Yeremia 18:15

18:15 Yet my people have forgotten me

and offered sacrifices to worthless idols!

This makes them stumble along in the way they live

and leave the old reliable path of their fathers. ¹ 

They have left them to walk in bypaths,

in roads that are not smooth and level. ² 

Yeremia 27:15

27:15 For I, the Lord, affirm ³  that I did not send them. They are prophesying lies to you. If you ⁴  listen to them, I will drive you and the prophets who are prophesying lies out of the land and you will all die in exile.” ⁵ 

Yeremia 40:12

40:12 So all these Judeans returned to the land of Judah from the places where they had been scattered. They came to Gedaliah at Mizpah. Thus they harvested a large amount of wine and dates and figs. ⁶ 

[18:15]  ¹ sn Heb “the ancient path.” This has already been referred to in Jer 6:16. There is another “old way” but it is the path trod by the wicked (cf. Job 22:15).

[18:15]  ² sn Heb “ways that are not built up.” This refers to the built-up highways. See Isa 40:4 for the figure. The terms “way,” “by-paths,” “roads” are, of course, being used here in the sense of moral behavior or action.

[27:15]  ³ tn Heb “oracle of the Lord.”

[27:15]  ⁴ sn The verbs are again plural referring to the king and his royal advisers.

[27:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “…drive you out and you will perish, you and the prophets who are prophesying lies.”

[27:15]  sn For the fulfillment of this prophecy see Jer 39:5-7; 52:7-11; 2 Kgs 25:4-7.

[40:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “summer fruit.” “Summer fruit” is meaningless to most modern readers; dates and figs are what is involved.