Jeremiah 28:2

28:2 “The Lord God of Israel who rules over all ¹  says, ‘I will break the yoke of servitude ²  to the king of Babylon.

Jeremiah 38:3

38:3 They had also heard him say, ³  “The Lord says, ‘This city will certainly be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon. They will capture it.’” ⁴ 

Jeremiah 39:11

39:11 Now King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had issued orders concerning Jeremiah. He had passed them on through Nebuzaradan, the captain of his royal guard, ⁵ 

Jeremiah 50:1

Judgment Against Babylon

50:1 The Lord spoke concerning Babylon and the land of Babylonia ⁶  through the prophet Jeremiah. ⁷ 

Jeremiah 50:8

50:8 “People of Judah, ⁸  get out of Babylon quickly!

Leave the land of Babylonia! ⁹ 

Be the first to depart! ¹⁰ 

Be like the male goats that lead the herd.

Jeremiah 50:23

50:23 Babylon hammered the whole world to pieces.

But see how that ‘hammer’ has been broken and shattered! ¹¹ 

See what an object of horror

Babylon has become among the nations!

Jeremiah 50:35

50:35 “Destructive forces will come against the Babylonians,” ¹²  says the Lord. ¹³ 

“They will come against the people who inhabit Babylonia,

against her leaders and her men of wisdom.

Jeremiah 50:43

50:43 The king of Babylon will become paralyzed with fear ¹⁴ 

when he hears news of their coming. ¹⁵ 

Anguish will grip him,

agony like that of a woman giving birth to a baby. ¹⁶ 

Jeremiah 51:8

51:8 But suddenly Babylonia will fall and be destroyed. ¹⁷ 

Cry out in mourning over it!

Get medicine for her wounds!

Perhaps she can be healed!

Jeremiah 51:37

51:37 Babylon will become a heap of ruins.

Jackals will make their home there. ¹⁸ 

It will become an object of horror and of hissing scorn,

a place where no one lives. ¹⁹ 

Jeremiah 51:41

51:41 “See how Babylon ²⁰  has been captured!

See how the pride of the whole earth has been taken!

See what an object of horror

Babylon has become among the nations! ²¹ 

Jeremiah 51:49

51:49 “Babylon must fall ²² 

because of the Israelites she has killed, ²³ 

just as the earth’s mortally wounded fell

because of Babylon. ²⁴ 

Jeremiah 51:61

51:61 Then Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “When you arrive in Babylon, make sure ²⁵  you read aloud all these prophecies. ²⁶ 

Jeremiah 52:26-27

52:26 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 52:27 The king of Babylon ordered them to be executed ²⁷  at Riblah in the territory of Hamath.

So Judah was taken into exile away from its land.

[28:2]  ¹ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” See the study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for the explanation of this title.

[28:2]  ² sn See the study note on 27:2 for this figure. Hananiah is given the same title “the prophet” as Jeremiah throughout the chapter and claims to speak with the same authority (compare v. 2a with 27:21a). He even speaks like the true prophet; the verb form “I will break” is in the “prophetic perfect” emphasizing certitude. His message here is a contradiction of Jeremiah’s message recorded in the preceding chapter (compare especially v. 3 with 27:16, 19-22 and v. 4 with 22:24-28). The people and the priests are thus confronted with a choice of whom to believe. Who is the “true” prophet and who is the “false” one? Only fulfillment of their prophecies will prove which is which (see Deut 18:21-22).

[38:3]  ³ tn The words “They had also heard him say,” are not in the Hebrew text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity so as to avoid any possible confusion that might be created by saying merely “And the Lord says,” without any introduction.

[38:3]  ⁴ sn See Jer 21:10; 32:28; 34:2; 37:8 for this same prophecy. Jeremiah had repeatedly said this or words to the same effect.

[39:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon commanded concerning Jeremiah by the hand of Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, saying.” Since Nebuchadnezzar is at Riblah (v. 6) and Nebuzaradan and the other officers named in the next verse are at Jerusalem, the vav consecutive imperfect should again be translated as a pluperfect (see 38:2 and the translator’s notes there for explanation). For the meaning of “through” or “through the agency of” for the phrase בְּיַד (bÿyad) see BDB 391 s.v. יָד 5.d. The sentence has been broken up to better conform with contemporary English style.

[50:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “the land of the Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for explanation.

[50:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “The word which the Lord spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans by the hand of Jeremiah the prophet.”

[50:8]  ⁹ tn The words “People of Judah” are not in the Hebrew text but are implicit from the context. They have been supplied in the translation to clarify the subject of the address.

[50:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the land of the Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for explanation.

[50:8]  ¹¹ tn The words “Be the first to leave” are not in the text but spell out the significance of the simile that follows. They have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[50:23]  ¹¹ tn Heb “How broken and shattered is the hammer of all the earth!” The “hammer” is a metaphor for Babylon who was God’s war club to shatter the nations and destroy kingdoms just like Assyria is represented in Isa 10:5 as a rod and a war club. Some readers, however, might not pick up on the metaphor or identify the referent, so the translation has incorporated an identification of the metaphor and the referent within it. “See how” and “See what” are an attempt to capture the nuance of the Hebrew particle אֵיךְ (’ekh) which here expresses an exclamation of satisfaction in a taunt song (cf. BDB 32 s.v. אֵיךְ 2 and compare usage in Isa 14:4, 12; Jer 50:23).

[50:35]  ¹³ tn Heb “the Chaldeans.” For explanation of the rendering see the study note on 21:4. There is no verb in this clause. Therefore it is difficult to determine whether this should be understood as a command or as a prediction. The presence of vav (ו) consecutive perfects after a similar construction in vv. 36b, d, 37c, 38a and the imperfects after “therefore” (לָכֵן, lakhen) all suggest the predictive or future nuance. However, the vav consecutive perfect could be used to carry on the nuance of command (cf. GKC 333 §112.q) but not in the sense of purpose as NRSV, NJPS render them.

[50:35]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[50:43]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “his hands will drop/hang limp.” For the meaning of this idiom see the translator’s note on 6:24.

[50:43]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “The king of Babylon hears report of them and his hands hang limp.” The verbs are translated as future because the passage is prophetic and the verbs may be interpreted as prophetic perfects (the action viewed as if it were as good as done). In the parallel passage in 6:24 the verbs could be understood as present perfects because the passage could be viewed as in the present. Here it is future.

[50:43]  ¹⁷ sn Compare Jer 6:22-24 where almost the same exact words as 50:41-43 are applied to the people of Judah. The repetition of prophecies here and in the following verses emphasizes the talionic nature of God’s punishment of Babylon; as they have done to others, so it will be done to them (cf. 25:14; 50:15).

[51:8]  ¹⁷ tn The verbs in this verse and the following are all in the Hebrew perfect tense, a tense that often refers to a past action or a past action with present results. However, as the translator’s notes have indicated, the prophets use this tense to view the actions as if they were as good as done (the Hebrew prophetic perfect). The stance here is ideal, viewed as already accomplished.

[51:37]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “a heap of ruins, a haunt for jackals.” Compare 9:11.

[51:37]  ²⁰ tn Heb “without an inhabitant.”

[51:41]  ²¹ sn Heb “Sheshach.” For an explanation of the usage of this name for Babylon see the study note on Jer 25:26 and that on 51:1 for a similar phenomenon. Babylon is here called “the pride of the whole earth” because it was renowned for its size, its fortifications, and its beautiful buildings.

[51:41]  ²² tn Heb “How Sheshach has been captured, the pride of the whole earth has been seized! How Babylon has become an object of horror among the nations!” For the usage of “How” here see the translator’s note on 50:23.

[51:49]  ²³ tn The infinitive construct is used here to indicate what is about to take place. See IBHS 610 §36.2.3g.

[51:49]  ²⁴ tn Heb “the slain of Israel.” The words “because of” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The preceding context makes it clear that Babylon would be judged for its atrocities against Israel (see especially 50:33-34; 51:10, 24, 35).

[51:49]  ²⁵ tn The juxtaposition of גַם…גַם (gam...gam), often “both…and,” here indicates correspondence. See BDB 169 s.v. גַּם 4. Appropriately Babylon will fall slain just as her victims, including God’s covenant people, did.

[51:61]  ²⁵ tn Heb “see [that].”

[51:61]  ²⁶ tn Heb “words” (or “things”).

[52:27]  ²⁷ tn Heb “struck them down and killed them.”