Discovery BoxJeremiah 3:12
Context3:12 “Go and shout this message to my people in the countries in the north. 1 Tell them,
‘Come back to me, wayward Israel,’ says the Lord.
‘I will not continue to look on you with displeasure. 2
For I am merciful,’ says the Lord.
‘I will not be angry with you forever.
Jeremiah 3:1
Context3:1 “If a man divorces his wife
and she leaves him and becomes another man’s wife,
he may not take her back again. 3
Doing that would utterly defile the land. 4
But you, Israel, have given yourself as a prostitute to many gods. 5
So what makes you think you can return to me?” 6
says the Lord.
Jeremiah 1:1
Context1:1 The following is a record of what Jeremiah son of Hilkiah prophesied. 7 He was one of the priests who lived at Anathoth in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin.
Jeremiah 1:6
Context1:6 I answered, “Oh, Lord God, 8 I really 9 do not know how to speak well enough for that, 10 for I am too young.” 11
[3:12] 1 tn Heb “Go and proclaim these words to the north.” The translation assumes that the message is directed toward the exiles of northern Israel who have been scattered in the provinces of Assyria to the north.
[3:12] 2 tn Heb “I will not cause my face to fall on you.”
[3:1] 3 tn Heb “May he go back to her again?” The question is rhetorical and expects a negative answer.
[3:1] 4 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] 5 tn Heb “But you have played the prostitute with many lovers.”
[3:1] 6 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.
[1:1] 5 tn Or “This is a record of what Jeremiah prophesied and did”; Heb “The words [or affairs] of Jeremiah.” The phrase could refer to either the messages of Jeremiah recorded in the book or to both his messages and the biographical (and autobiographical) narratives recorded about him in the book. Since the phrase is intended to serve as the title or superscription for the whole book and recurs again in 51:64 at the end of the book before the final appendix, it might refer to the latter. The expression “The words of [someone]” is a standard introductory formula (Deut 29:1[28:69]; 2 Sam 23:1; Amos 1:1; Eccl 1:1; Neh 1:1).
[1:6] 8 tn Heb “Behold, I do not know how to speak.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, commonly rendered “behold”) often introduces a speech and calls special attention to a specific word or the statement as a whole (see IBHS 675-78 §40.2.1).
[1:6] 9 tn The words “well enough for that” are implicit and are supplied in the translation for clarity. Jeremiah is not claiming an absolute inability to speak.
[1:6] 10 tn Heb “I am a boy/youth.” The Hebrew word can refer to an infant (Exod 2:6), a young boy (1 Sam 2:11), a teenager (Gen 21:12), or a young man (2 Sam 18:5). The translation is deliberately ambiguous since it is unclear how old Jeremiah was when he was called to begin prophesying.
