Yeremia 2:24

2:24 You are like a wild female donkey brought up in the wilderness.

In her lust she sniffs the wind to get the scent of a male. ¹ 

No one can hold her back when she is in heat.

None of the males need wear themselves out chasing after her.

At mating time she is easy to find. ² 

Yeremia 4:19

4:19 I said, ³ 

“Oh, the feeling in the pit of my stomach! ⁴ 

I writhe in anguish.

Oh, the pain in my heart! ⁵ 

My heart pounds within me.

I cannot keep silent.

For I hear the sound of the trumpet; ⁶ 

the sound of the battle cry pierces my soul! ⁷ 

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 6:19

6:19 Hear this, you peoples of the earth: ¹¹ 

‘Take note! ¹²  I am about to bring disaster on these people.

It will come as punishment for their scheming. ¹³ 

For they have paid no attention to what I have said, ¹⁴ 

and they have rejected my law.

Yeremia 8:17

8:17 The Lord says, ¹⁵ 

“Yes indeed, ¹⁶  I am sending an enemy against you

that will be like poisonous snakes which cannot be charmed away. ¹⁷ 

And they will inflict fatal wounds on you.” ¹⁸ 

Yeremia 9:4

9:4 Everyone must be on his guard around his friends.

He must not even trust any of his relatives. ¹⁹ 

For every one of them will find some way to cheat him. ²⁰ 

And all of his friends will tell lies about him.

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 ²¹  and carry them out!

Yeremia 15:14

15:14 I will make you serve your enemies ²²  in a land that you know nothing about.

For my anger is like a fire that will burn against you.”

Yeremia 17:19

Observance of the Sabbath Day Is a Key to the Future ²³ 

17:19 The Lord told me, “Go and stand in the People’s Gate ²⁴  through which the kings of Judah enter and leave the city. Then go and stand in all the other gates of the city of Jerusalem. ²⁵ 

Yeremia 19:1

An Object Lesson from a Broken Clay Jar

19:1 The Lord told Jeremiah, ²⁶  “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. ²⁷  Take with you ²⁸  some of the leaders of the people and some of the leaders ²⁹  of the priests.

Yeremia 22:11

22:11 “‘For the Lord has spoken about Shallum son of Josiah, who succeeded his father as king of Judah but was carried off into exile. He has said, “He will never return to this land. ³⁰ 

Yeremia 22:13

Judgment on Jehoiakim

22:13 “‘Sure to be judged ³¹  is the king who builds his palace using injustice

and treats people unfairly while adding its upper rooms. ³² 

He makes his countrymen work for him for nothing.

He does not pay them for their labor.

Yeremia 25:13

25:13 I will bring on that land everything that I said I would. I will bring on it everything that is written in this book. I will bring on it everything that Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. ³³ 

Yeremia 25:15

Judah and the Nations Will Experience God’s Wrath

25:15 So ³⁴  the Lord, the God of Israel, spoke to me in a vision. ³⁵  “Take this cup from my hand. It is filled with the wine of my wrath. ³⁶  Take it and make the nations to whom I send you drink it.

Yeremia 25:18

25:18 I made Jerusalem ³⁷  and the cities of Judah, its kings and its officials drink it. ³⁸  I did it so Judah would become a ruin. I did it so Judah, its kings, and its officials would become an object ³⁹  of horror and of hissing scorn, an example used in curses. ⁴⁰  Such is already becoming the case! ⁴¹ 

Yeremia 26:3

26:3 Maybe they will pay attention and each of them will stop living the evil way they do. ⁴²  If they do that, then I will forgo destroying them ⁴³  as I had intended to do because of the wicked things they have been doing. ⁴⁴ 

Yeremia 27:11-12

27:11 Things will go better for the nation that submits to the yoke of servitude to ⁴⁵  the king of Babylon and is subject to him. I will leave that nation ⁴⁶  in its native land. Its people can continue to farm it and live in it. I, the Lord, affirm it!”’” ⁴⁷ 

27:12 I told King Zedekiah of Judah the same thing. I said, ⁴⁸  “Submit ⁴⁹  to the yoke of servitude to ⁵⁰  the king of Babylon. Be subject to him and his people. Then you will continue to live.

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 32:3-4

32:3 For King Zedekiah ⁵¹  had confined Jeremiah there after he had reproved him for prophesying as he did. He had asked Jeremiah, “Why do you keep prophesying these things? Why do you keep saying that the Lord says, ‘I will hand this city over to the king of Babylon? I will let him capture it. ⁵²  32:4 King Zedekiah of Judah will not escape from the Babylonians. ⁵³  He will certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon. He must answer personally to the king of Babylon and confront him face to face. ⁵⁴ 

Yeremia 32:25

32:25 The city is sure to fall into the hands of the Babylonians. ⁵⁵  Yet, in spite of this, ⁵⁶  you, Lord God, ⁵⁷  have said to me, “Buy that field with silver and have the transaction legally witnessed.”’” ⁵⁸ 

Yeremia 32:33

32:33 They have turned away from me instead of turning to me. ⁵⁹  I tried over and over again ⁶⁰  to instruct them, but they did not listen and respond to correction. ⁶¹ 

Yeremia 34:2

34:2 The Lord God of Israel told Jeremiah ⁶²  to go and give King Zedekiah of Judah a message. He told Jeremiah ⁶³  to tell him, “The Lord says, ‘I am going to ⁶⁴  hand this city over to the king of Babylon and he will burn it down.

Yeremia 36:3

36:3 Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about all the disaster I intend to bring on them, they will all stop doing the evil things they have been doing. ⁶⁵  If they do, I will forgive their sins and the wicked things they have done.” ⁶⁶ 

Yeremia 42:10

42:10 ‘If you will just stay ⁶⁷  in this land, I will build you up. I will not tear you down. I will firmly plant you. ⁶⁸  I will not uproot you. For I am filled with sorrow because of the disaster that I have brought on you.

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 46:19

46:19 Pack your bags for exile,

you inhabitants of poor dear Egypt. ⁶⁹ 

For Memphis will be laid waste.

It will lie in ruins ⁷⁰  and be uninhabited.

Yeremia 49:22

49:22 Look! Like an eagle with outspread wings,

a nation will soar up and swoop down on Bozrah.

At that time the soldiers of Edom will be as fearful

as a woman in labor.” ⁷¹ 

Yeremia 50:28

50:28 Listen! Fugitives and refugees are coming from the land of Babylon.

They are coming to Zion to declare there

how the Lord our God is getting revenge,

getting revenge for what they have done to his temple. ⁷² 

Yeremia 51:56

51:56 For a destroyer is attacking Babylon. ⁷³ 

Her warriors will be captured;

their bows will be broken. ⁷⁴ 

For the Lord is a God who punishes; ⁷⁵ 

he pays back in full. ⁷⁶ 

Yeremia 52:28

52:28 Here is the official record of the number of people ⁷⁷  Nebuchadnezzar carried into exile: In the seventh year, ⁷⁸  3,023 Jews;

[2:24]  ¹ tn The words “to get the scent of a male” are implicit and are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[2:24]  ² sn The metaphor is intended to depict Israel’s irrepressible desire to worship other gods.

[4:19]  ³ tn The words “I said” are not in the text. They are used to mark the shift from the Lord’s promise of judgment to Jeremiah’s lament concerning it.

[4:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “My bowels! My bowels!”

[4:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “the walls of my heart!”

[4:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “ram’s horn,” but the modern equivalent is “trumpet” and is more readily understandable.

[4:19]  ⁷ tc The translation reflects a different division of the last two lines than that suggested by the Masoretes. The written text (the Kethib) reads “for the sound of the ram’s horn I have heard [or “you have heard,” if the form is understood as the old second feminine singular perfect] my soul” followed by “the battle cry” in the last line. The translation is based on taking “my soul” with the last line and understanding an elliptical expression “the battle cry [to] my soul.” Such an elliptical expression is in keeping with the elliptical nature of the exclamations at the beginning of the verse (cf. the literal translations of the first two lines of the verse in the notes on the words “stomach” and “heart”).

[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.”

[6:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “earth.”

[6:19]  ¹² tn Heb “Behold!”

[6:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “disaster on these people, the fruit of their schemes.”

[6:19]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “my word.”

[8:17]  ¹⁵ tn These words which are at the end of the Hebrew verse are brought forward to show at the outset the shift in speaker.

[8:17]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Indeed [or For] behold!” The translation is intended to convey some of the connection that is suggested by the Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) at the beginning of the verse.

[8:17]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “I am sending against you snakes, poisonous ones which cannot be charmed.” In the light of the context literal snakes are scarcely meant. So the metaphor is turned into a simile to prevent possible confusion. For a similar metaphorical use of animals for enemies see 5:6.

[8:17]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “they will bite you.” There does not appear to be any way to avoid the possible confusion that literal snakes are meant here except to paraphrase. Possibly one could say “And they will attack you and ‘bite’ you,” but the enclosing of the word “bite” in quotations might lead to even further confusion.

[9:4]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Be on your guard…Do not trust.” The verbs are second masculine plural of direct address and there seems no way to translate literally and not give the mistaken impression that Jeremiah is being addressed. This is another example of the tendency in Hebrew style to turn from description to direct address (a figure of speech called apostrophe).

[9:4]  ²⁰ tn Heb “cheating, each of them will cheat.”

[9:4]  sn There is perhaps an intentional pun and allusion here to Gen 27:36 and the wordplay on the name Jacob there. The text here reads עָקוֹב יַעְקֹב (’aqob ya’qob).

[11:6]  ²¹ tn Heb “the terms of this covenant.” However, this was a separate message and the ambiguity of “this” could still cause some confusion.

[15:14]  ²² tc This reading follows the Greek and Syriac versions and several Hebrew mss. Other Hebrew mss read “I will cause the enemy to pass through a land.” The difference in the reading is between one Hebrew letter, a dalet (ד) and a resh (ר).

[17:19]  ²³ sn Observance of the Sabbath day (and the Sabbatical year) appears to have been a litmus test of the nation’s spirituality since it is mentioned in a number of passages besides this one (cf., e.g., Isa 56:2, 6; 58:13; Neh 13:15-18). Perhaps this is because the Sabbath day was the sign of the Mosaic covenant (Exod 31:13-17) just as the rainbow was the sign of the Noahic covenant (Gen 9:12, 13, 17) and circumcision was the sign of the Abrahamic covenant (Gen 17:11). This was not the only command they failed to obey, nor was their failure to obey this one the sole determining factor in the Lord’s decision to destroy Judah (cf. 7:23- 24; 11:7-8 in their contexts).

[17:19]  ²⁴ sn The identity and location of the People’s Gate is uncertain since it is mentioned nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible. Some identify it with the Benjamin Gate mentioned in Jer 37:13; 38:7 (cf. NAB), but there is no textual support for this in the Hebrew Bible or in any of the ancient versions.

[17:19]  ²⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[19:1]  ²⁶ 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]  ²⁷ 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]  ²⁸ 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]  ²⁹ 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).

[22:11]  ³⁰ tn Heb “For thus said the Lord concerning Shallum son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of his father who went away from this place: He will not return there again.”

[22:13]  ³¹ sn Heb “Woe.” This particle is used in laments for the dead (cf., e.g., 1 Kgs 13:30; Jer 34:5) and as an introductory particle in indictments against a person on whom judgment is pronounced (cf., e.g., Isa 5:8, 11; Jer 23:1). The indictment is found here in vv. 13-17 and the announcement of judgment in vv. 18-19.

[22:13]  ³² tn Heb “Woe to the one who builds his house by unrighteousness and its upper rooms with injustice using his neighbor [= countryman] as a slave for nothing and not giving to him his wages.”

[22:13]  sn This was a clear violation of covenant law (cf. Deut 24:14-15) and a violation of the requirements set forth in Jer 22:3. The allusion is to Jehoiakim who is not mentioned until v. 18. He was placed on the throne by Pharaoh Necho and ruled from 609-598 b.c. He became a vassal of Nebuchadnezzar but rebelled against him, bringing about the siege of 597 b.c. in which his son and many of the Judean leaders were carried off to Babylon (2 Kgs 23:34–24:16). He was a wicked king according to the author of the book of Kings (2 Kgs 23:37). He had Uriah the prophet killed (Jer 26:23) and showed no regard for Jeremiah’s prophecies, destroying the scroll containing them (Jer 36:23) and ordering Jeremiah’s arrest (Jer 36:23).

[25:13]  ³³ tn Or “I will bring upon it everything that is to be written in this book. I will bring upon it everything that Jeremiah is going to prophesy concerning all the nations.” The reference to “this book” and “what Jeremiah has prophesied against the nations” raises issues about the editorial process underlying the current form of the book of Jeremiah. As the book now stands there is no earlier reference to any judgments against Babylon or any book (really “scroll”; books were a development of the first or second century a.d.) containing them. A common assumption is that this “book” of judgment refers to the judgments against Babylon and the other nations contained at the end of the book of Jeremiah (46:1–51:58). The Greek version actually inserts the prophecies of 46:1–51:58 here (but in a different order) and interprets “Which (= What) Jeremiah prophesied concerning all the nations” as a title. It is possible that the Greek version may represent an earlier form of the book. At least two earlier forms of the book are known that date roughly to the period dealt with here (Compare 36:1 with 25:1 and see 36:2, 4 and 36:28, 32). Whether reference here is made to the first or second of these scrolls and whether the Greek version represents either is impossible to determine. It is not inconceivable that the referent here is the prophecies which Jeremiah has already uttered in vv. 8-12 and is about to utter in conjunction with the symbolical act that the Lord commands him to perform (vv. 15-26, 30-38) and that these are proleptic of the latter prophecies which will be given later and will be incorporated in a future book. That is the tenor of the alternate translation. The verb forms involved are capable of either a past/perfect translation or a proleptic/future translation. For the use of the participle (in the alternate translation = Heb “that is to be written”; הַכָּתוּב, hakkatuv) to refer to what is proleptic see GKC 356-57 §116.d, e, and compare usage in Jonah 1:3; 2 Kgs 11:2. For the use of the perfect to refer to a future act (in the alternate translation “is going to prophesy,” נִבָּא, nibba’) see GKC 312 §106.m and compare usage in Judg 1:2. In support of this interpretation is the fact that the first verb in the next verse (Heb “they will be subjected,” עָבְדוּ, ’ovdu) is undoubtedly prophetic [it is followed by a vav consecutive perfect; cf. Isa 5:14]). Reading the text this way has the advantage of situating it within the context of the passage itself which involves prophecies against the nations and against Babylon. Babylon is both the agent of wrath (the cup from which the nations drink, cf. 51:7) and the recipient of it (cf. v. 26). However, this interpretation admittedly does not explain the reference to “this book,” except as a proleptic reference to some future form of the book and there would be clearer ways of expressing this view if that were what was definitely intended.

[25:15]  ³⁴ tn This is an attempt to render the Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) which is probably being used in the sense that BDB 473-74 s.v. כִּי 3.c notes, i.e., the causal connection is somewhat loose, related here to the prophecies against the nations. “So” seems to be the most appropriate way to represent this.

[25:15]  ³⁵ tn Heb “Thus said the Lord, the God of Israel, to me.” It is generally understood that the communication is visionary. God does not have a “hand” and the action of going to the nations and making them drink of the cup are scarcely literal. The words are supplied in the translation to show the figurative nature of this passage.

[25:15]  ³⁶ sn “Drinking from the cup of wrath” is a common figure to represent being punished by God. Isaiah had used it earlier to refer to the punishment which Judah was to suffer and from which God would deliver her (Isa 51:17, 22) and Jeremiah’s contemporary Habakkuk uses it of Babylon “pouring out its wrath” on the nations and in turn being forced to drink the bitter cup herself (Hab 2:15-16). In Jer 51:7 the Lord will identify Babylon as the cup which makes the nations stagger. In v. 16 drinking from the cup will be identified with the sword (i.e., wars) that the Lord will send against the nations. Babylon is also to be identified as the sword (cf. Jer 51:20-23). What is being alluded to here in highly figurative language is the judgment that the Lord will wreak on the nations listed here through the Babylonians. The prophecy given here in symbolical form is thus an expansion of the one in vv. 9-11.

[25:18]  ³⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[25:18]  ³⁸ tn The words “I made” and “drink it” are not in the text. The text from v. 18 to v. 26 contains a list of the nations that Jeremiah “made drink it.” The words are supplied in the translation here and at the beginning of v. 19 for the sake of clarity. See also the note on v. 26.

[25:18]  ³⁹ tn Heb “in order to make them a ruin, an object of…” The sentence is broken up and the antecedents are made specific for the sake of clarity and English style.

[25:18]  ⁴⁰ tn See the study note on 24:9 for explanation.

[25:18]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “as it is today.” This phrase would obviously be more appropriate after all these things had happened as is the case in 44:6, 23 where the verbs referring to these conditions are past. Some see this phrase as a marginal gloss added after the tragedies of 597 b.c. or 586 b.c. However, it may refer here to the beginning stages where Judah has already suffered the loss of Josiah, of its freedom, of some of its temple treasures, and of some of its leaders (Dan 1:1-3. The different date for Jehoiakim there is due to the different method of counting the king’s first year; the third year there is the same as the fourth year in 25:1).

[26:3]  ⁴² tn Heb “will turn from his wicked way.”

[26:3]  ⁴³ tn For the idiom and translation of terms involved here see 18:8 and the translator’s note there.

[26:3]  sn The Lord is being consistent in the application of the principle laid down in Jer 18:7-8 that reformation of character will result in the withdrawal of the punishment of “uprooting, tearing down, destroying.” His prophecies of doom are conditional threats, open to change with change in behavior.

[26:3]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “because of the wickedness of their deeds.”

[27:11]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “put their necks in the yoke of.” See the study note on v. 2 for the figure.

[27:11]  ⁴⁶ tn The words “Things will go better for” are not in the text. They are supplied contextually as a means of breaking up the awkward syntax of the original which reads “The nation which brings its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and subjects itself to him, I will leave it…”

[27:11]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “oracle of the Lord.”

[27:12]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “I spoke to Zedekiah…according to all these words, saying.”

[27:12]  ⁴⁹ sn The verbs in this verse are all plural. They are addressed to Zedekiah and his royal advisers (compare 22:2).

[27:12]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “put their necks in the yoke of.” See the study note on v. 2 for the figure.

[32:3]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “Zedekiah king of Judah.”

[32:3]  ⁵² tn The translation represents an attempt to break up a very long Hebrew sentence with several levels of subordination and embedded quotations and also an attempt to capture the rhetorical force of the question “Why…” which is probably an example of what E. W. Bullinger (Figures of Speech, 953-54) calls a rhetorical question of expostulation or remonstrance (cf. the note on 26:9 and compare also the question in 36:29. In all three of these cases NJPS translates “How dare you…” which captures the force nicely). The Hebrew text reads, “For Zedekiah king of Judah had confined him, saying, ‘Why are you prophesying, saying, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold I am giving this city into the hands of the king of Babylon and he will capture it.’”’”

[32:4]  ⁵³ tn Heb “The Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for further explanation.

[32:4]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “his [Zedekiah’s] mouth will speak with his [Nebuchadnezzar’s] mouth and his eyes will see his eyes.” The verbs here are an obligatory imperfect and its vav consecutive perfect equivalent. (See IBHS 508-9 §31.4g for discussion and examples of the former and IBHS 528 §32.2.1d, n. 16, for the latter.)

[32:25]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “The Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for further explanation.

[32:25]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “And you, Lord Yahweh, have said to me, ‘Buy the field for…’ even though the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians.” The sentence has been broken up and the order reversed for English stylistic purposes. For the rendering “is sure to fall into the hands of” see the translator’s note on the preceding verse.

[32:25]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “Lord God.” For the rendering of this title see the study note on 1:6.

[32:25]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “call in witnesses to witness.”

[32:33]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “they have turned [their] backs to me, not [their] faces.” Compare the same idiom in 2:27.

[32:33]  ⁶⁰ tn For the idiom involved here see the translator’s note on 7:13. The verb that introduces this clause is a Piel infinitive absolute which is functioning in place of the finite verb (see, e.g., GKC 346 §113.ff and compare usage in Jer 8:15; 14:19. This grammatical point means that the versions cited in BHS fn a may not be reading a different text after all, but may merely be interpreting the form as syntactically equivalent to a finite verb as the present translation has done.).

[32:33]  sn This refers to God teaching them through the prophets whom he has sent as indicated by the repeated use of this idiom elsewhere in 7:13, 25; 11:7; 25:3, 4; 26:5, 19.

[32:33]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “But they were not listening so as to accept correction.”

[34:2]  ⁶² tn Heb “told him”; the referent (Jeremiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:2]  ⁶³ tn Heb “told him”; the referent (Jeremiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:2]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb 34:1 “The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord…saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel, “Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “I am going to….”’”’” The translation has tried to avoid some of the confusion that is created by embedding quotations within quotations by using indirect quotation in some instances; the conceptualization is the same but the style is simpler.

[36:3]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “will turn each one from his wicked way.”

[36:3]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “their iniquity and their sin.”

[36:3]  sn The offer of withdrawal of punishment for sin is consistent with the principles of Jer 18:7-8 and the temple sermon delivered early in the reign of this king (cf. 26:1-3; 7:5-7).

[42:10]  ⁶⁷ tn The word “just” is intended to reflect the infinitive absolute before the finite verb emphasizing here the condition rather than the verb root (see Joüon 2:423 §123.g, and compare the usage in Exod 15:26). The form looks like the infinitive absolute of the verb שׁוּב (shuv), but all the versions interpret it as though it is from יָשַׁב (yashav) which is the root of the verb that follows it. Either this is a textual error of the loss of a י (yod) or this is one of the cases that GKC 69 §19.i list as the possible loss of a weak consonant at the beginning of a word.

[42:10]  ⁶⁸ tn Or “I will firmly plant you in the land,” or “I will establish you.” This is part of the metaphor that has been used of God (re)establishing Israel in the land. See 24:6; 31:28; 32:41.

[46:19]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “inhabitants of daughter Egypt.” Like the phrase “daughter Zion,” “daughter Egypt” is a poetic personification of the land, here perhaps to stress the idea of defenselessness.

[46:19]  ⁷⁰ tn For the verb here see HALOT 675 s.v. II נָצָה Nif and compare the usage in Jer 4:7; 9:11 and 2 Kgs 19:25. BDB derives the verb from יָצַת (so BDB 428 s.v. יָצַת Niph meaning “kindle, burn”) but still give it the meaning “desolate” here and in 2:15 and 9:11.

[49:22]  ⁷¹ sn Compare Jer 48:40-41 for a similar prophecy about Moab. The parallelism here suggests that Bozrah, like Teman in v. 20, is a poetic equivalent for Edom.

[50:28]  ⁷² tn Heb “Hark! Fugitives and refugees from the land of Babylon to declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, vengeance for his temple.” For the meaning “Hark!” for the noun קוֹל (qol) see BDB 877 s.v. קוֹל 1.f and compare the usage in Jer 10:22. The syntax is elliptical because there is no main verb. The present translation has supplied the verb “come” as many other English versions have done. The translation also expands the genitival expression “vengeance for his temple” to explain what all the commentaries agree is involved.

[50:28]  sn This verse appears to be a parenthetical exclamation of the prophet in the midst of his report of what the Lord said through him. He throws himself into the future and sees the fall of Babylon and hears the people reporting in Zion how God has destroyed Babylon to get revenge for the Babylonians destroying his temple. Jeremiah prophesied from 627 b.c. (see the study note on 1:2) until sometime after 586 b.c. after Jerusalem fell and he was taken to Egypt. The fall of Babylon occurred in 538 b.c. some fifty years later. However, Jeremiah had prophesied as early as the first year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign (605 b.c.; Jer 25:1) that many nations and great kings would come and subject Babylon, the instrument of God’s wrath – his sword against the nations – to bondage (Jer 25:12-14).

[51:56]  ⁷³ tn Heb “for a destroyer is coming against her, against Babylon.”

[51:56]  ⁷⁴ tn The Piel form (which would be intransitive here, see GKC 142 §52.k) should probably be emended to Qal.

[51:56]  ⁷⁵ tn Or “God of retribution.”

[51:56]  ⁷⁶ tn The infinitive absolute emphasizes the following finite verb. Another option is to translate, “he certainly pays one back.” The translation assumes that the imperfect verbal form here describes the Lord’s characteristic actions. Another option is to take it as referring specifically to his judgment on Babylon, in which case one should translate, “he will pay (Babylon) back in full.”

[52:28]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “these are the people.”

[52:28]  ⁷⁸ sn This would be 597 b.c.