Jeremiah 17:16

17:16 But I have not pestered you to bring disaster. ¹ 

I have not desired the time of irreparable devastation. ² 

You know that.

You are fully aware of every word that I have spoken. ³ 

Jeremiah 48:2

48:2 People will not praise Moab any more.

The enemy will capture Heshbon ⁴  and plot ⁵  how to destroy Moab, ⁶ 

saying, ‘Come, let’s put an end to that nation!’

City of Madmen, you will also be destroyed. ⁷ 

A destructive army will march against you. ⁸ 

Jeremiah 12:6

12:6 As a matter of fact, ⁹  even your own brothers

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

Even they have plotted to do away with you. ¹⁰ 

So do not trust them even when they say kind things ¹¹  to you.

[17:16]  ¹ tc Heb “I have not run after you for the sake of disaster.” The translation follows the suggestion of some ancient versions. The Hebrew text reads “I have not run from being a shepherd after you.” The translation follows two Greek versions (Aquila and Symmachus) and the Syriac in reading the word “evil” or “disaster” here in place of the word “shepherd” in the Hebrew text. The issue is mainly one of vocalization. The versions mentioned are reading a form מֵרָעָה (mera’ah) instead of מֵרֹעֶה (mero’eh). There does not appear to be any clear case of a prophet being called a shepherd, especially in Jeremiah where it is invariably used of the wicked leaders/rulers of Judah, the leaders/rulers of the enemy that he brings to punish them, or the righteous ruler that he will bring in the future. Moreover, there are no cases where the preposition “after” is used with the verb “shepherd.” Parallelism also argues for the appropriateness of this reading; “disaster” parallels the “incurable day.” The thought also parallels the argument thus far. Other than 11:20; 12:3; 15:15 where he has prayed for vindication by the Lord punishing his persecutors as they deserve, he has invariably responded to the Lord’s word of disaster with laments and prayers for his people (see 4:19-21; 6:24; 8:18; 10:19-25; 14:7-9, 19-22).

[17:16]  ² tn Heb “the incurable day.” For the use of this word see the note on 17:9.

[17:16]  ³ tn Heb “that which goes out of my lip is right in front of your face.”

[48:2]  ⁴ sn Heshbon was originally a Moabite city but was captured by Sihon king of Og and made his capital (Num 21:26-30). It was captured from Sihon and originally assigned to the tribe of Reuben (Num 32:37; Josh 13:17). Later it was made a Levitical city and was assigned to the tribe of Gad (Josh 21:39). It formed the northern limits of Moab. It was located about eighteen miles east of the northern tip of the Dead Sea.

[48:2]  ⁵ sn There is a wordplay in Hebrew on the word “Heshbon” and the word “plot” (חָשְׁבוּ, khoshvu).

[48:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “In Heshbon they plot evil against her [i.e., Moab].” The “they” is undefined, but it would scarcely be Moabites living in Heshbon. Hence TEV and CEV are probably correct in seeing a reference to the enemy which would imply the conquest of this city which lay on the northern border of Moab.

[48:2]  ⁷ tn The meaning of this line is somewhat uncertain. The translation here follows all the modern English versions and commentaries in reading the place name “Madmen” even though the place is otherwise unknown and the Greek, Syriac, and Latin version all read this word as an emphasizing infinitive absolute of the following verb “will be destroyed,” i.e. דָּמוֹם יִדֹּמּוּ (damom yiddommu). Some see this word as a variant of the name Dimon in Isa 15:9 which in turn is a playful variant of the place name Dibon. There is once again a wordplay on the word “Madmen” and “will be destroyed”: מַדְמֵן (madmen) and יִדֹּמּוּ (yiddommu). For the meaning of the verb = “perish” or “be destroyed” see Jer 8:14; Ps 31:18.

[48:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “A sword will follow after you.” The sword is again figurative of destructive forces, here the army of the Babylonians.

[12:6]  ⁷ tn This is an attempt to give some contextual sense to the particle “for, indeed” (כִּי, ki).

[12:6]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Heb “good things.” See BDB 373 s.v. II טוֹב 2 for this nuance and compare Prov 12:25 for usage.