Yeremia 12:1--14:22
Konteks12:1 Lord, you have always been fair
whenever I have complained to you. 1
However, I would like to speak with you about the disposition of justice. 2
Why are wicked people successful? 3
Why do all dishonest people have such easy lives?
12:2 You plant them like trees and they put down their roots. 4
They grow prosperous and are very fruitful. 5
They always talk about you,
but they really care nothing about you. 6
12:3 But you, Lord, know all about me.
You watch me and test my devotion to you. 7
Drag these wicked men away like sheep to be slaughtered!
Appoint a time when they will be killed! 8
12:4 How long must the land be parched 9
and the grass in every field be withered?
How long 10 must the animals and the birds die
because of the wickedness of the people who live in this land? 11
For these people boast,
“God 12 will not see what happens to us.” 13
“If you have raced on foot against men and they have worn you out,
how will you be able to compete with horses?
And if you feel secure only 15 in safe and open country, 16
how will you manage in the thick undergrowth along the Jordan River? 17
12:6 As a matter of fact, 18 even your own brothers
and the members of your own family have betrayed you too.
Even they have plotted to do away with you. 19
So do not trust them even when they say kind things 20 to you.
12:7 “I will abandon my nation. 21
I will forsake the people I call my own. 22
I will turn my beloved people 23
over to the power 24 of their enemies.
12:8 The people I call my own 25 have turned on me
like a lion 26 in the forest.
They have roared defiantly 27 at me.
So I will treat them as though I hate them. 28
12:9 The people I call my own attack me like birds of prey or like hyenas. 29
But other birds of prey are all around them. 30
Let all the nations gather together like wild beasts.
Let them come and destroy these people I call my own. 31
12:10 Many foreign rulers 32 will ruin the land where I planted my people. 33
They will trample all over my chosen land. 34
They will turn my beautiful land
into a desolate wasteland.
12:11 They will lay it waste.
It will lie parched 35 and empty before me.
The whole land will be laid waste.
But no one living in it will pay any heed. 36
12:12 A destructive army 37 will come marching
over the hilltops in the desert.
For the Lord will use them as his destructive weapon 38
against 39 everyone from one end of the land to the other.
No one will be safe. 40
12:13 My people will sow wheat, but will harvest weeds. 41
They will work until they are exhausted, but will get nothing from it.
They will be disappointed in their harvests 42
because the Lord will take them away in his fierce anger. 43
12:14 “I, the Lord, also have something to say concerning 44 the wicked nations who surround my land 45 and have attacked and plundered 46 the land that I gave to my people as a permanent possession. 47 I say: ‘I will uproot the people of those nations from their lands and I will free the people of Judah who have been taken there. 48 12:15 But after I have uprooted the people of those nations, I will relent 49 and have pity on them. I will restore the people of each of those nations to their own lands 50 and to their own country. 12:16 But they must make sure you learn to follow the religious practices of my people. 51 Once they taught my people to swear their oaths using the name of the god Baal. 52 But then, they must swear oaths using my name, saying, “As surely as the Lord lives, I swear.” 53 If they do these things, 54 then they will be included among the people I call my own. 55 12:17 But I will completely uproot and destroy any of those nations that will not pay heed,’” 56 says the Lord.
13:1 The Lord said to me, “Go and buy some linen shorts 57 and put them on. 58 Do not put them in water.” 59 13:2 So I bought the shorts as the Lord had told me to do 60 and put them on. 61 13:3 Then the Lord spoke to me again and said, 62 13:4 “Take the shorts that you bought and are wearing 63 and go at once 64 to Perath. 65 Bury the shorts there 66 in a crack in the rocks.” 13:5 So I went and buried them at Perath 67 as the Lord had ordered me to do. 13:6 Many days later the Lord said to me, “Go at once to Perath and get 68 the shorts I ordered you to bury there.” 13:7 So I went to Perath and dug up 69 the shorts from the place where I had buried them. I found 70 that they were ruined; they were good for nothing.
13:8 Then the Lord said to me, 71 13:9 “I, the Lord, say: 72 ‘This shows how 73 I will ruin the highly exalted position 74 in which Judah and Jerusalem 75 take pride. 13:10 These wicked people refuse to obey what I have said. 76 They follow the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts and pay allegiance 77 to other gods by worshiping and serving them. So 78 they will become just like these linen shorts which are good for nothing. 13:11 For,’ I say, 79 ‘just as shorts cling tightly to a person’s body, so I bound the whole nation of Israel and the whole nation of Judah 80 tightly 81 to me.’ I intended for them to be my special people and to bring me fame, honor, and praise. 82 But they would not obey me.
13:12 “So tell them, 83 ‘The Lord, the God of Israel, says, “Every wine jar is made to be filled with wine.”’ 84 And they will probably say to you, ‘Do you not think we know 85 that every wine jar is supposed to be filled with wine?’ 13:13 Then 86 tell them, ‘The Lord says, “I will soon fill all the people who live in this land with stupor. 87 I will also fill the kings from David’s dynasty, 88 the priests, the prophets, and the citizens of Jerusalem with stupor. 89 13:14 And I will smash them like wine bottles against one another, children and parents alike. 90 I will not show any pity, mercy, or compassion. Nothing will keep me from destroying them,’ 91 says the Lord.”
13:15 Then I said to the people of Judah, 92
“Listen and pay attention! Do not be arrogant!
For the Lord has spoken.
13:16 Show the Lord your God the respect that is due him. 93
Do it before he brings the darkness of disaster. 94
Do it before you stumble 95 into distress
like a traveler on the mountains at twilight. 96
Do it before he turns the light of deliverance you hope for
into the darkness and gloom of exile. 97
13:17 But if you will not pay attention to this warning, 98
I will weep alone because of your arrogant pride.
I will weep bitterly and my eyes will overflow with tears 99
because you, the Lord’s flock, 100 will be carried 101 into exile.”
“Tell the king and the queen mother,
‘Surrender your thrones, 103
for your glorious crowns
will be removed 104 from your heads. 105
13:19 The gates of the towns in southern Judah will be shut tight. 106
No one will be able to go in or out of them. 107
All Judah will be carried off into exile.
They will be completely carried off into exile.’” 108
“Look up, Jerusalem, 110 and see
the enemy 111 that is coming from the north.
Where now is the flock of people that were entrusted to your care? 112
Where now are the ‘sheep’ that you take such pride in? 113
13:21 What will you say 114 when the Lord 115 appoints as rulers over you those allies
that you, yourself, had actually prepared as such? 116
Then anguish and agony will grip you
like that of a woman giving birth to a baby. 117
13:22 You will probably ask yourself, 118
‘Why have these things happened to me?
Why have I been treated like a disgraced adulteress
whose skirt has been torn off and her limbs exposed?’ 119
It is because you have sinned so much. 120
13:23 But there is little hope for you ever doing good,
you who are so accustomed to doing evil.
Can an Ethiopian 121 change the color of his skin?
Can a leopard remove its spots? 122
‘That is why I will scatter your people 124 like chaff
that is blown away by a desert wind. 125
13:25 This is your fate,
the destiny to which I have appointed you,
because you have forgotten me
and have trusted in false gods.
13:26 So I will pull your skirt up over your face
and expose you to shame like a disgraced adulteress! 126
13:27 People of Jerusalem, 127 I have seen your adulterous worship,
your shameless prostitution to, and your lustful pursuit of, other gods. 128
I have seen your disgusting acts of worship 129
on the hills throughout the countryside.
You are doomed to destruction! 130
How long will you continue to be unclean?’”
14:1 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah 132 about the drought. 133
14:2 “The people of Judah are in mourning.
The people in her cities are pining away.
They lie on the ground expressing their sorrow. 134
Cries of distress come up to me 135 from Jerusalem. 136
14:3 The leading men of the cities send their servants for water.
They go to the cisterns, 137 but they do not find any water there.
They return with their containers 138 empty.
Disappointed and dismayed, they bury their faces in their hands. 139
14:4 They are dismayed because the ground is cracked 140
because there has been no rain in the land.
The farmers, too, are dismayed
and bury their faces in their hands.
14:5 Even the doe abandons her newborn fawn 141 in the field
because there is no grass.
14:6 Wild donkeys stand on the hilltops
and pant for breath like jackals.
Their eyes are strained looking for food,
because there is none to be found.” 142
“O Lord, intervene for the honor of your name 144
even though our sins speak out against us. 145
Indeed, 146 we have turned away from you many times.
We have sinned against you.
14:8 You have been the object of Israel’s hopes.
You have saved them when they were in trouble.
Why have you become like a resident foreigner 147 in the land?
Why have you become like a traveler who only stops in to spend the night?
14:9 Why should you be like someone who is helpless, 148
like a champion 149 who cannot save anyone?
You are indeed with us, 150
and we belong to you. 151
Do not abandon us!”
14:10 Then the Lord spoke about these people. 152
“They truly 153 love to go astray.
They cannot keep from running away from me. 154
So I am not pleased with them.
I will now call to mind 155 the wrongs they have done 156
and punish them for their sins.”
14:11 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for good to come to these people! 157 14:12 Even if they fast, I will not hear their cries for help. Even if they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. 158 Instead, I will kill them through wars, famines, and plagues.” 159
14:13 Then I said, “Oh, Lord God, 160 look! 161 The prophets are telling them that you said, 162 ‘You will not experience war or suffer famine. 163 I will give you lasting peace and prosperity in this land.’” 164
14:14 Then the Lord said to me, “Those prophets are prophesying lies while claiming my authority! 165 I did not send them. I did not commission them. 166 I did not speak to them. They are prophesying to these people false visions, worthless predictions, 167 and the delusions of their own mind. 14:15 I did not send those prophets, though they claim to be prophesying in my name. They may be saying, ‘No war or famine will happen in this land.’ But I, the Lord, say this about 168 them: ‘War and starvation will kill those prophets.’ 169 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 170 and there will be no one to bury them. This will happen to the men and their wives, their sons, and their daughters. 171 For I will pour out on them the destruction they deserve.” 172
14:17 “Tell these people this, Jeremiah: 173
‘My eyes overflow with tears
day and night without ceasing. 174
For my people, my dear children, 175 have suffered a crushing blow.
They have suffered a serious wound. 176
14:18 If I go out into the countryside,
I see those who have been killed in battle.
If I go into the city,
I see those who are sick because of starvation. 177
For both prophet and priest go about their own business
in the land without having any real understanding.’” 178
14:19 Then I said,
“Lord, 179 have you completely rejected the nation of Judah?
Do you despise 180 the city of Zion?
Why have you struck us with such force
that we are beyond recovery? 181
We hope for peace, but nothing good has come of it.
We hope for a time of relief from our troubles, but experience terror. 182
14:20 Lord, we confess that we have been wicked.
We confess that our ancestors have done wrong. 183
We have indeed 184 sinned against you.
14:21 For the honor of your name, 185 do not treat Jerusalem 186 with contempt.
Do not treat with disdain the place where your glorious throne sits. 187
Be mindful of your covenant with us. Do not break it! 188
14:22 Do any of the worthless idols 189 of the nations cause rain to fall?
Do the skies themselves send showers?
Is it not you, O Lord our God, who does this? 190
So we put our hopes in you 191
because you alone do all this.”
[12:1] 1 tn Or “
[12:1] 2 tn Heb “judgments” or “matters of justice.” For the nuance of “complain to,” “fair,” “disposition of justice” assumed here, see BDB 936 s.v. רִיב Qal.4 (cf. Judg 21:22); BDB 843 s.v. צַדִּיק 1.d (cf. Ps 7:12; 11:7); BDB 1049 s.v. מִשְׁפָּט 1.f (cf. Isa 26:8; Ps 10:5; Ezek 7:27).
[12:1] 3 tn Heb “Why does the way [= course of life] of the wicked prosper?”
[12:2] 4 tn Heb “You planted them and they took root.”
[12:2] 5 tn Heb “they grow and produce fruit.” For the nuance “grow” for the verb which normally means “go, walk,” see BDB 232 s.v. חָלַךְ Qal.I.3 and compare Hos 14:7.
[12:2] 6 tn Heb “You are near in their mouths, but far from their kidneys.” The figure of substitution is being used here, “mouth” for “words” and “kidneys” for passions and affections. A contemporary equivalent might be, “your name is always on their lips, but their hearts are far from you.”
[12:3] 7 tn Heb “You,
[12:3] sn Jeremiah appears to be complaining like Job that God cares nothing about the prosperity of the wicked, but watches his every move. The reverse ought to be true. Jeremiah shouldn’t be suffering the onslaughts of his fellow countrymen as he is. The wicked who are prospering should be experiencing punishment.
[12:3] 8 tn Heb “set aside for them a day of killing.”
[12:4] 9 tn The verb here is often translated “mourn.” However, this verb is from a homonymic root meaning “to be dry” (cf. HALOT 7 s.v. II אָבַל and compare Hos 4:3 for usage).
[12:4] 10 tn The words “How long” are not in the text. They are carried over from the first line.
[12:4] 11 tn Heb “because of the wickedness of those who live in it.”
[12:4] 12 tn Heb “he.” The referent is usually identified as God and is supplied here for clarity. Some identify the referent with Jeremiah. If that is the case, then he returns to his complaint about the conspirators. It is more likely, however, that it refers to God and Jeremiah’s complaint that the people live their lives apart from concern about God.
[12:4] 13 tc Or reading with the Greek version, “God does not see what we are doing.” In place of “what will happen to us (אַחֲרִיתֵנוּ, ’akharitenu, “our end”) the Greek version understands a Hebrew text which reads “our ways” (אָרְחוֹתֵנו, ’orkhotenu), which is graphically very close to the MT. The Masoretic is supported by the Latin and is retained here on the basis of external evidence. Either text makes good sense in the context. Some identify the “he” with Jeremiah and understand the text to be saying that the conspirators are certain that they will succeed and he will not live to see his prophecies fulfilled.
[12:4] sn The words here may be an outright rejection of the
[12:5] 14 tn The words “The
[12:5] 15 tn Some commentaries and English versions follow the suggestion given in HALOT 116 s.v. II בָּטַח that a homonym meaning “to stumble, fall down” is involved here and in Prov 14:16. The evidence for this homonym is questionable because both passages can be explained on other grounds with the usual root.
[12:5] 16 tn Heb “a land of tranquility.” The expression involves a figure of substitution where the feeling engendered is substituted for the conditions that engender it. For the idea see Isa 32:18. The translation both here and in the following line is intended to bring out the contrast implicit in the emotive connotations connected with “peaceful country” and “thicket along the Jordan.”
[12:5] 17 tn Heb “the thicket along the Jordan.” The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[12:5] sn The thick undergrowth along the Jordan River refers to the thick woods and underbrush alongside the Jordan where lions were known to have lived, and hence the area was considered dangerous. See Jer 49:14; 50:44. The
[12:6] 18 tn This is an attempt to give some contextual sense to the particle “for, indeed” (כִּי, ki).
[12:6] sn If the truth be known, Jeremiah wasn’t safe even in the context of his own family. They were apparently part of the plot by the people of Anathoth to kill him.
[12:6] 19 tn Heb “they have called after you fully”; or “have lifted up loud voices against you.” The word “against” does not seem quite adequate for the preposition “after.” The preposition “against” would be Hebrew עַל (’al). The idea appears to be that they are chasing after him, raising their voices along with those of the conspirators to have him killed.
[12:6] 20 tn Heb “good things.” See BDB 373 s.v. II טוֹב 2 for this nuance and compare Prov 12:25 for usage.
[12:7] 21 tn Heb “my house.” Or “I have abandoned my nation.” The word “house” has been used throughout Jeremiah for both the temple (e.g., 7:2, 10), the nation or people of Israel or of Judah (e.g. 3:18, 20), or the descendants of Jacob (i.e., the Israelites, e.g., 2:4). Here the parallelism argues that it refers to the nation of Judah. The translation throughout vv. 5-17 assumes that the verb forms are prophetic perfects, the form that conceives of the action as being as good as done. It is possible that the forms are true perfects and refer to a past destruction of Judah. If so, it may have been connected with the assaults against Judah in 598/7
[12:7] 22 tn Heb “my inheritance.”
[12:7] 23 tn Heb “the beloved of my soul.” Here “soul” stands for the person and is equivalent to “my.”
[12:7] 24 tn Heb “will give…into the hands of.”
[12:8] 25 tn See the note on the previous verse.
[12:8] 26 tn Heb “have become to me like a lion.”
[12:8] 27 tn Heb “have given against me with her voice.”
[12:8] 28 tn Or “so I will reject her.” The word “hate” is sometimes used in a figurative way to refer to being neglected, i.e., treated as though unloved. In these contexts it does not have the same emotive connotations that a typical modern reader would associate with hate. See Gen 29:31, 33 and E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 556.
[12:9] 29 tn Or “like speckled birds of prey.” The meanings of these words are uncertain. In the Hebrew text sentence is a question: “Is not my inheritance to me a bird of prey [or] a hyena/a speckled bird of prey?” The question expects a positive answer and so is rendered here as an affirmative statement. The meaning of the word “speckled” is debated. It occurs only here. BDB 840 s.v. צָבוּעַ relates it to another word that occurs only once in Judg 5:30 which is translated “dyed stuff.” HALOT 936 s.v. צָבוּעַ relates a word found in the cognates meaning “hyena.” This is more likely and is the interpretation followed by the Greek which reads the first two words as “cave of hyena.” This translation has led some scholars to posit a homonym for the word “bird of prey” meaning “cave” which is based on Arabic parallels. The metaphor would then be of Israel carried off by hyenas and surrounded by birds of prey. The evidence for the meaning “cave” is weak and would involve a wordplay of a rare homonym with another word that is better known. For a discussion of the issues see J. Barr, Comparative Philology and the Text of the Old Testament, 128-29, 153.
[12:9] 30 tn Heb “Are birds of prey around her?” The question is again rhetorical and expects a positive answer. The birds of prey are of course the hostile nations surrounding her. The metaphor involved in these two lines may be interpreted differently. I.e., God considers Israel a proud bird of prey (hence the word for speckled) but one who is surrounded and under attack by other birds of prey. The fact that the sentences are divided into two rhetorical questions speaks somewhat against this.
[12:9] 31 tn Heb “Go, gather all the beasts of the field [= wild beasts]. Bring them to devour.” The verbs are masculine plural imperatives addressed rhetorically to some unidentified group (the heavenly counsel?) Cf. the notes on 5:1 for further discussion. Since translating literally would raise question about who the commands are addressed to, they have been turned into passive third person commands to avoid confusion. The metaphor has likewise been turned into a simile to help the modern reader. By the way, the imperatives here implying future action argue that the passage is future and that it is correct to take the verb forms as prophetic perfects.
[12:10] 32 tn Heb “Many shepherds.” For the use of the term “shepherd” as a figure for rulers see the notes on 10:21.
[12:10] 33 tn Heb “my vineyard.” To translate literally would presuppose an unlikely familiarity of this figure on the part of some readers. To translate as “vineyards” as some do would be misleading because that would miss the figurative nuance altogether.
[12:10] sn The figure of Israel as God’s vine and the land as God’s vineyard is found several times in the Bible. The best known of these is the extended metaphor in Isa 5:1-7. This figure also appears in Jer 2:20.
[12:10] 34 tn Heb “my portion.”
[12:11] 35 tn For the use of this verb see the notes on 12:4. Some understand the homonym here meaning “it [the desolated land] will mourn to me.” However, the only other use of the preposition עַל (’al) with this root means “to mourn over” not “to” (cf. Hos 10:5). For the use of the preposition here see BDB 753 s.v. עַל II.1.b and compare the use in Gen 48:7.
[12:11] 36 tn Heb “But there is no man laying it to heart.” For the idiom here see BDB 525 s.v. לֵב II.3.d and compare the usage in Isa 42:25; 47:7.
[12:11] sn There is a very interesting play on words and sounds in this verse that paints a picture of desolation and the pathos it evokes. Part of this is reflected in the translation. The same Hebrew word referring to a desolation or a waste (שְׁמֵמָה, shÿmemah) is repeated three times at the end of three successive lines and the related verb is found at the beginning of the fourth (נָשַׁמָּה, nashammah). A similar sounding word is found in the second of the three successive lines (שָׁמָהּ, shamah = “he [they] will make it”). This latter word is part of a further play because it is repeated in a different form in the last line (שָׁם, sham = “laying”); they lay it waste but no one lays it to heart. There is also an interesting contrast between the sorrow the
[12:12] 37 tn Heb “destroyers.”
[12:12] 38 tn Heb “It is the
[12:12] 39 tn Heb “For a sword of the
[12:12] 40 tn Heb “There is no peace to all flesh.”
[12:13] 41 sn Invading armies lived off the land, using up all the produce and destroying everything they could not consume.
[12:13] 42 tn The pronouns here are actually second plural: Heb “Be ashamed/disconcerted because of your harvests.” Because the verb form (וּבֹשׁוּ, uvoshu) can either be Qal perfect third plural or Qal imperative masculine plural many emend the pronoun on the noun to third plural (see, e.g., BHS). However, this is the easier reading and is not supported by either the Latin or the Greek which have second plural. This is probably another case of the shift from description to direct address that has been met with several times already in Jeremiah (the figure of speech called apostrophe; for other examples see, e.g., 9:4; 11:13). As in other cases the translation has been leveled to third plural to avoid confusion for the contemporary English reader. For the meaning of the verb here see BDB 101 s.v. בּוֹשׁ Qal.2 and compare the usage in Jer 48:13.
[12:13] 43 tn Heb “be disappointed in their harvests from the fierce anger of the
[12:14] 44 tn Heb “Thus says the
[12:14] 45 tn Heb “my wicked neighbors.”
[12:14] 46 tn Heb “touched.” For the nuance of this verb here see BDB 619 s.v. נָגַע Qal.3 and compare the usage in 1 Chr 16:22 where it is parallel to “do harm to” and Zech 2:8 where it is parallel to “plundered.”
[12:14] 47 tn Heb “the inheritance which I caused my people Israel to inherit.” Compare 3:18.
[12:14] 48 tn Heb “I will uproot the house of Judah from their midst.”
[12:14] sn There appears to be an interesting play on the Hebrew word translated “uproot” in this verse. In the first instance it refers to “uprooting the nations from upon their lands,” i.e., to exiling them. In the second instance it refers to “uprooting the Judeans from the midst of them,” i.e., to rescue them.
[12:15] 49 tn For the use of the verb “turn” (שׁוּב, shuv) in this sense, see BDB s.v. שׁוּב Qal.6.g and compare the usage in Pss 90:13; 6:4; Joel 2:14. It does not simply mean “again” as several of the English versions render it.
[12:15] 50 sn The
[12:16] 51 tn Heb “the ways of my people.” For this nuance of the word “ways” compare 10:2 and the notes there.
[12:16] 52 tn Heb “taught my people to swear by Baal.”
[12:16] 53 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] 54 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
[12:16] 55 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
[12:17] 56 tn Heb “But if they will not listen, I will uproot that nation, uprooting and destroying.” IBHS 590-91 §35.3.2d is likely right in seeing the double infinitive construction here as an intensifying infinitive followed by an adverbial infinitive qualifying the goal of the main verb, “uproot it in such a way as to destroy it.” However, to translate that way “literally” would not be very idiomatic in contemporary English. The translation strives for the equivalent. Likewise, to translate using the conditional structure of the original seems to put the emphasis of the passage in its context on the wrong point.
[13:1] 57 tn The term here (אֵזוֹר, ’ezor) has been rendered in various ways: “girdle” (KJV, ASV), “waistband” (NASB), “waistcloth” (RSV), “sash” (NKJV), “belt” (NIV, NCV, NLT), and “loincloth” (NAB, NRSV, NJPS, REB). The latter is more accurate according to J. M. Myers, “Dress and Ornaments,” IDB 1:870, and W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:399. It was a short, skirt-like garment reaching from the waist to the knees and worn next to the body (cf. v. 9). The modern equivalent is “shorts” as in TEV/GNB, CEV.
[13:1] sn The linen shorts (Heb “loincloth”) were representative of Israel and the wearing of them was to illustrate the
[13:1] 58 tn Heb “upon your loins.” The “loins” were the midriff of the body from the waist to the knees. For a further discussion including the figurative uses see, IDB, “Loins,” 3:149.
[13:1] 59 tn Or “Do not ever put them in water,” i.e., “Do not even wash them.”
[13:1] sn The fact that the garment was not to be put in water is not explained. A possible explanation within the context is that it was to be worn continuously, not even taken off to wash it. That would illustrate that the close relationship that the
[13:2] 60 tn Heb “according to the word of the
[13:2] 61 tn Heb “upon your loins.” The “loins” were the midriff of the body from the waist to the knees. For a further discussion including the figurative uses see R. C. Dentan, “Loins,” IDB 3:149-50.
[13:3] 62 tn Heb “The word of the
[13:4] 63 tn Heb “which are upon your loins.” See further the notes on v. 1.
[13:4] 64 tn Heb “Get up and go.” The first verb is not literal but is idiomatic for the initiation of an action.
[13:4] 65 tn There has been a great deal of debate about whether the place referred to here is a place (Parah [= Perath] mentioned in Josh 18:23, modern Khirbet Farah, near a spring ’ain Farah) about three and a half miles from Anathoth which was Jeremiah’s home town or the Euphrates River. Elsewhere the word “Perath” always refers to the Euphrates but it is either preceded by the word “river of” or there is contextual indication that the Euphrates is being referred to. Because a journey to the Euphrates and back would involve a journey of more than 700 miles (1,100 km) and take some months, scholars both ancient and modern have questioned whether “Perath” refers to the Euphrates here and if it does whether a real journey was involved. Most of the attempts to identify the place with the Euphrates involve misguided assumptions that this action was a symbolic message to Israel about exile or the corrupting influence of Assyria and Babylon. However, unlike the other symbolic acts in Jeremiah (and in Isaiah and Ezekiel) the symbolism is not part of a message to the people but to Jeremiah; the message is explained to him (vv. 9-11) not the people. In keeping with some of the wordplays that are somewhat common in Jeremiah it is likely that the reference here is to a place, Parah, which was near Jeremiah’s hometown, but whose name would naturally suggest to Jeremiah later in the
[13:4] 66 sn The significance of this act is explained in vv. 9-10. See the notes there for explanation.
[13:5] 67 tc The translation reads בִּפְרָתָה (bifratah) with 4QJera as noted in W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:393 instead of בִּפְרָת (bifrat) in the MT.
[13:6] 68 tn Heb “Get from there.” The words “from there” are not necessary to the English sentence. They would lead to a redundancy later in the verse, i.e., “from there…bury there.”
[13:7] 69 tn Heb “dug and took.”
[13:7] 70 tn Heb “And behold.”
[13:8] 71 tn Heb “Then the word of the
[13:9] 72 tn Heb “Thus says the
[13:9] 73 tn In a sense this phrase which is literally “according to thus” or simply “thus” points both backward and forward: backward to the acted out parable and forward to the explanation which follows.
[13:9] 74 tn Many of the English versions have erred in rendering this word “pride” or “arrogance” with the resultant implication that the
[13:9] sn Scholars ancient and modern are divided over the significance of the statement I will ruin the highly exalted position in which Judah and Jerusalem take pride (Heb “I will ruin the pride of Judah and Jerusalem”). Some feel that it refers to the corrupting influence of Assyria and Babylon and others feel that it refers to the threat of Babylonian exile. However, F. B. Huey (Jeremiah, Lamentations [NAC], 144) is correct in observing that the Babylonian exile did not lead to the rottenness of Judah, the corrupting influence of the foreign nations did. In Jeremiah’s day these came through the age-old influences of the Canaanite worship of Baal but also the astral worship introduced by Ahaz and Manasseh. For an example of the corrupting influence of Assyria on Judah through Ahaz’s political alliances see 2 Kgs 16 and also compare the allegory in Ezek 23:14-21. It was while the “linen shorts” were off Jeremiah’s body and buried in the rocks that the linen shorts were ruined. So the
[13:9] 75 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[13:10] 76 tn Heb “to listen to my words.”
[13:10] 77 tn Heb “and [they follow] after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for the idiom.
[13:10] 78 tn The structure of this verse is a little unusual. It consists of a subject, “this wicked people” qualified by several “which” clauses preceding a conjunction and a form which would normally be taken as a third person imperative (a Hebrew jussive; וִיהִי, vihi). This construction, called casus pendens by Hebrew grammarians, lays focus on the subject, here calling attention to the nature of Israel’s corruption which makes it rotten and useless to God. See GKC 458 §143.d for other examples of this construction.
[13:11] 79 tn The words “I say” are “Oracle of the
[13:11] 80 tn Heb “all the house of Israel and all the house of Judah.”
[13:11] 81 tn It would be somewhat unnatural in English to render the play on the word translated here “cling tightly” and “bound tightly” in a literal way. They are from the same root word in Hebrew (דָּבַק, davaq), a word that emphasizes the closest of personal relationships and the loyalty connected with them. It is used, for example, of the relationship of a husband and a wife and the loyalty expected of them (cf. Gen 2:24; for other similar uses see Ruth 1:14; 2 Sam 20:2; Deut 11:22).
[13:11] 82 tn Heb “I bound them…in order that they might be to me for a people and for a name and for praise and for honor.” The sentence has been separated from the preceding and an equivalent idea expressed which is more in keeping with contemporary English style.
[13:12] 83 tn Heb “So you shall say this word [or message] to them.”
[13:12] 84 tn Heb “Every wine jar is supposed to be filled with wine.”
[13:12] sn Some scholars understand this as a popular proverb like that in Jer 31:29 and Ezek 18:2. Instead this is probably a truism; the function of wine jars is to be filled with wine. This may relate to the preceding where the
[13:12] 85 tn This is an attempt to render a construction which involves an infinitive of a verb being added before the same verb in a question which expects a positive answer. There may, by the way, be a pun being passed back and forth here involving the sound play been “fool” (נָבָל, naval) and “wine bottle” (נֶבֶל, nebel).
[13:13] 86 tn The Greek version is likely right in interpreting the construction of two perfects preceded by the conjunction as contingent or consequential here, i.e., “and when they say…then say.” See GKC 494 §159.g. However, to render literally would create a long sentence. Hence, the words “will probably” have been supplied in v. 12 in the translation to set up the contingency/consequential sequence in the English sentences.
[13:13] 87 sn It is probably impossible to convey in a simple translation all the subtle nuances that are wrapped up in the words of this judgment speech. The word translated “stupor” here is literally “drunkenness” but the word has in the context an undoubted intended double reference. It refers first to the drunken like stupor of confusion on the part of leaders and citizens of the land which will cause them to clash with one another. But it also probably refers to the reeling under God’s wrath that results from this (cf. Jer 25:15-29, especially vv. 15-16). Moreover there is still the subtle little play on wine jars. The people are like the wine jars which were supposed to be filled with wine. They were to be a special people to bring glory to God but they had become corrupt. Hence, like wine jars they would be smashed against one another and broken to pieces (v. 14). All of this, both “fill them with the stupor of confusion” and “make them reel under God’s wrath,” cannot be conveyed in one translation.
[13:13] 88 tn Heb “who sit on David’s throne.”
[13:13] 89 tn In Hebrew this is all one long sentence with one verb governing compound objects. It is broken up here in conformity with English style.
[13:14] 90 tn Or “children along with their parents”; Heb “fathers and children together.”
[13:14] 91 tn Heb “I will not show…so as not to destroy them.”
[13:15] 92 tn The words “Then I said to the people of Judah” are not in the text but are implicit from the address in v. 15 and the content of v. 17. They are supplied in the translation for clarity to show the shift from the
[13:16] 93 tn Heb “Give glory/respect to the
[13:16] 94 tn The words “of disaster” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation to explain the significance of the metaphor to readers who may not be acquainted with the metaphorical use of light and darkness for salvation and joy and distress and sorrow respectively.
[13:16] sn For the metaphorical use of these terms the reader should consult O. A. Piper, “Light, Light and Darkness,” IDB 3:130-32. For the association of darkness with the Day of the
[13:16] 95 tn Heb “your feet stumble.”
[13:16] 96 tn Heb “you stumble on the mountains at twilight.” The added words are again supplied in the translation to help explain the metaphor to the uninitiated reader.
[13:16] 97 tn Heb “and while you hope for light he will turn it into deep darkness and make [it] into gloom.” The meaning of the metaphor is again explained through the addition of the “of” phrases for readers who are unacquainted with the metaphorical use of these terms.
[13:16] sn For the meaning and usage of the term “deep darkness” (צַלְמָוֶת, tsalmavet), see the notes on Jer 2:6. For the association of the term with exile see Isa 9:2 (9:1 HT). For the association of the word gloom with the Day of the
[13:17] 98 tn Heb “If you will not listen to it.” For the use of the feminine singular pronoun to refer to the idea(s) expressed in the preceding verse(s), see GKC 440-41 §135.p.
[13:17] 99 tn Heb “Tearing [my eye] will tear and my eye will run down [= flow] with tears.”
[13:17] sn The depth of Jeremiah’s sorrow for the sad plight of his people, if they refuse to repent, is emphasized by the triple repetition of the word “tears” twice in an emphatic verbal expression (Hebrew infinitive before finite verb) and once in the noun.
[13:17] 100 tn Heb “because the
[13:17] 101 tn The verb is once again in the form of “as good as done” (the Hebrew prophetic perfect).
[13:18] 102 tn The words “The
[13:18] 103 tn Or “You will come down from your thrones”; Heb “Make low! Sit!” This is a case of a construction where two forms in the same case, mood, or tense are joined in such a way that one (usually the first) is intended as an adverbial or adjectival modifier of the other (a figure called hendiadys). This is also probably a case where the imperative is used to express a distinct assurance or promise. See GKC 324 §110.b and compare the usage in Isa 37:30 and Ps 110:2.
[13:18] sn The king and queen mother are generally identified as Jehoiachin and his mother who were taken into captivity with many of the leading people of Jerusalem in 597
[13:18] 104 tn Heb “have come down.” The verb here and those in the following verses are further examples of the “as good as done” form of the Hebrew verb (the prophetic perfect).
[13:18] 105 tc The translation follows the common emendation of a word normally meaning “place at the head” (מַרְאֲשׁוֹת [mar’ashot] plus pronoun = מַרְאֲוֹשׁתֵיכֶם [mar’aoshtekhem]) to “from your heads” (מֵרָאשֵׁיכֶם, mera’shekhem) following the ancient versions. The meaning “tiara” is nowhere else attested for this word.
[13:19] 106 tn Heb “The towns of the Negev will be shut.”
[13:19] 107 tn Heb “There is no one to open them.” The translation is based on the parallel in Josh 6:1 where the very expression in the translation is used. Opening the city would have permitted entrance (of relief forces) as well as exit (of fugitives).
[13:19] 108 sn The statements are poetic exaggerations (hyperbole), as most commentaries note. Even in the exile of 587
[13:20] 109 tn The words “Then I said” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation to show the shift in speaker from vv. 18-19 where the
[13:20] 110 tn The word “Jerusalem” is not in the Hebrew text. It is added in the Greek text and is generally considered to be the object of address because of the second feminine singular verbs here and throughout the following verses. The translation follows the consonantal text (Kethib) and the Greek text in reading the second feminine singular here. The verbs and pronouns in vv. 20-22 are all second feminine singular with the exception of the suffix on the word “eyes” which is not reflected in the translation here (“Look up” = “Lift up your eyes”) and the verb and pronoun in v. 23. The text may reflect the same kind of alternation between singular and plural that takes place in Isa 7 where the pronouns refer to Ahaz as an individual and his entourage, the contemporary ruling class (cf., e.g., Isa 7:4-5 [singular], 9 [plural], 11 [singular], 13-14 [plural]). Here the connection with the preceding may suggest that it is initially the ruling house (the king and the queen mother), then Jerusalem personified as a woman in her role as a shepherdess (i.e., leader). However, from elsewhere in the book the leadership has included the kings, the priests, the prophets, and the citizens as well (cf., e.g., 13:13). In v. 27 Jerusalem is explicitly addressed. It may be asking too much of some readers who are not familiar with biblical metaphors to understand an extended metaphor like this. If it is helpful to them, they may substitute plural referents for “I” and “me.”
[13:20] 111 tn The word “enemy” is not in the text but is implicit. It supplied in the translation for clarity.
[13:20] sn On the phrase the enemy that is coming from the north see Jer 1:14-15; 4:6; 6:1, 22; 10:22.
[13:20] 112 tn Heb “the flock that was given to you.”
[13:20] 113 tn Heb “the sheep of your pride.” The word “of your people” and the quotes around “sheep” are intended to carry over the metaphor in such a way that readers unfamiliar with the metaphor will understand it.
[13:21] 114 tn Or perhaps more rhetorically equivalent, “Will you not be surprised?”
[13:21] 115 tn The words “The
[13:21] 116 tn Or “to be rulers.” The translation of these two lines is somewhat uncertain. The sentence structure of these two lines raises problems in translation. The Hebrew text reads: “What will you do when he appoints over you [or punishes you (see BDB 823 s.v. פָּקַד Qal.B.2 for the former, Qal.A.3 for the latter)] and you, yourself, taught them over you friends [or chiefs (see BDB 48 s.v. I אַלּוּף 2 and Ps 55:13 for the former and BDB 49 s.v. II אַלּוּף and Exod 15:15 for the latter)] for a head.” The translation assumes that the clause “and you, yourself, taught them [= made them accustomed, i.e., “prepared”] [to be] over you” is parenthetical coming between the verb “appoint” and its object and object modifier (i.e., “appointed over you allies for rulers”). A quick check of other English versions will show how varied the translation of these lines has been. Most English versions seem to ignore the second “over you” after “you taught them.” Some rearrange the text to get what they think is a sensible meaning. For a fairly thorough treatment see W. McKane, Jeremiah (ICC), 1:308-10.
[13:21] sn What is being alluded to here is the political policy of vacillating alliances through which Judah brought about her own downfall, allying herself first with Assyria, then Egypt, then Babylon, and then Egypt again. See 2 Kgs 23:29–24:7 for an example of this policy and the disastrous consequences.
[13:21] 117 tn Heb “Will not pain [here = mental anguish] take hold of you like a woman giving birth.” The question is rhetorical expecting a positive answer.
[13:22] 118 tn Heb “say in your heart.”
[13:22] 119 tn Heb “Your skirt has been uncovered and your heels have been treated with violence.” This is the generally accepted interpretation of these phrases. See, e.g., BDB 784 s.v. עָקֵב a and HALOT 329 s.v. I חָמַס Nif. The significance of the actions here are part of the metaphor (i.e., personification) of Jerusalem as an adulteress having left her husband and have been explained in the translation for the sake of readers unfamiliar with the metaphor.
[13:22] sn The actions here were part of the treatment of an adulteress by her husband, intended to shame her. See Hos 2:3, 10 (2:5, 12 HT); Isa 47:4.
[13:22] 120 tn The translation has been restructured to break up a long sentence involving a conditional clause and an elliptical consequential clause. It has also been restructured to define more clearly what “these things” are. The Hebrew text reads: “And if you say, ‘Why have these things happened to me?’ Because of the greatness of your iniquity your skirts [= what your skirt covers] have been uncovered and your heels have been treated with violence.”
[13:23] 121 tn This is a common proverb in English coming from this biblical passage. For cultures where it is not proverbial perhaps it would be better to translate “Can black people change the color of their skin?” Strictly speaking these are “Cushites” inhabitants of a region along the upper Nile south of Egypt. The Greek text is responsible for the identification with Ethiopia. The term in Greek is actually a epithet = “burnt face.”
[13:23] 122 tn Heb “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? [Then] you also will be able to do good who are accustomed to do evil.” The English sentence has been restructured and rephrased in an attempt to produce some of the same rhetorical force the Hebrew original has in this context.
[13:24] 123 tn The words, “The
[13:24] 124 tn Heb “them.” This is another example of the rapid shift in pronouns seen several times in the book of Jeremiah. The pronouns in the preceding and the following are second feminine singular. It might be argued that “them” goes back to the “flock”/“sheep” in v. 20, but the next verse refers the fate described here to “you” (feminine singular). This may be another example of the kind of metaphoric shifts in referents discussed in the notes on 13:20 above. Besides, it would sound a little odd in the translation to speak of scattering one person like chaff.
[13:24] 125 sn Compare the threat using the same metaphor in Jer 4:11-12.
[13:26] 126 tn Heb “over your face and your shame will be seen.” The words “like a disgraced adulteress” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to explain the metaphor. See the notes on 13:22.
[13:27] 127 tn Heb “Jerusalem.” This word has been pulled up from the end of the verse to help make the transition. The words “people of” have been supplied in the translation here to ease the difficulty mentioned earlier of sustaining the personification throughout.
[13:27] 128 tn Heb “[I have seen] your adulteries, your neighings, and your shameless prostitution.” The meanings of the metaphorical references have been incorporated in the translation for the sake of clarity for readers of all backgrounds.
[13:27] sn The sentence is rhetorically loaded. It begins with three dangling objects of the verb all describing their adulterous relationship with the false gods under different figures and which are resumed later under the words “your disgusting acts.” The Hebrew sentence reads: “Your adulteries, your neighings, your shameful prostitution, upon the hills in the fields I have seen your disgusting acts.” This sentence drips with explosive disgust at their adulterous betrayal.
[13:27] 129 tn Heb “your disgusting acts.” This word is almost always used of idolatry or of the idols themselves. See BDB 1055 s.v. שִׁקֻּוּץ and Deut 29:17 and Jer 4:1; 7:30.
[13:27] 130 tn Heb “Woe to you!”
[13:27] sn See Jer 4:13, 31; 6:4; 10:19 for usage, and the notes on 4:13 and 10:19.
[14:1] 131 sn The form of Jer 14:1–15:9 is very striking rhetorically. It consists essentially of laments and responses to them. However, what makes it so striking is its deviation from normal form (cf. 2 Chr 20:5-17 for what would normally be expected). The descriptions of the lamentable situation come from the mouth of God not the people (cf.14:1-6, 17-18). The prophet utters the petitions with statements of trust (14:7-9, 19-22) and the
[14:1] 132 tn Heb “That which came [as] the word of the
[14:1] 133 sn Drought was one of the punishments for failure to adhere to the terms of their covenant with God. See Deut 28:22-24; Lev 26:18-20.
[14:2] 134 tn Heb “Judah mourns, its gates pine away, they are in mourning on the ground.” There are several figures of speech involved here. The basic figure is that of personification where Judah and it cities are said to be in mourning. However, in the third line the figure is a little hard to sustain because “they” are in mourning on the ground. That presses the imagination of most moderns a little too far. Hence the personification has been interpreted “people of” throughout. The term “gates” here is used as part for whole for the “cities” themselves as in several other passages in the OT (cf. BDB 1045 s.v. שַׁעַר 2.b, c and see, e.g., Isa 14:31).
[14:2] 135 tn The words “to me” are not in the text. They are implicit from the fact that the
[14:2] 136 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[14:3] 137 tn Though the concept of “cisterns” is probably not familiar to some readers, it would be a mistake to translate this word as “well.” Wells have continual sources of water. Cisterns were pits dug in the ground and lined with plaster to hold rain water. The drought had exhausted all the water in the cisterns.
[14:3] 138 tn The word “containers” is a generic word in Hebrew = “vessels.” It would probably in this case involve water “jars” or “jugs.” But since in contemporary English one would normally associate those terms with smaller vessels, “containers” may be safer.
[14:3] 139 tn Heb “they cover their heads.” Some of the English versions have gone wrong here because of the “normal” use of the words translated here “disappointed” and “dismayed.” They are regularly translated “ashamed” and “disgraced, humiliated, dismayed” elsewhere (see e.g., Jer 22:22); they are somewhat synonymous terms which are often parallel or combined. The key here, however, is the expression “they cover their heads” which is used in 2 Sam 15:30 for the expression of grief. Moreover, the word translated here “disappointed” (בּוֹשׁ, bosh) is used that way several times. See for example Jer 12:13 and consult examples in BDB 101 s.v. בּוֹשׁ Qal.2. A very similar context with the same figure is found in Jer 2:36-37.
[14:4] 140 tn For the use of the verb “is cracked” here see BDB 369 s.v. חָתַת Qal.1 and compare the usage in Jer 51:56 where it refers to broken bows. The form is a relative clause without relative pronoun (cf., GKC 486-87 §155.f). The sentence as a whole is related to the preceding through a particle meaning “because of” or “on account of.” Hence the subject and verb have been repeated to make the connection.
[14:5] 141 tn Heb “she gives birth and abandons.”
[14:6] 142 tn Heb “their eyes are strained because there is no verdure.”
[14:7] 143 tn The words “Then I said” are not in the text. However, it cannot be a continuation of the
[14:7] 144 tn Heb “Act for the sake of your name.” The usage of “act” in this absolute, unqualified sense cf. BDB 794 s.v. עָוֹשָׂה Qal.I.r and compare the usage, e.g., in 1 Kgs 8:32 and 39. For the nuance of “for the sake of your name” compare the usage in Isa 48:9 and Ezek 20:9, 14.
[14:7] 145 tn Or “bear witness against us,” or “can be used as evidence against us,” to keep the legal metaphor. Heb “testify against.”
[14:7] 146 tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) can scarcely be causal here; it is either intensive (BDB 472 s.v. כִּי 1.e) or concessive (BDB 473 s.v. כִּי 2.c). The parallel usage in Gen 18:20 argues for the intensive force as does the fact that the concessive has already been expressed by אִם (’im).
[14:8] 147 tn It would be a mistake to translate this word as “stranger.” This word (גֵּר, ger) refers to a resident alien or resident foreigner who stays in a country not his own. He is accorded the privilege of protection through the common rights of hospitality but he does not have the rights of the native born or citizen. The simile here is particularly effective. The land was the
[14:9] 148 tn This is the only time this word occurs in the Hebrew Bible. The lexicons generally take it to mean “confused” or “surprised” (cf., e.g., BDB 187 s.v. דָּהַם). However, the word has been found in a letter from the seventh century in a passage where it must mean something like “be helpless”; see W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:433, for discussion and bibliography of an article where this letter is dealt with.
[14:9] 149 tn Heb “mighty man, warrior.” For this nuance see 1 Sam 17:51 where it parallels a technical term used of Goliath used earlier in 17:4, 23.
[14:9] 150 tn Heb “in our midst.”
[14:9] 151 tn Heb “Your name is called upon us.” See Jer 7:10, 11, 14, 30 for this idiom with respect to the temple and see the notes on Jer 7:10.
[14:10] 152 tn Heb “Thus said the
[14:10] sn The
[14:10] 153 tn It is difficult to be certain how the particle כֵּן (ken, usually used for “thus, so”) is to be rendered here. BDB 485 s.v. כֵּן 1.b says that the force sometimes has to be elicited from the general context and points back to the line of v. 9. IHBS 666 §39.3.4e states that when there is no specific comparative clause preceding a general comparison is intended. They point to Judg 5:31 as a parallel. Ps 127:2 may also be an example if כִּי (ki) is not to be read (cf. BHS fn). “Truly” seemed the best way to render this idea in contemporary English.
[14:10] 154 tn Heb “They do not restrain their feet.” The idea of “away from me” is implicit in the context and is supplied in the translation for clarity.
[14:10] 155 tn Heb “remember.”
[14:10] 156 tn Heb “their iniquities.”
[14:11] 157 tn Heb “on behalf of these people for benefit.”
[14:12] 158 sn See 6:16-20 for parallels.
[14:12] 159 tn Heb “through sword, starvation, and plague.”
[14:12] sn These were penalties (curses) that were to be imposed on Israel for failure to keep her covenant with God (cf. Lev 26:23-26). These three occur together fourteen other times in the book of Jeremiah.
[14:13] 160 tn Heb “Lord Yahweh.” The translation follows the ancient Jewish tradition of substituting the Hebrew word for God for the proper name Yahweh.
[14:13] 161 tn Heb “Behold.” See the translator’s note on usage of this particle in 1:6.
[14:13] 162 tn The words “that you said” are not in the text but are implicit from the first person in the affirmation that follows. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[14:13] 163 tn Heb “You will not see sword and you will not have starvation [or hunger].”
[14:13] 164 tn Heb “I will give you unfailing peace in this place.” The translation opts for “peace and prosperity” here for the word שָׁלוֹם (shalom) because in the context it refers both to peace from war and security from famine and plague. The word translated “lasting” (אֱמֶת, ’emet) is a difficult to render here because it has broad uses: “truth, reliability, stability, steadfastness,” etc. “Guaranteed” or “lasting” seem to fit the context the best.
[14:14] 165 tn Heb “Falsehood those prophets are prophesying in my name.” In the OT, the “name” reflected the person’s character (cf. Gen 27:36; 1 Sam 25:25) or his reputation (Gen 11:4; 2 Sam 8:13). To speak in someone’s name was to act as his representative or carry his authority (1 Sam 25:9; 1 Kgs 21:8).
[14:14] 166 tn Heb “I did not command them.” Compare 1 Chr 22:12 for usage.
[14:14] 167 tn Heb “divination and worthlessness.” The noun “worthlessness” stands as a qualifying “of” phrase (= to an adjective; an attributive genitive in Hebrew) after a noun in Zech 11:17; Job 13:4. This is an example of hendiadys where two nouns are joined by “and” with one serving as the qualifier of the other.
[14:14] sn The word translated “predictions” here is really the word “divination.” Divination was prohibited in Israel (cf. Deut 18:10, 14). The practice of divination involved various mechanical means to try to predict the future. The word was used here for its negative connotations in a statement that is rhetorically structured to emphasize the falseness of the promises of the false prophets. It would be unnatural to contemporary English style to try to capture this emphasis in English. In the Hebrew text the last sentence reads: “False vision, divination, and worthlessness and the deceitfulness of their heart they are prophesying to them.” For the emphasis in the preceding sentence see the note there.
[14:15] 168 tn Heb “Thus says the
[14:15] 169 tn Heb “Thus says the
[14:15] sn The rhetoric of the passage is again sustained by an emphatic word order which contrasts what they say will not happen to the land, “war and famine,” with the punishment that the
[14:16] 170 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[14:16] 171 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] 172 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.
[14:17] 173 tn The word “Jeremiah” is not in the text but the address is to a second person singular and is a continuation of 14:14 where the quote starts. The word is supplied in the translation for clarity.
[14:17] 174 tn Many of the English versions and commentaries render this an indirect or third person imperative, “Let my eyes overflow…” because of the particle אַל (’al) which introduces the phrase translated “without ceasing” (אַל־תִּדְמֶינָה, ’al-tidmenah). However, this is undoubtedly an example where the particle introduces an affirmation that something cannot be done (cf. GKC 322 §109.e). Clear examples of this are found in Pss 41:2 (41:3 HT); 50:3; Job 40:32 (41:8). God here is describing again a lamentable situation and giving his response to it. See 14:1-6 above.
[14:17] sn Once again it is the
[14:17] 175 tn Heb “virgin daughter, my people.” The last noun here is appositional to the first two (genitive of apposition). Hence it is not ‘literally’ “virgin daughter of my people.”
[14:17] sn This is a metaphor which occurs several times with regard to Israel, Judah, Zion, and even Sidon and Babylon. It is the poetic personification of the people, the city, or the land. Like other metaphors the quality of the comparison being alluded to must be elicited from the context. This is easy in Isa 23:12 (oppressed) and Isa 47:1 (soft and delicate) but not so easy in other places. From the nature of the context the suspicion here is that the protection the virgin was normally privileged to is being referred to and there is a reminder that the people are forfeiting it by their actions. Hence God laments for them.
[14:17] 176 tn This is a poetic personification. To translate with the plural “serious wounds” might mislead some into thinking of literal wounds.
[14:17] sn Compare Jer 10:19 for a similar use of this metaphor.
[14:18] 177 tn The word “starvation” has been translated “famine” elsewhere in this passage. It is the word which refers to hunger. The “starvation” here may be war induced and not simply that which comes from famine per se. “Starvation” will cover both.
[14:18] 178 tn The meaning of these last two lines is somewhat uncertain. The meaning of these two lines is debated because of the uncertainty of the meaning of the verb rendered “go about their business” (סָחַר, sakhar) and the last phrase translated here “without any real understanding.” The verb in question most commonly occurs as a participle meaning “trader” or “merchant” (cf., e.g., Ezek 27:21, 36; Prov 31:14). It occurs as a finite verb elsewhere only in Gen 34:10, 21; 42:34 and there in a literal sense of “trading,” “doing business.” While the nuance is metaphorical here it need not extend to “journeying into” (cf., e.g., BDB 695 s.v. סָחַר Qal.1) and be seen as a reference to exile as is sometimes assumed. That seems at variance with the causal particle which introduces this clause, the tense of the verb, and the surrounding context. People are dying in the land (vv. 17-18a) not because prophet and priest have gone (the verb is the Hebrew perfect or past) into exile but because prophet and priest have no true knowledge of God or the situation. The clause translated here “without having any real understanding” (Heb “and they do not know”) is using the verb in the absolute sense indicated in BDB 394 s.v. יָדַע Qal.5 and illustrated in Isa 1:3; 56:10. For a more thorough discussion of the issues one may consult W. McKane, Jeremiah (ICC), 1:330-31.
[14:18] sn For the “business” of the prophets and priest see 2:8; 5:13; 6:13; 8:10. In the context it refers to the prophets prophesying lies (see vv. 13-15).
[14:19] 179 tn The words, “Then I said, ‘
[14:19] 180 tn Heb “does your soul despise.” Here as in many places the word “soul” stands as part for whole for the person himself emphasizing emotional and volitional aspects of the person. However, in contemporary English one does not regularly speak of the “soul” in contexts such as this but of the person.
[14:19] sn There is probably a subtle allusion to the curses called down on the nation for failure to keep their covenant with God. The word used here is somewhat rare (גָּעַל, ga’al). It is used of Israel’s rejection of God’s stipulations and of God’s response to their rejection of him and his stipulations in Lev 26:11, 15, 30, 43-44. That the allusion is intended is probable when account is taken of the last line of v. 21.
[14:19] 181 tn Heb “Why have you struck us and there is no healing for us.” The statement involves poetic exaggeration (hyperbole) for rhetorical effect.
[14:19] 182 tn Heb “[We hope] for a time of healing but behold terror.”
[14:19] sn The last two lines of this verse are repeated word for word from 8:15. There they are spoken by the people.
[14:20] 183 tn Heb “We acknowledge our wickedness [and] the iniquity of our [fore]fathers.” For the use of the word “know” to mean “confess,” “acknowledge” cf. BDB 394 s.v. יָדַע, Qal.1.f and compare the usage in Jer 3:13.
[14:20] sn For a longer example of an individual identifying with the nation and confessing their sins and the sins of their forefathers see Ps 106.
[14:20] 184 tn This is another example of the intensive use of כִּי (ki). See BDB 472 s.v. כִּי 1.e.
[14:21] 185 tn Heb “For the sake of your name.”
[14:21] 186 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[14:21] 187 tn English versions quite commonly supply “us” as an object for the verb in the first line. This is probably wrong. The Hebrew text reads: “Do not treat with contempt for the sake of your name; do not treat with disdain your glorious throne.” This is case of poetic parallelism where the object is left hanging until the second line. For an example of this see Prov 13:1 in the original and consult E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 103-4. There has also been some disagreement whether “your glorious throne” refers to the temple (as in 17:12) or Jerusalem (as in 3:17). From the beginning of the prayer in v. 19 where a similar kind of verb has been used with respect to Zion/Jerusalem it would appear that the contextual referent is Jerusalem. The absence of an object from the first line makes it possible to retain part of the metaphor in the translation and still convey some meaning.
[14:21] sn The place of God’s glorious throne was first of all the ark of the covenant where God was said to be enthroned between the cherubim, then the temple that housed it, then the city itself. See 2 Kgs 19:14-15 in the context of Sennacherib’s attack on Jerusalem.
[14:21] 188 tn Heb “Remember, do not break your covenant with us.”
[14:22] 189 tn The word הֶבֶל (hevel), often translated “vanities”, is a common pejorative epithet for idols or false gods. See already in 8:19 and 10:8.
[14:22] 190 tn Heb “Is it not you, O
[14:22] 191 tn The rhetorical negatives are balanced by a rhetorical positive.
