Yeremia 2:10
Konteks2:10 Go west 1 across the sea to the coasts of Cyprus 2 and see.
Send someone east to Kedar 3 and have them look carefully.
See if such a thing as this has ever happened:
Yeremia 3:1
Konteks3:1 “If a man divorces his wife
and she leaves him and becomes another man’s wife,
he may not take her back again. 4
Doing that would utterly defile the land. 5
But you, Israel, have given yourself as a prostitute to many gods. 6
So what makes you think you can return to me?” 7
says the Lord.
Yeremia 3:13
Konteks3:13 However, you must confess that you have done wrong, 8
and that you have rebelled against the Lord your God.
You must confess 9 that you have given yourself to 10 foreign gods under every green tree,
and have not obeyed my commands,’ says the Lord.
Yeremia 5:1
Konteks“Go up and down 12 through the streets of Jerusalem. 13
Look around and see for yourselves.
Search through its public squares.
See if any of you can find a single person
who deals honestly and tries to be truthful. 14
If you can, 15 then I will not punish this city. 16
Yeremia 6:16
Konteks6:16 The Lord said to his people: 17
“You are standing at the crossroads. So consider your path. 18
Ask where the old, reliable paths 19 are.
Ask where the path is that leads to blessing 20 and follow it.
If you do, you will find rest for your souls.”
But they said, “We will not follow it!”
Yeremia 7:23
Konteks7:23 I also explicitly commanded them: 21 “Obey me. If you do, I 22 will be your God and you will be my people. Live exactly the way I tell you 23 and things will go well with you.”
Yeremia 23:33
Konteks23:33 The Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, 24 when one of these people, or a prophet, or a priest asks you, ‘What burdensome message 25 do you have from the Lord?’ Tell them, ‘You are the burden, 26 and I will cast you away. 27 I, the Lord, affirm it! 28
Yeremia 25:30
Konteks25:30 “Then, Jeremiah, 29 make the following prophecy 30 against them:
‘Like a lion about to attack, 31 the Lord will roar from the heights of heaven;
from his holy dwelling on high he will roar loudly.
He will roar mightily against his land. 32
He will shout in triumph like those stomping juice from the grapes 33
against all those who live on the earth.
Yeremia 29:28
Konteks29:28 For he has even sent a message to us here in Babylon. He wrote and told us, 34 “You will be there a long time. Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat what they produce.”’” 35
Yeremia 31:34
Konteks31:34 “People will no longer need to teach their neighbors and relatives to know me. 36 For all of them, from the least important to the most important, will know me,” 37 says the Lord. “For 38 I will forgive their sin and will no longer call to mind the wrong they have done.”
Yeremia 37:7
Konteks37:7 “The Lord God of Israel says, ‘Give a message to the king of Judah who sent you to ask me to help him. 39 Tell him, “The army of Pharaoh that was on its way to help you will go back home to Egypt. 40
Yeremia 49:3
Konteks49:3 Wail, you people in Heshbon, because Ai in Ammon is destroyed.
Cry out in anguish, you people in the villages surrounding 41 Rabbah.
Put on sackcloth and cry out in mourning.
Run about covered with gashes. 42
For your god Milcom will go into exile
along with his priests and officials. 43
[2:10] 1 tn Heb “For go west.”
[2:10] 2 tn Heb “pass over to the coasts of Kittim.” The words “west across the sea” in this line and “east of” in the next are implicit in the text and are supplied in the translation to give geographical orientation.
[2:10] sn The Hebrew term translated Cyprus (“Kittim”) originally referred to the island of Cyprus but later was used for the lands in the west, including Macedonia (1 Macc 1:1; 8:5) and Rome (Dan 11:30). It is used here as part of a figure called merism to denote the lands in the west as opposed to Kedar which was in the east. The figure includes polar opposites to indicate totality, i.e., everywhere from west to east.
[2:10] 3 sn Kedar is the home of the Bedouin tribes in the Syro-Arabian desert. See Gen 25:18 and Jer 49:38. See also the previous note for the significance of the reference here.
[3:1] 4 tn Heb “May he go back to her again?” The question is rhetorical and expects a negative answer.
[3:1] sn For the legal background for the illustration that is used here see Deut 24:1-4.
[3:1] 5 tn Heb “Would the land not be utterly defiled?” The stative is here rendered actively to connect better with the preceding. The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.
[3:1] 6 tn Heb “But you have played the prostitute with many lovers.”
[3:1] 7 tn Heb “Returning to me.” The form is the bare infinitive which the KJV and ASV have interpreted as an imperative “Yet, return to me!” However, it is more likely that a question is intended, expressing surprise in the light of the law alluded to and the facts cited. For the use of the infinitive absolute in the place of a finite verb, cf. GKC 346 §113.ee. For the introduction of a question without a question marker, cf. GKC 473 §150.a.
[3:13] 8 tn Heb “Only acknowledge your iniquity.”
[3:13] 9 tn The words “You must confess” are repeated to convey the connection. The Hebrew text has an introductory “that” in front of the second line and a coordinative “and” in front of the next two lines.
[3:13] 10 tc MT reads דְּרָכַיִךְ (dÿrakhayikh, “your ways”), but the BHS editors suggest דּוֹדַיִךְ (dodayikh, “your breasts”) as an example of orthographic confusion. While the proposal makes sense, it remains a conjectural emendation since it is not supported by any actual manuscripts or ancient versions.
[3:13] tn Heb “scattered your ways with foreign [gods]” or “spread out your breasts to strangers.”
[5:1] 11 tn These words are not in the text, but since the words at the end are obviously those of the
[5:1] 12 tn It is not clear who is being addressed here. The verbs are plural so they are not addressed to Jeremiah per se. Since the passage is talking about the people of Jerusalem, it is unlikely they are addressed here except perhaps rhetorically. Some have suggested that the heavenly court is being addressed here as in Job 1:6-8; 2:1-3. It is clear from Jer 23:18, 22; Amos 3:7 that the prophets had access to this heavenly counsel through visions (cf. 1 Kgs 22:19-23), so Jeremiah could have been privy to this speech through that means. Though these are the most likely addressee, it is too presumptuous to supply such an explicit addressee without clearer indication in the text. The translation will just have to run the risk of the probable erroneous assumption by most English readers that the addressee is Jeremiah.
[5:1] 13 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[5:1] 14 tn Heb “who does justice and seeks faithfulness.”
[5:1] 15 tn Heb “squares. If you can find…if there is one person…then I will…”
[5:1] 16 tn Heb “forgive [or pardon] it.”
[6:16] 17 tn The words, “to his people” are not in the text but are implicit in the interchange of pronouns in the Hebrew of vv. 16-17. They are supplied in the translation here for clarity.
[6:16] 18 tn Heb “Stand at the crossroads and look.”
[6:16] 19 tn Heb “the ancient path,” i.e., the path the
[6:16] 20 tn Heb “the way of/to the good.”
[7:23] 21 tn Verses 22-23a read in Hebrew, “I did not speak with your ancestors and I did not command them when I brought them out of Egypt about words/matters concerning burnt offering and sacrifice, but I commanded them this word:” Some modern commentators have explained this passage as an evidence for the lateness of the Pentateuchal instruction regarding sacrifice or a denial that sacrifice was practiced during the period of the wilderness wandering. However, it is better explained as an example of what R. de Vaux calls a dialectical negative, i.e., “not so much this as that” or “not this without that” (Ancient Israel, 454-56). For other examples of this same argument see Isa 1:10-17; Hos 6:4-6; Amos 5:21-25.
[7:23] 22 tn Heb “Obey me and I will be.” The translation is equivalent syntactically but brings out the emphasis in the command.
[7:23] 23 tn Heb “Walk in all the way that I command you.”
[23:33] 24 tn The words “The
[23:33] 25 tn The meaning of vv. 33-40 is debated. The translation given here follows the general direction of NRSV and REB rather than that of NIV and the related direction taken by NCV and God’s Word. The meaning of vv. 33-40 are debated because of (1) the ambiguity involved in the word מָשָּׂא (masa’), which can mean either “burden” (as something carried or weighing heavily on a person; see, e.g., Exod 23:5; Num 4:27; 2 Sam 15:33; Ps 38:4) or “oracle” (of doom; see, e. g., Isa 13:1; Nah 1:1); (the translation is debated due to etymological concerns), (2) the ambiguity of the line in v. 36 which has been rendered “For what is ‘burdensome’ really pertains rather to what a person himself says” (Heb “the burden is to the man his word”), and (3) the text in v. 33 of “you are the burden.” Many commentaries see a wordplay on the two words “burden” and “oracle” which are homonyms. However, from the contrasts that are drawn in the passage, it is doubtful whether the nuance of “oracle” ever is in view. The word is always used in the prophets of an oracle of doom or judgment; it is not merely revelation of God which one of the common people would have been uttering (contra NIV). Jeremiah never uses the word in that sense nor does anyone else in the book of Jeremiah.
[23:33] sn What is in view here is the idea that the people consider Jeremiah’s views of loyalty to God and obedience to the covenant “burdensome.” I.e., what burdensome demands is the
[23:33] 26 tc The translation follows the Latin and Greek versions. The Hebrew text reads “What burden [i.e., burdensome message]?” The syntax of “what message?” is not in itself objectionable; the interrogative can function as an adjective (cf. BDB 552 s.v. מָה 1.a[a]). What is objectionable to virtually all the commentaries and lexicons is the unparalleled use of the accusative particle in front of the interrogative and the noun (see, e.g., BDB 672 s.v. III מָשָּׂא and GKC 365-66 §117.m, n. 3). The emendation only involves the redivision and revocalization of the same consonants: אֶת־מַה־מַשָּׂא (’et-mah-masa’) becomes אַתֶּם הַמָּשָּׂא (’atem hammasa’). This also makes a much more natural connection for the vav consecutive perfect that follows (cf. GKC 334 §112.x and compare Isa 6:7; Judg 13:3).
[23:33] 27 tn The meaning “cast you away” is questioned by some because the word is regularly used of “forsaking” or “abandoning” (see, e.g., Jer 7:29; 12:7; 15:6). However, it is clearly use of “casting down” or “throwing away” in Ezek 29:5; 32:4 and that meaning is virtually assured in v. 39 where the verb is combined with the phrase “from my presence” which is elsewhere used in rejection contexts with verbs like “send away,” “throw out,” or “remove” (see BDB 819 s.v. פָּנֶה II.8.a). This is another example of the bracketing effect of a key word and should be rendered the same in the two passages. Moreover, it fits in nicely with the play on “burden” here.
[23:33] 28 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[25:30] 29 tn The word “Jeremiah” is not in the text. It is supplied in the translation to make clear who is being addressed.
[25:30] 30 tn Heb “Prophesy against them all these words.”
[25:30] 31 tn The words “like a lion about to attack” are not in the text but are implicit in the metaphor. The explicit comparison of the
[25:30] sn For the metaphor of the
[25:30] 32 sn The word used here (Heb “his habitation”) refers to the land of Canaan which the
[25:30] 33 sn The metaphor shifts from God as a lion to God as a mighty warrior (Jer 20:11; Isa 42:13; Zeph 3:17) shouting in triumph over his foes. Within the metaphor is a simile where the warrior is compared to a person stomping on grapes to remove the juice from them in the making of wine. The figure will be invoked later in a battle scene where the sounds of joy in the grape harvest are replaced by the sounds of joy of the enemy soldiers (Jer 48:33). The picture is drawn in more gory detail in Isa 63:1-6.
[29:28] 34 tn Heb “For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying….” The quote, however, is part of the earlier letter.
[31:34] 36 tn Heb “teach…, saying, ‘Know the
[31:34] sn As mentioned in the translator’s note on 9:3 (9:2 HT) “knowing” God in covenant contexts like this involves more than just an awareness of who he is (9:23 [9:22 HT]). It involves an acknowledgment of his sovereignty and whole hearted commitment to obedience to him. This is perhaps best seen in the parallelisms in Hos 4:1; 6:6 where “the knowledge of God” is parallel with faithfulness and steadfast love and in the context of Hos 4 refers to obedience to the
[31:34] 37 sn This statement should be understood against the background of Jer 8:8-9 where class distinctions were drawn and certain people were considered to have more awareness and responsibility for knowing the law and also Jer 5:1-5 and 9:3-9 where the sinfulness of Israel was seen to be universal across these class distinctions and no trust was to be placed in friends, neighbors, or relatives because all without distinction had cast off God’s yoke (i.e., refused to submit themselves to his authority).
[31:34] 38 tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) that introduces this clause refers to more than just the preceding clause (i.e., that all will know the
[37:7] 39 tn Or “to ask me what will happen.” The dominant usage of the verb דָּרַשׁ (darash) is to “inquire” in the sense of gaining information about what will happen (cf., e.g., 1 Kgs 14:5; 2 Kgs 8:8; 22:7-8) but it is also used in the sense of “seeking help” from (cf., e.g., Isa 31:1; 2 Chr 16:12; 20:3). The latter nuance appears appropriate in Jer 20:2 where Zedekiah is hoping for some miraculous intervention. That nuance also appears appropriate here where Zedekiah has sent messengers to ask Jeremiah to intercede on their behalf. However, it is also possible that the intent of both verbs is to find out from God whether the Egyptian mission will succeed and more permanent relief from the siege will be had.
[37:7] 40 tn Heb “will go back to its land, Egypt.”
[49:3] 41 tn Or “you women of Rabbah”; Heb “daughters of Rabbah.” It is difficult to tell whether the word “daughters” is used here in the same sense that it has in v. 2 (see the translator’s note there) or in the literal sense of “daughters.” The former has been preferred because the cities themselves (e.g., Heshbon) are called to wail in the earlier part of the verse and the term “daughters” has been used in the previous verse of the surrounding villages.
[49:3] 42 tc Or “Run back and forth inside the walls of your towns.” Or “slash yourselves with gashes.” The meaning of this line is uncertain. The Hebrew text reads “run back and forth among the walls.” The word “run back and forth” is generally taken as a Hitpolel of a verb that means to “go about” in the Qal and to “go back and forth” in the Polel (cf. BDB 1002 s.v. I שׁוּט). The noun that follows in the Hebrew means “wall, hedge” and is quite commonly modified by the noun צֹאן (tso’n, “sheep”) referring to sheepfolds (cf., e.g., Num 32:36; 1 Sam 24:3). But the phrase “run back and forth among the sheepfolds” yields little meaning here. In Ps 89:40 (89:41 HT) the word “wall” is used in parallelism with fortified cities and refers to the walls of the city. That is the sense that is assumed in one of the alternate translations with the words “of your towns” being supplied in the translation for clarification. However, that figure is a little odd in a context which speaks of mourning rites. Hence, some emend the word “walls” (גְּדֵרוֹת, gÿderot) to “gashes” (גְּדֻדוֹת, gÿdudot), a word that has occurred in a similar context in Jer 48:37. That would involve only the common confusion of ר and ד. That is the reading adopted here and fits the context nicely. NRSV appears to go one step further and read the verb as a Hitpolel from a root that is otherwise used only as a noun to mean “whip” or “scourge.” NRSV reads “slash yourselves with whips” which also makes excellent sense in the context but is not supported by any parallel use of the verb.
