Jeremiah 4:10

4:10 In response to all this ¹  I said, “Ah, Lord God, ²  you have surely allowed ³  the people of Judah and Jerusalem ⁴  to be deceived by those who say, ‘You will be safe!’ ⁵  But in fact a sword is already at our throats.” ⁶ 

Jeremiah 14:19

14:19 Then I said,

“Lord, ⁷  have you completely rejected the nation of Judah?

Do you despise ⁸  the city of Zion?

Why have you struck us with such force

that we are beyond recovery? ⁹ 

We hope for peace, but nothing good has come of it.

We hope for a time of relief from our troubles, but experience terror. ¹⁰ 

Micah 1:12

1:12 Indeed, the residents of Maroth ¹¹  hope for something good to happen, ¹² 

though the Lord has sent disaster against the city of Jerusalem. ¹³ 

Micah 1:1

Introduction

1:1 This is the prophetic message that the Lord gave to ¹⁴  Micah of Moresheth. He delivered this message ¹⁵  during the reigns of ¹⁶  Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. The prophecies pertain to ¹⁷  Samaria ¹⁸  and Jerusalem. ¹⁹ 

Micah 5:3

5:3 So the Lord ²⁰  will hand the people of Israel ²¹  over to their enemies ²² 

until the time when the woman in labor ²³  gives birth. ²⁴ 

Then the rest of the king’s ²⁵  countrymen will return

to be reunited with the people of Israel. ²⁶ 

[4:10]  ¹ tn The words “In response to all this” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to clarify the connection.

[4:10]  ² tn Heb “Lord Yahweh.” The translation follows the ancient Jewish tradition of substituting the Hebrew word for God for the proper name Yahweh.

[4:10]  ³ tn Or “You have deceived.” The Hiphil of נָשָׁא (nasha’, “to deceive”) is understood in a tolerative sense here: “to allow [someone] to be deceived.” IBHS 446 §27.5c notes that this function of the hiphil describes caused activity that is welcome to the undersubject, but unacceptable or disagreeable to a third party. Jerusalem and Judah welcomed the assurances of false prophets who deceived them. Although this was detestable to God, he allowed it.

[4:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “this people and Jerusalem.”

[4:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “Jerusalem, saying, ‘You will have peace’”; or “You have deceived the people of Judah and Jerusalem, saying, ‘You will have peace.’” The words “you will be safe” are, of course, those of the false prophets (cf., Jer 6:14; 8:11; 14:13; 23:16-17). It is difficult to tell whether the charge here is meant literally as the emotional outburst of the prophet (compare for example, Jer 15:18) or whether it is to be understood as a figure of speech in which a verb of direct causation is to be understood as permissive or tolerative, i.e., God did not command the prophets to say this but allowed them to do so. While it is not beyond God to use false prophets to accomplish his will (cf., e.g., 1 Kgs 22:19-23), he elsewhere in the book of Jeremiah directly denies having sent the false prophets to say such things as this (cf., e.g., Jer 14:14-15; 23:21, 32). For examples of the use of this figure of speech, see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 571, 823 and compare Ezek 20:25. The translation given attempts to resolve the issue.

[4:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “touches the throat/soul.” For this use of the word usually translated “soul” or “life” cf. HALOT 672 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 1, 2 and compare the use in Ps 105:18.

[14:19]  ⁷ tn The words, “Then I said, ‘Lord” are not in the Hebrew text. It is obvious from the context that the Lord is addressee. The question of the identity of the speaker is the same as that raised in vv. 7-9 and the arguments set forth there are applicable here as well. Jeremiah is here identifying with the people and doing what they refuse to do, i.e., confess their sins and express their trust in him.

[14:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “does your soul despise.” Here as in many places the word “soul” stands as part for whole for the person himself emphasizing emotional and volitional aspects of the person. However, in contemporary English one does not regularly speak of the “soul” in contexts such as this but of the person.

[14:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “Why have you struck us and there is no healing for us.” The statement involves poetic exaggeration (hyperbole) for rhetorical effect.

[14:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “[We hope] for a time of healing but behold terror.”

[1:12]  ¹¹ sn The place name Maroth sounds like the Hebrew word for “bitter.”

[1:12]  ¹² tc The translation assumes an emendation of חָלָה (khalah; from חִיל, khil, “to writhe”) to יִחֲלָה (yikhalah; from יָחַל, yakhal, “to wait”).

[1:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “though disaster has come down from the Lord to the gate of Jerusalem.”

[1:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “The word of the Lord which came to.”

[1:1]  ¹⁵ tn The words “he delivered this message” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[1:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “in the days of” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).

[1:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “which he saw concerning.”

[1:1]  ¹⁸ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[1:1]  ¹⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[5:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the people of Israel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ²² tn The words “to their enemies” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:3]  ²³ sn The woman in labor. Personified, suffering Jerusalem is the referent. See 4:9-10.

[5:3]  ²⁴ sn Gives birth. The point of the figurative language is that Jerusalem finally finds relief from her suffering. See 4:10.

[5:3]  ²⁵ tn Heb “his”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ²⁶ tn Heb “to the sons of Israel.” The words “be reunited with” are supplied in the translation for clarity.