Jeremiah 6:17

6:17 The Lord said, ¹ 

“I appointed prophets as watchmen to warn you, ²  saying:

‘Pay attention to the warning sound of the trumpet!’” ³ 

But they said, “We will not pay attention!”

Jeremiah 17:20

17:20 As you stand in those places ⁴  announce, ‘Listen, all you people who pass through these gates. Listen, all you kings of Judah, all you people of Judah and all you citizens of Jerusalem. Listen to what the Lord says. ⁵ 

Jeremiah 22:2

22:2 Say: ‘Listen, O king of Judah who follows in David’s succession. ⁶  You, your officials, and your subjects who pass through the gates of this palace must listen to what the Lord says. ⁷ 

Jeremiah 31:22

31:22 How long will you vacillate, ⁸ 

you who were once like an unfaithful daughter? ⁹ 

For I, the Lord, promise ¹⁰  to bring about something new ¹¹  on the earth,

something as unique as a woman protecting a man!’” ¹² 

Jeremiah 51:50

51:50 You who have escaped the sword, ¹³ 

go, do not delay. ¹⁴ 

Remember the Lord in a faraway land.

Think about Jerusalem. ¹⁵ 

[6:17]  ¹ tn These words are not in the text but are implicit in the interchange of pronouns in the Hebrew of vv. 16-17. They are supplied in the translation here for clarity.

[6:17]  ² tn Heb “I appointed watchmen over you.”

[6:17]  ³ tn Heb “Pay attention to the sound of the trumpet.” The word “warning” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.

[17:20]  ⁴ tn The words “As you stand there” are not in the text but are implicit in the connection. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[17:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “Listen to the word of the Lord, kings of Judah…Jerusalem who enter through these gates.” This sentence has been restructured to avoid a long complex English sentence and to put “Listen to what the Lord says” closer to the content of what he says.

[22:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “who sits on David’s throne.”

[22:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah who sits on the throne of David, you, and your officials and your people who pass through these gates.”

[31:22]  ¹⁰ tn The translation “dilly-dally” is suggested by J. Bright, Jeremiah (AB), 276. The verb occurs only here in this stem (the Hitpael) and only one other time in any other stem (the Qal in Song 5:6). The dictionaries define it as “to turn this way and that” (cf., e.g., BDB 330 s.v. חָמַק Hithp.). In the context it refers to turning this way and that looking for the way back.

[31:22]  ¹¹ sn Israel’s backsliding is forgotten and forgiven. They had once been characterized as an apostate people (3:14, 22; the word “apostate” and “unfaithful” are the same in Hebrew) and figuratively depicted as an adulterous wife (3:20). Now they are viewed as having responded to his invitation (compare 31:18-19 with 3:22-25). Hence they are no longer depicted as an unfaithful daughter but as an unsullied virgin (see the literal translation of “my dear children” in vv. 4, 21 and the study note on v. 4.)

[31:22]  ¹² tn Heb “For the Lord will create.” The person has been shifted to avoid the possible confusion for some readers of a third person reference to the Lord in what has otherwise been a first person address. The verb “will create” is another one of the many examples of the prophetic perfect that have been seen in the book of Jeremiah. For the significance of the verb “create” here see the study note on “bring about something new.”

[31:22]  ¹³ sn Heb “create.” This word is always used with God as the subject and refers to the production of something new or unique, like the creation of the world and the first man and woman (Gen 1:1; 2:3; 1:27; 5:1) or the creation of a new heavens and a new earth in a new age (Isa 65:17), or the bringing about of new and unique circumstances (Num 16:30). Here reference is made contextually to the new exodus, that marvelous deliverance which will be so great that the old will pale in comparison (see the first note on v. 9).

[31:22]  ¹⁴ tn The meaning of this last line is uncertain. The translation has taken it as proverbial for something new and unique. For a fairly complete discussion of most of the options see C. Feinberg, “Jeremiah,” EBC 6:571. For the nuance of “protecting” for the verb here see BDB 686 s.v. סָבַב Po‘ 1 and compare the usage in Deut 32:10.

[51:50]  ¹³ sn God’s exiled people are told to leave doomed Babylon (see v. 45).

[51:50]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “don’t stand.”

[51:50]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “let Jerusalem go up upon your heart.” The “heart” is often viewed as the seat of one’s mental faculties and thought life.