Jeremiah 1:18

1:18 I, the Lord, ¹  hereby promise to make you ²  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 ³  the land, including the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and all the people of the land.

Jeremiah 5:15

5:15 The Lord says, ⁴  “Listen, ⁵  nation of Israel! ⁶ 

I am about to bring a nation from far away to attack you.

It will be a nation that was founded long ago

and has lasted for a long time.

It will be a nation whose language you will not know.

Its people will speak words that you will not be able to understand.

Jeremiah 11:12

11:12 Then those living in the towns of Judah and in Jerusalem will ⁷  go and cry out for help to the gods to whom they have been sacrificing. However, those gods will by no means ⁸  be able to save them when disaster strikes them.

Jeremiah 12:5

12:5 The Lord answered, ⁹ 

“If you have raced on foot against men and they have worn you out,

how will you be able to compete with horses?

And if you feel secure only ¹⁰  in safe and open country, ¹¹ 

how will you manage in the thick undergrowth along the Jordan River? ¹² 

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,” ¹³ 

says the Lord.

Jeremiah 17:27

17:27 But you must obey me and set the Sabbath day apart to me. You must not carry any loads in through ¹⁴  the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. If you disobey, I will set the gates of Jerusalem on fire. It will burn down all the fortified dwellings in Jerusalem and no one will be able to put it out.’”

Jeremiah 29:8

29:8 “For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all ¹⁵  says, ‘Do not let the prophets or those among you who claim to be able to predict the future by divination ¹⁶  deceive you. And do not pay any attention to the dreams that you are encouraging them to dream.

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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 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.

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 tn Heb “oracle of the Lord.”

⁵ tn Heb “Behold!”

⁶ tn Heb “house of Israel.”

⁷ tn Heb “Then the towns of Judah and those living in Jerusalem will…”

⁸ tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic involving the use of an infinitive of the verb before the verb itself (Heb “saving they will not save”). For this construction to give emphasis to an antithesis, cf. GKC 343 §113.p.

⁹ tn The words “The Lord answered” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

¹⁰ tn Some commentaries and English versions follow the suggestion given in HALOT 116 s.v. II בָּטַח that a homonym meaning “to stumble, fall down” is involved here and in Prov 14:16. The evidence for this homonym is questionable because both passages can be explained on other grounds with the usual root.

¹¹ tn Heb “a land of tranquility.” The expression involves a figure of substitution where the feeling engendered is substituted for the conditions that engender it. For the idea see Isa 32:18. The translation both here and in the following line is intended to bring out the contrast implicit in the emotive connotations connected with “peaceful country” and “thicket along the Jordan.”

¹² tn Heb “the thicket along the Jordan.” The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

sn The thick undergrowth along the Jordan River refers to the thick woods and underbrush alongside the Jordan where lions were known to have lived, and hence the area was considered dangerous. See Jer 49:14; 50:44. The Lord here seems to be telling Jeremiah that the situation will only get worse. If he has trouble contending with the plot from his fellow townsmen, what will he do when the whole country sets up a cry against him?

¹³ sn See 1:18. The Lord renews his promise of protection and reiterates his call to Jeremiah.

¹⁴ tn Heb “carry loads on the Sabbath and bring [them] in through.” The translation treats the two verbs “carry” and “bring in” are an example of hendiadys (see the note on “through” in 17:21).

¹⁵ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.”

sn See study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for the explanation of this title.

¹⁶ sn See the study notes on 27:9 for this term.