Yeremia 6:10-19
Konteks“Who would listen
if I spoke to them and warned them? 2
Their ears are so closed 3
that they cannot hear!
Indeed, 4 what the Lord says is offensive to them.
They do not like it at all. 5
6:11 I am as full of anger as you are, Lord, 6
I am tired of trying to hold it in.”
The Lord answered, 7
“Vent it, then, 8 on the children who play in the street
and on the young men who are gathered together.
Husbands and wives are to be included, 9
as well as the old and those who are advanced in years.
6:12 Their houses will be turned over to others
as will their fields and their wives.
For I will unleash my power 10
against those who live in this land,”
says the Lord.
6:13 “That is because, from the least important to the most important of them,
all of them are greedy for dishonest gain.
Prophets and priests alike,
all of them practice deceit.
6:14 They offer only superficial help
for the harm my people have suffered. 11
They say, ‘Everything will be all right!’
But everything is not all right! 12
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. 13
They will be brought to ruin when I punish them,”
says the Lord.
6:16 The Lord said to his people: 14
“You are standing at the crossroads. So consider your path. 15
Ask where the old, reliable paths 16 are.
Ask where the path is that leads to blessing 17 and follow it.
If you do, you will find rest for your souls.”
But they said, “We will not follow it!”
“I appointed prophets as watchmen to warn you, 19 saying:
‘Pay attention to the warning sound of the trumpet!’” 20
But they said, “We will not pay attention!”
“Hear, you nations!
Be witnesses and take note of what will happen to these people. 22
6:19 Hear this, you peoples of the earth: 23
‘Take note! 24 I am about to bring disaster on these people.
It will come as punishment for their scheming. 25
For they have paid no attention to what I have said, 26
and they have rejected my law.
[6:10] 1 tn These words are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[6:10] 2 tn Or “To whom shall I speak? To whom shall I give warning? Who will listen?” Heb “Unto whom shall I speak and give warning that they may listen?”
[6:10] 3 tn Heb “are uncircumcised.”
[6:10] 5 tn Heb “They do not take pleasure in it.”
[6:11] 6 tn Heb “I am full of the wrath of the
[6:11] 7 tn These words are not in the text but are implicit from the words that follow. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[6:11] 8 tn Heb “Pour it out.”
[6:11] 9 tn Heb “are to be captured.”
[6:12] 10 tn Heb “I will reach out my hand.” This figure involves both comparing God to a person (anthropomorphism) and substitution (metonymy) where hand is put for the actions or exertions of the hand. A common use of “hand” is for the exertion of power or strength (cf. BDB 290 s.v. יָד 2 and 289-90 s.v. יָד 1.e(2); cf. Deut 34:12; Ps 78:42; Jer 16:21).
[6:14] 11 tn Heb “They heal [= bandage] the wound of my people lightly”; TEV “They act as if my people’s wounds were only scratches.”
[6:14] 12 tn Heb “They say, ‘Peace! Peace!’ and there is no peace!”
[6:15] 13 tn Heb “They will fall among the fallen.”
[6:16] 14 tn The words, “to his people” are not in the text but are implicit in the interchange of pronouns in the Hebrew of vv. 16-17. They are supplied in the translation here for clarity.
[6:16] 15 tn Heb “Stand at the crossroads and look.”
[6:16] 16 tn Heb “the ancient path,” i.e., the path the
[6:16] 17 tn Heb “the way of/to the good.”
[6:17] 18 tn These words are not in the text but are implicit in the interchange of pronouns in the Hebrew of vv. 16-17. They are supplied in the translation here for clarity.
[6:17] 19 tn Heb “I appointed watchmen over you.”
[6:17] 20 tn Heb “Pay attention to the sound of the trumpet.” The word “warning” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.
[6:18] 21 tn These words are not in the text but are implicit from the flow of the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[6:18] 22 tn Heb “Know, congregation [or witness], what in [or against] them.” The meaning of this line is somewhat uncertain. The meaning of the noun of address in the second line (“witness,” rendered as an imperative in the translation, “Be witnesses”) is greatly debated. It is often taken as “congregation” but the lexicons and commentaries generally question the validity of reading that word since it is nowhere else applied to the nations. BDB 417 s.v. עֵדָה 3 says that the text is dubious. HALOT 747 s.v. I עֵדָה, 4 emends the text to דֵּעָה (de’ah). Several modern English versions (e.g., NIV, NCV, God’s Word) take it as the feminine singular noun “witness” (cf. BDB 729 s.v. II עֵדָה) and understand it as a collective. This solution is also proposed by J. A. Thompson (Jeremiah [NICOT], 259, n. 3) and appears to make the best sense in the context. The end of the line is very elliptical but is generally taken as either, “what I will do with/to them,” or “what is coming against them” (= “what will happen to them”) on the basis of the following context.
[6:19] 25 tn Heb “disaster on these people, the fruit of their schemes.”
