Jeremiah 12:17

12:17 But I will completely uproot and destroy any of those nations that will not pay heed,’” ¹  says the Lord.

Jeremiah 7:28

7:28 So tell them: ‘This is a nation that has not obeyed the Lord their God and has not accepted correction. Faithfulness is nowhere to be found in it. These people do not even profess it anymore. ² 

Jeremiah 18:8

18:8 But if that nation I threatened stops doing wrong, ³  I will cancel the destruction ⁴  I intended to do to it.

Jeremiah 27:13

27:13 There is no reason why you and your people should die in war ⁵  or from starvation or disease! ⁶  That’s what the Lord says will happen to any nation ⁷  that will not be subject to the king of Babylon.

Jeremiah 27:8

27:8 But suppose a nation or a kingdom will not be subject to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Suppose it will not submit to the yoke of servitude to ⁸  him. I, the Lord, affirm that ⁹  I will punish that nation. I will use the king of Babylon to punish it ¹⁰  with war, ¹¹  starvation, and disease until I have destroyed it. ¹² 

Jeremiah 25:12

25:12 “‘But when the seventy years are over, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation ¹³  for their sins. I will make the land of Babylon ¹⁴  an everlasting ruin. ¹⁵  I, the Lord, affirm it! ¹⁶ 

Jeremiah 49:36

49:36 I will cause enemies to blow through Elam from every direction

like the winds blowing in from the four quarters of heaven.

I will scatter the people of Elam to the four winds.

There will not be any nation where the refugees of Elam will not go. ¹⁷ 

[12:17]  ¹ tn Heb “But if they will not listen, I will uproot that nation, uprooting and destroying.” IBHS 590-91 §35.3.2d is likely right in seeing the double infinitive construction here as an intensifying infinitive followed by an adverbial infinitive qualifying the goal of the main verb, “uproot it in such a way as to destroy it.” However, to translate that way “literally” would not be very idiomatic in contemporary English. The translation strives for the equivalent. Likewise, to translate using the conditional structure of the original seems to put the emphasis of the passage in its context on the wrong point.

[7:28]  ² tn Heb “Faithfulness has vanished. It is cut off from their lips.”

[18:8]  ³ tn Heb “turns from its wickedness.”

[18:8]  ⁴ tn There is a good deal of debate about how the word translated here “revoke” should be translated. There is a good deal of reluctance to translate it “change my mind” because some see that as contradicting Num 23:19 and thus prefer “relent.” However, the English word “relent” suggests the softening of an attitude but not necessarily the change of course. It is clear that in many cases (including here) an actual change of course is in view (see, e.g., Amos 7:3, 6; Jonah 3:9; Jer 26:19; Exod 13:17; 32:14). Several of these passages deal with “conditional” prophecies where a change in behavior of the people or the mediation of a prophet involves the change in course of the threatened punishment (or the promised benefit). “Revoke” or “forgo” may be the best way to render this in contemporary English idiom.

[27:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “with/by the sword.”

[27:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “Why should you and your people die…?” The rhetorical question expects the answer made explicit in the translation, “There is no reason!”

[27:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “…disease according to what the Lord spoke concerning the nation that…”

[27:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “put their necks in the yoke of.” See the study note on v. 2 for the figure.

[27:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “oracle of the Lord.”

[27:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “The nation and/or the kingdom which will not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and which will not put its neck in the yoke of the king of Babylon, by sword, starvation, and disease I will punish [or more literally, “visit upon”] that nation, oracle of the Lord.” The long complex Hebrew sentence has been broken up in conformity with contemporary English style and the figures interpreted for the sake of clarity. The particle אֵת, the sign of the accusative, before “which will not put…” is a little unusual here. For its use to introduce a new topic (here a second relative clause) see BDB 85 s.v. אֵת 3.α.

[27:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “with/by the sword.”

[27:8]  ⁹ tc The verb translated “destroy” (תָּמַם, tamam) is usually intransitive in the stem of the verb used here. It is found in a transitive sense elsewhere only in Ps 64:7. BDB 1070 s.v. תָּמַם 7 emends both texts. In this case they recommend תִּתִּי (titi): “until I give them into his hand.” That reading is suggested by the texts of the Syriac and Targumic translations (see BHS fn c). The Greek translation supports reading the verb “destroy” but treats it as though it were intransitive “until they are destroyed by his hand” (reading תֻּמָּם [tummam]). The MT here is accepted as the more difficult reading and support is seen in the transitive use of the verb in Ps 64:7.

[25:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “that nation.”

[25:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “the land of the Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for the use of the term “Chaldeans.”

[25:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “I will visit upon the king of Babylon and upon that nation, oracle of the Lord, their iniquity even upon the land of the Chaldeans and I will make it everlasting ruins.” The sentence has been restructured to avoid ambiguity and to conform the style more to contemporary English.

[25:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[49:36]  ⁷ tn Or more simply, “I will bring enemies against Elam from every direction. / And I will scatter the people of Elam to the four winds. // There won’t be any nation / where the refugees of Elam will not go.” Or more literally, “I will bring the four winds against Elam / from the four quarters of heaven. / I will scatter….” However, the winds are not to be understood literally here. God isn’t going to “blow the Elamites” out of Elam with natural forces. The winds must figuratively represent enemy forces that God will use to drive them out. Translating literally would be misleading at this point.