Yeremia 43:9

43:9 “Take some large stones ¹  and bury them in the mortar of the clay pavement ²  at the entrance of Pharaoh’s residence ³  here in Tahpanhes. Do it while the people of Judah present there are watching. ⁴ 

Yeremia 44:24

44:24 Then Jeremiah spoke to all the people, particularly to all the women. ⁵  “Listen to what the Lord has to say all you people of Judah who are in Egypt.

Yeremia 51:56

51:56 For a destroyer is attacking Babylon. ⁶ 

Her warriors will be captured;

their bows will be broken. ⁷ 

For the Lord is a God who punishes; ⁸ 

he pays back in full. ⁹ 

Yeremia 52:18

52:18 They also took the pots, shovels, ¹⁰  trimming shears, ¹¹  basins, pans, and all the bronze utensils used by the priests. ¹² 

[43:9]  ¹ tn Heb “Take some large stones in your hands.”

[43:9]  ² tn The meaning of the expression “mortar of the clay pavement” is uncertain. The noun translated “mortar” occurs only here and the etymology is debated. Both BDB 572 s.v. מֶלֶט and KBL 529 s.v. מֶלֶט give the meaning “mortar.” The noun translated “clay pavement” is elsewhere used of a “brick mold.” Here BDB 527 s.v. מַלְבֵּן 2 gives “quadrangle” and KBL 527 s.v. מַלְבֵּן 2 gives “terrace of bricks.” HALOT 558 s.v. מֶלֶט and מַלְבֵּן 2 give “loamy soil” for both words, seeing the second noun as a dittography or gloss of the first (see also note c in BHS).

[43:9]  ³ sn All the commentaries point out that this was not Pharaoh’s (main) palace but a governor’s residence or other government building that Pharaoh occupied when he was in Tahpanhes.

[43:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “in Tahpanhes in the eyes of the men of Judah.”

[44:24]  ⁵ tn Heb “and to all the women.” The “and” (ו, vav) is to be explained here according to BDB 252 s.v. וַ 1.a. The focus of the address that follows is on the women. See the translator’s note on the next verse.

[51:56]  ⁶ tn Heb “for a destroyer is coming against her, against Babylon.”

[51:56]  ⁷ tn The Piel form (which would be intransitive here, see GKC 142 §52.k) should probably be emended to Qal.

[51:56]  ⁸ tn Or “God of retribution.”

[51:56]  ⁹ tn The infinitive absolute emphasizes the following finite verb. Another option is to translate, “he certainly pays one back.” The translation assumes that the imperfect verbal form here describes the Lord’s characteristic actions. Another option is to take it as referring specifically to his judgment on Babylon, in which case one should translate, “he will pay (Babylon) back in full.”

[52:18]  ¹⁰ sn These shovels were used to clean the altar.

[52:18]  ¹¹ sn These trimming shears were used to trim the wicks of the lamps.

[52:18]  ¹² tn Heb “with which they served (or “fulfilled their duty”).”