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Pentecost Season · Proper 19 · Year C

Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28

For My People Are Foolish: Judgment as Un-Creation

September 17, 2028

The Course of Empire: Desolation, Thomas Cole
The Course of Empire: Desolation, Thomas Cole, 1836New-York Historical Society
Moonlight falls on the ruins of a once-great city, a single column wrapped in vines standing over the empty harbour where nature has returned.I looked on the earth, and lo, it was waste and void. I looked, and lo, the fruitful land was a desert, and all its cities were laid in ruins.Thomas ColeThe founder of the Hudson River School, an English-born American painter who filled his landscapes with religious and moral meaning.New-York Historical SocietyThe New-York Historical Society, the oldest museum in New York City.New-York Historical Society
Revised Common Lectionary
GospelLuke 15:1-10Lk 15:1-10
Epistle1 Tim. 1:12-171 Tm 1:12-17
Old TestamentJer. 4:11-12, 22-28Jer 4:11-12, 22-28Alt. OTExod. 32:7-14Ex 32:7-14
PsalterPs. 14Ps 14Alt. PsalmPs. 51:1-10Ps 51:1-10

Overview & Insights

"For my people are foolish, they do not know me; they are stupid children, they have no understanding." (Jeremiah 4:22)

Jeremiah announces the LORD's coming judgment on Judah using the language of Genesis 1 in reverse, a formless, lightless, empty earth, because the people have grown skilled at doing evil and have forgotten how to do good.

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Take it further: Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28

Commentary

Commentary on Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28Commentary on Jer 4:11-12, 22-28 Working Preacher

Explains the deliberate echo of Genesis 1 in Jeremiah's vision of coming disaster.

Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28 CommentaryJer 4:11-12, 22-28 Commentary Center for Excellence in Preaching

Calls the passage one of the starkest apocalyptic visions in prophetic poetry.

Jeremiah 4 Commentary: A Call to RepentanceJer 4 Commentary: A Call to Repentance Enduring Word · David Guzik

Walks through the chapter's warnings and the coming invasion from the north.

Jeremiah 4:11 CommentariesJer 4:11 Commentaries BibleHub

Collects several classic commentaries on the scorching wind and the sinful nation.

Jeremiah 4 (Barnes' Notes)Jer 4 (Barnes' Notes) StudyLight

Provides Albert Barnes' detailed philological notes on the chapter.

Background & Word Study

Jeremiah 4:11-28Jer 4:11-28 Sefaria

Presents the Hebrew text alongside translation for the passage's key vocabulary.

Jeremiah 4:11 InterlinearJer 4:11 Interlinear BibleHub

Shows the Hebrew word order and roots behind the scorching wind imagery.

The Church Fathers

Jeremiah 4 CatenaJer 4 Catena Catena

Collects patristic reflection on Jeremiah's warning of coming judgment.

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