Jeremiah 30:1-7

Introduction to the Book of Consolation

30:1 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah. ¹  30:2 “The Lord God of Israel says, ²  ‘Write everything that I am about to tell you in a scroll. ³  30:3 For I, the Lord, affirm ⁴  that the time will come when I will reverse the plight ⁵  of my people, Israel and Judah,’ says the Lord. ‘I will bring them back to the land I gave their ancestors ⁶  and they will take possession of it once again.’” ⁷ 

Israel and Judah Will Be Delivered after a Time of Deep Distress

30:4 So here is what the Lord has to say about Israel and Judah. ⁸ 

30:5 Yes, ⁹  here is what he says:

“You hear cries of panic and of terror;

there is no peace in sight. ¹⁰ 

30:6 Ask yourselves this and consider it carefully: ¹¹ 

Have you ever seen a man give birth to a baby?

Why then do I see all these strong men

grabbing their stomachs in pain like ¹²  a woman giving birth?

And why do their faces

turn so deathly pale?

30:7 Alas, what a terrible time of trouble it is! ¹³ 

There has never been any like it.

It is a time of trouble for the descendants of Jacob,

but some of them will be rescued out of it. ¹⁴ 

[30:1]  ¹ tn Compare the headings at 7:1; 11:1; 18:1; 21:1 and the translator’s note at those places.

[30:2]  ² tn Heb “Thus says Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel, saying….” For significance of the title “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel” see the note at 2:19.

[30:2]  ³ tn Heb “Write all the words which I speak to you in a scroll.” The verb “which I speak” is the instantaneous use of the perfect tense (cf. GKC 311-12 §106.i or IBHS 488-89 §30.5.1d). The words that the Lord is about to speak follow in chs. 30–31.

[30:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[30:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “restore the fortune.” For the translation and meaning of this idiom see the note at 29:14.

[30:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “fathers.”

[30:3]  ⁷ sn As the nations of Israel and Judah were united in their sin and suffered the same fate – that of exile and dispersion – (cf. Jer 3:8; 5:11; 11:10, 17) so they will ultimately be regathered from the nations and rejoined under one king, a descendant of David, and regain possession of their ancestral lands. The prophets of both the eighth and seventh century looked forward to this ideal (see, e.g., Hos 1:11 (2:2 HT); Isa 11:11-13; Jer 23:5-6; 30:3; 33:7; Ezek 37:15-22). This has already been anticipated in Jer 3:18.

[30:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “And these are the words/things that the Lord speaks concerning Israel and Judah.”

[30:5]  ⁹ tn The particle כִּי (ki) is functioning here as loosely causal or epexegetical of the preceding introduction. For this usage cf. BDB 473-74 s.v. כִּי 3.c. This nuance borders on that of the intensive use of כִּי. See the discussion in BDB 472 s.v. כִּי note and כִּי 1.e.

[30:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “We have heard the sound of panic and of fear, and there is no peace.” It is generally agreed that the person of the verb presupposes that this is an unintroduced quote of the people.

[30:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Ask and see/consider.”

[30:6]  ¹² tn Heb “with their hands on their loins.” The word rendered “loins” refers to the area between the ribs and the thighs.

[30:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “Alas [or Woe] for that day will be great.” For the use of the particle “Alas” to signal a time of terrible trouble, even to sound the death knell for someone, see the translator’s note on 22:13.

[30:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “It is a time of trouble for Jacob but he will be saved out of it.”