Why does Hebrews pretend to quote Jeremiah, then misrepresent it?
By Jeff Ward
The definition of the promise commonly called the “New Covenant” is found in Jeremiah 31:31-34.
For some reason, the writer of Hebrews misquotes Jeremiah 31:32.
not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD.
Instead, the unknown writer of Hebrews says this:
Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
There are some minor word changes in most portions, but the meaning is the same. This is not true with the bolded sections above. In the original, Yehovah maintains he performed his part of the relationship as the role of husband. This can hardly be likened to “I regarded them not”.
The word apparently chosen by the Greek speaking New Testament writer was apparently “ameleo”, which is found in four other places. In each place, it always refers to neglect.
Notice who is speaking. It is Yehovah speaking. This is an alteration of the words STRAIGHT FROM GOD’s OWN MOUTH. How is he supposed to feel about his words being monkeyed with?
Jeremiah says Yehovah was a husband to them. This writer alleges he neglected them. Divorce court would find these two testimonies of the relationship as conflicting. So do I.