5:7 The Lord asked, 1
“How can I leave you unpunished, Jerusalem? 2
Your people 3 have rejected me
and have worshiped gods that are not gods at all. 4
Even though I supplied all their needs, 5 they were like an unfaithful wife to me. 6
They went flocking 7 to the houses of prostitutes. 8
6:19 Hear this, you peoples of the earth: 9
‘Take note! 10 I am about to bring disaster on these people.
It will come as punishment for their scheming. 11
For they have paid no attention to what I have said, 12
and they have rejected my law.
51:30 The soldiers of Babylonia will stop fighting.
They will remain in their fortified cities.
They will lose their strength to do battle. 25
They will be as frightened as women. 26
The houses in her cities will be set on fire.
The gates of her cities will be broken down. 27
1 tn These words are not in the text, but are supplied in the translation to make clear who is speaking.
2 tn Heb “How can I forgive [or pardon] you.” The pronoun “you” is second feminine singular, referring to the city. See v. 1.
3 tn Heb “your children.”
4 tn Heb “and they have sworn [oaths] by not-gods.”
5 tn Heb “I satisfied them to the full.”
6 tn Heb “they committed adultery.” It is difficult to decide whether literal adultery with other women or spiritual adultery with other gods is meant. The word for adultery is used for both in the book of Jeremiah. For examples of its use for spiritual adultery see 3:8, 9; 9:2. For examples of its use for literal adultery see 7:9; 23:14. The context here could argue for either. The swearing by other gods and the implicit contradiction in their actions in contrast to the expected gratitude for supplying their needs argues for spiritual adultery. However, the reference to prostitution in the next line and the reference to chasing after their neighbor’s wives argues for literal adultery. The translation opts for spiritual adultery because of the contrast implicit in the concessive clause.
7 tn There is a great deal of debate about the meaning of this word. Most of the modern English versions follow the lead of lexicographers who relate this word to a noun meaning “troop” and understand it to mean “they trooped together” (cf. BDB 151 s.v. גָּדַד Hithpo.2 and compare the usage in Mic 5:1 [4:14 HT]). A few of the modern English versions and commentaries follow the reading of the Greek and read a word meaning “they lodged” (reading ִיתְגּוֹרְרוּ [yitggorÿru] from I גּוּר [gur; cf. HALOT 177 s.v. Hithpo. and compare the usage in 1 Kgs 17:20] instead of יִתְגֹּדָדוּ [yitggodadu]). W. L. Holladay (Jeremiah [Hermeneia], 1:180) sees a reference here to the cultic practice of cutting oneself in supplication to pagan gods (cf. BDB 151 s.v. גָּדַד Hithpo.1 and compare the usage in 1 Kgs 18:28). The houses of prostitutes would then be a reference to ritual prostitutes at the pagan shrines. The translation follows BDB and the majority of modern English versions.
8 tn Heb “to a house of a prostitute.”
9 tn Heb “earth.”
10 tn Heb “Behold!”
11 tn Heb “disaster on these people, the fruit of their schemes.”
12 tn Heb “my word.”
17 tn These two sentences have been recast in English to break up a long Hebrew sentence and incorporate the oracular formula “says the
18 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 12, 13, 15, 19).
19 tn Heb “followed after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for the explanation of the idiom.
20 tn Heb “But me they have abandoned and my law they have not kept.” The objects are thrown forward to bring out the contrast which has rhetorical force. However, such a sentence in English would be highly unnatural.
25 tn Heb “by my great power and my outstretched arm.” Again “arm” is symbolical for “strength.” Compare the similar expression in 21:5.
26 sn See Dan 4:17 for a similar statement.
33 tn Heb “So King Zedekiah secretly swore an oath to Jeremiah, saying.”
34 tn Heb “who has made this life/soul/ breath [נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh] for us.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ refers to the living, breathing substance of a person which constitutes his very life (cf. BDB 659 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 1; 3).
35 tn Heb “who are seeking your life.”
41 tn Heb “Please listen to the voice of the
42 tn Heb “your life [or you yourself] will live.” Compare v. 17 and the translator’s note there for the idiom.
49 tn As in 15:2 the Hebrew is very brief and staccato-like: “those to death to death, and those to captivity to captivity, and those to the sword to the sword.” As in 15:2 most commentaries and English versions assume that the word “death” refers to death by disease. See the translator’s note on 15:2 and compare also 18:21 where the sword is distinctly connected with “war” or “battle” and is distinct from “killed by death [i.e., disease].”
57 tn Heb “Their strength is dry.” This is a figurative nuance of the word “dry” which BDB 677 s.v. נָשַׁת Qal.1 explain as meaning “fails.” The idea of “strength to do battle” is implicit from the context and is supplied in the translation here for clarity.
58 tn Heb “They have become women.” The metaphor has been turned into a simile and the significance of the comparison drawn out for the sake of clarity. See 50:37 for the same figure.
59 tn Heb “Her dwelling places have been set on fire. Her bars [i.e., the bars on the gates of her cities] have been broken.” The present translation has substituted the word “gates” for “bars” because the intent of the figure is to show that the bars of the gates have been broken giving access to the city. “Gates” makes it easier for the modern reader to understand the figure.