Jeremiah 4:23

4:23 “I looked at the land and saw ¹  that it was an empty wasteland. ² 

I looked up at the sky, and its light had vanished.

Jeremiah 6:14

6:14 They offer only superficial help

for the harm my people have suffered. ³ 

They say, ‘Everything will be all right!’

But everything is not all right! ⁴ 

Jeremiah 7:33

7:33 Then the dead bodies of these people will be left on the ground for the birds and wild animals to eat. ⁵  There will not be any survivors to scare them away.

Jeremiah 8:11

8:11 They offer only superficial help

for the hurt my dear people ⁶  have suffered. ⁷ 

They say, “Everything will be all right!”

But everything is not all right! ⁸ 

Jeremiah 13:19

13:19 The gates of the towns in southern Judah will be shut tight. ⁹ 

No one will be able to go in or out of them. ¹⁰ 

All Judah will be carried off into exile.

They will be completely carried off into exile.’” ¹¹ 

Jeremiah 30:5

30:5 Yes, ¹²  here is what he says:

“You hear cries of panic and of terror;

there is no peace in sight. ¹³ 

Jeremiah 50:32

50:32 You will stumble and fall, you proud city;

no one will help you get up.

I will set fire to your towns;

it will burn up everything that surrounds you.” ¹⁴ 

[4:23]  ¹ tn Heb “I looked at the land and behold...” This indicates the visionary character of Jeremiah’s description of the future condition of the land of Israel.

[4:23]  ² tn Heb “formless and empty.” This is a case of hendiadys (two nouns joined by “and” both describe the same thing): one noun retains its full nominal force, the other functions as an adjective. The words תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ (tohu vavohu) allude to Gen 1:2, hyperbolically picturing a reversal of creation and return to the original precreation chaos.

[6:14]  ³ tn Heb “They heal [= bandage] the wound of my people lightly”; TEV “They act as if my people’s wounds were only scratches.”

[6:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “They say, ‘Peace! Peace!’ and there is no peace!”

[7:33]  ⁵ tn Heb “Their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.”

[8:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.

[8:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “They heal the wound of my people lightly.”

[8:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “They say, ‘Peace! Peace!’ and there is no peace!”

[13:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “The towns of the Negev will be shut.”

[13:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “There is no one to open them.” The translation is based on the parallel in Josh 6:1 where the very expression in the translation is used. Opening the city would have permitted entrance (of relief forces) as well as exit (of fugitives).

[13:19]  ¹¹ sn The statements are poetic exaggerations (hyperbole), as most commentaries note. Even in the exile of 587 b.c. not “all” of the people of Jerusalem or of Judah were exiled. Cf. the context of 2 Kgs 24:14-16 again.

[30:5]  ¹¹ tn The particle כִּי (ki) is functioning here as loosely causal or epexegetical of the preceding introduction. For this usage cf. BDB 473-74 s.v. כִּי 3.c. This nuance borders on that of the intensive use of כִּי. See the discussion in BDB 472 s.v. כִּי note and כִּי 1.e.

[30:5]  ¹² tn Heb “We have heard the sound of panic and of fear, and there is no peace.” It is generally agreed that the person of the verb presupposes that this is an unintroduced quote of the people.

[50:32]  ¹³ tn Heb “And the proud one will fall and there will be no one to help him up. I will start a fire in his towns and it will consume all that surround him.” The personification continues but now the stance is indirect (third person) rather than direct (second person). It is easier for the modern reader who is not accustomed to such sudden shifts if the second person is maintained. The personification of the city (or nation) as masculine is a little unusual; normally cities and nations are personified as feminine, as daughters or mothers.