Jeremiah, long considered one of the most colorful of the ancient Israelite prophets, comes to life in Jack R. Lundbom’s Jeremiah 1–20. From his boyhood call to prophecy in 627 B.C.E., which Jeremiah tried to refuse, to his scathing judgments against the sins and hypocrisy of the people of Israel, Jeremiah charged through life with passion and emotion. He saw his fellow Israelites abandon their one true God, and witnessed the predictable outcome of their disregard for God’s word—their tragic fall to the Babylonians.

The first book of a 3-volume commentary on Jeremiah, Jack R. Lundbom’s eagerly awaited exegesis of this book investigates the opening twenty chapters of this Old Testament giant. With considerable skill and erudition, Lundbom leads modern readers through this prophet’s often mysterious oracles, judgments, and visions. He quickly dispels the notion that the life and words of a seventh-century B.C.E. Israelite prophet can have no relevance for the contemporary reader. Clearly, Jeremiah was every bit as concerned as we are with issues like terrorism, hypocrisy, environmental pollution, and social justice.

This impressive work of scholarship, essential to any biblical studies curriculum, replaces John Bright’s landmark Anchor Yale Bible commentary on Jeremiah. Like its predecessor, Jeremiah 1–20 draws on the best biblical scholarship to further our understanding of the weeping prophet and his message to the world.