Jeremiah 1:2

1:2 The Lord ¹  began to speak to him ²  in the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amon ruled over Judah.

Jeremiah 7:22

7:22 Consider this: ³  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.

Jeremiah 19:6

19:6 So I, the Lord, say: ⁴  “The time will soon come that people will no longer call this place Topheth or the Hinnom Valley. But they will call this valley ⁵  the Valley of Slaughter!

Jeremiah 51:52

51:52 Yes, but the time will certainly come,” ⁶  says the Lord, ⁷ 

“when I will punish her idols.

Throughout her land the mortally wounded will groan.

¹ sn The translation reflects the ancient Jewish tradition of substituting the word for “Lord” for the proper name for Israel’s God which is now generally agreed to have been Yahweh. Jewish scribes wrote the consonants YHWH but substituted the vowels for the word “Lord.” The practice of calling him “Lord” rather than using his proper name is also reflected in the Greek translation which is the oldest translation of the Hebrew Bible. The meaning of the name Yahweh occurs in Exod 3:13-14 where God identifies himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and tells Moses that his name is “I am” (אֶהְיֶה, ’ehyeh). However, he instructs the Israelites to refer to him as YHWH (“Yahweh” = “He is”); see further Exod 34:5-6.

² tn Heb “to whom the word of the Lord came.” The present translation is more in keeping with contemporary English idiom. The idea of “began to speak” comes from the context where the conclusion of his speaking is signaled by the phrases “until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah” and “until the people of Jerusalem were taken into exile” in v. 3.

³ tn Heb “For” but this introduces a long explanation about the relative importance of sacrifice and obedience.

⁵ tn This phrase (Heb “Oracle of the Lord”) has been handled this way on several occasions when it occurs within first person addresses where the Lord is the speaker. See, e.g., 16:16; 17:24; 18:6.

⁶ tn Heb “it will no longer be called to this place Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom but the Valley of Slaughter.”

⁷ tn Heb “that being so, look, days are approaching.” Here לָכֵן (lakhen) introduces the Lord’s response to the people’s lament (v. 51). It has the force of “yes, but” or “that may be true.” See Judg 11:8 and BDB 486-87 s.v. כֵּן 3.d.

⁸ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”