106 TRANSLATION, NOTES, AND COMMENTStechnical meaning here of "surrender" (38:2, 17-18; 1 Sam 11:3, 10; 2 Kgs
24: 12; Isa 36: 16 = 2 Kgs 18:31 ). The same is true with the following verb, npl
(normally "to fall"), which can also mean "surrender/desert to the enemy"
(37: 13-14; 38: 19; 39:9; and 52: 15 - 2 Kgs 25: 11 ), its me:ming here. The S lacks
the latter verb, bringing its reading into line with 38:2, where the verb does not
occur. The two verbs together make a redundancy, which could make 38:2 the
preferred reading, and the reading here (in both MT and LXX) an expanded
one (so Holladay). Surrender, shameful as it is, will not have come as a com-
pletely new idea to Zedekiah, even if he was hoping for a deliverance along the
lines of what occurred when Sennacherib held Jerusalem under siege. In 597
B.c., Jehoiachin and the queen mother made the decision to surrender, and
Zedekiah should also have remembered that Jehoiakim's policy of rebelling
against Nebuchadrezzar proved to be a disaster. So while commentators point
out here and in 38: 1-6 that counseling surrender, as Jeremiah did, amounted
to (high) treason, there are times when it is the only course of action to take. As
things turned out, Zedekiah and his advisers did not correctly assess the situa-
tion, and the price they paid was high. The city was captured, and nationhood
for Judah came to an end.
by sword, and by famine, and by pestilence. The LXX lacks "and by pesti-
lence," which could be due to haplography (homoeoarcton: w ... w). This
same omission occurs in the LXX equivalents of 32:24[LXX 39:24]; 38:2[LXX
45:2], and elsewhere (see discussion in Note for 38:2). The term is present in
Aq (kai en loimo).
and his life will be his booty. On this pithy remark, which was also spoken to
Baruch ( 45:5) and Ebed-melech (39: 18), see Note for 45:5. Those surrendering
to the Babylonians will get the same preferential treatment that these two trust-
ing souls are promised. A few Heb MSS and the LXX have after "booty" the
word "and live" (wa~ay), which could be an addition from 38:2.10. For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good .... Into
the hand of the king of Babylon it shall be given, and he will burn it with fire. An-
other version of the oracle in 38:3 and a portion of the oracle spoken to Zede-
kiah in 34:2. See also 32:3, 28-29.
For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good. On the idiom
"to set the face against,'' see Note for 42: 15. The expression "for evil and not for
good" (lera'a welo> let6ba) occurs elsewhere (39:16 and 44:27) and may derive
from Amos (Amos 9:4). The "good and evil" duality is present also in Jere-
miah's vision of the figs (chap. 24).
oracle of Yahweh. The LXX omits, which here could be due to haplography
(homoeoteleuton: h ... h). Aquila, Symm, and Theod all have it.
Into the hand. Hebrew beyad. The LXX has "hands" plural (cheiras).MESSAGE AND AUDIENCE
The audience learns from the introductory narrative to the oracles here pre-
served that Yahweh's word came to Jeremiah when Zedekiah sent Pashhur son