5:15 Then I will return again to my lair
until they have suffered their punishment. 1
Then they will seek me; 2
in their distress they will earnestly seek me.
6:1 “Come on! Let’s return to the Lord!
He himself has torn us to pieces,
but he will heal us!
He has injured 3 us,
but he will bandage our wounds!
14:1 Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
for your sin has been your downfall! 4
116:7 Rest once more, my soul, 5
for the Lord has vindicated you. 6
3:22 Come back to me, you wayward people.
I want to cure your waywardness. 7
Say, 8 ‘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. 9
We know that the Lord our God
is the only one who can deliver Israel. 10
3:24 From earliest times our worship of that shameful god, Baal,
has taken away 11 all that our ancestors 12 worked for.
It has taken away our flocks and our herds,
and even our sons and daughters.
3:25 Let us acknowledge 13 our shame.
Let us bear the disgrace that we deserve. 14
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.’
31:18 I have indeed 15 heard the people of Israel 16 say mournfully,
‘We were like a calf untrained to the yoke. 17
You disciplined us and we learned from it. 18
Let us come back to you and we will do so, 19
for you are the Lord our God.
50:4 “When that time comes,” says the Lord, 20
“the people of Israel and Judah will return to the land together.
They will come back with tears of repentance
as they seek the Lord their God. 21
50:5 They will ask the way to Zion;
they will turn their faces toward it.
They will come 22 and bind themselves to the Lord
in a lasting covenant that will never be forgotten. 23
נ (Nun)
3:40 Let us carefully examine our ways, 24
and let us return to the Lord.
3:41 Let us lift up our hearts 25 and our hands
to God in heaven:
3:42 “We 26 have blatantly rebelled; 27
you 28 have not forgiven.”
1 tn The verb יֶאְשְׁמוּ (ye’shÿmu, Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine plural from אָשַׁם, ’asham, “to be guilty”) means “to bear their punishment” (Ps 34:22-23; Prov 30:10; Isa 24:6; Jer 2:3; Hos 5:15; 10:2; 14:1; Zech 11:5; Ezek 6:6; BDB 79 s.v. אָשַׁם 3). Many English versions translate this as “admit their guilt” (NIV, NLT) or “acknowledge their guilt” (NASB, NRSV), but cf. NAB “pay for their guilt” and TEV “have suffered enough for their sins.”
2 tn Heb “seek my face” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “seek my presence.”
3 tn “has struck”; NRSV “struck down.”
4 tn Heb “For you have stumbled in your iniquity”; NASB, NRSV “because of your iniquity.”
5 tn Heb “return, my soul, to your place of rest.”
6 tn The Hebrew idiom גָּמַל עַל (gamal ’al) means “to repay,” here in a positive sense (cf. Ps 13:5).
7 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.
8 tn Or “They say.” There is an obvious ellipsis of a verb of saying here since the preceding words are those of the
9 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.
10 tn Heb “Truly in the
11 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”).
12 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 25).
13 tn Heb “Let us lie down in….”
14 tn Heb “Let us be covered with disgrace.”
15 tn The use of “indeed” is intended to reflect the infinitive absolute which precedes the verb for emphasis (see IBHS 585-86 §35.3.1f).
16 tn Heb “Ephraim.” See the study note on 31:9. The more familiar term is used, the term “people” added to it, and plural pronouns used throughout the verse to aid in understanding.
17 tn Heb “like an untrained calf.” The metaphor is that of a calf who has never been broken to bear the yoke (cf. Hos 4:16; 10:11).
18 tn The verb here is from the same root as the preceding and is probably an example of the “tolerative Niphal,” i.e., “I let myself be disciplined/I responded to it.” See IBHS 389-90 §23.4g and note the translation of some of the examples there, especially Isa 19:22; 65:1.
19 tn Heb “Bring me back in order that I may come back.” For the use of the plural pronouns see the marginal note at the beginning of the verse. The verb “bring back” and “come back” are from the same root in two different verbal stems and in the context express the idea of spiritual repentance and restoration of relationship not physical return to the land. (See BDB 999 s.v. שׁוּב Hiph.2.a for the first verb and 997 s.v. Qal.6.c for the second.) For the use of the cohortative to express purpose after the imperative see GKC 320 §108.d or IBHS 575 §34.5.2b.
20 tn Heb “oracle of the
21 tn Heb “and the children of Israel will come, they and the children of Judah together. They shall go, weeping as they go, and they will seek the
22 tc The translation here assumes that the Hebrew בֹּאוּ (bo’u; a Qal imperative masculine plural) should be read בָּאוּ (ba’u; a Qal perfect third plural). This reading is presupposed by the Greek version of Aquila, the Latin version, and the Targum (see BHS note a, which mistakenly assumes that the form must be imperfect).
23 sn See Jer 32:40 and the study note there for the nature of this lasting agreement.
24 tn Heb “Let us test our ways and examine.” The two verbs וְנַחְקֹרָה…נַחְפְּשָׂה (nakhpÿsah…vÿnakhqorah, “Let us test and let us examine”) form a verbal hendiadys in which the first functions adverbially and the second retains its full verbal force: “Let us carefully examine our ways.”
25 tc The MT reads the singular noun לְבָבֵנוּ (lÿvavenu, “our heart”) but the ancient versions (LXX, Aramaic Targum, Latin Vulgate) and many medieval Hebrew
26 tn The Heb emphasiszes the pronoun “We – we have sinned….” Given the contrast with the following, it means “For our part, we have sinned….” A poetic reading in English would place vocal emphasis on “we” followed by a short pause.
27 tn Heb “We have revolted and we have rebelled.” The two verbs פָשַׁעְנוּ וּמָרִינוּ (pasha’nu umarinu, “we have revolted and we have rebelled”) form a verbal hendiadys in which the synonyms emphasize the single idea.
28 tn The Heb emphasiszes the pronoun “You – you have not forgiven.” Given the contrast with the preceding, it means “For your part, you have not forgiven.” A poetic reading in English would place vocal emphasis on “you” followed by a short pause.
29 tn Grk “came to himself” (an idiom).
30 tn Grk “bread,” but used figuratively for food of any kind (L&N 5.1).
31 sn In the confession “I have sinned” there is a recognition of wrong that pictures the penitent coming home and “being found.”
32 sn The phrase against heaven is a circumlocution for God.
33 tn According to BDAG 342 s.v. ἐνωπιον 4.a, “in relation to ἁμαρτάνειν ἐ. τινος sin against someone Lk 15:18, 21 (cf. Jdth 5:17; 1 Km 7:6; 20:1).”
34 tn Or “make me.” Here is a sign of total humility.
35 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the son’s decision to return home. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.
36 tn Grk “a long way off from [home].” The word “home” is implied (L&N 85.16).
37 tn Or “felt great affection for him,” “felt great pity for him.”
38 tn Grk “he fell on his neck,” an idiom for showing special affection for someone by throwing one’s arms around them. The picture is of the father hanging on the son’s neck in welcome.
39 tn Grk “him”; the referent (the son) has been specified in the translation for clarity.