Jeremiah 11:3 - Exposition

Here begins a series of direct references to Deuteronomy, determining the date of the discourse. Cursed be the man , etc.; alluding to Deuteronomy 27:26 . Nothing, perhaps, is so injurious to a correct understanding of the Scriptures as persistently rendering a Hebrew or Greek word by the same supposed equivalent. "Covenant" is no doubt appropriate in some passages (e.g. Joshua 9:6 ; 1 Samuel 18:3 ), because an "appointment" between men, if equals, involves "giving and taking;" but is inadequate when the parties are not equals, and most of all when the superior party is the Divine Being. In these cases we must clearly recur to the original meaning of" appointment" or "ordinance;" and we have one such case here (see also Hosea 6:7 ; 2 Kings 11:4 ; Job 31:1 .; Psalms 105:10 ; but not Genesis 17:9 ). διαθήκη (1, an arrangement; 2, a will or testament; 3, a covenant) is to some extent parallel (see Cremer's 'Biblico-Theological Lexicon of New Testament Greek,' s . v .).