Yeremia 1:16

1:16 In this way ¹  I will pass sentence ²  on the people of Jerusalem and Judah ³  because of all their wickedness. For they rejected me and offered sacrifices to other gods, worshiping what they made with their own hands.” ⁴ 

Yeremia 9:2

9:2 (9:1) I wish I had a lodging place in the desert

where I could spend some time like a weary traveler. ⁵ 

Then I would desert my people

and walk away from them

because they are all unfaithful to God,

a congregation ⁶  of people that has been disloyal to him. ⁷ 

Yeremia 10:22

10:22 Listen! News is coming even now. ⁸ 

The rumble of a great army is heard approaching ⁹  from a land in the north. ¹⁰ 

It is coming to turn the towns of Judah into rubble,

places where only jackals live.

Yeremia 12:12

12:12 A destructive army ¹¹  will come marching

over the hilltops in the desert.

For the Lord will use them as his destructive weapon ¹² 

against ¹³  everyone from one end of the land to the other.

No one will be safe. ¹⁴ 

Yeremia 15:4

15:4 I will make all the people in all the kingdoms of the world horrified at what has happened to them because of what Hezekiah’s son Manasseh, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.” ¹⁵ 

Yeremia 22:13

Judgment on Jehoiakim

22:13 “‘Sure to be judged ¹⁶  is the king who builds his palace using injustice

and treats people unfairly while adding its upper rooms. ¹⁷ 

He makes his countrymen work for him for nothing.

He does not pay them for their labor.

Yeremia 22:28

22:28 This man, Jeconiah, will be like a broken pot someone threw away.

He will be like a clay vessel ¹⁸  that no one wants. ¹⁹ 

Why will he and his children be forced into exile?

Why will they be thrown out into a country they know nothing about? ²⁰ 

Yeremia 24:3

24:3 The Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I answered, “I see figs. The good ones look very good. But the bad ones look very bad, so bad that they cannot be eaten.”

Yeremia 29:11

29:11 For I know what I have planned for you,’ says the Lord. ²¹  ‘I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you ²²  a future filled with hope. ²³ 

Yeremia 30:17

30:17 Yes, ²⁴  I will restore you to health.

I will heal your wounds.

I, the Lord, affirm it! ²⁵ 

For you have been called an outcast,

Zion, whom no one cares for.”

Yeremia 31:2

Israel Will Be Restored and Join Judah in Worship

31:2 The Lord says,

“The people of Israel who survived

death at the hands of the enemy ²⁶ 

will find favor in the wilderness

as they journey to find rest for themselves.

Yeremia 32:39

32:39 I will give them a single-minded purpose to live in a way that always shows respect for me. They will want to do that for ²⁷  their own good and the good of the children who descend from them.

Yeremia 38:2

38:2 “The Lord says, ‘Those who stay in this city will die in battle or of starvation or disease. ²⁸  Those who leave the city and surrender to the Babylonians ²⁹  will live. They will escape with their lives.’” ³⁰ 

Yeremia 39:18

39:18 I will certainly save you. You will not fall victim to violence. ³¹  You will escape with your life ³²  because you trust in me. I, the Lord, affirm it!”’” ³³ 

Yeremia 48:1

Judgment Against Moab

48:1 The Lord God of Israel who rules over all ³⁴  spoke about Moab. ³⁵ 

“Sure to be judged is Nebo! Indeed, ³⁶  it will be destroyed!

Kiriathaim ³⁷  will suffer disgrace. It will be captured!

Its fortress ³⁸  will suffer disgrace. It will be torn down! ³⁹ 

Yeremia 48:35

48:35 I will put an end in Moab

to those who make offerings at her places of worship. ⁴⁰ 

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

I, the Lord, affirm it! ⁴¹ 

[1:16]  ¹ tn The Hebrew particle (the vav [ו] consecutive), which is often rendered in some English versions as “and” and in others is simply left untranslated, is rendered here epexegetically, reflecting a summary statement.

[1:16]  ² sn The Hebrew idiom (literally “I will speak my judgments against”) is found three other times in Jeremiah (4:12; 39:5; 52:9), where it is followed by the carrying out of the sentence. Here the carrying out of the sentence precedes in v. 15.

[1:16]  ³ tn Heb “on them.” The antecedent goes back to Jerusalem and the cities of Judah (i.e., the people in them) in v. 15.

[1:16]  ⁴ tn I.e., idols.

[9:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “I wish I had in the desert a lodging place [inn, or place to spend the night] for travelers.”

[9:2]  ⁶ tn Or “bunch,” but this loses the irony; the word is used for the solemn assemblies at the religious feasts.

[9:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “they are all adulterers, a congregation of unfaithful people.” However, spiritual adultery is, of course, meant, not literal adultery. So the literal translation would be misleading.

[10:22]  ⁸ tn Heb “The sound of a report, behold, it is coming.”

[10:22]  ⁹ tn Heb “ coming, even a great quaking.”

[10:22]  ¹⁰ sn Compare Jer 6:22.

[12:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “destroyers.”

[12:12]  ¹² tn Heb “It is the Lord’s consuming sword.”

[12:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “For a sword of the Lord will devour.” The sword is often symbolic for destructive forces of all kinds. Here and in Isa 34:6; Jer 47:6 it is symbolic of the enemy armies that the Lord uses to carry out destructive punishment against his enemies, hence the translation “his destructive weapon.” A similar figure is use in Isa 10:5 where the figure is more clearly identified; Assyria is the rod/club that the Lord will use to discipline unfaithful Israel.

[12:12]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “There is no peace to all flesh.”

[15:4]  ¹⁵ tn The length of this sentence runs contrary to the normal policy followed in the translation of breaking up long sentences. However, there does not seem any way to break it up here without losing the connections.

[15:4]  sn For similar statements see 2 Kgs 23:26; 24:3-4 and for a description of what Manasseh did see 2 Kgs 21:1-16. Manasseh was the leader, but they willingly followed (cf. 2 Kgs 21:9).

[22:13]  ¹⁶ sn Heb “Woe.” This particle is used in laments for the dead (cf., e.g., 1 Kgs 13:30; Jer 34:5) and as an introductory particle in indictments against a person on whom judgment is pronounced (cf., e.g., Isa 5:8, 11; Jer 23:1). The indictment is found here in vv. 13-17 and the announcement of judgment in vv. 18-19.

[22:13]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Woe to the one who builds his house by unrighteousness and its upper rooms with injustice using his neighbor [= countryman] as a slave for nothing and not giving to him his wages.”

[22:13]  sn This was a clear violation of covenant law (cf. Deut 24:14-15) and a violation of the requirements set forth in Jer 22:3. The allusion is to Jehoiakim who is not mentioned until v. 18. He was placed on the throne by Pharaoh Necho and ruled from 609-598 b.c. He became a vassal of Nebuchadnezzar but rebelled against him, bringing about the siege of 597 b.c. in which his son and many of the Judean leaders were carried off to Babylon (2 Kgs 23:34–24:16). He was a wicked king according to the author of the book of Kings (2 Kgs 23:37). He had Uriah the prophet killed (Jer 26:23) and showed no regard for Jeremiah’s prophecies, destroying the scroll containing them (Jer 36:23) and ordering Jeremiah’s arrest (Jer 36:23).

[22:28]  ¹⁸ tn The word translated “clay vessel” occurs only here. Its meaning, however, is assured on the basis of the parallelism and on the basis of the verb root which is used for shaping or fashioning in Job 10:8. The KJV renders it as “idol,” but that word, while having the same consonants, never appears in the singular. The word is missing in the Greek version but is translated “vessel” in the Latin version. The word “clay” is supplied in the translation to clarify what sort of vessel is meant; its inclusion is justified based on the context and the use of the same verb root in Job 10:8 to refer to shaping or fashioning, which would imply clay pots or vessels.

[22:28]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Is this man, Coniah, a despised, broken vessel or a vessel that no one wants?” The question is rhetorical expecting a positive answer in agreement with the preceding oracle.

[22:28]  sn For the image of the rejected, broken vessel see Jer 19:1-13 (where, however, the vessel is rejected first and then broken) and compare also the image of the linen shorts which are good for nothing in Jer 13 (see especially vv. 10-11).

[22:28]  ²⁰ sn The question “Why?” is a common rhetorical feature in the book of Jeremiah. See Jer 2:14, 31; 8:5, 19, 22; 12:1; 13:22; 14:19. In several cases like this one no answer is given, leaving a sense of exasperation and hopelessness with the sinfulness of the nation that calls forth such punishment from God.

[29:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[29:11]  ²² tn Heb “I know the plans that I am planning for you, oracle of the Lord, plans of well-being and not for harm to give to you….”

[29:11]  ²³ tn Or “the future you hope for”; Heb “a future and a hope.” This is a good example of hendiadys where two formally coordinated nouns (adjectives, verbs) convey a single idea where one of the terms functions as a qualifier of the other. For this figure see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 658-72. This example is discussed on p. 661.

[30:17]  ²⁴ tn Again the particle כִּי (ki) appears to be intensive rather than causal. Compare the translator’s note on v. 12. It is possible that it has an adversative sense as an implicit contrast with v. 13 which expresses these concepts in the negative (cf. BDB 474 s.v. כִּי 3.e for this use in statements which are contextually closer to one another).

[30:17]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[31:2]  ²⁶ tn Heb “who survived the sword.”

[31:2]  sn This refers to the remnant of northern Israel who had not been killed when Assyria conquered Israel in 722 b.c. or who had not died in exile. References to Samaria in v. 5 and to Ephraim in vv. 6, 9 make clear that northern Israel is in view here.

[32:39]  ²⁷ tn Heb “I will give to them one heart and one way to [= in order that they may] fear me all the days for good to them.” The phrase “one heart” refers both to unanimity of will and accord (cf. 1 Chr 12:38 [12:39 HT]; 2 Chr 30:12) and to singleness of purpose or intent (cf. Ezek 11:19 and see BDB 525 s.v. ֵלב 4 where reference is made to “inclinations, resolutions, and determinations of the will”). The phrase “one way” refers to one way of life or conduct (cf. BDB 203 s.v. דֶּרֶךְ 6.a where reference is made to moral action and character), a way of life that is further qualified by the goal of showing “fear, reverence, respect” for the Lord. The Hebrew sentence has been broken up to avoid a long complex sentence in English which is contrary to contemporary English style. However, an attempt has been made to preserve all the connections of the original.

[32:39]  sn Other passages also speak about the “single-minded purpose” (Heb “one heart”) and “living in a way that shows respect for me.” Deut 30:6-8 speaks of a circumcised heart that will love him, obey him, and keep his commands. Ezek 11:20-21 speaks of the removal of a stony heart and the giving of a single-minded, “fleshy” heart and a new spirit that will follow his decrees and keep his laws. Ezek 36:26-27 speaks of the removal of a stony heart and the giving of a new, “fleshy” heart and a new spirit and an infusion of God’s own spirit so that they will be able to follow his decrees and keep his laws. Jer 24:7 speaks of the giving of a (new) heart so that they might “know” him. And Jer 31:33 speaks of God writing his law on their hearts. All this shows that there is a new motivation and a new enablement for fulfilling the old stipulations, especially that of whole-hearted devotion to him (cf. Deut 6:4-6).

[38:2]  ²⁸ tn Heb “by sword, by starvation, or by disease.”

[38:2]  ²⁹ tn Heb “those who go out to the Chaldeans.” For the rendering “Babylonians” for “Chaldeans” see the study note on 21:4.

[38:2]  ³⁰ 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.

[39:18]  ³¹ sn Heb “you will not fall by the sword.” In the context this would include death in battle and execution as a prisoner of war.

[39:18]  ³² tn Heb “your life will be to you for spoil.” For the meaning of this idiom see the study note on 21:9 and compare the usage in 21:9; 38:2; 45:4.

[39:18]  ³³ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[48:1]  ³⁴ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” For this title see 7:3 and the study note on 2:19.

[48:1]  ³⁵ sn Moab was a country east of the Dead Sea whose boundaries varied greatly over time. Basically, it was the tableland between the Arnon River about halfway up the Dead Sea and the Zered River which is roughly at the southern tip of the Dead Sea. When the Israelites entered Palestine they were forbidden to take any of the Moabite territory but they did capture the kingdom of Sihon north of the Arnon which Sihon had taken from Moab. Several of the towns mentioned in the oracles of judgment against Moab here are in this territory north of the Arnon and were assigned to Reuben and Gad. Several are mentioned on the famous Moabite Stone which details how Mesha king of Moab recovered from Israel many of these cities during the reign of Joram (852-841 b.c.; cf. 2 Kgs 3:4-5). It is usually assumed that Moab submitted to Nebuchadnezzar after the battle of Carchemish and that they remained loyal to him throughout most of this period, though representatives were present at Jerusalem in 594 b.c. when plans for revolt were apparently being discussed (Jer 27:3). Moabite contingents were used by Nebuchadnezzar in 598 b.c. to harass Jehoiakim after he rebelled (2 Kgs 24:2) so they must have remained loyal at that time. According to the Jewish historian Josephus, Nebuchadnezzar conquered Moab in 582 b.c. and destroyed many of its cities.

[48:1]  ³⁶ tn Heb “Woe to Nebo for it is destroyed.” For the use of the Hebrew particle “Woe” (הוֹי, hoy) see the translator’s note on 22:13. The translation has taken this form because the phrase “Woe to” probably does not convey the proper meaning or significance to the modern reader. The verbs again are in the tense (Hebrew prophetic perfect) that views the action as if it were as good as done. The particle כִּי (ki) probably is causal but the asseverative works better in the modified translation.

[48:1]  ³⁷ sn Nebo and Kiriathaim were both north of the Arnon and were assigned to Reuben (Num 32:3, Josh 13:19). They are both mentioned on the Moabite Stone as having been recovered from Israel.

[48:1]  ³⁸ tn Or “Misgab.” The translation here follows the majority of commentaries and English versions. Only REB sees this as a place name, “Misgab,” which is otherwise unknown. The constant use of this word to refer to a fortress, the presence of the article on the front of it, and the lack of any reference to a place of this name anywhere else argues against it being a place name. However, the fact that the verbs that accompany it are feminine while the noun for “fortress” is masculine causes some pause.

[48:1]  ³⁹ tn For the meaning of the verb here see BDB 369 s.v. חָתַת Qal.1 and compare usage in Isa 7:8; 30:31.

[48:35]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “high place[s].” For the meaning and significance of this term see the study note on 7:31.

[48:35]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”