Jeremiah 21-36 A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary by (Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries)

432 TRANSLATION, NOTES, AND COMMENTS

and I will comfort them. Hebrew wenibamtfm. The LXX omits, but the term

should not be deleted (pace Duhm; Cornill; Holladay) because the loss can be

attributed to haplography (homoeoarcton: w ... w). It is present in 4QJer^0 •

The root nl;zm in the Piel means "to comfort, console" ( 16: 7; cf. Parunak 197 5:

516). Extending comfort is a disposition, action, and attribute of Yahweh, like

"being gracious" (bnn), "professing love" Chb ), and "showing mercy, compas-

sion" (rbm), where the defining characteristics are divine initiative and uncon-

ditional action. Pastor John Rogers ( 1988: 283) says the following about the

present verses and the collection to which they belong:

God's compassion is unconditional; there is no Deuteronomic "if." God

does not wait until his exiled children have repented of their pride and folly

and have become worthy of his mercy. There is only God's gracious initia-

tive echoing through the "Book of Consolation," like bells ringing out of

control.

and I will make them glad from their sorrow. The maidens will be glad be-
cause Yahweh will replace everyone's sorrow with gladness. The LXX takes
"and I will make them glad" with the previous colon and joins a second verb,
megaluni5 ("I will exalt"), with the verb beginning v 14. The result is that the
priests of v 14 are both exalted and given their fill. "From their sorrow"
(mfg6niim) is not translated. This reading has been explained in various ways,
none of which is very convincing (cf. McKane, 795). Becking ( 1994a: 158)
thinks the LXX failed to understand mfg6niim, but this word could have been
lost due to haplography (homoeoteleuton: m ... m). The MT, in any case,
should be read. Aquila has "and I will gladden them from their grief" (kai eu-
phrani5 autous apo tes types auti5n). The "sorrow" or "grief" (yag6n) now about
to vanish for the returnees is precisely what descended upon Jeremiah and
Baruch as Judah plunged into ruinous darkness (8:18; 20:18; 45:3). See Isa
35:10; and compare in the NT, Rev 21:4.

14. And I will saturate the soul of the priests with abundance. Most of North-
    ern Israel's priests are in exile, although one at least returned (2 Kgs 17 :27-28),
    and those who were consecrated subsequently developed a Yahwism along
    syncretistic lines (vv 32-34). According to Deut 18:6-8, Levites from the
    Northern towns would have come south in the seventh century to serve at the
    altar in Jerusalem. There are Israelite priests, in any case, both in exile and in
    the northern territory to whom Yahweh now bids a welcome to come to Jeru-
    salem, saying they will enjoy an abundance unlike any they have known. With
    the high places now shut down due to Hezekiah and Josiah's centralization
    programs (2 Kgs 18:22; 23:15-20; cf. Deuteronomy 12), many Levites are on
    welfare (Deut 12:12, 18-19; 14:27-29; 16:11, 14; 26:11-13), and a promise of
    food in abundance should speak to their condition. The verb rwh in the Piel
    means "to saturate," usually with an abundant supply of water (31:25), but
    here the priests are promised an abundance of "fat(ness)" (diisen). This is
    not the fat of offerings, which goes to Yahweh by being burned on the altar