Yeremia 5:12

5:12 “These people have denied what the Lord says. ¹ 

They have said, ‘That is not so! ² 

No harm will come to us.

We will not experience war and famine. ³ 

Yeremia 7:22

7:22 Consider this: ⁴  When I spoke to your ancestors after I brought them out of Egypt, I did not merely give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices.

Yeremia 9:17

9:17 The Lord who rules over all ⁵  told me to say to this people, ⁶ 

“Take note of what I say. ⁷ 

Call for the women who mourn for the dead!

Summon those who are the most skilled at it!” ⁸ 

[5:12]  ¹ tn Heb “have denied the Lord.” The words “What…says” are implicit in what follows.

[5:12]  ² tn Or “he will do nothing”; Heb “Not he [or it]!”

[5:12]  ³ tn Heb “we will not see the sword and famine.”

[7:22]  ⁴ tn Heb “For” but this introduces a long explanation about the relative importance of sacrifice and obedience.

[9:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[9:17]  sn For the significance of this title see the notes at 2:19 and 7:3.

[9:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “Thus says Yahweh of armies.” However, without some addition it is not clear to whom the command is addressed. The words are supplied in the translation for clarity and to help resolve a rather confusing issue of who is speaking throughout vv. 16-21. As has been evident throughout the translation, the speaker is not always indicated. Sometimes it is not even clear who the speaker is. In general the translation and the notes have reflected the general consensus in identifying who it is. Here, however, there is a good deal of confusion about who is speaking in vv. 18, 20-21. The Greek translation has the Lord speaking throughout with second plural pronouns in vv. 18, 21 and the absence of the first line in v. 22. It would be hard to explain how the MT arose if it were the original text. Critical commentators such as J. Bright, W. Holladay, and W. McKane resolve the issue by dropping out the introductory formula in v. 17 and the first line of v. 22 and assigning the whole lament to Jeremiah. It seems obvious from the first plural pronouns and the content of v. 18 (and probably v. 21 as well) and the fact that the Lord is referred to in other than the first person in v. 20 that he is not the speaker of those verses. I have attempted to resolve the issue by having Jeremiah report the Lord’s command in v. 17 and have the rest of the speech be essentially that of Jeremiah. It should be admitted, however, that the issue is far from resolved. Most English versions simply ignore the problem. The GNB (= TEV) is a rare exception.

[9:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “Consider!”

[9:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “Call for the mourning women that they may come and send for the wise/skilled women that they may come.” The verbs here are masculine plural, addressed to the people.