Jeremiah 2:18

2:18 What good will it do you ¹  then ²  to go down to Egypt

to seek help from the Egyptians? ³ 

What good will it do you ⁴  to go over to Assyria

to seek help from the Assyrians? ⁵ 

Jeremiah 2:23

2:23 “How can you say, ‘I have not made myself unclean.

I have not paid allegiance to ⁶  the gods called Baal.’

Just look at the way you have behaved in the Valley of Hinnom! ⁷ 

Think about the things you have done there!

You are like a flighty, young female camel

that rushes here and there, crisscrossing its path. ⁸ 

Jeremiah 2:36

2:36 Why do you constantly go about

changing your political allegiances? ⁹ 

You will get no help from Egypt

just as you got no help from Assyria. ¹⁰ 

[2:18]  ¹ tn Heb “What to you to the way.”

[2:18]  ² tn The introductory particle וְעַתָּה (vÿ’attah, “and now”) carries a logical, not temporal, connotation here (cf. BDB 274 s.v. עַתָּה 2.b).

[2:18]  ³ tn Heb “to drink water from the Shihor [a branch of the Nile].” The reference is to seeking help through political alliance with Egypt as opposed to trusting in God for help. This is an extension of the figure in 2:13.

[2:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “What to you to the way.”

[2:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “to drink water from the River [a common designation in biblical Hebrew for the Euphrates River].” This refers to seeking help through political alliance. See the preceding note.

[2:23]  ⁶ tn Heb “I have not gone/followed after.” See the translator’s note on 2:5 for the meaning and usage of this idiom.

[2:23]  ⁷ tn Heb “Look at your way in the valley.” The valley is an obvious reference to the Valley of Hinnom where Baal and Molech were worshiped and child sacrifice was practiced.

[2:23]  ⁸ sn The metaphor is intended to depict Israel’s lack of clear direction and purpose without the Lord’s control.

[2:36]  ⁹ tn Heb “changing your way.” The translation follows the identification of the Hebrew verb here as a defective writing of a form (תֵּזְלִי [tezÿli] instead of תֵּאזְלִי [te’zÿli]) from a verb meaning “go/go about” (אָזַל [’azal]; cf. BDB 23 s.v. אָזַל). Most modern English versions, commentaries, and lexicons read it from a root meaning “to treat cheaply [or lightly]” (תָּזֵלִּי [tazelli] from the root זָלַל (zalal); cf. HALOT 261 s.v. זָלַל); hence, “Why do you consider it such a small matter to…”

[2:36]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “You will be ashamed/disappointed by Egypt, just as you were ashamed/ disappointed by Assyria.”