Jeremiah 5:14-15

5:14 Because of that, the Lord, the God who rules over all, said to me,

“Because these people have spoken like this,

I will make the words that I put in your mouth like fire.

And I will make this people like wood

which the fiery judgments you speak will burn up.”

5:15 The Lord says, “Listen, nation of Israel!

I am about to bring a nation from far away to attack you.

It will be a nation that was founded long ago

and has lasted for a long time.

It will be a nation whose language you will not know.

Its people will speak words that you will not be able to understand.


tn Heb “Therefore.”

tn Heb “The Lord God of armies.” See the translator’s note at 2:19.

tn The words, “to me” are not in the text but are implicit in the connection. They are supplied in the translation for clarification.

tn Heb “you have spoken.” The text here דַּבֶּרְכֶם (dabberkhem, “you have spoken”) is either a case of a scribal error for דַּבֶּרָם (dabberam, “they have spoken”) or an example of the rapid shift in addressee which is common in Jeremiah.

tn Heb “this word.”

tn Heb “like wood and it [i.e., the fire I put in your mouth] will consume them.”

tn Heb “oracle of the Lord.”

tn Heb “Behold!”

tn Heb “house of Israel.”