Yeremia 15:18

15:18 Why must I continually suffer such painful anguish?

Why must I endure the sting of their insults like an incurable wound?

Will you let me down when I need you

like a brook one goes to for water, but that cannot be relied on?” ¹ 

Yeremia 31:27

Israel and Judah Will Be Repopulated

31:27 “Indeed, a time is coming,” ²  says the Lord, ³  “when I will cause people and animals to sprout up in the lands of Israel and Judah. ⁴ 

Yeremia 31:31

31:31 “Indeed, a time is coming,” says the Lord, ⁵  “when I will make a new covenant ⁶  with the people of Israel and Judah. ⁷ 

Yeremia 32:28

32:28 Therefore I, the Lord, say: ⁸  ‘I will indeed hand ⁹  this city over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and the Babylonian army. ¹⁰  They will capture it.

[15:18]  ¹ tn Heb “Will you be to me like a deceptive (brook), like waters which do not last [or are not reliable].”

[15:18]  sn Jeremiah is speaking of the stream beds or wadis which fill with water after the spring rains but often dry up in the summer time. A fuller picture is painted in Job 6:14-21. This contrasts with the earlier metaphor that God had used of himself in Jer 2:13.

[31:27]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[31:27]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[31:31]  ⁶ tn Or “a renewed covenant” (also in vv. 22-23).

[31:31]  ⁷ tn Heb “the house of Israel and the house of Judah.”

[32:28]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Heb “Behold, I will give this city into the hand of…”

[32:28]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “The Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for further explanation.