Yeremia 2:9

The Lord Charges Contemporary Israel with Spiritual Adultery

2:9 “So, once more I will state my case ¹  against you,” says the Lord.

“I will also state it against your children and grandchildren. ² 

Yeremia 2:11

2:11 Has a nation ever changed its gods

(even though they are not really gods at all)?

But my people have exchanged me, their glorious God, ³ 

for a god that cannot help them at all! ⁴ 

Yeremia 3:15

3:15 I will give you leaders ⁵  who will be faithful to me. ⁶  They will lead you with knowledge and insight.

Yeremia 5:23

5:23 But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts.

They have turned aside and gone their own way. ⁷ 

Yeremia 6:14

6:14 They offer only superficial help

for the harm my people have suffered. ⁸ 

They say, ‘Everything will be all right!’

But everything is not all right! ⁹ 

Yeremia 8:5

8:5 Why, then, do these people of Jerusalem ¹⁰ 

continually turn away from me in apostasy?

They hold fast to their deception. ¹¹ 

They refuse to turn back to me. ¹² 

Yeremia 8:11

8:11 They offer only superficial help

for the hurt my dear people ¹³  have suffered. ¹⁴ 

They say, “Everything will be all right!”

But everything is not all right! ¹⁵ 

Yeremia 12:8

12:8 The people I call my own ¹⁶  have turned on me

like a lion ¹⁷  in the forest.

They have roared defiantly ¹⁸  at me.

So I will treat them as though I hate them. ¹⁹ 

Yeremia 21:11

Warnings to the Royal Court

21:11 The Lord told me to say ²⁰  to the royal court ²¹  of Judah,

“Listen to what the Lord says,

Yeremia 23:13

23:13 The Lord says, ²²  “I saw the prophets of Samaria ²³ 

doing something that was disgusting. ²⁴ 

They prophesied in the name of the god Baal

and led my people Israel astray. ²⁵ 

Yeremia 30:9

30:9 But they will be subject ²⁶  to the Lord their God

and to the Davidic ruler whom I will raise up as king over them. ²⁷ 

Yeremia 31:1

31:1 At that time I will be the God of all the clans of Israel ²⁸ 

and they will be my people.

I, the Lord, affirm it!” ²⁹ 

Yeremia 32:34

32:34 They set up their disgusting idols in the temple which I have claimed for my own ³⁰  and defiled it.

Yeremia 35:16

35:16 Yes, ³¹  the descendants of Jonadab son of Rechab have carried out the orders that their ancestor gave them. But you people ³²  have not obeyed me!

Yeremia 49:38

49:38 I will establish my sovereignty over Elam. ³³ 

I will destroy their king and their leaders,” ³⁴  says the Lord. ³⁵ 

Yeremia 51:1

51:1 The Lord says,

“I will cause a destructive wind ³⁶  to blow

against ³⁷  Babylon and the people who inhabit Babylonia. ³⁸ 

[2:9]  ¹ tn Or “bring charges against you.”

[2:9]  sn The language used here is that of the law court. In international political contexts it was the language of a great king charging his subject with breach of covenant. See for examples in earlier prophets, Isa 1:2-20; Mic 6:1-8.

[2:9]  ² tn The words “your children and” are supplied in the translation to bring out the idea of corporate solidarity implicit in the passage.

[2:9]  sn The passage reflects the Hebrew concept of corporate solidarity: The actions of parents had consequences for their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Compare the usage in the ten commandments, Deut 5:10, and note the execution of the children of Dathan and Abiram, Deut 11:6, and of Achan, Josh 7:24-25.

[2:11]  ³ tn Heb “have exchanged their glory [i.e., the God in whom they glory].” This is a case of a figure of speech where the attribute of a person or thing is put for the person or thing. Compare the common phrase in Isaiah, the Holy One of Israel, obviously referring to the Lord, the God of Israel.

[2:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “what cannot profit.” The verb is singular and the allusion is likely to Baal. See the translator’s note on 2:8 for the likely pun or wordplay.

[3:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “shepherds.”

[3:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “after/according to my [own] heart.”

[5:23]  ⁷ tn The words, “their own way” are not in the text but are implicit and are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “They heal [= bandage] the wound of my people lightly”; TEV “They act as if my people’s wounds were only scratches.”

[6:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “They say, ‘Peace! Peace!’ and there is no peace!”

[8:5]  ¹⁰ tc The text is quite commonly emended, changing שׁוֹבְבָה הָעָם (shovÿvah ha’am) to שׁוֹבָב הָעָם (shovav ha’am) and omitting יְרוּשָׁלַםִ (yÿrushalaim); this is due to the anomaly of a feminine singular verb with a masculine singular subject and the fact that the word “Jerusalem” is absent from one Hebrew ms and the LXX. However, it is possible that this is a case where the noun “Jerusalem” is a defining apposition to the word “these people,” an apposition which GKC 425 §131.k calls “permutation.” In this case the verb could be attracted to the appositional noun and there would be no reason to emend the text. The MT is undoubtedly the harder reading and is for that reason to be preferred.

[8:5]  map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[8:5]  ¹¹ tn Or “to their allegiance to false gods,” or “to their false professions of loyalty”; Heb “to deceit.” Either “to their mistaken beliefs” or “to their allegiance to false gods” would fit the preceding context. The former is more comprehensive than the latter and was chosen for that reason.

[8:5]  ¹² sn There is a continuing play on the same root word used in the preceding verse. Here the words “turn away from me,” “apostasy,” and “turn back to me” are all forms from the root that was translated “go the wrong way” and “turn around” in v. 4. The intended effect is to contrast Judah’s recalcitrant apostasy with the usual tendency to try and correct one’s mistakes.

[8:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.

[8:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “They heal the wound of my people lightly.”

[8:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “They say, ‘Peace! Peace!’ and there is no peace!”

[12:8]  ¹⁶ tn See the note on the previous verse.

[12:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “have become to me like a lion.”

[12:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “have given against me with her voice.”

[12:8]  ¹⁹ tn Or “so I will reject her.” The word “hate” is sometimes used in a figurative way to refer to being neglected, i.e., treated as though unloved. In these contexts it does not have the same emotive connotations that a typical modern reader would associate with hate. See Gen 29:31, 33 and E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 556.

[21:11]  ²⁰ tn The words “The Lord told me to say” are not in the text. They have been supplied in the translation for clarity. This text has been treated in two very different ways depending upon how one views the connection of the words “and to/concerning the household of the King of Judah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord:…’” with the preceding and following. Some treat the words that follow as a continuation of Jeremiah’s response to the delegation sent by Zedekiah (cf. vv. 3, 8). Others treat this as introducing a new set of oracles parallel to those in 23:9-40 which are introduced by the heading “to/concerning the prophets.” There are three reasons why this is the more probable connection: (1) the parallelism in expression with 23:9; (2) the other introductions in vv. 3, 8 use the preposition אֶל (’el) instead of לְ (lÿ) used here, and they have the formal introduction “you shall say…”; (3) the warning or challenge here would mitigate the judgment pronounced on the king and the city in vv. 4-7. Verses 8-9 are different. They are not a mitigation but an offer of escape for those who surrender. Hence, these words are a title “Now concerning the royal court.” (The vav [ו] that introduces this is disjunctive = “Now.”) However, since the imperative that follows is masculine plural and addressed to the royal house, something needs to be added to introduce it. Hence the translation supplies “The Lord told me to say” to avoid confusion or mistakenly connecting it with the preceding.

[21:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “house” or “household.” It is clear from 22:1-6 that this involved the King, the royal family, and the court officials.

[23:13]  ²² tn The words “The Lord says” are not in the text, but it is clear from the content that he is the speaker. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[23:13]  ²³ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[23:13]  ²⁴ tn According to BDB 1074 s.v. תִּפְלָּה this word means “unseemly, unsavory.” The related adjective is used in Job 6:6 of the tastelessness of something that is unseasoned.

[23:13]  ²⁵ tn Heb “by Baal.”

[23:13]  sn Prophesying in the name of the god Baal was a clear violation of Mosaic law and punishable by death (see Deut 13:1-5). For an example of the apostasy encouraged by prophets of Baal in the northern kingdom of Israel see 1 Kgs 18:16-40.

[30:9]  ²⁶ tn The word “subject” in this verse and “subjugate” are from the same root word in Hebrew. A deliberate contrast is drawn between the two powers that they will serve.

[30:9]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and to David their king whom I will raise up for them.”

[30:9]  sn The Davidic ruler which I will raise up as king over them refers to a descendant of David who would be raised up over a regathered and reunited Israel and Judah. He is called “David” in Hos 3:5, Ezek 34:23-24; 37:24-25 and referred to as a shoot or sprig of Jesse in Isa 11:1, 10 and a “righteous branch” springing from David (the Davidic line). He is called “David” because he is from the Davidic line and because David is the type of the ideal king whom the prophets looked forward to. See further the study notes on 23:5 for this ideal king and for his relation to the NT fulfillment in the person of Jesus the Christ.

[31:1]  ²⁸ sn This verse repeats v. 22 but with specific reference to all the clans of Israel, i.e., to all Israel and Judah. It functions here as a transition to the next section which will deal with the restoration of Israel (31:3-20) and Judah (31:21-25) and their reunification in the land (31:27-29) under a new covenant relation with God (31:31-37). See also the study note on 30:3 for further reference to this reunification in Jeremiah and the other prophets.

[31:1]  ²⁹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[32:34]  ³⁰ tn Heb “the house which is called by my name.” Cf. 7:10, 11, 14 and see the translator’s note on 7:10 for the explanation for this rendering.

[35:16]  ³¹ tn This is an attempt to represent the particle כִּי (ki) which is probably not really intensive here (cf. BDB 472 s.v. כִּי 1.e) but is one of those causal uses of כִּי that BDB discusses on 473-74 s.v. כִּי 3.c where the cause is really the failure of the people of Judah and Jerusalem to listen/obey. I.e., the causal particle is at the beginning of the sentence so as not to interrupt the contrast drawn.

[35:16]  ³² tn Heb “this people.” However, the speech is addressed to the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem, so the second person is retained in English. In addition to the stylistic difference that Hebrew exhibits in the rapid shift between persons (second to third and third to second, which have repeatedly been noted and documented from GKC 462 §144.p) there may be a subtle rhetorical reason for the shift here. The shift from direct address to indirect address which characterizes this verse and the next may reflect the Lord’s rejection of the people he is addressing. A similar shift takes place in Wisdom’s address to the simple minded, fools, and mockers in Prov 1:28-32 after the direct address of 1:22-27.

[49:38]  ³³ tn Or “I will sit in judgment over Elam”; Heb “I will set up my throne in Elam.” Commentators are divided over whether this refers to a king sitting in judgment over his captured enemies or whether it refers to formally establishing his rule over the country. Those who argue for the former idea point to the supposed parallels in 1:15 (which the present translation understands not to refer to this but to setting up siege) and 43:8-13. The parallelism in the verse here, however, argues that it refers to the Lord taking over the reins of government by destroying their former leaders.

[49:38]  ³⁴ tn Heb “I will destroy king and leaders from there.”

[49:38]  ³⁵ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[51:1]  ³⁶ sn The destructive wind is a figurative reference to the “foreign people” who will “winnow” Babylon and drive out all the people (v. 2). This figure has already been used in 4:11-12 and in 49:36. See the study note on 4:11-12 and the translator’s notes on 22:22 and 49:36.

[51:1]  ³⁷ tn Or “I will arouse the spirit of hostility of a destroying nation”; Heb “I will stir up against Babylon…a destroying wind [or the spirit of a destroyer].” The word רוּחַ (ruakh) can refer to either a wind (BDB 924 s.v. רוּחַ 2.a) or a spirit (BDB 925 s.v. רוּחַ 2.g). It can be construed as either a noun followed by an adjectival participle (so, “a destroying wind”) or a noun followed by another noun in the “of” relationship (a construct or genitival relationship; so, “spirit of a destroyer”). The same noun with this same verb is translated “stir up the spirit of” in 1 Chr 5:26; 2 Chr 21:16; 36:22; Hag 1:14; and most importantly in Jer 51:11 where it refers to the king of the Medes. However, the majority of the exegetical tradition (all the commentaries consulted and all the English versions except NASB and NIV) opt for the “destructive wind” primarily because of the figure of winnowing that is found in the next verse. The translation follows the main line exegetical tradition here for that same reason.

[51:1]  ³⁸ sn Heb “the people who live in Leb-qamai.” “Leb-qamai” is a code name for “Chaldeans” formed on the principle of substituting the last letter of the alphabet for the first, the next to the last for the second, and so on. This same principle is used in referring to Babylon in 25:26 and 51:41 as “Sheshach.” See the study note on 25:26 where further details are given. There is no consensus on why the code name is used because the terms Babylon and Chaldeans (= Babylonians) have appeared regularly in this prophecy or collection of prophecies.