Jeremiah 4:21

4:21 “How long must I see the enemy’s battle flags

and hear the military signals of their bugles?” ¹ 

Jeremiah 13:2

13:2 So I bought the shorts as the Lord had told me to do ²  and put them on. ³ 

Jeremiah 16:8

16:8 “‘Do not go to a house where people are feasting and sit down to eat and drink with them either.

Jeremiah 22:19

22:19 He will be left unburied just like a dead donkey.

His body will be dragged off and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem.’” ⁴ 

Jeremiah 29:15

29:15 “You say, ‘The Lord has raised up prophets of good news ⁵  for us here in Babylon.’

Jeremiah 30:22

30:22 Then you will again be my people

and I will be your God. ⁶ 

Jeremiah 31:17

31:17 Indeed, there is hope for your posterity. ⁷ 

Your children will return to their own territory.

I, the Lord, affirm it! ⁸ 

Jeremiah 31:26

31:26 Then they will say, ‘Under these conditions I can enjoy sweet sleep

when I wake up and look around.’” ⁹ 

Jeremiah 49:11

49:11 Leave your orphans behind and I will keep them alive.

Your widows too can depend on me.” ¹⁰ 

Jeremiah 49:27

49:27 “I will set fire to the walls of Damascus;

it will burn up the palaces of Ben Hadad.” ¹¹ 

Jeremiah 50:46

50:46 The people of the earth will quake when they hear Babylon has been captured.

Her cries of anguish will be heard by the other nations.” ¹² 

[4:21]  ¹ tn Heb “the sound of ram’s horns,” but the modern equivalent is “bugles” and is more readily understandable.

[13:2]  ² tn Heb “according to the word of the Lord.”

[13:2]  ³ tn Heb “upon your loins.” The “loins” were the midriff of the body from the waist to the knees. For a further discussion including the figurative uses see R. C. Dentan, “Loins,” IDB 3:149-50.

[22:19]  ³ sn A similar judgment against this ungodly king is pronounced by Jeremiah in 36:30. According to 2 Chr 36:6 he was bound over to be taken captive to Babylon but apparently died before he got there. According to the Jewish historian Josephus, Nebuchadnezzar ordered his body thrown outside the wall in fulfillment of this judgment. The Bible itself, however, does not tell us that.

[29:15]  ⁴ tn The words “of good news” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[30:22]  ⁵ sn This was their highest privilege (cf. Exod 6:7, Lev 26:12; Jer 24:7) but also their greatest responsibility (cf. Jer 7:3; 11:4). It is a formula referring to a covenant relationship in which God pledges to protect, provide, and be present with his people and they in turn promise to be loyal and obedient to him (see Deut 26:17-18; 29:10-13).

[31:17]  ⁶ tn For this nuance for the Hebrew word אַחֲרִית (’akharit) see BDB 31 s.v. אַחֲרִית d and compare usage in Pss 37:38; 109:13. Others translate “your future” but the “future” lies with the return of her descendants, her posterity.

[31:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[31:26]  ⁷ tn Or “When I, Jeremiah, heard this, I woke up and looked around. My sleep had been very pleasant.” The text is somewhat enigmatic. It has often been explained as an indication that Jeremiah had received this communication (30:3–31:26) while in a prophetic trance (compare Dan 10:9). However, there is no other indication that this is a vision or a vision report. G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, and T. G. Smothers (Jeremiah 26-52 [WBC], 124, 128-29) suggest that this is a speech of the restored (and refreshed) exiles like that which is formally introduced in v. 23. This speech, however, is not formally introduced. This interpretation is also reflected in TEV, CEV and is accepted here as fitting the context better and demanding less presuppositions. The Hebrew text reads literally, “Upon this I awoke and looked and my sleep was sweet to me.” Keown, Scalise, and Smothers have the best discussion of these two options as well as several other options.

[49:11]  ⁸ tn Or “Their children and relatives will all be destroyed. And none of their neighbors will say, ‘Leave your orphans with me and I’ll keep them alive. Your widows can trust in me.’” This latter interpretation is based on a reading in a couple of the Greek versions (Symmachus and Lucian) and is accepted by a number of the modern commentaries, (J. Bright, J. A. Thompson, W. L. Holladay, and G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, T. G. Smothers). However, the majority of modern English versions do not follow it and lacking any other Hebrew or versional evidence it is probable that this is an interpretation to explain the mitigation of what appears as a prophecy of utter annihilation. There have been other cases in Jeremiah where a universal affirmation (either positive or negative) has been modified in the verses that follow. The verb in the second line תִּבְטָחוּ (tivtakhu) is highly unusual; it is a second masculine plural form with a feminine plural subject. The form is explained in GKC 127-28 §47.k and 160-61 §60.a, n. 1 as a pausal substitution for the normal form תִּבְטַחְנָה (tivtakhnah) and a similar form in Ezek 37:7 cited as a parallel.

[49:27]  ⁹ sn Ben-Hadad was a common name borne by a number of the kings of Damascus, e.g., one during the time of Asa around 900 b.c. (cf. 1 Kgs 15:18-20), one a little later during the time of Omri and Ahab around 850 (1 Kgs 20), and one during the time of Jehoash about 800 (2 Kgs 13:24-25).

[50:46]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “among the nations.” With the exception of this phrase, the different verb in v. 46a, the absence of a suffix on the word for “land” in v. 45d, the third plural suffix instead of the third singular suffix on the verb for “chase…off of,” this passage is identical with 49:19-21 with the replacement of Babylon or the land of the Chaldeans for Edom. For the translation notes explaining the details of the translation here see the translator’s notes on 49:19-21.