Jeremiah 5:31

5:31 The prophets prophesy lies.

The priests exercise power by their own authority. ¹ 

And my people love to have it this way.

But they will not be able to help you when the time of judgment comes! ² 

Jeremiah 28:8

28:8 From earliest times, the prophets who preceded you and me invariably ³  prophesied war, disaster, ⁴  and plagues against many countries and great kingdoms.

Jeremiah 44:4

44:4 I sent my servants the prophets to you people over and over ⁵  again warning you not to do this disgusting thing I hate. ⁶ 

Jeremiah 7:25

7:25 From the time your ancestors departed the land of Egypt until now, ⁷  I sent my servants the prophets to you again and again, ⁸  day after day. ⁹ 

Jeremiah 8:1

8:1 The Lord says, “When that time comes, ¹⁰  the bones of the kings of Judah and its leaders, the bones of the priests and prophets and of all the other people who lived in Jerusalem will be dug up from their graves.

Jeremiah 13:13

13:13 Then ¹¹  tell them, ‘The Lord says, “I will soon fill all the people who live in this land with stupor. ¹²  I will also fill the kings from David’s dynasty, ¹³  the priests, the prophets, and the citizens of Jerusalem with stupor. ¹⁴ 

Jeremiah 26:16

26:16 Then the officials and all the people rendered their verdict to the priests and the prophets. They said, ¹⁵  “This man should not be condemned to die. ¹⁶  For he has spoken to us under the authority of the Lord our God.” ¹⁷ 

Jeremiah 29:1

Jeremiah’s Letter to the Exiles

29:1 The prophet Jeremiah sent a letter to the exiles Nebuchadnezzar had carried off from Jerusalem ¹⁸  to Babylon. It was addressed to the elders who were left among the exiles, to the priests, to the prophets, and to all the other people who were exiled in Babylon. ¹⁹ 

[5:31]  ¹ tn Heb “they shall rule at their hands.” Since the word “hand” can be used figuratively for authority or mean “side” and the pronoun “them” can refer to the priests themselves or the prophets, the following translations have also been suggested: “the priests rule under their [the prophets’] directions,” or “the priests rule in league with them [the prophets].” From the rest of the book it would appear that the prophets did not exercise authority over the priests nor did they exercise the same authority over the people that the priests did. Hence it probably mean “by their own hand/power/authority.”

[5:31]  ² tn Heb “But what will you do at its end?” The rhetorical question implies a negative answer: “Nothing!”

[28:8]  ³ tn The word “invariably” is not in the text but is implicit in the context and in the tense of the Hebrew verb. It is supplied in the translation for clarity and to help bring out the contrast in the next verse.

[28:8]  ⁴ tc Many Hebrew mss read “starvation/famine” which is the second member of a common triad “sword, famine, and plague” in Jeremiah. This triad occurs thirteen times in the book and undoubtedly influenced a later scribe to read “starvation [= famine]” here. For this triad see the note on 14:14. The words “disaster and plagues” are missing in the LXX.

[44:4]  ⁵ tn See 7:13 for an explanation of this idiom and compare 7:25; 25:4; 26:5; 29:19; 35:15 for similar references to the persistent warnings of the prophets.

[44:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “sent…over again, saying, ‘Do not do this terrible thing that I hate.’” The indirect quote has been used to shorten the sentence and eliminate one level of embedded quotes.

[7:25]  ⁷ tn Heb “from the day your ancestors…until this very day.” However, “day” here is idiomatic for “the present time.”

[7:25]  ⁸ tn On the Hebrew idiom see the note at 7:13.

[7:25]  ⁹ tc There is some textual debate about the legitimacy of this expression here. The text reads merely “day” (יוֹם, yom). BHS suggests the word is to be deleted as a dittography of the plural ending of the preceding word. The word is in the Greek and Latin, and the Syriac represents the typical idiom “day after day” as though the noun were repeated. Either יוֹם has dropped out by haplography or a ם (mem) has been left out, i.e., reading יוֹמָם (yomam, “daily”).

[8:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “At that time.”

[13:13]  ¹¹ tn The Greek version is likely right in interpreting the construction of two perfects preceded by the conjunction as contingent or consequential here, i.e., “and when they say…then say.” See GKC 494 §159.g. However, to render literally would create a long sentence. Hence, the words “will probably” have been supplied in v. 12 in the translation to set up the contingency/consequential sequence in the English sentences.

[13:13]  ¹² sn It is probably impossible to convey in a simple translation all the subtle nuances that are wrapped up in the words of this judgment speech. The word translated “stupor” here is literally “drunkenness” but the word has in the context an undoubted intended double reference. It refers first to the drunken like stupor of confusion on the part of leaders and citizens of the land which will cause them to clash with one another. But it also probably refers to the reeling under God’s wrath that results from this (cf. Jer 25:15-29, especially vv. 15-16). Moreover there is still the subtle little play on wine jars. The people are like the wine jars which were supposed to be filled with wine. They were to be a special people to bring glory to God but they had become corrupt. Hence, like wine jars they would be smashed against one another and broken to pieces (v. 14). All of this, both “fill them with the stupor of confusion” and “make them reel under God’s wrath,” cannot be conveyed in one translation.

[13:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “who sit on David’s throne.”

[13:13]  ¹⁴ tn In Hebrew this is all one long sentence with one verb governing compound objects. It is broken up here in conformity with English style.

[26:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets…”

[26:16]  ¹⁴ sn Contrast v. 11.

[26:16]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “For in the name of the Lord our God he has spoken to us.” The emphasis is on “in the name of…”

[29:1]  ¹⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[29:1]  ¹⁶ tn Jer 29:1-3 are all one long sentence in Hebrew containing a parenthetical insertion. The text reads “These are the words of the letter which the prophet Jeremiah sent to the elders…people whom Nebuchadnezzar had exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon after King Jeconiah…had gone from Jerusalem by the hand of Elasah…whom Zedekiah sent…saying, ‘Thus says the Lord…’” The sentence has been broken up for the sake of contemporary English style and clarity.