Yeremia 6:9

6:9 This is what the Lord who rules over all ¹  said to me: ² 

“Those who remain in Israel will be

like the grapes thoroughly gleaned ³  from a vine.

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

passing your hand over the branches one last time.” ⁴ 

Yeremia 42:2

42:2 They said to him, “Please grant our request ⁵  and pray to the Lord your God for all those of us who are still left alive here. ⁶  For, as you yourself can see, there are only a few of us left out of the many there were before. ⁷ 

Yeremia 50:20

50:20 When that time comes,

no guilt will be found in Israel.

No sin will be found in Judah. ⁸ 

For I will forgive those of them I have allowed to survive. ⁹ 

I, the Lord, affirm it!’” ¹⁰ 

[6:9]  ¹ 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]  ² tn The words “to me” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:9]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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.

[42:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “please let our petition fall before you.” For the idiom here see 37:20 and the translator’s note there.

[42:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “on behalf of us, [that is] on behalf of all this remnant.”

[42:2]  sn This refers to the small remnant of people who were left of those from Mizpah who had been taken captive by Ishmael after he had killed Gedaliah and who had been rescued from him at Gibeon. There were other Judeans still left in the land of Judah who had not been killed or deported by the Babylonians.

[42:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “For we are left a few from the many as your eyes are seeing us.” The words “used to be” are not in the text but are implicit. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness of English style.

[50:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “In those days and at that time, oracle of the Lord, the iniquity [or guilt] of Israel will be sought but there will be none and the sins of Judah but they will not be found.” The passive construction “will be sought” raises the question of who is doing the seeking which is not really the main point. The translation has avoided this question by simply referring to the result which is the main point.

[50:20]  ⁹ sn Compare Jer 31:34 and 33:8.

[50:20]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.” In this case it is necessary to place this in the first person because this is already in a quote whose speaker is identified as the Lord (v. 18).