Yeremia 5:3
Konteks5:3 Lord, I know you look for faithfulness. 1
But even when you punish these people, they feel no remorse. 2
Even when you nearly destroy them, they refuse to be corrected.
They have become as hardheaded as a rock. 3
They refuse to change their ways. 4
Yeremia 36:6
Konteks36:6 So you go there the next time all the people of Judah come in from their towns to fast 5 in the Lord’s temple. Read out loud where all of them can hear you what I told you the Lord said, which you wrote in the scroll. 6
[5:3] 1 tn Heb “O
[5:3] 2 tn Commentaries and lexicons debate the meaning of the verb here. The MT is pointed as though from a verb meaning “to writhe in anguish or contrition” (חוּל [khul]; see, e.g., BDB 297 s.v. חוּל 2.c), but some commentaries and lexicons repoint the text as though from a verb meaning “to be sick,” thus “to feel pain” (חָלָה [khalah]; see, e.g., HALOT 304 s.v. חָלָה 3). The former appears more appropriate to the context.
[5:3] 3 tn Heb “They made their faces as hard as a rock.”
[5:3] 4 tn Or “to repent”; Heb “to turn back.”
[36:6] 5 sn Regular fast days were not a part of Israel’s religious calendar. Rather fast days were called on special occasions, i.e., in times of drought or a locust plague (Joel 1:14; 2:15), or during a military crisis (2 Chr 20:3), or after defeat in battle (1 Sam 31:13; 2 Sam 1:12). A fast day was likely chosen for the reading of the scroll because the people would be more mindful of the crisis they were in and be in more of a repentant mood. The events referred to in the study note on v. 1 would have provided the basis for Jeremiah’s anticipation of a fast day when the scroll could be read.
[36:6] 6 tn Heb “So you go and read from the scroll which you have written from my mouth the words of the