Jeremiah 3:4

3:4 Even now you say to me, ‘You are my father! ¹ 

You have been my faithful companion ever since I was young.

Jeremiah 2:17

2:17 You have brought all this on yourself, Israel, ² 

by deserting the Lord your God when he was leading you along the right path. ³ 

Jeremiah 7:19

7:19 But I am not really the one being troubled!” ⁴  says the Lord. “Rather they are bringing trouble on themselves to their own shame! ⁵ 

Jeremiah 22:16

22:16 He upheld the cause of the poor and needy.

So things went well for Judah.’ ⁶ 

The Lord says,

‘That is a good example of what it means to know me.’ ⁷ 

Jeremiah 23:29

23:29 My message is like a fire that purges dross! ⁸  It is like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces! ⁹  I, the Lord, so affirm it! ¹⁰ 

Jeremiah 5:3

5:3 Lord, I know you look for faithfulness. ¹¹ 

But even when you punish these people, they feel no remorse. ¹² 

Even when you nearly destroy them, they refuse to be corrected.

They have become as hardheaded as a rock. ¹³ 

They refuse to change their ways. ¹⁴ 

Jeremiah 13:21

13:21 What will you say ¹⁵  when the Lord ¹⁶  appoints as rulers over you those allies

that you, yourself, had actually prepared as such? ¹⁷ 

Then anguish and agony will grip you

like that of a woman giving birth to a baby. ¹⁸ 

Jeremiah 22:15

22:15 Does it make you any more of a king

that you outstrip everyone else in ¹⁹  building with cedar?

Just think about your father.

He was content that he had food and drink. ²⁰ 

He did what was just and right. ²¹ 

So things went well with him.

Jeremiah 23:24

23:24 “Do you really think anyone can hide himself

where I cannot see him?” the Lord asks. ²² 

“Do you not know that I am everywhere?” ²³ 

the Lord asks. ²⁴ 

Jeremiah 38:15

38:15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I answer you, you will certainly kill me. ²⁵  If I give you advice, you will not listen to me.”

Jeremiah 3:1

3:1 “If a man divorces his wife

and she leaves him and becomes another man’s wife,

he may not take her back again. ²⁶ 

Doing that would utterly defile the land. ²⁷ 

But you, Israel, have given yourself as a prostitute to many gods. ²⁸ 

So what makes you think you can return to me?” ²⁹ 

says the Lord.

Jeremiah 33:24

33:24 “You have surely noticed what these people are saying, haven’t you? They are saying, ³⁰  ‘The Lord has rejected the two families of Israel and Judah ³¹  that he chose.’ So they have little regard that my people will ever again be a nation. ³² 

Jeremiah 35:13

35:13 The Lord God of Israel who rules over all ³³  told him, “Go and speak to the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem. Tell them, ³⁴  ‘I, the Lord, say: ³⁵  “You must learn a lesson from this ³⁶  about obeying what I say! ³⁷ 

Jeremiah 44:21

44:21 “The Lord did indeed remember and call to mind what you did! He remembered the sacrifices you and your ancestors, your kings, your leaders, and all the rest of the people of the land offered to other gods ³⁸  in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. ³⁹ 

[3:4]  ¹ tn Heb “Have you not just now called out to me, ‘[you are] my father!’?” The rhetorical question expects a positive answer.

[2:17]  ² tn Heb “Are you not bringing this on yourself.” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.

[2:17]  ³ tn Heb “at the time of leading you in the way.”

[7:19]  ³ tn Heb “Is it I whom they provoke?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer which is made explicit in the translation.

[7:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “Is it not themselves to their own shame?” The rhetorical question expects a positive answer which is made explicit in the translation.

[22:16]  ⁴ tn The words “for Judah” are not in the text, but the absence of the preposition plus object as in the preceding verse suggests that this is a more general statement, i.e., “things went well for everyone.”

[22:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “Is that not what it means to know me.” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer. It is translated in the light of the context.

[23:29]  ⁵ tn Heb “Is not my message like a fire?” The rhetorical question expects a positive answer that is made explicit in the translation. The words “that purges dross” are not in the text but are implicit to the metaphor. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[23:29]  ⁶ tn Heb “Is it not like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?” See preceding note.

[23:29]  ⁷ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[5:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “O Lord, are your eyes not to faithfulness?” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.

[5:3]  ⁷ tn Commentaries and lexicons debate the meaning of the verb here. The MT is pointed as though from a verb meaning “to writhe in anguish or contrition” (חוּל [khul]; see, e.g., BDB 297 s.v. חוּל 2.c), but some commentaries and lexicons repoint the text as though from a verb meaning “to be sick,” thus “to feel pain” (חָלָה [khalah]; see, e.g., HALOT 304 s.v. חָלָה 3). The former appears more appropriate to the context.

[5:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “They made their faces as hard as a rock.”

[5:3]  ⁹ tn Or “to repent”; Heb “to turn back.”

[13:21]  ⁷ tn Or perhaps more rhetorically equivalent, “Will you not be surprised?”

[13:21]  ⁸ tn The words “The Lord” are not in the text. Some commentators make the enemy the subject, but they are spoken of as “them.”

[13:21]  ⁹ tn Or “to be rulers.” The translation of these two lines is somewhat uncertain. The sentence structure of these two lines raises problems in translation. The Hebrew text reads: “What will you do when he appoints over you [or punishes you (see BDB 823 s.v. פָּקַד Qal.B.2 for the former, Qal.A.3 for the latter)] and you, yourself, taught them over you friends [or chiefs (see BDB 48 s.v. I אַלּוּף 2 and Ps 55:13 for the former and BDB 49 s.v. II אַלּוּף and Exod 15:15 for the latter)] for a head.” The translation assumes that the clause “and you, yourself, taught them [= made them accustomed, i.e., “prepared”] [to be] over you” is parenthetical coming between the verb “appoint” and its object and object modifier (i.e., “appointed over you allies for rulers”). A quick check of other English versions will show how varied the translation of these lines has been. Most English versions seem to ignore the second “over you” after “you taught them.” Some rearrange the text to get what they think is a sensible meaning. For a fairly thorough treatment see W. McKane, Jeremiah (ICC), 1:308-10.

[13:21]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Will not pain [here = mental anguish] take hold of you like a woman giving birth.” The question is rhetorical expecting a positive answer.

[22:15]  ⁸ tn For the use of this verb see Jer 12:5 where it is used of Jeremiah “competing” with horses. The form is a rare Tiphel (see GKC 153 §55.h).

[22:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “Your father, did he not eat and drink and do justice and right.” The copulative vav in front of the verbs here (all Hebrew perfects) shows that these actions are all coordinate not sequential. The contrast drawn here between the actions of Jehoiakim and Josiah show that the phrase eating and drinking should be read in the light of the same contrasts in Eccl 2 which ends with the note of contentment in Eccl 2:24 (see also Eccl 3:13; 5:18 [5:17 HT]; 8:15). The question is, of course, rhetorical setting forth the positive role model against which Jehoiakim’s actions are to be condemned. The key terms here are “then things went well with him” which is repeated in the next verse after the reiteration of Josiah’s practice of justice.

[22:15]  ¹⁰ sn The father referred to here is the godly king Josiah. He followed the requirements for kings set forth in 22:3 in contrast to his son who did not (22:13).

[23:24]  ⁹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[23:24]  ¹⁰ tn The words “Don’t you know” are not in the text. They are a way of conveying the idea that the question which reads literally “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” expects a positive answer. They follow the pattern used at the beginning of the previous two questions and continue that thought. The words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[23:24]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[38:15]  ¹⁰ tn Or “you will most certainly kill me, won’t you?” Heb “Will you not certainly kill me?” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer. In situations like this BDB s.v. לֹא 4.b(β) says that הֲלֹא (halo’) “has a tendency to become little more than an affirmative particle, declaring with some rhetorical emphasis what is, or might be, well known.” The idea of certainty is emphasized here by the addition of the infinitive absolute before the finite verb (Joüon 2:422 §123.e).

[3:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “May he go back to her again?” The question is rhetorical and expects a negative answer.

[3:1]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Heb “But you have played the prostitute with many lovers.”

[3:1]  ¹⁴ 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.

[33:24]  ¹² tn Heb “Have you not seen what this people have said, saying.” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer. The sentence has been broken in two to better conform with contemporary English style.

[33:24]  ¹³ tn Heb “The two families which the Lord chose, he has rejected them.” This is an example of an object prepositioned before the verb and resumed by a redundant pronoun to throw emphasis of focus on it (called casus pendens in the grammars; cf. GKC 458 §143.d). Some commentators identify the “two families” as those of David and Levi mentioned in the previous verses, and some identify them as the families of the Israelites and of David mentioned in the next verse. However, the next clause in this verse and the emphasis on the restoration and regathering of Israel and Judah in this section (cf. 33:7, 14) show that the reference is to Israel and Judah (see also 30:3, 4; 31:27, 31 and 3:18).

[33:24]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and my people [i.e., Israel and Judah] they disdain [or look down on] from being again a nation before them.” The phrase “before them” refers to their estimation, their mental view (cf. BDB s.v. פָּנֶה II.4.a[g]). Hence it means they look with disdain on the people being a nation again (cf. BDB s.v. עוֹד 1.a[b] for the usage of עוֹד [’od] here).

[35:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” For this title see 7:3 and the study note on 2:19.

[35:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “35:12 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh of armies the God of Israel, “Go and say…‘Will you not learn…’”’” The use of the indirect introduction has been chosen here as in 34:1-2 to try to cut down on the confusion created by embedding quotations within quotations.

[35:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[35:13]  ¹⁶ tn The words “from this” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They have been supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[35:13]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Will you not learn a lesson…?” The rhetorical question here has the force of an imperative, made explicit in the translation.

[44:21]  ¹⁴ tn The words “to other gods” are not in the text but are implicit from the context (cf. v. 17). They are supplied in the translation for clarity. It was not the act of sacrifice that was wrong but the recipient.

[44:21]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “The sacrifices which you sacrificed in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your leaders and the people of the land, did not the Lord remember them and [did they not] come into his mind?” The question is again rhetorical and expects a positive answer. So it is rendered here as an affirmative statement for the sake of clarity and simplicity. An attempt has been made to shorten the long Hebrew sentence to better conform with contemporary English style.