In this Word Biblical Commentary, Dr. Pamela Scalise, Dr. Tom Smothers, and Dr. Gerald Keown, focus their highly respected Old Testament scholarship on the last half of Jeremiah, offering a fresh translation of chapters 26-52 and pro viding an in-depth examination of one of the most difficult por-tions of the Bible.

Any student of God's Word who has wrestled with the com plex chronological and structural shifts in the book of Jeremiah will welcome Dr. Scalise's contributions to this new commen-tary, as she perceptively identifies hidden relationships between various segments of the text. By highlighting similarities in widely separated passages and thus revealing links a more casu al reader might overlook, she shines unexpected light on knot-ty textual problems. For example, she points her readers to the "temple sermon" nature of Jeremiah's proclamations in chap ters 7 and 26, and shows how the prophet used references to Shiloh to drive home similar messages in both settings.

Busy pastors will appreciate Dr. Keown's ability to offer suc-cinct comment and right-to-the-point identification of significant themes in Jeremiah's oracles, such as his call to obe dience in the Rechabite contrast of chapter 35, his stern rebuke to rebellion when Jehoakim burned the prophet's scroll in 36, and his insistence in the subsequent chapters that God's judg-ment is coming and destruction is certain because of Israel's sins.

Dr. Smothers helps us understand one of the most difficult sections of Jeremiah, making a strong argument that the "ora-cles against other nations" in the last part of this Bible book are more than "xenophobic hatred or nationalistic ravings by a prophet angry at neighboring nations who had abused Israel. Instead, Dr. Smothers contends in his well-written treatment of chapters 46-51, these oracles "affirm the sovereignty of the Lord over all the world" and they warn Judah not to depend on alliances with nations already under divine judgment just as it is.

Like all the volumes of the Word Biblical Commentary, this latest addition has been crafted as a tool for the most compe-tent Bible scholar, yet the clear division of technical notes from more popular explanation and comment sections makes it a useful tool for all pastors and serious Bible students. Readers with widely varying skills will welcome

Copious notes on the many significant differences in the major Greek and Hebrew texts of Jeremiah

Extensive bibliographical sources to aid further study

Informed analysis of Jeremiah's numerous historical refer-

ences in the light of secular Babylonian records

Intriguing sideline notes offering the latest scholarship on topics such as "The Seventy Years" and "The Cup of Wrath"

New insights into the process by which Jeremiah's mes sages were compiled in their present form.