Jeremiah 6:1

The Destruction of Jerusalem Depicted

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

Get out of Jerusalem! ¹ 

Sound the trumpet ²  in Tekoa!

Light the signal fires at Beth Hakkerem!

For disaster lurks ³  out of the north;

it will bring great destruction. ⁴ 

Jeremiah 9:3

The Lord Laments That He Has No Choice But to Judge Them

9:3 The Lord says, ⁵ 

“These people are like soldiers who have readied their bows.

Their tongues are always ready to shoot out lies. ⁶ 

They have become powerful in the land,

but they have not done so by honest means. ⁷ 

Indeed, they do one evil thing after another ⁸ 

and do not pay attention to me. ⁹ 

Jeremiah 42:11

42:11 Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon whom you now fear. ¹⁰  Do not be afraid of him because I will be with you to save you and to rescue you from his power. I, the Lord, affirm it! ¹¹ 

[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.

[9:3]  ⁵ tn The words “The Lord says” have been moved up from the end of the verse to make clear that a change in speaker has occurred.

[9:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “They have readied [or strung] their tongue as their bow for lies.”

[9:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “but not through honesty.”

[9:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “they go from evil to evil.”

[9:3]  ⁹ tn Or “do not acknowledge me”; Heb “do not know me.” But “knowing” in Hebrew thought often involves more than intellectual knowledge; it involves emotional and volitional commitment as well. For יָדַע meaning “acknowledge” see 1 Chr 28:9; Isa 29:21; Hos 2:20; Prov 3:6. This word is also found in ancient Near Eastern treaty contexts where it has the idea of a vassal king acknowledging the sovereignty of a greater king (cf. H. Huffmon, “The Treaty Background of Hebrew yada,” BASOR 181 [1966]: 31-37).

[42:11]  ⁹ sn See Jer 41:18 for their reason for fear.

[42:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “oracle of the Lord.”