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Jeremiah 14:7-10 – Chiasm
NASB
A – JUDAH SPEAKS 7a) “Although our iniquities [avon] testify against us,
B – NAME OF THE LORD (7b) O LORD [Yhvh], act for Your name’s [shem] sake! Truly our apostasies have been many, We have sinned against You.
C – QUESTION 8) “O Hope of Israel, Its Savior [yasha] in time of distress, Why [mah] are You like a stranger in the land Or like a traveler who has pitched his tent for the night?
C’ – QUESTION 9a) “Why [mah] are You like a man dismayed, Like a mighty man who cannot save [yasha]? Yet You are in our midst,
B’ – NAME OF THE LORD (9b) O LORD [Yhvh], And we are called by Your name [shem]; Do not forsake us!”
A’ – YAWEH SPEAKS 10) Thus says the LORD to this people, “Even so they have loved to wander; they have not kept their feet in check. Therefore the LORD does not accept them; now He will remember their iniquity [avon] and call their sins to account.”
A,A’ – The linguistic connection is obvious (avon). There is also a topical connection seen in the legal picture of iniquities testifying and the people being held accountable for their sins. A is from the perspective of the people; A’ is from the perspective of God.
B,B’ – There are two linguistic connections (Yhvh; shem). There is another connection seen in that the Israelites moved away from God (apostasies mean backslide); and now they plead that God does not move away (i.e., forsake) from them.
C,C’ – Again, there are two linguistic connections (mah, yasha). There is another connection in that both sections contain a question which begins with “why” (mah) which are similes. Also each question has two parts (stranger, a traveler vs. man, a mighty man). Another similarity is God is compared to a man in their land (C); and then stated to be in their midst (C’).
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