Jeremiah 13:24

13:24 “The Lord says,¹

‘That is why I will scatter your people² like chaff

that is blown away by a desert wind.³

Jeremiah 18:17

18:17 I will scatter them before their enemies

like dust blowing in front of a burning east wind.

I will turn my back on them and not look favorably on them⁴

when disaster strikes them.”

Jeremiah 23:1

New Leaders over a Regathered Remnant

23:1 The Lord says,⁵ “The leaders of my people are sure to be judged.⁶ They were supposed to watch over my people like shepherds watch over their sheep. But they are causing my people to be destroyed and scattered.⁷

Jeremiah 23:29

23:29 My message is like a fire that purges dross!⁸ It is like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces!⁹ I, the Lord, so affirm it!¹⁰

Jeremiah 9:16

9:16 I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors¹¹ have known anything about. I will send people chasing after them with swords¹² until I have destroyed them.’”¹³

Jeremiah 10:21

10:21 For our leaders¹⁴ are stupid.

They have not sought the Lord’s advice.¹⁵

So they do not act wisely,

and the people they are responsible for¹⁶ have all been scattered.

Jeremiah 52:8

52:8 But the Babylonian army chased after the king. They caught up with Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho,¹⁷ and his entire army deserted him.

Jeremiah 23:2

23:2 So the Lord God of Israel has this to say about the leaders who are ruling over his people: “You have caused my people¹⁸ to be dispersed and driven into exile. You have not taken care of them. So I will punish you for the evil that you have done.¹⁹ I, the Lord, affirm it!²⁰

Jeremiah 30:11

30:11 For I, the Lord, affirm²¹ that

I will be with you and will rescue you.

I will completely destroy all the nations where I scattered you.

But I will not completely destroy you.

I will indeed discipline you, but only in due measure.

I will not allow you to go entirely unpunished.”²²

Jeremiah 40:15

40:15 Then Johanan son of Kareah spoke privately to Gedaliah there at Mizpah, “Let me go and kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah before anyone knows about it. Otherwise he will kill you²³ and all the Judeans who have rallied around you will be scattered. Then what remains of Judah will disappear.”

¹tn The words, “The Lord says” are not in the text at this point. The words “an oracle of the Lord” does, however, occur in the middle of the next verse and it is obvious the Lord is the speaker. The words have been moved up from the next verse to enhance clarity.

²tn Heb “them.” This is another example of the rapid shift in pronouns seen several times in the book of Jeremiah. The pronouns in the preceding and the following are second feminine singular. It might be argued that “them” goes back to the “flock”/“sheep” in v. 20, but the next verse refers the fate described here to “you” (feminine singular). This may be another example of the kind of metaphoric shifts in referents discussed in the notes on 13:20 above. Besides, it would sound a little odd in the translation to speak of scattering one person like chaff.

³sn Compare the threat using the same metaphor in Jer 4:11-12.

⁴tc Heb “I will show them [my] back and not [my] face.” This reading follows the suggestion of some of the versions and some of the Masoretes. The MT reads “I will look on their back and not on their faces.”

⁷tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

⁸sn Heb This particle once again introduces a judgment speech. The indictment is found in v. 1 and the announcement of judgment in v. 2. This leads into an oracle of deliverance in vv. 3-4. See also the note on the word “judged” in 22:13.

⁹tn Heb “Woe to the shepherds who are killing and scattering the sheep of my pasture.” See the study note on 22:13 for the significance of “Sure to be judged” (Heb “Woe”) See the study note for the significance of the metaphor introduced here.

¹⁰tn Heb “Is not my message like a fire?” The rhetorical question expects a positive answer that is made explicit in the translation. The words “that purges dross” are not in the text but are implicit to the metaphor. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

¹¹tn Heb “Is it not like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?” See preceding note.

¹²tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

¹³tn Heb “fathers.”

¹⁴tn Heb “I will send the sword after them.” The sword here is probably not completely literal but refers to death by violent means, including death by the sword.

¹⁵sn He will destroy them but not completely. See Jer 5:18; 30:11; 46:28.

¹⁶tn Heb “the shepherds.”

¹⁷tn Heb “They have not sought the Lord.”

¹⁸tn Heb “all their flock (or “pasturage”).”

¹⁹map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.

²²tn Heb “about the shepherds who are shepherding my people. ‘You have caused my sheep….’” For the metaphor see the study note on the previous verse.

²³tn Heb “Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who should be shepherding my people: You have scattered my sheep and driven them away and you have not taken care of them. Behold I will visit upon you the evil of your deeds.” “Therefore” announces the judgment which does not come until “Behold.” It is interrupted by the messenger formula and a further indictment. The original has been broken up to conform more to contemporary English style, the metaphors have been interpreted for clarity and the connections between the indictments and the judgments have been carried by “So.”

²⁴tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

²⁵tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

²⁶tn The translation “entirely unpunished” is intended to reflect the emphatic construction of the infinitive absolute before the finite verb.

²⁸tn Heb “Why should he kill you?” However, this is one of those cases listed in BDB 554 s.v. מָה 4.d(b) where it introduces a question introducing rhetorically the reason why something should not be done. In cases like this BDB notes that it approximates the meaning “lest” and is translated in Greek by μήποτε (mhpote) or μή (mh) as the Greek version does here. Hence it is separated from the preceding and translated “otherwise” for the sake of English style.