Yeremia 8:7

8:7 Even the stork knows

when it is time to move on. ¹ 

The turtledove, swallow, and crane ² 

recognize ³  the normal times for their migration.

But my people pay no attention

to ⁴  what I, the Lord, require of them. ⁵ 

Yeremia 39:5

39:5 But the Babylonian ⁶  army chased after them. They caught up with Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho ⁷  and captured him. ⁸  They took him to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon at Riblah ⁹  in the territory of Hamath and Nebuchadnezzar passed sentence on him there.

[8:7]  ¹ tn Heb “its appointed time.” The translation is contextually motivated to avoid lack of clarity.

[8:7]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “the ordinance/requirement of the Lord.”

[39:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “The Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for explanation.

[39:5]  ⁷ map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

[39:5]  ⁸ sn 2 Kgs 25:5 and Jer 52:8 mention that the soldiers all scattered from him. That is why the text focuses on Zedekiah here.

[39:5]  ⁹ sn Riblah was a strategic town on the Orontes River in Syria. It was at a crossing of the major roads between Egypt and Mesopotamia. Pharaoh Necho had earlier received Jehoahaz there and put him in chains (2 Kgs 23:33) prior to taking him captive to Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar had set up his base camp for conducting his campaigns against the Palestinian states there and was now sitting in judgment on prisoners brought to him.