Yeremia 8:6

8:6 I have listened to them very carefully, ¹ 

but they do not speak honestly.

None of them regrets the evil he has done.

None of them says, “I have done wrong!” ² 

All of them persist in their own wayward course ³ 

like a horse charging recklessly into battle.

Yeremia 8:19

8:19 I hear my dear people ⁴  crying out ⁵ 

throughout the length and breadth of the land. ⁶ 

They are crying, ‘Is the Lord no longer in Zion?

Is her divine King ⁷  no longer there?’”

The Lord answers, ⁸ 

“Why then do they provoke me to anger with their images,

with their worthless foreign idols?” ⁹ 

[8:6]  ¹ tn Heb “I have paid attention and I have listened.” This is another case of two concepts being joined by “and” where one expresses the main idea and the other acts as an adverbial or adjectival modifier (a figure called hendiadys).

[8:6]  ² tn Heb “What have I done?” The addition of the word “wrong” is implicit in the context and is supplied in the translation for clarity. The rhetorical question does not function as a denial of wrongdoing, but rather as contrite shock at one’s own wrongdoing. It is translated as a declaration for the sake of clarity.

[8:6]  ³ tn Heb “each one of them turns aside into their own running course.”

[8:6]  sn The wordplay begun in v. 4 is continued here. The word translated “turns aside” in the literal translation and “wayward” in the translation is from the same root as “go the wrong way,” “turn around,” “turn away from me,” “apostasy,” “turn back to me.” What God hoped for were confessions of repentance and change of behavior; what he got was denial of wrongdoing and continued turning away from him.

[8:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.

[8:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “Behold the voice of the crying of the daughter of my people.”

[8:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “Land of distances, i.e., of wide extent.” For parallel usage cf. Isa 33:17.

[8:19]  ⁷ tn Heb “her King” but this might be misunderstood by some to refer to the Davidic ruler even with the capitalization.

[8:19]  ⁸ tn The words, “The Lord would answer” are not in the text but are implicit from the words that follow. They are supplied in the translation for clarity. Another option would be to add “And I can just hear the Lord reply.”

[8:19]  ⁹ sn The people’s cry and the Lord’s interruption reflect the same argument that was set forth in the preceding chapter. They have misguided confidence that the Lord is with them regardless of their actions and he responds that their actions have provoked him to the point of judging them. See especially 7:4 and 7:30.