Yeremia 2:10

2:10 Go west ¹  across the sea to the coasts of Cyprus ²  and see.

Send someone east to Kedar ³  and have them look carefully.

See if such a thing as this has ever happened:

Yeremia 3:12

The Lord Calls on Israel and Judah to Repent

3:12 “Go and shout this message to my people in the countries in the north. ⁴  Tell them,

‘Come back to me, wayward Israel,’ says the Lord.

‘I will not continue to look on you with displeasure. ⁵ 

For I am merciful,’ says the Lord.

‘I will not be angry with you forever.

Yeremia 6:15

6:15 Are they ashamed because they have done such shameful things?

No, they are not at all ashamed.

They do not even know how to blush!

So they will die, just like others have died. ⁶ 

They will be brought to ruin when I punish them,”

says the Lord.

Yeremia 8:2

8:2 They will be spread out and exposed to the sun, the moon and the stars. ⁷  These are things they ⁸  adored and served, things to which they paid allegiance, ⁹  from which they sought guidance, and worshiped. The bones of these people ¹⁰  will never be regathered and reburied. They will be like manure used to fertilize the ground. ¹¹ 

Yeremia 8:12

8:12 Are they ashamed because they have done such disgusting things?

No, they are not at all ashamed!

They do not even know how to blush!

So they will die just like others have died. ¹² 

They will be brought to ruin when I punish them,

says the Lord.

Yeremia 18:6

18:6 “I, the Lord, say: ¹³  ‘O nation of Israel, can I not deal with you as this potter deals with the clay? ¹⁴  In my hands, you, O nation of Israel, are just like the clay in this potter’s hand.’

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 ¹⁵  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. ¹⁶  I, the Lord, affirm it! ¹⁷ 

Yeremia 29:23

29:23 This will happen to them because they have done what is shameful ¹⁸  in Israel. They have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives and have spoken lies while claiming my authority. ¹⁹  They have spoken words that I did not command them to speak. I know what they have done. I have been a witness to it,’ says the Lord.” ²⁰ 

Yeremia 31:23

Judah Will Be Restored

31:23 The Lord God of Israel who rules over all ²¹  says,

“I will restore the people of Judah to their land and to their towns.

When I do, they will again say ²²  of Jerusalem, ²³ 

‘May the Lord bless you, you holy mountain,

the place where righteousness dwells.’ ²⁴ 

Yeremia 50:7

50:7 All who encountered them devoured them.

Their enemies who did this said, ‘We are not liable for punishment!

For those people have sinned against the Lord, their true pasture. ²⁵ 

They have sinned against the Lord in whom their ancestors ²⁶  trusted.’ ²⁷ 

[2:10]  ¹ tn Heb “For go west.”

[2:10]  ² tn Heb “pass over to the coasts of Kittim.” The words “west across the sea” in this line and “east of” in the next are implicit in the text and are supplied in the translation to give geographical orientation.

[2:10]  sn The Hebrew term translated Cyprus (“Kittim”) originally referred to the island of Cyprus but later was used for the lands in the west, including Macedonia (1 Macc 1:1; 8:5) and Rome (Dan 11:30). It is used here as part of a figure called merism to denote the lands in the west as opposed to Kedar which was in the east. The figure includes polar opposites to indicate totality, i.e., everywhere from west to east.

[2:10]  ³ sn Kedar is the home of the Bedouin tribes in the Syro-Arabian desert. See Gen 25:18 and Jer 49:38. See also the previous note for the significance of the reference here.

[3:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “Go and proclaim these words to the north.” The translation assumes that the message is directed toward the exiles of northern Israel who have been scattered in the provinces of Assyria to the north.

[3:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “I will not cause my face to fall on you.”

[6:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “They will fall among the fallen.”

[8:2]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “the sun, moon, and host of heaven which they…”

[8:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “followed after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for the idiom.

[8:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “they will not” but the referent is far enough removed that it might be ambiguous.

[8:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “like dung/manure on the surface of the ground.”

[8:12]  ¹² tn Heb “They will fall among the fallen.”

[18:6]  ¹³ tn This phrase (literally “Oracle of the Lord”) has been handled this way on several occasions when it occurs within first person addresses where the Lord is the speaker. See, e.g., 16:16; 17:24.

[18:6]  ¹⁴ tn The words “deals with the clay” are not in the text. They are part of an elliptical comparison and are supplied in the translation here for clarity.

[23:2]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[29:23]  ¹⁸ tn It is commonly assumed that this word is explained by the two verbal actions that follow. The word (נְבָלָה, nÿvalah) is rather commonly used of sins of unchastity (cf., e.g., Gen 34:7; Judg 19:23; 2 Sam 13:12) which would fit the reference to adultery. However, the word is singular and not likely to cover both actions that follow. The word is also used of the greedy act of Achan (Josh 7:15) which threatened Israel with destruction and the churlish behavior of Nabal (1 Sam 25:25) which threatened him and his household with destruction. The word is also used of foolish talk in Isa 9:17 (9:16 HT) and Isa 32:6. It is possible that this refers to a separate act, one that would have brought the death penalty from Nebuchadnezzar, i.e., the preaching of rebellion in conformity with the message of the false prophets in Jerusalem and other nations (cf. 27:9, 13). Hence it is possible that the translation should read: “This will happen because of their vile conduct. They have propagated rebellion. They have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives. They have spoken words that I did not command them to speak. They have spoken lies while claiming my authority.”

[29:23]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “prophesying lies in my name.” For an explanation of this idiom see the study notes on 14:14 and 23:27.

[29:23]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[31:23]  ²¹ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” See 7:3 and the study note of 2:19 for the rendering of this title and an explanation of its significance.

[31:23]  ²² tn Heb “They [i.e., people (the indefinite plural, GKC 460 §144.g)] will again say in the land of Judah and in its cities when I restore their fortunes.” For the meaning of the idiom “to restore the fortunes” see the translator’s note on 29:14.

[31:23]  ²³ tn The words “of Jerusalem” are not in the text but it is implicit in the titles that follow. They have been supplied in the translation for clarity to aid in identifying the referent.

[31:23]  map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[31:23]  ²⁴ sn The blessing pronounced on the city of Zion/Jerusalem by the restored exiles looks at the restoration of its once exalted state as the city known for its sanctity and its just dealing (see Isa 1:21 and Ps 122). This was a reversal of the state of Jerusalem in the time of Isaiah and Jeremiah where wickedness not righteousness characterized the inhabitants of the city (cf. Isa 1:21; Jer 4:14; 5:1; 13:27). The blessing here presupposes the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem and the temple which gave the city its sanctity.

[50:7]  ²⁵ tn This same Hebrew phrase “the habitation of righteousness” is found in Jer 31:23 in relation to Jerusalem in the future as “the place where righteousness dwells.” Here, however, it refers to the same entity as “their resting place” in v. 6 and means “true pasture.” For the meaning of “pasture” for the word נָוֶה (naveh) see 2 Sam 7:8 and especially Isa 65:10 where it is parallel with “resting place” for the flocks. For the meaning of “true” for צֶדֶק (tsedeq) see BDB 841 s.v. צֶדֶק 1. For the interpretation adopted here see G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, T. G. Smothers, Jeremiah 26-52 (WBC), 365. The same basic interpretation is reflected in NRSV, NJPS, and God’s Word.

[50:7]  ²⁶ tn Heb “fathers.”

[50:7]  ²⁷ sn These two verses appear to be a poetical summary of the argument of Jer 2 where the nation is accused of abandoning its loyalty to God and worshiping idols. Whereas those who tried to devour Israel were liable for punishment when Israel was loyal to God (2:3), the enemies of Israel who destroyed them (i.e., the Babylonians [but also the Assyrians], 50:17) argue that they are not liable for punishment because the Israelites have sinned against the Lord and thus deserve their fate.