Yeremia 8:18--9:11
Konteks“There is no cure 2 for my grief!
I am sick at heart!
8:19 I hear my dear people 3 crying out 4
throughout the length and breadth of the land. 5
They are crying, ‘Is the Lord no longer in Zion?
Is her divine King 6 no longer there?’”
The Lord answers, 7
“Why then do they provoke me to anger with their images,
with their worthless foreign idols?” 8
8:20 “They cry, 9 ‘Harvest time has come and gone, and the summer is over, 10
and still we have not been delivered.’
8:21 My heart is crushed because my dear people 11 are being crushed. 12
I go about crying and grieving. I am overwhelmed with dismay. 13
8:22 There is still medicinal ointment 14 available in Gilead!
There is still a physician there! 15
Why then have my dear people 16
not been restored to health? 17
9:1 (8:23) 18 I wish that my head were a well full of water 19
and my eyes were a fountain full of tears!
If they were, I could cry day and night
for those of my dear people 20 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. 21
Then I would desert my people
and walk away from them
because they are all unfaithful to God,
a congregation 22 of people that has been disloyal to him. 23
“These people are like soldiers who have readied their bows.
Their tongues are always ready to shoot out lies. 25
They have become powerful in the land,
but they have not done so by honest means. 26
Indeed, they do one evil thing after another 27
and do not pay attention to me. 28
9:4 Everyone must be on his guard around his friends.
He must not even trust any of his relatives. 29
For every one of them will find some way to cheat him. 30
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 31 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. 32
They refuse to pay attention to me,” 33
says the Lord.
9:7 Therefore the Lord who rules over all says, 34
“I will now purify them in the fires of affliction 35 and test them.
The wickedness of my dear people 36 has left me no choice.
What else can I do? 37
9:8 Their tongues are like deadly arrows. 38
They are always telling lies. 39
Friendly words for their neighbors come from their mouths.
But their minds are thinking up ways to trap them. 40
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!” 41
“I will weep and mourn 43 for the grasslands on the mountains, 44
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 46 a heap of ruins.
Jackals will make their home there. 47
I will destroy the towns of Judah
so that no one will be able to live in them.”
[8:18] 1 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] 2 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] 3 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] 4 tn Heb “Behold the voice of the crying of the daughter of my people.”
[8:19] 5 tn Heb “Land of distances, i.e., of wide extent.” For parallel usage cf. Isa 33:17.
[8:19] 6 tn Heb “her King” but this might be misunderstood by some to refer to the Davidic ruler even with the capitalization.
[8:19] 7 tn The words, “The
[8:19] 8 sn The people’s cry and the
[8:20] 9 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] 10 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] 11 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] 12 tn Heb “Because of the crushing of the daughter of my people I am crushed.”
[8:21] 13 tn Heb “I go about in black [i.e., mourning clothes]. Dismay has seized me.”
[8:22] 14 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] 15 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] 16 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] 17 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] 18 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] 19 tn Heb “I wish that my head were water.”
[9:1] 20 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] 21 tn Heb “I wish I had in the desert a lodging place [inn, or place to spend the night] for travelers.”
[9:2] 22 tn Or “bunch,” but this loses the irony; the word is used for the solemn assemblies at the religious feasts.
[9:2] 23 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] 24 tn The words “The
[9:3] 25 tn Heb “They have readied [or strung] their tongue as their bow for lies.”
[9:3] 26 tn Heb “but not through honesty.”
[9:3] 27 tn Heb “they go from evil to evil.”
[9:3] 28 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] 29 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] 30 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] 31 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] 32 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] 33 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] 34 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] 35 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] 36 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] 37 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] 38 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] 39 tn Heb “They speak deceit.”
[9:8] 40 tn Heb “With his mouth a person speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets an ambush for him.”
[9:9] 41 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] 42 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] 43 tn Heb “I will lift up weeping and mourning.”
[9:10] 44 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] 45 tn The words “the
[9:11] 46 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
