Note 43 — VII. THE BROKEN COVENANT.

Hitzig supposed that the "vows" and "hallowed flesh" were thank-offerings for the departure of the Scythians. "It is plain that the people are really present in the temple; they bring, presumably after the retreat of the Scythians, the offerings vowed at that time." But, considering the context, the reference appears to be more general. I have partly followed the LXX. in emending an obviously corrupt verse; the only one in the chap. which presents any textual difficulty. Read: מֵעָלַיְכִי רָעָתֵכִי אָז תַּֽעֲלְֹ זִי ׃ מה לידידי בביתי עֲשׂוֹתָהּ הַֽמְזִמָּתָהּ הַנְּדָרִים ובשר קדש יַעְֽבַרוּ. The article with a noun with suffix, and the peculiar form of the 2 pers. pron. f., are found elsewhere in Jer. But I incline to correct further thus: "What avail to My beloved is her dealing (or sacrificing: עשה 2 Kings xvii. 32) in My house?" הֲמִזְבְּחוֹת הָרַבִּים ובשר קדש וגו. "Can the many altars (ver. 13) and hallowed flesh cause thine evil to pass away from thee (or pass thee by)?" This seems very apposite to what precedes. The Hebrew, as it stands, cannot possibly mean what we read both in the A. V. and R. V., nor indeed anything else.