had mercy on the Northern Kingdom. Here He uses the same shock treatment as in Yahshua’s parables of the two sons (Mat. 21:29) and the P’rush and the Tax-Collector (Luke 18:14), and Paul’s comments in Romans 1-2 about the Gentiles (see note on v. 17 below) proving to be more obedient to the Torah’s demands, though they had turned away from the written Torah. The intent is to provoke Yehudah to jealousy. (Deut. 32:16; Rom. 11:11)

14. “’Come back, O apostate children,” says YHWH, “because I am married to you [as your overlord], and I will take you away—one from a city, and a pair from a family—and I will lead you to Tzion.

I am married to you: Aramaic, I have taken pleasure in you. One from a city, two from a family: this is indeed how we are seeing the firstfruits of the return of the Northern Kingdom taking place. Though many more are descendants of the Northern Kingdom by blood, YHWH said He would return only a remnant.

Prudent: or circumspect, or what leads to success; LXX, they will certainly tend you with knowledge.

This has not yet occurred, for the Ark is still being looked for by some, including archaeologists. Miss it: or more literally, visit it. Be made: Aramaic, they will no longer wage war with it (idolatrously, as in the days of the high priest Eli). In any case, it will not be sought out as an object of worship.

Nations: In context, the tribes of backslidden Israel, who by the time of Yahshua had been declared to be Gentiles for all intents and purposes by the Sanhedrin. This is the background for the understanding of most Renewed Covenant references to ”Gentiles”. What is twisted started out straight, and will be straightened out again, as indicated by the pet name YHWH gives to Israel when all the tribes are together: Yeshurun (“they will be straight/level/upright”).

Walk with: in the sense of being “added onto”; Aramaic, associate with. Halachah means “the way we walk” (i.e., walk out the Torah in specific ways). Now Efrayim, still envious of Yehudah by and large, is walking according to Yehudah’s halachah, but as we become more established in Torah, we will overtake Yehudah to the extent that this envy will no longer be felt (Yeshayahu 11). Here it even appears that the roles will be reversed. (Compare Tzef. 3; Zech. 10:6-7.) Come together: one reason all of Israel had to be brought into Egypt—so they could all return to the Land together, and it appears it will be this way again.

I.e., the only way we can again qualify to be among the recipients of this promise is to return to being all we were originally meant to be as Israel, “forsaking all others”:

21. “A voice was heard weeping on the barren heights, the descendants of Israel’s beggings for mercy, since they have distorted their way and forgotten YHWH their Elohim.

Distorted their way: like one crossing a forest who forgets to mark the way back home.

Turnings-away: LXX, bruises. YHWH’s call has been effective! Now the Northern Kingdom’s response has begun, and continues until the end of the chapter. This is being fulfilled in our own day, 2,600 years after Yirmeyahu prophesied!

Mountain commotion (uproar): Aramaic, we have been excited about what cannot profit on the mountains.

25. We must lie down in our shame, and our reproach will cover us, because we have sinned against YHWH our Elohim—we and our fathers, from our youth all the way up to this day, and we have not obeyed the voice of YHWH our Elohim.

CHAPTER 4

I.e., if you are going to go to the trouble of repenting, repent all the way and in the right direction—toward Me!

After this encouraging digression into what will take place among even the scattered tribes of Efrayim (the kingdom that retained the name of Israel), YHWH now returns to His message to Yehudah, which has been turning in the same direction as Israel had a hundred years before.

Untilled ground: LXX, fresh ground. Don’t do what the Northern Kingdom did!

Foreskins of your hearts: the excess fleshiness that weighs them down, the part that has not been harvested by Him; LXX, hardness of heart.

6. “Lift up a sign toward Tzion: ‘Gather for refuge! Do not delay, because I am bringing an evil thing from the north—indeed, a great shattering.

North: Both Israel and Yehudah were taken off to exile in the north (by Assyria and Babylon respectively, via the fertile crescent which required going north first before turning east).

Lion: the symbol Babylon used for itself. Lair: or, thicket.

Burlap: a sign of mourning.

As we will see, all the prophets except Yirmeyahu were hearing from the wrong source, so the outcome would not be at all what they expected. The following appears to refer to a natural catastrophe that the kings cannot deal with politically.

I.e., “In Yehudah, the place where YHWH’s name is enshrined, in the ‘city of peace’, no less, we are supposed to be protected, aren’t we?”

Dazzling wind: or glowing; LXX, a spirit of error. Aramaic, a cold sweeping wind. Barren heights: Aram., heads of the river-courses. Sift: or winnow.

A wind fuller than these: LXX, a spirit of full vengeance.

He: Aramaic, a king with his troops. This was spoken when Nevuchadnetzar had withdrawn and all the prophets except Yirmeyahu were prognosticating peace.

15. Because a voice reports from Dan, and proclaims, “Trouble!” from the mountains of Efrayim.

Dan: the northernmost city in Israel, the first place the attackers would become visible, with little warning because of the mountains that block the view when the trade route to Mesopotamia fades from sight. The mountains of Efrayim: often called “the West Bank” today by Israel’s enemies—the area between Ramallah (near Beyth-El) and Nablus (Sh’khem). From here one can see all the way across the Yarden Valley, the othe direction from which an attack on Yerushalayim would be likely to be staged. The Aramaic specifies more particularly that the references to Dan and the Mountains of Efrayim are alluding to particular idols set up at each of these places. (1 Kings 12:29; Judges 17)

Make mention to: or, remind. Blockaders: i.e., besiegers, guards, or possibly observers; it is the same Hebrew word as that used for “Christians” today. Aramaic, robbers like grape-gatherers. Set their noise: or, designate their voice.

Rebelled against Me: LXX, neglected Me.

This is an allusion to the bitter waters used to test a woman accused of unfaithfulness to her husband (Numbers 5:18-27) in which her abdomen would swell up if she were guilty:

Yirmeyahu seems to identify himself with the guilt of his people, though he himself is not the guilty one, for Israel is all one people. Walls of my heart: LXX, sensitive powers of my heart; Aram., support of my heart.

Tents… hanging-drapes: an allusion to the Tabernacle, symbolizing the Temple, which was to be destroyed. (See also 10:20)

22. “For My people are foolish; they have not acknowledged Me. They are stupid children; they are not discerning! They are skillful in doing evil, but do not know how to do right!”

Foolish: as actually despising and mocking wisdom, not just lacking it.

This is an allusion to when YHWH first inspected the earth (the same word as “the Land”), and found it “a chaotic ruin and an empty desolation” (Gen. 1:2), and He brought light into being. Now the actions of His people have brought the order He created to an end. As in Genesis, at one time it had been otherwise, since Genesis picks up after a scene of judgment on rebellious spirits.

Moving themselves: Aramaic, displaced; LXX, in commotion. This did not take place when Babylon came to besiege Yerushalayim. Nothing of this magnitude has happened on earth since 701 B.C.E. (long before Yirmeyahu’s day), so it still has a fulfillment in the days to come when the story resumes.

Man: Heb., Adam. As at the flood of Noach, YHWH was wondering whether all His work of creation had been futile. There was no one bearing His image anymore. In mystical terms, the man of light had been scattered again. The kingdom had come, and all that remained to make it complete was a marriage ceremony, but the bride could not wait for the wedding and went off with other lovers. So the wedding was off. The Israel that existed as YHWH intended had been destroyed, and the shards of light had to be gathered up again. The process had to be started all over. This was begun by Yahshua’s followers. But they dropped the ball also. We need to take warning from this, that it can happen yet again as the option is being given to us once more.

Fruitful orchard: or, as a proper name, Karmel (a mountain range in an area with the perfect climate for growing many subtropical fruits today as well).

28. “Over this the earth will mourn, and the heavens above will grow dark, because I have spoken, I have devised [a plan], and I will not be moved to pity, nor will I turn back from it.

Heavens grow dark: probably as a result of heavy volcanic debris in the atmosphere that results from the planet-wide catastrophe being under discussion here. Turn back from it: Aramaic, reconsider it.

Be put to flight: Aram., go into exile.

31. “because I have heard a sound like a woman who is made sick, distress as of one giving birth to her first child—the voice of the daughter of Tzion gasping for breath, beginning to spread her palms: ‘Alas for me now; my life is fading away because of murderers!’”

Spread her palms: LXX, lose the strength of her hands. My life is fading away: or, my soul is weary.

Streets: literally, outdoor spaces; Aramaic, marketplaces. This is reminiscent of Avraham’s pleas that YHWH see whether there were not at least ten righteous left in S’dom and Ghamorah, so that He could spare them. (Gen. 18:32) But here, it is YHWH doing the initiating, and He would spare it if there is only one person who renders a right verdict (according to His words)! That is how badly He wants to not have to destroy the city of His favor. Instead, everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Later, He did find one man (Yahshua), on account of whom He could pardon us. But today again He is looking for men to set up a Torah-based court so decisive rulings can be made instead of letting things go on as they have been. Right rulings include both gentleness and strength, kindness and severity—in short, knowing what is best for each one in the flock, for some need their legs broken so they will stop wandering, while others need oil poured on their wounds.

3. O YHWH, aren’t your eyes [looking] for faithfulness? You have had them beaten, but they are not in agony; You have finished them off, but they have refused to accept correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; they have refused to repent!

His eyes also go to and fro (v. 1)—not only in Yerushalayim but the whole Land (or earth), looking for someone whose heart is completely His, so He can fully support him. (2 Chron. 16:9) Yet many today who are Israel are resisting the call to act as Israel. In agony: writhing as in the pain of childbirth, or dancing—another way the Psalms tell us to do spiritual warfare.

Low: or poor, i.e., those who are uneducated and do not know any better. Yahshua said there would always be poor among us (always someone needing to be taught, sheep needing to be fed--Mark 14:7).

Distinguished: or great; LXX, rich. Broken the yoke: Aramaic, rebelled from the Torah. Just the same: LXX, with one consent.

Lion: Babylon. Wolf of the Aravah: a similar phrase means “evening wolf” in Havaqquq 1:8 and Tzef. 3:3, and taken this way here by the Aramaic version. Leopard, or perhaps cheetah (because speed is its characteristic): corresponds with the kingdom of Greece, Babylon’s second successor, in Daniel 7:6. They have turned away too many times: or, their backslidings have broken their bones into many [pieces]—as in the previous phrase.

Fed them to the full: or, made them swear an oath: i.e., a marriage vow.

9. “Shall I not call them to account over these matters?” says YHWH. “And if My soul will not avenge itself of such a nation as this…

10. “Go up among her vine-rows and ruin [them], but do not carry out a complete destruction. Take away her spreading tendrils, because they do not belong to YHWH,

Vine-rows: or battlement-walls. Take away her spreading tendrils (offshoots): or, remove her branches—possibly what Paul was alluding to in Rom. 11:17-24; see also Yirm. 11:16. LXX: leave her buttresses, because they belong to YHWH. But it seems to relate even more directly to those branches of Yahshua, the Vine, who bear no fruit (Yoch. 15:2). These are people who were “in Him”, yet the Father has taken them away due to unfaithfulness.

Both houses were cut off (taken away from the Land, where the root was). Only part of Yehudah returned, both after the Babylonian captivity and in our own generation. The penalty is not as unbending in our captivity; how can we truly sing the songs of Tzion in a strange land? (Ps. 137) But He is calling us back to where we must be holy in order to remain, and thus He has mercifully given us time to prepare by learning what holiness means while we are still outside the Land, so it may not happen again once we arrive there.

Not Him: Aramaic, Not from before Him do beneficial things come upon us; LXX, These things are not so.

Turn into wind: Aramaic, become nothing. Those who take Christian doctrine to its logical conclusion also end up having none of the actual Word of YHWH left since they spiritualize it away. The root for “word” in Hebrew is “pasture” or a place to feed the sheep. Ear-ticklers are only feeding the sheep with candy.

A prophet is meant to bring fire, not wind, for His word is a fire. (23:29) The downfall of the Northern Kingdom is that it failed to stoke up the fire when it should. (Hoshea 7:4) You have said: Here “you” is plural. Your mouth: here “your” is singular (probably referring to Yirmeyahu).

That has endured for an age: an ancient people, or a people of this age. Babylon was founded by Nimrod, the great hunter who rebelled against YHWH and founded the “world” system (the same as “age” in Hebrew).

17. “and it will devour your harvest and your bread! They will devour your sons and daughters! It will devour your flock and your herd! It will devour your vine and your fig tree, and with the sword it will plunder your fortified cities—those in which you trust.

When Israel wanted to have a king so it could be just like the other nations (for which Babylon is the archetype), the prophet Shmuel told them that the repercussions would be very similar to these. (1 Shmuel 8:11-18)

19. “Now this is how it will be when you say, ‘In return for what has YHWH done all these [things] to us?’ Then tell them, ‘Just as you have forsaken Me and served other elohim in your Land, in the same way you will serve strangers in a land that is not your own.

Serve: i.e., be enslaved to. Strangers: literally, those who are estranged or alienated, thus possibly even people from the Northern Kingdom who had left the Covenant and already formed new nations, as many of them did. (Not all were enslaved to Assyria.)

21. “’Now hear this, O foolish and heartless people, [who] have eyes but cannot see, who have ears but cannot hear:

Heartless: LXX, senseless; Aramaic, having no understanding.

Respect, tremble: Coming from a young, inexperienced man like Yirmeyahu, this probably seemed like a joke to those predisposed to reject a message of judgment. Sand: symbolic also of the descendants of Avraham; the sea: symbolic of the Gentile nations. (Compare Zech. 12:3) The nations are limited by Israel. (Deut. 32:8)

They are not acting as Israel is meant to, though even inanimate nature does what it is supposed to do. (v. 22).

If the rains come two weeks too early or too late, the crop can be lost. But they thought that as long as He was on time, everything would be all right. But He was saying that they, too, had to be in season if they were to enjoy His blessings. There is a right time for everything. (Eccles. 3; Prov. 15:23) If we are alert to His signs, we will not be caught by surprise. (Mat. 24:42ff) They took the rain for granted, though they would not even be around to eat the harvest it was bringing. (v. 17) The wheat and tares grow in the same season, but some are destroyed (lest they replant themselves) and others are harvested so there can be more. The more we plant, the more people we can feed, unless our appetites are too big. We have to sow the right things to reap the right results (Gal. 6:7), and even the finest vines need pruning. (Yoch. 15:2)

26. “’because wicked [ones] have been found among My people. They lie in wait like crouching trappers. They lay out a snare; they capture mortal men.

27. “’Like a cage full of birds, their houses are filled with betrayal. This is how they have become great and are growing rich.

Cage: Aramaic, a place for fattening animals.

29. “’Shouldn’t I hold them accountable for these things?’ says YHWH. ‘If My soul will not avenge itself of such a nation as this…’

30. “An appalling, horrifying things has been brought about in the Land!

31. “The prophets prophesy fraudulently, and the priests dominate based on [who can] afford to, and My people love it that way, so what will they do to end it?”

Who can afford to: literally, according to their hand. This was still going on in Yahshua’s day, for the Romans sold the high priesthood to whomever was the highest bidder, whether or not he was from the lineage YHWH had prescribed. Who would stop it if they were the very ones profiting from it? To end it: or, when its end comes.

Theqoa: from the same root as the next word, “blow”, or trumpet. Theqoa was the prophet Amos' hometown.

Aramaic, O beautiful and noble lady, how you have corrupted your ways; therefore the assembly of Tzion is ashamed.

Each will feed his hand: Aramaic, They will assist each other.

Appoint: literally, consecrate/set apart.

6. Because this is what YHWH of Armies has said: “Cut down her trees, and cast up a siege-mound against Yerushalayim! She is the city to be called to account; the innermost part of her is nothing but extortion!

Called to account: Aram., whose debts have been stored up against her.

Fresh: or cool. Grief and wounds: or, sickness and plagues.

He is not offering to rescind the punishment, but telling them to take the beating and learn from it so they can survive. The two Hebrew words for “teach” mean “to prod” and “to deal blows”, so if we want to learn from YHWH , we must prepare to be goaded. If we judge ourselves, we should not need to be judged. (1 Cor. 11:31) Yahshua is the immersion-pool of Israel (17:13; compare Yochanan 8:8), but we are therefore told to wash ourselves. (Yeshayahu 1:16) He makes the provision, but will not do it for us if we make no effort to change. Sycomore figs (Amos 7:14) are inedible if not tended by piercing it with a pin and rubbing it with olive oil. Oil symbolizes the Spirit of Holiness, but it will not benefit us unless we are pierced. His rebuke is a favor. We can take the wounds He gives us in the wrong direction, and they will profit us nothing, or we can let it have the effect He wants. (v. 14; Heb. 12:12-13; Ps. 51:8) The affliction is beneficial if by it we learn His ways. (Ps. 119:71) When His judgments are seen in the world, its inhabitants will learn to be righteous; the wicked will not learn when there is grace. (Yeshayahu 26:9-10)

I.e., come back for a second round of plundering. Aram., your plague will return.

Uncircumcised: i.e., blocked off by excess flesh so that the hearing is dulled. The term can also mean “uncovered”, seemingly the opposite, but they were opening their ears to the wrong things (letting those who should not speak into our lives, such as gossips and whisperers, have authority there) and not opening them to the right things. Wise reproof is like a golden earring to an obedient ear. (Prov. 25:12) One who had a hole bored into his ear at the doorpost (Heb., mezuzah) to show that he wished to remain with a beneficent master (Ex. 21:6) would traditionally wear a golden earring to show publicly that he receives instruction, rulings, and protection from that household. YHWH tells us to write His words on our doorposts. (Deut. 11:20) But those who don’t listen and respond when He calls are numbered for the sword. (Yeshayahu 65:12) Their ear: Notice that this ear is singular, but it belongs to a plural group. They are meant to hear as one unit. This is why Yahshua constantly told those who had an ear (singular) to hear what the Spirit said. (Rev. 2-3)

Tired of: or impatient with.

13. “because from the least of them all the way to the greatest, every one gains a profit unjustly, and from the prophets to the priest, every one [of them] deals fraudulently!

14. “Also, they have healed the fracture of My people as if it were insignificant, saying, ‘Wholeness, total well-being’, when there is no soundness [in it]!

I.e., they pasted a band-aid over a broken leg, kissed it, and said it was “all better”!

In contrast, the Northern Kingdom will be ashamed of its ways (16:19; 31:19).

Ask whom? YHWH gives wisdom to those who need it. (Yaaqov 1:5) Ancient: or eternal. Settledness for your souls: Compare Yahshua’s promise of “rest for your souls” in Matt. 11:28-30. His yoke is the same as this ancient path. Perhaps this is why His disciples were originally simply called followers of ”the Way”. (Yoch. 14:6; Acts 9:2; 19:9. 23; 24:14) They pointed many back to it, but again the reunited Israel did not continue in the direction He intended. But again He is bringing many back to it today, for which we praise Him. We will never find settledness when seeking security directly, but if we seek YHWH’s kingdom, everything else we need will be provided. (Mat. 6:33) But Yahshua was speaking more directly against those who loaded people down with unnecessary restrictions that went far beyond the intent of the Torah. (Mat. 12) Indeed, one can hardly feel settled when he is always wondering whether his obedience is accepted or not. But Yirmeyahu’s audience was off the scale of obedience altogether:

Watchmen: Aramaic, teachers. Yehezqel 33:1-20 reveals that the sound of the shofar signals that it is time to repent, or else war will come against them.

19. “Listen, O earth: behold, I am bringing evil upon this people—the fruit of their [own] inventions, because they have not paid attention to My words, and [as for] My instruction, they have rejected it.

Fruit of their own inventions (thoughts or plans): they are only reaping what they sowed. (Gal. 6:7) He brought witnesses so that no one could accuse Him of giving them what they did not deserve. Instruction: Heb., torah.

When hearts are not right, YHWH does not see any point in us going through the motions. (Compare Amos 5:21.) Pleasing: from a root meaning exchanged or given in pledge. He will not be placated with plea-bargains if there is no repentance; He will not accept quantity of gifts in lieu of quality of heart. Calamus: LXX, cinnamon.

Companion: Aramaic, near-relation.

23. “They will retain their hold on bow and javelin; it is fierce and merciless. Their voice roars like the sea, and they ride on horses, set in array like men to battle against you, O daughter of Tzion!”

24. We have heard the report about it. Our hands have grown weak; distress has taken hold of us—pain like a woman in childbirth!

Hands have grown weak: Just as the report about the Israelites made the people of Yericho lose heart. (Yehoshua 5:1) But Israel is not to operate by the same rules as the Kanaanites. They are not acting as Israel. (See note on v. 30)

Yahshua warns of similar times in Mat. 24:15ff that are yet ahead for us (the time of Yaaqov’s trouble, also known as the birthpangs of Messiah, in context of v. 24), but which can be a reparation for the breaches made during the time being spoken of here, if we pick up where our ancestors left off. When the same temptation comes around again, if we respond in the way He desires this time, what was broken can be salvaged, for the ancient path (v. 16) is also an eternal one, and we can get back onto it today if we repent. Even a fool will remain protected if he stays on the right road. (Yeshayahu 35:8) That is the task before us now.

Burlap (sackcloth) and ashes are signs of deep mourning. Only child: or, idiomatically, a favorite. The term was used of Yitzhaq. (Gen. 22:2) When Yehudah sees Yahshua returning, they will mourn for Him as for an only child. (Zech. 12:10)

Inspector: one who assays metals and places a value on them. Examiner: or restrainer; the word often means a walled fortress. (2 Thess. 2:7) Like Yoseyf, Yahshua was sent to check on how His Father’s tenants were treating what was His. (Mat. 21:33-41) He, too, found insufficient repentance. (Mat. 23:37) Know: Aram., make known. Scrutinize: put to the proof-test.

All of them: compare Paul’s condemnation of Yehudah in Romans 3:9-20. Copper and iron: Copper is the same as bronze in Hebrew, and bronze represents the kingdom of Greece, and iron the kingdom of Rome (Dan. 12:32)—the two chief cultures that continue to drive the Western world and the church today, and have indeed brought corruption there.

When silver is melted down, the lead which may be mixed in is relatively easy to smelt off. But iron and copper have a much higher melting temperature, and when they are mixed together, the total temperature needed to melt the silver is higher. Iron and copper can be removed more easily from gold than silver, for with silver, all have to reach the temperature of vaporization before they are removed. A bellows cannot accomplish this. So only one of the three corrupters has been burned away. The resulting silver may look purer indeed, but if we stop there and think we have arrived, we are thoroughly unacceptable to Him:

Reject: or refuse, here an adjective, not an imperative verb; Aramaic, blemished. He has done all He could, but they have not allowed Him to purify them. Silver is what is used to redeem, and this is Israel’s calling in the world, but it could not serve its purpose since it, too, was corrupted, and thus had to end up on a slagheap. Such silver is sold very cheaply, for Israel had profaned itself. Yet YHWH retained a remnant—“seed corn” which He planted again, hoping that the next harvest would produce an edible crop.

2. “Stand in the gate of the House of YHWH and call out this word there: ‘Listen to the word of YHWH, all you of Yehudah who enter at these gates to bow yourselves to YHWH!

3. “’This is what YHWH of Armies, the Elohim of Israel, says: “Correct your directions and your practices, and I will allow you to remain in this place.

4. “’”Do not entrust yourselves to the words of deception that say, ‘This is the Temple of YHWH, the Temple of YHWH, the Temple of YHWH!’

5. “’“For if you do right [by] making your directions and your practices right, and truly make just rulings between a man and his fellow,

He allows one more opening to repent. Restoration cannot come without the execution of right judgment, favoring no one.

The emphasis is on community—teaching the newcomer rather than going after his money, and taking care of one another when truly needy.

8. “’“Indeed, you are entrusting yourselves to the words of deception that [will leave you] without profit.

9. “’“Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, adjure yourselves fraudulently, and burn incense to Ba’al, and go after other elohim that you have not been acquainted with,

10. “’“then come and stand before My face in this House which has been reputed to have My Name upon it, and say, ‘We are delivered’, just to [go back and] do all these disgusting things?

We are delivered…: This sounds very much like, “We are free from the Law; we can be forgiven, no matter what we do wrong.” His response, in so many words, is, “Will you tell Me this in My own house, just because I did you a favor?” He does not desire just a “confessional”, but true repentance.

Den of robbers: Yahshua quoted this verse in the affirmative when He came and cleansed the Temple of the “leaven” of unjust monetary exchange just before Passover twice.

Shilo is where the Tabernacle had a semi-permanent place with a low foundational wall that has been excavated there by archaeologists.

14. “’“So I will do to the House which has been reputed to have My Name upon it, on [account of] which you are feeling secure, and to the place that I gave to you and your ancestors, just as I did to Shilo,

Just as I did: He made His presence depart. The background for why is found in 1 Shmuel 3-4.

16. “And [as for] you, do not intervene for this people nor lift up an outcry or a prayer on their behalf; do not intercede with Me, because there is nothing in Me that will hear.

You: Yirmeyahu. I.e., don’t even begin to do what Avraham did, because it would break My heart to tell you “No”. Do not stand in the way, for if I relent, Israel will not survive. Let the judgment come so that it can be salvaged. A similar command was given to Shmuel the prophet in regard to King Sha’ul. (1 Shmuel 16) There was no longer a point of contact for Him within one who had rejected His word and deliberately disobeyed.

18. “The children are gathering sticks and the fathers are kindling the fire; the women are kneading dough to make [prepared] cakes for the ‘queen of heaven’ and to pour out libations to other elohim in order to spite Me.

Queen of heaven: the Babylonian goddess Semiramis (later called Astarte, the Egyptian Hathor, the Greek Aphrodite, and Roman Venus) that had the veneer of “the Virgin Mary” pasted over it after Roman religion was mixed with Biblical in what then became the catholic (universal) church. This claim that very different beings are identical is the hallmark of the conglomerate world religion that is taking shape again. Cakes: part of the worship ritual.

20. “Therefore, this is what Adonai YHWH says: ‘Indeed, My anger and My rage will be poured out toward this place—upon both the man and the beast, upon both the tree of the field and the fruit of the ground—and it will burn and will not be put out.’

Be poured out toward: Aramaic, hover over.

22. “’because I did not speak with your ancestors nor give them orders in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt concerning the matters of ascending offerings or slaughterings;

He desires obedience, not sacrifice. (1 Shmuel 15:22) I.e., He would rather we had no need to repent at all.

24. “’But they did not listen, nor did they bend their ear [toward Me], but walked in the plans and the stubbornness of their evil heart, and they went backward instead of forward.

Stubbornness: Aramaic, corrupt fancy.

26. “’Yet they did not listen to Me, nor did they bend their ear [toward Me], but were making the back of their neck stiff; they did [more] evil than their parents.’

27. “So say all these words to them, but they will not listen; you will call to them, but they will not answer.

28. “But you must tell them, ‘This is the nation that does not obey the voice of YHWH their Elohim, nor do they receive correction. Faithfulness has vanished and has been cut off from their mouth.

29. “’Shear off [the hair of] your Nazirite consecration, and take up a dirge on the barren heights, because YHWH has rejected and will let loose the generation of His overflowing fury,

Let loose: paralleled in his depiction with cutting his hair. Perhaps this Nazirite state had been part of Yirmeyahu’s being set apart from his mother’s womb (1:6), and this was the first he had cut his hair. But more probably it was just that he set himself apart for the purpose of delivering this prophecy. The word “Nazir” literally means “an untrimmed vine” (Lev. 25:5); thus a Nazir’s locks are a picture of YHWH’s acceptance of Israel. (Yehezqel 5)

31. “’They have built the cultic platforms of the Tofeth which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire, which I neither commanded nor did it [even] come up in My mind.

Tofeth: may mean “place of burning”, but is identical to a word for “spit”, which is YHWH’s opinion of it. It comes from a root word meaning “to beat or drum upon” or “play the tambourine”, which may have been part of the ritual that went on there. The Valley of [the Son of] Hinnom (which means “lamentation”) became corrupted to the Greek Ge-henna, which became an idiom for “hell” because of the constant fires there after it was relegated to being a dumping-ground after the practices mentioned here rendered it unworthy of any nobler use. It formed the southern and western sides of the city of Yerushalayim in ancient times. The Tofeth in particular was at the confluence of the Valley of Hinnom and the Qidron Valley (the eastern edge of the city), at the southeastern corner of Mt. Tzion (the City of David).

Slaying: or murder, but the emphasis is on the numbers who will be killed here when YHWH brings judgment; LXX and Aramaic, Valley of the Slain. Due to lack of space: Aramaic, until there is no place.

Compare Rev. 19:17-21. Frighten them away: or startle them. This is reminiscent of Avram driving away the birds that started coming after the carcasses of the animals he had divided in his initial covenant with YHWH. (Gen. 15) Birds or fowls are often symbolic of evil spirits. They were driven away then, but the covenant-cutting was itself a declaration that if one of the parties to the covenant failed to keep his part, the other party would have a right to do the same to him. YHWH had already divided the nation of his descendants in half, but now the unstated, more gruesome consequence of this treason was also to be fulfilled.

Joy: LXX, those who make merry. This is repeated again in 16:9 and 25:10, but compare 33:10-11. The same curse is transferred to Babylon in Rev. 18:23.

Prophets: Aramaic adds, of falsehood, to clarify that YHWH does not wish to defame His prophets. Yet the bones of the kings would seem to include even David’s. Was even he so disgraced because of the choices made by those who came after him? Their true inner weakness was exposed, for no matter how muscular one looks, his body will collapse under strain if his bones are not strong. (Compare Acts 3:7.) No matter how wealthy and powerful these kings appeared, and how religious the priests and prophets seemed, inwardly they had no foundation whatsoever.

Compare Yehezqel 6:5. This ultimate act disrespect represented the opposite of being “gathered to one’s fathers”, for the bones of many generations were traditionally placed together after the bodies had decomposed. They were being separated from their heritage as Israelites. Normally one’s bones last for centuries, if not millennia, after one dies, but “envy is the rottenness of the bones.” (Prov. 14:29) Wanting another’s position for oneself makes the bones decay, ultimately making it as if this person had never existed, removing their memory from the earth. Fertilizer: LXX, as an example.

Death will be chosen: Aram., they will delight in death—as every aspect of Egyptian life emphasized preparation for death. YHWH said He set before us the choice of life or death. (Deut. 30:19) Those who did not wish to be subject to His Torah are described as having turned their hearts back to Egypt. (Acts 7:39) But choosing death is not as simple as being suicidal. Choosing self—our own lives—means death, because when we “find our lives”, we lose them. (Mat. 10:39)

They: apparently the Babylonian army, who may have appeared to be in “remission”. Or, Don’t those who fall get up again? Don’t those who turn away come back? So why…?

Their measure of a successful, strong person is how well he is able to deceive others.

The first step toward changing is admitting guilt, but they refused to do so. Their heart is not asking where it has fallen short of its potential. They ignore the early warning signs that could spare them much more trouble later. Lifestyles: or, racecourses. Turned back…: LXX, The runner has failed from his course, like a tired horse.

8. “’“How can you say, ‘We are wise, and YHWH’s Torah is with us’, [when] in fact, look--the lying pen of the scribes has perpetrated fraud?

9. “’“Wise [men] have withered away; they have been broken in pieces, and will be captured. They have melted away at the word of YHWH, so what [kind of] wisdom [can] they have?

10. “’“So I will give their wives to others, their fields to those who are dispossessing them, because from the small to the great, everyone is wrongfully gaining an unjust profit. From the prophet to the priest, everyone is perpetrating fraud,

An unjust profit is not always about money. It can include thinking we deserve to be held in high esteem by men. The prophets were not content to hear from YHWH and speak authoritatively; they want their own authority, like Jezebel. This is why several in Scripture were struck with leprosy. (e.g., 2 Chron. 26:16-21) Even the priests, who had the most respected position in Israel, wanted more. Yahshua said they had received all the reward they were going to get.

When people say there is peace in this age when peace has not yet arrived, it should be a red flag warning us not to trust them. (Daniel 8:25) The only way to true peace is through the painful inquiry into “what we have done”. To say we can be at peace just because “Jesus died for us” (so we can never be punished) or even because we are “doing the best we can” to obey is out of season in our day.

13. “’“I will collect [and] consume them,” is said by YHWH. “No grapes [will be] on the vine, and no figs on the fig tree; even the leaves will wither and fall off, and I will give [them] to those who overrun them.”’”

He has found no value in them. (9:9) Yahshua cursed a fig tree for having leaves (as if there would also be fruit) but no figs. (Mark 11:13ff)

Hemlock: or poison, bitterness, gall; Aramaic, the cup of cursing.

Healing: Aramaic, pardon from debts. This is what all who go on sinning willfully can expect, because they are taught that “God will forgive any sin”, so they do not truly repent.

His: the King of Babylon’s.

18. After [having been] cheerful, grief [has come] upon me; faintheartedness [has come] over me.

19. “There it is—the sound of the outcry of my people from a faraway land! Isn’t YHWH in Tzion? Isn’t her King within her? Why have they provoked Me to anger with their carved images, with foreign things that are empty?”

20. The harvest has passed; the summer has come to an end, and we have not been delivered!

This is at Sukkoth, when the grace period of the foregoing days is finally completed and one’s direction for the coming year is sealed. Atonement has not been granted as anticipated. (During the 40 years following Yahshua’s death the red cord tied around the “scapegoat’s” horn We need to count the cost and request an adequate “budget” for the coming year at this time, so that we will be able to complete what we need to. What we truly seek in the spirit will be found (Mat. 7:7), so be sure you are seeking the right thing.

The Aramaic targum has Yerushalayim saying these words. Been darkened: Aram., my [Yerushalayim’s] face has been covered with a coating of blackness like a pot. Perhaps this refers to the burning of the city. But one day she will again speak, expressing amazement at all the children she has regained when they turned back to YHWH in their exile. (Yeshayahu 49:20-21)

Salve: the Aramaic sees it as symbolic of the teaching of Eliyahu the prophet, who was from Gil’ad. If we had heeded his words, we would have been healed. His words are, “How long will you hobble between two opinions? If YHWH is Elohim, serve Him!” (1 Kings 18:21) The spirit of Eliyahu is returning today to precede the “great and terrible” Day of YHWH, and again it says, “YHWH—He is Elohim!” Not “the Lord”, “God”, or some other substituted name; at best, these obscure the truth, and at worst are idolatry.

Though the trampling out of YHWH’s judgment is like a winepress, and therefore a thing of joy in most cases, this is Israel that is being judged; it holds no joy for Yirmeyahu, nor for YHWH. (v. 18)

Though this is the only heritage Yirmeyahu had ever wished to have, he cannot stand to remain in his home, because lying has come to be so normal that no one can trust anyone anymore:

Or, their bow is a lie; it is not for faithfulness that they are valiant in the Land. A lie cannot exist on its own; it can only be the bending, twisting, or corrupting of something real and true.

Detain: literally, take by the heel (i.e., hold you back; related to Yaaqov’s name); Aram., every brother surely lurks in wait.

Trained: in the sense of exercising, like an athlete.

Your dwelling place: Aram., their assembly-houses. LXX: There is usury upon usury, deceit upon deceit.

Melt them down and scrutinize them: LXX, try them by fire and prove them. The face: Aramaic, the sins.

Craftily: or, misleadingly. There is nothing left to be said in their defense:

10. I will take up wailing and a song of lamentation in regard to the mountains, and a dirge on account of the beautiful meadows of the wilderness, because they are burned away, without even a man to pass through them, nor do they hear the voice of cattle. Everything from the bird of the skies to the beast has fled away; they are gone.

Voice: LXX, sound of life. In regard to: or, upon.

Dragons: Aramaic, jackals. Compare the description of Babylon in Rev. 18:2, because Yehudah had let itself become like Babylon.

13. So YHWH says, “On account of their forsaking My Torah which I set before them and not obeying My voice or walking in it.

14. “[Instead], they have been walking after the stubbornness of their own heart and after the Ba’alim, as their fathers taught them.”

15. So this is what YHWH of Armies, the Elohim of Israel, says: “Here I am! I will make this people eat wormwood, and make them drink the water of hemlock.

Make them eat wormwood: LXX, feed them with trouble.

17. This is what YHWH of Armies says: “Show yourself to have foresight, and call for the women who chant a dirge to come, and send for the wise women to come,

18. “and have them hurry and take up a mourning song over us, so that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids flow with water,

19. “because a sound of lamentation is heard out of Tzion: ‘How devastated we are! How extremely shamefully we have acted, because we have left behind a Land since our dwelling places have thrown us out.’”

Devastated: LXX, wretched; Aramaic, plundered. Our dwellings have thrown us out: or, they have cast down our dwelling places; LXX, we have abandoned our tabernacles. YHWH warned that if our ancestors lived like the nations that inhabited Kanaan before them, the very Land itself would spit them out (Lev. 18:28; 20:22), and this is what was happening here.

21. because death has come up through our windows, entering our citadels to cause the nursing babies to be cut off from the streets, and the young men in their prime from the open plazas.

22. “Speak!” This is what YHWH says: “Even human corpses will fall like fertilizer on the surface of the field, and like the swath of fallen grain after the reaper, but there will be no one to gather.”

23. This is what YHWH says: “Do not let a wise [man] boast in his wisdom, nor let the strong [man] boast in his strength, nor let the rich [man] boast in his wealth,

Boast: means to rave about something even to the point of appearing foolish. When the lights are really turned on, all will see that living for oneself is the real foolishness, but in the era when such philosophies have precedence in the public eye, walking the most straightforward, simple way will be what is called foolish. And that is what we must accept for His sake. (1 Cor. 1;19-2:16)

Yahshua echoed this concept when He told His disciples not to rejoice because the demons were subject to them, but because their names were inscribed in Heaven. (Luke 10:20) What is called wisdom now is usually just knowing the way the system works and capitalizing on it. But all of this knowledge will be thrown into disarray soon when He shakes all that can be shaken. (Haggai 2:6) If we think we know anything, we have not yet begun to have true knowledge (1 Cor. 8:2), because we know in part (1 Cor. 13:9), i.e., by contrasting one thing with another, and by fragmenting things into manageably-sized increments. But the only true knowledge is to connect directly with the Source in which all of the parts hold together. This consolidates our debts and infinitely simplifies life. (Compare Micha 6:8) Justice: or judgment, right legal ruling. Asking Him, as we do in the shakharit prayers, to “restore our judges as at the earliest times” seems extremely undemocratic, but it is the way of Israel. We must “be transformed by the renewing of our minds” (Rom. 12:2) so our reasons for boasting can be reset.

While still having the foreskin: or, in their uncircumcision; LXX, I will visit upon the circumcised their uncircumcision. Aramaic, whose deeds are like the deeds of the uncircumcised.

Cut off the corners: LXX, shaves his face round about--most likely a pagan ritual, since Israel is specifically forbidden to do this (Lev. 19:27, in the context of 19:9 which speaks of not cutting down—a related word--the corners of the fields so that the poor and sojourners would have something to eat). The lying mentioned all through this chapter is a symptom of this unwillingness to expose one’s true heart.

CHAPTER 10

To you: This is for us today, as the House of Israel in exile.

Learn the ways: or, be goaded into, become expert in. There will be many signs in the heavens in the coming years, and they will indeed cause great dismay and huge changes in the topography of the earth, the economy, and the safety of many people. But we also need to remember that these are the things that will lay the physical foundations for the Messiah’s Kingdom to come. We must ride their tidal waves as the ark did, and not fear being inundated by them, because YHWH is in control. But we should also not utilize other Gentile customs, or operate in their manner (Mat. 10:5):

Customs: or rulings, prescriptions—i.e., the remedy they prescribe for the problems they face, as well as the decrees they make. They told us to cut down a tree and put it in our house, but YHWH says this kind of idea is a mere vapor: untrustworthy, always changing, having no substance, compared to the reality that is YHWH.

Doesn’t this sound just like a Christmas tree? It also refers to idols made from trees:

Contrast the presence of YHWH as depicted by the pillar of cloud and fire in the wilderness. Israel moved when it moved, not vice versa. He spoke, and Israel could not control this, but held Him in awe.

7. who would not stand in awe of You, O King of the nations? Because it is fitting for You, since among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is no one like You.

Anyone used to the ways Israel was being seduced by would have instantly seen how unique YHWH was! He could do things none of the other “gods” could do.

They: the idols as well as the ones who make them, but here, also Israel and Yehudah as well.

Blue and purple: the same shades used for many articles in the Tabernacle, for they were trying to take YHWH’s place. Tharshish: Aramaic, Africa, but usually thought of as the westernmost extremity of the known world. Ufaz: thought to be another name for Ofir, which means “reducing to ashes”.

11. “On account of this you must tell them, ‘The elohim that have not created the heavens or the earth will perish from the ground and from under these heavens.

This verse (and only this) is written in Aramaic within the Hebrew text. The targum explains that it is a copy of the letter Yirmeyahu sent to the elders of the Exile who were in Babylon.

Is arranging: Aramaic, completed.

Produces the lightning to send rain: scientifically, there is a connection. If a cloud is not sufficiently saturated to begin to form rain droplets on its own, the charge of electricity from lightning can break up the integrity of the molecular units of water vapor that are bound together and cause them to condense into liquid form.

15. Vanity they are—the labor of deluded ones. At the time when they are called to account, they will be destroyed.

Deluded ones: or, mockers, scorners.

Yaaqov’s share: or portion, the One allotted to him. LXX, the One who formed all things, He is his inheritance.

18. because this is what YHWH says: “Indeed, this time I will sling out the inhabitants of the Land, and will cause them distress, so that they may find out.”

Find out: Israel still does not believe YHWH is so unique. Though He had given us every head start so we could avoid the trial and error that the Gentiles are left with, as He had with Adam and Chavvah, still Israel, of all peoples, was turning to chasing after wind! (v. 8) So He has to cast them out among the nations to show how bad it really is out there. Then, like the Prodigal Son, perhaps they will long for home.

Just a disease: Aramaic, my sickness; LXX, Surely this is your wound, and it has overtaken you.

Tent… curtains: This is an allusion to the Tabernacle. They are not here: LXX, and my cattle are no more.

22. The sound of a report: “Here it comes with a great shaking [of the ground] out of the land of the north, to turn the cities of Yehudah into a wasteland and a lair of dragons!”

23. O YHWH, I have recognized that a human being’s course [of action] is not in himself; a man who walks does not have [what it takes] to rightly direct his steps.

A human being’s course is not in himself: or, the way of Adam is not in him. Originally, Adam could go directly to YHWH and ask Him to direct his steps. He did not have to figure it out for himself. All He had to do was ask Abba. YHWH had no complaint about this dependency. But the Rival, bitter from being punished, convinced Adam and Chavvah that by experiencing evil within themselves, they could have within themselves what it takes to know right from wrong without having to go to YHWH for answers. So when YHWH began to remedy the curse, He created a nation that was NOT to be independent—not to have enough horses or chariots to win their battles by natural means, not to know how many fighting men they had, but trust YHWH to instill in each the desire to stand up for the truth and fill in where they were still lacking. Yahshua, who bore the curse away, said even He did not have in himself what it would take, but judged as He heard from His Father and acted only as He saw the Father acting. (Yochanan 5:19, 30) Paul, who carried the message of the remedy to exiled Israel, said he had determined to have none of the world’s wisdom—the security of knowledge about so many things—and know only Messiah and His remedy. That was what the foolishness of his preaching and the bizarre pictures many of the prophets acted out were meant to make us see. Autonomy is YHWH’s enemy. Disney’s advice to “follow your heart” is “the way that seems right to a man” but whose end is death. (Prov. 16:25) The heart is deceitful. (17:9) And Yirmeyahu got the point:

In the right measure: Aramaic, with clement judgment. (The word does mean both judgment and justice, i.e., limited to what we deserve, not done according to whim, yet establishing what is in line with the Torah and unbendingly carried out.) Otherwise we will be decimated; there will not be much left. Yirmeyahu realizes he is so deformed that he needs to be trained back into the right shape a little at a time, not all at once, or he will break. YHWH remembers that we are weak (Psalm 103), so He exercises us. (Heb. 12:11) We can let His correction go either way. If we are willing to discipline ourselves, He will not meet us in a punishing mode (1 Cor. 11:31), but will be patient and train us step by step to simply learn how to walk before expecting us to go anywhere, and if we submit our way to Him and acknowledge Him in all our ways, He will direct our steps. (Psalm 37:5; Prov. 3:5-6)

Those who do evil hate the light and run from it, not even wanting to acknowledge that they have a need, let alone that it can be remedied. (Yochanan 3:19) They will keep squirming in the other direction when He wants to reset their fracture, so it will only get worse. Wrath (hot displeasure) is the built-in result when there is a breach in the wall and they will not let Him repair it; there are always enemies ready to rush in and plunder. But these “nations and clans (families)” include those within Israel who would not repent, for they are the ones who have really done the most to destroy Israel.

2. “Heed the words of this covenant, and speak to each [one from] Yehudah and to the inhabitants of Yerushalayim,

3. “and tell them, ‘This is what YHWH, the Elohim of Israel, says: “Cursed is the man who does not obey the words of this covenant,

4. “’“which I laid as a charge upon your ancestors in the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt—out of the iron-smelting furnace, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and carry them out according to all the orders I will give you, and you will come to serve as a people for Me, and I will come to serve as an Elohim for you’,

In other words, “Do everything I say, and I will remain with you.” Even David was afraid that, after all the righteousnesses he had done, YHWH might still take away His spirit of holiness from him on account of one wrong he had done. (Ps. 51)

6. But YHWH told me, “Call out all these words in the cities of Yehudah and in the streets of Yerushalayim: ‘Listen to the words of this covenant, and carry them out,

7. “‘because over and over I have solemnly warned your ancestors in the day I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, until today, rising up early to warn, saying, “Listen to My voice!”

8. “‘But they did not listen, nor did they hold out their ear, but each one kept walking in the stubbornness of their evil heart. So I will bring upon them all the promises of this covenant which I ordered them to carry out, but they did not do [so].’” 9. Then YHWH told me, “A conspiracy has been discovered in the man of Yehudah and among the inhabitants of Yerushalayim!

Man: singular. Now Yehudah is united, acting as one man, but for the other side. The conspiracy is complete, so how can He withhold judgment any longer?

11. “Therefore, this is what YHWH says: ‘Here I am, bringing upon them trouble from which they will not be able to escape, and [though] they cry out to Me for help, I will not listen to them.

12. “‘Then the cities of Yehudah and the inhabitants of Yerushalayim will go and cry to the gods to whom they burned incense, but they are not at all [able] to rescue them in the time of their trouble,

13. “‘because you had as many gods as you had cities, O Yehudah, and you have set up as many altars to the shameful thing as there are streets in Yerusahalyim—altars to burn incense to Ba’al.’

14. “And you must not [go] behind this people to intervene for them, or lift up a supplication or prayer for them, because there is nothing in Me [that] will listen on the occasion in which they cry out to Me about their trouble.

Go behind this people: i.e., clean up after them, to make it look like what they had done was not so bad, no matter how much you love them.

LXX, “Why has My beloved wrought abomination in My house? Will prayers and holy offerings take away the wickedness from you, or shall you escape by these things?” She broke the marriage contract, so what is she even doing in My household any longer?

Well-shaped fruit: LXX, of goodly shade in appearance. Roaring: LXX, being lopped (off). Branches are broken: Perhaps this forms part of the background for Romans 11:17-19. Broken in pieces: LXX, worthless.

Rolling together: i.e., into one bundle of sticks useful for nothing but to be burned. Yahshua says YHWH will have the inedible “crop” gathered for destruction before He harvests the beneficial crop. (Mat. 13:30)

LXX: YHWH, teach me and I will know; then I saw their practices.

Cause wood to spoil in his bread: LXX, put wood in his bread; Aramaic, Let us cast deadly poison into his food.

Tests the kidneys and the heart: He scrutinizes both the emotions and affections (embodied in the kidneys, the seat of our “gut feelings” and the part of us that depicts discernment, flushing out what is useless) and the inclination of our will or determination (embodied as the heart).

Men of Anathoth: priests (v. 1). Today it is pastors, “priests”, and rabbis who tell us not to use YHWH’s name. In Stefanos’ case, the extremely religious men even blocked their ears from hearing it mentioned. (Acts 7:57) Life: literally, soul. Anathoth means “answers to prayer”. But to whom were they really praying?

23. “and they will not have a survivor, because I will bring adversity upon the men of Anathoth—the year of their calling to account!”

CHAPTER 12

Flourishing: or, at ease; Aramaic, unconcerned. The wicked: in this case, Yirmeyahu’s audience. It seems unjust that YHWH has not punished them already. He does not understand, but in reality they are, as Yahshua said, receiving their reward now, and will have none left later.

They are always talking about YHWH, but their minds are on themselves.

4. How long must the Land mourn, and the glistening plants of the whole field dry up because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it? Beasts and fowls are swept away because they