Jeremiah 4:14

4:14 “Oh people of Jerusalem, purify your hearts from evil ¹ 

so that you may yet be delivered.

How long will you continue to harbor up

wicked schemes within you?

Jeremiah 14:8

14:8 You have been the object of Israel’s hopes.

You have saved them when they were in trouble.

Why have you become like a resident foreigner ²  in the land?

Why have you become like a traveler who only stops in to spend the night?

Jeremiah 23:6

23:6 Under his rule ³  Judah will enjoy safety ⁴ 

and Israel will live in security. ⁵ 

This is the name he will go by:

‘The Lord has provided us with justice.’ ⁶ 

[4:14]  ¹ tn Heb “Oh, Jerusalem, wash your heart from evil.”

[14:8]  ² tn It would be a mistake to translate this word as “stranger.” This word (גֵּר, ger) refers to a resident alien or resident foreigner who stays in a country not his own. He is accorded the privilege of protection through the common rights of hospitality but he does not have the rights of the native born or citizen. The simile here is particularly effective. The land was the Lord’s land; they were but resident foreigners and tenants on it (Lev 25:23). Jeremiah’s complaint here is particularly bold. For further information on the status of “resident foreigners” see IDB 4:397-99 s.v. “Sojourner.”

[23:6]  ³ tn Heb “In his days [= during the time he rules].”

[23:6]  ⁴ tn Parallelism and context (cf. v. 4) suggest this nuance for the word often translated “be saved.” For this nuance elsewhere see Ps 119:117; Prov 28:18 for the verb (יָשַׁע [yasha’] in the Niphal); and Ps 12:6; Job 5:4, 11 for the related noun (יֶשַׁע, yesha’).

[23:6]  ⁵ sn It should be noted that this brief oracle of deliverance implies the reunification of Israel and Judah under the future Davidic ruler. Jeremiah has already spoken about this reunification earlier in 3:18 and will have more to say about it in 30:3; 31:27, 31. This same ideal was espoused in the prophecies of Hosea (1:10-11 [2:1-2 HT]), Isaiah (11:1-4, 10-12), and Ezekiel (37:15-28) all of which have messianic and eschatological significance.

[23:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “his name will be called ‘The Lord our righteousness’.”