Jeremiah 15:15

15:15 I said, ¹ 

“Lord, you know how I suffer. ² 

Take thought of me and care for me.

Pay back for me those who have been persecuting me.

Do not be so patient with them that you allow them to kill me.

Be mindful of how I have put up with their insults for your sake.

Jeremiah 23:2

23:2 So the Lord God of Israel has this to say about the leaders who are ruling over his people: “You have caused my people ³  to be dispersed and driven into exile. You have not taken care of them. So I will punish you for the evil that you have done. ⁴  I, the Lord, affirm it! ⁵ 

Jeremiah 40:4

40:4 But now, Jeremiah, today I will set you free ⁶  from the chains on your wrists. If you would like to come to Babylon with me, come along and I will take care of you. ⁷  But if you prefer not to come to Babylon with me, you are not required to do so. ⁸  You are free to go anywhere in the land you want to go. ⁹  Go wherever you choose.” ¹⁰ 

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¹ tn The words “I said” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity to mark the shift from the Lord speaking to Jerusalem, to Jeremiah speaking to God.

² tn The words “how I suffer” are not in the text but are implicit from the continuation. They are supplied in the translation for clarity. Jeremiah is not saying “you are all knowing.”

³ tn Heb “about the shepherds who are shepherding my people. ‘You have caused my sheep….’” For the metaphor see the study note on the previous verse.

⁴ tn Heb “Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who should be shepherding my people: You have scattered my sheep and driven them away and you have not taken care of them. Behold I will visit upon you the evil of your deeds.” “Therefore” announces the judgment which does not come until “Behold.” It is interrupted by the messenger formula and a further indictment. The original has been broken up to conform more to contemporary English style, the metaphors have been interpreted for clarity and the connections between the indictments and the judgments have been carried by “So.”

⁵ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

⁶ tn The verb here is an example of the perfect of resolve where the speaker announces his intention to do something according to IBHS 488-89 §30.5.1d. The word “Jeremiah” is supplied in the translation to avoid the possible misunderstanding that the you is still plural.

⁷ tn Or “look out for you.” See 39:12 and the translator’s note there.

⁸ tn Or “Stay here”; Heb “Forbear.” The imperative is used in a permissive sense; “you may forbear.” See GKC 324 §110.b and compare usage in Gen 50:6.

⁹ tn Heb “See all the land [or the whole land] is before you.” For this idiom see BDB 817 s.v. פָּנֶה II.4.a(f) and compare the usage in Gen 20:15; 47:6.

¹⁰ tn Heb “Unto the good and the right in your eyes to go, go there.”