Jeremiah 1:2

1:2 The Lord ¹  began to speak to him ²  in the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amon ruled over Judah.

Jeremiah 25:3

25:3 “For the last twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amon was ruling in Judah ³  until now, the Lord has been speaking to me. I told you over and over again ⁴  what he said. ⁵  But you would not listen.

Jeremiah 46:25

46:25 The Lord God of Israel who rules over all ⁶  says, “I will punish Amon, the god of Thebes. ⁷  I will punish Egypt, its gods, and its kings. I will punish Pharaoh and all who trust in him. ⁸ 

[1:2]  ¹ sn The translation reflects the ancient Jewish tradition of substituting the word for “Lord” for the proper name for Israel’s God which is now generally agreed to have been Yahweh. Jewish scribes wrote the consonants YHWH but substituted the vowels for the word “Lord.” The practice of calling him “Lord” rather than using his proper name is also reflected in the Greek translation which is the oldest translation of the Hebrew Bible. The meaning of the name Yahweh occurs in Exod 3:13-14 where God identifies himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and tells Moses that his name is “I am” (אֶהְיֶה, ’ehyeh). However, he instructs the Israelites to refer to him as YHWH (“Yahweh” = “He is”); see further Exod 34:5-6.

[1:2]  ² tn Heb “to whom the word of the Lord came.” The present translation is more in keeping with contemporary English idiom. The idea of “began to speak” comes from the context where the conclusion of his speaking is signaled by the phrases “until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah” and “until the people of Jerusalem were taken into exile” in v. 3.

[25:3]  ³ sn The year referred to would be 627 b.c. The same year is referred to in 1:2 in reference to his call to be a prophet.

[25:3]  ⁴ tn For the idiom involved here see the notes at 7:13 and 11:7.

[25:3]  ⁵ tn The words “what he said” are not in the text but are implicit. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[46:25]  ⁵ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” For the significance of this title see the note at 2:19.

[46:25]  ⁶ tn Heb “Amon of No.”

[46:25]  ⁷ tc Heb “Behold I will punish Amon of No and Pharaoh and Egypt and its gods and its kings and Pharaoh and all who trust in him.” There appears to be a copyist slip involving a double writing of וְעַל־פַּרְעֹה (vÿ’al-par’oh). The present translation has followed the suggestion of BHS and deleted the first one since the second is necessary for the syntactical connection, “Pharaoh and all who trust in him.”