Yeremia 7:1--20:18
Konteks7:1 The Lord said to Jeremiah: 1 7:2 “Stand in the gate of the Lord’s temple and proclaim 2 this message: ‘Listen, all you people of Judah who have passed through these gates to worship the Lord. 3 Hear what the Lord has to say. 7:3 The Lord God of Israel who rules over all 4 says: Change the way you have been living and do what is right. 5 If you do, I will allow you to continue to live in this land. 6 7:4 Stop putting your confidence in the false belief that says, 7 “We are safe! 8 The temple of the Lord is here! The temple of the Lord is here! The temple of the Lord is here!” 9 7:5 You must change 10 the way you have been living and do what is right. You must treat one another fairly. 11 7:6 Stop oppressing foreigners who live in your land, children who have lost their fathers, and women who have lost their husbands. 12 Stop killing innocent people 13 in this land. Stop paying allegiance to 14 other gods. That will only bring about your ruin. 15 7:7 If you stop doing these things, 16 I will allow you to continue to live in this land 17 which I gave to your ancestors as a lasting possession. 18
7:8 “‘But just look at you! 19 You are putting your confidence in a false belief 20 that will not deliver you. 21 7:9 You steal. 22 You murder. You commit adultery. You lie when you swear on oath. You sacrifice to the god Baal. You pay allegiance to 23 other gods whom you have not previously known. 7:10 Then you come and stand in my presence in this temple I have claimed as my own 24 and say, “We are safe!” You think you are so safe that you go on doing all those hateful sins! 25 7:11 Do you think this temple I have claimed as my own 26 is to be a hideout for robbers? 27 You had better take note! 28 I have seen for myself what you have done! says the Lord. 7:12 So, go to the place in Shiloh where I allowed myself to be worshiped 29 in the early days. See what I did to it 30 because of the wicked things my people Israel did. 7:13 You also have done all these things, says the Lord, and I have spoken to you over and over again. 31 But you have not listened! You have refused to respond when I called you to repent! 32 7:14 So I will destroy this temple which I have claimed as my own, 33 this temple that you are trusting to protect you. I will destroy this place that I gave to you and your ancestors, 34 just like I destroyed Shiloh. 35 7:15 And I will drive you out of my sight just like I drove out your relatives, the people of Israel.’” 36
7:16 Then the Lord said, 37 “As for you, Jeremiah, 38 do not pray for these people! Do not cry out to me or petition me on their behalf! Do not plead with me to save them, 39 because I will not listen to you. 7:17 Do you see 40 what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 41 7:18 Children are gathering firewood, fathers are building fires with it, and women are mixing dough to bake cakes to offer to the goddess they call the Queen of Heaven. 42 They are also pouring out drink offerings to other gods. They seem to do all this just 43 to trouble me. 7:19 But I am not really the one being troubled!” 44 says the Lord. “Rather they are bringing trouble on themselves to their own shame! 45 7:20 So,” the Lord God 46 says, “my raging fury will be poured out on this land. 47 It will be poured out on human beings and animals, on trees and crops. 48 And it will burn like a fire which cannot be extinguished.”
7:21 The Lord said to the people of Judah, 49 “The Lord God of Israel who rules over all 50 says: ‘You might as well go ahead and add the meat of your burnt offerings to that of the other sacrifices and eat it, too! 51 7:22 Consider this: 52 When I spoke to your ancestors after I brought them out of Egypt, I did not merely give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices. 7:23 I also explicitly commanded them: 53 “Obey me. If you do, I 54 will be your God and you will be my people. Live exactly the way I tell you 55 and things will go well with you.” 7:24 But they did not listen to me or pay any attention to me. They followed the stubborn inclinations of their own wicked hearts. They acted worse and worse instead of better. 56 7:25 From the time your ancestors departed the land of Egypt until now, 57 I sent my servants the prophets to you again and again, 58 day after day. 59 7:26 But your ancestors 60 did not listen to me nor pay attention to me. They became obstinate 61 and were more wicked than even their own forefathers.’”
7:27 Then the Lord said to me, 62 “When you tell them all this, they will not listen to you. When you call out to them, they will not respond to you. 7:28 So tell them: ‘This is a nation that has not obeyed the Lord their God and has not accepted correction. Faithfulness is nowhere to be found in it. These people do not even profess it anymore. 63 7:29 So, mourn, 64 you people of this nation. 65 Cut off your hair and throw it away. Sing a song of mourning on the hilltops. For the Lord has decided to reject 66 and forsake this generation that has provoked his wrath!’” 67
7:30 The Lord says, “I have rejected them because 68 the people of Judah have done what I consider evil. 69 They have set up their disgusting idols in the temple 70 which I have claimed for my own 71 and have defiled it. 7:31 They have also built places of worship 72 in a place called Topheth 73 in the Valley of Ben Hinnom so that they can sacrifice their sons and daughters by fire. That is something I never commanded them to do! Indeed, it never even entered my mind to command such a thing! 74 7:32 So, watch out!” 75 says the Lord. “The time will soon come when people will no longer call those places Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom. But they will call that valley 76 the Valley of Slaughter and they will bury so many people in Topheth they will run out of room. 77 7:33 Then the dead bodies of these people will be left on the ground for the birds and wild animals to eat. 78 There will not be any survivors to scare them away. 7:34 I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness, or the glad celebration of brides and grooms throughout the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. For the whole land will become a desolate wasteland.”
8:1 The Lord says, “When that time comes, 79 the bones of the kings of Judah and its leaders, the bones of the priests and prophets and of all the other people who lived in Jerusalem will be dug up from their graves. 8:2 They will be spread out and exposed to the sun, the moon and the stars. 80 These are things they 81 adored and served, things to which they paid allegiance, 82 from which they sought guidance, and worshiped. The bones of these people 83 will never be regathered and reburied. They will be like manure used to fertilize the ground. 84 8:3 However, I will leave some of these wicked people alive and banish them to other places. But wherever these people who survive may go, they will wish they had died rather than lived,” 85 says the Lord who rules over all. 86
“Tell them, ‘The Lord says,
Do people not get back up when they fall down?
Do they not turn around when they go the wrong way? 88
8:5 Why, then, do these people of Jerusalem 89
continually turn away from me in apostasy?
They hold fast to their deception. 90
They refuse to turn back to me. 91
8:6 I have listened to them very carefully, 92
but they do not speak honestly.
None of them regrets the evil he has done.
None of them says, “I have done wrong!” 93
All of them persist in their own wayward course 94
like a horse charging recklessly into battle.
8:7 Even the stork knows
when it is time to move on. 95
The turtledove, swallow, and crane 96
recognize 97 the normal times for their migration.
But my people pay no attention
to 98 what I, the Lord, require of them. 99
8:8 How can you say, “We are wise!
We have the law of the Lord”?
The truth is, 100 those who teach it 101 have used their writings
to make it say what it does not really mean. 102
8:9 Your wise men will be put to shame.
They will be dumbfounded and be brought to judgment. 103
Since they have rejected the word of the Lord,
what wisdom do they really have?
8:10 104 So I will give their wives to other men
and their fields to new owners.
For from the least important to the most important of them,
all of them are greedy for dishonest gain.
Prophets and priests alike,
all practice deceit.
8:11 They offer only superficial help
for the hurt my dear people 105 have suffered. 106
They say, “Everything will be all right!”
But everything is not all right! 107
8:12 Are they ashamed because they have done such disgusting things?
No, they are not at all ashamed!
They do not even know how to blush!
So they will die just like others have died. 108
They will be brought to ruin when I punish them,
says the Lord.
8:13 I will take away their harvests, 109 says the Lord.
There will be no grapes on their vines.
There will be no figs on their fig trees.
Even the leaves on their trees will wither.
The crops that I gave them will be taken away.’” 110
“Why are we just sitting here?
Let us gather together inside the fortified cities. 112
Let us at least die there fighting, 113
since the Lord our God has condemned us to die.
He has condemned us to drink the poison waters of judgment 114
because we have sinned against him. 115
8:15 We hoped for good fortune, but nothing good has come of it.
We hoped for a time of relief, but instead we experience terror. 116
8:16 The snorting of the enemy’s horses
is already being heard in the city of Dan.
The sound of the neighing of their stallions 117
causes the whole land to tremble with fear.
They are coming to destroy the land and everything in it!
They are coming to destroy 118 the cities and everyone who lives in them!”
“Yes indeed, 120 I am sending an enemy against you
that will be like poisonous snakes which cannot be charmed away. 121
And they will inflict fatal wounds on you.” 122
“There is no cure 124 for my grief!
I am sick at heart!
8:19 I hear my dear people 125 crying out 126
throughout the length and breadth of the land. 127
They are crying, ‘Is the Lord no longer in Zion?
Is her divine King 128 no longer there?’”
The Lord answers, 129
“Why then do they provoke me to anger with their images,
with their worthless foreign idols?” 130
8:20 “They cry, 131 ‘Harvest time has come and gone, and the summer is over, 132
and still we have not been delivered.’
8:21 My heart is crushed because my dear people 133 are being crushed. 134
I go about crying and grieving. I am overwhelmed with dismay. 135
8:22 There is still medicinal ointment 136 available in Gilead!
There is still a physician there! 137
Why then have my dear people 138
not been restored to health? 139
9:1 (8:23) 140 I wish that my head were a well full of water 141
and my eyes were a fountain full of tears!
If they were, I could cry day and night
for those of my dear people 142 who have been killed.
9:2 (9:1) I wish I had a lodging place in the desert
where I could spend some time like a weary traveler. 143
Then I would desert my people
and walk away from them
because they are all unfaithful to God,
a congregation 144 of people that has been disloyal to him. 145
“These people are like soldiers who have readied their bows.
Their tongues are always ready to shoot out lies. 147
They have become powerful in the land,
but they have not done so by honest means. 148
Indeed, they do one evil thing after another 149
and do not pay attention to me. 150
9:4 Everyone must be on his guard around his friends.
He must not even trust any of his relatives. 151
For every one of them will find some way to cheat him. 152
And all of his friends will tell lies about him.
9:5 One friend deceives another
and no one tells the truth.
These people have trained themselves 153 to tell lies.
They do wrong and are unable to repent.
9:6 They do one act of violence after another,
and one deceitful thing after another. 154
They refuse to pay attention to me,” 155
says the Lord.
9:7 Therefore the Lord who rules over all says, 156
“I will now purify them in the fires of affliction 157 and test them.
The wickedness of my dear people 158 has left me no choice.
What else can I do? 159
9:8 Their tongues are like deadly arrows. 160
They are always telling lies. 161
Friendly words for their neighbors come from their mouths.
But their minds are thinking up ways to trap them. 162
9:9 I will certainly punish them for doing such things!” says the Lord.
“I will certainly bring retribution on such a nation as this!” 163
“I will weep and mourn 165 for the grasslands on the mountains, 166
I will sing a mournful song for the pastures in the wilderness
because they are so scorched no one travels through them.
The sound of livestock is no longer heard there.
Even the birds in the sky and the wild animals in the fields
have fled and are gone.”
“I will make Jerusalem 168 a heap of ruins.
Jackals will make their home there. 169
I will destroy the towns of Judah
so that no one will be able to live in them.”
“Who is wise enough to understand why this has happened? 171
Who has a word from the Lord that can explain it? 172
Why does the land lie in ruins?
Why is it as scorched as a desert through which no one travels?”
9:13 The Lord answered, “This has happened because these people have rejected my laws which I gave them. They have not obeyed me or followed those laws. 173 9:14 Instead they have followed the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts. They have paid allegiance to 174 the gods called Baal, 175 as their fathers 176 taught them to do. 9:15 So then, listen to what I, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all, 177 say. 178 ‘I will make these people eat the bitter food of suffering and drink the poison water of judgment. 179 9:16 I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors 180 have known anything about. I will send people chasing after them with swords 181 until I have destroyed them.’” 182
9:17 The Lord who rules over all 183 told me to say to this people, 184
“Take note of what I say. 185
Call for the women who mourn for the dead!
Summon those who are the most skilled at it!” 186
9:18 I said, “Indeed, 187 let them come quickly and sing a song of mourning for us.
Let them wail loudly until tears stream from our own eyes
and our eyelids overflow with water.
9:19 For the sound of wailing is soon to be heard in Zion.
They will wail, 188 ‘We are utterly ruined! 189 We are completely disgraced!
For our houses have been torn down
and we must leave our land.’” 190
“So now, 192 you wailing women, hear what the Lord says. 193
Open your ears to the words from his mouth.
Teach your daughters this mournful song,
and each of you teach your neighbor 194 this lament.
9:21 ‘Death has climbed in 195 through our windows.
It has entered into our fortified houses.
It has taken away our children who play in the streets.
It has taken away our young men who gather in the city squares.’
9:22 Tell your daughters and neighbors, ‘The Lord says,
“The dead bodies of people will lie scattered everywhere
like manure scattered on a field.
They will lie scattered on the ground
like grain that has been cut down but has not been gathered.”’” 196
“Wise people should not boast that they are wise.
Powerful people should not boast that they are powerful. 198
Rich people should not boast that they are rich. 199
9:24 If people want to boast, they should boast about this:
They should boast that they understand and know me.
They should boast that they know and understand
that I, the Lord, act out of faithfulness, fairness, and justice in the earth
and that I desire people to do these things,” 200
says the Lord.
9:25 The Lord says, “Watch out! 201 The time is soon coming when I will punish all those who are circumcised only in the flesh. 202 9:26 That is, I will punish the Egyptians, the Judeans, the Edomites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, and all the desert people who cut their hair short at the temples. 203 I will do so because none of the people of those nations are really circumcised in the Lord’s sight. 204 Moreover, none of the people of Israel 205 are circumcised when it comes to their hearts.” 206
10:1 You people of Israel, 207 listen to what the Lord has to say to you.
10:2 The Lord says,
“Do not start following pagan religious practices. 208
Do not be in awe of signs that occur 209 in the sky
even though the nations hold them in awe.
10:3 For the religion 210 of these people is worthless.
They cut down a tree in the forest,
and a craftsman makes it into an idol with his tools. 211
10:4 He decorates it with overlays of silver and gold.
He uses hammer and nails to fasten it 212 together
so that it will not fall over.
10:5 Such idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field.
They cannot talk.
They must be carried
because they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them
because they cannot hurt you.
And they do not have any power to help you.” 213
“There is no one like you, Lord. 215
You are great.
And you are renowned for your power. 216
10:7 Everyone should revere you, O King of all nations, 217
because you deserve to be revered. 218
For there is no one like you
among any of the wise people of the nations nor among any of their kings. 219
10:8 The people of those nations 220 are both stupid and foolish.
Instruction from a wooden idol is worthless! 221
10:9 Hammered-out silver is brought from Tarshish 222
and gold is brought from Uphaz 223 to cover those idols. 224
They are the handiwork of carpenters and goldsmiths. 225
They are clothed in blue and purple clothes. 226
They are all made by skillful workers. 227
10:10 The Lord is the only true God.
He is the living God and the everlasting King.
When he shows his anger the earth shakes.
None of the nations can stand up to his fury.
10:11 You people of Israel should tell those nations this:
‘These gods did not make heaven and earth.
They will disappear 228 from the earth and from under the heavens.’ 229
10:12 The Lord is the one who 230 by his power made the earth.
He is the one who by his wisdom established the world.
And by his understanding he spread out the skies.
10:13 When his voice thunders, 231 the heavenly ocean roars.
He makes the clouds rise from the far-off horizons. 232
He makes the lightning flash out in the midst of the rain.
He unleashes the wind from the places where he stores it. 233
10:14 All these idolaters 234 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. 235
There is no breath in any of those idols. 236
10:15 They are worthless, mere objects to be mocked. 237
When the time comes to punish them, they will be destroyed.
10:16 The Lord, who is the inheritance 238 of Jacob’s descendants, 239 is not like them.
He is the one who created everything.
And the people of Israel are those he claims as his own. 240
He is known as the Lord who rules over all.” 241
10:17 Gather your belongings together and prepare to leave the land,
you people of Jerusalem 242 who are being besieged. 243
10:18 For the Lord says, “I will now throw out
those who live in this land.
I will bring so much trouble on them
that they will actually feel it.” 244
10:19 And I cried out, 245 “We are doomed! 246
Our wound is severe!
We once thought, ‘This is only an illness.
And we will be able to bear it!’ 247
10:20 But our tents have been destroyed.
The ropes that held them in place have been ripped apart. 248
Our children are gone and are not coming back. 249
There is no survivor to put our tents back up,
no one left to hang their tent curtains in place.
10:21 For our leaders 250 are stupid.
They have not sought the Lord’s advice. 251
So they do not act wisely,
and the people they are responsible for 252 have all been scattered.
10:22 Listen! News is coming even now. 253
The rumble of a great army is heard approaching 254 from a land in the north. 255
It is coming to turn the towns of Judah into rubble,
places where only jackals live.
10:23 Lord, we know that people do not control their own destiny. 256
It is not in their power to determine what will happen to them. 257
10:24 Correct us, Lord, but only in due measure. 258
Do not punish us in anger or you will reduce us to nothing. 259
10:25 Vent your anger on the nations that do not acknowledge you. 260
Vent it on the peoples 261 who do not worship you. 262
For they have destroyed the people of Jacob. 263
They have completely destroyed them 264
and left their homeland in utter ruin.
11:1 The Lord said to Jeremiah: 265 11:2 “Hear 266 the terms of the covenant 267 I made with Israel 268 and pass them on 269 to the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem. 270 11:3 Tell them that the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Anyone who does not keep the terms of the covenant will be under a curse. 271 11:4 Those are the terms that I charged your ancestors 272 to keep 273 when I brought them out of Egypt, that place which was like an iron-smelting furnace. 274 I said at that time, 275 “Obey me and carry out the terms of the agreement 276 exactly as I commanded you. If you do, 277 you will be my people and I will be your God. 278 11:5 Then I will keep the promise I swore on oath to your ancestors to give them a land flowing with milk and honey.” 279 That is the very land that you still live in today.’” 280 And I responded, “Amen! Let it be so, 281 Lord!”
11:6 The Lord said to me, “Announce all the following words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: ‘Listen to the terms of my covenant with you 282 and carry them out! 11:7 For I solemnly warned your ancestors to obey me. 283 I warned them again and again, 284 ever since I delivered them out of Egypt until this very day. 11:8 But they did not listen to me or pay any attention to me! Each one of them followed the stubborn inclinations of his own wicked heart. So I brought on them all the punishments threatened in the covenant because they did not carry out its terms as I commanded them to do.’” 285
11:9 The Lord said to me, “The people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem have plotted rebellion against me! 286 11:10 They have gone back to the evil ways 287 of their ancestors of old who refused to obey what I told them. They, too, have paid allegiance to 288 other gods and worshiped them. Both the nation of Israel and the nation of Judah 289 have violated the covenant I made with their ancestors. 11:11 So I, the Lord, say this: 290 ‘I will soon bring disaster on them which they will not be able to escape! When they cry out to me for help, I will not listen to them. 11:12 Then those living in the towns of Judah and in Jerusalem will 291 go and cry out for help to the gods to whom they have been sacrificing. However, those gods will by no means 292 be able to save them when disaster strikes them. 11:13 This is in spite of the fact that 293 the people of Judah have as many gods as they have towns 294 and the citizens of Jerusalem have set up as many altars to sacrifice to that disgusting god, Baal, as they have streets in the city!’ 295 11:14 So, Jeremiah, 296 do not pray for these people. Do not cry out to me or petition me on their behalf. Do not plead with me to save them. 297 For I will not listen to them when they call out to me for help when disaster strikes them.” 298
11:15 The Lord says to the people of Judah, 299
“What right do you have to be in my temple, my beloved people? 300
Many of you have done wicked things. 301
Can your acts of treachery be so easily canceled by sacred offerings 302
that you take joy in doing evil even while you make them? 303
11:16 I, the Lord, once called 304 you a thriving olive tree,
one that produced beautiful fruit.
But I will set you 305 on fire,
fire that will blaze with a mighty roar. 306
Then all your branches will be good for nothing. 307
11:17 For though I, the Lord who rules over all, 308 planted you in the land, 309
I now decree that disaster will come on you 310
because the nations of Israel and Judah have done evil
and have made me angry by offering sacrifices to the god Baal.” 311
11:18 The Lord gave me knowledge, that I might have understanding. 312
Then he showed me what the people were doing. 313
11:19 Before this I had been like a docile lamb ready to be led to the slaughter.
I did not know they were making plans to kill me. 314
I did not know they were saying, 315
“Let’s destroy the tree along with its fruit! 316
Let’s remove Jeremiah 317 from the world of the living
so people will not even be reminded of him any more.” 318
11:20 So I said to the Lord, 319
“O Lord who rules over all, 320 you are a just judge!
You examine people’s hearts and minds. 321
I want to see you pay them back for what they have done
because I trust you to vindicate my cause.” 322
11:21 Then the Lord told me about 323 some men from Anathoth 324 who were threatening to kill me. 325 They had threatened, 326 “Stop prophesying in the name of the Lord or we will kill you!” 327 11:22 So the Lord who rules over all 328 said, “I will surely 329 punish them! Their young men will be killed in battle. 330 Their sons and daughters will die of starvation. 11:23 Not one of them will survive. 331 I will bring disaster on those men from Anathoth who threatened you. 332 A day of reckoning is coming for them.” 333
12:1 Lord, you have always been fair
whenever I have complained to you. 334
However, I would like to speak with you about the disposition of justice. 335
Why are wicked people successful? 336
Why do all dishonest people have such easy lives?
12:2 You plant them like trees and they put down their roots. 337
They grow prosperous and are very fruitful. 338
They always talk about you,
but they really care nothing about you. 339
12:3 But you, Lord, know all about me.
You watch me and test my devotion to you. 340
Drag these wicked men away like sheep to be slaughtered!
Appoint a time when they will be killed! 341
12:4 How long must the land be parched 342
and the grass in every field be withered?
How long 343 must the animals and the birds die
because of the wickedness of the people who live in this land? 344
For these people boast,
“God 345 will not see what happens to us.” 346
“If you have raced on foot against men and they have worn you out,
how will you be able to compete with horses?
And if you feel secure only 348 in safe and open country, 349
how will you manage in the thick undergrowth along the Jordan River? 350
12:6 As a matter of fact, 351 even your own brothers
and the members of your own family have betrayed you too.
Even they have plotted to do away with you. 352
So do not trust them even when they say kind things 353 to you.
12:7 “I will abandon my nation. 354
I will forsake the people I call my own. 355
I will turn my beloved people 356
over to the power 357 of their enemies.
12:8 The people I call my own 358 have turned on me
like a lion 359 in the forest.
They have roared defiantly 360 at me.
So I will treat them as though I hate them. 361
12:9 The people I call my own attack me like birds of prey or like hyenas. 362
But other birds of prey are all around them. 363
Let all the nations gather together like wild beasts.
Let them come and destroy these people I call my own. 364
12:10 Many foreign rulers 365 will ruin the land where I planted my people. 366
They will trample all over my chosen land. 367
They will turn my beautiful land
into a desolate wasteland.
12:11 They will lay it waste.
It will lie parched 368 and empty before me.
The whole land will be laid waste.
But no one living in it will pay any heed. 369
12:12 A destructive army 370 will come marching
over the hilltops in the desert.
For the Lord will use them as his destructive weapon 371
against 372 everyone from one end of the land to the other.
No one will be safe. 373
12:13 My people will sow wheat, but will harvest weeds. 374
They will work until they are exhausted, but will get nothing from it.
They will be disappointed in their harvests 375
because the Lord will take them away in his fierce anger. 376
12:14 “I, the Lord, also have something to say concerning 377 the wicked nations who surround my land 378 and have attacked and plundered 379 the land that I gave to my people as a permanent possession. 380 I say: ‘I will uproot the people of those nations from their lands and I will free the people of Judah who have been taken there. 381 12:15 But after I have uprooted the people of those nations, I will relent 382 and have pity on them. I will restore the people of each of those nations to their own lands 383 and to their own country. 12:16 But they must make sure you learn to follow the religious practices of my people. 384 Once they taught my people to swear their oaths using the name of the god Baal. 385 But then, they must swear oaths using my name, saying, “As surely as the Lord lives, I swear.” 386 If they do these things, 387 then they will be included among the people I call my own. 388 12:17 But I will completely uproot and destroy any of those nations that will not pay heed,’” 389 says the Lord.
13:1 The Lord said to me, “Go and buy some linen shorts 390 and put them on. 391 Do not put them in water.” 392 13:2 So I bought the shorts as the Lord had told me to do 393 and put them on. 394 13:3 Then the Lord spoke to me again and said, 395 13:4 “Take the shorts that you bought and are wearing 396 and go at once 397 to Perath. 398 Bury the shorts there 399 in a crack in the rocks.” 13:5 So I went and buried them at Perath 400 as the Lord had ordered me to do. 13:6 Many days later the Lord said to me, “Go at once to Perath and get 401 the shorts I ordered you to bury there.” 13:7 So I went to Perath and dug up 402 the shorts from the place where I had buried them. I found 403 that they were ruined; they were good for nothing.
13:8 Then the Lord said to me, 404 13:9 “I, the Lord, say: 405 ‘This shows how 406 I will ruin the highly exalted position 407 in which Judah and Jerusalem 408 take pride. 13:10 These wicked people refuse to obey what I have said. 409 They follow the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts and pay allegiance 410 to other gods by worshiping and serving them. So 411 they will become just like these linen shorts which are good for nothing. 13:11 For,’ I say, 412 ‘just as shorts cling tightly to a person’s body, so I bound the whole nation of Israel and the whole nation of Judah 413 tightly 414 to me.’ I intended for them to be my special people and to bring me fame, honor, and praise. 415 But they would not obey me.
13:12 “So tell them, 416 ‘The Lord, the God of Israel, says, “Every wine jar is made to be filled with wine.”’ 417 And they will probably say to you, ‘Do you not think we know 418 that every wine jar is supposed to be filled with wine?’ 13:13 Then 419 tell them, ‘The Lord says, “I will soon fill all the people who live in this land with stupor. 420 I will also fill the kings from David’s dynasty, 421 the priests, the prophets, and the citizens of Jerusalem with stupor. 422 13:14 And I will smash them like wine bottles against one another, children and parents alike. 423 I will not show any pity, mercy, or compassion. Nothing will keep me from destroying them,’ 424 says the Lord.”
13:15 Then I said to the people of Judah, 425
“Listen and pay attention! Do not be arrogant!
For the Lord has spoken.
13:16 Show the Lord your God the respect that is due him. 426
Do it before he brings the darkness of disaster. 427
Do it before you stumble 428 into distress
like a traveler on the mountains at twilight. 429
Do it before he turns the light of deliverance you hope for
into the darkness and gloom of exile. 430
13:17 But if you will not pay attention to this warning, 431
I will weep alone because of your arrogant pride.
I will weep bitterly and my eyes will overflow with tears 432
because you, the Lord’s flock, 433 will be carried 434 into exile.”
“Tell the king and the queen mother,
‘Surrender your thrones, 436
for your glorious crowns
will be removed 437 from your heads. 438
13:19 The gates of the towns in southern Judah will be shut tight. 439
No one will be able to go in or out of them. 440
All Judah will be carried off into exile.
They will be completely carried off into exile.’” 441
“Look up, Jerusalem, 443 and see
the enemy 444 that is coming from the north.
Where now is the flock of people that were entrusted to your care? 445
Where now are the ‘sheep’ that you take such pride in? 446
13:21 What will you say 447 when the Lord 448 appoints as rulers over you those allies
that you, yourself, had actually prepared as such? 449
Then anguish and agony will grip you
like that of a woman giving birth to a baby. 450
13:22 You will probably ask yourself, 451
‘Why have these things happened to me?
Why have I been treated like a disgraced adulteress
whose skirt has been torn off and her limbs exposed?’ 452
It is because you have sinned so much. 453
13:23 But there is little hope for you ever doing good,
you who are so accustomed to doing evil.
Can an Ethiopian 454 change the color of his skin?
Can a leopard remove its spots? 455
‘That is why I will scatter your people 457 like chaff
that is blown away by a desert wind. 458
13:25 This is your fate,
the destiny to which I have appointed you,
because you have forgotten me
and have trusted in false gods.
13:26 So I will pull your skirt up over your face
and expose you to shame like a disgraced adulteress! 459
13:27 People of Jerusalem, 460 I have seen your adulterous worship,
your shameless prostitution to, and your lustful pursuit of, other gods. 461
I have seen your disgusting acts of worship 462
on the hills throughout the countryside.
You are doomed to destruction! 463
How long will you continue to be unclean?’”
14:1 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah 465 about the drought. 466
14:2 “The people of Judah are in mourning.
The people in her cities are pining away.
They lie on the ground expressing their sorrow. 467
Cries of distress come up to me 468 from Jerusalem. 469
14:3 The leading men of the cities send their servants for water.
They go to the cisterns, 470 but they do not find any water there.
They return with their containers 471 empty.
Disappointed and dismayed, they bury their faces in their hands. 472
14:4 They are dismayed because the ground is cracked 473
because there has been no rain in the land.
The farmers, too, are dismayed
and bury their faces in their hands.
14:5 Even the doe abandons her newborn fawn 474 in the field
because there is no grass.
14:6 Wild donkeys stand on the hilltops
and pant for breath like jackals.
Their eyes are strained looking for food,
because there is none to be found.” 475
“O Lord, intervene for the honor of your name 477
even though our sins speak out against us. 478
Indeed, 479 we have turned away from you many times.
We have sinned against you.
14:8 You have been the object of Israel’s hopes.
You have saved them when they were in trouble.
Why have you become like a resident foreigner 480 in the land?
Why have you become like a traveler who only stops in to spend the night?
14:9 Why should you be like someone who is helpless, 481
like a champion 482 who cannot save anyone?
You are indeed with us, 483
and we belong to you. 484
Do not abandon us!”
14:10 Then the Lord spoke about these people. 485
“They truly 486 love to go astray.
They cannot keep from running away from me. 487
So I am not pleased with them.
I will now call to mind 488 the wrongs they have done 489
and punish them for their sins.”
14:11 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for good to come to these people! 490 14:12 Even if they fast, I will not hear their cries for help. Even if they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. 491 Instead, I will kill them through wars, famines, and plagues.” 492
14:13 Then I said, “Oh, Lord God, 493 look! 494 The prophets are telling them that you said, 495 ‘You will not experience war or suffer famine. 496 I will give you lasting peace and prosperity in this land.’” 497
14:14 Then the Lord said to me, “Those prophets are prophesying lies while claiming my authority! 498 I did not send them. I did not commission them. 499 I did not speak to them. They are prophesying to these people false visions, worthless predictions, 500 and the delusions of their own mind. 14:15 I did not send those prophets, though they claim to be prophesying in my name. They may be saying, ‘No war or famine will happen in this land.’ But I, the Lord, say this about 501 them: ‘War and starvation will kill those prophets.’ 502 14:16 The people to whom they are prophesying will die through war and famine. Their bodies will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem 503 and there will be no one to bury them. This will happen to the men and their wives, their sons, and their daughters. 504 For I will pour out on them the destruction they deserve.” 505
14:17 “Tell these people this, Jeremiah: 506
‘My eyes overflow with tears
day and night without ceasing. 507
For my people, my dear children, 508 have suffered a crushing blow.
They have suffered a serious wound. 509
14:18 If I go out into the countryside,
I see those who have been killed in battle.
If I go into the city,
I see those who are sick because of starvation. 510
For both prophet and priest go about their own business
in the land without having any real understanding.’” 511
14:19 Then I said,
“Lord, 512 have you completely rejected the nation of Judah?
Do you despise 513 the city of Zion?
Why have you struck us with such force
that we are beyond recovery? 514
We hope for peace, but nothing good has come of it.
We hope for a time of relief from our troubles, but experience terror. 515
14:20 Lord, we confess that we have been wicked.
We confess that our ancestors have done wrong. 516
We have indeed 517 sinned against you.
14:21 For the honor of your name, 518 do not treat Jerusalem 519 with contempt.
Do not treat with disdain the place where your glorious throne sits. 520
Be mindful of your covenant with us. Do not break it! 521
14:22 Do any of the worthless idols 522 of the nations cause rain to fall?
Do the skies themselves send showers?
Is it not you, O Lord our God, who does this? 523
So we put our hopes in you 524
because you alone do all this.”
15:1 Then the Lord said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me pleading for 525 these people, I would not feel pity for them! 526 Get them away from me! Tell them to go away! 527 15:2 If they ask you, ‘Where should we go?’ tell them the Lord says this:
“Those who are destined to die of disease will go to death by disease.
Those who are destined to die in war will go to death in war.
Those who are destined to die of starvation will go to death by starvation.
Those who are destined to go into exile will go into exile.” 528
15:3 “I will punish them in four different ways: I will have war kill them. I will have dogs drag off their dead bodies. I will have birds and wild beasts devour and destroy their corpses. 529 15:4 I will make all the people in all the kingdoms of the world horrified at what has happened to them because of what Hezekiah’s son Manasseh, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.” 530
“Who in the world 532 will have pity on you, Jerusalem?
Who will grieve over you?
Who will stop long enough 533
to inquire about how you are doing? 534
15:6 I, the Lord, say: 535 ‘You people have deserted me!
You keep turning your back on me.’ 536
So I have unleashed my power against you 537 and have begun to destroy you. 538
I have grown tired of feeling sorry for you!” 539
“In every town in the land I will purge them
like straw blown away by the wind. 541
I will destroy my people.
I will kill off their children.
I will do so because they did not change their behavior. 542
15:8 Their widows will become in my sight more numerous 543
than the grains of sand on the seashores.
At noontime I will bring a destroyer
against the mothers of their young men. 544
I will cause anguish 545 and terror
to fall suddenly upon them. 546
15:9 The mother who had seven children 547 will grow faint.
All the breath will go out of her. 548
Her pride and joy will be taken from her in the prime of their life.
It will seem as if the sun had set while it was still day. 549
She will suffer shame and humiliation. 550
I will cause any of them who are still left alive
to be killed in war by the onslaughts of their enemies,” 551
says the Lord.
“Oh, mother, how I regret 553 that you ever gave birth to me!
I am always starting arguments and quarrels with the people of this land. 554
I have not lent money to anyone and I have not borrowed from anyone.
Yet all of these people are treating me with contempt.” 555
15:11 The Lord said,
“Jerusalem, 556 I will surely send you away for your own good.
I will surely 557 bring the enemy upon you in a time of trouble and distress.
15:12 Can you people who are like iron and bronze
break that iron fist from the north? 558
15:13 I will give away your wealth and your treasures as plunder.
I will give it away free of charge for the sins you have committed throughout your land.
15:14 I will make you serve your enemies 559 in a land that you know nothing about.
For my anger is like a fire that will burn against you.”
“Lord, you know how I suffer. 561
Take thought of me and care for me.
Pay back for me those who have been persecuting me.
Do not be so patient with them that you allow them to kill me.
Be mindful of how I have put up with their insults for your sake.
15:16 As your words came to me I drank them in, 562
and they filled my heart with joy and happiness
because I belong to you. 563
15:17 I did not spend my time in the company of other people,
laughing and having a good time.
I stayed to myself because I felt obligated to you 564
and because I was filled with anger at what they had done.
15:18 Why must I continually suffer such painful anguish?
Why must I endure the sting of their insults like an incurable wound?
Will you let me down when I need you
like a brook one goes to for water, but that cannot be relied on?” 565
15:19 Because of this, the Lord said, 566
“You must repent of such words and thoughts!
If you do, I will restore you to the privilege of serving me. 567
If you say what is worthwhile instead of what is worthless,
I will again allow you to be my spokesman. 568
They must become as you have been.
You must not become like them. 569
15:20 I will make you as strong as a wall to these people,
a fortified wall of bronze.
They will attack you,
but they will not be able to overcome you.
For I will be with you to rescue you and deliver you,” 570
says the Lord.
15:21 “I will deliver you from the power of the wicked.
I will free you from the clutches of violent people.”
16:1 The Lord said to me, 16:2 “Do not get married and do not have children here in this land. 16:3 For I, the Lord, tell you what will happen to 571 the children who are born here in this land and to the men and women who are their mothers and fathers. 572 16:4 They will die of deadly diseases. No one will mourn for them. They will not be buried. Their dead bodies will lie like manure spread on the ground. They will be killed in war or die of starvation. Their corpses will be food for the birds and wild animals.
16:5 “Moreover I, the Lord, tell you: 573 ‘Do not go into a house where they are having a funeral meal. Do not go there to mourn and express your sorrow for them. For I have stopped showing them my good favor, 574 my love, and my compassion. I, the Lord, so affirm it! 575 16:6 Rich and poor alike will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned. People will not cut their bodies or shave off their hair to show their grief for them. 576 16:7 No one will take any food to those who mourn for the dead to comfort them. No one will give them any wine to drink to console them for the loss of their father or mother.
16:8 “‘Do not go to a house where people are feasting and sit down to eat and drink with them either. 16:9 For I, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all, tell you what will happen. 577 I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness, to the glad celebration of brides and grooms in this land. You and the rest of the people will live to see this happen.’” 578
16:10 “When you tell these people about all this, 579 they will undoubtedly ask you, ‘Why has the Lord threatened us with such great disaster? What wrong have we done? What sin have we done to offend the Lord our God?’ 16:11 Then tell them that the Lord says, 580 ‘It is because your ancestors 581 rejected me and paid allegiance to 582 other gods. They have served them and worshiped them. But they have rejected me and not obeyed my law. 583 16:12 And you have acted even more wickedly than your ancestors! Each one of you has followed the stubborn inclinations of your own wicked heart and not obeyed me. 584 16:13 So I will throw you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your ancestors have ever known. There you must worship other gods day and night, for I will show you no mercy.’”
16:14 Yet 585 I, the Lord, say: 586 “A new time will certainly come. 587 People now affirm their oaths with ‘I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the people of Israel out of Egypt.’ 16:15 But in that time they will affirm them with ‘I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the people of Israel from the land of the north and from all the other lands where he had banished them.’ At that time I will bring them back to the land I gave their ancestors.” 588
16:16 But for now I, the Lord, say: 589 “I will send many enemies who will catch these people like fishermen. After that I will send others who will hunt them out like hunters from all the mountains, all the hills, and the crevices in the rocks. 590 16:17 For I see everything they do. Their wicked ways are not hidden from me. Their sin is not hidden away where I cannot see it. 591 16:18 Before I restore them 592 I will punish them in full 593 for their sins and the wrongs they have done. For they have polluted my land with the lifeless statues of their disgusting idols. They have filled the land I have claimed as my own 594 with their detestable idols.” 595
“Lord, you give me strength and protect me.
You are the one I can run to for safety when I am in trouble. 597
Nations from all over the earth
will come to you and say,
‘Our ancestors had nothing but false gods –
worthless idols that could not help them at all. 598
16:20 Can people make their own gods?
No, what they make are not gods at all.” 599
“So I will now let this wicked people know –
I will let them know my mighty power in judgment.
Then they will know that my name is the Lord.” 601
17:1 602 The sin of Judah is engraved with an iron chisel
on their stone-hard 603 hearts.
It is inscribed with a diamond 604 point
on the horns of their altars. 605
17:2 Their children are always thinking about 606 their 607 altars
and their sacred poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah, 608
set up beside the green trees on the high hills
17:3 and on the mountains and in the fields. 609
I will give your wealth and all your treasures away as plunder.
I will give it away as the price 610 for the sins you have committed throughout your land.
17:4 You will lose your hold on the land 611
which I gave to you as a permanent possession.
I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you know nothing about.
For you have made my anger burn like a fire that will never be put out.” 612
17:5 The Lord says,
“I will put a curse on people
who trust in mere human beings,
who depend on mere flesh and blood for their strength, 614
and whose hearts 615 have turned away from the Lord.
17:6 They will be like a shrub 616 in the desert.
They will not experience good things even when they happen.
It will be as though they were growing in the desert,
in a salt land where no one can live.
17:7 My blessing is on those people who trust in me,
who put their confidence in me. 617
17:8 They will be like a tree planted near a stream
whose roots spread out toward the water.
It has nothing to fear when the heat comes.
Its leaves are always green.
It has no need to be concerned in a year of drought.
It does not stop bearing fruit.
17:9 The human mind is more deceitful than anything else.
It is incurably bad. 618 Who can understand it?
17:10 I, the Lord, probe into people’s minds.
I examine people’s hearts. 619
I deal with each person according to how he has behaved.
I give them what they deserve based on what they have done.
17:11 The person who gathers wealth by unjust means
is like the partridge that broods over eggs but does not hatch them. 620
Before his life is half over he will lose his ill-gotten gains. 621
At the end of his life it will be clear he was a fool.” 622
“Lord, from the very beginning
you have been seated on your glorious throne on high.
You are the place where we can find refuge.
17:13 You are the one in whom Israel may find hope. 624
All who leave you will suffer shame.
Those who turn away from you 625 will be consigned to the nether world. 626
For they have rejected you, the Lord, the fountain of life. 627
17:14 Lord, grant me relief from my suffering
so that I may have some relief.
Rescue me from those who persecute me
so that I may be rescued. 628
17:15 Listen to what they are saying to me. 629
They are saying, “Where are the things the Lord threatens us with?
Come on! Let’s see them happen!” 630
17:16 But I have not pestered you to bring disaster. 631
I have not desired the time of irreparable devastation. 632
You know that.
You are fully aware of every word that I have spoken. 633
17:17 Do not cause me dismay! 634
You are my source of safety in times of trouble.
17:18 May those who persecute me be disgraced.
Do not let me be disgraced.
May they be dismayed.
Do not let me be dismayed.
Bring days of disaster on them.
Bring on them the destruction they deserve.” 635
17:19 The Lord told me, “Go and stand in the People’s Gate 637 through which the kings of Judah enter and leave the city. Then go and stand in all the other gates of the city of Jerusalem. 638 17:20 As you stand in those places 639 announce, ‘Listen, all you people who pass through these gates. Listen, all you kings of Judah, all you people of Judah and all you citizens of Jerusalem. Listen to what the Lord says. 640 17:21 The Lord says, ‘Be very careful if you value your lives! 641 Do not carry any loads 642 in through 643 the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. 17:22 Do not carry any loads out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath day. 644 But observe the Sabbath day as a day set apart to the Lord, 645 as I commanded your ancestors. 646 17:23 Your ancestors, 647 however, did not listen to me or pay any attention to me. They stubbornly refused 648 to pay attention or to respond to any discipline.’ 17:24 The Lord says, 649 ‘You must make sure to obey me. You must not bring any loads through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day. You must set the Sabbath day apart to me. You must not do any work on that day. 17:25 If you do this, 650 then the kings and princes who follow in David’s succession 651 and ride in chariots or on horses will continue to enter through these gates, as well as their officials and the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem. 652 This city will always be filled with people. 653 17:26 Then people will come here from the towns in Judah, from the villages surrounding Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin, from the western foothills, from the southern hill country, and from the southern part of Judah. They will come bringing offerings to the temple of the Lord: burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, and incense along with their thank offerings. 654 17:27 But you must obey me and set the Sabbath day apart to me. You must not carry any loads in through 655 the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. If you disobey, I will set the gates of Jerusalem on fire. It will burn down all the fortified dwellings in Jerusalem and no one will be able to put it out.’”
18:1 The Lord said to Jeremiah: 656 18:2 “Go down at once 657 to the potter’s house. I will speak to you further there.” 658 18:3 So I went down to the potter’s house and found him working 659 at his wheel. 660 18:4 Now and then 661 there would be something wrong 662 with the pot he was molding from the clay 663 with his hands. So he would rework 664 the clay into another kind of pot as he saw fit. 665
18:5 Then the Lord said to me, 666 18:6 “I, the Lord, say: 667 ‘O nation of Israel, can I not deal with you as this potter deals with the clay? 668 In my hands, you, O nation of Israel, are just like the clay in this potter’s hand.’ 18:7 There are times, Jeremiah, 669 when I threaten to uproot, tear down, and destroy a nation or kingdom. 670 18:8 But if that nation I threatened stops doing wrong, 671 I will cancel the destruction 672 I intended to do to it. 18:9 And there are times when I promise to build up and establish 673 a nation or kingdom. 18:10 But if that nation does what displeases me and does not obey me, then I will cancel the good I promised to do to it. 18:11 So now, tell the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem 674 this: The Lord says, ‘I am preparing to bring disaster on you! I am making plans to punish you. 675 So, every one of you, stop the evil things you have been doing. 676 Correct the way you have been living and do what is right.’ 677 18:12 But they just keep saying, ‘We do not care what you say! 678 We will do whatever we want to do! We will continue to behave wickedly and stubbornly!’” 679
18:13 Therefore, the Lord says,
“Ask the people of other nations
whether they have heard of anything like this.
Israel should have been like a virgin.
But she has done something utterly revolting!
18:14 Does the snow ever completely vanish from the rocky slopes of Lebanon?
Do the cool waters from those distant mountains ever cease to flow? 680
18:15 Yet my people have forgotten me
and offered sacrifices to worthless idols!
This makes them stumble along in the way they live
and leave the old reliable path of their fathers. 681
They have left them to walk in bypaths,
in roads that are not smooth and level. 682
18:16 So their land will become an object of horror. 683
People will forever hiss out their scorn over it.
All who pass that way will be filled with horror
and will shake their heads in derision. 684
18:17 I will scatter them before their enemies
like dust blowing in front of a burning east wind.
I will turn my back on them and not look favorably on them 685
when disaster strikes them.”
18:18 Then some people 686 said, “Come on! Let us consider how to deal with Jeremiah! 687 There will still be priests to instruct us, wise men to give us advice, and prophets to declare God’s word. 688 Come on! Let’s bring charges against him and get rid of him! 689 Then we will not need to pay attention to anything he says.”
“Lord, pay attention to me.
Listen to what my enemies are saying. 691
18:20 Should good be paid back with evil?
Yet they are virtually digging a pit to kill me. 692
Just remember how I stood before you
pleading on their behalf 693
to keep you from venting your anger on them. 694
18:21 So let their children die of starvation.
Let them be cut down by the sword. 695
Let their wives lose their husbands and children.
Let the older men die of disease 696
and the younger men die by the sword in battle.
18:22 Let cries of terror be heard in their houses
when you send bands of raiders unexpectedly to plunder them. 697
For they have virtually dug a pit to capture me
and have hidden traps for me to step into.
18:23 But you, Lord, know
all their plots to kill me.
Do not pardon their crimes!
Do not ignore their sins as though you had erased them! 698
Let them be brought down in defeat before you!
Deal with them while you are still angry! 699
19:1 The Lord told Jeremiah, 700 “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. 701 Take with you 702 some of the leaders of the people and some of the leaders 703 of the priests. 19:2 Go out to the part of the Hinnom Valley which is near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. 704 Announce there what I tell you. 705 19:3 Say, ‘Listen to what the Lord says, you kings of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem! 706 The Lord God of Israel who rules over all 707 says, “I will bring a disaster on this place 708 that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it ring! 709 19:4 I will do so because these people 710 have rejected me and have defiled 711 this place. They have offered sacrifices in it to other gods which neither they nor their ancestors 712 nor the kings of Judah knew anything about. They have filled it with the blood of innocent children. 713 19:5 They have built places here 714 for worship of the god Baal so that they could sacrifice their children as burnt offerings to him in the fire. Such sacrifices 715 are something I never commanded them to make! They are something I never told them to do! Indeed, such a thing never even entered my mind! 19:6 So I, the Lord, say: 716 “The time will soon come that people will no longer call this place Topheth or the Hinnom Valley. But they will call this valley 717 the Valley of Slaughter! 19:7 In this place I will thwart 718 the plans of the people of Judah and Jerusalem. I will deliver them over to the power of their enemies who are seeking to kill them. They will die by the sword 719 at the hands of their enemies. 720 I will make their dead bodies food for the birds and wild beasts to eat. 19:8 I will make this city an object of horror, a thing to be hissed at. All who pass by it will be filled with horror and will hiss out their scorn 721 because of all the disasters that have happened to it. 722 19:9 I will reduce the people of this city to desperate straits during the siege imposed on it by their enemies who are seeking to kill them. I will make them so desperate that they will eat the flesh of their own sons and daughters and the flesh of one another.”’” 723
19:10 The Lord continued, 724 “Now break the jar in front of those who have come here with you. 19:11 Tell them the Lord who rules over all says, 725 ‘I will do just as Jeremiah has done. 726 I will smash this nation and this city as though it were a potter’s vessel which is broken beyond repair. 727 The dead will be buried here in Topheth until there is no more room to bury them.’ 728 19:12 I, the Lord, say: 729 ‘That is how I will deal with this city and its citizens. I will make it like Topheth. 19:13 The houses in Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be defiled by dead bodies 730 just like this place, Topheth. For they offered sacrifice to the stars 731 and poured out drink offerings to other gods on the roofs of those houses.’”
19:14 Then Jeremiah left Topheth where the Lord had sent him to give that prophecy. He went to the Lord’s temple and stood 732 in its courtyard and called out to all the people. 19:15 “The Lord God of Israel who rules over all 733 says, ‘I will soon bring on this city and all the towns surrounding it 734 all the disaster I threatened to do to it. I will do so because they have stubbornly refused 735 to pay any attention to what I have said!’”
20:1 Now Pashhur son of Immer heard Jeremiah prophesy these things. He was the priest who was chief of security 736 in the Lord’s temple. 20:2 When he heard Jeremiah’s prophecy, he had the prophet flogged. 737 Then he put him in the stocks 738 which were at the Upper Gate of Benjamin in the Lord’s temple. 739 20:3 But the next day Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks. When he did, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord’s name for you is not ‘Pashhur’ but ‘Terror is Everywhere.’ 740 20:4 For the Lord says, ‘I will make both you and your friends terrified of what will happen to you. 741 You will see all of them die by the swords of their enemies. 742 I will hand all the people of Judah over to the king of Babylon. He will carry some of them away into exile in Babylon and he will kill others of them with the sword. 20:5 I will hand over all the wealth of this city to their enemies. I will hand over to them all the fruits of the labor of the people of this city and all their prized possessions, as well as all the treasures of the kings of Judah. Their enemies will seize it all as plunder 743 and carry it off to Babylon. 20:6 You, Pashhur, and all your household 744 will go into exile in Babylon. You will die there and you will be buried there. The same thing will happen to all your friends to whom you have prophesied lies.’” 745
20:7 Lord, you coerced me into being a prophet,
and I allowed you to do it.
You overcame my resistance and prevailed over me. 746
Now I have become a constant laughingstock.
Everyone ridicules me.
20:8 For whenever I prophesy, 747 I must cry out, 748
“Violence and destruction are coming!” 749
This message from the Lord 750 has made me
an object of continual insults and derision.
20:9 Sometimes I think, “I will make no mention of his message.
I will not speak as his messenger 751 any more.”
But then 752 his message becomes like a fire
locked up inside of me, burning in my heart and soul. 753
I grow weary of trying to hold it in;
I cannot contain it.
20:10 I 754 hear many whispering words of intrigue against me.
Those who would cause me terror are everywhere! 755
They are saying, “Come on, let’s publicly denounce him!” 756
All my so-called friends 757 are just watching for
something that would lead to my downfall. 758
They say, “Perhaps he can be enticed into slipping up,
so we can prevail over 759 him and get our revenge on him.
20:11 But the Lord is with me to help me like an awe-inspiring warrior. 760
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.
20:12 O Lord who rules over all, 761 you test and prove the righteous.
You see into people’s hearts and minds. 762
Pay them back for what they have done
because I trust you to vindicate my cause.
20:13 Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord!
For he rescues the oppressed from the clutches of evildoers. 763
20:14 Cursed be the day I was born!
May that day not be blessed when my mother gave birth to me. 764
20:15 Cursed be the man
who made my father very glad
when he brought him the news
that a baby boy had been born to him! 765
20:16 May that man be like the cities 766
that the Lord destroyed without showing any mercy.
May he hear a cry of distress in the morning
and a battle cry at noon.
20:17 For he did not kill me before I came from the womb,
making my pregnant mother’s womb my grave forever. 767
20:18 Why did I ever come forth from my mother’s womb?
All I experience is trouble and grief,
and I spend my days in shame. 768
[7:1] 1 tn Heb “The word which came to Jeremiah from the
[7:2] 2 tn Heb “Proclaim there…” The adverb is unnecessary in English style.
[7:2] 3 sn That is, all those who have passed through the gates of the outer court and are standing in the courtyard of the temple.
[7:3] 4 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God Israel.”
[7:3] sn Compare the use of similar titles in 2:19; 5:14; 6:6 and see the explanation in the study note at 2:19. In this instance the title appears to emphasize the
[7:3] 5 tn Or “Make good your ways and your actions.” J. Bright’s translation (“Reform the whole pattern of your conduct”; Jeremiah [AB], 52) is excellent.
[7:3] 6 tn Heb “place” but this might be misunderstood to refer to the temple.
[7:4] 7 tn Heb “Stop trusting in lying words which say.”
[7:4] 8 tn The words “We are safe!” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[7:4] 9 tn Heb “The temple of the
[7:5] 10 tn The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.
[7:5] 11 tn Heb “you must do justice between a person and his fellow/neighbor.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.
[7:6] 12 tn Heb “Stop oppressing foreigner, orphan, and widow.”
[7:6] 13 tn Heb “Stop shedding innocent blood.”
[7:6] 14 tn Heb “going/following after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for an explanation of the idiom involved here.
[7:6] 15 tn Heb “going after other gods to your ruin.”
[7:7] 16 tn The translation uses imperatives in vv. 5-6 followed by the phrase, “If you do all this,” to avoid the long and complex sentence structure of the Hebrew sentence which has a series of conditional clauses in vv. 5-6 followed by a main clause in v. 7.
[7:7] 17 tn Heb “live in this place, in this land.”
[7:7] 18 tn Heb “gave to your fathers [with reference to] from ancient times even unto forever.”
[7:8] 20 tn Heb “You are trusting in lying words.” See the similar phrase in v. 4 and the note there.
[7:8] 21 tn Heb “not profit [you].”
[7:9] 22 tn Heb “Will you steal…then say, ‘We are safe’?” Verses 9-10 are one long sentence in the Hebrew text.
[7:9] 23 tn Heb “You go/follow after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for an explanation of the idiom involved here.
[7:10] 24 tn Heb “over which my name is called.” For this nuance of this idiom cf. BDB 896 s.v. קָרָא Niph.2.d(4) and see the usage in 2 Sam 12:28.
[7:10] 25 tn Or “‘We are safe!’ – safe, you think, to go on doing all those hateful things.” Verses 9-10 are all one long sentence in the Hebrew text. It has been broken up for English stylistic reasons. Somewhat literally it reads “Will you steal…then come and stand…and say, ‘We are safe’ so as to/in order to do…” The Hebrew of v. 9 has a series of infinitives which emphasize the bare action of the verb without the idea of time or agent. The effect is to place a kind of staccato like emphasis on the multitude of their sins all of which are violations of one of the Ten Commandments. The final clause in v. 8 expresses purpose or result (probably result) through another infinitive. This long sentence is introduced by a marker (ה interrogative in Hebrew) introducing a rhetorical question in which God expresses his incredulity that they could do these sins, come into the temple and claim the safety of his protection, and then go right back out and commit the same sins. J. Bright (Jeremiah [AB], 52) catches the force nicely: “What? You think you can steal, murder…and then come and stand…and say, ‘We are safe…’ just so that you can go right on…”
[7:11] 26 tn Heb “over which my name is called.” For this nuance of this idiom cf. BDB 896 s.v. קָרָא Niph.2.d(4) and see the usage in 2 Sam 12:28.
[7:11] 27 tn Heb “Is this house…a den/cave of robbers in your eyes?”
[7:12] 29 tn Heb “where I caused my name to dwell.” The translation does not adequately represent the theology of the
[7:12] 30 sn The place in Shiloh…see what I did to it. This refers to the destruction of Shiloh by the Philistines circa 1050
[7:13] 31 tn This reflects a Hebrew idiom (e.g., 7:25; 11:7; 25:3, 4), i.e., an infinitive of a verb meaning “to do something early [or eagerly]” followed by an infinitive of another verb of action. Cf. HALOT 1384 s.v. שָׁכַם Hiph.2.
[7:13] 32 tn Heb “I called to you and you did not answer.” The words “to repent” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[7:14] 33 tn Heb “over which my name is called.” For this nuance of this idiom cf. BDB 896 s.v. קָרָא Niph.2.d(4) and see the usage in 2 Sam 12:28.
[7:14] 34 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 22, 25, 26).
[7:14] 35 tn Heb “I will do to this house which I…in which you put…and to this place which…as I did to Shiloh.”
[7:15] 36 tn Heb “the descendants of Ephraim.” However, Ephraim here stands (as it often does) for all the northern tribes of Israel.
[7:16] 37 tn The words “Then the
[7:16] 38 tn Heb “As for you.” The personal name Jeremiah is supplied in the translation for clarity.
[7:16] 39 tn The words “to save them” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[7:17] 40 tn Or “Just look at…” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.
[7:17] 41 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[7:18] 42 tn The form for “queen” is unusual. It is pointed (מְלֶכֶת [mÿlekhet] instead of מַלְכַּת [malkat]) as though the Masoretes wanted to read the word for “work” (מְלֶאכֶת [mÿle’khet]), i.e., the “hosts of,” a word that several Hebrew
[7:18] sn The Queen of Heaven is probably a reference to the goddess known as Ishtar in Mesopotamia, Anat in Canaan, Ashtoreth in Israel. She was the goddess of love and fertility. For further discussion, see G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, T. G. Smothers, Jeremiah 26-52 (WBC), 266-68.
[7:18] 43 tn Heb “to provoke me.” There is debate among grammarians and lexicographers about the nuance of the Hebrew particle לְמַעַן (lÿma’an). Some say it always denotes purpose, while others say it may denote either purpose or result, depending on the context. For example, BDB 775 s.v. לְמַעַן note 1 says that it always denotes purpose, never result, but that sometimes what is really a result is represented ironically as though it were a purpose. That explanation fits nicely here in the light of the context of the next verse. The translation is intended to reflect some of that ironic sarcasm.
[7:19] 44 tn Heb “Is it I whom they provoke?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer which is made explicit in the translation.
[7:19] 45 tn Heb “Is it not themselves to their own shame?” The rhetorical question expects a positive answer which is made explicit in the translation.
[7:20] 46 tn Heb “Lord Yahweh.” The translation follows the ancient Jewish tradition of substituting the Hebrew word for God for the proper name Yahweh.
[7:20] 47 tn Heb “this place.” Some see this as a reference to the temple but the context has been talking about what goes on in the towns of Judah and Jerusalem and the words that follow, meant as a further explanation, are applied to the whole land.
[7:20] 48 tn Heb “the trees of/in the field and the fruit of/in the ground.”
[7:21] 49 tn The words “The
[7:21] 50 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.”
[7:21] sn See the study notes on 2:19 and 7:3.
[7:21] 51 tn Heb “Add your burnt offerings to your [other] sacrifices and eat the meat!” See the following sn for explanation. This is an example of the rhetorical use of the imperative for a sarcastic challenge. Cf. GKC 324 §110.a; cf. Amos 4:4, “Go to Bethel and sin!”
[7:21] sn All of the burnt offering, including the meat, was to be consumed on the altar (e.g., Lev 1:6-9). The meat of the other sacrifices could be eaten by the priest who offered the sacrifice and the person who brought it (e.g., Lev 7:16-18, 32). Since, however, the people of Judah were making a mockery of the sacrificial system by offering sacrifices while disobeying the law, the
[7:22] 52 tn Heb “For” but this introduces a long explanation about the relative importance of sacrifice and obedience.
[7:23] 53 tn Verses 22-23a read in Hebrew, “I did not speak with your ancestors and I did not command them when I brought them out of Egypt about words/matters concerning burnt offering and sacrifice, but I commanded them this word:” Some modern commentators have explained this passage as an evidence for the lateness of the Pentateuchal instruction regarding sacrifice or a denial that sacrifice was practiced during the period of the wilderness wandering. However, it is better explained as an example of what R. de Vaux calls a dialectical negative, i.e., “not so much this as that” or “not this without that” (Ancient Israel, 454-56). For other examples of this same argument see Isa 1:10-17; Hos 6:4-6; Amos 5:21-25.
[7:23] 54 tn Heb “Obey me and I will be.” The translation is equivalent syntactically but brings out the emphasis in the command.
[7:23] 55 tn Heb “Walk in all the way that I command you.”
[7:24] 56 tn Or “They went backward and not forward”; Heb “They were to the backward and not to the forward.” The two phrases used here appear nowhere else in the Bible and the latter preposition plus adverb elsewhere is used temporally meaning “formerly” or “previously.” The translation follows the proposal of J. Bright, Jeremiah (AB), 57. Another option is “they turned their backs to me, not their faces,” understanding the line as a variant of a line in 2:27.
[7:25] 57 tn Heb “from the day your ancestors…until this very day.” However, “day” here is idiomatic for “the present time.”
[7:25] 58 tn On the Hebrew idiom see the note at 7:13.
[7:25] 59 tc There is some textual debate about the legitimacy of this expression here. The text reads merely “day” (יוֹם, yom). BHS suggests the word is to be deleted as a dittography of the plural ending of the preceding word. The word is in the Greek and Latin, and the Syriac represents the typical idiom “day after day” as though the noun were repeated. Either יוֹם has dropped out by haplography or a ם (mem) has been left out, i.e., reading יוֹמָם (yomam, “daily”).
[7:26] 60 tn Or “But your predecessors…”; Heb “But they….” There is a confusing interchange in the pronouns in vv. 25-26 which has led to some leveling in the ancient versions and the modern English versions. What is involved here are four levels of referents, the “you” of the present generation (vv. 21-22a), the ancestors who were delivered from Egypt (i.e., the “they” of vv. 22b-24), the “you” of v. 25 which involves all the Israelites from the Exodus to the time of speaking, and the “they” of v. 26 which cannot be the ancestors of vv. 22-24 (since they cannot be more wicked than themselves) but must be an indefinite entity which is a part of the “you” of v. 25, i.e., the more immediate ancestors of the present generation. If this is kept in mind, there is no need to level the pronouns to “they” and “them” or to “you” and “your” as some of the ancient versions and modern English versions have done.
[7:26] 61 tn Heb “hardened [or made stiff] their neck.”
[7:27] 62 tn The words, “Then the
[7:28] 63 tn Heb “Faithfulness has vanished. It is cut off from their lips.”
[7:28] sn For the need for faithfulness see 5:1, 3.
[7:29] 64 tn The word “mourn” is not in the text. It is supplied in the translation for clarity to explain the significance of the words “Cut your hair and throw it away.”
[7:29] sn Cf. Mic 1:16; Job 1:20 for other examples of this practice which was involved in mourning.
[7:29] 65 tn The words, “you people of this nation” are not in the text. Many English versions supply, “Jerusalem.” The address shifts from second masculine singular addressing Jeremiah (vv. 27-28a) to second feminine singular. It causes less disruption in the flow of the context to see the nation as a whole addressed here as a feminine singular entity (as, e.g., in 2:19, 23; 3:2, 3; 6:26) than to introduce a new entity, Jerusalem.
[7:29] 66 tn The verbs here are the Hebrew scheduling perfects. For this use of the perfect see GKC 312 §106.m.
[7:29] 67 tn Heb “the generation of his wrath.”
[7:30] 68 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] 69 tn Heb “have done the evil in my eyes.”
[7:30] 70 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] 71 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.
[7:31] 72 tn Heb “high places.”
[7:31] sn These places of worship were essentially open air shrines often located on hills or wooded heights. They were generally connected with pagan worship and equipped with altars of sacrifice and of incense and cult objects such as wooden poles and stone pillars which were symbols of the god and/or goddess worshiped at the sight. The Israelites were commanded to tear down these Canaanite places of worship (Num 33:52) but they did not do so, often taking over the site for the worship of Yahweh but even then incorporating some of the pagan cult objects and ritual into their worship of Yahweh (1 Kgs 12:31, 32; 14:23). The prophets were especially opposed to these places and to this kind of syncretism (Hos 10:8; Amos 7:9) and to the pagan worship that was often practiced at them (Jer 7:31; 19:5; 32:35).
[7:31] 73 tn Heb “the high places of [or in] Topheth.”
[7:31] sn The noun Topheth is generally explained as an artificial formation of a word related to the Aramaic word for “cooking stove” combined with the vowels for the word for “shame.” Hence, Jewish piety viewed it as a very shameful act, one that was contrary to the law (see Lev 18:21; 20:2-6). Child sacrifice was practiced during the reigns of the wicked kings Ahaz and Manasseh and apparently during Jeremiah’s day (cf. 2 Kgs 16:3; 21:6; Jer 32:35).
[7:31] 74 tn Heb “It never entered my heart.” The words “to command such a thing” do not appear in the Hebrew but are added for the sake of clarity.
[7:32] 75 tn Heb “Therefore, behold!”
[7:32] 76 tn Heb “it will no longer be said ‘Topheth’ or ‘the Valley of Ben Hinnom’ but ‘the valley of slaughter.’
[7:32] 77 tn Heb “And they will bury in Topheth so there is not room.”
[7:33] 78 tn Heb “Their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.”
[8:1] 79 tn Heb “At that time.”
[8:2] 80 tc MT, 4QJera and LXX read “the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven,” but 4QJerc reads “the sun and all the stars.”
[8:2] tn Heb “the host of heaven.”
[8:2] 81 tn Heb “the sun, moon, and host of heaven which they…”
[8:2] 82 tn Heb “followed after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for the idiom.
[8:2] 83 tn Heb “they will not” but the referent is far enough removed that it might be ambiguous.
[8:2] 84 tn Heb “like dung/manure on the surface of the ground.”
[8:3] 85 tn Heb “Death will be chosen rather than life by the remnant who are left from this wicked family in all the places where I have banished them.” The sentence is broken up and restructured to avoid possible confusion because of the complexity of the English to some modern readers. There appears to be an extra “those who are left” that was inadvertently copied from the preceding line. It is missing from one Hebrew
[8:3] 86 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
[8:3] sn For the significance of this title see the notes at 2:19 and 7:3.
[8:4] 87 tn The words “the
[8:4] 88 sn There is a play on two different nuances of the same Hebrew word that means “turn” and “return,” “turn away” and “turn back.”
[8:5] 89 tc The text is quite commonly emended, changing שׁוֹבְבָה הָעָם (shovÿvah ha’am) to שׁוֹבָב הָעָם (shovav ha’am) and omitting יְרוּשָׁלַםִ (yÿrushalaim); this is due to the anomaly of a feminine singular verb with a masculine singular subject and the fact that the word “Jerusalem” is absent from one Hebrew
[8:5] map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[8:5] 90 tn Or “to their allegiance to false gods,” or “to their false professions of loyalty”; Heb “to deceit.” Either “to their mistaken beliefs” or “to their allegiance to false gods” would fit the preceding context. The former is more comprehensive than the latter and was chosen for that reason.
[8:5] 91 sn There is a continuing play on the same root word used in the preceding verse. Here the words “turn away from me,” “apostasy,” and “turn back to me” are all forms from the root that was translated “go the wrong way” and “turn around” in v. 4. The intended effect is to contrast Judah’s recalcitrant apostasy with the usual tendency to try and correct one’s mistakes.
[8:6] 92 tn Heb “I have paid attention and I have listened.” This is another case of two concepts being joined by “and” where one expresses the main idea and the other acts as an adverbial or adjectival modifier (a figure called hendiadys).
[8:6] 93 tn Heb “What have I done?” The addition of the word “wrong” is implicit in the context and is supplied in the translation for clarity. The rhetorical question does not function as a denial of wrongdoing, but rather as contrite shock at one’s own wrongdoing. It is translated as a declaration for the sake of clarity.
[8:6] 94 tn Heb “each one of them turns aside into their own running course.”
[8:6] sn The wordplay begun in v. 4 is continued here. The word translated “turns aside” in the literal translation and “wayward” in the translation is from the same root as “go the wrong way,” “turn around,” “turn away from me,” “apostasy,” “turn back to me.” What God hoped for were confessions of repentance and change of behavior; what he got was denial of wrongdoing and continued turning away from him.
[8:7] 95 tn Heb “its appointed time.” The translation is contextually motivated to avoid lack of clarity.
[8:7] 96 tn There is debate in the commentaries and lexicons about the identification of some of these birds, particularly regarding the identification of the “swallow” which is more likely the “swift” and the “crane” which some identify with the “thrush.” For a discussion see the Bible encyclopedias and the UBS handbook Fauna and Flora of the Bible. The identity of the individual birds makes little difference to the point being made and “swallow” is more easily identifiable to the average reader than the “swift.”
[8:7] 97 tn Heb “keep.” Ironically birds, which do not think, obey the laws of nature, but Israel does not obey the laws of God.
[8:7] 98 tn Heb “do not know.” But here as elsewhere the word “know” is more than an intellectual matter. It is intended here to summarize both “know” and “follow” (Heb “observe”) in the preceding lines.
[8:7] 99 tn Heb “the ordinance/requirement of the
[8:8] 100 tn Heb “Surely, behold!”
[8:8] 101 tn Heb “the scribes.”
[8:8] 102 tn Heb “The lying pen of the scribes have made [it] into a lie.” The translation is an attempt to make the most common interpretation of this passage understandable for the average reader. This is, however, a difficult passage whose interpretation is greatly debated and whose syntax is capable of other interpretations. The interpretation of the NJPS, “Assuredly, for naught has the pen labored, for naught the scribes,” surely deserves consideration within the context; i.e. it hasn’t done any good for the scribes to produce a reliable copy of the law, which the people have refused to follow. That interpretation has the advantage of explaining the absence of an object for the verb “make” or “labored” but creates a very unbalanced poetic couplet.
[8:9] 103 tn Heb “be trapped.” However, the word “trapped” generally carries with it the connotation of divine judgment. See BDB 540 s.v. לָכַד Niph.2, and compare usage in Jer 6:11 for support. The verbs in the first two lines are again the form of the Hebrew verb that emphasizes that the action is as good as done (Hebrew prophetic perfects).
[8:10] 104 sn See Jer 6:12-15 for parallels to 8:10-12. The words of Jeremiah to the people may have been repeated on more than one occasion or have been found appropriate to more than one of his collection of messages in written and edited form. See Jer 36:4 and Jer 36:28 for reference to at least two of these collections.
[8:11] 105 tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.
[8:11] 106 tn Heb “They heal the wound of my people lightly.”
[8:11] 107 tn Heb “They say, ‘Peace! Peace!’ and there is no peace!”
[8:12] 108 tn Heb “They will fall among the fallen.”
[8:13] 109 tn Or “I will completely destroy them.” The translation which is adopted is based on the revocalization of the MT which appears to mean literally “gathering I will sweep them away,” a rather improbable grammatical combination. It follows the suggestion found in HALOT 705 s.v. סוּף (Hiph) of reading אֹסֵף אֲסִיפָם (’ose, a first singular Qal imperfect of אָסַף [’asaf] followed by a noun אָסִיף [’asif] with possessive suffix) instead of the MT’s אָסֹף אֲסִיפֵם (’aspf ’asifem, a Qal infinitive absolute of אָסַף [’asaf] followed by the Hiphil imperfect of סוּף [suf] plus suffix). For parallel usage of the verb אָסַף (asaf) see BDB 62 s.v. אָסַף Qal.4, and for a similar form of the verb see Mic 4:6. The alternate translation follows the suggestion in BDB 692 s.v. סוּף Hiph: אָסֹף (’asof) is to be interpreted as a form of the Hiphil infinitive absolute (הָסֵף [hasef] would be expected) chosen for assonance with the following form. This suggestion would gain more credence if the MT is to be retained in Zeph 1:2 where parallel forms are found. However, that text too has been questioned on lexical and grammatical grounds. The translation adopted fits the following context better than the alternate one and is based on less questionable lexical and grammatical parallels. The Greek translation which reads “they shall gather their fruits” supports the translation chosen.
[8:13] 110 tn The meaning of this line is very uncertain. A possible alternate translation is: “They have broken the laws that I gave them.” The line reads rather literally “And I gave them they passed over them.” The translation adopted treats the first expression as a noun clause (cf. GKC 488-89 §155.n) which is the subject of the following verb, i.e., “the things I gave them [contextually, the grapes, etc.] passed over from them.” The alternate translation treats the expression as a dangling object (a Hebrew casus pendens) resumed by the pronoun “them” and understands “the things that I gave them” to be the law or some related entity which is often the object of this verb (see BDB 717 s.v. עָבַר Qal.1.i). Neither of these translations is without its weakness. The weakness of the translation which has been adopted is the unusual use it assigns to the object suffix of the verb translated “pass over.” The weakness of the alternate translation is the rather abrupt and opaque introduction of a new topic of reference (i.e., the laws) into the context. On the whole the latter weakness would appear to outweigh the former. This line is missing from the Greek version and J. Bright (Jeremiah [AB]) and J. A. Thompson (Jeremiah [NICOT]) despair of giving a translation. For other possible suggestions see, W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:285-86.
[8:14] 111 tn The words “The people say” are not in the text but are implicit in the shift of speakers between vv. 4-13 and vv. 14-16. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[8:14] 112 tn Heb “Gather together and let us enter into the fortified cities.”
[8:14] 113 tn Heb “Let us die there.” The words “at least” and “fighting” are intended to bring out the contrast of passive surrender to death in the open country and active resistance to the death implicit in the context.
[8:14] 114 tn The words “of judgment” are not in the text but are intended to show that “poison water” is not literal but figurative of judgment at the hands of God through the agency of the enemy mentioned in v. 16.
[8:14] 115 tn Heb “against the
[8:15] 116 tn Heb “[We hoped] for a time of healing but behold terror.”
[8:16] 117 tn Heb “his stallions.”
[8:16] 118 tn The words “They are coming to destroy” are not in the text. They are inserted to break up a long sentence in conformity with contemporary English style.
[8:17] 119 tn These words which are at the end of the Hebrew verse are brought forward to show at the outset the shift in speaker.
[8:17] 120 tn Heb “Indeed [or For] behold!” The translation is intended to convey some of the connection that is suggested by the Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) at the beginning of the verse.
[8:17] 121 tn Heb “I am sending against you snakes, poisonous ones which cannot be charmed.” In the light of the context literal snakes are scarcely meant. So the metaphor is turned into a simile to prevent possible confusion. For a similar metaphorical use of animals for enemies see 5:6.
[8:17] 122 tn Heb “they will bite you.” There does not appear to be any way to avoid the possible confusion that literal snakes are meant here except to paraphrase. Possibly one could say “And they will attack you and ‘bite’ you,” but the enclosing of the word “bite” in quotations might lead to even further confusion.
[8:18] 123 tn The words, “Then I said” are not in the text but there is a general consensus that the words of vv. 18-19a are the words of Jeremiah. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[8:18] 124 tn The meaning of this word is uncertain. The translation is based on the redivision and repointing of a word that occurs only here in the MT and whose pattern of formation is unparalleled in the Hebrew Bible. The MT reads מַבְלִיגִיתִי (mavligiti) which BDB provisionally derives from a verb root meaning “to gleam” or “to shine.” However, BDB notes that the text is dubious (cf. BDB 114 s.v. מַבְלִיגִית). The text is commonly emended to מִבְּלִי גְּהֹת (mibbÿli gÿhot) which is a Qal infinitive from a verb meaning “to heal” preceded by a compound negative “for lack of, to be at a loss for” (cf., e.g., HALOT 514 s.v. מַבְלִיגִית and 174 s.v. גּהה). This reading is supported by the Greek text which has an adjective meaning “incurable,” which is, however, connected with the preceding verse, i.e., “they will bite you incurably.”
[8:19] 125 tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.
[8:19] 126 tn Heb “Behold the voice of the crying of the daughter of my people.”
[8:19] 127 tn Heb “Land of distances, i.e., of wide extent.” For parallel usage cf. Isa 33:17.
[8:19] 128 tn Heb “her King” but this might be misunderstood by some to refer to the Davidic ruler even with the capitalization.
[8:19] 129 tn The words, “The
[8:19] 130 sn The people’s cry and the
[8:20] 131 tn The words “They say” are not in the text; they are supplied in the translation to make clear that the lament of the people begun in v. 19b is continued here after the interruption of the
[8:20] 132 tn Heb “Harvest time has passed, the summer is over.”
[8:20] sn This appears to be a proverbial statement for “time marches on.” The people appear to be expressing their frustration that the
[8:21] 133 tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.
[8:21] 134 tn Heb “Because of the crushing of the daughter of my people I am crushed.”
[8:21] 135 tn Heb “I go about in black [i.e., mourning clothes]. Dismay has seized me.”
[8:22] 136 tn Heb “balm.” The more familiar “ointment” has been used in the translation, supplemented with the adjective “medicinal.”
[8:22] sn This medicinal ointment (Heb “balm”) consisted of the gum or resin from a tree that grows in Egypt and Palestine and was thought to have medicinal value (see also Jer 46:11).
[8:22] 137 tn Heb “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there?” In this context the questions are rhetorical and expect a positive answer, which is made explicit in the translation.
[8:22] sn The prophet means by this metaphor that there are still means available for healing the spiritual ills of his people, mainly repentance, obedience to the law, and sole allegiance to God, and still people available who will apply this medicine to them, namely prophets like himself.
[8:22] 138 tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.
[8:22] 139 tn Or more clearly, “restored to spiritual health”; Heb “Why then has healing not come to my dear people?”
[8:22] sn Jeremiah is lamenting that though there is a remedy available for the recovery of his people they have not availed themselves of it.
[9:1] 140 sn Beginning with 9:1, the verse numbers through 9:26 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 9:1 ET = 8:23 HT, 9:2 ET = 9:1 HT, 9:3 ET = 9:2 HT, etc., through 9:26 ET = 9:25 HT. Beginning with 10:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
[9:1] 141 tn Heb “I wish that my head were water.”
[9:1] 142 tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.
[9:2] 143 tn Heb “I wish I had in the desert a lodging place [inn, or place to spend the night] for travelers.”
[9:2] 144 tn Or “bunch,” but this loses the irony; the word is used for the solemn assemblies at the religious feasts.
[9:2] 145 tn Heb “they are all adulterers, a congregation of unfaithful people.” However, spiritual adultery is, of course, meant, not literal adultery. So the literal translation would be misleading.
[9:3] 146 tn The words “The
[9:3] 147 tn Heb “They have readied [or strung] their tongue as their bow for lies.”
[9:3] 148 tn Heb “but not through honesty.”
[9:3] 149 tn Heb “they go from evil to evil.”
[9:3] 150 tn Or “do not acknowledge me”; Heb “do not know me.” But “knowing” in Hebrew thought often involves more than intellectual knowledge; it involves emotional and volitional commitment as well. For יָדַע meaning “acknowledge” see 1 Chr 28:9; Isa 29:21; Hos 2:20; Prov 3:6. This word is also found in ancient Near Eastern treaty contexts where it has the idea of a vassal king acknowledging the sovereignty of a greater king (cf. H. Huffmon, “The Treaty Background of Hebrew yada,” BASOR 181 [1966]: 31-37).
[9:4] 151 tn Heb “Be on your guard…Do not trust.” The verbs are second masculine plural of direct address and there seems no way to translate literally and not give the mistaken impression that Jeremiah is being addressed. This is another example of the tendency in Hebrew style to turn from description to direct address (a figure of speech called apostrophe).
[9:4] 152 tn Heb “cheating, each of them will cheat.”
[9:4] sn There is perhaps an intentional pun and allusion here to Gen 27:36 and the wordplay on the name Jacob there. The text here reads עָקוֹב יַעְקֹב (’aqob ya’qob).
[9:5] 153 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.
[9:6] 154 tc An alternate reading for vv. 5d-6b is: “They wear themselves out doing wrong. Jeremiah, you live in the midst of deceitful people. They deceitfully refuse to take any thought of/acknowledge me.” The translation which has been adopted is based on a redivision of the lines, a redivision of some of the words, and a revocalization of some of the consonants. The MT reads literally “doing wrong they weary themselves. Your sitting in the midst of deceit; in deceit they refuse to know me” (הַעֲוֵה נִלְאוּ׃ שִׁבְתְּךָ בְּתוֹךְ מִרְמָה בְּמִרְמָה מֵאֲנוּ דַעַת־אוֹתִי). The Greek version reads literally “they do wrong and they do not cease to turn themselves around. Usury upon usury and deceit upon deceit. They do not want to know me.” This suggests that one should read the Hebrew text as שֻׁב׃ תֹּךְ בְּתוֹךְ מִרְ־מָה בְּמִרְ־מָה מֵאֲנוּ דַעַת אוֹתִי הַעֲוֵה נִלְאוּ, which translated literally yields “doing evil [= “they do evil” using the Hiphil infinitive absolute as a finite verb (cf. GKC 346 §113.ff)] they are not able [cf. KBL 468 s.v. לָאָה Niph.3 and see Exod 7:18 for parallel use] to repent. Oppression on oppression [cf. BDB 1067 s.v. תֹּךְ, II תּוֹךְ]; deceit on deceit. They refuse to know me.” This reading has ancient support and avoids the introduction of an unexpected second masculine suffix into the context. It has been adopted here along with a number of modern commentaries (cf., e.g., W. McKane, Jeremiah [ICC], 1:201) and English versions as the more likely reading.
[9:6] 155 tn Or “do not acknowledge me”; Heb “do not know me.” See the note on the phrase “do not take any thought of me” in 9:3.
[9:7] 156 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
[9:7] sn For the significance of this title see the notes at 2:19 and 7:3.
[9:7] 157 tn Heb “I will refine/purify them.” The words “in the fires of affliction” are supplied in the translation to give clarity to the metaphor.
[9:7] 158 tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.
[9:7] 159 tc Heb “For how else shall I deal because of the wickedness of the daughter of my people.” The MT does not have the word “wickedness.” The word, however, is read in the Greek version. This is probably a case of a word dropping out because of its similarities to the consonants preceding or following it (i.e., haplography). The word “wickedness” (רַעַת, ra’at) has dropped out before the words “my dear people” (בַּת־עַמִּי, bat-’ammi). The causal nuance which is normal for מִפְּנֵי (mippÿne) does not make sense without some word like this, and the combination of רַעַת מִפְּנֵי (mippÿne ra’at) does occur in Jer 7:12 and one very like it occurs in Jer 26:3.
[9:8] 160 tc This reading follows the Masoretic consonants (the Kethib, a Qal active participle from שָׁחַט, shakhat). The Masoretes preferred to read “a sharpened arrow” (the Qere, a Qal passive participle from the same root or a homonym, meaning “hammered, beaten”). See HALOT 1354 s.v. II שָׁחַט for discussion. The exact meaning of the word makes little difference to the meaning of the metaphor itself.
[9:8] 161 tn Heb “They speak deceit.”
[9:8] 162 tn Heb “With his mouth a person speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets an ambush for him.”
[9:9] 163 tn Heb “Should I not punish them…? Should I not bring retribution…?” The rhetorical questions function as emphatic declarations.
[9:9] sn See 5:9, 29. This is somewhat of a refrain at the end of a catalog of Judah’s sins.
[9:10] 164 tn The words “I said” are not in the text, but there is general agreement that Jeremiah is the speaker. Cf. the lament in 8:18-9:1. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity. Some English versions follow the Greek text which reads a plural imperative here. Since this reading would make the transition between 9:10 and 9:11 easier it is probably not original but a translator’s way of smoothing over a difficulty.
[9:10] 165 tn Heb “I will lift up weeping and mourning.”
[9:10] 166 tn Heb “for the mountains.” However, the context makes clear that it is the grasslands or pastures on the mountains that are meant. The words “for the grasslands” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[9:11] 167 tn The words “the
[9:11] 168 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[9:11] 169 tn Heb “a heap of ruins, a haunt for jackals.”
[9:12] 170 tn The words, “I said” are not in the text. It is not clear that a shift in speaker has taken place. However, the words of the verse are very unlikely to be a continuation of the
[9:12] 171 tn Heb “Who is the wise man that he may understand this?”
[9:12] 172 tn Heb “And [who is the man] to whom the mouth of the
[9:13] 173 tn Heb “and they have not walked in it (with “it” referring to “my law”).
[9:14] 174 tn Heb “they have gone/followed after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for the idiom.
[9:14] 175 tn Heb “the Baals,” referring either to the pagan gods called “Baals” or the images of Baal (so NLT).
[9:14] 176 tn Or “forefathers,” or “ancestors.” Here the referent could be the immediate parents or, by their example, more distant ancestors.
[9:15] 177 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.”
[9:15] sn See the study notes on 2:9 and 7:3.
[9:15] 178 tn Heb “Therefore, thus says the
[9:15] 179 tn Heb “I will feed this people wormwood and make them drink poison water.” “Wormwood” and “poison water” are not to be understood literally here but are symbolic of judgment and suffering. See, e.g., BDB 542 s.v. לַעֲנָה.
[9:16] 181 tn Heb “I will send the sword after them.” The sword here is probably not completely literal but refers to death by violent means, including death by the sword.
[9:16] 182 sn He will destroy them but not completely. See Jer 5:18; 30:11; 46:28.
[9:17] 183 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] 184 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
[9:17] 186 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.
[9:18] 187 tn The words “And I said, ‘Indeed” are not in the text. They have been supplied in the translation to try and help clarify who the speaker is who identifies with the lament of the people.
[9:19] 188 tn The words “They will wail” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation to make clear that this is the wailing that will be heard.
[9:19] sn The destruction is still in the future, but it is presented graphically as though it had already taken place.
[9:19] 189 tn Heb “How we are ruined!”
[9:19] 190 tn The order of these two lines has been reversed for English stylistic reasons. The text reads in Hebrew “because we have left our land because they have thrown down our dwellings.” The two clauses offer parallel reasons for the cries “How ruined we are! [How] we are greatly disgraced!” But the first line must contain a prophetic perfect (because the lament comes from Jerusalem) and the second a perfect referring to a destruction that is itself future. This seems the only way to render the verse that would not be misleading.
[9:20] 191 tn The words “I said” are not in the text. The text merely has “Indeed, yes.” The words are supplied in the translation to indicate that the speaker is still Jeremiah though he now is not talking about the mourning woman but is talking to them. See the notes on 9:17-18 for further explanation.
[9:20] 192 tn It is a little difficult to explain how the Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) is functioning here. W. L. Holladay (Jeremiah [Hermeneia], 1:311) may be correct in seeing it as introducing the contents of what those who call for the mourning women are to say. In this case, Jeremiah picks up the task as representative of the people.
[9:20] 193 tn Heb “Listen to the word of the
[9:20] sn In this context the “word of the
[9:20] 194 tn Heb “Teach…mournful song, and each woman her neighbor lady…”
[9:21] 195 sn Here Death is personified (treated as though it were a person). Some have seen as possible background to this lament an allusion to Mesopotamian mythology where the demon Lamastu climbs in through the windows of houses and over their walls to kill children and babies.
[9:22] 196 tn Or “‘Death has climbed…city squares. And the dead bodies of people lie scattered…They lie scattered…but has not been gathered.’ The
[9:23] 197 sn It is not always clear why verses were placed in their present position in the editorial process of collecting Jeremiah’s sermons and the words the
[9:23] 198 tn Or “Strong people should not brag that they are strong.”
[9:23] 199 tn Heb “…in their wisdom…in their power…in their riches.”
[9:24] 200 tn Or “fairness and justice, because these things give me pleasure.” Verse 24 reads in Hebrew, “But let the one who brags brag in this: understanding and knowing me that I, the
[9:25] 202 tn Heb “punish all who are circumcised in the flesh.” The translation is contextually motivated to better bring out the contrast that follows.
[9:26] 203 tn Heb “all those who are cut off on the side of the head who live in the desert.” KJV and some other English versions (e.g., NIV “who live in the desert in distant places”; NLT “who live in distant places”) have followed the interpretation that this is a biform of an expression meaning “end or remote parts of the [far] corners [of the earth].” This interpretation is generally abandoned by the more recent commentaries and lexicons (see, e.g. BDB 802 s.v. פֵּאָה 1 and HALOT 858 s.v. פֵּאָה 1.β). It occurs also in 25:33; 49:32.
[9:26] 204 tn Heb “For all of these nations are uncircumcised.” The words “I will do so” are supplied in the translation to indicate the connection with the preceding statement.
[9:26] sn A contrast is drawn here between circumcision as a mere external cutting of the flesh and a sign of commitment to the covenant and the God of the covenant. The people of these nations practiced circumcision but not as a sign of the covenant. The people of Israel engaged in it as a religious practice but without any obedience to the covenant that it was a sign of or any real commitment to the
[9:26] 205 tn Heb “house of Israel.”
[9:26] 206 tn Heb “And all the house of Israel is uncircumcised of heart.”
[10:1] 207 tn Heb “house of Israel.”
[10:2] 208 tn Heb “Do not learn the way of the nations.” For this use of the word “ways” (דֶּרֶךְ, derekh) compare for example Jer 12:16 and Isa 2:6.
[10:2] 209 tn Heb “signs.” The words “that occur” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[10:2] sn The Hebrew word translated here “things that go on in the sky” (אֹתוֹת, ’otot) refers both to unusual disturbances such as eclipses, comets, meteors, etc., but also to such things as the changes in the position of the sun, moon, and stars in conjunction with the changes in seasons (cf. Gen 1:14). The people of Assyria and Babylonia worshiped the sun, moon, and stars, thinking that these heavenly bodies had some hold over them.
[10:3] 210 tn Heb “statutes.” According to BDB 350 s.v. חֻקָּה 2.b it refers to the firmly established customs or practices of the pagan nations. Compare the usage in Lev 20:23; 2 Kgs 17:8. Here it is essentially equivalent to דֶּרֶךְ (derekh) in v. 1, which has already been translated “religious practices.”
[10:3] 211 sn This passage is dripping with sarcasm. It begins by talking about the “statutes” of the pagan peoples as a “vapor” using a singular copula and singular predicate. Then it suppresses the subject, the idol, as though it were too horrible to mention, using only the predications about it. The last two lines read literally: “[it is] a tree which one cuts down from the forest; the work of the hands of a craftsman with his chisel.”
[10:4] 212 tn The pronoun is plural in Hebrew, referring to the parts.
[10:5] 213 tn Heb “And it is not in them to do good either.”
[10:6] 214 tn The words “I said” are not in the Hebrew text, but there appears to be a shift in speaker. Someone is now addressing the
[10:6] 215 tn The form that introduces this line has raised debate. The form מֵאֵין (me’en) normally means “without” and introduces a qualification of a term expressing desolation or “so that not” and introduces a negative result (cf. BDB 35 s.v. II אַיִן 6.b). Neither of these nuances fit either this verse or the occurrence in v. 7. BDB 35 s.v. II אַיִן 6.b.γ notes that some have explained this as a strengthened form of אַיִן (’ayin) which occurs in a similar phrase five other times (cf., e.g., 1 Kgs 8:23). Though many including BDB question the validity of this solution it is probably better than the suggestion that BDB gives of repointing to מֵאַיִן (me’ayin, “whence”), which scarcely fits the context of v. 7, or the solution of HALOT 41 s.v. I אַיִן, which suggests that the מ (mem) is a double writing (dittograph) of the final consonant from the preceding word. That would assume that the scribe made the same error twice or was influenced the second time by the first erroneous writing.
[10:6] 216 tn Heb “Great is your name in power.”
[10:7] 217 tn Heb “Who should not revere you…?” The question is rhetorical and expects a negative answer.
[10:7] 218 tn Heb “For it is fitting to you.”
[10:7] 219 tn Heb “their royalty/dominion.” This is a case of substitution of the abstract for the concrete “royalty, royal power” for “kings” who exercise it.
[10:8] 220 tn Or “Those wise people and kings are…” It is unclear whether the subject is the “they” of the nations in the preceding verse, or the wise people and kings referred to. The text merely has “they.”
[10:8] 221 tn Heb “The instruction of vanities [worthless idols] is wood.” The meaning of this line is a little uncertain. Various proposals have been made to make sense, most of which involve radical emendation of the text. For some examples see J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah (NICOT), 323-24, fn 6. However, this is probably a case of the bold predication that discussed in GKC 452 §141.d, some examples of which may be seen in Ps 109:4 “I am prayer,” and Ps 120:7 “I am peace.”
[10:9] 222 tc Two Qumran scrolls of Jeremiah (4QJera and 4QJerb) reflect a Hebrew text that is very different than the traditional MT from which modern Bibles have been translated. The Hebrew text in these two manuscripts is similar to that from which LXX was translated. This is true both in small details and in major aspects where the LXX differs from MT. Most notably, 4QJera, 4QJerb and LXX present a version of Jeremiah about 13% shorter than the longer version found in MT. One example of this shorter text is Jer 10:3-11 in which MT and 4QJera both have all nine verses, while LXX and 4QJerb both lack vv. 6-8 and 10, which extol the greatness of God. In addition, the latter part of v. 9 is arranged differently in LXX and 4QJerb. The translation here follows MT which is supported by 4QJera.
[10:9] 223 tn This is a place of unknown location. It is mentioned again in Dan 10:5. Many emend the word to “Ophir” following the Syriac version and the Aramaic Targum. Ophir was famous for its gold (cf. 1 Kgs 9:28; Job 28:16).
[10:9] 224 tn The words “to cover those idols” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[10:9] 225 tn The words “They are” are not in the text. The text reads merely, “the work of the carpenter and of the hands of the goldsmith.” The words are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[10:9] 226 tn Heb “Blue and purple their clothing.”
[10:9] 227 sn There is an ironic pun in this last line. The Hebrew word translated “skillful workers” is the same word that is translated “wise people” in v. 7. The artisans do their work skillfully but they are not “wise.”
[10:11] 228 tn Aram “The gods who did not make…earth will disappear…” The sentence is broken up in the translation to avoid a long, complex English sentence in conformity with contemporary English style.
[10:11] 229 tn This verse is in Aramaic. It is the only Aramaic sentence in Jeremiah. Scholars debate the appropriateness of this verse to this context. Many see it as a gloss added by a postexilic scribe which was later incorporated into the text. Both R. E. Clendenen (“Discourse Strategies in Jeremiah 10,” JBL 106 [1987]: 401-8) and W. L. Holladay (Jeremiah [Hermeneia], 1:324-25, 334-35) have given detailed arguments that the passage is not only original but the climax and center of the contrast between the
[10:11] sn This passage is carefully structured and placed to contrast the
[10:12] 230 tn The words “The
[10:13] 231 tn Heb “At the voice of his giving.” The idiom “to give the voice” is often used for thunder (cf. BDB 679 s.v. נָתַן Qal.1.x).
[10:13] 232 tn Heb “from the ends of the earth.”
[10:13] 233 tn Heb “he brings out the winds from his storehouses.”
[10:14] 234 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] 235 tn Or “nothing but a phony god”; Heb “a lie/falsehood.”
[10:14] 236 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] 237 tn Or “objects of mockery.”
[10:16] 238 tn The words “The
[10:16] sn The phrase the portion of Jacob’s descendants, which is applied to God here, has its background in the division of the land where each tribe received a portion of the land of Palestine except the tribe of Levi whose “portion” was the
[10:16] 239 tn Heb “The Portion of Jacob.” “Descendants” is implied, and is supplied in the translation for clarity.
[10:16] 240 tn Heb “And Israel is the tribe of his possession.”
[10:16] 241 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies is his name.”
[10:16] sn For this rendering of the name for God and its significance see 2:19 and the study note there.
[10:17] 242 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[10:17] 243 tn Heb “you who are living in/under siege.” The pronouns in this verse are feminine singular in Hebrew. Jerusalem is being personified as a single woman. This personification carries on down through v. 19 where she speaks in the first person. It is difficult, however, to reflect this in a translation that conveys any meaning without being somewhat paraphrastic like this.
[10:18] 244 tn The meaning of this last line is somewhat uncertain: Heb “I will cause them distress in order that [or with the result that] they will find.” The absence of an object for the verb “find” has led to conjecture that the text is wrong. Some commentators follow the lead of the Greek and Latin versions which read the verb as a passive: “they will be found,” i.e., be caught and captured. Others follow a suggestion by G. R. Driver (“Linguistic and Textual Problems: Jeremiah,” JQR 28 [1937-38]: 107) that the verb be read not as “they will find” (יִמְצָאוּ [yimtsa’u] from מָצָא [matsa’]) but “they will be squeezed/ drained” (יִמְצוּ [yimtsu] from מָצָה [matsah]). The translation adopted assumes that this is an example of the ellipsis of the object supplied from the context (cf. E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 8-12). For a similar nuance for the verb “find” = “feel/experience” see BDB 592 s.v. מָצָא Qal.1.f and compare the usage in Ps 116:3.
[10:19] 245 tn The words, “And I cried out” are not in the text. It is not altogether clear who the speaker is in vv. 19-25. The words of vv. 19-20 would best be assigned to a personified Jerusalem who laments the destruction of her city (under the figure of a tent) and the exile of her children (under the figure of children). However, the words of v. 21 which assign responsibility to the rulers do not fit well in the mouth of the people but do fit Jeremiah. The words of v. 22 are very appropriate to Jeremiah being similar to the report in 4:19-20. Likewise the words of v. 23 which appear to express man’s incapacity to control his own destiny and his resignation to the fate which awaits him in the light of v. 24 seem more appropriate to Jeremiah than to the people. There has been no indication elsewhere that the people have shown any indication of being resigned to their fate or willing to accept their punishment. Though the issue is far from resolved a majority of commentators see Jeremiah as the speaker so identifying himself with their fate that he speaks as though he were this personified figure. It is not altogether out of the question, however, that the speaker throughout is personified Jerusalem though I know of no commentator who takes that view. For those who are interested, the most thorough discussion of the issue is probably to be found in W. McKane, Jeremiah (ICC), 1:230-35, especially 233-35. Rendering the pronouns throughout as “we” and “our” alleviates some of the difficulty but some speaker needs to be identified in the introduction to allay any possible confusion. Hence I have opted for what is the majority view.
[10:19] 246 tn Heb “Woe to me on account of my wound.” The words “woe to” in many contexts carry the connotation of hopelessness and of inevitable doom (cf. 1 Sam 4:7, 8; Isa 6:5), hence a “deadly blow.” See also the usage in 4:13, 31; 6:4 and the notes on 4:13. For the rendering of the pronoun as “we” and “our” here and in the verses to follow see the preceding note.
[10:19] 247 tn Some interpret this as a resignation to the punishment inflicted and translate “But I said, ‘This is my punishment and I will just need to bear it.’” This is unlikely given the meaning and usage of the word rendered “sickness” (חֳלִי, khali), the absence of the pronoun “my,” and the likelihood that the particle אַךְ means “only” not “indeed” (cf. BDB s.v. אַךְ 2.b and compare its usage in v. 24).
[10:19] sn What is being referred to here is the feeling that was encouraged by the false prophets that the ill fortunes of the nation were just temporary setbacks and everything would soon get better (cf. 6:14; 8:11).
[10:20] 248 tn Heb “My tent has been destroyed and my tent cords have been ripped apart.” For a very similar identification of Jeremiah’s plight with the plight of the personified community see 4:20 and the notes there.
[10:20] 249 tn Heb “my children have gone from me and are no more.”
[10:20] sn What is being referred to is the exile of the people of the land. This passage could refer to the exiles of 605
[10:21] 250 tn Heb “the shepherds.”
[10:21] 251 tn Heb “They have not sought the
[10:21] sn The idiom translated sought the
[10:21] 252 tn Heb “all their flock (or “pasturage”).”
[10:21] sn This verse uses the figure of rulers as shepherds and the people they ruled as sheep. It is a common figure in the Bible. See Ezek 34 for an extended development of this metaphor.
[10:22] 253 tn Heb “The sound of a report, behold, it is coming.”
[10:22] 254 tn Heb “ coming, even a great quaking.”
[10:22] 255 sn Compare Jer 6:22.
[10:23] 256 tn Heb “Not to the man his way.” For the nuance of “fate, destiny, or the way things turn out” for the Hebrew word “way” see Hag 1:5, Isa 40:27 and probably Ps 49:13 (cf. KBL 218 s.v. דֶּרֶךְ 5). For the idea of “control” or “hold in one’s power” for the preposition “to” see Ps 3:8 (cf. BDB 513 s.v. לְ 5.b[a]).
[10:23] 257 tn Heb “Not to a man the walking and the establishing his step.”
[10:24] 258 tn Heb “with justice.”
[10:24] 259 tn The words, “to almost nothing” are not in the text. They are implicit from the general context and are supplied by almost all English versions.
[10:25] 260 tn Heb “know you.” For this use of the word “know” (יָדַע, yada’) see the note on 9:3.
[10:25] 261 tn Heb “tribes/clans.”
[10:25] 262 tn Heb “who do not call on your name.” The idiom “to call on your name” (directed to God) refers to prayer (mainly) and praise. See 1 Kgs 18:24-26 and Ps 116:13, 17. Here “calling on your name” is parallel to “acknowledging you.” In many locations in the OT “name” is equivalent to the person. In the OT, the “name” reflected the person’s character (cf. Gen 27:36; 1 Sam 25:25) or his reputation (Gen 11:4; 2 Sam 8:13). To speak in a person’s name was to act as his representative or carry his authority (1 Sam 25:9; 1 Kgs 21:8). To call someone’s name over something was to claim it for one’s own (2 Sam 12:28).
[10:25] 263 tn Heb “have devoured Jacob.”
[10:25] 264 tn Or “have almost completely destroyed them”; Heb “they have devoured them and consumed them.” The figure of hyperbole is used here; elsewhere Jeremiah and God refer to the fact that they will not be completely consumed. See for example 4:27; 5:10, 18.
[11:1] 265 tn Heb “The word which came to Jeremiah from the
[11:2] 266 tn The form is a second masculine plural which is followed in the MT of vv. 2-3 by second masculine singulars. This plus the fact that the whole clause “listen to the terms of this covenant” is nearly repeated at the end of v. 3 has led many modern scholars to delete the whole clause (cf., e.g. W. McKane, Jeremiah [ICC], 1:236-37). However, this only leads to further adjustments in the rest of the verse which are difficult to justify. The form has also led to a good deal of speculation about who these others were that are initially addressed here. The juxtaposition of second plural and singular forms has a precedent in Deuteronomy, where the nation is sometimes addressed with the plural and at other times with a collective singular.
[11:2] 267 sn The covenant I made with Israel. Apart from the legal profession and Jewish and Christian tradition the term “covenant” may not be too familiar. There were essentially three kinds of “covenants” that were referred to under the Hebrew term used here: (1) “Parity treaties” or “covenants” between equals in which each party pledged itself to certain agreed upon stipulations and took an oath to it in the name of their god or gods (cf. Gen 31:44-54); (2) “Suzerain-vassal treaties” or “covenants” in which a great king pledged himself to protect the vassal’s realm and his right to rule over his own domain in exchange for sovereignty over the vassal, including the rendering of absolute loyalty and submission to the great king’s demands spelled out in detailed stipulations; (3) “Covenants of grant” in which a great king granted to a loyal servant or vassal king permanent title to a piece of land or dominion over a specified realm in recognition of past service. It is generally recognized that the Mosaic covenant which is being referred to here is of the second type and that it resembles in kind the ancient Near Eastern suzerain-vassal treaties. These treaties typically contained the following elements: (1) a preamble identifying the great king (cf. Exod 20:2a; Deut 1:1-4); (2) a historical prologue summarizing the great king’s past benefactions as motivation for future loyalty (cf. Exod 20:2b; Deut 1:5–4:43); (3) the primary stipulation of absolute and unconditional loyalty (cf. Exod 20:3-8; Deut 5:1–11:32); (4) specific stipulations governing future relations between the vassal and the great king and the vassal’s relation to other vassals (cf. Exod 20:22–23:33; Deut 12:1–26:15); (5) the invoking of curses on the vassal for disloyalty and the pronouncing of blessing on him for loyalty (cf. Lev 26; Deut 27-28); (6) the invoking of witnesses to the covenant, often the great king’s and the vassal’s gods (cf. Deut 30:19; 31:28 where the reference is to the “heavens and the earth” as enduring witnesses). It is also generally agreed that the majority of the threats of punishment by the prophets refer to the invocation of these covenant curses for disloyalty to the basic stipulation, that of absolute loyalty.
[11:2] 268 tn Heb “this covenant.” The referent of “this” is left dangling until it is further defined in vv. 3-4. Leaving it undefined in the translation may lead to confusion hence the anticipatory nature of the demonstrative is spelled out explicitly in the translation.
[11:2] 269 tn Heb “and speak/tell them.” However, the translation chosen is more appropriate to modern idiom.
[11:2] 270 tn Or “those living in Jerusalem”; Heb “inhabitants of.”
[11:2] map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[11:3] 271 tn Heb “Cursed is the person who does not listen to the terms of this covenant.” “This covenant” is further qualified in the following verse by a relative clause. The form of the sentence and the qualification “my” before covenant were chosen for better English idiom and to break up a long sentence which really extends to the middle of v. 5.
[11:4] 272 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 5, 7, 10).
[11:4] 273 tn Heb “does not listen…this covenant which I commanded your fathers.” The sentence is broken up this way in conformity with contemporary English style.
[11:4] 274 tn Heb “out of the land of Egypt, out of the iron-smelting furnace.”
[11:4] 275 tn In place of the words “I said at that time” the Hebrew text has “saying.” The sentence is again being restructured in English to avoid the long, confusing style of the Hebrew original.
[11:4] 276 tn Heb “Obey me and carry them out.” The “them” refers back to the terms of the covenant which they were charged to keep according to the preceding. The referent is made specific to avoid ambiguity.
[11:4] 277 tn The words, “If you do” are not in the text. They have been supplied in the translation to break up a long sentence consisting of an imperative followed by a consequential sentence.
[11:4] 278 sn Obey me and carry out the terms of the agreement…and I will be your God. This refers to the Mosaic law which was instituted at Sinai and renewed on the Plains of Moab before Israel entered into the land. The words “the terms of the covenant” are explicitly used for the Ten Commandments in Exod 34:28 and for the additional legislation given in Deut 28:69; 29:8. The formulation here is reminiscent of Deut 29:9-14 (29:10-15 HT). The book of Deuteronomy is similar in its structure and function to an ancient Near Eastern treaty. In these the great king reminded his vassal of past benefits that he had given to him, charged him with obligations (the terms or stipulations of the covenant) chief among which was absolute loyalty and sole allegiance, promised him future benefits for obeying the stipulations (the blessings), and placed him under a curse for disobeying them. Any disobedience was met with stern warnings of punishment in the form of destruction and exile. Those who had witnessed the covenant were called in to confirm the continuing goodness of the great king and the disloyalty of the vassal. The vassal was then charged with a list of particular infringements of the stipulations and warned to change his actions or suffer the consequences. This is the background for Jer 11:1-9. Jeremiah is here functioning as a messenger from the
[11:5] 279 tn The phrase “a land flowing with milk and honey” is very familiar to readers in the Jewish and Christian traditions as a proverbial description of the agricultural and pastoral abundance of the land of Israel. However, it may not mean too much to readers outside those traditions; an equivalent expression would be “a land of fertile fields and fine pastures.” E. W. Bullinger (Figures of Speech, 626) identifies this as a figure of speech called synecdoche where the species is put for the genus, “a region…abounding with pasture and fruits of all kinds.”
[11:5] 280 tn Heb “‘a land flowing with milk and honey,’ as at this day.” However, the literal reading is too elliptical and would lead to confusion.
[11:5] 281 tn The words “Let it be so” are not in the text; they are an explanation of the significance of the term “Amen” for those who may not be part of the Christian or Jewish tradition.
[11:5] sn The word amen is found at the end of each of the curses in Deut 27 where the people express their agreement with the appropriateness of the curse for the offense mentioned.
[11:6] 282 tn Heb “the terms of this covenant.” However, this was a separate message and the ambiguity of “this” could still cause some confusion.
[11:7] 283 tn Heb “warned them…saying, ‘Obey me.’” However, it allows the long sentence to be broken up easier if the indirect quote is used.
[11:7] 284 tn For the explanation for this rendering see the note on 7:13.
[11:8] 285 tn Heb “So I brought on them all the terms of this covenant which I commanded to do and they did not do.” There is an interesting polarity that is being exploited by two different nuances implicit in the use of the word “terms” (דִּבְרֵי [divre], literally “words”), i.e., what the
[11:9] 286 tn Heb “Conspiracy [a plot to rebel] is found [or exists] among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”
[11:10] 287 tn Or “They have repeated the evil actions of….”
[11:10] 288 tn Heb “have walked/followed after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for the idiom.
[11:10] 289 tn Heb “house of Israel and house of Judah.”
[11:11] 290 tn Heb “Therefore, thus, says the
[11:12] 291 tn Heb “Then the towns of Judah and those living in Jerusalem will…”
[11:12] 292 tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic involving the use of an infinitive of the verb before the verb itself (Heb “saving they will not save”). For this construction to give emphasis to an antithesis, cf. GKC 343 §113.p.
[11:13] 293 tn This is again an attempt to render the Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) contextually. The nuance is a little hard to establish due to the nature of the rhetoric of the passage which utilizes the figure of apostrophe where the
[11:13] 295 tn Heb “For [or Indeed] the number of your [sing.] cities are your [sing.] gods, Judah, and the number of the streets of Jerusalem [or perhaps (your) streets, Jerusalem] you [plur.] have set up altars to the shameful thing, altars to sacrifice to Baal.” This passage involves a figure of speech where the speaker turns from describing something about someone to addressing him/her directly (a figure called apostrophe). This figure is not common in contemporary English literature or conversation and translating literally would lead to confusion on the part of some readers. Hence, the translation retains the third person in keeping with the rest of the context. The shift from singular “your cities” to plural “you have set up” is interpreted contextually to refer to a shift in addressing Judah to addressing the citizens of Jerusalem whose streets are being talked about. The appositional clause, “altars to sacrifice to Baal” has been collapsed with the preceding clause to better identify what the shameful thing is and to eliminate a complex construction. The length of this sentence runs contrary to the usual practice of breaking up long complex sentences in Hebrew into shorter equivalent ones in English. However, breaking up this sentence and possibly losing the connecting link with the preceding used to introduce it might lead to misunderstanding.
[11:14] 297 tn The words “to save them” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[11:14] sn Cf. Jer 7:16 where this same command is addressed to Jeremiah.
[11:14] 298 tc The rendering “when disaster strikes them” is based on reading “at the time of” (בְּעֵת, bÿ’et) with a number of Hebrew
[11:15] 299 tn The words “The
[11:15] 300 tn Heb “What to my beloved [being] in my house?” The text has been restructured to avoid possible confusion by the shift from third person in the first two lines to second person in the last two lines and the lines of the following verse. The reference to Judah as his “beloved” is certainly ironic and perhaps even sarcastic.
[11:15] 301 tc The meaning of this line is uncertain. The text reads somewhat literally either “her doing the wicked thing the many” or “doing it, the wicked thing, the many.” The text, relationship between words, and meaning of this whole verse have been greatly debated. Wholesale emendation based on the ancient versions is common in both the commentaries and the modern English versions. Many follow the lead of the Greek version which in many cases offers a smoother reading but for that very reason may not be original. The notes that follow will explain some of these emendations but will also attempt to explain the most likely meaning of the MT which is the more difficult and probably the more original text. Since it is presumed to be the original the text will be dealt with in the notes line for line in the MT even though the emendations often relate to more than one line. For example the Greek of the first two lines reads: “Why has the beloved done abomination in my house?” This ignores the preposition before “my beloved” (לִידִידִי, lididi) and treats the form “her doing” (עֲשׂוֹתָהּ [’asotah], Qal infinitive plus suffix) as a finite verb (עָשְׂתָה [’astah], Qal perfect third feminine). The forms are similar but the Greek is smoother. Moreover, it is difficult to explain the presence of “to” in the MT if the Greek is the original. The Greek text likewise does not have the difficulty that is exhibited in the MT by the word “the many” (הָרַבִּים, harabbim). It reads a word for “vows/votive offerings” (εὐχαί [eucai] regularly = נְדָרִים [gÿdarim]) in place of the word “many” (הָרַבִּים, harabbim) and takes it as part of a compound subject of the verb in the following line meaning “take away.” However, this word is far removed graphically from that in the MT and it would be difficult to explain how the MT arose from it. The Old Latin apparently reads a word for “fat” (adipes = חֲלָבִים, khalavim) which is closer in script to the MT and would be more likely original than the Greek. However, both of these resolutions look like attempts to smooth out a difficult text. Because there is no solid support for any single reading, it is probably best to retain the MT’s “the many.” Many do retain it and take it as a second accusative of “doing it” and read “she does the wicked thing with many [i.e., many false gods],” a use of the accusative which is hard to justify. Another alternative, taking the adjective “the many” to modify the noun “the wicked thing” is sometimes suggested but is not possible because the adjective is masculine plural and the noun is feminine singular which is contrary to Hebrew style. Hence one cannot read “she has done many wicked things.” The present translation follows the suggestion in D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 4:209, that it is the subject of the infinitive construct with an object suffix which is anticipatory of the noun “wickedness” that follows (cf. GKC 425 §131.m), i.e., “the many do it, namely the wickedness” (for the meaning of the noun see BDB 273 s.v. מְזִמָּה 3.b).
[11:15] 302 tn The meaning of this line is also uncertain. The Hebrew text reads somewhat literally, “holy meat they pass over from upon you.” The question of the subject of the verb is the main problem here. The verb is masculine plural and the only subject available is “holy meat” which is singular, a “they” which goes back to “the many,” or a noun from the end of the preceding line which is combined with “holy meat.” The latter is the solution of the Greek version which reads “Will votive offerings [or pieces of fat (following the Old Latin)] and holy meats take away from you your wickedness?” However, that resolution has been rejected in the preceding note as smoothing out the difficulties of the first two lines. It also leaves out the כִּי (ki) at the beginning of the following line and takes the noun “your wickedness” as the object of the verb. That certainly would make for an easier reading of both this line and the next and the assumption that כִּי may not be in the text is possible because it could be explained as a double writing of the pronoun on the end of the preceding phrase “from upon you” (מֵעָלָיִךְ, me’alayikh). However, besides being the smoother reading it leaves the last line too short poetically. The solution of the UBS, Preliminary Report, 4:209 is that “they” (referring back to “the many”?) is the subject. They read: “so that they carry away from you even sacrificial flesh.” But who are “they” and “you?” Is the “they” the priests and the “you” the people? (See 1 Sam 2:10-17 for a possible parallel.) This, however, introduces too many unknowns into the text. The translation adopted is based on a revocalization of the form “from upon you” (מֵעָלָיִךְ, me’alayikh) to “your treacherous acts” (מַעֲלָיִךְ, ma’alayikh; for this noun cf. BDB 591 s.v. I מַעַל 2), a solution which is also proposed in the margin of the NJPS which reads: “Can your treacheries be canceled by sacral flesh?” For the nuance of the verb presupposed here (= be removed, cease to exist) see BDB 718 s.v. עָבַר Qal.6.c and compare usage in Job 30:15. While this solution does preserve the consonantal text and is accepted here, it should be acknowledged that there is no ancient support for it and the reading of the noun “treacheries” in place of the compound preposition “from upon” is purely speculative.
[11:15] 303 tn Heb “for [or when] your wickedness then you rejoice.” The meaning of this line is uncertain. The Greek version, which reads “or will you escape by these things” (presupposing a Hebrew text אִם עַל זוֹת תָּעוּזִי, ’im ’al zot ta’uzi) is far removed from the reading in the MT (אָז תַּעֲלֹזִי [’az ta’alozi]; the rest of the Hebrew line has been left out because the Greek reads it with the preceding line) and again appears to be an attempt to smooth out a difficult text. The translation retains the MT but rewords it so it makes better sense in English. The translation presupposes that the phrase “your wickedness” is the object of the verb “take joy” and the adverb “then” refers back to the offering of sacred flesh, i.e., “even then [or at that time]” as a constructio ad sensum. For a similar use of the adverb (אָז, ’az) compare Gen 13:7. For the use of כִּי (ki) meaning “that” after a question see BDB 472 s.v. כִּי 1.f. A possible alternative would be to read as UBS, Preliminary Report, 4:209 do: “When trouble reaches you, then will you exult?” If the text of the whole verse followed here, the more difficult text, is not the original one, the most likely alternative would be: “What right does my beloved have to be in my house? She has does wicked things [reading עָשְׂתָה מְזִמֹּת, ’ostah mÿzimot]. Can fat pieces [reading הַחֲלָבִים, hakhalavim] and sacred meat take away your wickedness from you [reading יַעֲבִרוּ מֵעָלַיִךְ רָעָתֵכִי, ya’aviru me’alayikh ra’atekhi]? [If it could] then you could rejoice.” It should be emphasized that the text of the verse is uncertain in a number of places and open to more than one interpretation. However, regardless of which text or interpretation of it is followed, the Masoretic as interpreted here, the Greek as given in the notes, or an emended text based on both, the overall meaning is much the same. Judah has done evil and the
[11:15] sn For the argument of this verse compare the condemnatory questions in Jer 7:9-11.
[11:16] 304 tn Heb “The
[11:16] 305 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] 306 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] 307 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).
[11:17] 308 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
[11:17] sn For the significance of the term see the notes at 2:19 and 7:3.
[11:17] 309 tn The words “in the land” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to clarify the meaning of the metaphor.
[11:17] 310 tn Heb “For Yahweh of armies who planted you speaks disaster upon you.” Because of the way the term
[11:17] 311 tn Heb “pronounced disaster…on account of the evil of the house of Israel and the house of Judah which they have done to make me angry [or thus making me angry] by sacrificing to Baal.” The lines have been broken up in conformity with contemporary English style.
[11:18] 312 tn Heb “caused me to know that I might know.” Many English versions supply an unstated object “their plots” which is referred to later in the context (cf. v. 19). The presupposition of this kind of absolute ellipsis is difficult to justify and would create the need for understanding an ellipsis of “it” also after “I knew.” It is better to see a bipolar use of the verb “know” here. For the second use of the verb “know” meaning “have understanding” see BDB 394 s.v. ָידַע Qal.5.
[11:18] 313 tn Heb “Then you showed me their deeds.” This is another example of the rapid shift in person which is common in Jeremiah. As elsewhere, it has been resolved for the sake of avoiding confusion for the English reader by leveling the referent to the same person throughout. The text again involves an apostrophe, talking about the
[11:19] 314 tn Heb “against me.” The words “to kill me” are implicit from the context and are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[11:19] 315 tn The words “I did not know that they were saying” are not in the text. The quote is without formal introduction in the original. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[11:19] 316 tn This word and its pronoun (לַחְמוֹ, lakhmo, “its bread”) is often emended to read “in/with its sap” = “in its prime” (either לֵחוֹ [lekho] or לֵחְמוֹ [lekhÿmo]); the latter would be more likely and the מוֹ (mo) could be explained as a rare use of the old poetic third plural suffix for the third singular; cf. GKC 258 §91.l for general use and Ps 11:7 and Job 27:23 for third singular use. Though this fits the context nicely the emendation is probably unnecessary since the word “bread” is sometimes used of other foodstuff than grain or its products (cf. BDB 537 s.v. לֶחֶם 2.a).
[11:19] sn The word fruit refers contextually here to the prophecies that Jeremiah was giving, not (as some suppose) his progeny. Jeremiah was not married and had no children.
[11:19] 317 tn Heb “cut it [or him] off.” The metaphor of the tree may be continued, though the verb “cut off” is used also of killing people. The rendering clarifies the meaning of the metaphor.
[11:19] 318 tn Heb “so that his name will not be remembered any more.”
[11:20] 319 tn The words “So I said to the
[11:20] 320 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
[11:20] sn For the significance of the term see the notes at 2:19 and 7:3.
[11:20] 321 tn Heb “
[11:20] 322 tn Heb “Let me see your retribution [i.e., see you exact retribution] from them because I reveal my cause [i.e., plea for justice] to you.”
[11:21] 323 tn Heb “Therefore thus says the
[11:21] 324 tn Heb “the men of Anathoth.” However, this does not involve all of the people, only the conspirators. The literal might lead to confusion later since v. 21 mentions that there will not be any of them left alive. However, it is known from Ezra 2:23 that there were survivors.
[11:21] 325 tc The MT reads the 2nd person masculine singular suffix “your life,” but LXX reflects an alternative reading of the 1st person common singular suffix “my life.”
[11:21] 326 tn Heb “who were seeking my life, saying…” The sentence is broken up in conformity with contemporary English style.
[11:21] 327 tn Heb “or you will die by our hand.”
[11:22] 328 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
[11:22] sn For the significance of the term see the notes at 2:19 and 7:3.
[11:22] 329 tn Heb “Behold I will.” For the function of this particle see the translator’s note on 1:6.
[11:22] 330 tn Heb “will die by the sword.” Here “sword” stands contextually for “battle” while “starvation” stands for death by starvation during siege.
[11:23] 331 tn Heb “There will be no survivors for/among them.”
[11:23] 332 tn Heb “the men of Anathoth.” For the rationale for adding the qualification see the notes on v. 21.
[11:23] 333 tn Heb “I will bring disaster on…, the year of their punishment.”
[12:1] 334 tn Or “
[12:1] 335 tn Heb “judgments” or “matters of justice.” For the nuance of “complain to,” “fair,” “disposition of justice” assumed here, see BDB 936 s.v. רִיב Qal.4 (cf. Judg 21:22); BDB 843 s.v. צַדִּיק 1.d (cf. Ps 7:12; 11:7); BDB 1049 s.v. מִשְׁפָּט 1.f (cf. Isa 26:8; Ps 10:5; Ezek 7:27).
[12:1] 336 tn Heb “Why does the way [= course of life] of the wicked prosper?”
[12:2] 337 tn Heb “You planted them and they took root.”
[12:2] 338 tn Heb “they grow and produce fruit.” For the nuance “grow” for the verb which normally means “go, walk,” see BDB 232 s.v. חָלַךְ Qal.I.3 and compare Hos 14:7.
[12:2] 339 tn Heb “You are near in their mouths, but far from their kidneys.” The figure of substitution is being used here, “mouth” for “words” and “kidneys” for passions and affections. A contemporary equivalent might be, “your name is always on their lips, but their hearts are far from you.”
[12:3] 340 tn Heb “You,
[12:3] sn Jeremiah appears to be complaining like Job that God cares nothing about the prosperity of the wicked, but watches his every move. The reverse ought to be true. Jeremiah shouldn’t be suffering the onslaughts of his fellow countrymen as he is. The wicked who are prospering should be experiencing punishment.
[12:3] 341 tn Heb “set aside for them a day of killing.”
[12:4] 342 tn The verb here is often translated “mourn.” However, this verb is from a homonymic root meaning “to be dry” (cf. HALOT 7 s.v. II אָבַל and compare Hos 4:3 for usage).
[12:4] 343 tn The words “How long” are not in the text. They are carried over from the first line.
[12:4] 344 tn Heb “because of the wickedness of those who live in it.”
[12:4] 345 tn Heb “he.” The referent is usually identified as God and is supplied here for clarity. Some identify the referent with Jeremiah. If that is the case, then he returns to his complaint about the conspirators. It is more likely, however, that it refers to God and Jeremiah’s complaint that the people live their lives apart from concern about God.
[12:4] 346 tc Or reading with the Greek version, “God does not see what we are doing.” In place of “what will happen to us (אַחֲרִיתֵנוּ, ’akharitenu, “our end”) the Greek version understands a Hebrew text which reads “our ways” (אָרְחוֹתֵנו, ’orkhotenu), which is graphically very close to the MT. The Masoretic is supported by the Latin and is retained here on the basis of external evidence. Either text makes good sense in the context. Some identify the “he” with Jeremiah and understand the text to be saying that the conspirators are certain that they will succeed and he will not live to see his prophecies fulfilled.
[12:4] sn The words here may be an outright rejection of the
[12:5] 347 tn The words “The
[12:5] 348 tn Some commentaries and English versions follow the suggestion given in HALOT 116 s.v. II בָּטַח that a homonym meaning “to stumble, fall down” is involved here and in Prov 14:16. The evidence for this homonym is questionable because both passages can be explained on other grounds with the usual root.
[12:5] 349 tn Heb “a land of tranquility.” The expression involves a figure of substitution where the feeling engendered is substituted for the conditions that engender it. For the idea see Isa 32:18. The translation both here and in the following line is intended to bring out the contrast implicit in the emotive connotations connected with “peaceful country” and “thicket along the Jordan.”
[12:5] 350 tn Heb “the thicket along the Jordan.” The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[12:5] sn The thick undergrowth along the Jordan River refers to the thick woods and underbrush alongside the Jordan where lions were known to have lived, and hence the area was considered dangerous. See Jer 49:14; 50:44. The
[12:6] 351 tn This is an attempt to give some contextual sense to the particle “for, indeed” (כִּי, ki).
[12:6] sn If the truth be known, Jeremiah wasn’t safe even in the context of his own family. They were apparently part of the plot by the people of Anathoth to kill him.
[12:6] 352 tn Heb “they have called after you fully”; or “have lifted up loud voices against you.” The word “against” does not seem quite adequate for the preposition “after.” The preposition “against” would be Hebrew עַל (’al). The idea appears to be that they are chasing after him, raising their voices along with those of the conspirators to have him killed.
[12:6] 353 tn Heb “good things.” See BDB 373 s.v. II טוֹב 2 for this nuance and compare Prov 12:25 for usage.
[12:7] 354 tn Heb “my house.” Or “I have abandoned my nation.” The word “house” has been used throughout Jeremiah for both the temple (e.g., 7:2, 10), the nation or people of Israel or of Judah (e.g. 3:18, 20), or the descendants of Jacob (i.e., the Israelites, e.g., 2:4). Here the parallelism argues that it refers to the nation of Judah. The translation throughout vv. 5-17 assumes that the verb forms are prophetic perfects, the form that conceives of the action as being as good as done. It is possible that the forms are true perfects and refer to a past destruction of Judah. If so, it may have been connected with the assaults against Judah in 598/7
[12:7] 355 tn Heb “my inheritance.”
[12:7] 356 tn Heb “the beloved of my soul.” Here “soul” stands for the person and is equivalent to “my.”
[12:7] 357 tn Heb “will give…into the hands of.”
[12:8] 358 tn See the note on the previous verse.
[12:8] 359 tn Heb “have become to me like a lion.”
[12:8] 360 tn Heb “have given against me with her voice.”
[12:8] 361 tn Or “so I will reject her.” The word “hate” is sometimes used in a figurative way to refer to being neglected, i.e., treated as though unloved. In these contexts it does not have the same emotive connotations that a typical modern reader would associate with hate. See Gen 29:31, 33 and E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 556.
[12:9] 362 tn Or “like speckled birds of prey.” The meanings of these words are uncertain. In the Hebrew text sentence is a question: “Is not my inheritance to me a bird of prey [or] a hyena/a speckled bird of prey?” The question expects a positive answer and so is rendered here as an affirmative statement. The meaning of the word “speckled” is debated. It occurs only here. BDB 840 s.v. צָבוּעַ relates it to another word that occurs only once in Judg 5:30 which is translated “dyed stuff.” HALOT 936 s.v. צָבוּעַ relates a word found in the cognates meaning “hyena.” This is more likely and is the interpretation followed by the Greek which reads the first two words as “cave of hyena.” This translation has led some scholars to posit a homonym for the word “bird of prey” meaning “cave” which is based on Arabic parallels. The metaphor would then be of Israel carried off by hyenas and surrounded by birds of prey. The evidence for the meaning “cave” is weak and would involve a wordplay of a rare homonym with another word that is better known. For a discussion of the issues see J. Barr, Comparative Philology and the Text of the Old Testament, 128-29, 153.
[12:9] 363 tn Heb “Are birds of prey around her?” The question is again rhetorical and expects a positive answer. The birds of prey are of course the hostile nations surrounding her. The metaphor involved in these two lines may be interpreted differently. I.e., God considers Israel a proud bird of prey (hence the word for speckled) but one who is surrounded and under attack by other birds of prey. The fact that the sentences are divided into two rhetorical questions speaks somewhat against this.
[12:9] 364 tn Heb “Go, gather all the beasts of the field [= wild beasts]. Bring them to devour.” The verbs are masculine plural imperatives addressed rhetorically to some unidentified group (the heavenly counsel?) Cf. the notes on 5:1 for further discussion. Since translating literally would raise question about who the commands are addressed to, they have been turned into passive third person commands to avoid confusion. The metaphor has likewise been turned into a simile to help the modern reader. By the way, the imperatives here implying future action argue that the passage is future and that it is correct to take the verb forms as prophetic perfects.
[12:10] 365 tn Heb “Many shepherds.” For the use of the term “shepherd” as a figure for rulers see the notes on 10:21.
[12:10] 366 tn Heb “my vineyard.” To translate literally would presuppose an unlikely familiarity of this figure on the part of some readers. To translate as “vineyards” as some do would be misleading because that would miss the figurative nuance altogether.
[12:10] sn The figure of Israel as God’s vine and the land as God’s vineyard is found several times in the Bible. The best known of these is the extended metaphor in Isa 5:1-7. This figure also appears in Jer 2:20.
[12:10] 367 tn Heb “my portion.”
[12:11] 368 tn For the use of this verb see the notes on 12:4. Some understand the homonym here meaning “it [the desolated land] will mourn to me.” However, the only other use of the preposition עַל (’al) with this root means “to mourn over” not “to” (cf. Hos 10:5). For the use of the preposition here see BDB 753 s.v. עַל II.1.b and compare the use in Gen 48:7.
[12:11] 369 tn Heb “But there is no man laying it to heart.” For the idiom here see BDB 525 s.v. לֵב II.3.d and compare the usage in Isa 42:25; 47:7.
[12:11] sn There is a very interesting play on words and sounds in this verse that paints a picture of desolation and the pathos it evokes. Part of this is reflected in the translation. The same Hebrew word referring to a desolation or a waste (שְׁמֵמָה, shÿmemah) is repeated three times at the end of three successive lines and the related verb is found at the beginning of the fourth (נָשַׁמָּה, nashammah). A similar sounding word is found in the second of the three successive lines (שָׁמָהּ, shamah = “he [they] will make it”). This latter word is part of a further play because it is repeated in a different form in the last line (שָׁם, sham = “laying”); they lay it waste but no one lays it to heart. There is also an interesting contrast between the sorrow the
[12:12] 370 tn Heb “destroyers.”
[12:12] 371 tn Heb “It is the
[12:12] 372 tn Heb “For a sword of the
[12:12] 373 tn Heb “There is no peace to all flesh.”
[12:13] 374 sn Invading armies lived off the land, using up all the produce and destroying everything they could not consume.
[12:13] 375 tn The pronouns here are actually second plural: Heb “Be ashamed/disconcerted because of your harvests.” Because the verb form (וּבֹשׁוּ, uvoshu) can either be Qal perfect third plural or Qal imperative masculine plural many emend the pronoun on the noun to third plural (see, e.g., BHS). However, this is the easier reading and is not supported by either the Latin or the Greek which have second plural. This is probably another case of the shift from description to direct address that has been met with several times already in Jeremiah (the figure of speech called apostrophe; for other examples see, e.g., 9:4; 11:13). As in other cases the translation has been leveled to third plural to avoid confusion for the contemporary English reader. For the meaning of the verb here see BDB 101 s.v. בּוֹשׁ Qal.2 and compare the usage in Jer 48:13.
[12:13] 376 tn Heb “be disappointed in their harvests from the fierce anger of the
[12:14] 377 tn Heb “Thus says the
[12:14] 378 tn Heb “my wicked neighbors.”
[12:14] 379 tn Heb “touched.” For the nuance of this verb here see BDB 619 s.v. נָגַע Qal.3 and compare the usage in 1 Chr 16:22 where it is parallel to “do harm to” and Zech 2:8 where it is parallel to “plundered.”
[12:14] 380 tn Heb “the inheritance which I caused my people Israel to inherit.” Compare 3:18.
[12:14] 381 tn Heb “I will uproot the house of Judah from their midst.”
[12:14] sn There appears to be an interesting play on the Hebrew word translated “uproot” in this verse. In the first instance it refers to “uprooting the nations from upon their lands,” i.e., to exiling them. In the second instance it refers to “uprooting the Judeans from the midst of them,” i.e., to rescue them.
[12:15] 382 tn For the use of the verb “turn” (שׁוּב, shuv) in this sense, see BDB s.v. שׁוּב Qal.6.g and compare the usage in Pss 90:13; 6:4; Joel 2:14. It does not simply mean “again” as several of the English versions render it.
[12:15] 383 sn The
[12:16] 384 tn Heb “the ways of my people.” For this nuance of the word “ways” compare 10:2 and the notes there.
[12:16] 385 tn Heb “taught my people to swear by Baal.”
[12:16] 386 tn The words “I swear” are not in the text but are implicit to the oath formula. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[12:16] 387 tn The words “If they do this” are not in the text. They are part of an attempt to break up a Hebrew sentence which is long and complex into equivalent shorter sentences consistent with contemporary English style. Verse 16 in Hebrew is all one sentence with a long complex conditional clause followed by a short consequence: “If they carefully learn the ways of my people to swear by name, ‘By the life of the
[12:16] 388 tn Heb “they will be built up among my people.” The expression “be built up among” is without parallel. However, what is involved here is conceptually parallel to the ideas expressed in Isa 19:23-25 and Zech 14:16-19. That is, these people will be allowed to live on their own land, to worship the
[12:17] 389 tn Heb “But if they will not listen, I will uproot that nation, uprooting and destroying.” IBHS 590-91 §35.3.2d is likely right in seeing the double infinitive construction here as an intensifying infinitive followed by an adverbial infinitive qualifying the goal of the main verb, “uproot it in such a way as to destroy it.” However, to translate that way “literally” would not be very idiomatic in contemporary English. The translation strives for the equivalent. Likewise, to translate using the conditional structure of the original seems to put the emphasis of the passage in its context on the wrong point.
[13:1] 390 tn The term here (אֵזוֹר, ’ezor) has been rendered in various ways: “girdle” (KJV, ASV), “waistband” (NASB), “waistcloth” (RSV), “sash” (NKJV), “belt” (NIV, NCV, NLT), and “loincloth” (NAB, NRSV, NJPS, REB). The latter is more accurate according to J. M. Myers, “Dress and Ornaments,” IDB 1:870, and W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:399. It was a short, skirt-like garment reaching from the waist to the knees and worn next to the body (cf. v. 9). The modern equivalent is “shorts” as in TEV/GNB, CEV.
[13:1] sn The linen shorts (Heb “loincloth”) were representative of Israel and the wearing of them was to illustrate the
[13:1] 391 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, IDB, “Loins,” 3:149.
[13:1] 392 tn Or “Do not ever put them in water,” i.e., “Do not even wash them.”
[13:1] sn The fact that the garment was not to be put in water is not explained. A possible explanation within the context is that it was to be worn continuously, not even taken off to wash it. That would illustrate that the close relationship that the
[13:2] 393 tn Heb “according to the word of the
[13:2] 394 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.
[13:3] 395 tn Heb “The word of the
[13:4] 396 tn Heb “which are upon your loins.” See further the notes on v. 1.
[13:4] 397 tn Heb “Get up and go.” The first verb is not literal but is idiomatic for the initiation of an action.
[13:4] 398 tn There has been a great deal of debate about whether the place referred to here is a place (Parah [= Perath] mentioned in Josh 18:23, modern Khirbet Farah, near a spring ’ain Farah) about three and a half miles from Anathoth which was Jeremiah’s home town or the Euphrates River. Elsewhere the word “Perath” always refers to the Euphrates but it is either preceded by the word “river of” or there is contextual indication that the Euphrates is being referred to. Because a journey to the Euphrates and back would involve a journey of more than 700 miles (1,100 km) and take some months, scholars both ancient and modern have questioned whether “Perath” refers to the Euphrates here and if it does whether a real journey was involved. Most of the attempts to identify the place with the Euphrates involve misguided assumptions that this action was a symbolic message to Israel about exile or the corrupting influence of Assyria and Babylon. However, unlike the other symbolic acts in Jeremiah (and in Isaiah and Ezekiel) the symbolism is not part of a message to the people but to Jeremiah; the message is explained to him (vv. 9-11) not the people. In keeping with some of the wordplays that are somewhat common in Jeremiah it is likely that the reference here is to a place, Parah, which was near Jeremiah’s hometown, but whose name would naturally suggest to Jeremiah later in the
[13:4] 399 sn The significance of this act is explained in vv. 9-10. See the notes there for explanation.
[13:5] 400 tc The translation reads בִּפְרָתָה (bifratah) with 4QJera as noted in W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:393 instead of בִּפְרָת (bifrat) in the MT.
[13:6] 401 tn Heb “Get from there.” The words “from there” are not necessary to the English sentence. They would lead to a redundancy later in the verse, i.e., “from there…bury there.”
[13:7] 402 tn Heb “dug and took.”
[13:7] 403 tn Heb “And behold.”
[13:8] 404 tn Heb “Then the word of the
[13:9] 405 tn Heb “Thus says the
[13:9] 406 tn In a sense this phrase which is literally “according to thus” or simply “thus” points both backward and forward: backward to the acted out parable and forward to the explanation which follows.
[13:9] 407 tn Many of the English versions have erred in rendering this word “pride” or “arrogance” with the resultant implication that the
[13:9] sn Scholars ancient and modern are divided over the significance of the statement I will ruin the highly exalted position in which Judah and Jerusalem take pride (Heb “I will ruin the pride of Judah and Jerusalem”). Some feel that it refers to the corrupting influence of Assyria and Babylon and others feel that it refers to the threat of Babylonian exile. However, F. B. Huey (Jeremiah, Lamentations [NAC], 144) is correct in observing that the Babylonian exile did not lead to the rottenness of Judah, the corrupting influence of the foreign nations did. In Jeremiah’s day these came through the age-old influences of the Canaanite worship of Baal but also the astral worship introduced by Ahaz and Manasseh. For an example of the corrupting influence of Assyria on Judah through Ahaz’s political alliances see 2 Kgs 16 and also compare the allegory in Ezek 23:14-21. It was while the “linen shorts” were off Jeremiah’s body and buried in the rocks that the linen shorts were ruined. So the
[13:9] 408 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[13:10] 409 tn Heb “to listen to my words.”
[13:10] 410 tn Heb “and [they follow] after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for the idiom.
[13:10] 411 tn The structure of this verse is a little unusual. It consists of a subject, “this wicked people” qualified by several “which” clauses preceding a conjunction and a form which would normally be taken as a third person imperative (a Hebrew jussive; וִיהִי, vihi). This construction, called casus pendens by Hebrew grammarians, lays focus on the subject, here calling attention to the nature of Israel’s corruption which makes it rotten and useless to God. See GKC 458 §143.d for other examples of this construction.
[13:11] 412 tn The words “I say” are “Oracle of the
[13:11] 413 tn Heb “all the house of Israel and all the house of Judah.”
[13:11] 414 tn It would be somewhat unnatural in English to render the play on the word translated here “cling tightly” and “bound tightly” in a literal way. They are from the same root word in Hebrew (דָּבַק, davaq), a word that emphasizes the closest of personal relationships and the loyalty connected with them. It is used, for example, of the relationship of a husband and a wife and the loyalty expected of them (cf. Gen 2:24; for other similar uses see Ruth 1:14; 2 Sam 20:2; Deut 11:22).
[13:11] 415 tn Heb “I bound them…in order that they might be to me for a people and for a name and for praise and for honor.” The sentence has been separated from the preceding and an equivalent idea expressed which is more in keeping with contemporary English style.
[13:12] 416 tn Heb “So you shall say this word [or message] to them.”
[13:12] 417 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
[13:12] 418 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).
[13:13] 419 tn The Greek version is likely right in interpreting the construction of two perfects preceded by the conjunction as contingent or consequential here, i.e., “and when they say…then say.” See GKC 494 §159.g. However, to render literally would create a long sentence. Hence, the words “will probably” have been supplied in v. 12 in the translation to set up the contingency/consequential sequence in the English sentences.
[13:13] 420 sn It is probably impossible to convey in a simple translation all the subtle nuances that are wrapped up in the words of this judgment speech. The word translated “stupor” here is literally “drunkenness” but the word has in the context an undoubted intended double reference. It refers first to the drunken like stupor of confusion on the part of leaders and citizens of the land which will cause them to clash with one another. But it also probably refers to the reeling under God’s wrath that results from this (cf. Jer 25:15-29, especially vv. 15-16). Moreover there is still the subtle little play on wine jars. The people are like the wine jars which were supposed to be filled with wine. They were to be a special people to bring glory to God but they had become corrupt. Hence, like wine jars they would be smashed against one another and broken to pieces (v. 14). All of this, both “fill them with the stupor of confusion” and “make them reel under God’s wrath,” cannot be conveyed in one translation.
[13:13] 421 tn Heb “who sit on David’s throne.”
[13:13] 422 tn In Hebrew this is all one long sentence with one verb governing compound objects. It is broken up here in conformity with English style.
[13:14] 423 tn Or “children along with their parents”; Heb “fathers and children together.”
[13:14] 424 tn Heb “I will not show…so as not to destroy them.”
[13:15] 425 tn The words “Then I said to the people of Judah” are not in the text but are implicit from the address in v. 15 and the content of v. 17. They are supplied in the translation for clarity to show the shift from the
[13:16] 426 tn Heb “Give glory/respect to the
[13:16] 427 tn The words “of disaster” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation to explain the significance of the metaphor to readers who may not be acquainted with the metaphorical use of light and darkness for salvation and joy and distress and sorrow respectively.
[13:16] sn For the metaphorical use of these terms the reader should consult O. A. Piper, “Light, Light and Darkness,” IDB 3:130-32. For the association of darkness with the Day of the
[13:16] 428 tn Heb “your feet stumble.”
[13:16] 429 tn Heb “you stumble on the mountains at twilight.” The added words are again supplied in the translation to help explain the metaphor to the uninitiated reader.
[13:16] 430 tn Heb “and while you hope for light he will turn it into deep darkness and make [it] into gloom.” The meaning of the metaphor is again explained through the addition of the “of” phrases for readers who are unacquainted with the metaphorical use of these terms.
[13:16] sn For the meaning and usage of the term “deep darkness” (צַלְמָוֶת, tsalmavet), see the notes on Jer 2:6. For the association of the term with exile see Isa 9:2 (9:1 HT). For the association of the word gloom with the Day of the
[13:17] 431 tn Heb “If you will not listen to it.” For the use of the feminine singular pronoun to refer to the idea(s) expressed in the preceding verse(s), see GKC 440-41 §135.p.
[13:17] 432 tn Heb “Tearing [my eye] will tear and my eye will run down [= flow] with tears.”
[13:17] sn The depth of Jeremiah’s sorrow for the sad plight of his people, if they refuse to repent, is emphasized by the triple repetition of the word “tears” twice in an emphatic verbal expression (Hebrew infinitive before finite verb) and once in the noun.
[13:17] 433 tn Heb “because the
[13:17] 434 tn The verb is once again in the form of “as good as done” (the Hebrew prophetic perfect).
[13:18] 435 tn The words “The
[13:18] 436 tn Or “You will come down from your thrones”; Heb “Make low! Sit!” This is a case of a construction where two forms in the same case, mood, or tense are joined in such a way that one (usually the first) is intended as an adverbial or adjectival modifier of the other (a figure called hendiadys). This is also probably a case where the imperative is used to express a distinct assurance or promise. See GKC 324 §110.b and compare the usage in Isa 37:30 and Ps 110:2.
[13:18] sn The king and queen mother are generally identified as Jehoiachin and his mother who were taken into captivity with many of the leading people of Jerusalem in 597
[13:18] 437 tn Heb “have come down.” The verb here and those in the following verses are further examples of the “as good as done” form of the Hebrew verb (the prophetic perfect).
[13:18] 438 tc The translation follows the common emendation of a word normally meaning “place at the head” (מַרְאֲשׁוֹת [mar’ashot] plus pronoun = מַרְאֲוֹשׁתֵיכֶם [mar’aoshtekhem]) to “from your heads” (מֵרָאשֵׁיכֶם, mera’shekhem) following the ancient versions. The meaning “tiara” is nowhere else attested for this word.
[13:19] 439 tn Heb “The towns of the Negev will be shut.”
[13:19] 440 tn Heb “There is no one to open them.” The translation is based on the parallel in Josh 6:1 where the very expression in the translation is used. Opening the city would have permitted entrance (of relief forces) as well as exit (of fugitives).
[13:19] 441 sn The statements are poetic exaggerations (hyperbole), as most commentaries note. Even in the exile of 587
[13:20] 442 tn The words “Then I said” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation to show the shift in speaker from vv. 18-19 where the
[13:20] 443 tn The word “Jerusalem” is not in the Hebrew text. It is added in the Greek text and is generally considered to be the object of address because of the second feminine singular verbs here and throughout the following verses. The translation follows the consonantal text (Kethib) and the Greek text in reading the second feminine singular here. The verbs and pronouns in vv. 20-22 are all second feminine singular with the exception of the suffix on the word “eyes” which is not reflected in the translation here (“Look up” = “Lift up your eyes”) and the verb and pronoun in v. 23. The text may reflect the same kind of alternation between singular and plural that takes place in Isa 7 where the pronouns refer to Ahaz as an individual and his entourage, the contemporary ruling class (cf., e.g., Isa 7:4-5 [singular], 9 [plural], 11 [singular], 13-14 [plural]). Here the connection with the preceding may suggest that it is initially the ruling house (the king and the queen mother), then Jerusalem personified as a woman in her role as a shepherdess (i.e., leader). However, from elsewhere in the book the leadership has included the kings, the priests, the prophets, and the citizens as well (cf., e.g., 13:13). In v. 27 Jerusalem is explicitly addressed. It may be asking too much of some readers who are not familiar with biblical metaphors to understand an extended metaphor like this. If it is helpful to them, they may substitute plural referents for “I” and “me.”
[13:20] 444 tn The word “enemy” is not in the text but is implicit. It supplied in the translation for clarity.
[13:20] sn On the phrase the enemy that is coming from the north see Jer 1:14-15; 4:6; 6:1, 22; 10:22.
[13:20] 445 tn Heb “the flock that was given to you.”
[13:20] 446 tn Heb “the sheep of your pride.” The word “of your people” and the quotes around “sheep” are intended to carry over the metaphor in such a way that readers unfamiliar with the metaphor will understand it.
[13:21] 447 tn Or perhaps more rhetorically equivalent, “Will you not be surprised?”
[13:21] 448 tn The words “The
[13:21] 449 tn Or “to be rulers.” The translation of these two lines is somewhat uncertain. The sentence structure of these two lines raises problems in translation. The Hebrew text reads: “What will you do when he appoints over you [or punishes you (see BDB 823 s.v. פָּקַד Qal.B.2 for the former, Qal.A.3 for the latter)] and you, yourself, taught them over you friends [or chiefs (see BDB 48 s.v. I אַלּוּף 2 and Ps 55:13 for the former and BDB 49 s.v. II אַלּוּף and Exod 15:15 for the latter)] for a head.” The translation assumes that the clause “and you, yourself, taught them [= made them accustomed, i.e., “prepared”] [to be] over you” is parenthetical coming between the verb “appoint” and its object and object modifier (i.e., “appointed over you allies for rulers”). A quick check of other English versions will show how varied the translation of these lines has been. Most English versions seem to ignore the second “over you” after “you taught them.” Some rearrange the text to get what they think is a sensible meaning. For a fairly thorough treatment see W. McKane, Jeremiah (ICC), 1:308-10.
[13:21] sn What is being alluded to here is the political policy of vacillating alliances through which Judah brought about her own downfall, allying herself first with Assyria, then Egypt, then Babylon, and then Egypt again. See 2 Kgs 23:29–24:7 for an example of this policy and the disastrous consequences.
[13:21] 450 tn Heb “Will not pain [here = mental anguish] take hold of you like a woman giving birth.” The question is rhetorical expecting a positive answer.
[13:22] 451 tn Heb “say in your heart.”
[13:22] 452 tn Heb “Your skirt has been uncovered and your heels have been treated with violence.” This is the generally accepted interpretation of these phrases. See, e.g., BDB 784 s.v. עָקֵב a and HALOT 329 s.v. I חָמַס Nif. The significance of the actions here are part of the metaphor (i.e., personification) of Jerusalem as an adulteress having left her husband and have been explained in the translation for the sake of readers unfamiliar with the metaphor.
[13:22] sn The actions here were part of the treatment of an adulteress by her husband, intended to shame her. See Hos 2:3, 10 (2:5, 12 HT); Isa 47:4.
[13:22] 453 tn The translation has been restructured to break up a long sentence involving a conditional clause and an elliptical consequential clause. It has also been restructured to define more clearly what “these things” are. The Hebrew text reads: “And if you say, ‘Why have these things happened to me?’ Because of the greatness of your iniquity your skirts [= what your skirt covers] have been uncovered and your heels have been treated with violence.”
[13:23] 454 tn This is a common proverb in English coming from this biblical passage. For cultures where it is not proverbial perhaps it would be better to translate “Can black people change the color of their skin?” Strictly speaking these are “Cushites” inhabitants of a region along the upper Nile south of Egypt. The Greek text is responsible for the identification with Ethiopia. The term in Greek is actually a epithet = “burnt face.”
[13:23] 455 tn Heb “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? [Then] you also will be able to do good who are accustomed to do evil.” The English sentence has been restructured and rephrased in an attempt to produce some of the same rhetorical force the Hebrew original has in this context.
[13:24] 456 tn The words, “The
[13:24] 457 tn Heb “them.” This is another example of the rapid shift in pronouns seen several times in the book of Jeremiah. The pronouns in the preceding and the following are second feminine singular. It might be argued that “them” goes back to the “flock”/“sheep” in v. 20, but the next verse refers the fate described here to “you” (feminine singular). This may be another example of the kind of metaphoric shifts in referents discussed in the notes on 13:20 above. Besides, it would sound a little odd in the translation to speak of scattering one person like chaff.
[13:24] 458 sn Compare the threat using the same metaphor in Jer 4:11-12.
[13:26] 459 tn Heb “over your face and your shame will be seen.” The words “like a disgraced adulteress” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to explain the metaphor. See the notes on 13:22.
[13:27] 460 tn Heb “Jerusalem.” This word has been pulled up from the end of the verse to help make the transition. The words “people of” have been supplied in the translation here to ease the difficulty mentioned earlier of sustaining the personification throughout.
[13:27] 461 tn Heb “[I have seen] your adulteries, your neighings, and your shameless prostitution.” The meanings of the metaphorical references have been incorporated in the translation for the sake of clarity for readers of all backgrounds.
[13:27] sn The sentence is rhetorically loaded. It begins with three dangling objects of the verb all describing their adulterous relationship with the false gods under different figures and which are resumed later under the words “your disgusting acts.” The Hebrew sentence reads: “Your adulteries, your neighings, your shameful prostitution, upon the hills in the fields I have seen your disgusting acts.” This sentence drips with explosive disgust at their adulterous betrayal.
[13:27] 462 tn Heb “your disgusting acts.” This word is almost always used of idolatry or of the idols themselves. See BDB 1055 s.v. שִׁקֻּוּץ and Deut 29:17 and Jer 4:1; 7:30.
[13:27] 463 tn Heb “Woe to you!”
[13:27] sn See Jer 4:13, 31; 6:4; 10:19 for usage, and the notes on 4:13 and 10:19.
[14:1] 464 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
[14:1] 465 tn Heb “That which came [as] the word of the
[14:1] 466 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.
[14:2] 467 tn Heb “Judah mourns, its gates pine away, they are in mourning on the ground.” There are several figures of speech involved here. The basic figure is that of personification where Judah and it cities are said to be in mourning. However, in the third line the figure is a little hard to sustain because “they” are in mourning on the ground. That presses the imagination of most moderns a little too far. Hence the personification has been interpreted “people of” throughout. The term “gates” here is used as part for whole for the “cities” themselves as in several other passages in the OT (cf. BDB 1045 s.v. שַׁעַר 2.b, c and see, e.g., Isa 14:31).
[14:2] 468 tn The words “to me” are not in the text. They are implicit from the fact that the
[14:2] 469 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[14:3] 470 tn Though the concept of “cisterns” is probably not familiar to some readers, it would be a mistake to translate this word as “well.” Wells have continual sources of water. Cisterns were pits dug in the ground and lined with plaster to hold rain water. The drought had exhausted all the water in the cisterns.
[14:3] 471 tn The word “containers” is a generic word in Hebrew = “vessels.” It would probably in this case involve water “jars” or “jugs.” But since in contemporary English one would normally associate those terms with smaller vessels, “containers” may be safer.
[14:3] 472 tn Heb “they cover their heads.” Some of the English versions have gone wrong here because of the “normal” use of the words translated here “disappointed” and “dismayed.” They are regularly translated “ashamed” and “disgraced, humiliated, dismayed” elsewhere (see e.g., Jer 22:22); they are somewhat synonymous terms which are often parallel or combined. The key here, however, is the expression “they cover their heads” which is used in 2 Sam 15:30 for the expression of grief. Moreover, the word translated here “disappointed” (בּוֹשׁ, bosh) is used that way several times. See for example Jer 12:13 and consult examples in BDB 101 s.v. בּוֹשׁ Qal.2. A very similar context with the same figure is found in Jer 2:36-37.
[14:4] 473 tn For the use of the verb “is cracked” here see BDB 369 s.v. חָתַת Qal.1 and compare the usage in Jer 51:56 where it refers to broken bows. The form is a relative clause without relative pronoun (cf., GKC 486-87 §155.f). The sentence as a whole is related to the preceding through a particle meaning “because of” or “on account of.” Hence the subject and verb have been repeated to make the connection.
[14:5] 474 tn Heb “she gives birth and abandons.”
[14:6] 475 tn Heb “their eyes are strained because there is no verdure.”
[14:7] 476 tn The words “Then I said” are not in the text. However, it cannot be a continuation of the
[14:7] 477 tn Heb “Act for the sake of your name.” The usage of “act” in this absolute, unqualified sense cf. BDB 794 s.v. עָוֹשָׂה Qal.I.r and compare the usage, e.g., in 1 Kgs 8:32 and 39. For the nuance of “for the sake of your name” compare the usage in Isa 48:9 and Ezek 20:9, 14.
[14:7] 478 tn Or “bear witness against us,” or “can be used as evidence against us,” to keep the legal metaphor. Heb “testify against.”
[14:7] 479 tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) can scarcely be causal here; it is either intensive (BDB 472 s.v. כִּי 1.e) or concessive (BDB 473 s.v. כִּי 2.c). The parallel usage in Gen 18:20 argues for the intensive force as does the fact that the concessive has already been expressed by אִם (’im).
[14:8] 480 tn It would be a mistake to translate this word as “stranger.” This word (גֵּר, ger) refers to a resident alien or resident foreigner who stays in a country not his own. He is accorded the privilege of protection through the common rights of hospitality but he does not have the rights of the native born or citizen. The simile here is particularly effective. The land was the
[14:9] 481 tn This is the only time this word occurs in the Hebrew Bible. The lexicons generally take it to mean “confused” or “surprised” (cf., e.g., BDB 187 s.v. דָּהַם). However, the word has been found in a letter from the seventh century in a passage where it must mean something like “be helpless”; see W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:433, for discussion and bibliography of an article where this letter is dealt with.
[14:9] 482 tn Heb “mighty man, warrior.” For this nuance see 1 Sam 17:51 where it parallels a technical term used of Goliath used earlier in 17:4, 23.
[14:9] 483 tn Heb “in our midst.”
[14:9] 484 tn Heb “Your name is called upon us.” See Jer 7:10, 11, 14, 30 for this idiom with respect to the temple and see the notes on Jer 7:10.
[14:10] 485 tn Heb “Thus said the
[14:10] sn The
[14:10] 486 tn It is difficult to be certain how the particle כֵּן (ken, usually used for “thus, so”) is to be rendered here. BDB 485 s.v. כֵּן 1.b says that the force sometimes has to be elicited from the general context and points back to the line of v. 9. IHBS 666 §39.3.4e states that when there is no specific comparative clause preceding a general comparison is intended. They point to Judg 5:31 as a parallel. Ps 127:2 may also be an example if כִּי (ki) is not to be read (cf. BHS fn). “Truly” seemed the best way to render this idea in contemporary English.
[14:10] 487 tn Heb “They do not restrain their feet.” The idea of “away from me” is implicit in the context and is supplied in the translation for clarity.
[14:10] 488 tn Heb “remember.”
[14:10] 489 tn Heb “their iniquities.”
[14:11] 490 tn Heb “on behalf of these people for benefit.”
[14:12] 491 sn See 6:16-20 for parallels.
[14:12] 492 tn Heb “through sword, starvation, and plague.”
[14:12] sn These were penalties (curses) that were to be imposed on Israel for failure to keep her covenant with God (cf. Lev 26:23-26). These three occur together fourteen other times in the book of Jeremiah.
[14:13] 493 tn Heb “Lord Yahweh.” The translation follows the ancient Jewish tradition of substituting the Hebrew word for God for the proper name Yahweh.
[14:13] 494 tn Heb “Behold.” See the translator’s note on usage of this particle in 1:6.
[14:13] 495 tn The words “that you said” are not in the text but are implicit from the first person in the affirmation that follows. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[14:13] 496 tn Heb “You will not see sword and you will not have starvation [or hunger].”
[14:13] 497 tn Heb “I will give you unfailing peace in this place.” The translation opts for “peace and prosperity” here for the word שָׁלוֹם (shalom) because in the context it refers both to peace from war and security from famine and plague. The word translated “lasting” (אֱמֶת, ’emet) is a difficult to render here because it has broad uses: “truth, reliability, stability, steadfastness,” etc. “Guaranteed” or “lasting” seem to fit the context the best.
[14:14] 498 tn Heb “Falsehood those prophets are prophesying in my name.” In the OT, the “name” reflected the person’s character (cf. Gen 27:36; 1 Sam 25:25) or his reputation (Gen 11:4; 2 Sam 8:13). To speak in someone’s name was to act as his representative or carry his authority (1 Sam 25:9; 1 Kgs 21:8).
[14:14] 499 tn Heb “I did not command them.” Compare 1 Chr 22:12 for usage.
[14:14] 500 tn Heb “divination and worthlessness.” The noun “worthlessness” stands as a qualifying “of” phrase (= to an adjective; an attributive genitive in Hebrew) after a noun in Zech 11:17; Job 13:4. This is an example of hendiadys where two nouns are joined by “and” with one serving as the qualifier of the other.
[14:14] sn The word translated “predictions” here is really the word “divination.” Divination was prohibited in Israel (cf. Deut 18:10, 14). The practice of divination involved various mechanical means to try to predict the future. The word was used here for its negative connotations in a statement that is rhetorically structured to emphasize the falseness of the promises of the false prophets. It would be unnatural to contemporary English style to try to capture this emphasis in English. In the Hebrew text the last sentence reads: “False vision, divination, and worthlessness and the deceitfulness of their heart they are prophesying to them.” For the emphasis in the preceding sentence see the note there.
[14:15] 501 tn Heb “Thus says the
[14:15] 502 tn Heb “Thus says the
[14:15] sn The rhetoric of the passage is again sustained by an emphatic word order which contrasts what they say will not happen to the land, “war and famine,” with the punishment that the
[14:16] 503 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[14:16] 504 tn Heb “And the people to whom they are prophesying will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem and there will not be anyone to bury them, they, their wives, and their sons and their daughters.” This sentence has been restructured to break up a long Hebrew sentence and to avoid some awkwardness due to differences in the ancient Hebrew and contemporary English styles.
[14:16] 505 tn Heb “their evil.” Hebrew words often include within them a polarity of cause and effect. Thus the word for “evil” includes both the concept of wickedness and the punishment for it. Other words that function this way are “iniquity” = “guilt [of iniquity]” = “punishment [for iniquity].” Context determines which nuance is proper.
[14:17] 506 tn The word “Jeremiah” is not in the text but the address is to a second person singular and is a continuation of 14:14 where the quote starts. The word is supplied in the translation for clarity.
[14:17] 507 tn Many of the English versions and commentaries render this an indirect or third person imperative, “Let my eyes overflow…” because of the particle אַל (’al) which introduces the phrase translated “without ceasing” (אַל־תִּדְמֶינָה, ’al-tidmenah). However, this is undoubtedly an example where the particle introduces an affirmation that something cannot be done (cf. GKC 322 §109.e). Clear examples of this are found in Pss 41:2 (41:3 HT); 50:3; Job 40:32 (41:8). God here is describing again a lamentable situation and giving his response to it. See 14:1-6 above.
[14:17] sn Once again it is the
[14:17] 508 tn Heb “virgin daughter, my people.” The last noun here is appositional to the first two (genitive of apposition). Hence it is not ‘literally’ “virgin daughter of my people.”
[14:17] sn This is a metaphor which occurs several times with regard to Israel, Judah, Zion, and even Sidon and Babylon. It is the poetic personification of the people, the city, or the land. Like other metaphors the quality of the comparison being alluded to must be elicited from the context. This is easy in Isa 23:12 (oppressed) and Isa 47:1 (soft and delicate) but not so easy in other places. From the nature of the context the suspicion here is that the protection the virgin was normally privileged to is being referred to and there is a reminder that the people are forfeiting it by their actions. Hence God laments for them.
[14:17] 509 tn This is a poetic personification. To translate with the plural “serious wounds” might mislead some into thinking of literal wounds.
[14:17] sn Compare Jer 10:19 for a similar use of this metaphor.
[14:18] 510 tn The word “starvation” has been translated “famine” elsewhere in this passage. It is the word which refers to hunger. The “starvation” here may be war induced and not simply that which comes from famine per se. “Starvation” will cover both.
[14:18] 511 tn The meaning of these last two lines is somewhat uncertain. The meaning of these two lines is debated because of the uncertainty of the meaning of the verb rendered “go about their business” (סָחַר, sakhar) and the last phrase translated here “without any real understanding.” The verb in question most commonly occurs as a participle meaning “trader” or “merchant” (cf., e.g., Ezek 27:21, 36; Prov 31:14). It occurs as a finite verb elsewhere only in Gen 34:10, 21; 42:34 and there in a literal sense of “trading,” “doing business.” While the nuance is metaphorical here it need not extend to “journeying into” (cf., e.g., BDB 695 s.v. סָחַר Qal.1) and be seen as a reference to exile as is sometimes assumed. That seems at variance with the causal particle which introduces this clause, the tense of the verb, and the surrounding context. People are dying in the land (vv. 17-18a) not because prophet and priest have gone (the verb is the Hebrew perfect or past) into exile but because prophet and priest have no true knowledge of God or the situation. The clause translated here “without having any real understanding” (Heb “and they do not know”) is using the verb in the absolute sense indicated in BDB 394 s.v. יָדַע Qal.5 and illustrated in Isa 1:3; 56:10. For a more thorough discussion of the issues one may consult W. McKane, Jeremiah (ICC), 1:330-31.
[14:18] sn For the “business” of the prophets and priest see 2:8; 5:13; 6:13; 8:10. In the context it refers to the prophets prophesying lies (see vv. 13-15).
[14:19] 512 tn The words, “Then I said, ‘
[14:19] 513 tn Heb “does your soul despise.” Here as in many places the word “soul” stands as part for whole for the person himself emphasizing emotional and volitional aspects of the person. However, in contemporary English one does not regularly speak of the “soul” in contexts such as this but of the person.
[14:19] sn There is probably a subtle allusion to the curses called down on the nation for failure to keep their covenant with God. The word used here is somewhat rare (גָּעַל, ga’al). It is used of Israel’s rejection of God’s stipulations and of God’s response to their rejection of him and his stipulations in Lev 26:11, 15, 30, 43-44. That the allusion is intended is probable when account is taken of the last line of v. 21.
[14:19] 514 tn Heb “Why have you struck us and there is no healing for us.” The statement involves poetic exaggeration (hyperbole) for rhetorical effect.
[14:19] 515 tn Heb “[We hope] for a time of healing but behold terror.”
[14:19] sn The last two lines of this verse are repeated word for word from 8:15. There they are spoken by the people.
[14:20] 516 tn Heb “We acknowledge our wickedness [and] the iniquity of our [fore]fathers.” For the use of the word “know” to mean “confess,” “acknowledge” cf. BDB 394 s.v. יָדַע, Qal.1.f and compare the usage in Jer 3:13.
[14:20] sn For a longer example of an individual identifying with the nation and confessing their sins and the sins of their forefathers see Ps 106.
[14:20] 517 tn This is another example of the intensive use of כִּי (ki). See BDB 472 s.v. כִּי 1.e.
[14:21] 518 tn Heb “For the sake of your name.”
[14:21] 519 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[14:21] 520 tn English versions quite commonly supply “us” as an object for the verb in the first line. This is probably wrong. The Hebrew text reads: “Do not treat with contempt for the sake of your name; do not treat with disdain your glorious throne.” This is case of poetic parallelism where the object is left hanging until the second line. For an example of this see Prov 13:1 in the original and consult E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 103-4. There has also been some disagreement whether “your glorious throne” refers to the temple (as in 17:12) or Jerusalem (as in 3:17). From the beginning of the prayer in v. 19 where a similar kind of verb has been used with respect to Zion/Jerusalem it would appear that the contextual referent is Jerusalem. The absence of an object from the first line makes it possible to retain part of the metaphor in the translation and still convey some meaning.
[14:21] sn The place of God’s glorious throne was first of all the ark of the covenant where God was said to be enthroned between the cherubim, then the temple that housed it, then the city itself. See 2 Kgs 19:14-15 in the context of Sennacherib’s attack on Jerusalem.
[14:21] 521 tn Heb “Remember, do not break your covenant with us.”
[14:22] 522 tn The word הֶבֶל (hevel), often translated “vanities”, is a common pejorative epithet for idols or false gods. See already in 8:19 and 10:8.
[14:22] 523 tn Heb “Is it not you, O
[14:22] 524 tn The rhetorical negatives are balanced by a rhetorical positive.
[15:1] 525 tn The words “pleading for” have been supplied in the translation to explain the idiom (a metonymy). For parallel usage see BDB 763 s.v. עָמַד Qal.1.a and compare usage in Gen 19:27, Deut 4:10.
[15:1] sn Moses and Samuel were well-known for their successful intercession on behalf of Israel. See Ps 99:6-8 and see, e.g., Exod 32:11-14, 30-34; 1 Sam 7:5-9. The
[15:1] 526 tn Heb “my soul would not be toward them.” For the usage of “soul” presupposed here see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 6 in the light of the complaints and petitions in Jeremiah’s prayer in 14:19, 21.
[15:1] 527 tn Heb “Send them away from my presence and let them go away.”
[15:2] 528 tn It is difficult to render the rhetorical force of this passage in meaningful English. The text answers the question “Where should we go?” with four brief staccato-like expressions with a play on the preposition “to”: Heb “Who to the death, to the death and who to the sword, to the sword and who to the starvation, to the starvation and who to the captivity, to the captivity.” The word “death” here is commonly understood to be a poetic substitute for “plague” because of the standard trio of sword, famine, and plague (see, e.g., 14:12 and the notes there). This is likely here and in 18:21. For further support see W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:440. The nuance “starvation” rather than “famine” has been chosen in the translation because the referents here are all things that accompany war.
[15:3] 529 tn The translation attempts to render in understandable English some rather unusual uses of terms here. The verb translated “punish” is often used that way (cf. BDB 823 s.v. פָּקַד Qal.A.3 and compare usage in Jer 11:22, 13:21). However, here it is accompanied by a direct object and a preposition meaning “over” which is usually used in the sense of appointing someone over someone (cf. BDB 823 s.v. פָּקַד Qal.B.1 and compare usage in Jer 51:27). Moreover the word translated “different ways” normally refers to “families,” “clans,” or “guilds” (cf. BDB 1046-47 s.v. מִשְׁפָּחָה for usage). Hence the four things mentioned are referred to figuratively as officers or agents into whose power the
[15:4] 530 tn The length of this sentence runs contrary to the normal policy followed in the translation of breaking up long sentences. However, there does not seem any way to break it up here without losing the connections.
[15:4] sn For similar statements see 2 Kgs 23:26; 24:3-4 and for a description of what Manasseh did see 2 Kgs 21:1-16. Manasseh was the leader, but they willingly followed (cf. 2 Kgs 21:9).
[15:5] 531 tn The words “The
[15:5] 532 tn The words, “in the world” are not in the text but are the translator’s way of trying to indicate that this rhetorical question expects a negative answer.
[15:5] 533 tn Heb “turn aside.”
[15:5] 534 tn Or “about your well-being”; Heb “about your welfare” (שָׁלוֹם, shalom).
[15:6] 535 tn Heb “oracle of the
[15:6] 536 tn Heb “you are going backward.” This is the only occurrence of this adverb with this verb. It is often used with another verb meaning “turn backward” (= abandon; Heb סוּג [sug] in the Niphal). For examples see Jer 38:22; 46:5. The only other occurrence in Jeremiah has been in the unusual idiom in 7:24 where it was translated “they got worse and worse instead of better.” That is how J. Bright (Jeremiah [AB], 109) translates it here. However it is translated, it has connotations of apostasy.
[15:6] 537 tn Heb “stretched out my hand against you.” For this idiom see notes on 6:12.
[15:6] 538 tn There is a difference of opinion on how the verbs here and in the following verses are to be rendered, whether past or future. KJV, NASB, NIV for example render them as future. ASV, RSV, TEV render them as past. NJPS has past here and future in vv. 7-9. This is perhaps the best solution. The imperfect + vav consecutive here responds to the perfect in the first line. The imperfects + vav consecutives followed by perfects in vv. 7-9 and concluded by an imperfect in v. 9 pick up the perfects + vav (ו) consecutives in vv. 3-4. Verses 7-9 are further development of the theme in vv. 1-4. Verses 5-6 have been an apostrophe or a turning aside to address Jerusalem directly. For a somewhat similar alternation of the tenses see Isa 5:14-17 and consult GKC 329-30 §111.w. One could of course argue that the imperfects + vav consecutive in vv. 7-9 continue the imperfect + vav consecutive here. In this case, vv. 7-9 are not a continuation of the oracle of doom but another lament by God (cf. 14:1-6, 17-18).
[15:6] 539 sn It is difficult to be sure what intertextual connections are intended by the author in his use of vocabulary. The Hebrew word translated “grown tired” is not very common. It has been used twice before. In 9:5-6b where it refers to the people being unable to repent and in 6:11 where it refers to Jeremiah being tired or unable to hold back his anger because of that inability. Now God too has worn out his patience with them (cf. Isa 7:13).
[15:7] 540 tn The words “The
[15:7] 541 tn Heb “I have winnowed them with a winnowing fork in the gates of the land.” The word “gates” is here being used figuratively for the cities, the part for the whole. See 14:2 and the notes there.
[15:7] sn Like straw blown away by the wind. A figurative use of the process of winnowing is referred to here. Winnowing was the process whereby a mixture of grain and straw was thrown up into the wind to separate the grain from the straw and the husks. The best description of the major steps in threshing and winnowing grain in the Bible is seen in another figurative passage in Isa 41:15-16.
[15:7] 542 tn Or “did not repent of their wicked ways”; Heb “They did not turn back from their ways.” There is no casual particle here (either כִּי [ki], which is more formally casual, or וְ [vÿ], which sometimes introduces casual circumstantial clauses). The causal idea is furnished by the connection of ideas. If the verbs throughout this section are treated as pasts and this section seen as a lament, then the clause could be sequential: “but they still did not turn…”
[15:8] 543 tn Heb “to me.” BDB 513 s.v. ל 5.a(d) compares the usage of the preposition “to” here to that in Jonah 3:3, “Nineveh was a very great city to God [in God’s estimation].” The NEB/REB interpret as though it were the agent after a passive verb, “I have made widows more numerous.” Most English versions ignore it. The present translation follows BDB though the emphasis on God’s agency has been strong in the passage.
[15:8] 544 tn The translation of this line is a little uncertain because of the double prepositional phrase which is not represented in this translation or most of the others. The Hebrew text reads: “I will bring in to them, against mother of young men, a destroyer at noon time.” Many commentaries delete the phrase with the Greek text. If the preposition read “against” like the following one this would be a case of apposition of nearer definition. There is some evidence of that in the Targum and the Syriac according to BHS. Both nouns “mothers” and “young men” are translated as plural here though they are singular; they are treated by most as collectives. It would be tempting to translate these two lines “In broad daylight I have brought destroyers against the mothers of her fallen young men.” But this may be too interpretive. In the light of 6:4, noontime was a good time to attack. NJPS has “I will bring against them – young men and mothers together – ….” In this case “mother” and “young men” would be a case of asyndetic coordination.
[15:8] 545 tn This word is used only here and in Hos 11:9. It is related to the root meaning “to rouse” (so BDB 735 s.v. I עִיר). Here it refers to the excitement or agitation caused by terror. In Hos 11:9 it refers to the excitement or arousal of anger.
[15:8] 546 tn The “them” in the Hebrew text is feminine referring to the mothers.
[15:9] 547 tn Heb “who gave birth to seven.”
[15:9] sn To have seven children was considered a blessing and a source of pride and honor (Ruth 4:15; 1 Sam 2:5).
[15:9] 548 tn The meaning of this line is debated. Some understand this line to mean “she has breathed out her life” (cf., e.g., BDB 656 s.v. נָפַח and 656 s.v. ֶנפֶשׁ 1.c). However, as several commentaries have noted (e.g., W. McKane, Jeremiah [ICC], 1:341; J. Bright, Jeremiah [AB], 109) it makes little sense to talk about her suffering shame and embarrassment if she has breathed her last. Both the Greek and Latin versions understand “soul” not as the object but as the subject and the idea being one of fainting under despair. This idea seems likely in light of the parallelism. Bright suggests the phrase means either “she gasped out her breath” or “her throat gasped.” The former is more likely. One might also render “she fainted dead away,” but that idiom might not be familiar to all readers.
[15:9] 549 tn Heb “Her sun went down while it was still day.”
[15:9] sn The sun was the source of light and hence has associations with life, prosperity, health, and blessing. The premature setting of the sun which brought these seems apropos as metaphor for the loss of her children which were not only a source of joy, help, and honor. Two references where “sun” is used figuratively, Ps 84:11 (84:12 HT) and Mal 4:2, may be helpful here.
[15:9] 550 sn She has lost her position of honor and the source of her pride. For the concepts here see 1 Sam 2:5.
[15:9] 551 tn Heb “I will deliver those of them that survive to the sword before their enemies.” The referent of “them” is ambiguous. Does it refer to the children of the widow (nearer context) or the people themselves (more remote context, v. 7)? Perhaps it was meant to include both. Verse seven spoke of the destruction of the people and the killing off of the children.
[15:10] 552 tn The words “I said” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity to mark a shift in the speaker.
[15:10] 553 tn Heb “Woe to me, my mother.” See the comments on 4:13 and 10:19.
[15:10] 554 tn Heb “A man of strife and a man of contention with all the land.” The “of” relationship (Hebrew and Greek genitive) can convey either subjective or objective relationships, i.e., he instigates strife and contention or he is the object of it. A study of usage elsewhere, e.g., Isa 41:11; Job 31:35; Prov 12:19; 25:24; 26:21; 27:15, is convincing that it is subjective. In his role as God’s covenant messenger charging people with wrong doing he has instigated counterarguments and stirred about strife and contention against him.
[15:10] 555 tc The translation follows the almost universally agreed upon correction of the MT. Instead of reading כֻּלֹּה מְקַלְלַונִי (kulloh mÿqallavni, “all of him is cursing me”) as the Masoretes proposed (Qere) one should read קִלְלוּנִי (qilluni) with the written text (Kethib) and redivide and repoint with the suggestion in BHS כֻּלְּהֶם (qullÿhem, “all of them are cursing me”).
[15:11] 556 tn The word “Jerusalem” is not in the text. It is supplied in the translation for clarity to identify the referent of “you.” A comparison of three or four English versions will show how difficult this verse is to interpret. The primary difficulty is with the meaning of the verb rendered here as “I will surely send you out [שֵׁרִותִךָ, sherivtikha].” The text and the meaning of the word are debated (for a rather full discussion see W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah [Hermeneia], 1:446-47, n. b-b). Tied up with that is the meaning of the verb in the second line and the identification of who the speaker and addressee are. One of two approaches are usually followed. Some follow the Greek version which has Jeremiah speaking and supporting his complaint that he has been faithful. In this case the word “said” is left out, the difficult verb is taken to mean “I have served you” (שֵׁרַתִּיךָ [sheratikha] from שָׁרַת [sharat; BDB 1058 s.v. שָׁרַת]) and the parallel verb means “I have made intercession for my enemies.” The second tack is to suppose that God is speaking and is promising Jeremiah deliverance from his detractors. In this case the troublesome word is taken to mean “deliver” (cf. BDB 1056 s.v. I שָׁרָה), “strengthen” (see BDB’s discussion) or read as a noun “remnant” (שֵׁרִיתְךָ = שְׁאֵרִיתְךָ [sheritekha = shÿ’eritekha]; again see BDB’s discussion). In this case the parallel verb is taken to mean “I will cause your enemies to entreat you,” a meaning it has nowhere else. Both of these approaches are probably wrong. The Greek text is the only evidence for leaving out “said.” The problem with making Jeremiah the addressee is twofold. First, the word “enemy” is never used in the book of Jeremiah’s foes, always of political enemies. Second, and more troublesome, one must assume a shift in the addressee between v. 11 and vv.13-14 or assume that the whole is addressed. The latter would be odd if he is promised deliverance from his detractors only to be delivered to captivity. If, however, one assumes that the whole is addressed to Jerusalem, there is no such problem. A check of earlier chapters will show that the second masculine pronoun is used for Judah/Jerusalem in 2:28-29; 4:1-2; 5:17-18; 11:13. In 2:28-28 and 4:1-2 the same shift from second singular to second plural takes place as does here in vv. 13-14. Moreover, vv. 13-14 continue much of the same vocabulary and is addressed to Jerusalem. The approach followed here is similar to that taken in REB except “for good” is taken in the way it is always used rather to mean “utterly.” The nuance suggested by BDB 1056 s.v. I שָׁרָה is assumed and the meaning of the parallel verb is assumed to be similar to that in Isa 53:6 (see BDB 803 s.v. פָּגַע Hiph.1). The MT is retained with demonstrable meanings. For the concept of “for good” see Jer 24:5-6. This assumes that the ultimate goal of God’s discipline is here announced.
[15:11] sn The
[15:11] 557 tn “Surely” represents a construct in Hebrew that indicates a strong oath of affirmation. Cf. BDB 50 s.v. אִם 1.b(2) and compare usage in 2 Kgs 9:26.
[15:12] 558 tn Or “Can iron and bronze break iron from the north?” The question is rhetorical and expects a negative answer. The translation and meaning of this verse are debated. See note for further details. The two main difficulties here involve the relation of words to one another and the obscure allusion to iron from the north. To translate “literally” is difficult since one does not know whether “iron” is subject of “break” or object of an impersonal verb. Likewise, the dangling “and bronze” fits poorly with either understanding. Options: “Can iron break iron from the north and bronze?” Or “Can one break iron, even iron from the north and bronze.” This last is commonly opted for by translators and interpreters, but why add “and bronze” at the end? And what does “iron from the north” refer to? A long history of interpretation relates it to the foe from the north (see already 1:14; 4:6; 6:1; 13:20). The translation follows the lead of NRSV and takes “and bronze” as a compound subject. I have no ready parallels for this syntax but the reference to “from the north” and the comparison to the stubbornness of the unrepentant people to bronze and iron in 6:28 suggests a possible figurative allusion. There is no evidence in the Bible that Israel knew about a special kind of steel like iron from the Black Sea mentioned in later Greek sources. The word “fist” is supplied in the translation to try to give some hint that it refers to a hostile force.
[15:12] sn Compare Isa 10:5-6 for the idea here.
[15:14] 559 tc This reading follows the Greek and Syriac versions and several Hebrew
[15:15] 560 tn The words “I said” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity to mark the shift from the
[15:15] 561 tn The words “how I suffer” are not in the text but are implicit from the continuation. They are supplied in the translation for clarity. Jeremiah is not saying “you are all knowing.”
[15:16] 562 sn Heb “Your words were found and I ate them.” This along with Ezek 2:8–3:3 is a poetic picture of inspiration. The prophet accepted them, assimilated them, and made them such a part of himself that he spoke with complete assurance what he knew were God’s words.
[15:16] 563 tn Heb “Your name is called upon me.”
[15:16] sn See Jer 14:9 where this idiom is applied to Israel as a whole and Jer 7:10 where it is applied to the temple. For discussion cf. notes on 7:10.
[15:17] 564 tn Heb “because of your hand.”
[15:18] 565 tn Heb “Will you be to me like a deceptive (brook), like waters which do not last [or are not reliable].”
[15:18] sn Jeremiah is speaking of the stream beds or wadis which fill with water after the spring rains but often dry up in the summer time. A fuller picture is painted in Job 6:14-21. This contrasts with the earlier metaphor that God had used of himself in Jer 2:13.
[15:19] 566 tn Heb “So the
[15:19] 567 tn Heb “If you return [ = repent], I will restore [more literally, ‘cause you to return’] that you may stand before me.” For the idiom of “standing before” in the sense of serving see BDB 764 s.v. עָמַד Qal.1.e and compare the usage in 1 Kgs 10:8; 12:8; 17:1; Deut 10:8.
[15:19] 568 tn Heb “you shall be as my mouth.”
[15:19] sn For the classic statement of the prophet as God’s “mouth/mouthpiece,” = “spokesman,” see Exod 4:15-16; 7:1-2.
[15:19] 569 tn Heb “They must turn/return to you and you must not turn/return to them.”
[15:19] sn Once again the root “return” (שׁוּב, shuv) is being played on as in 3:1–4:4. See the threefold call to repentance in 3:12, 14, 22. The verb is used here four times “repent,” “restore,” and “become” twice. He is to serve as a model of repentance, not an imitator of their apostasy. In accusing God of being unreliable he was coming dangerously close to their kind of behavior.
[15:20] 570 sn See 1:18. The
[16:3] 571 tn Heb “For thus says the
[16:3] 572 tn Heb “Thus says the
[16:5] 573 tn Heb “For thus says the
[16:5] 574 tn Heb “my peace.” The Hebrew word שְׁלוֹמִי (shÿlomi) can be translated “peace, prosperity” or “well-being” (referring to wholeness or health of body and soul).
[16:5] 575 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[16:6] 576 sn These were apparently pagan customs associated with mourning (Isa 15:2; Jer 47:5) which were forbidden in Israel (Lev 19:8; 21:5) but apparently practiced anyway (Jer 41:5).
[16:9] 577 tn Heb “For thus says Yahweh of armies the God of Israel.” The introductory formula which appears three times in vv. 1-9 (vv. 1, 3, 5) has been recast for smoother English style.
[16:9] sn For the title “the
[16:9] 578 tn Heb “before your eyes and in your days.” The pronouns are plural including others than Jeremiah.
[16:10] 579 tn Heb “all these words/things.”
[16:10] sn The actions of the prophet would undoubtedly elicit questions about his behavior and he would have occasion to explain the reason.
[16:11] 580 tn These two sentences have been recast in English to break up a long Hebrew sentence and incorporate the oracular formula “says the
[16:11] 581 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 12, 13, 15, 19).
[16:11] 582 tn Heb “followed after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for the explanation of the idiom.
[16:11] 583 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.
[16:12] 584 sn For the argumentation here compare Jer 7:23-26.
[16:14] 585 tn The particle translated here “Yet” (לָכֵן, lakhen) is regularly translated “So” or “Therefore” and introduces a consequence. However, in a few cases it introduces a contrasting set of conditions. Compare its use in Judg 11:8; Jer 48:12; 49:2; 51:52; and Hos 2:14 (2:16 HT).
[16:14] 586 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[16:14] 587 tn Heb “Behold the days are coming.”
[16:15] 588 tn These two verses which constitute one long sentence with compound, complex subordinations has been broken up for sake of English style. It reads, “Therefore, behold the days are coming, says the
[16:16] 589 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[16:16] 590 tn Heb “Behold I am about to send for many fishermen and they will catch them. And after that I will send for many hunters and they will hunt them from every mountain and from every hill and from the cracks in the rocks.”
[16:16] sn The picture of rounding up the population for destruction and exile is also seen in Amos 4:2 and Hab 1:14-17.
[16:17] 591 tn Heb “For my eyes are upon all their ways. They are not hidden from before me. And their sin is not hidden away from before my eyes.”
[16:18] 592 tn Heb “First.” Many English versions and commentaries delete this word because it is missing from the Greek version and is considered a gloss added by a postexilic editor who is said to be responsible also for vv. 14-16. This is not the place to resolve issues of authorship and date. It is the task of the translator to translate the “original” which in this case is the MT supported by the other versions. The word here refers to order in rank or order of events. Compare Gen 38:28; 1 Kgs 18:25. Here allusion is made to the restoration previously mentioned. First in order of events is the punishment of destruction and exile, then restoration.
[16:18] 593 tn Heb “double.” However, usage in Deut 15:18 and probably Isa 40:2 argues for “full compensation.” This is supported also by usage in a tablet from Alalakh in Syria. See P. C. Craigie, P. H. Kelley, J. F. Drinkard, Jeremiah 1-25 (WBC), 218, for bibliography.
[16:18] 594 tn Heb “my inheritance.”
[16:18] sn For earlier references to the term used here see Jer 2:7 where it applies as here to the land, Jer 10:16; 12:8-9 where it applies to the people, and Jer 12:7 where it applies to the temple.
[16:18] 595 tn Many of the English versions take “lifeless statues of their detestable idols” with “filled” as a compound object. This follows the Masoretic punctuation but violates usage. The verb “fill” never takes an object preceded by the preposition בְּ (bet).
[16:19] 596 tn The words “Then I said” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation to show the shift from God, who has been speaking to Jeremiah, to Jeremiah, who here addresses God.
[16:19] sn The shift here is consistent with the interruptions that have taken place in chapters 14 and 15 and in Jeremiah’s response to God’s condemnation of the people of Judah’s idolatry in chapter 10 (note especially vv. 6-16).
[16:19] 597 tn Heb “O
[16:19] 598 tn Once again the translation has sacrificed some of the rhetorical force for the sake of clarity and English style: Heb “Only falsehood did our ancestors possess, vanity and [things in which?] there was no one profiting in them.”
[16:19] sn This passage offers some rather forceful contrasts. The
[16:20] 599 tn Heb “and they are ‘no gods.’” For the construction here compare 2:11 and a similar construction in 2 Kgs 19:18 and see BDB 519 s.v. לֹא 1.b(b).
[16:21] 600 tn The words “The
[16:21] 601 tn Or “So I will make known to those nations, I will make known to them at this time my power and my might. Then they will know that my name is the
[16:21] tn There is a decided ambiguity in this text about the identity of the pronoun “them.” Is it his wicked people he has been predicting judgment upon or the nations that have come to recognize the folly of idolatry? The nearer antecedent would argue for that. However, usage of “hand” (translated here “power”) in 6:12; 15:6 and later 21:5 and especially the threatening motif of “at this time” (or “now”) in 10:18 suggest that the “So” goes back logically to vv. 16-18, following a grounds of judgment with the threatened consequence as it has in at least 16 out of 18 occurrences thus far. Moreover it makes decidedly more sense that the Jews will know that his name is the
[17:1] 602 tn The chapter division which was not a part of the original text but was added in the middle ages obscures the fact that there is no new speech here. The division may have resulted from the faulty identification of the “them” in the preceding verse. See the translator’s note on that verse.
[17:1] 603 tn The adjective “stone-hard” is not in the Hebrew text. It is implicit in the metaphor and is supplied in the translation for clarity. Cf. Ezek 11:19; 36:26; and Job 19:24 for the figure.
[17:1] 604 tn Heb “adamant.” The word “diamond” is an accommodation to modern times. There is no evidence that diamond was known in ancient times. This hard stone (perhaps emery) became metaphorical for hardness; see Ezek 3:9 and Zech 7:12. For discussion see W. E. Staples, “Adamant,” IDB 1:45.
[17:1] 605 tn This verse has been restructured for the sake of the English poetry: Heb “The sin of Judah is engraved [or written] with an iron pen, inscribed with a point of a diamond [or adamant] upon the tablet of their hearts and on the horns of their altars.”
[17:1] sn There is biting sarcasm involved in the use of the figures here. The law was inscribed on the tablets of stone by the “finger” of God (Exod 31:18; 32:16). Later under the new covenant it would be written on their hearts (Jer 31:33). Blood was to be applied to the horns of the altar in offering the sin offering (cf., e.g., Lev 4:7, 18, 25, 20) and on the bronze altar to cleanse it from sin on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16:18). Here their sins are engraved (permanently written, cf. Job 19:24) on their hearts (i.e., control their thoughts and actions) and on their altars (permanently polluting them).
[17:2] 606 tn It is difficult to convey in good English style the connection between this verse and the preceding. The text does not have a finite verb but a temporal preposition with an infinitive: Heb “while their children remember their altars…” It is also difficult to translate the verb “literally.” (i.e., what does “remember” their altars mean?). Hence it has been rendered “always think about.” Another possibility would be “have their altars…on their minds.”
[17:2] sn There is possibly a sarcastic irony involved here as well. The Israelites were to remember the
[17:2] 607 tc This reading follows many Hebrew
[17:2] 608 sn Sacred poles dedicated to…Asherah. A leading deity of the Canaanite pantheon was Asherah, wife/sister of El and goddess of fertility. She was commonly worshiped at shrines in or near groves of evergreen trees, or, failing that, at places marked by wooden poles (Hebrew אֲשֵׁרִים [’asherim], plural). They were to be burned or cut down (Deut 7:5; 12:3; 16:21; Judg 6:25, 28, 30; 2 Kgs 18:4).
[17:3] 609 tc This reading follows some of the ancient versions. The MT reads, “hills. My mountain in the open field [alluding to Jerusalem] and your wealth…I will give.” The vocalization of the noun plus pronoun and the unusual form of the expression to allude to Jerusalem calls into question the originality of the MT. The MT reads הֲרָרִי (harari) which combines the suffix for a singular noun with a pointing of the noun in the plural, a form which would be without parallel (compare the forms in Ps 30:8 for the singular noun with suffix and Deut 8:9 for the plural noun with suffix). Likewise, Jerusalem was not “in the open field.” For a similar expression compare Jer 13:27.
[17:3] 610 tc Or “I will give away your wealth, all your treasures, and your places of worship…” The translation follows the emendation suggested in the footnote in BHS, reading בִּמְחִיר (bimkhir) in place of בָּמֹתֶיךָ (bamotekha). The forms are graphically very close and one could explain the origin of either from the other. The parallel in 15:13-14 reads לֹא בִּמְחִיר (lo’ bimkhir). The text here may be a deliberate play on that one. The emended text makes decidedly better sense contextually than the MT unless some sardonic reference to their idolatry is intended.
[17:4] 611 tc Or “Through your own fault you will lose the land…” As W. McKane (Jeremiah [ICC], 1:386) notes the ancient versions do not appear to be reading וּבְךָ (uvÿkha) as in the MT but possibly לְבַדְּךָ (lÿvaddÿkha; see BHS fn). The translation follows the suggestion in BHS fn that יָדְךָ (yadÿkha, literally “your hand”) be read for MT וּבְךָ. This has the advantage of fitting the idiom of this verb with “hand” in Deut 15:2 (see also v. 3 there). The Hebrew text thus reads “You will release your hand from your heritage.”
[17:4] 612 tc A few Hebrew
[17:4] tn Heb “you have started a fire in my anger which will burn forever.”
[17:5] 613 sn Verses 5-11 are a collection of wisdom-like sayings (cf. Ps 1) which set forth the theme of the two ways and their consequences. It has as its background the blessings and the curses of Deut 28 and the challenge to faith in Deut 29-30 which climaxes in Deut 30:15-20. The nation is sinful and God is weary of showing them patience. However, there is hope for individuals within the nation if they will trust in him.
[17:5] 614 tn Heb “who make flesh their arm.” The “arm” is the symbol of strength and the flesh is the symbol of mortal man in relation to the omnipotent God. The translation “mere flesh and blood” reflects this.
[17:5] 615 sn In the psychology of ancient Hebrew thought the heart was the center not only of the emotions but of the thoughts and motivations. It was also the seat of moral conduct (cf. its placement in the middle of the discussion of moral conduct in Prov 4:20-27, i.e., in v. 23).
[17:6] 616 tn This word occurs only here and in Jer 48:6. It has been identified as a kind of juniper, which is a short shrub with minute leaves that look like scales. For a picture and more discussion see Fauna and Flora of the Bible, 131.
[17:7] 617 tn Heb “Blessed is the person who trusts in the
[17:9] 618 tn Or “incurably deceitful”; Heb “It is incurable.” For the word “deceitful” compare the usage of the verb in Gen 27:36 and a related noun in 2 Kgs 10:19. For the adjective “incurable” compare the usage in Jer 15:18. It is most commonly used with reference to wounds or of pain. In Jer 17:16 it is used metaphorically for a “woeful day” (i.e., day of irreparable devastation).
[17:9] sn The background for this verse is Deut 29:18-19 (29:17-18 HT) and Deut 30:17.
[17:10] 619 tn The term rendered “mind” here and in the previous verse is actually the Hebrew word for “heart.” However, in combination with the word rendered “heart” in the next line, which is the Hebrew for “kidneys,” it is best rendered “mind” because the “heart” was considered the center of intellect, conscience, and will and the “kidneys” the center of emotions.
[17:10] sn For an earlier reference to this motif see Jer 11:20. For a later reference see Jer 20:12. See also Ps 17:2-3.
[17:11] 620 tn The meaning of this line is somewhat uncertain. The word translated “broods over” occurs only here and Isa 34:15. It is often defined on the basis of an Aramaic cognate which means “to gather” with an extended meaning of “to gather together under her to hatch.” Many commentators go back to a Rabbinic explanation that the partridge steals the eggs of other birds and hatches them out only to see the birds depart when they recognize that she is not the mother. Modern studies question the validity of this zoologically. Moreover, W. L. Holladay contests the validity on the basis of the wording “and she does hatch them” (Heb “bring them to birth”). See W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:498, and see also P. C. Craigie, P. H. Kelley, J. F. Drinkard, Jeremiah 1-25 (WBC), 229. The point of the comparison is that the rich gather their wealth but they do not get to see the fruits of it.
[17:11] 621 tn The Hebrew text merely says “it.” But the antecedent might be ambiguous in English so the reference to wealth gained by unjust means is here reiterated for clarity.
[17:11] 622 tn Heb “he will be [= prove to be] a fool.”
[17:12] 623 tn The words, “Then I said” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity to show the shift in speaker.
[17:12] sn The
[17:13] 624 tn Heb “O glorious throne, O high place from the beginning, O hope of Israel, O
[17:13] sn As King and Judge seated on his heavenly throne on high the
[17:13] 625 tc The translation is based on an emendation suggested in W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:500, n. b-b. The emendation involves following the reading preferred by the Masoretes (the Qere) and understanding the preposition with the following word as a corruption of the suffix on it. Thus the present translation reads וּסוּרֶיךָ אֶרֶץ (usurekha ’erets) instead of וּסוּרַי בָּאֶרֶץ (usuray ba’erets, “and those who leave me will be written in the earth”), a reading which is highly improbable since all the other pronouns are second singular.
[17:13] 626 tn Or “to the world of the dead.” An alternative interpretation is: “will be as though their names were written in the dust”; Heb “will be written in the dust.” The translation follows the nuance of “earth” listed in HALOT 88 s.v. אֶרֶץ 4 and found in Jonah 2:6 (2:7 HT); Job 10:21-22. For the nuance of “enrolling, registering among the number” for the verb translated here “consign” see BDB 507 s.v. כָּתַב Qal.3 and 508 s.v. Niph.2 and compare usage in Ezek 13:9 and Ps 69:28 (69:29 HT).
[17:13] 627 tn Heb “The fountain of living water.” For an earlier use of this metaphor and the explanation of it see Jer 2:13 and the notes there. There does not appear to be any way to retain this metaphor in the text without explaining it. In the earlier text the context would show that literal water was not involved. Here it might still be assumed that the
[17:14] 628 tn The translation fills in the details of the metaphor from a preceding context (15:18) and from the following context (17:18). The literal translation “Heal me and I will be healed. Rescue me and I will be rescued.” does not make much sense if these details are not filled in. The metaphor is filled in for clarity for the average reader.
[17:15] 629 tn Heb “Behold, they are saying to me.”
[17:15] 630 tn Heb “Where is the word of the
[17:16] 631 tc Heb “I have not run after you for the sake of disaster.” The translation follows the suggestion of some ancient versions. The Hebrew text reads “I have not run from being a shepherd after you.” The translation follows two Greek versions (Aquila and Symmachus) and the Syriac in reading the word “evil” or “disaster” here in place of the word “shepherd” in the Hebrew text. The issue is mainly one of vocalization. The versions mentioned are reading a form מֵרָעָה (mera’ah) instead of מֵרֹעֶה (mero’eh). There does not appear to be any clear case of a prophet being called a shepherd, especially in Jeremiah where it is invariably used of the wicked leaders/rulers of Judah, the leaders/rulers of the enemy that he brings to punish them, or the righteous ruler that he will bring in the future. Moreover, there are no cases where the preposition “after” is used with the verb “shepherd.” Parallelism also argues for the appropriateness of this reading; “disaster” parallels the “incurable day.” The thought also parallels the argument thus far. Other than 11:20; 12:3; 15:15 where he has prayed for vindication by the
[17:16] 632 tn Heb “the incurable day.” For the use of this word see the note on 17:9.
[17:16] 633 tn Heb “that which goes out of my lip is right in front of your face.”
[17:17] 634 tn Heb “do not be a source of dismay for me.” For this nuance of מְחִתָּה (mÿkhittah) rather than “terror” as many of the English versions have it see BDB 370 s.v. מְחִתָּה 1.b and the usage in Prov 21:15. Compare also the usage of the related verb which occurs in the next verse (see also BDB 369 s.v. חָתַת Qal.2).
[17:18] 635 tn Or “complete destruction.” See the translator’s note on 16:18.
[17:18] sn Jeremiah now does what he says he has not wanted to do or been hasty to do. He is, however, seeking his own vindication and that of God whose threats they have belittled.
[17:19] 636 sn Observance of the Sabbath day (and the Sabbatical year) appears to have been a litmus test of the nation’s spirituality since it is mentioned in a number of passages besides this one (cf., e.g., Isa 56:2, 6; 58:13; Neh 13:15-18). Perhaps this is because the Sabbath day was the sign of the Mosaic covenant (Exod 31:13-17) just as the rainbow was the sign of the Noahic covenant (Gen 9:12, 13, 17) and circumcision was the sign of the Abrahamic covenant (Gen 17:11). This was not the only command they failed to obey, nor was their failure to obey this one the sole determining factor in the
[17:19] 637 sn The identity and location of the People’s Gate is uncertain since it is mentioned nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible. Some identify it with the Benjamin Gate mentioned in Jer 37:13; 38:7 (cf. NAB), but there is no textual support for this in the Hebrew Bible or in any of the ancient versions.
[17:19] 638 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[17:20] 639 tn The words “As you stand there” are not in the text but are implicit in the connection. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[17:20] 640 tn Heb “Listen to the word of the
[17:21] 641 tn Heb “Be careful at the risk of your lives.” The expression with the preposition בְּ (bet) is unique. Elsewhere the verb “be careful” is used with the preposition לְ (lamed) in the sense of the reflexive. Hence the word “soul” cannot be simply reflexive here. BDB 1037 s.v. שָׁמַר Niph.1 understands this as a case where the preposition בְּ introduces the cost or price (cf. BDB 90 s.v. בּ III.3.a).
[17:21] 642 sn Comparison with Neh 13:15-18 suggests that these loads were merchandise or agricultural produce which were being brought in for sale. The loads that were carried out of the houses in the next verse were probably goods for barter.
[17:21] 643 tn Heb “carry loads on the Sabbath and bring [them] in through.” The two verbs “carry” and “bring in” are an example of hendiadys (see the note on “Be careful…by carrying”). This is supported by the next line where only “carry out” of the houses is mentioned.
[17:22] 644 tn Heb “Do not carry any loads out of your houses on the Sabbath day and do not do any work.” Translating literally might give the wrong impression that they were not to work at all. The phrase “on the Sabbath day” is, of course, intended to qualify both prohibitions.
[17:22] 645 tn Heb “But sanctify [or set apart as sacred] the Sabbath day.” The idea of setting it apart as something sacred to the
[17:23] 647 tn Heb “They.” The antecedent is spelled out to avoid any possible confusion.
[17:23] 648 tn Heb “They hardened [or made stiff] their neck so as not to.”
[17:24] 649 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[17:25] 650 tn Heb “If you will carefully obey me by not bringing…and by sanctifying…by not doing…, then kings will….” The structure of prohibitions and commands followed by a brief “if” clause has been used to break up a long condition and consequence relationship which is contrary to contemporary English style.
[17:25] 651 tn Heb “who sit [or are to sit] on David’s throne.”
[17:25] 652 tn Heb “There will come through the gates of this city the kings and princes…riding in chariots and on horses, they and their officials…” The structure of the original text is broken up here because of the long compound subject which would make the English sentence too long. The term “princes” is often omitted as a supposed double writing of the word that follows it and looks somewhat like it (the Hebrew reads here וְשָׂרִים יֹשְׁבִים, vÿsarim yoshÿvim) or the same word which occurs later in the verse and is translated “officials” (the word can refer to either). It is argued that “princes” are never said to sit on the throne of David (translated here “follow in the succession of David”). However, the word is in all texts and versions and the concept of sitting on the throne of someone is descriptive of both past, present, and future and is even used with the participle in a proleptic sense of “the one who is to sit on the throne” (cf. Exod 11:5; 12:29).
[17:25] 653 tn Heb “will be inhabited forever.”
[17:26] 654 tn Heb “There will come from the cities of Judah and from the environs of Jerusalem and from…those bringing…incense and those bringing thank offerings.” This sentence has been restructured from a long complex original to conform to contemporary English style.
[17:27] 655 tn Heb “carry loads on the Sabbath and bring [them] in through.” The translation treats the two verbs “carry” and “bring in” are an example of hendiadys (see the note on “through” in 17:21).
[18:1] 656 tn Heb “The word which came to Jeremiah from the
[18:2] 657 tn Heb “Get up and go down.” The first verb is not literal but is idiomatic for the initiation of an action. See 13:4, 6 for other occurrences of this idiom.
[18:2] 658 tn Heb “And I will cause you to hear my word there.”
[18:3] 659 tn Heb “And behold he was working.”
[18:3] 660 sn At his wheel (Heb “at the two stones”). The Hebrew expression is very descriptive of the construction of a potter’s wheel which consisted of two stones joined by a horizontal shaft. The potter rotated the wheel with his feet on the lower wheel and worked the clay with his hands on the upper. For a picture of a potter working at his wheel see I. Ben-Dor, “Potter’s Wheel,” IDB 3:846. See also the discussion regarding the making of pottery in J. L. Kelso, “Pottery,” IDB 3:846-53.
[18:4] 661 tn The verbs here denote repeated action. They are the Hebrew perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive. The text then reads somewhat literally, “Whenever the vessel he was molding…was ruined, he would remold…” For this construction see Joüon 2:393-94 §118.n and 2:628-29 §167.b, and compare the usage in Amos 4:7-8.
[18:4] 662 sn Something was wrong with the clay – either there was a lump in it, or it was too moist or not moist enough, or it had some other imperfection. In any case the vessel was “ruined” or “spoiled” or defective in the eyes of the potter. This same verb has been used of the linen shorts that were “ruined” and hence were “good for nothing” in Jer 13:7. The nature of the clay and how it responded to the potter’s hand determined the kind of vessel that he made of it. He did not throw the clay away. This is the basis for the application in vv. 7-10 to any nation and to the nation of Israel in particular vv. 10-17.
[18:4] 663 tn The usage of the preposition בְּ (bet) to introduce the material from which something is made in Exod 38:8 and 1 Kgs 15:22 should lay to rest the rather forced construction that some (like J. Bright, Jeremiah [AB], 121) put on the variant כַּחֹמֶר (kakhomer) found in a few Hebrew
[18:4] 664 tn Heb “he would turn and work.” This is an example of hendiadys where one of the two verbs joined by “and” becomes the adverbial modifier of the other. The verb “turn” is very common in this construction (see BDB 998 s.v. שׁוּב Qal.8 for references).
[18:4] 665 tn Heb “as it was right in his eyes to do [or work it].” For this idiom see Judg 14:3, 7; 1 Sam 18:20, 26; 2 Sam 17:4.
[18:5] 666 tn Heb “Then the word of the
[18:6] 667 tn This phrase (literally “Oracle of the
[18:6] 668 tn The words “deals with the clay” are not in the text. They are part of an elliptical comparison and are supplied in the translation here for clarity.
[18:7] 669 tn The word “Jeremiah” is not in the text but it is implicit from the introduction in v. 5 that he is being addressed. It is important to see how the rhetoric of this passage is structured. The words of vv. 7-10 lead up to the conclusion “So now” in v. 11 which in turns leads to the conclusion “Therefore” in v. 13. The tense of the verb in v. 12 is very important. It is a vav consecutive perfect indicating the future (cf. GKC 333 §112.p, r); their response is predictable. The words of vv. 7-10 are addressed to Jeremiah (v. 5) in fulfillment of the
[18:7] 670 tn Heb “One moment I may speak about a nation or kingdom to…” So also in v. 9. The translation is structured this way to avoid an awkward English construction and to reflect the difference in disposition. The constructions are, however, the same.
[18:8] 671 tn Heb “turns from its wickedness.”
[18:8] 672 tn There is a good deal of debate about how the word translated here “revoke” should be translated. There is a good deal of reluctance to translate it “change my mind” because some see that as contradicting Num 23:19 and thus prefer “relent.” However, the English word “relent” suggests the softening of an attitude but not necessarily the change of course. It is clear that in many cases (including here) an actual change of course is in view (see, e.g., Amos 7:3, 6; Jonah 3:9; Jer 26:19; Exod 13:17; 32:14). Several of these passages deal with “conditional” prophecies where a change in behavior of the people or the mediation of a prophet involves the change in course of the threatened punishment (or the promised benefit). “Revoke” or “forgo” may be the best way to render this in contemporary English idiom.
[18:8] sn There is a wordplay here involving the word “evil” (רָעָה, ra’ah) which refers to both the crime and the punishment. This same play is carried further in Jonah 3:10-4:1 where Jonah becomes very displeased (Heb “it was very evil to Jonah with great evil”) when God forgoes bringing disaster (evil) on Nineveh because they have repented of their wickedness (evil).
[18:9] 673 sn Heb “plant.” The terms “uproot,” “tear down,” “destroy,” “build,” and “plant” are the two sides of the ministry Jeremiah was called to (cf. Jer 1:10).
[18:11] 674 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[18:11] 675 sn Heb “I am forming disaster and making plans against you.” The word translated “forming” is the same as that for “potter,” so there is a wordplay taking the reader back to v. 5. They are in his hands like the clay in the hands of the potter. Since they have not been pliable he forms new plans. He still offers them opportunity to repent; but their response is predictable.
[18:11] 676 tn Heb “Turn, each one from his wicked way.” See v. 8.
[18:11] 677 tn Or “Make good your ways and your actions.” See the same expression in 7:3, 5.
[18:12] 678 tn Heb “It is useless!” See the same expression in a similar context in Jer 2:25.
[18:12] 679 tn Heb “We will follow our own plans and do each one according to the stubbornness of his own wicked heart.”
[18:12] sn This has been the consistent pattern of their behavior. See 7:24; 9:13; 13:10; 16:12.
[18:14] 680 tn The precise translation of this verse is somewhat uncertain. Two phrases in this verse are the primary cause of discussion and the source of numerous emendations, none of which has gained consensus. The phrase which is rendered here “rocky slopes” is in Hebrew צוּר שָׂדַי (tsur saday), which would normally mean something like “rocky crag of the field” (see BDB 961 s.v. שָׂדַי 1.g). Numerous emendations have been proposed, most of which are listed in the footnotes of J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah (NICOT), 436. The present translation has chosen to follow the proposal of several scholars that the word here is related to the Akkadian word shadu meaning mountain. The other difficulty is the word translated “cease” which in the MT is literally “be uprooted” (יִנָּתְשׁוּ, yinnatshu). The word is usually emended to read יִנָּשְׁתוּ (yinnashtu, “are dried up”) as a case of transposed letters (cf., e.g., BDB 684 s.v. נָתַשׁ Niph). This is probably a case of an error in hearing and the word נָטַשׁ (natash) which is often parallel to עָזַב (’azav), translated here “vanish,” should be read in the sense that it has in 1 Sam 10:2. Whether one reads “are plucked up” and understands it figuratively of ceasing (“are dried” or “cease”), the sense is the same. For the sense of “distant” for the word זָרִים (zarim) see 2 Kgs 19:24.
[18:14] sn Israel’s actions are contrary to nature. See the same kind of argumentation in Jer 2:11; 8:7.
[18:15] 681 sn Heb “the ancient path.” This has already been referred to in Jer 6:16. There is another “old way” but it is the path trod by the wicked (cf. Job 22:15).
[18:15] 682 sn Heb “ways that are not built up.” This refers to the built-up highways. See Isa 40:4 for the figure. The terms “way,” “by-paths,” “roads” are, of course, being used here in the sense of moral behavior or action.
[18:16] 683 tn There may be a deliberate double meaning involved here. The word translated here “an object of horror” refers both to destruction (cf. 2:15; 4:17) and the horror or dismay that accompanies it (cf. 5:30; 8:21). The fact that there is no conjunction or preposition in front of the noun “hissing” that follows this suggests that the reaction is in view here, not the cause.
[18:16] 684 tn Heb “an object of lasting hissing. All who pass that way will be appalled and shake their head.”
[18:16] sn The actions of “shaking of the head” and “hissing” were obviously gestures of scorn and derision. See Lam 2:15-16.
[18:17] 685 tc Heb “I will show them [my] back and not [my] face.” This reading follows the suggestion of some of the versions and some of the Masoretes. The MT reads “I will look on their back and not on their faces.”
[18:17] sn To “turn the back” is universally recognized as a symbol of rejection. The turning of the face toward one is the subject of the beautiful Aaronic blessing in Num 6:24-26.
[18:18] 686 tn Heb “They.” The referent is unidentified; “some people” has been used in the translation.
[18:18] 687 tn Heb “Let us make plans against Jeremiah.” See 18:18 where this has sinister overtones as it does here.
[18:18] 688 tn Heb “Instruction will not perish from priest, counsel from the wise, word from the prophet.”
[18:18] sn These are the three channels through whom God spoke to his people in the OT. See Jer 8:8-10 and Ezek 7:26.
[18:18] 689 tn Heb “Let us smite him with our tongues.” It is clear from the context that this involved plots to kill him.
[18:19] 690 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] 691 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
[18:20] 692 tn Or “They are plotting to kill me”; Heb “They have dug a pit for my soul.” This is a common metaphor for plotting against someone. See BDB 500 s.v. כָּרָה Qal and for an example see Pss 7:16 (7:15 HT) in its context.
[18:20] 693 tn Heb “to speak good concerning them” going back to the concept of “good” being paid back with evil.
[18:20] 694 tn Heb “to turn back your anger from them.”
[18:20] sn See Jer 14:7-9, 19-21 and 15:1-4 for the idea.
[18:21] 695 tn Heb “be poured out to the hand [= power] of the sword.” For this same expression see Ezek 35:5; Ps 63:10 (63:11 HT). Comparison with those two passages show that it involved death by violent means, perhaps death in battle.
[18:21] 696 tn Heb “be slain by death.” The commentaries are generally agreed that this refers to death by disease or plague as in 15:2. Hence, the reference is to the deadly trio of sword, starvation, and disease which were often connected with war. See the notes on 15:2.
[18:22] 697 tn Heb “when you bring marauders in against them.” For the use of the noun translated here “bands of raiders to plunder them” see 1 Sam 30:3, 15, 23 and BDB 151 s.v. גְּדוּד 1.
[18:23] 698 sn Heb “Do not blot out their sins from before you.” For this anthropomorphic figure which looks at God’s actions as though connected with record books, i.e., a book of wrongdoings to be punished, and a book of life for those who are to live, see e.g., Exod 32:32, 33, Ps 51:1 (51:3 HT); 69:28 (69:29 HT).
[18:23] 699 tn Heb “in the time of your anger.”
[19:1] 700 tn The word “Jeremiah” is not in the text. Some Hebrew
[19:1] 701 tn Heb “an earthenware jar of the potter.”
[19:1] sn The word translated “clay” here refers to a clay which has been baked or fired in a kiln. In Jer 18 the clay was still soft and pliable, capable of being formed into different kinds of vessels. Here the clay is set, just as Israel is set in its ways. The word for jar refers probably to a water jug or decanter and is onomatopoeic, baqbuq, referring to the gurgling sound made by pouring out the water.
[19:1] 702 tc The words “Take with you” follow the reading of the Syriac version and to a certain extent the reading of the Greek version (the latter does not have “with you”). The Hebrew text does not have these words but they are undoubtedly implicit.
[19:1] 703 tn Heb “elders” both here and before “of the people.”
[19:1] sn The civil and religious leaders are referred to here. They were to be witnesses of the symbolic act and of the message that Jeremiah proclaimed to the leaders of Jerusalem and its citizens (see v. 3).
[19:2] 704 sn The exact location of the Potsherd Gate is unknown since it is nowhere else mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. It is sometimes identified with the Dung Gate mentioned in Neh 2:13; 3:13-14; 12:31 on the basis of the Jerusalem Targum. It is probably called “Potsherd Gate” because that is where the potter threw out the broken pieces of pottery which were no longer of use to him. The Valley of Ben Hinnom has already been mentioned in 7:31-32 in connection with the illicit religious practices, including child sacrifice, which took place there. The Valley of Ben Hinnom (or sometimes Valley of Hinnom) runs along the west and south sides of Jerusalem.
[19:2] 705 tn Heb “the words that I will speak to you.”
[19:3] 706 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[19:3] 707 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.”
[19:3] sn See the study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for explanation of this title.
[19:3] 708 sn Careful comparison of the use of this term throughout this passage and comparison with 7:31-33 which is parallel to several verses in this passage will show that the reference is to the Valley of Ben Hinnom which will become a Valley of Slaughter (see v. 6 and 7:32).
[19:3] 709 tn Heb “which everyone who hears it [or about it] his ears will ring.” This is proverbial for a tremendous disaster. See 1 Sam 3:11; 2 Kgs 21:12 for similar prophecies.
[19:4] 710 tn The text merely has “they.” But since a reference is made later to “they” and “their ancestors,” the referent must be to the people that the leaders of the people and leaders of the priests represent.
[19:4] 711 sn Heb “have made this city foreign.” The verb here is one that is built off of the noun and adjective which relate to foreign nations. Comparison may be made to Jer 2:21 where the adjective refers to the strange, wild vine as opposed to the choice vine the
[19:4] 713 tn Heb “the blood of innocent ones.” This must be a reference to child sacrifice as explained in the next verse. Some have seen a reference to the sins of social injustice alluded to in 2 Kgs 21:16 and 24:4 but those are connected with the city itself. Hence the word children is supplied in the translation to make the referent explicit.
[19:5] 714 tn The word “here” is not in the text. However, it is implicit from the rest of the context. It is supplied in the translation for clarity.
[19:5] 715 tn The words “such sacrifices” are not in the text. The text merely says “to burn their children in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal which I did not command.” The command obviously refers not to the qualification “to Baal” but to burning the children in the fire as burnt offerings. The words are supplied in the translation to avoid a possible confusion that the reference is to sacrifices to Baal. Likewise the words should not be translated so literally that they leave the impression that God never said anything about sacrificing their children to other gods. The fact is he did. See Lev 18:21; Deut 12:30; 18:10.
[19:6] 716 tn This phrase (Heb “Oracle of the
[19:6] 717 tn Heb “it will no longer be called to this place Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom but the Valley of Slaughter.”
[19:6] sn See Jer 7:31-32 for an almost word for word repetition of vv. 5-6.
[19:7] 718 sn There is perhaps a two-fold wordplay in the use of this word. One involves the sound play with the word for “jar,” which has been explained as a water decanter. The word here is בַקֹּתִי (vaqqoti). The word for jar in v. 1 is בַקְבֻּק (vaqbuq). There may also be a play on the literal use of this word to refer to the laying waste or destruction of a land (see Isa 24:3; Nah 2:3). Many modern commentaries think that at this point Jeremiah emptied out the contents of the jar, symbolizing the “emptying” out of their plans.
[19:7] 719 sn This refers to the fact that they will die in battle. The sword would be only one of the weapons that strikes them down. It is one of the trio of “sword,” “starvation,” and “disease” which were the concomitants of war referred to so often in the book of Jeremiah. Starvation is referred to in v. 9.
[19:7] 720 tn Heb “I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies and in the hand of those who seek their soul [= life].” In this context the two are meant as obvious qualifications of one entity, not two. Some rearrangement of the qualifiers had to be made in the English translation to convey this.
[19:8] 721 sn See 18:16 and the study note there.
[19:8] 722 tn Heb “all its smitings.” This word has been used several times for the metaphorical “wounds” that Israel has suffered as a result of the blows from its enemies. See, e.g., 14:17. It is used in the Hebrew Bible of scourging, both literally and metaphorically (cf. Deut 25:3; Isa 10:26), and of slaughter and defeat (1 Sam 4:10; Josh 10:20). Here it refers to the results of the crushing blows at the hands of her enemies which has made her the object of scorn.
[19:9] 723 tn This verse has been restructured to try to bring out the proper thought and subordinations reflected in the verse without making the sentence too long and complex in English: Heb “I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters. And they will eat one another’s flesh in the siege and in the straits which their enemies who are seeking their lives reduce them to.” This also shows the agency through which God’s causation was effected, i.e., the siege.
[19:9] sn Cannibalism is one of the penalties for disobedience to their covenant with the
[19:10] 724 tn The words “And the
[19:11] 725 tn Heb “Thus says Yahweh of armies.” For this title see the study note on 2:19. The translation attempts to avoid the confusion of embedding quotes within quotes by reducing this one to an indirect quote.
[19:11] 726 tn The adverb “Thus” or “Like this” normally points back to something previously mentioned. See, e.g., Exod 29:35; Num 11:15; 15:11; Deut 25:9.
[19:11] 727 tn Heb “Like this I will break this people and this city, just as one breaks the vessel of a potter which is not able to be repaired.”
[19:11] 728 sn See Jer 7:22-23 for parallels.
[19:12] 729 tn This phrase (Heb “Oracle of the
[19:13] 730 tn The words “by dead bodies” is not in the text but is implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[19:13] 731 tn Heb “the host of heaven.”
[19:14] 732 tn Heb “And Jeremiah entered from Topheth where the
[19:15] 733 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.”
[19:15] sn See the study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for explanation of this title.
[19:15] 734 tn Heb “all its towns.”
[19:15] 735 tn Heb “They hardened [or made stiff] their neck so as not to.”
[20:1] 736 tn Heb “chief overseer/officer.” The translation follows the suggestion of P. C. Craigie, P. H. Kelley, J. F. Drinkard, Jeremiah 1-25 (WBC), 267, based on the parallel passage in 29:26-27 where this official appears to have been in charge of maintaining order in the temple.
[20:1] sn Judging from a comparison of this passage with Jer 29:26-27 and that passage in turn with 2 Kgs 25:18, Pashhur held an office second in rank only to the high priest. He was in charge of keeping order in the temple and took offense at what he heard Jeremiah saying.
[20:2] 737 tn Heb “And Pashhur son of Immer, the priest and he [= who] was chief overseer [or officer] in the house of the
[20:2] 738 tn The meaning of this word is uncertain. It occurs only here, in 29:26 where it is followed by a parallel word that occurs only there and is generally translated “collar,” and in 2 Chr 16:10 where it is preceded by the word “house of.” It is most often translated “stocks” and explained as an instrument of confinement for keeping prisoners in a crooked position (from its relation to a root meaning “to turn.” See BDB 246 s.v. מַהְפֶּכֶת and KBL 500 s.v. מַהְפֶּכֶת for definition and discussion.) For a full discussion including the interpretation of the ancient versions see W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:542-43.
[20:2] 739 sn A comparison of Ezek 8:3 and 9:2 in their contexts will show that this probably refers to the northern gate to the inner court of the temple. It is called Upper because it was on higher ground above the gate in the outer court. It is qualified by “in the
[20:3] 740 tn This name is translated rather than transliterated to aid the reader in understanding this name and connect it clearly with the explanation that follows in the next verse. For a rather complete discussion on the significance of this name and an attempt to explain it as a pun on the name “Pashhur” see J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah (NICOT), 455, n. 35.
[20:3] sn The name Pashhur is essentially a curse pronounced by Jeremiah invoking the
[20:4] 741 tn Heb “I will make you an object of terror to both you and your friends.”
[20:4] 742 tn Heb “And they will fall by the sword of their enemies and [with] your eyes seeing [it].”
[20:5] 743 tn Heb “Take them [the goods, etc.] as plunder and seize them.”
[20:6] 744 tn Heb “all who live in your house.” This included his family and his servants.
[20:6] 745 sn As a member of the priesthood and the protector of order in the temple, Pashhur was undoubtedly one of those who promulgated the deceptive belief that the
[20:7] 746 tn The translation is admittedly interpretive but so is every other translation that tries to capture the nuance of the verb rendered here “coerced.” Here the Hebrew text reads: “You [ – ]ed me and I let myself be [ – ]ed. You overpowered me and prevailed.” The value one assigns to [ – ] is in every case interpretive based on what one thinks the context is referring to. The word is rendered “deceived” or “tricked” by several English versions (see, e.g., KJV, NASB, TEV, ICV) as though God had misled him. It is rendered “enticed” by some (see, e.g., NRSV, NJPS) as though God had tempted him with false hopes. Some go so far as to accuse Jeremiah of accusing God of metaphorically “raping” him. It is true that the word is used of “seducing” a virgin in Exod 22:15 and that it is used in several places to refer to “deceiving” someone with false words (Prov 24:28; Ps 78:36). It is also true that it is used of “coaxing” someone to reveal something he does not want to (Judg 14:15; 16:5) and of “enticing” someone to do something on the basis of false hopes (1 Kgs 22:20-22; Prov 1:10). However, it does not always have negative connotations or associations. In Hos 2:14 (2:16 HT) God “charms” or “woos” Israel, his estranged ‘wife,’ into the wilderness where he hopes to win her back to himself. What Jeremiah is alluding to here is crucial for translating and interpreting the word. There is no indication in this passage that Jeremiah is accusing God of misleading him or raising false hopes; God informed him at the outset that he would encounter opposition (1:17-19). Rather, he is alluding to his call to be a prophet, a call which he initially resisted but was persuaded to undertake because of God’s persistence (Jer 1:7-10). The best single word to translate ‘…’ with is thus “persuaded” or “coerced.” The translation spells out the allusion explicitly so the reader is not left wondering about what is being alluded to when Jeremiah speaks of being “coerced.” The translation “I let you do it” is a way of rendering the Niphal of the same verb which must be tolerative rather than passive since the normal passive for the Piel would be the Pual (See IBHS 389-90 §23.4g for discussion and examples.). The translation “you overcame my resistance” is based on allusion to the same context (1:7-10) and the parallel use of חָזַק (khazaq) as a transitive verb with a direct object in 1 Kgs 16:22.
[20:8] 747 tn Heb “speak,” but the speaking is in the context of speaking as a prophet.
[20:8] 748 tn Heb “I cry out, I proclaim.”
[20:8] 749 tn Heb “Violence and destruction.”
[20:8] sn The words “Violence and destruction…” are a synopsis of his messages of judgment. Jeremiah is lamenting that his ministry up to this point has been one of judgment and has brought him nothing but ridicule because the
[20:8] 750 tn Heb “the word of the
[20:9] 751 tn Heb “speak in his name.” This idiom occurs in passages where someone functions as the messenger under the authority of another. See Exod 5:23; Deut 18:19, 29:20; Jer 14:14. The antecedent in the first line is quite commonly misidentified as being “him,” i.e., the
[20:9] 752 tn The English sentence has again been restructured for the sake of English style. The Hebrew construction involves two vav consecutive perfects in a condition and consequence relation, “If I say to myself…then it [his word] becomes.” See GKC 337 §112.kk for the construction.
[20:9] 753 sn Heb “It is in my heart like a burning fire, shut up in my bones.” In addition to standing as part for the whole, the “bones” for the person (e.g., Ps 35:10), the bones were associated with fear (e.g., Job 4:14) and with pain (e.g., Job 33:19, Ps 102:3 [102:4 HT]) and joy or sorrow (e.g., Ps 51:8 [51:10 HT]). As has been mentioned several times, the heart was connected with intellectual and volitional concerns.
[20:10] 754 tn It would be difficult to render accurately the Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) that introduces this verse without lengthening the English line unduly. It probably means something like “This is true even though I…,” i.e., the particle is concessive (cf. BDB s.v. כִּי 2.c). No other nuance seems appropriate. The particle is left out of the translation, but its presence is acknowledged here.
[20:10] 755 tn The phrase translated “Those who would cause me terror are everywhere” has already occurred in 6:25 in the context of the terror caused by the enemy from the north and in 20:3 in reference to the curse pronounced on Pashhur who would experience it first hand. Some have seen the phrase here not as Jeremiah’s ejaculation of terror but of his assailant’s taunts of his message or even their taunting nickname for him. But comparison of this passage with the first two lines of Ps 31:13 (31:14 HT) which are word for word the same as these two will show that it refers to the terror inspired by the plots of his enemies to do away with him. It is also clear from the context of that passage and the following context here that the “whispering of many” (the literal translation of “many whispering words of intrigue against me) refers to intrigues to take vengeance on him and do away with him.
[20:10] 756 tn Heb “Denounce and let us denounce him.” The verb which is translated “denounce” (נָגַד, nagad) does not take an accusative object of person as it does here very often. When it does it usually means to inform someone. The only relevant passage appears to be Job 17:5 where it means something like “denounce.” What is probably involved here are the attempts to portray Jeremiah as a traitor (Jer 26:10) and a false prophet (see his conflict with Hananiah in Jer 28).
[20:10] 757 tn Heb “the men of my peace [who are concerned about my welfare].” For this phrase compare Ps 41:9 (41:10 HT); Jer 38:22. It is generally agreed that irony is being invoked here, hence “so-called” is supplied in the translation to bring out the irony.
[20:10] 758 tn Heb “watching my stumbling [for me to stumble].” Metaphorically they were watching for some slip-up that would lead to his downfall. Compare the use in Pss 35:15 and 38:17 (38:18 HT).
[20:10] 759 tn All the text says literally is “Perhaps he can be enticed so that we can prevail over him.” However the word “enticed” needs some qualification. As W. McKane (Jeremiah [ICC], 1:479) notes it should probably be read in the context of the “stumbling” (= “something that would lead to my downfall”). Hence “slipping up” has been supplied as an object. It is vague enough to avoid specifics as the original text does but suggests some reference to “something that would lead to my downfall.”
[20:10] sn There is an interesting ironical play on words here with the earlier use of these same Hebrew words in v. 7 to refer to the
[20:11] 760 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.
[20:12] 761 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
[20:12] sn See the study note on 2:19 for explanation of this title for God.
[20:12] 762 tn Heb “
[20:12] sn This verse is almost an exact duplication of the petition in one of Jeremiah’s earlier prayers and complaints. See Jer 11:20 and notes there for explanation of the Hebrew psychology underlying the use of “kidneys and heart” here. For the thoughts expressed here see Ps 17.
[20:13] 763 sn While it may be a little confusing to modern readers to see the fluctuation in moods and the shifts in addressee in a prayer and complaint like this, it was not at all unusual for Israel where these were often offered in the temple in the conscious presence of God before fellow worshipers. For another example of these same shifts see Ps 22 which is a prayer of David in a time of deep distress.
[20:14] 764 sn From the heights of exaltation, Jeremiah returns to the depths of despair. For similar mood swings in the psalms of lament compare Ps 102. Verses 14-18 are similar in tone and mood to Job 3:1-10. They are very forceful rhetorical ways of Job and Jeremiah expressing the wish that they had never been born.
[20:15] 765 tn Heb “Cursed be the man who brought my father the news saying, ‘A son, a male, has been born to you,’ making glad his joy.” This verse has been restructured for English stylistic purposes.
[20:15] sn The birth of a child was an occasion of great joy. This was especially true if the child was a boy because it meant the continuance of the family line and the right of retention of the family property. See Ruth 4:10, 13-17.
[20:16] 766 sn The cities alluded to are Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities of the Jordan plain which had become proverbial for their wickedness and for the destruction that the
[20:17] 767 tn Heb “because he did not kill me from the womb so my mother might be to me for my grave and her womb eternally pregnant.” The sentence structure has been modified and the word “womb” moved from the last line to the next to the last line for English stylistic purposes and greater clarity.
[20:18] 768 tn Heb “Why did I come forth from the womb to see [= so that I might see] trouble and grief and that my days might be consumed in shame.”
