14:15 “Suppose I were to send wild animals through the land and kill its children, leaving it desolate, without travelers due to the wild animals.
“‘The fathers eat sour grapes
And the children’s teeth become numb?’ 1
20:18 “‘But I said to their children 2 in the wilderness, “Do not follow the practices of your fathers; do not observe their regulations, 3 nor defile yourselves with their idols.
36:13 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Because they are saying to you, “You are a devourer of men, and bereave your nation of children,”
1 tn This word only occurs here and in the parallel passage in Jer 31:29-30 in the Qal stem and in Eccl 10:10 in the Piel stem. In the latter passage it refers to the bluntness of an ax that has not been sharpened. Here the idea is of the “bluntness” of the teeth, not from having ground them down due to the bitter taste of sour grapes but to the fact that they have lost their “edge,” “bite,” or “sharpness” because they are numb from the sour taste. For this meaning for the word, see W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 2:197.
2 tn Heb “sons,” reflecting the patriarchal idiom of the culture.
3 tn Or “standard of justice.” See Ezek 7:27.