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 8:2

8:2 They will be spread out and exposed to the sun, the moon and the stars. ⁴  These are things they ⁵  adored and served, things to which they paid allegiance, ⁶  from which they sought guidance, and worshiped. The bones of these people ⁷  will never be regathered and reburied. They will be like manure used to fertilize the ground. ⁸ 

Yeremia 15:9

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

All the breath will go out of her. ¹⁰ 

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. ¹¹ 

She will suffer shame and humiliation. ¹² 

I will cause any of them who are still left alive

to be killed in war by the onslaughts of their enemies,” ¹³ 

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 25:19

25:19 I made all of these other people drink it: Pharaoh, king of Egypt; ¹⁴  his attendants, his officials, his people,

Yeremia 25:29

25:29 For take note, I am already beginning to bring disaster on the city that I call my own. ¹⁵  So how can you possibly avoid being punished? ¹⁶  You will not go unpunished! For I am proclaiming war against all who live on the earth. I, the Lord who rules over all, ¹⁷  affirm it!’ ¹⁸ 

Yeremia 51:25

51:25 The Lord says, ¹⁹  “Beware! I am opposed to you, Babylon! ²⁰ 

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

I will unleash my power against you; ²¹ 

I will roll you off the cliffs and make you like a burned-out mountain. ²² 

[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.

[8:2]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “the sun, moon, and host of heaven which they…”

[8:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “followed after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for the idiom.

[8:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “they will not” but the referent is far enough removed that it might be ambiguous.

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

[15:9]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ 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.

[25:19]  ¹⁴ sn See further Jer 46:2-28 for the judgment against Egypt.

[25:29]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “which is called by my name.” See translator’s note on 7:10 for support.

[25:29]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Oracle of Yahweh of armies.”

[51:25]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[51:25]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ tn Heb “I will reach out my hand against you.” See the translator’s note on 6:12 for explanation.

[51:25]  ²² 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.