Jeremiah 51:8

51:8 But suddenly Babylonia will fall and be destroyed. ¹ 

Cry out in mourning over it!

Get medicine for her wounds!

Perhaps she can be healed!

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 6:26

6:26 So I said, ⁶  “Oh, my dear people, ⁷  put on sackcloth

and roll in ashes.

Mourn with painful sobs

as though you had lost your only child.

For any moment now ⁸  that destructive army ⁹ 

will come against us.”

Jeremiah 15:8

15:8 Their widows will become in my sight more numerous ¹⁰ 

than the grains of sand on the seashores.

At noontime I will bring a destroyer

against the mothers of their young men. ¹¹ 

I will cause anguish ¹²  and terror

to fall suddenly upon them. ¹³ 

Jeremiah 18:22

18:22 Let cries of terror be heard in their houses

when you send bands of raiders unexpectedly to plunder them. ¹⁴ 

For they have virtually dug a pit to capture me

and have hidden traps for me to step into.

[51:8]  ¹ tn The verbs in this verse and the following are all in the Hebrew perfect tense, a tense that often refers to a past action or a past action with present results. However, as the translator’s notes have indicated, the prophets use this tense to view the actions as if they were as good as done (the Hebrew prophetic perfect). The stance here is ideal, viewed as already accomplished.

[4:20]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “my.”

[4:20]  ⁵ 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.

[6:26]  ³ tn These words are not in the text but are implicit from the context.

[6:26]  ⁴ tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the translator’s note there.

[6:26]  ⁵ tn Heb “suddenly.”

[6:26]  ⁶ tn Heb “the destroyer.”

[15:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “to me.” BDB 513 s.v. ל 5.a(d) compares the usage of the preposition “to” here to that in Jonah 3:3, “Nineveh was a very great city to God [in God’s estimation].” The NEB/REB interpret as though it were the agent after a passive verb, “I have made widows more numerous.” Most English versions ignore it. The present translation follows BDB though the emphasis on God’s agency has been strong in the passage.

[15:8]  ⁵ tn The translation of this line is a little uncertain because of the double prepositional phrase which is not represented in this translation or most of the others. The Hebrew text reads: “I will bring in to them, against mother of young men, a destroyer at noon time.” Many commentaries delete the phrase with the Greek text. If the preposition read “against” like the following one this would be a case of apposition of nearer definition. There is some evidence of that in the Targum and the Syriac according to BHS. Both nouns “mothers” and “young men” are translated as plural here though they are singular; they are treated by most as collectives. It would be tempting to translate these two lines “In broad daylight I have brought destroyers against the mothers of her fallen young men.” But this may be too interpretive. In the light of 6:4, noontime was a good time to attack. NJPS has “I will bring against them – young men and mothers together – ….” In this case “mother” and “young men” would be a case of asyndetic coordination.

[15:8]  ⁶ tn This word is used only here and in Hos 11:9. It is related to the root meaning “to rouse” (so BDB 735 s.v. I עִיר). Here it refers to the excitement or agitation caused by terror. In Hos 11:9 it refers to the excitement or arousal of anger.

[15:8]  ⁷ tn The “them” in the Hebrew text is feminine referring to the mothers.

[18:22]  ⁵ tn Heb “when you bring marauders in against them.” For the use of the noun translated here “bands of raiders to plunder them” see 1 Sam 30:3, 15, 23 and BDB 151 s.v. גְּדוּד 1.