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Jeremiah 14:1-15:9 – Chiasm
NASB
There are difficulties in finding the right matches in this chiasm. One difficulty is the repetition of certain words through the entire chiasm such as sword/chereb and famine/raab. This is because these are the interweaving theme of the chapter. Another difficulty is we have to combine part of the following chapters to see the full chiasm.
Abbreviated Chiasm
A – DROUGHT (14:1-6)
B – SINNED AGAINST GOD (7-10)
C – END BY SWORD AND FAMINE (11-12)
D – WHAT THE PROPHETS SAY ABOUT GOD (13)
E – WHAT GOD SAYS ABOUT THE PROPHETS (14)
E’ – WHAT GOD SAYS ABOUT THE PROPHETS (15a)
D’ – WHAT THE PROPHETS SAY ABOUT GOD (15b)
C’ – END BY SWORD AND FAMINE (16-18)
B’ – SINNED AGAINST GOD (19-21)
A’ – RAIN (14:22-15:9)
Traditional Chiasm
A – DROUGHT (14:1-6) That which came as the word [dabar] of the LORD [Yhvh] to Jeremiah in regard to the drought: 2) “Judah [Yehudah] mourns And her gates languish [amal]; They sit on the ground in mourning, And the cry of Jerusalem [Yerushalaim] has ascended [alah]. 3) “Their nobles have sent [shalach] their servants for water; They have come to the cisterns and found no water. They have returned with their vessels empty; They have been put to shame [bosh] and humiliated [kalam], And they cover [chaphah] their heads. 4) “Because the ground is cracked, For there has been no rain on the land; The farmers have been put to shame [bosh], They have covered [chaphah] their heads. 5) “For even the doe in the field has given birth only to abandon her young, Because there is no grass. 6) “The wild donkeys stand on the bare heights; They pant for air like jackals, Their eyes [ayin] fail For there is no vegetation.
B – SINNED AGAINST GOD 7) “Although our iniquities [avon] testify against us, O LORD [Yhvh], act for Your name’s [shem] sake! Truly our apostasies have been many, We have sinned [chata] against You. 8) “O Hope [miqveh] of Israel, Its Savior [yasha] in time of distress, Why are You like a stranger in the land Or like a traveler who has pitched his tent for the night? 9) “Why are You like a man dismayed, Like a mighty man who cannot save [yasha]? Yet You are in our midst, O LORD [Yhvh], And we are called by Your name [shem]; Do not forsake us!” 10) Thus says the LORD [Yhvh] to this people [am], “Even so they have loved to wander; they have not kept their feet in check. Therefore the LORD [Yhvh] does not accept [ratsah] them; now He will remember [zakar] their iniquity [avon] and call their sins to account [paqad].”
C – END BY SWORD AND FAMINE 11) So the LORD [Yhvh] said to me, “Do not pray for the welfare [tobah] of this people [am]. 12) “When they fast, I am not going to listen to their cry; and when they offer [alah] burnt offering and grain offering, I am not going to accept [ratsah] them. Rather I am going to make an end of them by the sword [chereb], famine [raab] and pestilence.”
D – WHAT THE PROPHETS SAY ABOUT GOD 13) But, “Ah, Lord GOD [Yhvh]!” I said, “Look, the prophets [nabi] are telling them, ‘You will not see the sword [chereb] nor will you have famine [raab], but I will give you lasting peace [shalom] in this place.’”
E – WHAT GOD SAYS ABOUT THE PROPHETS 14) Then the LORD [Yhvh] said to me, “The prophets [nabi] are prophesying [naba] falsehood in My name [shem]. I have neither sent [shalach] them nor commanded them nor spoken to them; they are prophesying [naba] to you a false vision, divination, futility and the deception of their own minds.
E’ – WHAT GOD SAYS ABOUT THE PROPHETS 15a) “Therefore thus says the LORD [Yhvh] concerning the prophets [nabi] who are prophesying [naba] in My name [shem], although it was not I who sent [shalach] them—
D’ – WHAT THE PROPHETS SAY ABOUT GOD 15b) yet they keep saying, ‘There will be no sword [chereb] or famine [raab] in this land’—by sword [chereb] and famine [raab] those prophets [nabi] shall meet their end!
C’ – END BY SWORD AND FAMINE 16) “The people [am] also to whom they are prophesying [naba] will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem [Yerushalaim] because of the famine [raab] and the sword [chereb]; and there will be no one to bury them—neither them, nor their wives, nor their sons [ben], nor their daughters [bath]—for I will pour out their own wickedness on them. 17) “You will say this word [dabar] to them, ‘Let my eyes [ayin] flow down with tears night and day, And let them not cease; For the virgin daughter [bath] of my people [am] has been crushed with a mighty blow, With a sorely infected wound. 18) ‘If I go out to the country, Behold, those slain with the sword [chereb]! Or if I enter the city, Behold, diseases of famine [raab]! For both prophet [nabi] and priest Have gone roving about in the land that they do not know.’”
B’ – SINNED AGAINST GOD 19) Have You completely rejected Judah [Yehudah]? Or have You loathed Zion? Why have You stricken us so that we are beyond healing? We waited [qavah] for peace [shalom], but nothing good came; And for a time of healing, but behold, terror! 20) We know our wickedness, O LORD [Yhvh], The iniquity [avon] of our fathers, for we have sinned [chata] against You. 21) Do not despise us, for Your own name’s [shem] sake; Do not disgrace the throne of Your glory; Remember [zakar] and do not annul Your covenant with us.
A’ – RAIN 22) Are there any among the idols of the nations who give rain? Or can the heavens grant showers? Is it not You, O LORD [Yhvh] our God? Therefore we hope [qavah] in You, For You are the one who has done all these things.15:1) Then the LORD [Yhvh] said to me, “Even though Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me, My heart would not be with this people [am]; send them away from My presence and let them go! 2) “And it shall be that when they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you are to tell them, ‘Thus says the LORD [Yhvh]: “Those destined for death, to death; And those destined for the sword, to the sword [chereb]; And those destined for famine [raab], to famine [raab]; And those destined for captivity, to captivity.”’ 3) “I will appoint [paqad] over them four kinds of doom,” declares the LORD [Yhvh]: “the sword [chereb] to slay, the dogs to drag off, and the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. 4) “I will make them an object of horror among all the kingdoms of the earth because of Manasseh, the son [ben] of Hezekiah, the king of Judah [Yehudah], for what he did in Jerusalem [Yerushalaim]. 5) “Indeed, who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem [Yerushalaim],Or who will mourn for you, Or who will turn aside to ask about your welfare [shalom]? 6) “You who have forsaken Me,” declares the LORD [Yhvh], “You keep going backward. So I will stretch out My hand against you and destroy you; I am tired of relenting! 7) “I will winnow them with a winnowing fork At the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children, I will destroy My people [am]; They did not repent of their ways. 8) “Their widows will be more numerous before Me Than the sand of the seas; I will bring against them, against the mother of a young man, A destroyer at noonday; I will suddenly bring down on her Anguish and dismay. 9) “She who bore seven sons pines [amal] away; Her breathing is labored. Her sun has set while it was yet day; She has been shamed [bosh] and humiliated [chapher]. So I will give over their survivors to the sword [chereb] Before their enemies,” declares the LORD [Yhvh].
Rearranged Chiasm
A – DROUGHT 1) That which came as the word [dabar] of the LORD [Yhvh] to Jeremiah in regard to the drought: 2) “Judah [Yehudah] mourns And her gates languish [amal]; They sit on the ground in mourning, And the cry of Jerusalem [Yerushalaim] has ascended [alah]. 3) “Their nobles have sent [shalach] their servants for water; They have come to the cisterns and found no water. They have returned with their vessels empty; They have been put to shame [bosh] and humiliated [kalam], And they cover [chaphah] their heads. 4) “Because the ground is cracked, For there has been no rain on the land; The farmers have been put to shame [bosh], They have covered [chaphah] their heads. 5) “For even the doe in the field has given birth only to abandon her young, Because there is no grass. 6) “The wild donkeys stand on the bare heights; They pant for air like jackals, Their eyes [ayin] fail For there is no vegetation.
A’ – RAIN 22) Are there any among the idols of the nations who give rain? Or can the heavens grant showers? Is it not You, O LORD [Yhvh] our God? Therefore we hope [qavah] in You, For You are the one who has done all these things. 1) Then the LORD [Yhvh] said to me, “Even though Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me, My heart would not be with this people [am]; send them away from My presence and let them go! 2) “And it shall be that when they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you are to tell them, ‘Thus says the LORD [Yhvh]: “Those destined for death, to death; And those destined for the sword, to the sword [chereb]; And those destined for famine [raab], to famine [raab]; And those destined for captivity, to captivity.”’ 3) “I will appoint [paqad] over them four kinds of doom,” declares the LORD [Yhvh]: “the sword [chereb] to slay, the dogs to drag off, and the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. 4) “I will make them an object of horror among all the kingdoms of the earth because of Manasseh, the son [ben] of Hezekiah, the king of Judah [Yehudah], for what he did in Jerusalem [Yerushalaim]. 5) “Indeed, who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem [Yerushalaim],Or who will mourn for you, Or who will turn aside to ask about your welfare [shalom]? 6) “You who have forsaken Me,” declares the LORD [Yhvh], “You keep going backward. So I will stretch out My hand against you and destroy you; I am tired of relenting! 7) “I will winnow them with a winnowing fork At the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children, I will destroy My people [am]; They did not repent of their ways. 8) “Their widows will be more numerous before Me Than the sand of the seas; I will bring against them, against the mother of a young man, A destroyer at noonday; I will suddenly bring down on her Anguish and dismay. 9) “She who bore seven sons pines [amal] away; Her breathing is labored. Her sun has set while it was yet day; She has been shamed [bosh] and humiliated [chapher]. So I will give over their survivors to the sword [chereb] Before their enemies,” declares the LORD [Yhvh].
- One thematic connection is drought and rain and that false gods cannot provide what is only God’s to give. A second one is offspring. In A the offspring are animals (14:5-6); and in A’ “son of Hezekiah “mother of a young man,” and “seven sons” (15:4,8-9).
- There linguistic connections are: LORD [Yhvh] (14:1; 14:22; 15:1,26); Judah [Yehudah] (14:2; 15:4); Jerusalem [Yerushalaim] (14:2; 15:4-5); languish/pines [amal] (14:2; 15:9); humiliated/[kalam] (14:3), humiliated [chapher] (15:9); shame [bosh] (14:4; 15:9).
B – SINNED AGAINST GOD 7) “Although our iniquities [avon] testify against us, O LORD [Yhvh], act for Your name’s [shem] sake! Truly our apostasies have been many, We have sinned [chata] against You. 8) “O Hope [miqveh] of Israel, Its Savior [yasha] in time of distress, Why are You like a stranger in the land Or like a traveler who has pitched his tent for the night? 9) “Why are You like a man dismayed, Like a mighty man who cannot save [yasha]? Yet You are in our midst, O LORD [Yhvh], And we are called by Your name [shem]; Do not forsake us!” 10) Thus says the LORD [Yhvh] to this people [am], “Even so they have loved to wander; they have not kept their feet in check. Therefore the LORD [Yhvh] does not accept [ratsah] them; now He will remember [zakar] their iniquity [avon] and call their sins to account [paqad].”
B’ – SINNED AGAINST GOD 19) Have You completely rejected Judah [Yehudah]? Or have You loathed Zion? Why have You stricken us so that we are beyond healing? We waited [qavah] for peace [shalom], but nothing good came; And for a time of healing, but behold, terror! 20) We know our wickedness, O LORD [Yhvh], The iniquity [avon] of our fathers, for we have sinned [chata] against You. 21) Do not despise us, for Your own name’s [shem] sake; Do not disgrace the throne of Your glory; Remember [zakar] and do not annul Your covenant with us.
- There are three connecting themes: 1) the phrase “We (have) sinned against You” (14:7,20); 2) Remembering: God will remember their iniquity (14:10) and their plea that God will remember His covenant (14:21); and God acting because of God’s name (14:7,21).
- The linguistic connections are: iniquities [avon] (14:7,10,20); sinned [chata] (14:7,20); LORD [Yhvh] (14:79,10,20); name [shem] (14:7,21); remember [zakar] (14:10,21)
C – END BY SWORD AND FAMINE 11) So the LORD [Yhvh] said to me, “Do not pray for the welfare [tobah] of this people [am]. 12) “When they fast, I am not going to listen to their cry; and when they offer [alah] burnt offering and grain offering, I am not going to accept [ratsah] them. Rather I am going to make an end of them by the sword [chereb], famine [raab] and pestilence.”
C’ – END BY SWORD AND FAMINE 16) “The people [am] also to whom they are prophesying [naba] will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem [Yerushalaim] because of the famine [raab] and the sword [chereb]; and there will be no one to bury them—neither them, nor their wives, nor their sons [ben], nor their daughters [bath]—for I will pour out their own wickedness on them. 17) “You will say this word [dabar] to them, ‘Let my eyes [ayin] flow down with tears night and day, And let them not cease; For the virgin daughter [bath] of my people [am] has been crushed with a mighty blow, With a sorely infected wound. 18) ‘If I go out to the country, Behold, those slain with the sword [chereb]! Or if I enter the city, Behold, diseases of famine [raab]! For both prophet [nabi] and priest Have gone roving about in the land that they do not know.’”
- Thematic connections: C speaks of God making an end by sword and famine; C’ speaks in more detail by stating this will happen in both city and country.
- Linguistic connections: people [am] (14:11,17); sword [chereb] (14:12,16,18); famine [raab] (14:12,16,18)
D – WHAT THE PROPHETS SAY ABOUT GOD 13) But, “Ah, Lord GOD [Yhvh]!” I said, “Look, the prophets [nabi] are telling them, ‘You will not see the sword [chereb] nor will you have famine [raab], but I will give you lasting peace [shalom] in this place.’”
D’ – WHAT THE PROPHETS SAY ABOUT GOD 15b) yet they keep saying, ‘There will be no sword [chereb] or famine [raab] in this land’—by sword [chereb] and famine [raab] those prophets [nabi] shall meet their end!
- Thematic connection: As seen in the heading this is about what the prophets falesly say about what God promises.
- Linguistic connections: sword [chereb] (14:13,15); famine [raab] (14:13,15)
E – WHAT GOD SAYS ABOUT THE PROPHETS 14) Then the LORD [Yhvh] said to me, “The prophets [nabi] are prophesying [naba] falsehood in My name [shem]. I have neither sent [shalach] them nor commanded them nor spoken to them; they are prophesying [naba] to you a false vision, divination, futility and the deception of their own minds.
E’ – WHAT GOD SAYS ABOUT THE PROPHETS 15a) “Therefore thus says the LORD [Yhvh] concerning the prophets [nabi] who are prophesying [naba] in My name [shem], although it was not I who sent [shalach] them—
- The central point is important. It does not matter what others say. All that matters is what God says.
- Linguistic connections: LORD [Yhvh] (14:14,15); prophets [nabi] (14:14,15); prophesying [naba] (14:14,15); name [shem] (14:14,15)
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