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.”

Jeremiah 14:22

14:22 Do any of the worthless idols ⁵  of the nations cause rain to fall?

Do the skies themselves send showers?

Is it not you, O Lord our God, who does this? ⁶ 

So we put our hopes in you ⁷ 

because you alone do all this.”

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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).

⁵ tn The word הֶבֶל (hevel), often translated “vanities”, is a common pejorative epithet for idols or false gods. See already in 8:19 and 10:8.

⁶ tn Heb “Is it not you, O Lord our God?” The words “who does” are supplied in the translation for English style.

⁷ tn The rhetorical negatives are balanced by a rhetorical positive.