2:4 Now listen to what the Lord has to say, you descendants 2 of Jacob,
all you family groups from the nation 3 of Israel.
2:17 You have brought all this on yourself, Israel, 4
by deserting the Lord your God when he was leading you along the right path. 5
2:33 “My, how good you have become
at chasing after your lovers! 6
Why, you could even teach prostitutes a thing or two! 7
6:8 So 8 take warning, Jerusalem,
or I will abandon you in disgust 9
and make you desolate,
a place where no one can live.”
13:25 This is your fate,
the destiny to which I have appointed you,
because you have forgotten me
and have trusted in false gods.
17:12 Then I said, 14
“Lord, from the very beginning
you have been seated on your glorious throne on high.
You are the place where we can find refuge.
23:24 “Do you really think anyone can hide himself
where I cannot see him?” the Lord asks. 15
“Do you not know that I am everywhere?” 16
the Lord asks. 17
23:35 So I, Jeremiah, tell you, 18 “Each of you people should say to his friend or his relative, ‘How did the Lord answer? Or what did the Lord say?’ 19
38:24 Then Zedekiah told Jeremiah, “Do not let anyone know about the conversation we have had. 34 If you do, you will die. 35
42:19 “The Lord has told you people who remain in Judah, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’ Be very sure of this: I warn you 37 here and now. 38
48:46 Moab, you are doomed! 41
You people who worship Chemosh will be destroyed.
Your sons will be taken away captive.
Your daughters will be carried away into exile. 42
49:15 The Lord says to Edom, 43
“I will certainly make you small among nations.
I will make you despised by all humankind.
1 tn Or “For you must go and say.” The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) is likely adversative here after a negative statement (cf. BDB 474 s.v. כִּי 3.e). The
2 tn Heb “house.”
3 tn Heb “house.”
4 tn Heb “Are you not bringing this on yourself.” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.
5 tn Heb “at the time of leading you in the way.”
6 tn Heb “How good you have made your ways to seek love.”
7 tn Heb “so that even the wicked women you teach your ways.”
8 tn This word is not in the text but is supplied in the translation. Jeremiah uses a figure of speech (enallage) where the speaker turns from talking about someone to address him/her directly.
9 tn Heb “lest my soul [= I] becomes disgusted with you.”
sn The wordplay begun with “sound…in Tekoa” in v. 1 and continued with “they will pitch” in v. 3 is concluded here with “turn away” (וּבִתְקוֹעַ תִּקְעוּ [uvitqoa’ tiq’u] in v. 1, תָּקְעוּ [taq’u] in v. 3 and תֵּקַע [teqa’] here).
10 tn The translation uses imperatives in vv. 5-6 followed by the phrase, “If you do all this,” to avoid the long and complex sentence structure of the Hebrew sentence which has a series of conditional clauses in vv. 5-6 followed by a main clause in v. 7.
11 tn Heb “live in this place, in this land.”
12 tn Heb “gave to your fathers [with reference to] from ancient times even unto forever.”
13 sn For the argumentation here compare Jer 7:23-26.
14 tn The words, “Then I said” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity to show the shift in speaker.
sn The
15 tn Heb “Oracle of the
16 tn The words “Don’t you know” are not in the text. They are a way of conveying the idea that the question which reads literally “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” expects a positive answer. They follow the pattern used at the beginning of the previous two questions and continue that thought. The words are supplied in the translation for clarity.
17 tn Heb “Oracle of the
18 tn The words “So, I, Jeremiah tell you” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity to show that it is he who is addressing the people, not the
19 tn This line is sometimes rendered as a description of what the people are doing (cf. NIV). However, repetition with some slight modification referring to the prophet in v. 37 followed by the same kind of prohibition that follows here shows that what is being contrasted is two views toward the
20 tn See the note on v. 35.
sn As noted in v. 35 the prophet is Jeremiah. The message is directed against the prophet, priest, or common people who have characterized his message as a “burden from the
21 tn For the idiom involved here see the notes at 7:13 and 11:7.
22 tn The vav consecutive with the perfect in a past narrative is a little unusual. Here it is probably indicating repeated action in past time in keeping with the idiom that precedes and follows it. See GKC 332 §112.f for other possible examples.
23 tn Heb “inclined your ear to hear.” This is idiomatic for “paying attention.” It is often parallel with “listen” as here or with “pay attention” (see, e.g., Prov 4:20; 51:1).
24 tn Heb “Hananiah, ‘Thus says the
25 tn The Greek version reads “I have made/put” rather than “you have made/put.” This is the easier reading and is therefore rejected.
26 tn Heb “the yoke bars of wood you have broken, but you have made in its stead yoke bars of iron.”
sn This whole incident (and the preceding one in Jer 28) is symbolic. Jeremiah’s wearing of the yoke was symbolic of the
27 tn Or “You are giving these people false assurances.”
28 tn Heb “Lord Yahweh.” For an explanation of the rendering here see the study note on 1:6.
sn The parallel usage of this introduction in Jer 1:6; 4:10; 14:13 shows that though this prayer has a lengthy introductory section of praise vv. 17-22, this prayer is really one of complaint or lament.
29 tn This is an attempt to render the Hebrew particle normally translated “behold.” See the translator’s note on 1:6 for the usage of this particle.
30 tn Heb “by your great power and your outstretched arm.” See 21:5; 27:5 and the marginal note on 27:5 for this idiom.
31 tn Heb “However, hear the word of the
32 tn Heb “by the sword.”
sn The contrast is between death in battle or by execution and death in the normal course of life. Zedekiah was captured, had to witness the execution of his sons, had his eyes put out, and was taken to Babylon where he died after a lengthy imprisonment (Jer 52:10-11).
33 tn Heb “And where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land?’” The indirect quote has been used in the translation because of its simpler, more direct style.
34 tn Heb “about these words.”
35 tn Or “so that you will not die.” Or “or you will die.” See the similar construction in 37:20 and the translator’s note there.
sn This is probably not a threat that the king himself will kill Jeremiah, but a premonition that if the pro-Egyptian party that was seeking to kill Jeremiah found out about the conversation they would go ahead and kill Jeremiah (cf. 38:2-4).
36 tn Heb “Thus says the
sn Their “request” is that Jeremiah would tell them where to go and what to do (v. 3).
37 tn Heb “Know for certain that I warn you…” The idea of “for certain” is intended to reflect the emphatic use of the infinitive absolute before the volitive use of the imperfect (see IBHS 587-88 §35.3.1h and 509 §31.5b). The substitution “of this:” for “that” has been made to shorten the sentence in conformity with contemporary English style.
38 tn Heb “today.”
39 tn See 7:13 for an explanation of this idiom and compare 7:25; 25:4; 26:5; 29:19; 35:15 for similar references to the persistent warnings of the prophets.
40 tn Heb “sent…over again, saying, ‘Do not do this terrible thing that I hate.’” The indirect quote has been used to shorten the sentence and eliminate one level of embedded quotes.
sn This refers to the worship of other gods mentioned in the previous verse.
41 tn Heb “Woe to you, Moab.” For the usage of this expression see 4:13, 31; 13:17 and the translator’s note on 4:13 and 10:19.
42 tn Heb “Your sons will be taken away into captivity, your daughters into exile.”
43 tn The words “The