Yeremia 1:18

1:18 I, the Lord, ¹  hereby promise to make you ²  as strong as a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall. You will be able to stand up against all who live in ³  the land, including the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and all the people of the land.

Yeremia 3:6

3:6 When Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, you have no doubt seen what wayward Israel has done. ⁴  You have seen how she went up to every high hill and under every green tree to give herself like a prostitute to other gods. ⁵ 

Yeremia 8:19

8:19 I hear my dear people ⁶  crying out ⁷ 

throughout the length and breadth of the land. ⁸ 

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

Is her divine King ⁹  no longer there?’”

The Lord answers, ¹⁰ 

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

with their worthless foreign idols?” ¹¹ 

Yeremia 19:3

19:3 Say, ‘Listen to what the Lord says, you kings of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem! ¹²  The Lord God of Israel who rules over all ¹³  says, “I will bring a disaster on this place ¹⁴  that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it ring! ¹⁵ 

Yeremia 19:13

19:13 The houses in Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be defiled by dead bodies ¹⁶  just like this place, Topheth. For they offered sacrifice to the stars ¹⁷  and poured out drink offerings to other gods on the roofs of those houses.’”

Yeremia 20:5

20:5 I will hand over all the wealth of this city to their enemies. I will hand over to them all the fruits of the labor of the people of this city and all their prized possessions, as well as all the treasures of the kings of Judah. Their enemies will seize it all as plunder ¹⁸  and carry it off to Babylon.

Yeremia 22:18

22:18 So ¹⁹  the Lord has this to say about Josiah’s son, King Jehoiakim of Judah:

People will not mourn for him, saying,

“This makes me sad, my brother!

This makes me sad, my sister!”

They will not mourn for him, saying,

“Poor, poor lord! Poor, poor majesty!” ²⁰ 

Yeremia 25:3

25:3 “For the last twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amon was ruling in Judah ²¹  until now, the Lord has been speaking to me. I told you over and over again ²²  what he said. ²³  But you would not listen.

Yeremia 25:12

25:12 “‘But when the seventy years are over, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation ²⁴  for their sins. I will make the land of Babylon ²⁵  an everlasting ruin. ²⁶  I, the Lord, affirm it! ²⁷ 

Yeremia 26:18

26:18 “Micah from Moresheth ²⁸  prophesied during the time Hezekiah was king of Judah. ²⁹  He told all the people of Judah,

‘The Lord who rules over all ³⁰  says,

“Zion ³¹  will become a plowed field.

Jerusalem ³²  will become a pile of rubble.

The temple mount will become a mere wooded ridge.”’ ³³ 

Yeremia 27:18

27:18 I also told them, ³⁴  “If they are really prophets and the Lord is speaking to them, ³⁵  let them pray earnestly to the Lord who rules over all. ³⁶  Let them plead with him not to let the valuable articles that are still left in the Lord’s temple, in the royal palace, and in Jerusalem be taken away ³⁷  to Babylon.

Yeremia 28:11

28:11 Then he spoke up in the presence of all the people. “The Lord says, ‘In the same way I will break the yoke of servitude of all the nations to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon ³⁸  before two years are over.’” After he heard this, the prophet Jeremiah departed and went on his way. ³⁹ 

Yeremia 28:14

28:14 For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all ⁴⁰  says, “I have put an irresistible yoke of servitude on all these nations ⁴¹  so they will serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. And they will indeed serve him. I have even given him control over the wild animals.”’” ⁴² 

Yeremia 34:5

34:5 You will die a peaceful death. They will burn incense at your burial just as they did at the burial of your ancestors, the former kings who preceded you. ⁴³  They will mourn for you, saying, “Poor, poor master!” ⁴⁴  Indeed, you have my own word on this. ⁴⁵  I, the Lord, affirm it!’” ⁴⁶ 

Yeremia 35:11

35:11 But when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded the land we said, ‘Let’s get up and go to Jerusalem ⁴⁷  to get away from the Babylonian ⁴⁸  and Aramean armies.’ That is why we are staying here in Jerusalem.”

Yeremia 37:7

37:7 “The Lord God of Israel says, ‘Give a message to the king of Judah who sent you to ask me to help him. ⁴⁹  Tell him, “The army of Pharaoh that was on its way to help you will go back home to Egypt. ⁵⁰ 

Yeremia 37:21

37:21 Then King Zedekiah ordered that Jeremiah be committed to the courtyard of the guardhouse. He also ordered that a loaf of bread ⁵¹  be given to him every day from the baker’s street until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah was kept ⁵²  in the courtyard of the guardhouse.

Yeremia 38:16-17

38:16 So King Zedekiah made a secret promise to Jeremiah and sealed it with an oath. He promised, ⁵³  “As surely as the Lord lives who has given us life and breath, ⁵⁴  I promise you this: I will not kill you or hand you over to those men who want to kill you.” ⁵⁵ 

38:17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “The Lord, the God who rules over all, the God of Israel, ⁵⁶  says, ‘You must surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon. If you do, your life will be spared ⁵⁷  and this city will not be burned down. Indeed, you and your whole family will be spared.

Yeremia 38:23

38:23 “All your wives and your children will be turned over to the Babylonians. ⁵⁸  You yourself will not escape from them but will be captured by the ⁵⁹  king of Babylon. This city will be burned down.” ⁶⁰ 

Yeremia 40:9

40:9 Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, took an oath so as to give them and their troops some assurance of safety. ⁶¹  “Do not be afraid to submit to the Babylonians. ⁶²  Settle down in the land and submit to the king of Babylon. Then things will go well for you.

Yeremia 44:21

44:21 “The Lord did indeed remember and call to mind what you did! He remembered the sacrifices you and your ancestors, your kings, your leaders, and all the rest of the people of the land offered to other gods ⁶³  in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. ⁶⁴ 

Yeremia 46:26

46:26 I will hand them over to Nebuchadnezzar and his troops, who want to kill them. But later on, people will live in Egypt again as they did in former times. I, the Lord, affirm it!” ⁶⁵ 

Yeremia 51:11

51:11 “Sharpen ⁶⁶  your arrows!

Fill your quivers! ⁶⁷ 

The Lord will arouse a spirit of hostility in ⁶⁸  the kings of Media. ⁶⁹ 

For he intends to destroy Babylonia.

For that is how the Lord will get his revenge –

how he will get his revenge for the Babylonians’ destruction of his temple. ⁷⁰ 

Yeremia 51:27

51:27 “Raise up battle flags throughout the lands.

Sound the trumpets calling the nations to do battle.

Prepare the nations to do battle against Babylonia. ⁷¹ 

Call for these kingdoms to attack her:

Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. ⁷² 

Appoint a commander to lead the attack. ⁷³ 

Send horses ⁷⁴  against her like a swarm of locusts. ⁷⁵ 

[1:18]  ¹ tn See the note on “Jeremiah” at the beginning of v. 17.

[1:18]  ² tn Heb “today I have made you.” The Hebrew verb form here emphasizes the certainty of a yet future act; the Lord is promising to protect Jeremiah from any future attacks which may result from his faithfully carrying out his commission. See a similar use of the same Hebrew verb tense in v. 9, and see the translator’s note there.

[1:18]  ³ tn Heb “I make you a fortified city…against all the land….” The words “as strong as” and “so you will be able to stand against all the people of…” are given to clarify the meaning of the metaphor.

[3:6]  ⁴ tn “Have you seen…” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.

[3:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “she played the prostitute there.” This is a metaphor for Israel’s worship; she gave herself to the worship of other gods like a prostitute gives herself to her lovers. There seems no clear way to completely spell out the metaphor in the translation.

[8:19]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Heb “Behold the voice of the crying of the daughter of my people.”

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

[8:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “her King” but this might be misunderstood by some to refer to the Davidic ruler even with the capitalization.

[8:19]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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.

[19:3]  ¹² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[19:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.”

[19:3]  sn See the study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for explanation of this title.

[19:3]  ¹⁴ sn Careful comparison of the use of this term throughout this passage and comparison with 7:31-33 which is parallel to several verses in this passage will show that the reference is to the Valley of Ben Hinnom which will become a Valley of Slaughter (see v. 6 and 7:32).

[19:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “which everyone who hears it [or about it] his ears will ring.” This is proverbial for a tremendous disaster. See 1 Sam 3:11; 2 Kgs 21:12 for similar prophecies.

[19:13]  ¹⁶ tn The words “by dead bodies” is not in the text but is implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[19:13]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the host of heaven.”

[20:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Take them [the goods, etc.] as plunder and seize them.”

[22:18]  ¹⁹ sn This is the regular way of introducing the announcement of judgment after an indictment of crimes. See, e.g., Isa 5:13, 14; Jer 23:2.

[22:18]  ²⁰ tn The translation follows the majority of scholars who think that the address of brother and sister are the address of the mourners to one another, lamenting their loss. Some scholars feel that all four terms are parallel and represent the relation that the king had metaphorically to his subjects; i.e., he was not only Lord and Majesty to them but like a sister or a brother. In that case something like: “How sad it is for the one who was like a brother to us! How sad it is for the one who was like a sister to us.” This makes for poor poetry and is not very likely. The lover can call his bride sister in Song of Solomon (Song 4:9, 10) but there are no documented examples of a subject ever speaking of a king in this way in Israel or the ancient Near East.

[25:3]  ²¹ sn The year referred to would be 627 b.c. The same year is referred to in 1:2 in reference to his call to be a prophet.

[25:3]  ²² tn For the idiom involved here see the notes at 7:13 and 11:7.

[25:3]  ²³ tn The words “what he said” are not in the text but are implicit. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[25:12]  ²⁴ tn Heb “that nation.”

[25:12]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the land of the Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for the use of the term “Chaldeans.”

[25:12]  ²⁶ tn Heb “I will visit upon the king of Babylon and upon that nation, oracle of the Lord, their iniquity even upon the land of the Chaldeans and I will make it everlasting ruins.” The sentence has been restructured to avoid ambiguity and to conform the style more to contemporary English.

[25:12]  sn Compare Isa 13:19-22 and Jer 50:39-40.

[25:12]  ²⁷ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[26:18]  ²⁸ sn Micah from Moresheth was a contemporary of Isaiah (compare Mic 1:1 with Isa 1:1) from the country town of Moresheth in the hill country southwest of Jerusalem. The prophecy referred to is found in Mic 3:12. This is the only time in the OT where an OT prophet is quoted verbatim and identified.

[26:18]  ²⁹ sn Hezekiah was co-regent with his father Ahaz from 729-715 b.c. and sole ruler from 715-686 b.c. His father was a wicked king who was responsible for the incursions of the Assyrians (2 Kgs 16; 2 Chr 28). Hezekiah was a godly king, noted for his religious reforms and for his faith in the Lord in the face of the Assyrian threat (2 Kgs 18–19; 2 Chr 32:1-23). The deliverance of Jerusalem in response to his prayers of faith (2 Kgs 19:14-19, 29-36) was undoubtedly well-known to the people of Jerusalem and Judah and may have been one of the prime reasons for their misplaced trust in the inviolability of Zion/Jerusalem (see Ps 46, 76) though the people of Micah’s day already believed it too (Mic 3:11).

[26:18]  ³⁰ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[26:18]  sn For an explanation of this title for God see the study note on 2:19.

[26:18]  ³¹ sn Zion was first of all the citadel that David captured (2 Sam 5:6-10), then the city of David and the enclosed temple area, then the whole city of Jerusalem. It is often in poetic parallelism with Jerusalem as it is here (see, e.g., Ps 76:2; Amos 1:2).

[26:18]  ³² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[26:18]  ³³ sn There is irony involved in this statement. The text reads literally “high places of a forest/thicket.” The “high places” were the illicit places of worship that Jerusalem was supposed to replace. Because of their sin, Jerusalem would be like one of the pagan places of worship with no place left sacrosanct. It would even be overgrown with trees and bushes. So much for its inviolability!

[27:18]  ³⁴ tn The words “I also told them” are not in the text, but it is obvious from the fact that the Lord is spoken about in the third person in vv. 18, 19, 21 that he is not the speaker. This is part of Jeremiah’s own speech to the priests and the people (v. 16). These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[27:18]  ³⁵ tn Heb “the word of the Lord is with them.”

[27:18]  ³⁶ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[27:18]  sn For the significance of this title see the study note on 2:19.

[27:18]  ³⁷ tn Heb “…speaking to them, let them entreat the Lord…so that the valuable articles…will not go to Babylon.” The long original sentence has been broken up for the sake of English style.

[28:11]  ³⁸ tn Heb “I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from upon the necks of all the nations.”

[28:11]  ³⁹ tn Heb “Then the prophet Jeremiah went his way.”

[28:14]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” See the study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for this title.

[28:14]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “An iron yoke I have put on the necks of all these nations.”

[28:14]  ⁴² sn The emphasis is on the absoluteness of Nebuchadnezzar’s control. The statement is once again rhetorical and not to be taken literally. See the study note on 27:6.

[34:5]  ⁴³ tn Heb “And like the burning [of incense] for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so will they burn [incense] for you.” The sentence has been reversed for easier style and the technical use of the terms interpreted.

[34:5]  sn For the custom referred to compare 2 Chr 16:14; 21:19.

[34:5]  ⁴⁴ sn The intent of this oracle may have been to contrast the fate of Zedekiah with that of Jehoiakim who was apparently executed, went unmourned, and was left unburied (contrast Jer 22:18-19).

[34:5]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “For [or Indeed] I myself have spoken [this] word.”

[34:5]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[35:11]  ⁴⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[35:11]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “Chaldean.” For explanation see the study note on 21:4.

[37:7]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “to ask me what will happen.” The dominant usage of the verb דָּרַשׁ (darash) is to “inquire” in the sense of gaining information about what will happen (cf., e.g., 1 Kgs 14:5; 2 Kgs 8:8; 22:7-8) but it is also used in the sense of “seeking help” from (cf., e.g., Isa 31:1; 2 Chr 16:12; 20:3). The latter nuance appears appropriate in Jer 20:2 where Zedekiah is hoping for some miraculous intervention. That nuance also appears appropriate here where Zedekiah has sent messengers to ask Jeremiah to intercede on their behalf. However, it is also possible that the intent of both verbs is to find out from God whether the Egyptian mission will succeed and more permanent relief from the siege will be had.

[37:7]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “will go back to its land, Egypt.”

[37:21]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “And/Then King Zedekiah ordered and they committed Jeremiah to [or deposited…in] the courtyard of the guardhouse and they gave to him a loaf of bread.” The translation has been structured the way it has to avoid the ambiguous “they” which is the impersonal subject which is sometimes rendered passive in English (cf. GKC 460 §144.d). This text also has another example of the vav (ו) + infinitive absolute continuing a finite verbal form (וְנָתֹן [vÿnaton] = “and they gave”; cf. GKC 345 §113.y and see Jer 32:44; 36:23).

[37:21]  ⁵² tn Heb “Stayed/Remained/ Lived.”

[38:16]  ⁵³ tn Heb “So King Zedekiah secretly swore an oath to Jeremiah, saying.”

[38:16]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “who has made this life/soul/ breath [נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh] for us.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ refers to the living, breathing substance of a person which constitutes his very life (cf. BDB 659 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 1; 3).

[38:16]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “who are seeking your life.”

[38:17]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “Yahweh, the God of armies, the God of Israel.” Compare 7:3 and 35:17 and see the study note on 2:19.

[38:17]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “Your life/soul will live.” The quote is a long condition-consequence sentence with compound consequential clauses. It reads, “If you will only go out to the officers of the king of Babylon, your soul [= you yourself; BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a] will live and this city will not be burned with fire and you and your household will live.” The sentence has been broken down and restructured to better conform with contemporary English style. The infinitive absolute in the condition emphasizes the one condition, i.e., going out or surrendering (cf. Joüon 2:423 §123.g, and compare usage in Exod 15:26). For the idiom “go out to” = “surrender to” see the full idiom in 21:9 “go out and fall over to” which is condensed in 38:2 to “go out to.” The expression here is the same as in 38:2.

[38:23]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for explanation.

[38:23]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “you yourself will not escape from their hand but will be seized by [caught in] the hand of the king of Babylon.” Neither use of “hand” is natural to the English idiom.

[38:23]  ⁶⁰ tc This translation follows the reading of the Greek version and a few Hebrew mss. The majority of the Hebrew mss read “and you will burn down this city.” This reading is accepted by the majority of modern commentaries and English versions. Few of the commentaries, however, bother to explain the fact that the particle אֶת (’et), which normally marks the accusative object, is functioning here as the subject. For this point of grammar see BDB 85 s.v. I אֵת 1.b. Or this may be another case where אֵת introduces a new subject (see BDB 85 s.v. אֵת 3.α and see usage in 27:8; 36:22).

[40:9]  ⁶¹ tn The words “so as to give them some assurance of safety” are not in the text but are generally understood by all commentators. This would be a case of substitution of cause for effect, the oath, put for the effect, the assurance of safety (NJPS translates directly “reassured them”).

[40:9]  ⁶² tn Heb “Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for explanation.

[44:21]  ⁶³ tn The words “to other gods” are not in the text but are implicit from the context (cf. v. 17). They are supplied in the translation for clarity. It was not the act of sacrifice that was wrong but the recipient.

[44:21]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “The sacrifices which you sacrificed in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your leaders and the people of the land, did not the Lord remember them and [did they not] come into his mind?” The question is again rhetorical and expects a positive answer. So it is rendered here as an affirmative statement for the sake of clarity and simplicity. An attempt has been made to shorten the long Hebrew sentence to better conform with contemporary English style.

[46:26]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[51:11]  ⁶⁶ sn The imperatives here and in v. 12 are directed to the soldiers in the armies of the kings from the north (here identified as the kings of Media [see also 50:3, 9; 51:27-28]). They have often been addressed in this prophecy as though they were a present force (see 50:14-16; 50:21 [and the study note there]; 50:26, 29; 51:3) though the passage as a whole is prophetic of the future. This gives some idea of the ideal stance that the prophets adopted when they spoke of the future as though already past (the use of the Hebrew prophetic perfect which has been referred to often in the translator’s notes).

[51:11]  ⁶⁷ tn The meaning of this word is debated. The most thorough discussion of this word including etymology and usage in the OT and Qumran is in HALOT 1409-10 s.v. שֶׁלֶט, where the rendering “quiver” is accepted for all the uses of this word in the OT. For a more readily accessible discussion for English readers see W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 2:422-23. The meaning “quiver” fits better with the verb “fill” than the meaning “shield” which is adopted in BDB 1020 s.v. שֶׁלֶט. “Quiver” is the meaning adopted also in NRSV, REB, NAB, and NJPS.

[51:11]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “The Lord has stirred up the spirit of…” The verb is rendered here as a prophetic perfect. The rendering “arouse a spirit of hostility” is an attempt to render some meaning to the phrase and not simply ignore the word “spirit” as many of the modern English versions do. For a fuller discussion including cross references see the translator’s note on v. 1.

[51:11]  ⁶⁹ sn Media was a country in what is now northwestern Iran. At the time this prophecy was probably written they were the dominating force in the northern region, the most likely enemy to Babylon. By the time Babylon fell in 538 b.c. the Medes had been conquered and incorporated in the Persian empire by Cyrus. However, several times in the Bible this entity is known under the combined entity of Media and Persia (Esth 1:3, 4, 18, 19; 10:2; Dan 5:28; 6:8, 12, 15; 8:20). Dan 5:31 credits the capture of Babylon to Darius the Mede, which may have been another name for Cyrus or the name by which Daniel refers to a Median general named Gobryas.

[51:11]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “For it is the vengeance of the Lord, vengeance for his temple.” As in the parallel passage in 50:28, the genitival construction has been expanded in the translation to clarify for the English reader what the commentaries in general agree is involved.

[51:11]  sn Verse 11c-f appears to be a parenthetical or editorial comment by Jeremiah to give some background for the attack which is summoned in vv. 11-12.

[51:27]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “Raise up a standard on the earth. Blow a ram’s horn among the nations. Consecrate nations against her.” According to BDB 651 s.v. נֵס 1, the raising of a standard was a signal of a war – a summons to assemble and attack (see usage in Isa 5:26; 13:2; Jer 51:12). The “blowing of the ram’s horn” was also a signal to rally behind a leader and join in an attack (see Judg 3:27; 6:34). For the meaning of “consecrate nations against her” see the study note on 6:4. The usage of this phrase goes back to the concept of holy war where soldiers had to be consecrated for battle by the offering of a sacrifice. The phrase has probably lost its ritual usage in later times and become idiomatic for making necessary preparations for war.

[51:27]  ⁷² sn Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz are three kingdoms who were located in the Lake Van, Lake Urmia region which are now parts of eastern Turkey and northwestern Iran. They were kingdoms which had been conquered and made vassal states by the Medes in the early sixth century. The Medes were the dominant country in this region from around 590 b.c. until they were conquered and incorporated into the Persian empire by Cyrus in 550 b.c.

[51:27]  ⁷³ tn The translation of this line is uncertain because it includes a word which only occurs here and in Nah 3:17 where it is found in parallelism with a word that is only used once and whose meaning in turn is uncertain. It is probably related to the Akkadian word tupsharru which refers to a scribe (Heb “a tablet writer”). The exact function of this official is disputed. KBL 356 s.v. טִפְסָר relates it to a “recruiting officer,” a sense which is reflected in NAB. The majority of modern English versions render “commander” or “marshal” following the suggestion of BDB 381 s.v. טִפְסָר. G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, T. G. Smothers (Jeremiah 26-52 [WBC], 351) translate “recruiter (scribe)” but explain the function on p. 371 as that of recording the plunder captured in war. The rendering here follows that of TEV and God’s Word and is the nuance suggested by the majority of modern English versions who rendered “appoint a marshal/commander against it.”

[51:27]  ⁷⁴ sn This is probably a poetic or shorthand way of referring to the cavalry and chariotry where horse is put for “rider” and “driver.”

[51:27]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “Bring up horses like bristly locusts.” The meaning of the Hebrew word “bristly” (סָמָר, samar) is uncertain because the word only occurs here. It is generally related to a verb meaning “to bristle” which occurs in Job 4:15 and Ps 119:120. Exactly what is meant by “bristly” in connection with “locust” is uncertain, though most relate it to a stage of the locust in which its wings are still encased in a rough, horny casing. J. A. Thompson (Jeremiah [NICOT], 759) adds that this is when the locust is very destructive. However, no other commentary mentions this. Therefore the present translation omits the word because it is of uncertain meaning and significance. For a fuller discussion of the way the word has been rendered see W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 2:427.