Jeremiah 2:26

2:26 Just as a thief has to suffer dishonor when he is caught,

so the people of Israel ¹  will suffer dishonor for what they have done. ² 

So will their kings and officials,

their priests and their prophets.

Jeremiah 4:19

4:19 I said, ³ 

“Oh, the feeling in the pit of my stomach! ⁴ 

I writhe in anguish.

Oh, the pain in my heart! ⁵ 

My heart pounds within me.

I cannot keep silent.

For I hear the sound of the trumpet; ⁶ 

the sound of the battle cry pierces my soul! ⁷ 

Jeremiah 7:4

7:4 Stop putting your confidence in the false belief that says, ⁸  “We are safe! ⁹  The temple of the Lord is here! The temple of the Lord is here! The temple of the Lord is here!” ¹⁰ 

Jeremiah 9:16

9:16 I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors ¹¹  have known anything about. I will send people chasing after them with swords ¹²  until I have destroyed them.’” ¹³ 

Jeremiah 17:18

17:18 May those who persecute me be disgraced.

Do not let me be disgraced.

May they be dismayed.

Do not let me be dismayed.

Bring days of disaster on them.

Bring on them the destruction they deserve.” ¹⁴ 

Jeremiah 25:14

25:14 For many nations and great kings will make slaves of the king of Babylon and his nation ¹⁵  too. I will repay them for all they have done!’” ¹⁶ 

Jeremiah 44:3

44:3 This happened because of the wickedness the people living there did. ¹⁷  They made me angry ¹⁸  by worshiping and offering sacrifice to ¹⁹  other gods whom neither they nor you nor your ancestors ²⁰  previously knew. ²¹ 

Jeremiah 46:5

46:5 What do I see?” ²²  says the Lord. ²³ 

“The soldiers ²⁴  are terrified.

They are retreating.

They have been defeated.

They are overcome with terror; ²⁵ 

they desert quickly

without looking back.

[2:26]  ¹ tn Heb “house of Israel.”

[2:26]  ² tn The words “for what they have done” are implicit in the comparison and are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[4:19]  ³ tn The words “I said” are not in the text. They are used to mark the shift from the Lord’s promise of judgment to Jeremiah’s lament concerning it.

[4:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “My bowels! My bowels!”

[4:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “the walls of my heart!”

[4:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “ram’s horn,” but the modern equivalent is “trumpet” and is more readily understandable.

[4:19]  ⁷ tc The translation reflects a different division of the last two lines than that suggested by the Masoretes. The written text (the Kethib) reads “for the sound of the ram’s horn I have heard [or “you have heard,” if the form is understood as the old second feminine singular perfect] my soul” followed by “the battle cry” in the last line. The translation is based on taking “my soul” with the last line and understanding an elliptical expression “the battle cry [to] my soul.” Such an elliptical expression is in keeping with the elliptical nature of the exclamations at the beginning of the verse (cf. the literal translations of the first two lines of the verse in the notes on the words “stomach” and “heart”).

[7:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “Stop trusting in lying words which say.”

[7:4]  ⁶ tn The words “We are safe!” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[7:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these (i.e., these buildings).” Elsewhere triple repetition seems to mark a kind of emphasis (cf. Isa 6:3; Jer 22:29; Ezek 21:27 [32 HT]). The triple repetition that follows seems to be Jeremiah’s way of mocking the (false) sense of security that people had in the invincibility of Jerusalem because God dwelt in the temple. They appeared to be treating the temple as some kind of magical charm. A similar feeling had grown up around the ark in the time of the judges (cf. 1 Sam 3:3) and the temple and city of Jerusalem in Micah’s day (cf. Mic 3:11). It is reflected also in some of the Psalms (cf., e.g., Ps 46, especially v. 5).

[9:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “fathers.”

[9:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “I will send the sword after them.” The sword here is probably not completely literal but refers to death by violent means, including death by the sword.

[9:16]  ⁹ sn He will destroy them but not completely. See Jer 5:18; 30:11; 46:28.

[17:18]  ⁹ tn Or “complete destruction.” See the translator’s note on 16:18.

[25:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “make slaves of them.” The verb form here indicates that the action is as good as done (the Hebrew prophetic perfect). For the use of the verb rendered “makes slaves” see parallel usage in Lev 25:39, 46 (cf. BDB 713 s.v. עָבַד 3).

[25:14]  ¹² tn Heb “according to their deeds and according to the work of their hands.” The two phrases are synonymous; it would be hard to represent them both in translation without being redundant. The translation attempts to represent them by the qualifier “all” before the first phrase.

[44:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “they.” The referent must be supplied from the preceding, i.e., Jerusalem and all the towns of Judah. “They” are those who have experienced the disaster and are distinct from those being addressed and their ancestors (44:3b).

[44:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “thus making me angry.” However, this is a good place to break the sentence to create a shorter sentence that is more in keeping with contemporary English style.

[44:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “by going to offer sacrifice in serving/worshiping.” The second לְ (lamed) + infinitive is epexegetical of the first (cf. IBHS 608-9 §36.2.3e).

[44:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 9, 10, 17, 21).

[44:3]  ¹⁷ sn Compare Jer 19:4 for the same thought and see also 7:9.

[46:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Why do I see?” The rendering is that of J. A. Thompson (Jeremiah [NICOT], 685, 88) and J. Bright (Jeremiah [AB], 301; TEV; NIV). The question is not asking for information but is expressing surprise or wonder (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 951).

[46:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “oracle of the Lord.” This phrase, which is part of a messenger formula (i.e., that the words that are spoken are from him), are actually at the end of the verse. They have been put here for better poetic balance and to better identify the “I.”

[46:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Their soldiers.” These words are actually at the midpoint of the stanza as the subject of the third of the five verbs. However, as G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, and T. G. Smothers (Jeremiah 26-52 [WBC], 291) note, this is the subject of all five verbs “are terrified,” “are retreating,” “have been defeated,” “have run away,” and “have not looked back.” The subject is put at the front to avoid an unidentified “they.”

[46:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “terror is all around.”