Yeremia 10:21

10:21 For our leaders ¹  are stupid.

They have not sought the Lord’s advice. ² 

So they do not act wisely,

and the people they are responsible for ³  have all been scattered.

Yeremia 26:17

26:17 Then some of the elders of Judah ⁴  stepped forward and spoke to all the people gathered there. They said,

Yeremia 40:13

Ishmael Murders Gedaliah and Carries the Judeans at Mizpah off as Captives

40:13 Johanan and all the officers of the troops that had been hiding in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah.

Yeremia 41:11

Johanan Rescues the People Ishmael Had Carried Off

41:11 Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers who were with him heard about all the atrocities ⁵  that Ishmael son of Nethaniah had committed.

Yeremia 43:4

43:4 So Johanan son of Kareah, all the army officers, and all the rest of the people did not obey the Lord’s command to stay in the land.

Yeremia 50:8

50:8 “People of Judah, ⁶  get out of Babylon quickly!

Leave the land of Babylonia! ⁷ 

Be the first to depart! ⁸ 

Be like the male goats that lead the herd.

[10:21]  ¹ tn Heb “the shepherds.”

[10:21]  ² tn Heb “They have not sought the Lord.”

[10:21]  sn The idiom translated sought the Lord’s advice quite commonly refers to inquiring for the Lord’s guidance through a prophet. See for example Exod 18:15; 1 Sam 9:9; 1 Kgs 22:8. It would not exclude consulting the law.

[10:21]  ³ tn Heb “all their flock (or “pasturage”).”

[10:21]  sn This verse uses the figure of rulers as shepherds and the people they ruled as sheep. It is a common figure in the Bible. See Ezek 34 for an extended development of this metaphor.

[26:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “elders of the land.”

[26:17]  sn The elders were important land-owning citizens, separate from the “heads” or leaders of the tribes, the officers and the judges. They were very influential in both the judicial, political, and religious proceedings of the cities and the state. (See, e.g., Josh 24:1; 2 Sam 19:11; 2 Kgs 23:1 for elders of Israel/Judah, and Deut 21:1-9; Ruth 4:1-2 for elders of the cities.)

[41:11]  ⁵ tn Or “crimes,” or “evil things”; Heb “the evil.”

[50:8]  ⁶ tn The words “People of Judah” are not in the Hebrew text but are implicit from the context. They have been supplied in the translation to clarify the subject of the address.

[50:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “the land of the Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for explanation.

[50:8]  ⁸ tn The words “Be the first to leave” are not in the text but spell out the significance of the simile that follows. They have been supplied in the translation for clarity.