15:20 I will make you as strong as a wall to these people,
a fortified wall of bronze.
They will attack you,
but they will not be able to overcome you.
For I will be with you to rescue you and deliver you,” 4
says the Lord.
30:6 Ask yourselves this and consider it carefully: 5
Have you ever seen a man give birth to a baby?
Why then do I see all these strong men
grabbing their stomachs in pain like 6 a woman giving birth?
And why do their faces
turn so deathly pale?
50:34 But the one who will rescue them 7 is strong.
He is known as the Lord who rules over all. 8
He will strongly 9 champion their cause.
As a result 10 he will bring peace and rest to the earth,
but trouble and turmoil 11 to the people who inhabit Babylonia. 12
1 tn See the note on “Jeremiah” at the beginning of v. 17.
2 tn Heb “today I have made you.” The Hebrew verb form here emphasizes the certainty of a yet future act; the
3 tn Heb “I make you a fortified city…against all the land….” The words “as strong as” and “so you will be able to stand against all the people of…” are given to clarify the meaning of the metaphor.
4 sn See 1:18. The
5 tn Heb “Ask and see/consider.”
6 tn Heb “with their hands on their loins.” The word rendered “loins” refers to the area between the ribs and the thighs.
7 sn Heb “their redeemer.” The Hebrew term “redeemer” referred in Israelite family law to the nearest male relative who was responsible for securing the freedom of a relative who had been sold into slavery. For further discussion of this term as well as its metaphorical use to refer to God as the one who frees Israel from bondage in Egypt and from exile in Assyria and Babylonia see the study note on 31:11.
8 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies is his name.” For the rendering of this title see the study note on 2:19.
9 tn Or “he will certainly champion.” The infinitive absolute before the finite verb here is probably functioning to intensify the verb rather than to express the certainty of the action (cf. GKC 333 §112.n and compare usage in Gen 43:3 and 1 Sam 20:6 listed there).
10 tn This appears to be another case where the particle לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) introduces a result rather than giving the purpose or goal. See the translator’s note on 25:7 for a listing of other examples in the book of Jeremiah and also the translator’s note on 27:10.
11 tn Heb “he will bring rest to the earth and will cause unrest to.” The terms “rest” and “unrest” have been doubly translated to give more of the idea underlying these two concepts.
12 tn This translation again reflects the problem often encountered in these prophecies where the