Jeremiah 8:15

8:15 We hoped for good fortune, but nothing good has come of it.

We hoped for a time of relief, but instead we experience terror. ¹ 

Jeremiah 17:15

17:15 Listen to what they are saying to me. ² 

They are saying, “Where are the things the Lord threatens us with?

Come on! Let’s see them happen!” ³ 

Jeremiah 20:4

20:4 For the Lord says, ‘I will make both you and your friends terrified of what will happen to you. ⁴  You will see all of them die by the swords of their enemies. ⁵  I will hand all the people of Judah over to the king of Babylon. He will carry some of them away into exile in Babylon and he will kill others of them with the sword.

Jeremiah 20:18

20:18 Why did I ever come forth from my mother’s womb?

All I experience is trouble and grief,

and I spend my days in shame. ⁶ 

Jeremiah 29:13

29:13 When you seek me in prayer and worship, you will find me available to you. If you seek me with all your heart and soul, ⁷ 

Jeremiah 38:5

38:5 King Zedekiah said to them, “Very well, you can do what you want with him. ⁸  For I cannot do anything to stop you.” ⁹ 

[8:15]  ¹ tn Heb “[We hoped] for a time of healing but behold terror.”

[17:15]  ² tn Heb “Behold, they are saying to me.”

[17:15]  ³ tn Heb “Where is the word of the Lord. Let it come [or come to pass] please.”

[20:4]  ³ tn Heb “I will make you an object of terror to both you and your friends.”

[20:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “And they will fall by the sword of their enemies and [with] your eyes seeing [it].”

[20:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “Why did I come forth from the womb to see [= so that I might see] trouble and grief and that my days might be consumed in shame.”

[29:13]  ⁵ tn Or “If you wholeheartedly seek me”; Heb “You will seek me and find [me] because you will seek me with all your heart.” The translation attempts to reflect the theological nuances of “seeking” and “finding” and the psychological significance of “heart” which refers more to intellectual and volitional concerns in the OT than to emotional ones.

[38:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “Behold, he is in your hands [= power/control].”

[38:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “For the king cannot do a thing with/against you.” The personal pronoun “I” is substituted in the English translation due to differences in style; Hebrew style often uses the third person or the title in speaking of oneself but English rarely if ever does. Compare the common paraphrasis of “your servant” for “I” in Hebrew (cf. BDB 714 s.v. עֶבֶד 6 and usage in 1 Sam 20:7, 8) and compare the usage in Pss 63:11 (63:12 HT); 61:6 (61:7 HT) where the king is praying for himself. For the meaning of יָכֹל (yakhol) as “to be able to do anything,” see BDB 407 s.v. יָכֹל 1.g.