to hear intelligently (often with implication of attent… · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
word
הַדָּבָ֣רha.da.Var
H1697
a word · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
speak
דֹּבֵ֣רdo.Ver
H1696
perhaps properly · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
ears
בְּאָזְנֶ֑יךָbe.'a.ze.Nei.kha
H241
broadness. i.e. (concrete) the ear (from its form in ma… · preposition + noun, common feminine dual construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
ears
וּבְאָזְנֵ֖יu.ve.'a.ze.Nei
H241
broadness. i.e. (concrete) the ear (from its form in ma… · conjunction + preposition + noun, common feminine dual construct
people
הָעָֽםha.'Am
H5971
a people (as a congregated unit) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
1 Kings 22:28 And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, the LORD hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, O people, every one of you.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Jeremiah 28:1-9
This struggle between a true prophet and a false one is said here to have happened in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, and yet in the fourth year, for the first four years of his reign might well be called the beginning, or former part, of it, because during those years he reigned under the dominion of the king of Babylon and as a tributary to him; whereas the rest of his reign, which might well be called the latter part of it, in distinction from that former part, he reigned in rebellion against the king of Babylon. In this fourth year of his reign he went in person to Babylon (as we find, Jer 51:59), and it is probable that this gave the people some hope that his negotiation in pers…
Amen--Jeremiah prays for the people, though constrained to prophesy against them (Kg1 1:36). The event was the appointed test between contradictory predictions (Deu 18:21-22). "Would that what you say were true!" I prefer the safety of my country even to my own estimation. The prophets had no pleasure in announcing God's judgment, but did so as a matter of stern duty, not thereby divesting themselves of their natural feelings of sorrow for their country's woe. Compare Exo 32:32; Rom 9:3, as instances of how God's servants, intent only on the glory of God and the salvation of the country, forgot self and uttered wishes in a state of feeling transported out of themselves. So Jeremiah wished no…
Nevertheless, hear thou now this word that I speak in thine ears,.... Though this would be very acceptable to me, and I should be glad to have it fulfilled; yet carefully attend to what I am about to say, it being what greatly concerns thee to observe, as well as all present to listen to: and therefore it is added,
and in the ears of all the people; that stood round to hear the conversation that passed between the two prophets.
John Calvin on Jeremiah 28:7-9
The Church Fathers
(Vers. 7 seqq.) Nevertheless, listen to this word that I speak in your ears and in the ears of all the people: The prophets who were before me and you from the beginning, prophesied about many lands and great kingdoms, about battles, affliction, and famine. The prophet who prophesied peace, when his word comes, the prophet whom the Lord has sent in truth will be known. Jeremiah could have said to Ananiah: You speak falsely, you deceive the people, you are not a prophet but a false prophet. But if he had said so, the false prophet could also have retorted the same against Jeremiah, so he does no wrong. And he is speaking as if to a prophet. Not only, he says, am I a prophet and you, but there were many others before you and me, among whom were Isaiah, Hosea, Joel, and Amos, and the rest. They prophesied, he says, against many lands and not insignificant kingdoms, but great ones, announcing war and adversity to them, and announcing a scarcity of all things. And on the other hand, there were others who promised peace and prosperity. Both opinions, not through flattery or lies, but proven by the outcome of events. Therefore, following the example of others, Ananias speaks of himself, so that when the end of things comes, the truth of the prophets may be revealed. The Lord himself also spoke through Moses (Deut. 23), that the end of prophecy may be shown. And it should be noted that he does not threaten or intimidate, but confidently rebukes the liar with the truth, and postpones it for the future, so that those who hear may await the outcome of events.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Jeremiah 28:7-9
7. Nevertheless hear thou now this word that I speak in thine ears, and in the ears of all the people;
7. Verum audi nunc (vel, agedum, hortantis) sermonem hunc, quem ego pronuncio (pronuncians sum) in auribus tuis et in auribus totius populi, --
8. The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old prophesied both against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence.
8. Prophetae qui fuerunt ante me et ante to a seculo, et prophetarunt super terras multas (vel, magnas) et regna magna de praelio, de malo et de peste:
9. The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the p…
Jeremiah's reply. - First Jeremiah admits that the fulfilment of this prediction would be desirable (Jer 28:6), but then reminds his opponent that all the prophets of the Lord up till this time have prophesied of war and calamity (Jer 28:7 and Jer 28:8). So that if a prophet, in opposition to these witnesses of God, predicts nothing but peace and safety, then nothing short of the fulfilment of his prediction can make good his claim to be a true prophet (Jer 28:9). - Jeremiah's answer is to this effect: Jer 28:6. "Amen (i.e., yea), may Jahveh so do! may Jahveh perform thy words which thou hast prophesied, to bring again the vessels of Jahveh's house and all the captives from Babylon into this…
Only when a prophet’s predictions come true can people be certain that he has spoken the Lord’s word (Deut 18:20-22).
Rashi on Jeremiah 28:7
But, hearken now... The prophet who would prophesy for peace. He said: I prophesy retribution. If it does not come, I am not a liar, for the Holy One, blessed be He, renounces the evil, but the prophet who prophesies for peace, etc., when the word of the prophet comes, etc., but if his word does not come, he is a liar, as it is said, “God is not a man that He should lie, etc.” (Num. 23:19). In this manner Rabbi Tanhuma (Vayera 13) expounded.
