Yeremia 3:9

3:9 Because she took her prostitution so lightly, she defiled the land ¹  through her adulterous worship of gods made of wood and stone. 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 5:9

5:9 I will surely punish them for doing such things!” says the Lord.

“I will surely bring retribution on such a nation as this!” ⁴ 

Yeremia 5:29

5:29 I will certainly punish them for doing such things!” says the Lord.

“I will certainly bring retribution on such a nation as this! ⁵ 

Yeremia 7:4

7:4 Stop putting your confidence in the false belief that says, ⁶  “We are safe! ⁷  The temple of the Lord is here! The temple of the Lord is here! The temple of the Lord is here!” ⁸ 

Yeremia 8:8

8:8 How can you say, “We are wise!

We have the law of the Lord”?

The truth is, ⁹  those who teach it ¹⁰  have used their writings

to make it say what it does not really mean. ¹¹ 

Yeremia 8:15

8:15 We hoped for good fortune, but nothing good has come of it.

We hoped for a time of relief, but instead we experience terror. ¹² 

Yeremia 8:22

8:22 There is still medicinal ointment ¹³  available in Gilead!

There is still a physician there! ¹⁴ 

Why then have my dear people ¹⁵ 

not been restored to health? ¹⁶ 

Yeremia 10:19

10:19 And I cried out, ¹⁷  “We are doomed! ¹⁸ 

Our wound is severe!

We once thought, ‘This is only an illness.

And we will be able to bear it!’ ¹⁹ 

Yeremia 10:24

10:24 Correct us, Lord, but only in due measure. ²⁰ 

Do not punish us in anger or you will reduce us to nothing. ²¹ 

Yeremia 22:16

22:16 He upheld the cause of the poor and needy.

So things went well for Judah.’ ²² 

The Lord says,

‘That is a good example of what it means to know me.’ ²³ 

Yeremia 29:20

29:20 ‘So pay attention to what I, the Lord, have said, ²⁴  all you exiles whom I have sent to Babylon from Jerusalem.’

Yeremia 32:9

32:9 So I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel. I weighed out seven ounces of silver and gave it to him to pay for it. ²⁵ 

Yeremia 37:1

Introduction to Incidents During the Reign of Zedekiah

37:1 Zedekiah son of Josiah succeeded Jeconiah ²⁶  son of Jehoiakim as king. He was elevated to the throne of the land of Judah by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. ²⁷ 

Yeremia 39:13

39:13 So Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, Nebushazban, who was a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer, who was a high official, ²⁸  and all the other officers of the king of Babylon

Yeremia 46:15

46:15 Why will your soldiers ²⁹  be defeated? ³⁰ 

They will not stand because I, the Lord, will thrust ³¹  them down.

Yeremia 47:7

47:7 But how can it rest ³² 

when I, the Lord, have ³³  given it orders?

I have ordered it to attack

the people of Ashkelon and the seacoast. ³⁴ 

Yeremia 49:17

49:17 “Edom will become an object of horror.

All who pass by it will be filled with horror;

they will hiss out their scorn

because of all the disasters that have happened to it. ³⁵ 

Yeremia 49:21

49:21 The people of the earth will quake when they hear of their downfall. ³⁶ 

Their cries of anguish will be heard all the way to the Gulf of Aqaba. ³⁷ 

Yeremia 50:27

50:27 Kill all her soldiers! ³⁸ 

Let them be slaughtered! ³⁹ 

They are doomed, ⁴⁰  for their day of reckoning ⁴¹  has come,

the time for them to be punished.”

Yeremia 50:46

50:46 The people of the earth will quake when they hear Babylon has been captured.

Her cries of anguish will be heard by the other nations.” ⁴² 

Yeremia 51:45

51:45 “Get out of Babylon, my people!

Flee to save your lives

from the fierce anger of the Lord! ⁴³ 

[3:9]  ¹ tc The translation reads the form as a causative (Hiphil, תַּהֲנֵף, tahanef) with some of the versions in place of the simple stative (Qal, תֶּחֱנַף, tekhenaf) in the MT.

[3:9]  ² tn Heb “because of the lightness of her prostitution, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood.”

[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.

[5:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “Should I not punish them…? Should I not bring retribution…?” The rhetorical questions have the force of strong declarations.

[5:29]  ⁵ tn Heb “Should I not punish…? Should I not bring retribution…?” The rhetorical questions function as emphatic declarations.

[5:29]  sn These words are repeated from 5:9 to give a kind of refrain justifying again the necessity of punishment in the light of such sins.

[7:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “Stop trusting in lying words which say.”

[7:4]  ⁷ tn The words “We are safe!” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[7:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these (i.e., these buildings).” Elsewhere triple repetition seems to mark a kind of emphasis (cf. Isa 6:3; Jer 22:29; Ezek 21:27 [32 HT]). The triple repetition that follows seems to be Jeremiah’s way of mocking the (false) sense of security that people had in the invincibility of Jerusalem because God dwelt in the temple. They appeared to be treating the temple as some kind of magical charm. A similar feeling had grown up around the ark in the time of the judges (cf. 1 Sam 3:3) and the temple and city of Jerusalem in Micah’s day (cf. Mic 3:11). It is reflected also in some of the Psalms (cf., e.g., Ps 46, especially v. 5).

[8:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “Surely, behold!”

[8:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the scribes.”

[8:8]  ¹¹ 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.

[8:15]  ¹² tn Heb “[We hoped] for a time of healing but behold terror.”

[8:22]  ¹³ tn Heb “balm.” The more familiar “ointment” has been used in the translation, supplemented with the adjective “medicinal.”

[8:22]  sn This medicinal ointment (Heb “balm”) consisted of the gum or resin from a tree that grows in Egypt and Palestine and was thought to have medicinal value (see also Jer 46:11).

[8:22]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there?” In this context the questions are rhetorical and expect a positive answer, which is made explicit in the translation.

[8:22]  sn The prophet means by this metaphor that there are still means available for healing the spiritual ills of his people, mainly repentance, obedience to the law, and sole allegiance to God, and still people available who will apply this medicine to them, namely prophets like himself.

[8:22]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.

[8:22]  ¹⁶ tn Or more clearly, “restored to spiritual health”; Heb “Why then has healing not come to my dear people?”

[8:22]  sn Jeremiah is lamenting that though there is a remedy available for the recovery of his people they have not availed themselves of it.

[10:19]  ¹⁷ tn The words, “And I cried out” are not in the text. It is not altogether clear who the speaker is in vv. 19-25. The words of vv. 19-20 would best be assigned to a personified Jerusalem who laments the destruction of her city (under the figure of a tent) and the exile of her children (under the figure of children). However, the words of v. 21 which assign responsibility to the rulers do not fit well in the mouth of the people but do fit Jeremiah. The words of v. 22 are very appropriate to Jeremiah being similar to the report in 4:19-20. Likewise the words of v. 23 which appear to express man’s incapacity to control his own destiny and his resignation to the fate which awaits him in the light of v. 24 seem more appropriate to Jeremiah than to the people. There has been no indication elsewhere that the people have shown any indication of being resigned to their fate or willing to accept their punishment. Though the issue is far from resolved a majority of commentators see Jeremiah as the speaker so identifying himself with their fate that he speaks as though he were this personified figure. It is not altogether out of the question, however, that the speaker throughout is personified Jerusalem though I know of no commentator who takes that view. For those who are interested, the most thorough discussion of the issue is probably to be found in W. McKane, Jeremiah (ICC), 1:230-35, especially 233-35. Rendering the pronouns throughout as “we” and “our” alleviates some of the difficulty but some speaker needs to be identified in the introduction to allay any possible confusion. Hence I have opted for what is the majority view.

[10:19]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Woe to me on account of my wound.” The words “woe to” in many contexts carry the connotation of hopelessness and of inevitable doom (cf. 1 Sam 4:7, 8; Isa 6:5), hence a “deadly blow.” See also the usage in 4:13, 31; 6:4 and the notes on 4:13. For the rendering of the pronoun as “we” and “our” here and in the verses to follow see the preceding note.

[10:19]  ¹⁹ tn Some interpret this as a resignation to the punishment inflicted and translate “But I said, ‘This is my punishment and I will just need to bear it.’” This is unlikely given the meaning and usage of the word rendered “sickness” (חֳלִי, khali), the absence of the pronoun “my,” and the likelihood that the particle אַךְ means “only” not “indeed” (cf. BDB s.v. אַךְ 2.b and compare its usage in v. 24).

[10:19]  sn What is being referred to here is the feeling that was encouraged by the false prophets that the ill fortunes of the nation were just temporary setbacks and everything would soon get better (cf. 6:14; 8:11).

[10:24]  ²⁰ tn Heb “with justice.”

[10:24]  ²¹ tn The words, “to almost nothing” are not in the text. They are implicit from the general context and are supplied by almost all English versions.

[22:16]  ²² tn The words “for Judah” are not in the text, but the absence of the preposition plus object as in the preceding verse suggests that this is a more general statement, i.e., “things went well for everyone.”

[22:16]  ²³ tn Heb “Is that not what it means to know me.” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer. It is translated in the light of the context.

[22:16]  sn Comparison of the usage of the words “know me” in their context in Jer 2:8; 9:3, 6, 24 and here will show that more than mere intellectual knowledge is involved. It involves also personal commitment to God and obedience to the demands of the agreements with him. The word “know” is used in ancient Near Eastern treaty contexts of submission to the will of the overlord. See further the notes on 9:3.

[29:20]  ²⁴ tn Heb “pay attention to the word of the Lord.” However, the Lord is speaking in the words just previous to this and in the words which follow (“whom I have sent”). This is another example of the shift from third person referent to first person which is common in Hebrew poetry and prophecy but is not common in English style. The person has been adjusted in the translation to avoid confusion.

[32:9]  ²⁵ tn Heb “I weighed out the money [more literally, “silver”] for him, seventeen shekels of silver.”

[32:9]  sn Coins were not in common use until the postexilic period. Payment in gold and silver was made by cutting off pieces of silver or gold and weighing them in a beam balance using standard weights as the measure. A shekel weighed approximately 0.4 ounce or 11.4 grams. The English equivalents are only approximations.

[37:1]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Coniah.” For explanation of the rendering here see the translator’s note on 22:4.

[37:1]  ²⁷ tn Heb “And Zedekiah son of Josiah whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah ruled as king instead of Coniah son of Jehoiakim.” The sentence has been restructured and simplified to better conform to contemporary English style.

[39:13]  ²⁸ tn See the translator’s notes on 39:3, 9 for the names and titles here.

[46:15]  ²⁹ tn The word translated “soldiers” (אַבִּירִים, ’abbirim) is not the Hebrew word that has been used of soldiers elsewhere in these oracles (גִּבּוֹרִים, gibborim). It is an adjective used as a noun that can apply to animals, i.e., of a bull (Ps 50:13) or a stallion (Judg 5:22). Moreover, the form is masculine plural and the verbs are singular. Hence, many modern commentaries and English versions follow the redivision of the first line presupposed by the Greek version, “Apis has fled” (נָס חַף, nas khaf) and see this as a reference to the bull god of Memphis. However, the noun is used of soldiers in Lam 1:15 and the plural could be the distributive plural, i.e., each and every one (cf. GKC 464 §145.l and compare usage in Gen 27:29).

[46:15]  ³⁰ tn The Hebrew word used here only occurs here (in the Niphal) and in Prov 28:3 (in the Qal) where it refers to a rain that beats down grain. That idea would fit nicely with the idea of the soldiers being beaten down, or defeated. It is possible that the rarity of this verb (versus the common verb נוּס, nus, “flee”) and the ready identification of Apis with the bull calf (אַבִּיר, ’abbir) has led to the reading of the Greek text (so C. von Orelli, Jeremiah, 327). The verbs in this verse and the following are in the perfect tense but should be understood as prophetic perfects since the text is dealing with what will happen when Nebuchadnezzar comes into Egypt. The text of vv. 18-24 shows a greater mixture with some perfects and some imperfects, sometimes even within the same verse (e.g., v. 22).

[46:15]  ³¹ tn Heb “the Lord will thrust them down.” However, the Lord is speaking (cf. clearly in v. 18), so the first person is adopted for the sake of consistency. This has been a consistent problem in the book of Jeremiah where the prophet is so identified with the word of the Lord that he sometimes uses the first person and sometimes the third. It creates confusion for the average reader who is trying to follow the flow of the argument and has been shifted to the first person like this on a number of occasions. TEV and CEV have generally adopted the same policy as have some other modern English versions at various points.

[47:7]  ³² 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]  ³³ tn Heb “When the Lord has.” The first person is again adopted because the Lord has been speaking.

[47:7]  ³⁴ 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.”

[49:17]  ³⁵ sn This verse is very similar to Jer 19:8 where the same judgment is pronounced on Jerusalem. For the meaning of some of the terms here (“hiss out their scorn” and “all the disasters that have happened to it”) see the notes on that verse.

[49:21]  ³⁶ tn Heb “The earth will quake when at the sound of their downfall.” However, as in many other places “earth” stands here metonymically for the inhabitants or people of the earth (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 578-79, and compare usage in 2 Sam 15:23; Ps 66:4).

[49:21]  ³⁷ tn Heb “the Red Sea,” of which the Gulf of Aqaba formed the northeastern arm. The land of Edom once reached this far according to 1 Kgs 9:26.

[50:27]  ³⁸ tn Heb “Kill all her young bulls.” Commentators are almost universally agreed that the reference to “young bulls” is figurative here for the princes and warriors (cf. BDB 831 s.v. פַּר 2.f, which compares Isa 34:7 and Ezek 39:18). This is virtually certain because of the reference to the time coming for them to be punished; this would scarcely fit literal bulls. For the verb rendered “kill” here see the translator’s note on v. 21.

[50:27]  ³⁹ tn Heb “Let them go down to the slaughter.”

[50:27]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “How terrible it will be for them”; Heb “Woe to them.” See the study note on 22:13 and compare the usage in 23:1; 48:1.

[50:27]  ⁴¹ tn The words “of reckoning” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[50:46]  ⁴² tn Heb “among the nations.” With the exception of this phrase, the different verb in v. 46a, the absence of a suffix on the word for “land” in v. 45d, the third plural suffix instead of the third singular suffix on the verb for “chase…off of,” this passage is identical with 49:19-21 with the replacement of Babylon or the land of the Chaldeans for Edom. For the translation notes explaining the details of the translation here see the translator’s notes on 49:19-21.

[50:46]  sn This passage is virtually identical with Jer 49:19-21 with the replacement of Babylon, land of Babylonia for Edom. As God used Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians to destroy Edom, so he would use Cyrus and the Medes and Persians and their allies to destroy Babylon (cf. 25:13, 14). As Nebuchadnezzar was God’s servant to whom all would be subject (25:9; 27:6), so Cyrus is called in Isaiah “his anointed one,” i.e., his chosen king whom he will use to shatter other nations and set Israel free (Isa 45:1-4).

[51:45]  ⁴³ 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.