Yeremia 1:15

1:15 For I will soon summon all the peoples of the kingdoms of the north,” says the Lord. “They will come and their kings will set up their thrones ¹  near the entrances of the gates of Jerusalem. ²  They will attack all the walls surrounding it, and all the towns in Judah. ³ 

Yeremia 1:18

1:18 I, the Lord, ⁴  hereby promise to make you ⁵  as strong as a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall. You will be able to stand up against all who live in ⁶  the land, including the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and all the people of the land.

Yeremia 3:1

3:1 “If a man divorces his wife

and she leaves him and becomes another man’s wife,

he may not take her back again. ⁷ 

Doing that would utterly defile the land. ⁸ 

But you, Israel, have given yourself as a prostitute to many gods. ⁹ 

So what makes you think you can return to me?” ¹⁰ 

says the Lord.

Yeremia 4:30

4:30 And you, Zion, city doomed to destruction, ¹¹ 

you accomplish nothing ¹²  by wearing a beautiful dress, ¹³ 

decking yourself out in jewels of gold,

and putting on eye shadow! ¹⁴ 

You are making yourself beautiful for nothing.

Your lovers spurn you.

They want to kill you. ¹⁵ 

Yeremia 8:2

8:2 They will be spread out and exposed to the sun, the moon and the stars. ¹⁶  These are things they ¹⁷  adored and served, things to which they paid allegiance, ¹⁸  from which they sought guidance, and worshiped. The bones of these people ¹⁹  will never be regathered and reburied. They will be like manure used to fertilize the ground. ²⁰ 

Yeremia 15:9

15:9 The mother who had seven children ²¹  will grow faint.

All the breath will go out of her. ²² 

Her pride and joy will be taken from her in the prime of their life.

It will seem as if the sun had set while it was still day. ²³ 

She will suffer shame and humiliation. ²⁴ 

I will cause any of them who are still left alive

to be killed in war by the onslaughts of their enemies,” ²⁵ 

says the Lord.

Yeremia 16:4

16:4 They will die of deadly diseases. No one will mourn for them. They will not be buried. Their dead bodies will lie like manure spread on the ground. They will be killed in war or die of starvation. Their corpses will be food for the birds and wild animals.

Yeremia 17:13

17:13 You are the one in whom Israel may find hope. ²⁶ 

All who leave you will suffer shame.

Those who turn away from you ²⁷  will be consigned to the nether world. ²⁸ 

For they have rejected you, the Lord, the fountain of life. ²⁹ 

Yeremia 24:1

Good Figs and Bad Figs

24:1 The Lord showed me two baskets of figs sitting before his temple. This happened after King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon deported Jehoiakim’s son, King Jeconiah of Judah. He deported him and the leaders of Judah, along with the craftsmen and metal workers, and took them to Babylon. ³⁰ 

Yeremia 24:8

24:8 “I, the Lord, also solemnly assert: ‘King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and the people who remain in Jerusalem ³¹  or who have gone to live in Egypt are like those bad figs. I consider them to be just like those bad figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten. ³² 

Yeremia 25:29

25:29 For take note, I am already beginning to bring disaster on the city that I call my own. ³³  So how can you possibly avoid being punished? ³⁴  You will not go unpunished! For I am proclaiming war against all who live on the earth. I, the Lord who rules over all, ³⁵  affirm it!’ ³⁶ 

Yeremia 26:11

26:11 Then the priests and the prophets made their charges before the officials and all the people. They said, ³⁷  “This man should be condemned to die ³⁸  because he prophesied against this city. You have heard him do so ³⁹  with your own ears.”

Yeremia 26:21

26:21 When the king and all his bodyguards ⁴⁰  and officials heard what he was prophesying, ⁴¹  the king sought to have him executed. But Uriah found out about it and fled to Egypt out of fear. ⁴² 

Yeremia 27:19

27:19 For the Lord who rules over all ⁴³  has already spoken about the two bronze pillars, ⁴⁴  the large bronze basin called ‘The Sea,’ ⁴⁵  and the movable bronze stands. ⁴⁶  He has already spoken about the rest of the valuable articles that are left in this city.

Yeremia 34:18

34:18 I will punish those people who have violated their covenant with me. I will make them like the calf they cut in two and passed between its pieces. ⁴⁷  I will do so because they did not keep the terms of the covenant they made in my presence. ⁴⁸ 

Yeremia 38:4

38:4 So these officials said to the king, “This man must be put to death. For he is demoralizing ⁴⁹  the soldiers who are left in the city as well as all the other people there by these things he is saying. ⁵⁰  This ⁵¹  man is not seeking to help these people but is trying to harm them.” ⁵² 

Yeremia 38:25

38:25 The officials may hear that I have talked with you. They may come to you and say, ‘Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you. ⁵³  Do not hide anything from us. If you do, we will kill you.’ ⁵⁴ 

Yeremia 38:27

38:27 All the officials did indeed come and question Jeremiah. ⁵⁵  He told them exactly what the king had instructed him to say. ⁵⁶  They stopped questioning him any further because no one had actually heard their conversation. ⁵⁷ 

Yeremia 42:17

42:17 All the people who are determined to go and settle in Egypt will die from war, starvation, or disease. No one will survive or escape the disaster I will bring on them.’

Yeremia 44:21

44:21 “The Lord did indeed remember and call to mind what you did! He remembered the sacrifices you and your ancestors, your kings, your leaders, and all the rest of the people of the land offered to other gods ⁵⁸  in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. ⁵⁹ 

Yeremia 51:25

51:25 The Lord says, ⁶⁰  “Beware! I am opposed to you, Babylon! ⁶¹ 

You are like a destructive mountain that destroys all the earth.

I will unleash my power against you; ⁶² 

I will roll you off the cliffs and make you like a burned-out mountain. ⁶³ 

[1:15]  ¹ tn Heb “they will each set up.” The pronoun “they” refers back to the “kingdoms” in the preceding sentence. However, kingdoms do not sit on thrones; their kings do. This is an example of a figure of speech called metonymy where the kingdom is put for its king. For a similar use see 2 Chr 12:8.

[1:15]  ² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:15]  ³ tn Or “They will come and set up their thrones in the entrances of the gates of Jerusalem. They will destroy all the walls surrounding it and also destroy all the towns in Judah.” The text of v. 15b reads in Hebrew, “they will each set up his throne [near? in?] the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem and against all its walls…and against all the towns….” Commentators are divided over whether the passage refers to the kings setting up their thrones after victory in preparation for passing judgment on their defeated enemies in the city or whether it refers to setting up siege against it. There is no Hebrew preposition before the word for “the entrance” so that it could be “in” (which would imply victory) or “at/near” (which would imply siege), and the same verb + object (i.e., “they will set up their thrones”) governs all the locative statements. It is most often taken to refer to the aftermath of victory because of the supposed parallel in Jer 43:8-13 and the supposed fulfillment in Jer 39:3. Though this may fit well with the first part of the compound expression, it does not fit well with the latter part which is most naturally taken to refer to hostile attacks against Jerusalem and the other cities of Judah. The translation given in the text is intended to reflect the idea of an army setting up for siege. The alternate translation is intended to reflect the other view.

[1:18]  ⁴ tn See the note on “Jeremiah” at the beginning of v. 17.

[1:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “today I have made you.” The Hebrew verb form here emphasizes the certainty of a yet future act; the Lord is promising to protect Jeremiah from any future attacks which may result from his faithfully carrying out his commission. See a similar use of the same Hebrew verb tense in v. 9, and see the translator’s note there.

[1:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “I make you a fortified city…against all the land….” The words “as strong as” and “so you will be able to stand against all the people of…” are given to clarify the meaning of the metaphor.

[3:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “May he go back to her again?” The question is rhetorical and expects a negative answer.

[3:1]  sn For the legal background for the illustration that is used here see Deut 24:1-4.

[3:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “Would the land not be utterly defiled?” The stative is here rendered actively to connect better with the preceding. The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.

[3:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “But you have played the prostitute with many lovers.”

[3:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Returning to me.” The form is the bare infinitive which the KJV and ASV have interpreted as an imperative “Yet, return to me!” However, it is more likely that a question is intended, expressing surprise in the light of the law alluded to and the facts cited. For the use of the infinitive absolute in the place of a finite verb, cf. GKC 346 §113.ee. For the introduction of a question without a question marker, cf. GKC 473 §150.a.

[4:30]  ¹¹ tn Heb “And you that are doomed to destruction.” The referent is supplied from the following context and the fact that Zion/Jerusalem represents the leadership which was continually making overtures to foreign nations for help.

[4:30]  ¹² tn Heb “What are you accomplishing…?” The rhetorical question assumes a negative answer, made clear by the translation in the indicative.

[4:30]  ¹³ tn Heb “clothing yourself in scarlet.”

[4:30]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “enlarging your eyes with antimony.” Antimony was a black powder used by women as eyeliner to make their eyes look larger.

[4:30]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “they seek your life.”

[8:2]  ¹⁶ tc MT, 4QJer^a and LXX read “the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven,” but 4QJer^c reads “the sun and all the stars.”

[8:2]  tn Heb “the host of heaven.”

[8:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the sun, moon, and host of heaven which they…”

[8:2]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “followed after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for the idiom.

[8:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “they will not” but the referent is far enough removed that it might be ambiguous.

[8:2]  ²⁰ tn Heb “like dung/manure on the surface of the ground.”

[15:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “who gave birth to seven.”

[15:9]  sn To have seven children was considered a blessing and a source of pride and honor (Ruth 4:15; 1 Sam 2:5).

[15:9]  ²² tn The meaning of this line is debated. Some understand this line to mean “she has breathed out her life” (cf., e.g., BDB 656 s.v. נָפַח and 656 s.v. ֶנפֶשׁ 1.c). However, as several commentaries have noted (e.g., W. McKane, Jeremiah [ICC], 1:341; J. Bright, Jeremiah [AB], 109) it makes little sense to talk about her suffering shame and embarrassment if she has breathed her last. Both the Greek and Latin versions understand “soul” not as the object but as the subject and the idea being one of fainting under despair. This idea seems likely in light of the parallelism. Bright suggests the phrase means either “she gasped out her breath” or “her throat gasped.” The former is more likely. One might also render “she fainted dead away,” but that idiom might not be familiar to all readers.

[15:9]  ²³ tn Heb “Her sun went down while it was still day.”

[15:9]  sn The sun was the source of light and hence has associations with life, prosperity, health, and blessing. The premature setting of the sun which brought these seems apropos as metaphor for the loss of her children which were not only a source of joy, help, and honor. Two references where “sun” is used figuratively, Ps 84:11 (84:12 HT) and Mal 4:2, may be helpful here.

[15:9]  ²⁴ sn She has lost her position of honor and the source of her pride. For the concepts here see 1 Sam 2:5.

[15:9]  ²⁵ tn Heb “I will deliver those of them that survive to the sword before their enemies.” The referent of “them” is ambiguous. Does it refer to the children of the widow (nearer context) or the people themselves (more remote context, v. 7)? Perhaps it was meant to include both. Verse seven spoke of the destruction of the people and the killing off of the children.

[17:13]  ²⁶ tn Heb “O glorious throne, O high place from the beginning, O hope of Israel, O Lord.” Commentators and translators generally understand these four lines (which are three in the Hebrew original) as two predications, one eulogizing the temple and the other eulogizing God. However, that does not fit the context very well and does not take into account the nature of Jeremiah’s doxology in Jeremiah 16:19-20 (and compare also 10:6-7). There the doxology is context motivated, focused on God, and calls on relevant attributes in the form of metaphorical epithets. That fits nicely here as well. For the relevant parallel passages see the study note.

[17:13]  sn As King and Judge seated on his heavenly throne on high the Lord metes out justice. For examples of this motif see Jer 25:30; Ps 11:4; 9:4, 7 (9:5, 8 HT). As the place of sanctuary he offers refuge for those who are fleeing for safety. Ezek 11:16 and Isa 18:1-4 are examples of passages using that motif. Finally, the Lord has been referred to earlier as the object of Israel’s hope (Jer 14:8). All of these are relevant to the choices that the Lord has placed before them, trust or turn away, and the threat that as all-knowing Judge he will reward people according to their behavior.

[17:13]  ²⁷ tc The translation is based on an emendation suggested in W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:500, n. b-b. The emendation involves following the reading preferred by the Masoretes (the Qere) and understanding the preposition with the following word as a corruption of the suffix on it. Thus the present translation reads וּסוּרֶיךָ אֶרֶץ (usurekha ’erets) instead of וּסוּרַי בָּאֶרֶץ (usuray ba’erets, “and those who leave me will be written in the earth”), a reading which is highly improbable since all the other pronouns are second singular.

[17:13]  ²⁸ tn Or “to the world of the dead.” An alternative interpretation is: “will be as though their names were written in the dust”; Heb “will be written in the dust.” The translation follows the nuance of “earth” listed in HALOT 88 s.v. אֶרֶץ 4 and found in Jonah 2:6 (2:7 HT); Job 10:21-22. For the nuance of “enrolling, registering among the number” for the verb translated here “consign” see BDB 507 s.v. כָּתַב Qal.3 and 508 s.v. Niph.2 and compare usage in Ezek 13:9 and Ps 69:28 (69:29 HT).

[17:13]  ²⁹ tn Heb “The fountain of living water.” For an earlier use of this metaphor and the explanation of it see Jer 2:13 and the notes there. There does not appear to be any way to retain this metaphor in the text without explaining it. In the earlier text the context would show that literal water was not involved. Here it might still be assumed that the Lord merely gives life-giving water.

[24:1]  ³⁰ sn See 2 Kgs 24:10-17 (especially vv. 14-16). Nebuchadnezzar left behind the poorest people of the land under the puppet king Zedekiah. Jeconiah has already been referred to earlier in 13:18; 22:25-26. The deportation referred to here occurred in 597 b.c. and included the priest Ezekiel.

[24:8]  ³¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[24:8]  ³² tn Heb “Like the bad figs which cannot be eaten from badness [= because they are so bad] surely [emphatic כִּי, ki] so I regard Zedekiah, king of Judah, and his officials and the remnant of Jerusalem which remains in this land and those who are living in Egypt.” The sentence has been restructured in the translation to conform more to contemporary English style. For the use of נָתַן (natan) meaning “regard” or “treat like” see BDB 681 s.v. נָתַן 3.c and compare the usage in Ezek 28:6;Gen 42:30.

[25:29]  ³³ tn Heb “which is called by my name.” See translator’s note on 7:10 for support.

[25:29]  ³⁴ tn This is an example of a question without the formal introductory particle following a conjunctive vav introducing an opposition. (See Joüon 2:609 §161.a.) It is also an example of the use of the infinitive before the finite verb in a rhetorical question involving doubt or denial. (See Joüon 2:422-23 §123.f, and compare usage in Gen 37:8.)

[25:29]  ³⁵ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[25:29]  sn See the study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for explanation of this extended title.

[25:29]  ³⁶ tn Heb “Oracle of Yahweh of armies.”

[26:11]  ³⁷ tn Heb “the priests and prophets said to the leaders and the people….” The long sentence has been broken up to conform better with contemporary English style and the situational context is reflected in “laid their charges.”

[26:11]  ³⁸ tn Heb “a sentence of death to this man.”

[26:11]  ³⁹ tn Heb “it.”

[26:21]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “all his mighty men/soldiers.” It is unlikely that this included all the army. It more likely was the palace guards or royal bodyguards (see 2 Sam 23 where the same word is used of David’s elite corps).

[26:21]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “his words.”

[26:21]  ⁴² tn Heb “But Uriah heard and feared and fled and entered Egypt.”

[27:19]  ⁴³ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.” For the significance of this title see the note at 2:19.

[27:19]  ⁴⁴ tn The words “two bronze” are not in the text. They have been supplied in the translation to help identify the referent.

[27:19]  sn The two bronze pillars are the two free-standing pillars at the entrance of the temple (Jakin and Boaz) described in 1 Kgs 7:15-22.

[27:19]  ⁴⁵ tn The words “the large bronze basin called” are not in the text. They have been supplied in the translation to help identify the referent.

[27:19]  sn “The Sea” refers to the large basin that was mounted on twelve bronze bulls. It stood in front of the temple and contained water for the priests to bathe themselves (2 Chr 4:6; cf. Exod 30:17-21). It is described in 1 Kgs 7:23-26.

[27:19]  ⁴⁶ tn The words “movable bronze” are not in the text. They have been supplied in the translation to help identify the referent. See the study note for further reference.

[27:19]  sn The bronze stands are the movable bronze stands described in 1 Kgs 7:27-37. They were the stands for the bronze basins described in 1 Kgs 7:38-39. According to 2 Chr 4:6 the latter were used to wash the burnt offerings. The priests would have been very concerned especially about the big bronze basin and the movable stands and their basins because they involved their ritual purification apart from which they would have had no sanctity. These articles (or furnishings in this case) were broken up and the bronze carried away to Babylon along with all the other bronze, silver, and gold furnishings when the temple and the city were destroyed in 587 b.c. (see 2 Kgs 25:13-15; Jer 52:17-19).

[34:18]  ⁴⁷ sn See the study note on v. 8 for explanation and parallels.

[34:18]  ⁴⁸ tn There is a little confusion in the syntax of this section because the noun “the calf” does not have any formal conjunction or preposition with it showing how it relates to the rest of the sentence. KJV treats it and the following words as though they were a temporal clause modifying “covenant which they made.” The majority of modern English versions and commentaries, however, understand it as a second accusative after the verb + object “I will make the men.” This fits under the category of what GKC 375 §118.r calls an accusative of comparison (compare usage in Isa 21:8; Zech 2:8). Stated baldly, “I will make the people…the calf,” it is, however, more forceful than the formal use of the noun + preposition כְּ just as metaphors are generally more forceful than similes. The whole verse is one long, complex sentence in Hebrew: “I will make the men who broke my covenant [referring to the Mosaic covenant containing the stipulation to free slaves after six years] [and] who did not keep the terms of the covenant which they made before me [referring to their agreement to free their slaves] [like] the calf which they cut in two and passed between its pieces.” The sentence has been broken down into shorter sentences in conformity with contemporary English style.

[38:4]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “weakening the hands of.” For this idiom see BDB 951 s.v. רָפָה Pi. and compare the usage in Isa 13:7; Ezek 21:7 (21:12 HT).

[38:4]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “by saying these things.”

[38:4]  ⁵¹ tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) has not been rendered here because it is introducing a parallel causal clause to the preceding one. To render “For” might be misunderstood as a grounds for the preceding statement. To render “And” or “Moreover” sounds a little odd here. If it must be represented, “Moreover” is perhaps the best rendering.

[38:4]  ⁵² tn Or “is not looking out for these people’s best interests but is really trying to do them harm”; Heb “is not seeking the welfare [or “well-being”; Hebrew shalom] of this people but [their] harm [more literally, evil].”

[38:25]  ⁵³ tn The phrase “and what the king said to you” is actually at the end of the verse, but most commentators see it as also under the governance of “tell us” and many commentaries and English versions move the clause forward for the sake of English style as has been done here.

[38:25]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “lest we kill you”; Heb “and we will not kill you,” which as stated in the translator’s note on 37:20 introduces a negative purpose (or result) clause. See 37:20, 38:24 for parallel usage.

[38:27]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “All the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him.”

[38:27]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “And he reported to them according to all these words which the king had commanded.”

[38:27]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “And they were silent from him because the word/matter [i.e., the conversation between Jeremiah and the king] had not been heard.” According to BDB 578 s.v. מִן 1.a the preposition “from” is significant in this construction, implying a verb of motion. I.e., “they were [fell] silent [and turned away] from him.”

[44:21]  ⁵⁸ tn The words “to other gods” are not in the text but are implicit from the context (cf. v. 17). They are supplied in the translation for clarity. It was not the act of sacrifice that was wrong but the recipient.

[44:21]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “The sacrifices which you sacrificed in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your leaders and the people of the land, did not the Lord remember them and [did they not] come into his mind?” The question is again rhetorical and expects a positive answer. So it is rendered here as an affirmative statement for the sake of clarity and simplicity. An attempt has been made to shorten the long Hebrew sentence to better conform with contemporary English style.

[51:25]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[51:25]  ⁶¹ tn The word “Babylon” is not in the text but is universally understood as the referent. It is supplied in the translation here to clarify the referent for the sake of the average reader.

[51:25]  ⁶² tn Heb “I will reach out my hand against you.” See the translator’s note on 6:12 for explanation.

[51:25]  ⁶³ tn Heb “I am against you, oh destroying mountain that destroys all the earth. I will reach out my hand against you and roll you down from the cliffs and make you a mountain of burning.” The interpretation adopted here follows the lines suggested by S. R. Driver, Jeremiah, 318, n. c and reflected also in BDB 977 s.v. שְׂרֵפָה. Babylon is addressed as a destructive mountain because it is being compared to a volcano. The Lord, however, will make it a “burned-out mountain,” i.e., an extinct volcano which is barren and desolate. This interpretation seems to this translator to fit the details of the text more consistently than alternative ones which separate the concept of “destroying/destructive” from “mountain” and explain the figure of the mountain to refer to the dominating political position of Babylon and the reference to a “mountain of burning” to be a “burned [or burned over] mountain.” The use of similes in place of metaphors makes it easier for the modern reader to understand the figures and also more easily incorporates the dissonant figure of “rolling you down from the cliffs” which involves the figure of personification.

[51:25]  sn The figure here involves comparing Babylon to a destructive volcano which the Lord makes burned-out, i.e., he will destroy her power to destroy. The figure of personification is also involved because the Lord is said to roll her off the cliffs; that would not be applicable to a mountain.