Jeremiah 6:2-3

6:2 I will destroy ¹  Daughter Zion, ² 

who is as delicate and defenseless as a young maiden. ³ 

6:3 Kings will come against it with their armies. ⁴ 

They will encamp in siege all around it. ⁵ 

Each of them will devastate the portion assigned to him. ⁶ 

Jeremiah 6:2

6:2 I will destroy ⁷  Daughter Zion, ⁸ 

who is as delicate and defenseless as a young maiden. ⁹ 

Jeremiah 25:1-4

Seventy Years of Servitude for Failure to Give Heed

25:1 In the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord spoke to Jeremiah ¹⁰  concerning all the people of Judah. (That was the same as the first year that Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon.) ¹¹  25:2 So the prophet Jeremiah spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the people who were living in Jerusalem. ¹²  25:3 “For the last twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amon was ruling in Judah ¹³  until now, the Lord has been speaking to me. I told you over and over again ¹⁴  what he said. ¹⁵  But you would not listen. 25:4 Over and over again ¹⁶  the Lord has sent ¹⁷  his servants the prophets to you. But you have not listened or paid attention. ¹⁸ 

Isaiah 1:8

1:8 Daughter Zion ¹⁹  is left isolated,

like a hut in a vineyard,

or a shelter in a cucumber field;

she is a besieged city. ²⁰ 

Luke 19:43-44

19:43 For the days will come upon you when your enemies will build ²¹  an embankment ²²  against you and surround you and close in on you from every side. 19:44 They will demolish you ²³  – you and your children within your walls ²⁴  – and they will not leave within you one stone ²⁵  on top of another, ²⁶  because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.” ²⁷ 

Luke 21:20-24

The Desolation of Jerusalem

21:20 “But when you see Jerusalem ²⁸  surrounded ²⁹  by armies, then know that its ³⁰  desolation ³¹  has come near. 21:21 Then those who are in Judea must flee ³²  to the mountains. Those ³³  who are inside the city must depart. Those ³⁴  who are out in the country must not enter it, 21:22 because these are days of vengeance, ³⁵  to fulfill ³⁶  all that is written. 21:23 Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing their babies in those days! For there will be great distress ³⁷  on the earth and wrath against this people. 21:24 They ³⁸  will fall by the edge ³⁹  of the sword and be led away as captives ⁴⁰  among all nations. Jerusalem ⁴¹  will be trampled down by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. ⁴² 

[6:2]  ¹ tn The verb here is another example of the Hebrew verb form that indicates the action is as good as done (a Hebrew prophetic perfect).

[6:2]  ² sn Jerusalem is personified as a young maiden who is helpless in the hands of her enemies.

[6:2]  ³ tn Heb “The beautiful and delicate one I will destroy, the daughter of Zion. The English versions and commentaries are divided over the rendering of this verse because (1) there are two verbs with these same consonants, one meaning “to be like” and the other meaning “to be destroyed” (intransitive) or “to destroy” (transitive), and (2) the word rendered “beautiful” (נָוָה, navah) can be understood as a noun meaning “pasture” or as a defective writing of an adjective meaning “beautiful, comely” (נָאוָה, na’vah). Hence some render “Fair Zion, you are like a lovely pasture,” reading the verb form as an example of the old second feminine singular perfect. Although this may fit the imagery of the next verse, that rendering ignores the absence of a preposition (לְ or אֶל, lÿ or ’el, both of which can be translated “to”) that normally goes with the verb “be like” and drops the conjunction in front of the adjective “delicate.” The parallel usage of the verb in Hos 4:5 argues for the meaning “destroy.”

[6:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “Shepherds and their flocks will come against it.” Rulers are often depicted as shepherds; see BDB 945 s.v. רָעָה 1.d(2) (cf. Jer 12:10). The translation of this verse attempts to clarify the point of this extended metaphor.

[6:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “They will thrust [= pitch] tents around it.” The shepherd imagery has a surprisingly ominous tone. The beautiful pasture filled with shepherds grazing their sheep is in reality a city under siege from an attacking enemy.

[6:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “They will graze each one his portion.” For the use of the verb “graze” to mean “strip” or “devastate” see BDB 945 s.v. רָעָה 2.c. For a similar use of the word normally meaning “hand” to mean portion compare 2 Sam 19:43 (19:44 HT).

[6:2]  ⁷ tn The verb here is another example of the Hebrew verb form that indicates the action is as good as done (a Hebrew prophetic perfect).

[6:2]  ⁸ sn Jerusalem is personified as a young maiden who is helpless in the hands of her enemies.

[6:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “The beautiful and delicate one I will destroy, the daughter of Zion. The English versions and commentaries are divided over the rendering of this verse because (1) there are two verbs with these same consonants, one meaning “to be like” and the other meaning “to be destroyed” (intransitive) or “to destroy” (transitive), and (2) the word rendered “beautiful” (נָוָה, navah) can be understood as a noun meaning “pasture” or as a defective writing of an adjective meaning “beautiful, comely” (נָאוָה, na’vah). Hence some render “Fair Zion, you are like a lovely pasture,” reading the verb form as an example of the old second feminine singular perfect. Although this may fit the imagery of the next verse, that rendering ignores the absence of a preposition (לְ or אֶל, lÿ or ’el, both of which can be translated “to”) that normally goes with the verb “be like” and drops the conjunction in front of the adjective “delicate.” The parallel usage of the verb in Hos 4:5 argues for the meaning “destroy.”

[25:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “The word was to Jeremiah.” It is implicit from the context that it was the Lord’s word. The verbal expression is more in keeping with contemporary English style.

[25:1]  ¹¹ sn The year referred to would be 605 b.c. Jehoiakim had been placed on the throne of Judah as a puppet king by Pharaoh Necho after the defeat of Josiah at Megiddo in 609 b.c. (2 Kgs 23:34-35). According to Jer 46:2 Nebuchadnezzar defeated Necho at Carchemish in that same year. After defeating Necho, Nebuchadnezzar had hurried back to Babylon where he was made king. After being made king he then returned to Judah and attacked Jerusalem (Dan 1:1. The date given there is the third year of Jehoiakim but scholars are generally agreed that the dating there is based on a different system than the one here. It did not count the part of the year before New Year’s day as an official part of the king’s official rule. Hence, the third year there is the fourth year here.) The identity of the foe from the north referred to in general terms (4:6; 6:1; 15:12) now becomes clear.

[25:2]  ¹² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[25:3]  ¹³ sn The year referred to would be 627 b.c. The same year is referred to in 1:2 in reference to his call to be a prophet.

[25:3]  ¹⁴ tn For the idiom involved here see the notes at 7:13 and 11:7.

[25:3]  ¹⁵ tn The words “what he said” are not in the text but are implicit. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[25:4]  ¹⁶ tn For the idiom involved here see the notes at 7:13 and 11:7.

[25:4]  ¹⁷ tn The vav consecutive with the perfect in a past narrative is a little unusual. Here it is probably indicating repeated action in past time in keeping with the idiom that precedes and follows it. See GKC 332 §112.f for other possible examples.

[25:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “inclined your ear to hear.” This is idiomatic for “paying attention.” It is often parallel with “listen” as here or with “pay attention” (see, e.g., Prov 4:20; 51:1).

[1:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “daughter of Zion” (so KJV, NASB, NIV). The genitive is appositional, identifying precisely which daughter is in view. By picturing Zion as a daughter, the prophet emphasizes her helplessness and vulnerability before the enemy.

[1:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “like a city besieged.” Unlike the preceding two comparisons, which are purely metaphorical, this third one identifies the reality of Israel’s condition. In this case the comparative preposition, as in v. 7b, has the force, “in every way like,” indicating that all the earmarks of a siege are visible because that is indeed what is taking place. The verb form in MT is Qal passive participle of נָצַר (natsar, “guard”), but since this verb is not often used of a siege (see BDB 666 s.v. I נָצַר), some prefer to repoint the form as a Niphal participle from II צוּר (tsur, “besiege”). However, the latter is not attested elsewhere in the Niphal (see BDB 848 s.v. II צוּר).

[19:43]  ²¹ sn Jesus now predicted the events that would be fulfilled in the fall of Jerusalem in a.d. 70. The details of the siege have led some to see Luke writing this after Jerusalem’s fall, but the language of the verse is like God’s exilic judgment for covenant unfaithfulness (Hab 2:8; Jer 6:6, 14; 8:13-22; 9:1; Ezek 4:2; 26:8; Isa 29:1-4). Specific details are lacking and the procedures described (build an embankment against you) were standard Roman military tactics.

[19:43]  ²² sn An embankment refers to either wooden barricades or earthworks, or a combination of the two.

[19:44]  ²³ tn Grk “They will raze you to the ground.”

[19:44]  ²⁴ tn Grk “your children within you.” The phrase “[your] walls” has been supplied in the translation to clarify that the city of Jerusalem, metaphorically pictured as an individual, is spoken of here.

[19:44]  ²⁵ sn (Not) one stone on top of another is an idiom for total destruction.

[19:44]  ²⁶ tn Grk “leave stone on stone.”

[19:44]  ²⁷ tn Grk “the time of your visitation.” To clarify what this refers to, the words “from God” are supplied at the end of the verse, although they do not occur in the Greek text.

[21:20]  ²⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[21:20]  ²⁹ sn See Luke 19:41-44. This passage refers to the events associated with the fall of Jerusalem, when the city is surrounded by armies.

[21:20]  ³⁰ tn Grk “her,” referring to the city of Jerusalem (the name “Jerusalem” in Greek is a feminine noun).

[21:20]  ³¹ sn The phrase its desolation is a reference to the fall of the city, which is the only antecedent present in Luke’s account. The parallels to this in Matt 24:15 and Mark 13:14 refer to the temple’s desolation, though Matthew’s allusion is clearer. They focus on the parallel events of the end, not on the short term realization in a.d. 70. The entire passage has a prophetic “two events in one” typology, where the near term destruction (a.d. 70) is like the end. So the evangelists could choose to focus on the near time realization (Luke) or on its long term fulfillment, which mirrors it (Matthew, Mark).

[21:21]  ³² sn Fleeing to the mountains is a key OT image: Gen 19:17; Judg 6:2; Isa 15:5; Jer 16:16; Zech 14:5.

[21:21]  ³³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[21:21]  ³⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[21:22]  ³⁵ tn Or “of punishment.” This is a time of judgment.

[21:22]  ³⁶ tn The passive construction with the infinitive πλησθῆναι (plhsqhnai) has been translated as an active construction for simplicity, in keeping with contemporary English style.

[21:23]  ³⁷ sn Great distress means that this is a period of great judgment.

[21:24]  ³⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[21:24]  ³⁹ tn Grk “by the mouth of the sword” (an idiom for the edge of a sword).

[21:24]  ⁴⁰ sn Here is the predicted judgment against the nation until the time of Gentile rule has passed: Its people will be led away as captives.

[21:24]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “And Jerusalem.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[21:24]  ⁴² sn Until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled implies a time when Israel again has a central role in God’s plan.