Yeremia 5:7

5:7 The Lord asked, ¹ 

“How can I leave you unpunished, Jerusalem? ² 

Your people ³  have rejected me

and have worshiped gods that are not gods at all. ⁴ 

Even though I supplied all their needs, ⁵  they were like an unfaithful wife to me. ⁶ 

They went flocking ⁷  to the houses of prostitutes. ⁸ 

Yeremia 13:12

13:12 “So tell them, ⁹  ‘The Lord, the God of Israel, says, “Every wine jar is made to be filled with wine.”’ ¹⁰  And they will probably say to you, ‘Do you not think we know ¹¹  that every wine jar is supposed to be filled with wine?’

Yeremia 16:11

16:11 Then tell them that the Lord says, ¹²  ‘It is because your ancestors ¹³  rejected me and paid allegiance to ¹⁴  other gods. They have served them and worshiped them. But they have rejected me and not obeyed my law. ¹⁵ 

Yeremia 20:11

20:11 But the Lord is with me to help me like an awe-inspiring warrior. ¹⁶ 

Therefore those who persecute me will fail and will not prevail over me.

They will be thoroughly disgraced because they did not succeed.

Their disgrace will never be forgotten.

Yeremia 31:20

31:20 Indeed, the people of Israel are my dear children.

They are the children I take delight in. ¹⁷ 

For even though I must often rebuke them,

I still remember them with fondness.

So I am deeply moved with pity for them ¹⁸ 

and will surely have compassion on them.

I, the Lord, affirm it! ¹⁹ 

Yeremia 31:34

31:34 “People will no longer need to teach their neighbors and relatives to know me. ²⁰  For all of them, from the least important to the most important, will know me,” ²¹  says the Lord. “For ²²  I will forgive their sin and will no longer call to mind the wrong they have done.”

Yeremia 34:14

34:14 “Every seven years each of you must free any fellow Hebrews who have sold themselves to you. After they have served you for six years, you shall set them free.” ²³  But your ancestors did not obey me or pay any attention to me.

Yeremia 36:31

36:31 I will punish him and his descendants and the officials who serve him for the wicked things they have done. ²⁴  I will bring on them, the citizens of Jerusalem, ²⁵  and the people of Judah all the disaster that I threatened to do to them. I will punish them because I threatened them but they still paid no heed.”’” ²⁶ 

Yeremia 37:10

37:10 For even if you were to defeat all the Babylonian forces ²⁷  fighting against you so badly that only wounded men were left lying in their tents, they would get up and burn this city down.”’” ²⁸ 

Yeremia 37:17

37:17 Then King Zedekiah had him brought to the palace. There he questioned him privately and asked him, ²⁹  “Is there any message from the Lord?” Jeremiah answered, “Yes, there is.” Then he announced, ³⁰  “You will be handed over to the king of Babylon.” ³¹ 

[5:7]  ¹ tn These words are not in the text, but are supplied in the translation to make clear who is speaking.

[5:7]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “your children.”

[5:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “and they have sworn [oaths] by not-gods.”

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

[5:7]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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.

[13:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “So you shall say this word [or message] to them.”

[13:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Every wine jar is supposed to be filled with wine.”

[13:12]  sn Some scholars understand this as a popular proverb like that in Jer 31:29 and Ezek 18:2. Instead this is probably a truism; the function of wine jars is to be filled with wine. This may relate to the preceding where the Lord has set forth his intention for Israel. It forms the basis for a ironic threat of judgment because they have failed to fulfill his purpose.

[13:12]  ¹¹ tn This is an attempt to render a construction which involves an infinitive of a verb being added before the same verb in a question which expects a positive answer. There may, by the way, be a pun being passed back and forth here involving the sound play been “fool” (נָבָל, naval) and “wine bottle” (נֶבֶל, nebel).

[16:11]  ¹² tn These two sentences have been recast in English to break up a long Hebrew sentence and incorporate the oracular formula “says the Lord (Heb ‘oracle of the Lord’)” which occurs after “Your fathers abandoned me.” In Hebrew the two sentences read: “When you tell them these things and they say, ‘…’, then tell them, ‘Because your ancestors abandoned me,’ oracle of the Lord.”

[16:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 12, 13, 15, 19).

[16:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “followed after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for the explanation of the idiom.

[16:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “But me they have abandoned and my law they have not kept.” The objects are thrown forward to bring out the contrast which has rhetorical force. However, such a sentence in English would be highly unnatural.

[20:11]  ¹⁶ sn This line has some interesting ties with Jer 15:20-21 where Jeremiah is assured by God that he is indeed with him as he promised him when he called him (1:8, 19) and will deliver him from the clutches of wicked and violent people. The word translated here “awe-inspiring” is the same as the word “violent people” there. Jeremiah is confident that his “awe-inspiring” warrior will overcome “violent people.” The statement of confidence here is, by the way, a common element in the psalms of petition in the Psalter. The common elements of that type of psalm are all here: invocation (v. 7), lament (vv. 7-10), confession of trust/confidence in being heard (v. 11), petition (v. 12), thanksgiving or praise (v. 13). For some examples of this type of psalm see Pss 3, 7, 26.

[31:20]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Is Ephraim a dear son to me or a child of delight?” For the substitution of Israel for Ephraim and the plural pronouns for the singular see the note on v. 18. According to BDB 210 s.v. הֲ 1.c the question is rhetorical having the force of an impassioned affirmation. See 1 Sam 2:27; Job 41:9 (41:1 HT) for parallel usage.

[31:20]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “my stomach churns for him.” The parallelism shows that this refers to pity or compassion.

[31:20]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[31:34]  ²⁰ tn Heb “teach…, saying, ‘Know the Lord.’” The indirect quote has been chosen for stylistic reasons, i.e., to better parallel the following line.

[31:34]  sn As mentioned in the translator’s note on 9:3 (9:2 HT) “knowing” God in covenant contexts like this involves more than just an awareness of who he is (9:23 [9:22 HT]). It involves an acknowledgment of his sovereignty and whole hearted commitment to obedience to him. This is perhaps best seen in the parallelisms in Hos 4:1; 6:6 where “the knowledge of God” is parallel with faithfulness and steadfast love and in the context of Hos 4 refers to obedience to the Lord’s commands.

[31:34]  ²¹ sn This statement should be understood against the background of Jer 8:8-9 where class distinctions were drawn and certain people were considered to have more awareness and responsibility for knowing the law and also Jer 5:1-5 and 9:3-9 where the sinfulness of Israel was seen to be universal across these class distinctions and no trust was to be placed in friends, neighbors, or relatives because all without distinction had cast off God’s yoke (i.e., refused to submit themselves to his authority).

[31:34]  ²² tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) that introduces this clause refers to more than just the preceding clause (i.e., that all will know the Lord) but to all of vv. 31-34a (See BDB 474 s.v. כִּי 3.c).

[34:14]  ²³ sn Compare Deut 15:12-18 for the complete statement of this law. Here only the first part of it is cited.

[36:31]  ²⁴ tn Heb “for their iniquity.”

[36:31]  ²⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[36:31]  ²⁶ tn Heb “all the disaster which I spoke against them and they did not listen [or obey].”

[37:10]  ²⁷ tn Heb “all the army of the Chaldeans.” For the rendering “Babylonian” in place of Chaldean see the study note on 21:4.

[37:10]  ²⁸ tn The length and complexity of this English sentence violates the more simple style that has been used to conform such sentences to contemporary English style. However, there does not seem to be any alternative that would enable a simpler style and still retain the causal and conditional connections that give this sentence the rhetorical force that it has in the original. The condition is, of course, purely hypothetical and the consequence a poetic exaggeration. The intent is to assure Zedekiah that there is absolutely no hope of the city being spared.

[37:17]  ²⁹ tn Heb “Then King Zedekiah sent and brought him and the king asked him privately [or more literally, in secret] and said.”

[37:17]  ³⁰ tn Heb “Then he said.”

[37:17]  ³¹ sn Jeremiah’s answer even under duress was the same that he had given Zedekiah earlier. (See Jer 34:3 and see the study note on 34:1 for the relative timing of these two incidents.)