Jeremiah 3:21

3:21 “A noise is heard on the hilltops.

It is the sound of the people of Israel crying and pleading to their gods.

Indeed they have followed sinful ways; ¹ 

they have forgotten to be true to the Lord their God. ² 

Jeremiah 4:5

Warning of Coming Judgment

4:5 The Lord said, ³ 

“Announce ⁴  this in Judah and proclaim it in Jerusalem: ⁵ 

‘Sound the trumpet ⁶  throughout the land!’

Shout out loudly,

‘Gather together! Let us flee into the fortified cities!’

Jeremiah 4:11

4:11 “At that time the people of Judah and Jerusalem ⁷  will be told,

‘A scorching wind will sweep down

from the hilltops in the desert on ⁸  my dear people. ⁹ 

It will not be a gentle breeze

for winnowing the grain and blowing away the chaff. ¹⁰ 

Jeremiah 7:29

7:29 So, mourn, ¹¹  you people of this nation. ¹²  Cut off your hair and throw it away. Sing a song of mourning on the hilltops. For the Lord has decided to reject ¹³  and forsake this generation that has provoked his wrath!’” ¹⁴ 

Jeremiah 12:12

12:12 A destructive army ¹⁵  will come marching

over the hilltops in the desert.

For the Lord will use them as his destructive weapon ¹⁶ 

against ¹⁷  everyone from one end of the land to the other.

No one will be safe. ¹⁸ 

Jeremiah 20:12

20:12 O Lord who rules over all, ¹⁹  you test and prove the righteous.

You see into people’s hearts and minds. ²⁰ 

Pay them back for what they have done

because I trust you to vindicate my cause.

Jeremiah 29:17

29:17 The Lord who rules over all ²¹  says, ‘I will bring war, ²²  starvation, and disease on them. I will treat them like figs that are so rotten ²³  they cannot be eaten.

Jeremiah 29:31

29:31 “Send a message to all the exiles in Babylon. Tell them, ‘The Lord has spoken about Shemaiah the Nehelamite. “Shemaiah has spoken to you as a prophet even though I did not send him. He is making you trust in a lie. ²⁴ 

[3:21]  ¹ tn Heb “A sound is heard on the hilltops, the weeping of the supplication of the children of Israel because [or indeed] they have perverted their way.” At issue here is whether the supplication is made to Yahweh in repentance because of what they have done or whether it is supplication to the pagan gods which is evidence of their perverted ways. The reference in this verse to the hilltops where idolatry was practiced according to 3:2 and the reference to Israel’s unfaithfulness in the preceding verse make the latter more likely. For the asseverative use of the Hebrew particle (here rendered “indeed”) where the particle retains some of the explicative nuance; cf. BDB 472-73 s.v. כִּי 1.e and 3.c.

[3:21]  ² tn Heb “have forgotten the Lord their God,” but in the view of the parallelism and the context, the word “forget” (like “know” and “remember”) involves more than mere intellectual activity.

[4:5]  ³ tn The words “The Lord said” are not in the text, but it is obvious from v. 6 and v. 9 that he is the speaker. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[4:5]  ⁴ tn It is unclear who the addressees of the masculine plural imperatives are here. They may be the citizens of Jerusalem and Judah who are sounding the alarm to others. However, the first person reference to the Lord in v. 6 and Jeremiah’s response in v. 10 suggest that this is a word from the Lord that he is commanded to pass on to the citizens of Jerusalem and Judah. If the imperatives are not merely rhetorical plurals they may reflect the practice referred to in Jer 23:18, 22; Amos 3:7. A similar phenomenon also occurs in Jer 5:1 and also in Isa 40:1-2. This may also be the explanation for the plural imperatives in Jer 31:6. For further discussion see the translator’s note on Jer 5:1.

[4:5]  ⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[4:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “ram’s horn,” but the modern equivalent is “trumpet” and is more readily understandable.

[4:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “this people and Jerusalem.”

[4:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “A scorching wind from the hilltops in the desert toward…”

[4:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “daughter of my people.” The term “daughter of” is appositional to “my people” and is supplied in the translation as a term of sympathy and endearment. Compare the common expression “daughter of Zion.”

[4:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “not for winnowing and not for cleansing.” The words “It will not be a gentle breeze” are not in the text but are implicit in the connection. They are supplied in the translation here for clarification.

[7:29]  ⁷ tn The word “mourn” is not in the text. It is supplied in the translation for clarity to explain the significance of the words “Cut your hair and throw it away.”

[7:29]  ⁸ tn The words, “you people of this nation” are not in the text. Many English versions supply, “Jerusalem.” The address shifts from second masculine singular addressing Jeremiah (vv. 27-28a) to second feminine singular. It causes less disruption in the flow of the context to see the nation as a whole addressed here as a feminine singular entity (as, e.g., in 2:19, 23; 3:2, 3; 6:26) than to introduce a new entity, Jerusalem.

[7:29]  ⁹ tn The verbs here are the Hebrew scheduling perfects. For this use of the perfect see GKC 312 §106.m.

[7:29]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the generation of his wrath.”

[12:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “destroyers.”

[12:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “It is the Lord’s consuming sword.”

[12:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “For a sword of the Lord will devour.” The sword is often symbolic for destructive forces of all kinds. Here and in Isa 34:6; Jer 47:6 it is symbolic of the enemy armies that the Lord uses to carry out destructive punishment against his enemies, hence the translation “his destructive weapon.” A similar figure is use in Isa 10:5 where the figure is more clearly identified; Assyria is the rod/club that the Lord will use to discipline unfaithful Israel.

[12:12]  ¹² tn Heb “There is no peace to all flesh.”

[20:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[20:12]  ¹² tn Heb “Lord of armies, the one who tests the righteous, who sees kidneys and heart.” The sentence has been broken up to avoid a long and complex English sentence. The translation is more in keeping with contemporary English style.

[29:17]  ¹³ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.” See the study note on 2:19 for explanation of this title.

[29:17]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the sword.”

[29:17]  ¹⁵ tn The meaning of this word is somewhat uncertain. It occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible. BDB 1045 s.v. שֹׁעָר relates it to the noun “horrible thing” (translated “something shocking”) in Jer 5:30; 23:14 and defines it as “horrid, disgusting.” HALOT 1495 s.v. שֹׁעָר relates it to the same noun and define it as “rotten; corrupt.” That nuance is accepted here.

[29:31]  ¹⁵ tn Or “is giving you false assurances.”