Ob and In:
Acrostic poem, see NET, every verse of each section starts with the same Hebrew letter.
v.16-18 ו (VAV) The sequence of what God has done and what is the feeling of Jeremiah. The main verb in v.18 is expired or ruined, which described his glory and his expectation from God.
v.19-21 ז (ZAYIN) the repeated verb in the beginning of v.19 and 20 is "remember" and in v.20 it is repeated. (NET) The infinitive absolute followed by an imperfect of the same root is an emphatic rhetorical statement: זָכוֹר תִּזְכּוֹר (zakhor tizkor, “continually think”). Although the basic meaning of זָכַר (zakhar) is “to remember, call to mind”
However, what he considered in v.20 made him depressed, but when he "brings back to mind, takes into consideration" (BDB) "this" he will have hope unto thus v.21. "This" is introduced in v.22.
(BKC) Judah was down, but not out. God was punishing Judah for her sin, but did not reject her as His covenant people. The word for “great love” is ḥeseḏ, which has the idea of loyal love. God was sticking by the people He had chosen. The covenant made with Israel in Deuteronomy 28 (see Introduction) had not been abrogated. In fact God’s loyal love could be seen in His faithfulness in carrying out the curses He had promised while at the same time preserving a remnant. The judgment itself was a witness to the fact that God had not abandoned His people. God’s “compassions” (from reḥem, “womb,” and in the pl. for intensity) showed His gentle feeling of concern for those who belonged to Him.
v.22-24 ח (KHET) This is the loyal kindness of the LORD.
Then Jeremiah explain why the loyal kindness never ceases-for his compassions never end, his great faithfulness are fresh every morning.
(NET) When used of the Lord it is often connected to his covenant loyalty. This is the only occasion when the plural form of חֶסֶד (khesed) precedes the plural form of רַחֲמִים (rakhamim, “mercy, compassion”). The plural forms, as with this one, tend to be in late texts. The plural may indicate several concrete expressions of God’s kindnesses or may indicate the abstract concept of his kindness.
Reflection: God's loyal kindness tights to His compassions and His faithfulness. If the latter 2 never end then the loyal kindness never ceases. Thank God that His love to His people was backed up by both His passion and His promise. Do I love my husband and DMSS like this?
v.25-27 ט (TET) "good" is repeated in all 3 verses-God is good
v.28-30 י (YOD) "let a person" or "let him" x5-let him be afflicted
v.31-33 כ (KAF) "because"/"for"/"though"x3-because of the essence of God: v.33 For he is not predisposed to afflict or to grieve people.
Reflection: He is the God in the book of Jonah.
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