Jeremiah 6:15

6:15 Are they ashamed because they have done such shameful things?

No, they are not at all ashamed.

They do not even know how to blush!

So they will die, just like others have died. ¹ 

They will be brought to ruin when I punish them,”

says the Lord.

Jeremiah 14:18

14:18 If I go out into the countryside,

I see those who have been killed in battle.

If I go into the city,

I see those who are sick because of starvation. ² 

For both prophet and priest go about their own business

in the land without having any real understanding.’” ³ 

Jeremiah 46:21

46:21 Even her mercenaries ⁴ 

will prove to be like pampered, ⁵  well-fed calves.

For they too will turn and run away.

They will not stand their ground

when ⁶  the time for them to be destroyed comes,

the time for them to be punished.

Jeremiah 51:12

51:12 Give the signal to attack Babylon’s wall! ⁷ 

Bring more guards! ⁸ 

Post them all around the city! ⁹ 

Put men in ambush! ¹⁰ 

For the Lord will do what he has planned.

He will do what he said he would do to the people of Babylon. ¹¹ 

[6:15]  ¹ tn Heb “They will fall among the fallen.”

[14:18]  ² tn The word “starvation” has been translated “famine” elsewhere in this passage. It is the word which refers to hunger. The “starvation” here may be war induced and not simply that which comes from famine per se. “Starvation” will cover both.

[14:18]  ³ tn The meaning of these last two lines is somewhat uncertain. The meaning of these two lines is debated because of the uncertainty of the meaning of the verb rendered “go about their business” (סָחַר, sakhar) and the last phrase translated here “without any real understanding.” The verb in question most commonly occurs as a participle meaning “trader” or “merchant” (cf., e.g., Ezek 27:21, 36; Prov 31:14). It occurs as a finite verb elsewhere only in Gen 34:10, 21; 42:34 and there in a literal sense of “trading,” “doing business.” While the nuance is metaphorical here it need not extend to “journeying into” (cf., e.g., BDB 695 s.v. סָחַר Qal.1) and be seen as a reference to exile as is sometimes assumed. That seems at variance with the causal particle which introduces this clause, the tense of the verb, and the surrounding context. People are dying in the land (vv. 17-18a) not because prophet and priest have gone (the verb is the Hebrew perfect or past) into exile but because prophet and priest have no true knowledge of God or the situation. The clause translated here “without having any real understanding” (Heb “and they do not know”) is using the verb in the absolute sense indicated in BDB 394 s.v. יָדַע Qal.5 and illustrated in Isa 1:3; 56:10. For a more thorough discussion of the issues one may consult W. McKane, Jeremiah (ICC), 1:330-31.

[46:21]  ³ tn Heb “her hirelings in her midst.”

[46:21]  ⁴ tn The word “pampered” is not in the text. It is supplied in the translation to explain the probable meaning of the simile. The mercenaries were well cared for like stall-fed calves, but in the face of the danger they will prove no help because they will turn and run away without standing their ground. Some see the point of the simile to be that they too are fattened for slaughter. However, the next two lines do not fit that interpretation too well.

[46:21]  ⁵ tn The temporal use of the particle כִּי (ki; BDB 472 s.v. כִּי 2.a) seems more appropriate to the context than the causal use.

[51:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “Raise a banner against the walls of Babylon.”

[51:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “Strengthen the watch.”

[51:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “Station the guards.”

[51:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “Prepare ambushes.”

[51:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “For the Lord has both planned and done what he said concerning the people living in Babylon,” i.e., “he has carried out what he planned.” Here is an obvious case where the perfects are to be interpreted as prophetic; the commands imply that the attack is still future.