Yeremia 15:5

15:5 The Lord cried out, ¹ 

“Who in the world ²  will have pity on you, Jerusalem?

Who will grieve over you?

Who will stop long enough ³ 

to inquire about how you are doing? ⁴ 

Yeremia 23:2

23:2 So the Lord God of Israel has this to say about the leaders who are ruling over his people: “You have caused my people ⁵  to be dispersed and driven into exile. You have not taken care of them. So I will punish you for the evil that you have done. ⁶  I, the Lord, affirm it! ⁷ 

[15:5]  ¹ tn The words “The Lord cried out” are not in the text. However, they are necessary to show the shift in address between speaking to Jeremiah in vv. 1-4 about the people and addressing Jerusalem in vv. 5-6 and the shift back to the address to Jeremiah in vv. 7-9. The words “oracle of the Lord” are, moreover, found at the beginning of v. 6.

[15:5]  ² tn The words, “in the world” are not in the text but are the translator’s way of trying to indicate that this rhetorical question expects a negative answer.

[15:5]  ³ tn Heb “turn aside.”

[15:5]  ⁴ tn Or “about your well-being”; Heb “about your welfare” (שָׁלוֹם, shalom).

[23:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “about the shepherds who are shepherding my people. ‘You have caused my sheep….’” For the metaphor see the study note on the previous verse.

[23:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who should be shepherding my people: You have scattered my sheep and driven them away and you have not taken care of them. Behold I will visit upon you the evil of your deeds.” “Therefore” announces the judgment which does not come until “Behold.” It is interrupted by the messenger formula and a further indictment. The original has been broken up to conform more to contemporary English style, the metaphors have been interpreted for clarity and the connections between the indictments and the judgments have been carried by “So.”

[23:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”