Jeremiah 5:22

Hebrew Bible

20 “Proclaim this message among the descendants of Jacob. Make it known throughout Judah. 21 Tell them: ‘Hear this, you foolish people who have no understanding, who have eyes but do not discern, who have ears but do not perceive: 22 “You should fear me!” says the Lord. “You should tremble in awe before me! I made the sand to be a boundary for the sea, a permanent barrier that it can never cross. Its waves may roll, but they can never prevail. They may roar, but they can never cross beyond that boundary.” 23 But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts. They have turned aside and gone their own way.

1 Enoch 5:3

Pseudepigrapha

2 And all His works continue year after year forever, and all the tasks they perform for Him, and their tasks do not change, but happen just as God has decreed. 3 And see how the sea and the rivers also fulfill their tasks unchangingly according to His commands. 4 But you have not remained faithful, nor have you obeyed the Lord's commandments. Instead, you have turned away and spoken arrogantly and harshly with your impure mouths against His greatness. Oh, you stubborn-hearted, you will find no peace.

 Notes and References

"... A number of Israelite texts contrast nature's steadfast obedience to commands with humanity's divergence from the divine statutes. The language personifies nature's activity in a way that re-mythologizes the material creation: the natural elements are given personalities, reminiscent of the polytheistic worldview that placed gods and demigods in charge of the various parts of the cosmos. As a result, the human and nonhuman worlds are spoken of in the same terms. The earliest example of the motif is in the pre-exilic text Jeremiah 5:20-29 ... The passage may be implied in 1 Enoch 5:3 and has surely informed language in chapter 101 ..."

Nickelsburg, George W. E. A Commentary on the Book of 1 Enoch Chapters 1-36, 81-108 (p. 153) Fortress Press, 2001

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