Nehemiah 1:3

1:3 They said to me, “The remnant that remains from the exile there in the province are experiencing considerable ¹  adversity and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem lies breached, and its gates have been burned down!” ² 

Jeremiah 5:10

5:10 The Lord commanded the enemy, ³ 

“March through the vineyards of Israel and Judah and ruin them. ⁴ 

But do not destroy them completely.

Strip off their branches

for these people do not belong to the Lord. ⁵ 

Jeremiah 39:8

39:8 The Babylonians ⁶  burned down the royal palace, the temple of the Lord, and the people’s homes, ⁷  and they tore down the wall of Jerusalem. ⁸ 

Jeremiah 52:14-23

52:14 The whole Babylonian army that came with the captain of the royal guard tore down the walls that surrounded Jerusalem. 52:15 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, took into exile some of the poor, ⁹  the rest of the people who remained in the city, those who had deserted to him, and the rest of the craftsmen. 52:16 But he ¹⁰  left behind some of the poor ¹¹  and gave them fields and vineyards.

52:17 The Babylonians broke the two bronze pillars in the temple of the Lord, as well as the movable stands and the large bronze basin called the “The Sea.” ¹²  They took all the bronze to Babylon. 52:18 They also took the pots, shovels, ¹³  trimming shears, ¹⁴  basins, pans, and all the bronze utensils used by the priests. ¹⁵  52:19 The captain of the royal guard took the gold and silver bowls, censers, ¹⁶  basins, pots, lampstands, pans, and vessels. ¹⁷  52:20 The bronze of the items that King Solomon made for the Lord’s temple (including the two pillars, the large bronze basin called “The Sea,” the twelve bronze bulls under “The Sea,” and the movable stands ¹⁸ ) was too heavy to be weighed. 52:21 Each of the pillars was about 27 feet ¹⁹  high, about 18 feet ²⁰  in circumference, three inches ²¹  thick, and hollow. 52:22 The bronze top of one pillar was about seven and one-half feet ²²  high and had bronze latticework and pomegranate-shaped ornaments all around it. The second pillar with its pomegranate-shaped ornaments was like it. 52:23 There were ninety-six pomegranate-shaped ornaments on the sides; in all there were one hundred pomegranate-shaped ornaments over the latticework that went around it.

¹ tn Heb “great.”

² tn Heb “have been burned with fire” (so also in Neh 2:17). The expression “burned with fire” is redundant in contemporary English; the translation uses “burned down” for stylistic reasons.

³ tn These words to not appear in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for the sake of clarity to identify the implied addressee.

⁴ tn Heb “through her vine rows and destroy.” No object is given but “vines” must be implicit. The word for “vineyards” (or “vine rows”) is a hapax legomenon and its derivation is debated. BDB 1004 s.v. שּׁוּרָה repoints שָׁרוֹתֶיהָ (sharoteha) to שֻׁרוֹתֶיהָ (shuroteha) and relates it to a Mishnaic Hebrew and Palestinian Aramaic word meaning “row.” HALOT 1348 s.v. שּׁוּרָה also repoints to שֻׁרוֹתֶיהָ and relates it to a noun meaning “wall,” preferring to see the reference here to the walled terraces on which the vineyards were planted. The difference in meaning is minimal.

⁵ tn Heb “for they do not belong to the Lord.” In the light of the context and Jeremiah’s identification of Israel as a vine (cf., e.g., 2:21) and a vineyard (cf., e.g., 12:10), it is likely that this verse has a totally metaphorical significance. The enemy is to go through the vineyard that is Israel and Judah and destroy all those who have been unfaithful to the Lord. It is not impossible, however, that the verse has a double meaning, a literal one and a figurative one: the enemy is not only to destroy Israel and Judah’s vines but to destroy Israel and Judah, lopping off the wicked Israelites who, because of their covenant unfaithfulness, the Lord has disowned. If the verse is totally metaphorical one might translate: “Pass through my vineyard, Israel and Judah, wreaking destruction. But do not destroy all of the people. Cut down like branches those unfaithful people because they no longer belong to the Lord.”

⁶ tn Heb “Chaldean.” See the study note on 21:4 for explanation.

⁷ tc The reading here is based on an emendation following the parallels in Jer 52:13 and 2 Kgs 25:9. The Hebrew text here does not have “the temple of the Lord” and reads merely “house of the people.” The text here is probably corrupt. It reads וְאֶת־בֵּית הָעָם (vÿ’et-bet ha’am, “and the house of the people”), which many explain as a collective use of בַּיִת (bayit). However, no parallels are cited by any of the commentaries, grammars, or lexicons for such a use. It is more likely that the words יְהוָה וְאֶת־בָּתֵּי (yÿhvah vÿ’et-bate) have fallen out of the text due to similar beginnings. The words וְאֶת־בֵּית יהוה (vÿ’et-bet yhwh) are found in the parallel texts cited in the marginal note. The Greek version is no help here because vv. 4-13 are omitted, probably due to the similarities in ending of vv. 3, 13 (i.e., homoioteleuton of מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל, melekh bavel).

⁸ sn According to the parallels in 2 Kgs 25:8-9; Jer 52:12-13 this occurred almost a month after the wall was breached and Zedekiah’s failed escape. It took place under the direction of Nebuzaradan, the captain of the king’s special guard who is mentioned in the next verse.

⁹ tn Heb “poor of the people.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard.” However, the subject is clear from the preceding and modern English style would normally avoid repeating the proper name and title.

¹¹ tn Heb “poor of the land.”

¹² sn For discussion of the items listed here, see the study notes at Jer 27:19.

¹³ sn These shovels were used to clean the altar.

¹⁴ sn These trimming shears were used to trim the wicks of the lamps.

¹⁵ tn Heb “with which they served (or “fulfilled their duty”).”

¹⁶ sn The censers held the embers used for the incense offerings.

¹⁷ sn These vessels were used for drink offerings.

¹⁸ tc The translation follows the LXX (Greek version), which reflects the description in 1 Kgs 7:25-26. The Hebrew text reads, “the twelve bronze bulls under the movable stands.” הַיָּם (hayyam, “The Sea”) has been accidentally omitted by homoioarcton; note that the following form, הַמְּכֹנוֹת (hammÿkhonot, “the movable stands”), also begins with the article.

¹⁹ tn Heb “eighteen cubits.” A “cubit” was a unit of measure, approximately equivalent to a foot and a half.

²⁰ tn Heb “twelve cubits.” A “cubit” was a unit of measure, approximately equivalent to a foot and a half.

²¹ tn Heb “four fingers.”

²² tn Heb “five cubits.” A “cubit” was a unit of measure, approximately equivalent to a foot and a half.