Yeremia 16:17

16:17 For I see everything they do. Their wicked ways are not hidden from me. Their sin is not hidden away where I cannot see it. ¹ 

Yeremia 9:18

9:18 I said, “Indeed, ²  let them come quickly and sing a song of mourning for us.

Let them wail loudly until tears stream from our own eyes

and our eyelids overflow with water.

Yeremia 9:1

9:1 (8:23) ³  I wish that my head were a well full of water ⁴ 

and my eyes were a fountain full of tears!

If they were, I could cry day and night

for those of my dear people ⁵  who have been killed.

Yeremia 39:7

39:7 Then he had Zedekiah’s eyes put out and had him bound in chains ⁶  to be led off to Babylon.

Yeremia 52:10

52:10 The king of Babylon had Zedekiah’s sons put to death while Zedekiah was forced to watch. He also had all the nobles of Judah put to death there at Riblah.

Yeremia 19:10

19:10 The Lord continued, ⁷  “Now break the jar in front of those who have come here with you.

Yeremia 39:6

39:6 There at Riblah the king of Babylon had Zedekiah’s sons put to death while Zedekiah was forced to watch. The king of Babylon also had all the nobles of Judah put to death.

Yeremia 13:17

13:17 But if you will not pay attention to this warning, ⁸ 

I will weep alone because of your arrogant pride.

I will weep bitterly and my eyes will overflow with tears ⁹ 

because you, the Lord’s flock, ¹⁰  will be carried ¹¹  into exile.”

Yeremia 5:21

5:21 Tell them: ‘Hear this,

you foolish people who have no understanding,

who have eyes but do not discern,

who have ears but do not perceive: ¹² 

Yeremia 14:6

14:6 Wild donkeys stand on the hilltops

and pant for breath like jackals.

Their eyes are strained looking for food,

because there is none to be found.” ¹³ 

Yeremia 32:19

32:19 You plan great things and you do mighty deeds. ¹⁴  You see everything people do. ¹⁵  You reward each of them for the way they live and for the things they do. ¹⁶ 

Yeremia 52:11

52:11 He had Zedekiah’s eyes put out and had him bound in chains. ¹⁷  Then the king of Babylon had him led off to Babylon and he was imprisoned there until the day he died.

Yeremia 14:17

Lament over Present Destruction and Threat of More to Come

14:17 “Tell these people this, Jeremiah: ¹⁸ 

‘My eyes overflow with tears

day and night without ceasing. ¹⁹ 

For my people, my dear children, ²⁰  have suffered a crushing blow.

They have suffered a serious wound. ²¹ 

Yeremia 22:17

22:17 But you are always thinking and looking

for ways to increase your wealth by dishonest means.

Your eyes and your heart are set

on killing some innocent person

and committing fraud and oppression. ²² 

Yeremia 51:24

51:24 “But I will repay Babylon

and all who live in Babylonia

for all the wicked things they did in Zion

right before the eyes of you Judeans,” ²³ 

says the Lord. ²⁴ 

Yeremia 13:20

13:20 Then I said, ²⁵ 

“Look up, Jerusalem, ²⁶  and see

the enemy ²⁷  that is coming from the north.

Where now is the flock of people that were entrusted to your care? ²⁸ 

Where now are the ‘sheep’ that you take such pride in? ²⁹ 

Yeremia 43:9

43:9 “Take some large stones ³⁰  and bury them in the mortar of the clay pavement ³¹  at the entrance of Pharaoh’s residence ³²  here in Tahpanhes. Do it while the people of Judah present there are watching. ³³ 

Yeremia 4:20

4:20 I see ³⁴  one destruction after another taking place,

so that the whole land lies in ruins.

I see our ³⁵  tents suddenly destroyed,

their ³⁶  curtains torn down in a mere instant. ³⁷ 

Yeremia 16:9

16:9 For I, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all, tell you what will happen. ³⁸  I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness, to the glad celebration of brides and grooms in this land. You and the rest of the people will live to see this happen.’” ³⁹ 

Yeremia 34:3

34:3 You yourself will not escape his clutches, but will certainly be captured and handed over to him. You must confront the king of Babylon face to face and answer to him personally. ⁴⁰  Then you must go to Babylon.

Yeremia 4:30

4:30 And you, Zion, city doomed to destruction, ⁴¹ 

you accomplish nothing ⁴²  by wearing a beautiful dress, ⁴³ 

decking yourself out in jewels of gold,

and putting on eye shadow! ⁴⁴ 

You are making yourself beautiful for nothing.

Your lovers spurn you.

They want to kill you. ⁴⁵ 

Yeremia 5:3

5:3 Lord, I know you look for faithfulness. ⁴⁶ 

But even when you punish these people, they feel no remorse. ⁴⁷ 

Even when you nearly destroy them, they refuse to be corrected.

They have become as hardheaded as a rock. ⁴⁸ 

They refuse to change their ways. ⁴⁹ 

Yeremia 3:2

3:2 “Look up at the hilltops and consider this. ⁵⁰ 

You have had sex with other gods on every one of them. ⁵¹ 

You waited for those gods like a thief lying in wait in the desert. ⁵² 

You defiled the land by your wicked prostitution to other gods. ⁵³ 

Yeremia 29:21

29:21 “The Lord God of Israel who rules over all ⁵⁴  also has something to say about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies to you and claiming my authority to do so. ⁵⁵  ‘I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and he will execute them before your very eyes.

Yeremia 20:4

20:4 For the Lord says, ‘I will make both you and your friends terrified of what will happen to you. ⁵⁶  You will see all of them die by the swords of their enemies. ⁵⁷  I will hand all the people of Judah over to the king of Babylon. He will carry some of them away into exile in Babylon and he will kill others of them with the sword.

Yeremia 39:16

39:16 “Go ⁵⁸  and tell Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, ‘The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, “I will carry out against this city what I promised. It will mean disaster and not good fortune for it. ⁵⁹  When that disaster happens, you will be there to see it. ⁶⁰ 

Yeremia 20:5

20:5 I will hand over all the wealth of this city to their enemies. I will hand over to them all the fruits of the labor of the people of this city and all their prized possessions, as well as all the treasures of the kings of Judah. Their enemies will seize it all as plunder ⁶¹  and carry it off to Babylon.

Yeremia 21:7

21:7 Then ⁶²  I, the Lord, promise that ⁶³  I will hand over King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and any of the people who survive the war, starvation, and disease. I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and to their enemies who want to kill them. He will slaughter them with the sword. He will not show them any mercy, compassion, or pity.’

Yeremia 10:13

10:13 When his voice thunders, ⁶⁴  the heavenly ocean roars.

He makes the clouds rise from the far-off horizons. ⁶⁵ 

He makes the lightning flash out in the midst of the rain.

He unleashes the wind from the places where he stores it. ⁶⁶ 

Yeremia 32:24

32:24 Even now siege ramps have been built up around the city ⁶⁷  in order to capture it. War, ⁶⁸  starvation, and disease are sure to make the city fall into the hands of the Babylonians ⁶⁹  who are attacking it. ⁷⁰  Lord, ⁷¹  you threatened that this would happen. Now you can see that it is already taking place. ⁷² 

Yeremia 51:16

51:16 When his voice thunders, the waters in the heavens roar.

He makes the clouds rise from the far-off horizons.

He makes the lightning flash out in the midst of the rain.

He unleashes the wind from the places where he stores it.

Yeremia 6:7

6:7 As a well continually pours out fresh water

so it continually pours out wicked deeds. ⁷³ 

Sounds of violence and destruction echo throughout it. ⁷⁴ 

All I see are sick and wounded people.’ ⁷⁵ 

Yeremia 31:16

31:16 The Lord says to her, ⁷⁶ 

“Stop crying! Do not shed any more tears! ⁷⁷ 

For your heartfelt repentance ⁷⁸  will be rewarded.

Your children will return from the land of the enemy.

I, the Lord, affirm it! ⁷⁹ 

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 49:19

49:19 “A lion coming up from the thick undergrowth along the Jordan ⁸⁰ 

scatters the sheep in the pastureland around it. ⁸¹ 

So too I will chase the Edomites off their land. ⁸² 

Then I will appoint over it whomever I choose. ⁸³ 

For there is no one like me, and there is no one who can call me to account. ⁸⁴ 

There is no ⁸⁵  ruler ⁸⁶  who can stand up against me.

Yeremia 50:44

50:44 “A lion coming up from the thick undergrowth along the Jordan

scatters the sheep in the pastureland around it.

So too I will chase the Babylonians off of their land.

Then I will appoint over it whomever I choose.

For there is no one like me.

There is no one who can call me to account.

There is no ruler that can stand up against me.

Yeremia 32:4

32:4 King Zedekiah of Judah will not escape from the Babylonians. ⁸⁷  He will certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon. He must answer personally to the king of Babylon and confront him face to face. ⁸⁸ 

Yeremia 49:36

49:36 I will cause enemies to blow through Elam from every direction

like the winds blowing in from the four quarters of heaven.

I will scatter the people of Elam to the four winds.

There will not be any nation where the refugees of Elam will not go. ⁸⁹ 

Yeremia 17:1

17:1 ⁹⁰ The sin of Judah is engraved with an iron chisel

on their stone-hard ⁹¹  hearts.

It is inscribed with a diamond ⁹²  point

on the horns of their altars. ⁹³ 

Yeremia 4:23

4:23 “I looked at the land and saw ⁹⁴  that it was an empty wasteland. ⁹⁵ 

I looked up at the sky, and its light had vanished.

Yeremia 7:5

7:5 You must change ⁹⁶  the way you have been living and do what is right. You must treat one another fairly. ⁹⁷ 

Yeremia 52:23

52:23 There were ninety-six pomegranate-shaped ornaments on the sides; in all there were one hundred pomegranate-shaped ornaments over the latticework that went around it.

Yeremia 32:12

32:12 I took both copies of the deed of purchase ⁹⁸  and gave them to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah. I gave them to him in the presence ⁹⁹  of my cousin ¹⁰⁰  Hanamel, the witnesses who had signed the deed of purchase, and all the Judeans who were housed in the courtyard of the guardhouse.

Yeremia 52:2

52:2 He did what displeased the Lord ¹⁰¹  just as Jehoiakim had done.

Yeremia 2:22

2:22 You can try to wash away your guilt with a strong detergent.

You can use as much soap as you want.

But the stain of your guilt is still there for me to see,” ¹⁰² 

says the Lord God. ¹⁰³ 

Yeremia 7:30

7:30 The Lord says, “I have rejected them because ¹⁰⁴  the people of Judah have done what I consider evil. ¹⁰⁵  They have set up their disgusting idols in the temple ¹⁰⁶  which I have claimed for my own ¹⁰⁷  and have defiled it.

Yeremia 9:17

9:17 The Lord who rules over all ¹⁰⁸  told me to say to this people, ¹⁰⁹ 

“Take note of what I say. ¹¹⁰ 

Call for the women who mourn for the dead!

Summon those who are the most skilled at it!” ¹¹¹ 

Yeremia 11:16

11:16 I, the Lord, once called ¹¹²  you a thriving olive tree,

one that produced beautiful fruit.

But I will set you ¹¹³  on fire,

fire that will blaze with a mighty roar. ¹¹⁴ 

Then all your branches will be good for nothing. ¹¹⁵ 

Yeremia 10:8

10:8 The people of those nations ¹¹⁶  are both stupid and foolish.

Instruction from a wooden idol is worthless! ¹¹⁷ 

Yeremia 20:18

20:18 Why did I ever come forth from my mother’s womb?

All I experience is trouble and grief,

and I spend my days in shame. ¹¹⁸ 

Yeremia 26:14

26:14 As to my case, I am in your power. ¹¹⁹  Do to me what you deem fair and proper.

Yeremia 42:2

42:2 They said to him, “Please grant our request ¹²⁰  and pray to the Lord your God for all those of us who are still left alive here. ¹²¹  For, as you yourself can see, there are only a few of us left out of the many there were before. ¹²² 

Yeremia 49:32

49:32 Their camels will be taken as plunder.

Their vast herds will be taken as spoil.

I will scatter to the four winds

those desert peoples who cut their hair short at the temples. ¹²³ 

I will bring disaster against them

from every direction,” says the Lord. ¹²⁴ 

Yeremia 6:28

6:28 I reported, ¹²⁵ 

“All of them are the most stubborn of rebels! ¹²⁶ 

They are as hard as bronze or iron.

They go about telling lies.

They all deal corruptly.

Yeremia 7:11

7:11 Do you think this temple I have claimed as my own ¹²⁷  is to be a hideout for robbers? ¹²⁸  You had better take note! ¹²⁹  I have seen for myself what you have done! says the Lord.

Yeremia 23:39

23:39 So ¹³⁰  I will carry you far off ¹³¹  and throw you away. I will send both you and the city I gave to you and to your ancestors out of my sight. ¹³² 

Yeremia 28:1

Jeremiah Confronted by a False Prophet

28:1 The following events occurred in that same year, early in the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah. To be more precise, it was the fifth month of the fourth year of his reign. ¹³³  The prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, spoke to Jeremiah ¹³⁴  in the Lord’s temple in the presence of the priests and all the people. ¹³⁵ 

Yeremia 31:9

31:9 They will come back shedding tears of contrition.

I will bring them back praying prayers of repentance. ¹³⁶ 

I will lead them besides streams of water,

along smooth paths where they will never stumble. ¹³⁷ 

I will do this because I am Israel’s father;

Ephraim ¹³⁸  is my firstborn son.’”

Yeremia 2:13

2:13 “Do so because my people have committed a double wrong:

they have rejected me,

the fountain of life-giving water, ¹³⁹ 

and they have dug cisterns for themselves,

cracked cisterns which cannot even hold water.”

Yeremia 2:21

2:21 I planted you in the land

like a special vine of the very best stock.

Why in the world have you turned into something like a wild vine

that produces rotten, foul-smelling grapes? ¹⁴⁰ 

Yeremia 6:6

6:6 All of this is because ¹⁴¹  the Lord who rules over all ¹⁴²  has said:

‘Cut down the trees around Jerusalem

and build up a siege ramp against its walls. ¹⁴³ 

This is the city which is to be punished. ¹⁴⁴ 

Nothing but oppression happens in it. ¹⁴⁵ 

Yeremia 10:2

10:2 The Lord says,

“Do not start following pagan religious practices. ¹⁴⁶ 

Do not be in awe of signs that occur ¹⁴⁷  in the sky

even though the nations hold them in awe.

Yeremia 13:19

13:19 The gates of the towns in southern Judah will be shut tight. ¹⁴⁸ 

No one will be able to go in or out of them. ¹⁴⁹ 

All Judah will be carried off into exile.

They will be completely carried off into exile.’” ¹⁵⁰ 

Yeremia 18:10

18:10 But if that nation does what displeases me and does not obey me, then I will cancel the good I promised to do to it.

Yeremia 24:6

24:6 I will look after their welfare ¹⁵¹  and will restore them to this land. There I will build them up and will not tear them down. I will plant them firmly in the land ¹⁵²  and will not uproot them. ¹⁵³ 

Yeremia 25:31

25:31 The sounds of battle ¹⁵⁴  will resound to the ends of the earth.

For the Lord will bring charges against the nations. ¹⁵⁵ 

He will pass judgment on all humankind

and will hand the wicked over to be killed in war.’ ¹⁵⁶ 

The Lord so affirms it! ¹⁵⁷ 

Yeremia 32:30

32:30 This will happen because the people of Israel and Judah have repeatedly done what displeases me ¹⁵⁸  from their earliest history until now ¹⁵⁹  and because they ¹⁶⁰  have repeatedly made me angry by the things they have done. ¹⁶¹  I, the Lord, affirm it! ¹⁶² 

Yeremia 42:15

42:15 If you people who remain in Judah do that, then listen to what the Lord says. The Lord God of Israel who rules over all ¹⁶³  says, ‘If you are so determined ¹⁶⁴  to go to Egypt that you go and settle there,

Yeremia 50:13

50:13 After I vent my wrath on it Babylon will be uninhabited. ¹⁶⁵ 

It will be totally desolate.

All who pass by will be filled with horror and will hiss out their scorn

because of all the disasters that have happened to it. ¹⁶⁶ 

Yeremia 51:36

51:36 Therefore the Lord says,

“I will stand up for your cause.

I will pay the Babylonians back for what they have done to you. ¹⁶⁷ 

I will dry up their sea.

I will make their springs run dry. ¹⁶⁸ 

Yeremia 52:19

52:19 The captain of the royal guard took the gold and silver bowls, censers, ¹⁶⁹  basins, pots, lampstands, pans, and vessels. ¹⁷⁰ 

Yeremia 14:19

14:19 Then I said,

“Lord, ¹⁷¹  have you completely rejected the nation of Judah?

Do you despise ¹⁷²  the city of Zion?

Why have you struck us with such force

that we are beyond recovery? ¹⁷³ 

We hope for peace, but nothing good has come of it.

We hope for a time of relief from our troubles, but experience terror. ¹⁷⁴ 

Yeremia 17:13

17:13 You are the one in whom Israel may find hope. ¹⁷⁵ 

All who leave you will suffer shame.

Those who turn away from you ¹⁷⁶  will be consigned to the nether world. ¹⁷⁷ 

For they have rejected you, the Lord, the fountain of life. ¹⁷⁸ 

Yeremia 17:16

17:16 But I have not pestered you to bring disaster. ¹⁷⁹ 

I have not desired the time of irreparable devastation. ¹⁸⁰ 

You know that.

You are fully aware of every word that I have spoken. ¹⁸¹ 

Yeremia 18:21

18:21 So let their children die of starvation.

Let them be cut down by the sword. ¹⁸² 

Let their wives lose their husbands and children.

Let the older men die of disease ¹⁸³ 

and the younger men die by the sword in battle.

Yeremia 18:23

18:23 But you, Lord, know

all their plots to kill me.

Do not pardon their crimes!

Do not ignore their sins as though you had erased them! ¹⁸⁴ 

Let them be brought down in defeat before you!

Deal with them while you are still angry! ¹⁸⁵ 

Yeremia 25:29

25:29 For take note, I am already beginning to bring disaster on the city that I call my own. ¹⁸⁶  So how can you possibly avoid being punished? ¹⁸⁷  You will not go unpunished! For I am proclaiming war against all who live on the earth. I, the Lord who rules over all, ¹⁸⁸  affirm it!’ ¹⁸⁹ 

Yeremia 27:5

27:5 “I made the earth and the people and animals on it by my mighty power and great strength, ¹⁹⁰  and I give it to whomever I see fit. ¹⁹¹ 

Yeremia 28:11

28:11 Then he spoke up in the presence of all the people. “The Lord says, ‘In the same way I will break the yoke of servitude of all the nations to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon ¹⁹²  before two years are over.’” After he heard this, the prophet Jeremiah departed and went on his way. ¹⁹³ 

Yeremia 33:9

33:9 All the nations will hear about all the good things which I will do to them. This city will bring me fame, honor, and praise before them for the joy that I bring it. The nations will tremble in awe at all the peace and prosperity that I will provide for it.’ ¹⁹⁴ 

Yeremia 34:15

34:15 Recently, however, you yourselves ¹⁹⁵  showed a change of heart and did what is pleasing to me. You granted your fellow countrymen their freedom and you made a covenant to that effect in my presence in the house that I have claimed for my own. ¹⁹⁶ 

Yeremia 38:9

38:9 “Your royal Majesty, those men have been very wicked in all that they have done to the prophet Jeremiah. They have thrown him into a cistern and he is sure to die of starvation there because there is no food left in the city. ¹⁹⁷ 

Yeremia 40:15

40:15 Then Johanan son of Kareah spoke privately to Gedaliah there at Mizpah, “Let me go and kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah before anyone knows about it. Otherwise he will kill you ¹⁹⁸  and all the Judeans who have rallied around you will be scattered. Then what remains of Judah will disappear.”

Yeremia 44:28

44:28 Some who survive in battle will return to the land of Judah from the land of Egypt. But they will be very few indeed! ¹⁹⁹  Then the Judean remnant who have come to live in the land of Egypt will know whose word proves true, ²⁰⁰  mine or theirs.’

Yeremia 49:12

49:12 For the Lord says, “If even those who did not deserve to drink from the cup of my wrath must drink from it, do you think you will go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, but must certainly drink from the cup of my wrath. ²⁰¹ 

Yeremia 50:34

50:34 But the one who will rescue them ²⁰²  is strong.

He is known as the Lord who rules over all. ²⁰³ 

He will strongly ²⁰⁴  champion their cause.

As a result ²⁰⁵  he will bring peace and rest to the earth,

but trouble and turmoil ²⁰⁶  to the people who inhabit Babylonia. ²⁰⁷ 

[16:17]  ¹ tn Heb “For my eyes are upon all their ways. They are not hidden from before me. And their sin is not hidden away from before my eyes.”

[9:18]  ² tn The words “And I said, ‘Indeed” are not in the text. They have been supplied in the translation to try and help clarify who the speaker is who identifies with the lament of the people.

[9:1]  ³ sn Beginning with 9:1, the verse numbers through 9:26 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 9:1 ET = 8:23 HT, 9:2 ET = 9:1 HT, 9:3 ET = 9:2 HT, etc., through 9:26 ET = 9:25 HT. Beginning with 10:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.

[9:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “I wish that my head were water.”

[9:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.

[39:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “fetters of bronze.” The more generic “chains” is used in the translation because “fetters” is a word unfamiliar to most modern readers.

[19:10]  ⁷ tn The words “And the Lord continued” are not in the text. However, they are necessary to take us clearly back to the flow of the narrative begun in vv. 1-2 and interrupted by the long speech in vv. 3-9.

[13:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “If you will not listen to it.” For the use of the feminine singular pronoun to refer to the idea(s) expressed in the preceding verse(s), see GKC 440-41 §135.p.

[13:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “Tearing [my eye] will tear and my eye will run down [= flow] with tears.”

[13:17]  sn The depth of Jeremiah’s sorrow for the sad plight of his people, if they refuse to repent, is emphasized by the triple repetition of the word “tears” twice in an emphatic verbal expression (Hebrew infinitive before finite verb) and once in the noun.

[13:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “because the Lord’s flock will…” The pronoun “you” is supplied in the translation to avoid the shift in English from the second person address at the beginning to the third person affirmation at the end. It also helps explain the metaphor of the people of Israel as God’s flock for some readers who may be unfamiliar with that metaphor.

[13:17]  ¹¹ tn The verb is once again in the form of “as good as done” (the Hebrew prophetic perfect).

[5:21]  ¹² tn Heb “they have eyes but they do not see, they have ears but they do not hear.”

[14:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “their eyes are strained because there is no verdure.”

[32:19]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “[you are] great in counsel and mighty in deed.”

[32:19]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “your eyes are open to the ways of the sons of men.”

[32:19]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “giving to each according to his way [= behavior/conduct] and according to the fruit of his deeds.”

[52:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “fetters of bronze.” The more generic “chains” is used in the translation because “fetters” is a word unfamiliar to most modern readers.

[14:17]  ¹⁸ tn The word “Jeremiah” is not in the text but the address is to a second person singular and is a continuation of 14:14 where the quote starts. The word is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[14:17]  ¹⁹ tn Many of the English versions and commentaries render this an indirect or third person imperative, “Let my eyes overflow…” because of the particle אַל (’al) which introduces the phrase translated “without ceasing” (אַל־תִּדְמֶינָה, ’al-tidmenah). However, this is undoubtedly an example where the particle introduces an affirmation that something cannot be done (cf. GKC 322 §109.e). Clear examples of this are found in Pss 41:2 (41:3 HT); 50:3; Job 40:32 (41:8). God here is describing again a lamentable situation and giving his response to it. See 14:1-6 above.

[14:17]  sn Once again it is the Lord lamenting the plight of the people, now directed to them, not the people lamenting their plight to him. See 14:1-6 and the study notes on the introduction to this section and on 14:7.

[14:17]  ²⁰ tn Heb “virgin daughter, my people.” The last noun here is appositional to the first two (genitive of apposition). Hence it is not ‘literally’ “virgin daughter of my people.”

[14:17]  sn This is a metaphor which occurs several times with regard to Israel, Judah, Zion, and even Sidon and Babylon. It is the poetic personification of the people, the city, or the land. Like other metaphors the quality of the comparison being alluded to must be elicited from the context. This is easy in Isa 23:12 (oppressed) and Isa 47:1 (soft and delicate) but not so easy in other places. From the nature of the context the suspicion here is that the protection the virgin was normally privileged to is being referred to and there is a reminder that the people are forfeiting it by their actions. Hence God laments for them.

[14:17]  ²¹ tn This is a poetic personification. To translate with the plural “serious wounds” might mislead some into thinking of literal wounds.

[14:17]  sn Compare Jer 10:19 for a similar use of this metaphor.

[22:17]  ²² tn Heb “Your eyes and your heart do not exist except for dishonest gain and for innocent blood to shed [it] and for fraud and for oppression to do [them].” The sentence has been broken up to conform more to English style and the significance of “eyes” and “heart” explained before they are introduced into the translation.

[51:24]  ²³ tn Or “Media, you are my war club…I will use you to smash…leaders. So before your very eyes I will repay…for all the wicked things they did in Zion.” For explanation see the translator’s note on v. 20. The position of the phrase “before your eyes” at the end of the verse after “which they did in Zion” and the change in person from second masculine singular in vv. 20b-23 (“I used you to smite”) to second masculine plural in “before your eyes” argue that a change in referent/addressee occurs in this verse. To maintain that the referent in vv. 20-23 is Media/Cyrus requires that this position and change in person be ignored; “before your eyes” then is attached to “I will repay.” The present translation follows J. A. Thompson (Jeremiah [NICOT], 757) and F. B. Huey (Jeremiah, Lamentations [NAC], 423) in seeing the referent as the Judeans who had witnessed the destruction of Zion/Jerusalem. The word “Judean” has been supplied for the sake of identifying the referent for the modern reader.

[51:24]  ²⁴ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[13:20]  ²⁵ tn The words “Then I said” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation to show the shift in speaker from vv. 18-19 where the Lord is speaking to Jeremiah.

[13:20]  ²⁶ tn The word “Jerusalem” is not in the Hebrew text. It is added in the Greek text and is generally considered to be the object of address because of the second feminine singular verbs here and throughout the following verses. The translation follows the consonantal text (Kethib) and the Greek text in reading the second feminine singular here. The verbs and pronouns in vv. 20-22 are all second feminine singular with the exception of the suffix on the word “eyes” which is not reflected in the translation here (“Look up” = “Lift up your eyes”) and the verb and pronoun in v. 23. The text may reflect the same kind of alternation between singular and plural that takes place in Isa 7 where the pronouns refer to Ahaz as an individual and his entourage, the contemporary ruling class (cf., e.g., Isa 7:4-5 [singular], 9 [plural], 11 [singular], 13-14 [plural]). Here the connection with the preceding may suggest that it is initially the ruling house (the king and the queen mother), then Jerusalem personified as a woman in her role as a shepherdess (i.e., leader). However, from elsewhere in the book the leadership has included the kings, the priests, the prophets, and the citizens as well (cf., e.g., 13:13). In v. 27 Jerusalem is explicitly addressed. It may be asking too much of some readers who are not familiar with biblical metaphors to understand an extended metaphor like this. If it is helpful to them, they may substitute plural referents for “I” and “me.”

[13:20]  ²⁷ tn The word “enemy” is not in the text but is implicit. It supplied in the translation for clarity.

[13:20]  sn On the phrase the enemy that is coming from the north see Jer 1:14-15; 4:6; 6:1, 22; 10:22.

[13:20]  ²⁸ tn Heb “the flock that was given to you.”

[13:20]  ²⁹ tn Heb “the sheep of your pride.” The word “of your people” and the quotes around “sheep” are intended to carry over the metaphor in such a way that readers unfamiliar with the metaphor will understand it.

[43:9]  ³⁰ tn Heb “Take some large stones in your hands.”

[43:9]  ³¹ tn The meaning of the expression “mortar of the clay pavement” is uncertain. The noun translated “mortar” occurs only here and the etymology is debated. Both BDB 572 s.v. מֶלֶט and KBL 529 s.v. מֶלֶט give the meaning “mortar.” The noun translated “clay pavement” is elsewhere used of a “brick mold.” Here BDB 527 s.v. מַלְבֵּן 2 gives “quadrangle” and KBL 527 s.v. מַלְבֵּן 2 gives “terrace of bricks.” HALOT 558 s.v. מֶלֶט and מַלְבֵּן 2 give “loamy soil” for both words, seeing the second noun as a dittography or gloss of the first (see also note c in BHS).

[43:9]  ³² sn All the commentaries point out that this was not Pharaoh’s (main) palace but a governor’s residence or other government building that Pharaoh occupied when he was in Tahpanhes.

[43:9]  ³³ tn Heb “in Tahpanhes in the eyes of the men of Judah.”

[4:20]  ³⁴ tn The words, “I see” are not in the text here or at the beginning of the third line. They are supplied in the translation to show that this is Jeremiah’s vision of what will happen as a result of the invasion announced in 4:5-9, 11-17a.

[4:20]  ³⁵ tn Heb “my.” This is probably not a reference to Jeremiah’s own tents since he foresees the destruction of the whole land. Jeremiah so identifies with the plight of his people that he sees the destruction of their tents as though they were his very own. It would probably lead to confusion to translate literally and it is not uncommon in Hebrew laments for the community or its representative to speak of the community as an “I.” See for example the interchange between first singular and first plural pronouns in Ps 44:4-8.

[4:20]  ³⁶ tn Heb “my.”

[4:20]  ³⁷ tn It is not altogether clear what Jeremiah intends by the use of this metaphor. In all likelihood he means that the defenses of Israel’s cities and towns have offered no more resistance than nomads’ tents. However, in light of the fact that the word “tent” came to be used generically for a person’s home (cf. 1 Kgs 8:66; 12:16), it is possible that Jeremiah is here referring to the destruction of their homes and the resultant feeling of homelessness and loss of even elementary protection. Given the lack of certainty the present translation is rather literal here.

[16:9]  ³⁸ tn Heb “For thus says Yahweh of armies the God of Israel.” The introductory formula which appears three times in vv. 1-9 (vv. 1, 3, 5) has been recast for smoother English style.

[16:9]  sn For the title “the Lord God of Israel who rules over all” see 7:3 and the study note on 2:19.

[16:9]  ³⁹ tn Heb “before your eyes and in your days.” The pronouns are plural including others than Jeremiah.

[34:3]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “Your eyes will see the eyes of the king of Babylon and his mouth will speak with your mouth.” For this same idiom in reverse order see 32:4 and consult the translator’s note there for the obligatory nuance given to the verbs.

[34:3]  sn For the fulfillment of this see Jer 52:7-11.

[4:30]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “And you that are doomed to destruction.” The referent is supplied from the following context and the fact that Zion/Jerusalem represents the leadership which was continually making overtures to foreign nations for help.

[4:30]  ⁴² tn Heb “What are you accomplishing…?” The rhetorical question assumes a negative answer, made clear by the translation in the indicative.

[4:30]  ⁴³ tn Heb “clothing yourself in scarlet.”

[4:30]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “enlarging your eyes with antimony.” Antimony was a black powder used by women as eyeliner to make their eyes look larger.

[4:30]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “they seek your life.”

[5:3]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “O Lord, are your eyes not to faithfulness?” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.

[5:3]  ⁴⁷ tn Commentaries and lexicons debate the meaning of the verb here. The MT is pointed as though from a verb meaning “to writhe in anguish or contrition” (חוּל [khul]; see, e.g., BDB 297 s.v. חוּל 2.c), but some commentaries and lexicons repoint the text as though from a verb meaning “to be sick,” thus “to feel pain” (חָלָה [khalah]; see, e.g., HALOT 304 s.v. חָלָה 3). The former appears more appropriate to the context.

[5:3]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “They made their faces as hard as a rock.”

[5:3]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “to repent”; Heb “to turn back.”

[3:2]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “and see.”

[3:2]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “Where have you not been ravished?” The rhetorical question expects the answer “nowhere,” which suggests she has engaged in the worship of pagan gods on every one of the hilltops.

[3:2]  ⁵² tn Heb “You sat for them [the lovers, i.e., the foreign gods] beside the road like an Arab in the desert.”

[3:2]  ⁵³ tn Heb “by your prostitution and your wickedness.” This is probably an example of hendiadys where, when two nouns are joined by “and,” one expresses the main idea and the other qualifies it.

[29:21]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.”

[29:21]  sn See study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for the explanation of this title.

[29:21]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “prophesying lies in my name.” For an explanation of this idiom see the study notes on 14:14 and 23:27.

[20:4]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “I will make you an object of terror to both you and your friends.”

[20:4]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “And they will fall by the sword of their enemies and [with] your eyes seeing [it].”

[39:16]  ⁵⁸ sn Even though Jeremiah was confined to the courtyard of the guardhouse, he was still free to entertain visitors (32:2, 8). Moreover, Ebed-Melech was an official attached to the royal court and would have had access to the courtyard of the guardhouse (38:7, 13). Jeremiah would not have had to leave the courtyard of the guardhouse to “go and tell” him something.

[39:16]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “Behold, I will bring to pass my words against this city for evil/disaster and not for good/good fortune.” For the form of the verb מֵבִי ([mevi] Kethib, מֵבִיא [mevi’] Qere) see GKC 206-7 §74.k, where the same form is noted for the Kethib in 2 Sam 5:2; 1 Kgs 21:21; Jer 19:15 all of which occur before a word beginning with א. For the nuance “carry out” (or “bring to pass”) see BDB 99 s.v. בּוֹא Hiph.2.b.

[39:16]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “And they [= my words for disaster] will come to pass [= happen] before you on that day [i.e., the day that I bring them to pass/carry them out].”

[20:5]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “Take them [the goods, etc.] as plunder and seize them.”

[21:7]  ⁶² tn Heb “And afterward.”

[21:7]  ⁶³ tn Heb “oracle of the Lord.”

[10:13]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “At the voice of his giving.” The idiom “to give the voice” is often used for thunder (cf. BDB 679 s.v. נָתַן Qal.1.x).

[10:13]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “from the ends of the earth.”

[10:13]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “he brings out the winds from his storehouses.”

[32:24]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “Siege ramps have come up to the city to capture it.”

[32:24]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “sword.”

[32:24]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “The Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for further explanation.

[32:24]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “And the city has been given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it because of the sword, starvation, and disease.” The verb “has been given” is one of those perfects that view the action as good as done (the perfect of certainty or prophetic perfect).

[32:24]  ⁷¹ tn The word “Lord” is not in the text but is supplied in the translation as a reminder that it is he who is being addressed.

[32:24]  ⁷² tn Heb “And what you said has happened and behold you see it.”

[6:7]  ⁷³ tc Heb “As a well makes cool/fresh its water, she makes cool/fresh her wickedness.” The translation follows the reading proposed by the Masoretes (Qere) which reads a rare form of the word “well” (בַּיִר [bayir] for בְּאֵר [bÿ’er]) in place of the form written in the text (Kethib, בּוֹר [bor]), which means “cistern.” The latter noun is masculine and the pronoun “its” is feminine. If indeed בַּיִר (bayir) is a byform of בְּאֵר (be’er), which is feminine, it would agree in gender with the pronoun. It also forms a more appropriate comparison since cisterns do not hold fresh water.

[6:7]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “Violence and destruction are heard in it.”

[6:7]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “Sickness and wound are continually before my face.”

[31:16]  ⁷⁶ tn The words “to her” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[31:16]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “Refrain your voice from crying and your eyes from tears.”

[31:16]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “your work.” Contextually her “work” refers to her weeping and refusing to be comforted, that is, signs of genuine repentance (v. 15).

[31:16]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[49:19]  ⁸⁰ tn See the study note on Jer 12:5 for the rendering of this term.

[49:19]  ⁸¹ tn “The pasture-ground on the everflowing river” according to KBL 42 s.v. I אֵיתָן 1. The “everflowing river” refers to the Jordan.

[49:19]  ⁸² tn Heb “Behold, like a lion comes up from the thicket of the Jordan into the pastureland of everflowing water so [reading כֵּן (ken) for כִּי (ki); or “indeed” (reading כִּי as an asseverative particle with J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah [NICOT], 719, n. 6)] I will suddenly chase him [Edom] from upon it [the land].” The sentence has been restructured to better conform with contemporary English style and the significance of the simile drawn from the comparison has been spelled out for the sake of clarity. The form אַרְגִּיעָה (’argi’ah) is functioning here as an adverbial modifier in a verbal hendiadys (cf. GKC 386 §120.g).

[49:19]  ⁸³ tn For the use of the interrogative מִי (mi) in the sense of “whoever” and functioning like an adjective see BDB 567 s.v. מִי g and compare the usage in Prov 9:4, 16.

[49:19]  ⁸⁴ tn For the meaning of this verb in the sense of “arraign” or “call before the bar of justice” compare Job 9:19 and see BDB 417 s.v. יָעַד Hiph.

[49:19]  ⁸⁵ tn The interrogative מִי (mi) is rendered “there is no one” in each of the last three occurrences in this verse because it is used in a rhetorical question that expects the answer “no one” or “none” and is according to BDB 566 s.v. מִי f(c) equivalent to a rhetorical negative.

[49:19]  ⁸⁶ tn The word “shepherd” (רֹעֶה, ro’eh) has been used often in the book of Jeremiah to refer metaphorically to the ruler or leader (cf. BDB 945 s.v. I רָעָה Qal.1.d(2) and compare usage, e.g., in Jer 2:8; 23:1).

[32:4]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “The Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for further explanation.

[32:4]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “his [Zedekiah’s] mouth will speak with his [Nebuchadnezzar’s] mouth and his eyes will see his eyes.” The verbs here are an obligatory imperfect and its vav consecutive perfect equivalent. (See IBHS 508-9 §31.4g for discussion and examples of the former and IBHS 528 §32.2.1d, n. 16, for the latter.)

[49:36]  ⁸⁹ tn Or more simply, “I will bring enemies against Elam from every direction. / And I will scatter the people of Elam to the four winds. // There won’t be any nation / where the refugees of Elam will not go.” Or more literally, “I will bring the four winds against Elam / from the four quarters of heaven. / I will scatter….” However, the winds are not to be understood literally here. God isn’t going to “blow the Elamites” out of Elam with natural forces. The winds must figuratively represent enemy forces that God will use to drive them out. Translating literally would be misleading at this point.

[17:1]  ⁹⁰ tn The chapter division which was not a part of the original text but was added in the middle ages obscures the fact that there is no new speech here. The division may have resulted from the faulty identification of the “them” in the preceding verse. See the translator’s note on that verse.

[17:1]  ⁹¹ tn The adjective “stone-hard” is not in the Hebrew text. It is implicit in the metaphor and is supplied in the translation for clarity. Cf. Ezek 11:19; 36:26; and Job 19:24 for the figure.

[17:1]  ⁹² tn Heb “adamant.” The word “diamond” is an accommodation to modern times. There is no evidence that diamond was known in ancient times. This hard stone (perhaps emery) became metaphorical for hardness; see Ezek 3:9 and Zech 7:12. For discussion see W. E. Staples, “Adamant,” IDB 1:45.

[17:1]  ⁹³ tn This verse has been restructured for the sake of the English poetry: Heb “The sin of Judah is engraved [or written] with an iron pen, inscribed with a point of a diamond [or adamant] upon the tablet of their hearts and on the horns of their altars.”

[17:1]  sn There is biting sarcasm involved in the use of the figures here. The law was inscribed on the tablets of stone by the “finger” of God (Exod 31:18; 32:16). Later under the new covenant it would be written on their hearts (Jer 31:33). Blood was to be applied to the horns of the altar in offering the sin offering (cf., e.g., Lev 4:7, 18, 25, 20) and on the bronze altar to cleanse it from sin on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16:18). Here their sins are engraved (permanently written, cf. Job 19:24) on their hearts (i.e., control their thoughts and actions) and on their altars (permanently polluting them).

[4:23]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “I looked at the land and behold...” This indicates the visionary character of Jeremiah’s description of the future condition of the land of Israel.

[4:23]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “formless and empty.” This is a case of hendiadys (two nouns joined by “and” both describe the same thing): one noun retains its full nominal force, the other functions as an adjective. The words תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ (tohu vavohu) allude to Gen 1:2, hyperbolically picturing a reversal of creation and return to the original precreation chaos.

[7:5]  ⁹⁶ tn The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.

[7:5]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “you must do justice between a person and his fellow/neighbor.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.

[32:12]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “the deed, the purchase.” This is a case of apposition of species in place of the genitive construction (cf. GKC 423 §131.b and compare the usage in Exod 24:5).

[32:12]  ⁹⁹ tn Heb “I took the deed of purchase, both that which was sealed [and contained] the order and the regulations and that which was open [i.e., unsealed], and I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch…in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and in the presence of…and in the presence of….” It is awkward to begin a sentence with “I took…” without finishing the thought, and the long qualifiers in v. 12 make that sentence too long. The sentence is broken up in accordance with contemporary English style. The reference to the “deed of purchase” in v. 12 should be viewed as a plural consisting of both written and sealed copies as is clear from v. 11 and also v. 14. Part of the confusion is due to the nature of this document which consisted of a single papyrus scroll, half of which was rolled up and sealed and the other half which was left “opened” or unsealed. J. Bright (Jeremiah [AB], 237-38) is probably incorrect in assuming that the copies were duplicate since the qualification “containing the order of transfer and the regulations” is only applied to the appositional participle, “the sealed one [or copy].”

[32:12]  sn Aramaic documents from a slightly later period help us understand the nature of such deeds. The document consisted of a single papyrus sheet divided in half. One half contained all the particulars and was tightly rolled up, bound with strips of cloth or thread, sealed with wax upon which the parties affixed their seal, and signed by witnesses. The other copy consisted of an abstract and was left loosely rolled and unsealed (i.e., open to be consulted at will). If questions were raised about legality of the contract then the sealed copy could be unsealed and consulted.

[32:12]  ¹⁰⁰ tc The translation follows a number of Hebrew mss and the Greek and Syriac version in reading “the son of my uncles (= my cousin; בֶּן דֹּדִי, ben dodi).” The majority of Hebrew mss do not have the word “son of (בֶּן).”

[52:2]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “what was evil in the eyes of the Lord.”

[2:22]  ¹⁰² tn Heb “Even if you wash with natron/lye, and use much soap, your sin is a stain before me.”

[2:22]  ¹⁰³ tn Heb “Lord Yahweh.” For an explanation of this title see the study notes on 1:6.

[7:30]  ¹⁰⁴ tn The words “I have rejected them” are not in the Hebrew text, which merely says “because.” These words are supplied in the translation to show more clearly the connection to the preceding.

[7:30]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Heb “have done the evil in my eyes.”

[7:30]  ¹⁰⁶ sn Compare, e.g., 2 Kgs 21:3, 5, 7; 23:4, 6; Ezek 8:3, 5, 10-12, 16. Manasseh had desecrated the temple by building altars, cult symbols, and idols in it. Josiah had purged the temple of these pagan elements. But it is obvious from both Jeremiah and Ezekiel that they had been replaced shortly after Josiah’s death. They were a primary cause of Judah’s guilt and punishment (see beside this passage, 19:5; 32:34-35).

[7:30]  ¹⁰⁷ tn Heb “the house which is called by my name.” Cf. 7:10, 11, 14 and see the translator’s note 7:10 for the explanation for this rendering.

[9:17]  ¹⁰⁸ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[9:17]  sn For the significance of this title see the notes at 2:19 and 7:3.

[9:17]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Heb “Thus says Yahweh of armies.” However, without some addition it is not clear to whom the command is addressed. The words are supplied in the translation for clarity and to help resolve a rather confusing issue of who is speaking throughout vv. 16-21. As has been evident throughout the translation, the speaker is not always indicated. Sometimes it is not even clear who the speaker is. In general the translation and the notes have reflected the general consensus in identifying who it is. Here, however, there is a good deal of confusion about who is speaking in vv. 18, 20-21. The Greek translation has the Lord speaking throughout with second plural pronouns in vv. 18, 21 and the absence of the first line in v. 22. It would be hard to explain how the MT arose if it were the original text. Critical commentators such as J. Bright, W. Holladay, and W. McKane resolve the issue by dropping out the introductory formula in v. 17 and the first line of v. 22 and assigning the whole lament to Jeremiah. It seems obvious from the first plural pronouns and the content of v. 18 (and probably v. 21 as well) and the fact that the Lord is referred to in other than the first person in v. 20 that he is not the speaker of those verses. I have attempted to resolve the issue by having Jeremiah report the Lord’s command in v. 17 and have the rest of the speech be essentially that of Jeremiah. It should be admitted, however, that the issue is far from resolved. Most English versions simply ignore the problem. The GNB (= TEV) is a rare exception.

[9:17]  ¹¹⁰ tn Heb “Consider!”

[9:17]  ¹¹¹ tn Heb “Call for the mourning women that they may come and send for the wise/skilled women that they may come.” The verbs here are masculine plural, addressed to the people.

[11:16]  ¹¹² tn Heb “The Lord once called you….” This is another example of the rapid shift in person that is common to Hebrew style which is not common in English and could lead to confusion for some readers. Here and in the verses that follow the person has been shifted to first person for consistency in English.

[11:16]  ¹¹³ tn The verb form used here is another example of a verb expressing that the action is as good as done (the Hebrew prophetic perfect).

[11:16]  ¹¹⁴ tn Heb “At the sound of a mighty roar he will set fire to it.” For the shift from third person “he” to the first person “I” see the preceding note. The Hebrew use of the pronouns in vv. 16-17 for the olive tree and the people that it represents is likely to cause confusion if retained. In v. 16 the people are “you” and the olive tree is “it.” The people are again “you” in v. 17 but part of the metaphor is carried over, i.e., “he ‘planted’ you.” It creates less confusion in the flow of the passage if the metaphorical identification is carried out throughout by addressing the people/plant as “you.”

[11:16]  ¹¹⁵ tn The verb here has most commonly been derived from a root meaning “to be broken” (cf. BDB 949 s.v. II רָעַע) which fits poorly with the metaphor of setting the plant on fire. Another common option is to emend it to a verb meaning “to be burned up” (בָּעַר, ba’ar). However, it is better to follow the lead of the Greek version which translates “be good for nothing” (ἠχρειώθησαν, hcreiwqhsan) and derive the verb from רָעַע (ra’a’) meaning “be bad/evil” (cf. BDB 949 and compare the nuance of the adjective from this verb in BDB 948 s.v. רַע 5).

[10:8]  ¹¹⁶ tn Or “Those wise people and kings are…” It is unclear whether the subject is the “they” of the nations in the preceding verse, or the wise people and kings referred to. The text merely has “they.”

[10:8]  ¹¹⁷ tn Heb “The instruction of vanities [worthless idols] is wood.” The meaning of this line is a little uncertain. Various proposals have been made to make sense, most of which involve radical emendation of the text. For some examples see J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah (NICOT), 323-24, fn 6. However, this is probably a case of the bold predication that discussed in GKC 452 §141.d, some examples of which may be seen in Ps 109:4 “I am prayer,” and Ps 120:7 “I am peace.”

[20:18]  ¹¹⁸ tn Heb “Why did I come forth from the womb to see [= so that I might see] trouble and grief and that my days might be consumed in shame.”

[26:14]  ¹¹⁹ tn Heb “And I, behold I am in your hand.” Hand is quite commonly used for “power” or “control” in biblical contexts.

[42:2]  ¹²⁰ tn Heb “please let our petition fall before you.” For the idiom here see 37:20 and the translator’s note there.

[42:2]  ¹²¹ tn Heb “on behalf of us, [that is] on behalf of all this remnant.”

[42:2]  sn This refers to the small remnant of people who were left of those from Mizpah who had been taken captive by Ishmael after he had killed Gedaliah and who had been rescued from him at Gibeon. There were other Judeans still left in the land of Judah who had not been killed or deported by the Babylonians.

[42:2]  ¹²² tn Heb “For we are left a few from the many as your eyes are seeing us.” The words “used to be” are not in the text but are implicit. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness of English style.

[49:32]  ¹²³ tn See the translator’s note at Jer 9:26 and compare the usage in 9:26 and 25:23.

[49:32]  ¹²⁴ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[6:28]  ¹²⁵ tn These words are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity. Some takes these words to be the continuation of the Lord’s commission of Jeremiah to the task of testing them. However, since this is the evaluation, the task appears to be complete. The words are better to be taken as Jeremiah’s report after he has completed the task.

[6:28]  ¹²⁶ tn Or “arch rebels,” or “hardened rebels.” Literally “rebels of rebels.”

[7:11]  ¹²⁷ 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]  ¹²⁸ tn Heb “Is this house…a den/cave of robbers in your eyes?”

[7:11]  ¹²⁹ tn Heb “Behold!”

[23:39]  ¹³⁰ tn The translation of v. 38 and the first part of v. 39 represents the restructuring of a long and complex Hebrew sentence: Heb “But if you say, ‘The burden of the Lord,’ therefore this is what the Lord says, ‘Because you said this word, “The burden of the Lord,” even though I sent unto saying, “you shall not say, ‘The burden of the Lord,’ therefore…” The first “therefore” picks up the “if” (BDB 487 s.v. כֵּן 3.d) and the second answer the “because” (BDB 774 s.v. יַעַן 1).

[23:39]  ¹³¹ tc The translation follows a few Hebrew mss and the major versions. The majority of Hebrew mss read “I will totally forget [or certainly forget] you.” In place of וְנָשִׁיתִי (vÿnashiti) a few Hebrew mss, LXX, Aquila, Symmachus, Syriac, and Vulgate read וְנָשָׂאתִי (vÿnasa’ti). Instead of the infinitive absolute נָשׁאֹ (nasho’) a number of Hebrew mss, Aquila, Symmachus, Syriac, and Vulgate read נָשׂאֹ (naso’). For the confusion of III א and III ה verbs presupposed by the miswriting of the Hebrew text see GKC 216 §75.qq and compare the forms of נָבָא (nava’) in Jer 26:9 and 1 Sam 10:6. While the verb “forget” would not be totally inappropriate here it does not fit the concept of “throwing away from my presence” as well as “pick up” does. For the verb נָשָׂא (nasa’) meaning “carry you off” compare the usage in 1 Kgs 15:22; 18:12 (and see BDB 671 s.v. נָשָׂא 3.b). Many see the nuance “pick you up” carrying through on the wordplay in v. 33. While that may be appropriate for the repetition of the verb “throw away” (נָטַשׁ, natash) that follows, it does not seem as appropriate for the use of the infinitive absolute that follows the verb which expresses some kind of forcefulness (see GKC 343 §113.q).

[23:39]  ¹³² tn Heb “throw you and the city that I gave you and your fathers out of my presence.” The English sentences have been broken down to conform to contemporary English style.

[28:1]  ¹³³ tc The original text is unusually full here and deemed by many scholars to be corrupt: Heb “And it happened in that year in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month Hananiah…said to…” Many scholars see a contradiction between “in the fourth year” and “in the beginning of the reign.” These scholars point to the fact that the Greek version does not have “in that year” and “in the beginning of the reign of”; it merely reads “in the fourth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fifth month.” These scholars generally also regard the heading at 27:1 to be unoriginal and interpret the heading in the MT here as a faulty harmonization of the original (that in the Greek version) with the erroneous one in the Hebrew of 27:1. However, it is just as possible that the Greek version in both places is an attempt to harmonize the data of 27:1 and 28:1. I.e., it left out both the heading at 27:1, and “in that year” and “at the beginning of the reign of” in the heading here because it thought the data was contradictory. However, it is just as likely that there is really no contradiction here. I.e., the term “beginning of the reign” can include the fourth year. E. H. Merrill has argued that the term here refers not to the accession year (see the translator’s note on 26:1) but to the early years in general (“The ‘Accession Year’ and Davidic Chronology,” JANESCU 19 [1989]: 105-6, and cf. note 18 for bibliography on Akkadian parallels). Hence the phrase has been translated both here and in 27:1 “early in the reign of…” For other attempts at harmonization see the discussion in G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, T. G. Smothers, Jeremiah 26-52 (WBC), 41, n. 1a.

[28:1]  sn The dating here is very full and precise. “In that same year” ties the events here in with the messages that Jeremiah delivered to the envoys, the king and his court, and the priests and people while wearing the yoke symbolizing servitude to Nebuchadnezzar. The text wants to show that the events here transpired shortly after those in Jer 27 and that Jeremiah is still wearing the yoke. The supplying of the precise month is important because the end of the chapter will show that Jeremiah’s prophecy regarding Hananiah was fulfilled two months later. Hence Jeremiah is the true prophet and Hananiah and the others (27:16) are false. The supplying of the year is perhaps significant because the author states in 51:59 that Zedekiah went to Babylon that same year, probably to pledge his loyalty. The suggestion lies ready to hand that the events of this chapter and the preceding one lead to his dismissal of the false prophet Hananiah’s advice and the acceptance of Jeremiah’s.

[28:1]  ¹³⁴ tn Heb “to me.” The rest of the chapter is all in third person narrative (see vv. 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 15). Hence, many explain the first person here as a misunderstanding of the abbreviation “to Jeremiah” (אֶל יִרְמִיָּה [’el yirmiyyah] = אֵלַי, [’elay]). It is just as likely that there is a similar kind of disjunction here that was found in 27:1-2 only in the opposite direction. There what started out as a third person report was really a first person report. Here what starts out as a first person report is really a third person report. The text betrays both the hands of the narrator, probably Baruch, and the reportee, Jeremiah, who dictated a synopsis of his messages and his stories to Baruch to write down (Jer 36:4, 32).

[28:1]  ¹³⁵ tn Heb “And it happened in that year in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, Hananiah son of Azzur the prophet who was from Gibeon said to me in…” The sentence has been broken up in conformity with contemporary English style and the flavor given in modern equivalent terms.

[31:9]  ¹³⁶ tn Heb “They will come with weeping; I will bring them with supplication.” The ideas of contrition and repentance are implicit from the context (cf. vv. 18-19) and are supplied for clarity.

[31:9]  ¹³⁷ sn Jer 31:8-9 are reminiscent of the “New Exodus” motif of Isa 40-66 which has already been referred to in Jer 16:14-15; 23:7-8. See especially Isa 35:3-10; 40:3-5, 11; 41:17-20; 42:14-17; 43:16-21; 49:9-13. As there, the New Exodus will so outstrip the old that the old will pale in comparison and be almost forgotten (see Jer 23:7-8).

[31:9]  ¹³⁸ sn Ephraim was the second son of Joseph who was elevated to a place of prominence in the family of Jacob by the patriarch’s special blessing. It was the strongest tribe in northern Israel and Samaria lay in its territory. It is often used as a poetic parallel for Israel as here. The poetry is not speaking of two separate entities here; it is a way of repeating an idea for emphasis. Moreover, there is no intent to show special preference for northern Israel over Judah. All Israel is metaphorically God’s son and the object of his special care and concern (Exod 4:22; Deut 32:6).

[2:13]  ¹³⁹ tn It is difficult to decide whether to translate “fresh, running water” which the Hebrew term for “living water” often refers to (e.g., Gen 26:19; Lev 14:5), or “life-giving water” which the idiom “fountain of life” as source of life and vitality often refers to (e.g., Ps 36:9; Prov 13:14; 14:27). The contrast with cisterns, which collected and held rain water, suggests “fresh, running water,” but the reality underlying the metaphor contrasts the Lord, the source of life, health, and vitality, with useless idols that cannot do anything.

[2:21]  ¹⁴⁰ tc Heb “I planted you as a choice vine, all of it true seed. How then have you turned into a putrid thing to me, a strange [or wild] vine.” The question expresses surprise and consternation. The translation is based on a redivision of the Hebrew words סוּרֵי הַגֶּפֶן (sure haggefen) into סוֹרִיָּה גֶּפֶן (soriyyah gefen) and the recognition of a hapax legomenon סוֹרִיָּה (soriyyah) meaning “putrid, stinking thing.” See HALOT 707 s.v. סוֹרִי.

[6:6]  ¹⁴¹ tn Heb “For.” The translation attempts to make the connection clearer.

[6:6]  ¹⁴² tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[6:6]  sn For an explanation of the significance of this title see the study note on 2:19.

[6:6]  ¹⁴³ tn Heb “Cut down its trees and build up a siege ramp against Jerusalem.” The referent has been moved forward from the second line for clarity.

[6:6]  ¹⁴⁴ tn Or “must be punished.” The meaning of this line is uncertain. The LXX reads, “Woe, city of falsehood!” The MT presents two anomalies: a masculine singular verb with a feminine singular subject in a verbal stem (Hophal) that elsewhere does not have the meaning “is to be punished.” Hence many follow the Greek which presupposes הוֹי עִיר הַשֶּׁקֶר (hoy ’ir hasheqer) instead of הִיא הָעִיר הָפְקַד (hi’ ha’ir hofqad). The Greek is the easier reading in light of the parallelism, and it would be hard to explain how the MT arose from it. KBL suggests reading a noun meaning “licentiousness” which occurs elsewhere only in Mishnaic Hebrew, hence “this is the city, the licentious one” (attributive apposition; cf. KBL 775 s.v. פֶּקֶר). Perhaps the Hophal perfect (הָפְקַד, hofÿqad) should be revocalized as a Niphal infinitive absolute (הִפָּקֹד, hippaqod); this would solve both anomalies in the MT since the Niphal is used in this nuance and the infinitive absolute can function in place of a finite verb (cf. GKC 346 §113.ee and ff). This, however, is mere speculation and is supported by no Hebrew ms.

[6:6]  ¹⁴⁵ tn Heb “All of it oppression in its midst.”

[10:2]  ¹⁴⁶ tn Heb “Do not learn the way of the nations.” For this use of the word “ways” (דֶּרֶךְ, derekh) compare for example Jer 12:16 and Isa 2:6.

[10:2]  ¹⁴⁷ tn Heb “signs.” The words “that occur” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[10:2]  sn The Hebrew word translated here “things that go on in the sky” (אֹתוֹת, ’otot) refers both to unusual disturbances such as eclipses, comets, meteors, etc., but also to such things as the changes in the position of the sun, moon, and stars in conjunction with the changes in seasons (cf. Gen 1:14). The people of Assyria and Babylonia worshiped the sun, moon, and stars, thinking that these heavenly bodies had some hold over them.

[13:19]  ¹⁴⁸ tn Heb “The towns of the Negev will be shut.”

[13:19]  ¹⁴⁹ tn Heb “There is no one to open them.” The translation is based on the parallel in Josh 6:1 where the very expression in the translation is used. Opening the city would have permitted entrance (of relief forces) as well as exit (of fugitives).

[13:19]  ¹⁵⁰ sn The statements are poetic exaggerations (hyperbole), as most commentaries note. Even in the exile of 587 b.c. not “all” of the people of Jerusalem or of Judah were exiled. Cf. the context of 2 Kgs 24:14-16 again.

[24:6]  ¹⁵¹ tn Heb “I will set my eyes upon them for good.” For the nuance of “good” see Jer 21:10; Amos 9:4 (in these cases the opposite of harm; see BDB 375 s.v. טוֹבָה 1).

[24:6]  ¹⁵² tn The words “There” and “firmly in the land” are not in the text but are implicit from the connection and the metaphor. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[24:6]  ¹⁵³ sn For these terms see Jer 1:10.

[25:31]  ¹⁵⁴ tn For the use of this word see Amos 2:2; Hos 10:14; Ps 74:23. See also the usage in Isa 66:6 which is very similar to the metaphorical usage here.

[25:31]  ¹⁵⁵ tn Heb “the Lord has a lawsuit against the nations.” For usage of the term see Hos 4:1; Mic 6:2, and compare the usage of the related verb in Jer 2:9; 12:1.

[25:31]  ¹⁵⁶ tn Heb “give the wicked over to the sword.”

[25:31]  sn There is undoubtedly a deliberate allusion here to the reference to the “wars” (Heb “sword”) that the Lord had said he would send raging through the nations (vv. 16, 27) and the “war” (Heb “sword”) that he is proclaiming against them (v. 29).

[25:31]  ¹⁵⁷ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[32:30]  ¹⁵⁸ tn Heb “that which is evil in my eyes.” For this idiom see BDB 744 s.v. עַיִן 3.c and compare usage in 18:10.

[32:30]  ¹⁵⁹ tn Heb “from their youth.”

[32:30]  sn Compare Jer 3:24-25; 11:21. The nation is being personified and reference is made to her history from the time she left Egypt onward (cf. 2:2).

[32:30]  ¹⁶⁰ tn Heb “the people of Israel.” However, since “people of Israel” has been used in the preceding line for the northern kingdom as opposed to the kingdom of Judah, it might lead to confusion to translate literally. Moreover, the pronoun “they” accomplishes the same purpose.

[32:30]  ¹⁶¹ tn Heb “by the work of their hands.” See the translator’s note on 25:6 and the parallelism in 25:14 for this rendering rather than referring it to the making of idols as in 1:16; 10:3.

[32:30]  ¹⁶² tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[42:15]  ¹⁶³ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” See the study note on 2:19 for the translation and significance of this title.

[42:15]  ¹⁶⁴ tn Heb “set your face to.” See Jer 42:17; 44:11; Dan 11:17; 2 Kgs 12:17 (12:18 HT) for parallel usage.

[50:13]  ¹⁶⁵ tn Heb “From [or Because of] the wrath of the Lord it will be uninhabited.” The causal connection is spelled out more clearly and actively and the first person has been used because the speaker is the Lord. The referent “it” has been spelled out clearly from the later occurrence in the verse, “all who pass by Babylon.”

[50:13]  ¹⁶⁶ sn Compare Jer 49:17 and the study note there and see also the study notes on 18:16 and 19:8.

[51:36]  ¹⁶⁷ tn Heb “I will avenge your vengeance [= I will take vengeance for you; the phrase involves a verb and a cognate accusative].” The meaning of the phrase has been spelled out in more readily understandable terms.

[51:36]  ¹⁶⁸ tn Heb “I will dry up her [Babylon’s] sea and make her fountain dry.” “Their” has been substituted for “her” because “Babylonians” has been inserted in the previous clause and is easier to understand than the personification of Babylon = “her.”

[51:36]  sn The reference to their sea is not clear. Most interpreters understand it to be a figurative reference to the rivers and canals surrounding Babylon. But some feel it refers to the reservoir that the wife of Nebuchadnezzar, Queen Nictoris, had made.

[52:19]  ¹⁶⁹ sn The censers held the embers used for the incense offerings.

[52:19]  ¹⁷⁰ sn These vessels were used for drink offerings.

[14:19]  ¹⁷¹ tn The words, “Then I said, ‘Lord” are not in the Hebrew text. It is obvious from the context that the Lord is addressee. The question of the identity of the speaker is the same as that raised in vv. 7-9 and the arguments set forth there are applicable here as well. Jeremiah is here identifying with the people and doing what they refuse to do, i.e., confess their sins and express their trust in him.

[14:19]  ¹⁷² tn Heb “does your soul despise.” Here as in many places the word “soul” stands as part for whole for the person himself emphasizing emotional and volitional aspects of the person. However, in contemporary English one does not regularly speak of the “soul” in contexts such as this but of the person.

[14:19]  sn There is probably a subtle allusion to the curses called down on the nation for failure to keep their covenant with God. The word used here is somewhat rare (גָּעַל, ga’al). It is used of Israel’s rejection of God’s stipulations and of God’s response to their rejection of him and his stipulations in Lev 26:11, 15, 30, 43-44. That the allusion is intended is probable when account is taken of the last line of v. 21.

[14:19]  ¹⁷³ tn Heb “Why have you struck us and there is no healing for us.” The statement involves poetic exaggeration (hyperbole) for rhetorical effect.

[14:19]  ¹⁷⁴ tn Heb “[We hope] for a time of healing but behold terror.”

[14:19]  sn The last two lines of this verse are repeated word for word from 8:15. There they are spoken by the people.

[17:13]  ¹⁷⁵ tn Heb “O glorious throne, O high place from the beginning, O hope of Israel, O Lord.” Commentators and translators generally understand these four lines (which are three in the Hebrew original) as two predications, one eulogizing the temple and the other eulogizing God. However, that does not fit the context very well and does not take into account the nature of Jeremiah’s doxology in Jeremiah 16:19-20 (and compare also 10:6-7). There the doxology is context motivated, focused on God, and calls on relevant attributes in the form of metaphorical epithets. That fits nicely here as well. For the relevant parallel passages see the study note.

[17:13]  sn As King and Judge seated on his heavenly throne on high the Lord metes out justice. For examples of this motif see Jer 25:30; Ps 11:4; 9:4, 7 (9:5, 8 HT). As the place of sanctuary he offers refuge for those who are fleeing for safety. Ezek 11:16 and Isa 18:1-4 are examples of passages using that motif. Finally, the Lord has been referred to earlier as the object of Israel’s hope (Jer 14:8). All of these are relevant to the choices that the Lord has placed before them, trust or turn away, and the threat that as all-knowing Judge he will reward people according to their behavior.

[17:13]  ¹⁷⁶ tc The translation is based on an emendation suggested in W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:500, n. b-b. The emendation involves following the reading preferred by the Masoretes (the Qere) and understanding the preposition with the following word as a corruption of the suffix on it. Thus the present translation reads וּסוּרֶיךָ אֶרֶץ (usurekha ’erets) instead of וּסוּרַי בָּאֶרֶץ (usuray ba’erets, “and those who leave me will be written in the earth”), a reading which is highly improbable since all the other pronouns are second singular.

[17:13]  ¹⁷⁷ tn Or “to the world of the dead.” An alternative interpretation is: “will be as though their names were written in the dust”; Heb “will be written in the dust.” The translation follows the nuance of “earth” listed in HALOT 88 s.v. אֶרֶץ 4 and found in Jonah 2:6 (2:7 HT); Job 10:21-22. For the nuance of “enrolling, registering among the number” for the verb translated here “consign” see BDB 507 s.v. כָּתַב Qal.3 and 508 s.v. Niph.2 and compare usage in Ezek 13:9 and Ps 69:28 (69:29 HT).

[17:13]  ¹⁷⁸ tn Heb “The fountain of living water.” For an earlier use of this metaphor and the explanation of it see Jer 2:13 and the notes there. There does not appear to be any way to retain this metaphor in the text without explaining it. In the earlier text the context would show that literal water was not involved. Here it might still be assumed that the Lord merely gives life-giving water.

[17:16]  ¹⁷⁹ tc Heb “I have not run after you for the sake of disaster.” The translation follows the suggestion of some ancient versions. The Hebrew text reads “I have not run from being a shepherd after you.” The translation follows two Greek versions (Aquila and Symmachus) and the Syriac in reading the word “evil” or “disaster” here in place of the word “shepherd” in the Hebrew text. The issue is mainly one of vocalization. The versions mentioned are reading a form מֵרָעָה (mera’ah) instead of מֵרֹעֶה (mero’eh). There does not appear to be any clear case of a prophet being called a shepherd, especially in Jeremiah where it is invariably used of the wicked leaders/rulers of Judah, the leaders/rulers of the enemy that he brings to punish them, or the righteous ruler that he will bring in the future. Moreover, there are no cases where the preposition “after” is used with the verb “shepherd.” Parallelism also argues for the appropriateness of this reading; “disaster” parallels the “incurable day.” The thought also parallels the argument thus far. Other than 11:20; 12:3; 15:15 where he has prayed for vindication by the Lord punishing his persecutors as they deserve, he has invariably responded to the Lord’s word of disaster with laments and prayers for his people (see 4:19-21; 6:24; 8:18; 10:19-25; 14:7-9, 19-22).

[17:16]  ¹⁸⁰ tn Heb “the incurable day.” For the use of this word see the note on 17:9.

[17:16]  ¹⁸¹ tn Heb “that which goes out of my lip is right in front of your face.”

[18:21]  ¹⁸² 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]  ¹⁸³ 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.

[18:23]  ¹⁸⁴ sn Heb “Do not blot out their sins from before you.” For this anthropomorphic figure which looks at God’s actions as though connected with record books, i.e., a book of wrongdoings to be punished, and a book of life for those who are to live, see e.g., Exod 32:32, 33, Ps 51:1 (51:3 HT); 69:28 (69:29 HT).

[18:23]  ¹⁸⁵ tn Heb “in the time of your anger.”

[25:29]  ¹⁸⁶ tn Heb “which is called by my name.” See translator’s note on 7:10 for support.

[25:29]  ¹⁸⁷ tn This is an example of a question without the formal introductory particle following a conjunctive vav introducing an opposition. (See Joüon 2:609 §161.a.) It is also an example of the use of the infinitive before the finite verb in a rhetorical question involving doubt or denial. (See Joüon 2:422-23 §123.f, and compare usage in Gen 37:8.)

[25:29]  ¹⁸⁸ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[25:29]  sn See the study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for explanation of this extended title.

[25:29]  ¹⁸⁹ tn Heb “Oracle of Yahweh of armies.”

[27:5]  ¹⁹⁰ tn Heb “by my great power and my outstretched arm.” Again “arm” is symbolical for “strength.” Compare the similar expression in 21:5.

[27:5]  ¹⁹¹ sn See Dan 4:17 for a similar statement.

[28:11]  ¹⁹² tn Heb “I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from upon the necks of all the nations.”

[28:11]  ¹⁹³ tn Heb “Then the prophet Jeremiah went his way.”

[33:9]  ¹⁹⁴ tn Heb “And it [the city] will be to me for a name for joy and for praise and for honor before all the nations of the earth which will hear of all the good things which I will do for them and which will be in awe and tremble for all the good things and all the peace [or prosperity] which I will do for them.” The long complex Hebrew sentence has been broken down to better conform with contemporary English style.

[34:15]  ¹⁹⁵ tn The presence of the independent pronoun in the Hebrew text is intended to contrast their actions with those of their ancestors.

[34:15]  ¹⁹⁶ sn This refers to the temple. See Jer 7:10, 11, 14, 30 and see the translator’s note on 7:10 and the study note on 10:25 for the explanation of the idiom involved here.

[38:9]  ¹⁹⁷ tn Heb “Those men have made evil all they have done to the prophet Jeremiah in that they have thrown him into the cistern and he will die of starvation in the place where he is because there is no more food in the city.” The particle אֵת (’et) before “they have thrown” (אֵת אֲשֶׁר הִשְׁלִיכוּ, ’et ’asher hishlikhu) is explanatory or further definition of “all they have done to” (i.e., the particle is repeated for apposition). The verb form “and he is sure to die” is an unusual use of the vav (ו) consecutive + imperfect that the grammars see as giving a logical consequence without a past nuance (cf. GKC 328 §111.l and IBHS 557-58 §33.3.1f).

[38:9]  sn “Because there isn’t any food left in the city” is rhetorical exaggeration; the food did not run out until just before the city fell. Perhaps the intent is to refer to the fact that there was no food in the city for people so confined (i.e., in solitary confinement).

[40:15]  ¹⁹⁸ tn Heb “Why should he kill you?” However, this is one of those cases listed in BDB 554 s.v. מָה 4.d(b) where it introduces a question introducing rhetorically the reason why something should not be done. In cases like this BDB notes that it approximates the meaning “lest” and is translated in Greek by μήποτε (mhpote) or μή (mh) as the Greek version does here. Hence it is separated from the preceding and translated “otherwise” for the sake of English style.

[44:28]  ¹⁹⁹ tn Heb “The survivors of the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah few in number [more literally, “men of number”; for the idiom see BDB 709 s.v. מִסְפָּר 1.a].” The term “survivors of the sword” may be intended to represent both those who survive death in war or death by starvation or disease, a synecdoche of species for all three genera.

[44:28]  sn This statement shows that the preceding “none,” “never again,” “all” in vv. 26-27 are rhetorical hyperbole. Not all but almost all; very few would survive. The following statement implies that the reason that they are left alive is to bear witness to the fact that the Lord’s threats were indeed carried out. See vv. 11-14 for a parallel use of “all” and “none” qualified by a “few.”

[44:28]  ²⁰⁰ tn Heb “will stand,” i.e., in the sense of being fulfilled, proving to be true, or succeeding (see BDB 878 s.v. קוּם 7.g).

[49:12]  ²⁰¹ tn The words “of my wrath” after “cup” in the first line and “from the cup of my wrath” in the last line are not in the text but are implicit in the metaphor. They have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[49:12]  sn The reference here is to the cup of God’s wrath which is connected with the punishment of war at the hands of the Babylonians referred to already in Jer 25:15-29. Those who do not deserve to drink are the innocent victims of war who get swept away with the guilty. Edom was certainly not one of the innocent victims as is clear from this judgment speech and those referred to in the study note on 49:7.

[50:34]  ²⁰² sn Heb “their redeemer.” The Hebrew term “redeemer” referred in Israelite family law to the nearest male relative who was responsible for securing the freedom of a relative who had been sold into slavery. For further discussion of this term as well as its metaphorical use to refer to God as the one who frees Israel from bondage in Egypt and from exile in Assyria and Babylonia see the study note on 31:11.

[50:34]  ²⁰³ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies is his name.” For the rendering of this title see the study note on 2:19.

[50:34]  ²⁰⁴ tn Or “he will certainly champion.” The infinitive absolute before the finite verb here is probably functioning to intensify the verb rather than to express the certainty of the action (cf. GKC 333 §112.n and compare usage in Gen 43:3 and 1 Sam 20:6 listed there).

[50:34]  ²⁰⁵ tn This appears to be another case where the particle לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) introduces a result rather than giving the purpose or goal. See the translator’s note on 25:7 for a listing of other examples in the book of Jeremiah and also the translator’s note on 27:10.

[50:34]  ²⁰⁶ tn Heb “he will bring rest to the earth and will cause unrest to.” The terms “rest” and “unrest” have been doubly translated to give more of the idea underlying these two concepts.

[50:34]  ²⁰⁷ tn This translation again reflects the problem often encountered in these prophecies where the Lord appears to be speaking but refers to himself in the third person. It would be possible to translate here using the first person as CEV and NIrV do. However, to sustain that over the whole verse results in a considerably greater degree of paraphrase. The verse could be rendered “But I am strong and I will rescue them. I am the Lord who rules over all. I will champion their cause. And I will bring peace and rest to….”