Jeremiah 4:15

4:15 For messengers are coming, heralding disaster,

from the city of Dan and from the hills of Ephraim. ¹ 

Jeremiah 5:20

5:20 “Proclaim ²  this message among the descendants of Jacob. ³ 

Make it known throughout Judah.

Jeremiah 12:5

12:5 The Lord answered, ⁴ 

“If you have raced on foot against men and they have worn you out,

how will you be able to compete with horses?

And if you feel secure only ⁵  in safe and open country, ⁶ 

how will you manage in the thick undergrowth along the Jordan River? ⁷ 

Jeremiah 37:7

37:7 “The Lord God of Israel says, ‘Give a message to the king of Judah who sent you to ask me to help him. ⁸  Tell him, “The army of Pharaoh that was on its way to help you will go back home to Egypt. ⁹ 

Jeremiah 41:10

41:10 Then Ishmael took captive all the people who were still left alive in Mizpah. This included the royal princesses ¹⁰  and all the rest of the people in Mizpah that Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, had put under the authority of Gedaliah son of Ahikam. Ishmael son of Nethaniah took all these people captive and set out to cross over to the Ammonites.

Jeremiah 42:2

42:2 They said to him, “Please grant our request ¹¹  and pray to the Lord your God for all those of us who are still left alive here. ¹²  For, as you yourself can see, there are only a few of us left out of the many there were before. ¹³ 

Jeremiah 44:28

44:28 Some who survive in battle will return to the land of Judah from the land of Egypt. But they will be very few indeed! ¹⁴  Then the Judean remnant who have come to live in the land of Egypt will know whose word proves true, ¹⁵  mine or theirs.’

Jeremiah 48:21

48:21 “Judgment will come on the cities on the high plain: ¹⁶  on Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath,

Jeremiah 51:38

51:38 The Babylonians are all like lions roaring for prey.

They are like lion cubs growling for something to eat. ¹⁷ 

[4:15]  ¹ tn Heb “For a voice declaring from Dan and making heard disaster from the hills of Ephraim.”

[5:20]  ² sn The verbs are second plural here. Jeremiah, speaking for the Lord, addresses his people, calling on them to make the message further known.

[5:20]  ³ tn Heb “in the house of Jacob.”

[12:5]  ³ tn The words “The Lord answered” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[12:5]  ⁴ tn Some commentaries and English versions follow the suggestion given in HALOT 116 s.v. II בָּטַח that a homonym meaning “to stumble, fall down” is involved here and in Prov 14:16. The evidence for this homonym is questionable because both passages can be explained on other grounds with the usual root.

[12:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “a land of tranquility.” The expression involves a figure of substitution where the feeling engendered is substituted for the conditions that engender it. For the idea see Isa 32:18. The translation both here and in the following line is intended to bring out the contrast implicit in the emotive connotations connected with “peaceful country” and “thicket along the Jordan.”

[12:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “the thicket along the Jordan.” The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[37:7]  ⁴ tn Or “to ask me what will happen.” The dominant usage of the verb דָּרַשׁ (darash) is to “inquire” in the sense of gaining information about what will happen (cf., e.g., 1 Kgs 14:5; 2 Kgs 8:8; 22:7-8) but it is also used in the sense of “seeking help” from (cf., e.g., Isa 31:1; 2 Chr 16:12; 20:3). The latter nuance appears appropriate in Jer 20:2 where Zedekiah is hoping for some miraculous intervention. That nuance also appears appropriate here where Zedekiah has sent messengers to ask Jeremiah to intercede on their behalf. However, it is also possible that the intent of both verbs is to find out from God whether the Egyptian mission will succeed and more permanent relief from the siege will be had.

[37:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “will go back to its land, Egypt.”

[41:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “the daughters of the king.” Most commentators do not feel that this refers to the actual daughters of Zedekiah since they would have been too politically important to have escaped exile with their father. As noted in the translator’s note on 36:26 this need not refer to the actual daughters of the king but may refer to other royal daughters, i.e., the daughters of other royal princes.

[42:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “please let our petition fall before you.” For the idiom here see 37:20 and the translator’s note there.

[42:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “on behalf of us, [that is] on behalf of all this remnant.”

[42:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “For we are left a few from the many as your eyes are seeing us.” The words “used to be” are not in the text but are implicit. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness of English style.

[44:28]  ⁷ tn Heb “The survivors of the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah few in number [more literally, “men of number”; for the idiom see BDB 709 s.v. מִסְפָּר 1.a].” The term “survivors of the sword” may be intended to represent both those who survive death in war or death by starvation or disease, a synecdoche of species for all three genera.

[44:28]  ⁸ tn Heb “will stand,” i.e., in the sense of being fulfilled, proving to be true, or succeeding (see BDB 878 s.v. קוּם 7.g).

[48:21]  ⁸ sn See the study note on Jer 48:8 for reference to this tableland or high plain that lay between the Arnon and Heshbon.

[51:38]  ⁹ tn Heb “They [the Babylonians] all roar like lions. They growl like the cubs of lions.” For the usage of יַחְדָו (yakhdav) meaning “all” see Isa 10:8; 18:6; 41:20. The translation strives to convey in clear terms what is the generally accepted meaning of the simile (cf., e.g., J. Bright, Jeremiah [AB], 358, and J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah [NICOT], 762).