duped
The frequently quoted verse from the Book of Jeremiah 20:7—”You duped me, O LORD, and I let myself be duped”—is an interesting concept made even more complex because in this instance the liturgical reading disagrees with the text from the New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE), which has “seduced” instead of “duped,” and from the Revised Standard Version Catholic translations (RSVCE and RSV2CE), which have “deceived” instead of “duped.”
The Hebrew פָּתָה (pathah) has a range of meanings including enticement, persuasion, and deception, as well as allure or flattery. While the idea of deception creates an intriguing dynamic in terms of understanding God’s relationship with Jeremiah, it also seems inconsistent with the remainder of the passage.
Jeremiah is not thrilled with the consequences of being a prophet of God, but by his own admission, he also can’t hold in prophetic utterances. He prefers speaking for God to being silent, even if he doesn’t love the consequences.
Consider whether you think that this sounds like the behavior of someone who has been deceived or like the behavior of someone who has been persuaded.
related topics: prophecy; prophet
you also may like our two-part study of the prophets
Thus Says the LORD: God Speaks Through His Servants the Prophets—Volume I: A Kingdom Divided examines the prophets in their historical context using the First and Second Books of the Kings and other Old Testament passages written before the Babylonian Exile in 586 B.C. Volume II: Restoration & Redemption looks at the post-exilic prophets. This 51-lesson Catholic Bible study builds on The United Kingdom of Israel: Saul, David & Solomon Foreshadow Christ the King. Click on the books’ covers to view a sample lesson from each volume.
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