Jeremiah 23:13

23:13 The Lord says, ¹  “I saw the prophets of Samaria ² 

doing something that was disgusting. ³ 

They prophesied in the name of the god Baal

and led my people Israel astray. ⁴ 

Jeremiah 23:27

23:27 How long will they go on plotting ⁵  to make my people forget who I am ⁶  through the dreams they tell one another? That is just as bad as what their ancestors ⁷  did when they forgot who I am by worshiping the god Baal. ⁸ 

Jeremiah 2:8

2:8 Your priests ⁹  did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’ ¹⁰ 

Those responsible for teaching my law ¹¹  did not really know me. ¹² 

Your rulers rebelled against me.

Your prophets prophesied in the name of the god Baal. ¹³ 

They all worshiped idols that could not help them. ¹⁴ 

Jeremiah 12:16

12:16 But they must make sure you learn to follow the religious practices of my people. ¹⁵  Once they taught my people to swear their oaths using the name of the god Baal. ¹⁶  But then, they must swear oaths using my name, saying, “As surely as the Lord lives, I swear.” ¹⁷  If they do these things, ¹⁸  then they will be included among the people I call my own. ¹⁹ 

[23:13]  ¹ tn The words “The Lord says” are not in the text, but it is clear from the content that he is the speaker. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[23:13]  ² map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[23:13]  ³ tn According to BDB 1074 s.v. תִּפְלָּה this word means “unseemly, unsavory.” The related adjective is used in Job 6:6 of the tastelessness of something that is unseasoned.

[23:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “by Baal.”

[23:27]  ⁵ tn The relation of the words to one another in v. 26 and the beginning of v. 27 has created difficulties for translators and commentators. The proper solution is reflected in the NJPS. Verses 26-27 read somewhat literally, “How long is there in the hearts of the prophets who are prophesying the lie and [in the hearts of] the prophets of the delusions of their [own] heart the plotting to cause my people to forget my name…” Most commentaries complain that the text is corrupt, that there is no subject for “is there.” However, the long construct qualification “in the hearts of” has led to the lack of observation that the proper subject is “the plotting to make my people forget.” There are no exact parallels but Jer 14:22; Neh 5:5 follow the same structure. The “How long” precedes the other means of asking a question for the purpose of emphasis (cf. BDB 210 s.v. הֲ 1.b and compare for example the usage in 2 Sam 7:7). There has also been a failure to see that “the prophets of the delusion of…” is a parallel construct noun after “heart of.” Stripping the syntax down to its barest minimum and translating literally, the sentence would read “How long will the plotting…continue in the hearts of the prophets who…and [in hearts of] the prophets of…” The sentence has been restructured in the translation to conform to contemporary English style but attempt has been made to maintain the same subordinations.

[23:27]  ⁶ tn Heb “my name.”

[23:27]  ⁷ tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 39).

[23:27]  ⁸ tn Heb “through Baal.” This is an elliptical expression for the worship of Baal. See 11:17; 12:16; 19:5 for other references to their relation to Baal. There is a deliberate paralleling in the syntax here between “through their dreams” and “through Baal.”

[2:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “The priests…the ones who grasp my law…the shepherds…the prophets…they…”

[2:8]  ¹⁰ sn See the study note on 2:6.

[2:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “those who handle my law.”

[2:8]  ¹² tn Or “were not committed to me.” The Hebrew verb rendered “know” refers to more than mere intellectual knowledge. It carries also the ideas of emotional and volitional commitment as well intimacy. See for example its use in contexts like Hos 4:1; 6:6.

[2:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “by Baal.”

[2:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and they followed after those things [the word is plural] which do not profit.” The poetic structure of the verse, four lines in which a distinct subject appears at the beginning followed by a fifth line beginning with a prepositional phrase and no distinct subject, argues that this line is climactic and refers to all four classes enumerated in the preceding lines. See W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:88-89. There may be a play or pun in the Hebrew text on the name for the god Baal (בַּעַל, ba’al) and the verb “cannot help you” (Heb “do not profit”) which is spelled יַעַל (ya’al).

[12:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “the ways of my people.” For this nuance of the word “ways” compare 10:2 and the notes there.

[12:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “taught my people to swear by Baal.”

[12:16]  ¹⁵ tn The words “I swear” are not in the text but are implicit to the oath formula. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[12:16]  ¹⁶ tn The words “If they do this” are not in the text. They are part of an attempt to break up a Hebrew sentence which is long and complex into equivalent shorter sentences consistent with contemporary English style. Verse 16 in Hebrew is all one sentence with a long complex conditional clause followed by a short consequence: “If they carefully learn the ways of my people to swear by name, ‘By the life of the Lord,’ as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they will be built up in the midst of my people.” The translation strives to create the same contingencies and modifications by breaking up the sentence into shorter sentences in accord with contemporary English style.

[12:16]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “they will be built up among my people.” The expression “be built up among” is without parallel. However, what is involved here is conceptually parallel to the ideas expressed in Isa 19:23-25 and Zech 14:16-19. That is, these people will be allowed to live on their own land, to worship the Lord there, and to come to Jerusalem to celebrate the feasts. To translate literally would be meaningless or misleading for many readers.