Yeremia 2:13

2:13 “Do so because my people have committed a double wrong:

they have rejected me,

the fountain of life-giving water, ¹ 

and they have dug cisterns for themselves,

cracked cisterns which cannot even hold water.”

Yeremia 9:5

9:5 One friend deceives another

and no one tells the truth.

These people have trained themselves ²  to tell lies.

They do wrong and are unable to repent.

Yeremia 10:14-15

10:14 All these idolaters ³  will prove to be stupid and ignorant.

Every goldsmith will be disgraced by the idol he made.

For the image he forges is merely a sham. ⁴ 

There is no breath in any of those idols. ⁵ 

10:15 They are worthless, mere objects to be mocked. ⁶ 

When the time comes to punish them, they will be destroyed.

Yeremia 51:58

51:58 This is what the Lord who rules over all ⁷  says,

“Babylon’s thick wall ⁸  will be completely demolished. ⁹ 

Her high gates will be set on fire.

The peoples strive for what does not satisfy. ¹⁰ 

The nations grow weary trying to get what will be destroyed.” ¹¹ 

[2:13]  ¹ tn It is difficult to decide whether to translate “fresh, running water” which the Hebrew term for “living water” often refers to (e.g., Gen 26:19; Lev 14:5), or “life-giving water” which the idiom “fountain of life” as source of life and vitality often refers to (e.g., Ps 36:9; Prov 13:14; 14:27). The contrast with cisterns, which collected and held rain water, suggests “fresh, running water,” but the reality underlying the metaphor contrasts the Lord, the source of life, health, and vitality, with useless idols that cannot do anything.

[9:5]  ² tn Heb “their tongues.” However, this is probably not a natural idiom in contemporary English and the tongue may stand as a part for the whole anyway.

[10:14]  ³ tn Heb “Every man.” But in the context this is not a reference to all people without exception but to all idolaters. The referent is made explicit for the sake of clarity.

[10:14]  ⁴ tn Or “nothing but a phony god”; Heb “a lie/falsehood.”

[10:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “There is no breath in them.” The referent is made explicit so that no one will mistakenly take it to refer to the idolaters or goldsmiths.

[10:15]  ⁶ tn Or “objects of mockery.”

[51:58]  ⁷ sn See the note at Jer 2:19.

[51:58]  ⁸ tn The text has the plural “walls,” but many Hebrew mss read the singular “wall,” which is also supported by the ancient Greek version. The modifying adjective “thick” is singular as well.

[51:58]  ⁹ tn The infinitive absolute emphasizes the following finite verb. Another option is to translate, “will certainly be demolished.”

[51:58]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “for what is empty.”

[51:58]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and the nations for fire, and they grow weary.”