Jeremiah 33

Verses 4-5 are vexing. Translators are left guessing about what’s going on here. The details aren’t nearly as clear as the educated guesses that show up in Bible translations.

He’s done with them now, but not forever. He promises never to give up on them (33:25-26).

Invaders often destroyed crops, homes, and livestock. Sometimes they salted the fertile farmland.

The name in Hebrew is Yahweh yehwih ṣedeq. Many translate the phrase as the “LORD is my righteousness,” which might elicit a “Huh?” Some think this name is a play on the name of Judah’s last king, King Zedekiah. His name in Hebrew is ṣidqiyyāhû, often translated “My righteousness is the LORD.” Similar words but in different order. Jeremiah’s point might be that while Zedekiah was named after the goodness of God, the shoot from David’s tree would be the genuine article: true goodness from God. Zedekiah ruled from 597-586 BC. Some say he ruled until 587 BC. He might have seen the lights go out in Jerusalem if King Nebuchadnezzar hadn’t blinded him. The last thing he saw was the Babylonians execute his sons. Nebuchadnezzar apparently got fed up with rebel kings in this family. One after another ignored his orders and the power he had to enforce them. Zedekiah died a prisoner in Babylon. See Jeremiah 23:5-6.

Levites were descendants of Levi, one of Jacob’s 12 sons. Levi’s descendants, or tribe, became the nation’s priests, Temple workers, and other worship leaders and associates. Bible writers often mention priests and Levites as though Levites were associates of priests. Yet, both were descendants of Levi, which makes them both Levites in one sense of the word. But there was another sense of the word. Historians still debate what the difference was between a priest and a Levite. It seems that priests performed what people considered the more important religious duties. Levites may have been more like associate ministers.