Yeremia 2:22

2:22 You can try to wash away your guilt with a strong detergent.

You can use as much soap as you want.

But the stain of your guilt is still there for me to see,” ¹ 

says the Lord God. ² 

Yeremia 7:30

7:30 The Lord says, “I have rejected them because ³  the people of Judah have done what I consider evil. ⁴  They have set up their disgusting idols in the temple ⁵  which I have claimed for my own ⁶  and have defiled it.

Yeremia 9:17

9:17 The Lord who rules over all ⁷  told me to say to this people, ⁸ 

“Take note of what I say. ⁹ 

Call for the women who mourn for the dead!

Summon those who are the most skilled at it!” ¹⁰ 

Yeremia 11:16

11:16 I, the Lord, once called ¹¹  you a thriving olive tree,

one that produced beautiful fruit.

But I will set you ¹²  on fire,

fire that will blaze with a mighty roar. ¹³ 

Then all your branches will be good for nothing. ¹⁴ 

[2:22]  ¹ tn Heb “Even if you wash with natron/lye, and use much soap, your sin is a stain before me.”

[2:22]  ² tn Heb “Lord Yahweh.” For an explanation of this title see the study notes on 1:6.

[7:30]  ³ tn The words “I have rejected them” are not in the Hebrew text, which merely says “because.” These words are supplied in the translation to show more clearly the connection to the preceding.

[7:30]  ⁴ tn Heb “have done the evil in my eyes.”

[7:30]  ⁵ sn Compare, e.g., 2 Kgs 21:3, 5, 7; 23:4, 6; Ezek 8:3, 5, 10-12, 16. Manasseh had desecrated the temple by building altars, cult symbols, and idols in it. Josiah had purged the temple of these pagan elements. But it is obvious from both Jeremiah and Ezekiel that they had been replaced shortly after Josiah’s death. They were a primary cause of Judah’s guilt and punishment (see beside this passage, 19:5; 32:34-35).

[7:30]  ⁶ tn Heb “the house which is called by my name.” Cf. 7:10, 11, 14 and see the translator’s note 7:10 for the explanation for this rendering.

[9:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[9:17]  sn For the significance of this title see the notes at 2:19 and 7:3.

[9:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “Thus says Yahweh of armies.” However, without some addition it is not clear to whom the command is addressed. The words are supplied in the translation for clarity and to help resolve a rather confusing issue of who is speaking throughout vv. 16-21. As has been evident throughout the translation, the speaker is not always indicated. Sometimes it is not even clear who the speaker is. In general the translation and the notes have reflected the general consensus in identifying who it is. Here, however, there is a good deal of confusion about who is speaking in vv. 18, 20-21. The Greek translation has the Lord speaking throughout with second plural pronouns in vv. 18, 21 and the absence of the first line in v. 22. It would be hard to explain how the MT arose if it were the original text. Critical commentators such as J. Bright, W. Holladay, and W. McKane resolve the issue by dropping out the introductory formula in v. 17 and the first line of v. 22 and assigning the whole lament to Jeremiah. It seems obvious from the first plural pronouns and the content of v. 18 (and probably v. 21 as well) and the fact that the Lord is referred to in other than the first person in v. 20 that he is not the speaker of those verses. I have attempted to resolve the issue by having Jeremiah report the Lord’s command in v. 17 and have the rest of the speech be essentially that of Jeremiah. It should be admitted, however, that the issue is far from resolved. Most English versions simply ignore the problem. The GNB (= TEV) is a rare exception.

[9:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “Consider!”

[9:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Call for the mourning women that they may come and send for the wise/skilled women that they may come.” The verbs here are masculine plural, addressed to the people.

[11:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “The Lord once called you….” This is another example of the rapid shift in person that is common to Hebrew style which is not common in English and could lead to confusion for some readers. Here and in the verses that follow the person has been shifted to first person for consistency in English.

[11:16]  ¹² tn The verb form used here is another example of a verb expressing that the action is as good as done (the Hebrew prophetic perfect).

[11:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “At the sound of a mighty roar he will set fire to it.” For the shift from third person “he” to the first person “I” see the preceding note. The Hebrew use of the pronouns in vv. 16-17 for the olive tree and the people that it represents is likely to cause confusion if retained. In v. 16 the people are “you” and the olive tree is “it.” The people are again “you” in v. 17 but part of the metaphor is carried over, i.e., “he ‘planted’ you.” It creates less confusion in the flow of the passage if the metaphorical identification is carried out throughout by addressing the people/plant as “you.”

[11:16]  ¹⁴ tn The verb here has most commonly been derived from a root meaning “to be broken” (cf. BDB 949 s.v. II רָעַע) which fits poorly with the metaphor of setting the plant on fire. Another common option is to emend it to a verb meaning “to be burned up” (בָּעַר, ba’ar). However, it is better to follow the lead of the Greek version which translates “be good for nothing” (ἠχρειώθησαν, hcreiwqhsan) and derive the verb from רָעַע (ra’a’) meaning “be bad/evil” (cf. BDB 949 and compare the nuance of the adjective from this verb in BDB 948 s.v. רַע 5).