Discovery BoxJeremiah 43:12
Context43:12 He will set fire 1 to the temples of the gods of Egypt. He will burn their gods or carry them off as captives. 2 He will pick Egypt clean like a shepherd picks the lice from his clothing. 3 He will leave there unharmed. 4
Jeremiah 46:10
Context46:10 But that day belongs to the Lord God who rules over all. 5
It is the day when he will pay back his enemies. 6
His sword will devour them until its appetite is satisfied!
It will drink their blood until it is full! 7
For the Lord God who rules over all 8 will offer them up as a sacrifice
in the land of the north by the Euphrates River.
[43:12] 1 tc The translation follows the Greek, Syriac, and Latin versions. The Hebrew text reads: “I will set fire to.” While it would be possible to explain the first person subject here in the same way as in the two verbs in v. 12b, the corruption of the Hebrew text is easy to explain here as a metathesis of two letters, י (yod) and ת (tav). The Hebrew reads הִצַּתִּי (hitsatti) and the versions presuppose הִצִּית (hitsit).
[43:12] 2 tn Heb “burn them or carry them off as captives.” Some of the commentaries and English versions make a distinction between the objects of the verbs, i.e., burn the temples and carry off the gods. However, the burning down of the temples is referred to later in v. 13.
[43:12] 3 tn Or “he will take over Egypt as easily as a shepherd wraps his cloak around him.” The translation follows the interpretation of HALOT 769 s.v. II ָעטָה Qal, the Greek translation, and a number of the modern commentaries (e.g., J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah [NICOT], 671). The only other passage where that translation is suggested for this verb is Isa 22:17 according to HAL. The alternate translation follows the more normal meaning of עָטָה (’atah; cf. BDB 741 s.v. I עָטָה Qal which explains “so completely will it be in his power”). The fact that the subject is “a shepherd” lends more credence to the former view though there may be a deliberate double meaning playing on the homonyms (cf. W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah [Hermeneia], 2:302).
[43:12] 4 tn Heb “in peace/wholeness/well-being/safety [shalom].”
[46:10] 5 tn Heb “the Lord Yahweh of armies.” See the study note at 2:19 for the translation and significance of this title for God.
[46:10] 6 sn Most commentators think that this is a reference to the
[46:10] 7 tn Or more paraphrastically, “he will kill them/ until he has exacted full vengeance”; Heb “The sword will eat and be sated; it will drink its fill of their blood.”
[46:10] 8 tn Heb “the Lord Yahweh of armies.” See the study note at 2:19 for the translation and significance of this title for God.
