Yeremia 4:19-22
Konteks“Oh, the feeling in the pit of my stomach! 2
I writhe in anguish.
Oh, the pain in my heart! 3
My heart pounds within me.
I cannot keep silent.
For I hear the sound of the trumpet; 4
the sound of the battle cry pierces my soul! 5
4:20 I see 6 one destruction after another taking place,
so that the whole land lies in ruins.
I see our 7 tents suddenly destroyed,
their 8 curtains torn down in a mere instant. 9
4:21 “How long must I see the enemy’s battle flags
and hear the military signals of their bugles?” 10
“This will happen 12 because my people are foolish.
They do not know me.
They are like children who have no sense. 13
They have no understanding.
They are skilled at doing evil.
They do not know how to do good.”
Yeremia 5:1
Konteks“Go up and down 15 through the streets of Jerusalem. 16
Look around and see for yourselves.
Search through its public squares.
See if any of you can find a single person
who deals honestly and tries to be truthful. 17
If you can, 18 then I will not punish this city. 19
Yeremia 5:6
Konteks5:6 So like a lion from the thicket their enemies will kill them.
Like a wolf from the desert they will destroy them.
Like a leopard they will lie in wait outside their cities
and totally destroy anyone who ventures out. 20
For they have rebelled so much
and done so many unfaithful things. 21
Yeremia 5:15-17
Konteks5:15 The Lord says, 22 “Listen, 23 nation of Israel! 24
I am about to bring a nation from far away to attack you.
It will be a nation that was founded long ago
and has lasted for a long time.
It will be a nation whose language you will not know.
Its people will speak words that you will not be able to understand.
5:16 All of its soldiers are strong and mighty. 25
Their arrows will send you to your grave. 26
5:17 They will eat up your crops and your food.
They will kill off 27 your sons and your daughters.
They will eat up your sheep and your cattle.
They will destroy your vines and your fig trees. 28
Their weapons will batter down 29
the fortified cities you trust in.
Yeremia 6:6-7
Konteks6:6 All of this is because 30 the Lord who rules over all 31 has said:
‘Cut down the trees around Jerusalem
and build up a siege ramp against its walls. 32
This is the city which is to be punished. 33
Nothing but oppression happens in it. 34
6:7 As a well continually pours out fresh water
so it continually pours out wicked deeds. 35
Sounds of violence and destruction echo throughout it. 36
All I see are sick and wounded people.’ 37
Yeremia 7:9
Konteks7:9 You steal. 38 You murder. You commit adultery. You lie when you swear on oath. You sacrifice to the god Baal. You pay allegiance to 39 other gods whom you have not previously known.
Yeremia 13:13-14
Konteks13:13 Then 40 tell them, ‘The Lord says, “I will soon fill all the people who live in this land with stupor. 41 I will also fill the kings from David’s dynasty, 42 the priests, the prophets, and the citizens of Jerusalem with stupor. 43 13:14 And I will smash them like wine bottles against one another, children and parents alike. 44 I will not show any pity, mercy, or compassion. Nothing will keep me from destroying them,’ 45 says the Lord.”
Yeremia 15:1-4
Konteks15:1 Then the Lord said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me pleading for 46 these people, I would not feel pity for them! 47 Get them away from me! Tell them to go away! 48 15:2 If they ask you, ‘Where should we go?’ tell them the Lord says this:
“Those who are destined to die of disease will go to death by disease.
Those who are destined to die in war will go to death in war.
Those who are destined to die of starvation will go to death by starvation.
Those who are destined to go into exile will go into exile.” 49
15:3 “I will punish them in four different ways: I will have war kill them. I will have dogs drag off their dead bodies. I will have birds and wild beasts devour and destroy their corpses. 50 15:4 I will make all the people in all the kingdoms of the world horrified at what has happened to them because of what Hezekiah’s son Manasseh, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.” 51
Yeremia 15:13-14
Konteks15:13 I will give away your wealth and your treasures as plunder.
I will give it away free of charge for the sins you have committed throughout your land.
15:14 I will make you serve your enemies 52 in a land that you know nothing about.
For my anger is like a fire that will burn against you.”
Yeremia 17:27
Konteks17:27 But you must obey me and set the Sabbath day apart to me. You must not carry any loads in through 53 the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. If you disobey, I will set the gates of Jerusalem on fire. It will burn down all the fortified dwellings in Jerusalem and no one will be able to put it out.’”
Yeremia 18:16-17
Konteks18:16 So their land will become an object of horror. 54
People will forever hiss out their scorn over it.
All who pass that way will be filled with horror
and will shake their heads in derision. 55
18:17 I will scatter them before their enemies
like dust blowing in front of a burning east wind.
I will turn my back on them and not look favorably on them 56
when disaster strikes them.”
Yeremia 19:7-11
Konteks19:7 In this place I will thwart 57 the plans of the people of Judah and Jerusalem. I will deliver them over to the power of their enemies who are seeking to kill them. They will die by the sword 58 at the hands of their enemies. 59 I will make their dead bodies food for the birds and wild beasts to eat. 19:8 I will make this city an object of horror, a thing to be hissed at. All who pass by it will be filled with horror and will hiss out their scorn 60 because of all the disasters that have happened to it. 61 19:9 I will reduce the people of this city to desperate straits during the siege imposed on it by their enemies who are seeking to kill them. I will make them so desperate that they will eat the flesh of their own sons and daughters and the flesh of one another.”’” 62
19:10 The Lord continued, 63 “Now break the jar in front of those who have come here with you. 19:11 Tell them the Lord who rules over all says, 64 ‘I will do just as Jeremiah has done. 65 I will smash this nation and this city as though it were a potter’s vessel which is broken beyond repair. 66 The dead will be buried here in Topheth until there is no more room to bury them.’ 67
Yeremia 28:8
Konteks28:8 From earliest times, the prophets who preceded you and me invariably 68 prophesied war, disaster, 69 and plagues against many countries and great kingdoms.
[4:19] 1 tn The words “I said” are not in the text. They are used to mark the shift from the
[4:19] 2 tn Heb “My bowels! My bowels!”
[4:19] 3 tn Heb “the walls of my heart!”
[4:19] 4 tn Heb “ram’s horn,” but the modern equivalent is “trumpet” and is more readily understandable.
[4:19] 5 tc The translation reflects a different division of the last two lines than that suggested by the Masoretes. The written text (the Kethib) reads “for the sound of the ram’s horn I have heard [or “you have heard,” if the form is understood as the old second feminine singular perfect] my soul” followed by “the battle cry” in the last line. The translation is based on taking “my soul” with the last line and understanding an elliptical expression “the battle cry [to] my soul.” Such an elliptical expression is in keeping with the elliptical nature of the exclamations at the beginning of the verse (cf. the literal translations of the first two lines of the verse in the notes on the words “stomach” and “heart”).
[4:20] 6 tn The words, “I see” are not in the text here or at the beginning of the third line. They are supplied in the translation to show that this is Jeremiah’s vision of what will happen as a result of the invasion announced in 4:5-9, 11-17a.
[4:20] 7 tn Heb “my.” This is probably not a reference to Jeremiah’s own tents since he foresees the destruction of the whole land. Jeremiah so identifies with the plight of his people that he sees the destruction of their tents as though they were his very own. It would probably lead to confusion to translate literally and it is not uncommon in Hebrew laments for the community or its representative to speak of the community as an “I.” See for example the interchange between first singular and first plural pronouns in Ps 44:4-8.
[4:20] 9 tn It is not altogether clear what Jeremiah intends by the use of this metaphor. In all likelihood he means that the defenses of Israel’s cities and towns have offered no more resistance than nomads’ tents. However, in light of the fact that the word “tent” came to be used generically for a person’s home (cf. 1 Kgs 8:66; 12:16), it is possible that Jeremiah is here referring to the destruction of their homes and the resultant feeling of homelessness and loss of even elementary protection. Given the lack of certainty the present translation is rather literal here.
[4:21] 10 tn Heb “the sound of ram’s horns,” but the modern equivalent is “bugles” and is more readily understandable.
[4:22] 11 tn These words are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to show clearly the shift in speaker. Jeremiah has been speaking; now the
[4:22] 12 tn Heb “For….” This gives the explanation for the destruction envisaged in 4:20 to which Jeremiah responds in 4:19, 21.
[4:22] 13 tn Heb “They are senseless children.”
[5:1] 14 tn These words are not in the text, but since the words at the end are obviously those of the
[5:1] 15 tn It is not clear who is being addressed here. The verbs are plural so they are not addressed to Jeremiah per se. Since the passage is talking about the people of Jerusalem, it is unlikely they are addressed here except perhaps rhetorically. Some have suggested that the heavenly court is being addressed here as in Job 1:6-8; 2:1-3. It is clear from Jer 23:18, 22; Amos 3:7 that the prophets had access to this heavenly counsel through visions (cf. 1 Kgs 22:19-23), so Jeremiah could have been privy to this speech through that means. Though these are the most likely addressee, it is too presumptuous to supply such an explicit addressee without clearer indication in the text. The translation will just have to run the risk of the probable erroneous assumption by most English readers that the addressee is Jeremiah.
[5:1] 16 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[5:1] 17 tn Heb “who does justice and seeks faithfulness.”
[5:1] 18 tn Heb “squares. If you can find…if there is one person…then I will…”
[5:1] 19 tn Heb “forgive [or pardon] it.”
[5:6] 20 tn Heb “So a lion from the thicket will kill them. A wolf from the desert will destroy them. A leopard will watch outside their cities. Anyone who goes out from them will be torn in pieces.” However, it is unlikely that, in the context of judgment that Jeremiah has previously been describing, literal lions are meant. The animals are metaphorical for their enemies. Compare Jer 4:7.
[5:6] 21 tn Heb “their rebellions are so many and their unfaithful acts so numerous.”
[5:15] 22 tn Heb “oracle of the
[5:15] 24 tn Heb “house of Israel.”
[5:16] 25 tn Heb “All of them are mighty warriors.”
[5:16] 26 tn Heb “his quiver [is] an open grave.” The order of the lines has been reversed to make the transition from “nation” to “their arrows” easier.
[5:17] 28 tn Or “eat up your grapes and figs”; Heb “eat up your vines and your fig trees.”
[5:17] sn It was typical for an army in time of war in the ancient Near East not only to eat up the crops but to destroy the means of further production.
[5:17] 29 tn Heb “They will beat down with the sword.” The term “sword” is a figure of speech (synecdoche) for military weapons in general. Siege ramps, not swords, beat down city walls; swords kill people, not city walls.
[6:6] 30 tn Heb “For.” The translation attempts to make the connection clearer.
[6:6] 31 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
[6:6] sn For an explanation of the significance of this title see the study note on 2:19.
[6:6] 32 tn Heb “Cut down its trees and build up a siege ramp against Jerusalem.” The referent has been moved forward from the second line for clarity.
[6:6] 33 tn Or “must be punished.” The meaning of this line is uncertain. The LXX reads, “Woe, city of falsehood!” The MT presents two anomalies: a masculine singular verb with a feminine singular subject in a verbal stem (Hophal) that elsewhere does not have the meaning “is to be punished.” Hence many follow the Greek which presupposes הוֹי עִיר הַשֶּׁקֶר (hoy ’ir hasheqer) instead of הִיא הָעִיר הָפְקַד (hi’ ha’ir hofqad). The Greek is the easier reading in light of the parallelism, and it would be hard to explain how the MT arose from it. KBL suggests reading a noun meaning “licentiousness” which occurs elsewhere only in Mishnaic Hebrew, hence “this is the city, the licentious one” (attributive apposition; cf. KBL 775 s.v. פֶּקֶר). Perhaps the Hophal perfect (הָפְקַד, hofÿqad) should be revocalized as a Niphal infinitive absolute (הִפָּקֹד, hippaqod); this would solve both anomalies in the MT since the Niphal is used in this nuance and the infinitive absolute can function in place of a finite verb (cf. GKC 346 §113.ee and ff). This, however, is mere speculation and is supported by no Hebrew
[6:6] 34 tn Heb “All of it oppression in its midst.”
[6:7] 35 tc Heb “As a well makes cool/fresh its water, she makes cool/fresh her wickedness.” The translation follows the reading proposed by the Masoretes (Qere) which reads a rare form of the word “well” (בַּיִר [bayir] for בְּאֵר [bÿ’er]) in place of the form written in the text (Kethib, בּוֹר [bor]), which means “cistern.” The latter noun is masculine and the pronoun “its” is feminine. If indeed בַּיִר (bayir) is a byform of בְּאֵר (be’er), which is feminine, it would agree in gender with the pronoun. It also forms a more appropriate comparison since cisterns do not hold fresh water.
[6:7] 36 tn Heb “Violence and destruction are heard in it.”
[6:7] 37 tn Heb “Sickness and wound are continually before my face.”
[7:9] 38 tn Heb “Will you steal…then say, ‘We are safe’?” Verses 9-10 are one long sentence in the Hebrew text.
[7:9] 39 tn Heb “You go/follow after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for an explanation of the idiom involved here.
[13:13] 40 tn The Greek version is likely right in interpreting the construction of two perfects preceded by the conjunction as contingent or consequential here, i.e., “and when they say…then say.” See GKC 494 §159.g. However, to render literally would create a long sentence. Hence, the words “will probably” have been supplied in v. 12 in the translation to set up the contingency/consequential sequence in the English sentences.
[13:13] 41 sn It is probably impossible to convey in a simple translation all the subtle nuances that are wrapped up in the words of this judgment speech. The word translated “stupor” here is literally “drunkenness” but the word has in the context an undoubted intended double reference. It refers first to the drunken like stupor of confusion on the part of leaders and citizens of the land which will cause them to clash with one another. But it also probably refers to the reeling under God’s wrath that results from this (cf. Jer 25:15-29, especially vv. 15-16). Moreover there is still the subtle little play on wine jars. The people are like the wine jars which were supposed to be filled with wine. They were to be a special people to bring glory to God but they had become corrupt. Hence, like wine jars they would be smashed against one another and broken to pieces (v. 14). All of this, both “fill them with the stupor of confusion” and “make them reel under God’s wrath,” cannot be conveyed in one translation.
[13:13] 42 tn Heb “who sit on David’s throne.”
[13:13] 43 tn In Hebrew this is all one long sentence with one verb governing compound objects. It is broken up here in conformity with English style.
[13:14] 44 tn Or “children along with their parents”; Heb “fathers and children together.”
[13:14] 45 tn Heb “I will not show…so as not to destroy them.”
[15:1] 46 tn The words “pleading for” have been supplied in the translation to explain the idiom (a metonymy). For parallel usage see BDB 763 s.v. עָמַד Qal.1.a and compare usage in Gen 19:27, Deut 4:10.
[15:1] sn Moses and Samuel were well-known for their successful intercession on behalf of Israel. See Ps 99:6-8 and see, e.g., Exod 32:11-14, 30-34; 1 Sam 7:5-9. The
[15:1] 47 tn Heb “my soul would not be toward them.” For the usage of “soul” presupposed here see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 6 in the light of the complaints and petitions in Jeremiah’s prayer in 14:19, 21.
[15:1] 48 tn Heb “Send them away from my presence and let them go away.”
[15:2] 49 tn It is difficult to render the rhetorical force of this passage in meaningful English. The text answers the question “Where should we go?” with four brief staccato-like expressions with a play on the preposition “to”: Heb “Who to the death, to the death and who to the sword, to the sword and who to the starvation, to the starvation and who to the captivity, to the captivity.” The word “death” here is commonly understood to be a poetic substitute for “plague” because of the standard trio of sword, famine, and plague (see, e.g., 14:12 and the notes there). This is likely here and in 18:21. For further support see W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:440. The nuance “starvation” rather than “famine” has been chosen in the translation because the referents here are all things that accompany war.
[15:3] 50 tn The translation attempts to render in understandable English some rather unusual uses of terms here. The verb translated “punish” is often used that way (cf. BDB 823 s.v. פָּקַד Qal.A.3 and compare usage in Jer 11:22, 13:21). However, here it is accompanied by a direct object and a preposition meaning “over” which is usually used in the sense of appointing someone over someone (cf. BDB 823 s.v. פָּקַד Qal.B.1 and compare usage in Jer 51:27). Moreover the word translated “different ways” normally refers to “families,” “clans,” or “guilds” (cf. BDB 1046-47 s.v. מִשְׁפָּחָה for usage). Hence the four things mentioned are referred to figuratively as officers or agents into whose power the
[15:4] 51 tn The length of this sentence runs contrary to the normal policy followed in the translation of breaking up long sentences. However, there does not seem any way to break it up here without losing the connections.
[15:4] sn For similar statements see 2 Kgs 23:26; 24:3-4 and for a description of what Manasseh did see 2 Kgs 21:1-16. Manasseh was the leader, but they willingly followed (cf. 2 Kgs 21:9).
[15:14] 52 tc This reading follows the Greek and Syriac versions and several Hebrew
[17:27] 53 tn Heb “carry loads on the Sabbath and bring [them] in through.” The translation treats the two verbs “carry” and “bring in” are an example of hendiadys (see the note on “through” in 17:21).
[18:16] 54 tn There may be a deliberate double meaning involved here. The word translated here “an object of horror” refers both to destruction (cf. 2:15; 4:17) and the horror or dismay that accompanies it (cf. 5:30; 8:21). The fact that there is no conjunction or preposition in front of the noun “hissing” that follows this suggests that the reaction is in view here, not the cause.
[18:16] 55 tn Heb “an object of lasting hissing. All who pass that way will be appalled and shake their head.”
[18:16] sn The actions of “shaking of the head” and “hissing” were obviously gestures of scorn and derision. See Lam 2:15-16.
[18:17] 56 tc Heb “I will show them [my] back and not [my] face.” This reading follows the suggestion of some of the versions and some of the Masoretes. The MT reads “I will look on their back and not on their faces.”
[18:17] sn To “turn the back” is universally recognized as a symbol of rejection. The turning of the face toward one is the subject of the beautiful Aaronic blessing in Num 6:24-26.
[19:7] 57 sn There is perhaps a two-fold wordplay in the use of this word. One involves the sound play with the word for “jar,” which has been explained as a water decanter. The word here is בַקֹּתִי (vaqqoti). The word for jar in v. 1 is בַקְבֻּק (vaqbuq). There may also be a play on the literal use of this word to refer to the laying waste or destruction of a land (see Isa 24:3; Nah 2:3). Many modern commentaries think that at this point Jeremiah emptied out the contents of the jar, symbolizing the “emptying” out of their plans.
[19:7] 58 sn This refers to the fact that they will die in battle. The sword would be only one of the weapons that strikes them down. It is one of the trio of “sword,” “starvation,” and “disease” which were the concomitants of war referred to so often in the book of Jeremiah. Starvation is referred to in v. 9.
[19:7] 59 tn Heb “I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies and in the hand of those who seek their soul [= life].” In this context the two are meant as obvious qualifications of one entity, not two. Some rearrangement of the qualifiers had to be made in the English translation to convey this.
[19:8] 60 sn See 18:16 and the study note there.
[19:8] 61 tn Heb “all its smitings.” This word has been used several times for the metaphorical “wounds” that Israel has suffered as a result of the blows from its enemies. See, e.g., 14:17. It is used in the Hebrew Bible of scourging, both literally and metaphorically (cf. Deut 25:3; Isa 10:26), and of slaughter and defeat (1 Sam 4:10; Josh 10:20). Here it refers to the results of the crushing blows at the hands of her enemies which has made her the object of scorn.
[19:9] 62 tn This verse has been restructured to try to bring out the proper thought and subordinations reflected in the verse without making the sentence too long and complex in English: Heb “I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters. And they will eat one another’s flesh in the siege and in the straits which their enemies who are seeking their lives reduce them to.” This also shows the agency through which God’s causation was effected, i.e., the siege.
[19:9] sn Cannibalism is one of the penalties for disobedience to their covenant with the
[19:10] 63 tn The words “And the
[19:11] 64 tn Heb “Thus says Yahweh of armies.” For this title see the study note on 2:19. The translation attempts to avoid the confusion of embedding quotes within quotes by reducing this one to an indirect quote.
[19:11] 65 tn The adverb “Thus” or “Like this” normally points back to something previously mentioned. See, e.g., Exod 29:35; Num 11:15; 15:11; Deut 25:9.
[19:11] 66 tn Heb “Like this I will break this people and this city, just as one breaks the vessel of a potter which is not able to be repaired.”
[19:11] 67 sn See Jer 7:22-23 for parallels.
[28:8] 68 tn The word “invariably” is not in the text but is implicit in the context and in the tense of the Hebrew verb. It is supplied in the translation for clarity and to help bring out the contrast in the next verse.
[28:8] 69 tc Many Hebrew
