Yeremia 1:10

1:10 Know for certain that ¹  I hereby give you the authority to announce to nations and kingdoms that they will be ²  uprooted and torn down, destroyed and demolished, rebuilt and firmly planted.” ³ 

Yeremia 2:3

2:3 Israel was set apart to the Lord; they were like the first fruits of a harvest to him. ⁴  All who tried to devour them were punished; disaster came upon them,” says the Lord.’”

Yeremia 2:25

2:25 Do not chase after other gods until your shoes wear out

and your throats become dry. ⁵ 

But you say, ‘It is useless for you to try and stop me

because I love those foreign gods ⁶  and want to pursue them!’

Yeremia 2:35

2:35 you say, ‘I have not done anything wrong,

so the Lord cannot really be angry with me any more.’

But, watch out! ⁷  I will bring down judgment on you

because you say, ‘I have not committed any sin.’

Yeremia 3:22

3:22 Come back to me, you wayward people.

I want to cure your waywardness. ⁸ 

Say, ⁹  ‘Here we are. We come to you

because you are the Lord our God.

Yeremia 4:2

4:2 You must be truthful, honest and upright

when you take an oath saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’ ¹⁰ 

If you do, ¹¹  the nations will pray to be as blessed by him as you are

and will make him the object of their boasting.” ¹² 

Yeremia 6:29

6:29 The fiery bellows of judgment burn fiercely.

But there is too much dross to be removed. ¹³ 

The process of refining them has proved useless. ¹⁴ 

The wicked have not been purged.

Yeremia 7:6

7:6 Stop oppressing foreigners who live in your land, children who have lost their fathers, and women who have lost their husbands. ¹⁵  Stop killing innocent people ¹⁶  in this land. Stop paying allegiance to ¹⁷  other gods. That will only bring about your ruin. ¹⁸ 

Yeremia 7:26

7:26 But your ancestors ¹⁹  did not listen to me nor pay attention to me. They became obstinate ²⁰  and were more wicked than even their own forefathers.’”

Yeremia 8:16

8:16 The snorting of the enemy’s horses

is already being heard in the city of Dan.

The sound of the neighing of their stallions ²¹ 

causes the whole land to tremble with fear.

They are coming to destroy the land and everything in it!

They are coming to destroy ²²  the cities and everyone who lives in them!”

Yeremia 9:1

9:1 (8:23) ²³  I wish that my head were a well full of water ²⁴ 

and my eyes were a fountain full of tears!

If they were, I could cry day and night

for those of my dear people ²⁵  who have been killed.

Yeremia 9:3

The Lord Laments That He Has No Choice But to Judge Them

9:3 The Lord says, ²⁶ 

“These people are like soldiers who have readied their bows.

Their tongues are always ready to shoot out lies. ²⁷ 

They have become powerful in the land,

but they have not done so by honest means. ²⁸ 

Indeed, they do one evil thing after another ²⁹ 

and do not pay attention to me. ³⁰ 

Yeremia 9:7

9:7 Therefore the Lord who rules over all says, ³¹ 

“I will now purify them in the fires of affliction ³²  and test them.

The wickedness of my dear people ³³  has left me no choice.

What else can I do? ³⁴ 

Yeremia 9:13

9:13 The Lord answered, “This has happened because these people have rejected my laws which I gave them. They have not obeyed me or followed those laws. ³⁵ 

Yeremia 9:16-17

9:16 I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors ³⁶  have known anything about. I will send people chasing after them with swords ³⁷  until I have destroyed them.’” ³⁸ 

9:17 The Lord who rules over all ³⁹  told me to say to this people, ⁴⁰ 

“Take note of what I say. ⁴¹ 

Call for the women who mourn for the dead!

Summon those who are the most skilled at it!” ⁴² 

Yeremia 10:2

10:2 The Lord says,

“Do not start following pagan religious practices. ⁴³ 

Do not be in awe of signs that occur ⁴⁴  in the sky

even though the nations hold them in awe.

Yeremia 12:2

12:2 You plant them like trees and they put down their roots. ⁴⁵ 

They grow prosperous and are very fruitful. ⁴⁶ 

They always talk about you,

but they really care nothing about you. ⁴⁷ 

Yeremia 12:7

12:7 “I will abandon my nation. ⁴⁸ 

I will forsake the people I call my own. ⁴⁹ 

I will turn my beloved people ⁵⁰ 

over to the power ⁵¹  of their enemies.

Yeremia 14:3

14:3 The leading men of the cities send their servants for water.

They go to the cisterns, ⁵²  but they do not find any water there.

They return with their containers ⁵³  empty.

Disappointed and dismayed, they bury their faces in their hands. ⁵⁴ 

Yeremia 15:3

15:3 “I will punish them in four different ways: I will have war kill them. I will have dogs drag off their dead bodies. I will have birds and wild beasts devour and destroy their corpses. ⁵⁵ 

Yeremia 17:3

17:3 and on the mountains and in the fields. ⁵⁶ 

I will give your wealth and all your treasures away as plunder.

I will give it away as the price ⁵⁷  for the sins you have committed throughout your land.

Yeremia 18:13

18:13 Therefore, the Lord says,

“Ask the people of other nations

whether they have heard of anything like this.

Israel should have been like a virgin.

But she has done something utterly revolting!

Yeremia 21:10

21:10 For I, the Lord, say that ⁵⁸  I am determined not to deliver this city but to bring disaster on it. ⁵⁹  It will be handed over to the king of Babylon and he will destroy it with fire.’” ⁶⁰ 

Yeremia 22:10

Judgment on Jehoahaz

22:10 “‘Do not weep for the king who was killed.

Do not grieve for him.

But weep mournfully for the king who has gone into exile.

For he will never return to see his native land again. ⁶¹ 

Yeremia 22:26

22:26 I will force you and your mother who gave you birth into exile. You will be exiled to ⁶²  a country where neither of you were born, and you will both die there.

Yeremia 22:28

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

He will be like a clay vessel ⁶³  that no one wants. ⁶⁴ 

Why will he and his children be forced into exile?

Why will they be thrown out into a country they know nothing about? ⁶⁵ 

Yeremia 25:8

25:8 “Therefore, the Lord who rules over all ⁶⁶  says, ‘You have not listened to what I said. ⁶⁷ 

Yeremia 25:10

25:10 I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness, to the glad celebration of brides and grooms in these lands. ⁶⁸  I will put an end to the sound of people grinding meal. I will put an end to lamps shining in their houses. ⁶⁹ 

Yeremia 25:14

25:14 For many nations and great kings will make slaves of the king of Babylon and his nation ⁷⁰  too. I will repay them for all they have done!’” ⁷¹ 

Yeremia 26:4

26:4 Tell them that the Lord says, ⁷²  ‘You must obey me! You must live according to the way I have instructed you in my laws. ⁷³ 

Yeremia 27:6-7

27:6 I have at this time placed all these nations of yours under the power ⁷⁴  of my servant, ⁷⁵  King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I have even made all the wild animals subject to him. ⁷⁶  27:7 All nations must serve him and his son and grandson ⁷⁷  until the time comes for his own nation to fall. ⁷⁸  Then many nations and great kings will in turn subjugate Babylon. ⁷⁹ 

Yeremia 27:9-10

27:9 So do not listen to your prophets or to those who claim to predict the future by divination, ⁸⁰  by dreams, by consulting the dead, ⁸¹  or by practicing magic. They keep telling you, ‘You do not need to be ⁸²  subject to the king of Babylon.’ 27:10 Do not listen to them, ⁸³  because their prophecies are lies. ⁸⁴  Listening to them will only cause you ⁸⁵  to be taken far away from your native land. I will drive you out of your country and you will die in exile. ⁸⁶ 

Yeremia 29:6

29:6 Marry and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons and allow your daughters get married so that they too can have sons and daughters. Grow in number; do not dwindle away.

Yeremia 29:19

29:19 For they have not paid attention to what I said to them through my servants the prophets whom I sent to them over and over again,’ ⁸⁷  says the Lord. ⁸⁸  ‘And you exiles ⁸⁹  have not paid any attention to them either,’ says the Lord. ⁹⁰ 

Yeremia 31:4

31:4 I will rebuild you, my dear children Israel, ⁹¹ 

so that you will once again be built up.

Once again you will take up the tambourine

and join in the happy throng of dancers. ⁹² 

Yeremia 32:15

32:15 For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all ⁹³  says, “Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.”’ ⁹⁴ 

Yeremia 32:21

32:21 You used your mighty power and your great strength to perform miracles and amazing deeds and to bring great terror on the Egyptians. By this means you brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt. ⁹⁵ 

Yeremia 32:25

32:25 The city is sure to fall into the hands of the Babylonians. ⁹⁶  Yet, in spite of this, ⁹⁷  you, Lord God, ⁹⁸  have said to me, “Buy that field with silver and have the transaction legally witnessed.”’” ⁹⁹ 

Yeremia 32:43

32:43 You and your people ¹⁰⁰  are saying that this land will become desolate, uninhabited by either people or animals. You are saying that it will be handed over to the Babylonians. ¹⁰¹  But fields ¹⁰²  will again be bought in this land. ¹⁰³ 

Yeremia 33:15

33:15 In those days and at that time I will raise up for them a righteous descendant ¹⁰⁴  of David.

“‘He will do what is just and right in the land.

Yeremia 33:22

33:22 I will make the children who follow one another in the line of my servant David very numerous. I will also make the Levites who minister before me very numerous. I will make them all as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sands which are on the seashore.’” ¹⁰⁵ 

Yeremia 36:4

36:4 So Jeremiah summoned Baruch son of Neriah. Then Jeremiah dictated to Baruch everything the Lord had told him to say and Baruch wrote it all down in a scroll. ¹⁰⁶ 

Yeremia 36:24

36:24 Neither he nor any of his attendants showed any alarm when they heard all that had been read. Nor did they tear their clothes to show any grief or sorrow. ¹⁰⁷ 

Yeremia 38:7

An Ethiopian Official Rescues Jeremiah from the Cistern

38:7 An Ethiopian, Ebed Melech, ¹⁰⁸  a court official in the royal palace, heard that Jeremiah had been put ¹⁰⁹  in the cistern. While the king was holding court ¹¹⁰  at the Benjamin Gate,

Yeremia 40:3

40:3 Now he has brought it about. The Lord has done just as he threatened to do. This disaster has happened because you people sinned against the Lord and did not obey him. ¹¹¹ 

Yeremia 41:2

41:2 Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him stood up, pulled out their swords, and killed Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan. Thus Ishmael killed the man that the king of Babylon had appointed to govern the country.

Yeremia 41:6

41:6 Ishmael son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them. He was pretending to cry ¹¹²  as he walked along. When he met them, he said to them, “Come with me to meet Gedaliah son of Ahikam.” ¹¹³ 

Yeremia 42:16

42:16 the wars you fear will catch up with you there in the land of Egypt. The starvation you are worried about will follow you there to ¹¹⁴  Egypt. You will die there. ¹¹⁵ 

Yeremia 44:3

44:3 This happened because of the wickedness the people living there did. ¹¹⁶  They made me angry ¹¹⁷  by worshiping and offering sacrifice to ¹¹⁸  other gods whom neither they nor you nor your ancestors ¹¹⁹  previously knew. ¹²⁰ 

Yeremia 44:24

44:24 Then Jeremiah spoke to all the people, particularly to all the women. ¹²¹  “Listen to what the Lord has to say all you people of Judah who are in Egypt.

Yeremia 47:3

47:3 Fathers will hear the hoofbeats of the enemies’ horses,

the clatter of their chariots and the rumbling of their wheels.

They will not turn back to save their children

because they will be paralyzed with fear. ¹²² 

Yeremia 48:7

48:7 “Moab, you trust in the things you do and in your riches.

So you too will be conquered.

Your god Chemosh ¹²³  will go into exile ¹²⁴ 

along with his priests and his officials.

Yeremia 49:18

49:18 Edom will be destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah

and the towns that were around them.

No one will live there.

No human being will settle in it,”

says the Lord.

Yeremia 49:22

49:22 Look! Like an eagle with outspread wings,

a nation will soar up and swoop down on Bozrah.

At that time the soldiers of Edom will be as fearful

as a woman in labor.” ¹²⁵ 

Yeremia 50:6

50:6 “My people have been lost sheep.

Their shepherds ¹²⁶  have allow them to go astray.

They have wandered around in the mountains.

They have roamed from one mountain and hill to another. ¹²⁷ 

They have forgotten their resting place.

Yeremia 50:26

50:26 Come from far away and attack Babylonia! ¹²⁸ 

Open up the places where she stores her grain!

Pile her up in ruins! ¹²⁹  Destroy her completely! ¹³⁰ 

Do not leave anyone alive! ¹³¹ 

Yeremia 50:31

50:31 “Listen! I am opposed to you, you proud city,” ¹³² 

says the Lord God who rules over all. ¹³³ 

“Indeed, ¹³⁴  your day of reckoning ¹³⁵  has come,

the time when I will punish you. ¹³⁶ 

Yeremia 51:33

51:33 For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says,

‘Fair Babylon ¹³⁷  will be like a threshing floor

which has been trampled flat for harvest.

The time for her to be cut down and harvested

will come very soon.’ ¹³⁸ 

Yeremia 51:47

51:47 “So the time will certainly come ¹³⁹ 

when I will punish the idols of Babylon.

Her whole land will be put to shame.

All her mortally wounded will collapse in her midst. ¹⁴⁰ 

Yeremia 51:50

51:50 You who have escaped the sword, ¹⁴¹ 

go, do not delay. ¹⁴² 

Remember the Lord in a faraway land.

Think about Jerusalem. ¹⁴³ 

Yeremia 51:61

51:61 Then Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “When you arrive in Babylon, make sure ¹⁴⁴  you read aloud all these prophecies. ¹⁴⁵ 

Yeremia 52:6

52:6 By the ninth day of the fourth month ¹⁴⁶  the famine in the city was so severe the residents ¹⁴⁷  had no food.

[1:10]  ¹ tn Heb “See!” The Hebrew imperative of the verb used here (רָאָה, ra’ah) functions the same as the particle in v. 9. See the translator’s note there.

[1:10]  ² tn Heb “I appoint you today over nations and kingdoms to uproot….” The phrase refers to the Lord giving Jeremiah authority as a prophet to declare what he, the Lord, will do; it does not mean that Jeremiah himself will do these things. The expression involves a figure of speech where the subject of a declaration is stated instead of the declaration about it. Compare a similar use of the same figure in Gen 41:13.

[1:10]  ³ sn These three pairs represent the twofold nature of Jeremiah’s prophecies, prophecies of judgment and restoration. For the further programmatic use of these pairs for Jeremiah’s ministry see 18:7-10 and 31:27-28.

[2:3]  ⁴ sn Heb “the first fruits of his harvest.” Many commentators see the figure here as having theological significance for the calling of the Gentiles. It is likely, however, that in this context the metaphor – here rendered as a simile – is intended to bring out the special relationship and inviolability that Israel had with God. As the first fruits were the special possession of the Lord, to be eaten only by the priests and off limits to the common people, so Israel was God’s special possession and was not to be “eaten” by the nations.

[2:25]  ⁵ tn Heb “Refrain your feet from being bare and your throat from being dry/thirsty.”

[2:25]  ⁶ tn Heb “It is useless! No!” For this idiom, see Jer 18:12; NEB “No; I am desperate.”

[2:35]  ⁷ tn This is an attempt to render the Hebrew particle often translated “behold” (הִנֵּה, hinneh) in a meaningful way in this context. See further the translator’s note on the word “really” in 1:6.

[3:22]  ⁸ tn Or “I will forgive your apostasies.” Heb “I will [or want to] heal your apostasies.” For the use of the verb “heal” (רָפָא, rafa’) to refer to spiritual healing and forgiveness see Hos 14:4.

[3:22]  ⁹ tn Or “They say.” There is an obvious ellipsis of a verb of saying here since the preceding words are those of the Lord and the following are those of the people. However, there is debate about whether these are the response of the people to the Lord’s invitation, a response which is said to be inadequate according to the continuation in 4:1-4, or whether these are the Lord’s model for Israel’s confession of repentance to which he adds further instructions about the proper heart attitude that should accompany it in 4:1-4. The former implies a dialogue with an unmarked twofold shift in speaker between 3:22b-25 and 4:1-4:4 while the latter assumes the same main speaker throughout with an unmarked instruction only in 3:22b-25. This disrupts the flow of the passage less and appears more likely.

[4:2]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Heb “bless themselves in him and make their boasts in him.”

[6:29]  ¹³ tn Heb “The bellows blow fiercely; the lead is consumed by the fire.” The translation tries to clarify a metaphor involving ancient metallurgy. In the ancient refining process lead was added as a flux to remove impurities from silver ore in the process of oxidizing the lead. Jeremiah says that the lead has been used up and the impurities have not been removed. The translation is based on the recognition of an otherwise unused verb root meaning “blow” (נָחַר [nakhar]; cf. BDB 1123 s.v. I חָרַר and HALOT 651 s.v. נָחַר) and the Masoretes’ suggestion that the consonants מאשׁתם be read מֵאֵשׁ תַּם (me’esh tam) rather than as מֵאֶשָּׁתָם (me’eshatam, “from their fire”) from an otherwise unattested noun אֶשָּׁה (’eshah).

[6:29]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “The refiner refines them in vain.”

[7:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Stop oppressing foreigner, orphan, and widow.”

[7:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Stop shedding innocent blood.”

[7:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “going/following after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for an explanation of the idiom involved here.

[7:6]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “going after other gods to your ruin.”

[7:26]  ¹⁹ tn Or “But your predecessors…”; Heb “But they….” There is a confusing interchange in the pronouns in vv. 25-26 which has led to some leveling in the ancient versions and the modern English versions. What is involved here are four levels of referents, the “you” of the present generation (vv. 21-22a), the ancestors who were delivered from Egypt (i.e., the “they” of vv. 22b-24), the “you” of v. 25 which involves all the Israelites from the Exodus to the time of speaking, and the “they” of v. 26 which cannot be the ancestors of vv. 22-24 (since they cannot be more wicked than themselves) but must be an indefinite entity which is a part of the “you” of v. 25, i.e., the more immediate ancestors of the present generation. If this is kept in mind, there is no need to level the pronouns to “they” and “them” or to “you” and “your” as some of the ancient versions and modern English versions have done.

[7:26]  ²⁰ tn Heb “hardened [or made stiff] their neck.”

[8:16]  ²¹ tn Heb “his stallions.”

[8:16]  ²² tn The words “They are coming to destroy” are not in the text. They are inserted to break up a long sentence in conformity with contemporary English style.

[9:1]  ²³ sn Beginning with 9:1, the verse numbers through 9:26 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 9:1 ET = 8:23 HT, 9:2 ET = 9:1 HT, 9:3 ET = 9:2 HT, etc., through 9:26 ET = 9:25 HT. Beginning with 10:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.

[9:1]  ²⁴ tn Heb “I wish that my head were water.”

[9:1]  ²⁵ tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.

[9:3]  ²⁶ tn The words “The Lord says” have been moved up from the end of the verse to make clear that a change in speaker has occurred.

[9:3]  ²⁷ tn Heb “They have readied [or strung] their tongue as their bow for lies.”

[9:3]  ²⁸ tn Heb “but not through honesty.”

[9:3]  ²⁹ tn Heb “they go from evil to evil.”

[9:3]  ³⁰ tn Or “do not acknowledge me”; Heb “do not know me.” But “knowing” in Hebrew thought often involves more than intellectual knowledge; it involves emotional and volitional commitment as well. For יָדַע meaning “acknowledge” see 1 Chr 28:9; Isa 29:21; Hos 2:20; Prov 3:6. This word is also found in ancient Near Eastern treaty contexts where it has the idea of a vassal king acknowledging the sovereignty of a greater king (cf. H. Huffmon, “The Treaty Background of Hebrew yada,” BASOR 181 [1966]: 31-37).

[9:7]  ³¹ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[9:7]  sn For the significance of this title see the notes at 2:19 and 7:3.

[9:7]  ³² tn Heb “I will refine/purify them.” The words “in the fires of affliction” are supplied in the translation to give clarity to the metaphor.

[9:7]  ³³ tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.

[9:7]  ³⁴ tc Heb “For how else shall I deal because of the wickedness of the daughter of my people.” The MT does not have the word “wickedness.” The word, however, is read in the Greek version. This is probably a case of a word dropping out because of its similarities to the consonants preceding or following it (i.e., haplography). The word “wickedness” (רַעַת, ra’at) has dropped out before the words “my dear people” (בַּת־עַמִּי, bat-’ammi). The causal nuance which is normal for מִפְּנֵי (mippÿne) does not make sense without some word like this, and the combination of רַעַת מִפְּנֵי (mippÿne ra’at) does occur in Jer 7:12 and one very like it occurs in Jer 26:3.

[9:13]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and they have not walked in it (with “it” referring to “my law”).

[9:16]  ³⁶ tn Heb “fathers.”

[9:16]  ³⁷ tn Heb “I will send the sword after them.” The sword here is probably not completely literal but refers to death by violent means, including death by the sword.

[9:16]  ³⁸ sn He will destroy them but not completely. See Jer 5:18; 30:11; 46:28.

[9:17]  ³⁹ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[9:17]  sn For the significance of this title see the notes at 2:19 and 7:3.

[9:17]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “Thus says Yahweh of armies.” However, without some addition it is not clear to whom the command is addressed. The words are supplied in the translation for clarity and to help resolve a rather confusing issue of who is speaking throughout vv. 16-21. As has been evident throughout the translation, the speaker is not always indicated. Sometimes it is not even clear who the speaker is. In general the translation and the notes have reflected the general consensus in identifying who it is. Here, however, there is a good deal of confusion about who is speaking in vv. 18, 20-21. The Greek translation has the Lord speaking throughout with second plural pronouns in vv. 18, 21 and the absence of the first line in v. 22. It would be hard to explain how the MT arose if it were the original text. Critical commentators such as J. Bright, W. Holladay, and W. McKane resolve the issue by dropping out the introductory formula in v. 17 and the first line of v. 22 and assigning the whole lament to Jeremiah. It seems obvious from the first plural pronouns and the content of v. 18 (and probably v. 21 as well) and the fact that the Lord is referred to in other than the first person in v. 20 that he is not the speaker of those verses. I have attempted to resolve the issue by having Jeremiah report the Lord’s command in v. 17 and have the rest of the speech be essentially that of Jeremiah. It should be admitted, however, that the issue is far from resolved. Most English versions simply ignore the problem. The GNB (= TEV) is a rare exception.

[9:17]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “Consider!”

[9:17]  ⁴² tn Heb “Call for the mourning women that they may come and send for the wise/skilled women that they may come.” The verbs here are masculine plural, addressed to the people.

[10:2]  ⁴³ tn Heb “Do not learn the way of the nations.” For this use of the word “ways” (דֶּרֶךְ, derekh) compare for example Jer 12:16 and Isa 2:6.

[10:2]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “signs.” The words “that occur” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[10:2]  sn The Hebrew word translated here “things that go on in the sky” (אֹתוֹת, ’otot) refers both to unusual disturbances such as eclipses, comets, meteors, etc., but also to such things as the changes in the position of the sun, moon, and stars in conjunction with the changes in seasons (cf. Gen 1:14). The people of Assyria and Babylonia worshiped the sun, moon, and stars, thinking that these heavenly bodies had some hold over them.

[12:2]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “You planted them and they took root.”

[12:2]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “they grow and produce fruit.” For the nuance “grow” for the verb which normally means “go, walk,” see BDB 232 s.v. חָלַךְ Qal.I.3 and compare Hos 14:7.

[12:2]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “You are near in their mouths, but far from their kidneys.” The figure of substitution is being used here, “mouth” for “words” and “kidneys” for passions and affections. A contemporary equivalent might be, “your name is always on their lips, but their hearts are far from you.”

[12:7]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “my house.” Or “I have abandoned my nation.” The word “house” has been used throughout Jeremiah for both the temple (e.g., 7:2, 10), the nation or people of Israel or of Judah (e.g. 3:18, 20), or the descendants of Jacob (i.e., the Israelites, e.g., 2:4). Here the parallelism argues that it refers to the nation of Judah. The translation throughout vv. 5-17 assumes that the verb forms are prophetic perfects, the form that conceives of the action as being as good as done. It is possible that the forms are true perfects and refer to a past destruction of Judah. If so, it may have been connected with the assaults against Judah in 598/7 b.c. by the Babylonians and the nations surrounding Judah recorded in 2 Kgs 24:14. No other major recent English version reflects these as prophetic perfects besides NIV and NCV, which does not use the future until v. 10. Hence the translation is somewhat tentative. C. Feinberg, “Jeremiah,” EBC 6:459 takes them as prophetic perfects and H. Freedman (Jeremiah [SoBB], 88) mentions that as a possibility for explaining the presence of this passage here. For another example of an extended use of the prophetic perfect without imperfects interspersed see Isa 8:23-9:6. The translation assumes they are prophetic and are part of the Lord’s answer to the complaint about the prosperity of the wicked; both the wicked Judeans and the wicked nations God will use to punish them will be punished.

[12:7]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “my inheritance.”

[12:7]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “the beloved of my soul.” Here “soul” stands for the person and is equivalent to “my.”

[12:7]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “will give…into the hands of.”

[14:3]  ⁵² tn Though the concept of “cisterns” is probably not familiar to some readers, it would be a mistake to translate this word as “well.” Wells have continual sources of water. Cisterns were pits dug in the ground and lined with plaster to hold rain water. The drought had exhausted all the water in the cisterns.

[14:3]  ⁵³ tn The word “containers” is a generic word in Hebrew = “vessels.” It would probably in this case involve water “jars” or “jugs.” But since in contemporary English one would normally associate those terms with smaller vessels, “containers” may be safer.

[14:3]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “they cover their heads.” Some of the English versions have gone wrong here because of the “normal” use of the words translated here “disappointed” and “dismayed.” They are regularly translated “ashamed” and “disgraced, humiliated, dismayed” elsewhere (see e.g., Jer 22:22); they are somewhat synonymous terms which are often parallel or combined. The key here, however, is the expression “they cover their heads” which is used in 2 Sam 15:30 for the expression of grief. Moreover, the word translated here “disappointed” (בּוֹשׁ, bosh) is used that way several times. See for example Jer 12:13 and consult examples in BDB 101 s.v. בּוֹשׁ Qal.2. A very similar context with the same figure is found in Jer 2:36-37.

[15:3]  ⁵⁵ tn The translation attempts to render in understandable English some rather unusual uses of terms here. The verb translated “punish” is often used that way (cf. BDB 823 s.v. פָּקַד Qal.A.3 and compare usage in Jer 11:22, 13:21). However, here it is accompanied by a direct object and a preposition meaning “over” which is usually used in the sense of appointing someone over someone (cf. BDB 823 s.v. פָּקַד Qal.B.1 and compare usage in Jer 51:27). Moreover the word translated “different ways” normally refers to “families,” “clans,” or “guilds” (cf. BDB 1046-47 s.v. מִשְׁפָּחָה for usage). Hence the four things mentioned are referred to figuratively as officers or agents into whose power the Lord consigns them. The Hebrew text reads: “I will appoint over them four guilds, the sword to kill, the dogs to drag away, the birds of the skies and the beasts of the earth to devour and to destroy.”

[17:3]  ⁵⁶ tc This reading follows some of the ancient versions. The MT reads, “hills. My mountain in the open field [alluding to Jerusalem] and your wealth…I will give.” The vocalization of the noun plus pronoun and the unusual form of the expression to allude to Jerusalem calls into question the originality of the MT. The MT reads הֲרָרִי (harari) which combines the suffix for a singular noun with a pointing of the noun in the plural, a form which would be without parallel (compare the forms in Ps 30:8 for the singular noun with suffix and Deut 8:9 for the plural noun with suffix). Likewise, Jerusalem was not “in the open field.” For a similar expression compare Jer 13:27.

[17:3]  ⁵⁷ tc Or “I will give away your wealth, all your treasures, and your places of worship…” The translation follows the emendation suggested in the footnote in BHS, reading בִּמְחִיר (bimkhir) in place of בָּמֹתֶיךָ (bamotekha). The forms are graphically very close and one could explain the origin of either from the other. The parallel in 15:13-14 reads לֹא בִּמְחִיר (lo’ bimkhir). The text here may be a deliberate play on that one. The emended text makes decidedly better sense contextually than the MT unless some sardonic reference to their idolatry is intended.

[21:10]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “oracle of the Lord.”

[21:10]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “I have set my face against this city for evil [i.e., disaster] and not for good [i.e., well-being].” For the use of the idiom “set one’s face against/toward” see, e.g., usage in 1 Kgs 2:15; 2 Kgs 2:17; Jer 42:15, 17 and note the interesting interplay of usage in Jer 44:11-12.

[21:10]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “he will burn it with fire.”

[22:10]  ⁶¹ tn The word “king” is not in the original text of either the first or the third line. It is implicit in the connection and is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[22:10]  sn As the next verse makes clear, the king who will never return to see his native land is Shallum, also known as Jehoahaz (cf. 1 Chr 3:15; 2 Kgs 23:30, 33-34). He was made king by popular acclaim after the death of his father, Josiah, who was killed at Megiddo trying to stop Pharaoh Necho from going to the aid of the Assyrians. According to 2 Kgs 23:32 he was a wicked king. He was deposed by Necho and carried into exile where he died. The dead king alluded to is his father, Josiah, who was a godly king and was accordingly spared from seeing the destruction of his land (2 Kgs 22:20).

[22:26]  ⁶² tn Heb “I will hurl you and your mother…into another land where…” The verb used here is very forceful. It is the verb used for Saul throwing a spear at David (1 Sam 18:11) and for the Lord unleashing a violent storm on the sea (Jonah 1:4). It is used both here and in v. 28 for the forceful exile of Jeconiah and his mother.

[22:28]  ⁶³ 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]  ⁶⁴ 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]  ⁶⁵ 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.

[25:8]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[25:8]  sn See the study note on 2:19 for an explanation of this title.

[25:8]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “You have not listened to my words.”

[25:10]  ⁶⁸ sn Compare Jer 7:24 and 16:9 for this same dire prediction limited to Judah and Jerusalem.

[25:10]  ⁶⁹ sn The sound of people grinding meal and the presence of lamps shining in their houses were signs of everyday life. The Lord is going to make these lands desolate (v. 11) destroying all signs of life. (The statement is, of course, hyperbolic or poetic exaggeration; even after the destruction of Jerusalem many people were left in the land.) For these same descriptions of everyday life applying to the end of life see the allegory in Eccl 12:3-6.

[25:14]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “make slaves of them.” The verb form here indicates that the action is as good as done (the Hebrew prophetic perfect). For the use of the verb rendered “makes slaves” see parallel usage in Lev 25:39, 46 (cf. BDB 713 s.v. עָבַד 3).

[25:14]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “according to their deeds and according to the work of their hands.” The two phrases are synonymous; it would be hard to represent them both in translation without being redundant. The translation attempts to represent them by the qualifier “all” before the first phrase.

[26:4]  ⁷² tn Heb “thus says the Lord, ‘…’.” The use of the indirect quotation in the translation eliminates one level of embedded quotation to avoid confusion.

[26:4]  ⁷³ tn Heb “by walking in my law which I set before you.”

[26:4]  sn Examples of those laws are found in Jer 7:5-6, 9. The law was summarized or epitomized in the ten commandments which are called the “words of the covenant” in Exod 34:28, but it contained much more. However, when Israel is taken to task by God, it often relates to their failure to live up to the standards of the ten commandments (Heb “the ten words”; see Hos 4:1-3; Jer 7:9).

[27:6]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “have given…into the hand of.”

[27:6]  ⁷⁵ sn See the study note on 25:9 for the significance of the application of this term to Nebuchadnezzar.

[27:6]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “I have given…to him to serve him.” The verb “give” in this syntactical situation is functioning like the Hiphil stem, i.e., as a causative. See Dan 1:9 for parallel usage. For the usage of “serve” meaning “be subject to” compare 2 Sam 22:44 and BDB 713 s.v. עָבַד 3.

[27:6]  sn This statement is rhetorical, emphasizing the totality of Nebuchadnezzar’s dominion. Neither here nor in Dan 2:38 is it to be understood literally.

[27:7]  ⁷⁷ sn This is a figure that emphasizes that they will serve for a long time but not for an unlimited duration. The kingdom of Babylon lasted a relatively short time by ancient standards. It lasted from 605 b.c. when Nebuchadnezzar defeated Necho at Carchemish until the fall of Babylon in 538 b.c. There were only four rulers. Nebuchadnezzar was succeeded by his son, Evil Merodach (cf. 52:31), and two other rulers who were not descended from him.

[27:7]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “until the time of his land, even his, comes.” The independent pronoun is placed here for emphasis on the possessive pronoun. The word “time” is used by substitution for the things that are done in it (compare in the NT John 2:4; 7:30; 8:20 “his hour had not yet come”).

[27:7]  sn See Jer 25:12-14, 16.

[27:7]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “him.” This is a good example of the figure of substitution where the person is put for his descendants or the nation or subject he rules. (See Gen 28:13-14 for another good example and Acts 22:7 in the NT.)

[27:9]  ⁸⁰ sn Various means of divination are alluded to in the OT. For example, Ezek 21:26-27 alludes to throwing down arrows to see which way they fall and consulting the shape of the liver of slaughtered animals. Gen 44:5 alludes to reading the future through pouring liquid in a cup. The means alluded to in this verse were all classified as pagan and prohibited as illegitimate in Deut 18:10-14. The Lord had promised that he would speak to them through prophets like Moses (Deut 18:15, 18). But even prophets could lie. Hence, the Lord told them that the test of a true prophet was whether what he said came true or not (Deut 18:20-22). An example of false prophesying and the vindication of the true as opposed to the false will be given in the chapter that follows this.

[27:9]  ⁸¹ sn An example of this is seen in 1 Sam 28.

[27:9]  ⁸² tn The verb in this context is best taken as a negative obligatory imperfect. See IBHS 508-9 §31.4g for discussion and examples. See Exod 4:15 as an example of positive obligation.

[27:10]  ⁸³ tn The words “Don’t listen to them” have been repeated from v. 9a to pick up the causal connection between v. 9a and v. 10 that is formally introduced by a causal particle in v. 10 in the original text.

[27:10]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “they are prophesying a lie.”

[27:10]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “lies will result in your being taken far…” (לְמַעַן [lÿma’an] + infinitive). This is a rather clear case of the particle לְמַעַן introducing result (contra BDB 775 s.v. מַעַן note 1. There is no irony in this statement; it is a bold prediction).

[27:10]  ⁸⁶ tn The words “out of your country” are not in the text but are implicit in the meaning of the verb. The words “in exile” are also not in the text but are implicit in the context. These words have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[29:19]  ⁸⁷ tn See the translator’s note on 7:13 for an explanation of this idiom.

[29:19]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[29:19]  ⁸⁹ tn The word “exiles” is not in the text. It is supplied in the translation to clarify the referent of “you.”

[29:19]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[31:4]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “Virgin Israel.”

[31:4]  sn For the significance of this metaphor see the note on Jer 14:17. Here the emphasis appears on his special love and care for his people and the hint (further developed in vv. 21-22) that, though guilty of sin, he considers them like an innocent young virgin.

[31:4]  ⁹² sn Contrast Jer 7:34 and 25:10.

[32:15]  ⁹³ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” For this title see 7:3 and the study notes on 2:19.

[32:15]  ⁹⁴ sn The significance of the symbolic act performed by Jeremiah as explained here was a further promise (see the “again” statements in 31:4, 5, 23 and the “no longer” statements in 31:12, 29, 34, 40) of future restoration beyond the destruction implied in vv. 3-5. After the interruption of exile, normal life of buying and selling of fields, etc. would again be resumed and former property rights would be recognized.

[32:21]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “You brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders and with a mighty hand and with outstretched arm and with great terror.” For the figurative expressions involved here see the marginal notes on 27:5. The sentence has been broken down to better conform to contemporary English style.

[32:25]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb “The Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for further explanation.

[32:25]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “And you, Lord Yahweh, have said to me, ‘Buy the field for…’ even though the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians.” The sentence has been broken up and the order reversed for English stylistic purposes. For the rendering “is sure to fall into the hands of” see the translator’s note on the preceding verse.

[32:25]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “Lord God.” For the rendering of this title see the study note on 1:6.

[32:25]  ⁹⁹ tn Heb “call in witnesses to witness.”

[32:43]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “you.” However, the pronoun is plural and is addressed to more than just Jeremiah (v. 26). It includes Jeremiah and those who have accepted his prophecy of doom.

[32:43]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “The Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for further explanation.

[32:43]  ¹⁰² tn The noun is singular with the article, but it is a case of the generic singular (cf. GKC 406 §126.m).

[32:43]  ¹⁰³ tn Heb “Fields will be bought in this land of which you [masc. pl.] are saying, ‘It will be desolate [a perfect of certainty or prophetic perfect] without man or beast; it will be given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’” The original sentence has been broken down to better conform to contemporary English style.

[33:15]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Heb “sprig” or “shoot.”

[33:15]  sn For the meaning of this term and its significance in biblical prophecy see the study note on 23:5.

[33:22]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Heb “Just as the stars in the sky cannot be numbered or the sand on the seashore cannot be measured, so I will greatly increase [or multiply] the seed of my servant David and the Levites who minister before me.” The word “seed of” does not carry over to the “the Levites” as a noun governing two genitives because “the Levites” has the accusative marker in front of it. The sentence has been broken down in conformity with contemporary English style.

[33:22]  sn Context makes it clear that what is in view is an innumerable line of descendants from the righteous ruler that the Lord raises up over Israel and Judah after their regathering and restoration to the land. What is in view, then, is a reinstitution or reinstatement of the Davidic covenant of grant, the perpetual right of the Davidic dynasty to rule over the nation of Israel for all time (see also v. 26). This is guaranteed by the creation order which is the object of both God’s creative decree (Gen 1:14-19) and his covenant with Noah after the flood (Gen 8:22). (For further discussion on the nature of a covenant of grant see the study note on 32:40.) The rejection of the lines of Jehoiakim (36:30) and Jeconiah (22:30) and the certain captivity and death of Zedekiah (32:4) may have called into question the continuance of the Davidic promise which always had a certain conditional nature to it (cf. 1 Kgs 2:4; 8:25; 9:5). This promise and this guarantee show that the covenant of grant still stands and will ultimately find its fulfillment. Because this promise never found its fulfillment after the return from exile, it is left to the NT to show how it is fulfilled (cf., e.g., Matt 1:1-17 where it is emphasized that Jesus is the son (and heir) of both Abraham and David).

[36:4]  ¹⁰⁶ tn Heb “Then Baruch wrote down on a scroll from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord which he [the Lord] had spoken to him [Jeremiah].” The syntax of the Hebrew sentence is awkward and hard to reproduce “literally” in any meaningful way. The English sentence has been restructured to reproduce all the pertinent facts in more simplified language.

[36:24]  ¹⁰⁷ tn Heb “Neither the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words were afraid or tore their clothes.” The sentence has been broken up into two shorter sentences to better conform to English style and some of the terms explained (e.g., tore their clothes) for the sake of clarity.

[36:24]  sn There are some interesting wordplays and contrasts involved here. The action of the king and his attendants should be contrasted with that of the officials who heard the same things read (v. 16). The king and his officials did not tear their garments in grief and sorrow; instead the king cut up the scroll (the words “tear” and “cut off” are the same in Hebrew [קָרַע, qara’]). Likewise, the actions of Jehoiakim and his attendants is to be contrasted with that of his father Josiah who some twenty or more years earlier tore his clothes in grief and sorrow (2 Kgs 22:11-20) and led the people in renewing their commitment to the covenant (2 Kgs 23:1-3). That was what the Lord had hoped would happen when the king and the people heard the warnings of Jeremiah (Jer 36:2-3). Instead, Jehoiakim expressed his contempt for the word of God by destroying the scroll.

[38:7]  ¹⁰⁸ sn This individual, Ebed Melech, is mentioned only here. Later he will be promised deliverance from destruction when the city falls because he had shown trust in God (see Jer 39:16-18).

[38:7]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Heb “Ebed Melech, the Cushite, a man, an eunuch/official, and he was [= who was; a circumstantial clause] in the house of the king, heard that they had put Jeremiah…” The passive construction “Jeremiah had been put” has been used to avoid the indefinite subject “they” or the addition of “the officials.” For the translation of סָרִיס (saris) as “official” here rather than “eunuch” see the translator’s note on 29:2 and see also the usage in 34:19. For the translation of “Cushite” as Ethiopian see the study note on 13:23.

[38:7]  ¹¹⁰ tn Heb “And the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate.” This clause is circumstantial to the following clause; thus “while the king was…” Most commentators agree that the reference to sitting in the gate here likely refers to the same kind of judicial context that has been posited for 26:10 (see the translator’s note there for further references). Hence the translation uses “sitting” with the more technical “holding court” to better reflect the probable situation.

[40:3]  ¹¹¹ tn Heb “Because you [masc. pl.] sinned against the Lord and did not hearken to his voice [a common idiom for “obey him”], this thing has happened to you [masc. pl.].”

[41:6]  ¹¹² tn Heb “he was weeping/crying.” The translation is intended to better reflect the situation.

[41:6]  ¹¹³ tn Heb “Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.” The words that are supplied in the translation are implicit to the situation and are added for clarity.

[42:16]  ¹¹⁴ tn Or “will follow you right into Egypt,” or “will dog your steps all the way to Egypt”; Heb “cling after.” This is the only case of this verb with this preposition in the Qal stem. However, it is used with this preposition several times in the Hiphil, all with the meaning of “to pursue closely.” See BDB 180 s.v. דָּבַק Hiph.2 and compare Judg 20:45; 1 Sam 14:22; 1 Chr 10:2.

[42:16]  ¹¹⁵ tn The repetition of the adverb “there” in the translation of vv. 14, 16 is to draw attention to the rhetorical emphasis on the locale of Egypt in the original text of both v. 14 and v. 16. In v. 14 they say, “to the land of Egypt we will go…and there we will live.” In v. 16 God says, “wars…there will catch up with you…the hunger…there will follow after you…and there you will die.” God rhetorically denies their focus on Egypt as a place of safety and of relative prosperity. That can only be found in Judah under the protective presence of the Lord (vv. 10-12).

[44:3]  ¹¹⁶ tn Heb “they.” The referent must be supplied from the preceding, i.e., Jerusalem and all the towns of Judah. “They” are those who have experienced the disaster and are distinct from those being addressed and their ancestors (44:3b).

[44:3]  ¹¹⁷ tn Heb “thus making me angry.” However, this is a good place to break the sentence to create a shorter sentence that is more in keeping with contemporary English style.

[44:3]  ¹¹⁸ tn Heb “by going to offer sacrifice in serving/worshiping.” The second לְ (lamed) + infinitive is epexegetical of the first (cf. IBHS 608-9 §36.2.3e).

[44:3]  ¹¹⁹ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 9, 10, 17, 21).

[44:3]  ¹²⁰ sn Compare Jer 19:4 for the same thought and see also 7:9.

[44:24]  ¹²¹ tn Heb “and to all the women.” The “and” (ו, vav) is to be explained here according to BDB 252 s.v. וַ 1.a. The focus of the address that follows is on the women. See the translator’s note on the next verse.

[47:3]  ¹²² tn Heb “From the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his stallions, from the rattling of his chariots at the rumbling of their wheels, fathers will not turn to their children from sinking of hands.” According to BDB 952 s.v. רִפָּיוֹן the “sinking of the hands” is figurative of helplessness caused by terror. A very similar figure is seen with a related expression in Isa 35:3-4. The sentence has been restructured to put the subject up front and to suggest through shorter sentences more in keeping with contemporary English style the same causal connections. The figures have been interpreted for the sake of clarity for the average reader.

[48:7]  ¹²³ sn Chemosh was the national god of Moab (see also Numb 21:29). Child sacrifice appears to have been a part of his worship (2 Kgs 3:27). Solomon built a high place in Jerusalem for him (1 Kgs 11:7), and he appears to have been worshiped in Israel until Josiah tore that high place down (2 Kgs 23:13).

[48:7]  ¹²⁴ sn The practice of carrying off the gods of captive nations has already been mentioned in the study note on 43:12. See also Isa 46:1-2 noted there.

[49:22]  ¹²⁵ sn Compare Jer 48:40-41 for a similar prophecy about Moab. The parallelism here suggests that Bozrah, like Teman in v. 20, is a poetic equivalent for Edom.

[50:6]  ¹²⁶ sn The shepherds are the priests, prophets, and leaders who have led Israel into idolatry (2:8).

[50:6]  ¹²⁷ sn The allusion here, if it is not merely a part of the metaphor of the wandering sheep, is to the worship of the false gods on the high hills (2:20, 3:2).

[50:26]  ¹²⁸ tn Heb “Come against her from the end.” There is a great deal of debate about the meaning of “from the end” (מִקֵּץ, miqqets). Some follow the suggestion of F. Giesebrecht in BDB 892 s.v. קָצֶה 3 and emend the text to מִקָּצֶה (miqqatseh) on the basis of the presumed parallel in Jer 51:31 which is interpreted as “on all sides,” i.e., “from every quarter/side.” However, the phrase does not mean that in Jer 51:31 but is used as it is elsewhere of “from one end to another,” i.e., in its entirety (so Gen 19:4). The only real parallel here is the use of the noun קֵץ (qets) with a suffix in Isa 37:24 referring to the remotest part, hence something like from the end (of the earth), i.e., from a far away place. The referent “her” has been clarified here to refer to Babylonia in case someone might not see the connection between v. 25d and v. 26.

[50:26]  ¹²⁹ tn Heb “Pile her up like heaps.” Many commentators understand the comparison to be to heaps of grain (compare usage of עֲרֵמָה (’aremah) in Hag 2:16; Neh 13:15; Ruth 3:7). However, BDB 790 s.v. עֲרֵמָה is more likely correct that this refers to heaps of ruins (compare the usage in Neh 4:2 [3:34 HT]).

[50:26]  ¹³⁰ sn Compare Jer 50:21 and see the study note on 25:9.

[50:26]  ¹³¹ tn Heb “Do not let there be to her a remnant.” According to BDB 984 s.v. שְׁאֵרִית this refers to the last remnant of people, i.e., there won’t be any survivors. Compare the usage in Jer 11:23.

[50:31]  ¹³² tn Heb “Behold, I am against you, proud one.” The word “city” is not in the text but it is generally agreed that the word is being used as a personification of the city which had “proudly defied” the Lord (v. 29). The word “city” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[50:31]  ¹³³ tn Heb “oracle of the Lord Yahweh of armies.” For the rendering of this title and an explanation of its significance see the study note on 2:19.

[50:31]  ¹³⁴ tn The particle כִּי (ki) is probably asseverative here (so J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah [NICOT], 739, n. 13, and cf. BDB 472 s.v. כִּי 1.e for other examples). This has been a common use of this particle in the book of Jeremiah.

[50:31]  ¹³⁵ tn The words “of reckoning” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[50:31]  ¹³⁶ sn Compare v. 27.

[51:33]  ¹³⁷ sn Heb “Daughter Babylon.” See the study note at 50:42 for explanation.

[51:33]  ¹³⁸ tn Heb “Daughter Babylon will be [or is; there is no verb and the tense has to be supplied from the context] like a threshing floor at the time one tramples it. Yet a little while and the time of the harvest will come for her.” It is generally agreed that there are two figures here: one of leveling the threshing floor and stamping it into a smooth, hard surface and the other of the harvest where the grain is cut, taken to the threshing floor, and threshed by trampling the sheaves of grain to loosen the grain from the straw, and finally winnowed by throwing the mixture into the air (cf., e.g., J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah [NICOT], 760). The translation has sought to convey those ideas as clearly as possible without digressing too far from the literal.

[51:33]  sn There are two figures involved here: one of the threshing floor being leveled and stamped down hard and smooth and the other of the harvest. At harvest time the stalks of grain were cut down, gathered in sheaves, taken to the harvest floor where the grain was loosened from the husk by driving oxen and threshing sleds over them. The grain was then separated from the mixture of grain, straw and husks by repeatedly throwing it in the air and letting the wind blow away the lighter husks and ground-up straw. The figure of harvest is often used of judgment in the OT. See, e.g., Joel 3:13 (4:13 Hebrew text) and Hos 6:11 and compare also Mic 4:12-13 and Jer 51:2 where different steps in this process are also used figuratively in connection with judgment. Babylon will be leveled to the ground and its people cut down in judgment.

[51:47]  ¹³⁹ tn Heb “That being so, look, days are approaching.” לָכֵן (lakhen) often introduces the effect of an action. That may be the case here, the turmoil outlined in v. 46 serving as the catalyst for the culminating divine judgment described in v. 47. Another possibility is that לָכֵן here has an asseverative force (“certainly”), as in Isa 26:14 and perhaps Jer 5:2 (see the note there). In this case the word almost has the force of “for, since,” because it presents a cause for an accompanying effect. See Judg 8:7 and the discussion of Isa 26:14 in BDB 486-87 s.v. כֵּן 3.d.

[51:47]  ¹⁴⁰ tn Or “all her slain will fall in her midst.” In other words, her people will be overtaken by judgment and be unable to escape. The dead will lie in heaps in the very heart of the city and land.

[51:50]  ¹⁴¹ sn God’s exiled people are told to leave doomed Babylon (see v. 45).

[51:50]  ¹⁴² tn Heb “don’t stand.”

[51:50]  ¹⁴³ tn Heb “let Jerusalem go up upon your heart.” The “heart” is often viewed as the seat of one’s mental faculties and thought life.

[51:50]  map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[51:61]  ¹⁴⁴ tn Heb “see [that].”

[51:61]  ¹⁴⁵ tn Heb “words” (or “things”).

[52:6]  ¹⁴⁶ sn According to modern reckoning that would have been July 18, 586 b.c. The siege thus lasted almost a full eighteen months.

[52:6]  ¹⁴⁷ tn Heb “the people of the land.”