Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

19:1 Go, buy. The third symbolic act (cf. 13:1-7; 16:1-9). earthenware flask. A general term for a container. elders of the people. Civic leaders. elders of the priests. Religious leaders.

19:2 Hinnom. Probably the valley south of the city, used as a dumping place (7:31). Potsherd Gate. Uncertain location but likely a dumping ground (for broken containers).

19:3 Ears . . . will tingle with shock and horror at an account of judgment (cf. 1 Sam. 3:11; 2 Kings 21:12).

19:4 blood of innocents. Likely child sacrifices made to Molech (7:31).

19:5-6 burn their sons . . . to Baal. Perhaps an innovation to the worship of the fertility deity (7:31-32).

19:7 the plans of Judah and Jerusalem. I.e., their proposed solution to the threat that Babylon poses (see 18:12). bodies for food. Leaving bodies unburied was considered unacceptable (2 Sam. 21:10-14).

19:9 eat the flesh. Because of the lack of food caused by the siege, the people of Judah will turn to cannibalism (Lev. 26:29; Deut. 28:53; 2 Kings 6:24-29; Lam. 2:20; 4:10).

19:10 break the flask. A symbolic act representing Jerusalem's defeat.

19:11 break this people and this city. Babylon will crush and destroy. mended. Lit., "healed," a favorite image of Jeremiah (3:22; 6:14; 8:11; 15:18; 17:14; 30:17; 33:6; 51:8-9; cf. Lam. 2:13). bury in Topheth. Probably a cemetery already full (Jer. 7:32). no place else. No unused ground.

19:12 like Topheth. An overcrowded cemetery. Proper burial is impossible there.

19:13 offerings . . . to all the host of heaven. Sacrifices made on rooftops to astral deities (cf. 7:16-20; 44:15-19; Zeph. 1:4-5). defiled. Unclean or unfit for divine service or human habitation.

19:15 this city. Jerusalem. all its towns. The villages that depend on Jerusalem for protection. all the disaster that I have pronounced. See 18:13-17; Lev. 26:14-39; Deut. 28:15-68. stiffened their neck. See Jer. 7:26. refusing to hear. Rejected the covenant (Deut. 6:4-9).

20:1 Pashhur. A common name (21:1). chief officer. Head overseer of temple supplies and activities; probably also handled troublemakers (29:26).

20:2 Pashhur beat Jeremiah for preaching disaster (19:14-15; see 1:17-19; 7:1-8:3; Matt. 5:11-12). stocks. A restraining device causing Jeremiah to stoop.

20:3 not . . . Pashhur, but Terror On Every Side. Pashhur may mean "tear off," i.e., God has "torn off" pieces of Judah and given them to invaders; but now he will cause terror on every side of Jerusalem.

20:4 False teachers are the ultimate terror, for they lead others to believe lies, which will result in Babylon capturing all Judah.

20:5 I will give. God, not Babylon, is the ruler. all the treasures. In the palace and temple. carry them to Babylon. Treasure, people, and the kings of Judah will go to Babylon (Isa. 39:1-8).

20:6 go into captivity. In 605, 597, or 587 b.c. all your friends. Those who believed Pashhur when he prophesied falsely that Jeremiah had erred (vv. 1-2).

20:7-8 deceived me . . . stronger than I . . . laughingstock. Jeremiah expresses his displeasure over his circumstances, even accusing God of deceiving and overpowering him (cf. 12:1-4; 15:10-21; Jeremiah's complaints are not always pure). Perhaps he wonders why God, who has called him to be a prophet, has not protected him from the suffering and mockery he has endured (20:1-2, 10, 18). Soon his complaint moves to praise (vv. 9-13), but then returns to distressed realism over his calling (vv. 14-18).

20:9 God does not allow Jeremiah to cease preaching. burning fire . . . in my bones. When Jeremiah decides not to preach, he apparently feels intense (and possibly bodily) pain, as if the words are trying to burst forth. He cannot stop proclaiming God's words.

20:10 many whispering. Jeremiah's enemies turn his words (v. 3) against him, planning terror for him on every side. They were watching for his fall, hoping for an incorrect prediction (cf. Luke 20:20, 26).

20:11 the Lord is with me. See note on 30:11. dread warrior. God fights for his people (Ex. 15:1-18). not overcome me. See Jer. 1:17-19; 15:19-21.

20:12 See 11:20, where Jeremiah also asks the Lord of hosts (i.e., of armies) to judge between the wicked (his persecutors) and himself. Mind in this case represents a term (plural of Hb. kilyah, lit., "kidneys"; see ESV footnote) that refers particularly to the inner emotions.

20:13-14 praise the Lord! . . . Cursed be the day! On the one hand, God merits praise for his protection; on the other hand, Jeremiah lives a hard life. See 15:10 and Job 3:3.

20:15 Cursed be the man who brought the news. A son's birth was considered a blessing from God, but Jeremiah believes his birth was the opposite.

20:16-17 Let that man be defeated like Judah's cities because he did not kill Jeremiah at birth.

20:18 Jeremiah's ministry causes him hard work, sorrow, and shame. He accepts his role, but has no illusions of fame, approval, or appreciation.