3:21 “A noise is heard on the hilltops.
It is the sound of the people of Israel crying and pleading to their gods.
Indeed they have followed sinful ways; 1
they have forgotten to be true to the Lord their God. 2
4:31 In fact, 3 I hear a cry like that of a woman in labor,
a cry of anguish like that of a woman giving birth to her first baby.
It is the cry of Daughter Zion 4 gasping for breath,
reaching out for help, 5 saying, “I am done in! 6
My life is ebbing away before these murderers!”
6:24 The people cry out, 7 “We have heard reports about them!
We have become helpless with fear! 8
Anguish grips us,
agony like that of a woman giving birth to a baby!
30:5 Yes, 9 here is what he says:
“You hear cries of panic and of terror;
there is no peace in sight. 10
30:6 Ask yourselves this and consider it carefully: 11
Have you ever seen a man give birth to a baby?
Why then do I see all these strong men
grabbing their stomachs in pain like 12 a woman giving birth?
And why do their faces
turn so deathly pale?
50:4 “When that time comes,” says the Lord, 13
“the people of Israel and Judah will return to the land together.
They will come back with tears of repentance
as they seek the Lord their God. 14
50:5 They will ask the way to Zion;
they will turn their faces toward it.
They will come 15 and bind themselves to the Lord
in a lasting covenant that will never be forgotten. 16
5:15 Then I will return again to my lair
until they have suffered their punishment. 17
Then they will seek me; 18
in their distress they will earnestly seek me.
6:1 “Come on! Let’s return to the Lord!
He himself has torn us to pieces,
but he will heal us!
He has injured 19 us,
but he will bandage our wounds!
7:14 They do not pray to me, 20
but howl in distress on their beds;
They slash themselves 21 for grain and new wine,
but turn away from me.
1 tn Heb “A sound is heard on the hilltops, the weeping of the supplication of the children of Israel because [or indeed] they have perverted their way.” At issue here is whether the supplication is made to Yahweh in repentance because of what they have done or whether it is supplication to the pagan gods which is evidence of their perverted ways. The reference in this verse to the hilltops where idolatry was practiced according to 3:2 and the reference to Israel’s unfaithfulness in the preceding verse make the latter more likely. For the asseverative use of the Hebrew particle (here rendered “indeed”) where the particle retains some of the explicative nuance; cf. BDB 472-73 s.v. כִּי 1.e and 3.c.
2 tn Heb “have forgotten the
3 tn The particle כִּי (ki) is more likely asseverative here than causal.
4 sn Jerusalem is personified as a helpless maiden.
5 tn Heb “spreading out her hands.” The idea of asking or pleading for help is implicit in the figure.
6 tn Heb “Woe, now to me!” See the translator’s note on 4:13 for the usage of “Woe to…”
7 tn These words are not in the text, but, from the context, someone other than God is speaking and is speaking for and to the people (either Jeremiah or the people themselves). These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.
8 tn Or “We have lost our strength to do battle”; Heb “Our hands hang limp [or helpless at our sides].” According to BDB 951 s.v. רָפָה Qal.2, this idiom is used figuratively for losing heart or energy. The best example of its figurative use of loss of strength or the feeling of helplessness is in Ezek 21:12 where it appears in the context of the heart (courage) melting, the spirit sinking, and the knees becoming like water. For other examples compare 2 Sam 4:1; Zeph 3:16. In Neh 6:9 it is used literally of the builders “dropping their hands from the work” out of fear. The words “with fear” are supplied in the translation because they are implicit in the context.
9 tn The particle כִּי (ki) is functioning here as loosely causal or epexegetical of the preceding introduction. For this usage cf. BDB 473-74 s.v. כִּי 3.c. This nuance borders on that of the intensive use of כִּי. See the discussion in BDB 472 s.v. כִּי note and כִּי 1.e.
10 tn Heb “We have heard the sound of panic and of fear, and there is no peace.” It is generally agreed that the person of the verb presupposes that this is an unintroduced quote of the people.
11 tn Heb “Ask and see/consider.”
12 tn Heb “with their hands on their loins.” The word rendered “loins” refers to the area between the ribs and the thighs.
13 tn Heb “oracle of the
14 tn Heb “and the children of Israel will come, they and the children of Judah together. They shall go, weeping as they go, and they will seek the
15 tc The translation here assumes that the Hebrew בֹּאוּ (bo’u; a Qal imperative masculine plural) should be read בָּאוּ (ba’u; a Qal perfect third plural). This reading is presupposed by the Greek version of Aquila, the Latin version, and the Targum (see BHS note a, which mistakenly assumes that the form must be imperfect).
16 sn See Jer 32:40 and the study note there for the nature of this lasting agreement.
17 tn The verb יֶאְשְׁמוּ (ye’shÿmu, Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine plural from אָשַׁם, ’asham, “to be guilty”) means “to bear their punishment” (Ps 34:22-23; Prov 30:10; Isa 24:6; Jer 2:3; Hos 5:15; 10:2; 14:1; Zech 11:5; Ezek 6:6; BDB 79 s.v. אָשַׁם 3). Many English versions translate this as “admit their guilt” (NIV, NLT) or “acknowledge their guilt” (NASB, NRSV), but cf. NAB “pay for their guilt” and TEV “have suffered enough for their sins.”
18 tn Heb “seek my face” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “seek my presence.”
19 tn “has struck”; NRSV “struck down.”
20 tn Heb “they do not cry out to me in their heart”; NLT “with sincere hearts.”
21 tc The MT reads יִתְגּוֹרָרוּ (yitgoraru) which is either (1) Hitpolel imperfect 3rd person masculine plural (“they assemble themselves”; so KJV, NASB) from I גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn”; BDB 157 s.v. I גּוּר) or (2) Hitpolel imperfect 3rd person masculine plural (“they excite themselves”) from II גּוּר (gur, “to stir up”; BDB 158 s.v. II גּוּר). However, the Hebrew lexicographers suggest that both of these options are unlikely. Several other Hebrew