Jeremiah 2:37

2:37 Moreover, you will come away from Egypt

with your hands covering your faces in sorrow and shame ¹ 

because the Lord will not allow your reliance on them to be successful

and you will not gain any help from them. ² 

Jeremiah 5:28

5:28 That is how ³  they have grown fat and sleek. ⁴ 

There is no limit to the evil things they do. ⁵ 

They do not plead the cause of the fatherless in such a way as to win it.

They do not defend the rights of the poor.

Jeremiah 12:1

12:1 Lord, you have always been fair

whenever I have complained to you. ⁶ 

However, I would like to speak with you about the disposition of justice. ⁷ 

Why are wicked people successful? ⁸ 

Why do all dishonest people have such easy lives?

Jeremiah 13:7

13:7 So I went to Perath and dug up ⁹  the shorts from the place where I had buried them. I found ¹⁰  that they were ruined; they were good for nothing.

Jeremiah 32:5

32:5 Zedekiah will be carried off to Babylon and will remain there until I have fully dealt with him. ¹¹  I, the Lord, affirm it! ¹²  Even if you ¹³  continue to fight against the Babylonians, ¹⁴  you cannot win.’”

[2:37]  ¹ tn Heb “with your hands on your head.” For the picture here see 2 Sam 13:19.

[2:37]  ² tn Heb “The Lord has rejected those you trust in; you will not prosper by/from them.”

[5:28]  ³ tn These words are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to show that this line is parallel with the preceding.

[5:28]  ⁴ tn The meaning of this word is uncertain. This verb occurs only here. The lexicons generally relate it to the word translated “plate” in Song 5:14 and understand it to mean “smooth, shiny” (so BDB 799 s.v. I עֶשֶׁת) or “fat” (so HALOT 850 s.v. II עֶשֶׁת). The word in Song 5:14 more likely means “smooth” than “plate” (so TEV). So “sleek” is most likely here.

[5:28]  ⁵ tn Heb “they cross over/transgress with respect to matters of evil.”

[12:1]  ⁵ tn Or “Lord, you are fair when I present my case before you.”

[12:1]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Heb “Why does the way [= course of life] of the wicked prosper?”

[13:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “dug and took.”

[13:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “And behold.”

[32:5]  ⁹ tn This is the verb (פָּקַד, paqad) that has been met with several times in the book of Jeremiah, most often in the ominous sense of “punish” (e.g., 6:15; 11:22; 23:24) but also in the good sense of “resume concern for” (e.g., 27:22; 29:10). Here it is obviously in the ominous sense referring to his imprisonment and ultimate death (52:11).

[32:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[32:5]  ¹¹ sn The pronouns are plural here, referring to the people of Judah and Jerusalem. Jeremiah had counseled that they surrender (cf. 27:12; 21:8-10) because they couldn’t succeed against the Babylonian army even under the most favorable circumstances (37:3-10).

[32:5]  ¹² tn Heb “The Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for further explanation.