Jeremiah 13:13

13:13 Then ¹  tell them, ‘The Lord says, “I will soon fill all the people who live in this land with stupor. ²  I will also fill the kings from David’s dynasty, ³  the priests, the prophets, and the citizens of Jerusalem with stupor. ⁴ 

Jeremiah 22:30

22:30 The Lord says,

“Enroll this man in the register as though he were childless. ⁵ 

Enroll him as a man who will not enjoy success during his lifetime.

For none of his sons will succeed in occupying the throne of David

or ever succeed in ruling over Judah.”

Jeremiah 33:15

33:15 In those days and at that time I will raise up for them a righteous descendant ⁶  of David.

“‘He will do what is just and right in the land.

Jeremiah 33:17

33:17 For I, the Lord, promise: “David will never lack a successor to occupy ⁷  the throne over the nation of Israel. ⁸ 

Jeremiah 33:21

33:21 could my covenant with my servant David and my covenant with the Levites ever be broken. So David will by all means always have a descendant to occupy his throne as king and the Levites will by all means always have priests who will minister before me. ⁹ 

Jeremiah 33:2

33:2 “I, the Lord, do these things. I, the Lord, form the plan to bring them about. ¹⁰  I am known as the Lord. I say to you,

Jeremiah 7:16

7:16 Then the Lord said, ¹¹  “As for you, Jeremiah, ¹²  do not pray for these people! Do not cry out to me or petition me on their behalf! Do not plead with me to save them, ¹³  because I will not listen to you.

Jeremiah 7:1

Faulty Religion and Unethical Behavior Will Lead to Judgment

7:1 The Lord said to Jeremiah: ¹⁴ 

Jeremiah 9:4-5

9:4 Everyone must be on his guard around his friends.

He must not even trust any of his relatives. ¹⁵ 

For every one of them will find some way to cheat him. ¹⁶ 

And all of his friends will tell lies about him.

9:5 One friend deceives another

and no one tells the truth.

These people have trained themselves ¹⁷  to tell lies.

They do wrong and are unable to repent.

Psalms 89:29-37

89:29 I will give him an eternal dynasty, ¹⁸ 

and make his throne as enduring as the skies above. ¹⁹ 

89:30 If his sons reject my law

and disobey my regulations,

89:31 if they break ²⁰  my rules

and do not keep my commandments,

89:32 I will punish their rebellion by beating them with a club, ²¹ 

their sin by inflicting them with bruises. ²² 

89:33 But I will not remove ²³  my loyal love from him,

nor be unfaithful to my promise. ²⁴ 

89:34 I will not break ²⁵  my covenant

or go back on what I promised. ²⁶ 

89:35 Once and for all I have vowed by my own holiness,

I will never deceive ²⁷  David.

89:36 His dynasty will last forever. ²⁸ 

His throne will endure before me, like the sun, ²⁹ 

89:37 it will remain stable, like the moon, ³⁰ 

his throne will endure like the skies.” ³¹  (Selah)

Psalms 132:11-12

132:11 The Lord made a reliable promise to David; ³² 

he will not go back on his word. ³³ 

He said, ³⁴  “I will place one of your descendants ³⁵  on your throne.

132:12 If your sons keep my covenant

and the rules I teach them,

their sons will also sit on your throne forever.”

Isaiah 9:7

9:7 His dominion will be vast ³⁶ 

and he will bring immeasurable prosperity. ³⁷ 

He will rule on David’s throne

and over David’s kingdom, ³⁸ 

establishing it ³⁹  and strengthening it

by promoting justice and fairness, ⁴⁰ 

from this time forward and forevermore.

The Lord’s intense devotion to his people ⁴¹  will accomplish this.

Luke 1:32-33

1:32 He ⁴²  will be great, ⁴³  and will be called the Son of the Most High, ⁴⁴  and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father ⁴⁵  David. 1:33 He ⁴⁶  will reign over the house of Jacob ⁴⁷  forever, and his kingdom will never end.”

[13:13]  ¹ tn The Greek version is likely right in interpreting the construction of two perfects preceded by the conjunction as contingent or consequential here, i.e., “and when they say…then say.” See GKC 494 §159.g. However, to render literally would create a long sentence. Hence, the words “will probably” have been supplied in v. 12 in the translation to set up the contingency/consequential sequence in the English sentences.

[13:13]  ² sn It is probably impossible to convey in a simple translation all the subtle nuances that are wrapped up in the words of this judgment speech. The word translated “stupor” here is literally “drunkenness” but the word has in the context an undoubted intended double reference. It refers first to the drunken like stupor of confusion on the part of leaders and citizens of the land which will cause them to clash with one another. But it also probably refers to the reeling under God’s wrath that results from this (cf. Jer 25:15-29, especially vv. 15-16). Moreover there is still the subtle little play on wine jars. The people are like the wine jars which were supposed to be filled with wine. They were to be a special people to bring glory to God but they had become corrupt. Hence, like wine jars they would be smashed against one another and broken to pieces (v. 14). All of this, both “fill them with the stupor of confusion” and “make them reel under God’s wrath,” cannot be conveyed in one translation.

[13:13]  ³ tn Heb “who sit on David’s throne.”

[13:13]  ⁴ tn In Hebrew this is all one long sentence with one verb governing compound objects. It is broken up here in conformity with English style.

[22:30]  ⁵ tn Heb “Write this man childless.” For the explanation see the study note. The word translated “childless” has spawned some debate because Jeconiah was in fact not childless. There is record from both the Bible and ancient Near Eastern texts that he had children (see, e.g., 1 Chr 3:17). G. R. Driver, “Linguistic and Textual Problems: Jeremiah,” JQR 28 (1937-38): 115, has suggested that the word both here and in Lev 20:20-21 should be translated “stripped of honor.” While that would relieve some of the difficulties here, the word definitely means “childless” in Gen 15:2 and also in Sir 16:3 where it is contrasted with having godless children. The issue is not one of childlessness but of having “one of his sons” succeed to the Davidic throne. The term for “one of his sons” is literally “from his seed a man” and the word “seed” is the same one that is used to refer to his “children” who were forced into exile with him (v. 28).

[33:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “sprig” or “shoot.”

[33:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “a man shall not be cut off to David [i.e., belonging to the Davidic line] sitting on the throne of the house of Israel.”

[33:17]  ⁸ sn It should be noted once again that the reference is to all Israel, not just to Judah (cf. Jer 23:5-6; 30:9).

[33:21]  ⁹ tn The very complex and elliptical syntax of the original Hebrew of vv. 20-21 has been broken down to better conform with contemporary English style. The text reads somewhat literally (after the addition of a couple of phrases which have been left out by ellipsis): “Thus says the Lord, ‘If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night so that there is not to be daytime and night in their proper time then also my covenant can be broken with my servant David so that there is not to him a son reigning upon his throne [and also my covenant can be broken] with the Levites [so there are not] priests who minister to me.” The two phrases in brackets are elliptical, the first serving double duty for the prepositional phrase “with the Levites” as well as “with David” and the second serving double duty with the noun “priests” which parallels “a son.” The noun “priests” is not serving here as appositional because that phrase is always “the priests, the Levites,” never “the Levites, the priests.”

[33:2]  ¹⁰ tn Or “I, the Lord, made the earth. I formed it in such a way as to firmly establish it”; Heb “Thus says the Lord who makes/does it, the Lord who forms it to establish it, whose name is the Lord.” It is unclear what the antecedent of “it” is. The Greek version supplies the object “the earth.” However, as D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 4:269, notes, this is probably a smoothing of a text which had no object other than the pronoun. No other text or version has an object other than the pronoun. It could be argued that “the earth” is to be understood as the intended referent from other contexts within the book of Jeremiah (Jer 10:12, 16; 51:15) where these verbs refer to the Lord as creator and from the prior context in 32:17 where the Lord’s power as creator is the basis for the assertion that nothing is too hard for him. This is the object that is supplied in a number of modern English versions and commentaries. However, the use of the feminine singular pronoun in other contexts to refer to an indefinite reality which is spelled out in the preceding or following context (cf. 2 Kgs 19:25; Isa 22:11; 37:26; 44:7) lends credence to the suggestion by the committee for The Hebrew Old Testament Project that the pronoun refers to the work or plan of the Lord, a view which is reflected in the NJPS and has been adopted here. For the use of the verb “form” here in the sense of “plan” see BDB 427 s.v. יָצַר 2.b and compare the usage in Isa 22:11; 37:26. The best discussion of options is given in G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, T. G. Smothers, Jeremiah 26-52 (WBC), 169-70, who see the pronoun referring ahead to the great and hidden things of v. 3. As in several other cases our translation has opted for a first person introduction rather than the third person of the original because the Lord himself is speaking.

[7:16]  ¹¹ tn The words “Then the Lord said” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[7:16]  ¹² tn Heb “As for you.” The personal name Jeremiah is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[7:16]  ¹³ tn The words “to save them” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[7:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord.”

[9:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Be on your guard…Do not trust.” The verbs are second masculine plural of direct address and there seems no way to translate literally and not give the mistaken impression that Jeremiah is being addressed. This is another example of the tendency in Hebrew style to turn from description to direct address (a figure of speech called apostrophe).

[9:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “cheating, each of them will cheat.”

[9:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “their tongues.” However, this is probably not a natural idiom in contemporary English and the tongue may stand as a part for the whole anyway.

[89:29]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and I will set in place forever his offspring.”

[89:29]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and his throne like the days of the heavens.”

[89:31]  ²⁰ tn Or “desecrate.”

[89:32]  ²¹ tn Heb “I will punish with a club their rebellion.”

[89:32]  ²² tn Heb “with blows their sin.”

[89:33]  ²³ tn Heb “break”; “make ineffectual.” Some prefer to emend אָפִיר (’afir; the Hiphil of פָּרַר, parar, “to break”) to אָסִיר (’asir; the Hiphil of סוּר, sur, “to turn aside”), a verb that appears in 2 Sam 7:15.

[89:33]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and I will not deal falsely with my faithfulness.”

[89:34]  ²⁵ tn Or “desecrate.”

[89:34]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and what proceeds out of my lips I will not alter.”

[89:35]  ²⁷ tn Or “lie to.”

[89:36]  ²⁸ tn Heb “his offspring forever will be.”

[89:36]  ²⁹ tn Heb “and his throne like the sun before me.”

[89:37]  ³⁰ tn Heb “like the moon it will be established forever.”

[89:37]  ³¹ tn Heb “and a witness in the sky, secure.” Scholars have offered a variety of opinions as to the identity of the “witness” referred to here, none of which is very convincing. It is preferable to join וְעֵד (vÿ’ed) to עוֹלָם (’olam) in the preceding line and translate the commonly attested phrase עוֹלָם וְעֵד (“forever”). In this case one may translate the second line, “[it] will be secure like the skies.” Another option (the one reflected in the present translation) is to take עד as a rare noun meaning “throne” or “dais.” This noun is attested in Ugaritic; see, for example, CTA 16 vi 22-23, where ksi (= כִּסֵּא, kisse’, “throne”) and ’d (= עד, “dais”) appear as synonyms in the poetic parallelism (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 91). Emending בַּשַּׁחַק (bashakhaq, “in the heavens”) to כַּשַׁחַק (kashakhaq, “like the heavens”) – bet/kaf (כ/ב) confusion is widely attested – one can then read “[his] throne like the heavens [is] firm/stable.” Verse 29 refers to the enduring nature of the heavens, while Job 37:18 speaks of God spreading out the heavens (שְׁחָקִים, shÿkhaqim) and compares their strength to a bronze mirror. Ps 89:29 uses the term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim, “skies”) which frequently appears in parallelism to שְׁחָקִים.

[132:11]  ³² tn Heb “the Lord swore an oath to David [in] truth.”

[132:11]  ³³ tn Heb “he will not turn back from it.”

[132:11]  ³⁴ tn The words “he said” are supplied in the translation to clarify that what follows are the Lord’s words.

[132:11]  ³⁵ tn Heb “the fruit of your body.”

[9:7]  ³⁶ tc The Hebrew text has לְםַרְבֵּה (lÿmarbeh), which is a corrupt reading. לם is dittographic; note the preceding word, שָׁלוֹם (shalom). The corrected text reads literally, “great is the dominion.”

[9:7]  ³⁷ tn Heb “and to peace there will be no end” (KJV and ASV both similar). On the political and socio-economic sense of שָׁלוֹם (shalom) in this context, see the note at v. 6 on “Prince of Peace.”

[9:7]  ³⁸ tn Heb “over the throne of David, and over his kingdom.” The referent of the pronoun “his” (i.e., David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:7]  ³⁹ tn The feminine singular pronominal suffix on this form and the following one (translated “it” both times) refers back to the grammatically feminine noun “kingdom.”

[9:7]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “with/by justice and fairness”; ASV “with justice and with righteousness.”

[9:7]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “the zeal of the Lord.” In this context the Lord’s “zeal” refers to his intense devotion to and love for his people which prompts him to vindicate them and to fulfill his promises to David and the nation.

[1:32]  ⁴² tn Grk “this one.”

[1:32]  ⁴³ sn Compare the description of Jesus as great here with 1:15, “great before the Lord.” Jesus is greater than John, since he is Messiah compared to a prophet. Great is stated absolutely without qualification to make the point.

[1:32]  ⁴⁴ sn The expression Most High is a way to refer to God without naming him. Such avoiding of direct reference to God was common in 1st century Judaism out of reverence for the divine name.

[1:32]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “ancestor.”

[1:33]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. A new sentence is begun here in the translation because of the length of the sentence in Greek.

[1:33]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “over Israel.”