Jeremiah 9:19

9:19 For the sound of wailing is soon to be heard in Zion.

They will wail, ¹  ‘We are utterly ruined! ²  We are completely disgraced!

For our houses have been torn down

and we must leave our land.’” ³ 

Jeremiah 12:3

12:3 But you, Lord, know all about me.

You watch me and test my devotion to you. ⁴ 

Drag these wicked men away like sheep to be slaughtered!

Appoint a time when they will be killed! ⁵ 

Jeremiah 31:37

31:37 The Lord says, “I will not reject all the descendants of Israel

because of all that they have done. ⁶ 

That could only happen if the heavens above could be measured

or the foundations of the earth below could all be explored,” ⁷ 

says the Lord. ⁸ 

Jeremiah 32:4

32:4 King Zedekiah of Judah will not escape from the Babylonians. ⁹  He will certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon. He must answer personally to the king of Babylon and confront him face to face. ¹⁰ 

Jeremiah 38:2

38:2 “The Lord says, ‘Those who stay in this city will die in battle or of starvation or disease. ¹¹  Those who leave the city and surrender to the Babylonians ¹²  will live. They will escape with their lives.’” ¹³ 

Jeremiah 39:14

39:14 sent and had Jeremiah brought from the courtyard of the guardhouse. They turned him over to Gedaliah, ¹⁴  the son of Ahikam and the grandson of Shaphan, to take him home with him. ¹⁵  But Jeremiah stayed among the people. ¹⁶ 

Jeremiah 49:5

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

says the Lord God who rules over all. ¹⁷ 

“You will be scattered in every direction. ¹⁸ 

No one will gather the fugitives back together.

Jeremiah 51:16

51:16 When his voice thunders, the waters in the heavens roar.

He makes the clouds rise from the far-off horizons.

He makes the lightning flash out in the midst of the rain.

He unleashes the wind from the places where he stores it.

Jeremiah 52:3

52:3 What follows is a record of what happened to Jerusalem and Judah because of the Lord’s anger when he drove them out of his sight. ¹⁹  Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

[9:19]  ¹ tn The words “They will wail” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation to make clear that this is the wailing that will be heard.

[9:19]  ² tn Heb “How we are ruined!”

[9:19]  ³ tn The order of these two lines has been reversed for English stylistic reasons. The text reads in Hebrew “because we have left our land because they have thrown down our dwellings.” The two clauses offer parallel reasons for the cries “How ruined we are! [How] we are greatly disgraced!” But the first line must contain a prophetic perfect (because the lament comes from Jerusalem) and the second a perfect referring to a destruction that is itself future. This seems the only way to render the verse that would not be misleading.

[12:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “You, Lord, know me. You watch me and you test my heart toward you.”

[12:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “set aside for them a day of killing.”

[31:37]  ⁷ sn This answers Jeremiah’s question in 14:19.

[31:37]  ⁸ tn Heb “If the heavens above could be measured or the foundations of the earth below be explored, then also I could reject all the seed of Israel for all they have done.”

[31:37]  ⁹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[32:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “The Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for further explanation.

[32:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “his [Zedekiah’s] mouth will speak with his [Nebuchadnezzar’s] mouth and his eyes will see his eyes.” The verbs here are an obligatory imperfect and its vav consecutive perfect equivalent. (See IBHS 508-9 §31.4g for discussion and examples of the former and IBHS 528 §32.2.1d, n. 16, for the latter.)

[38:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “by sword, by starvation, or by disease.”

[38:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “those who go out to the Chaldeans.” For the rendering “Babylonians” for “Chaldeans” see the study note on 21:4.

[38:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “his life will be to him for spoil and he will live.” For the meaning of this idiom see the study note on 21:9. The words and “he will live” have been left out of the translation because they are redundant after “will live” and “they will escape with their lives.”

[39:14]  ¹⁶ sn Gedaliah. This is the first reference to this individual whom Nebuchadnezzar appointed governor over the people who were left to live in Judah (cf. 40:5; 2 Kgs 25:22). His father was the man who spoke up for Jeremiah when he was accused of being a false prophet by some of the priests and prophets (26:24). His grandfather was the royal secretary under Josiah who brought the discovery of the book of the law to Josiah’s attention, read it to him, and was involved in helping Josiah institute his reforms (2 Kgs 22:8-10).

[39:14]  ¹⁷ tn The meaning of the last phrase is uncertain. An alternate translation is “to take him home with him.” The text reads literally “to bring him into the house.” However, it is unclear whether “the house” refers to Jeremiah’s house or to Gedaliah’s. The fact that Nebuzaradan later offers Jeremiah the option of going back to Gedaliah (40:5) suggests that the house is here Gedaliah’s where Jeremiah would be looked out for in accord with Nebuchadnezzar’s command (v. 12).

[39:14]  ¹⁸ tn Many translate this last clause as a conclusion or summary remark, “So Jeremiah stayed…” However, it is better to translate it as an adversative because it probably refers to the fact that rather than staying with Gedaliah in the governor’s residence Jeremiah stayed among the people. That is how he wound up being led off as a prisoner to Ramah. See further the study note on 40:1. According to IBHS 550 §33.2.1d the vav (ו) consecutive can have either of these values (see examples 11 and 12 for the adversative or contrastive nuance).

[49:5]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tn Heb “You will be scattered each man [straight] before him.”

[52:3]  ²² tn Heb “Surely (or “for”) because of the anger of the Lord this happened in Jerusalem and Judah until he drove them out from upon his face.” For the phrase “drive out of his sight,” see 7:15.