Jeremiah 3:13

3:13 However, you must confess that you have done wrong, ¹ 

and that you have rebelled against the Lord your God.

You must confess ²  that you have given yourself to ³  foreign gods under every green tree,

and have not obeyed my commands,’ says the Lord.

Jeremiah 5:5

5:5 I will go to the leaders ⁴ 

and speak with them.

Surely they know what the Lord demands. ⁵ 

Surely they know what their God requires of them.” ⁶ 

Yet all of them, too, have rejected his authority

and refuse to submit to him. ⁷ 

Jeremiah 44:3

44:3 This happened because of the wickedness the people living there did. ⁸  They made me angry ⁹  by worshiping and offering sacrifice to ¹⁰  other gods whom neither they nor you nor your ancestors ¹¹  previously knew. ¹² 

[3:13]  ¹ tn Heb “Only acknowledge your iniquity.”

[3:13]  ² tn The words “You must confess” are repeated to convey the connection. The Hebrew text has an introductory “that” in front of the second line and a coordinative “and” in front of the next two lines.

[3:13]  ³ tc MT reads דְּרָכַיִךְ (dÿrakhayikh, “your ways”), but the BHS editors suggest דּוֹדַיִךְ (dodayikh, “your breasts”) as an example of orthographic confusion. While the proposal makes sense, it remains a conjectural emendation since it is not supported by any actual manuscripts or ancient versions.

[5:5]  ⁴ tn Or “people in power”; Heb “the great ones.”

[5:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “the way of the Lord.”

[5:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “the judgment [or ordinance] of their God.”

[5:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “have broken the yoke and torn off the yoke ropes.” Compare Jer 2:20 and the note there.

[44:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “they.” The referent must be supplied from the preceding, i.e., Jerusalem and all the towns of Judah. “They” are those who have experienced the disaster and are distinct from those being addressed and their ancestors (44:3b).

[44:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “thus making me angry.” However, this is a good place to break the sentence to create a shorter sentence that is more in keeping with contemporary English style.

[44:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “by going to offer sacrifice in serving/worshiping.” The second לְ (lamed) + infinitive is epexegetical of the first (cf. IBHS 608-9 §36.2.3e).

[44:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 9, 10, 17, 21).

[44:3]  ¹¹ sn Compare Jer 19:4 for the same thought and see also 7:9.