Jeremiah 4:1-3

4:1 “If you, Israel, want to come back,” says the Lord,

“if you want to come back to me ¹ 

you must get those disgusting idols ²  out of my sight

and must no longer go astray. ³ 

4:2 You must be truthful, honest and upright

when you take an oath saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’ ⁴ 

If you do, ⁵  the nations will pray to be as blessed by him as you are

and will make him the object of their boasting.” ⁶ 

4:3 Yes, ⁷  the Lord has this to say

to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:

“Like a farmer breaking up hard unplowed ground,

you must break your rebellious will and make a new beginning;

just as a farmer must clear away thorns lest the seed is wasted,

you must get rid of the sin that is ruining your lives. ⁸ 

[4:1]  ¹ tn Or “If you, Israel, want to turn [away from your shameful ways (those described in 3:23-25)]…then you must turn back to me.” Or perhaps, “Israel, you must turn back…Yes, you must turn back to me.”

[4:1]  ² tn Heb “disgusting things.”

[4:1]  ³ tn Or possibly, “If you get those disgusting idols out of my sight, you will not need to flee.” This is less probable because the normal meaning of the last verb is “to wander,” “ to stray.”

[4:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “If you [= you must, see the translator’s note on the word “do” later in this verse] swear/take an oath, ‘As the Lord lives,’ in truth, justice, and righteousness…”

[4:2]  ⁵ tn 4:1-2a consists of a number of “if” clauses, two of which are formally introduced by the Hebrew particle אִם (’im) while the others are introduced by the conjunction “and,” followed by a conjunction (“and” = “then”) with a perfect in 4:2b which introduces the consequence. The translation “You must…. If you do,” was chosen to avoid a long and complicated sentence.

[4:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “bless themselves in him and make their boasts in him.”

[4:3]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew particle is obviously asseverative here since a causal connection appears to make little sense.

[4:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “Plow up your unplowed ground and do not sow among the thorns.” The translation is an attempt to bring out the force of a metaphor. The idea seems to be that they are to plow over the thorns and make the ground ready for the seeds which will produce a new crop where none had been produced before.