Yeremia 2:1--10:25
Konteks2:1 The Lord spoke to me. He said: 2:2 “Go and declare in the hearing of the people of Jerusalem: 1 ‘This is what the Lord says: “I have fond memories of you, 2 how devoted you were to me in your early years. 3 I remember how you loved me like a new bride; you followed me through the wilderness, through a land that had never been planted. 2:3 Israel was set apart to the Lord; they were like the first fruits of a harvest to him. 4 All who tried to devour them were punished; disaster came upon them,” says the Lord.’”
2:4 Now listen to what the Lord has to say, you descendants 5 of Jacob,
all you family groups from the nation 6 of Israel.
2:5 This is what the Lord says:
“What fault could your ancestors 7 have possibly found in me
that they strayed so far from me? 8
They paid allegiance to 9 worthless idols, and so became worthless to me. 10
2:6 They did not ask:
‘Where is the Lord who delivered us out of Egypt,
who brought us through the wilderness,
through a land of desert sands and rift valleys,
through a land of drought and deep darkness, 11
through a land in which no one travels,
and where no one lives?’ 12
2:7 I brought you 13 into a fertile land
so you could enjoy 14 its fruits and its rich bounty.
But when you entered my land, you defiled it; 15
you made the land I call my own 16 loathsome to me.
2:8 Your priests 17 did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’ 18
Those responsible for teaching my law 19 did not really know me. 20
Your rulers rebelled against me.
Your prophets prophesied in the name of the god Baal. 21
They all worshiped idols that could not help them. 22
2:9 “So, once more I will state my case 23 against you,” says the Lord.
“I will also state it against your children and grandchildren. 24
2:10 Go west 25 across the sea to the coasts of Cyprus 26 and see.
Send someone east to Kedar 27 and have them look carefully.
See if such a thing as this has ever happened:
2:11 Has a nation ever changed its gods
(even though they are not really gods at all)?
But my people have exchanged me, their glorious God, 28
for a god that cannot help them at all! 29
2:12 Be amazed at this, O heavens! 30
Be shocked and utterly dumbfounded,”
says the Lord.
2:13 “Do so because my people have committed a double wrong:
they have rejected me,
the fountain of life-giving water, 31
and they have dug cisterns for themselves,
cracked cisterns which cannot even hold water.”
2:14 “Israel is not a slave, is he?
He was not born into slavery, was he? 32
If not, why then is he being carried off?
2:15 Like lions his enemies roar victoriously over him;
they raise their voices in triumph. 33
They have laid his land waste;
his cities have been burned down and deserted. 34
2:16 Even the soldiers 35 from Memphis and Tahpanhes
have cracked your skulls, people of Israel. 36
2:17 You have brought all this on yourself, Israel, 37
by deserting the Lord your God when he was leading you along the right path. 38
2:18 What good will it do you 39 then 40 to go down to Egypt
to seek help from the Egyptians? 41
What good will it do you 42 to go over to Assyria
to seek help from the Assyrians? 43
2:19 Your own wickedness will bring about your punishment.
Your unfaithful acts will bring down discipline on you. 44
Know, then, and realize how utterly harmful 45
it was for you to reject me, the Lord your God, 46
to show no respect for me,” 47
says the Lord God who rules over all. 48
2:20 “Indeed, 49 long ago you threw off my authority
and refused to be subject to me. 50
You said, ‘I will not serve you.’ 51
Instead, you gave yourself to other gods on every high hill
and under every green tree,
like a prostitute sprawls out before her lovers. 52
2:21 I planted you in the land
like a special vine of the very best stock.
Why in the world have you turned into something like a wild vine
that produces rotten, foul-smelling grapes? 53
2:22 You can try to wash away your guilt with a strong detergent.
You can use as much soap as you want.
But the stain of your guilt is still there for me to see,” 54
says the Lord God. 55
2:23 “How can you say, ‘I have not made myself unclean.
I have not paid allegiance to 56 the gods called Baal.’
Just look at the way you have behaved in the Valley of Hinnom! 57
Think about the things you have done there!
You are like a flighty, young female camel
that rushes here and there, crisscrossing its path. 58
2:24 You are like a wild female donkey brought up in the wilderness.
In her lust she sniffs the wind to get the scent of a male. 59
No one can hold her back when she is in heat.
None of the males need wear themselves out chasing after her.
At mating time she is easy to find. 60
2:25 Do not chase after other gods until your shoes wear out
and your throats become dry. 61
But you say, ‘It is useless for you to try and stop me
because I love those foreign gods 62 and want to pursue them!’
2:26 Just as a thief has to suffer dishonor when he is caught,
so the people of Israel 63 will suffer dishonor for what they have done. 64
So will their kings and officials,
their priests and their prophets.
2:27 They say to a wooden idol, 65 ‘You are my father.’
They say to a stone image, ‘You gave birth to me.’ 66
Yes, they have turned away from me instead of turning to me. 67
Yet when they are in trouble, they say, ‘Come and save us!’
2:28 But where are the gods you made for yourselves?
Let them save you when you are in trouble.
The sad fact is that 68 you have as many gods
as you have towns, Judah.
2:29 “Why do you try to refute me? 69
All of you have rebelled against me,”
says the Lord.
2:30 “It did no good for me to punish your people.
They did not respond to such correction.
You slaughtered your prophets
like a voracious lion.” 70
2:31 You people of this generation,
listen to what the Lord says.
“Have I been like a wilderness to you, Israel?
Have I been like a dark and dangerous land to you? 71
Why then do you 72 say, ‘We are free to wander. 73
We will not come to you any more?’
2:32 Does a young woman forget to put on her jewels?
Does a bride forget to put on her bridal attire?
But my people have forgotten me
for more days than can even be counted.
2:33 “My, how good you have become
at chasing after your lovers! 74
Why, you could even teach prostitutes a thing or two! 75
2:34 Even your clothes are stained with
the lifeblood of the poor who had not done anything wrong;
you did not catch them breaking into your homes. 76
Yet, in spite of all these things you have done, 77
2:35 you say, ‘I have not done anything wrong,
so the Lord cannot really be angry with me any more.’
But, watch out! 78 I will bring down judgment on you
because you say, ‘I have not committed any sin.’
2:36 Why do you constantly go about
changing your political allegiances? 79
You will get no help from Egypt
just as you got no help from Assyria. 80
2:37 Moreover, you will come away from Egypt
with your hands covering your faces in sorrow and shame 81
because the Lord will not allow your reliance on them to be successful
and you will not gain any help from them. 82
3:1 “If a man divorces his wife
and she leaves him and becomes another man’s wife,
he may not take her back again. 83
Doing that would utterly defile the land. 84
But you, Israel, have given yourself as a prostitute to many gods. 85
So what makes you think you can return to me?” 86
says the Lord.
3:2 “Look up at the hilltops and consider this. 87
You have had sex with other gods on every one of them. 88
You waited for those gods like a thief lying in wait in the desert. 89
You defiled the land by your wicked prostitution to other gods. 90
3:3 That is why the rains have been withheld,
and the spring rains have not come.
Yet in spite of this you are obstinate as a prostitute. 91
You refuse to be ashamed of what you have done.
3:4 Even now you say to me, ‘You are my father! 92
You have been my faithful companion ever since I was young.
3:5 You will not always be angry with me, will you?
You will not be mad at me forever, will you?’ 93
That is what you say,
but you continually do all the evil that you can.” 94
3:6 When Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, you have no doubt seen what wayward Israel has done. 95 You have seen how she went up to every high hill and under every green tree to give herself like a prostitute to other gods. 96 3:7 Yet even after she had done all that, I thought that she might come back to me. 97 But she did not. Her sister, unfaithful Judah, saw what she did. 98 3:8 She also saw 99 that I gave wayward Israel her divorce papers and sent her away because of her adulterous worship of other gods. 100 Even after her unfaithful sister Judah had seen this, 101 she still was not afraid, and she too went and gave herself like a prostitute to other gods. 102 3:9 Because she took her prostitution so lightly, she defiled the land 103 through her adulterous worship of gods made of wood and stone. 104 3:10 In spite of all this, 105 Israel’s sister, unfaithful Judah, has not turned back to me with any sincerity; she has only pretended to do so,” 106 says the Lord. 3:11 Then the Lord said to me, “Under the circumstances, wayward Israel could even be considered less guilty than unfaithful Judah. 107
3:12 “Go and shout this message to my people in the countries in the north. 108 Tell them,
‘Come back to me, wayward Israel,’ says the Lord.
‘I will not continue to look on you with displeasure. 109
For I am merciful,’ says the Lord.
‘I will not be angry with you forever.
3:13 However, you must confess that you have done wrong, 110
and that you have rebelled against the Lord your God.
You must confess 111 that you have given yourself to 112 foreign gods under every green tree,
and have not obeyed my commands,’ says the Lord.
3:14 “Come back to me, my wayward sons,” says the Lord, “for I am your true master. 113 If you do, 114 I will take one of you from each town and two of you from each family group, and I will bring you back to Zion. 3:15 I will give you leaders 115 who will be faithful to me. 116 They will lead you with knowledge and insight. 3:16 In those days, your population will greatly increase 117 in the land. At that time,” says the Lord, “people will no longer talk about having the ark 118 that contains the Lord’s covenant with us. 119 They will not call it to mind, remember it, or miss it. No, that will not be done any more! 120 3:17 At that time the city of Jerusalem 121 will be called the Lord’s throne. All nations will gather there in Jerusalem to honor the Lord’s name. 122 They will no longer follow the stubborn inclinations of their own evil hearts. 123 3:18 At that time 124 the nation of Judah and the nation of Israel will be reunited. 125 Together they will come back from a land in the north to the land that I gave to your ancestors as a permanent possession. ” 126
3:19 “I thought to myself, 127
‘Oh what a joy it would be for me to treat you like a son! 128
What a joy it would be for me to give 129 you a pleasant land,
the most beautiful piece of property there is in all the world!’ 130
I thought you would call me, ‘Father’ 131
and would never cease being loyal to me. 132
3:20 But, you have been unfaithful to me, nation of Israel, 133
like an unfaithful wife who has left her husband,” 134
says the Lord.
3:21 “A noise is heard on the hilltops.
It is the sound of the people of Israel crying and pleading to their gods.
Indeed they have followed sinful ways; 135
they have forgotten to be true to the Lord their God. 136
3:22 Come back to me, you wayward people.
I want to cure your waywardness. 137
Say, 138 ‘Here we are. We come to you
because you are the Lord our God.
3:23 We know our noisy worship of false gods
on the hills and mountains did not help us. 139
We know that the Lord our God
is the only one who can deliver Israel. 140
3:24 From earliest times our worship of that shameful god, Baal,
has taken away 141 all that our ancestors 142 worked for.
It has taken away our flocks and our herds,
and even our sons and daughters.
3:25 Let us acknowledge 143 our shame.
Let us bear the disgrace that we deserve. 144
For we have sinned against the Lord our God,
both we and our ancestors.
From earliest times to this very day
we have not obeyed the Lord our God.’
4:1 “If you, Israel, want to come back,” says the Lord,
“if you want to come back to me 145
you must get those disgusting idols 146 out of my sight
and must no longer go astray. 147
4:2 You must be truthful, honest and upright
when you take an oath saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’ 148
If you do, 149 the nations will pray to be as blessed by him as you are
and will make him the object of their boasting.” 150
4:3 Yes, 151 the Lord has this to say
to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:
“Like a farmer breaking up hard unplowed ground,
you must break your rebellious will and make a new beginning;
just as a farmer must clear away thorns lest the seed is wasted,
you must get rid of the sin that is ruining your lives. 152
4:4 Just as ritual circumcision cuts away the foreskin
as an external symbol of dedicated covenant commitment,
you must genuinely dedicate yourselves to the Lord
and get rid of everything that hinders your commitment to me, 153
people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem.
If you do not, 154 my anger will blaze up like a flaming fire against you
that no one will be able to extinguish.
That will happen because of the evil you have done.”
“Announce 156 this in Judah and proclaim it in Jerusalem: 157
‘Sound the trumpet 158 throughout the land!’
Shout out loudly,
‘Gather together! Let us flee into the fortified cities!’
4:6 Raise a signal flag that tells people to go to Zion. 159
Run for safety! Do not delay!
For I am about to bring disaster out of the north.
It will bring great destruction. 160
4:7 Like a lion that has come up from its lair 161
the one who destroys nations has set out from his home base. 162
He is coming out to lay your land waste.
Your cities will become ruins and lie uninhabited.
4:8 So put on sackcloth!
Mourn and wail, saying,
‘The fierce anger of the Lord
has not turned away from us!’” 163
4:9 “When this happens,” 164 says the Lord,
“the king and his officials will lose their courage.
The priests will be struck with horror,
and the prophets will be speechless in astonishment.”
4:10 In response to all this 165 I said, “Ah, Lord God, 166 you have surely allowed 167 the people of Judah and Jerusalem 168 to be deceived by those who say, ‘You will be safe!’ 169 But in fact a sword is already at our throats.” 170
4:11 “At that time the people of Judah and Jerusalem 171 will be told,
‘A scorching wind will sweep down
from the hilltops in the desert on 172 my dear people. 173
It will not be a gentle breeze
for winnowing the grain and blowing away the chaff. 174
4:12 No, 175 a wind too strong for that will come at my bidding.
Yes, even now I, myself, am calling down judgment on them.’ 176
4:13 Look! The enemy is approaching like gathering clouds. 177
The roar of his chariots is like that of a whirlwind. 178
His horses move more swiftly than eagles.”
I cry out, 179 “We are doomed, 180 for we will be destroyed!”
4:14 “Oh people of Jerusalem, purify your hearts from evil 181
so that you may yet be delivered.
How long will you continue to harbor up
wicked schemes within you?
4:15 For messengers are coming, heralding disaster,
from the city of Dan and from the hills of Ephraim. 182
‘Announce to the surrounding nations, 184
“The enemy is coming!” 185
Proclaim this message 186 to Jerusalem:
“Those who besiege cities 187 are coming from a distant land.
They are ready to raise the battle cry against 188 the towns in Judah.”’
4:17 They will surround Jerusalem 189
like men guarding a field 190
because they have rebelled against me,”
says the Lord.
4:18 “The way you have lived and the things you have done 191
will bring this on you.
This is the punishment you deserve, and it will be painful indeed. 192
The pain will be so bad it will pierce your heart.” 193
“Oh, the feeling in the pit of my stomach! 195
I writhe in anguish.
Oh, the pain in my heart! 196
My heart pounds within me.
I cannot keep silent.
For I hear the sound of the trumpet; 197
the sound of the battle cry pierces my soul! 198
4:20 I see 199 one destruction after another taking place,
so that the whole land lies in ruins.
I see our 200 tents suddenly destroyed,
their 201 curtains torn down in a mere instant. 202
4:21 “How long must I see the enemy’s battle flags
and hear the military signals of their bugles?” 203
“This will happen 205 because my people are foolish.
They do not know me.
They are like children who have no sense. 206
They have no understanding.
They are skilled at doing evil.
They do not know how to do good.”
4:23 “I looked at the land and saw 207 that it was an empty wasteland. 208
I looked up at the sky, and its light had vanished.
4:24 I looked at the mountains and saw that they were shaking.
All the hills were swaying back and forth!
4:25 I looked and saw that there were no more people, 209
and that all the birds in the sky had flown away.
4:26 I looked and saw that the fruitful land had become a desert
and that all of the cities had been laid in ruins.
The Lord had brought this all about
because of his blazing anger. 210
4:27 All this will happen because the Lord said, 211
“The whole land will be desolate;
however, I will not completely destroy it.
4:28 Because of this the land will mourn
and the sky above will grow black. 212
For I have made my purpose known 213
and I will not relent or turn back from carrying it out.” 214
4:29 At the sound of the approaching horsemen and archers
the people of every town will flee.
Some of them will hide in the thickets.
Others will climb up among the rocks.
All the cities will be deserted.
No one will remain in them.
4:30 And you, Zion, city doomed to destruction, 215
you accomplish nothing 216 by wearing a beautiful dress, 217
decking yourself out in jewels of gold,
and putting on eye shadow! 218
You are making yourself beautiful for nothing.
Your lovers spurn you.
They want to kill you. 219
4:31 In fact, 220 I hear a cry like that of a woman in labor,
a cry of anguish like that of a woman giving birth to her first baby.
It is the cry of Daughter Zion 221 gasping for breath,
reaching out for help, 222 saying, “I am done in! 223
My life is ebbing away before these murderers!”
“Go up and down 225 through the streets of Jerusalem. 226
Look around and see for yourselves.
Search through its public squares.
See if any of you can find a single person
who deals honestly and tries to be truthful. 227
If you can, 228 then I will not punish this city. 229
5:2 These people make promises in the name of the Lord. 230
But the fact is, 231 what they swear to is really a lie.” 232
5:3 Lord, I know you look for faithfulness. 233
But even when you punish these people, they feel no remorse. 234
Even when you nearly destroy them, they refuse to be corrected.
They have become as hardheaded as a rock. 235
They refuse to change their ways. 236
5:4 I thought, “Surely it is only the ignorant poor who act this way. 237
They act like fools because they do not know what the Lord demands. 238
They do not know what their God requires of them. 239
5:5 I will go to the leaders 240
and speak with them.
Surely they know what the Lord demands. 241
Surely they know what their God requires of them.” 242
Yet all of them, too, have rejected his authority
and refuse to submit to him. 243
5:6 So like a lion from the thicket their enemies will kill them.
Like a wolf from the desert they will destroy them.
Like a leopard they will lie in wait outside their cities
and totally destroy anyone who ventures out. 244
For they have rebelled so much
and done so many unfaithful things. 245
“How can I leave you unpunished, Jerusalem? 247
Your people 248 have rejected me
and have worshiped gods that are not gods at all. 249
Even though I supplied all their needs, 250 they were like an unfaithful wife to me. 251
They went flocking 252 to the houses of prostitutes. 253
5:8 They are like lusty, well-fed 254 stallions.
Each of them lusts after 255 his neighbor’s wife.
5:9 I will surely punish them for doing such things!” says the Lord.
“I will surely bring retribution on such a nation as this!” 256
5:10 The Lord commanded the enemy, 257
“March through the vineyards of Israel and Judah and ruin them. 258
But do not destroy them completely.
Strip off their branches
for these people do not belong to the Lord. 259
5:11 For the nations of Israel and Judah 260
have been very unfaithful to me,”
says the Lord.
5:12 “These people have denied what the Lord says. 261
They have said, ‘That is not so! 262
No harm will come to us.
We will not experience war and famine. 263
5:13 The prophets will prove to be full of wind. 264
The Lord has not spoken through them. 265
So, let what they say happen to them.’”
5:14 Because of that, 266 the Lord, the God who rules over all, 267 said to me, 268
“Because these people have spoken 269 like this, 270
I will make the words that I put in your mouth like fire.
And I will make this people like wood
which the fiery judgments you speak will burn up.” 271
5:15 The Lord says, 272 “Listen, 273 nation of Israel! 274
I am about to bring a nation from far away to attack you.
It will be a nation that was founded long ago
and has lasted for a long time.
It will be a nation whose language you will not know.
Its people will speak words that you will not be able to understand.
5:16 All of its soldiers are strong and mighty. 275
Their arrows will send you to your grave. 276
5:17 They will eat up your crops and your food.
They will kill off 277 your sons and your daughters.
They will eat up your sheep and your cattle.
They will destroy your vines and your fig trees. 278
Their weapons will batter down 279
the fortified cities you trust in.
5:18 Yet even then 280 I will not completely destroy you,” says the Lord. 5:19 “So then, Jeremiah, 281 when your people 282 ask, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?’ tell them, ‘It is because you rejected me and served foreign gods in your own land. So 283 you must serve foreigners 284 in a land that does not belong to you.’
5:20 “Proclaim 285 this message among the descendants of Jacob. 286
Make it known throughout Judah.
5:21 Tell them: ‘Hear this,
you foolish people who have no understanding,
who have eyes but do not discern,
who have ears but do not perceive: 287
5:22 “You should fear me!” says the Lord.
“You should tremble in awe before me! 288
I made the sand to be a boundary for the sea,
a permanent barrier that it can never cross.
Its waves may roll, but they can never prevail.
They may roar, but they can never cross beyond that boundary.” 289
5:23 But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts.
They have turned aside and gone their own way. 290
5:24 They do not say to themselves, 291
“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.” 292
5:25 Your misdeeds have stopped these things from coming. 293
Your sins have deprived you of my bounty.’ 294
5:26 “Indeed, there are wicked scoundrels among my people.
They lie in wait like bird catchers hiding in ambush. 295
They set deadly traps 296 to catch people.
5:27 Like a cage filled with the birds that have been caught, 297
their houses are filled with the gains of their fraud and deceit. 298
That is how they have gotten so rich and powerful. 299
5:28 That is how 300 they have grown fat and sleek. 301
There is no limit to the evil things they do. 302
They do not plead the cause of the fatherless in such a way as to win it.
They do not defend the rights of the poor.
5:29 I will certainly punish them for doing such things!” says the Lord.
“I will certainly bring retribution on such a nation as this! 303
5:30 “Something horrible and shocking
is going on in the land of Judah:
5:31 The prophets prophesy lies.
The priests exercise power by their own authority. 304
And my people love to have it this way.
But they will not be able to help you when the time of judgment comes! 305
6:1 “Run for safety, people of Benjamin!
Get out of Jerusalem! 306
Sound the trumpet 307 in Tekoa!
Light the signal fires at Beth Hakkerem!
For disaster lurks 308 out of the north;
it will bring great destruction. 309
6:2 I will destroy 310 Daughter Zion, 311
who is as delicate and defenseless as a young maiden. 312
6:3 Kings will come against it with their armies. 313
They will encamp in siege all around it. 314
Each of them will devastate the portion assigned to him. 315
6:4 They will say, 316 ‘Prepare to do battle 317 against it!
Come on! Let’s attack it at noon!’
But later they will say, 318 ‘Oh, oh! Too bad! 319
The day is almost over
and the shadows of evening are getting long.
6:5 So come on, let’s go ahead and attack it by night
and destroy all its fortified buildings.’
6:6 All of this is because 320 the Lord who rules over all 321 has said:
‘Cut down the trees around Jerusalem
and build up a siege ramp against its walls. 322
This is the city which is to be punished. 323
Nothing but oppression happens in it. 324
6:7 As a well continually pours out fresh water
so it continually pours out wicked deeds. 325
Sounds of violence and destruction echo throughout it. 326
All I see are sick and wounded people.’ 327
6:8 So 328 take warning, Jerusalem,
or I will abandon you in disgust 329
and make you desolate,
a place where no one can live.”
6:9 This is what the Lord who rules over all 330 said to me: 331
“Those who remain in Israel will be
like the grapes thoroughly gleaned 332 from a vine.
So go over them again, as though you were a grape harvester
passing your hand over the branches one last time.” 333
“Who would listen
if I spoke to them and warned them? 335
Their ears are so closed 336
that they cannot hear!
Indeed, 337 what the Lord says is offensive to them.
They do not like it at all. 338
6:11 I am as full of anger as you are, Lord, 339
I am tired of trying to hold it in.”
The Lord answered, 340
“Vent it, then, 341 on the children who play in the street
and on the young men who are gathered together.
Husbands and wives are to be included, 342
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 343
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. 344
They say, ‘Everything will be all right!’
But everything is not all right! 345
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. 346
They will be brought to ruin when I punish them,”
says the Lord.
6:16 The Lord said to his people: 347
“You are standing at the crossroads. So consider your path. 348
Ask where the old, reliable paths 349 are.
Ask where the path is that leads to blessing 350 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, 352 saying:
‘Pay attention to the warning sound of the trumpet!’” 353
But they said, “We will not pay attention!”
“Hear, you nations!
Be witnesses and take note of what will happen to these people. 355
6:19 Hear this, you peoples of the earth: 356
‘Take note! 357 I am about to bring disaster on these people.
It will come as punishment for their scheming. 358
For they have paid no attention to what I have said, 359
and they have rejected my law.
6:20 I take no delight 360 when they offer up to me 361
frankincense that comes from Sheba
or sweet-smelling cane imported from a faraway land.
I cannot accept the burnt offerings they bring me.
I get no pleasure from the sacrifices they offer to me.’ 362
6:21 So, this is what the Lord says:
‘I will assuredly 363 make these people stumble to their doom. 364
Parents and children will stumble and fall to their destruction. 365
Friends and neighbors will die.’
6:22 “This is what the Lord says:
‘Beware! An army 366 is coming from a land in the north.
A mighty nation is stirring into action in faraway parts of the earth.
6:23 Its soldiers are armed with bows and spears.
They are cruel and show no mercy.
They sound like the roaring sea
as they ride forth on their horses.
Lined up in formation like men going into battle
to attack you, Daughter Zion.’” 367
6:24 The people cry out, 368 “We have heard reports about them!
We have become helpless with fear! 369
Anguish grips us,
agony like that of a woman giving birth to a baby!
6:25 Do not go out into the countryside.
Do not travel on the roads.
For the enemy is there with sword in hand. 370
They are spreading terror everywhere.” 371
6:26 So I said, 372 “Oh, my dear people, 373 put on sackcloth
and roll in ashes.
Mourn with painful sobs
as though you had lost your only child.
For any moment now 374 that destructive army 375
will come against us.”
“I have made you like a metal assayer
to test my people like ore. 377
You are to observe them
and evaluate how they behave.” 378
“All of them are the most stubborn of rebels! 380
They are as hard as bronze or iron.
They go about telling lies.
They all deal corruptly.
6:29 The fiery bellows of judgment burn fiercely.
But there is too much dross to be removed. 381
The process of refining them has proved useless. 382
The wicked have not been purged.
6:30 They are regarded as ‘rejected silver’ 383
because the Lord rejects them.”
7:1 The Lord said to Jeremiah: 384 7:2 “Stand in the gate of the Lord’s temple and proclaim 385 this message: ‘Listen, all you people of Judah who have passed through these gates to worship the Lord. 386 Hear what the Lord has to say. 7:3 The Lord God of Israel who rules over all 387 says: Change the way you have been living and do what is right. 388 If you do, I will allow you to continue to live in this land. 389 7:4 Stop putting your confidence in the false belief that says, 390 “We are safe! 391 The temple of the Lord is here! The temple of the Lord is here! The temple of the Lord is here!” 392 7:5 You must change 393 the way you have been living and do what is right. You must treat one another fairly. 394 7:6 Stop oppressing foreigners who live in your land, children who have lost their fathers, and women who have lost their husbands. 395 Stop killing innocent people 396 in this land. Stop paying allegiance to 397 other gods. That will only bring about your ruin. 398 7:7 If you stop doing these things, 399 I will allow you to continue to live in this land 400 which I gave to your ancestors as a lasting possession. 401
7:8 “‘But just look at you! 402 You are putting your confidence in a false belief 403 that will not deliver you. 404 7:9 You steal. 405 You murder. You commit adultery. You lie when you swear on oath. You sacrifice to the god Baal. You pay allegiance to 406 other gods whom you have not previously known. 7:10 Then you come and stand in my presence in this temple I have claimed as my own 407 and say, “We are safe!” You think you are so safe that you go on doing all those hateful sins! 408 7:11 Do you think this temple I have claimed as my own 409 is to be a hideout for robbers? 410 You had better take note! 411 I have seen for myself what you have done! says the Lord. 7:12 So, go to the place in Shiloh where I allowed myself to be worshiped 412 in the early days. See what I did to it 413 because of the wicked things my people Israel did. 7:13 You also have done all these things, says the Lord, and I have spoken to you over and over again. 414 But you have not listened! You have refused to respond when I called you to repent! 415 7:14 So I will destroy this temple which I have claimed as my own, 416 this temple that you are trusting to protect you. I will destroy this place that I gave to you and your ancestors, 417 just like I destroyed Shiloh. 418 7:15 And I will drive you out of my sight just like I drove out your relatives, the people of Israel.’” 419
7:16 Then the Lord said, 420 “As for you, Jeremiah, 421 do not pray for these people! Do not cry out to me or petition me on their behalf! Do not plead with me to save them, 422 because I will not listen to you. 7:17 Do you see 423 what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 424 7:18 Children are gathering firewood, fathers are building fires with it, and women are mixing dough to bake cakes to offer to the goddess they call the Queen of Heaven. 425 They are also pouring out drink offerings to other gods. They seem to do all this just 426 to trouble me. 7:19 But I am not really the one being troubled!” 427 says the Lord. “Rather they are bringing trouble on themselves to their own shame! 428 7:20 So,” the Lord God 429 says, “my raging fury will be poured out on this land. 430 It will be poured out on human beings and animals, on trees and crops. 431 And it will burn like a fire which cannot be extinguished.”
7:21 The Lord said to the people of Judah, 432 “The Lord God of Israel who rules over all 433 says: ‘You might as well go ahead and add the meat of your burnt offerings to that of the other sacrifices and eat it, too! 434 7:22 Consider this: 435 When I spoke to your ancestors after I brought them out of Egypt, I did not merely give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices. 7:23 I also explicitly commanded them: 436 “Obey me. If you do, I 437 will be your God and you will be my people. Live exactly the way I tell you 438 and things will go well with you.” 7:24 But they did not listen to me or pay any attention to me. They followed the stubborn inclinations of their own wicked hearts. They acted worse and worse instead of better. 439 7:25 From the time your ancestors departed the land of Egypt until now, 440 I sent my servants the prophets to you again and again, 441 day after day. 442 7:26 But your ancestors 443 did not listen to me nor pay attention to me. They became obstinate 444 and were more wicked than even their own forefathers.’”
7:27 Then the Lord said to me, 445 “When you tell them all this, they will not listen to you. When you call out to them, they will not respond to you. 7:28 So tell them: ‘This is a nation that has not obeyed the Lord their God and has not accepted correction. Faithfulness is nowhere to be found in it. These people do not even profess it anymore. 446 7:29 So, mourn, 447 you people of this nation. 448 Cut off your hair and throw it away. Sing a song of mourning on the hilltops. For the Lord has decided to reject 449 and forsake this generation that has provoked his wrath!’” 450
7:30 The Lord says, “I have rejected them because 451 the people of Judah have done what I consider evil. 452 They have set up their disgusting idols in the temple 453 which I have claimed for my own 454 and have defiled it. 7:31 They have also built places of worship 455 in a place called Topheth 456 in the Valley of Ben Hinnom so that they can sacrifice their sons and daughters by fire. That is something I never commanded them to do! Indeed, it never even entered my mind to command such a thing! 457 7:32 So, watch out!” 458 says the Lord. “The time will soon come when people will no longer call those places Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom. But they will call that valley 459 the Valley of Slaughter and they will bury so many people in Topheth they will run out of room. 460 7:33 Then the dead bodies of these people will be left on the ground for the birds and wild animals to eat. 461 There will not be any survivors to scare them away. 7:34 I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness, or the glad celebration of brides and grooms throughout the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. For the whole land will become a desolate wasteland.”
8:1 The Lord says, “When that time comes, 462 the bones of the kings of Judah and its leaders, the bones of the priests and prophets and of all the other people who lived in Jerusalem will be dug up from their graves. 8:2 They will be spread out and exposed to the sun, the moon and the stars. 463 These are things they 464 adored and served, things to which they paid allegiance, 465 from which they sought guidance, and worshiped. The bones of these people 466 will never be regathered and reburied. They will be like manure used to fertilize the ground. 467 8:3 However, I will leave some of these wicked people alive and banish them to other places. But wherever these people who survive may go, they will wish they had died rather than lived,” 468 says the Lord who rules over all. 469
“Tell them, ‘The Lord says,
Do people not get back up when they fall down?
Do they not turn around when they go the wrong way? 471
8:5 Why, then, do these people of Jerusalem 472
continually turn away from me in apostasy?
They hold fast to their deception. 473
They refuse to turn back to me. 474
8:6 I have listened to them very carefully, 475
but they do not speak honestly.
None of them regrets the evil he has done.
None of them says, “I have done wrong!” 476
All of them persist in their own wayward course 477
like a horse charging recklessly into battle.
8:7 Even the stork knows
when it is time to move on. 478
The turtledove, swallow, and crane 479
recognize 480 the normal times for their migration.
But my people pay no attention
to 481 what I, the Lord, require of them. 482
8:8 How can you say, “We are wise!
We have the law of the Lord”?
The truth is, 483 those who teach it 484 have used their writings
to make it say what it does not really mean. 485
8:9 Your wise men will be put to shame.
They will be dumbfounded and be brought to judgment. 486
Since they have rejected the word of the Lord,
what wisdom do they really have?
8:10 487 So I will give their wives to other men
and their fields to new owners.
For from the least important to the most important of them,
all of them are greedy for dishonest gain.
Prophets and priests alike,
all practice deceit.
8:11 They offer only superficial help
for the hurt my dear people 488 have suffered. 489
They say, “Everything will be all right!”
But everything is not all right! 490
8:12 Are they ashamed because they have done such disgusting 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. 491
They will be brought to ruin when I punish them,
says the Lord.
8:13 I will take away their harvests, 492 says the Lord.
There will be no grapes on their vines.
There will be no figs on their fig trees.
Even the leaves on their trees will wither.
The crops that I gave them will be taken away.’” 493
“Why are we just sitting here?
Let us gather together inside the fortified cities. 495
Let us at least die there fighting, 496
since the Lord our God has condemned us to die.
He has condemned us to drink the poison waters of judgment 497
because we have sinned against him. 498
8:15 We hoped for good fortune, but nothing good has come of it.
We hoped for a time of relief, but instead we experience terror. 499
8:16 The snorting of the enemy’s horses
is already being heard in the city of Dan.
The sound of the neighing of their stallions 500
causes the whole land to tremble with fear.
They are coming to destroy the land and everything in it!
They are coming to destroy 501 the cities and everyone who lives in them!”
“Yes indeed, 503 I am sending an enemy against you
that will be like poisonous snakes which cannot be charmed away. 504
And they will inflict fatal wounds on you.” 505
“There is no cure 507 for my grief!
I am sick at heart!
8:19 I hear my dear people 508 crying out 509
throughout the length and breadth of the land. 510
They are crying, ‘Is the Lord no longer in Zion?
Is her divine King 511 no longer there?’”
The Lord answers, 512
“Why then do they provoke me to anger with their images,
with their worthless foreign idols?” 513
8:20 “They cry, 514 ‘Harvest time has come and gone, and the summer is over, 515
and still we have not been delivered.’
8:21 My heart is crushed because my dear people 516 are being crushed. 517
I go about crying and grieving. I am overwhelmed with dismay. 518
8:22 There is still medicinal ointment 519 available in Gilead!
There is still a physician there! 520
Why then have my dear people 521
not been restored to health? 522
9:1 (8:23) 523 I wish that my head were a well full of water 524
and my eyes were a fountain full of tears!
If they were, I could cry day and night
for those of my dear people 525 who have been killed.
9:2 (9:1) I wish I had a lodging place in the desert
where I could spend some time like a weary traveler. 526
Then I would desert my people
and walk away from them
because they are all unfaithful to God,
a congregation 527 of people that has been disloyal to him. 528
“These people are like soldiers who have readied their bows.
Their tongues are always ready to shoot out lies. 530
They have become powerful in the land,
but they have not done so by honest means. 531
Indeed, they do one evil thing after another 532
and do not pay attention to me. 533
9:4 Everyone must be on his guard around his friends.
He must not even trust any of his relatives. 534
For every one of them will find some way to cheat him. 535
And all of his friends will tell lies about him.
9:5 One friend deceives another
and no one tells the truth.
These people have trained themselves 536 to tell lies.
They do wrong and are unable to repent.
9:6 They do one act of violence after another,
and one deceitful thing after another. 537
They refuse to pay attention to me,” 538
says the Lord.
9:7 Therefore the Lord who rules over all says, 539
“I will now purify them in the fires of affliction 540 and test them.
The wickedness of my dear people 541 has left me no choice.
What else can I do? 542
9:8 Their tongues are like deadly arrows. 543
They are always telling lies. 544
Friendly words for their neighbors come from their mouths.
But their minds are thinking up ways to trap them. 545
9:9 I will certainly punish them for doing such things!” says the Lord.
“I will certainly bring retribution on such a nation as this!” 546
“I will weep and mourn 548 for the grasslands on the mountains, 549
I will sing a mournful song for the pastures in the wilderness
because they are so scorched no one travels through them.
The sound of livestock is no longer heard there.
Even the birds in the sky and the wild animals in the fields
have fled and are gone.”
“I will make Jerusalem 551 a heap of ruins.
Jackals will make their home there. 552
I will destroy the towns of Judah
so that no one will be able to live in them.”
“Who is wise enough to understand why this has happened? 554
Who has a word from the Lord that can explain it? 555
Why does the land lie in ruins?
Why is it as scorched as a desert through which no one travels?”
9:13 The Lord answered, “This has happened because these people have rejected my laws which I gave them. They have not obeyed me or followed those laws. 556 9:14 Instead they have followed the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts. They have paid allegiance to 557 the gods called Baal, 558 as their fathers 559 taught them to do. 9:15 So then, listen to what I, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all, 560 say. 561 ‘I will make these people eat the bitter food of suffering and drink the poison water of judgment. 562 9:16 I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors 563 have known anything about. I will send people chasing after them with swords 564 until I have destroyed them.’” 565
9:17 The Lord who rules over all 566 told me to say to this people, 567
“Take note of what I say. 568
Call for the women who mourn for the dead!
Summon those who are the most skilled at it!” 569
9:18 I said, “Indeed, 570 let them come quickly and sing a song of mourning for us.
Let them wail loudly until tears stream from our own eyes
and our eyelids overflow with water.
9:19 For the sound of wailing is soon to be heard in Zion.
They will wail, 571 ‘We are utterly ruined! 572 We are completely disgraced!
For our houses have been torn down
and we must leave our land.’” 573
“So now, 575 you wailing women, hear what the Lord says. 576
Open your ears to the words from his mouth.
Teach your daughters this mournful song,
and each of you teach your neighbor 577 this lament.
9:21 ‘Death has climbed in 578 through our windows.
It has entered into our fortified houses.
It has taken away our children who play in the streets.
It has taken away our young men who gather in the city squares.’
9:22 Tell your daughters and neighbors, ‘The Lord says,
“The dead bodies of people will lie scattered everywhere
like manure scattered on a field.
They will lie scattered on the ground
like grain that has been cut down but has not been gathered.”’” 579
“Wise people should not boast that they are wise.
Powerful people should not boast that they are powerful. 581
Rich people should not boast that they are rich. 582
9:24 If people want to boast, they should boast about this:
They should boast that they understand and know me.
They should boast that they know and understand
that I, the Lord, act out of faithfulness, fairness, and justice in the earth
and that I desire people to do these things,” 583
says the Lord.
9:25 The Lord says, “Watch out! 584 The time is soon coming when I will punish all those who are circumcised only in the flesh. 585 9:26 That is, I will punish the Egyptians, the Judeans, the Edomites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, and all the desert people who cut their hair short at the temples. 586 I will do so because none of the people of those nations are really circumcised in the Lord’s sight. 587 Moreover, none of the people of Israel 588 are circumcised when it comes to their hearts.” 589
10:1 You people of Israel, 590 listen to what the Lord has to say to you.
10:2 The Lord says,
“Do not start following pagan religious practices. 591
Do not be in awe of signs that occur 592 in the sky
even though the nations hold them in awe.
10:3 For the religion 593 of these people is worthless.
They cut down a tree in the forest,
and a craftsman makes it into an idol with his tools. 594
10:4 He decorates it with overlays of silver and gold.
He uses hammer and nails to fasten it 595 together
so that it will not fall over.
10:5 Such idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field.
They cannot talk.
They must be carried
because they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them
because they cannot hurt you.
And they do not have any power to help you.” 596
“There is no one like you, Lord. 598
You are great.
And you are renowned for your power. 599
10:7 Everyone should revere you, O King of all nations, 600
because you deserve to be revered. 601
For there is no one like you
among any of the wise people of the nations nor among any of their kings. 602
10:8 The people of those nations 603 are both stupid and foolish.
Instruction from a wooden idol is worthless! 604
10:9 Hammered-out silver is brought from Tarshish 605
and gold is brought from Uphaz 606 to cover those idols. 607
They are the handiwork of carpenters and goldsmiths. 608
They are clothed in blue and purple clothes. 609
They are all made by skillful workers. 610
10:10 The Lord is the only true God.
He is the living God and the everlasting King.
When he shows his anger the earth shakes.
None of the nations can stand up to his fury.
10:11 You people of Israel should tell those nations this:
‘These gods did not make heaven and earth.
They will disappear 611 from the earth and from under the heavens.’ 612
10:12 The Lord is the one who 613 by his power made the earth.
He is the one who by his wisdom established the world.
And by his understanding he spread out the skies.
10:13 When his voice thunders, 614 the heavenly ocean roars.
He makes the clouds rise from the far-off horizons. 615
He makes the lightning flash out in the midst of the rain.
He unleashes the wind from the places where he stores it. 616
10:14 All these idolaters 617 will prove to be stupid and ignorant.
Every goldsmith will be disgraced by the idol he made.
For the image he forges is merely a sham. 618
There is no breath in any of those idols. 619
10:15 They are worthless, mere objects to be mocked. 620
When the time comes to punish them, they will be destroyed.
10:16 The Lord, who is the inheritance 621 of Jacob’s descendants, 622 is not like them.
He is the one who created everything.
And the people of Israel are those he claims as his own. 623
He is known as the Lord who rules over all.” 624
10:17 Gather your belongings together and prepare to leave the land,
you people of Jerusalem 625 who are being besieged. 626
10:18 For the Lord says, “I will now throw out
those who live in this land.
I will bring so much trouble on them
that they will actually feel it.” 627
10:19 And I cried out, 628 “We are doomed! 629
Our wound is severe!
We once thought, ‘This is only an illness.
And we will be able to bear it!’ 630
10:20 But our tents have been destroyed.
The ropes that held them in place have been ripped apart. 631
Our children are gone and are not coming back. 632
There is no survivor to put our tents back up,
no one left to hang their tent curtains in place.
10:21 For our leaders 633 are stupid.
They have not sought the Lord’s advice. 634
So they do not act wisely,
and the people they are responsible for 635 have all been scattered.
10:22 Listen! News is coming even now. 636
The rumble of a great army is heard approaching 637 from a land in the north. 638
It is coming to turn the towns of Judah into rubble,
places where only jackals live.
10:23 Lord, we know that people do not control their own destiny. 639
It is not in their power to determine what will happen to them. 640
10:24 Correct us, Lord, but only in due measure. 641
Do not punish us in anger or you will reduce us to nothing. 642
10:25 Vent your anger on the nations that do not acknowledge you. 643
Vent it on the peoples 644 who do not worship you. 645
For they have destroyed the people of Jacob. 646
They have completely destroyed them 647
and left their homeland in utter ruin.
[2:2] 1 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[2:2] 2 tn Heb “I remember to/for you.”
[2:2] 3 tn Heb “the loyal love of your youth.”
[2:2] sn The Hebrew word translated “how devoted you were” (חֶסֶד, khesed) refers metaphorically to the devotion of a new bride to her husband. In typical Hebraic fashion, contemporary Israel is identified with early Israel after she first entered into covenant with (= married) the
[2:3] 4 sn Heb “the first fruits of his harvest.” Many commentators see the figure here as having theological significance for the calling of the Gentiles. It is likely, however, that in this context the metaphor – here rendered as a simile – is intended to bring out the special relationship and inviolability that Israel had with God. As the first fruits were the special possession of the
[2:5] 8 tn Or “I did not wrong your ancestors in any way. Yet they went far astray from me.” Both translations are an attempt to render the rhetorical question which demands a negative answer.
[2:5] 9 tn Heb “They went/followed after.” This idiom is found most often in Deuteronomy or covenant contexts. It refers to loyalty to God and to his covenant or his commandments (e.g., 1 Kgs 14:8; 2 Chr 34:31) with the metaphor of a path or way underlying it (e.g., Deut 11:28; 28:14). To “follow other gods” was to abandon this way and this loyalty (i.e., to “abandon” or “forget” God, Judg 2:12; Hos 2:13) and to follow the customs or religious traditions of the pagan nations (e.g., 2 Kgs 17:15). The classic text on “following” God or another god is 1 Kgs 18:18, 21 where Elijah taunts the people with “halting between two opinions” whether the
[2:5] 10 tn The words “to me” are not in the Hebrew text but are implicit from the context: Heb “they followed after the worthless thing/things and became worthless.” There is an obvious wordplay on the verb “became worthless” and the noun “worthless thing,” which is probably to be understood collectively and to refer to idols as it does in Jer 8:19; 10:8; 14:22; Jonah 2:8.
[2:6] 11 tn This word is erroneously rendered “shadow of death” in most older English versions; that translation is based on a faulty etymology. Contextual studies and comparative Semitic linguistics have demonstrated that the word is merely another word for darkness. It is confined to poetic texts and often carries connotations of danger and distress. It is associated in poetic texts with the darkness of a prison (Ps 107:10, 14), a mine (Job 28:3), and a ravine (Ps 23:4). Here it is associated with the darkness of the wasteland and ravines of the Sinai desert.
[2:6] 12 sn The context suggests that the question is related to a lament where the people turn to God in their troubles, asking him for help and reminding him of his past benefactions. See for example Isa 63:11-19 and Ps 44. It is an implicit prayer for his intervention, cf. 2 Kgs 2:14.
[2:7] 13 sn Note how contemporary Israel is again identified with her early ancestors. See the study note on 2:2.
[2:7] 15 sn I.e., made it ceremonially unclean. See Lev 18:19-30; Num 35:34; Deut 21:23.
[2:7] 16 tn Heb “my inheritance.” Or “the land [i.e., inheritance] I gave you,” reading the pronoun as indicating source rather than possession. The parallelism and the common use in Jeremiah of the term to refer to the land or people as the
[2:7] sn The land belonged to the
[2:8] 17 tn Heb “The priests…the ones who grasp my law…the shepherds…the prophets…they…”
[2:8] 18 sn See the study note on 2:6.
[2:8] 19 tn Heb “those who handle my law.”
[2:8] sn The reference is likely to the priests and Levites who were responsible for teaching the law (so Jer 18:18; cf. Deut 33:10). According to Jer 8:8 it could possibly refer to the scribes who copied the law.
[2:8] 20 tn Or “were not committed to me.” The Hebrew verb rendered “know” refers to more than mere intellectual knowledge. It carries also the ideas of emotional and volitional commitment as well intimacy. See for example its use in contexts like Hos 4:1; 6:6.
[2:8] 22 tn Heb “and they followed after those things [the word is plural] which do not profit.” The poetic structure of the verse, four lines in which a distinct subject appears at the beginning followed by a fifth line beginning with a prepositional phrase and no distinct subject, argues that this line is climactic and refers to all four classes enumerated in the preceding lines. See W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:88-89. There may be a play or pun in the Hebrew text on the name for the god Baal (בַּעַל, ba’al) and the verb “cannot help you” (Heb “do not profit”) which is spelled יַעַל (ya’al).
[2:9] 23 tn Or “bring charges against you.”
[2:9] sn The language used here is that of the law court. In international political contexts it was the language of a great king charging his subject with breach of covenant. See for examples in earlier prophets, Isa 1:2-20; Mic 6:1-8.
[2:9] 24 tn The words “your children and” are supplied in the translation to bring out the idea of corporate solidarity implicit in the passage.
[2:9] sn The passage reflects the Hebrew concept of corporate solidarity: The actions of parents had consequences for their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Compare the usage in the ten commandments, Deut 5:10, and note the execution of the children of Dathan and Abiram, Deut 11:6, and of Achan, Josh 7:24-25.
[2:10] 25 tn Heb “For go west.”
[2:10] 26 tn Heb “pass over to the coasts of Kittim.” The words “west across the sea” in this line and “east of” in the next are implicit in the text and are supplied in the translation to give geographical orientation.
[2:10] sn The Hebrew term translated Cyprus (“Kittim”) originally referred to the island of Cyprus but later was used for the lands in the west, including Macedonia (1 Macc 1:1; 8:5) and Rome (Dan 11:30). It is used here as part of a figure called merism to denote the lands in the west as opposed to Kedar which was in the east. The figure includes polar opposites to indicate totality, i.e., everywhere from west to east.
[2:10] 27 sn Kedar is the home of the Bedouin tribes in the Syro-Arabian desert. See Gen 25:18 and Jer 49:38. See also the previous note for the significance of the reference here.
[2:11] 28 tn Heb “have exchanged their glory [i.e., the God in whom they glory].” This is a case of a figure of speech where the attribute of a person or thing is put for the person or thing. Compare the common phrase in Isaiah, the Holy One of Israel, obviously referring to the
[2:11] 29 tn Heb “what cannot profit.” The verb is singular and the allusion is likely to Baal. See the translator’s note on 2:8 for the likely pun or wordplay.
[2:12] 30 sn In earlier literature the heavens (and the earth) were called on to witness Israel’s commitment to the covenant (Deut 30:12) and were called to serve as witnesses to Israel’s fidelity or infidelity to it (Isa 1:2; Mic 6:1).
[2:13] 31 tn It is difficult to decide whether to translate “fresh, running water” which the Hebrew term for “living water” often refers to (e.g., Gen 26:19; Lev 14:5), or “life-giving water” which the idiom “fountain of life” as source of life and vitality often refers to (e.g., Ps 36:9; Prov 13:14; 14:27). The contrast with cisterns, which collected and held rain water, suggests “fresh, running water,” but the reality underlying the metaphor contrasts the
[2:14] 32 tn Heb “Is Israel a slave? Or is he a house born slave?” The questions are rhetorical, expecting a negative answer.
[2:14] sn The
[2:15] 33 tn Heb “Lions shout over him, they give out [raise] their voices.”
[2:15] sn The reference to lions is here a metaphor for the Assyrians (and later the Babylonians, see Jer 50:17). The statement about lions roaring over their prey implies that the prey has been vanquished.
[2:15] 34 tn Heb “without inhabitant.”
[2:16] 35 tn Heb “the sons of…”
[2:16] 36 tc The translation follows the reading of the Syriac version. The Hebrew text reads “have grazed [= “shaved” ?] your skulls [as a sign of disgracing them].” Note that the reference shifts from third person, “him,” to second person, “you,” which is common in Hebrew style. The words “people of Israel” have been supplied in the translation to help identify the referent and ease the switch. The reading presupposes יְרֹעוּךְ (yÿro’ukh) a Qal imperfect from the verb רָעַע (ra’a’; see BDB 949 s.v. II רָעַע Qal.1 and compare usage in Jer 15:2; Ps 2:9). The MT reads יִרְעוּךְ (yir’ukh), a Qal imperfect from the root רָעָה (ra’ah; see BDB 945 s.v. I רָעָה Qal.2.b for usage). The use of the verb in the MT is unparalleled in the sense suggested, but the resultant figure, if “graze” can mean “shave,” is paralleled in Jer 47:5; 48:37; Isa 7:20. The reading of the variant is accepted on the basis that it is the rarer root; the scribe would have been more familiar with the root “graze” even though it is unparalleled in the figurative nuance implied here. The noun “head/skull” is functioning as an accusative of further specification (see GKC 372 §117.ll and compare usage in Gen 3:8), i.e., “they crack you on the skull” or “they shave you on the skull.” The verb is a prefixed form and in this context is either a preterite without vav (ו) consecutive or an iterative imperfect denoting repeated action. Some modern English versions render the verb in the future tense, “they will break [or shave] your skull.”
[2:17] 37 tn Heb “Are you not bringing this on yourself.” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.
[2:17] 38 tn Heb “at the time of leading you in the way.”
[2:18] 39 tn Heb “What to you to the way.”
[2:18] 40 tn The introductory particle וְעַתָּה (vÿ’attah, “and now”) carries a logical, not temporal, connotation here (cf. BDB 274 s.v. עַתָּה 2.b).
[2:18] 41 tn Heb “to drink water from the Shihor [a branch of the Nile].” The reference is to seeking help through political alliance with Egypt as opposed to trusting in God for help. This is an extension of the figure in 2:13.
[2:18] 42 tn Heb “What to you to the way.”
[2:18] 43 tn Heb “to drink water from the River [a common designation in biblical Hebrew for the Euphrates River].” This refers to seeking help through political alliance. See the preceding note.
[2:19] 44 tn Or “teach you a lesson”; Heb “rebuke/chide you.”
[2:19] 45 tn Heb “how evil and bitter.” The reference is to the consequences of their acts. This is a figure of speech (hendiadys) where two nouns or adjectives joined by “and” introduce a main concept modified by the other noun or adjective.
[2:19] 46 tn Heb “to leave the
[2:19] 47 tn Heb “and no fear of me was on you.”
[2:19] 48 tn Heb “the Lord Yahweh, [the God of] hosts.” For the title Lord
[2:20] 49 tn Or “For.” The Hebrew particle (כִּי, ki) here introduces the evidence that they had no respect for him.
[2:20] 50 tn Heb “you broke your yoke…tore off your yoke ropes.” The metaphor is that of a recalcitrant ox or heifer which has broken free from its master.
[2:20] 51 tc The MT of this verse has two examples of the old second feminine singular perfect, שָׁבַרְתִּי (shavarti) and נִתַּקְתִּי (nittaqti), which the Masoretes mistook for first singulars leading to the proposal to read אֶעֱבוֹר (’e’evor, “I will not transgress”) for אֶעֱבֹד (’e’evod, “I will not serve”). The latter understanding of the forms is accepted in KJV but rejected by almost all modern English versions as being less appropriate to the context than the reading accepted in the translation given here.
[2:20] 52 tn Heb “you sprawled as a prostitute on….” The translation reflects the meaning of the metaphor.
[2:21] 53 tc Heb “I planted you as a choice vine, all of it true seed. How then have you turned into a putrid thing to me, a strange [or wild] vine.” The question expresses surprise and consternation. The translation is based on a redivision of the Hebrew words סוּרֵי הַגֶּפֶן (sure haggefen) into סוֹרִיָּה גֶּפֶן (soriyyah gefen) and the recognition of a hapax legomenon סוֹרִיָּה (soriyyah) meaning “putrid, stinking thing.” See HALOT 707 s.v. סוֹרִי.
[2:22] 54 tn Heb “Even if you wash with natron/lye, and use much soap, your sin is a stain before me.”
[2:22] 55 tn Heb “Lord Yahweh.” For an explanation of this title see the study notes on 1:6.
[2:23] 56 tn Heb “I have not gone/followed after.” See the translator’s note on 2:5 for the meaning and usage of this idiom.
[2:23] 57 tn Heb “Look at your way in the valley.” The valley is an obvious reference to the Valley of Hinnom where Baal and Molech were worshiped and child sacrifice was practiced.
[2:23] 58 sn The metaphor is intended to depict Israel’s lack of clear direction and purpose without the
[2:24] 59 tn The words “to get the scent of a male” are implicit and are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[2:24] 60 sn The metaphor is intended to depict Israel’s irrepressible desire to worship other gods.
[2:25] 61 tn Heb “Refrain your feet from being bare and your throat from being dry/thirsty.”
[2:25] 62 tn Heb “It is useless! No!” For this idiom, see Jer 18:12; NEB “No; I am desperate.”
[2:26] 63 tn Heb “house of Israel.”
[2:26] 64 tn The words “for what they have done” are implicit in the comparison and are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[2:27] 65 tn Heb “wood…stone…”
[2:27] 66 sn The reference to wood and stone is, of course, a pejorative reference to idols made by human hands. See the next verse where reference is made to “the gods you have made.”
[2:27] 67 tn Heb “they have turned [their] backs to me, not [their] faces.”
[2:28] 68 tn This is an attempt to render the Hebrew particle כִּי (ki, “for, indeed”) contextually.
[2:29] 69 sn This is still part of the
[2:30] 70 tn Heb “Your sword devoured your prophets like a destroying lion.” However, the reference to the sword in this and many similar idioms is merely idiomatic for death by violent means.
[2:31] 71 tn Heb “a land of the darkness of Yah [= thick or deep darkness].” The idea of danger is an added connotation of the word in this context.
[2:31] 73 tn Or more freely, “free to do as we please.” There is some debate about the meaning of this verb (רוּד, rud) because its usage is rare and its meaning is debated in the few passages where it does occur. The key to its meaning may rest in the emended text (reading וְרַדְתִּי [vÿradti] for וְיָרַדְתִּי [vÿyaradti]) in Judg 11:37 where it refers to the roaming of Jephthah’s daughter on the mountains of Israel.
[2:33] 74 tn Heb “How good you have made your ways to seek love.”
[2:33] 75 tn Heb “so that even the wicked women you teach your ways.”
[2:34] 76 tn The words “for example” are implicit and are supplied in the translation for clarification. This is only one example of why their death was not legitimate.
[2:34] sn Killing a thief caught in the act of breaking and entering into a person’s home was pardonable under the law of Moses, cf. Exod 22:2.
[2:34] 77 tn KJV and ASV read this line with 2:34. The ASV makes little sense and the KJV again erroneously reads the archaic second person feminine singular perfect as first person common singular. All the modern English versions and commentaries take this line with 2:35.
[2:35] 78 tn This is an attempt to render the Hebrew particle often translated “behold” (הִנֵּה, hinneh) in a meaningful way in this context. See further the translator’s note on the word “really” in 1:6.
[2:36] 79 tn Heb “changing your way.” The translation follows the identification of the Hebrew verb here as a defective writing of a form (תֵּזְלִי [tezÿli] instead of תֵּאזְלִי [te’zÿli]) from a verb meaning “go/go about” (אָזַל [’azal]; cf. BDB 23 s.v. אָזַל). Most modern English versions, commentaries, and lexicons read it from a root meaning “to treat cheaply [or lightly]” (תָּזֵלִּי [tazelli] from the root זָלַל (zalal); cf. HALOT 261 s.v. זָלַל); hence, “Why do you consider it such a small matter to…”
[2:36] 80 tn Heb “You will be ashamed/disappointed by Egypt, just as you were ashamed/ disappointed by Assyria.”
[2:37] 81 tn Heb “with your hands on your head.” For the picture here see 2 Sam 13:19.
[2:37] 82 tn Heb “The
[3:1] 83 tn Heb “May he go back to her again?” The question is rhetorical and expects a negative answer.
[3:1] sn For the legal background for the illustration that is used here see Deut 24:1-4.
[3:1] 84 tn Heb “Would the land not be utterly defiled?” The stative is here rendered actively to connect better with the preceding. The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.
[3:1] 85 tn Heb “But you have played the prostitute with many lovers.”
[3:1] 86 tn Heb “Returning to me.” The form is the bare infinitive which the KJV and ASV have interpreted as an imperative “Yet, return to me!” However, it is more likely that a question is intended, expressing surprise in the light of the law alluded to and the facts cited. For the use of the infinitive absolute in the place of a finite verb, cf. GKC 346 §113.ee. For the introduction of a question without a question marker, cf. GKC 473 §150.a.
[3:2] 88 tn Heb “Where have you not been ravished?” The rhetorical question expects the answer “nowhere,” which suggests she has engaged in the worship of pagan gods on every one of the hilltops.
[3:2] 89 tn Heb “You sat for them [the lovers, i.e., the foreign gods] beside the road like an Arab in the desert.”
[3:2] 90 tn Heb “by your prostitution and your wickedness.” This is probably an example of hendiadys where, when two nouns are joined by “and,” one expresses the main idea and the other qualifies it.
[3:3] 91 tn Heb “you have the forehead of a prostitute.”
[3:4] 92 tn Heb “Have you not just now called out to me, ‘[you are] my father!’?” The rhetorical question expects a positive answer.
[3:5] 93 tn Heb “Will he keep angry forever? Will he maintain [it] to the end?” The questions are rhetorical and expect a negative answer. The change to direct address in the English translation is intended to ease the problem of the rapid transition, common in Hebrew style (but not in English), from second person direct address in the preceding lines to third person indirect address in these two lines. See GKC 462 §144.p.
[3:5] 94 tn Heb “You do the evil and you are able.” This is an example of hendiadys, meaning “You do all the evil that you are able to do.”
[3:6] 95 tn “Have you seen…” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.
[3:6] 96 tn Heb “she played the prostitute there.” This is a metaphor for Israel’s worship; she gave herself to the worship of other gods like a prostitute gives herself to her lovers. There seems no clear way to completely spell out the metaphor in the translation.
[3:7] 97 tn Or “I said to her, ‘Come back to me!’” The verb אָמַר (’amar) usually means “to say,” but here it means “to think,” of an assumption that turns out to be wrong (so HALOT 66.4 s.v. אמר); cf. Gen 44:28; Jer 3:19; Pss 82:6; 139:11; Job 29:18; Ruth 4:4; Lam 3:18.
[3:7] sn Open theists suggest that passages such as this indicate God has limited foreknowledge; however, more traditional theologians view this passage as an extended metaphor in which God presents himself as a deserted husband, hoping against hope that his adulterous wife might return to him. The point of the metaphor is not to make an assertion about God’s foreknowledge, but to develop the theme of God’s heartbreak due to Israel’s unrepentance.
[3:7] 98 tn The words “what she did” are not in the text but are implicit from the context and are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[3:8] 99 tc Heb “she [‘her sister, unfaithful Judah’ from the preceding verse] saw” with one Hebrew
[3:8] 100 tn Heb “because she committed adultery.” The translation is intended to spell out the significance of the metaphor.
[3:8] 101 tn The words “Even after her unfaithful sister, Judah, had seen this” are not in the Hebrew text but are implicit in the connection and are supplied for clarification.
[3:8] 102 tn Heb “she played the prostitute there.” This is a metaphor for Israel’s worship; she gave herself to the worship of other gods like a prostitute gives herself to her lovers. There seems no clear way to completely spell out the metaphor in the translation.
[3:9] 103 tc The translation reads the form as a causative (Hiphil, תַּהֲנֵף, tahanef) with some of the versions in place of the simple stative (Qal, תֶּחֱנַף, tekhenaf) in the MT.
[3:9] 104 tn Heb “because of the lightness of her prostitution, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood.”
[3:10] 105 tn Heb “And even in all this.”
[3:10] 106 tn Heb “ has not turned back to me with all her heart but only in falsehood.”
[3:11] 107 tn Heb “Wayward Israel has proven herself to be more righteous than unfaithful Judah.”
[3:11] sn A comparison is drawn here between the greater culpability of Judah, who has had the advantage of seeing how God disciplined her sister nation for having sinned and yet ignored the warning and committed the same sin, and the culpability of Israel who had no such advantage.
[3:12] 108 tn Heb “Go and proclaim these words to the north.” The translation assumes that the message is directed toward the exiles of northern Israel who have been scattered in the provinces of Assyria to the north.
[3:12] 109 tn Heb “I will not cause my face to fall on you.”
[3:13] 110 tn Heb “Only acknowledge your iniquity.”
[3:13] 111 tn The words “You must confess” are repeated to convey the connection. The Hebrew text has an introductory “that” in front of the second line and a coordinative “and” in front of the next two lines.
[3:13] 112 tc MT reads דְּרָכַיִךְ (dÿrakhayikh, “your ways”), but the BHS editors suggest דּוֹדַיִךְ (dodayikh, “your breasts”) as an example of orthographic confusion. While the proposal makes sense, it remains a conjectural emendation since it is not supported by any actual manuscripts or ancient versions.
[3:13] tn Heb “scattered your ways with foreign [gods]” or “spread out your breasts to strangers.”
[3:14] 113 tn Or “I am your true husband.”
[3:14] sn There is a wordplay between the term “true master” and the name of the pagan god Baal. The pronoun “I” is emphatic, creating a contrast between the
[3:14] 114 tn The words, “If you do” are not in the text but are implicit in the connection of the Hebrew verb with the preceding.
[3:15] 115 tn Heb “shepherds.”
[3:15] 116 tn Heb “after/according to my [own] heart.”
[3:16] 117 tn Heb “you will become numerous and fruitful.”
[3:16] 119 tn Heb “the ark of the covenant.” It is called this because it contained the tables of the law which in abbreviated form constituted their covenant obligations to the
[3:16] 120 tn Or “Nor will another one be made”; Heb “one will not do/make [it?] again.”
[3:17] 121 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[3:17] 122 tn Heb “will gather to the name of the
[3:17] 123 tn Heb “the stubbornness of their evil hearts.”
[3:18] 124 tn Heb “In those days.”
[3:18] 125 tn Heb “the house of Judah will walk together with the house of Israel.”
[3:18] 126 tn Heb “the land that I gave your [fore]fathers as an inheritance.”
[3:19] 127 tn Heb “I, myself, said.” See note on “I thought that she might come back to me” in 3:7.
[3:19] 128 tn Heb “How I would place you among the sons.” Israel appears to be addressed here contextually as the
[3:19] sn The imagery here appears to be that of treating the wife as an equal heir with the sons and of giving her the best piece of property.
[3:19] 129 tn The words “What a joy it would be for me to” are not in the Hebrew text but are implied in the parallel structure.
[3:19] 130 tn Heb “the most beautiful heritage among the nations.”
[3:19] 131 tn Heb “my father.”
[3:19] 132 tn Heb “turn back from [following] after me.”
[3:20] 133 tn Heb “house of Israel.”
[3:20] 134 tn Heb “a wife unfaithful from her husband.”
[3:21] 135 tn Heb “A sound is heard on the hilltops, the weeping of the supplication of the children of Israel because [or indeed] they have perverted their way.” At issue here is whether the supplication is made to Yahweh in repentance because of what they have done or whether it is supplication to the pagan gods which is evidence of their perverted ways. The reference in this verse to the hilltops where idolatry was practiced according to 3:2 and the reference to Israel’s unfaithfulness in the preceding verse make the latter more likely. For the asseverative use of the Hebrew particle (here rendered “indeed”) where the particle retains some of the explicative nuance; cf. BDB 472-73 s.v. כִּי 1.e and 3.c.
[3:21] 136 tn Heb “have forgotten the
[3:22] 137 tn Or “I will forgive your apostasies.” Heb “I will [or want to] heal your apostasies.” For the use of the verb “heal” (רָפָא, rafa’) to refer to spiritual healing and forgiveness see Hos 14:4.
[3:22] 138 tn Or “They say.” There is an obvious ellipsis of a verb of saying here since the preceding words are those of the
[3:23] 139 tn Heb “Truly in vain from the hills the noise/commotion [and from] the mountains.” The syntax of the Hebrew sentence is very elliptical here.
[3:23] 140 tn Heb “Truly in the
[3:24] 141 tn Heb “From our youth the shameful thing has eaten up…” The shameful thing is specifically identified as Baal in Jer 11:13. Compare also the shift in certain names such as Ishbaal (“man of Baal”) to Ishbosheth (“man of shame”).
[3:24] 142 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 25).
[3:25] 143 tn Heb “Let us lie down in….”
[3:25] 144 tn Heb “Let us be covered with disgrace.”
[4:1] 145 tn Or “If you, Israel, want to turn [away from your shameful ways (those described in 3:23-25)]…then you must turn back to me.” Or perhaps, “Israel, you must turn back…Yes, you must turn back to me.”
[4:1] 146 tn Heb “disgusting things.”
[4:1] 147 tn Or possibly, “If you get those disgusting idols out of my sight, you will not need to flee.” This is less probable because the normal meaning of the last verb is “to wander,” “ to stray.”
[4:2] 148 tn Heb “If you [= you must, see the translator’s note on the word “do” later in this verse] swear/take an oath, ‘As the
[4:2] 149 tn 4:1-2a consists of a number of “if” clauses, two of which are formally introduced by the Hebrew particle אִם (’im) while the others are introduced by the conjunction “and,” followed by a conjunction (“and” = “then”) with a perfect in 4:2b which introduces the consequence. The translation “You must…. If you do,” was chosen to avoid a long and complicated sentence.
[4:2] 150 tn Heb “bless themselves in him and make their boasts in him.”
[4:3] 151 tn The Hebrew particle is obviously asseverative here since a causal connection appears to make little sense.
[4:3] 152 tn Heb “Plow up your unplowed ground and do not sow among the thorns.” The translation is an attempt to bring out the force of a metaphor. The idea seems to be that they are to plow over the thorns and make the ground ready for the seeds which will produce a new crop where none had been produced before.
[4:4] 153 tn Heb “Circumcise yourselves to the
[4:5] 155 tn The words “The
[4:5] 156 tn It is unclear who the addressees of the masculine plural imperatives are here. They may be the citizens of Jerusalem and Judah who are sounding the alarm to others. However, the first person reference to the
[4:5] 157 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[4:5] 158 tn Heb “ram’s horn,” but the modern equivalent is “trumpet” and is more readily understandable.
[4:6] 159 tn Heb “Raise up a signal toward Zion.”
[4:6] 160 tn Heb “out of the north, even great destruction.”
[4:7] 161 tn Heb “A lion has left its lair.” The metaphor is turned into a simile for clarification. The word translated “lair” has also been understood to refer to a hiding place. However, it appears to be cognate in meaning to the word translated “lair” in Ps 10:9; Jer 25:38, a word which also refers to the abode of the
[4:8] 163 tn Or “wail because the fierce anger of the
[4:9] 164 tn Heb “In that day.”
[4:10] 165 tn The words “In response to all this” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to clarify the connection.
[4:10] 166 tn Heb “Lord Yahweh.” The translation follows the ancient Jewish tradition of substituting the Hebrew word for God for the proper name Yahweh.
[4:10] 167 tn Or “You have deceived.” The Hiphil of נָשָׁא (nasha’, “to deceive”) is understood in a tolerative sense here: “to allow [someone] to be deceived.” IBHS 446 §27.5c notes that this function of the hiphil describes caused activity that is welcome to the undersubject, but unacceptable or disagreeable to a third party. Jerusalem and Judah welcomed the assurances of false prophets who deceived them. Although this was detestable to God, he allowed it.
[4:10] 168 tn Heb “this people and Jerusalem.”
[4:10] 169 tn Heb “Jerusalem, saying, ‘You will have peace’”; or “You have deceived the people of Judah and Jerusalem, saying, ‘You will have peace.’” The words “you will be safe” are, of course, those of the false prophets (cf., Jer 6:14; 8:11; 14:13; 23:16-17). It is difficult to tell whether the charge here is meant literally as the emotional outburst of the prophet (compare for example, Jer 15:18) or whether it is to be understood as a figure of speech in which a verb of direct causation is to be understood as permissive or tolerative, i.e., God did not command the prophets to say this but allowed them to do so. While it is not beyond God to use false prophets to accomplish his will (cf., e.g., 1 Kgs 22:19-23), he elsewhere in the book of Jeremiah directly denies having sent the false prophets to say such things as this (cf., e.g., Jer 14:14-15; 23:21, 32). For examples of the use of this figure of speech, see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 571, 823 and compare Ezek 20:25. The translation given attempts to resolve the issue.
[4:10] 170 tn Heb “touches the throat/soul.” For this use of the word usually translated “soul” or “life” cf. HALOT 672 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 1, 2 and compare the use in Ps 105:18.
[4:11] 171 tn Heb “this people and Jerusalem.”
[4:11] 172 tn Heb “A scorching wind from the hilltops in the desert toward…”
[4:11] sn The allusion is, of course, to the destructive forces of the enemy armies of Babylon compared above in 4:7 to a destructive lion and here to the destructive desert winds of the Near Eastern sirocco.
[4:11] 173 tn Heb “daughter of my people.” The term “daughter of” is appositional to “my people” and is supplied in the translation as a term of sympathy and endearment. Compare the common expression “daughter of Zion.”
[4:11] 174 tn Heb “not for winnowing and not for cleansing.” The words “It will not be a gentle breeze” are not in the text but are implicit in the connection. They are supplied in the translation here for clarification.
[4:12] 175 tn The word “No” is not in the text but is carried over from the connection with the preceding line “not for…”
[4:12] 176 tn Heb “will speak judgments against them.”
[4:13] 177 tn Heb “he is coming up like clouds.” The words “The enemy” are supplied in the translation to identify the referent and the word “gathering” is supplied to try to convey the significance of the simile, i.e., that of quantity and of an approaching storm.
[4:13] 178 tn Heb “his chariots [are] like a whirlwind.” The words “roar” and “sound” are supplied in the translation to clarify the significance of the simile.
[4:13] 179 tn The words “I cry out” are not in the text, but the words that follow are obviously not the
[4:13] 180 tn Heb “Woe to us!” The words “woe to” are common in funeral laments and at the beginning of oracles of judgment. In many contexts they carry the connotation of hopelessness or apprehensiveness of inevitable doom.
[4:14] 181 tn Heb “Oh, Jerusalem, wash your heart from evil.”
[4:15] 182 tn Heb “For a voice declaring from Dan and making heard disaster from the hills of Ephraim.”
[4:16] 183 tn The words “They are saying” are not in the text but are implicit in the connection and are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[4:16] 184 tn The word “surrounding” is not in the text but is implicit and is supplied in the translation for clarification.
[4:16] 185 tc Or “Here they come!” Heb “Look!” or “Behold!” Or “Announce to the surrounding nations, indeed [or yes] proclaim to Jerusalem, ‘Besiegers…’” The text is very elliptical here. Some of the modern English versions appear to be emending the text from הִנֵּה (hinneh, “behold”) to either הֵנָּה (hennah, “these things”; so NEB), or הַזֶּה (hazzeh, “this”; so NIV). The solution proposed here is as old as the LXX which reads, “Behold, they have come.”
[4:16] 186 tn The words, “this message,” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to make the introduction of the quote easier.
[4:16] 187 tn Heb “Besiegers.” For the use of this verb to refer to besieging a city compare Isa 1:8.
[4:16] 188 tn Heb “They have raised their voices against.” The verb here, a vav (ו) consecutive with an imperfect, continues the nuance of the preceding participle “are coming.”
[4:17] 189 tn Heb “will surround her.” The antecedent is Jerusalem in the preceding verse. The referent is again made explicit in the translation to avoid any possible lack of clarity. The verb form here is a form of the verb that emphasizes the fact as being as good as done (i.e., it is a prophetic perfect).
[4:17] 190 sn There is some irony involved in the choice of the simile since the men guarding a field were there to keep thieves from getting in and stealing the crops. Here the besiegers are guarding the city to keep people from getting out.
[4:18] 191 tn Heb “Your way and your deeds.”
[4:18] 192 tn Heb “How bitter!”
[4:18] 193 tn Heb “Indeed, it reaches to your heart.” The subject must be the pain alluded to in the last half of the preceding line; the verb is masculine, agreeing with the adjective translated “painful.” The only other possible antecedent “punishment” is feminine.
[4:19] 194 tn The words “I said” are not in the text. They are used to mark the shift from the
[4:19] 195 tn Heb “My bowels! My bowels!”
[4:19] 196 tn Heb “the walls of my heart!”
[4:19] 197 tn Heb “ram’s horn,” but the modern equivalent is “trumpet” and is more readily understandable.
[4:19] 198 tc The translation reflects a different division of the last two lines than that suggested by the Masoretes. The written text (the Kethib) reads “for the sound of the ram’s horn I have heard [or “you have heard,” if the form is understood as the old second feminine singular perfect] my soul” followed by “the battle cry” in the last line. The translation is based on taking “my soul” with the last line and understanding an elliptical expression “the battle cry [to] my soul.” Such an elliptical expression is in keeping with the elliptical nature of the exclamations at the beginning of the verse (cf. the literal translations of the first two lines of the verse in the notes on the words “stomach” and “heart”).
[4:20] 199 tn The words, “I see” are not in the text here or at the beginning of the third line. They are supplied in the translation to show that this is Jeremiah’s vision of what will happen as a result of the invasion announced in 4:5-9, 11-17a.
[4:20] 200 tn Heb “my.” This is probably not a reference to Jeremiah’s own tents since he foresees the destruction of the whole land. Jeremiah so identifies with the plight of his people that he sees the destruction of their tents as though they were his very own. It would probably lead to confusion to translate literally and it is not uncommon in Hebrew laments for the community or its representative to speak of the community as an “I.” See for example the interchange between first singular and first plural pronouns in Ps 44:4-8.
[4:20] 202 tn It is not altogether clear what Jeremiah intends by the use of this metaphor. In all likelihood he means that the defenses of Israel’s cities and towns have offered no more resistance than nomads’ tents. However, in light of the fact that the word “tent” came to be used generically for a person’s home (cf. 1 Kgs 8:66; 12:16), it is possible that Jeremiah is here referring to the destruction of their homes and the resultant feeling of homelessness and loss of even elementary protection. Given the lack of certainty the present translation is rather literal here.
[4:21] 203 tn Heb “the sound of ram’s horns,” but the modern equivalent is “bugles” and is more readily understandable.
[4:22] 204 tn These words are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to show clearly the shift in speaker. Jeremiah has been speaking; now the
[4:22] 205 tn Heb “For….” This gives the explanation for the destruction envisaged in 4:20 to which Jeremiah responds in 4:19, 21.
[4:22] 206 tn Heb “They are senseless children.”
[4:23] 207 tn Heb “I looked at the land and behold...” This indicates the visionary character of Jeremiah’s description of the future condition of the land of Israel.
[4:23] 208 tn Heb “formless and empty.” This is a case of hendiadys (two nouns joined by “and” both describe the same thing): one noun retains its full nominal force, the other functions as an adjective. The words תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ (tohu vavohu) allude to Gen 1:2, hyperbolically picturing a reversal of creation and return to the original precreation chaos.
[4:25] 209 tn Heb “there was no man/human being.”
[4:26] 210 tn Heb “because of the
[4:27] 211 tn Heb “For this is what the
[4:28] 212 sn The earth and the heavens are personified here and depicted in the act of mourning and wearing black clothes because of the destruction of the land of Israel.
[4:28] 213 tn Heb “has spoken and purposed.” This is an example of hendiadys where two verbs are joined by “and” but one is meant to serve as a modifier of the other.
[4:28] 214 tn Heb “will not turn back from it.”
[4:30] 215 tn Heb “And you that are doomed to destruction.” The referent is supplied from the following context and the fact that Zion/Jerusalem represents the leadership which was continually making overtures to foreign nations for help.
[4:30] 216 tn Heb “What are you accomplishing…?” The rhetorical question assumes a negative answer, made clear by the translation in the indicative.
[4:30] 217 tn Heb “clothing yourself in scarlet.”
[4:30] 218 tn Heb “enlarging your eyes with antimony.” Antimony was a black powder used by women as eyeliner to make their eyes look larger.
[4:30] 219 tn Heb “they seek your life.”
[4:31] 220 tn The particle כִּי (ki) is more likely asseverative here than causal.
[4:31] 221 sn Jerusalem is personified as a helpless maiden.
[4:31] 222 tn Heb “spreading out her hands.” The idea of asking or pleading for help is implicit in the figure.
[4:31] 223 tn Heb “Woe, now to me!” See the translator’s note on 4:13 for the usage of “Woe to…”
[5:1] 224 tn These words are not in the text, but since the words at the end are obviously those of the
[5:1] 225 tn It is not clear who is being addressed here. The verbs are plural so they are not addressed to Jeremiah per se. Since the passage is talking about the people of Jerusalem, it is unlikely they are addressed here except perhaps rhetorically. Some have suggested that the heavenly court is being addressed here as in Job 1:6-8; 2:1-3. It is clear from Jer 23:18, 22; Amos 3:7 that the prophets had access to this heavenly counsel through visions (cf. 1 Kgs 22:19-23), so Jeremiah could have been privy to this speech through that means. Though these are the most likely addressee, it is too presumptuous to supply such an explicit addressee without clearer indication in the text. The translation will just have to run the risk of the probable erroneous assumption by most English readers that the addressee is Jeremiah.
[5:1] 226 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[5:1] 227 tn Heb “who does justice and seeks faithfulness.”
[5:1] 228 tn Heb “squares. If you can find…if there is one person…then I will…”
[5:1] 229 tn Heb “forgive [or pardon] it.”
[5:2] 230 tn Heb “Though they say, ‘As surely as the
[5:2] 231 tc The translation follows many Hebrew
[5:2] tn Heb “Surely.”
[5:2] 232 tn Heb “they swear falsely.”
[5:3] 233 tn Heb “O
[5:3] 234 tn Commentaries and lexicons debate the meaning of the verb here. The MT is pointed as though from a verb meaning “to writhe in anguish or contrition” (חוּל [khul]; see, e.g., BDB 297 s.v. חוּל 2.c), but some commentaries and lexicons repoint the text as though from a verb meaning “to be sick,” thus “to feel pain” (חָלָה [khalah]; see, e.g., HALOT 304 s.v. חָלָה 3). The former appears more appropriate to the context.
[5:3] 235 tn Heb “They made their faces as hard as a rock.”
[5:3] 236 tn Or “to repent”; Heb “to turn back.”
[5:4] 237 tn Heb “Surely they are poor.” The translation is intended to make clear the explicit contrasts and qualifications drawn in this verse and the next.
[5:4] 238 tn Heb “the way of the
[5:4] 239 tn Heb “the judgment [or ordinance] of their God.”
[5:5] 240 tn Or “people in power”; Heb “the great ones.”
[5:5] 241 tn Heb “the way of the
[5:5] 242 tn Heb “the judgment [or ordinance] of their God.”
[5:5] 243 tn Heb “have broken the yoke and torn off the yoke ropes.” Compare Jer 2:20 and the note there.
[5:6] 244 tn Heb “So a lion from the thicket will kill them. A wolf from the desert will destroy them. A leopard will watch outside their cities. Anyone who goes out from them will be torn in pieces.” However, it is unlikely that, in the context of judgment that Jeremiah has previously been describing, literal lions are meant. The animals are metaphorical for their enemies. Compare Jer 4:7.
[5:6] 245 tn Heb “their rebellions are so many and their unfaithful acts so numerous.”
[5:7] 246 tn These words are not in the text, but are supplied in the translation to make clear who is speaking.
[5:7] 247 tn Heb “How can I forgive [or pardon] you.” The pronoun “you” is second feminine singular, referring to the city. See v. 1.
[5:7] 248 tn Heb “your children.”
[5:7] 249 tn Heb “and they have sworn [oaths] by not-gods.”
[5:7] 250 tn Heb “I satisfied them to the full.”
[5:7] 251 tn Heb “they committed adultery.” It is difficult to decide whether literal adultery with other women or spiritual adultery with other gods is meant. The word for adultery is used for both in the book of Jeremiah. For examples of its use for spiritual adultery see 3:8, 9; 9:2. For examples of its use for literal adultery see 7:9; 23:14. The context here could argue for either. The swearing by other gods and the implicit contradiction in their actions in contrast to the expected gratitude for supplying their needs argues for spiritual adultery. However, the reference to prostitution in the next line and the reference to chasing after their neighbor’s wives argues for literal adultery. The translation opts for spiritual adultery because of the contrast implicit in the concessive clause.
[5:7] 252 tn There is a great deal of debate about the meaning of this word. Most of the modern English versions follow the lead of lexicographers who relate this word to a noun meaning “troop” and understand it to mean “they trooped together” (cf. BDB 151 s.v. גָּדַד Hithpo.2 and compare the usage in Mic 5:1 [4:14 HT]). A few of the modern English versions and commentaries follow the reading of the Greek and read a word meaning “they lodged” (reading ִיתְגּוֹרְרוּ [yitggorÿru] from I גּוּר [gur; cf. HALOT 177 s.v. Hithpo. and compare the usage in 1 Kgs 17:20] instead of יִתְגֹּדָדוּ [yitggodadu]). W. L. Holladay (Jeremiah [Hermeneia], 1:180) sees a reference here to the cultic practice of cutting oneself in supplication to pagan gods (cf. BDB 151 s.v. גָּדַד Hithpo.1 and compare the usage in 1 Kgs 18:28). The houses of prostitutes would then be a reference to ritual prostitutes at the pagan shrines. The translation follows BDB and the majority of modern English versions.
[5:7] 253 tn Heb “to a house of a prostitute.”
[5:7] sn This could be a reference to cultic temple prostitution connected with the pagan shrines. For allusion to this in the OT, see, e.g., Deut 23:17 and 2 Kgs 23:7.
[5:8] 254 tn The meanings of these two adjectives are uncertain. The translation of the first adjective is based on assuming that the word is a defectively written participle related to the noun “testicle” (a Hiphil participle מַאֲשִׁכִים [ma’ashikhim] from a verb related to אֶשֶׁךְ [’eshekh, “testicle”]; cf. Lev 21:20) and hence “having testicles” (cf. HALOT 1379 s.v. שָׁכָה) instead of the Masoretic form מַשְׁכִּים (mashkim) from a root שָׁכָה (shakhah), which is otherwise unattested in either verbal or nominal forms. The second adjective is best derived from a verb root meaning “to feed” (a Hophal participle מוּזָנִים [muzanim, the Kethib] from a root זוּן [zun; cf. BDB 266 s.v. זוּן] for which there is the cognate noun מָזוֹן [mazon; cf. 2 Chr 11:23]). This is more likely than the derivation from a root יָזַן ([yazan]reading מְיֻזָּנִים [mÿyuzzanim], a Pual participle with the Qere) which is otherwise unattested in verbal or nominal forms and whose meaning is dependent only on a supposed Arabic cognate (cf. HALOT 387 s.v. יָזַן).
[5:8] 255 tn Heb “neighs after.”
[5:9] 256 tn Heb “Should I not punish them…? Should I not bring retribution…?” The rhetorical questions have the force of strong declarations.
[5:10] 257 tn These words to not appear in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for the sake of clarity to identify the implied addressee.
[5:10] 258 tn Heb “through her vine rows and destroy.” No object is given but “vines” must be implicit. The word for “vineyards” (or “vine rows”) is a hapax legomenon and its derivation is debated. BDB 1004 s.v. שּׁוּרָה repoints שָׁרוֹתֶיהָ (sharoteha) to שֻׁרוֹתֶיהָ (shuroteha) and relates it to a Mishnaic Hebrew and Palestinian Aramaic word meaning “row.” HALOT 1348 s.v. שּׁוּרָה also repoints to שֻׁרוֹתֶיהָ and relates it to a noun meaning “wall,” preferring to see the reference here to the walled terraces on which the vineyards were planted. The difference in meaning is minimal.
[5:10] 259 tn Heb “for they do not belong to the
[5:11] 260 tn Heb “the house of Israel and the house of Judah.”
[5:12] 261 tn Heb “have denied the
[5:12] 262 tn Or “he will do nothing”; Heb “Not he [or it]!”
[5:12] 263 tn Heb “we will not see the sword and famine.”
[5:13] 264 tn Heb “will be wind.”
[5:13] sn There is a wordplay on the Hebrew word translated “wind” (רוּחַ, ruakh) which also means “spirit.” The prophets spoke by inspiration of the Spirit of the
[5:13] 265 tc Heb “the word is not in them.” The MT has a highly unusual form here, the Piel perfect with the definite article (הַדִּבֵּר, haddibber). It is undoubtedly best to read with the LXX (Greek version) and one Hebrew
[5:14] 266 tn Heb “Therefore.”
[5:14] 267 tn Heb “The
[5:14] sn Here the emphasis appears to be on the fact that the
[5:14] 268 tn The words, “to me” are not in the text but are implicit in the connection. They are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[5:14] 269 tn Heb “you have spoken.” The text here דַּבֶּרְכֶם (dabberkhem, “you have spoken”) is either a case of a scribal error for דַּבֶּרָם (dabberam, “they have spoken”) or an example of the rapid shift in addressee which is common in Jeremiah.
[5:14] 270 tn Heb “this word.”
[5:14] 271 tn Heb “like wood and it [i.e., the fire I put in your mouth] will consume them.”
[5:15] 272 tn Heb “oracle of the
[5:15] 274 tn Heb “house of Israel.”
[5:16] 275 tn Heb “All of them are mighty warriors.”
[5:16] 276 tn Heb “his quiver [is] an open grave.” The order of the lines has been reversed to make the transition from “nation” to “their arrows” easier.
[5:17] 278 tn Or “eat up your grapes and figs”; Heb “eat up your vines and your fig trees.”
[5:17] sn It was typical for an army in time of war in the ancient Near East not only to eat up the crops but to destroy the means of further production.
[5:17] 279 tn Heb “They will beat down with the sword.” The term “sword” is a figure of speech (synecdoche) for military weapons in general. Siege ramps, not swords, beat down city walls; swords kill people, not city walls.
[5:18] 280 tn Heb “in those days.”
[5:19] 281 tn The word, “Jeremiah,” is not in the text but the second person address in the second half of the verse is obviously to him. The word is supplied in the translation here for clarity.
[5:19] 282 tn The MT reads the second masculine plural; this is probably a case of attraction to the second masculine plural pronoun in the preceding line. An alternative would be to understand a shift from speaking first to the people in the first half of the verse and then speaking to Jeremiah in the second half where the verb is second masculine singular. E.g., “When you [people] say, “Why…?” then you, Jeremiah, tell them…”
[5:19] 283 tn Heb “As you left me and…, so you will….” The translation was chosen so as to break up a rather long and complex sentence.
[5:19] 284 sn This is probably a case of deliberate ambiguity (double entendre). The adjective “foreigners” is used for both foreign people (so Jer 30:8; 51:51) and foreign gods (so Jer 2:25; 3:13). See also Jer 16:13 for the idea of having to serve other gods in the lands of exile.
[5:20] 285 sn The verbs are second plural here. Jeremiah, speaking for the
[5:20] 286 tn Heb “in the house of Jacob.”
[5:21] 287 tn Heb “they have eyes but they do not see, they have ears but they do not hear.”
[5:22] 288 tn Heb “Should you not fear me? Should you not tremble in awe before me?” The rhetorical questions expect the answer explicit in the translation.
[5:22] 289 tn Heb “it.” The referent is made explicit to avoid any possible confusion.
[5:23] 290 tn The words, “their own way” are not in the text but are implicit and are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[5:24] 291 tn Heb “say in their hearts.”
[5:24] 292 tn Heb “who keeps for us the weeks appointed for harvest.”
[5:25] 293 tn Heb “have turned these things away.”
[5:25] 294 tn Heb “have withheld the good from you.”
[5:26] 295 tn The meaning of the last three words is uncertain. The pointing and meaning of the Hebrew word rendered “hiding in ambush” is debated. BDB relates the form (כְּשַׁךְ, kÿshakh) to a root שָׁכַךְ (shakhakh), which elsewhere means “decrease, abate” (cf. BDB 1013 s.v. שָׁכַךְ), and notes that this is usually understood as “like the crouching of fowlers,” but they say this meaning is dubious. HALOT 1345 s.v. I שׁוֹר questions the validity of the text and offers three proposals; the second appears to create the least textual modification, i.e., reading כְּשַׂךְ (kesakh, “as in the hiding place of (bird catchers)”; for the word שַׂךְ (sakh) see HALOT 1236 s.v. שׂךְ 4 and compare Lam 2:6 for usage. The versions do not help. The Greek does not translate the first two words of the line. The proposal given in HALOT is accepted with some hesitancy.
[5:26] 296 tn Heb “a destroying thing.”
[5:27] 297 tn The words, “that have been caught” are not in the text but are implicit in the comparison.
[5:27] 298 tn Heb “are filled with deceit.” The translation assumes a figure of speech of cause for effect (metonymy). Compare the same word in the same figure in Zeph 1:9.
[5:27] 299 tn Heb “therefore they have gotten great and rich.”
[5:28] 300 tn These words are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to show that this line is parallel with the preceding.
[5:28] 301 tn The meaning of this word is uncertain. This verb occurs only here. The lexicons generally relate it to the word translated “plate” in Song 5:14 and understand it to mean “smooth, shiny” (so BDB 799 s.v. I עֶשֶׁת) or “fat” (so HALOT 850 s.v. II עֶשֶׁת). The word in Song 5:14 more likely means “smooth” than “plate” (so TEV). So “sleek” is most likely here.
[5:28] 302 tn Heb “they cross over/transgress with respect to matters of evil.”
[5:28] sn There is a wordplay in the use of this word which has twice been applied in v. 22 to the sea not crossing the boundary set for it by God.
[5:29] 303 tn Heb “Should I not punish…? Should I not bring retribution…?” The rhetorical questions function as emphatic declarations.
[5:29] sn These words are repeated from 5:9 to give a kind of refrain justifying again the necessity of punishment in the light of such sins.
[5:31] 304 tn Heb “they shall rule at their hands.” Since the word “hand” can be used figuratively for authority or mean “side” and the pronoun “them” can refer to the priests themselves or the prophets, the following translations have also been suggested: “the priests rule under their [the prophets’] directions,” or “the priests rule in league with them [the prophets].” From the rest of the book it would appear that the prophets did not exercise authority over the priests nor did they exercise the same authority over the people that the priests did. Hence it probably mean “by their own hand/power/authority.”
[5:31] 305 tn Heb “But what will you do at its end?” The rhetorical question implies a negative answer: “Nothing!”
[6:1] 306 tn Heb “Flee for safety, people of Benjamin, out of the midst of Jerusalem.”
[6:1] sn Compare and contrast Jer 4:6. There people in the outlying areas were warned to seek safety in the fortified city of Jerusalem. Here they are told to flee it because it was about to be destroyed.
[6:1] map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[6:1] 307 tn Heb “ram’s horn,” but the modern equivalent is “trumpet” and is more readily understandable.
[6:1] 308 tn Heb “leans down” or “looks down.” This verb personifies destruction leaning/looking down from its window in the sky, ready to attack.
[6:1] 309 tn Heb “[It will be] a severe fracture.” The nation is pictured as a limb being fractured.
[6:1] sn This passage is emotionally charged. There are two examples of assonance or wordplay in the verse: “sound” (Heb tiq’u, “blow”), which has the same consonants as “Tekoa” (Heb uvitqoa’), and “signal fire,” which comes from the same root as “light” (Heb sÿ’u mas’et, “lift up”). There is also an example of personification where disaster is said to “lurk” (Heb “look down on”) out of the north. This gives a sense of urgency and concern for the coming destruction.
[6:2] 310 tn The verb here is another example of the Hebrew verb form that indicates the action is as good as done (a Hebrew prophetic perfect).
[6:2] 311 sn Jerusalem is personified as a young maiden who is helpless in the hands of her enemies.
[6:2] 312 tn Heb “The beautiful and delicate one I will destroy, the daughter of Zion. The English versions and commentaries are divided over the rendering of this verse because (1) there are two verbs with these same consonants, one meaning “to be like” and the other meaning “to be destroyed” (intransitive) or “to destroy” (transitive), and (2) the word rendered “beautiful” (נָוָה, navah) can be understood as a noun meaning “pasture” or as a defective writing of an adjective meaning “beautiful, comely” (נָאוָה, na’vah). Hence some render “Fair Zion, you are like a lovely pasture,” reading the verb form as an example of the old second feminine singular perfect. Although this may fit the imagery of the next verse, that rendering ignores the absence of a preposition (לְ or אֶל, lÿ or ’el, both of which can be translated “to”) that normally goes with the verb “be like” and drops the conjunction in front of the adjective “delicate.” The parallel usage of the verb in Hos 4:5 argues for the meaning “destroy.”
[6:3] 313 tn Heb “Shepherds and their flocks will come against it.” Rulers are often depicted as shepherds; see BDB 945 s.v. רָעָה 1.d(2) (cf. Jer 12:10). The translation of this verse attempts to clarify the point of this extended metaphor.
[6:3] 314 tn Heb “They will thrust [= pitch] tents around it.” The shepherd imagery has a surprisingly ominous tone. The beautiful pasture filled with shepherds grazing their sheep is in reality a city under siege from an attacking enemy.
[6:3] 315 tn Heb “They will graze each one his portion.” For the use of the verb “graze” to mean “strip” or “devastate” see BDB 945 s.v. רָעָה 2.c. For a similar use of the word normally meaning “hand” to mean portion compare 2 Sam 19:43 (19:44 HT).
[6:3] sn There is a wordplay involving “sound…in Tekoa” mentioned in the study note on “destruction” in v. 1. The Hebrew verb “they will pitch” is from the same root as the word translated “sound” (taqÿ’u [תִּקְעוּ] here and tiq’u [תִּקְעוּ] in v. 1).
[6:4] 316 tn These words are not in the text but are implicit in the connection. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[6:4] 317 tn Heb “Sanctify war.” This is probably an idiom from early Israel’s holy wars in which religious rites were to precede the battle.
[6:4] 318 tn These words are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity. Some commentaries and English versions see these not as the words of the enemy but as those of the Israelites expressing their fear that the enemy will launch a night attack against them and further destroy them. The connection with the next verse, however, fits better with them if they are the words of the enemy.
[6:4] 319 tn Heb “Woe to us!” For the usage of this phrase see the translator’s note on 4:13. The usage of this particle here is a little exaggerated. They have lost the most advantageous time for attack but they are scarcely in a hopeless or doomed situation. The equivalent in English slang is “Bad news!”
[6:6] 320 tn Heb “For.” The translation attempts to make the connection clearer.
[6:6] 321 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
[6:6] sn For an explanation of the significance of this title see the study note on 2:19.
[6:6] 322 tn Heb “Cut down its trees and build up a siege ramp against Jerusalem.” The referent has been moved forward from the second line for clarity.
[6:6] 323 tn Or “must be punished.” The meaning of this line is uncertain. The LXX reads, “Woe, city of falsehood!” The MT presents two anomalies: a masculine singular verb with a feminine singular subject in a verbal stem (Hophal) that elsewhere does not have the meaning “is to be punished.” Hence many follow the Greek which presupposes הוֹי עִיר הַשֶּׁקֶר (hoy ’ir hasheqer) instead of הִיא הָעִיר הָפְקַד (hi’ ha’ir hofqad). The Greek is the easier reading in light of the parallelism, and it would be hard to explain how the MT arose from it. KBL suggests reading a noun meaning “licentiousness” which occurs elsewhere only in Mishnaic Hebrew, hence “this is the city, the licentious one” (attributive apposition; cf. KBL 775 s.v. פֶּקֶר). Perhaps the Hophal perfect (הָפְקַד, hofÿqad) should be revocalized as a Niphal infinitive absolute (הִפָּקֹד, hippaqod); this would solve both anomalies in the MT since the Niphal is used in this nuance and the infinitive absolute can function in place of a finite verb (cf. GKC 346 §113.ee and ff). This, however, is mere speculation and is supported by no Hebrew
[6:6] 324 tn Heb “All of it oppression in its midst.”
[6:7] 325 tc Heb “As a well makes cool/fresh its water, she makes cool/fresh her wickedness.” The translation follows the reading proposed by the Masoretes (Qere) which reads a rare form of the word “well” (בַּיִר [bayir] for בְּאֵר [bÿ’er]) in place of the form written in the text (Kethib, בּוֹר [bor]), which means “cistern.” The latter noun is masculine and the pronoun “its” is feminine. If indeed בַּיִר (bayir) is a byform of בְּאֵר (be’er), which is feminine, it would agree in gender with the pronoun. It also forms a more appropriate comparison since cisterns do not hold fresh water.
[6:7] 326 tn Heb “Violence and destruction are heard in it.”
[6:7] 327 tn Heb “Sickness and wound are continually before my face.”
[6:8] 328 tn This word is not in the text but is supplied in the translation. Jeremiah uses a figure of speech (enallage) where the speaker turns from talking about someone to address him/her directly.
[6:8] 329 tn Heb “lest my soul [= I] becomes disgusted with you.”
[6:8] sn The wordplay begun with “sound…in Tekoa” in v. 1 and continued with “they will pitch” in v. 3 is concluded here with “turn away” (וּבִתְקוֹעַ תִּקְעוּ [uvitqoa’ tiq’u] in v. 1, תָּקְעוּ [taq’u] in v. 3 and תֵּקַע [teqa’] here).
[6:9] 330 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
[6:9] sn For an explanation of the significance of this title see the study note on 2:19.
[6:9] 331 tn The words “to me” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[6:9] 332 tn Heb “They will thoroughly glean those who are left in Israel like a vine.” That is, they will be carried off by judgment. It is not necessary to read the verb forms here as two imperatives or an infinitive absolute followed by an imperative as some English versions and commentaries do. This is an example of a third plural verb used impersonally and translated as a passive (cf. GKC 460 §144.g).
[6:9] 333 tn Heb “Pass your hand back over the branches like a grape harvester.” The translation is intended to clarify the metaphor that Jeremiah should try to rescue some from the coming destruction.
[6:10] 334 tn These words are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[6:10] 335 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] 336 tn Heb “are uncircumcised.”
[6:10] 338 tn Heb “They do not take pleasure in it.”
[6:11] 339 tn Heb “I am full of the wrath of the
[6:11] 340 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] 341 tn Heb “Pour it out.”
[6:11] 342 tn Heb “are to be captured.”
[6:12] 343 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] 344 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] 345 tn Heb “They say, ‘Peace! Peace!’ and there is no peace!”
[6:15] 346 tn Heb “They will fall among the fallen.”
[6:16] 347 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] 348 tn Heb “Stand at the crossroads and look.”
[6:16] 349 tn Heb “the ancient path,” i.e., the path the
[6:16] 350 tn Heb “the way of/to the good.”
[6:17] 351 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] 352 tn Heb “I appointed watchmen over you.”
[6:17] 353 tn Heb “Pay attention to the sound of the trumpet.” The word “warning” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.
[6:18] 354 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] 355 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] 358 tn Heb “disaster on these people, the fruit of their schemes.”
[6:20] 360 tn Heb “To what purpose is it to me?” The question is rhetorical and expects a negative answer.
[6:20] 361 tn The words “when they offer up to me” are not in the text but are implicit from the following context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[6:20] 362 tn Heb “Your burnt offerings are not acceptable and your sacrifices are not pleasing to me.” “The shift from “your” to “their” is an example of the figure of speech (apostrophe) where the speaker turns from talking about someone to addressing him/her directly. Though common in Hebrew style, it is not common in English. The shift to the third person in the translation is an accommodation to English style.
[6:21] 363 tn This is an attempt to render the Hebrew particle rendered “behold” joined to the first person pronoun.
[6:21] 364 tn Heb “I will put stumbling blocks in front of these people.” In this context the stumbling blocks are the invading armies.
[6:21] 365 tn The words “and fall to their destruction” are implicit in the metaphor and are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[6:23] 367 sn Jerualem is personified as a young maiden helpless before enemy attackers.
[6:24] 368 tn These words are not in the text, but, from the context, someone other than God is speaking and is speaking for and to the people (either Jeremiah or the people themselves). These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[6:24] 369 tn Or “We have lost our strength to do battle”; Heb “Our hands hang limp [or helpless at our sides].” According to BDB 951 s.v. רָפָה Qal.2, this idiom is used figuratively for losing heart or energy. The best example of its figurative use of loss of strength or the feeling of helplessness is in Ezek 21:12 where it appears in the context of the heart (courage) melting, the spirit sinking, and the knees becoming like water. For other examples compare 2 Sam 4:1; Zeph 3:16. In Neh 6:9 it is used literally of the builders “dropping their hands from the work” out of fear. The words “with fear” are supplied in the translation because they are implicit in the context.
[6:25] 370 tn Heb “For the enemy has a sword.”
[6:25] 371 tn Heb “Terror is all around!”
[6:26] 372 tn These words are not in the text but are implicit from the context.
[6:26] 373 tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the translator’s note there.
[6:26] 375 tn Heb “the destroyer.”
[6:27] 376 tn These words are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity. Note “I have appointed you.” Compare Jer 1:18.
[6:27] 377 tn Heb “I have made you an assayer of my people, a tester [?].” The meaning of the words translated “assayer” (בָּחוֹן, bakhon) and “tester” (מִבְצָר, mivtsar) is uncertain. The word בָּחוֹן (bakhon) can mean “tower” (cf. BDB 103 s.v. בָּחוֹן; cf. Isa 23:13 for the only other use) or “assayer” (cf. BDB 103 s.v. בָּחוֹן). The latter would be the more expected nuance because of the other uses of nouns and verbs from this root. The word מִבְצָר (mivtsar) normally means “fortress” (cf. BDB 131 s.v. מִבְצָר), but most modern commentaries and lexicons deem that nuance inappropriate here. HALOT follows a proposal that the word is to be repointed to מְבַצֵּר (mÿvatser) and derived from a root בָּצַר (batsar) meaning “to test” (cf. HALOT 143 s.v. IV בָּצַר). That proposal makes the most sense in the context, but the root appears nowhere else in the OT.
[6:27] 378 tn Heb “test their way.”
[6:28] 379 tn These words are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity. Some takes these words to be the continuation of the
[6:28] 380 tn Or “arch rebels,” or “hardened rebels.” Literally “rebels of rebels.”
[6:29] 381 tn Heb “The bellows blow fiercely; the lead is consumed by the fire.” The translation tries to clarify a metaphor involving ancient metallurgy. In the ancient refining process lead was added as a flux to remove impurities from silver ore in the process of oxidizing the lead. Jeremiah says that the lead has been used up and the impurities have not been removed. The translation is based on the recognition of an otherwise unused verb root meaning “blow” (נָחַר [nakhar]; cf. BDB 1123 s.v. I חָרַר and HALOT 651 s.v. נָחַר) and the Masoretes’ suggestion that the consonants מאשׁתם be read מֵאֵשׁ תַּם (me’esh tam) rather than as מֵאֶשָּׁתָם (me’eshatam, “from their fire”) from an otherwise unattested noun אֶשָּׁה (’eshah).
[6:29] 382 tn Heb “The refiner refines them in vain.”
[6:30] 383 tn This translation is intended to reflect the wordplay in the Hebrew text where the same root word is repeated in the two lines.
[7:1] 384 tn Heb “The word which came to Jeremiah from the
[7:2] 385 tn Heb “Proclaim there…” The adverb is unnecessary in English style.
[7:2] 386 sn That is, all those who have passed through the gates of the outer court and are standing in the courtyard of the temple.
[7:3] 387 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God Israel.”
[7:3] sn Compare the use of similar titles in 2:19; 5:14; 6:6 and see the explanation in the study note at 2:19. In this instance the title appears to emphasize the
[7:3] 388 tn Or “Make good your ways and your actions.” J. Bright’s translation (“Reform the whole pattern of your conduct”; Jeremiah [AB], 52) is excellent.
[7:3] 389 tn Heb “place” but this might be misunderstood to refer to the temple.
[7:4] 390 tn Heb “Stop trusting in lying words which say.”
[7:4] 391 tn The words “We are safe!” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[7:4] 392 tn Heb “The temple of the
[7:5] 393 tn The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.
[7:5] 394 tn Heb “you must do justice between a person and his fellow/neighbor.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.
[7:6] 395 tn Heb “Stop oppressing foreigner, orphan, and widow.”
[7:6] 396 tn Heb “Stop shedding innocent blood.”
[7:6] 397 tn Heb “going/following after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for an explanation of the idiom involved here.
[7:6] 398 tn Heb “going after other gods to your ruin.”
[7:7] 399 tn The translation uses imperatives in vv. 5-6 followed by the phrase, “If you do all this,” to avoid the long and complex sentence structure of the Hebrew sentence which has a series of conditional clauses in vv. 5-6 followed by a main clause in v. 7.
[7:7] 400 tn Heb “live in this place, in this land.”
[7:7] 401 tn Heb “gave to your fathers [with reference to] from ancient times even unto forever.”
[7:8] 403 tn Heb “You are trusting in lying words.” See the similar phrase in v. 4 and the note there.
[7:8] 404 tn Heb “not profit [you].”
[7:9] 405 tn Heb “Will you steal…then say, ‘We are safe’?” Verses 9-10 are one long sentence in the Hebrew text.
[7:9] 406 tn Heb “You go/follow after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for an explanation of the idiom involved here.
[7:10] 407 tn Heb “over which my name is called.” For this nuance of this idiom cf. BDB 896 s.v. קָרָא Niph.2.d(4) and see the usage in 2 Sam 12:28.
[7:10] 408 tn Or “‘We are safe!’ – safe, you think, to go on doing all those hateful things.” Verses 9-10 are all one long sentence in the Hebrew text. It has been broken up for English stylistic reasons. Somewhat literally it reads “Will you steal…then come and stand…and say, ‘We are safe’ so as to/in order to do…” The Hebrew of v. 9 has a series of infinitives which emphasize the bare action of the verb without the idea of time or agent. The effect is to place a kind of staccato like emphasis on the multitude of their sins all of which are violations of one of the Ten Commandments. The final clause in v. 8 expresses purpose or result (probably result) through another infinitive. This long sentence is introduced by a marker (ה interrogative in Hebrew) introducing a rhetorical question in which God expresses his incredulity that they could do these sins, come into the temple and claim the safety of his protection, and then go right back out and commit the same sins. J. Bright (Jeremiah [AB], 52) catches the force nicely: “What? You think you can steal, murder…and then come and stand…and say, ‘We are safe…’ just so that you can go right on…”
[7:11] 409 tn Heb “over which my name is called.” For this nuance of this idiom cf. BDB 896 s.v. קָרָא Niph.2.d(4) and see the usage in 2 Sam 12:28.
[7:11] 410 tn Heb “Is this house…a den/cave of robbers in your eyes?”
[7:12] 412 tn Heb “where I caused my name to dwell.” The translation does not adequately represent the theology of the
[7:12] 413 sn The place in Shiloh…see what I did to it. This refers to the destruction of Shiloh by the Philistines circa 1050
[7:13] 414 tn This reflects a Hebrew idiom (e.g., 7:25; 11:7; 25:3, 4), i.e., an infinitive of a verb meaning “to do something early [or eagerly]” followed by an infinitive of another verb of action. Cf. HALOT 1384 s.v. שָׁכַם Hiph.2.
[7:13] 415 tn Heb “I called to you and you did not answer.” The words “to repent” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[7:14] 416 tn Heb “over which my name is called.” For this nuance of this idiom cf. BDB 896 s.v. קָרָא Niph.2.d(4) and see the usage in 2 Sam 12:28.
[7:14] 417 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 22, 25, 26).
[7:14] 418 tn Heb “I will do to this house which I…in which you put…and to this place which…as I did to Shiloh.”
[7:15] 419 tn Heb “the descendants of Ephraim.” However, Ephraim here stands (as it often does) for all the northern tribes of Israel.
[7:16] 420 tn The words “Then the
[7:16] 421 tn Heb “As for you.” The personal name Jeremiah is supplied in the translation for clarity.
[7:16] 422 tn The words “to save them” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[7:17] 423 tn Or “Just look at…” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.
[7:17] 424 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[7:18] 425 tn The form for “queen” is unusual. It is pointed (מְלֶכֶת [mÿlekhet] instead of מַלְכַּת [malkat]) as though the Masoretes wanted to read the word for “work” (מְלֶאכֶת [mÿle’khet]), i.e., the “hosts of,” a word that several Hebrew
[7:18] sn The Queen of Heaven is probably a reference to the goddess known as Ishtar in Mesopotamia, Anat in Canaan, Ashtoreth in Israel. She was the goddess of love and fertility. For further discussion, see G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, T. G. Smothers, Jeremiah 26-52 (WBC), 266-68.
[7:18] 426 tn Heb “to provoke me.” There is debate among grammarians and lexicographers about the nuance of the Hebrew particle לְמַעַן (lÿma’an). Some say it always denotes purpose, while others say it may denote either purpose or result, depending on the context. For example, BDB 775 s.v. לְמַעַן note 1 says that it always denotes purpose, never result, but that sometimes what is really a result is represented ironically as though it were a purpose. That explanation fits nicely here in the light of the context of the next verse. The translation is intended to reflect some of that ironic sarcasm.
[7:19] 427 tn Heb “Is it I whom they provoke?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer which is made explicit in the translation.
[7:19] 428 tn Heb “Is it not themselves to their own shame?” The rhetorical question expects a positive answer which is made explicit in the translation.
[7:20] 429 tn Heb “Lord Yahweh.” The translation follows the ancient Jewish tradition of substituting the Hebrew word for God for the proper name Yahweh.
[7:20] 430 tn Heb “this place.” Some see this as a reference to the temple but the context has been talking about what goes on in the towns of Judah and Jerusalem and the words that follow, meant as a further explanation, are applied to the whole land.
[7:20] 431 tn Heb “the trees of/in the field and the fruit of/in the ground.”
[7:21] 432 tn The words “The
[7:21] 433 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.”
[7:21] sn See the study notes on 2:19 and 7:3.
[7:21] 434 tn Heb “Add your burnt offerings to your [other] sacrifices and eat the meat!” See the following sn for explanation. This is an example of the rhetorical use of the imperative for a sarcastic challenge. Cf. GKC 324 §110.a; cf. Amos 4:4, “Go to Bethel and sin!”
[7:21] sn All of the burnt offering, including the meat, was to be consumed on the altar (e.g., Lev 1:6-9). The meat of the other sacrifices could be eaten by the priest who offered the sacrifice and the person who brought it (e.g., Lev 7:16-18, 32). Since, however, the people of Judah were making a mockery of the sacrificial system by offering sacrifices while disobeying the law, the
[7:22] 435 tn Heb “For” but this introduces a long explanation about the relative importance of sacrifice and obedience.
[7:23] 436 tn Verses 22-23a read in Hebrew, “I did not speak with your ancestors and I did not command them when I brought them out of Egypt about words/matters concerning burnt offering and sacrifice, but I commanded them this word:” Some modern commentators have explained this passage as an evidence for the lateness of the Pentateuchal instruction regarding sacrifice or a denial that sacrifice was practiced during the period of the wilderness wandering. However, it is better explained as an example of what R. de Vaux calls a dialectical negative, i.e., “not so much this as that” or “not this without that” (Ancient Israel, 454-56). For other examples of this same argument see Isa 1:10-17; Hos 6:4-6; Amos 5:21-25.
[7:23] 437 tn Heb “Obey me and I will be.” The translation is equivalent syntactically but brings out the emphasis in the command.
[7:23] 438 tn Heb “Walk in all the way that I command you.”
[7:24] 439 tn Or “They went backward and not forward”; Heb “They were to the backward and not to the forward.” The two phrases used here appear nowhere else in the Bible and the latter preposition plus adverb elsewhere is used temporally meaning “formerly” or “previously.” The translation follows the proposal of J. Bright, Jeremiah (AB), 57. Another option is “they turned their backs to me, not their faces,” understanding the line as a variant of a line in 2:27.
[7:25] 440 tn Heb “from the day your ancestors…until this very day.” However, “day” here is idiomatic for “the present time.”
[7:25] 441 tn On the Hebrew idiom see the note at 7:13.
[7:25] 442 tc There is some textual debate about the legitimacy of this expression here. The text reads merely “day” (יוֹם, yom). BHS suggests the word is to be deleted as a dittography of the plural ending of the preceding word. The word is in the Greek and Latin, and the Syriac represents the typical idiom “day after day” as though the noun were repeated. Either יוֹם has dropped out by haplography or a ם (mem) has been left out, i.e., reading יוֹמָם (yomam, “daily”).
[7:26] 443 tn Or “But your predecessors…”; Heb “But they….” There is a confusing interchange in the pronouns in vv. 25-26 which has led to some leveling in the ancient versions and the modern English versions. What is involved here are four levels of referents, the “you” of the present generation (vv. 21-22a), the ancestors who were delivered from Egypt (i.e., the “they” of vv. 22b-24), the “you” of v. 25 which involves all the Israelites from the Exodus to the time of speaking, and the “they” of v. 26 which cannot be the ancestors of vv. 22-24 (since they cannot be more wicked than themselves) but must be an indefinite entity which is a part of the “you” of v. 25, i.e., the more immediate ancestors of the present generation. If this is kept in mind, there is no need to level the pronouns to “they” and “them” or to “you” and “your” as some of the ancient versions and modern English versions have done.
[7:26] 444 tn Heb “hardened [or made stiff] their neck.”
[7:27] 445 tn The words, “Then the
[7:28] 446 tn Heb “Faithfulness has vanished. It is cut off from their lips.”
[7:28] sn For the need for faithfulness see 5:1, 3.
[7:29] 447 tn The word “mourn” is not in the text. It is supplied in the translation for clarity to explain the significance of the words “Cut your hair and throw it away.”
[7:29] sn Cf. Mic 1:16; Job 1:20 for other examples of this practice which was involved in mourning.
[7:29] 448 tn The words, “you people of this nation” are not in the text. Many English versions supply, “Jerusalem.” The address shifts from second masculine singular addressing Jeremiah (vv. 27-28a) to second feminine singular. It causes less disruption in the flow of the context to see the nation as a whole addressed here as a feminine singular entity (as, e.g., in 2:19, 23; 3:2, 3; 6:26) than to introduce a new entity, Jerusalem.
[7:29] 449 tn The verbs here are the Hebrew scheduling perfects. For this use of the perfect see GKC 312 §106.m.
[7:29] 450 tn Heb “the generation of his wrath.”
[7:30] 451 tn The words “I have rejected them” are not in the Hebrew text, which merely says “because.” These words are supplied in the translation to show more clearly the connection to the preceding.
[7:30] 452 tn Heb “have done the evil in my eyes.”
[7:30] 453 sn Compare, e.g., 2 Kgs 21:3, 5, 7; 23:4, 6; Ezek 8:3, 5, 10-12, 16. Manasseh had desecrated the temple by building altars, cult symbols, and idols in it. Josiah had purged the temple of these pagan elements. But it is obvious from both Jeremiah and Ezekiel that they had been replaced shortly after Josiah’s death. They were a primary cause of Judah’s guilt and punishment (see beside this passage, 19:5; 32:34-35).
[7:30] 454 tn Heb “the house which is called by my name.” Cf. 7:10, 11, 14 and see the translator’s note 7:10 for the explanation for this rendering.
[7:31] 455 tn Heb “high places.”
[7:31] sn These places of worship were essentially open air shrines often located on hills or wooded heights. They were generally connected with pagan worship and equipped with altars of sacrifice and of incense and cult objects such as wooden poles and stone pillars which were symbols of the god and/or goddess worshiped at the sight. The Israelites were commanded to tear down these Canaanite places of worship (Num 33:52) but they did not do so, often taking over the site for the worship of Yahweh but even then incorporating some of the pagan cult objects and ritual into their worship of Yahweh (1 Kgs 12:31, 32; 14:23). The prophets were especially opposed to these places and to this kind of syncretism (Hos 10:8; Amos 7:9) and to the pagan worship that was often practiced at them (Jer 7:31; 19:5; 32:35).
[7:31] 456 tn Heb “the high places of [or in] Topheth.”
[7:31] sn The noun Topheth is generally explained as an artificial formation of a word related to the Aramaic word for “cooking stove” combined with the vowels for the word for “shame.” Hence, Jewish piety viewed it as a very shameful act, one that was contrary to the law (see Lev 18:21; 20:2-6). Child sacrifice was practiced during the reigns of the wicked kings Ahaz and Manasseh and apparently during Jeremiah’s day (cf. 2 Kgs 16:3; 21:6; Jer 32:35).
[7:31] 457 tn Heb “It never entered my heart.” The words “to command such a thing” do not appear in the Hebrew but are added for the sake of clarity.
[7:32] 458 tn Heb “Therefore, behold!”
[7:32] 459 tn Heb “it will no longer be said ‘Topheth’ or ‘the Valley of Ben Hinnom’ but ‘the valley of slaughter.’
[7:32] 460 tn Heb “And they will bury in Topheth so there is not room.”
[7:33] 461 tn Heb “Their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.”
[8:1] 462 tn Heb “At that time.”
[8:2] 463 tc MT, 4QJera and LXX read “the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven,” but 4QJerc reads “the sun and all the stars.”
[8:2] tn Heb “the host of heaven.”
[8:2] 464 tn Heb “the sun, moon, and host of heaven which they…”
[8:2] 465 tn Heb “followed after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for the idiom.
[8:2] 466 tn Heb “they will not” but the referent is far enough removed that it might be ambiguous.
[8:2] 467 tn Heb “like dung/manure on the surface of the ground.”
[8:3] 468 tn Heb “Death will be chosen rather than life by the remnant who are left from this wicked family in all the places where I have banished them.” The sentence is broken up and restructured to avoid possible confusion because of the complexity of the English to some modern readers. There appears to be an extra “those who are left” that was inadvertently copied from the preceding line. It is missing from one Hebrew
[8:3] 469 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
[8:3] sn For the significance of this title see the notes at 2:19 and 7:3.
[8:4] 470 tn The words “the
[8:4] 471 sn There is a play on two different nuances of the same Hebrew word that means “turn” and “return,” “turn away” and “turn back.”
[8:5] 472 tc The text is quite commonly emended, changing שׁוֹבְבָה הָעָם (shovÿvah ha’am) to שׁוֹבָב הָעָם (shovav ha’am) and omitting יְרוּשָׁלַםִ (yÿrushalaim); this is due to the anomaly of a feminine singular verb with a masculine singular subject and the fact that the word “Jerusalem” is absent from one Hebrew
[8:5] map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[8:5] 473 tn Or “to their allegiance to false gods,” or “to their false professions of loyalty”; Heb “to deceit.” Either “to their mistaken beliefs” or “to their allegiance to false gods” would fit the preceding context. The former is more comprehensive than the latter and was chosen for that reason.
[8:5] 474 sn There is a continuing play on the same root word used in the preceding verse. Here the words “turn away from me,” “apostasy,” and “turn back to me” are all forms from the root that was translated “go the wrong way” and “turn around” in v. 4. The intended effect is to contrast Judah’s recalcitrant apostasy with the usual tendency to try and correct one’s mistakes.
[8:6] 475 tn Heb “I have paid attention and I have listened.” This is another case of two concepts being joined by “and” where one expresses the main idea and the other acts as an adverbial or adjectival modifier (a figure called hendiadys).
[8:6] 476 tn Heb “What have I done?” The addition of the word “wrong” is implicit in the context and is supplied in the translation for clarity. The rhetorical question does not function as a denial of wrongdoing, but rather as contrite shock at one’s own wrongdoing. It is translated as a declaration for the sake of clarity.
[8:6] 477 tn Heb “each one of them turns aside into their own running course.”
[8:6] sn The wordplay begun in v. 4 is continued here. The word translated “turns aside” in the literal translation and “wayward” in the translation is from the same root as “go the wrong way,” “turn around,” “turn away from me,” “apostasy,” “turn back to me.” What God hoped for were confessions of repentance and change of behavior; what he got was denial of wrongdoing and continued turning away from him.
[8:7] 478 tn Heb “its appointed time.” The translation is contextually motivated to avoid lack of clarity.
[8:7] 479 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] 480 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] 481 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] 482 tn Heb “the ordinance/requirement of the
[8:8] 483 tn Heb “Surely, behold!”
[8:8] 484 tn Heb “the scribes.”
[8:8] 485 tn Heb “The lying pen of the scribes have made [it] into a lie.” The translation is an attempt to make the most common interpretation of this passage understandable for the average reader. This is, however, a difficult passage whose interpretation is greatly debated and whose syntax is capable of other interpretations. The interpretation of the NJPS, “Assuredly, for naught has the pen labored, for naught the scribes,” surely deserves consideration within the context; i.e. it hasn’t done any good for the scribes to produce a reliable copy of the law, which the people have refused to follow. That interpretation has the advantage of explaining the absence of an object for the verb “make” or “labored” but creates a very unbalanced poetic couplet.
[8:9] 486 tn Heb “be trapped.” However, the word “trapped” generally carries with it the connotation of divine judgment. See BDB 540 s.v. לָכַד Niph.2, and compare usage in Jer 6:11 for support. The verbs in the first two lines are again the form of the Hebrew verb that emphasizes that the action is as good as done (Hebrew prophetic perfects).
[8:10] 487 sn See Jer 6:12-15 for parallels to 8:10-12. The words of Jeremiah to the people may have been repeated on more than one occasion or have been found appropriate to more than one of his collection of messages in written and edited form. See Jer 36:4 and Jer 36:28 for reference to at least two of these collections.
[8:11] 488 tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.
[8:11] 489 tn Heb “They heal the wound of my people lightly.”
[8:11] 490 tn Heb “They say, ‘Peace! Peace!’ and there is no peace!”
[8:12] 491 tn Heb “They will fall among the fallen.”
[8:13] 492 tn Or “I will completely destroy them.” The translation which is adopted is based on the revocalization of the MT which appears to mean literally “gathering I will sweep them away,” a rather improbable grammatical combination. It follows the suggestion found in HALOT 705 s.v. סוּף (Hiph) of reading אֹסֵף אֲסִיפָם (’ose, a first singular Qal imperfect of אָסַף [’asaf] followed by a noun אָסִיף [’asif] with possessive suffix) instead of the MT’s אָסֹף אֲסִיפֵם (’aspf ’asifem, a Qal infinitive absolute of אָסַף [’asaf] followed by the Hiphil imperfect of סוּף [suf] plus suffix). For parallel usage of the verb אָסַף (asaf) see BDB 62 s.v. אָסַף Qal.4, and for a similar form of the verb see Mic 4:6. The alternate translation follows the suggestion in BDB 692 s.v. סוּף Hiph: אָסֹף (’asof) is to be interpreted as a form of the Hiphil infinitive absolute (הָסֵף [hasef] would be expected) chosen for assonance with the following form. This suggestion would gain more credence if the MT is to be retained in Zeph 1:2 where parallel forms are found. However, that text too has been questioned on lexical and grammatical grounds. The translation adopted fits the following context better than the alternate one and is based on less questionable lexical and grammatical parallels. The Greek translation which reads “they shall gather their fruits” supports the translation chosen.
[8:13] 493 tn The meaning of this line is very uncertain. A possible alternate translation is: “They have broken the laws that I gave them.” The line reads rather literally “And I gave them they passed over them.” The translation adopted treats the first expression as a noun clause (cf. GKC 488-89 §155.n) which is the subject of the following verb, i.e., “the things I gave them [contextually, the grapes, etc.] passed over from them.” The alternate translation treats the expression as a dangling object (a Hebrew casus pendens) resumed by the pronoun “them” and understands “the things that I gave them” to be the law or some related entity which is often the object of this verb (see BDB 717 s.v. עָבַר Qal.1.i). Neither of these translations is without its weakness. The weakness of the translation which has been adopted is the unusual use it assigns to the object suffix of the verb translated “pass over.” The weakness of the alternate translation is the rather abrupt and opaque introduction of a new topic of reference (i.e., the laws) into the context. On the whole the latter weakness would appear to outweigh the former. This line is missing from the Greek version and J. Bright (Jeremiah [AB]) and J. A. Thompson (Jeremiah [NICOT]) despair of giving a translation. For other possible suggestions see, W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:285-86.
[8:14] 494 tn The words “The people say” are not in the text but are implicit in the shift of speakers between vv. 4-13 and vv. 14-16. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[8:14] 495 tn Heb “Gather together and let us enter into the fortified cities.”
[8:14] 496 tn Heb “Let us die there.” The words “at least” and “fighting” are intended to bring out the contrast of passive surrender to death in the open country and active resistance to the death implicit in the context.
[8:14] 497 tn The words “of judgment” are not in the text but are intended to show that “poison water” is not literal but figurative of judgment at the hands of God through the agency of the enemy mentioned in v. 16.
[8:14] 498 tn Heb “against the
[8:15] 499 tn Heb “[We hoped] for a time of healing but behold terror.”
[8:16] 500 tn Heb “his stallions.”
[8:16] 501 tn The words “They are coming to destroy” are not in the text. They are inserted to break up a long sentence in conformity with contemporary English style.
[8:17] 502 tn These words which are at the end of the Hebrew verse are brought forward to show at the outset the shift in speaker.
[8:17] 503 tn Heb “Indeed [or For] behold!” The translation is intended to convey some of the connection that is suggested by the Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) at the beginning of the verse.
[8:17] 504 tn Heb “I am sending against you snakes, poisonous ones which cannot be charmed.” In the light of the context literal snakes are scarcely meant. So the metaphor is turned into a simile to prevent possible confusion. For a similar metaphorical use of animals for enemies see 5:6.
[8:17] 505 tn Heb “they will bite you.” There does not appear to be any way to avoid the possible confusion that literal snakes are meant here except to paraphrase. Possibly one could say “And they will attack you and ‘bite’ you,” but the enclosing of the word “bite” in quotations might lead to even further confusion.
[8:18] 506 tn The words, “Then I said” are not in the text but there is a general consensus that the words of vv. 18-19a are the words of Jeremiah. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[8:18] 507 tn The meaning of this word is uncertain. The translation is based on the redivision and repointing of a word that occurs only here in the MT and whose pattern of formation is unparalleled in the Hebrew Bible. The MT reads מַבְלִיגִיתִי (mavligiti) which BDB provisionally derives from a verb root meaning “to gleam” or “to shine.” However, BDB notes that the text is dubious (cf. BDB 114 s.v. מַבְלִיגִית). The text is commonly emended to מִבְּלִי גְּהֹת (mibbÿli gÿhot) which is a Qal infinitive from a verb meaning “to heal” preceded by a compound negative “for lack of, to be at a loss for” (cf., e.g., HALOT 514 s.v. מַבְלִיגִית and 174 s.v. גּהה). This reading is supported by the Greek text which has an adjective meaning “incurable,” which is, however, connected with the preceding verse, i.e., “they will bite you incurably.”
[8:19] 508 tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.
[8:19] 509 tn Heb “Behold the voice of the crying of the daughter of my people.”
[8:19] 510 tn Heb “Land of distances, i.e., of wide extent.” For parallel usage cf. Isa 33:17.
[8:19] 511 tn Heb “her King” but this might be misunderstood by some to refer to the Davidic ruler even with the capitalization.
[8:19] 512 tn The words, “The
[8:19] 513 sn The people’s cry and the
[8:20] 514 tn The words “They say” are not in the text; they are supplied in the translation to make clear that the lament of the people begun in v. 19b is continued here after the interruption of the
[8:20] 515 tn Heb “Harvest time has passed, the summer is over.”
[8:20] sn This appears to be a proverbial statement for “time marches on.” The people appear to be expressing their frustration that the
[8:21] 516 tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.
[8:21] 517 tn Heb “Because of the crushing of the daughter of my people I am crushed.”
[8:21] 518 tn Heb “I go about in black [i.e., mourning clothes]. Dismay has seized me.”
[8:22] 519 tn Heb “balm.” The more familiar “ointment” has been used in the translation, supplemented with the adjective “medicinal.”
[8:22] sn This medicinal ointment (Heb “balm”) consisted of the gum or resin from a tree that grows in Egypt and Palestine and was thought to have medicinal value (see also Jer 46:11).
[8:22] 520 tn Heb “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there?” In this context the questions are rhetorical and expect a positive answer, which is made explicit in the translation.
[8:22] sn The prophet means by this metaphor that there are still means available for healing the spiritual ills of his people, mainly repentance, obedience to the law, and sole allegiance to God, and still people available who will apply this medicine to them, namely prophets like himself.
[8:22] 521 tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.
[8:22] 522 tn Or more clearly, “restored to spiritual health”; Heb “Why then has healing not come to my dear people?”
[8:22] sn Jeremiah is lamenting that though there is a remedy available for the recovery of his people they have not availed themselves of it.
[9:1] 523 sn Beginning with 9:1, the verse numbers through 9:26 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 9:1 ET = 8:23 HT, 9:2 ET = 9:1 HT, 9:3 ET = 9:2 HT, etc., through 9:26 ET = 9:25 HT. Beginning with 10:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
[9:1] 524 tn Heb “I wish that my head were water.”
[9:1] 525 tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.
[9:2] 526 tn Heb “I wish I had in the desert a lodging place [inn, or place to spend the night] for travelers.”
[9:2] 527 tn Or “bunch,” but this loses the irony; the word is used for the solemn assemblies at the religious feasts.
[9:2] 528 tn Heb “they are all adulterers, a congregation of unfaithful people.” However, spiritual adultery is, of course, meant, not literal adultery. So the literal translation would be misleading.
[9:3] 529 tn The words “The
[9:3] 530 tn Heb “They have readied [or strung] their tongue as their bow for lies.”
[9:3] 531 tn Heb “but not through honesty.”
[9:3] 532 tn Heb “they go from evil to evil.”
[9:3] 533 tn Or “do not acknowledge me”; Heb “do not know me.” But “knowing” in Hebrew thought often involves more than intellectual knowledge; it involves emotional and volitional commitment as well. For יָדַע meaning “acknowledge” see 1 Chr 28:9; Isa 29:21; Hos 2:20; Prov 3:6. This word is also found in ancient Near Eastern treaty contexts where it has the idea of a vassal king acknowledging the sovereignty of a greater king (cf. H. Huffmon, “The Treaty Background of Hebrew yada,” BASOR 181 [1966]: 31-37).
[9:4] 534 tn Heb “Be on your guard…Do not trust.” The verbs are second masculine plural of direct address and there seems no way to translate literally and not give the mistaken impression that Jeremiah is being addressed. This is another example of the tendency in Hebrew style to turn from description to direct address (a figure of speech called apostrophe).
[9:4] 535 tn Heb “cheating, each of them will cheat.”
[9:4] sn There is perhaps an intentional pun and allusion here to Gen 27:36 and the wordplay on the name Jacob there. The text here reads עָקוֹב יַעְקֹב (’aqob ya’qob).
[9:5] 536 tn Heb “their tongues.” However, this is probably not a natural idiom in contemporary English and the tongue may stand as a part for the whole anyway.
[9:6] 537 tc An alternate reading for vv. 5d-6b is: “They wear themselves out doing wrong. Jeremiah, you live in the midst of deceitful people. They deceitfully refuse to take any thought of/acknowledge me.” The translation which has been adopted is based on a redivision of the lines, a redivision of some of the words, and a revocalization of some of the consonants. The MT reads literally “doing wrong they weary themselves. Your sitting in the midst of deceit; in deceit they refuse to know me” (הַעֲוֵה נִלְאוּ׃ שִׁבְתְּךָ בְּתוֹךְ מִרְמָה בְּמִרְמָה מֵאֲנוּ דַעַת־אוֹתִי). The Greek version reads literally “they do wrong and they do not cease to turn themselves around. Usury upon usury and deceit upon deceit. They do not want to know me.” This suggests that one should read the Hebrew text as שֻׁב׃ תֹּךְ בְּתוֹךְ מִרְ־מָה בְּמִרְ־מָה מֵאֲנוּ דַעַת אוֹתִי הַעֲוֵה נִלְאוּ, which translated literally yields “doing evil [= “they do evil” using the Hiphil infinitive absolute as a finite verb (cf. GKC 346 §113.ff)] they are not able [cf. KBL 468 s.v. לָאָה Niph.3 and see Exod 7:18 for parallel use] to repent. Oppression on oppression [cf. BDB 1067 s.v. תֹּךְ, II תּוֹךְ]; deceit on deceit. They refuse to know me.” This reading has ancient support and avoids the introduction of an unexpected second masculine suffix into the context. It has been adopted here along with a number of modern commentaries (cf., e.g., W. McKane, Jeremiah [ICC], 1:201) and English versions as the more likely reading.
[9:6] 538 tn Or “do not acknowledge me”; Heb “do not know me.” See the note on the phrase “do not take any thought of me” in 9:3.
[9:7] 539 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
[9:7] sn For the significance of this title see the notes at 2:19 and 7:3.
[9:7] 540 tn Heb “I will refine/purify them.” The words “in the fires of affliction” are supplied in the translation to give clarity to the metaphor.
[9:7] 541 tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.
[9:7] 542 tc Heb “For how else shall I deal because of the wickedness of the daughter of my people.” The MT does not have the word “wickedness.” The word, however, is read in the Greek version. This is probably a case of a word dropping out because of its similarities to the consonants preceding or following it (i.e., haplography). The word “wickedness” (רַעַת, ra’at) has dropped out before the words “my dear people” (בַּת־עַמִּי, bat-’ammi). The causal nuance which is normal for מִפְּנֵי (mippÿne) does not make sense without some word like this, and the combination of רַעַת מִפְּנֵי (mippÿne ra’at) does occur in Jer 7:12 and one very like it occurs in Jer 26:3.
[9:8] 543 tc This reading follows the Masoretic consonants (the Kethib, a Qal active participle from שָׁחַט, shakhat). The Masoretes preferred to read “a sharpened arrow” (the Qere, a Qal passive participle from the same root or a homonym, meaning “hammered, beaten”). See HALOT 1354 s.v. II שָׁחַט for discussion. The exact meaning of the word makes little difference to the meaning of the metaphor itself.
[9:8] 544 tn Heb “They speak deceit.”
[9:8] 545 tn Heb “With his mouth a person speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets an ambush for him.”
[9:9] 546 tn Heb “Should I not punish them…? Should I not bring retribution…?” The rhetorical questions function as emphatic declarations.
[9:9] sn See 5:9, 29. This is somewhat of a refrain at the end of a catalog of Judah’s sins.
[9:10] 547 tn The words “I said” are not in the text, but there is general agreement that Jeremiah is the speaker. Cf. the lament in 8:18-9:1. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity. Some English versions follow the Greek text which reads a plural imperative here. Since this reading would make the transition between 9:10 and 9:11 easier it is probably not original but a translator’s way of smoothing over a difficulty.
[9:10] 548 tn Heb “I will lift up weeping and mourning.”
[9:10] 549 tn Heb “for the mountains.” However, the context makes clear that it is the grasslands or pastures on the mountains that are meant. The words “for the grasslands” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[9:11] 550 tn The words “the
[9:11] 551 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[9:11] 552 tn Heb “a heap of ruins, a haunt for jackals.”
[9:12] 553 tn The words, “I said” are not in the text. It is not clear that a shift in speaker has taken place. However, the words of the verse are very unlikely to be a continuation of the
[9:12] 554 tn Heb “Who is the wise man that he may understand this?”
[9:12] 555 tn Heb “And [who is the man] to whom the mouth of the
[9:13] 556 tn Heb “and they have not walked in it (with “it” referring to “my law”).
[9:14] 557 tn Heb “they have gone/followed after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for the idiom.
[9:14] 558 tn Heb “the Baals,” referring either to the pagan gods called “Baals” or the images of Baal (so NLT).
[9:14] 559 tn Or “forefathers,” or “ancestors.” Here the referent could be the immediate parents or, by their example, more distant ancestors.
[9:15] 560 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.”
[9:15] sn See the study notes on 2:9 and 7:3.
[9:15] 561 tn Heb “Therefore, thus says the
[9:15] 562 tn Heb “I will feed this people wormwood and make them drink poison water.” “Wormwood” and “poison water” are not to be understood literally here but are symbolic of judgment and suffering. See, e.g., BDB 542 s.v. לַעֲנָה.
[9:16] 564 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] 565 sn He will destroy them but not completely. See Jer 5:18; 30:11; 46:28.
[9:17] 566 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
[9:17] sn For the significance of this title see the notes at 2:19 and 7:3.
[9:17] 567 tn Heb “Thus says Yahweh of armies.” However, without some addition it is not clear to whom the command is addressed. The words are supplied in the translation for clarity and to help resolve a rather confusing issue of who is speaking throughout vv. 16-21. As has been evident throughout the translation, the speaker is not always indicated. Sometimes it is not even clear who the speaker is. In general the translation and the notes have reflected the general consensus in identifying who it is. Here, however, there is a good deal of confusion about who is speaking in vv. 18, 20-21. The Greek translation has the
[9:17] 569 tn Heb “Call for the mourning women that they may come and send for the wise/skilled women that they may come.” The verbs here are masculine plural, addressed to the people.
[9:18] 570 tn The words “And I said, ‘Indeed” are not in the text. They have been supplied in the translation to try and help clarify who the speaker is who identifies with the lament of the people.
[9:19] 571 tn The words “They will wail” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation to make clear that this is the wailing that will be heard.
[9:19] sn The destruction is still in the future, but it is presented graphically as though it had already taken place.
[9:19] 572 tn Heb “How we are ruined!”
[9:19] 573 tn The order of these two lines has been reversed for English stylistic reasons. The text reads in Hebrew “because we have left our land because they have thrown down our dwellings.” The two clauses offer parallel reasons for the cries “How ruined we are! [How] we are greatly disgraced!” But the first line must contain a prophetic perfect (because the lament comes from Jerusalem) and the second a perfect referring to a destruction that is itself future. This seems the only way to render the verse that would not be misleading.
[9:20] 574 tn The words “I said” are not in the text. The text merely has “Indeed, yes.” The words are supplied in the translation to indicate that the speaker is still Jeremiah though he now is not talking about the mourning woman but is talking to them. See the notes on 9:17-18 for further explanation.
[9:20] 575 tn It is a little difficult to explain how the Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) is functioning here. W. L. Holladay (Jeremiah [Hermeneia], 1:311) may be correct in seeing it as introducing the contents of what those who call for the mourning women are to say. In this case, Jeremiah picks up the task as representative of the people.
[9:20] 576 tn Heb “Listen to the word of the
[9:20] sn In this context the “word of the
[9:20] 577 tn Heb “Teach…mournful song, and each woman her neighbor lady…”
[9:21] 578 sn Here Death is personified (treated as though it were a person). Some have seen as possible background to this lament an allusion to Mesopotamian mythology where the demon Lamastu climbs in through the windows of houses and over their walls to kill children and babies.
[9:22] 579 tn Or “‘Death has climbed…city squares. And the dead bodies of people lie scattered…They lie scattered…but has not been gathered.’ The
[9:23] 580 sn It is not always clear why verses were placed in their present position in the editorial process of collecting Jeremiah’s sermons and the words the
[9:23] 581 tn Or “Strong people should not brag that they are strong.”
[9:23] 582 tn Heb “…in their wisdom…in their power…in their riches.”
[9:24] 583 tn Or “fairness and justice, because these things give me pleasure.” Verse 24 reads in Hebrew, “But let the one who brags brag in this: understanding and knowing me that I, the
[9:25] 585 tn Heb “punish all who are circumcised in the flesh.” The translation is contextually motivated to better bring out the contrast that follows.
[9:26] 586 tn Heb “all those who are cut off on the side of the head who live in the desert.” KJV and some other English versions (e.g., NIV “who live in the desert in distant places”; NLT “who live in distant places”) have followed the interpretation that this is a biform of an expression meaning “end or remote parts of the [far] corners [of the earth].” This interpretation is generally abandoned by the more recent commentaries and lexicons (see, e.g. BDB 802 s.v. פֵּאָה 1 and HALOT 858 s.v. פֵּאָה 1.β). It occurs also in 25:33; 49:32.
[9:26] 587 tn Heb “For all of these nations are uncircumcised.” The words “I will do so” are supplied in the translation to indicate the connection with the preceding statement.
[9:26] sn A contrast is drawn here between circumcision as a mere external cutting of the flesh and a sign of commitment to the covenant and the God of the covenant. The people of these nations practiced circumcision but not as a sign of the covenant. The people of Israel engaged in it as a religious practice but without any obedience to the covenant that it was a sign of or any real commitment to the
[9:26] 588 tn Heb “house of Israel.”
[9:26] 589 tn Heb “And all the house of Israel is uncircumcised of heart.”
[10:1] 590 tn Heb “house of Israel.”
[10:2] 591 tn Heb “Do not learn the way of the nations.” For this use of the word “ways” (דֶּרֶךְ, derekh) compare for example Jer 12:16 and Isa 2:6.
[10:2] 592 tn Heb “signs.” The words “that occur” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[10:2] sn The Hebrew word translated here “things that go on in the sky” (אֹתוֹת, ’otot) refers both to unusual disturbances such as eclipses, comets, meteors, etc., but also to such things as the changes in the position of the sun, moon, and stars in conjunction with the changes in seasons (cf. Gen 1:14). The people of Assyria and Babylonia worshiped the sun, moon, and stars, thinking that these heavenly bodies had some hold over them.
[10:3] 593 tn Heb “statutes.” According to BDB 350 s.v. חֻקָּה 2.b it refers to the firmly established customs or practices of the pagan nations. Compare the usage in Lev 20:23; 2 Kgs 17:8. Here it is essentially equivalent to דֶּרֶךְ (derekh) in v. 1, which has already been translated “religious practices.”
[10:3] 594 sn This passage is dripping with sarcasm. It begins by talking about the “statutes” of the pagan peoples as a “vapor” using a singular copula and singular predicate. Then it suppresses the subject, the idol, as though it were too horrible to mention, using only the predications about it. The last two lines read literally: “[it is] a tree which one cuts down from the forest; the work of the hands of a craftsman with his chisel.”
[10:4] 595 tn The pronoun is plural in Hebrew, referring to the parts.
[10:5] 596 tn Heb “And it is not in them to do good either.”
[10:6] 597 tn The words “I said” are not in the Hebrew text, but there appears to be a shift in speaker. Someone is now addressing the
[10:6] 598 tn The form that introduces this line has raised debate. The form מֵאֵין (me’en) normally means “without” and introduces a qualification of a term expressing desolation or “so that not” and introduces a negative result (cf. BDB 35 s.v. II אַיִן 6.b). Neither of these nuances fit either this verse or the occurrence in v. 7. BDB 35 s.v. II אַיִן 6.b.γ notes that some have explained this as a strengthened form of אַיִן (’ayin) which occurs in a similar phrase five other times (cf., e.g., 1 Kgs 8:23). Though many including BDB question the validity of this solution it is probably better than the suggestion that BDB gives of repointing to מֵאַיִן (me’ayin, “whence”), which scarcely fits the context of v. 7, or the solution of HALOT 41 s.v. I אַיִן, which suggests that the מ (mem) is a double writing (dittograph) of the final consonant from the preceding word. That would assume that the scribe made the same error twice or was influenced the second time by the first erroneous writing.
[10:6] 599 tn Heb “Great is your name in power.”
[10:7] 600 tn Heb “Who should not revere you…?” The question is rhetorical and expects a negative answer.
[10:7] 601 tn Heb “For it is fitting to you.”
[10:7] 602 tn Heb “their royalty/dominion.” This is a case of substitution of the abstract for the concrete “royalty, royal power” for “kings” who exercise it.
[10:8] 603 tn Or “Those wise people and kings are…” It is unclear whether the subject is the “they” of the nations in the preceding verse, or the wise people and kings referred to. The text merely has “they.”
[10:8] 604 tn Heb “The instruction of vanities [worthless idols] is wood.” The meaning of this line is a little uncertain. Various proposals have been made to make sense, most of which involve radical emendation of the text. For some examples see J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah (NICOT), 323-24, fn 6. However, this is probably a case of the bold predication that discussed in GKC 452 §141.d, some examples of which may be seen in Ps 109:4 “I am prayer,” and Ps 120:7 “I am peace.”
[10:9] 605 tc Two Qumran scrolls of Jeremiah (4QJera and 4QJerb) reflect a Hebrew text that is very different than the traditional MT from which modern Bibles have been translated. The Hebrew text in these two manuscripts is similar to that from which LXX was translated. This is true both in small details and in major aspects where the LXX differs from MT. Most notably, 4QJera, 4QJerb and LXX present a version of Jeremiah about 13% shorter than the longer version found in MT. One example of this shorter text is Jer 10:3-11 in which MT and 4QJera both have all nine verses, while LXX and 4QJerb both lack vv. 6-8 and 10, which extol the greatness of God. In addition, the latter part of v. 9 is arranged differently in LXX and 4QJerb. The translation here follows MT which is supported by 4QJera.
[10:9] 606 tn This is a place of unknown location. It is mentioned again in Dan 10:5. Many emend the word to “Ophir” following the Syriac version and the Aramaic Targum. Ophir was famous for its gold (cf. 1 Kgs 9:28; Job 28:16).
[10:9] 607 tn The words “to cover those idols” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[10:9] 608 tn The words “They are” are not in the text. The text reads merely, “the work of the carpenter and of the hands of the goldsmith.” The words are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[10:9] 609 tn Heb “Blue and purple their clothing.”
[10:9] 610 sn There is an ironic pun in this last line. The Hebrew word translated “skillful workers” is the same word that is translated “wise people” in v. 7. The artisans do their work skillfully but they are not “wise.”
[10:11] 611 tn Aram “The gods who did not make…earth will disappear…” The sentence is broken up in the translation to avoid a long, complex English sentence in conformity with contemporary English style.
[10:11] 612 tn This verse is in Aramaic. It is the only Aramaic sentence in Jeremiah. Scholars debate the appropriateness of this verse to this context. Many see it as a gloss added by a postexilic scribe which was later incorporated into the text. Both R. E. Clendenen (“Discourse Strategies in Jeremiah 10,” JBL 106 [1987]: 401-8) and W. L. Holladay (Jeremiah [Hermeneia], 1:324-25, 334-35) have given detailed arguments that the passage is not only original but the climax and center of the contrast between the
[10:11] sn This passage is carefully structured and placed to contrast the
[10:12] 613 tn The words “The
[10:13] 614 tn Heb “At the voice of his giving.” The idiom “to give the voice” is often used for thunder (cf. BDB 679 s.v. נָתַן Qal.1.x).
[10:13] 615 tn Heb “from the ends of the earth.”
[10:13] 616 tn Heb “he brings out the winds from his storehouses.”
[10:14] 617 tn Heb “Every man.” But in the context this is not a reference to all people without exception but to all idolaters. The referent is made explicit for the sake of clarity.
[10:14] 618 tn Or “nothing but a phony god”; Heb “a lie/falsehood.”
[10:14] 619 tn Heb “There is no breath in them.” The referent is made explicit so that no one will mistakenly take it to refer to the idolaters or goldsmiths.
[10:15] 620 tn Or “objects of mockery.”
[10:16] 621 tn The words “The
[10:16] sn The phrase the portion of Jacob’s descendants, which is applied to God here, has its background in the division of the land where each tribe received a portion of the land of Palestine except the tribe of Levi whose “portion” was the
[10:16] 622 tn Heb “The Portion of Jacob.” “Descendants” is implied, and is supplied in the translation for clarity.
[10:16] 623 tn Heb “And Israel is the tribe of his possession.”
[10:16] 624 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies is his name.”
[10:16] sn For this rendering of the name for God and its significance see 2:19 and the study note there.
[10:17] 625 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[10:17] 626 tn Heb “you who are living in/under siege.” The pronouns in this verse are feminine singular in Hebrew. Jerusalem is being personified as a single woman. This personification carries on down through v. 19 where she speaks in the first person. It is difficult, however, to reflect this in a translation that conveys any meaning without being somewhat paraphrastic like this.
[10:18] 627 tn The meaning of this last line is somewhat uncertain: Heb “I will cause them distress in order that [or with the result that] they will find.” The absence of an object for the verb “find” has led to conjecture that the text is wrong. Some commentators follow the lead of the Greek and Latin versions which read the verb as a passive: “they will be found,” i.e., be caught and captured. Others follow a suggestion by G. R. Driver (“Linguistic and Textual Problems: Jeremiah,” JQR 28 [1937-38]: 107) that the verb be read not as “they will find” (יִמְצָאוּ [yimtsa’u] from מָצָא [matsa’]) but “they will be squeezed/ drained” (יִמְצוּ [yimtsu] from מָצָה [matsah]). The translation adopted assumes that this is an example of the ellipsis of the object supplied from the context (cf. E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 8-12). For a similar nuance for the verb “find” = “feel/experience” see BDB 592 s.v. מָצָא Qal.1.f and compare the usage in Ps 116:3.
[10:19] 628 tn The words, “And I cried out” are not in the text. It is not altogether clear who the speaker is in vv. 19-25. The words of vv. 19-20 would best be assigned to a personified Jerusalem who laments the destruction of her city (under the figure of a tent) and the exile of her children (under the figure of children). However, the words of v. 21 which assign responsibility to the rulers do not fit well in the mouth of the people but do fit Jeremiah. The words of v. 22 are very appropriate to Jeremiah being similar to the report in 4:19-20. Likewise the words of v. 23 which appear to express man’s incapacity to control his own destiny and his resignation to the fate which awaits him in the light of v. 24 seem more appropriate to Jeremiah than to the people. There has been no indication elsewhere that the people have shown any indication of being resigned to their fate or willing to accept their punishment. Though the issue is far from resolved a majority of commentators see Jeremiah as the speaker so identifying himself with their fate that he speaks as though he were this personified figure. It is not altogether out of the question, however, that the speaker throughout is personified Jerusalem though I know of no commentator who takes that view. For those who are interested, the most thorough discussion of the issue is probably to be found in W. McKane, Jeremiah (ICC), 1:230-35, especially 233-35. Rendering the pronouns throughout as “we” and “our” alleviates some of the difficulty but some speaker needs to be identified in the introduction to allay any possible confusion. Hence I have opted for what is the majority view.
[10:19] 629 tn Heb “Woe to me on account of my wound.” The words “woe to” in many contexts carry the connotation of hopelessness and of inevitable doom (cf. 1 Sam 4:7, 8; Isa 6:5), hence a “deadly blow.” See also the usage in 4:13, 31; 6:4 and the notes on 4:13. For the rendering of the pronoun as “we” and “our” here and in the verses to follow see the preceding note.
[10:19] 630 tn Some interpret this as a resignation to the punishment inflicted and translate “But I said, ‘This is my punishment and I will just need to bear it.’” This is unlikely given the meaning and usage of the word rendered “sickness” (חֳלִי, khali), the absence of the pronoun “my,” and the likelihood that the particle אַךְ means “only” not “indeed” (cf. BDB s.v. אַךְ 2.b and compare its usage in v. 24).
[10:19] sn What is being referred to here is the feeling that was encouraged by the false prophets that the ill fortunes of the nation were just temporary setbacks and everything would soon get better (cf. 6:14; 8:11).
[10:20] 631 tn Heb “My tent has been destroyed and my tent cords have been ripped apart.” For a very similar identification of Jeremiah’s plight with the plight of the personified community see 4:20 and the notes there.
[10:20] 632 tn Heb “my children have gone from me and are no more.”
[10:20] sn What is being referred to is the exile of the people of the land. This passage could refer to the exiles of 605
[10:21] 633 tn Heb “the shepherds.”
[10:21] 634 tn Heb “They have not sought the
[10:21] sn The idiom translated sought the
[10:21] 635 tn Heb “all their flock (or “pasturage”).”
[10:21] sn This verse uses the figure of rulers as shepherds and the people they ruled as sheep. It is a common figure in the Bible. See Ezek 34 for an extended development of this metaphor.
[10:22] 636 tn Heb “The sound of a report, behold, it is coming.”
[10:22] 637 tn Heb “ coming, even a great quaking.”
[10:22] 638 sn Compare Jer 6:22.
[10:23] 639 tn Heb “Not to the man his way.” For the nuance of “fate, destiny, or the way things turn out” for the Hebrew word “way” see Hag 1:5, Isa 40:27 and probably Ps 49:13 (cf. KBL 218 s.v. דֶּרֶךְ 5). For the idea of “control” or “hold in one’s power” for the preposition “to” see Ps 3:8 (cf. BDB 513 s.v. לְ 5.b[a]).
[10:23] 640 tn Heb “Not to a man the walking and the establishing his step.”
[10:24] 641 tn Heb “with justice.”
[10:24] 642 tn The words, “to almost nothing” are not in the text. They are implicit from the general context and are supplied by almost all English versions.
[10:25] 643 tn Heb “know you.” For this use of the word “know” (יָדַע, yada’) see the note on 9:3.
[10:25] 644 tn Heb “tribes/clans.”
[10:25] 645 tn Heb “who do not call on your name.” The idiom “to call on your name” (directed to God) refers to prayer (mainly) and praise. See 1 Kgs 18:24-26 and Ps 116:13, 17. Here “calling on your name” is parallel to “acknowledging you.” In many locations in the OT “name” is equivalent to the person. 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 a person’s name was to act as his representative or carry his authority (1 Sam 25:9; 1 Kgs 21:8). To call someone’s name over something was to claim it for one’s own (2 Sam 12:28).
[10:25] 646 tn Heb “have devoured Jacob.”
[10:25] 647 tn Or “have almost completely destroyed them”; Heb “they have devoured them and consumed them.” The figure of hyperbole is used here; elsewhere Jeremiah and God refer to the fact that they will not be completely consumed. See for example 4:27; 5:10, 18.
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