Jeremiah 2:6

2:6 They did not ask:

‘Where is the Lord who delivered us out of Egypt,

who brought us through the wilderness,

through a land of desert sands and rift valleys,

through a land of drought and deep darkness, ¹ 

through a land in which no one travels,

and where no one lives?’ ² 

Jeremiah 7:25

7:25 From the time your ancestors departed the land of Egypt until now, ³  I sent my servants the prophets to you again and again, ⁴  day after day. ⁵ 

Jeremiah 8:19

8:19 I hear my dear people ⁶  crying out ⁷ 

throughout the length and breadth of the land. ⁸ 

They are crying, ‘Is the Lord no longer in Zion?

Is her divine King ⁹  no longer there?’”

The Lord answers, ¹⁰ 

“Why then do they provoke me to anger with their images,

with their worthless foreign idols?” ¹¹ 

Jeremiah 11:4

11:4 Those are the terms that I charged your ancestors ¹²  to keep ¹³  when I brought them out of Egypt, that place which was like an iron-smelting furnace. ¹⁴  I said at that time, ¹⁵  “Obey me and carry out the terms of the agreement ¹⁶  exactly as I commanded you. If you do, ¹⁷  you will be my people and I will be your God. ¹⁸ 

Jeremiah 11:19

11:19 Before this I had been like a docile lamb ready to be led to the slaughter.

I did not know they were making plans to kill me. ¹⁹ 

I did not know they were saying, ²⁰ 

“Let’s destroy the tree along with its fruit! ²¹ 

Let’s remove Jeremiah ²²  from the world of the living

so people will not even be reminded of him any more.” ²³ 

Jeremiah 16:15

16:15 But in that time they will affirm them with ‘I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the people of Israel from the land of the north and from all the other lands where he had banished them.’ At that time I will bring them back to the land I gave their ancestors.” ²⁴ 

Jeremiah 23:8

23:8 But at that time they will affirm them with “I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the descendants of the former nation of Israel ²⁵  from the land of the north and from all the other lands where he had banished ²⁶  them.” ²⁷  At that time they will live in their own land.’”

Jeremiah 30:10

30:10 So I, the Lord, tell you not to be afraid,

you descendants of Jacob, my servants. ²⁸ 

Do not be terrified, people of Israel.

For I will rescue you and your descendants

from a faraway land where you are captives. ²⁹ 

The descendants of Jacob will return to their land and enjoy peace.

They will be secure and no one will terrify them. ³⁰ 

Jeremiah 31:32

31:32 It will not be like the old ³¹  covenant that I made with their ancestors ³²  when I delivered them ³³  from Egypt. For they violated that covenant, even though I was like a faithful husband to them,” ³⁴  says the Lord. ³⁵ 

Jeremiah 46:27

A Promise of Hope for Israel

46:27 ³⁶ “You descendants of Jacob, my servants, ³⁷  do not be afraid;

do not be terrified, people of Israel.

For I will rescue you and your descendants

from the faraway lands where you are captives. ³⁸ 

The descendants of Jacob will return to their land and enjoy peace.

They will be secure and no one will terrify them.

Jeremiah 50:9

50:9 For I will rouse into action and bring against Babylon

a host of mighty nations ³⁹  from the land of the north.

They will set up their battle lines against her.

They will come from the north and capture her. ⁴⁰ 

Their arrows will be like a skilled soldier ⁴¹ 

who does not return from the battle empty-handed. ⁴² 

[2:6]  ¹ tn This word is erroneously rendered “shadow of death” in most older English versions; that translation is based on a faulty etymology. Contextual studies and comparative Semitic linguistics have demonstrated that the word is merely another word for darkness. It is confined to poetic texts and often carries connotations of danger and distress. It is associated in poetic texts with the darkness of a prison (Ps 107:10, 14), a mine (Job 28:3), and a ravine (Ps 23:4). Here it is associated with the darkness of the wasteland and ravines of the Sinai desert.

[2:6]  ² sn The context suggests that the question is related to a lament where the people turn to God in their troubles, asking him for help and reminding him of his past benefactions. See for example Isa 63:11-19 and Ps 44. It is an implicit prayer for his intervention, cf. 2 Kgs 2:14.

[7:25]  ³ tn Heb “from the day your ancestors…until this very day.” However, “day” here is idiomatic for “the present time.”

[7:25]  ⁴ tn On the Hebrew idiom see the note at 7:13.

[7:25]  ⁵ tc There is some textual debate about the legitimacy of this expression here. The text reads merely “day” (יוֹם, yom). BHS suggests the word is to be deleted as a dittography of the plural ending of the preceding word. The word is in the Greek and Latin, and the Syriac represents the typical idiom “day after day” as though the noun were repeated. Either יוֹם has dropped out by haplography or a ם (mem) has been left out, i.e., reading יוֹמָם (yomam, “daily”).

[8:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.

[8:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “Behold the voice of the crying of the daughter of my people.”

[8:19]  ⁷ tn Heb “Land of distances, i.e., of wide extent.” For parallel usage cf. Isa 33:17.

[8:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “her King” but this might be misunderstood by some to refer to the Davidic ruler even with the capitalization.

[8:19]  ⁹ tn The words, “The Lord would answer” are not in the text but are implicit from the words that follow. They are supplied in the translation for clarity. Another option would be to add “And I can just hear the Lord reply.”

[8:19]  ¹⁰ sn The people’s cry and the Lord’s interruption reflect the same argument that was set forth in the preceding chapter. They have misguided confidence that the Lord is with them regardless of their actions and he responds that their actions have provoked him to the point of judging them. See especially 7:4 and 7:30.

[11:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 5, 7, 10).

[11:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “does not listen…this covenant which I commanded your fathers.” The sentence is broken up this way in conformity with contemporary English style.

[11:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “out of the land of Egypt, out of the iron-smelting furnace.”

[11:4]  ¹⁰ tn In place of the words “I said at that time” the Hebrew text has “saying.” The sentence is again being restructured in English to avoid the long, confusing style of the Hebrew original.

[11:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Obey me and carry them out.” The “them” refers back to the terms of the covenant which they were charged to keep according to the preceding. The referent is made specific to avoid ambiguity.

[11:4]  ¹² tn The words, “If you do” are not in the text. They have been supplied in the translation to break up a long sentence consisting of an imperative followed by a consequential sentence.

[11:4]  ¹³ sn Obey me and carry out the terms of the agreement…and I will be your God. This refers to the Mosaic law which was instituted at Sinai and renewed on the Plains of Moab before Israel entered into the land. The words “the terms of the covenant” are explicitly used for the Ten Commandments in Exod 34:28 and for the additional legislation given in Deut 28:69; 29:8. The formulation here is reminiscent of Deut 29:9-14 (29:10-15 HT). The book of Deuteronomy is similar in its structure and function to an ancient Near Eastern treaty. In these the great king reminded his vassal of past benefits that he had given to him, charged him with obligations (the terms or stipulations of the covenant) chief among which was absolute loyalty and sole allegiance, promised him future benefits for obeying the stipulations (the blessings), and placed him under a curse for disobeying them. Any disobedience was met with stern warnings of punishment in the form of destruction and exile. Those who had witnessed the covenant were called in to confirm the continuing goodness of the great king and the disloyalty of the vassal. The vassal was then charged with a list of particular infringements of the stipulations and warned to change his actions or suffer the consequences. This is the background for Jer 11:1-9. Jeremiah is here functioning as a messenger from the Lord, Israel’s great king, and charging both the fathers and the children with breach of covenant.

[11:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “against me.” The words “to kill me” are implicit from the context and are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[11:19]  ¹⁰ tn The words “I did not know that they were saying” are not in the text. The quote is without formal introduction in the original. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[11:19]  ¹¹ tn This word and its pronoun (לַחְמוֹ, lakhmo, “its bread”) is often emended to read “in/with its sap” = “in its prime” (either לֵחוֹ [lekho] or לֵחְמוֹ [lekhÿmo]); the latter would be more likely and the מוֹ (mo) could be explained as a rare use of the old poetic third plural suffix for the third singular; cf. GKC 258 §91.l for general use and Ps 11:7 and Job 27:23 for third singular use. Though this fits the context nicely the emendation is probably unnecessary since the word “bread” is sometimes used of other foodstuff than grain or its products (cf. BDB 537 s.v. לֶחֶם 2.a).

[11:19]  ¹² tn Heb “cut it [or him] off.” The metaphor of the tree may be continued, though the verb “cut off” is used also of killing people. The rendering clarifies the meaning of the metaphor.

[11:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “so that his name will not be remembered any more.”

[16:15]  ¹¹ tn These two verses which constitute one long sentence with compound, complex subordinations has been broken up for sake of English style. It reads, “Therefore, behold the days are coming, says the Lord [Heb ‘oracle of the Lord’] and it will not be said any longer, ‘By the life of the Lord who…Egypt’ but ‘by the life of the Lord who…’ and I will bring them back….”

[23:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “descendants of the house of Israel.”

[23:8]  ¹⁴ tc It is probably preferable to read the third masculine singular plus suffix (הִדִּיחָם, hiddikham) here with the Greek version and the parallel passage in 16:15 rather than the first singular plus suffix in the MT (הִדַּחְתִּים, hiddakhtim). If this is not a case of mere graphic confusion, the MT could have arisen under the influence of the first person in v. 3. Though sudden shifts in person have been common in the book of Jeremiah, that is unlikely in a context reporting an oath.

[23:8]  ¹⁵ tn This passage is the same as 16:14-15 with a few minor variations in Hebrew wording. The notes on that passage should be consulted for the rendering here. This passage has the Niphal of the verb “to say” rather than the impersonal use of the Qal. It adds the idea of “bringing out” to the idea of “bringing up out” and (Heb “who brought up and who brought out,” probably a case of hendiadys) before “the people [here “seed” rather than “children”] of Israel [here “house of Israel”] from the land of the north.” These are minor variations and do not affect the sense in any way. So the passage is rendered in much the same way.

[30:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “So do not be afraid, my servant Jacob, oracle of the Lord.” Here and elsewhere in the verse the terms Jacob and Israel are poetic for the people of Israel descended from the patriarch Jacob. The terms have been supplied throughout with plural referents for greater clarity.

[30:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “For I will rescue you from far away, your descendants from the land of their captivity.”

[30:10]  ¹⁷ sn Compare the ideals of the Mosaic covenant in Lev 26:6, the Davidic covenant in 2 Sam 7:10-11, and the new covenant in Ezek 34:25-31.

[31:32]  ¹⁷ tn The word “old” is not in the text but is implicit in the use of the word “new.” It is supplied in the translation for greater clarity.

[31:32]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “fathers.”

[31:32]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “when I took them by the hand and led them out.”

[31:32]  ²⁰ tn Or “I was their master.” See the study note on 3:14.

[31:32]  ²¹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[46:27]  ¹⁹ sn Jer 46:27-28 are virtually the same as 30:10-11. The verses are more closely related to that context than to this. But the presence of a note of future hope for the Egyptians may have led to a note of encouragement also to the Judeans who were under threat of judgment at the same time (cf. the study notes on 46:2, 13 and 25:1-2 for the possible relative dating of these prophecies).

[46:27]  ²⁰ tn Heb “And/But you do not be afraid, my servant Jacob.” Here and elsewhere in the verse the terms Jacob and Israel are poetic for the people of Israel descended from the patriarch Jacob. The terms have been supplied throughout with plural referents for greater clarity.

[46:27]  ²¹ tn Heb “For I will rescue you from far away, your descendants from the land of their captivity.”

[50:9]  ²¹ sn Some of these are named in Jer 51:27-28.

[50:9]  ²² tn Heb “She will be captured from there (i.e., from the north).”

[50:9]  ²³ tc Read Heb ַָמשְׂכִּיל (moskil) with a number of Hebrew mss and some of the versions in place of מַשְׁכִּיל (mashkil, “one who kills children”) with the majority of Hebrew mss and some of the versions. See BHS note d for the details.

[50:9]  ²⁴ tn Or more freely, “Their arrows will be as successful at hitting their mark // as a skilled soldier always returns from battle with plunder.”