Yeremia 3:1

3:1 “If a man divorces his wife

and she leaves him and becomes another man’s wife,

he may not take her back again. ¹ 

Doing that would utterly defile the land. ² 

But you, Israel, have given yourself as a prostitute to many gods. ³ 

So what makes you think you can return to me?” ⁴ 

says the Lord.

Yeremia 3:19

3:19 “I thought to myself, ⁵ 

‘Oh what a joy it would be for me to treat you like a son! ⁶ 

What a joy it would be for me to give ⁷  you a pleasant land,

the most beautiful piece of property there is in all the world!’ ⁸ 

I thought you would call me, ‘Father’ ⁹ 

and would never cease being loyal to me. ¹⁰ 

Yeremia 6:20

6:20 I take no delight ¹¹  when they offer up to me ¹² 

frankincense that comes from Sheba

or sweet-smelling cane imported from a faraway land.

I cannot accept the burnt offerings they bring me.

I get no pleasure from the sacrifices they offer to me.’ ¹³ 

Yeremia 8:7

8:7 Even the stork knows

when it is time to move on. ¹⁴ 

The turtledove, swallow, and crane ¹⁵ 

recognize ¹⁶  the normal times for their migration.

But my people pay no attention

to ¹⁷  what I, the Lord, require of them. ¹⁸ 

Yeremia 9:12

9:12 I said, ¹⁹ 

“Who is wise enough to understand why this has happened? ²⁰ 

Who has a word from the Lord that can explain it? ²¹ 

Why does the land lie in ruins?

Why is it as scorched as a desert through which no one travels?”

Yeremia 12:16

12:16 But they must make sure you learn to follow the religious practices of my people. ²²  Once they taught my people to swear their oaths using the name of the god Baal. ²³  But then, they must swear oaths using my name, saying, “As surely as the Lord lives, I swear.” ²⁴  If they do these things, ²⁵  then they will be included among the people I call my own. ²⁶ 

Yeremia 14:16

14:16 The people to whom they are prophesying will die through war and famine. Their bodies will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem ²⁷  and there will be no one to bury them. This will happen to the men and their wives, their sons, and their daughters. ²⁸  For I will pour out on them the destruction they deserve.” ²⁹ 

Yeremia 27:18

27:18 I also told them, ³⁰  “If they are really prophets and the Lord is speaking to them, ³¹  let them pray earnestly to the Lord who rules over all. ³²  Let them plead with him not to let the valuable articles that are still left in the Lord’s temple, in the royal palace, and in Jerusalem be taken away ³³  to Babylon.

Yeremia 31:18

31:18 I have indeed ³⁴  heard the people of Israel ³⁵  say mournfully,

‘We were like a calf untrained to the yoke. ³⁶ 

You disciplined us and we learned from it. ³⁷ 

Let us come back to you and we will do so, ³⁸ 

for you are the Lord our God.

Yeremia 42:4

42:4 The prophet Jeremiah answered them, “Agreed! ³⁹  I will indeed pray to the Lord your God as you have asked. I will tell you everything the Lord replies in response to you. ⁴⁰  I will not keep anything back from you.”

Yeremia 46:10

46:10 But that day belongs to the Lord God who rules over all. ⁴¹ 

It is the day when he will pay back his enemies. ⁴² 

His sword will devour them until its appetite is satisfied!

It will drink their blood until it is full! ⁴³ 

For the Lord God who rules over all ⁴⁴  will offer them up as a sacrifice

in the land of the north by the Euphrates River.

[3:1]  ¹ tn Heb “May he go back to her again?” The question is rhetorical and expects a negative answer.

[3:1]  sn For the legal background for the illustration that is used here see Deut 24:1-4.

[3:1]  ² tn Heb “Would the land not be utterly defiled?” The stative is here rendered actively to connect better with the preceding. The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.

[3:1]  ³ tn Heb “But you have played the prostitute with many lovers.”

[3:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “Returning to me.” The form is the bare infinitive which the KJV and ASV have interpreted as an imperative “Yet, return to me!” However, it is more likely that a question is intended, expressing surprise in the light of the law alluded to and the facts cited. For the use of the infinitive absolute in the place of a finite verb, cf. GKC 346 §113.ee. For the introduction of a question without a question marker, cf. GKC 473 §150.a.

[3:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “I, myself, said.” See note on “I thought that she might come back to me” in 3:7.

[3:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “How I would place you among the sons.” Israel appears to be addressed here contextually as the Lord’s wife (see the next verse). The pronouns of address in the first two lines are second feminine singular as are the readings of the two verbs preferred by the Masoretes (the Qere readings) in the third and fourth lines. The verbs that are written in the text in the third and fourth lines (the Kethib readings) are second masculine plural as is the verb describing Israel’s treachery in the next verse.

[3:19]  sn The imagery here appears to be that of treating the wife as an equal heir with the sons and of giving her the best piece of property.

[3:19]  ⁷ tn The words “What a joy it would be for me to” are not in the Hebrew text but are implied in the parallel structure.

[3:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “the most beautiful heritage among the nations.”

[3:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “my father.”

[3:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “turn back from [following] after me.”

[6:20]  ¹¹ tn Heb “To what purpose is it to me?” The question is rhetorical and expects a negative answer.

[6:20]  ¹² tn The words “when they offer up to me” are not in the text but are implicit from the following context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:20]  ¹³ tn Heb “Your burnt offerings are not acceptable and your sacrifices are not pleasing to me.” “The shift from “your” to “their” is an example of the figure of speech (apostrophe) where the speaker turns from talking about someone to addressing him/her directly. Though common in Hebrew style, it is not common in English. The shift to the third person in the translation is an accommodation to English style.

[8:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “its appointed time.” The translation is contextually motivated to avoid lack of clarity.

[8:7]  ¹⁵ tn There is debate in the commentaries and lexicons about the identification of some of these birds, particularly regarding the identification of the “swallow” which is more likely the “swift” and the “crane” which some identify with the “thrush.” For a discussion see the Bible encyclopedias and the UBS handbook Fauna and Flora of the Bible. The identity of the individual birds makes little difference to the point being made and “swallow” is more easily identifiable to the average reader than the “swift.”

[8:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “keep.” Ironically birds, which do not think, obey the laws of nature, but Israel does not obey the laws of God.

[8:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “do not know.” But here as elsewhere the word “know” is more than an intellectual matter. It is intended here to summarize both “know” and “follow” (Heb “observe”) in the preceding lines.

[8:7]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the ordinance/requirement of the Lord.”

[9:12]  ¹⁹ tn The words, “I said” are not in the text. It is not clear that a shift in speaker has taken place. However, the words of the verse are very unlikely to be a continuation of the Lord’s threat. It is generally assumed that these are the words of Jeremiah and that a dialogue is going on between him and the Lord in vv. 9-14. That assumption is accepted here.

[9:12]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Who is the wise man that he may understand this?”

[9:12]  ²¹ tn Heb “And [who is the man] to whom the mouth of the Lord has spoken that he may explain it?”

[12:16]  ²² tn Heb “the ways of my people.” For this nuance of the word “ways” compare 10:2 and the notes there.

[12:16]  ²³ tn Heb “taught my people to swear by Baal.”

[12:16]  ²⁴ tn The words “I swear” are not in the text but are implicit to the oath formula. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[12:16]  ²⁵ tn The words “If they do this” are not in the text. They are part of an attempt to break up a Hebrew sentence which is long and complex into equivalent shorter sentences consistent with contemporary English style. Verse 16 in Hebrew is all one sentence with a long complex conditional clause followed by a short consequence: “If they carefully learn the ways of my people to swear by name, ‘By the life of the Lord,’ as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they will be built up in the midst of my people.” The translation strives to create the same contingencies and modifications by breaking up the sentence into shorter sentences in accord with contemporary English style.

[12:16]  ²⁶ tn Heb “they will be built up among my people.” The expression “be built up among” is without parallel. However, what is involved here is conceptually parallel to the ideas expressed in Isa 19:23-25 and Zech 14:16-19. That is, these people will be allowed to live on their own land, to worship the Lord there, and to come to Jerusalem to celebrate the feasts. To translate literally would be meaningless or misleading for many readers.

[14:16]  ²⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[14:16]  ²⁸ tn Heb “And the people to whom they are prophesying will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem and there will not be anyone to bury them, they, their wives, and their sons and their daughters.” This sentence has been restructured to break up a long Hebrew sentence and to avoid some awkwardness due to differences in the ancient Hebrew and contemporary English styles.

[14:16]  ²⁹ tn Heb “their evil.” Hebrew words often include within them a polarity of cause and effect. Thus the word for “evil” includes both the concept of wickedness and the punishment for it. Other words that function this way are “iniquity” = “guilt [of iniquity]” = “punishment [for iniquity].” Context determines which nuance is proper.

[27:18]  ³⁰ tn The words “I also told them” are not in the text, but it is obvious from the fact that the Lord is spoken about in the third person in vv. 18, 19, 21 that he is not the speaker. This is part of Jeremiah’s own speech to the priests and the people (v. 16). These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[27:18]  ³¹ tn Heb “the word of the Lord is with them.”

[27:18]  ³² tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[27:18]  sn For the significance of this title see the study note on 2:19.

[27:18]  ³³ tn Heb “…speaking to them, let them entreat the Lord…so that the valuable articles…will not go to Babylon.” The long original sentence has been broken up for the sake of English style.

[31:18]  ³⁴ tn The use of “indeed” is intended to reflect the infinitive absolute which precedes the verb for emphasis (see IBHS 585-86 §35.3.1f).

[31:18]  ³⁵ tn Heb “Ephraim.” See the study note on 31:9. The more familiar term is used, the term “people” added to it, and plural pronouns used throughout the verse to aid in understanding.

[31:18]  ³⁶ tn Heb “like an untrained calf.” The metaphor is that of a calf who has never been broken to bear the yoke (cf. Hos 4:16; 10:11).

[31:18]  sn Jer 2:20; 5:5 already referred to Israel’s refusal to bear the yoke of loyalty and obedience to the Lord’s demands. Here Israel expresses that she has learned from the discipline of exile and is ready to bear his yoke.

[31:18]  ³⁷ tn The verb here is from the same root as the preceding and is probably an example of the “tolerative Niphal,” i.e., “I let myself be disciplined/I responded to it.” See IBHS 389-90 §23.4g and note the translation of some of the examples there, especially Isa 19:22; 65:1.

[31:18]  ³⁸ tn Heb “Bring me back in order that I may come back.” For the use of the plural pronouns see the marginal note at the beginning of the verse. The verb “bring back” and “come back” are from the same root in two different verbal stems and in the context express the idea of spiritual repentance and restoration of relationship not physical return to the land. (See BDB 999 s.v. שׁוּב Hiph.2.a for the first verb and 997 s.v. Qal.6.c for the second.) For the use of the cohortative to express purpose after the imperative see GKC 320 §108.d or IBHS 575 §34.5.2b.

[31:18]  sn There is a wordplay on several different nuances of the same Hebrew verb in vv. 16-19. The Hebrew verb shub refers both to their turning away from God (v. 19) and to their turning back to him (v. 18). It is also the word that is used for their return to their homeland (vv. 16-17).

[42:4]  ³⁹ tn Heb “I have heard” = “I agree.” For this nuance of the verb see BDB 1034 s.v. שָׁמַע Qal.1.j and compare the usage in Gen 37:27 and Judg 11:17 listed there.

[42:4]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “all the word which the Lord will answer you.

[46:10]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “the Lord Yahweh of armies.” See the study note at 2:19 for the translation and significance of this title for God.

[46:10]  ⁴² sn Most commentators think that this is a reference to the Lord exacting vengeance on Pharaoh Necho for killing Josiah, carrying Jehoahaz off into captivity, and exacting heavy tribute on Judah in 609 b.c. (2 Kgs 23:29, 33-35).

[46:10]  ⁴³ tn Or more paraphrastically, “he will kill them/ until he has exacted full vengeance”; Heb “The sword will eat and be sated; it will drink its fill of their blood.”

[46:10]  sn This passage is, of course, highly figurative. The Lord does not have a literal “sword,” but he uses agents of destruction like the Assyrian armies (called his “rod” in Isa 10:5-6) and the Babylonian armies (called his war club in Jer 51:20) to wreak vengeance on his foes. Likewise, swords do not “eat” or “drink.” What is meant here is that God will use this battle against the Egyptians to kill off many Egyptians until his vengeance is fully satisfied.

[46:10]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “the Lord Yahweh of armies.” See the study note at 2:19 for the translation and significance of this title for God.