Jeremiah 4:20

4:20 I see ¹  one destruction after another taking place,

so that the whole land lies in ruins.

I see our ²  tents suddenly destroyed,

their ³  curtains torn down in a mere instant. ⁴ 

Jeremiah 7:10-11

7:10 Then you come and stand in my presence in this temple I have claimed as my own ⁵  and say, “We are safe!” You think you are so safe that you go on doing all those hateful sins! ⁶  7:11 Do you think this temple I have claimed as my own ⁷  is to be a hideout for robbers? ⁸  You had better take note! ⁹  I have seen for myself what you have done! says the Lord.

Jeremiah 7:14

7:14 So I will destroy this temple which I have claimed as my own, ¹⁰  this temple that you are trusting to protect you. I will destroy this place that I gave to you and your ancestors, ¹¹  just like I destroyed Shiloh. ¹² 

Jeremiah 7:30

7:30 The Lord says, “I have rejected them because ¹³  the people of Judah have done what I consider evil. ¹⁴  They have set up their disgusting idols in the temple ¹⁵  which I have claimed for my own ¹⁶  and have defiled it.

Jeremiah 14:9

14:9 Why should you be like someone who is helpless, ¹⁷ 

like a champion ¹⁸  who cannot save anyone?

You are indeed with us, ¹⁹ 

and we belong to you. ²⁰ 

Do not abandon us!”

Jeremiah 15:16

15:16 As your words came to me I drank them in, ²¹ 

and they filled my heart with joy and happiness

because I belong to you. ²² 

[4:20]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “my.”

[4:20]  ⁴ 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.

[7:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “over which my name is called.” For this nuance of this idiom cf. BDB 896 s.v. קָרָא Niph.2.d(4) and see the usage in 2 Sam 12:28.

[7:10]  ⁶ tn Or “‘We are safe!’ – safe, you think, to go on doing all those hateful things.” Verses 9-10 are all one long sentence in the Hebrew text. It has been broken up for English stylistic reasons. Somewhat literally it reads “Will you steal…then come and stand…and say, ‘We are safe’ so as to/in order to do…” The Hebrew of v. 9 has a series of infinitives which emphasize the bare action of the verb without the idea of time or agent. The effect is to place a kind of staccato like emphasis on the multitude of their sins all of which are violations of one of the Ten Commandments. The final clause in v. 8 expresses purpose or result (probably result) through another infinitive. This long sentence is introduced by a marker (ה interrogative in Hebrew) introducing a rhetorical question in which God expresses his incredulity that they could do these sins, come into the temple and claim the safety of his protection, and then go right back out and commit the same sins. J. Bright (Jeremiah [AB], 52) catches the force nicely: “What? You think you can steal, murder…and then come and stand…and say, ‘We are safe…’ just so that you can go right on…”

[7:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “over which my name is called.” For this nuance of this idiom cf. BDB 896 s.v. קָרָא Niph.2.d(4) and see the usage in 2 Sam 12:28.

[7:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Is this house…a den/cave of robbers in your eyes?”

[7:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Behold!”

[7:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “over which my name is called.” For this nuance of this idiom cf. BDB 896 s.v. קָרָא Niph.2.d(4) and see the usage in 2 Sam 12:28.

[7:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 22, 25, 26).

[7:14]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “I will do to this house which I…in which you put…and to this place which…as I did to Shiloh.”

[7:30]  ¹⁷ tn The words “I have rejected them” are not in the Hebrew text, which merely says “because.” These words are supplied in the translation to show more clearly the connection to the preceding.

[7:30]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “have done the evil in my eyes.”

[7:30]  ¹⁹ sn Compare, e.g., 2 Kgs 21:3, 5, 7; 23:4, 6; Ezek 8:3, 5, 10-12, 16. Manasseh had desecrated the temple by building altars, cult symbols, and idols in it. Josiah had purged the temple of these pagan elements. But it is obvious from both Jeremiah and Ezekiel that they had been replaced shortly after Josiah’s death. They were a primary cause of Judah’s guilt and punishment (see beside this passage, 19:5; 32:34-35).

[7:30]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the house which is called by my name.” Cf. 7:10, 11, 14 and see the translator’s note 7:10 for the explanation for this rendering.

[14:9]  ²¹ tn This is the only time this word occurs in the Hebrew Bible. The lexicons generally take it to mean “confused” or “surprised” (cf., e.g., BDB 187 s.v. דָּהַם). However, the word has been found in a letter from the seventh century in a passage where it must mean something like “be helpless”; see W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:433, for discussion and bibliography of an article where this letter is dealt with.

[14:9]  ²² tn Heb “mighty man, warrior.” For this nuance see 1 Sam 17:51 where it parallels a technical term used of Goliath used earlier in 17:4, 23.

[14:9]  ²³ tn Heb “in our midst.”

[14:9]  ²⁴ tn Heb “Your name is called upon us.” See Jer 7:10, 11, 14, 30 for this idiom with respect to the temple and see the notes on Jer 7:10.

[15:16]  ²⁵ sn Heb “Your words were found and I ate them.” This along with Ezek 2:8–3:3 is a poetic picture of inspiration. The prophet accepted them, assimilated them, and made them such a part of himself that he spoke with complete assurance what he knew were God’s words.

[15:16]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Your name is called upon me.”