Jeremiah 10:7

10:7 Everyone should revere you, O King of all nations, 1 

because you deserve to be revered. 2 

For there is no one like you

among any of the wise people of the nations nor among any of their kings. 3 

Jeremiah 14:7

14:7 Then I said, 4 

“O Lord, intervene for the honor of your name 5 

even though our sins speak out against us. 6 

Indeed, 7  we have turned away from you many times.

We have sinned against you.

Jeremiah 20:12

20:12 O Lord who rules over all, 8  you test and prove the righteous.

You see into people’s hearts and minds. 9 

Pay them back for what they have done

because I trust you to vindicate my cause.

Jeremiah 22:2

22:2 Say: ‘Listen, O king of Judah who follows in David’s succession. 10  You, your officials, and your subjects who pass through the gates of this palace must listen to what the Lord says. 11 

Jeremiah 31:10

31:10 Hear what the Lord has to say, O nations.

Proclaim it in the faraway lands along the sea.

Say, “The one who scattered Israel will regather them.

He will watch over his people like a shepherd watches over his flock.”

Jeremiah 51:62

51:62 Then say, ‘O Lord, you have announced that you will destroy this place so that no people or animals live in it any longer. Certainly it will lie desolate forever!’

1 tn Heb “Who should not revere you…?” The question is rhetorical and expects a negative answer.

2 tn Heb “For it is fitting to you.”

3 tn Heb “their royalty/dominion.” This is a case of substitution of the abstract for the concrete “royalty, royal power” for “kings” who exercise it.

4 tn The words “Then I said” are not in the text. However, it cannot be a continuation of the Lord’s speech and the people have consistently refused to acknowledge their sin. The fact that the prayer here and in vv. 19-22 are followed by an address from God to Jeremiah regarding prayer (cf. 4:11 and the interchanges there between God and Jeremiah and 15:1) also argues that the speaker is Jeremiah. He is again identifying with his people (cf. 8:18-9:2). Here he takes up the petition part of the lament which often contains elements of confession of sin and statements of trust. In 14:1-6 God portrays to Jeremiah the people’s lamentable plight instead of their describing it to him. Here Jeremiah prays what they should pray. The people are strangely silent throughout.

5 tn Heb “Act for the sake of your name.” The usage of “act” in this absolute, unqualified sense cf. BDB 794 s.v. עָוֹשָׂה Qal.I.r and compare the usage, e.g., in 1 Kgs 8:32 and 39. For the nuance of “for the sake of your name” compare the usage in Isa 48:9 and Ezek 20:9, 14.

6 tn Or “bear witness against us,” or “can be used as evidence against us,” to keep the legal metaphor. Heb “testify against.”

7 tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) can scarcely be causal here; it is either intensive (BDB 472 s.v. כִּי 1.e) or concessive (BDB 473 s.v. כִּי 2.c). The parallel usage in Gen 18:20 argues for the intensive force as does the fact that the concessive has already been expressed by אִם (’im).

8 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

sn See the study note on 2:19 for explanation of this title for God.

9 tn Heb “Lord of armies, the one who tests the righteous, who sees kidneys and heart.” The sentence has been broken up to avoid a long and complex English sentence. The translation is more in keeping with contemporary English style.

sn This verse is almost an exact duplication of the petition in one of Jeremiah’s earlier prayers and complaints. See Jer 11:20 and notes there for explanation of the Hebrew psychology underlying the use of “kidneys and heart” here. For the thoughts expressed here see Ps 17.

10 tn Heb “who sits on David’s throne.”

11 tn Heb “Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah who sits on the throne of David, you, and your officials and your people who pass through these gates.”