Yeremia 29:28
Konteks29:28 For he has even sent a message to us here in Babylon. He wrote and told us, 1 “You will be there a long time. Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat what they produce.”’” 2
Yeremia 36:6
Konteks36:6 So you go there the next time all the people of Judah come in from their towns to fast 3 in the Lord’s temple. Read out loud where all of them can hear you what I told you the Lord said, which you wrote in the scroll. 4
Yeremia 38:4
Konteks38:4 So these officials said to the king, “This man must be put to death. For he is demoralizing 5 the soldiers who are left in the city as well as all the other people there by these things he is saying. 6 This 7 man is not seeking to help these people but is trying to harm them.” 8
Yeremia 40:15
Konteks40:15 Then Johanan son of Kareah spoke privately to Gedaliah there at Mizpah, “Let me go and kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah before anyone knows about it. Otherwise he will kill you 9 and all the Judeans who have rallied around you will be scattered. Then what remains of Judah will disappear.”
[29:28] 1 tn Heb “For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying….” The quote, however, is part of the earlier letter.
[36:6] 3 sn Regular fast days were not a part of Israel’s religious calendar. Rather fast days were called on special occasions, i.e., in times of drought or a locust plague (Joel 1:14; 2:15), or during a military crisis (2 Chr 20:3), or after defeat in battle (1 Sam 31:13; 2 Sam 1:12). A fast day was likely chosen for the reading of the scroll because the people would be more mindful of the crisis they were in and be in more of a repentant mood. The events referred to in the study note on v. 1 would have provided the basis for Jeremiah’s anticipation of a fast day when the scroll could be read.
[36:6] 4 tn Heb “So you go and read from the scroll which you have written from my mouth the words of the
[38:4] 5 tn Heb “weakening the hands of.” For this idiom see BDB 951 s.v. רָפָה Pi. and compare the usage in Isa 13:7; Ezek 21:7 (21:12 HT).
[38:4] 6 tn Heb “by saying these things.”
[38:4] 7 tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) has not been rendered here because it is introducing a parallel causal clause to the preceding one. To render “For” might be misunderstood as a grounds for the preceding statement. To render “And” or “Moreover” sounds a little odd here. If it must be represented, “Moreover” is perhaps the best rendering.
[38:4] 8 tn Or “is not looking out for these people’s best interests but is really trying to do them harm”; Heb “is not seeking the welfare [or “well-being”; Hebrew shalom] of this people but [their] harm [more literally, evil].”
[40:15] 9 tn Heb “Why should he kill you?” However, this is one of those cases listed in BDB 554 s.v. מָה 4.d(b) where it introduces a question introducing rhetorically the reason why something should not be done. In cases like this BDB notes that it approximates the meaning “lest” and is translated in Greek by μήποτε (mhpote) or μή (mh) as the Greek version does here. Hence it is separated from the preceding and translated “otherwise” for the sake of English style.