Yeremia 18:7-10

18:7 There are times, Jeremiah, ¹  when I threaten to uproot, tear down, and destroy a nation or kingdom. ²  18:8 But if that nation I threatened stops doing wrong, ³  I will cancel the destruction ⁴  I intended to do to it. 18:9 And there are times when I promise to build up and establish ⁵  a nation or kingdom. 18:10 But if that nation does what displeases me and does not obey me, then I will cancel the good I promised to do to it.

Yeremia 18:1

An Object Lesson from the Making of Pottery

18:1 The Lord said to Jeremiah: ⁶ 

Kisah Para Rasul 21:27

21:27 When the seven days were almost over, ⁷  the Jews from the province of Asia ⁸  who had seen him in the temple area ⁹  stirred up the whole crowd ¹⁰  and seized ¹¹  him,

Kisah Para Rasul 21:29

21:29 (For they had seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him previously, and ¹²  they assumed Paul had brought him into the inner temple courts.) ¹³ 

[18:7]  ¹ tn The word “Jeremiah” is not in the text but it is implicit from the introduction in v. 5 that he is being addressed. It is important to see how the rhetoric of this passage is structured. The words of vv. 7-10 lead up to the conclusion “So now” in v. 11 which in turns leads to the conclusion “Therefore” in v. 13. The tense of the verb in v. 12 is very important. It is a vav consecutive perfect indicating the future (cf. GKC 333 §112.p, r); their response is predictable. The words of vv. 7-10 are addressed to Jeremiah (v. 5) in fulfillment of the Lord’s promise to speak to him (v. 2) and furnish the basis for the Lord’s words of conditional threat to a people who show no promise of responding positively (vv. 11-12). Verse six then must be seen as another example of the figure of apostrophe (the turning aside from description about someone to addressing them directly; cf., e.g., Ps 6:8-9 (6:9-10 HT). Earlier examples of this figure have been seen in 6:20; 9:4; 11:13; 12:13; 15:6.

[18:7]  ² tn Heb “One moment I may speak about a nation or kingdom to…” So also in v. 9. The translation is structured this way to avoid an awkward English construction and to reflect the difference in disposition. The constructions are, however, the same.

[18:8]  ³ tn Heb “turns from its wickedness.”

[18:8]  ⁴ tn There is a good deal of debate about how the word translated here “revoke” should be translated. There is a good deal of reluctance to translate it “change my mind” because some see that as contradicting Num 23:19 and thus prefer “relent.” However, the English word “relent” suggests the softening of an attitude but not necessarily the change of course. It is clear that in many cases (including here) an actual change of course is in view (see, e.g., Amos 7:3, 6; Jonah 3:9; Jer 26:19; Exod 13:17; 32:14). Several of these passages deal with “conditional” prophecies where a change in behavior of the people or the mediation of a prophet involves the change in course of the threatened punishment (or the promised benefit). “Revoke” or “forgo” may be the best way to render this in contemporary English idiom.

[18:8]  sn There is a wordplay here involving the word “evil” (רָעָה, ra’ah) which refers to both the crime and the punishment. This same play is carried further in Jonah 3:10-4:1 where Jonah becomes very displeased (Heb “it was very evil to Jonah with great evil”) when God forgoes bringing disaster (evil) on Nineveh because they have repented of their wickedness (evil).

[18:9]  ⁵ sn Heb “plant.” The terms “uproot,” “tear down,” “destroy,” “build,” and “plant” are the two sides of the ministry Jeremiah was called to (cf. Jer 1:10).

[18:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying:” This same formula occurs ten other times in Jeremiah. It has already occurred at 7:1 and 11:1.

[21:27]  ⁷ tn BDAG 975 s.v. συντελέω 4 has “to come to an end of a duration, come to an end, be over…Ac 21:27.”

[21:27]  ⁸ tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.

[21:27]  sn Note how there is a sense of Paul being pursued from a distance. These Jews may well have been from Ephesus, since they recognized Trophimus the Ephesian (v. 29).

[21:27]  ⁹ tn Grk “in the temple.” See the note on the word “temple” in v. 28.

[21:27]  ¹⁰ tn Or “threw the whole crowd into consternation.” L&N 25.221 has “συνέχεον πάντα τὸν ὄχλον ‘they threw the whole crowd into consternation’ Ac 21:27. It is also possible to render the expression in Ac 21:27 as ‘they stirred up the whole crowd.’”

[21:27]  ¹¹ tn Grk “and laid hands on.”

[21:29]  ¹² tn Grk “whom.”

[21:29]  ¹³ tn On the phrase “inner temple courts” see the note on the word “temple” in v. 28.

[21:29]  sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. The note explains the cause of the charge and also notes that it was false.