Jeremiah 30:10-11

30:10 So I, the Lord, tell you not to be afraid,

you descendants of Jacob, my servants. ¹ 

Do not be terrified, people of Israel.

For I will rescue you and your descendants

from a faraway land where you are captives. ² 

The descendants of Jacob will return to their land and enjoy peace.

They will be secure and no one will terrify them. ³ 

30:11 For I, the Lord, affirm ⁴  that

I will be with you and will rescue you.

I will completely destroy all the nations where I scattered you.

But I will not completely destroy you.

I will indeed discipline you, but only in due measure.

I will not allow you to go entirely unpunished.” ⁵ 

Jeremiah 31:7

31:7 Moreover, ⁶  the Lord says,

“Sing for joy for the descendants of Jacob.

Utter glad shouts for that foremost of the nations. ⁷ 

Make your praises heard. ⁸ 

Then say, ‘Lord, rescue your people.

Deliver those of Israel who remain alive.’ ⁹ 

Jeremiah 42:11

42:11 Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon whom you now fear. ¹⁰  Do not be afraid of him because I will be with you to save you and to rescue you from his power. I, the Lord, affirm it! ¹¹ 

Jeremiah 46:27

A Promise of Hope for Israel

46:27 ¹² “You descendants of Jacob, my servants, ¹³  do not be afraid;

do not be terrified, people of Israel.

For I will rescue you and your descendants

from the faraway lands where you are captives. ¹⁴ 

The descendants of Jacob will return to their land and enjoy peace.

They will be secure and no one will terrify them.

[30:10]  ¹ tn Heb “So do not be afraid, my servant Jacob, oracle of the Lord.” Here and elsewhere in the verse the terms Jacob and Israel are poetic for the people of Israel descended from the patriarch Jacob. The terms have been supplied throughout with plural referents for greater clarity.

[30:10]  ² tn Heb “For I will rescue you from far away, your descendants from the land of their captivity.”

[30:10]  ³ sn Compare the ideals of the Mosaic covenant in Lev 26:6, the Davidic covenant in 2 Sam 7:10-11, and the new covenant in Ezek 34:25-31.

[30:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[30:11]  ⁵ tn The translation “entirely unpunished” is intended to reflect the emphatic construction of the infinitive absolute before the finite verb.

[31:7]  ⁷ tn See the translator’s notes on 30:5, 12.

[31:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “for the head/chief of the nations.” See BDB 911 s.v. רֹאשׁ 3.c and compare usage in Ps 18:44 referring to David as the “chief” or “foremost ruler” of the nations.

[31:7]  ⁹ tn It is unclear who the addressees of the masculine plural imperatives are in this verse. Possibly they are the implied exiles who are viewed as in the process of returning and praying for their fellow countrymen.

[31:7]  ¹⁰ tc Or “The Lord will rescue his people. He will deliver those of Israel who remain alive.” The translation used in the text follows the Hebrew: “Rescue your people, O Lord, the remnant of Israel.” The alternate translation which is preferred by several modern English versions (e.g., REB, TEV) and a majority of modern commentaries (see, e.g., J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah [NICOT], 569; J. Bright, Jeremiah [AB], 273, n. s-s) follows the reading of the Greek version and the Aramaic Targum and appears more appropriate to the context of praise presupposed by the preceding imperatives. The difference in the two readings are the omission of one vowel letter and the confusion of a final ךְ (kaf) and a וֹ (holem-vav) which are very similar in form. (The Greek presupposes הוֹשִׁיעַ יְהוָה אֶת־עַמּוֹ [hoshi’a yÿhvah ’et-’ammo] for the Hebrew הוֹשַׁע יְהוָה אֶת־עַמְּךְ [hosha’ yÿhvah ’et-’ammÿkh].) The key to a decision here is the shift from the verbs of praise to the imperative “say” which introduces the quotation; there is a shift from praise to petition. The shift in mood is not uncommon, occurring, for example, in Ps 118:25 and 126:4; it is the shift in mood between praise for what has begun to petition for what is further hoped for. It is easier to explain the origin contextually of the Greek and Targum than it is the Hebrew text, thus the Greek and Targum are probably a secondary smoothing of the text (this is the decision of the D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 4:263). The mood of prayer also shows up in v. 9 and again in vv. 17-18.

[42:11]  ¹⁰ sn See Jer 41:18 for their reason for fear.

[42:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “oracle of the Lord.”

[46:27]  ¹³ sn Jer 46:27-28 are virtually the same as 30:10-11. The verses are more closely related to that context than to this. But the presence of a note of future hope for the Egyptians may have led to a note of encouragement also to the Judeans who were under threat of judgment at the same time (cf. the study notes on 46:2, 13 and 25:1-2 for the possible relative dating of these prophecies).

[46:27]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “And/But you do not be afraid, my servant Jacob.” Here and elsewhere in the verse the terms Jacob and Israel are poetic for the people of Israel descended from the patriarch Jacob. The terms have been supplied throughout with plural referents for greater clarity.

[46:27]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “For I will rescue you from far away, your descendants from the land of their captivity.”