Yeremia 2:3

2:3 Israel was set apart to the Lord; they were like the first fruits of a harvest to him. ¹  All who tried to devour them were punished; disaster came upon them,” says the Lord.’”

Yeremia 2:26

2:26 Just as a thief has to suffer dishonor when he is caught,

so the people of Israel ²  will suffer dishonor for what they have done. ³ 

So will their kings and officials,

their priests and their prophets.

Yeremia 4:1

4:1 “If you, Israel, want to come back,” says the Lord,

“if you want to come back to me ⁴ 

you must get those disgusting idols ⁵  out of my sight

and must no longer go astray. ⁶ 

Yeremia 8:1

8:1 The Lord says, “When that time comes, ⁷  the bones of the kings of Judah and its leaders, the bones of the priests and prophets and of all the other people who lived in Jerusalem will be dug up from their graves.

Yeremia 9:3

The Lord Laments That He Has No Choice But to Judge Them

9:3 The Lord says, ⁸ 

“These people are like soldiers who have readied their bows.

Their tongues are always ready to shoot out lies. ⁹ 

They have become powerful in the land,

but they have not done so by honest means. ¹⁰ 

Indeed, they do one evil thing after another ¹¹ 

and do not pay attention to me. ¹² 

Yeremia 13:14

13:14 And I will smash them like wine bottles against one another, children and parents alike. ¹³  I will not show any pity, mercy, or compassion. Nothing will keep me from destroying them,’ ¹⁴  says the Lord.”

Yeremia 15:6

15:6 I, the Lord, say: ¹⁵  ‘You people have deserted me!

You keep turning your back on me.’ ¹⁶ 

So I have unleashed my power against you ¹⁷  and have begun to destroy you. ¹⁸ 

I have grown tired of feeling sorry for you!” ¹⁹ 

Yeremia 19:6

19:6 So I, the Lord, say: ²⁰  “The time will soon come that people will no longer call this place Topheth or the Hinnom Valley. But they will call this valley ²¹  the Valley of Slaughter!

Yeremia 21:14

21:14 But I will punish you as your deeds deserve,’

says the Lord. ²² 

‘I will set fire to your palace;

it will burn up everything around it.’” ²³ 

Yeremia 22:5

22:5 But, if you do not obey these commands, I solemnly swear ²⁴  that this palace will become a pile of rubble. I, the Lord, affirm it!” ²⁵ 

Yeremia 23:7

23:7 “So I, the Lord, say: ²⁶  ‘A new time will certainly come. ²⁷  People now affirm their oaths with “I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the people of Israel out of Egypt.”

Yeremia 23:12

23:12 So the paths they follow will be dark and slippery.

They will stumble and fall headlong.

For I will bring disaster on them.

A day of reckoning is coming for them.” ²⁸ 

The Lord affirms it! ²⁹ 

Yeremia 23:28

23:28 Let the prophet who has had a dream go ahead and tell his dream. Let the person who has received my message report that message faithfully. What is like straw cannot compare to what is like grain! ³⁰  I, the Lord, affirm it! ³¹ 

Yeremia 25:7

25:7 So, now the Lord says, ³²  ‘You have not listened to me. But ³³  you have made me angry by the things that you have done. ³⁴  Thus you have brought harm on yourselves.’

Yeremia 27:22

27:22 He has said, ‘They will be carried off to Babylon. They will remain there until it is time for me to show consideration for them again. ³⁵  Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.’ I, the Lord, affirm this!” ³⁶ 

Yeremia 30:8

30:8 When the time for them to be rescued comes,” ³⁷ 

says the Lord who rules over all, ³⁸ 

“I will rescue you from foreign subjugation. ³⁹ 

I will deliver you from captivity. ⁴⁰ 

Foreigners will then no longer subjugate them.

Yeremia 30:17

30:17 Yes, ⁴¹  I will restore you to health.

I will heal your wounds.

I, the Lord, affirm it! ⁴² 

For you have been called an outcast,

Zion, whom no one cares for.”

Yeremia 32:5

32:5 Zedekiah will be carried off to Babylon and will remain there until I have fully dealt with him. ⁴³  I, the Lord, affirm it! ⁴⁴  Even if you ⁴⁵  continue to fight against the Babylonians, ⁴⁶  you cannot win.’”

Yeremia 33:14

The Lord Reaffirms His Covenant with David, Israel, and Levi

33:14 “I, the Lord, affirm: ⁴⁷  ‘The time will certainly come when I will fulfill my gracious promise concerning the nations of Israel and Judah. ⁴⁸ 

Yeremia 39:18

39:18 I will certainly save you. You will not fall victim to violence. ⁴⁹  You will escape with your life ⁵⁰  because you trust in me. I, the Lord, affirm it!”’” ⁵¹ 

Yeremia 48:12

48:12 But the time is coming when I will send

men against Moab who will empty it out.

They will empty the towns of their people,

then will lay those towns in ruins. ⁵² 

I, the Lord, affirm it! ⁵³ 

Yeremia 49:13

49:13 For I solemnly swear,” ⁵⁴  says the Lord, “that Bozrah ⁵⁵  will become a pile of ruins. It will become an object of horror and ridicule, an example to be used in curses. ⁵⁶  All the towns around it will lie in ruins forever.”

Yeremia 49:18

49:18 Edom will be destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah

and the towns that were around them.

No one will live there.

No human being will settle in it,”

says the Lord.

Yeremia 49:31

49:31 The Lord says, ⁵⁷  “Army of Babylon, ⁵⁸  go and attack

a nation that lives in peace and security.

They have no gates or walls to protect them. ⁵⁹ 

They live all alone.

Yeremia 50:21

50:21 The Lord says, ⁶⁰ 

“Attack ⁶¹  the land of Merathaim

and the people who live in Pekod! ⁶² 

Pursue, kill, and completely destroy them! ⁶³ 

Do just as I have commanded you! ⁶⁴ 

Yeremia 51:26

51:26 No one will use any of your stones as a cornerstone.

No one will use any of them in the foundation of his house.

For you will lie desolate forever,” ⁶⁵ 

says the Lord. ⁶⁶ 

[2:3]  ¹ sn Heb “the first fruits of his harvest.” Many commentators see the figure here as having theological significance for the calling of the Gentiles. It is likely, however, that in this context the metaphor – here rendered as a simile – is intended to bring out the special relationship and inviolability that Israel had with God. As the first fruits were the special possession of the Lord, to be eaten only by the priests and off limits to the common people, so Israel was God’s special possession and was not to be “eaten” by the nations.

[2:26]  ² tn Heb “house of Israel.”

[2:26]  ³ tn The words “for what they have done” are implicit in the comparison and are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[4:1]  ⁴ tn Or “If you, Israel, want to turn [away from your shameful ways (those described in 3:23-25)]…then you must turn back to me.” Or perhaps, “Israel, you must turn back…Yes, you must turn back to me.”

[4:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “disgusting things.”

[4:1]  ⁶ tn Or possibly, “If you get those disgusting idols out of my sight, you will not need to flee.” This is less probable because the normal meaning of the last verb is “to wander,” “ to stray.”

[8:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “At that time.”

[9:3]  ⁸ tn The words “The Lord says” have been moved up from the end of the verse to make clear that a change in speaker has occurred.

[9:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “They have readied [or strung] their tongue as their bow for lies.”

[9:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “but not through honesty.”

[9:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “they go from evil to evil.”

[9:3]  ¹² tn Or “do not acknowledge me”; Heb “do not know me.” But “knowing” in Hebrew thought often involves more than intellectual knowledge; it involves emotional and volitional commitment as well. For יָדַע meaning “acknowledge” see 1 Chr 28:9; Isa 29:21; Hos 2:20; Prov 3:6. This word is also found in ancient Near Eastern treaty contexts where it has the idea of a vassal king acknowledging the sovereignty of a greater king (cf. H. Huffmon, “The Treaty Background of Hebrew yada,” BASOR 181 [1966]: 31-37).

[13:14]  ¹³ tn Or “children along with their parents”; Heb “fathers and children together.”

[13:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “I will not show…so as not to destroy them.”

[15:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “oracle of the Lord.” In the original text this phrase is found between “you have deserted me” and “you keep turning your back on me.” It is put at the beginning and converted to first person for sake of English style and clarity.

[15:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “you are going backward.” This is the only occurrence of this adverb with this verb. It is often used with another verb meaning “turn backward” (= abandon; Heb סוּג [sug] in the Niphal). For examples see Jer 38:22; 46:5. The only other occurrence in Jeremiah has been in the unusual idiom in 7:24 where it was translated “they got worse and worse instead of better.” That is how J. Bright (Jeremiah [AB], 109) translates it here. However it is translated, it has connotations of apostasy.

[15:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “stretched out my hand against you.” For this idiom see notes on 6:12.

[15:6]  ¹⁸ tn There is a difference of opinion on how the verbs here and in the following verses are to be rendered, whether past or future. KJV, NASB, NIV for example render them as future. ASV, RSV, TEV render them as past. NJPS has past here and future in vv. 7-9. This is perhaps the best solution. The imperfect + vav consecutive here responds to the perfect in the first line. The imperfects + vav consecutives followed by perfects in vv. 7-9 and concluded by an imperfect in v. 9 pick up the perfects + vav (ו) consecutives in vv. 3-4. Verses 7-9 are further development of the theme in vv. 1-4. Verses 5-6 have been an apostrophe or a turning aside to address Jerusalem directly. For a somewhat similar alternation of the tenses see Isa 5:14-17 and consult GKC 329-30 §111.w. One could of course argue that the imperfects + vav consecutive in vv. 7-9 continue the imperfect + vav consecutive here. In this case, vv. 7-9 are not a continuation of the oracle of doom but another lament by God (cf. 14:1-6, 17-18).

[15:6]  ¹⁹ sn It is difficult to be sure what intertextual connections are intended by the author in his use of vocabulary. The Hebrew word translated “grown tired” is not very common. It has been used twice before. In 9:5-6b where it refers to the people being unable to repent and in 6:11 where it refers to Jeremiah being tired or unable to hold back his anger because of that inability. Now God too has worn out his patience with them (cf. Isa 7:13).

[19:6]  ²⁰ tn This phrase (Heb “Oracle of the Lord”) has been handled this way on several occasions when it occurs within first person addresses where the Lord is the speaker. See, e.g., 16:16; 17:24; 18:6.

[19:6]  ²¹ tn Heb “it will no longer be called to this place Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom but the Valley of Slaughter.”

[19:6]  sn See Jer 7:31-32 for an almost word for word repetition of vv. 5-6.

[21:14]  ²² tn Heb “oracle of the Lord.”

[21:14]  ²³ tn Heb “I will set fire in its forest and it will devour its surroundings.” The pronouns are actually third feminine singular going back to the participle “you who sit enthroned above the valley.” However, this is another example of those rapid shifts in pronouns typical of the biblical Hebrew style which are uncommon in English. They have regularly been leveled to the same person throughout in the translation to avoid possible confusion for the English reader.

[22:5]  ²⁴ sn Heb “I swear by myself.” Oaths were guaranteed by invoking the name of a god or swearing by “his life.” See Jer 12:16; 44:26. Since the Lord is incomparably great, he could swear by no higher (see Heb 6:13-16) than to swear by himself or his own great name.

[22:5]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[23:7]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[23:7]  ²⁷ tn Heb “Behold the days are coming.”

[23:12]  ²⁸ tn For the last two lines see 11:23 and the notes there.

[23:12]  ²⁹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[23:28]  ³⁰ tn Heb “What to the straw with [in comparison with] the grain?” This idiom represents an emphatic repudiation or denial of relationship. See, for example, the usage in 2 Sam 16:10 and note BDB 553 s.v. מָה 1.d(c).

[23:28]  ³¹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[25:7]  ³² tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[25:7]  ³³ tn This is a rather clear case where the Hebrew particle לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) introduces a consequence and not a purpose, contrary to the dictum of BDB 775 s.v. מַעַן note 1. They have not listened to him in order to make him angry but with the result that they have made him angry by going their own way. Jeremiah appears to use this particle for result rather than purpose on several other occasions (see, e.g., 7:18, 19; 27:10, 15; 32:29).

[25:7]  ³⁴ tn Heb “make me angry with the work of your hands.” The term “work of your own hands” is often interpreted as a reference to idolatry as is clearly the case in Isa 2:8; 37:19. However, the parallelism in 25:14 and the context in 32:30 show that it is more general and refers to what they have done. That is likely the meaning here as well.

[27:22]  ³⁵ tn This verb is a little difficult to render here. The word is used in the sense of taking note of something and acting according to what is noticed. It is the word that has been translated several times throughout Jeremiah as “punish [someone].” It is also used in the opposite of sense of taking note and “show consideration for” (or “care for;” see, e.g., Ruth 1:6). Here the nuance is positive and is further clarified by the actions that follow, bringing them back and restoring them.

[27:22]  ³⁶ tn Heb “oracle of the Lord.”

[30:8]  ³⁷ tn Heb “And it shall happen in that day.”

[30:8]  sn The time for them to be rescued (Heb “that day”) is the day of deliverance from the trouble alluded to at the end of the preceding verse, not the day of trouble mentioned at the beginning. Israel (even the good figs) will still need to go through the period of trouble (cf. vv. 10-11).

[30:8]  ³⁸ tn Heb “Oracle of Yahweh of armies.” See the study note on 2:19 for explanation of the title for God.

[30:8]  ³⁹ tn Heb “I will break his yoke from upon your neck.” For the explanation of the figure see the study note on 27:2. The shift from third person at the end of v. 7 to second person in v. 8c, d and back to third person in v. 8e is typical of Hebrew poetry in the book of Psalms and in the prophetic books (cf., GKC 351 §114.p and compare usage in Deut 32:15; Isa 5:8 listed there). The present translation, like several other modern ones, has typically leveled them to the same person to avoid confusion for modern readers who are not accustomed to this poetic tradition.

[30:8]  sn In the immediate context the reference to the yoke of their servitude to foreign domination (Heb “his yoke”) should be understood as a reference to the yoke of servitude to Nebuchadnezzar which has been referred to often in Jer 27-28 (see, e.g., 27:8, 12; 28:2, 4, 11). The end of that servitude has already been referred to in 25:11-14; 29:11-14. Like many other passages in the OT it has been given a later eschatological reinterpretation in the light of subsequent bondages and lack of complete fulfillment, i.e., of restoration to the land and restoration of the Davidic monarchy.

[30:8]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “I will tear off their bands.” The “bands” are the leather straps which held the yoke bars in place (cf. 27:2). The metaphor of the “yoke on the neck” is continued. The translation reflects the sense of the metaphor but not the specific referent.

[30:17]  ⁴¹ tn Again the particle כִּי (ki) appears to be intensive rather than causal. Compare the translator’s note on v. 12. It is possible that it has an adversative sense as an implicit contrast with v. 13 which expresses these concepts in the negative (cf. BDB 474 s.v. כִּי 3.e for this use in statements which are contextually closer to one another).

[30:17]  ⁴² tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[32:5]  ⁴³ tn This is the verb (פָּקַד, paqad) that has been met with several times in the book of Jeremiah, most often in the ominous sense of “punish” (e.g., 6:15; 11:22; 23:24) but also in the good sense of “resume concern for” (e.g., 27:22; 29:10). Here it is obviously in the ominous sense referring to his imprisonment and ultimate death (52:11).

[32:5]  sn Compare Jer 34:2-3 for this same prophecy. The incident in Jer 34:1-7 appears to be earlier than this one. Here Jeremiah is confined to the courtyard of the guardhouse; there he appears to have freedom of movement.

[32:5]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[32:5]  ⁴⁵ sn The pronouns are plural here, referring to the people of Judah and Jerusalem. Jeremiah had counseled that they surrender (cf. 27:12; 21:8-10) because they couldn’t succeed against the Babylonian army even under the most favorable circumstances (37:3-10).

[32:5]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “The Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for further explanation.

[33:14]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.” For the first person form of address see the translator’s notes on vv. 2, 10, 12.

[33:14]  ⁴⁸ sn This refers at the very least to the promises of Jer 23:5-6, 7-8; 30:3; 31:27, 31 where the same formula “The time will certainly come (Heb “Behold the days are coming”)” occurs. Reference may also be to the promises through the earlier prophets of what is alluded to here, i.e., the restoration of Israel and Judah under a Davidic ruler and the revival of the offerings (cf. Hos 1:10-11; 3:4-5; Amos 9:11-12; Isa 11:1-5, 10-16; Jer 30:9, 21 for the former and Jer 31:14; 33:11 for the latter).

[39:18]  ⁴⁹ sn Heb “you will not fall by the sword.” In the context this would include death in battle and execution as a prisoner of war.

[39:18]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “your life will be to you for spoil.” For the meaning of this idiom see the study note on 21:9 and compare the usage in 21:9; 38:2; 45:4.

[39:18]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[48:12]  ⁵² tn Heb “Therefore, behold the days are coming, oracle of Yahweh, when I will send against him decanters [those who pour from one vessel to another] and they will decant him [pour him out] and they will empty his vessels and break their jars in pieces.” The verse continues the metaphor from the preceding verse where Moab/the people of Moab are like wine left undisturbed in a jar, i.e., in their native land. In this verse the picture is that of the decanter emptying the wine from the vessels and then breaking the jars. The wine represents the people and the vessels the cities and towns where the people lived. The verse speaks of the exile of the people and the devastation of the land. The metaphor has been interpreted so it conveys meaning to the average reader.

[48:12]  ⁵³ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[49:13]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “I swear by myself.” See 22:5 and the study note there.

[49:13]  ⁵⁵ sn Bozrah appears to have been the chief city in Edom, its capital city (see its parallelism with Edom in Isa 34:6; 63:1; Jer 49:22). The reference to “its towns” (translated here “all the towns around it”) could then be a reference to all the towns in Edom. It was located about twenty-five miles southeast of the southern end of the Dead Sea apparently in the district of Teman (see the parallelism in Amos 1:12).

[49:13]  ⁵⁶ tn See the study note on 24:9 for the rendering of this term.

[49:31]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[49:31]  ⁵⁸ tn The words “Army of Babylon” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[49:31]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “no gates and no bar,” i.e., “that lives securely without gates or bars.” The phrase is used by the figure of species for genus (synecdoche) to refer to the fact that they have no defenses, i.e., no walls, gates, or bars on the gates. The figure has been interpreted in the translation for the benefit of the average reader.

[50:21]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[50:21]  ⁶¹ sn The commands in this verse and in vv. 26-27 are directed to the armies from the north who are referred to in v. 3 as “a nation from the north” and in v. 9 as a “host of mighty nations from the land of the north.” The addressee in this section shifts from one referent to another.

[50:21]  ⁶² sn Merathaim…Pekod. It is generally agreed that the names of these two regions were chosen for their potential for wordplay. Merathaim probably refers to a region in southern Babylon near where the Tigris and Euphrates come together before they empty into the Persian Gulf. It was known for its briny waters. In Hebrew the word would mean “double rebellion” and would stand as an epithet for the land of Babylon as a whole. Pekod refers to an Aramean people who lived on the eastern bank of the lower Tigris River. They are mentioned often in Assyrian texts and are mentioned in Ezek 23:23 as allies of Babylon. In Hebrew the word would mean “punishment.” As an epithet for the land of Babylon it would refer to the fact that Babylon was to be punished for her double rebellion against the Lord.

[50:21]  ⁶³ tn Heb “Smite down and completely destroy after them.” The word translated “kill” or “smite down” is a word of uncertain meaning and derivation. BDB 352 s.v. III חָרַב relates it to an Aramaic word meaning “attack, smite down.” KBL 329-30 s.v. II חָרַב sees it as a denominative from the word חֶרֶב (kherev, “sword”), a derivation which many modern commentaries accept and reflect in a translation “put to the sword.” KBL, however, gives “to smite down; to slaughter” which is roughly the equivalent of the meaning assigned to it in BDB. The word only occurs here and in v. 27 in the Qal and in 2 Kgs 3:23 in the Niphal where it means something like “attacked one another, fought with one another.” Many commentators question the validity of the word “after them” (אַחֲרֵיהֶם, ’akharehem) which occurs at the end of the line after “completely destroy.” The Targum reads “the last of them” (אַחֲרִיתָם, ’akharitam) which is graphically very close and accepted by some commentators. The present translation has chosen to represent “after them” by a paraphrase at the beginning “pursue them.”

[50:21]  sn For the concept underlying the words translated here “completely destroy” see the study note on Jer 25:9.

[50:21]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “Do according to all I have commanded you.”

[51:26]  ⁶⁵ tn This is a fairly literal translation of the original which reads “No one will take from you a stone for a cornerstone nor a stone for foundations.” There is no unanimity of opinion in the commentaries, many feeling that the figure of the burned mountain continues and others feeling that the figure here shifts to a burned city whose stones are so burned that they are useless to be used in building. The latter is the interpretation adopted here (see, e.g., F. B. Huey, Jeremiah, Lamentations [NAC], 423; W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah [Hermeneia], 2:426; NCV).

[51:26]  sn The figure here shifts to that of a burned-up city whose stones cannot be used for building. Babylon will become a permanent heap of ruins.

[51:26]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”