Jeremiah 32:22

32:22 You kept the promise that you swore on oath to their ancestors. ¹  You gave them a land flowing with milk and honey. ² 

Jeremiah 11:5

11:5 Then I will keep the promise I swore on oath to your ancestors to give them a land flowing with milk and honey.” ³  That is the very land that you still live in today.’” ⁴  And I responded, “Amen! Let it be so, ⁵  Lord!”

[32:22]  ¹ tn Heb “fathers.”

[32:22]  ² tn For an alternative translation of the expression “a land flowing with milk and honey” see the translator’s note on 11:5.

[11:5]  ³ tn The phrase “a land flowing with milk and honey” is very familiar to readers in the Jewish and Christian traditions as a proverbial description of the agricultural and pastoral abundance of the land of Israel. However, it may not mean too much to readers outside those traditions; an equivalent expression would be “a land of fertile fields and fine pastures.” E. W. Bullinger (Figures of Speech, 626) identifies this as a figure of speech called synecdoche where the species is put for the genus, “a region…abounding with pasture and fruits of all kinds.”

[11:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “‘a land flowing with milk and honey,’ as at this day.” However, the literal reading is too elliptical and would lead to confusion.

[11:5]  ⁵ tn The words “Let it be so” are not in the text; they are an explanation of the significance of the term “Amen” for those who may not be part of the Christian or Jewish tradition.