Jeremiah 9:11

9:11 The Lord said, ¹ 

“I will make Jerusalem ²  a heap of ruins.

Jackals will make their home there. ³ 

I will destroy the towns of Judah

so that no one will be able to live in them.”

Jeremiah 51:37

51:37 Babylon will become a heap of ruins.

Jackals will make their home there. ⁴ 

It will become an object of horror and of hissing scorn,

a place where no one lives. ⁵ 

Jeremiah 51:2

51:2 I will send people to winnow Babylonia like a wind blowing away chaff. ⁶ 

They will winnow her and strip her land bare. ⁷ 

This will happen when ⁸  they come against her from every direction,

when it is time to destroy her. ⁹ 

Jeremiah 19:1

An Object Lesson from a Broken Clay Jar

19:1 The Lord told Jeremiah, ¹⁰  “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. ¹¹  Take with you ¹²  some of the leaders of the people and some of the leaders ¹³  of the priests.

Nehemiah 4:2

4:2 and in the presence of his colleagues ¹⁴  and the army of Samaria ¹⁵  he said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they be left to themselves? ¹⁶  Will they again offer sacrifice? Will they finish this in a day? Can they bring these burnt stones to life again from piles of dust?”

Psalms 79:1

Psalm 79 ¹⁷ 

A psalm of Asaph.

79:1 O God, foreigners ¹⁸  have invaded your chosen land; ¹⁹ 

they have polluted your holy temple

and turned Jerusalem ²⁰  into a heap of ruins.

¹ tn The words “the Lord said” are not in the text, but it is obvious from the content that he is the speaker. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

² map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

³ tn Heb “a heap of ruins, a haunt for jackals.”

⁴ tn Heb “a heap of ruins, a haunt for jackals.” Compare 9:11.

⁵ tn Heb “without an inhabitant.”

⁶ tn Or “I will send foreign people against Babylonia.” The translation follows the reading of the Greek recensions of Aquila and Symmachus and the Latin version (the Vulgate). That reading is accepted by the majority of modern commentaries and several of the modern versions (e.g., NRSV, REB, NAB, and God’s Word). It fits better with the verb that follows it than the reading of the Hebrew text and the rest of the versions. The difference in the two readings is again only the difference in vocalization, the Hebrew text reading זָרִים (zarim) and the versions cited reading זֹרִים (zorim). If the Hebrew text is followed, there is a wordplay between the two words, “foreigners” and “winnow.” The words “like a wind blowing away chaff” have been supplied in the translation to clarify for the reader what “winnow” means.

⁷ tn Or “They will strip her land bare like a wind blowing away chaff.” The alternate translation would be necessary if one were to adopt the alternate reading of the first line (the reading of the Hebrew text). The explanation of “winnow” would then be necessary in the second line. The verb translated “strip…bare” means literally “to empty out” (see BDB 132 s.v. בָּקַק Polel). It has been used in 19:7 in the Qal of “making void” Judah’s plans in a wordplay on the word for “bottle.” See the study note on 19:7 for further details.

⁸ tn This assumes that the particle כִּי (ki) is temporal (cf. BDB 473 s.v. כִּי 2.a). This is the interpretation adopted also by NRSV and G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, T. G. Smothers, Jeremiah 26-52 (WBC), 349. J. Bright (Jeremiah [AB], 345) and J. A. Thompson (Jeremiah [NICOT], 747, n. 3) interpret it as asseverative or emphatic, “Truly, indeed.” Many of the modern English versions merely ignore it. Reading it as temporal makes it unnecessary to emend the following verb as Bright and Thompson do (from הָיוּ [hayu] to יִהְיוּ [yihyu]).

⁹ tn Heb “in the day of disaster.”

¹⁰ tn The word “Jeremiah” is not in the text. Some Hebrew mss and some of the versions have “to me.” This section, 19:1–20:6 appears to be one of the biographical sections of the book of Jeremiah where incidents in his life are reported in third person. See clearly 9:14 and 20:1-3. The mss and versions do not represent a more original text but are translational or interpretive attempts to fill in a text which had no referent. They are like the translational addition that has been supplied on the basis of contextual indicators.

¹¹ tn Heb “an earthenware jar of the potter.”

¹² tc The words “Take with you” follow the reading of the Syriac version and to a certain extent the reading of the Greek version (the latter does not have “with you”). The Hebrew text does not have these words but they are undoubtedly implicit.

¹³ tn Heb “elders” both here and before “of the people.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “brothers.”

¹⁵ map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1.

¹⁶ tc The Hebrew text is difficult here. The present translation follows the MT, but the text may be corrupt. H. G. M. Williamson (Ezra, Nehemiah [WBC], 213-14) translates these words as “Will they commit their cause to God?” suggesting that MT לָהֶם (lahem, “to them”) should be emended to לֵאלֹהִים (lelohim, “to God”), a proposal also found in the apparatus of BHS. In his view later scribes altered the phrase out of theological motivations. J. Blenkinsopp’s translation is similar: “Are they going to leave it all to God?” (Ezra–Nehemiah [OTL], 242-44). However, a problem for this view is the absence of external evidence to support the proposed emendation. The sense of the MT reading may be the notion that the workers – if left to their own limited resources – could not possibly see such a demanding and expensive project through to completion. This interpretation understands the collocation עָזַב (’azav, “to leave”) plus לְ (lÿ, “to”) to mean “commit a matter to someone,” with the sense in this verse “Will they leave the building of the fortified walls to themselves?”

¹⁷ sn Psalm 79. The author laments how the invading nations have destroyed the temple and city of Jerusalem. He asks God to forgive his people and to pour out his vengeance on those who have mistreated them.

¹⁸ tn Or “nations.”

¹⁹ tn Heb “have come into your inheritance.”

²⁰ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.