Jeremiah 13:17

13:17 But if you will not pay attention to this warning, 1 

I will weep alone because of your arrogant pride.

I will weep bitterly and my eyes will overflow with tears 2 

because you, the Lord’s flock, 3  will be carried 4  into exile.”

1 tn Heb “If you will not listen to it.” For the use of the feminine singular pronoun to refer to the idea(s) expressed in the preceding verse(s), see GKC 440-41 §135.p.

2 tn Heb “Tearing [my eye] will tear and my eye will run down [= flow] with tears.”

sn The depth of Jeremiah’s sorrow for the sad plight of his people, if they refuse to repent, is emphasized by the triple repetition of the word “tears” twice in an emphatic verbal expression (Hebrew infinitive before finite verb) and once in the noun.

3 tn Heb “because the Lord’s flock will…” The pronoun “you” is supplied in the translation to avoid the shift in English from the second person address at the beginning to the third person affirmation at the end. It also helps explain the metaphor of the people of Israel as God’s flock for some readers who may be unfamiliar with that metaphor.

4 tn The verb is once again in the form of “as good as done” (the Hebrew prophetic perfect).