Yeremia 21:9

21:9 Those who stay in this city will die in battle or of starvation or disease. Those who leave the city and surrender to the Babylonians who are besieging it will live. They will escape with their lives. ¹ 

Yeremia 38:2

38:2 “The Lord says, ‘Those who stay in this city will die in battle or of starvation or disease. ²  Those who leave the city and surrender to the Babylonians ³  will live. They will escape with their lives.’” ⁴ 

Yeremia 45:4-5

45:4 The Lord told Jeremiah, ⁵  “Tell Baruch, ⁶  ‘The Lord says, “I am about to tear down what I have built and to uproot what I have planted. I will do this throughout the whole earth. ⁷  45:5 Are you looking for great things for yourself? Do not look for such things. For I, the Lord, affirm ⁸  that I am about to bring disaster on all humanity. ⁹  But I will allow you to escape with your life ¹⁰  wherever you go.”’”

[21:9]  ¹ tn Heb “his life will be to him for spoil.”

[21:9]  sn Spoil was what was carried off by the victor (see, e.g., Judg 5:30). Those who surrendered to the Babylonians would lose their property, their freedom, and their citizenship but would at least escape with their lives. Jeremiah was branded a traitor for this counsel (cf. 38:4) but it was the way of wisdom since the Lord was firmly determined to destroy the city (cf. v. 10).

[38:2]  ² tn Heb “by sword, by starvation, or by disease.”

[38:2]  ³ tn Heb “those who go out to the Chaldeans.” For the rendering “Babylonians” for “Chaldeans” see the study note on 21:4.

[38:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “his life will be to him for spoil and he will live.” For the meaning of this idiom see the study note on 21:9. The words and “he will live” have been left out of the translation because they are redundant after “will live” and “they will escape with their lives.”

[38:2]  sn See Jer 21:9 for this prophecy.

[45:4]  ⁵ tn The words, “The Lord told Jeremiah” are not in the text but are implicit in the address that follows, “Thus you shall say to him.” These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[45:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “Thus you shall say to him [i.e., Baruch].”

[45:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “and this is with regard to the whole earth.” The feminine pronoun הִיא (hi’) at the end refers to the verbal concepts just mentioned, i.e., this process (cf. GKC 459 §144.b and compare the use of the feminine singular suffix in the same function GKC 440-41 §135.p). The particle אֶת (’et) is here functioning to introduce emphatically the object of the action (cf. BDB 85 s.v. I אֵת 3.α). There is some debate whether אֶרֶץ (’erets) here applies to the whole land of Israel or to the whole earth. However, the reference to “all mankind” (Heb “all flesh”) in the next verse as well as “anywhere you go” points to “the whole earth” as the referent.

[45:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “oracle of the Lord.”

[45:5]  ⁹ sn Compare Jer 25:31, 33. The reference here to universal judgment also forms a nice transition to the judgments on the nations that follow in Jer 46-51 which may be another reason for the placement of this chapter here, out of its normal chronological order (see also the study note on v. 1).

[45:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “I will give you your life for a spoil.” For this idiom see the translator’s note on 21:9 and compare the usage in 21:9; 38:2; 39:18.