11:12 He will lift a signal flag for the nations;
he will gather Israel’s dispersed people 1
and assemble Judah’s scattered people
from the four corners of the earth.
43:5 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
From the east I will bring your descendants;
from the west I will gather you.
43:6 I will say to the north, ‘Hand them over!’
and to the south, ‘Don’t hold any back!’
Bring my sons from distant lands,
and my daughters from the remote regions of the earth,
49:12 Look, they come from far away!
Look, some come from the north and west,
and others from the land of Sinim! 2
30:10 So I, the Lord, tell you not to be afraid,
you descendants of Jacob, my servants. 6
Do not be terrified, people of Israel.
For I will rescue you and your descendants
from a faraway land where you are captives. 7
The descendants of Jacob will return to their land and enjoy peace.
They will be secure and no one will terrify them. 8
30:16 But 9 all who destroyed you will be destroyed.
All your enemies will go into exile.
Those who plundered you will be plundered.
I will cause those who pillaged you to be pillaged. 10
31:8 Then I will reply, 11 ‘I will bring them back from the land of the north.
I will gather them in from the distant parts of the earth.
Blind and lame people will come with them,
so will pregnant women and women about to give birth.
A vast throng of people will come back here.
36:24 “‘I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries; then I will bring you to your land.
10:6 “I (says the Lord) will strengthen the kingdom 16 of Judah and deliver the people of Joseph 17 and will bring them back 18 because of my compassion for them. They will be as though I had never rejected them, for I am the Lord their God and therefore I will hear them. 10:7 The Ephraimites will be like warriors and will rejoice as if they had drunk wine. Their children will see it and rejoice; they will celebrate in the things of the Lord. 10:8 I will signal for them and gather them, for I have already redeemed them; then they will become as numerous as they were before. 10:9 Though I scatter 19 them among the nations, they will remember in far-off places – they and their children will sprout forth and return. 10:10 I will bring them back from Egypt and gather them from Assyria. 20 I will bring them to the lands of Gilead and Lebanon, for there will not be enough room for them in their own land.
1 tn Or “the banished of Israel,” i.e., the exiles.
2 tc The MT reads “Sinim” here; the Dead Sea Scrolls read “Syene,” a location in Egypt associated with modern Aswan. A number of recent translations adopt this reading: “Syene” (NAB, NRSV); “Aswan” (NIV); “Egypt” (NLT).
3 tn Heb “descendants of the house of Israel.”
4 tc It is probably preferable to read the third masculine singular plus suffix (הִדִּיחָם, hiddikham) here with the Greek version and the parallel passage in 16:15 rather than the first singular plus suffix in the MT (הִדַּחְתִּים, hiddakhtim). If this is not a case of mere graphic confusion, the MT could have arisen under the influence of the first person in v. 3. Though sudden shifts in person have been common in the book of Jeremiah, that is unlikely in a context reporting an oath.
5 tn This passage is the same as 16:14-15 with a few minor variations in Hebrew wording. The notes on that passage should be consulted for the rendering here. This passage has the Niphal of the verb “to say” rather than the impersonal use of the Qal. It adds the idea of “bringing out” to the idea of “bringing up out” and (Heb “who brought up and who brought out,” probably a case of hendiadys) before “the people [here “seed” rather than “children”] of Israel [here “house of Israel”] from the land of the north.” These are minor variations and do not affect the sense in any way. So the passage is rendered in much the same way.
6 tn Heb “So do not be afraid, my servant Jacob, oracle of the
7 tn Heb “For I will rescue you from far away, your descendants from the land of their captivity.”
8 sn Compare the ideals of the Mosaic covenant in Lev 26:6, the Davidic covenant in 2 Sam 7:10-11, and the new covenant in Ezek 34:25-31.
9 tn For the translation of this particle, which is normally translated “therefore” and often introduces an announcement of judgment, compare the usage at Jer 16:14 and the translator’s note there. Here as there it introduces a contrast, a rather unexpected announcement of salvation. For a similar use see also Hos 2:14 (2:16 HT). Recognition of this usage makes the proposed emendation of BHS of לָכֵן כָּל (lakhen kol) to וְכָל (vÿkhol) unnecessary.
10 sn With the exception of the second line there is a definite attempt at wordplay in each line to underline the principle of lex talionis on a national and political level. This principle has already been appealed to in the case of the end of Babylonian sovereignty in 25:14; 27:7.
11 tn The words “And I will reply” are not in the text but the words vv. 8-9 appear to be the answer to the petition at the end of v. 7. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.
12 tn The verb here should be interpreted as a future perfect; though some of the people have already been exiled (in 605 and 597
13 sn The imagery may reflect the overthrow of the Israelites by the Babylonians in 587/6
14 tn Heb “from the sword.”
15 tn Heb “it.”
16 tn Heb “the house.”
17 tn Or “the kingdom of Israel”; Heb “the house of Joseph.”
18 tc The anomalous MT reading וְחוֹשְׁבוֹתִים (vÿkhoshÿvotim) should probably be וַהֲשִׁי בוֹתִם (vahashi votim), the Hiphil perfect consecutive of שׁוּב (shuv), “return” (cf. Jer 12:15).
19 tn Or “sow” (so KJV, ASV). The imagery is taken from the sowing of seed by hand.
20 sn I will bring them back from Egypt…from Assyria. The gathering of God’s people to their land in eschatological times will be like a reenactment of the exodus, but this time they will come from all over the world (cf. Isa 40:3-5; 43:1-7, 14-21; 48:20-22; 51:9-11).