Yeremia 6:16

6:16 The Lord said to his people: ¹ 

“You are standing at the crossroads. So consider your path. ² 

Ask where the old, reliable paths ³  are.

Ask where the path is that leads to blessing ⁴  and follow it.

If you do, you will find rest for your souls.”

But they said, “We will not follow it!”

Yeremia 30:10

30:10 So I, the Lord, tell you not to be afraid,

you descendants of Jacob, my servants. ⁵ 

Do not be terrified, people of Israel.

For I will rescue you and your descendants

from a faraway land where you are captives. ⁶ 

The descendants of Jacob will return to their land and enjoy peace.

They will be secure and no one will terrify them. ⁷ 

[6:16]  ¹ tn The words, “to his people” are not in the text but are implicit in the interchange of pronouns in the Hebrew of vv. 16-17. They are supplied in the translation here for clarity.

[6:16]  ² tn Heb “Stand at the crossroads and look.”

[6:16]  ³ tn Heb “the ancient path,” i.e., the path the Lord set out in ancient times (cf. Deut 32:7).

[6:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “the way of/to the good.”

[30:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “So do not be afraid, my servant Jacob, oracle of the Lord.” Here and elsewhere in the verse the terms Jacob and Israel are poetic for the people of Israel descended from the patriarch Jacob. The terms have been supplied throughout with plural referents for greater clarity.

[30:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “For I will rescue you from far away, your descendants from the land of their captivity.”

[30:10]  ⁷ sn Compare the ideals of the Mosaic covenant in Lev 26:6, the Davidic covenant in 2 Sam 7:10-11, and the new covenant in Ezek 34:25-31.