Jeremiah 9:15-16

9:15 So then, listen to what I, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all, ¹  say. ²  ‘I will make these people eat the bitter food of suffering and drink the poison water of judgment. ³  9:16 I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors ⁴  have known anything about. I will send people chasing after them with swords ⁵  until I have destroyed them.’” ⁶ 

[9:15]  ¹ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.”

[9:15]  ² tn Heb “Therefore, thus says the Lord…” The person is shifted from third to first to better conform with English style.

[9:15]  ³ tn Heb “I will feed this people wormwood and make them drink poison water.” “Wormwood” and “poison water” are not to be understood literally here but are symbolic of judgment and suffering. See, e.g., BDB 542 s.v. לַעֲנָה.

[9:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “fathers.”

[9:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “I will send the sword after them.” The sword here is probably not completely literal but refers to death by violent means, including death by the sword.

[9:16]  ⁶ sn He will destroy them but not completely. See Jer 5:18; 30:11; 46:28.