Yeremia 2:2

2:2 “Go and declare in the hearing of the people of Jerusalem: ¹  ‘This is what the Lord says: “I have fond memories of you, ²  how devoted you were to me in your early years. ³  I remember how you loved me like a new bride; you followed me through the wilderness, through a land that had never been planted.

Yeremia 3:13

3:13 However, you must confess that you have done wrong, ⁴ 

and that you have rebelled against the Lord your God.

You must confess ⁵  that you have given yourself to ⁶  foreign gods under every green tree,

and have not obeyed my commands,’ 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 

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

[2:2]  ² tn Heb “I remember to/for you.”

[2:2]  ³ tn Heb “the loyal love of your youth.”

[2:2]  sn The Hebrew word translated “how devoted you were” (חֶסֶד, khesed) refers metaphorically to the devotion of a new bride to her husband. In typical Hebraic fashion, contemporary Israel is identified with early Israel after she first entered into covenant with (= married) the Lord. The reference to her earlier devotion is not absolute but relative. Compared to her unfaithfulness in worshiping other gods after she got into the land, the murmuring and complaining in the wilderness are ignored.

[3:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “Only acknowledge your iniquity.”

[3:13]  ⁵ tn The words “You must confess” are repeated to convey the connection. The Hebrew text has an introductory “that” in front of the second line and a coordinative “and” in front of the next two lines.

[3:13]  ⁶ tc MT reads דְּרָכַיִךְ (dÿrakhayikh, “your ways”), but the BHS editors suggest דּוֹדַיִךְ (dodayikh, “your breasts”) as an example of orthographic confusion. While the proposal makes sense, it remains a conjectural emendation since it is not supported by any actual manuscripts or ancient versions.

[3:13]  tn Heb “scattered your ways with foreign [gods]” or “spread out your breasts to strangers.”

[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.”