10:24 Correct us, Lord, but only in due measure. 1
Do not punish us in anger or you will reduce us to nothing. 2
4:2 You must be truthful, honest and upright
when you take an oath saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’ 3
If you do, 4 the nations will pray to be as blessed by him as you are
and will make him the object of their boasting.” 5
17:11 The person who gathers wealth by unjust means
is like the partridge that broods over eggs but does not hatch them. 6
Before his life is half over he will lose his ill-gotten gains. 7
At the end of his life it will be clear he was a fool.” 8
1 tn Heb “with justice.”
2 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.
3 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 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.
5 tn Heb “bless themselves in him and make their boasts in him.”
5 tn The meaning of this line is somewhat uncertain. The word translated “broods over” occurs only here and Isa 34:15. It is often defined on the basis of an Aramaic cognate which means “to gather” with an extended meaning of “to gather together under her to hatch.” Many commentators go back to a Rabbinic explanation that the partridge steals the eggs of other birds and hatches them out only to see the birds depart when they recognize that she is not the mother. Modern studies question the validity of this zoologically. Moreover, W. L. Holladay contests the validity on the basis of the wording “and she does hatch them” (Heb “bring them to birth”). See W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:498, and see also P. C. Craigie, P. H. Kelley, J. F. Drinkard, Jeremiah 1-25 (WBC), 229. The point of the comparison is that the rich gather their wealth but they do not get to see the fruits of it.
6 tn The Hebrew text merely says “it.” But the antecedent might be ambiguous in English so the reference to wealth gained by unjust means is here reiterated for clarity.
7 tn Heb “he will be [= prove to be] a fool.”