Jeremiah 3:20

3:20 But, you have been unfaithful to me, nation of Israel, ¹ 

like an unfaithful wife who has left her husband,” ² 

says the Lord.

Jeremiah 4:14

4:14 “Oh people of Jerusalem, purify your hearts from evil ³ 

so that you may yet be delivered.

How long will you continue to harbor up

wicked schemes within you?

Jeremiah 17:16

17:16 But I have not pestered you to bring disaster. ⁴ 

I have not desired the time of irreparable devastation. ⁵ 

You know that.

You are fully aware of every word that I have spoken. ⁶ 

Jeremiah 9:3

The Lord Laments That He Has No Choice But to Judge Them

9:3 The Lord says, ⁷ 

“These people are like soldiers who have readied their bows.

Their tongues are always ready to shoot out lies. ⁸ 

They have become powerful in the land,

but they have not done so by honest means. ⁹ 

Indeed, they do one evil thing after another ¹⁰ 

and do not pay attention to me. ¹¹ 

¹ tn Heb “house of Israel.”

² tn Heb “a wife unfaithful from her husband.”

³ tn Heb “Oh, Jerusalem, wash your heart from evil.”

⁵ tc Heb “I have not run after you for the sake of disaster.” The translation follows the suggestion of some ancient versions. The Hebrew text reads “I have not run from being a shepherd after you.” The translation follows two Greek versions (Aquila and Symmachus) and the Syriac in reading the word “evil” or “disaster” here in place of the word “shepherd” in the Hebrew text. The issue is mainly one of vocalization. The versions mentioned are reading a form מֵרָעָה (mera’ah) instead of מֵרֹעֶה (mero’eh). There does not appear to be any clear case of a prophet being called a shepherd, especially in Jeremiah where it is invariably used of the wicked leaders/rulers of Judah, the leaders/rulers of the enemy that he brings to punish them, or the righteous ruler that he will bring in the future. Moreover, there are no cases where the preposition “after” is used with the verb “shepherd.” Parallelism also argues for the appropriateness of this reading; “disaster” parallels the “incurable day.” The thought also parallels the argument thus far. Other than 11:20; 12:3; 15:15 where he has prayed for vindication by the Lord punishing his persecutors as they deserve, he has invariably responded to the Lord’s word of disaster with laments and prayers for his people (see 4:19-21; 6:24; 8:18; 10:19-25; 14:7-9, 19-22).

⁶ tn Heb “the incurable day.” For the use of this word see the note on 17:9.

⁷ tn Heb “that which goes out of my lip is right in front of your face.”

⁷ tn The words “The Lord says” have been moved up from the end of the verse to make clear that a change in speaker has occurred.

⁸ tn Heb “They have readied [or strung] their tongue as their bow for lies.”

⁹ tn Heb “but not through honesty.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “they go from evil to evil.”

¹¹ tn Or “do not acknowledge me”; Heb “do not know me.” But “knowing” in Hebrew thought often involves more than intellectual knowledge; it involves emotional and volitional commitment as well. For יָדַע meaning “acknowledge” see 1 Chr 28:9; Isa 29:21; Hos 2:20; Prov 3:6. This word is also found in ancient Near Eastern treaty contexts where it has the idea of a vassal king acknowledging the sovereignty of a greater king (cf. H. Huffmon, “The Treaty Background of Hebrew yada,” BASOR 181 [1966]: 31-37).