Jeremiah 2:35

2:35 you say, ‘I have not done anything wrong,

so the Lord cannot really be angry with me any more.’

But, watch out! ¹  I will bring down judgment on you

because you say, ‘I have not committed any sin.’

Jeremiah 5:4

5:4 I thought, “Surely it is only the ignorant poor who act this way. ² 

They act like fools because they do not know what the Lord demands. ³ 

They do not know what their God requires of them. ⁴ 

Jeremiah 12:1

12:1 Lord, you have always been fair

whenever I have complained to you. ⁵ 

However, I would like to speak with you about the disposition of justice. ⁶ 

Why are wicked people successful? ⁷ 

Why do all dishonest people have such easy lives?

Jeremiah 26:24

26:24 However, Ahikam son of Shaphan ⁸  used his influence to keep Jeremiah from being handed over and executed by the people. ⁹ 

Jeremiah 34:4

34:4 However, listen to what I, the Lord, promise you, King Zedekiah of Judah. I, the Lord, promise that ¹⁰  you will not die in battle or be executed. ¹¹ 

[2:35]  ¹ tn This is an attempt to render the Hebrew particle often translated “behold” (הִנֵּה, hinneh) in a meaningful way in this context. See further the translator’s note on the word “really” in 1:6.

[5:4]  ² tn Heb “Surely they are poor.” The translation is intended to make clear the explicit contrasts and qualifications drawn in this verse and the next.

[5:4]  ³ tn Heb “the way of the Lord.”

[5:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “the judgment [or ordinance] of their God.”

[12:1]  ³ tn Or “Lord, you are fair when I present my case before you.”

[12:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “judgments” or “matters of justice.” For the nuance of “complain to,” “fair,” “disposition of justice” assumed here, see BDB 936 s.v. רִיב Qal.4 (cf. Judg 21:22); BDB 843 s.v. צַדִּיק 1.d (cf. Ps 7:12; 11:7); BDB 1049 s.v. מִשְׁפָּט 1.f (cf. Isa 26:8; Ps 10:5; Ezek 7:27).

[12:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “Why does the way [= course of life] of the wicked prosper?”

[26:24]  ⁴ sn Ahikam son of Shaphan was an official during the reign of Jehoiakim’s father, Josiah (2 Kgs 22:12, 14). He was also the father of Gedaliah who became governor of Judah after the fall of Jerusalem (Jer 40:5). The particle at the beginning of the verse is meant to contrast the actions of this man with the actions of Jehoiakim. The impression created by this verse is that it took more than just the royal officials’ opinion and the elders’ warnings to keep the priests and prophets from swaying popular opinion to put Jeremiah to death.

[26:24]  ⁵ tn Heb “Nevertheless, the hand of Ahikam son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah so that he would not be given (even more literally, ‘so as not to give him’) into the hand of the people to kill him.” “Hand” is often used for “aid,” “support,” “influence,” “power,” “control.”

[34:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “However, hear the word of the Lord, Zedekiah king of Judah, ‘Thus says the Lord to you, “You will not die by the sword.”’” The translation has tried to avoid the complexity created by embedding quotes within quotes and has used the first person address within the Lord’s speech as has also been done elsewhere.

[34:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “by the sword.”