6:2 I will destroy 1 Daughter Zion, 2
who is as delicate and defenseless as a young maiden. 3
7:8 “‘But just look at you! 4 You are putting your confidence in a false belief 5 that will not deliver you. 6
11:19 Before this I had been like a docile lamb ready to be led to the slaughter.
I did not know they were making plans to kill me. 8
I did not know they were saying, 9
“Let’s destroy the tree along with its fruit! 10
Let’s remove Jeremiah 11 from the world of the living
so people will not even be reminded of him any more.” 12
13:24 “The Lord says, 13
‘That is why I will scatter your people 14 like chaff
that is blown away by a desert wind. 15
14:11 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for good to come to these people! 16
25:8 “Therefore, the Lord who rules over all 20 says, ‘You have not listened to what I said. 21
30:4 So here is what the Lord has to say about Israel and Judah. 22
30:10 So I, the Lord, tell you not to be afraid,
you descendants of Jacob, my servants. 23
Do not be terrified, people of Israel.
For I will rescue you and your descendants
from a faraway land where you are captives. 24
The descendants of Jacob will return to their land and enjoy peace.
They will be secure and no one will terrify them. 25
30:22 Then you will again be my people
and I will be your God. 26
32:6 So now, Jeremiah said, “The Lord told me, 27
34:6 The prophet Jeremiah told all this to King Zedekiah of Judah in Jerusalem.
44:7 “So now the Lord, the God who rules over all, the God of Israel, 33 asks, ‘Why will you do such great harm to yourselves? Why should every man, woman, child, and baby of yours be destroyed from the midst of Judah? Why should you leave yourselves without a remnant?
1 tn The verb here is another example of the Hebrew verb form that indicates the action is as good as done (a Hebrew prophetic perfect).
2 sn Jerusalem is personified as a young maiden who is helpless in the hands of her enemies.
3 tn Heb “The beautiful and delicate one I will destroy, the daughter of Zion. The English versions and commentaries are divided over the rendering of this verse because (1) there are two verbs with these same consonants, one meaning “to be like” and the other meaning “to be destroyed” (intransitive) or “to destroy” (transitive), and (2) the word rendered “beautiful” (נָוָה, navah) can be understood as a noun meaning “pasture” or as a defective writing of an adjective meaning “beautiful, comely” (נָאוָה, na’vah). Hence some render “Fair Zion, you are like a lovely pasture,” reading the verb form as an example of the old second feminine singular perfect. Although this may fit the imagery of the next verse, that rendering ignores the absence of a preposition (לְ or אֶל, lÿ or ’el, both of which can be translated “to”) that normally goes with the verb “be like” and drops the conjunction in front of the adjective “delicate.” The parallel usage of the verb in Hos 4:5 argues for the meaning “destroy.”
4 tn Heb “Behold!”
5 tn Heb “You are trusting in lying words.” See the similar phrase in v. 4 and the note there.
6 tn Heb “not profit [you].”
7 tn Heb “So I brought on them all the terms of this covenant which I commanded to do and they did not do.” There is an interesting polarity that is being exploited by two different nuances implicit in the use of the word “terms” (דִּבְרֵי [divre], literally “words”), i.e., what the
10 tn Heb “against me.” The words “to kill me” are implicit from the context and are supplied in the translation for clarity.
11 tn The words “I did not know that they were saying” are not in the text. The quote is without formal introduction in the original. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.
12 tn This word and its pronoun (לַחְמוֹ, lakhmo, “its bread”) is often emended to read “in/with its sap” = “in its prime” (either לֵחוֹ [lekho] or לֵחְמוֹ [lekhÿmo]); the latter would be more likely and the מוֹ (mo) could be explained as a rare use of the old poetic third plural suffix for the third singular; cf. GKC 258 §91.l for general use and Ps 11:7 and Job 27:23 for third singular use. Though this fits the context nicely the emendation is probably unnecessary since the word “bread” is sometimes used of other foodstuff than grain or its products (cf. BDB 537 s.v. לֶחֶם 2.a).
13 tn Heb “cut it [or him] off.” The metaphor of the tree may be continued, though the verb “cut off” is used also of killing people. The rendering clarifies the meaning of the metaphor.
14 tn Heb “so that his name will not be remembered any more.”
13 tn The words, “The
14 tn Heb “them.” This is another example of the rapid shift in pronouns seen several times in the book of Jeremiah. The pronouns in the preceding and the following are second feminine singular. It might be argued that “them” goes back to the “flock”/“sheep” in v. 20, but the next verse refers the fate described here to “you” (feminine singular). This may be another example of the kind of metaphoric shifts in referents discussed in the notes on 13:20 above. Besides, it would sound a little odd in the translation to speak of scattering one person like chaff.
15 sn Compare the threat using the same metaphor in Jer 4:11-12.
16 tn Heb “on behalf of these people for benefit.”
19 tn Heb “about the shepherds who are shepherding my people. ‘You have caused my sheep….’” For the metaphor see the study note on the previous verse.
20 tn Heb “Therefore, thus says the
21 tn Heb “Oracle of the
22 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
23 tn Heb “You have not listened to my words.”
25 tn Heb “And these are the words/things that the
28 tn Heb “So do not be afraid, my servant Jacob, oracle of the
29 tn Heb “For I will rescue you from far away, your descendants from the land of their captivity.”
30 sn Compare the ideals of the Mosaic covenant in Lev 26:6, the Davidic covenant in 2 Sam 7:10-11, and the new covenant in Ezek 34:25-31.
31 sn This was their highest privilege (cf. Exod 6:7, Lev 26:12; Jer 24:7) but also their greatest responsibility (cf. Jer 7:3; 11:4). It is a formula referring to a covenant relationship in which God pledges to protect, provide, and be present with his people and they in turn promise to be loyal and obedient to him (see Deut 26:17-18; 29:10-13).
34 tn Heb “The word of the
37 sn Compare Jer 7:30-31; 19:5 and the study notes on 7:30. The god Molech is especially associated with the practice of child sacrifice (Lev 18:21; 20:2-5; 2 Kgs 23:10). In 1 Kgs 11:7 this god is identified as the god of the Ammonites who is also called Milcom in 1 Kgs 11:5; 2 Kgs 23:13. Child sacrifice, however, was not confined to this god; it was also made to the god Baal (Jer 19:5) and to other idols that the Israelites had set up (Ezek 16:20-21). This practice was, however, strictly prohibited in Israel (Lev 18:21; 20:2-5; Deut 12:31; 18:10). It was this practice as well as other pagan rites that Manasseh had instituted in Judah that ultimately led to Judah’s demise (2 Kgs 24:3-4). Though Josiah tried to root these pagan practices (2 Kgs 23:4-14) out of Judah he could not do so. The people had only made a pretense of following his reforms; their hearts were still far from God (Jer 3:10; 12:2).
38 tn Heb “They built high places to Baal which are in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to cause their sons and daughters to pass through [the fire] to Molech [a thing] which I did not command them and [which] did not go up into my heart [= “mind” in modern psychology] to do this abomination so as to make Judah liable for punishment.” For the use of the Hiphil of חָטָא (khata’) to refer to the liability for punishment see BDB s.v. חָטָא Hiph.3 and compare the usage in Deut 24:8. Coming at the end as this does, this nuance is much more likely than “cause Judah to sin” which is the normal translation assigned to the verb here. The particle לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) that precedes it is here once again introducing a result and not a purpose (compare other clear examples in 27:10, 15). The sentence has been broken down in conformity to contemporary English style and an attempt has been made to make clear that what is detestable and not commanded is not merely child sacrifice to Molech but child sacrifice in general.
40 tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) is probably intensive here as it has been on a number of occasions in the book of Jeremiah (see BDB 472 s.v. כִּי 1.e for the category).
41 tn Or “I will make them prosperous once again,” or “I will bring them back from captivity.”
43 tn Heb “And the word of the
46 tn Heb “Yahweh, the God of armies, the God of Israel.” Compare 35:17; 38:17 and for the title “God of armies” see the study note on 2:19.