Jeremiah 12:16

12:16 But they must make sure you learn to follow the religious practices of my people. ¹  Once they taught my people to swear their oaths using the name of the god Baal. ²  But then, they must swear oaths using my name, saying, “As surely as the Lord lives, I swear.” ³  If they do these things, ⁴  then they will be included among the people I call my own. ⁵ 

Jeremiah 14:14-15

14:14 Then the Lord said to me, “Those prophets are prophesying lies while claiming my authority! ⁶  I did not send them. I did not commission them. ⁷  I did not speak to them. They are prophesying to these people false visions, worthless predictions, ⁸  and the delusions of their own mind. 14:15 I did not send those prophets, though they claim to be prophesying in my name. They may be saying, ‘No war or famine will happen in this land.’ But I, the Lord, say this about ⁹  them: ‘War and starvation will kill those prophets.’ ¹⁰ 

Jeremiah 29:21

29:21 “The Lord God of Israel who rules over all ¹¹  also has something to say about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies to you and claiming my authority to do so. ¹²  ‘I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and he will execute them before your very eyes.

Jeremiah 29:23

29:23 This will happen to them because they have done what is shameful ¹³  in Israel. They have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives and have spoken lies while claiming my authority. ¹⁴  They have spoken words that I did not command them to speak. I know what they have done. I have been a witness to it,’ says the Lord.” ¹⁵ 

[12:16]  ¹ tn Heb “the ways of my people.” For this nuance of the word “ways” compare 10:2 and the notes there.

[12:16]  ² tn Heb “taught my people to swear by Baal.”

[12:16]  ³ tn The words “I swear” are not in the text but are implicit to the oath formula. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[12:16]  ⁴ tn The words “If they do this” are not in the text. They are part of an attempt to break up a Hebrew sentence which is long and complex into equivalent shorter sentences consistent with contemporary English style. Verse 16 in Hebrew is all one sentence with a long complex conditional clause followed by a short consequence: “If they carefully learn the ways of my people to swear by name, ‘By the life of the Lord,’ as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they will be built up in the midst of my people.” The translation strives to create the same contingencies and modifications by breaking up the sentence into shorter sentences in accord with contemporary English style.

[12:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “they will be built up among my people.” The expression “be built up among” is without parallel. However, what is involved here is conceptually parallel to the ideas expressed in Isa 19:23-25 and Zech 14:16-19. That is, these people will be allowed to live on their own land, to worship the Lord there, and to come to Jerusalem to celebrate the feasts. To translate literally would be meaningless or misleading for many readers.

[14:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “Falsehood those prophets are prophesying in my name.” In the OT, the “name” reflected the person’s character (cf. Gen 27:36; 1 Sam 25:25) or his reputation (Gen 11:4; 2 Sam 8:13). To speak in someone’s name was to act as his representative or carry his authority (1 Sam 25:9; 1 Kgs 21:8).

[14:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “I did not command them.” Compare 1 Chr 22:12 for usage.

[14:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “divination and worthlessness.” The noun “worthlessness” stands as a qualifying “of” phrase (= to an adjective; an attributive genitive in Hebrew) after a noun in Zech 11:17; Job 13:4. This is an example of hendiadys where two nouns are joined by “and” with one serving as the qualifier of the other.

[14:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Thus says the Lord about.” The first person construction has been used in the translation for better English style.

[14:15]  ¹² tn Heb “Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who are prophesying in my name and I did not send them [= whom I did not send] and they are saying [= who are saying], ‘Sword and famine…’, by sword and famine those prophets will be killed.” This sentence has been restructured to conform to contemporary English style.

[29:21]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.”

[29:21]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “prophesying lies in my name.” For an explanation of this idiom see the study notes on 14:14 and 23:27.

[29:23]  ²¹ tn It is commonly assumed that this word is explained by the two verbal actions that follow. The word (נְבָלָה, nÿvalah) is rather commonly used of sins of unchastity (cf., e.g., Gen 34:7; Judg 19:23; 2 Sam 13:12) which would fit the reference to adultery. However, the word is singular and not likely to cover both actions that follow. The word is also used of the greedy act of Achan (Josh 7:15) which threatened Israel with destruction and the churlish behavior of Nabal (1 Sam 25:25) which threatened him and his household with destruction. The word is also used of foolish talk in Isa 9:17 (9:16 HT) and Isa 32:6. It is possible that this refers to a separate act, one that would have brought the death penalty from Nebuchadnezzar, i.e., the preaching of rebellion in conformity with the message of the false prophets in Jerusalem and other nations (cf. 27:9, 13). Hence it is possible that the translation should read: “This will happen because of their vile conduct. They have propagated rebellion. They have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives. They have spoken words that I did not command them to speak. They have spoken lies while claiming my authority.”

[29:23]  ²² tn Heb “prophesying lies in my name.” For an explanation of this idiom see the study notes on 14:14 and 23:27.

[29:23]  ²³ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”