Discovery BoxJeremiah 4:19-20
Context“Oh, the feeling in the pit of my stomach! 2
I writhe in anguish.
Oh, the pain in my heart! 3
My heart pounds within me.
I cannot keep silent.
For I hear the sound of the trumpet; 4
the sound of the battle cry pierces my soul! 5
4:20 I see 6 one destruction after another taking place,
so that the whole land lies in ruins.
I see our 7 tents suddenly destroyed,
their 8 curtains torn down in a mere instant. 9
Jeremiah 9:1
Context9:1 (8:23) 10 I wish that my head were a well full of water 11
and my eyes were a fountain full of tears!
If they were, I could cry day and night
for those of my dear people 12 who have been killed.
Jeremiah 13:17
Context13:17 But if you will not pay attention to this warning, 13
I will weep alone because of your arrogant pride.
I will weep bitterly and my eyes will overflow with tears 14
because you, the Lord’s flock, 15 will be carried 16 into exile.”
Jeremiah 14:17-21
Context14:17 “Tell these people this, Jeremiah: 17
‘My eyes overflow with tears
day and night without ceasing. 18
For my people, my dear children, 19 have suffered a crushing blow.
They have suffered a serious wound. 20
14:18 If I go out into the countryside,
I see those who have been killed in battle.
If I go into the city,
I see those who are sick because of starvation. 21
For both prophet and priest go about their own business
in the land without having any real understanding.’” 22
14:19 Then I said,
“Lord, 23 have you completely rejected the nation of Judah?
Do you despise 24 the city of Zion?
Why have you struck us with such force
that we are beyond recovery? 25
We hope for peace, but nothing good has come of it.
We hope for a time of relief from our troubles, but experience terror. 26
14:20 Lord, we confess that we have been wicked.
We confess that our ancestors have done wrong. 27
We have indeed 28 sinned against you.
14:21 For the honor of your name, 29 do not treat Jerusalem 30 with contempt.
Do not treat with disdain the place where your glorious throne sits. 31
Be mindful of your covenant with us. Do not break it! 32
Jeremiah 18:20
Context18:20 Should good be paid back with evil?
Yet they are virtually digging a pit to kill me. 33
Just remember how I stood before you
pleading on their behalf 34
to keep you from venting your anger on them. 35
Romans 9:1-3
Context9:1 36 I am telling the truth in Christ (I am not lying!), for my conscience assures me 37 in the Holy Spirit – 9:2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 38 9:3 For I could wish 39 that I myself were accursed – cut off from Christ – for the sake of my people, 40 my fellow countrymen, 41
[4:19] 1 tn The words “I said” are not in the text. They are used to mark the shift from the
[4:19] 2 tn Heb “My bowels! My bowels!”
[4:19] 3 tn Heb “the walls of my heart!”
[4:19] 4 tn Heb “ram’s horn,” but the modern equivalent is “trumpet” and is more readily understandable.
[4:19] 5 tc The translation reflects a different division of the last two lines than that suggested by the Masoretes. The written text (the Kethib) reads “for the sound of the ram’s horn I have heard [or “you have heard,” if the form is understood as the old second feminine singular perfect] my soul” followed by “the battle cry” in the last line. The translation is based on taking “my soul” with the last line and understanding an elliptical expression “the battle cry [to] my soul.” Such an elliptical expression is in keeping with the elliptical nature of the exclamations at the beginning of the verse (cf. the literal translations of the first two lines of the verse in the notes on the words “stomach” and “heart”).
[4:20] 6 tn The words, “I see” are not in the text here or at the beginning of the third line. They are supplied in the translation to show that this is Jeremiah’s vision of what will happen as a result of the invasion announced in 4:5-9, 11-17a.
[4:20] 7 tn Heb “my.” This is probably not a reference to Jeremiah’s own tents since he foresees the destruction of the whole land. Jeremiah so identifies with the plight of his people that he sees the destruction of their tents as though they were his very own. It would probably lead to confusion to translate literally and it is not uncommon in Hebrew laments for the community or its representative to speak of the community as an “I.” See for example the interchange between first singular and first plural pronouns in Ps 44:4-8.
[4:20] 9 tn It is not altogether clear what Jeremiah intends by the use of this metaphor. In all likelihood he means that the defenses of Israel’s cities and towns have offered no more resistance than nomads’ tents. However, in light of the fact that the word “tent” came to be used generically for a person’s home (cf. 1 Kgs 8:66; 12:16), it is possible that Jeremiah is here referring to the destruction of their homes and the resultant feeling of homelessness and loss of even elementary protection. Given the lack of certainty the present translation is rather literal here.
[9:1] 10 sn Beginning with 9:1, the verse numbers through 9:26 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 9:1 ET = 8:23 HT, 9:2 ET = 9:1 HT, 9:3 ET = 9:2 HT, etc., through 9:26 ET = 9:25 HT. Beginning with 10:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
[9:1] 11 tn Heb “I wish that my head were water.”
[9:1] 12 tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.
[13:17] 13 tn Heb “If you will not listen to it.” For the use of the feminine singular pronoun to refer to the idea(s) expressed in the preceding verse(s), see GKC 440-41 §135.p.
[13:17] 14 tn Heb “Tearing [my eye] will tear and my eye will run down [= flow] with tears.”
[13:17] 15 tn Heb “because the
[13:17] 16 tn The verb is once again in the form of “as good as done” (the Hebrew prophetic perfect).
[14:17] 17 tn The word “Jeremiah” is not in the text but the address is to a second person singular and is a continuation of 14:14 where the quote starts. The word is supplied in the translation for clarity.
[14:17] 18 tn Many of the English versions and commentaries render this an indirect or third person imperative, “Let my eyes overflow…” because of the particle אַל (’al) which introduces the phrase translated “without ceasing” (אַל־תִּדְמֶינָה, ’al-tidmenah). However, this is undoubtedly an example where the particle introduces an affirmation that something cannot be done (cf. GKC 322 §109.e). Clear examples of this are found in Pss 41:2 (41:3 HT); 50:3; Job 40:32 (41:8). God here is describing again a lamentable situation and giving his response to it. See 14:1-6 above.
[14:17] 19 tn Heb “virgin daughter, my people.” The last noun here is appositional to the first two (genitive of apposition). Hence it is not ‘literally’ “virgin daughter of my people.”
[14:17] 20 tn This is a poetic personification. To translate with the plural “serious wounds” might mislead some into thinking of literal wounds.
[14:18] 21 tn The word “starvation” has been translated “famine” elsewhere in this passage. It is the word which refers to hunger. The “starvation” here may be war induced and not simply that which comes from famine per se. “Starvation” will cover both.
[14:18] 22 tn The meaning of these last two lines is somewhat uncertain. The meaning of these two lines is debated because of the uncertainty of the meaning of the verb rendered “go about their business” (סָחַר, sakhar) and the last phrase translated here “without any real understanding.” The verb in question most commonly occurs as a participle meaning “trader” or “merchant” (cf., e.g., Ezek 27:21, 36; Prov 31:14). It occurs as a finite verb elsewhere only in Gen 34:10, 21; 42:34 and there in a literal sense of “trading,” “doing business.” While the nuance is metaphorical here it need not extend to “journeying into” (cf., e.g., BDB 695 s.v. סָחַר Qal.1) and be seen as a reference to exile as is sometimes assumed. That seems at variance with the causal particle which introduces this clause, the tense of the verb, and the surrounding context. People are dying in the land (vv. 17-18a) not because prophet and priest have gone (the verb is the Hebrew perfect or past) into exile but because prophet and priest have no true knowledge of God or the situation. The clause translated here “without having any real understanding” (Heb “and they do not know”) is using the verb in the absolute sense indicated in BDB 394 s.v. יָדַע Qal.5 and illustrated in Isa 1:3; 56:10. For a more thorough discussion of the issues one may consult W. McKane, Jeremiah (ICC), 1:330-31.
[14:19] 23 tn The words, “Then I said, ‘
[14:19] 24 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] 25 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] 26 tn Heb “[We hope] for a time of healing but behold terror.”
[14:20] 27 tn Heb “We acknowledge our wickedness [and] the iniquity of our [fore]fathers.” For the use of the word “know” to mean “confess,” “acknowledge” cf. BDB 394 s.v. יָדַע, Qal.1.f and compare the usage in Jer 3:13.
[14:20] 28 tn This is another example of the intensive use of כִּי (ki). See BDB 472 s.v. כִּי 1.e.
[14:21] 29 tn Heb “For the sake of your name.”
[14:21] 30 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[14:21] 31 tn English versions quite commonly supply “us” as an object for the verb in the first line. This is probably wrong. The Hebrew text reads: “Do not treat with contempt for the sake of your name; do not treat with disdain your glorious throne.” This is case of poetic parallelism where the object is left hanging until the second line. For an example of this see Prov 13:1 in the original and consult E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 103-4. There has also been some disagreement whether “your glorious throne” refers to the temple (as in 17:12) or Jerusalem (as in 3:17). From the beginning of the prayer in v. 19 where a similar kind of verb has been used with respect to Zion/Jerusalem it would appear that the contextual referent is Jerusalem. The absence of an object from the first line makes it possible to retain part of the metaphor in the translation and still convey some meaning.
[14:21] 32 tn Heb “Remember, do not break your covenant with us.”
[18:20] 33 tn Or “They are plotting to kill me”; Heb “They have dug a pit for my soul.” This is a common metaphor for plotting against someone. See BDB 500 s.v. כָּרָה Qal and for an example see Pss 7:16 (7:15 HT) in its context.
[18:20] 34 tn Heb “to speak good concerning them” going back to the concept of “good” being paid back with evil.
[18:20] 35 tn Heb “to turn back your anger from them.”
[9:1] 36 sn Rom 9:1–11:36. These three chapters are among the most difficult and disputed in Paul’s Letter to the Romans. One area of difficulty is the relationship between Israel and the church, especially concerning the nature and extent of Israel’s election. Many different models have been constructed to express this relationship. For a representative survey, see M. Barth, The People of God (JSNTSup), 22-27. The literary genre of these three chapters has been frequently identified as a diatribe, a philosophical discussion or conversation evolved by the Cynic and Stoic schools of philosophy as a means of popularizing their ideas (E. Käsemann, Romans, 261 and 267). But other recent scholars have challenged the idea that Rom 9–11 is characterized by diatribe. Scholars like R. Scroggs and E. E. Ellis have instead identified the material in question as midrash. For a summary and discussion of the rabbinic connections, see W. R. Stegner, “Romans 9.6-29 – A Midrash,” JSNT 22 (1984): 37-52.
[9:1] 37 tn Or “my conscience bears witness to me.”
[9:2] 38 tn Grk “my sorrow is great and the anguish in my heart is unceasing.”
[9:3] 39 tn Or “For I would pray.” The implied condition is “if this could save my fellow Jews.”
[9:3] 40 tn Grk “brothers.” See BDAG 18-19 s.v. ἀδελφός 2.b.
