3:13 However, you must confess that you have done wrong, 1
and that you have rebelled against the Lord your God.
You must confess 2 that you have given yourself to 3 foreign gods under every green tree,
and have not obeyed my commands,’ says the Lord.
26:12 Then Jeremiah made his defense before all the officials and all the people. 12 “The Lord sent me to prophesy everything you have heard me say against this temple and against this city.
35:18 Then Jeremiah spoke to the Rechabite community, “The Lord God of Israel who rules over all 17 says, ‘You have obeyed the orders of your ancestor Jonadab. You have followed all his instructions. You have done exactly as he commanded you.’
1 tn Heb “Only acknowledge your iniquity.”
2 tn The words “You must confess” are repeated to convey the connection. The Hebrew text has an introductory “that” in front of the second line and a coordinative “and” in front of the next two lines.
3 tc MT reads דְּרָכַיִךְ (dÿrakhayikh, “your ways”), but the BHS editors suggest דּוֹדַיִךְ (dodayikh, “your breasts”) as an example of orthographic confusion. While the proposal makes sense, it remains a conjectural emendation since it is not supported by any actual manuscripts or ancient versions.
4 tn This reflects a Hebrew idiom (e.g., 7:25; 11:7; 25:3, 4), i.e., an infinitive of a verb meaning “to do something early [or eagerly]” followed by an infinitive of another verb of action. Cf. HALOT 1384 s.v. שָׁכַם Hiph.2.
5 tn Heb “I called to you and you did not answer.” The words “to repent” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
7 sn The year referred to would be 627
8 tn For the idiom involved here see the notes at 7:13 and 11:7.
9 tn The words “what he said” are not in the text but are implicit. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
10 tn Heb “the priests and prophets said to the leaders and the people….” The long sentence has been broken up to conform better with contemporary English style and the situational context is reflected in “laid their charges.”
11 tn Heb “a sentence of death to this man.”
12 tn Heb “it.”
13 tn Heb “Jeremiah said to all the leaders and all the people….” See the note on the word “said” in the preceding verse.
16 tn See the translator’s note on 7:13 for an explanation of this idiom.
17 tn Heb “Oracle of the
18 tn The word “exiles” is not in the text. It is supplied in the translation to clarify the referent of “you.”
19 tn Heb “Oracle of the
19 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” For this title, which occurs again in the following verse, see the notes on 7:3 and the study note on 2:19.
22 tn Heb “Because you have sacrificed and you have sinned against the
25 tn The Hebrew text has a compound object, the two terms of which have been synonyms in vv. 14, 15. G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, and T. G. Smothers (Jeremiah 26-52 [WBC], 189) make the interesting observation that these two terms (Heb “brother” and “neighbor”) emphasize the relationships that should have taken precedence over their being viewed as mere slaves.
26 sn This is, of course, a metaphorical and ironical use of the term “to grant freedom to.” It is, however, a typical statement of the concept of talionic justice which is quite often operative in God’s judgments in the OT (cf., e.g., Obad 15).
27 tn Heb “Oracle of the
28 sn Compare Jer 15:4; 24:9; 29:18.
28 tn Heb “The words of Jonadab son of Rechab which he commanded his descendants not to drink wine have been carried out.” (For the construction of the accusative of subject after a passive verb illustrated here see GKC 388 §121.b.) The sentence has been broken down and made more direct to better conform to contemporary English style.
29 tn The vav (ו) plus the independent pronoun before the verb is intended to mark a sharp contrast. It is difficult, if not impossible to mark this in English other than “But I.”
30 tn On this idiom (which occurs again in the following verse) see the translator’s note on 7:13 for this idiom and compare its use in 7:13, 25; 11:7; 25:3, 4; 26:5; 29:19; 32:33; 35:14, 15; 44:9.
31 tn Heb “Turn, each of you, from his [= your] wicked way and make good your deeds.” Compare 18:11 where the same idiom occurs with the added term of “make good your ways.”
32 tn Heb “Don’t go after/follow other gods.” See the translator’s note on 2:5 for an explanation of the idiom and see 11:10; 13:10; 25:6 for the same idiom.