Yeremia 9:1

9:1 (8:23) ¹  I wish that my head were a well full of water ² 

and my eyes were a fountain full of tears!

If they were, I could cry day and night

for those of my dear people ³  who have been killed.

Yeremia 9:10

The Coming Destruction Calls For Mourning

9:10 I said, ⁴ 

“I will weep and mourn ⁵  for the grasslands on the mountains, ⁶ 

I will sing a mournful song for the pastures in the wilderness

because they are so scorched no one travels through them.

The sound of livestock is no longer heard there.

Even the birds in the sky and the wild animals in the fields

have fled and are gone.”

Yeremia 13:17

13:17 But if you will not pay attention to this warning, ⁷ 

I will weep alone because of your arrogant pride.

I will weep bitterly and my eyes will overflow with tears ⁸ 

because you, the Lord’s flock, ⁹  will be carried ¹⁰  into exile.”

Yeremia 14:17

Lament over Present Destruction and Threat of More to Come

14:17 “Tell these people this, Jeremiah: ¹¹ 

‘My eyes overflow with tears

day and night without ceasing. ¹² 

For my people, my dear children, ¹³  have suffered a crushing blow.

They have suffered a serious wound. ¹⁴ 

[9:1]  ¹ sn Beginning with 9:1, the verse numbers through 9:26 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 9:1 ET = 8:23 HT, 9:2 ET = 9:1 HT, 9:3 ET = 9:2 HT, etc., through 9:26 ET = 9:25 HT. Beginning with 10:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.

[9:1]  ² tn Heb “I wish that my head were water.”

[9:1]  ³ tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.

[9:10]  ⁴ tn The words “I said” are not in the text, but there is general agreement that Jeremiah is the speaker. Cf. the lament in 8:18-9:1. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity. Some English versions follow the Greek text which reads a plural imperative here. Since this reading would make the transition between 9:10 and 9:11 easier it is probably not original but a translator’s way of smoothing over a difficulty.

[9:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “I will lift up weeping and mourning.”

[9:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “for the mountains.” However, the context makes clear that it is the grasslands or pastures on the mountains that are meant. The words “for the grasslands” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[13:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “If you will not listen to it.” For the use of the feminine singular pronoun to refer to the idea(s) expressed in the preceding verse(s), see GKC 440-41 §135.p.

[13:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “Tearing [my eye] will tear and my eye will run down [= flow] with tears.”

[13:17]  sn The depth of Jeremiah’s sorrow for the sad plight of his people, if they refuse to repent, is emphasized by the triple repetition of the word “tears” twice in an emphatic verbal expression (Hebrew infinitive before finite verb) and once in the noun.

[13:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “because the Lord’s flock will…” The pronoun “you” is supplied in the translation to avoid the shift in English from the second person address at the beginning to the third person affirmation at the end. It also helps explain the metaphor of the people of Israel as God’s flock for some readers who may be unfamiliar with that metaphor.

[13:17]  ¹⁰ tn The verb is once again in the form of “as good as done” (the Hebrew prophetic perfect).

[14:17]  ¹¹ tn The word “Jeremiah” is not in the text but the address is to a second person singular and is a continuation of 14:14 where the quote starts. The word is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[14:17]  ¹² tn Many of the English versions and commentaries render this an indirect or third person imperative, “Let my eyes overflow…” because of the particle אַל (’al) which introduces the phrase translated “without ceasing” (אַל־תִּדְמֶינָה, ’al-tidmenah). However, this is undoubtedly an example where the particle introduces an affirmation that something cannot be done (cf. GKC 322 §109.e). Clear examples of this are found in Pss 41:2 (41:3 HT); 50:3; Job 40:32 (41:8). God here is describing again a lamentable situation and giving his response to it. See 14:1-6 above.

[14:17]  sn Once again it is the Lord lamenting the plight of the people, now directed to them, not the people lamenting their plight to him. See 14:1-6 and the study notes on the introduction to this section and on 14:7.

[14:17]  ¹³ tn Heb “virgin daughter, my people.” The last noun here is appositional to the first two (genitive of apposition). Hence it is not ‘literally’ “virgin daughter of my people.”

[14:17]  sn This is a metaphor which occurs several times with regard to Israel, Judah, Zion, and even Sidon and Babylon. It is the poetic personification of the people, the city, or the land. Like other metaphors the quality of the comparison being alluded to must be elicited from the context. This is easy in Isa 23:12 (oppressed) and Isa 47:1 (soft and delicate) but not so easy in other places. From the nature of the context the suspicion here is that the protection the virgin was normally privileged to is being referred to and there is a reminder that the people are forfeiting it by their actions. Hence God laments for them.

[14:17]  ¹⁴ tn This is a poetic personification. To translate with the plural “serious wounds” might mislead some into thinking of literal wounds.

[14:17]  sn Compare Jer 10:19 for a similar use of this metaphor.