Jeremiah 3:23-25

3:23 We know our noisy worship of false gods

on the hills and mountains did not help us. ¹ 

We know that the Lord our God

is the only one who can deliver Israel. ² 

3:24 From earliest times our worship of that shameful god, Baal,

has taken away ³  all that our ancestors ⁴  worked for.

It has taken away our flocks and our herds,

and even our sons and daughters.

3:25 Let us acknowledge ⁵  our shame.

Let us bear the disgrace that we deserve. ⁶ 

For we have sinned against the Lord our God,

both we and our ancestors.

From earliest times to this very day

we have not obeyed the Lord our God.’

[3:23]  ¹ tn Heb “Truly in vain from the hills the noise/commotion [and from] the mountains.” The syntax of the Hebrew sentence is very elliptical here.

[3:23]  ² tn Heb “Truly in the Lord our God is deliverance for Israel.”

[3:24]  ³ tn Heb “From our youth the shameful thing has eaten up…” The shameful thing is specifically identified as Baal in Jer 11:13. Compare also the shift in certain names such as Ishbaal (“man of Baal”) to Ishbosheth (“man of shame”).

[3:24]  ⁴ tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 25).

[3:25]  ⁵ tn Heb “Let us lie down in….”

[3:25]  ⁶ tn Heb “Let us be covered with disgrace.”