Jeremiah 6:19

6:19 Hear this, you peoples of the earth: ¹ 

‘Take note! ²  I am about to bring disaster on these people.

It will come as punishment for their scheming. ³ 

For they have paid no attention to what I have said, ⁴ 

and they have rejected my law.

Jeremiah 18:15

18:15 Yet my people have forgotten me

and offered sacrifices to worthless idols!

This makes them stumble along in the way they live

and leave the old reliable path of their fathers. ⁵ 

They have left them to walk in bypaths,

in roads that are not smooth and level. ⁶ 

Jeremiah 29:17

29:17 The Lord who rules over all ⁷  says, ‘I will bring war, ⁸  starvation, and disease on them. I will treat them like figs that are so rotten ⁹  they cannot be eaten.

Jeremiah 36:30

36:30 So the Lord says concerning King Jehoiakim of Judah, “None of his line will occupy the throne of David. ¹⁰  His dead body will be thrown out to be exposed to scorching heat by day and frost by night. ¹¹ 

Jeremiah 50:42

50:42 Its soldiers are armed with bows and spears.

They are cruel and show no mercy.

They sound like the roaring sea

as they ride forth on their horses.

Lined up in formation like men going into battle,

they are coming against you, fair Babylon! ¹² 

Jeremiah 51:30

51:30 The soldiers of Babylonia will stop fighting.

They will remain in their fortified cities.

They will lose their strength to do battle. ¹³ 

They will be as frightened as women. ¹⁴ 

The houses in her cities will be set on fire.

The gates of her cities will be broken down. ¹⁵ 

[6:19]  ¹ tn Heb “earth.”

[6:19]  ² tn Heb “Behold!”

[6:19]  ³ tn Heb “disaster on these people, the fruit of their schemes.”

[6:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “my word.”

[18:15]  ⁵ sn Heb “the ancient path.” This has already been referred to in Jer 6:16. There is another “old way” but it is the path trod by the wicked (cf. Job 22:15).

[18:15]  ⁶ sn Heb “ways that are not built up.” This refers to the built-up highways. See Isa 40:4 for the figure. The terms “way,” “by-paths,” “roads” are, of course, being used here in the sense of moral behavior or action.

[29:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.” See the study note on 2:19 for explanation of this title.

[29:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the sword.”

[29:17]  ¹¹ tn The meaning of this word is somewhat uncertain. It occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible. BDB 1045 s.v. שֹׁעָר relates it to the noun “horrible thing” (translated “something shocking”) in Jer 5:30; 23:14 and defines it as “horrid, disgusting.” HALOT 1495 s.v. שֹׁעָר relates it to the same noun and define it as “rotten; corrupt.” That nuance is accepted here.

[36:30]  ¹³ sn This prophesy was not “totally” fulfilled because his son Jehoiachin (Jeconiah) did occupy the throne for three months (2 Kgs 23:8). However, his rule was negligible and after his capitulation and exile to Babylon, he himself was promised that neither he nor his successors would occupy the throne of David (cf. Jer 22:30; and see the study notes on 22:24, 30).

[36:30]  ¹⁴ sn Compare the more poetic prophecy in Jer 22:18-19 and see the study note on 22:19.

[50:42]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “daughter Babylon.” The word “daughter” is a personification of the city of Babylon and its inhabitants.

[51:30]  ²¹ tn Heb “Their strength is dry.” This is a figurative nuance of the word “dry” which BDB 677 s.v. נָשַׁת Qal.1 explain as meaning “fails.” The idea of “strength to do battle” is implicit from the context and is supplied in the translation here for clarity.

[51:30]  ²² tn Heb “They have become women.” The metaphor has been turned into a simile and the significance of the comparison drawn out for the sake of clarity. See 50:37 for the same figure.

[51:30]  ²³ tn Heb “Her dwelling places have been set on fire. Her bars [i.e., the bars on the gates of her cities] have been broken.” The present translation has substituted the word “gates” for “bars” because the intent of the figure is to show that the bars of the gates have been broken giving access to the city. “Gates” makes it easier for the modern reader to understand the figure.