Jeremiah 3:15

3:15 I will give you leaders ¹  who will be faithful to me. ²  They will lead you with knowledge and insight.

Jeremiah 6:27

6:27 The Lord said to me, ³ 

“I have made you like a metal assayer

to test my people like ore. ⁴ 

You are to observe them

and evaluate how they behave.” ⁵ 

Jeremiah 46:24

46:24 Poor dear Egypt ⁶  will be put to shame.

She will be handed over to the people from the north.”

Jeremiah 49:15

49:15 The Lord says to Edom, ⁷ 

“I will certainly make you small among nations.

I will make you despised by all humankind.

[3:15]  ¹ tn Heb “shepherds.”

[3:15]  ² tn Heb “after/according to my [own] heart.”

[6:27]  ³ tn These words are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity. Note “I have appointed you.” Compare Jer 1:18.

[6:27]  ⁴ tn Heb “I have made you an assayer of my people, a tester [?].” The meaning of the words translated “assayer” (בָּחוֹן, bakhon) and “tester” (מִבְצָר, mivtsar) is uncertain. The word בָּחוֹן (bakhon) can mean “tower” (cf. BDB 103 s.v. בָּחוֹן; cf. Isa 23:13 for the only other use) or “assayer” (cf. BDB 103 s.v. בָּחוֹן). The latter would be the more expected nuance because of the other uses of nouns and verbs from this root. The word מִבְצָר (mivtsar) normally means “fortress” (cf. BDB 131 s.v. מִבְצָר), but most modern commentaries and lexicons deem that nuance inappropriate here. HALOT follows a proposal that the word is to be repointed to מְבַצֵּר (mÿvatser) and derived from a root בָּצַר (batsar) meaning “to test” (cf. HALOT 143 s.v. IV בָּצַר). That proposal makes the most sense in the context, but the root appears nowhere else in the OT.

[6:27]  ⁵ tn Heb “test their way.”

[46:24]  ⁵ tn Heb “Daughter Egypt.” See the translator’s note on v. 19.

[49:15]  ⁷ tn The words “The Lord says to Edom” are not in the text. They have been supplied in the translation to mark the shift from the address of the messenger summoning the nations to prepare to do battle against Edom. The Lord is clearly the speaker (see the end of v. 16) and Edom is clearly the addressee. Such sudden shifts are common in Hebrew poetry, particularly Hebrew prophecy, but are extremely disruptive to a modern reader trying to follow the argument of a passage. TEV adds “The Lord said” and then retains third person throughout. CEV puts all of vv. 14-16 in the second person and uses indirect discourse in v. 15.