Yeremia 23:25

23:25 The Lord says, ¹  “I have heard what those prophets who are prophesying lies in my name are saying. They are saying, ‘I have had a dream! I have had a dream!’ ² 

Yeremia 29:9

29:9 They are prophesying lies to you and claiming my authority to do so. ³  But I did not send them. I, the Lord, affirm it!’ ⁴ 

Yeremia 23:27

23:27 How long will they go on plotting ⁵  to make my people forget who I am ⁶  through the dreams they tell one another? That is just as bad as what their ancestors ⁷  did when they forgot who I am by worshiping the god Baal. ⁸ 

Yeremia 44:26

44:26 But ⁹  listen to what the Lord has to say, all you people of Judah who are living in the land of Egypt. The Lord says, ‘I hereby swear by my own great name that none of the people of Judah who are living anywhere in Egypt will ever again invoke my name in their oaths! Never again will any of them use it in an oath saying, “As surely as the Lord God lives….” ¹⁰ 

Yeremia 7:11

7:11 Do you think this temple I have claimed as my own ¹¹  is to be a hideout for robbers? ¹²  You had better take note! ¹³  I have seen for myself what you have done! says the Lord.

Yeremia 32:34

32:34 They set up their disgusting idols in the temple which I have claimed for my own ¹⁴  and defiled it.

Yeremia 16:18

16:18 Before I restore them ¹⁵  I will punish them in full ¹⁶  for their sins and the wrongs they have done. For they have polluted my land with the lifeless statues of their disgusting idols. They have filled the land I have claimed as my own ¹⁷  with their detestable idols.” ¹⁸ 

Yeremia 14:14-15

14:14 Then the Lord said to me, “Those prophets are prophesying lies while claiming my authority! ¹⁹  I did not send them. I did not commission them. ²⁰  I did not speak to them. They are prophesying to these people false visions, worthless predictions, ²¹  and the delusions of their own mind. 14:15 I did not send those prophets, though they claim to be prophesying in my name. They may be saying, ‘No war or famine will happen in this land.’ But I, the Lord, say this about ²²  them: ‘War and starvation will kill those prophets.’ ²³ 

Yeremia 7:10

7:10 Then you come and stand in my presence in this temple I have claimed as my own ²⁴  and say, “We are safe!” You think you are so safe that you go on doing all those hateful sins! ²⁵ 

Yeremia 7:14

7:14 So I will destroy this temple which I have claimed as my own, ²⁶  this temple that you are trusting to protect you. I will destroy this place that I gave to you and your ancestors, ²⁷  just like I destroyed Shiloh. ²⁸ 

Yeremia 7:30

7:30 The Lord says, “I have rejected them because ²⁹  the people of Judah have done what I consider evil. ³⁰  They have set up their disgusting idols in the temple ³¹  which I have claimed for my own ³²  and have defiled it.

Yeremia 16:21

16:21 The Lord said, ³³ 

“So I will now let this wicked people know –

I will let them know my mighty power in judgment.

Then they will know that my name is the Lord.” ³⁴ 

Yeremia 7:12

7:12 So, go to the place in Shiloh where I allowed myself to be worshiped ³⁵  in the early days. See what I did to it ³⁶  because of the wicked things my people Israel did.

Yeremia 27:15

27:15 For I, the Lord, affirm ³⁷  that I did not send them. They are prophesying lies to you. If you ³⁸  listen to them, I will drive you and the prophets who are prophesying lies out of the land and you will all die in exile.” ³⁹ 

Yeremia 29:21

29:21 “The Lord God of Israel who rules over all ⁴⁰  also has something to say about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies to you and claiming my authority to do so. ⁴¹  ‘I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and he will execute them before your very eyes.

Yeremia 29:23

29:23 This will happen to them because they have done what is shameful ⁴²  in Israel. They have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives and have spoken lies while claiming my authority. ⁴³  They have spoken words that I did not command them to speak. I know what they have done. I have been a witness to it,’ says the Lord.” ⁴⁴ 

Yeremia 34:15

34:15 Recently, however, you yourselves ⁴⁵  showed a change of heart and did what is pleasing to me. You granted your fellow countrymen their freedom and you made a covenant to that effect in my presence in the house that I have claimed for my own. ⁴⁶ 

Yeremia 4:2

4:2 You must be truthful, honest and upright

when you take an oath saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’ ⁴⁷ 

If you do, ⁴⁸  the nations will pray to be as blessed by him as you are

and will make him the object of their boasting.” ⁴⁹ 

Yeremia 18:10

18:10 But if that nation does what displeases me and does not obey me, then I will cancel the good I promised to do to it.

Yeremia 26:3

26:3 Maybe they will pay attention and each of them will stop living the evil way they do. ⁵⁰  If they do that, then I will forgo destroying them ⁵¹  as I had intended to do because of the wicked things they have been doing. ⁵² 

Yeremia 49:13

49:13 For I solemnly swear,” ⁵³  says the Lord, “that Bozrah ⁵⁴  will become a pile of ruins. It will become an object of horror and ridicule, an example to be used in curses. ⁵⁵  All the towns around it will lie in ruins forever.”

Yeremia 34:16

34:16 But then you turned right around ⁵⁶  and showed that you did not honor me. ⁵⁷  Each of you took back your male and female slaves whom you had freed as they desired, and you forced them to be your slaves again. ⁵⁸ 

Yeremia 12:16

12:16 But they must make sure you learn to follow the religious practices of my people. ⁵⁹  Once they taught my people to swear their oaths using the name of the god Baal. ⁶⁰  But then, they must swear oaths using my name, saying, “As surely as the Lord lives, I swear.” ⁶¹  If they do these things, ⁶²  then they will be included among the people I call my own. ⁶³ 

Yeremia 25:29

25:29 For take note, I am already beginning to bring disaster on the city that I call my own. ⁶⁴  So how can you possibly avoid being punished? ⁶⁵  You will not go unpunished! For I am proclaiming war against all who live on the earth. I, the Lord who rules over all, ⁶⁶  affirm it!’ ⁶⁷ 

Yeremia 18:8

18:8 But if that nation I threatened stops doing wrong, ⁶⁸  I will cancel the destruction ⁶⁹  I intended to do to it.

Yeremia 23:21

23:21 I did not send those prophets.

Yet they were in a hurry to give their message. ⁷⁰ 

I did not tell them anything.

Yet they prophesied anyway.

Yeremia 13:11

13:11 For,’ I say, ⁷¹  ‘just as shorts cling tightly to a person’s body, so I bound the whole nation of Israel and the whole nation of Judah ⁷²  tightly ⁷³  to me.’ I intended for them to be my special people and to bring me fame, honor, and praise. ⁷⁴  But they would not obey me.

Yeremia 1:5

1:5 “Before I formed you in your mother’s womb ⁷⁵  I chose you. ⁷⁶ 

Before you were born I set you apart.

I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.”

Yeremia 8:9

8:9 Your wise men will be put to shame.

They will be dumbfounded and be brought to judgment. ⁷⁷ 

Since they have rejected the word of the Lord,

what wisdom do they really have?

Yeremia 12:10-11

12:10 Many foreign rulers ⁷⁸  will ruin the land where I planted my people. ⁷⁹ 

They will trample all over my chosen land. ⁸⁰ 

They will turn my beautiful land

into a desolate wasteland.

12:11 They will lay it waste.

It will lie parched ⁸¹  and empty before me.

The whole land will be laid waste.

But no one living in it will pay any heed. ⁸² 

Yeremia 22:5

22:5 But, if you do not obey these commands, I solemnly swear ⁸³  that this palace will become a pile of rubble. I, the Lord, affirm it!” ⁸⁴ 

Yeremia 2:7

2:7 I brought you ⁸⁵  into a fertile land

so you could enjoy ⁸⁶  its fruits and its rich bounty.

But when you entered my land, you defiled it; ⁸⁷ 

you made the land I call my own ⁸⁸  loathsome to me.

Yeremia 3:17

3:17 At that time the city of Jerusalem ⁸⁹  will be called the Lord’s throne. All nations will gather there in Jerusalem to honor the Lord’s name. ⁹⁰  They will no longer follow the stubborn inclinations of their own evil hearts. ⁹¹ 

Yeremia 7:13

7:13 You also have done all these things, says the Lord, and I have spoken to you over and over again. ⁹²  But you have not listened! You have refused to respond when I called you to repent! ⁹³ 

Yeremia 12:14

12:14 “I, the Lord, also have something to say concerning ⁹⁴  the wicked nations who surround my land ⁹⁵  and have attacked and plundered ⁹⁶  the land that I gave to my people as a permanent possession. ⁹⁷  I say: ‘I will uproot the people of those nations from their lands and I will free the people of Judah who have been taken there. ⁹⁸ 

Yeremia 15:19

15:19 Because of this, the Lord said, ⁹⁹ 

“You must repent of such words and thoughts!

If you do, I will restore you to the privilege of serving me. ¹⁰⁰ 

If you say what is worthwhile instead of what is worthless,

I will again allow you to be my spokesman. ¹⁰¹ 

They must become as you have been.

You must not become like them. ¹⁰² 

Yeremia 50:34

50:34 But the one who will rescue them ¹⁰³  is strong.

He is known as the Lord who rules over all. ¹⁰⁴ 

He will strongly ¹⁰⁵  champion their cause.

As a result ¹⁰⁶  he will bring peace and rest to the earth,

but trouble and turmoil ¹⁰⁷  to the people who inhabit Babylonia. ¹⁰⁸ 

[23:25]  ¹ tn The words, “The Lord says” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity to show that the Lord continues speaking.

[23:25]  ² sn To have had a dream was not an illegitimate means of receiving divine revelation. God had revealed himself in the past to his servants through dreams (e.g., Jacob [Gen 31:10-11] and Joseph [Gen 37:6, 7, 9]) and God promised to reveal himself through dreams (Num 12:6; Joel 2:28 [3:1 HT]). What was illegitimate was to use the dream to lead people away from the Lord (Deut 13:1-5 [13:2-6 HT]). That was what the prophets were doing through their dreams which were “lies” and “the delusions of their own minds.” Through them they were making people forget who the Lord really was which was just like what their ancestors had done through worshiping Baal.

[29:9]  ³ tn Heb “prophesying lies to you in my name.”

[29:9]  sn For the significance of “in my name” see the study notes on 14:14 and 23:27.

[29:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[23:27]  ⁵ tn The relation of the words to one another in v. 26 and the beginning of v. 27 has created difficulties for translators and commentators. The proper solution is reflected in the NJPS. Verses 26-27 read somewhat literally, “How long is there in the hearts of the prophets who are prophesying the lie and [in the hearts of] the prophets of the delusions of their [own] heart the plotting to cause my people to forget my name…” Most commentaries complain that the text is corrupt, that there is no subject for “is there.” However, the long construct qualification “in the hearts of” has led to the lack of observation that the proper subject is “the plotting to make my people forget.” There are no exact parallels but Jer 14:22; Neh 5:5 follow the same structure. The “How long” precedes the other means of asking a question for the purpose of emphasis (cf. BDB 210 s.v. הֲ 1.b and compare for example the usage in 2 Sam 7:7). There has also been a failure to see that “the prophets of the delusion of…” is a parallel construct noun after “heart of.” Stripping the syntax down to its barest minimum and translating literally, the sentence would read “How long will the plotting…continue in the hearts of the prophets who…and [in hearts of] the prophets of…” The sentence has been restructured in the translation to conform to contemporary English style but attempt has been made to maintain the same subordinations.

[23:27]  ⁶ tn Heb “my name.”

[23:27]  sn In the OT, the “name” reflected the person’s character (cf. Gen 27:36; 1 Sam 25:25) or his reputation (Gen 11:4; 2 Sam 8:13). To speak in someone’s name was to act as his representative or carry his authority (1 Sam 25:9; 1 Kgs 21:8). To call someone’s name over something was to claim it for one’s own (2 Sam 12:28). Hence, here to forget the name is equivalent to forgetting who he was in his essential character (cf. Exod 3:13-15; 6:3; 34:5-7). By preaching lies they had obliterated part of his essential character and caused people to forget who he really was.

[23:27]  ⁷ tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 39).

[23:27]  ⁸ tn Heb “through Baal.” This is an elliptical expression for the worship of Baal. See 11:17; 12:16; 19:5 for other references to their relation to Baal. There is a deliberate paralleling in the syntax here between “through their dreams” and “through Baal.”

[44:26]  ⁹ tn Heb “Therefore.” This particle quite often introduces the announcement of judgment after an indictment or accusation of a crime. That is its function here after the statement of cause in vv. 24-25. However, it would not sound right after the immediately preceding ironical or sarcastic commands to go ahead and fulfill their vows. “But” is a better transition unless one wants to paraphrase “Therefore, since you are so determined to do that….”

[44:26]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Behold I swear by…that my name will no more be pronounced in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt saying, ‘As the Lord Yahweh lives.’” The sentence has been broken up and restructured to better conform with contemporary English style and the significance of pronouncing the name has been interpreted for the sake of readers who might not be familiar with this biblical idiom.

[44:26]  sn They will no longer be able to invoke his name in an oath because they will all be put to death (v. 27; cf. vv. 11-14).

[7:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “over which my name is called.” For this nuance of this idiom cf. BDB 896 s.v. קָרָא Niph.2.d(4) and see the usage in 2 Sam 12:28.

[7:11]  ¹² tn Heb “Is this house…a den/cave of robbers in your eyes?”

[7:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “Behold!”

[32:34]  ¹⁴ 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.

[16:18]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “First.” Many English versions and commentaries delete this word because it is missing from the Greek version and is considered a gloss added by a postexilic editor who is said to be responsible also for vv. 14-16. This is not the place to resolve issues of authorship and date. It is the task of the translator to translate the “original” which in this case is the MT supported by the other versions. The word here refers to order in rank or order of events. Compare Gen 38:28; 1 Kgs 18:25. Here allusion is made to the restoration previously mentioned. First in order of events is the punishment of destruction and exile, then restoration.

[16:18]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “double.” However, usage in Deut 15:18 and probably Isa 40:2 argues for “full compensation.” This is supported also by usage in a tablet from Alalakh in Syria. See P. C. Craigie, P. H. Kelley, J. F. Drinkard, Jeremiah 1-25 (WBC), 218, for bibliography.

[16:18]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “my inheritance.”

[16:18]  sn For earlier references to the term used here see Jer 2:7 where it applies as here to the land, Jer 10:16; 12:8-9 where it applies to the people, and Jer 12:7 where it applies to the temple.

[16:18]  ¹⁸ tn Many of the English versions take “lifeless statues of their detestable idols” with “filled” as a compound object. This follows the Masoretic punctuation but violates usage. The verb “fill” never takes an object preceded by the preposition בְּ (bet).

[14:14]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Falsehood those prophets are prophesying in my name.” In the OT, the “name” reflected the person’s character (cf. Gen 27:36; 1 Sam 25:25) or his reputation (Gen 11:4; 2 Sam 8:13). To speak in someone’s name was to act as his representative or carry his authority (1 Sam 25:9; 1 Kgs 21:8).

[14:14]  ²⁰ tn Heb “I did not command them.” Compare 1 Chr 22:12 for usage.

[14:14]  ²¹ tn Heb “divination and worthlessness.” The noun “worthlessness” stands as a qualifying “of” phrase (= to an adjective; an attributive genitive in Hebrew) after a noun in Zech 11:17; Job 13:4. This is an example of hendiadys where two nouns are joined by “and” with one serving as the qualifier of the other.

[14:14]  sn The word translated “predictions” here is really the word “divination.” Divination was prohibited in Israel (cf. Deut 18:10, 14). The practice of divination involved various mechanical means to try to predict the future. The word was used here for its negative connotations in a statement that is rhetorically structured to emphasize the falseness of the promises of the false prophets. It would be unnatural to contemporary English style to try to capture this emphasis in English. In the Hebrew text the last sentence reads: “False vision, divination, and worthlessness and the deceitfulness of their heart they are prophesying to them.” For the emphasis in the preceding sentence see the note there.

[14:15]  ²² tn Heb “Thus says the Lord about.” The first person construction has been used in the translation for better English style.

[14:15]  ²³ tn Heb “Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who are prophesying in my name and I did not send them [= whom I did not send] and they are saying [= who are saying], ‘Sword and famine…’, by sword and famine those prophets will be killed.” This sentence has been restructured to conform to contemporary English style.

[14:15]  sn The rhetoric of the passage is again sustained by an emphatic word order which contrasts what they say will not happen to the land, “war and famine,” with the punishment that the Lord will inflict on them, i.e., “war and starvation [or famine].”

[7:10]  ²⁴ tn Heb “over which my name is called.” For this nuance of this idiom cf. BDB 896 s.v. קָרָא Niph.2.d(4) and see the usage in 2 Sam 12:28.

[7:10]  ²⁵ tn Or “‘We are safe!’ – safe, you think, to go on doing all those hateful things.” Verses 9-10 are all one long sentence in the Hebrew text. It has been broken up for English stylistic reasons. Somewhat literally it reads “Will you steal…then come and stand…and say, ‘We are safe’ so as to/in order to do…” The Hebrew of v. 9 has a series of infinitives which emphasize the bare action of the verb without the idea of time or agent. The effect is to place a kind of staccato like emphasis on the multitude of their sins all of which are violations of one of the Ten Commandments. The final clause in v. 8 expresses purpose or result (probably result) through another infinitive. This long sentence is introduced by a marker (ה interrogative in Hebrew) introducing a rhetorical question in which God expresses his incredulity that they could do these sins, come into the temple and claim the safety of his protection, and then go right back out and commit the same sins. J. Bright (Jeremiah [AB], 52) catches the force nicely: “What? You think you can steal, murder…and then come and stand…and say, ‘We are safe…’ just so that you can go right on…”

[7:14]  ²⁶ tn Heb “over which my name is called.” For this nuance of this idiom cf. BDB 896 s.v. קָרָא Niph.2.d(4) and see the usage in 2 Sam 12:28.

[7:14]  ²⁷ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 22, 25, 26).

[7:14]  ²⁸ tn Heb “I will do to this house which I…in which you put…and to this place which…as I did to Shiloh.”

[7:30]  ²⁹ tn The words “I have rejected them” are not in the Hebrew text, which merely says “because.” These words are supplied in the translation to show more clearly the connection to the preceding.

[7:30]  ³⁰ tn Heb “have done the evil in my eyes.”

[7:30]  ³¹ sn Compare, e.g., 2 Kgs 21:3, 5, 7; 23:4, 6; Ezek 8:3, 5, 10-12, 16. Manasseh had desecrated the temple by building altars, cult symbols, and idols in it. Josiah had purged the temple of these pagan elements. But it is obvious from both Jeremiah and Ezekiel that they had been replaced shortly after Josiah’s death. They were a primary cause of Judah’s guilt and punishment (see beside this passage, 19:5; 32:34-35).

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

[16:21]  ³³ tn The words “The Lord said” are not in the text. However, it is obvious that he is the speaker. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[16:21]  ³⁴ tn Or “So I will make known to those nations, I will make known to them at this time my power and my might. Then they will know that my name is the Lord.”

[16:21]  tn There is a decided ambiguity in this text about the identity of the pronoun “them.” Is it his wicked people he has been predicting judgment upon or the nations that have come to recognize the folly of idolatry? The nearer antecedent would argue for that. However, usage of “hand” (translated here “power”) in 6:12; 15:6 and later 21:5 and especially the threatening motif of “at this time” (or “now”) in 10:18 suggest that the “So” goes back logically to vv. 16-18, following a grounds of judgment with the threatened consequence as it has in at least 16 out of 18 occurrences thus far. Moreover it makes decidedly more sense that the Jews will know that his name is the Lord as the result of the present (“at this time”) display of his power in judgment than that the idolaters will at some later (cf. Isa 2:2-4 for possible parallel) time. There has been a decided emphasis that the people of Israel do not “know” him (cf. 2:8; 4:22; 9:3, 6). Now they will, but in a way they did not wish to. There is probably an allusion (and an ironic reversal) here to Exod 3:13-15; 34:5-7. They have presumed upon his graciousness and forgotten that his name not only involves being with them to help but being against them to punish sin. Even if the alternate translation is followed the reference is still to God’s mighty power made known in judging the wicked Judeans. The words “power” and “might” are an example of hendiadys in which two nouns joined by “and” in which one modifies the other.

[7:12]  ³⁵ tn Heb “where I caused my name to dwell.” The translation does not adequately represent the theology of the Lord’s deliberate identification with a place where he chose to manifest his presence and desired to be worshiped (cf. Exod 20:25; Deut 16:2, 6, 11).

[7:12]  ³⁶ sn The place in Shiloh…see what I did to it. This refers to the destruction of Shiloh by the Philistines circa 1050 b.c. (cf. Ps 78:60). The destruction of Shiloh is pertinent to the argument. The presence of the tabernacle and ark of the covenant did not prevent Shiloh from being destroyed when Israel sinned. The people of Israel used the ark as a magic charm but it did not prevent them from being defeated or the ark being captured (1 Sam 4:3, 11, 21-22).

[27:15]  ³⁷ tn Heb “oracle of the Lord.”

[27:15]  ³⁸ sn The verbs are again plural referring to the king and his royal advisers.

[27:15]  ³⁹ tn Heb “…drive you out and you will perish, you and the prophets who are prophesying lies.”

[27:15]  sn For the fulfillment of this prophecy see Jer 39:5-7; 52:7-11; 2 Kgs 25:4-7.

[29:21]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.”

[29:21]  sn See study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for the explanation of this title.

[29:21]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “prophesying lies in my name.” For an explanation of this idiom see the study notes on 14:14 and 23:27.

[29:23]  ⁴² tn It is commonly assumed that this word is explained by the two verbal actions that follow. The word (נְבָלָה, nÿvalah) is rather commonly used of sins of unchastity (cf., e.g., Gen 34:7; Judg 19:23; 2 Sam 13:12) which would fit the reference to adultery. However, the word is singular and not likely to cover both actions that follow. The word is also used of the greedy act of Achan (Josh 7:15) which threatened Israel with destruction and the churlish behavior of Nabal (1 Sam 25:25) which threatened him and his household with destruction. The word is also used of foolish talk in Isa 9:17 (9:16 HT) and Isa 32:6. It is possible that this refers to a separate act, one that would have brought the death penalty from Nebuchadnezzar, i.e., the preaching of rebellion in conformity with the message of the false prophets in Jerusalem and other nations (cf. 27:9, 13). Hence it is possible that the translation should read: “This will happen because of their vile conduct. They have propagated rebellion. They have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives. They have spoken words that I did not command them to speak. They have spoken lies while claiming my authority.”

[29:23]  ⁴³ tn Heb “prophesying lies in my name.” For an explanation of this idiom see the study notes on 14:14 and 23:27.

[29:23]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[34:15]  ⁴⁵ tn The presence of the independent pronoun in the Hebrew text is intended to contrast their actions with those of their ancestors.

[34:15]  ⁴⁶ sn This refers to the temple. See Jer 7:10, 11, 14, 30 and see the translator’s note on 7:10 and the study note on 10:25 for the explanation of the idiom involved here.

[4:2]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “If you [= you must, see the translator’s note on the word “do” later in this verse] swear/take an oath, ‘As the Lord lives,’ in truth, justice, and righteousness…”

[4:2]  ⁴⁸ tn 4:1-2a consists of a number of “if” clauses, two of which are formally introduced by the Hebrew particle אִם (’im) while the others are introduced by the conjunction “and,” followed by a conjunction (“and” = “then”) with a perfect in 4:2b which introduces the consequence. The translation “You must…. If you do,” was chosen to avoid a long and complicated sentence.

[4:2]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “bless themselves in him and make their boasts in him.”

[26:3]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “will turn from his wicked way.”

[26:3]  ⁵¹ 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]  ⁵² tn Heb “because of the wickedness of their deeds.”

[49:13]  ⁵³ tn Heb “I swear by myself.” See 22:5 and the study note there.

[49:13]  ⁵⁴ sn Bozrah appears to have been the chief city in Edom, its capital city (see its parallelism with Edom in Isa 34:6; 63:1; Jer 49:22). The reference to “its towns” (translated here “all the towns around it”) could then be a reference to all the towns in Edom. It was located about twenty-five miles southeast of the southern end of the Dead Sea apparently in the district of Teman (see the parallelism in Amos 1:12).

[49:13]  ⁵⁵ tn See the study note on 24:9 for the rendering of this term.

[34:16]  ⁵⁶ sn The verb at the beginning of v. 15 and v. 16 are the same in the Hebrew. They had two changes of heart (Heb “you turned”), one that was pleasing to him (Heb “right in his eyes”) and one that showed they did not honor him (Heb “profaned [or belittled] his name”).

[34:16]  ⁵⁷ sn Heb “you profaned my name.” His name had been invoked in the oath confirming the covenant. Breaking the covenant involved taking his name in vain (cf. Exod 20:7; Deut 5:11; Jer 5:2). Hence the one who bore the name was not treated with the special honor and reverence due him (see the study note on 23:27 for the significance of “name” in the OT).

[34:16]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “and you brought them into subjection to be to you for male and female slaves.” See the translator’s note on v. 11 for the same redundant repetition which is not carried over into the contemporary English sentence.

[12:16]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “the ways of my people.” For this nuance of the word “ways” compare 10:2 and the notes there.

[12:16]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “taught my people to swear by Baal.”

[12:16]  ⁶¹ tn The words “I swear” are not in the text but are implicit to the oath formula. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[12:16]  ⁶² tn The words “If they do this” are not in the text. They are part of an attempt to break up a Hebrew sentence which is long and complex into equivalent shorter sentences consistent with contemporary English style. Verse 16 in Hebrew is all one sentence with a long complex conditional clause followed by a short consequence: “If they carefully learn the ways of my people to swear by name, ‘By the life of the Lord,’ as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they will be built up in the midst of my people.” The translation strives to create the same contingencies and modifications by breaking up the sentence into shorter sentences in accord with contemporary English style.

[12:16]  ⁶³ tn Heb “they will be built up among my people.” The expression “be built up among” is without parallel. However, what is involved here is conceptually parallel to the ideas expressed in Isa 19:23-25 and Zech 14:16-19. That is, these people will be allowed to live on their own land, to worship the Lord there, and to come to Jerusalem to celebrate the feasts. To translate literally would be meaningless or misleading for many readers.

[25:29]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “which is called by my name.” See translator’s note on 7:10 for support.

[25:29]  ⁶⁵ tn This is an example of a question without the formal introductory particle following a conjunctive vav introducing an opposition. (See Joüon 2:609 §161.a.) It is also an example of the use of the infinitive before the finite verb in a rhetorical question involving doubt or denial. (See Joüon 2:422-23 §123.f, and compare usage in Gen 37:8.)

[25:29]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[25:29]  sn See the study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for explanation of this extended title.

[25:29]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “Oracle of Yahweh of armies.”

[18:8]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “turns from its wickedness.”

[18:8]  ⁶⁹ tn There is a good deal of debate about how the word translated here “revoke” should be translated. There is a good deal of reluctance to translate it “change my mind” because some see that as contradicting Num 23:19 and thus prefer “relent.” However, the English word “relent” suggests the softening of an attitude but not necessarily the change of course. It is clear that in many cases (including here) an actual change of course is in view (see, e.g., Amos 7:3, 6; Jonah 3:9; Jer 26:19; Exod 13:17; 32:14). Several of these passages deal with “conditional” prophecies where a change in behavior of the people or the mediation of a prophet involves the change in course of the threatened punishment (or the promised benefit). “Revoke” or “forgo” may be the best way to render this in contemporary English idiom.

[18:8]  sn There is a wordplay here involving the word “evil” (רָעָה, ra’ah) which refers to both the crime and the punishment. This same play is carried further in Jonah 3:10-4:1 where Jonah becomes very displeased (Heb “it was very evil to Jonah with great evil”) when God forgoes bringing disaster (evil) on Nineveh because they have repented of their wickedness (evil).

[23:21]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “Yet they ran.”

[23:21]  sn The image is that of a messenger bearing news from the king. See 2 Sam 18:19-24; Jer 51:31; Isa 40:9; 52:7; Hab 2:2 (the tablet/scroll bore the message the runner was to read to the intended recipients of his message). Their message has been given in v. 17 (see notes there for cross references).

[13:11]  ⁷¹ tn The words “I say” are “Oracle of the Lord” in Hebrew, and are located at the end of this statement in the Hebrew text rather than the beginning. However, they are rendered in the first person and placed at the beginning for smoother English style.

[13:11]  ⁷² tn Heb “all the house of Israel and all the house of Judah.”

[13:11]  ⁷³ tn It would be somewhat unnatural in English to render the play on the word translated here “cling tightly” and “bound tightly” in a literal way. They are from the same root word in Hebrew (דָּבַק, davaq), a word that emphasizes the closest of personal relationships and the loyalty connected with them. It is used, for example, of the relationship of a husband and a wife and the loyalty expected of them (cf. Gen 2:24; for other similar uses see Ruth 1:14; 2 Sam 20:2; Deut 11:22).

[13:11]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “I bound them…in order that they might be to me for a people and for a name and for praise and for honor.” The sentence has been separated from the preceding and an equivalent idea expressed which is more in keeping with contemporary English style.

[1:5]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “the womb.” The words “your mother’s” are implicit and are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:5]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “I knew you.” The parallelism here with “set you apart” and “appointed you” make clear that Jeremiah is speaking of his foreordination to be a prophet. For this same nuance of the Hebrew verb see Gen 18:19; Amos 3:2.

[8:9]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “be trapped.” However, the word “trapped” generally carries with it the connotation of divine judgment. See BDB 540 s.v. לָכַד Niph.2, and compare usage in Jer 6:11 for support. The verbs in the first two lines are again the form of the Hebrew verb that emphasizes that the action is as good as done (Hebrew prophetic perfects).

[12:10]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “Many shepherds.” For the use of the term “shepherd” as a figure for rulers see the notes on 10:21.

[12:10]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “my vineyard.” To translate literally would presuppose an unlikely familiarity of this figure on the part of some readers. To translate as “vineyards” as some do would be misleading because that would miss the figurative nuance altogether.

[12:10]  sn The figure of Israel as God’s vine and the land as God’s vineyard is found several times in the Bible. The best known of these is the extended metaphor in Isa 5:1-7. This figure also appears in Jer 2:20.

[12:10]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “my portion.”

[12:11]  ⁸¹ tn For the use of this verb see the notes on 12:4. Some understand the homonym here meaning “it [the desolated land] will mourn to me.” However, the only other use of the preposition עַל (’al) with this root means “to mourn over” not “to” (cf. Hos 10:5). For the use of the preposition here see BDB 753 s.v. עַל II.1.b and compare the use in Gen 48:7.

[12:11]  ⁸² tn Heb “But there is no man laying it to heart.” For the idiom here see BDB 525 s.v. לֵב II.3.d and compare the usage in Isa 42:25; 47:7.

[12:11]  sn There is a very interesting play on words and sounds in this verse that paints a picture of desolation and the pathos it evokes. Part of this is reflected in the translation. The same Hebrew word referring to a desolation or a waste (שְׁמֵמָה, shÿmemah) is repeated three times at the end of three successive lines and the related verb is found at the beginning of the fourth (נָשַׁמָּה, nashammah). A similar sounding word is found in the second of the three successive lines (שָׁמָהּ, shamah = “he [they] will make it”). This latter word is part of a further play because it is repeated in a different form in the last line (שָׁם, sham = “laying”); they lay it waste but no one lays it to heart. There is also an interesting contrast between the sorrow the Lord feels and the inattention of the people.

[22:5]  ⁸³ sn Heb “I swear by myself.” Oaths were guaranteed by invoking the name of a god or swearing by “his life.” See Jer 12:16; 44:26. Since the Lord is incomparably great, he could swear by no higher (see Heb 6:13-16) than to swear by himself or his own great name.

[22:5]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[2:7]  ⁸⁵ sn Note how contemporary Israel is again identified with her early ancestors. See the study note on 2:2.

[2:7]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “eat.”

[2:7]  ⁸⁷ sn I.e., made it ceremonially unclean. See Lev 18:19-30; Num 35:34; Deut 21:23.

[2:7]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “my inheritance.” Or “the land [i.e., inheritance] I gave you,” reading the pronoun as indicating source rather than possession. The parallelism and the common use in Jeremiah of the term to refer to the land or people as the Lord’s (e.g., 12:7, 8, 9; 16:18; 50:11) make the possessive use more likely here.

[2:7]  sn The land belonged to the Lord; it was given to the Israelites in trust (or usufruct) as their heritage. See Lev 25:23.

[3:17]  ⁸⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:17]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “will gather to the name of the Lord.”

[3:17]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “the stubbornness of their evil hearts.”

[7:13]  ⁹² tn This reflects a Hebrew idiom (e.g., 7:25; 11:7; 25:3, 4), i.e., an infinitive of a verb meaning “to do something early [or eagerly]” followed by an infinitive of another verb of action. Cf. HALOT 1384 s.v. שָׁכַם Hiph.2.

[7:13]  ⁹³ tn Heb “I called to you and you did not answer.” The words “to repent” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[12:14]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “Thus says the Lord concerning….” This structure has been adopted to prevent a long dangling introduction to what the Lord has to say that does not begin until the middle of the verse in Hebrew. The first person address was adopted because the speaker is still the Lord as in vv. 7-13.

[12:14]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “my wicked neighbors.”

[12:14]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb “touched.” For the nuance of this verb here see BDB 619 s.v. נָגַע Qal.3 and compare the usage in 1 Chr 16:22 where it is parallel to “do harm to” and Zech 2:8 where it is parallel to “plundered.”

[12:14]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “the inheritance which I caused my people Israel to inherit.” Compare 3:18.

[12:14]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “I will uproot the house of Judah from their midst.”

[12:14]  sn There appears to be an interesting play on the Hebrew word translated “uproot” in this verse. In the first instance it refers to “uprooting the nations from upon their lands,” i.e., to exiling them. In the second instance it refers to “uprooting the Judeans from the midst of them,” i.e., to rescue them.

[15:19]  ⁹⁹ tn Heb “So the Lord said thus.”

[15:19]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “If you return [ = repent], I will restore [more literally, ‘cause you to return’] that you may stand before me.” For the idiom of “standing before” in the sense of serving see BDB 764 s.v. עָמַד Qal.1.e and compare the usage in 1 Kgs 10:8; 12:8; 17:1; Deut 10:8.

[15:19]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “you shall be as my mouth.”

[15:19]  sn For the classic statement of the prophet as God’s “mouth/mouthpiece,” = “spokesman,” see Exod 4:15-16; 7:1-2.

[15:19]  ¹⁰² tn Heb “They must turn/return to you and you must not turn/return to them.”

[15:19]  sn Once again the root “return” (שׁוּב, shuv) is being played on as in 3:1–4:4. See the threefold call to repentance in 3:12, 14, 22. The verb is used here four times “repent,” “restore,” and “become” twice. He is to serve as a model of repentance, not an imitator of their apostasy. In accusing God of being unreliable he was coming dangerously close to their kind of behavior.

[50:34]  ¹⁰³ sn Heb “their redeemer.” The Hebrew term “redeemer” referred in Israelite family law to the nearest male relative who was responsible for securing the freedom of a relative who had been sold into slavery. For further discussion of this term as well as its metaphorical use to refer to God as the one who frees Israel from bondage in Egypt and from exile in Assyria and Babylonia see the study note on 31:11.

[50:34]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies is his name.” For the rendering of this title see the study note on 2:19.

[50:34]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Or “he will certainly champion.” The infinitive absolute before the finite verb here is probably functioning to intensify the verb rather than to express the certainty of the action (cf. GKC 333 §112.n and compare usage in Gen 43:3 and 1 Sam 20:6 listed there).

[50:34]  ¹⁰⁶ tn This appears to be another case where the particle לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) introduces a result rather than giving the purpose or goal. See the translator’s note on 25:7 for a listing of other examples in the book of Jeremiah and also the translator’s note on 27:10.

[50:34]  ¹⁰⁷ tn Heb “he will bring rest to the earth and will cause unrest to.” The terms “rest” and “unrest” have been doubly translated to give more of the idea underlying these two concepts.

[50:34]  ¹⁰⁸ tn This translation again reflects the problem often encountered in these prophecies where the Lord appears to be speaking but refers to himself in the third person. It would be possible to translate here using the first person as CEV and NIrV do. However, to sustain that over the whole verse results in a considerably greater degree of paraphrase. The verse could be rendered “But I am strong and I will rescue them. I am the Lord who rules over all. I will champion their cause. And I will bring peace and rest to….”