Jeremiah 22:30

22:30 The Lord says,

“Enroll this man in the register as though he were childless. ¹ 

Enroll him as a man who will not enjoy success during his lifetime.

For none of his sons will succeed in occupying the throne of David

or ever succeed in ruling over Judah.”

Jeremiah 2:37

2:37 Moreover, you will come away from Egypt

with your hands covering your faces in sorrow and shame ² 

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

and you will not gain any help from them. ³ 

Jeremiah 5:28

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

There is no limit to the evil things they do. ⁶ 

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. ⁷ 

However, I would like to speak with you about the disposition of justice. ⁸ 

Why are wicked people successful? ⁹ 

Why do all dishonest people have such easy lives?

Jeremiah 13:7

13:7 So I went to Perath and dug up ¹⁰  the shorts from the place where I had buried them. I found ¹¹  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. ¹²  I, the Lord, affirm it! ¹³  Even if you ¹⁴  continue to fight against the Babylonians, ¹⁵  you cannot win.’”

Jeremiah 13:10

13:10 These wicked people refuse to obey what I have said. ¹⁶  They follow the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts and pay allegiance ¹⁷  to other gods by worshiping and serving them. So ¹⁸  they will become just like these linen shorts which are good for nothing.

[22:30]  ¹ tn Heb “Write this man childless.” For the explanation see the study note. The word translated “childless” has spawned some debate because Jeconiah was in fact not childless. There is record from both the Bible and ancient Near Eastern texts that he had children (see, e.g., 1 Chr 3:17). G. R. Driver, “Linguistic and Textual Problems: Jeremiah,” JQR 28 (1937-38): 115, has suggested that the word both here and in Lev 20:20-21 should be translated “stripped of honor.” While that would relieve some of the difficulties here, the word definitely means “childless” in Gen 15:2 and also in Sir 16:3 where it is contrasted with having godless children. The issue is not one of childlessness but of having “one of his sons” succeed to the Davidic throne. The term for “one of his sons” is literally “from his seed a man” and the word “seed” is the same one that is used to refer to his “children” who were forced into exile with him (v. 28).

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

[2:37]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Or “Lord, you are fair when I present my case before you.”

[12:1]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “Why does the way [= course of life] of the wicked prosper?”

[13:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “dug and took.”

[13:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “And behold.”

[32:5]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[32:5]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Heb “The Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for further explanation.

[13:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “to listen to my words.”

[13:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “and [they follow] after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for the idiom.

[13:10]  ⁹ tn The structure of this verse is a little unusual. It consists of a subject, “this wicked people” qualified by several “which” clauses preceding a conjunction and a form which would normally be taken as a third person imperative (a Hebrew jussive; וִיהִי, vihi). This construction, called casus pendens by Hebrew grammarians, lays focus on the subject, here calling attention to the nature of Israel’s corruption which makes it rotten and useless to God. See GKC 458 §143.d for other examples of this construction.