Jeremiah 7:23

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Jeremiah 7:23 tn Verses 22-23a read in Hebrew, “I did not speak with your ancestors, and I did not command them when I brought them out of Egypt, about words/matters concerning burnt offering and sacrifice, but I commanded them this word:” Some modern commentators have explained this passage as an evidence for the lateness of the Pentateuchal instruction regarding sacrifice or a denial that sacrifice was practiced during the period of the wilderness wandering. However, it is better explained as an example of what R. de Vaux calls a dialectical negative, i.e., “not so much this as that” or “not this without that” (Ancient Israel, 454-56). For other examples of this same argument see Isa 1:10-17; Hos 6:4-6; Amos 5:21-25.
2. Jeremiah 7:23 tn Heb “Obey me and I will be.” The translation is equivalent syntactically but brings out the emphasis in the command.
3. Jeremiah 7:23 tn Heb “Walk in all the way that I command you.”