Jeremiah 2:31
Context2:31 You people of this generation,
listen to what the Lord says.
“Have I been like a wilderness to you, Israel?
Have I been like a dark and dangerous land to you? 1
Why then do you 2 say, ‘We are free to wander. 3
We will not come to you any more?’
Jeremiah 42:14
Context42:14 You must not say, ‘No, we will not stay. Instead we will go and live in the land of Egypt where we will not face war, 4 or hear the enemy’s trumpet calls, 5 or starve for lack of food.’ 6


[2:31] 1 tn Heb “a land of the darkness of Yah [= thick or deep darkness].” The idea of danger is an added connotation of the word in this context.
[2:31] 3 tn Or more freely, “free to do as we please.” There is some debate about the meaning of this verb (רוּד, rud) because its usage is rare and its meaning is debated in the few passages where it does occur. The key to its meaning may rest in the emended text (reading וְרַדְתִּי [vÿradti] for וְיָרַדְתִּי [vÿyaradti]) in Judg 11:37 where it refers to the roaming of Jephthah’s daughter on the mountains of Israel.
[42:14] 4 tn Heb “see [or experience] war.”
[42:14] 5 tn Heb “hear the sound of the trumpet.” The trumpet was used to gather the troops and to sound the alarm for battle.
[42:14] 6 tn Jer 42:13-14 are a long complex condition (protasis) whose consequence (apodosis) does not begin until v. 15. The Hebrew text of vv. 13-14 reads: 42:13 “But if you say [or continue to say (the form is a participle)], ‘We will not stay in this land’ with the result that you do not obey [or “more literally, do not hearken to the voice of] the