Jeremiah 4:11

4:11 “At that time the people of Judah and Jerusalem ¹  will be told,

‘A scorching wind will sweep down

from the hilltops in the desert on ²  my dear people. ³ 

It will not be a gentle breeze

for winnowing the grain and blowing away the chaff. ⁴ 

Jeremiah 5:4

5:4 I thought, “Surely it is only the ignorant poor who act this way. ⁵ 

They act like fools because they do not know what the Lord demands. ⁶ 

They do not know what their God requires of them. ⁷ 

Jeremiah 10:2

10:2 The Lord says,

“Do not start following pagan religious practices. ⁸ 

Do not be in awe of signs that occur ⁹  in the sky

even though the nations hold them in awe.

Jeremiah 12:1

12:1 Lord, you have always been fair

whenever I have complained to you. ¹⁰ 

However, I would like to speak with you about the disposition of justice. ¹¹ 

Why are wicked people successful? ¹² 

Why do all dishonest people have such easy lives?

Jeremiah 18:15

18:15 Yet my people have forgotten me

and offered sacrifices to worthless idols!

This makes them stumble along in the way they live

and leave the old reliable path of their fathers. ¹³ 

They have left them to walk in bypaths,

in roads that are not smooth and level. ¹⁴ 

Jeremiah 31:21

31:21 I will say, ¹⁵  ‘My dear children of Israel, ¹⁶  keep in mind

the road you took when you were carried off. ¹⁷ 

Mark off in your minds the landmarks.

Make a mental note of telltale signs marking the way back.

Return, my dear children of Israel.

Return to these cities of yours.

Jeremiah 50:5

50:5 They will ask the way to Zion;

they will turn their faces toward it.

They will come ¹⁸  and bind themselves to the Lord

in a lasting covenant that will never be forgotten. ¹⁹ 

[4:11]  ¹ tn Heb “this people and Jerusalem.”

[4:11]  ² tn Heb “A scorching wind from the hilltops in the desert toward…”

[4:11]  ³ tn Heb “daughter of my people.” The term “daughter of” is appositional to “my people” and is supplied in the translation as a term of sympathy and endearment. Compare the common expression “daughter of Zion.”

[4:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “not for winnowing and not for cleansing.” The words “It will not be a gentle breeze” are not in the text but are implicit in the connection. They are supplied in the translation here for clarification.

[5:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “Surely they are poor.” The translation is intended to make clear the explicit contrasts and qualifications drawn in this verse and the next.

[5:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “the way of the Lord.”

[5:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “the judgment [or ordinance] of their God.”

[10:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “Do not learn the way of the nations.” For this use of the word “ways” (דֶּרֶךְ, derekh) compare for example Jer 12:16 and Isa 2:6.

[10:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “signs.” The words “that occur” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[12:1]  ¹³ tn Or “Lord, you are fair when I present my case before you.”

[12:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “judgments” or “matters of justice.” For the nuance of “complain to,” “fair,” “disposition of justice” assumed here, see BDB 936 s.v. רִיב Qal.4 (cf. Judg 21:22); BDB 843 s.v. צַדִּיק 1.d (cf. Ps 7:12; 11:7); BDB 1049 s.v. מִשְׁפָּט 1.f (cf. Isa 26:8; Ps 10:5; Ezek 7:27).

[12:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Why does the way [= course of life] of the wicked prosper?”

[18:15]  ¹⁷ sn Heb “the ancient path.” This has already been referred to in Jer 6:16. There is another “old way” but it is the path trod by the wicked (cf. Job 22:15).

[18:15]  ¹⁸ sn Heb “ways that are not built up.” This refers to the built-up highways. See Isa 40:4 for the figure. The terms “way,” “by-paths,” “roads” are, of course, being used here in the sense of moral behavior or action.

[31:21]  ²¹ tn The words “I will say” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation to mark the transition from the address about Israel in a response to Rachel’s weeping (vv. 15-20) to a direct address to Israel which is essentially the answer to Israel’s prayer of penitence (cf. G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, T. G. Smothers, Jeremiah 26-52 [WBC], 121.)

[31:21]  ²² tn Heb “Virgin Israel.” For the significance see the study note on 31:3.

[31:21]  ²³ tn Heb “Set your mind to the highway, the way which you went.” The phrase “the way you went” has been translated “the road you took when you were carried off” to help the reader see the reference to the exile implicit in the context. The verb “which you went” is another example of the old second feminine singular which the Masoretes typically revocalize (Kethib הָלָכְתִּי [halakhti]; Qere הָלָכְתְּ [halakht]). The vocative has been supplied in the translation at the beginning to help make the transition from third person reference to Ephraim/Israel in the preceding to second person in the following and to identify the referent of the imperatives. Likewise, this line has been moved to the front to show that the reference to setting up sign posts and landmarks is not literal but figurative, referring to making a mental note of the way they took when carried off so that they can easily find their way back. Lines three and four in the Hebrew text read, “Set up sign posts for yourself; set up guideposts/landmarks for yourself.” The word translated “telltale signs marking the way” occurs only here. Though its etymology and precise meaning are unknown, all the lexicons agree in translating it as “sign post” or something similar based on the parallelism.

[50:5]  ²⁵ tc The translation here assumes that the Hebrew בֹּאוּ (bo’u; a Qal imperative masculine plural) should be read בָּאוּ (ba’u; a Qal perfect third plural). This reading is presupposed by the Greek version of Aquila, the Latin version, and the Targum (see BHS note a, which mistakenly assumes that the form must be imperfect).

[50:5]  ²⁶ sn See Jer 32:40 and the study note there for the nature of this lasting agreement.