Yeremia 2:10

2:10 Go west ¹  across the sea to the coasts of Cyprus ²  and see.

Send someone east to Kedar ³  and have them look carefully.

See if such a thing as this has ever happened:

Yeremia 5:2

5:2 These people make promises in the name of the Lord. ⁴ 

But the fact is, ⁵  what they swear to is really a lie.” ⁶ 

Yeremia 5:7

5:7 The Lord asked, ⁷ 

“How can I leave you unpunished, Jerusalem? ⁸ 

Your people ⁹  have rejected me

and have worshiped gods that are not gods at all. ¹⁰ 

Even though I supplied all their needs, ¹¹  they were like an unfaithful wife to me. ¹² 

They went flocking ¹³  to the houses of prostitutes. ¹⁴ 

Yeremia 6:30

6:30 They are regarded as ‘rejected silver’ ¹⁵ 

because the Lord rejects them.”

Yeremia 7:8

7:8 “‘But just look at you! ¹⁶  You are putting your confidence in a false belief ¹⁷  that will not deliver you. ¹⁸ 

Yeremia 10:1

The Lord, not Idols, is the Only Worthy Object of Worship

10:1 You people of Israel, ¹⁹  listen to what the Lord has to say to you.

Yeremia 11:1

The People Have Violated Their Covenant with God

11:1 The Lord said to Jeremiah: ²⁰ 

Yeremia 13:2

13:2 So I bought the shorts as the Lord had told me to do ²¹  and put them on. ²² 

Yeremia 14:1

A Lament over the Ravages of Drought ²³ 

14:1 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah ²⁴  about the drought. ²⁵ 

Yeremia 14:11

Judgment for Believing the Misleading Lies of the False Prophets

14:11 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for good to come to these people! ²⁶ 

Yeremia 18:19

18:19 Then I said, ²⁷ 

“Lord, pay attention to me.

Listen to what my enemies are saying. ²⁸ 

Yeremia 22:29

22:29 O land of Judah, land of Judah, land of Judah! ²⁹ 

Listen to what the Lord has to say!

Yeremia 24:4

24:4 The Lord said to me, ³⁰ 

Yeremia 25:37

25:37 Their peaceful dwelling places will be laid waste ³¹ 

by the fierce anger of the Lord. ³² 

Yeremia 26:2

26:2 The Lord said, “Go stand in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple. ³³  Speak out to all the people who are coming from the towns of Judah to worship in the Lord’s temple. Tell them everything I command you to tell them. Do not leave out a single word!

Yeremia 27:19

27:19 For the Lord who rules over all ³⁴  has already spoken about the two bronze pillars, ³⁵  the large bronze basin called ‘The Sea,’ ³⁶  and the movable bronze stands. ³⁷  He has already spoken about the rest of the valuable articles that are left in this city.

Yeremia 28:6

28:6 The prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May the Lord do all this! May the Lord make your prophecy come true! May he bring back to this place from Babylon all the valuable articles taken from the Lord’s temple and the people who were carried into exile.

Yeremia 30:4

Israel and Judah Will Be Delivered after a Time of Deep Distress

30:4 So here is what the Lord has to say about Israel and Judah. ³⁸ 

Yeremia 30:12

The Lord Will Heal the Wounds of Judah

30:12 Moreover, ³⁹  the Lord says to the people of Zion, ⁴⁰ 

“Your injuries are incurable;

your wounds are severe. ⁴¹ 

Yeremia 42:7

42:7 Ten days later the Lord spoke to Jeremiah.

Yeremia 43:8

Jeremiah Predicts that Nebuchadnezzar Will Plunder Egypt and Its Gods

43:8 At Tahpanhes the Lord spoke to Jeremiah. ⁴² 

Yeremia 46:1

Prophecies Against Foreign Nations ⁴³ 

46:1 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah about the nations. ⁴⁴ 

Yeremia 48:25

48:25 Moab’s might will be crushed. Its power will be broken. ⁴⁵  I, the Lord, affirm it! ⁴⁶ 

Yeremia 48:43

48:43 Terror, pits, and traps ⁴⁷  are in store

for the people who live in Moab. ⁴⁸ 

I, the Lord, affirm it! ⁴⁹ 

Yeremia 50:29

50:29 “Call for archers ⁵⁰  to come against Babylon!

Summon against her all who draw the bow!

Set up camp all around the city!

Do not allow anyone to escape!

Pay her back for what she has done.

Do to her what she has done to others.

For she has proudly defied me, ⁵¹ 

the Holy One of Israel. ⁵² 

Yeremia 52:2

52:2 He did what displeased the Lord ⁵³  just as Jehoiakim had done.

[2:10]  ¹ tn Heb “For go west.”

[2:10]  ² tn Heb “pass over to the coasts of Kittim.” The words “west across the sea” in this line and “east of” in the next are implicit in the text and are supplied in the translation to give geographical orientation.

[2:10]  sn The Hebrew term translated Cyprus (“Kittim”) originally referred to the island of Cyprus but later was used for the lands in the west, including Macedonia (1 Macc 1:1; 8:5) and Rome (Dan 11:30). It is used here as part of a figure called merism to denote the lands in the west as opposed to Kedar which was in the east. The figure includes polar opposites to indicate totality, i.e., everywhere from west to east.

[2:10]  ³ sn Kedar is the home of the Bedouin tribes in the Syro-Arabian desert. See Gen 25:18 and Jer 49:38. See also the previous note for the significance of the reference here.

[5:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “Though they say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives.” The idea of “swear on oath” comes from the second line.

[5:2]  ⁵ tc The translation follows many Hebrew mss and the Syriac version in reading “surely” (אָכֵן, ’akhen) instead of “therefore” (לָכֵן, lakhen) in the MT.

[5:2]  tn Heb “Surely.”

[5:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “they swear falsely.”

[5:7]  ⁷ tn These words are not in the text, but are supplied in the translation to make clear who is speaking.

[5:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “How can I forgive [or pardon] you.” The pronoun “you” is second feminine singular, referring to the city. See v. 1.

[5:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “your children.”

[5:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and they have sworn [oaths] by not-gods.”

[5:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I satisfied them to the full.”

[5:7]  ¹² tn Heb “they committed adultery.” It is difficult to decide whether literal adultery with other women or spiritual adultery with other gods is meant. The word for adultery is used for both in the book of Jeremiah. For examples of its use for spiritual adultery see 3:8, 9; 9:2. For examples of its use for literal adultery see 7:9; 23:14. The context here could argue for either. The swearing by other gods and the implicit contradiction in their actions in contrast to the expected gratitude for supplying their needs argues for spiritual adultery. However, the reference to prostitution in the next line and the reference to chasing after their neighbor’s wives argues for literal adultery. The translation opts for spiritual adultery because of the contrast implicit in the concessive clause.

[5:7]  ¹³ tn There is a great deal of debate about the meaning of this word. Most of the modern English versions follow the lead of lexicographers who relate this word to a noun meaning “troop” and understand it to mean “they trooped together” (cf. BDB 151 s.v. גָּדַד Hithpo.2 and compare the usage in Mic 5:1 [4:14 HT]). A few of the modern English versions and commentaries follow the reading of the Greek and read a word meaning “they lodged” (reading ִיתְגּוֹרְרוּ [yitggorÿru] from I גּוּר [gur; cf. HALOT 177 s.v. Hithpo. and compare the usage in 1 Kgs 17:20] instead of יִתְגֹּדָדוּ [yitggodadu]). W. L. Holladay (Jeremiah [Hermeneia], 1:180) sees a reference here to the cultic practice of cutting oneself in supplication to pagan gods (cf. BDB 151 s.v. גָּדַד Hithpo.1 and compare the usage in 1 Kgs 18:28). The houses of prostitutes would then be a reference to ritual prostitutes at the pagan shrines. The translation follows BDB and the majority of modern English versions.

[5:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “to a house of a prostitute.”

[5:7]  sn This could be a reference to cultic temple prostitution connected with the pagan shrines. For allusion to this in the OT, see, e.g., Deut 23:17 and 2 Kgs 23:7.

[6:30]  ¹⁵ tn This translation is intended to reflect the wordplay in the Hebrew text where the same root word is repeated in the two lines.

[7:8]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Behold!”

[7:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “You are trusting in lying words.” See the similar phrase in v. 4 and the note there.

[7:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “not profit [you].”

[10:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “house of Israel.”

[11:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying.” The proposed translation is more in keeping with contemporary English idiom. Cf. 1:2 and 7:1 and footnotes there.

[13:2]  ²¹ tn Heb “according to the word of the Lord.”

[13:2]  ²² tn Heb “upon your loins.” The “loins” were the midriff of the body from the waist to the knees. For a further discussion including the figurative uses see R. C. Dentan, “Loins,” IDB 3:149-50.

[14:1]  ²³ sn The form of Jer 14:1–15:9 is very striking rhetorically. It consists essentially of laments and responses to them. However, what makes it so striking is its deviation from normal form (cf. 2 Chr 20:5-17 for what would normally be expected). The descriptions of the lamentable situation come from the mouth of God not the people (cf.14:1-6, 17-18). The prophet utters the petitions with statements of trust (14:7-9, 19-22) and the Lord answers not with oracles promising deliverance but promising doom (14:10; 15:1-9). In the course of giving the first oracle of doom, the Lord commands Jeremiah not to pray for the people (14:11-12) and Jeremiah tries to provide an excuse for their actions (14:13). The Lord responds to that with an oracle of doom on the false prophets (14:14-16).

[14:1]  ²⁴ tn Heb “That which came [as] the word of the Lord to Jeremiah.” The introductory formula here is a variation of that found in 7:1; 10:1; 11:1, i.e., “The word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah.” The relative pronoun “which” (אֲשֶׁר, ’asher) actually precedes the noun it modifies. See BDB 82 s.v. אֲשֶׁר 6.a for discussion and further examples.

[14:1]  ²⁵ sn Drought was one of the punishments for failure to adhere to the terms of their covenant with God. See Deut 28:22-24; Lev 26:18-20.

[14:11]  ²⁶ tn Heb “on behalf of these people for benefit.”

[18:19]  ²⁷ tn The words “Then I said” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity to show that Jeremiah turns from description of the peoples’ plots to his address to God to deal with the plotters.

[18:19]  ²⁸ tn Heb “the voice of my adversaries.”

[18:19]  sn Jeremiah’s prayers against the unjust treatment of his enemies here and elsewhere (see 11:18-20; 12:1-4; 15:15-18; 17:14-18) have many of the elements of the prayers of the innocent in the book of Psalms: an invocation of the Lord as just judge, a lament about unjust attacks, an appeal to innocence, and a cry for vindication which often calls for the Lord to pay back in kind those who unjustly attack the petitioner. See for examples Pss 5, 7, 17, 54 among many others.

[22:29]  ²⁹ tn There is no certain explanation for the triple repetition of the word “land” here. F. B. Huey (Jeremiah, Lamentations [NAC], 209) suggests the idea of exasperation, but exasperation at what? Their continued apostasy which made these exiles necessary? Or exasperation at their pitiful hopes of seeing Jeconiah restored? Perhaps “pitiful, pitiful, pitiful land of Judah” would convey some of the force of the repetition without being any more suggestive of why the land is so addressed.

[24:4]  ³⁰ tn Heb “The word of the Lord came to me.”

[25:37]  ³¹ tn For this meaning of the verb used here see HALOT 217 s.v. דָּמַם Nif. Elsewhere it refers to people dying (see, e.g., Jer 49:26; 50:30) hence some see a reference to “lifeless.”

[25:37]  ³² tn Heb “because of the burning anger of the Lord.”

[26:2]  ³³ sn It is generally agreed that the incident recorded in this chapter relates to the temple message that Jeremiah gave in 7:1-15. The message there is summarized here in vv. 3-6. The primary interest here is in the response to that message.

[27:19]  ³⁴ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.” For the significance of this title see the note at 2:19.

[27:19]  ³⁵ tn The words “two bronze” are not in the text. They have been supplied in the translation to help identify the referent.

[27:19]  sn The two bronze pillars are the two free-standing pillars at the entrance of the temple (Jakin and Boaz) described in 1 Kgs 7:15-22.

[27:19]  ³⁶ tn The words “the large bronze basin called” are not in the text. They have been supplied in the translation to help identify the referent.

[27:19]  sn “The Sea” refers to the large basin that was mounted on twelve bronze bulls. It stood in front of the temple and contained water for the priests to bathe themselves (2 Chr 4:6; cf. Exod 30:17-21). It is described in 1 Kgs 7:23-26.

[27:19]  ³⁷ tn The words “movable bronze” are not in the text. They have been supplied in the translation to help identify the referent. See the study note for further reference.

[27:19]  sn The bronze stands are the movable bronze stands described in 1 Kgs 7:27-37. They were the stands for the bronze basins described in 1 Kgs 7:38-39. According to 2 Chr 4:6 the latter were used to wash the burnt offerings. The priests would have been very concerned especially about the big bronze basin and the movable stands and their basins because they involved their ritual purification apart from which they would have had no sanctity. These articles (or furnishings in this case) were broken up and the bronze carried away to Babylon along with all the other bronze, silver, and gold furnishings when the temple and the city were destroyed in 587 b.c. (see 2 Kgs 25:13-15; Jer 52:17-19).

[30:4]  ³⁸ tn Heb “And these are the words/things that the Lord speaks concerning Israel and Judah.”

[30:12]  ³⁹ tn The particle כִּי (ki) here is parallel to the one in v. 5 that introduces the first oracle. See the discussion in the translator’s note there.

[30:12]  ⁴⁰ tn The pronouns in vv. 10-17 are second feminine singular referring to a personified entity. That entity is identified in v. 17 as Zion, which here stands for the people of Zion.

[30:12]  ⁴¹ sn The wounds to the body politic are those of the incursions from the enemy from the north referred to in Jer 4:6; 6:1 over which Jeremiah and even God himself have lamented (Jer 8:21; 10:19; 14:17). The enemy from the north has been identified as Babylon and has been identified as the agent of God’s punishment of his disobedient people (Jer 1:15; 4:6; 25:9).

[43:8]  ⁴² tn Heb “The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah at Tahpanhes, saying.”

[46:1]  ⁴³ sn Jeremiah was called to be a prophet not only to Judah and Jerusalem but to the nations (1:5, 10). The prophecies or oracles that are collected here in Jer 46-51 are found after 25:13a in the Greek version where they are also found in a different order and with several textual differences. The issue of which represents the original placement is part of the broader issue of the editorial or redactional history of the book of Jeremiah which went through several editions, two of which are referred to in Jer 36, i.e., the two scrolls written in the fourth year of Jehoiakim (605 b.c.), a third which included all the preceding plus the material down to the time of the fall of Jerusalem (cf. the introduction in 1:1-3) and a fourth that included all the preceding plus the materials in Jer 40-44. The oracles against the foreign nations collected here are consistent with the note of judgment sounded against all nations (including some not mentioned in Jer 46-51) in Jer 25. See the translator’s note on 25:13 for further details regarding the possible relationship of the oracles to the foreign nations to the judgment speeches in Jer 25.

[46:1]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “That which came [as] the word of the Lord to Jeremiah about the nations.” See the translator’s note on 14:1 for the construction here.

[48:25]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “The horn of Moab will be cut off. His arm will be broken.” “Horn” and “arm” are both symbols of strength (see BDB 902 s.v. קֶרֶן 2 [and compare usage in Lam 2:3] and BDB 284 s.v. זְרוֹעַ 2 [and compare usage in 1 Sam 2:31]). The figures have been interpreted for the sake of clarity.

[48:25]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[48:43]  ⁴⁷ sn There is an extended use of assonance here and in the parallel passage in Isa 24:17. The Hebrew text reads פַּחַד וָפַחַת וָפָח (pakhad vafakhat vafakh). The assonance is intended to underscore the extensive trouble that is in store for them.

[48:43]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “are upon you, inhabitant of Moab.” This is another example of the rapid switch in person or direct address (apostrophe) in the midst of a third person description or prediction which the present translation typically keeps in the third person for smoother English style.

[48:43]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[50:29]  ⁵⁰ tn For this word see BDB 914 s.v. III רַב and compare usage in Prov 26:10 and Job 16:12 and compare the usage of the verb in Gen 49:23. Based on this evidence, it is not necessary to emend the form to רֹבִים (rovim) as many commentators contend.

[50:29]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “for she has acted insolently against the Lord.” Once again there is the problem of the Lord speaking about himself in the third person (or the prophet dropping his identification with the Lord). As in several other places the present translation, along with several other modern English versions (TEV, CEV, NIrV), has substituted the first person to maintain consistency with the context.

[50:29]  ⁵² sn The Holy One of Israel is a common title for the Lord in the book of Isaiah. It is applied to the Lord only here and in 51:5 in the book of Jeremiah. It is a figure where an attribute of a person is put as a title of a person (compare “your majesty” for a king). It pictures the Lord as the sovereign king who rules over his covenant people and exercises moral authority over them.

[52:2]  ⁵³ tn Heb “what was evil in the eyes of the Lord.”