Yeremia 2:9

The Lord Charges Contemporary Israel with Spiritual Adultery

2:9 “So, once more I will state my case ¹  against you,” says the Lord.

“I will also state it against your children and grandchildren. ² 

Yeremia 3:11

3:11 Then the Lord said to me, “Under the circumstances, wayward Israel could even be considered less guilty than unfaithful Judah. ³ 

Yeremia 3:20

3:20 But, you have been unfaithful to me, nation of Israel, ⁴ 

like an unfaithful wife who has left her husband,” ⁵ 

says the Lord.

Yeremia 4:6

4:6 Raise a signal flag that tells people to go to Zion. ⁶ 

Run for safety! Do not delay!

For I am about to bring disaster out of the north.

It will bring great destruction. ⁷ 

Yeremia 7:19

7:19 But I am not really the one being troubled!” ⁸  says the Lord. “Rather they are bringing trouble on themselves to their own shame! ⁹ 

Yeremia 8:8

8:8 How can you say, “We are wise!

We have the law of the Lord”?

The truth is, ¹⁰  those who teach it ¹¹  have used their writings

to make it say what it does not really mean. ¹² 

Yeremia 20:1

Jeremiah is Flogged and Put in A Cell

20:1 Now Pashhur son of Immer heard Jeremiah prophesy these things. He was the priest who was chief of security ¹³  in the Lord’s temple.

Yeremia 22:2

22:2 Say: ‘Listen, O king of Judah who follows in David’s succession. ¹⁴  You, your officials, and your subjects who pass through the gates of this palace must listen to what the Lord says. ¹⁵ 

Yeremia 23:6

23:6 Under his rule ¹⁶  Judah will enjoy safety ¹⁷ 

and Israel will live in security. ¹⁸ 

This is the name he will go by:

‘The Lord has provided us with justice.’ ¹⁹ 

Yeremia 25:4

25:4 Over and over again ²⁰  the Lord has sent ²¹  his servants the prophets to you. But you have not listened or paid attention. ²² 

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 34:8

The Lord Threatens to Destroy Those Who Wronged Their Slaves

34:8 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah after King Zedekiah had made a covenant ²³  with all the people in Jerusalem ²⁴  to grant their slaves their freedom.

Yeremia 34:13

34:13 “The Lord God of Israel has a message for you. ²⁵  ‘I made a covenant with your ancestors ²⁶  when I brought them out of Egypt where they had been slaves. ²⁷  It stipulated, ²⁸ 

Yeremia 39:17

39:17 But I will rescue you when it happens. ²⁹  I, the Lord, affirm it! ³⁰  You will not be handed over to those whom you fear. ³¹ 

Yeremia 46:23

46:23 The population of Egypt is like a vast, impenetrable forest.

But I, the Lord, affirm ³²  that the enemy will cut them down.

For those who chop them down will be more numerous than locusts.

They will be too numerous to count. ³³ 

Yeremia 47:7

47:7 But how can it rest ³⁴ 

when I, the Lord, have ³⁵  given it orders?

I have ordered it to attack

the people of Ashkelon and the seacoast. ³⁶ 

Yeremia 49:38

49:38 I will establish my sovereignty over Elam. ³⁷ 

I will destroy their king and their leaders,” ³⁸  says the Lord. ³⁹ 

Yeremia 50:30

50:30 So her young men will fall in her city squares.

All her soldiers will be destroyed at that time,”

says the Lord. ⁴⁰ 

Yeremia 51:45

51:45 “Get out of Babylon, my people!

Flee to save your lives

from the fierce anger of the Lord! ⁴¹ 

Yeremia 51:55

51:55 For the Lord is ready to destroy Babylon,

and put an end to her loud noise.

Their waves ⁴²  will roar like turbulent ⁴³  waters.

They will make a deafening noise. ⁴⁴ 

Yeremia 52:13

52:13 He burned down the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and all the houses in Jerusalem, including every large house.

[2:9]  ¹ tn Or “bring charges against you.”

[2:9]  sn The language used here is that of the law court. In international political contexts it was the language of a great king charging his subject with breach of covenant. See for examples in earlier prophets, Isa 1:2-20; Mic 6:1-8.

[2:9]  ² tn The words “your children and” are supplied in the translation to bring out the idea of corporate solidarity implicit in the passage.

[2:9]  sn The passage reflects the Hebrew concept of corporate solidarity: The actions of parents had consequences for their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Compare the usage in the ten commandments, Deut 5:10, and note the execution of the children of Dathan and Abiram, Deut 11:6, and of Achan, Josh 7:24-25.

[3:11]  ³ tn Heb “Wayward Israel has proven herself to be more righteous than unfaithful Judah.”

[3:11]  sn A comparison is drawn here between the greater culpability of Judah, who has had the advantage of seeing how God disciplined her sister nation for having sinned and yet ignored the warning and committed the same sin, and the culpability of Israel who had no such advantage.

[3:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “house of Israel.”

[3:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “a wife unfaithful from her husband.”

[4:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “Raise up a signal toward Zion.”

[4:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “out of the north, even great destruction.”

[7:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “Is it I whom they provoke?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer which is made explicit in the translation.

[7:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “Is it not themselves to their own shame?” The rhetorical question expects a positive answer which is made explicit in the translation.

[8:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Surely, behold!”

[8:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the scribes.”

[8:8]  ¹² tn Heb “The lying pen of the scribes have made [it] into a lie.” The translation is an attempt to make the most common interpretation of this passage understandable for the average reader. This is, however, a difficult passage whose interpretation is greatly debated and whose syntax is capable of other interpretations. The interpretation of the NJPS, “Assuredly, for naught has the pen labored, for naught the scribes,” surely deserves consideration within the context; i.e. it hasn’t done any good for the scribes to produce a reliable copy of the law, which the people have refused to follow. That interpretation has the advantage of explaining the absence of an object for the verb “make” or “labored” but creates a very unbalanced poetic couplet.

[20:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “chief overseer/officer.” The translation follows the suggestion of P. C. Craigie, P. H. Kelley, J. F. Drinkard, Jeremiah 1-25 (WBC), 267, based on the parallel passage in 29:26-27 where this official appears to have been in charge of maintaining order in the temple.

[20:1]  sn Judging from a comparison of this passage with Jer 29:26-27 and that passage in turn with 2 Kgs 25:18, Pashhur held an office second in rank only to the high priest. He was in charge of keeping order in the temple and took offense at what he heard Jeremiah saying.

[22:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “who sits on David’s throne.”

[22:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah who sits on the throne of David, you, and your officials and your people who pass through these gates.”

[23:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “In his days [= during the time he rules].”

[23:6]  ¹⁷ tn Parallelism and context (cf. v. 4) suggest this nuance for the word often translated “be saved.” For this nuance elsewhere see Ps 119:117; Prov 28:18 for the verb (יָשַׁע [yasha’] in the Niphal); and Ps 12:6; Job 5:4, 11 for the related noun (יֶשַׁע, yesha’).

[23:6]  ¹⁸ sn It should be noted that this brief oracle of deliverance implies the reunification of Israel and Judah under the future Davidic ruler. Jeremiah has already spoken about this reunification earlier in 3:18 and will have more to say about it in 30:3; 31:27, 31. This same ideal was espoused in the prophecies of Hosea (1:10-11 [2:1-2 HT]), Isaiah (11:1-4, 10-12), and Ezekiel (37:15-28) all of which have messianic and eschatological significance.

[23:6]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “his name will be called ‘The Lord our righteousness’.”

[23:6]  sn The Hebrew word translated “justice” here is very broad in its usage, and it is hard to catch all the relevant nuances for this word in this context. It is used for “vindication” in legal contexts (see, e.g., Job 6:29), for “deliverance” or “salvation” in exilic contexts (see, e.g., Isa 58:8), and in the sense of ruling, judging with “justice” (see, e.g., Lev 19:15; Isa 32:1). Here it probably sums up the justice that the Lord provides through raising up this ruler as well as the safety, security, and well-being that result (see vv. 5-6a). In the NT this takes on soteriological connotations (see 1 Cor 1:31 in its context).

[25:4]  ²⁰ tn For the idiom involved here see the notes at 7:13 and 11:7.

[25:4]  ²¹ tn The vav consecutive with the perfect in a past narrative is a little unusual. Here it is probably indicating repeated action in past time in keeping with the idiom that precedes and follows it. See GKC 332 §112.f for other possible examples.

[25:4]  ²² tn Heb “inclined your ear to hear.” This is idiomatic for “paying attention.” It is often parallel with “listen” as here or with “pay attention” (see, e.g., Prov 4:20; 51:1).

[34:8]  ²³ tn Usually translated “covenant.” See the study note on 11:2 for the rationale for the translation here.

[34:8]  sn There are no details regarding the nature of this covenant, but it was probably a parity covenant in which the people agreed to free their slaves in exchange for some concessions from the king (see the study note on 11:2 for more details on the nature of ancient Near Eastern covenants). More details about this covenant are given in vv. 15, 18-19 where it is said to have been made before the Lord in the temple and involved passing between the pieces of a cut-up calf. Hence it involved their swearing an oath invoking the Lord’s name (cf. Gen 21:23; 31:51-53; 1 Sam 20:42) and pronouncing self-maledictory curses on themselves calling down on themselves a fate similar to that of the dead calf if they failed to keep it. (This latter practice is illustrated in treaty documents from the ancient Near East and is reflected in the covenant ceremony in Gen 15:8-16.)

[34:8]  ²⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[34:13]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘…’” The style adopted here has been used to avoid a longer, more complex English sentence.

[34:13]  ²⁶ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 14, 15).

[34:13]  ²⁷ tn Heb “out of the house of bondage.”

[34:13]  sn This refers to the Mosaic covenant, initiated at Mount Sinai and renewed on the plains of Moab. The statement “I brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage” functions as the “historical prologue” in the Ten Commandments which is the Lord’s vassal treaty with Israel in miniature. (See the study note on 11:2 and see Exod 20:2; Deut 5:6 and Exod 34:8. As such it was a motivating factor in their pledge of loyalty to him. This statement was also invoked within the law itself as a motivation for kindly treatment of slaves including their emancipation (see Deut 15:15).)

[34:13]  ²⁸ tn Heb “made a covenant, saying.” This was only one of several stipulations of the covenant. The form used here has been chosen as an indirect way of relating the specific stipulation that is being focused upon to the general covenant that is referred to in v. 13.

[39:17]  ²⁹ tn Heb “But I will rescue you on that day” (referring to the same day mentioned in the preceding verse).

[39:17]  ³⁰ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[39:17]  ³¹ sn Some commentators see this as a reference to the princes from whose clutches Ebed-Melech delivered Jeremiah (38:7-13). However, it is clear that in this context it refers to those that he would fear when the Lord brings about the threatened disaster, i.e., the Babylonians who are attacking the city.

[46:23]  ³² tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.” Again the first person is adopted because the Lord is speaking and the indirect quotation is used to avoid an embedded quotation with quotation marks on either side.

[46:23]  ³³ tn The precise meaning of this verse is uncertain. The Hebrew text reads: “They [those who enter in great force] will cut down her forest, oracle of the Lord, though it [the forest] cannot be searched out/through for they [those who come in great force] are more numerous than locusts and there is no number to them.” Some see the reference to the forest as metaphorical of Egypt’s population which the Babylonian army decimates (H. Freedman, Jeremiah [SoBB], 298, and see BDB 420 s.v. I יַעַר 1.a which refers to the forest as a figure of foes to be cut down and destroyed and compare Isa 10:34). Others see the reference to literal trees and see the decimation of Egypt in general (C. von Orelli, Jeremiah, 329). And some see it as a continuation of the simile of the snake fleeing, the soldiers cutting down the trees because they cannot find it (J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah [NICOT], 693). However, the simile of v. 22a has already been dropped in v. 22b-d; they come against her. Hence it is probably best to see this as a continuation of the simile in v. 22c-d and see the reference to the Babylonian army coming against her, i.e., Egypt (the nation or people of Egypt), like woodcutters cutting down trees.

[47:7]  ³⁴ tn The reading here follows the Greek, Syriac, and Latin versions. The Hebrew text reads “how can you rest” as a continuation of the second person in v. 6.

[47:7]  ³⁵ tn Heb “When the Lord has.” The first person is again adopted because the Lord has been speaking.

[47:7]  ³⁶ tn Heb “Against Ashkelon and the sea coast, there he has appointed it.” For the switch to the first person see the preceding translator’s note. “There” is poetical and redundant and the idea of “attacking” is implicit in “against.”

[49:38]  ³⁷ tn Or “I will sit in judgment over Elam”; Heb “I will set up my throne in Elam.” Commentators are divided over whether this refers to a king sitting in judgment over his captured enemies or whether it refers to formally establishing his rule over the country. Those who argue for the former idea point to the supposed parallels in 1:15 (which the present translation understands not to refer to this but to setting up siege) and 43:8-13. The parallelism in the verse here, however, argues that it refers to the Lord taking over the reins of government by destroying their former leaders.

[49:38]  ³⁸ tn Heb “I will destroy king and leaders from there.”

[49:38]  ³⁹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[50:30]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[51:45]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “Go out from her [Babylon’s] midst, my people. Save each man his life from the fierce anger of the Lord.” The verb has been paraphrased to prevent gender specific terms.

[51:45]  sn Compare Jer 50:8-10; 51:6 where the significance of saving oneself from the fierce anger of the Lord is clarified.

[51:55]  ⁴² tn The antecedent of the third masculine plural pronominal suffix is not entirely clear. It probably refers back to the “destroyers” mentioned in v. 53 as the agents of God’s judgment on Babylon.

[51:55]  ⁴³ tn Or “mighty waters.”

[51:55]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “and the noise of their sound will be given,”