Jeremiah 1:6

1:6 I answered, “Oh, Lord God, ¹  I really ²  do not know how to speak well enough for that, ³  for I am too young.” ⁴ 

Jeremiah 1:12

1:12 Then the Lord said, “You have observed correctly. This means ⁵  I am watching to make sure my threats are carried out.” ⁶ 

Jeremiah 1:19

1:19 They will attack you but they will not be able to overcome you, for I will be with you to rescue you,” says the Lord.

Jeremiah 3:5

3:5 You will not always be angry with me, will you?

You will not be mad at me forever, will you?’ ⁷ 

That is what you say,

but you continually do all the evil that you can.” ⁸ 

Jeremiah 6:8

6:8 So ⁹  take warning, Jerusalem,

or I will abandon you in disgust ¹⁰ 

and make you desolate,

a place where no one can live.”

Jeremiah 20:18

20:18 Why did I ever come forth from my mother’s womb?

All I experience is trouble and grief,

and I spend my days in shame. ¹¹ 

Jeremiah 29:29

29:29 Zephaniah the priest read that letter to the prophet Jeremiah. ¹² 

[1:6]  ¹ tn Heb “Lord Yahweh.”

[1:6]  ² tn Heb “Behold, I do not know how to speak.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, commonly rendered “behold”) often introduces a speech and calls special attention to a specific word or the statement as a whole (see IBHS 675-78 §40.2.1).

[1:6]  ³ tn The words “well enough for that” are implicit and are supplied in the translation for clarity. Jeremiah is not claiming an absolute inability to speak.

[1:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “I am a boy/youth.” The Hebrew word can refer to an infant (Exod 2:6), a young boy (1 Sam 2:11), a teenager (Gen 21:12), or a young man (2 Sam 18:5). The translation is deliberately ambiguous since it is unclear how old Jeremiah was when he was called to begin prophesying.

[1:12]  ⁵ tn This represents the Hebrew particle (כִּי, ki) that is normally rendered “for” or “because.” The particle here is meant to give the significance of the vision, not the rationale for the statement “you have observed correctly.”

[1:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “watching over my word to do it.”

[3:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “Will he keep angry forever? Will he maintain [it] to the end?” The questions are rhetorical and expect a negative answer. The change to direct address in the English translation is intended to ease the problem of the rapid transition, common in Hebrew style (but not in English), from second person direct address in the preceding lines to third person indirect address in these two lines. See GKC 462 §144.p.

[3:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “You do the evil and you are able.” This is an example of hendiadys, meaning “You do all the evil that you are able to do.”

[6:8]  ¹³ tn This word is not in the text but is supplied in the translation. Jeremiah uses a figure of speech (enallage) where the speaker turns from talking about someone to address him/her directly.

[6:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “lest my soul [= I] becomes disgusted with you.”

[20:18]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Why did I come forth from the womb to see [= so that I might see] trouble and grief and that my days might be consumed in shame.”

[29:29]  ²¹ tn Heb “in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet.”