Jeremiah 23:33-40

d. The criminal use of the word “burden.”

Jeremiah 23:33-40

33          And when this people, or the prophets29 or priests,

Ask thee, What is the burden of Jehovah?Thou shalt tell them what the burden of Jehovah Isaiah 30:0

Namely, “I reject you,”31saith Jehovah.

34     And the prophet, the priest, or the people

That say, “Burden of Jehovah;”On such a man and his house will I visit it.

35     Thus shall ye say, every one to his neighbour and every one to 32his brother:

What hath Jehovah answered? or What hath Jehovah spoken?

36     But “burden of Jehovah ” ye shall no more take into your mouth;

For the burden will be to each his own word;Because ye have perverted the words of the living God,Jehovah Zebaoth, our God.

37     Thus shalt thou say to the prophet:

What has Jehovah answered thee?Or, What has Jehovah spoken?

38     But if ye say, “Burden of Jehovah,”

On this account saith Jehovah thus:Because ye say this word, “Burden of Jehovah,”And I had sent unto you a message of this purport,“Ye shall not say, ‘Burden of Jehovah,’ ”—

39     Therefore, behold, I burden you33 and thrust you,

And this city which I gave to you and your fathers,Away from my presence;

40     And lay upon you everlasting reproach,

And everlasting shame, that shall not be forgotten.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

The word of double meaning מַשָׂא, which signifies both “saying” and “burden,” was misused by the Jews, who were accustomed to ask the prophets mockingly what sort of a מַשָּׂא they had. Jeremiah is to tell those who thus ask, what sort of a burden threatens them, viz., that they shall be rejected (Jeremiah 23:33), and each who thus asks shall, for this derision, be subjected to a special visitation (Jeremiah 23:34). If any wish to ask the prophets, he is to make use of the expression, What has the Lord answered or spoken? (Jeremiah 23:35). But the expression מַשָׂא (burden and saying) is no more to be used, for this perversion of a divine word will be avenged, such insolent words falling back like a heavy burden on the head of their authors (Jeremiah 23:36). The inquiry is to be made thus: What has the Lord answered or spoken? (Jeremiah 23:37). If, notwithstanding, the forbidden word is used (Jeremiah 23:38), the Lord will carry away the people like a burden (Jeremiah 23:39), and give them up to everlasting shame (Jeremiah 23:40).

Jeremiah 23:33-34. And when this people … visit it.—What burden? It appears to have been the custom, whenever the prophets made their appearance in public to ask them if they had received any new revelation. There can be no doubt that משׂא means “saying, utterance,” as well as “burden.” Comp. the thorough demonstration in Graf, S. 315. The passages from which it evidently follows that משׂא signifies effatum, any utterance, besides those where the verb נֶשָׂא is used in the sense vocem proferre with and without קוֹל, voice (Isaiah 3:7; Isaiah 42:2; Isaiah 42:11 coll. Exodus 20:7; Exodus 23:1; Numbers 23:7; Psalms 139:20, etc.), are especially the following: Isaiah 14:28; Lam 2:14; 2 Kings 9:25; Proverbs 30:1; Proverbs 31:1. Hengstenberg and Rueckert, following the example of Jonathan, Aquila, the Syriac, Jerome and Luther, would take the word exclusively in the sense of “burden.” We have translated “burden” above, but only because we have no expression, which without forcing unites both meanings. Of the many attempts to unite them by De Wette, Ewald, Fuerst, Meier, none are really satisfactory. De Wette’s translation is most so. [Wehsagung: utterance of woe.—S. R. A.]. At all events the opposers emphasized the idea of burden. They wished to say that every declaration of Jehovah was only a new burden, that only what was burdensome, not what was pleasing, came from this God. In so far the question was one of blasphemous derision. It is implied by the word namely that what follows is a quotation. The passage to which Jeremiah refers is doubtless Jeremiah 12:7, “rejected mine inheritance.” The significance of this passage is clear from the fact that it is reproduced in a comprehensive survey in 2 Kings 21:14.—Will I visit it. Besides the judgment announced to the people generally on account of their sins, those who make use of the expression “burden” in a wicked manner, shall receive special punishment.

Jeremiah 23:35-37. Thus shall ye say … Jehovah spoken.—For the burden will be, etc. Even the insolent words will be to him who utters them a crushing burden, though the utterance of Jehovah, with respect to which he uses the term, is not in itself a burden at all.—These words are a parenthesis, and hence because ye have perverted, etc., is connected with ye shall no more take into your mouth and declare the result of using the forbidden word.—Living God. Comp. Jeremiah 10:10.

Footnotes:

Jeremiah 23:33; Jeremiah 23:33.—The article is general, and נָבִיא expresses the idea of species. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., § 71, 4, a.

Jeremiah 23:33; Jeremiah 23:33.—את־מה־משׂא. Many modern commentators follow the LXX. and Vulg. which read אַתֶּם תַמַּשָׂא, but incorrectly. In His answer the Lord purposely uses the words of the question: Verba retorquet. The arrow directed against him must, being reversed, strike those insolent questioners. It should indeed properly read אַת אֲשֶׁר מַשָׂא. But the necessity of retaining the words of the question justified this grammatical license, which moreover (Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., § 79, 6) is not altogether without precedent. אֵת depends on וְאָמַרְתָּ Comp. Jeremiah 14:17, etc. The construction is therefore by no means so artificial and clumsy as Ewald supposes.

Jeremiah 23:33; Jeremiah 23:33.—ונטשתי ו׳ is not co-ordinated with ואמרת, as is apparent from נְאֻם י׳. It rather expresses the purport of that which Jeremiah is to proclaim as the “burden,” etc. ו is therefore=and indeed. It should only be remarked that ו here in this meaning stands before a whole sentence, which, however, on account of its brevity is not thereby rendered less easily intelligible.

Jeremiah 23:35; Jeremiah 23:35.—On the interchange of עַל and אֵל, comp, rems. on Jeremiah 10:1.

Jeremiah 23:39; Jeremiah 23:39.—ונּשׁיתי נשׁא. The paronomasia requires us to read נָשׂא נָשִׂיתִי, as the LXX., Vulg., Syr., and some Codd. and editions really do. It is not necessary to assume the Piel form נִשֵׂיתִי, since forms like כַּלִאתִי Psalms 119:102; כְּלִתִנִי 1 Samuel 25:33; צָמִת Ruth 2:9, justify the assumption of י also in the Kal according to the analogy of the לה׳ verbs. Comp. Olsh., § 223, a, Anm.—The reading גָשִּׁיתִי, which does not afford any satisfactory sense, but may be translated “I forget,” or “I heard not,” is doubtless occasioned by the unusual punctuation (נשׂיתי). A proof that- the latter is the original is found in the Inf. נשֹׁא, the א of which is likewise abnormal and therefore a sure trace of the original &כִּלִמּוּת נָשׂא is ἄπ. λεγ. and perhaps to be read כְּלִמַּת, after Jeremiah 20:11.