59:16 He sees there is no advocate; 1
he is shocked 2 that no one intervenes.
So he takes matters into his own hands; 3
his desire for justice drives him on. 4
5:1 The Lord said, 5
“Go up and down 6 through the streets of Jerusalem. 7
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. 8
If you can, 9 then I will not punish this city. 10
5:4 I thought, “Surely it is only the ignorant poor who act this way. 11
They act like fools because they do not know what the Lord demands. 12
They do not know what their God requires of them. 13
5:5 I will go to the leaders 14
and speak with them.
Surely they know what the Lord demands. 15
Surely they know what their God requires of them.” 16
Yet all of them, too, have rejected his authority
and refuse to submit to him. 17
22:30 “I looked for a man from among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it, but I found no one. 19 22:31 So I have poured my anger on them, and destroyed them with the fire of my fury. I hereby repay them for what they have done, 20 declares the sovereign Lord.”
7:2 Faithful men have disappeared 21 from the land;
there are no godly men left. 22
They all wait in ambush so they can shed blood; 23
they hunt their own brother with a net. 24
7:3 They are determined to be experts at doing evil; 25
government officials and judges take bribes, 26
prominent men make demands,
and they all do what is necessary to satisfy them. 27
7:4 The best of them is like a thorn;
the most godly among them are more dangerous than a row of thorn bushes. 28
The day you try to avoid by posting watchmen –
your appointed time of punishment – is on the way, 29
and then you will experience confusion. 30
7:5 Do not rely on a friend;
do not trust a companion!
Don’t even share secrets with the one who lies in your arms! 31
1 tn Heb “man” (so KJV, ASV); TEV “no one to help.”
2 tn Or “appalled” (NAB, NIV, NRSV), or “disgusted.”
3 tn Heb “and his arm delivers for him.”
4 tn Heb “and his justice [or “righteousness”] supports him.”
5 tn These words are not in the text, but since the words at the end are obviously those of the
6 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.
7 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
8 tn Heb “who does justice and seeks faithfulness.”
9 tn Heb “squares. If you can find…if there is one person…then I will…”
10 tn Heb “forgive [or pardon] it.”
11 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.
12 tn Heb “the way of the
13 tn Heb “the judgment [or ordinance] of their God.”
14 tn Or “people in power”; Heb “the great ones.”
15 tn Heb “the way of the
16 tn Heb “the judgment [or ordinance] of their God.”
17 tn Heb “have broken the yoke and torn off the yoke ropes.” Compare Jer 2:20 and the note there.
18 tn Heb “and the foreigner they have oppressed without justice.”
19 tn Heb “I did not find.”
20 tn Heb “their way on their head I have placed.”
21 tn Or “have perished”; “have been destroyed.”
22 tn Heb “and an upright one among men there is not.”
23 tn Heb “for bloodshed” (so NASB); TEV “for a chance to commit murder.”
24 sn Micah compares these ungodly people to hunters trying to capture their prey with a net.
25 tn Heb “upon evil [are their] hands to do [it] well.”
26 tn Heb “the official asks – and the judge – for a bribe.”
27 tn More literally, “the great one announces what his appetite desires and they weave it together.” Apparently this means that subordinates plot and maneuver to make sure the prominent man’s desires materialize.
28 tn Heb “[the] godly from a row of thorn bushes.” The preposition מִן (min) is comparative and the comparative element (perhaps “sharper” is the idea) is omitted. See BDB 582 s.v. 6 and GKC 431 §133.e.
29 tn Heb “the day of your watchmen, your appointed [time], is coming.” The present translation takes “watchmen” to refer to actual sentries. However, the “watchmen” could refer figuratively to the prophets who had warned Judah of approaching judgment. In this case one could translate, “The day your prophets warned about – your appointed time of punishment – is on the way.”
30 tn Heb “and now will be their confusion.”
31 tn Heb “from the one who lies in your arms, guard the doors of your mouth.”