Jeremiah 9:4

9:4 Everyone must be on his guard around his friends.

He must not even trust any of his relatives. ¹ 

For every one of them will find some way to cheat him. ² 

And all of his friends will tell lies about him.

Jeremiah 10:16

10:16 The Lord, who is the inheritance ³  of Jacob’s descendants, ⁴  is not like them.

He is the one who created everything.

And the people of Israel are those he claims as his own. ⁵ 

He is known as the Lord who rules over all.” ⁶ 

[9:4]  ¹ tn Heb “Be on your guard…Do not trust.” The verbs are second masculine plural of direct address and there seems no way to translate literally and not give the mistaken impression that Jeremiah is being addressed. This is another example of the tendency in Hebrew style to turn from description to direct address (a figure of speech called apostrophe).

[9:4]  ² tn Heb “cheating, each of them will cheat.”

[10:16]  ³ tn The words “The Lord who is” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity. For the significance of the words that follow them see the study note that follows.

[10:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “The Portion of Jacob.” “Descendants” is implied, and is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[10:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “And Israel is the tribe of his possession.”

[10:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies is his name.”