Jeremiah 13 Footnotes

13:14 The thrust of these words is that judgment was so near at hand that it was virtually too late to ward it off through repentance (36:31). In typical prophetic style, the prophet declared the Lord’s word in extremes. God may have been using such emphatic language to warn the people that they should not expect a reprieve unless the situation changed. Although God knew that the people would not repent, he offered the possibility of repentance to make clear that Judah’s judgment was justified (18:6-12; 26:3). Other passages in Scripture make it clear that it is never too late to repent (Jl 2:11-14; Lk 23:43); see note on Jr 7:16.