WORD

BIBLICAL

COMMENTARY

VOLUME 26

Jeremiah 1–25

PETER C. CRAIGIE†

PAGE H. KELLEY

JOEL F. DRINKARD, JR.

General Editors

Bruce M. Metzger

David A. Hubbard†

Glenn W. Barker†

Old Testament Editor

John D. W. Watts

New Testament Editor

Ralph P. Martin

WORD BOOKS, PUBLISHER • DALLAS, TEXAS

Word Biblical Commentary

Jeremiah 1–25

Copyright © 1991 by Word, Incorporated

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Main entry under title:

Word biblical commentary.

Includes bibliographies.

1. Bible—Commentaries—Collected works.

BS491.2.W67 220.7’7 81-71768

ISBN 0-8499-0225-8/ (vol. 26) AACR2

Scripture quotations in the body of the commentary marked rsv are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1946 (renewed 1973), 1956, and © 1971 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA and are used by permission. The authors’ own translation of the text appears in italic type under the heading “Translation.”

In memoriam

Peter C. Craigie

(1938–1988)

Contents

Foreword

Editorial Preface

Abbreviations

General Bibliography

Commentaries on Jeremiah

Monographs and Other Books

Articles

Introduction

Form ans Structure of the Book of Jeremiah

The Prophet Jeremiah

The Hebrew and Greek Texts of Jeremiah

Historical Background for the Book of Jeremiah

Text And Commentary

I. Preface to the Book of Jeremiah (1:1–3)

II. Call and Commission (1:4–10)

III. An Account of Two Visions (1:11–19)

IV. Jeremiah’s Early Oracles (2:1–6:30)

A. Oracles concerning Judah’s Evil (2:1–37)

The Lost Love of Youth (2:1–3)

A Lawsuit against People and Prophets (2:4–13)

Defection and Slavery (2:14–19)

The Indictment for Evil (2:20–28)

Israel’s Rebelliousness (2:29–32)

The Way of Evil (2:33–37)

B. The Prophetic Plea for Repentance (3:1–4:4)

Repentance: Introduction and Elaboration (3:1–5)

The Failure of Israel and Judah (3:6–11)

An Invitation to Repentance Addressed to Israel (3:12–13)

An Invitation to Repentance Addressed to Judah (3:14–18)

Repentance and Forgiveness (3:19–4:2)

Repetition of the Call to Repentance (4:3–4)

C. The Declaration of Divine Judgment (4:5–6:30)

The Declaration of Disaster (4:5–10)

The Winds of War (4:11–18)

The Prophetic Anguish (4:19–22)

A Vision of Chaos (4:23–28)

A Lament for Zion (4:29–31)

A Dialogue concerning Judgment (5:1–9)

The Theme of Judgment Renewed (5:10–19)

Poems on Evil and Judgment (5:20–31)

A Call of Warning (6:1–8)

Dialogue: Comprehensive Judgment (6:9–15)

Warning, Refusal, and Judgment (6:16–21)

An Oracle and Concluding Dialogue (6:22–30)

V. The Temple Sermon (7:1–8:3)

VI. Miscellaneous Sayings Concerning National Evil and Its Consequences (8:4–10:25)

A. Unrepentant People and Unwise Wise Men (8:4–12)

B. Judgment and Despair (8:13–23)

C. The Sorrow of God (9:1–10)

D. The Rationale of Judgment (9:11–15)

E. A Call to Lament (9:16–21)

F. Judgment upon ...