Jeremiah 18:8

18:8 But if that nation I threatened stops doing wrong, ¹  I will cancel the destruction ²  I intended to do to it.

Jeremiah 23:27

23:27 How long will they go on plotting ³  to make my people forget who I am ⁴  through the dreams they tell one another? That is just as bad as what their ancestors ⁵  did when they forgot who I am by worshiping the god Baal. ⁶ 

Jeremiah 26:3

26:3 Maybe they will pay attention and each of them will stop living the evil way they do. ⁷  If they do that, then I will forgo destroying them ⁸  as I had intended to do because of the wicked things they have been doing. ⁹ 

Jeremiah 48:2

48:2 People will not praise Moab any more.

The enemy will capture Heshbon ¹⁰  and plot ¹¹  how to destroy Moab, ¹² 

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

City of Madmen, you will also be destroyed. ¹³ 

A destructive army will march against you. ¹⁴ 

Jeremiah 11:19

11:19 Before this I had been like a docile lamb ready to be led to the slaughter.

I did not know they were making plans to kill me. ¹⁵ 

I did not know they were saying, ¹⁶ 

“Let’s destroy the tree along with its fruit! ¹⁷ 

Let’s remove Jeremiah ¹⁸  from the world of the living

so people will not even be reminded of him any more.” ¹⁹ 

Jeremiah 18:11

18:11 So now, tell the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem ²⁰  this: The Lord says, ‘I am preparing to bring disaster on you! I am making plans to punish you. ²¹  So, every one of you, stop the evil things you have been doing. ²²  Correct the way you have been living and do what is right.’ ²³ 

Jeremiah 18:18

Jeremiah Petitions the Lord to Punish Those Who Attack Him

18:18 Then some people ²⁴  said, “Come on! Let us consider how to deal with Jeremiah! ²⁵  There will still be priests to instruct us, wise men to give us advice, and prophets to declare God’s word. ²⁶  Come on! Let’s bring charges against him and get rid of him! ²⁷  Then we will not need to pay attention to anything he says.”

Jeremiah 29:11

29:11 For I know what I have planned for you,’ says the Lord. ²⁸  ‘I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you ²⁹  a future filled with hope. ³⁰ 

Jeremiah 36:3

36:3 Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about all the disaster I intend to bring on them, they will all stop doing the evil things they have been doing. ³¹  If they do, I will forgive their sins and the wicked things they have done.” ³² 

Jeremiah 49:20

49:20 So listen to what I, the Lord, have planned against Edom,

what I intend to do to ³³  the people who live in Teman. ³⁴ 

Their little ones will be dragged off.

I will completely destroy their land because of what they have done. ³⁵ 

Jeremiah 49:30

49:30 The Lord says, ³⁶  “Flee quickly, you who live in Hazor. ³⁷ 

Take up refuge in remote places. ³⁸ 

For King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has laid out plans to attack you.

He has formed his strategy on how to defeat you.” ³⁹ 

Jeremiah 50:45

50:45 So listen to what I, the Lord, have planned against Babylon,

what I intend to do to the people who inhabit the land of Babylonia. ⁴⁰ 

Their little ones will be dragged off.

I will completely destroy their land because of what they have done.

[18:8]  ¹ tn Heb “turns from its wickedness.”

[18:8]  ² 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.

[23:27]  ³ tn The relation of the words to one another in v. 26 and the beginning of v. 27 has created difficulties for translators and commentators. The proper solution is reflected in the NJPS. Verses 26-27 read somewhat literally, “How long is there in the hearts of the prophets who are prophesying the lie and [in the hearts of] the prophets of the delusions of their [own] heart the plotting to cause my people to forget my name…” Most commentaries complain that the text is corrupt, that there is no subject for “is there.” However, the long construct qualification “in the hearts of” has led to the lack of observation that the proper subject is “the plotting to make my people forget.” There are no exact parallels but Jer 14:22; Neh 5:5 follow the same structure. The “How long” precedes the other means of asking a question for the purpose of emphasis (cf. BDB 210 s.v. הֲ 1.b and compare for example the usage in 2 Sam 7:7). There has also been a failure to see that “the prophets of the delusion of…” is a parallel construct noun after “heart of.” Stripping the syntax down to its barest minimum and translating literally, the sentence would read “How long will the plotting…continue in the hearts of the prophets who…and [in hearts of] the prophets of…” The sentence has been restructured in the translation to conform to contemporary English style but attempt has been made to maintain the same subordinations.

[23:27]  ⁴ tn Heb “my name.”

[23:27]  ⁵ tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 39).

[23:27]  ⁶ tn Heb “through Baal.” This is an elliptical expression for the worship of Baal. See 11:17; 12:16; 19:5 for other references to their relation to Baal. There is a deliberate paralleling in the syntax here between “through their dreams” and “through Baal.”

[26:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “will turn from his wicked way.”

[26:3]  ⁶ tn For the idiom and translation of terms involved here see 18:8 and the translator’s note there.

[26:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “because of the wickedness of their deeds.”

[48:2]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ sn There is a wordplay in Hebrew on the word “Heshbon” and the word “plot” (חָשְׁבוּ, khoshvu).

[48:2]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Heb “A sword will follow after you.” The sword is again figurative of destructive forces, here the army of the Babylonians.

[11:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “against me.” The words “to kill me” are implicit from the context and are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[11:19]  ¹⁰ tn The words “I did not know that they were saying” are not in the text. The quote is without formal introduction in the original. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[11:19]  ¹¹ tn This word and its pronoun (לַחְמוֹ, lakhmo, “its bread”) is often emended to read “in/with its sap” = “in its prime” (either לֵחוֹ [lekho] or לֵחְמוֹ [lekhÿmo]); the latter would be more likely and the מוֹ (mo) could be explained as a rare use of the old poetic third plural suffix for the third singular; cf. GKC 258 §91.l for general use and Ps 11:7 and Job 27:23 for third singular use. Though this fits the context nicely the emendation is probably unnecessary since the word “bread” is sometimes used of other foodstuff than grain or its products (cf. BDB 537 s.v. לֶחֶם 2.a).

[11:19]  ¹² tn Heb “cut it [or him] off.” The metaphor of the tree may be continued, though the verb “cut off” is used also of killing people. The rendering clarifies the meaning of the metaphor.

[11:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “so that his name will not be remembered any more.”

[18:11]  ¹¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[18:11]  ¹² sn Heb “I am forming disaster and making plans against you.” The word translated “forming” is the same as that for “potter,” so there is a wordplay taking the reader back to v. 5. They are in his hands like the clay in the hands of the potter. Since they have not been pliable he forms new plans. He still offers them opportunity to repent; but their response is predictable.

[18:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “Turn, each one from his wicked way.” See v. 8.

[18:11]  ¹⁴ tn Or “Make good your ways and your actions.” See the same expression in 7:3, 5.

[18:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “They.” The referent is unidentified; “some people” has been used in the translation.

[18:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Let us make plans against Jeremiah.” See 18:18 where this has sinister overtones as it does here.

[18:18]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Instruction will not perish from priest, counsel from the wise, word from the prophet.”

[18:18]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Let us smite him with our tongues.” It is clear from the context that this involved plots to kill him.

[29:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[29:11]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “I know the plans that I am planning for you, oracle of the Lord, plans of well-being and not for harm to give to you….”

[29:11]  ¹⁷ tn Or “the future you hope for”; Heb “a future and a hope.” This is a good example of hendiadys where two formally coordinated nouns (adjectives, verbs) convey a single idea where one of the terms functions as a qualifier of the other. For this figure see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 658-72. This example is discussed on p. 661.

[36:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “will turn each one from his wicked way.”

[36:3]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “their iniquity and their sin.”

[49:20]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Therefore listen to the plan of the Lord which he has planned against Edom, and the purposes which he has purposed against…” The first person has again been adopted in the translation to avoid the shift from the first person address in v. 19 to the third person in v. 20, a shift that is common in Hebrew poetry, particularly Hebrew prophecy, but which is not common in contemporary English literature.

[49:20]  ²⁰ sn Teman here appears to be a poetic equivalent for Edom, a common figure of speech in Hebrew poetry where the part is put for the whole. “The people of Teman” is thus equivalent to all the people of Edom.

[49:20]  ²¹ tn Heb “They will surely drag them off, namely the young ones of the flock. He will devastate their habitation [or their sheepfold] on account of them.” The figure of the lion among the flock of sheep appears to be carried on here where the people are referred to as a flock and their homeland is referred to as a sheepfold. It is hard, however, to carry the figure over here into the translation, so the figures have been interpreted instead. Both of these last two sentences are introduced by a formula that indicates a strong affirmative oath (i.e., they are introduced by אִם לֹא [’im lo’; cf. BDB 50 s.v. אִם 1.b(2)]). The subject of the verb “they will drag them off” is the indefinite third plural which may be taken as a passive in English (cf. GKC 460 §144.g). The subject of the last line is the Lord which has been rendered in the first person for stylistic reasons (see the translator’s note on the beginning of the verse).

[49:30]  ²¹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[49:30]  ²² map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 D3; Map3 A2; Map4 C1.

[49:30]  ²³ tn Heb “Make deep to dwell.” See Jer 49:8 and the translator’s note there. The use of this same phrase here argues against the alternative there of going down from a height and going back home.

[49:30]  ²⁴ tn Heb “has counseled a counsel against you, has planned a plan against you.”

[50:45]  ²³ tn The words “of Babylonia” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They have been supplied in the translation to clarify the referent.