Jer 20 Intro: Jeremiah's reaction

SusanQuigley commented

2020-01-21 14:29:35 +00:00

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The intro to Jeremiah 20 has these two subsections under "Special Concepts in this Chapter"

Pashhur
This chapter prophesied punishment against a specific leader named Pashhur. He was in charge of protecting the temple and had Jeremiah beaten and arrested. (See: rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/prophet and rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/temple)

Jeremiah's reaction
Jeremiah's reaction contrasts with the reaction of the Jews in general. Although Jeremiah was not happy with Yahweh's actions, he still trusted in Yahweh. On the other hand, the Jews were not happy with the prophecies Yahweh gave to Jeremiah, so they beat the prophet. (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-explicit and rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/trust)

Could the second heading be made clearer? Was Jeremiah's reaction to Pashhur having Jeremiah beaten and arrested, or to what God had said in the prophecy?

The intro to Jeremiah 20 has these two subsections under "Special Concepts in this Chapter" **Pashhur** This chapter prophesied punishment against a specific leader named Pashhur. He was in charge of protecting the temple and had Jeremiah beaten and arrested. (See: rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/prophet and rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/temple) **Jeremiah's reaction** Jeremiah's reaction contrasts with the reaction of the Jews in general. Although Jeremiah was not happy with Yahweh's actions, he still trusted in Yahweh. On the other hand, the Jews were not happy with the prophecies Yahweh gave to Jeremiah, so they beat the prophet. (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-explicit and rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/trust) Could the second heading be made clearer? Was Jeremiah's reaction to Pashhur having Jeremiah beaten and arrested, or to what God had said in the prophecy?

JohnH commented

2020-01-21 15:17:31 +00:00

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It appears to me that Jeremiah's laments could be about being beaten by Pashhur or to the prophecy. From what I found in one commentary, it is a general lament. It is linked to the previous story by the Hebrew word "magor-missabib" (20:3 and 20:10 [terror on every side]).

I suggest we keep the explanation general for the intro. Maybe rewrite something like this:

Jeremiah's reaction to suffering as God's prophet
The second part of this chapter is Jeremiah speaking about what he has experienced for doing what God asked him to do. Jeremiah complains to God about allowing him to suffer even though he is speaking God's message to the people. However, Jeremiah also praises God for always being with him, and he trusts that God will punish those who have harmed him.

It appears to me that Jeremiah's laments could be about being beaten by Pashhur or to the prophecy. From what I found in one commentary, it is a general lament. It is linked to the previous story by the Hebrew word "magor-missabib" (20:3 and 20:10 [terror on every side]). I suggest we keep the explanation general for the intro. Maybe rewrite something like this: Jeremiah's reaction to suffering as God's prophet The second part of this chapter is Jeremiah speaking about what he has experienced for doing what God asked him to do. Jeremiah complains to God about allowing him to suffer even though he is speaking God's message to the people. However, Jeremiah also praises God for always being with him, and he trusts that God will punish those who have harmed him.

SusanQuigley commented

2020-01-21 16:20:23 +00:00

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Owner

Thank you, John. That's helpful.

Here's my attempt at making the more general explanation a little more NFW:

Jeremiah's reaction to suffering
In the second part of this chapter Jeremiah complained to God about allowing him to suffer when he spoke God's message to the people. However, Jeremiah also praised God for always being with him, and he trusted that God would punish the people who had harmed him.

Here's my attempt at keeping the contrast between Jeremiah's reaction and the Jews' reaction (since the GL translators would have written about the contrast):

Different Reactions to Suffering
Jeremiah and the Jews reacted differently to suffering. Jeremiah told the Jews that God said that he would punish them and they would suffer, so the Jews became angry and were cruel to Jeremiah. Jeremiah suffered when they were cruel to him, and he complained to God about it. However, Jeremiah also praised God for always being with him, and he trusted that God would punish the people who had harmed him.

Any thoughts?

Thank you, John. That's helpful. Here's my attempt at making the more general explanation a little more NFW: **Jeremiah's reaction to suffering** In the second part of this chapter Jeremiah complained to God about allowing him to suffer when he spoke God's message to the people. However, Jeremiah also praised God for always being with him, and he trusted that God would punish the people who had harmed him. Here's my attempt at keeping the contrast between Jeremiah's reaction and the Jews' reaction (since the GL translators would have written about the contrast): **Different Reactions to Suffering** Jeremiah and the Jews reacted differently to suffering. Jeremiah told the Jews that God said that he would punish them and they would suffer, so the Jews became angry and were cruel to Jeremiah. Jeremiah suffered when they were cruel to him, and he complained to God about it. However, Jeremiah also praised God for always being with him, and he trusted that God would punish the people who had harmed him. Any thoughts?

JohnH commented

2020-01-21 19:26:29 +00:00

Owner

Looks good to me.