Jeremiah 2:14

Israel’s Reliance on Foreign Alliances (not on God)

2:14 “Israel is not a slave, is he?

He was not born into slavery, was he? ¹ 

If not, why then is he being carried off?

Jeremiah 12:17

12:17 But I will completely uproot and destroy any of those nations that will not pay heed,’” ²  says the Lord.

Jeremiah 22:16

22:16 He upheld the cause of the poor and needy.

So things went well for Judah.’ ³ 

The Lord says,

‘That is a good example of what it means to know me.’ ⁴ 

Jeremiah 33:1

The Lord Promises a Second Time to Restore Israel and Judah

33:1 The Lord spoke ⁵  to Jeremiah a second time while he was still confined in the courtyard of the guardhouse. ⁶ 

Jeremiah 33:15

33:15 In those days and at that time I will raise up for them a righteous descendant ⁷  of David.

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

Jeremiah 38:5

38:5 King Zedekiah said to them, “Very well, you can do what you want with him. ⁸  For I cannot do anything to stop you.” ⁹ 

Jeremiah 48:26

48:26 “Moab has vaunted itself against me.

So make him drunk with the wine of my wrath ¹⁰ 

until he splashes ¹¹  around in his own vomit,

until others treat him as a laughingstock.

Jeremiah 50:30

50:30 So her young men will fall in her city squares.

All her soldiers will be destroyed at that time,”

says the Lord. ¹² 

Jeremiah 50:38

50:38 A drought will come upon her land;

her rivers and canals will be dried up. ¹³ 

All of this will happen because her land is filled with idols. ¹⁴ 

Her people act like madmen because of ¹⁵  those idols they fear. ¹⁶ 

[2:14]  ¹ tn Heb “Is Israel a slave? Or is he a house born slave?” The questions are rhetorical, expecting a negative answer.

[12:17]  ² 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.

[22:16]  ³ tn The words “for Judah” are not in the text, but the absence of the preposition plus object as in the preceding verse suggests that this is a more general statement, i.e., “things went well for everyone.”

[22:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “Is that not what it means to know me.” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer. It is translated in the light of the context.

[33:1]  ⁴ sn The introductory statement here ties this incident in with the preceding chapter which was the first time that the Lord spoke to him about the matters discussed here. There is no indication of how much time passed between the two incidents though it appears that the situation has worsened somewhat (cf. v. 4).

[33:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time…, saying.”

[33:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “sprig” or “shoot.”

[38:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “Behold, he is in your hands [= power/control].”

[38:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “For the king cannot do a thing with/against you.” The personal pronoun “I” is substituted in the English translation due to differences in style; Hebrew style often uses the third person or the title in speaking of oneself but English rarely if ever does. Compare the common paraphrasis of “your servant” for “I” in Hebrew (cf. BDB 714 s.v. עֶבֶד 6 and usage in 1 Sam 20:7, 8) and compare the usage in Pss 63:11 (63:12 HT); 61:6 (61:7 HT) where the king is praying for himself. For the meaning of יָכֹל (yakhol) as “to be able to do anything,” see BDB 407 s.v. יָכֹל 1.g.

[48:26]  ⁷ tn Heb “Make him drunk because he has magnified himself against the Lord.” The first person has again been adopted for consistency within a speech of the Lord. Almost all of the commentaries relate the figure of drunkenness to the figure of drinking the cup of God’s wrath spelled out in Jer 25 where reference is made at one point to the nations drinking, staggering, vomiting, and falling (25:27 and see G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, T. G. Smothers, Jeremiah 26-52 [WBC], 316, for a full list of references to this figure including this passage and 49:12-13; 51:6-10, 39, 57).

[48:26]  ⁸ tn The meaning of this word is uncertain. It is usually used of clapping the hands or the thigh in helpless anger or disgust. Hence J. Bright (Jeremiah [AB], 321) paraphrases “shall vomit helplessly.” HALOT 722 s.v. II סָפַק relates this to an Aramaic word and see a homonym meaning “vomit” or “spew out.” The translation is that of BDB 706 s.v. סָפַק Qal.3, “splash (fall with a splash),” from the same root that refers to slapping or clapping the thigh.

[50:30]  ⁸ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[50:38]  ⁹ tc Heb “a drought against her waters and they will dry up.” Several of the commentaries and modern English versions accept the emendation proposed by BHS and read here “sword” (חֶרֶב [kherev] in place of חֹרֶב [khorev], the change of only one vowel) in keeping with the rest of the context. According to BHS this reading is supported by the Lucianic and Hexaplaric recensions of the LXX (the Greek version) and the Syriac version. In this case the drying up of the waters (of the canals) is attributed to neglect brought about by war conditions. However, it is just as likely that these versions are influenced by the repetition of the word “sword” as the Hebrew and the other versions are influenced by the concept of “drying up” of the waters to read “drought.” Hence the present translation, along with the majority of modern English versions, retains the Hebrew “drought.”

[50:38]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “for it is a land of idols.” The “for,” however, goes back to the whole context not just to the preceding prediction (cf. BDB 473-74 s.v. כִּי 1.c and compare usage in Isa 21:6 listed there).

[50:38]  ¹¹ tc Or “Her people boast in.” This translation is based on the reading of the majority of Hebrew mss which read יִתְהֹלָלוּ (yitholalu; cf. usage in Jer 46:9 and see also 25:16; 51:7). Two Hebrew mss and the versions read יִתְהַלָּלוּ (yithallalu; cf. usage in Jer 4:2; 9:23, 24 and Ps 97:7 where a parallel expression is found with “idols”). The reading is again basically the difference in one Hebrew vowel. All of the modern commentaries consulted and all the modern English versions except NEB, REB follow the Hebrew text here rather than the versions.

[50:38]  ¹² tn Heb “by the terrors.” However, as HALOT 40 s.v. אֵימָה indicates these are “images that cause terror” (a substitution of the effect for the cause). The translation of this line follows the interpretation of the majority of modern English versions and all the commentaries consulted. NIV, NCV, and God’s Word reflect a different syntax, understanding the subject to be the idols just mentioned rather than “her people” which is supplied here for the sake of clarity (the Hebrew text merely says “they.”) Following that lead, one could render “but those idols will go mad with terror.” This makes excellent sense in the context which often refers to effects (vv. 36b, d, 37c, 38b) of the war that is coming. However, that interpretation does not fit as well with the following “therefore/so,” which basically introduces a judgment or consequence after an accusation of sin.