Yeremia 10:4

10:4 He decorates it with overlays of silver and gold.

He uses hammer and nails to fasten it ¹  together

so that it will not fall over.

Yeremia 13:9

13:9 “I, the Lord, say: ²  ‘This shows how ³  I will ruin the highly exalted position ⁴  in which Judah and Jerusalem ⁵  take pride.

Yeremia 22:1

22:1 The Lord told me, ⁶  “Go down ⁷  to the palace of the king of Judah. Give him a message from me there. ⁸ 

Yeremia 23:23

23:23 Do you people think ⁹  that I am some local deity

and not the transcendent God?” ¹⁰  the Lord asks. ¹¹ 

Yeremia 23:37

23:37 Each of you should merely ask the prophet, ‘What answer did the Lord give you? Or what did the Lord say?’ ¹² 

Yeremia 29:15

29:15 “You say, ‘The Lord has raised up prophets of good news ¹³  for us here in Babylon.’

Yeremia 30:5

30:5 Yes, ¹⁴  here is what he says:

“You hear cries of panic and of terror;

there is no peace in sight. ¹⁵ 

Yeremia 31:11

31:11 For the Lord will rescue the descendants of Jacob.

He will secure their release ¹⁶  from those who had overpowered them. ¹⁷ 

Yeremia 31:25

31:25 I will fully satisfy the needs of those who are weary

and fully refresh the souls of those who are faint. ¹⁸ 

Yeremia 35:12

35:12 Then the Lord spoke to Jeremiah.

Yeremia 37:8

37:8 Then the Babylonian forces ¹⁹  will return. They will attack the city and will capture it and burn it down.

Yeremia 46:17

46:17 There at home they will say, ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is just a big noise! ²⁰ 

He has let the most opportune moment pass by.’ ²¹ 

Yeremia 48:21

48:21 “Judgment will come on the cities on the high plain: ²²  on Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath,

Yeremia 48:42

48:42 Moab will be destroyed and no longer be a nation, ²³ 

because she has vaunted herself against the Lord.

Yeremia 51:18

51:18 They are worthless, objects to be ridiculed.

When the time comes to punish them, they will be destroyed.

[10:4]  ¹ tn The pronoun is plural in Hebrew, referring to the parts.

[13:9]  ² tn Heb “Thus says the Lord.”

[13:9]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Many of the English versions have erred in rendering this word “pride” or “arrogance” with the resultant implication that the Lord is going to destroy Israel’s pride, i.e., humble them through the punishment of exile. However, BDB 144-45 s.v. גָּאוֹן 1 is more probably correct when they classify this passage among those that deal with the “‘majesty, excellence’ of nations, their wealth, power, magnificence of buildings….” The closest parallels to the usage here are in Zech 10:11 (parallel to scepter of Egypt); Ps 47:4 (47:5 HT; parallel to “our heritage” = “our land”); Isa 14:11; and Amos 8:7. The term is further defined in v. 11 where it refers to their special relationship and calling. To translate it “pride” or “arrogance” also ruins the wordplay on “ruin” (נִשְׁחַת [nishkhat] in v. 7 and אַשְׁחִית [’ashkhit] in v. 9).

[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 Lord “ruined” the privileged status that resulted from Israel’s close relationship to him (cf. v. 11). For the “problem” created by the Lord ruining Israel through corrupting influence compare the notes on Jer 4:10 and compare also passages like Isa 63:17 and Isa 6:10.

[13:9]  ⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[22:1]  ⁶ tn The word “me “ is not in the text. It is, however, implicit and is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[22:1]  ⁷ sn The allusion here is to going down from the temple to the palace which was on a lower eminence. See 36:12 in its context.

[22:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “And speak there this word:” The translation is intended to eliminate an awkward and lengthy sentence.

[23:23]  ⁹ tn The words “Do you people think” at the beginning of this verse and “Do you really think” at the beginning of the next verse are not in the text but are a way of trying to convey the nature of the rhetorical questions which expect a negative answer. They are also a way of trying to show that the verses are still connected with the preceding discussion addressed to the people (cf. 23:16, 20).

[23:23]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Am I a god nearby and not a god far off?” The question is sometimes translated as though there is an alternative being given in v. 23, one that covers both the ideas of immanence and transcendence (i.e., “Am I only a god nearby and not also a god far off?”). However, the hey interrogative (הַ) at the beginning of this verse and the particle (אִם, ’im) at the beginning of the next show that the linkage is between the question in v. 23 and that in v. 24a. According to BDB 210 s.v. הֲ 1.d both questions in this case expect a negative answer.

[23:23]  sn The thought that is expressed here must be viewed against the background of ancient Near Eastern thought where gods were connected with different realms, e.g., Baal, the god of wind, rain, and fertility, Mot, the god of drought, infertility, and death, Yam, the god of the sea and of chaos. Moreover, Baal was worshiped in local manifestations as the Baal of Peor, Baal of Gad, etc. Hence, Baal is sometimes spoken of in the singular and sometimes in the plural. The Lord is the one true God (Deut 6:4). Moreover, he is the maker of heaven and earth (Gen 14:12; 2 Kgs 19:15; Ps 115:15), sees into the hearts of all men (Ps 33:13-15), and judges men according to what they do (Ezek 7:3, 7, 27). There is no hiding from him (Job 34:22; Ps 139:7-12) and no escape from his judgment (Amos 9:2-4). God has already spoken to the people and their leaders through Jeremiah along these lines (Jer 16:17; 21:14). Lurking behind the thoughts expressed here is probably Deut 29:19-21 where God warns that one “bad apple” who thinks he can get away with sinning against the covenant can lead to the destruction of all. The false prophets were the “bad apples” that were encouraging the corruption of the whole nation by their words promoting a false sense of security unconnected with loyalty to God and obedience to his covenant. The first question deals with the issue of God’s transcendence, the second with his omniscience, and the third with his omnipresence.

[23:23]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[23:37]  ¹² tn See the note on v. 35.

[23:37]  sn As noted in v. 35 the prophet is Jeremiah. The message is directed against the prophet, priest, or common people who have characterized his message as a “burden from the Lord.”

[29:15]  ¹³ tn The words “of good news” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[30:5]  ¹⁴ tn The particle כִּי (ki) is functioning here as loosely causal or epexegetical of the preceding introduction. For this usage cf. BDB 473-74 s.v. כִּי 3.c. This nuance borders on that of the intensive use of כִּי. See the discussion in BDB 472 s.v. כִּי note and כִּי 1.e.

[30:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “We have heard the sound of panic and of fear, and there is no peace.” It is generally agreed that the person of the verb presupposes that this is an unintroduced quote of the people.

[31:11]  ¹⁶ sn Two rather theologically significant metaphors are used in this verse. The Hebrew word translated “will set…free” is a word used in the legal sphere for paying a redemption price to secure the freedom of a person or thing (see, e.g., Exod 13:13, 15). It is used metaphorically and theologically to refer to Israel’s deliverance from Egyptian bondage (Deut 15:15; Mic 6:4) and its deliverance from Babylonian exile (Isa 35:10). The word translated “secure their release” is a word used in the sphere of family responsibility where a person paid the price to free an indentured relative (Lev 25:48, 49) or paid the price to restore a relative’s property seized to pay a debt (Lev 25:25, 33). This word, too, was used to refer metaphorically and theologically to Israel’s deliverance from Egyptian bondage (Exod 6:6) or release from Babylonian exile (Isa 43:1-4; 44:22). These words are traditionally translated “ransom” and “redeem” and are a part of traditional Jewish and Christian vocabulary for physical and spiritual deliverance.

[31:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “from the hand/power of the one too strong for him.”

[31:25]  ¹⁸ tn The verbs here again emphasize that the actions are as good as done (i.e., they are prophetic perfects; cf. GKC 312-13 §106.n).

[31:25]  sn For the concept here compare Jer 31:12 where the promise was applied to northern Israel. This represents the reversal of the conditions that would characterize the exiles according to the covenant curse of Deut 28:65-67.

[37:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for the rendering “Babylonian.” The word “forces” is supplied in the translation here for the sake of clarity.

[46:17]  ²⁰ tn Heb “is a noise.” The addition of “just a big” is contextually motivated and is supplied in the translation to suggest the idea of sarcasm. The reference is probably to his boast in v. 8.

[46:17]  ²¹ tn Heb “he has let the appointed time pass him by.” It is unclear what is meant by the reference to “appointed time” other than the fact that Pharaoh has missed his opportunity to do what he claimed to be able to do. The Greek text is again different here. It reads “Call the name of Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt Saon esbeie moed,” reading קִרְאוּ שֵׁם (qir’u shem) for קָרְאוּ שָׁם (qor’u) and transliterating the last line.

[48:21]  ²² sn See the study note on Jer 48:8 for reference to this tableland or high plain that lay between the Arnon and Heshbon.

[48:42]  ²³ tn Heb “Moab will be destroyed from [being] a people.”