Yeremia 2:5

2:5 This is what the Lord says:

“What fault could your ancestors ¹  have possibly found in me

that they strayed so far from me? ² 

They paid allegiance to ³  worthless idols, and so became worthless to me. ⁴ 

Yeremia 4:22

4:22 The Lord answered, ⁵ 

“This will happen ⁶  because my people are foolish.

They do not know me.

They are like children who have no sense. ⁷ 

They have no understanding.

They are skilled at doing evil.

They do not know how to do good.”

Yeremia 5:10

5:10 The Lord commanded the enemy, ⁸ 

“March through the vineyards of Israel and Judah and ruin them. ⁹ 

But do not destroy them completely.

Strip off their branches

for these people do not belong to the Lord. ¹⁰ 

Yeremia 6:8-9

6:8 So ¹¹  take warning, Jerusalem,

or I will abandon you in disgust ¹² 

and make you desolate,

a place where no one can live.”

6:9 This is what the Lord who rules over all ¹³  said to me: ¹⁴ 

“Those who remain in Israel will be

like the grapes thoroughly gleaned ¹⁵  from a vine.

So go over them again, as though you were a grape harvester

passing your hand over the branches one last time.” ¹⁶ 

Yeremia 7:2

7:2 “Stand in the gate of the Lord’s temple and proclaim ¹⁷  this message: ‘Listen, all you people of Judah who have passed through these gates to worship the Lord. ¹⁸  Hear what the Lord has to say.

Yeremia 7:16

7:16 Then the Lord said, ¹⁹  “As for you, Jeremiah, ²⁰  do not pray for these people! Do not cry out to me or petition me on their behalf! Do not plead with me to save them, ²¹  because I will not listen to you.

Yeremia 8:4

Willful Disregard of God Will Lead to Destruction

8:4 The Lord said to me, ²² 

“Tell them, ‘The Lord says,

Do people not get back up when they fall down?

Do they not turn around when they go the wrong way? ²³ 

Yeremia 11:6

11:6 The Lord said to me, “Announce all the following words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: ‘Listen to the terms of my covenant with you ²⁴  and carry them out!

Yeremia 11:21

11:21 Then the Lord told me about ²⁵  some men from Anathoth ²⁶  who were threatening to kill me. ²⁷  They had threatened, ²⁸  “Stop prophesying in the name of the Lord or we will kill you!” ²⁹ 

Yeremia 15:6

15:6 I, the Lord, say: ³⁰  ‘You people have deserted me!

You keep turning your back on me.’ ³¹ 

So I have unleashed my power against you ³²  and have begun to destroy you. ³³ 

I have grown tired of feeling sorry for you!” ³⁴ 

Yeremia 19:1

An Object Lesson from a Broken Clay Jar

19:1 The Lord told Jeremiah, ³⁵  “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. ³⁶  Take with you ³⁷  some of the leaders of the people and some of the leaders ³⁸  of the priests.

Yeremia 20:12

20:12 O Lord who rules over all, ³⁹  you test and prove the righteous.

You see into people’s hearts and minds. ⁴⁰ 

Pay them back for what they have done

because I trust you to vindicate my cause.

Yeremia 21:10

21:10 For I, the Lord, say that ⁴¹  I am determined not to deliver this city but to bring disaster on it. ⁴²  It will be handed over to the king of Babylon and he will destroy it with fire.’” ⁴³ 

Yeremia 22:21

22:21 While you were feeling secure I gave you warning. ⁴⁴ 

But you said, “I refuse to listen to you.”

That is the way you have acted from your earliest history onward. ⁴⁵ 

Indeed, you have never paid attention to me.

Yeremia 23:22

23:22 But if they had stood in my inner circle, ⁴⁶ 

they would have proclaimed my message to my people.

They would have caused my people to turn from their wicked ways

and stop doing the evil things they are doing.

Yeremia 23:28

23:28 Let the prophet who has had a dream go ahead and tell his dream. Let the person who has received my message report that message faithfully. What is like straw cannot compare to what is like grain! ⁴⁷  I, the Lord, affirm it! ⁴⁸ 

Yeremia 25:32

25:32 The Lord who rules over all ⁴⁹  says,

‘Disaster will soon come on one nation after another. ⁵⁰ 

A mighty storm of military destruction ⁵¹  is rising up

from the distant parts of the earth.’

Yeremia 26:4

26:4 Tell them that the Lord says, ⁵²  ‘You must obey me! You must live according to the way I have instructed you in my laws. ⁵³ 

Yeremia 27:3

27:3 Use it to send messages to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, ⁵⁴  and Sidon. ⁵⁵  Send them through ⁵⁶  the envoys who have come to Jerusalem ⁵⁷  to King Zedekiah of Judah.

Yeremia 28:15

28:15 Then the prophet Jeremiah told the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord did not send you! You are making these people trust in a lie! ⁵⁸ 

Yeremia 31:10

31:10 Hear what the Lord has to say, O nations.

Proclaim it in the faraway lands along the sea.

Say, “The one who scattered Israel will regather them.

He will watch over his people like a shepherd watches over his flock.”

Yeremia 31:36

31:36 The Lord affirms, ⁵⁹  “The descendants of Israel will not

cease forever to be a nation in my sight.

That could only happen if the fixed ordering of the heavenly lights

were to cease to operate before me.” ⁶⁰ 

Yeremia 32:39

32:39 I will give them a single-minded purpose to live in a way that always shows respect for me. They will want to do that for ⁶¹  their own good and the good of the children who descend from them.

Yeremia 36:16

36:16 When they had heard it all, ⁶²  they expressed their alarm to one another. ⁶³  Then they said to Baruch, “We must certainly give the king a report about everything you have read!” ⁶⁴ 

Yeremia 36:20

36:20 The officials put the scroll in the room of Elishama, the royal secretary, for safekeeping. ⁶⁵  Then they went to the court and reported everything ⁶⁶  to the king. ⁶⁷ 

Yeremia 37:20

37:20 But now please listen, your royal Majesty, ⁶⁸  and grant my plea for mercy. ⁶⁹  Do not send me back to the house of Jonathan, the royal secretary. If you do, I will die there.” ⁷⁰ 

Yeremia 38:18

38:18 But if you do not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, this city will be handed over to the Babylonians ⁷¹  and they will burn it down. You yourself will not escape from them.’” ⁷² 

Yeremia 38:20

38:20 Then Jeremiah answered, “You will not be handed over to them. Please obey the Lord by doing what I have been telling you. ⁷³  Then all will go well with you and your life will be spared. ⁷⁴ 

Yeremia 40:3

40:3 Now he has brought it about. The Lord has done just as he threatened to do. This disaster has happened because you people sinned against the Lord and did not obey him. ⁷⁵ 

Yeremia 44:6

44:6 So my anger and my wrath were poured out and burned like a fire through the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. That is why they have become the desolate ruins that they are today.’

Yeremia 45:3-4

45:3 ‘You have said, “I feel so hopeless! ⁷⁶  For the Lord has added sorrow to my suffering. ⁷⁷  I am worn out from groaning. I can’t find any rest.”’”

45:4 The Lord told Jeremiah, ⁷⁸  “Tell Baruch, ⁷⁹  ‘The Lord says, “I am about to tear down what I have built and to uproot what I have planted. I will do this throughout the whole earth. ⁸⁰ 

Yeremia 46:16

46:16 I will make many stumble. ⁸¹ 

They will fall over one another in their hurry to flee. ⁸² 

They will say, ‘Get up!

Let’s go back to our own people.

Let’s go back to our homelands

because the enemy is coming to destroy us.’ ⁸³ 

Yeremia 49:13

49:13 For I solemnly swear,” ⁸⁴  says the Lord, “that Bozrah ⁸⁵  will become a pile of ruins. It will become an object of horror and ridicule, an example to be used in curses. ⁸⁶  All the towns around it will lie in ruins forever.”

Yeremia 49:29

49:29 Their tents and their flocks will be taken away.

Their tent curtains, equipment, and camels will be carried off.

People will shout ⁸⁷  to them,

‘Terror is all around you!’” ⁸⁸ 

Yeremia 49:36

49:36 I will cause enemies to blow through Elam from every direction

like the winds blowing in from the four quarters of heaven.

I will scatter the people of Elam to the four winds.

There will not be any nation where the refugees of Elam will not go. ⁸⁹ 

Yeremia 50:3

50:3 For a nation from the north ⁹⁰  will attack Babylon.

It will lay her land waste.

People and animals will flee out of it.

No one will inhabit it.’

Yeremia 51:12

51:12 Give the signal to attack Babylon’s wall! ⁹¹ 

Bring more guards! ⁹² 

Post them all around the city! ⁹³ 

Put men in ambush! ⁹⁴ 

For the Lord will do what he has planned.

He will do what he said he would do to the people of Babylon. ⁹⁵ 

Yeremia 51:29

51:29 The earth will tremble and writhe in agony. ⁹⁶ 

For the Lord will carry out his plan.

He plans to make the land of Babylonia ⁹⁷ 

a wasteland where no one lives. ⁹⁸ 

Yeremia 51:33

51:33 For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says,

‘Fair Babylon ⁹⁹  will be like a threshing floor

which has been trampled flat for harvest.

The time for her to be cut down and harvested

will come very soon.’ ¹⁰⁰ 

Yeremia 51:36

51:36 Therefore the Lord says,

“I will stand up for your cause.

I will pay the Babylonians back for what they have done to you. ¹⁰¹ 

I will dry up their sea.

I will make their springs run dry. ¹⁰² 

Yeremia 52:3

52:3 What follows is a record of what happened to Jerusalem and Judah because of the Lord’s anger when he drove them out of his sight. ¹⁰³  Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

[2:5]  ¹ tn Heb “fathers.”

[2:5]  ² tn Or “I did not wrong your ancestors in any way. Yet they went far astray from me.” Both translations are an attempt to render the rhetorical question which demands a negative answer.

[2:5]  ³ tn Heb “They went/followed after.” This idiom is found most often in Deuteronomy or covenant contexts. It refers to loyalty to God and to his covenant or his commandments (e.g., 1 Kgs 14:8; 2 Chr 34:31) with the metaphor of a path or way underlying it (e.g., Deut 11:28; 28:14). To “follow other gods” was to abandon this way and this loyalty (i.e., to “abandon” or “forget” God, Judg 2:12; Hos 2:13) and to follow the customs or religious traditions of the pagan nations (e.g., 2 Kgs 17:15). The classic text on “following” God or another god is 1 Kgs 18:18, 21 where Elijah taunts the people with “halting between two opinions” whether the Lord was the true God or Baal was. The idiom is often found followed by “to serve and to worship” or “they served and worshiped” such and such a god or entity (see, e.g., Jer 8:2; 11:10; 13:10; 16:11; 25:6; 35:15).

[2:5]  ⁴ tn The words “to me” are not in the Hebrew text but are implicit from the context: Heb “they followed after the worthless thing/things and became worthless.” There is an obvious wordplay on the verb “became worthless” and the noun “worthless thing,” which is probably to be understood collectively and to refer to idols as it does in Jer 8:19; 10:8; 14:22; Jonah 2:8.

[4:22]  ⁵ 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 Lord answers, giving the reason for the devastation Jeremiah foresees.

[4:22]  ⁶ tn Heb “For….” This gives the explanation for the destruction envisaged in 4:20 to which Jeremiah responds in 4:19, 21.

[4:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “They are senseless children.”

[5:10]  ⁸ tn These words to not appear in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for the sake of clarity to identify the implied addressee.

[5:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “through her vine rows and destroy.” No object is given but “vines” must be implicit. The word for “vineyards” (or “vine rows”) is a hapax legomenon and its derivation is debated. BDB 1004 s.v. שּׁוּרָה repoints שָׁרוֹתֶיהָ (sharoteha) to שֻׁרוֹתֶיהָ (shuroteha) and relates it to a Mishnaic Hebrew and Palestinian Aramaic word meaning “row.” HALOT 1348 s.v. שּׁוּרָה also repoints to שֻׁרוֹתֶיהָ and relates it to a noun meaning “wall,” preferring to see the reference here to the walled terraces on which the vineyards were planted. The difference in meaning is minimal.

[5:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “for they do not belong to the Lord.” In the light of the context and Jeremiah’s identification of Israel as a vine (cf., e.g., 2:21) and a vineyard (cf., e.g., 12:10), it is likely that this verse has a totally metaphorical significance. The enemy is to go through the vineyard that is Israel and Judah and destroy all those who have been unfaithful to the Lord. It is not impossible, however, that the verse has a double meaning, a literal one and a figurative one: the enemy is not only to destroy Israel and Judah’s vines but to destroy Israel and Judah, lopping off the wicked Israelites who, because of their covenant unfaithfulness, the Lord has disowned. If the verse is totally metaphorical one might translate: “Pass through my vineyard, Israel and Judah, wreaking destruction. But do not destroy all of the people. Cut down like branches those unfaithful people because they no longer belong to the Lord.”

[6:8]  ¹¹ tn This word is not in the text but is supplied in the translation. Jeremiah uses a figure of speech (enallage) where the speaker turns from talking about someone to address him/her directly.

[6:8]  ¹² tn Heb “lest my soul [= I] becomes disgusted with you.”

[6:8]  sn The wordplay begun with “sound…in Tekoa” in v. 1 and continued with “they will pitch” in v. 3 is concluded here with “turn away” (וּבִתְקוֹעַ תִּקְעוּ [uvitqoa’ tiq’u] in v. 1, תָּקְעוּ [taq’u] in v. 3 and תֵּקַע [teqa’] here).

[6:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[6:9]  sn For an explanation of the significance of this title see the study note on 2:19.

[6:9]  ¹⁴ tn The words “to me” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “They will thoroughly glean those who are left in Israel like a vine.” That is, they will be carried off by judgment. It is not necessary to read the verb forms here as two imperatives or an infinitive absolute followed by an imperative as some English versions and commentaries do. This is an example of a third plural verb used impersonally and translated as a passive (cf. GKC 460 §144.g).

[6:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Pass your hand back over the branches like a grape harvester.” The translation is intended to clarify the metaphor that Jeremiah should try to rescue some from the coming destruction.

[7:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Proclaim there…” The adverb is unnecessary in English style.

[7:2]  ¹⁸ sn That is, all those who have passed through the gates of the outer court and are standing in the courtyard of the temple.

[7:16]  ¹⁹ tn The words “Then the Lord said” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[7:16]  ²⁰ tn Heb “As for you.” The personal name Jeremiah is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[7:16]  ²¹ tn The words “to save them” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[8:4]  ²² tn The words “the Lord said to me” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation to make clear who is speaking and who is being addressed.

[8:4]  ²³ sn There is a play on two different nuances of the same Hebrew word that means “turn” and “return,” “turn away” and “turn back.”

[11:6]  ²⁴ tn Heb “the terms of this covenant.” However, this was a separate message and the ambiguity of “this” could still cause some confusion.

[11:21]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Therefore thus says the Lord.” This phrase is anticipatory of the same phrase at the beginning of v. 22 and is introductory to what the Lord says about them. The translation seeks to show the connection of the “therefore” which is sometimes rather loose (cf. BDB 487 s.v. כֵּן 3.d[b]) with the actual response which is not given until v. 22.

[11:21]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the men of Anathoth.” However, this does not involve all of the people, only the conspirators. The literal might lead to confusion later since v. 21 mentions that there will not be any of them left alive. However, it is known from Ezra 2:23 that there were survivors.

[11:21]  ²⁷ tc The MT reads the 2nd person masculine singular suffix “your life,” but LXX reflects an alternative reading of the 1st person common singular suffix “my life.”

[11:21]  ²⁸ tn Heb “who were seeking my life, saying…” The sentence is broken up in conformity with contemporary English style.

[11:21]  ²⁹ tn Heb “or you will die by our hand.”

[15:6]  ³⁰ tn Heb “oracle of the Lord.” In the original text this phrase is found between “you have deserted me” and “you keep turning your back on me.” It is put at the beginning and converted to first person for sake of English style and clarity.

[15:6]  ³¹ tn Heb “you are going backward.” This is the only occurrence of this adverb with this verb. It is often used with another verb meaning “turn backward” (= abandon; Heb סוּג [sug] in the Niphal). For examples see Jer 38:22; 46:5. The only other occurrence in Jeremiah has been in the unusual idiom in 7:24 where it was translated “they got worse and worse instead of better.” That is how J. Bright (Jeremiah [AB], 109) translates it here. However it is translated, it has connotations of apostasy.

[15:6]  ³² tn Heb “stretched out my hand against you.” For this idiom see notes on 6:12.

[15:6]  ³³ tn There is a difference of opinion on how the verbs here and in the following verses are to be rendered, whether past or future. KJV, NASB, NIV for example render them as future. ASV, RSV, TEV render them as past. NJPS has past here and future in vv. 7-9. This is perhaps the best solution. The imperfect + vav consecutive here responds to the perfect in the first line. The imperfects + vav consecutives followed by perfects in vv. 7-9 and concluded by an imperfect in v. 9 pick up the perfects + vav (ו) consecutives in vv. 3-4. Verses 7-9 are further development of the theme in vv. 1-4. Verses 5-6 have been an apostrophe or a turning aside to address Jerusalem directly. For a somewhat similar alternation of the tenses see Isa 5:14-17 and consult GKC 329-30 §111.w. One could of course argue that the imperfects + vav consecutive in vv. 7-9 continue the imperfect + vav consecutive here. In this case, vv. 7-9 are not a continuation of the oracle of doom but another lament by God (cf. 14:1-6, 17-18).

[15:6]  ³⁴ sn It is difficult to be sure what intertextual connections are intended by the author in his use of vocabulary. The Hebrew word translated “grown tired” is not very common. It has been used twice before. In 9:5-6b where it refers to the people being unable to repent and in 6:11 where it refers to Jeremiah being tired or unable to hold back his anger because of that inability. Now God too has worn out his patience with them (cf. Isa 7:13).

[19:1]  ³⁵ tn The word “Jeremiah” is not in the text. Some Hebrew mss and some of the versions have “to me.” This section, 19:1–20:6 appears to be one of the biographical sections of the book of Jeremiah where incidents in his life are reported in third person. See clearly 9:14 and 20:1-3. The mss and versions do not represent a more original text but are translational or interpretive attempts to fill in a text which had no referent. They are like the translational addition that has been supplied on the basis of contextual indicators.

[19:1]  ³⁶ tn Heb “an earthenware jar of the potter.”

[19:1]  sn The word translated “clay” here refers to a clay which has been baked or fired in a kiln. In Jer 18 the clay was still soft and pliable, capable of being formed into different kinds of vessels. Here the clay is set, just as Israel is set in its ways. The word for jar refers probably to a water jug or decanter and is onomatopoeic, baqbuq, referring to the gurgling sound made by pouring out the water.

[19:1]  ³⁷ tc The words “Take with you” follow the reading of the Syriac version and to a certain extent the reading of the Greek version (the latter does not have “with you”). The Hebrew text does not have these words but they are undoubtedly implicit.

[19:1]  ³⁸ tn Heb “elders” both here and before “of the people.”

[19:1]  sn The civil and religious leaders are referred to here. They were to be witnesses of the symbolic act and of the message that Jeremiah proclaimed to the leaders of Jerusalem and its citizens (see v. 3).

[20:12]  ³⁹ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[20:12]  sn See the study note on 2:19 for explanation of this title for God.

[20:12]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “Lord of armies, the one who tests the righteous, who sees kidneys and heart.” The sentence has been broken up to avoid a long and complex English sentence. The translation is more in keeping with contemporary English style.

[20:12]  sn This verse is almost an exact duplication of the petition in one of Jeremiah’s earlier prayers and complaints. See Jer 11:20 and notes there for explanation of the Hebrew psychology underlying the use of “kidneys and heart” here. For the thoughts expressed here see Ps 17.

[21:10]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “oracle of the Lord.”

[21:10]  ⁴² tn Heb “I have set my face against this city for evil [i.e., disaster] and not for good [i.e., well-being].” For the use of the idiom “set one’s face against/toward” see, e.g., usage in 1 Kgs 2:15; 2 Kgs 2:17; Jer 42:15, 17 and note the interesting interplay of usage in Jer 44:11-12.

[21:10]  ⁴³ tn Heb “he will burn it with fire.”

[22:21]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “I spoke to you in your security.” The reference is to the sending of the prophets. Compare this context with the context of 7:25. For the nuance “security” for this noun (שַׁלְוָה, shalvah) rather than “prosperity” as many translate see Pss 122:7; 30:6 and the related adjective (שָׁלֵו, shalev) in Jer 49:31; Job 16:2; 21:23.

[22:21]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “from your youth.” Compare the usage in 2:2; 3:24 and compare a similar idea in 7:25.

[23:22]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “had been my confidant.” See the note on v. 18.

[23:28]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “What to the straw with [in comparison with] the grain?” This idiom represents an emphatic repudiation or denial of relationship. See, for example, the usage in 2 Sam 16:10 and note BDB 553 s.v. מָה 1.d(c).

[23:28]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[25:32]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[25:32]  sn See the study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for explanation of this extended title.

[25:32]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “will go forth from nation to nation.”

[25:32]  ⁵¹ tn The words “of military destruction” have been supplied in the translation to make the metaphor clear. The metaphor has shifted from that of God as a lion, to God as a warrior, to God as a judge, to God as the author of the storm winds of destruction.

[25:32]  sn For the use of this word in a literal sense see Jonah 1:4. For its use to refer to the wrath of the Lord which will rage over the wicked see Jer 23:19; 30:23. Here it refers to the mighty Babylonian army which will come bringing destruction over all the known world. The same prophecy has just been given under the figure of the nations drinking the wine of God’s wrath (vv. 15-29).

[26:4]  ⁵² tn Heb “thus says the Lord, ‘…’.” The use of the indirect quotation in the translation eliminates one level of embedded quotation to avoid confusion.

[26:4]  ⁵³ tn Heb “by walking in my law which I set before you.”

[26:4]  sn Examples of those laws are found in Jer 7:5-6, 9. The law was summarized or epitomized in the ten commandments which are called the “words of the covenant” in Exod 34:28, but it contained much more. However, when Israel is taken to task by God, it often relates to their failure to live up to the standards of the ten commandments (Heb “the ten words”; see Hos 4:1-3; Jer 7:9).

[27:3]  ⁵⁴ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[27:3]  ⁵⁵ sn The nations of Edom, Moab, and Ammon were east of Judah. They were sometimes allies and sometimes enemies. The nations of Tyre and Sidon were on the sea coast north and west of Judah. They are best known for their maritime trade during the reign of Solomon. They were more commonly allies of Israel and Judah than enemies.

[27:3]  map For the location of Sidon see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[27:3]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “send by means of them” [i.e., the straps and crossbars made into a yoke] to…through.” The text is broken up in conformity with contemporary English style. Many English versions ignore the suffix on the end of “send” and find some support for this on the basis of its absence in the Lucianic Greek text. However, it is probably functioning metonymically here for the message which they see symbolized before them and is now explained clearly to them.

[27:3]  ⁵⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[28:15]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “You are giving these people false assurances.”

[31:36]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[31:36]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “‘If these fixed orderings were to fail to be present before me,’ oracle of the Lord, ‘then the seed of Israel could cease from being a nation before me forever (or more literally, “all the days”).’” The sentence has been broken up to conform more to modern style. The connection has been maintained by reversing the order of condition and consequence and still retaining the condition in the second clause. For the meaning of “cease to operate” for the verb מוּשׁ (mush) compare the usage in Isa 54:10; Ps 55:11 (55:12 HT); Prov 17:13 where what is usually applied to persons or things is applied to abstract things like this (see HALOT 506 s.v. II מוּשׁ Qal for general usage).

[32:39]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “I will give to them one heart and one way to [= in order that they may] fear me all the days for good to them.” The phrase “one heart” refers both to unanimity of will and accord (cf. 1 Chr 12:38 [12:39 HT]; 2 Chr 30:12) and to singleness of purpose or intent (cf. Ezek 11:19 and see BDB 525 s.v. ֵלב 4 where reference is made to “inclinations, resolutions, and determinations of the will”). The phrase “one way” refers to one way of life or conduct (cf. BDB 203 s.v. דֶּרֶךְ 6.a where reference is made to moral action and character), a way of life that is further qualified by the goal of showing “fear, reverence, respect” for the Lord. The Hebrew sentence has been broken up to avoid a long complex sentence in English which is contrary to contemporary English style. However, an attempt has been made to preserve all the connections of the original.

[32:39]  sn Other passages also speak about the “single-minded purpose” (Heb “one heart”) and “living in a way that shows respect for me.” Deut 30:6-8 speaks of a circumcised heart that will love him, obey him, and keep his commands. Ezek 11:20-21 speaks of the removal of a stony heart and the giving of a single-minded, “fleshy” heart and a new spirit that will follow his decrees and keep his laws. Ezek 36:26-27 speaks of the removal of a stony heart and the giving of a new, “fleshy” heart and a new spirit and an infusion of God’s own spirit so that they will be able to follow his decrees and keep his laws. Jer 24:7 speaks of the giving of a (new) heart so that they might “know” him. And Jer 31:33 speaks of God writing his law on their hearts. All this shows that there is a new motivation and a new enablement for fulfilling the old stipulations, especially that of whole-hearted devotion to him (cf. Deut 6:4-6).

[36:16]  ⁶² tn Heb “all the words.”

[36:16]  ⁶³ tn According to BDB 808 s.v. פָּחַד Qal.1 and 40 s.v. אֶל 3.a, this is an example of the “pregnant” use of a preposition where an implied verb has to be supplied in the translation to conform the normal range of the preposition with the verb that is governing it. The Hebrew text reads: “they feared unto one another.” BDB translates “they turned in dread to each other.” The translation adopted seems more appropriate in this context.

[36:16]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “We must certainly report to the king all these things.” Here the word דְּבָרִים (dÿvarim) must mean “things” (cf. BDB 183 s.v. דָּבָר IV.3) rather than “words” because a verbatim report of all the words in the scroll is scarcely meant. The present translation has chosen to use a form that suggests a summary report of all the matters spoken about in the scroll rather than the indefinite “things.”

[36:20]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “they deposited.” For the usage of the verb here see BDB 824 s.v. פָּקַד Hiph.2.b and compare the usage in Jer 37:21 where it is used for “confining” Jeremiah in the courtyard of the guardhouse.

[36:20]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “all the matters.” Compare the translator’s note on v. 16.

[36:20]  ⁶⁷ tn Both here and in the next verse the Hebrew has “in the ears of” before “the king” (and also before “all the officials”). As in v. 15 these words are not represented in the translation due to the awkwardness of the idiom in contemporary English (see the translator’s note on v. 15).

[37:20]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “My lord, the king.”

[37:20]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “let my plea for mercy fall before you.” I.e., let it come before you and be favorably received (= granted; by metonymical extension).

[37:20]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “So that I will not die there,” or “or I will die there”; Heb “and I will not die there.” The particle that introduces this clause (וְלֹא) regularly introduces negative purpose clauses after the volitive sequence (אַל [’al] + jussive here) according to GKC 323 §109.g. However, purpose and result clauses in Hebrew (and Greek) are often indistinguishable. Here the clause is more in the nature of a negative result.

[38:18]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for explanation.

[38:18]  ⁷² tn Heb “will not escape from their hand.”

[38:18]  sn Zedekiah held out this hope of escape until the end and attempted to do so but was unsuccessful (cf. 39:4-5).

[38:20]  ⁷³ tn Heb “Please listen to the voice of the Lord with regard to what I have been telling you.” For the idiom “listen to the voice” = “obey” see BDB 1034 s.v. שָׁמַע 1.m. Obedience here is expressed by following the advice in the qualifying clause, i.e., what I have been telling you.

[38:20]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “your life [or you yourself] will live.” Compare v. 17 and the translator’s note there for the idiom.

[40:3]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “Because you [masc. pl.] sinned against the Lord and did not hearken to his voice [a common idiom for “obey him”], this thing has happened to you [masc. pl.].”

[45:3]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “Woe to me!” See the translator’s note on 4:13 and 10:19 for the rendering of this term.

[45:3]  ⁷⁷ sn From the context it appears that Baruch was feeling sorry for himself (v. 5) as well as feeling anguish for the suffering that the nation would need to undergo according to the predictions of Jeremiah that he was writing down.

[45:4]  ⁷⁸ tn The words, “The Lord told Jeremiah” are not in the text but are implicit in the address that follows, “Thus you shall say to him.” These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[45:4]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “Thus you shall say to him [i.e., Baruch].”

[45:4]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “and this is with regard to the whole earth.” The feminine pronoun הִיא (hi’) at the end refers to the verbal concepts just mentioned, i.e., this process (cf. GKC 459 §144.b and compare the use of the feminine singular suffix in the same function GKC 440-41 §135.p). The particle אֶת (’et) is here functioning to introduce emphatically the object of the action (cf. BDB 85 s.v. I אֵת 3.α). There is some debate whether אֶרֶץ (’erets) here applies to the whole land of Israel or to the whole earth. However, the reference to “all mankind” (Heb “all flesh”) in the next verse as well as “anywhere you go” points to “the whole earth” as the referent.

[46:16]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “he multiplied the one stumbling.” For the first person reference see the preceding translator’s note.

[46:16]  ⁸² tc The words “in their hurry to flee” are not in the text but appear to be necessary to clarify the point that the stumbling and falling here is not the same as that in vv. 6, 12 where they occur in the context of defeat and destruction. Reference here appears to be to the mercenary soldiers who in their hurried flight to escape stumble over one another and fall. This is fairly clear from the literal translation “he multiplies the stumbling one. Also [= and] a man falls against a man and they say [probably = “saying”; an epexegetical use of the vav (ו) consecutive (IBHS 551 §33.2.2a, and see Exod 2:10 as a parallel)] ‘Get up! Let’s go…’” A reference to the flight of the mercenaries is also seen in v. 21. Many of the modern commentaries and a few of the modern English versions follow the Greek text and read vv. 15a-16 very differently. The Greek reads “Why has Apis fled from you? Your choice calf [i.e., Apis] has not remained. For the Lord has paralyzed him. And your multitudes have fainted and fallen; and each one said to his neighbor…” (reading רֻבְּךָ כָּשַׁל גַּם־נָפַל וַיֹּאמְרוּ אִישׁ אֶל־רֵעֵהוּ instead of כּוֹשֵׁל הִרְבָּה גַּם־נָפַל אִישׁ אֶל־רֵעֵהוּ). One would expect אִישׁ אֶל־רֵעֵהוּ (’ish ’el-re’ehu) to go with וַיֹּאמְרוּ (vayyo’mÿru) because it is idiomatic in this expression (cf., e.g., Gen 11:3; Judg 6:29). However, אִישׁ אֶל־רֵעֵהוּ (’ish ’el-re’ehu) is also found with singular verbs as here in Exod 22:9; 33:11; 1 Sam 10:11. There is no doubt that the Hebrew text is the more difficult and thus probably original. The reading of the Greek version is not supported by any other text or version and looks like an attempt to smooth out a somewhat awkward Hebrew original.

[46:16]  ⁸³ tn Heb “to our native lands from before the sword of the oppressor.” The compound preposition “from before” is regularly used in a causal sense (see BDB 818 s.v. פָּנֶה 6.a, b, c). The “sword” is again interpreted as a figure for the destructive power of an enemy army.

[49:13]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “I swear by myself.” See 22:5 and the study note there.

[49:13]  ⁸⁵ sn Bozrah appears to have been the chief city in Edom, its capital city (see its parallelism with Edom in Isa 34:6; 63:1; Jer 49:22). The reference to “its towns” (translated here “all the towns around it”) could then be a reference to all the towns in Edom. It was located about twenty-five miles southeast of the southern end of the Dead Sea apparently in the district of Teman (see the parallelism in Amos 1:12).

[49:13]  ⁸⁶ tn See the study note on 24:9 for the rendering of this term.

[49:29]  ⁸⁷ tn Or “Let their tents…be taken….Let their tent…be carried…. Let people shout….”

[49:29]  ⁸⁸ sn This expression is a favorite theme in the book of Jeremiah. It describes the terrors of war awaiting the people of Judah and Jerusalem (6:25), the Egyptians at Carchemish (46:5), and here the Kedarites.

[49:36]  ⁸⁹ tn Or more simply, “I will bring enemies against Elam from every direction. / And I will scatter the people of Elam to the four winds. // There won’t be any nation / where the refugees of Elam will not go.” Or more literally, “I will bring the four winds against Elam / from the four quarters of heaven. / I will scatter….” However, the winds are not to be understood literally here. God isn’t going to “blow the Elamites” out of Elam with natural forces. The winds must figuratively represent enemy forces that God will use to drive them out. Translating literally would be misleading at this point.

[50:3]  ⁹⁰ sn A nation from the north refers to Medo-Persia which at the time of the conquest of Babylon in 539 b.c. had conquered all the nations to the north, the northwest, and the northeast of Babylon forming a vast empire to the north and east of Babylon. Contingents of these many nations were included in her army and reference is made to them in 50:9 and 51:27-28. There is also some irony involved here because the “enemy from the north” referred to so often in Jeremiah (cf. 1:14; 4:6; 6:1) has been identified with Babylon (cf. 25:9). Here in a kind of talionic justice Judah’s nemesis from the north will be attacked and devastated by an enemy from the north.

[51:12]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “Raise a banner against the walls of Babylon.”

[51:12]  ⁹² tn Heb “Strengthen the watch.”

[51:12]  ⁹³ tn Heb “Station the guards.”

[51:12]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “Prepare ambushes.”

[51:12]  sn The commands are here addressed to the kings of the Medes to fully blockade the city by posting watchmen and setting men in ambush to prevent people from escaping from the city (cf. 2 Kgs 25:4).

[51:12]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “For the Lord has both planned and done what he said concerning the people living in Babylon,” i.e., “he has carried out what he planned.” Here is an obvious case where the perfects are to be interpreted as prophetic; the commands imply that the attack is still future.

[51:29]  ⁹⁶ sn The figure here is common in the poetic tradition of the Lord going forth to do battle against his foes and the earth’s reaction to it is compared to a person trembling with fear and writhing in agony, agony like that of a woman in labor (cf. Judg 5:4; Nah 1:2-5; Hab 3:1-15 [especially v. 6]).

[51:29]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “For the plans of the Lord have been carried out to make the land of Babylon…” The passive has been turned into an active and the sentence broken up to better conform with contemporary English style. For the meaning of the verb קוּם (qum) in the sense used here see BDB 878 s.v. קוּם 7.g and compare the usage in Prov 19:21 and Isa 46:10.

[51:29]  ⁹⁸ tn The verbs in this verse and v. 30 are all in the past tense in Hebrew, in the tense that views the action as already as good as done (the Hebrew prophetic perfect). The verb in v. 31a, however, is imperfect, viewing the action as future; the perfects that follow are all dependent on that future. Verse 33 looks forward to a time when Babylon will be harvested and trampled like grain on the threshing floor and the imperatives imply a time in the future. Hence the present translation has rendered all the verbs in vv. 29-30 as future.

[51:33]  ⁹⁹ sn Heb “Daughter Babylon.” See the study note at 50:42 for explanation.

[51:33]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “Daughter Babylon will be [or is; there is no verb and the tense has to be supplied from the context] like a threshing floor at the time one tramples it. Yet a little while and the time of the harvest will come for her.” It is generally agreed that there are two figures here: one of leveling the threshing floor and stamping it into a smooth, hard surface and the other of the harvest where the grain is cut, taken to the threshing floor, and threshed by trampling the sheaves of grain to loosen the grain from the straw, and finally winnowed by throwing the mixture into the air (cf., e.g., J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah [NICOT], 760). The translation has sought to convey those ideas as clearly as possible without digressing too far from the literal.

[51:33]  sn There are two figures involved here: one of the threshing floor being leveled and stamped down hard and smooth and the other of the harvest. At harvest time the stalks of grain were cut down, gathered in sheaves, taken to the harvest floor where the grain was loosened from the husk by driving oxen and threshing sleds over them. The grain was then separated from the mixture of grain, straw and husks by repeatedly throwing it in the air and letting the wind blow away the lighter husks and ground-up straw. The figure of harvest is often used of judgment in the OT. See, e.g., Joel 3:13 (4:13 Hebrew text) and Hos 6:11 and compare also Mic 4:12-13 and Jer 51:2 where different steps in this process are also used figuratively in connection with judgment. Babylon will be leveled to the ground and its people cut down in judgment.

[51:36]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “I will avenge your vengeance [= I will take vengeance for you; the phrase involves a verb and a cognate accusative].” The meaning of the phrase has been spelled out in more readily understandable terms.

[51:36]  ¹⁰² tn Heb “I will dry up her [Babylon’s] sea and make her fountain dry.” “Their” has been substituted for “her” because “Babylonians” has been inserted in the previous clause and is easier to understand than the personification of Babylon = “her.”

[51:36]  sn The reference to their sea is not clear. Most interpreters understand it to be a figurative reference to the rivers and canals surrounding Babylon. But some feel it refers to the reservoir that the wife of Nebuchadnezzar, Queen Nictoris, had made.

[52:3]  ¹⁰³ tn Heb “Surely (or “for”) because of the anger of the Lord this happened in Jerusalem and Judah until he drove them out from upon his face.” For the phrase “drive out of his sight,” see 7:15.