Yeremia 4:22
Konteks“This will happen 2 because my people are foolish.
They do not know me.
They are like children who have no sense. 3
They have no understanding.
They are skilled at doing evil.
They do not know how to do good.”
Yeremia 16:21
Konteks“So I will now let this wicked people know –
I will let them know my mighty power in judgment.
Then they will know that my name is the Lord.” 5
[4:22] 1 tn These words are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to show clearly the shift in speaker. Jeremiah has been speaking; now the
[4:22] 2 tn Heb “For….” This gives the explanation for the destruction envisaged in 4:20 to which Jeremiah responds in 4:19, 21.
[4:22] 3 tn Heb “They are senseless children.”
[16:21] 4 tn The words “The
[16:21] 5 tn Or “So I will make known to those nations, I will make known to them at this time my power and my might. Then they will know that my name is the
[16:21] tn There is a decided ambiguity in this text about the identity of the pronoun “them.” Is it his wicked people he has been predicting judgment upon or the nations that have come to recognize the folly of idolatry? The nearer antecedent would argue for that. However, usage of “hand” (translated here “power”) in 6:12; 15:6 and later 21:5 and especially the threatening motif of “at this time” (or “now”) in 10:18 suggest that the “So” goes back logically to vv. 16-18, following a grounds of judgment with the threatened consequence as it has in at least 16 out of 18 occurrences thus far. Moreover it makes decidedly more sense that the Jews will know that his name is the