Yeremia 2:29

2:29 “Why do you try to refute me? ¹ 

All of you have rebelled against me,”

says the Lord.

Yeremia 5:2

5:2 These people make promises in the name of the Lord. ² 

But the fact is, ³  what they swear to is really a lie.” ⁴ 

Yeremia 6:30--7:1

6:30 They are regarded as ‘rejected silver’ ⁵ 

because the Lord rejects them.”

Faulty Religion and Unethical Behavior Will Lead to Judgment

7:1 The Lord said to Jeremiah: ⁶ 

Yeremia 10:6

10:6 I said, ⁷ 

“There is no one like you, Lord. ⁸ 

You are great.

And you are renowned for your power. ⁹ 

Yeremia 10:24

10:24 Correct us, Lord, but only in due measure. ¹⁰ 

Do not punish us in anger or you will reduce us to nothing. ¹¹ 

Yeremia 11:1

The People Have Violated Their Covenant with God

11:1 The Lord said to Jeremiah: ¹² 

Yeremia 13:2

13:2 So I bought the shorts as the Lord had told me to do ¹³  and put them on. ¹⁴ 

Yeremia 13:5

13:5 So I went and buried them at Perath ¹⁵  as the Lord had ordered me to do.

Yeremia 13:15

13:15 Then I said to the people of Judah, ¹⁶ 

“Listen and pay attention! Do not be arrogant!

For the Lord has spoken.

Yeremia 14:20

14:20 Lord, we confess that we have been wicked.

We confess that our ancestors have done wrong. ¹⁷ 

We have indeed ¹⁸  sinned against you.

Yeremia 17:14

17:14 Lord, grant me relief from my suffering

so that I may have some relief.

Rescue me from those who persecute me

so that I may be rescued. ¹⁹ 

Yeremia 18:1

An Object Lesson from the Making of Pottery

18:1 The Lord said to Jeremiah: ²⁰ 

Yeremia 23:23

23:23 Do you people think ²¹  that I am some local deity

and not the transcendent God?” ²²  the Lord asks. ²³ 

Yeremia 25:37

25:37 Their peaceful dwelling places will be laid waste ²⁴ 

by the fierce anger of the Lord. ²⁵ 

Yeremia 29:15

29:15 “You say, ‘The Lord has raised up prophets of good news ²⁶  for us here in Babylon.’

Yeremia 30:1

Introduction to the Book of Consolation

30:1 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah. ²⁷ 

Yeremia 30:12

The Lord Will Heal the Wounds of Judah

30:12 Moreover, ²⁸  the Lord says to the people of Zion, ²⁹ 

“Your injuries are incurable;

your wounds are severe. ³⁰ 

Yeremia 31:17

31:17 Indeed, there is hope for your posterity. ³¹ 

Your children will return to their own territory.

I, the Lord, affirm it! ³² 

Yeremia 32:6

32:6 So now, Jeremiah said, “The Lord told me, ³³ 

Yeremia 33:11

33:11 Once again there will be sounds ³⁴  of joy and gladness and the glad celebrations of brides and grooms. ³⁵  Once again people will bring their thank offerings to the temple of the Lord and will say, “Give thanks to the Lord who rules over all. For the Lord is good and his unfailing love lasts forever.” ³⁶  For I, the Lord, affirm ³⁷  that I will restore the land to what it was ³⁸  in days of old.’ ³⁹ 

Yeremia 37:6

37:6 The Lord gave the prophet Jeremiah a message for them. He told him to tell them, ⁴⁰ 

Yeremia 43:8

Jeremiah Predicts that Nebuchadnezzar Will Plunder Egypt and Its Gods

43:8 At Tahpanhes the Lord spoke to Jeremiah. ⁴¹ 

Yeremia 45:2

45:2 “The Lord God of Israel has a message for you, Baruch.

Yeremia 46:15

46:15 Why will your soldiers ⁴²  be defeated? ⁴³ 

They will not stand because I, the Lord, will thrust ⁴⁴  them down.

Yeremia 48:25

48:25 Moab’s might will be crushed. Its power will be broken. ⁴⁵  I, the Lord, affirm it! ⁴⁶ 

Yeremia 48:35

48:35 I will put an end in Moab

to those who make offerings at her places of worship. ⁴⁷ 

I will put an end to those who sacrifice to other gods.

I, the Lord, affirm it! ⁴⁸ 

Yeremia 48:42-43

48:42 Moab will be destroyed and no longer be a nation, ⁴⁹ 

because she has vaunted herself against the Lord.

48:43 Terror, pits, and traps ⁵⁰  are in store

for the people who live in Moab. ⁵¹ 

I, the Lord, affirm it! ⁵² 

Yeremia 50:10

50:10 Babylonia ⁵³  will be plundered.

Those who plunder it will take all they want,”

says the Lord. ⁵⁴ 

Yeremia 52:2

52:2 He did what displeased the Lord ⁵⁵  just as Jehoiakim had done.

[2:29]  ¹ sn This is still part of the Lord’s case against Israel. See 2:9 for the use of the same Hebrew verb. The Lord here denies their counter claims that they do not deserve to be punished.

[5:2]  ² tn Heb “Though they say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives.” The idea of “swear on oath” comes from the second line.

[5:2]  ³ tc The translation follows many Hebrew mss and the Syriac version in reading “surely” (אָכֵן, ’akhen) instead of “therefore” (לָכֵן, lakhen) in the MT.

[5:2]  tn Heb “Surely.”

[5:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “they swear falsely.”

[6:30]  ⁵ tn This translation is intended to reflect the wordplay in the Hebrew text where the same root word is repeated in the two lines.

[7:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord.”

[10:6]  ⁷ tn The words “I said” are not in the Hebrew text, but there appears to be a shift in speaker. Someone is now addressing the Lord. The likely speaker is Jeremiah, so the words “I said” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[10:6]  ⁸ tn The form that introduces this line has raised debate. The form מֵאֵין (me’en) normally means “without” and introduces a qualification of a term expressing desolation or “so that not” and introduces a negative result (cf. BDB 35 s.v. II אַיִן 6.b). Neither of these nuances fit either this verse or the occurrence in v. 7. BDB 35 s.v. II אַיִן 6.b.γ notes that some have explained this as a strengthened form of אַיִן (’ayin) which occurs in a similar phrase five other times (cf., e.g., 1 Kgs 8:23). Though many including BDB question the validity of this solution it is probably better than the suggestion that BDB gives of repointing to מֵאַיִן (me’ayin, “whence”), which scarcely fits the context of v. 7, or the solution of HALOT 41 s.v. I אַיִן, which suggests that the מ (mem) is a double writing (dittograph) of the final consonant from the preceding word. That would assume that the scribe made the same error twice or was influenced the second time by the first erroneous writing.

[10:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “Great is your name in power.”

[10:24]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “with justice.”

[10:24]  ¹¹ tn The words, “to almost nothing” are not in the text. They are implicit from the general context and are supplied by almost all English versions.

[11:1]  ¹² tn Heb “The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying.” The proposed translation is more in keeping with contemporary English idiom. Cf. 1:2 and 7:1 and footnotes there.

[13:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “according to the word of the Lord.”

[13:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “upon your loins.” The “loins” were the midriff of the body from the waist to the knees. For a further discussion including the figurative uses see R. C. Dentan, “Loins,” IDB 3:149-50.

[13:5]  ¹⁵ tc The translation reads בִּפְרָתָה (bifratah) with 4QJer^a as noted in W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:393 instead of בִּפְרָת (bifrat) in the MT.

[13:15]  ¹⁶ tn The words “Then I said to the people of Judah” are not in the text but are implicit from the address in v. 15 and the content of v. 17. They are supplied in the translation for clarity to show the shift from the Lord speaking to Jeremiah.

[14:20]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “We acknowledge our wickedness [and] the iniquity of our [fore]fathers.” For the use of the word “know” to mean “confess,” “acknowledge” cf. BDB 394 s.v. יָדַע, Qal.1.f and compare the usage in Jer 3:13.

[14:20]  sn For a longer example of an individual identifying with the nation and confessing their sins and the sins of their forefathers see Ps 106.

[14:20]  ¹⁸ tn This is another example of the intensive use of כִּי (ki). See BDB 472 s.v. כִּי 1.e.

[17:14]  ¹⁹ tn The translation fills in the details of the metaphor from a preceding context (15:18) and from the following context (17:18). The literal translation “Heal me and I will be healed. Rescue me and I will be rescued.” does not make much sense if these details are not filled in. The metaphor is filled in for clarity for the average reader.

[18:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying:” This same formula occurs ten other times in Jeremiah. It has already occurred at 7:1 and 11:1.

[23:23]  ²¹ tn The words “Do you people think” at the beginning of this verse and “Do you really think” at the beginning of the next verse are not in the text but are a way of trying to convey the nature of the rhetorical questions which expect a negative answer. They are also a way of trying to show that the verses are still connected with the preceding discussion addressed to the people (cf. 23:16, 20).

[23:23]  ²² tn Heb “Am I a god nearby and not a god far off?” The question is sometimes translated as though there is an alternative being given in v. 23, one that covers both the ideas of immanence and transcendence (i.e., “Am I only a god nearby and not also a god far off?”). However, the hey interrogative (הַ) at the beginning of this verse and the particle (אִם, ’im) at the beginning of the next show that the linkage is between the question in v. 23 and that in v. 24a. According to BDB 210 s.v. הֲ 1.d both questions in this case expect a negative answer.

[23:23]  sn The thought that is expressed here must be viewed against the background of ancient Near Eastern thought where gods were connected with different realms, e.g., Baal, the god of wind, rain, and fertility, Mot, the god of drought, infertility, and death, Yam, the god of the sea and of chaos. Moreover, Baal was worshiped in local manifestations as the Baal of Peor, Baal of Gad, etc. Hence, Baal is sometimes spoken of in the singular and sometimes in the plural. The Lord is the one true God (Deut 6:4). Moreover, he is the maker of heaven and earth (Gen 14:12; 2 Kgs 19:15; Ps 115:15), sees into the hearts of all men (Ps 33:13-15), and judges men according to what they do (Ezek 7:3, 7, 27). There is no hiding from him (Job 34:22; Ps 139:7-12) and no escape from his judgment (Amos 9:2-4). God has already spoken to the people and their leaders through Jeremiah along these lines (Jer 16:17; 21:14). Lurking behind the thoughts expressed here is probably Deut 29:19-21 where God warns that one “bad apple” who thinks he can get away with sinning against the covenant can lead to the destruction of all. The false prophets were the “bad apples” that were encouraging the corruption of the whole nation by their words promoting a false sense of security unconnected with loyalty to God and obedience to his covenant. The first question deals with the issue of God’s transcendence, the second with his omniscience, and the third with his omnipresence.

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

[25:37]  ²⁴ tn For this meaning of the verb used here see HALOT 217 s.v. דָּמַם Nif. Elsewhere it refers to people dying (see, e.g., Jer 49:26; 50:30) hence some see a reference to “lifeless.”

[25:37]  ²⁵ tn Heb “because of the burning anger of the Lord.”

[29:15]  ²⁶ tn The words “of good news” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[30:1]  ²⁷ tn Compare the headings at 7:1; 11:1; 18:1; 21:1 and the translator’s note at those places.

[30:12]  ²⁸ tn The particle כִּי (ki) here is parallel to the one in v. 5 that introduces the first oracle. See the discussion in the translator’s note there.

[30:12]  ²⁹ tn The pronouns in vv. 10-17 are second feminine singular referring to a personified entity. That entity is identified in v. 17 as Zion, which here stands for the people of Zion.

[30:12]  ³⁰ sn The wounds to the body politic are those of the incursions from the enemy from the north referred to in Jer 4:6; 6:1 over which Jeremiah and even God himself have lamented (Jer 8:21; 10:19; 14:17). The enemy from the north has been identified as Babylon and has been identified as the agent of God’s punishment of his disobedient people (Jer 1:15; 4:6; 25:9).

[31:17]  ³¹ tn For this nuance for the Hebrew word אַחֲרִית (’akharit) see BDB 31 s.v. אַחֲרִית d and compare usage in Pss 37:38; 109:13. Others translate “your future” but the “future” lies with the return of her descendants, her posterity.

[31:17]  ³² tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[32:6]  ³³ tn Heb “The word of the Lord came to me, saying.” This verse resumes the narrative introduction in v. 1 which was interrupted by the long parenthetical note about historical background. There is again some disjunction in the narrative (compare the translator’s notes on 27:2 and 28:1). What was begun as a biographical (third person) narrative turns into an autobiographical (first person) narrative until v. 26 where the third person is again resumed. Again this betrays the hand of the narrator, Baruch.

[33:11]  ³⁴ tn Heb “33:10 Thus says the Lord, ‘There will again be heard in this place of which you are saying [masc. pl.], “It is a ruin without people and without animals,” [that is] in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem which are desolate without people and without inhabitants and without animals 33:11 the sound of….” The long run-on sentence in Hebrew has been broken down to better conform with contemporary English style.

[33:11]  ³⁵ sn What is predicted here is a reversal of the decimation caused by the Babylonian conquest that had been threatened in 7:34; 16:9; 25:10.

[33:11]  ³⁶ sn This is a common hymnic introduction to both individual songs of thanksgiving (e.g., Ps 118:1) and communal songs of thanksgiving (e.g., Ps 136 where it is a liturgical refrain accompanying a recital of Israel’s early history and of the Lord’s continuing providence).

[33:11]  ³⁷ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[33:11]  ³⁸ tn Or “I will restore the fortunes of the land.”

[33:11]  sn See the study note on Jer 29:18 and compare 29:14; 30:3, 18; 31:23; 32:44; 33:7 for the meaning and usage of this idiom. The promise here repeats that in 33:7.

[33:11]  ³⁹ tn This phrase simply means “as formerly” (BDB 911 s.v. רִאשׁוֹן 3.a). The reference to the “as formerly” must be established from the context. See the usage in Judg 20:32; 1 Kgs 13:6; Isa 1:26.

[33:11]  sn This refers to the reunification of Israel and Judah to the state that they were before the division after Solomon. Compare Jer 3:18; 30:3; 31:27 and see the study note on 30:3.

[37:6]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying.”

[43:8]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah at Tahpanhes, saying.”

[46:15]  ⁴² tn The word translated “soldiers” (אַבִּירִים, ’abbirim) is not the Hebrew word that has been used of soldiers elsewhere in these oracles (גִּבּוֹרִים, gibborim). It is an adjective used as a noun that can apply to animals, i.e., of a bull (Ps 50:13) or a stallion (Judg 5:22). Moreover, the form is masculine plural and the verbs are singular. Hence, many modern commentaries and English versions follow the redivision of the first line presupposed by the Greek version, “Apis has fled” (נָס חַף, nas khaf) and see this as a reference to the bull god of Memphis. However, the noun is used of soldiers in Lam 1:15 and the plural could be the distributive plural, i.e., each and every one (cf. GKC 464 §145.l and compare usage in Gen 27:29).

[46:15]  ⁴³ tn The Hebrew word used here only occurs here (in the Niphal) and in Prov 28:3 (in the Qal) where it refers to a rain that beats down grain. That idea would fit nicely with the idea of the soldiers being beaten down, or defeated. It is possible that the rarity of this verb (versus the common verb נוּס, nus, “flee”) and the ready identification of Apis with the bull calf (אַבִּיר, ’abbir) has led to the reading of the Greek text (so C. von Orelli, Jeremiah, 327). The verbs in this verse and the following are in the perfect tense but should be understood as prophetic perfects since the text is dealing with what will happen when Nebuchadnezzar comes into Egypt. The text of vv. 18-24 shows a greater mixture with some perfects and some imperfects, sometimes even within the same verse (e.g., v. 22).

[46:15]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “the Lord will thrust them down.” However, the Lord is speaking (cf. clearly in v. 18), so the first person is adopted for the sake of consistency. This has been a consistent problem in the book of Jeremiah where the prophet is so identified with the word of the Lord that he sometimes uses the first person and sometimes the third. It creates confusion for the average reader who is trying to follow the flow of the argument and has been shifted to the first person like this on a number of occasions. TEV and CEV have generally adopted the same policy as have some other modern English versions at various points.

[48:25]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “The horn of Moab will be cut off. His arm will be broken.” “Horn” and “arm” are both symbols of strength (see BDB 902 s.v. קֶרֶן 2 [and compare usage in Lam 2:3] and BDB 284 s.v. זְרוֹעַ 2 [and compare usage in 1 Sam 2:31]). The figures have been interpreted for the sake of clarity.

[48:25]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[48:35]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “high place[s].” For the meaning and significance of this term see the study note on 7:31.

[48:35]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[48:42]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “Moab will be destroyed from [being] a people.”

[48:43]  ⁵⁰ sn There is an extended use of assonance here and in the parallel passage in Isa 24:17. The Hebrew text reads פַּחַד וָפַחַת וָפָח (pakhad vafakhat vafakh). The assonance is intended to underscore the extensive trouble that is in store for them.

[48:43]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “are upon you, inhabitant of Moab.” This is another example of the rapid switch in person or direct address (apostrophe) in the midst of a third person description or prediction which the present translation typically keeps in the third person for smoother English style.

[48:43]  ⁵² tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[50:10]  ⁵³ tn Heb “The land of the Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for explanation.

[50:10]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[52:2]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “what was evil in the eyes of the Lord.”