Yeremia 9:8

9:8 Their tongues are like deadly arrows. ¹ 

They are always telling lies. ² 

Friendly words for their neighbors come from their mouths.

But their minds are thinking up ways to trap them. ³ 

Yeremia 11:12

11:12 Then those living in the towns of Judah and in Jerusalem will ⁴  go and cry out for help to the gods to whom they have been sacrificing. However, those gods will by no means ⁵  be able to save them when disaster strikes them.

Yeremia 32:17

32:17 ‘Oh, Lord God, ⁶  you did indeed ⁷  make heaven and earth by your mighty power and great strength. ⁸  Nothing is too hard for you!

Yeremia 46:6

46:6 But even the swiftest cannot get away.

Even the strongest cannot escape. ⁹ 

There in the north by the Euphrates River

they stumble and fall in defeat. ¹⁰ 

[9:8]  ¹ tc This reading follows the Masoretic consonants (the Kethib, a Qal active participle from שָׁחַט, shakhat). The Masoretes preferred to read “a sharpened arrow” (the Qere, a Qal passive participle from the same root or a homonym, meaning “hammered, beaten”). See HALOT 1354 s.v. II שָׁחַט for discussion. The exact meaning of the word makes little difference to the meaning of the metaphor itself.

[9:8]  ² tn Heb “They speak deceit.”

[9:8]  ³ tn Heb “With his mouth a person speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets an ambush for him.”

[11:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “Then the towns of Judah and those living in Jerusalem will…”

[11:12]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic involving the use of an infinitive of the verb before the verb itself (Heb “saving they will not save”). For this construction to give emphasis to an antithesis, cf. GKC 343 §113.p.

[32:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “Lord Yahweh.” For an explanation of the rendering here see the study note on 1:6.

[32:17]  sn The parallel usage of this introduction in Jer 1:6; 4:10; 14:13 shows that though this prayer has a lengthy introductory section of praise vv. 17-22, this prayer is really one of complaint or lament.

[32:17]  ⁷ tn This is an attempt to render the Hebrew particle normally translated “behold.” See the translator’s note on 1:6 for the usage of this particle.

[32:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “by your great power and your outstretched arm.” See 21:5; 27:5 and the marginal note on 27:5 for this idiom.

[46:6]  ⁹ tn The translation assumes that the adjectives with the article are functioning as superlatives in this context (cf. GKC 431 §133.g). It also assumes that אַל (’al) with the jussive is expressing here an emphatic negative rather than a negative wish (cf. GKC 317 §107.p and compare the usage in Ps 50:3).

[46:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “they stumble and fall.” However, the verbs here are used of a fatal fall, of a violent death in battle (see BDB 657 s.v. נָפַל Qal.2.a), and a literal translation might not be understood by some readers.