Yeremia 1:2

1:2 The Lord ¹  began to speak to him ²  in the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amon ruled over Judah.

Yeremia 1:11

Visions Confirming Jeremiah’s Call and Commission

1:11 Later the Lord asked me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I answered, “I see a branch of an almond tree.”

Yeremia 2:4

The Lord Reminds Them of the Unfaithfulness of Their Ancestors

2:4 Now listen to what the Lord has to say, you descendants ³  of Jacob,

all you family groups from the nation ⁴  of Israel.

Yeremia 2:9

The Lord Charges Contemporary Israel with Spiritual Adultery

2:9 “So, once more I will state my case ⁵  against you,” says the Lord.

“I will also state it against your children and grandchildren. ⁶ 

Yeremia 3:11

3:11 Then the Lord said to me, “Under the circumstances, wayward Israel could even be considered less guilty than unfaithful Judah. ⁷ 

Yeremia 4:8

4:8 So put on sackcloth!

Mourn and wail, saying,

‘The fierce anger of the Lord

has not turned away from us!’” ⁸ 

Yeremia 4:17

4:17 They will surround Jerusalem ⁹ 

like men guarding a field ¹⁰ 

because they have rebelled against me,”

says the Lord.

Yeremia 4:26-27

4:26 I looked and saw that the fruitful land had become a desert

and that all of the cities had been laid in ruins.

The Lord had brought this all about

because of his blazing anger. ¹¹ 

4:27 All this will happen because the Lord said, ¹² 

“The whole land will be desolate;

however, I will not completely destroy it.

Yeremia 5:9

5:9 I will surely punish them for doing such things!” says the Lord.

“I will surely bring retribution on such a nation as this!” ¹³ 

Yeremia 5:13

5:13 The prophets will prove to be full of wind. ¹⁴ 

The Lord has not spoken through them. ¹⁵ 

So, let what they say happen to them.’”

Yeremia 5:29

5:29 I will certainly punish them for doing such things!” says the Lord.

“I will certainly bring retribution on such a nation as this! ¹⁶ 

Yeremia 7:11

7:11 Do you think this temple I have claimed as my own ¹⁷  is to be a hideout for robbers? ¹⁸  You had better take note! ¹⁹  I have seen for myself what you have done! says the Lord.

Yeremia 7:19

7:19 But I am not really the one being troubled!” ²⁰  says the Lord. “Rather they are bringing trouble on themselves to their own shame! ²¹ 

Yeremia 8:8

8:8 How can you say, “We are wise!

We have the law of the Lord”?

The truth is, ²²  those who teach it ²³  have used their writings

to make it say what it does not really mean. ²⁴ 

Yeremia 9:20

9:20 I said, ²⁵ 

“So now, ²⁶  you wailing women, hear what the Lord says. ²⁷ 

Open your ears to the words from his mouth.

Teach your daughters this mournful song,

and each of you teach your neighbor ²⁸  this lament.

Yeremia 9:23

9:23 ²⁹ The Lord says,

“Wise people should not boast that they are wise.

Powerful people should not boast that they are powerful. ³⁰ 

Rich people should not boast that they are rich. ³¹ 

Yeremia 10:21

10:21 For our leaders ³²  are stupid.

They have not sought the Lord’s advice. ³³ 

So they do not act wisely,

and the people they are responsible for ³⁴  have all been scattered.

Yeremia 10:23-24

10:23 Lord, we know that people do not control their own destiny. ³⁵ 

It is not in their power to determine what will happen to them. ³⁶ 

10:24 Correct us, Lord, but only in due measure. ³⁷ 

Do not punish us in anger or you will reduce us to nothing. ³⁸ 

Yeremia 11:9

11:9 The Lord said to me, “The people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem have plotted rebellion against me! ³⁹ 

Yeremia 12:17

12:17 But I will completely uproot and destroy any of those nations that will not pay heed,’” ⁴⁰  says the Lord.

Yeremia 13:24

13:24 “The Lord says, ⁴¹ 

‘That is why I will scatter your people ⁴²  like chaff

that is blown away by a desert wind. ⁴³ 

Yeremia 14:20

14:20 Lord, we confess that we have been wicked.

We confess that our ancestors have done wrong. ⁴⁴ 

We have indeed ⁴⁵  sinned against you.

Yeremia 17:10

17:10 I, the Lord, probe into people’s minds.

I examine people’s hearts. ⁴⁶ 

I deal with each person according to how he has behaved.

I give them what they deserve based on what they have done.

Yeremia 17:14

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. ⁴⁷ 

Yeremia 19:12

19:12 I, the Lord, say: ⁴⁸  ‘That is how I will deal with this city and its citizens. I will make it like Topheth.

Yeremia 20:2

20:2 When he heard Jeremiah’s prophecy, he had the prophet flogged. ⁴⁹  Then he put him in the stocks ⁵⁰  which were at the Upper Gate of Benjamin in the Lord’s temple. ⁵¹ 

Yeremia 21:8

21:8 “But ⁵²  tell the people of Jerusalem ⁵³  that the Lord says, ‘I will give you a choice between two courses of action. One will result in life; the other will result in death. ⁵⁴ 

Yeremia 21:11

Warnings to the Royal Court

21:11 The Lord told me to say ⁵⁵  to the royal court ⁵⁶  of Judah,

“Listen to what the Lord says,

Yeremia 22:2

22:2 Say: ‘Listen, O king of Judah who follows in David’s succession. ⁵⁷  You, your officials, and your subjects who pass through the gates of this palace must listen to what the Lord says. ⁵⁸ 

Yeremia 22:16

22:16 He upheld the cause of the poor and needy.

So things went well for Judah.’ ⁵⁹ 

The Lord says,

‘That is a good example of what it means to know me.’ ⁶⁰ 

Yeremia 23:6

23:6 Under his rule ⁶¹  Judah will enjoy safety ⁶² 

and Israel will live in security. ⁶³ 

This is the name he will go by:

‘The Lord has provided us with justice.’ ⁶⁴ 

Yeremia 23:19

23:19 But just watch! ⁶⁵  The wrath of the Lord

will come like a storm! ⁶⁶ 

Like a raging storm it will rage down ⁶⁷ 

on the heads of those who are wicked.

Yeremia 23:25

23:25 The Lord says, ⁶⁸  “I have heard what those prophets who are prophesying lies in my name are saying. They are saying, ‘I have had a dream! I have had a dream!’ ⁶⁹ 

Yeremia 25:36

25:36 Listen to the cries of anguish of the leaders.

Listen to the wails of the shepherds of the flocks.

They are wailing because the Lord

is about to destroy their lands. ⁷⁰ 

Yeremia 28:5

28:5 Then the prophet Jeremiah responded to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the Lord’s temple.

Yeremia 29:9

29:9 They are prophesying lies to you and claiming my authority to do so. ⁷¹  But I did not send them. I, the Lord, affirm it!’ ⁷² 

Yeremia 29:20

29:20 ‘So pay attention to what I, the Lord, have said, ⁷³  all you exiles whom I have sent to Babylon from Jerusalem.’

Yeremia 30:23

30:23 Just watch! The wrath of the Lord

will come like a storm.

Like a raging storm it will rage down

on the heads of those who are wicked.

Yeremia 31:27

Israel and Judah Will Be Repopulated

31:27 “Indeed, a time is coming,” ⁷⁴  says the Lord, ⁷⁵  “when I will cause people and animals to sprout up in the lands of Israel and Judah. ⁷⁶ 

Yeremia 31:31

31:31 “Indeed, a time is coming,” says the Lord, ⁷⁷  “when I will make a new covenant ⁷⁸  with the people of Israel and Judah. ⁷⁹ 

Yeremia 32:28

32:28 Therefore I, the Lord, say: ⁸⁰  ‘I will indeed hand ⁸¹  this city over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and the Babylonian army. ⁸²  They will capture it.

Yeremia 33:16-17

33:16 Under his rule Judah will enjoy safety ⁸³  and Jerusalem ⁸⁴  will live in security. At that time Jerusalem will be called “The Lord has provided us with justice.” ⁸⁵  33:17 For I, the Lord, promise: “David will never lack a successor to occupy ⁸⁶  the throne over the nation of Israel. ⁸⁷ 

Yeremia 34:8

The Lord Threatens to Destroy Those Who Wronged Their Slaves

34:8 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah after King Zedekiah had made a covenant ⁸⁸  with all the people in Jerusalem ⁸⁹  to grant their slaves their freedom.

Yeremia 36:1

Jehoiakim Burns the Scroll Containing the Lord’s Messages

36:1 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah in the fourth year ⁹⁰  that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was ruling over Judah. ⁹¹ 

Yeremia 36:5

36:5 Then Jeremiah told Baruch, “I am no longer allowed to go ⁹²  into the Lord’s temple.

Yeremia 36:27

Baruch and Jeremiah Write Another Scroll

36:27 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah after Jehoiakim had burned the scroll containing what Jeremiah had spoken and Baruch had written down. ⁹³ 

Yeremia 37:2

37:2 Neither he nor the officials who served him nor the people of Judah paid any attention to what the Lord said through the prophet Jeremiah. ⁹⁴ 

Yeremia 38:21

38:21 But if you refuse to surrender, the Lord has shown me a vision of what will happen. Here is what I saw:

Yeremia 39:17

39:17 But I will rescue you when it happens. ⁹⁵  I, the Lord, affirm it! ⁹⁶  You will not be handed over to those whom you fear. ⁹⁷ 

Yeremia 43:4

43:4 So Johanan son of Kareah, all the army officers, and all the rest of the people did not obey the Lord’s command to stay in the land.

Yeremia 46:13

The Lord Predicts that Nebuchadnezzar Will Attack and Plunder Egypt

46:13 The Lord spoke to the prophet Jeremiah about Nebuchadnezzar coming to attack the land of Egypt. ⁹⁸ 

Yeremia 46:23

46:23 The population of Egypt is like a vast, impenetrable forest.

But I, the Lord, affirm ⁹⁹  that the enemy will cut them down.

For those who chop them down will be more numerous than locusts.

They will be too numerous to count. ¹⁰⁰ 

Yeremia 47:1

Judgment on the Philistine Cities

47:1 The Lord spoke to the prophet Jeremiah ¹⁰¹  about the Philistines before Pharaoh attacked Gaza. ¹⁰² 

Yeremia 47:6-7

47:6 How long will you cry out, ¹⁰³  ‘Oh, sword of the Lord,

how long will it be before you stop killing? ¹⁰⁴ 

Go back into your sheath!

Stay there and rest!’ ¹⁰⁵ 

47:7 But how can it rest ¹⁰⁶ 

when I, the Lord, have ¹⁰⁷  given it orders?

I have ordered it to attack

the people of Ashkelon and the seacoast. ¹⁰⁸ 

Yeremia 48:10

48:10 A curse on anyone who is lax in doing the Lord’s work!

A curse on anyone who keeps from carrying out his destruction! ¹⁰⁹ 

Yeremia 48:26

48:26 “Moab has vaunted itself against me.

So make him drunk with the wine of my wrath ¹¹⁰ 

until he splashes ¹¹¹  around in his own vomit,

until others treat him as a laughingstock.

Yeremia 48:30

48:30 I, the Lord, affirm that ¹¹²  I know how arrogant they are.

But their pride is ill-founded.

Their boastings will prove to be false. ¹¹³ 

Yeremia 48:47

48:47 Yet in days to come

I will reverse Moab’s ill fortune.” ¹¹⁴ 

says the Lord. ¹¹⁵ 

The judgment against Moab ends here.

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. ¹¹⁶ 

Yeremia 49:38

49:38 I will establish my sovereignty over Elam. ¹¹⁷ 

I will destroy their king and their leaders,” ¹¹⁸  says the Lord. ¹¹⁹ 

Yeremia 50:30

50:30 So her young men will fall in her city squares.

All her soldiers will be destroyed at that time,”

says the Lord. ¹²⁰ 

Yeremia 50:35

50:35 “Destructive forces will come against the Babylonians,” ¹²¹  says the Lord. ¹²² 

“They will come against the people who inhabit Babylonia,

against her leaders and her men of wisdom.

Yeremia 50:41

50:41 “Look! An army is about to come from the north.

A mighty nation and many kings ¹²³  are stirring into action

in faraway parts of the earth.

Yeremia 51:1

51:1 The Lord says,

“I will cause a destructive wind ¹²⁴  to blow

against ¹²⁵  Babylon and the people who inhabit Babylonia. ¹²⁶ 

Yeremia 51:45

51:45 “Get out of Babylon, my people!

Flee to save your lives

from the fierce anger of the Lord! ¹²⁷ 

Yeremia 51:51

51:51 ‘We ¹²⁸  are ashamed because we have been insulted. ¹²⁹ 

Our faces show our disgrace. ¹³⁰ 

For foreigners have invaded

the holy rooms ¹³¹  in the Lord’s temple.’

Yeremia 51:55

51:55 For the Lord is ready to destroy Babylon,

and put an end to her loud noise.

Their waves ¹³²  will roar like turbulent ¹³³  waters.

They will make a deafening noise. ¹³⁴ 

Yeremia 51:60

51:60 Jeremiah recorded ¹³⁵  on one scroll all the judgments ¹³⁶  that would come upon Babylon – all these prophecies ¹³⁷  written about Babylon.

Yeremia 52:24

52:24 The captain of the royal guard took Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest who was second in rank, and the three doorkeepers. ¹³⁸ 

[1:2]  ¹ sn The translation reflects the ancient Jewish tradition of substituting the word for “Lord” for the proper name for Israel’s God which is now generally agreed to have been Yahweh. Jewish scribes wrote the consonants YHWH but substituted the vowels for the word “Lord.” The practice of calling him “Lord” rather than using his proper name is also reflected in the Greek translation which is the oldest translation of the Hebrew Bible. The meaning of the name Yahweh occurs in Exod 3:13-14 where God identifies himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and tells Moses that his name is “I am” (אֶהְיֶה, ’ehyeh). However, he instructs the Israelites to refer to him as YHWH (“Yahweh” = “He is”); see further Exod 34:5-6.

[1:2]  ² tn Heb “to whom the word of the Lord came.” The present translation is more in keeping with contemporary English idiom. The idea of “began to speak” comes from the context where the conclusion of his speaking is signaled by the phrases “until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah” and “until the people of Jerusalem were taken into exile” in v. 3.

[2:4]  ³ tn Heb “house.”

[2:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “house.”

[2:9]  ⁵ tn Or “bring charges against you.”

[2:9]  sn The language used here is that of the law court. In international political contexts it was the language of a great king charging his subject with breach of covenant. See for examples in earlier prophets, Isa 1:2-20; Mic 6:1-8.

[2:9]  ⁶ tn The words “your children and” are supplied in the translation to bring out the idea of corporate solidarity implicit in the passage.

[2:9]  sn The passage reflects the Hebrew concept of corporate solidarity: The actions of parents had consequences for their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Compare the usage in the ten commandments, Deut 5:10, and note the execution of the children of Dathan and Abiram, Deut 11:6, and of Achan, Josh 7:24-25.

[3:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “Wayward Israel has proven herself to be more righteous than unfaithful Judah.”

[3:11]  sn A comparison is drawn here between the greater culpability of Judah, who has had the advantage of seeing how God disciplined her sister nation for having sinned and yet ignored the warning and committed the same sin, and the culpability of Israel who had no such advantage.

[4:8]  ⁸ tn Or “wail because the fierce anger of the Lord has not turned away from us.” The translation does not need to assume a shift in speaker as the alternate reading does.

[4:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “will surround her.” The antecedent is Jerusalem in the preceding verse. The referent is again made explicit in the translation to avoid any possible lack of clarity. The verb form here is a form of the verb that emphasizes the fact as being as good as done (i.e., it is a prophetic perfect).

[4:17]  ¹⁰ sn There is some irony involved in the choice of the simile since the men guarding a field were there to keep thieves from getting in and stealing the crops. Here the besiegers are guarding the city to keep people from getting out.

[4:26]  ¹¹ tn Heb “because of the Lord, because of his blazing anger.”

[4:27]  ¹² tn Heb “For this is what the Lord said,”

[5:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “Should I not punish them…? Should I not bring retribution…?” The rhetorical questions have the force of strong declarations.

[5:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “will be wind.”

[5:13]  sn There is a wordplay on the Hebrew word translated “wind” (רוּחַ, ruakh) which also means “spirit.” The prophets spoke by inspiration of the Spirit of the Lord (cf., e.g., 2 Chr 20:14); hence the prophet was sometimes called “the man of the spirit” (cf. Hos 9:7). The people were claiming that the prophets were speaking lies and hence were full of wind, not the Spirit.

[5:13]  ¹⁵ tc Heb “the word is not in them.” The MT has a highly unusual form here, the Piel perfect with the definite article (הַדִּבֵּר, haddibber). It is undoubtedly best to read with the LXX (Greek version) and one Hebrew ms the article on the noun (הַדָּבָר, haddavar).

[5:29]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Should I not punish…? Should I not bring retribution…?” The rhetorical questions function as emphatic declarations.

[5:29]  sn These words are repeated from 5:9 to give a kind of refrain justifying again the necessity of punishment in the light of such sins.

[7:11]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Is this house…a den/cave of robbers in your eyes?”

[7:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Behold!”

[7:19]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Is it I whom they provoke?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer which is made explicit in the translation.

[7:19]  ²¹ tn Heb “Is it not themselves to their own shame?” The rhetorical question expects a positive answer which is made explicit in the translation.

[8:8]  ²² tn Heb “Surely, behold!”

[8:8]  ²³ tn Heb “the scribes.”

[8:8]  ²⁴ 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.

[9:20]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ 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]  ²⁷ tn Heb “Listen to the word of the Lord.”

[9:20]  sn In this context the “word of the Lord” that they are to listen for is the word of the lament that they are to teach their daughters and neighbors.

[9:20]  ²⁸ tn Heb “Teach…mournful song, and each woman her neighbor lady…”

[9:23]  ²⁹ 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 Lord spoke to him (see Jer 36:4, 32 for reference to two of these collections). Here it is probable that vv. 23-26 were added as a further answer to the question raised in v. 12.

[9:23]  ³⁰ tn Or “Strong people should not brag that they are strong.”

[9:23]  ³¹ tn Heb “…in their wisdom…in their power…in their riches.”

[10:21]  ³² tn Heb “the shepherds.”

[10:21]  ³³ tn Heb “They have not sought the Lord.”

[10:21]  sn The idiom translated sought the Lord’s advice quite commonly refers to inquiring for the Lord’s guidance through a prophet. See for example Exod 18:15; 1 Sam 9:9; 1 Kgs 22:8. It would not exclude consulting the law.

[10:21]  ³⁴ 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.

[10:23]  ³⁵ 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]  ³⁶ tn Heb “Not to a man the walking and the establishing his step.”

[10:24]  ³⁷ tn Heb “with justice.”

[10:24]  ³⁸ 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.

[11:9]  ³⁹ tn Heb “Conspiracy [a plot to rebel] is found [or exists] among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”

[12:17]  ⁴⁰ 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.

[13:24]  ⁴¹ tn The words, “The Lord says” are not in the text at this point. The words “an oracle of the Lord” does, however, occur in the middle of the next verse and it is obvious the Lord is the speaker. The words have been moved up from the next verse to enhance clarity.

[13:24]  ⁴² 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]  ⁴³ sn Compare the threat using the same metaphor in Jer 4:11-12.

[14:20]  ⁴⁴ 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]  ⁴⁵ tn This is another example of the intensive use of כִּי (ki). See BDB 472 s.v. כִּי 1.e.

[17:10]  ⁴⁶ 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.

[17:14]  ⁴⁷ 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.

[19:12]  ⁴⁸ tn This phrase (Heb “Oracle of the Lord”) has been handled this way on several occasions when it occurs within first person addresses where the Lord is the speaker. See, e.g., 16:16; 17:24; 18:6.

[20:2]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “And Pashhur son of Immer, the priest and he [= who] was chief overseer [or officer] in the house of the Lord heard Jeremiah prophesying these words/things 20:2 and Pashhur had the prophet Jeremiah flogged.” This verse and the previous one has been restructured in the translation to better conform with contemporary English style.

[20:2]  ⁵⁰ 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]  ⁵¹ 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 Lord’s temple” to distinguish it from the Benjamin Gate in the city wall (cf. 37:13; 38:7). Like the Benjamin Gate in the city wall it faced north toward the territory of the tribe of Benjamin.

[21:8]  ⁵² tn Heb “And/But unto this people you shall say…” “But” is suggested here by the unusual word order which offsets what they are to say to Zedekiah (v. 3).

[21:8]  ⁵³ tn Heb “these people.”

[21:8]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “Behold I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death.”

[21:11]  ⁵⁵ tn The words “The Lord told me to say” are not in the text. They have been supplied in the translation for clarity. This text has been treated in two very different ways depending upon how one views the connection of the words “and to/concerning the household of the King of Judah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord:…’” with the preceding and following. Some treat the words that follow as a continuation of Jeremiah’s response to the delegation sent by Zedekiah (cf. vv. 3, 8). Others treat this as introducing a new set of oracles parallel to those in 23:9-40 which are introduced by the heading “to/concerning the prophets.” There are three reasons why this is the more probable connection: (1) the parallelism in expression with 23:9; (2) the other introductions in vv. 3, 8 use the preposition אֶל (’el) instead of לְ (lÿ) used here, and they have the formal introduction “you shall say…”; (3) the warning or challenge here would mitigate the judgment pronounced on the king and the city in vv. 4-7. Verses 8-9 are different. They are not a mitigation but an offer of escape for those who surrender. Hence, these words are a title “Now concerning the royal court.” (The vav [ו] that introduces this is disjunctive = “Now.”) However, since the imperative that follows is masculine plural and addressed to the royal house, something needs to be added to introduce it. Hence the translation supplies “The Lord told me to say” to avoid confusion or mistakenly connecting it with the preceding.

[21:11]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “house” or “household.” It is clear from 22:1-6 that this involved the King, the royal family, and the court officials.

[22:2]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “who sits on David’s throne.”

[22:2]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah who sits on the throne of David, you, and your officials and your people who pass through these gates.”

[22:16]  ⁵⁹ tn The words “for Judah” are not in the text, but the absence of the preposition plus object as in the preceding verse suggests that this is a more general statement, i.e., “things went well for everyone.”

[22:16]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “Is that not what it means to know me.” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer. It is translated in the light of the context.

[22:16]  sn Comparison of the usage of the words “know me” in their context in Jer 2:8; 9:3, 6, 24 and here will show that more than mere intellectual knowledge is involved. It involves also personal commitment to God and obedience to the demands of the agreements with him. The word “know” is used in ancient Near Eastern treaty contexts of submission to the will of the overlord. See further the notes on 9:3.

[23:6]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “In his days [= during the time he rules].”

[23:6]  ⁶² tn Parallelism and context (cf. v. 4) suggest this nuance for the word often translated “be saved.” For this nuance elsewhere see Ps 119:117; Prov 28:18 for the verb (יָשַׁע [yasha’] in the Niphal); and Ps 12:6; Job 5:4, 11 for the related noun (יֶשַׁע, yesha’).

[23:6]  ⁶³ sn It should be noted that this brief oracle of deliverance implies the reunification of Israel and Judah under the future Davidic ruler. Jeremiah has already spoken about this reunification earlier in 3:18 and will have more to say about it in 30:3; 31:27, 31. This same ideal was espoused in the prophecies of Hosea (1:10-11 [2:1-2 HT]), Isaiah (11:1-4, 10-12), and Ezekiel (37:15-28) all of which have messianic and eschatological significance.

[23:6]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “his name will be called ‘The Lord our righteousness’.”

[23:6]  sn The Hebrew word translated “justice” here is very broad in its usage, and it is hard to catch all the relevant nuances for this word in this context. It is used for “vindication” in legal contexts (see, e.g., Job 6:29), for “deliverance” or “salvation” in exilic contexts (see, e.g., Isa 58:8), and in the sense of ruling, judging with “justice” (see, e.g., Lev 19:15; Isa 32:1). Here it probably sums up the justice that the Lord provides through raising up this ruler as well as the safety, security, and well-being that result (see vv. 5-6a). In the NT this takes on soteriological connotations (see 1 Cor 1:31 in its context).

[23:19]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “Behold!”

[23:19]  ⁶⁶ tn The syntax of this line has generally been misunderstood, sometimes to the point that some want to delete the word wrath. Both here and in 30:23 where these same words occur the word “anger” stands not as an accusative of attendant circumstance but an apposition, giving the intended referent to the figure. Comparison should be made with Jer 25:15 where “this wrath” is appositional to “the cup of wine” (cf. GKC 425 §131.k).

[23:19]  ⁶⁷ tn The translation is deliberate, intending to reflect the repetition of the Hebrew root which is “swirl/swirling.”

[23:25]  ⁶⁸ tn The words, “The Lord says” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity to show that the Lord continues speaking.

[23:25]  ⁶⁹ sn To have had a dream was not an illegitimate means of receiving divine revelation. God had revealed himself in the past to his servants through dreams (e.g., Jacob [Gen 31:10-11] and Joseph [Gen 37:6, 7, 9]) and God promised to reveal himself through dreams (Num 12:6; Joel 2:28 [3:1 HT]). What was illegitimate was to use the dream to lead people away from the Lord (Deut 13:1-5 [13:2-6 HT]). That was what the prophets were doing through their dreams which were “lies” and “the delusions of their own minds.” Through them they were making people forget who the Lord really was which was just like what their ancestors had done through worshiping Baal.

[25:36]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “their pastures,” i.e., the place where they “shepherd” their “flocks.” The verb tenses in this section are not as clear as in the preceding. The participle in this verse is followed by a vav consecutive perfect like the imperatives in v. 34. The verbs in v. 38 are perfects but they can be and probably should be understood as prophetic like the perfect in v. 31 (נְתָנָם, nÿtanam) which is surrounded by imperfects, participles, and vav consecutive perfects.

[25:36]  sn Jer 25:36-38 shifts to the future as though the action were already accomplished or going on. It is the sound that Jeremiah hears in his “prophetic ears” of something that has begun (v. 29) but will find its culmination in the future (vv. 13, 16, 27, 30-35).

[29:9]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “prophesying lies to you in my name.”

[29:9]  sn For the significance of “in my name” see the study notes on 14:14 and 23:27.

[29:9]  ⁷² tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[29:20]  ⁷³ tn Heb “pay attention to the word of the Lord.” However, the Lord is speaking in the words just previous to this and in the words which follow (“whom I have sent”). This is another example of the shift from third person referent to first person which is common in Hebrew poetry and prophecy but is not common in English style. The person has been adjusted in the translation to avoid confusion.

[31:27]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “Behold days are coming!” The particle “Behold” is probably used here to emphasize the reality of a fact. See the translator’s note on 1:6.

[31:27]  sn This same expression is found in the introduction to the Book of Consolation (Jer 30:1-3) and in the introduction to the promise of a new covenant (or covenant; 31:31). In all three passages it is emphasized that the conditions apply to both Israel and Judah. The Lord will reverse their fortunes and restore them to their lands (30:3), increase their numbers and build them up (31:27-28), and make a new covenant with them involving forgiveness of sins (31:31-34).

[31:27]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[31:27]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “Behold, the days are coming and [= when] I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of people and of animals.” For the significance of the metaphor see the study note.

[31:27]  sn The metaphor used here presupposes that drawn in Hos 2:23 (2:25 HT) which is in turn based on the wordplay with Jezreel (meaning “God sows”) in Hos 2:22. The figure is that of plant seed in the ground which produces a crop; here what are sown are the “seeds of people and animals.” For a similar picture of the repopulating of Israel and Judah see Ezek 36:10-11. The promise here reverses the scene of devastation that Jeremiah had depicted apocalyptically and hyperbolically in Jer 4:23-29 as judgment for Judah’s sins.

[31:31]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[31:31]  ⁷⁸ tn Or “a renewed covenant” (also in vv. 22-23).

[31:31]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “the house of Israel and the house of Judah.”

[32:28]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “Thus says the Lord.” However, the speech has already been introduced as first person. So the first person style has been retained for smoother narrative style.

[32:28]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “Behold, I will give this city into the hand of…”

[32:28]  ⁸² tn Heb “The Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for further explanation.

[33:16]  ⁸³ tn For the translation of this term in this context see the parallel context in 23:6 and consult the translator’s note there.

[33:16]  ⁸⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[33:16]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “And this is what will be called to it: ‘The Lord our righteousness.’”

[33:16]  sn For the significance of this title see the study note on the parallel text in 23:6. Other titles by which Jerusalem is to be known are found in Isa 62:2-4; Jer 3:17; Ezek 48:35; Zech 8:3 emphasizing that the Lord takes up his relation with it once again, dwells in it, delights in it, and finds it faithful once more (cf. Isa 1:26). In 23:6 the title is applied to the Davidic ruler that the Lord will raise up over them who will do what is just and right. God’s vindication of the city by its restoration after exile and his provision of this just ruler over it is the probable source for the title.

[33:17]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “a man shall not be cut off to David [i.e., belonging to the Davidic line] sitting on the throne of the house of Israel.”

[33:17]  ⁸⁷ sn It should be noted once again that the reference is to all Israel, not just to Judah (cf. Jer 23:5-6; 30:9).

[34:8]  ⁸⁸ tn Usually translated “covenant.” See the study note on 11:2 for the rationale for the translation here.

[34:8]  sn There are no details regarding the nature of this covenant, but it was probably a parity covenant in which the people agreed to free their slaves in exchange for some concessions from the king (see the study note on 11:2 for more details on the nature of ancient Near Eastern covenants). More details about this covenant are given in vv. 15, 18-19 where it is said to have been made before the Lord in the temple and involved passing between the pieces of a cut-up calf. Hence it involved their swearing an oath invoking the Lord’s name (cf. Gen 21:23; 31:51-53; 1 Sam 20:42) and pronouncing self-maledictory curses on themselves calling down on themselves a fate similar to that of the dead calf if they failed to keep it. (This latter practice is illustrated in treaty documents from the ancient Near East and is reflected in the covenant ceremony in Gen 15:8-16.)

[34:8]  ⁸⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[36:1]  ⁹⁰ sn The fourth year that Jehoiakim…was ruling over Judah would have been 605/4 b.c. Jehoiakim began his rule in 609/8 b.c. after his father Josiah was killed by Pharaoh Necho at Megiddo. Necho had installed him as puppet king in place of his brother Jehoahaz who was deposed by Necho after a reign of only three months (2 Kgs 23:31-35). According to Jer 46:2 that was the year in which Nebuchadnezzar defeated Jehoiakim’s suzerain Necho at Carchemish. That was also the same year that Jerusalem came under attack and submitted to Babylonian control after a brief siege (Dan 1:1; see the study note on 25:1 for the reason for the difference in the dating between Jer 25:1; 36:2 and Dan 1:1). These events confirmed what Jeremiah had been saying about the foe from the north (4:6; 6:1; 15:12) and would have provided the impetus for the hopes that the people would repent if they were reminded about what Jeremiah had been saying.

[36:1]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “This word came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah the king of Judah, saying.”

[36:5]  ⁹² tn Heb “I am restrained; I cannot go into.” The word “restrained” is used elsewhere in Jeremiah of his being confined to the courtyard of the guardhouse (33:1; 39:15). However, that occurred only later during the tenth year of Zedekiah (Jer 32:1-2) and Jeremiah appears here to be free to come and go as he pleased (vv. 19, 26). The word is used in the active voice of the Lord preventing Sarah from having a baby (Gen 16:2). The probable nuance is here “I am prevented/ debarred” from being able to go. No reason is given why he was prevented/debarred. It has been plausibly suggested that he was prohibited from going into the temple any longer because of the scathing sermon he delivered there earlier (Jer 26:1-3; 7:1-15).

[36:27]  ⁹³ tn Heb “Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah after the king had burned the scroll and the words [= containing the words] which Baruch wrote down from the mouth of Jeremiah, saying.”

[37:2]  ⁹⁴ sn These two verses (37:1-2) are introductory to chs. 37–38 and are intended to characterize Zedekiah and his regime as disobedient just like Jehoiakim and his regime had been (Jer 36:27; cf. 2 Kgs 24:19-20). This characterization is important because Zedekiah is portrayed in the incidents that follow in 37–38 as seeking the Lord’s help or seeking a word from the Lord. However though he did send to inquire of Jeremiah three times, he did not pay attention to the warnings that he received in reply and was ultimately responsible for the fall of Jerusalem (Jer 39). As elsewhere in the book of Jeremiah, Jeconiah’s reign is passed over in silence because it was negligible and because Jeremiah did not wish to legitimize the hopes that many in Israel and Babylon had in his returning from exile and resuming rule over Judah (see further the study notes on 22:24, 30 and 33:30).

[39:17]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “But I will rescue you on that day” (referring to the same day mentioned in the preceding verse).

[39:17]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[39:17]  ⁹⁷ sn Some commentators see this as a reference to the princes from whose clutches Ebed-Melech delivered Jeremiah (38:7-13). However, it is clear that in this context it refers to those that he would fear when the Lord brings about the threatened disaster, i.e., the Babylonians who are attacking the city.

[46:13]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “The word which the Lord spoke to the prophet Jeremiah about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to attack the land of Egypt.”

[46:13]  sn Though there is much debate in the commentaries regarding the dating and reference of this prophecy, it most likely refers to a time shortly after 604 b.c. when Nebuchadnezzar followed up his successful battle against Necho at Carchemish with a campaign into the Philistine plain which resulted in the conquest and sacking of Ashkelon. Nebuchadnezzar now stood poised on the border of Egypt to invade it. See J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah (NICOT), 691, and for a fuller discussion including the other main options see G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, T. G. Smothers, Jeremiah 26-52 (WBC), 287-88.

[46:23]  ⁹⁹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.” Again the first person is adopted because the Lord is speaking and the indirect quotation is used to avoid an embedded quotation with quotation marks on either side.

[46:23]  ¹⁰⁰ tn The precise meaning of this verse is uncertain. The Hebrew text reads: “They [those who enter in great force] will cut down her forest, oracle of the Lord, though it [the forest] cannot be searched out/through for they [those who come in great force] are more numerous than locusts and there is no number to them.” Some see the reference to the forest as metaphorical of Egypt’s population which the Babylonian army decimates (H. Freedman, Jeremiah [SoBB], 298, and see BDB 420 s.v. I יַעַר 1.a which refers to the forest as a figure of foes to be cut down and destroyed and compare Isa 10:34). Others see the reference to literal trees and see the decimation of Egypt in general (C. von Orelli, Jeremiah, 329). And some see it as a continuation of the simile of the snake fleeing, the soldiers cutting down the trees because they cannot find it (J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah [NICOT], 693). However, the simile of v. 22a has already been dropped in v. 22b-d; they come against her. Hence it is probably best to see this as a continuation of the simile in v. 22c-d and see the reference to the Babylonian army coming against her, i.e., Egypt (the nation or people of Egypt), like woodcutters cutting down trees.

[47:1]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “That which came [as] the word of the Lord to Jeremiah.” For this same construction see 14:1; 46:1 and see the translator’s note at 14:1 for explanation.

[47:1]  ¹⁰² sn The precise dating of this prophecy is uncertain. Several proposals have been suggested, the most likely of which is that the prophecy was delivered in 609 b.c. in conjunction with Pharaoh Necho’s advance into Palestine to aid the Assyrians. That was the same year that Josiah was killed by Necho at the battle of Megiddo and four years before Necho was defeated by Nebuchadnezzar, the foe from the north. The prophecy presupposes that Ashkelon is still in existence (v. 5) hence it must be before 604 b.c. For a fairly complete discussion of the options see G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, T. G. Smothers, Jeremiah 26-52 (WBC), 299-300.

[47:6]  ¹⁰³ tn The words “How long will you cry out” are not in the text but some such introduction seems necessary because the rest of the speech assumes a personal subject.

[47:6]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Heb “before you are quiet/at rest.”

[47:6]  ¹⁰⁵ sn The passage is highly figurative. The sword of the Lord, which is itself a figure of the destructive agency of the enemy armies, is here addressed as a person and is encouraged in rhetorical questions (the questions are designed to dissuade) to “be quiet,” “be at rest,” “be silent,” all of which is designed to get the Lord to call off the destruction against the Philistines.

[47:7]  ¹⁰⁶ tn The reading here follows the Greek, Syriac, and Latin versions. The Hebrew text reads “how can you rest” as a continuation of the second person in v. 6.

[47:7]  ¹⁰⁷ tn Heb “When the Lord has.” The first person is again adopted because the Lord has been speaking.

[47:7]  ¹⁰⁸ tn Heb “Against Ashkelon and the sea coast, there he has appointed it.” For the switch to the first person see the preceding translator’s note. “There” is poetical and redundant and the idea of “attacking” is implicit in “against.”

[48:10]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Heb “who withholds his sword from bloodshed.” This verse is an editorial aside (or apostrophe) addressed to the Babylonian destroyers to be diligent in carrying out the work of the Lord in destroying Moab.

[48:26]  ¹¹⁰ tn Heb “Make him drunk because he has magnified himself against the Lord.” The first person has again been adopted for consistency within a speech of the Lord. Almost all of the commentaries relate the figure of drunkenness to the figure of drinking the cup of God’s wrath spelled out in Jer 25 where reference is made at one point to the nations drinking, staggering, vomiting, and falling (25:27 and see G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, T. G. Smothers, Jeremiah 26-52 [WBC], 316, for a full list of references to this figure including this passage and 49:12-13; 51:6-10, 39, 57).

[48:26]  ¹¹¹ tn The meaning of this word is uncertain. It is usually used of clapping the hands or the thigh in helpless anger or disgust. Hence J. Bright (Jeremiah [AB], 321) paraphrases “shall vomit helplessly.” HALOT 722 s.v. II סָפַק relates this to an Aramaic word and see a homonym meaning “vomit” or “spew out.” The translation is that of BDB 706 s.v. סָפַק Qal.3, “splash (fall with a splash),” from the same root that refers to slapping or clapping the thigh.

[48:30]  ¹¹² tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[48:30]  ¹¹³ tn The meaning of this verse is somewhat uncertain: Heb “I know, oracle of the Lord,/ his arrogance and [that it is?] not true; // his boastings accomplish that which is not true.” Several of the modern English versions and commentaries redivide the verse and read something like, “I know his insolence…his boastings are false; his deeds are false (NRSV, REB).” However, the word translated “deeds” in the last line is a verb in the third person plural and can only have as its logical grammatical subject the word “boastings.” The adjective כֵּן (ken) + the negative לֹא (lo’) is evidently repeated here and applied to two different subjects “arrogance” and “boasting” to emphasize that Moab’s arrogant boasts will prove “untrue” (Cf. HALOT 459 s.v. II כֵּן 2.c for the meaning “untrue” for both this passage and the parallel one in Isa 16:6). There is some difference of opinion about the identification of the “I” in this verse. Most commentators see it as referring to the prophet. However, F. B. Huey (Jeremiah, Lamentations [NAC], 395) is probably correct in seeing it as referring to the Lord. He points to the fact that the “I” in vv. 33, 35, 38 can only refer to God. The “I know” in v. 30 also clearly has the Lord as its subject. There are other cases in the book of Jeremiah where the Lord expresses his lament over the fate of a people (cf. 14:1-6, 17-18).

[48:47]  ¹¹⁴ tn See 29:14; 30:3 and the translator’s note on 29:14 for the idiom used here.

[48:47]  ¹¹⁵ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[49:26]  ¹¹⁶ tn Heb “Oracle of Yahweh of armies.” For this title for God see the study note on 2:19.

[49:38]  ¹¹⁷ tn Or “I will sit in judgment over Elam”; Heb “I will set up my throne in Elam.” Commentators are divided over whether this refers to a king sitting in judgment over his captured enemies or whether it refers to formally establishing his rule over the country. Those who argue for the former idea point to the supposed parallels in 1:15 (which the present translation understands not to refer to this but to setting up siege) and 43:8-13. The parallelism in the verse here, however, argues that it refers to the Lord taking over the reins of government by destroying their former leaders.

[49:38]  ¹¹⁸ tn Heb “I will destroy king and leaders from there.”

[49:38]  ¹¹⁹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[50:30]  ¹²⁰ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[50:35]  ¹²¹ tn Heb “the Chaldeans.” For explanation of the rendering see the study note on 21:4. There is no verb in this clause. Therefore it is difficult to determine whether this should be understood as a command or as a prediction. The presence of vav (ו) consecutive perfects after a similar construction in vv. 36b, d, 37c, 38a and the imperfects after “therefore” (לָכֵן, lakhen) all suggest the predictive or future nuance. However, the vav consecutive perfect could be used to carry on the nuance of command (cf. GKC 333 §112.q) but not in the sense of purpose as NRSV, NJPS render them.

[50:35]  sn Heb “A sword against the Chaldeans.” The “sword” here is metaphorical for destructive forces in the persons of the armies of the north (vv. 3, 9) which the Lord is marshaling against Babylon and which he has addressed by way of command several times (e.g., vv. 14, 21, 26-27, 29). Compare 46:14 and the study note there.

[50:35]  ¹²² tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[50:41]  ¹²³ sn A mighty nation and many kings is an allusion to the Medo-Persian empire and the vassal kings who provided forces for the Medo-Persian armies.

[51:1]  ¹²⁴ sn The destructive wind is a figurative reference to the “foreign people” who will “winnow” Babylon and drive out all the people (v. 2). This figure has already been used in 4:11-12 and in 49:36. See the study note on 4:11-12 and the translator’s notes on 22:22 and 49:36.

[51:1]  ¹²⁵ tn Or “I will arouse the spirit of hostility of a destroying nation”; Heb “I will stir up against Babylon…a destroying wind [or the spirit of a destroyer].” The word רוּחַ (ruakh) can refer to either a wind (BDB 924 s.v. רוּחַ 2.a) or a spirit (BDB 925 s.v. רוּחַ 2.g). It can be construed as either a noun followed by an adjectival participle (so, “a destroying wind”) or a noun followed by another noun in the “of” relationship (a construct or genitival relationship; so, “spirit of a destroyer”). The same noun with this same verb is translated “stir up the spirit of” in 1 Chr 5:26; 2 Chr 21:16; 36:22; Hag 1:14; and most importantly in Jer 51:11 where it refers to the king of the Medes. However, the majority of the exegetical tradition (all the commentaries consulted and all the English versions except NASB and NIV) opt for the “destructive wind” primarily because of the figure of winnowing that is found in the next verse. The translation follows the main line exegetical tradition here for that same reason.

[51:1]  ¹²⁶ sn Heb “the people who live in Leb-qamai.” “Leb-qamai” is a code name for “Chaldeans” formed on the principle of substituting the last letter of the alphabet for the first, the next to the last for the second, and so on. This same principle is used in referring to Babylon in 25:26 and 51:41 as “Sheshach.” See the study note on 25:26 where further details are given. There is no consensus on why the code name is used because the terms Babylon and Chaldeans (= Babylonians) have appeared regularly in this prophecy or collection of prophecies.

[51:45]  ¹²⁷ tn Heb “Go out from her [Babylon’s] midst, my people. Save each man his life from the fierce anger of the Lord.” The verb has been paraphrased to prevent gender specific terms.

[51:45]  sn Compare Jer 50:8-10; 51:6 where the significance of saving oneself from the fierce anger of the Lord is clarified.

[51:51]  ¹²⁸ sn The exiles lament the way they have been humiliated.

[51:51]  ¹²⁹ tn Heb “we have heard an insult.”

[51:51]  ¹³⁰ tn Heb “disgrace covers our face.”

[51:51]  ¹³¹ tn Or “holy places, sanctuaries.”

[51:55]  ¹³² tn The antecedent of the third masculine plural pronominal suffix is not entirely clear. It probably refers back to the “destroyers” mentioned in v. 53 as the agents of God’s judgment on Babylon.

[51:55]  ¹³³ tn Or “mighty waters.”

[51:55]  ¹³⁴ tn Heb “and the noise of their sound will be given,”

[51:60]  ¹³⁵ tn Or “wrote.”

[51:60]  ¹³⁶ tn Or “disaster”; or “calamity.”

[51:60]  ¹³⁷ tn Heb “words” (or “things”).

[52:24]  ¹³⁸ sn See the note at Jer 35:4.