Jeremiah 1:18

1:18 I, the Lord, hereby promise to make you as strong as a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall. You will be able to stand up against all who live in the land, including the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and all the people of the land.

Jeremiah 15:20

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,”

says the Lord.

Jeremiah 30:6

30:6 Ask yourselves this and consider it carefully:

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 a woman giving birth?

And why do their faces

turn so deathly pale?

Jeremiah 50:34

50:34 But the one who will rescue them is strong.

He is known as the Lord who rules over all.

He will strongly 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 


tn See the note on “Jeremiah” at the beginning of v. 17.

tn Heb “today I have made you.” The Hebrew verb form here emphasizes the certainty of a yet future act; the Lord is promising to protect Jeremiah from any future attacks which may result from his faithfully carrying out his commission. See a similar use of the same Hebrew verb tense in v. 9, and see the translator’s note there.

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.

sn See 1:18. The Lord renews his promise of protection and reiterates his call to Jeremiah.

tn Heb “Ask and see/consider.”

tn Heb “with their hands on their loins.” The word rendered “loins” refers to the area between the ribs and the thighs.

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.

tn Heb “Yahweh of armies is his name.” For the rendering of this title see the study note on 2:19.

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 (lÿmaan) 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 Lord appears to be speaking but refers to himself in the third person. It would be possible to translate here using the first person as CEV and NIrV do. However, to sustain that over the whole verse results in a considerably greater degree of paraphrase. The verse could be rendered “But I am strong and I will rescue them. I am the Lord who rules over all. I will champion their cause. And I will bring peace and rest to….”