Yeremia 5:24

5:24 They do not say to themselves, ¹ 

“Let us revere the Lord our God.

It is he who gives us the autumn rains and the spring rains at the proper time.

It is he who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.” ² 

Yeremia 9:16

9:16 I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors ³  have known anything about. I will send people chasing after them with swords ⁴  until I have destroyed them.’” ⁵ 

Yeremia 22:7

22:7 I will send men against it to destroy it ⁶ 

with their axes and hatchets.

They will hack up its fine cedar panels and columns

and throw them into the fire.

Yeremia 37:20

37:20 But now please listen, your royal Majesty, ⁷  and grant my plea for mercy. ⁸  Do not send me back to the house of Jonathan, the royal secretary. If you do, I will die there.” ⁹ 

Yeremia 38:26

38:26 If they do this, tell ¹⁰  them, ‘I was pleading with the king not to send me back to die in the dungeon of Jonathan’s house.’” ¹¹ 

Yeremia 44:4

44:4 I sent my servants the prophets to you people over and over ¹²  again warning you not to do this disgusting thing I hate. ¹³ 

Yeremia 49:14

49:14 I said, ¹⁴  “I have heard a message from the Lord.

A messenger has been sent among the nations to say,

‘Gather your armies and march out against her!

Prepare to do battle with her!’” ¹⁵ 

Yeremia 51:14

51:14 The Lord who rules over all ¹⁶  has solemnly sworn, ¹⁷ 

‘I will fill your land with enemy soldiers.

They will swarm over it like locusts. ¹⁸ 

They will raise up shouts of victory over it.’

Yeremia 51:53

51:53 Even if Babylon climbs high into the sky ¹⁹ 

and fortifies her elevated stronghold, ²⁰ 

I will send destroyers against her,” ²¹ 

says the Lord. ²² 

[5:24]  ¹ tn Heb “say in their hearts.”

[5:24]  ² tn Heb “who keeps for us the weeks appointed for harvest.”

[9:16]  ³ tn Heb “fathers.”

[9:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “I will send the sword after them.” The sword here is probably not completely literal but refers to death by violent means, including death by the sword.

[9:16]  ⁵ sn He will destroy them but not completely. See Jer 5:18; 30:11; 46:28.

[22:7]  ⁶ sn Heb “I will sanctify destroyers against it.” If this is not an attenuated use of the term “sanctify” the traditions of Israel’s holy wars are being turned against her. See also 6:4. In Israel’s early wars in the wilderness and in the conquest, the Lord fought for her against the enemies (cf., e.g., Josh 10:11, 14, 42; 24:7; Judg 5:20; 1 Sam 7:10). Now he is going to fight against them (21:5, 13) and use the enemy as his instruments of destruction. For a similar picture of destruction in the temple see the lament in Ps 74:3-7.

[37:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “My lord, the king.”

[37:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “let my plea for mercy fall before you.” I.e., let it come before you and be favorably received (= granted; by metonymical extension).

[37:20]  ⁹ tn Or “So that I will not die there,” or “or I will die there”; Heb “and I will not die there.” The particle that introduces this clause (וְלֹא) regularly introduces negative purpose clauses after the volitive sequence (אַל [’al] + jussive here) according to GKC 323 §109.g. However, purpose and result clauses in Hebrew (and Greek) are often indistinguishable. Here the clause is more in the nature of a negative result.

[38:26]  ¹⁰ tn Verses 25-26 form a long compound, complex conditional sentence. The condition is found in v. 25 and contains a long quote. The consequence is found in v. 26 and contains another long quote. The Hebrew sentence literally reads: “And if the officials hear that I have talked with you and come to you and say to you, ‘Please tell us what you said to the king. Do not hide from us and we will not kill you [so that we will not kill you] and [tell us] what the king said to you,’ then tell them.” The sentence has been broken up to better conform with contemporary English style.

[38:26]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I was causing to fall [= presenting] my petition before the king not to send me back to Jonathan’s house to die there.” The word “dungeon of” is supplied in the translation to help the reader connect this petition with Jeremiah’s earlier place of imprisonment where the officials had put him with every intention of letting him die there (37:15-16, 20).

[38:26]  sn See Jer 37:15-16, 20.

[44:4]  ¹² tn See 7:13 for an explanation of this idiom and compare 7:25; 25:4; 26:5; 29:19; 35:15 for similar references to the persistent warnings of the prophets.

[44:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “sent…over again, saying, ‘Do not do this terrible thing that I hate.’” The indirect quote has been used to shorten the sentence and eliminate one level of embedded quotes.

[44:4]  sn This refers to the worship of other gods mentioned in the previous verse.

[49:14]  ¹⁴ tn The words “I said” are not in the text but it is generally agreed that the words that follow are Jeremiah’s. These words are supplied in the translation to make clear that the speaker has shifted from the Lord to Jeremiah.

[49:14]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Rise up for battle.” The idea “against her” is implicit from the context and has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[51:14]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.” For an explanation of this rendering see the study note on 2:19.

[51:14]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “has sworn by himself.” See the study note on 22:5 for background.

[51:14]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “I will fill you with men like locusts.” The “you” refers to Babylon (Babylon is both the city and the land it ruled, Babylonia) which has been alluded to in the preceding verses under descriptive titles. The words “your land” have been used because of the way the preceding verse has been rendered, alluding to people rather than to the land or city. The allusion of “men” is, of course, to enemy soldiers and they are here compared to locusts both for their quantity and their destructiveness (see Joel 1:4). For the use of the particles כִּי אִם (ki ’im) to introduce an oath see BDB 475 s.v. כִּי אִם 2.c and compare usage in 2 Kgs 5:20; one would normally expect אִם לֹא (cf. BDB 50 s.v. אִם 1.b[2]).

[51:53]  ¹⁹ tn Or “ascends [into] heaven.” Note the use of the phrase in Deut 30:12; 2 Kgs 2:11; and Amos 9:2.

[51:53]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and even if she fortifies her strong elevated place.”

[51:53]  ²¹ tn Heb “from me destroyers will go against her.”

[51:53]  ²² tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”