Jeremiah 15 Study Notes

15:10 The prophet felt he had incited dispute and conflict—words for legal strife and contention—always taking his people to court. Jeremiah insisted he had not done any lending or borrowing, which were often associated with ill-gotten gain through charging outrageous interest (Dt 23:19).

15:12 Anyone may actually refer to the false prophet Hananiah. He had broken the wooden yoke around Jeremiah’s neck, but he would not be able to break the yoke of iron (28:10-13). Neither would he be able to stop the iron from the north—Babylon.

15:13-14 This prophecy was given to Pashhur the priest in 20:5 and was fulfilled in 597 BC (2Kg 24:13).

15:15-18 This is another of Jeremiah’s “confessions” (see note at 4:19-22). God’s answer occurs in 15:19-21.

15:15 Avenge me, Jeremiah cried. He did not seek his own retribution but left it to God. His enemies were actually opposing God, not his prophet.

15:16 Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel (Ezk 2:8-3:3) initially found God’s words delightful. In the expression Your words were found, there may be an allusion to the discovery of the book of the law in the temple in King Josiah’s time (2Kg 22:13; 23:2).

15:18 Jeremiah accused God of being a mirage, or “a deceitful brook”—a stream that went dry in the summer and could not be depended on to supply water. Contrast this image with 2:13, where the prophet described God as a “fountain of living water.”

15:19 God startled the prophet by calling on him to return (Hb shuv, “turn, repent”). God wanted him to stop talking this way so he could take him back (Hb shuv, hiphil, “cause to turn”) and make him stand in his presence once again. God called Jeremiah’s words in vv. 15-18 worthless. The prophet must repent if he is to continue to serve as the Lord’s spokesman.

15:20-21 These words amount to a recommissioning service for Jeremiah (1:18-19). God would make him a fortified wall of bronze (see note at 1:17-19) in the presence of his people who had become his enemies. The three verbs of rescue, featured also in the exodus story, emphasize several sides of God’s salvation/redemption: save (Hb hoshia’), to bring out from bondage into a wide place; rescue (Hb natsal), to snatch a person from a predator or a powerful oppressor; and redeem (Hb padah), to liberate a person by paying a ransom to set him free.