Jeremiah 48:3

48:3 Cries of anguish will arise in Horonaim,

‘Oh, the ruin and great destruction!’

Jeremiah 50:22

50:22 The noise of battle can be heard in the land of Babylonia. ¹ 

There is the sound of great destruction.

Jeremiah 4:20

4:20 I see ²  one destruction after another taking place,

so that the whole land lies in ruins.

I see our ³  tents suddenly destroyed,

their ⁴  curtains torn down in a mere instant. ⁵ 

Jeremiah 8:21

8:21 My heart is crushed because my dear people ⁶  are being crushed. ⁷ 

I go about crying and grieving. I am overwhelmed with dismay. ⁸ 

Jeremiah 30:12

The Lord Will Heal the Wounds of Judah

30:12 Moreover, ⁹  the Lord says to the people of Zion, ¹⁰ 

“Your injuries are incurable;

your wounds are severe. ¹¹ 

Jeremiah 51:54

51:54 Cries of anguish will come from Babylon,

the sound of great destruction from the land of the Babylonians.

Jeremiah 6:14

6:14 They offer only superficial help

for the harm my people have suffered. ¹² 

They say, ‘Everything will be all right!’

But everything is not all right! ¹³ 

Jeremiah 8:11

8:11 They offer only superficial help

for the hurt my dear people ¹⁴  have suffered. ¹⁵ 

They say, “Everything will be all right!”

But everything is not all right! ¹⁶ 

Jeremiah 10:19

10:19 And I cried out, ¹⁷  “We are doomed! ¹⁸ 

Our wound is severe!

We once thought, ‘This is only an illness.

And we will be able to bear it!’ ¹⁹ 

Jeremiah 4:6

4:6 Raise a signal flag that tells people to go to Zion. ²⁰ 

Run for safety! Do not delay!

For I am about to bring disaster out of the north.

It will bring great destruction. ²¹ 

Jeremiah 30:15

30:15 Why do you complain about your injuries,

that your pain is incurable?

I have done all this to you

because your wickedness is so great

and your sin is so much.

Jeremiah 48:5

48:5 Indeed they will climb the slopes of Luhith,

weeping continually as they go. ²² 

For on the road down to Horonaim

they will hear the cries of distress over the destruction. ²³ 

Jeremiah 6:1

The Destruction of Jerusalem Depicted

6:1 “Run for safety, people of Benjamin!

Get out of Jerusalem! ²⁴ 

Sound the trumpet ²⁵  in Tekoa!

Light the signal fires at Beth Hakkerem!

For disaster lurks ²⁶  out of the north;

it will bring great destruction. ²⁷ 

Jeremiah 14:17

Lament over Present Destruction and Threat of More to Come

14:17 “Tell these people this, Jeremiah: ²⁸ 

‘My eyes overflow with tears

day and night without ceasing. ²⁹ 

For my people, my dear children, ³⁰  have suffered a crushing blow.

They have suffered a serious wound. ³¹ 

[50:22]  ¹ tn The words “of Babylonia” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They have been supplied in the translation to clarify the referent.

[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.

[8:21]  ¹ tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.

[8:21]  ² tn Heb “Because of the crushing of the daughter of my people I am crushed.”

[8:21]  ³ tn Heb “I go about in black [i.e., mourning clothes]. Dismay has seized me.”

[30:12]  ¹ tn The particle כִּי (ki) here is parallel to the one in v. 5 that introduces the first oracle. See the discussion in the translator’s note there.

[30:12]  ² tn The pronouns in vv. 10-17 are second feminine singular referring to a personified entity. That entity is identified in v. 17 as Zion, which here stands for the people of Zion.

[30:12]  ³ sn The wounds to the body politic are those of the incursions from the enemy from the north referred to in Jer 4:6; 6:1 over which Jeremiah and even God himself have lamented (Jer 8:21; 10:19; 14:17). The enemy from the north has been identified as Babylon and has been identified as the agent of God’s punishment of his disobedient people (Jer 1:15; 4:6; 25:9).

[6:14]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “They say, ‘Peace! Peace!’ and there is no peace!”

[8:11]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “They heal the wound of my people lightly.”

[8:11]  ³ tn Heb “They say, ‘Peace! Peace!’ and there is no peace!”

[10:19]  ¹ tn The words, “And I cried out” are not in the text. It is not altogether clear who the speaker is in vv. 19-25. The words of vv. 19-20 would best be assigned to a personified Jerusalem who laments the destruction of her city (under the figure of a tent) and the exile of her children (under the figure of children). However, the words of v. 21 which assign responsibility to the rulers do not fit well in the mouth of the people but do fit Jeremiah. The words of v. 22 are very appropriate to Jeremiah being similar to the report in 4:19-20. Likewise the words of v. 23 which appear to express man’s incapacity to control his own destiny and his resignation to the fate which awaits him in the light of v. 24 seem more appropriate to Jeremiah than to the people. There has been no indication elsewhere that the people have shown any indication of being resigned to their fate or willing to accept their punishment. Though the issue is far from resolved a majority of commentators see Jeremiah as the speaker so identifying himself with their fate that he speaks as though he were this personified figure. It is not altogether out of the question, however, that the speaker throughout is personified Jerusalem though I know of no commentator who takes that view. For those who are interested, the most thorough discussion of the issue is probably to be found in W. McKane, Jeremiah (ICC), 1:230-35, especially 233-35. Rendering the pronouns throughout as “we” and “our” alleviates some of the difficulty but some speaker needs to be identified in the introduction to allay any possible confusion. Hence I have opted for what is the majority view.

[10:19]  ² tn Heb “Woe to me on account of my wound.” The words “woe to” in many contexts carry the connotation of hopelessness and of inevitable doom (cf. 1 Sam 4:7, 8; Isa 6:5), hence a “deadly blow.” See also the usage in 4:13, 31; 6:4 and the notes on 4:13. For the rendering of the pronoun as “we” and “our” here and in the verses to follow see the preceding note.

[10:19]  ³ tn Some interpret this as a resignation to the punishment inflicted and translate “But I said, ‘This is my punishment and I will just need to bear it.’” This is unlikely given the meaning and usage of the word rendered “sickness” (חֳלִי, khali), the absence of the pronoun “my,” and the likelihood that the particle אַךְ means “only” not “indeed” (cf. BDB s.v. אַךְ 2.b and compare its usage in v. 24).

[4:6]  ¹ tn Heb “Raise up a signal toward Zion.”

[4:6]  ² tn Heb “out of the north, even great destruction.”

[48:5]  ¹ tn Or “Indeed her fugitives will…” It is unclear what the subject of the verbs are in this verse. The verb in the first two lines “climb” (יַעֲלֶה, ya’aleh) is third masculine singular and the verb in the second two lines “will hear” (שָׁמֵעוּ, shame’u) is third common plural. The causal particles at the beginning of the two halves of the verse suggest some connection with the preceding, so the translation assumes that the children are still the subject. In this case the singular verb would be a case of the distributive singular already referred to in the translator’s note on 46:15. The parallel passage in Isa 15:5 refers to the “fugitives” (בְּרִיחֶהָ, bÿrikheha) with the same singular verb as here and that may be the implied subject here.

[48:5]  ² tn Heb “the distresses of the cry of destruction.” Many commentaries want to leave out the word “distresses” because it is missing from the Greek version and the parallel passage in Isa 15:5. However, it is in all the Hebrew mss and in the other early versions, and it is hard to see why it would be added here if it were not original.

[6:1]  ¹ tn Heb “Flee for safety, people of Benjamin, out of the midst of Jerusalem.”

[6:1]  ² tn Heb “ram’s horn,” but the modern equivalent is “trumpet” and is more readily understandable.

[6:1]  ³ tn Heb “leans down” or “looks down.” This verb personifies destruction leaning/looking down from its window in the sky, ready to attack.

[6:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “[It will be] a severe fracture.” The nation is pictured as a limb being fractured.

[14:17]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn This is a poetic personification. To translate with the plural “serious wounds” might mislead some into thinking of literal wounds.