Yeremia 8:7

8:7 Even the stork knows

when it is time to move on. ¹ 

The turtledove, swallow, and crane ² 

recognize ³  the normal times for their migration.

But my people pay no attention

to ⁴  what I, the Lord, require of them. ⁵ 

Yeremia 31:20

31:20 Indeed, the people of Israel are my dear children.

They are the children I take delight in. ⁶ 

For even though I must often rebuke them,

I still remember them with fondness.

So I am deeply moved with pity for them ⁷ 

and will surely have compassion on them.

I, the Lord, affirm it! ⁸ 

Yeremia 36:31

36:31 I will punish him and his descendants and the officials who serve him for the wicked things they have done. ⁹  I will bring on them, the citizens of Jerusalem, ¹⁰  and the people of Judah all the disaster that I threatened to do to them. I will punish them because I threatened them but they still paid no heed.”’” ¹¹ 

Yeremia 50:34

50:34 But the one who will rescue them ¹²  is strong.

He is known as the Lord who rules over all. ¹³ 

He will strongly ¹⁴  champion their cause.

As a result ¹⁵  he will bring peace and rest to the earth,

but trouble and turmoil ¹⁶  to the people who inhabit Babylonia. ¹⁷ 

[8:7]  ¹ tn Heb “its appointed time.” The translation is contextually motivated to avoid lack of clarity.

[8:7]  ² tn There is debate in the commentaries and lexicons about the identification of some of these birds, particularly regarding the identification of the “swallow” which is more likely the “swift” and the “crane” which some identify with the “thrush.” For a discussion see the Bible encyclopedias and the UBS handbook Fauna and Flora of the Bible. The identity of the individual birds makes little difference to the point being made and “swallow” is more easily identifiable to the average reader than the “swift.”

[8:7]  ³ tn Heb “keep.” Ironically birds, which do not think, obey the laws of nature, but Israel does not obey the laws of God.

[8:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “do not know.” But here as elsewhere the word “know” is more than an intellectual matter. It is intended here to summarize both “know” and “follow” (Heb “observe”) in the preceding lines.

[8:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “the ordinance/requirement of the Lord.”

[31:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “Is Ephraim a dear son to me or a child of delight?” For the substitution of Israel for Ephraim and the plural pronouns for the singular see the note on v. 18. According to BDB 210 s.v. הֲ 1.c the question is rhetorical having the force of an impassioned affirmation. See 1 Sam 2:27; Job 41:9 (41:1 HT) for parallel usage.

[31:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “my stomach churns for him.” The parallelism shows that this refers to pity or compassion.

[31:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[36:31]  ⁹ tn Heb “for their iniquity.”

[36:31]  ¹⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[36:31]  ¹¹ tn Heb “all the disaster which I spoke against them and they did not listen [or obey].”

[50:34]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies is his name.” For the rendering of this title see the study note on 2:19.

[50:34]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ 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….”