Jeremiah 12:14

12:14 “I, the Lord, also have something to say concerning 1  the wicked nations who surround my land 2  and have attacked and plundered 3  the land that I gave to my people as a permanent possession. 4  I say: ‘I will uproot the people of those nations from their lands and I will free the people of Judah who have been taken there. 5 

1 tn Heb “Thus says the Lord concerning….” This structure has been adopted to prevent a long dangling introduction to what the Lord has to say that does not begin until the middle of the verse in Hebrew. The first person address was adopted because the speaker is still the Lord as in vv. 7-13.

2 tn Heb “my wicked neighbors.”

3 tn Heb “touched.” For the nuance of this verb here see BDB 619 s.v. נָגַע Qal.3 and compare the usage in 1 Chr 16:22 where it is parallel to “do harm to” and Zech 2:8 where it is parallel to “plundered.”

4 tn Heb “the inheritance which I caused my people Israel to inherit.” Compare 3:18.

5 tn Heb “I will uproot the house of Judah from their midst.”

sn There appears to be an interesting play on the Hebrew word translated “uproot” in this verse. In the first instance it refers to “uprooting the nations from upon their lands,” i.e., to exiling them. In the second instance it refers to “uprooting the Judeans from the midst of them,” i.e., to rescue them.