Yeremia 9:21

9:21 ‘Death has climbed in ¹  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.’

Yeremia 11:22

11:22 So the Lord who rules over all ²  said, “I will surely ³  punish them! Their young men will be killed in battle. ⁴  Their sons and daughters will die of starvation.

Yeremia 18:21

18:21 So let their children die of starvation.

Let them be cut down by the sword. ⁵ 

Let their wives lose their husbands and children.

Let the older men die of disease ⁶ 

and the younger men die by the sword in battle.

Yeremia 48:15

48:15 Moab will be destroyed. Its towns will be invaded.

Its finest young men will be slaughtered. ⁷ 

I, the King, the Lord who rules over all, ⁸  affirm it! ⁹ 

Yeremia 49:26

49:26 For her young men will fall in her city squares.

All her soldiers will be destroyed at that time,”

says the Lord who rules over all. ¹⁰ 

[9:21]  ¹ 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.

[11:22]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “Behold I will.” For the function of this particle see the translator’s note on 1:6.

[11:22]  ⁴ tn Heb “will die by the sword.” Here “sword” stands contextually for “battle” while “starvation” stands for death by starvation during siege.

[18:21]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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.

[48:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “will go down to the slaughter.”

[48:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.” For an explanation of the translation and meaning of this title see the study note on 2:19.

[48:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “Oracle of the King whose name is Yahweh of armies.” The first person form has again been adopted because the Lord is the speaker throughout this oracle/ these oracles (cf. v. 1).

[49:26]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Oracle of Yahweh of armies.” For this title for God see the study note on 2:19.