Yeremia 10:16-17

10:16 The Lord, who is the inheritance ¹  of Jacob’s descendants, ²  is not like them.

He is the one who created everything.

And the people of Israel are those he claims as his own. ³ 

He is known as the Lord who rules over all.” ⁴ 

Jeremiah Laments for and Prays for the Soon-to-be-Judged People

10:17 Gather your belongings together and prepare to leave the land,

you people of Jerusalem ⁵  who are being besieged. ⁶ 

[10:16]  ¹ tn The words “The Lord who is” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity. For the significance of the words that follow them see the study note that follows.

[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 Lord. As the other tribes lived off what their portion of the land provided, the tribe of Levi lived off what the Lord provided, i.e., the tithes and offerings dedicated to him. Hence to have the Lord as one’s portion is to have him provide for all one’s needs (see Ps 16:5 in the context of vv. 2, 6 and Lam 3:24 in the context of vv. 22-23).

[10:16]  ² tn Heb “The Portion of Jacob.” “Descendants” is implied, and is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[10:16]  ³ tn Heb “And Israel is the tribe of his possession.”

[10:16]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[10:17]  ⁶ 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.