Jeremiah 10:5

10:5 Such idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field.

They cannot talk.

They must be carried

because they cannot walk.

Do not be afraid of them

because they cannot hurt you.

And they do not have any power to help you.” ¹ 

Jeremiah 12:6

12:6 As a matter of fact, ²  even your own brothers

and the members of your own family have betrayed you too.

Even they have plotted to do away with you. ³ 

So do not trust them even when they say kind things ⁴  to you.

Jeremiah 14:17

Lament over Present Destruction and Threat of More to Come

14:17 “Tell these people this, Jeremiah: ⁵ 

‘My eyes overflow with tears

day and night without ceasing. ⁶ 

For my people, my dear children, ⁷  have suffered a crushing blow.

They have suffered a serious wound. ⁸ 

Jeremiah 18:18

Jeremiah Petitions the Lord to Punish Those Who Attack Him

18:18 Then some people ⁹  said, “Come on! Let us consider how to deal with Jeremiah! ¹⁰  There will still be priests to instruct us, wise men to give us advice, and prophets to declare God’s word. ¹¹  Come on! Let’s bring charges against him and get rid of him! ¹²  Then we will not need to pay attention to anything he says.”

Jeremiah 23:16

23:16 The Lord who rules over all ¹³  says to the people of Jerusalem: ¹⁴ 

“Do not listen to what

those prophets are saying to you.

They are filling you with false hopes.

They are reporting visions of their own imaginations,

not something the Lord has given them to say. ¹⁵ 

Jeremiah 26:2

26:2 The Lord said, “Go stand in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple. ¹⁶  Speak out to all the people who are coming from the towns of Judah to worship in the Lord’s temple. Tell them everything I command you to tell them. Do not leave out a single word!

Jeremiah 27:9

27:9 So do not listen to your prophets or to those who claim to predict the future by divination, ¹⁷  by dreams, by consulting the dead, ¹⁸  or by practicing magic. They keep telling you, ‘You do not need to be ¹⁹  subject to the king of Babylon.’

Jeremiah 29:6

29:6 Marry and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons and allow your daughters get married so that they too can have sons and daughters. Grow in number; do not dwindle away.

Jeremiah 38:14

Jeremiah Responds to Zedekiah’s Request for Secret Advice

38:14 Some time later ²⁰  Zedekiah sent and had Jeremiah brought to him at the third entrance ²¹  of the Lord’s temple. The king said to Jeremiah, “I would like to ask you a question. Do not hide anything from me when you answer.” ²² 

Jeremiah 38:25

38:25 The officials may hear that I have talked with you. They may come to you and say, ‘Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you. ²³  Do not hide anything from us. If you do, we will kill you.’ ²⁴ 

Jeremiah 40:9

40:9 Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, took an oath so as to give them and their troops some assurance of safety. ²⁵  “Do not be afraid to submit to the Babylonians. ²⁶  Settle down in the land and submit to the king of Babylon. Then things will go well for you.

Jeremiah 40:16

40:16 But Gedaliah son of Ahikam said to Johanan son of Kareah, “Do not do that ²⁷  because what you are saying about Ishmael is not true.” ²⁸ 

Jeremiah 41:8

41:8 But there were ten men among them who said ²⁹  to Ishmael, “Do not kill us. For we will give you the stores of wheat, barley, olive oil, and honey we have hidden in a field. ³⁰  So he spared their lives and did not kill ³¹  them along with the rest. ³² 

Jeremiah 45:5

45:5 Are you looking for great things for yourself? Do not look for such things. For I, the Lord, affirm ³³  that I am about to bring disaster on all humanity. ³⁴  But I will allow you to escape with your life ³⁵  wherever you go.”’”

Jeremiah 46:28

46:28 I, the Lord, tell ³⁶  you not to be afraid,

you descendants of Jacob, my servant,

for I am with you.

Though I completely destroy all the nations where I scatter you,

I will not completely destroy you.

I will indeed discipline you but only in due measure.

I will not allow you to go entirely unpunished.” ³⁷ 

Jeremiah 50:2

50:2 “Announce ³⁸  the news among the nations! Proclaim it!

Signal for people to pay attention! ³⁹ 

Declare the news! Do not hide it! Say:

‘Babylon will be captured.

Bel ⁴⁰  will be put to shame.

Marduk will be dismayed.

Babylon’s idols will be put to shame.

Her disgusting images ⁴¹  will be dismayed. ⁴² 

Jeremiah 50:29

50:29 “Call for archers ⁴³  to come against Babylon!

Summon against her all who draw the bow!

Set up camp all around the city!

Do not allow anyone to escape!

Pay her back for what she has done.

Do to her what she has done to others.

For she has proudly defied me, ⁴⁴ 

the Holy One of Israel. ⁴⁵ 

[10:5]  ¹ tn Heb “And it is not in them to do good either.”

[12:6]  ² tn This is an attempt to give some contextual sense to the particle “for, indeed” (כִּי, ki).

[12:6]  ³ tn Heb “they have called after you fully”; or “have lifted up loud voices against you.” The word “against” does not seem quite adequate for the preposition “after.” The preposition “against” would be Hebrew עַל (’al). The idea appears to be that they are chasing after him, raising their voices along with those of the conspirators to have him killed.

[12:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “good things.” See BDB 373 s.v. II טוֹב 2 for this nuance and compare Prov 12:25 for usage.

[14:17]  ³ tn The word “Jeremiah” is not in the text but the address is to a second person singular and is a continuation of 14:14 where the quote starts. The word is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[14:17]  ⁴ tn Many of the English versions and commentaries render this an indirect or third person imperative, “Let my eyes overflow…” because of the particle אַל (’al) which introduces the phrase translated “without ceasing” (אַל־תִּדְמֶינָה, ’al-tidmenah). However, this is undoubtedly an example where the particle introduces an affirmation that something cannot be done (cf. GKC 322 §109.e). Clear examples of this are found in Pss 41:2 (41:3 HT); 50:3; Job 40:32 (41:8). God here is describing again a lamentable situation and giving his response to it. See 14:1-6 above.

[14:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “virgin daughter, my people.” The last noun here is appositional to the first two (genitive of apposition). Hence it is not ‘literally’ “virgin daughter of my people.”

[14:17]  ⁶ tn This is a poetic personification. To translate with the plural “serious wounds” might mislead some into thinking of literal wounds.

[18:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “They.” The referent is unidentified; “some people” has been used in the translation.

[18:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “Let us make plans against Jeremiah.” See 18:18 where this has sinister overtones as it does here.

[18:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “Instruction will not perish from priest, counsel from the wise, word from the prophet.”

[18:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “Let us smite him with our tongues.” It is clear from the context that this involved plots to kill him.

[23:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[23:16]  ⁶ tn The words “to the people of Jerusalem” are not in the Hebrew text but are supplied in the translation to reflect the masculine plural form of the imperative and the second masculine plural form of the pronoun. These words have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[23:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “They tell of a vision of their own heart [= mind] not from the mouth of the Lord.”

[26:2]  ⁶ sn It is generally agreed that the incident recorded in this chapter relates to the temple message that Jeremiah gave in 7:1-15. The message there is summarized here in vv. 3-6. The primary interest here is in the response to that message.

[27:9]  ⁷ sn Various means of divination are alluded to in the OT. For example, Ezek 21:26-27 alludes to throwing down arrows to see which way they fall and consulting the shape of the liver of slaughtered animals. Gen 44:5 alludes to reading the future through pouring liquid in a cup. The means alluded to in this verse were all classified as pagan and prohibited as illegitimate in Deut 18:10-14. The Lord had promised that he would speak to them through prophets like Moses (Deut 18:15, 18). But even prophets could lie. Hence, the Lord told them that the test of a true prophet was whether what he said came true or not (Deut 18:20-22). An example of false prophesying and the vindication of the true as opposed to the false will be given in the chapter that follows this.

[27:9]  ⁸ sn An example of this is seen in 1 Sam 28.

[27:9]  ⁹ tn The verb in this context is best taken as a negative obligatory imperfect. See IBHS 508-9 §31.4g for discussion and examples. See Exod 4:15 as an example of positive obligation.

[38:14]  ⁸ tn The words “Some time later” are not in the text but are a way of translating the conjunction “And” or “Then” that introduces this narrative.

[38:14]  ⁹ sn The precise location of this entrance is unknown since it is mentioned nowhere else in the OT. Many commentators equate this with the “king’s outer entry” (mentioned in 2 Kgs 16:18) which appears to have been a private entryway between the temple and the palace.

[38:14]  ¹⁰ tn The words “when you answer” are not in the text but are implicit in the connection. They are supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness of style.

[38:25]  ⁹ tn The phrase “and what the king said to you” is actually at the end of the verse, but most commentators see it as also under the governance of “tell us” and many commentaries and English versions move the clause forward for the sake of English style as has been done here.

[38:25]  ¹⁰ tn Or “lest we kill you”; Heb “and we will not kill you,” which as stated in the translator’s note on 37:20 introduces a negative purpose (or result) clause. See 37:20, 38:24 for parallel usage.

[40:9]  ¹⁰ tn The words “so as to give them some assurance of safety” are not in the text but are generally understood by all commentators. This would be a case of substitution of cause for effect, the oath, put for the effect, the assurance of safety (NJPS translates directly “reassured them”).

[40:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for explanation.

[40:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “this thing.”

[40:16]  ¹² tn Heb “is false” or “is a lie.”

[41:8]  ¹² tn Heb “But there were ten men found among them and they said.” However, for the use of “were found” = “be, happened to be” see BDB 594 s.v. מָצָא 2.c and compare the usage in 41:3.

[41:8]  ¹³ tn This sentence is a good example of the elliptical nature of some of the causal connections in the Hebrew Bible. All the Hebrew says literally is “For we have hidden stores of wheat, barley, olive oil, and honey in a field.” However, it is obvious that they are using this as their bargaining chip to prevent Ishmael and his men from killing them. For the use of “for” (כִּי, ki) for such elliptical thoughts see BDB 473-74 s.v. כִּי 3.c.

[41:8]  ¹⁴ tn Or “So he refrained from killing them”; Heb “he refrained and did not kill them.”

[41:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “in the midst of their brothers/fellow countrymen.”

[45:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “oracle of the Lord.”

[45:5]  ¹⁴ sn Compare Jer 25:31, 33. The reference here to universal judgment also forms a nice transition to the judgments on the nations that follow in Jer 46-51 which may be another reason for the placement of this chapter here, out of its normal chronological order (see also the study note on v. 1).

[45:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “I will give you your life for a spoil.” For this idiom see the translator’s note on 21:9 and compare the usage in 21:9; 38:2; 39:18.

[46:28]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.” Again the first person is adopted because the Lord is speaking and the indirect quotation is used to avoid an embedded quotation with quotation marks on either side.

[46:28]  ¹⁵ tn The translation “entirely unpunished” is intended to reflect the emphatic construction of the infinitive absolute before the finite verb.

[50:2]  ¹⁵ tn The verbs are masculine plural. Jeremiah is calling on other unnamed messengers to spread the news.

[50:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Raise a signal flag.”

[50:2]  ¹⁷ sn Bel was originally the name or title applied to the Sumerian storm god. During the height of Babylon’s power it became a title that was applied to Marduk who was Babylon’s chief deity. As a title it means “Lord.” Here it is a poetical parallel reference to Marduk mentioned in the next line.

[50:2]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew word used here (גִּלּוּלִים, gillulim) is always used as a disdainful reference to idols. It is generally thought to have originally referred to “dung pellets” (cf. KBL 183 s.v. גִלּוּלִים). It is only one of several terms used in this way, such as “worthless things” (אַלִילִים, ’alilim), “vanities,” or “empty winds” (הֲבָלִים, havalim).

[50:2]  ¹⁹ tn The verbs here are all in the tense that views the actions as though they were already done (the Hebrew prophetic perfect). The verbs in the next verse are a mixture of prophetic perfects and imperfects which announce future actions.

[50:29]  ¹⁶ tn For this word see BDB 914 s.v. III רַב and compare usage in Prov 26:10 and Job 16:12 and compare the usage of the verb in Gen 49:23. Based on this evidence, it is not necessary to emend the form to רֹבִים (rovim) as many commentators contend.

[50:29]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “for she has acted insolently against the Lord.” Once again there is the problem of the Lord speaking about himself in the third person (or the prophet dropping his identification with the Lord). As in several other places the present translation, along with several other modern English versions (TEV, CEV, NIrV), has substituted the first person to maintain consistency with the context.

[50:29]  ¹⁸ sn The Holy One of Israel is a common title for the Lord in the book of Isaiah. It is applied to the Lord only here and in 51:5 in the book of Jeremiah. It is a figure where an attribute of a person is put as a title of a person (compare “your majesty” for a king). It pictures the Lord as the sovereign king who rules over his covenant people and exercises moral authority over them.