Yeremia 1:6

1:6 I answered, “Oh, Lord God, ¹  I really ²  do not know how to speak well enough for that, ³  for I am too young.” ⁴ 

Yeremia 14:13

14:13 Then I said, “Oh, Lord God, ⁵  look! ⁶  The prophets are telling them that you said, ⁷  ‘You will not experience war or suffer famine. ⁸  I will give you lasting peace and prosperity in this land.’” ⁹ 

Yeremia 32:17

32:17 ‘Oh, Lord God, ¹⁰  you did indeed ¹¹  make heaven and earth by your mighty power and great strength. ¹²  Nothing is too hard for you!

[1:6]  ¹ tn Heb “Lord Yahweh.”

[1:6]  sn The translation follows the ancient Jewish tradition of substituting the Hebrew word for “God” for the proper name Yahweh in this compound name. See the study note on v. 2 for the substitution of “Lord” in a similar kind of situation.

[1:6]  ² tn Heb “Behold, I do not know how to speak.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, commonly rendered “behold”) often introduces a speech and calls special attention to a specific word or the statement as a whole (see IBHS 675-78 §40.2.1).

[1:6]  ³ tn The words “well enough for that” are implicit and are supplied in the translation for clarity. Jeremiah is not claiming an absolute inability to speak.

[1:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “I am a boy/youth.” The Hebrew word can refer to an infant (Exod 2:6), a young boy (1 Sam 2:11), a teenager (Gen 21:12), or a young man (2 Sam 18:5). The translation is deliberately ambiguous since it is unclear how old Jeremiah was when he was called to begin prophesying.

[14:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “Lord Yahweh.” The translation follows the ancient Jewish tradition of substituting the Hebrew word for God for the proper name Yahweh.

[14:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “Behold.” See the translator’s note on usage of this particle in 1:6.

[14:13]  ⁷ tn The words “that you said” are not in the text but are implicit from the first person in the affirmation that follows. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[14:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “You will not see sword and you will not have starvation [or hunger].”

[14:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “I will give you unfailing peace in this place.” The translation opts for “peace and prosperity” here for the word שָׁלוֹם (shalom) because in the context it refers both to peace from war and security from famine and plague. The word translated “lasting” (אֱמֶת, ’emet) is a difficult to render here because it has broad uses: “truth, reliability, stability, steadfastness,” etc. “Guaranteed” or “lasting” seem to fit the context the best.

[32:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Lord Yahweh.” For an explanation of the rendering here see the study note on 1:6.

[32:17]  sn The parallel usage of this introduction in Jer 1:6; 4:10; 14:13 shows that though this prayer has a lengthy introductory section of praise vv. 17-22, this prayer is really one of complaint or lament.

[32:17]  ¹¹ tn This is an attempt to render the Hebrew particle normally translated “behold.” See the translator’s note on 1:6 for the usage of this particle.

[32:17]  ¹² tn Heb “by your great power and your outstretched arm.” See 21:5; 27:5 and the marginal note on 27:5 for this idiom.