Jeremiah 6:23

6:23 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

to attack you, Daughter Zion.’” ¹ 

Jeremiah 23:14

23:14 But I see the prophets of Jerusalem ² 

doing something just as shocking.

They are unfaithful to me

and continually prophesy lies. ³ 

So they give encouragement to people who are doing evil,

with the result that they do not stop their evildoing. ⁴ 

I consider all of them as bad as the people of Sodom,

and the citizens of Jerusalem as bad as the people of Gomorrah. ⁵ 

Jeremiah 31:32

31:32 It will not be like the old ⁶  covenant that I made with their ancestors ⁷  when I delivered them ⁸  from Egypt. For they violated that covenant, even though I was like a faithful husband to them,” ⁹  says the Lord. ¹⁰ 

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! ¹¹ 

Jeremiah 51:12

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

Bring more guards! ¹³ 

Post them all around the city! ¹⁴ 

Put men in ambush! ¹⁵ 

For the Lord will do what he has planned.

He will do what he said he would do to the people of Babylon. ¹⁶ 

[6:23]  ¹ sn Jerualem is personified as a young maiden helpless before enemy attackers.

[23:14]  ² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[23:14]  ³ tn Or “they commit adultery and deal falsely.” The word “shocking” only occurs here and in 5:30 where it is found in the context of prophesying lies. This almost assures that the reference to “walking in lies” (Heb “in the lie”) is referring to false prophesy. Moreover the references to the prophets in 5:13 and in 14:13-15 are all in the context of false prophesy as are the following references in this chapter in 23:24, 26, 32 and in 28:15. This appears to be the theme of this section. This also makes it likely that the reference to adultery is not literal adultery, though two of the false prophets in Babylon were guilty of this (29:23). The reference to “encouraging those who do evil” that follows also makes more sense if they were preaching messages of comfort rather than messages of doom. The verbs here are infinitive absolutes in place of the finite verb, probably used to place greater emphasis on the action (cf. Hos 4:2 in a comparable judgment speech.)

[23:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “So they strengthen the hands of those doing evil so that they do not turn back from their evil.” For the use of the figure “strengthen the hands” meaning “encourage” see Judg 9:24; Ezek 13:22 (and cf. BDB 304 s.v. חָזַק Piel.2). The vav consecutive on the front of the form gives the logical consequence equivalent to “so” in the translation.

[23:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “All of them are to me like Sodom and its [Jerusalem’s] inhabitants like Gomorrah.”

[31:32]  ³ tn The word “old” is not in the text but is implicit in the use of the word “new.” It is supplied in the translation for greater clarity.

[31:32]  ⁴ tn Heb “fathers.”

[31:32]  ⁵ tn Heb “when I took them by the hand and led them out.”

[31:32]  ⁶ tn Or “I was their master.” See the study note on 3:14.

[31:32]  ⁷ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[50:42]  ⁴ tn Heb “daughter Babylon.” The word “daughter” is a personification of the city of Babylon and its inhabitants.

[51:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “Raise a banner against the walls of Babylon.”

[51:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “Strengthen the watch.”

[51:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “Station the guards.”

[51:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “Prepare ambushes.”

[51:12]  ⁹ 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.