Jeremiah 3:1

3:1 “If a man divorces his wife

and she leaves him and becomes another man’s wife,

he may not take her back again. ¹ 

Doing that would utterly defile the land. ² 

But you, Israel, have given yourself as a prostitute to many gods. ³ 

So what makes you think you can return to me?” ⁴ 

says the Lord.

Jeremiah 26:11

26:11 Then the priests and the prophets made their charges before the officials and all the people. They said, ⁵  “This man should be condemned to die ⁶  because he prophesied against this city. You have heard him do so ⁷  with your own ears.”

Jeremiah 26:16

26:16 Then the officials and all the people rendered their verdict to the priests and the prophets. They said, ⁸  “This man should not be condemned to die. ⁹  For he has spoken to us under the authority of the Lord our God.” ¹⁰ 

Jeremiah 35:13

35:13 The Lord God of Israel who rules over all ¹¹  told him, “Go and speak to the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem. Tell them, ¹²  ‘I, the Lord, say: ¹³  “You must learn a lesson from this ¹⁴  about obeying what I say! ¹⁵ 

[3:1]  ¹ tn Heb “May he go back to her again?” The question is rhetorical and expects a negative answer.

[3:1]  ² tn Heb “Would the land not be utterly defiled?” The stative is here rendered actively to connect better with the preceding. The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.

[3:1]  ³ tn Heb “But you have played the prostitute with many lovers.”

[3:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “Returning to me.” The form is the bare infinitive which the KJV and ASV have interpreted as an imperative “Yet, return to me!” However, it is more likely that a question is intended, expressing surprise in the light of the law alluded to and the facts cited. For the use of the infinitive absolute in the place of a finite verb, cf. GKC 346 §113.ee. For the introduction of a question without a question marker, cf. GKC 473 §150.a.

[26:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “the priests and prophets said to the leaders and the people….” The long sentence has been broken up to conform better with contemporary English style and the situational context is reflected in “laid their charges.”

[26:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “a sentence of death to this man.”

[26:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “it.”

[26:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets…”

[26:16]  ¹⁰ sn Contrast v. 11.

[26:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “For in the name of the Lord our God he has spoken to us.” The emphasis is on “in the name of…”

[35:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” For this title see 7:3 and the study note on 2:19.

[35:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “35:12 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh of armies the God of Israel, “Go and say…‘Will you not learn…’”’” The use of the indirect introduction has been chosen here as in 34:1-2 to try to cut down on the confusion created by embedding quotations within quotations.

[35:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[35:13]  ¹⁶ tn The words “from this” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They have been supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[35:13]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Will you not learn a lesson…?” The rhetorical question here has the force of an imperative, made explicit in the translation.