Jeremiah 17:2

17:2 Their children are always thinking about ¹  their ²  altars

and their sacred poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah, ³ 

set up beside the green trees on the high hills

Jeremiah 2:20

The Lord Expresses His Exasperation at Judah’s Persistent Idolatry

2:20 “Indeed, ⁴  long ago you threw off my authority

and refused to be subject to me. ⁵ 

You said, ‘I will not serve you.’ ⁶ 

Instead, you gave yourself to other gods on every high hill

and under every green tree,

like a prostitute sprawls out before her lovers. ⁷ 

Jeremiah 3:6

3:6 When Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, you have no doubt seen what wayward Israel has done. ⁸  You have seen how she went up to every high hill and under every green tree to give herself like a prostitute to other gods. ⁹ 

Jeremiah 51:58

51:58 This is what the Lord who rules over all ¹⁰  says,

“Babylon’s thick wall ¹¹  will be completely demolished. ¹² 

Her high gates will be set on fire.

The peoples strive for what does not satisfy. ¹³ 

The nations grow weary trying to get what will be destroyed.” ¹⁴ 

[17:2]  ¹ tn It is difficult to convey in good English style the connection between this verse and the preceding. The text does not have a finite verb but a temporal preposition with an infinitive: Heb “while their children remember their altars…” It is also difficult to translate the verb “literally.” (i.e., what does “remember” their altars mean?). Hence it has been rendered “always think about.” Another possibility would be “have their altars…on their minds.”

[17:2]  ² tc This reading follows many Hebrew mss and ancient versions. Many other Hebrew mss read “your” [masc. pl.].

[17:2]  ³ sn Sacred poles dedicated to…Asherah. A leading deity of the Canaanite pantheon was Asherah, wife/sister of El and goddess of fertility. She was commonly worshiped at shrines in or near groves of evergreen trees, or, failing that, at places marked by wooden poles (Hebrew אֲשֵׁרִים [’asherim], plural). They were to be burned or cut down (Deut 7:5; 12:3; 16:21; Judg 6:25, 28, 30; 2 Kgs 18:4).

[2:20]  ⁴ tn Or “For.” The Hebrew particle (כִּי, ki) here introduces the evidence that they had no respect for him.

[2:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “you broke your yoke…tore off your yoke ropes.” The metaphor is that of a recalcitrant ox or heifer which has broken free from its master.

[2:20]  ⁶ tc The MT of this verse has two examples of the old second feminine singular perfect, שָׁבַרְתִּי (shavarti) and נִתַּקְתִּי (nittaqti), which the Masoretes mistook for first singulars leading to the proposal to read אֶעֱבוֹר (’e’evor, “I will not transgress”) for אֶעֱבֹד (’e’evod, “I will not serve”). The latter understanding of the forms is accepted in KJV but rejected by almost all modern English versions as being less appropriate to the context than the reading accepted in the translation given here.

[2:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “you sprawled as a prostitute on….” The translation reflects the meaning of the metaphor.

[3:6]  ⁷ tn “Have you seen…” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.

[3:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “she played the prostitute there.” This is a metaphor for Israel’s worship; she gave herself to the worship of other gods like a prostitute gives herself to her lovers. There seems no clear way to completely spell out the metaphor in the translation.

[51:58]  ¹⁰ sn See the note at Jer 2:19.

[51:58]  ¹¹ tn The text has the plural “walls,” but many Hebrew mss read the singular “wall,” which is also supported by the ancient Greek version. The modifying adjective “thick” is singular as well.

[51:58]  ¹² tn The infinitive absolute emphasizes the following finite verb. Another option is to translate, “will certainly be demolished.”

[51:58]  ¹³ tn Heb “for what is empty.”

[51:58]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and the nations for fire, and they grow weary.”