Yeremia 18:18

Jeremiah Petitions the Lord to Punish Those Who Attack Him

18:18 Then some people ¹  said, “Come on! Let us consider how to deal with Jeremiah! ²  There will still be priests to instruct us, wise men to give us advice, and prophets to declare God’s word. ³  Come on! Let’s bring charges against him and get rid of him! ⁴  Then we will not need to pay attention to anything he says.”

Maleakhi 2:5-7

2:5 “My covenant with him was designed to bring life and peace. I gave its statutes to him to fill him with awe, and he indeed revered me and stood in awe before me. 2:6 He taught what was true; ⁵  sinful words were not found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and integrity, and he turned many people away from sin. 2:7 For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge of sacred things, and people should seek instruction from him ⁶  because he is the messenger of the Lord who rules over all.

¹ tn Heb “They.” The referent is unidentified; “some people” has been used in the translation.

² tn Heb “Let us make plans against Jeremiah.” See 18:18 where this has sinister overtones as it does here.

³ tn Heb “Instruction will not perish from priest, counsel from the wise, word from the prophet.”

sn These are the three channels through whom God spoke to his people in the OT. See Jer 8:8-10 and Ezek 7:26.

⁴ tn Heb “Let us smite him with our tongues.” It is clear from the context that this involved plots to kill him.

⁵ tn Heb “True teaching was in his mouth”; cf. NASB, NRSV “True instruction (doctrine NAB) was in his mouth.”

⁶ tn Heb “from his mouth” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV).