Jeremiah 26:3

3 Just maybe they'll listen and turn back from their bad lives. Then I'll reconsider the disaster that I'm planning to bring on them because of their evil behavior.

Jeremiah 26:3 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 26:3

If so be they will hearken
And obey; which is expressive not of ignorance and conjecture in God, but of his patience and long suffering, granting space and time for repentance, and the means of it; which disregarded, leave without excuse: and turn every man from his evil way;
his series and course of life, which was evil, and was the case of everyone; so that as their sin was general, the reformation ought to be so too: that I may repent me of the evil which I purpose to do unto them;
or "am thinking", or "devising ^F4 to do unto them"; which repentance must be understood not of a change of mind, but of the course of his providence towards them, which, by his threatenings, and some steps taken, portended ruin and destruction; yet, in case of repentance and reformation, he would change his method of action agreeably to his will: because of the evil of their doings;
this was the reason why he had threatened them with the evil of punishment, because of the evil of their actions; which were breaches of his law, and such as provoked the eyes of his glory.

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FOOTNOTES:

F4 (bvx ykna rva) "quod ego (sum) cogitans", Schmidt.

Jeremiah 26:3 In-Context

1 At the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this Message came from God to Jeremiah:

2 "God's Message: Stand in the court of God's Temple and preach to the people who come from all over Judah to worship in God's Temple. Say everything I tell you to say to them. Don't hold anything back.

3 Just maybe they'll listen and turn back from their bad lives. Then I'll reconsider the disaster that I'm planning to bring on them because of their evil behavior.

4 "Say to them, 'This is God's Message: If you refuse to listen to me and live by my teaching that I've revealed so plainly to you,

5 and if you continue to refuse to listen to my servants the prophets that I tirelessly keep on sending to you - but you've never listened! Why would you start now?