Jeremiah 7:4

7:4 Stop putting your confidence in the false belief that says, ¹  “We are safe! ²  The temple of the Lord is here! The temple of the Lord is here! The temple of the Lord is here!” ³ 

Jeremiah 49:4-5

49:4 Why do you brag about your great power?

Your power is ebbing away, ⁴  you rebellious people of Ammon, ⁵ 

who trust in your riches and say,

‘Who would dare to attack us?’

49:5 I will bring terror on you from every side,”

says the Lord God who rules over all. ⁶ 

“You will be scattered in every direction. ⁷ 

No one will gather the fugitives back together.

Jeremiah 49:16

49:16 The terror you inspire in others ⁸ 

and the arrogance of your heart have deceived you.

You may make your home in the clefts of the rocks;

you may occupy the highest places in the hills. ⁹ 

But even if you made your home where the eagles nest,

I would bring you down from there,”

says the Lord.

Jeremiah 49:2

49:2 Because you did that,

I, the Lord, affirm that ¹⁰  a time is coming

when I will make Rabbah, the capital city of Ammon,

hear the sound of the battle cry.

It will become a mound covered with ruins. ¹¹ 

Its villages will be burned to the ground. ¹² 

Then Israel will take back its land

from those who took their land from them.

I, the Lord, affirm it! ¹³ 

Jeremiah 5:6-7

5:6 So like a lion from the thicket their enemies will kill them.

Like a wolf from the desert they will destroy them.

Like a leopard they will lie in wait outside their cities

and totally destroy anyone who ventures out. ¹⁴ 

For they have rebelled so much

and done so many unfaithful things. ¹⁵ 

5:7 The Lord asked, ¹⁶ 

“How can I leave you unpunished, Jerusalem? ¹⁷ 

Your people ¹⁸  have rejected me

and have worshiped gods that are not gods at all. ¹⁹ 

Even though I supplied all their needs, ²⁰  they were like an unfaithful wife to me. ²¹ 

They went flocking ²²  to the houses of prostitutes. ²³ 

Lamentations 4:12

ל (Lamed)

4:12 Neither the kings of the earth

nor the people of the lands ²⁴  ever thought ²⁵ 

that enemy or foe would enter

the gates ²⁶  of Jerusalem. ²⁷ 

Obadiah 1:3-4

1:3 Your presumptuous heart ²⁸  has deceived you –

you who reside in the safety of the rocky cliffs, ²⁹ 

whose home is high in the mountains. ³⁰ 

You think to yourself, ³¹ 

‘No one can ³²  bring me down to the ground!’ ³³ 

1:4 Even if you were to soar high like an eagle, ³⁴ 

even if you ³⁵  were to make your nest among the stars,

I can bring you down even from there!” says the Lord.

Micah 3:11

3:11 Her ³⁶  leaders take bribes when they decide legal cases, ³⁷ 

her priests proclaim rulings for profit,

and her prophets read omens for pay.

Yet they claim to trust ³⁸  the Lord and say,

“The Lord is among us. ³⁹ 

Disaster will not overtake ⁴⁰  us!”

[7:4]  ¹ tn Heb “Stop trusting in lying words which say.”

[7:4]  ² tn The words “We are safe!” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[7:4]  ³ tn Heb “The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these (i.e., these buildings).” Elsewhere triple repetition seems to mark a kind of emphasis (cf. Isa 6:3; Jer 22:29; Ezek 21:27 [32 HT]). The triple repetition that follows seems to be Jeremiah’s way of mocking the (false) sense of security that people had in the invincibility of Jerusalem because God dwelt in the temple. They appeared to be treating the temple as some kind of magical charm. A similar feeling had grown up around the ark in the time of the judges (cf. 1 Sam 3:3) and the temple and city of Jerusalem in Micah’s day (cf. Mic 3:11). It is reflected also in some of the Psalms (cf., e.g., Ps 46, especially v. 5).

[49:4]  ⁴ tn Or “Why do you brag about your valleys, about the fruitfulness of your valleys.” The meaning of the first two lines of this verse are uncertain primarily due to the ambiguity of the expression זָב עִמְקֵךְ (zav ’imqekh). The form זָב (zav) is either a Qal perfect or Qal participle of a verb meaning flow. It is common in the expression “a land flowing with milk and honey” and is also common to refer to the seminal discharge or discharge of blood which makes a man or woman unclean. BDB 264 s.v. זוּב Qal.2 sees it as an abbreviation of the idea of “flowing with milk and honey” and sees it as referring to the fertility of Ammon’s valley. However, there are no other examples of such an ellipsis. Several of the modern English versions and commentaries have taken the word עֵמֶק (’emeq) not as a reference to a valley but to the homonym cited in the note on 47:5 and see the reference here to the flowing away of Ammon’s strength. That interpretation is followed here. Instead of explaining the plural ending on עֲמָקִים (’amaqim) as being an enclitic ם (mem) as others who follow this interpretation (e.g., J. Bright, Jeremiah [AB], 325), the present translation understands the plural as a plural of amplification (cf. GKC 397-98 §124.e and compare the noun “might” in Isa 40:26).

[49:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “apostate daughter.” This same term is applied to Israel in Jer 31:22 but seems inappropriate here to Ammon because she had never been loyal to the Lord and could not hence be called “apostate.” However, if it is used of the fact that she rebelled against the Lord’s servant, Nebuchadnezzar, it might be appropriate (cf. Jer 27:6, 8). Hence the term “rebellious” is used in the translation to represent it. The word “daughter” is again a personification of the land (cf. BDB 123 s.v. בַּת 3) and is here translated “people of Ammon” to make it easier for the modern reader to identify the referent.

[49:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “The Lord Yahweh of armies.” For an explanation of the rendering here and of the significance of this title see the study note on 2:19.

[49:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “You will be scattered each man [straight] before him.”

[49:16]  ⁸ tn The meaning of this Hebrew word (תִּפְלֶצֶת, tifletset) is uncertain because it occurs only here. However, it is related to a verb root that refers to the shaking of the pillars (of the earth) in Job 9:6 and a noun (מִפְלֶצֶת, mifletset) that refers to “horror” or “shuddering” used in Job 21:6; Isa 21:4; Ezek 7:18; Ps 55:6. This is the nuance that is accepted by BDB, KBL, HAL and a majority of the modern English versions. The suffix is an objective genitive. The fact that the following verb is masculine singular suggests that the text here (הִשִּׁיא אֹתָךְ, hishi’ ’otakh) is in error for הִשִּׁיאָתָךְ (hishi’atakh; so G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, T. G. Smothers, Jeremiah 26-52 [WBC], 327, n. 16.a).

[49:16]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew text of the first four lines reads: “Your terror [= the terror you inspire] has deceived you, [and] the arrogance of your heart, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, who occupy the heights of the hill.” The sentence is broken up and restructured to better conform with English style.

[49:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “oracle of the Lord.”

[49:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a desolate tel.” For the explanation of what a “tel” is see the study note on 30:18.

[49:2]  ¹² tn Heb “Its daughters will be burned with fire.” For the use of the word “daughters” to refer to the villages surrounding a larger city see BDB 123 s.v. I בַּת 4 and compare the usage in Judg 1:27.

[49:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “says the Lord.” The first person is used to maintain the first person address throughout.

[5:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “So a lion from the thicket will kill them. A wolf from the desert will destroy them. A leopard will watch outside their cities. Anyone who goes out from them will be torn in pieces.” However, it is unlikely that, in the context of judgment that Jeremiah has previously been describing, literal lions are meant. The animals are metaphorical for their enemies. Compare Jer 4:7.

[5:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “their rebellions are so many and their unfaithful acts so numerous.”

[5:7]  ¹⁶ tn These words are not in the text, but are supplied in the translation to make clear who is speaking.

[5:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “How can I forgive [or pardon] you.” The pronoun “you” is second feminine singular, referring to the city. See v. 1.

[5:7]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “your children.”

[5:7]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and they have sworn [oaths] by not-gods.”

[5:7]  ²⁰ tn Heb “I satisfied them to the full.”

[5:7]  ²¹ tn Heb “they committed adultery.” It is difficult to decide whether literal adultery with other women or spiritual adultery with other gods is meant. The word for adultery is used for both in the book of Jeremiah. For examples of its use for spiritual adultery see 3:8, 9; 9:2. For examples of its use for literal adultery see 7:9; 23:14. The context here could argue for either. The swearing by other gods and the implicit contradiction in their actions in contrast to the expected gratitude for supplying their needs argues for spiritual adultery. However, the reference to prostitution in the next line and the reference to chasing after their neighbor’s wives argues for literal adultery. The translation opts for spiritual adultery because of the contrast implicit in the concessive clause.

[5:7]  ²² tn There is a great deal of debate about the meaning of this word. Most of the modern English versions follow the lead of lexicographers who relate this word to a noun meaning “troop” and understand it to mean “they trooped together” (cf. BDB 151 s.v. גָּדַד Hithpo.2 and compare the usage in Mic 5:1 [4:14 HT]). A few of the modern English versions and commentaries follow the reading of the Greek and read a word meaning “they lodged” (reading ִיתְגּוֹרְרוּ [yitggorÿru] from I גּוּר [gur; cf. HALOT 177 s.v. Hithpo. and compare the usage in 1 Kgs 17:20] instead of יִתְגֹּדָדוּ [yitggodadu]). W. L. Holladay (Jeremiah [Hermeneia], 1:180) sees a reference here to the cultic practice of cutting oneself in supplication to pagan gods (cf. BDB 151 s.v. גָּדַד Hithpo.1 and compare the usage in 1 Kgs 18:28). The houses of prostitutes would then be a reference to ritual prostitutes at the pagan shrines. The translation follows BDB and the majority of modern English versions.

[5:7]  ²³ tn Heb “to a house of a prostitute.”

[4:12]  ²⁴ tn Heb “inhabitants of the mainland.”

[4:12]  ²⁵ tn Heb “they did not believe that.” The verb הֶאֱמִינוּ (he’eminu), Hiphil perfect 3rd person common plural from אָמַן (’aman, “to believe”), ordinarily is a term of faith and trust, but occasionally it functions cognitively: “to think that” (Job 9:16; 15:22; Ps 116:10; Lam 4:12) and “to be convinced that” (Ps 27:13) (HALOT 64 s.v. I אמן hif.1). The semantic relationship between “to believe” = “to think” is metonymical, that is, effect for cause.

[4:12]  ²⁶ sn The expression “to enter the gates” of a city is an idiom referring to the military conquest of that city. Ancient Near Eastern fortified cities typically featured double and sometimes triple city gates – the bulwark of the defense of the city. Because fortified cities were enclosed with protective walls, the Achilles tendon of every city was the city gates – the weak point in the defense and the perennial point of attack by enemies (e.g., Judg 5:8, 11; 1 Sam 17:52; Isa 29:6; Jer 17:27; 51:54; Ezek 21:20, 27; Mic 1:9, 12; Neh 1:3; 2:3, 13, 17).

[4:12]  ²⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:3]  ²⁸ tn Heb “the presumption of your heart”; NAB, NIV “the pride of your heart”; NASB “arrogance of your heart.”

[1:3]  ²⁹ tn Heb “in the concealed places of the rock”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “in the clefts of the rock”; NCV “the hollow places of the cliff”; CEV “a mountain fortress.”

[1:3]  ³⁰ tn Heb “on high (is) his dwelling”; NASB “in the loftiness of your dwelling place”; NRSV “whose dwelling (abode NAB) is in the heights.”

[1:3]  ³¹ tn Heb “the one who says in his heart.”

[1:3]  ³² tn The Hebrew imperfect verb used here is best understood in a modal sense (“Who can bring me down?”) rather than in the sense of a simple future (“Who will bring me down?”). So also in v. 4 (“I can bring you down”). The question is not so much whether this will happen at some time in the future, but whether it even lies in the realm of possible events. In their hubris the Edomites were boasting that no one had the capability of breaching their impregnable defenses. However, their pride caused them to fail to consider the vast capabilities of Yahweh as warrior.

[1:3]  ³³ tn Heb “Who can bring me down?” This rhetorical question implies a negative answer: “No one!”

[1:4]  ³⁴ sn The eagle was often used in the ancient Near East as a symbol of strength and swiftness.

[1:4]  ³⁵ tc The present translation follows the reading תָּשִׂים (tasim; active) rather than שִׁים (sim; passive) of the MT (“and your nest be set among the stars,” NAB). Cf. LXX, Syriac, Vg.

[3:11]  ³⁶ sn The pronoun Her refers to Jerusalem (note the previous line).

[3:11]  ³⁷ tn Heb “judge for a bribe.”

[3:11]  ³⁸ tn Heb “they lean upon” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV); NAB “rely on.”

[3:11]  ³⁹ tn Heb “Is not the Lord in our midst?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course he is!”

[3:11]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “come upon” (so many English versions); NCV “happen to us”; CEV “come to us.”