15:9 The mother who had seven children 1 will grow faint.
All the breath will go out of her. 2
Her pride and joy will be taken from her in the prime of their life.
It will seem as if the sun had set while it was still day. 3
She will suffer shame and humiliation. 4
I will cause any of them who are still left alive
to be killed in war by the onslaughts of their enemies,” 5
says the Lord.
46:10 But that day belongs to the Lord God who rules over all. 8
It is the day when he will pay back his enemies. 9
His sword will devour them until its appetite is satisfied!
It will drink their blood until it is full! 10
For the Lord God who rules over all 11 will offer them up as a sacrifice
in the land of the north by the Euphrates River.
1 tn Heb “who gave birth to seven.”
sn To have seven children was considered a blessing and a source of pride and honor (Ruth 4:15; 1 Sam 2:5).
2 tn The meaning of this line is debated. Some understand this line to mean “she has breathed out her life” (cf., e.g., BDB 656 s.v. נָפַח and 656 s.v. ֶנפֶשׁ 1.c). However, as several commentaries have noted (e.g., W. McKane, Jeremiah [ICC], 1:341; J. Bright, Jeremiah [AB], 109) it makes little sense to talk about her suffering shame and embarrassment if she has breathed her last. Both the Greek and Latin versions understand “soul” not as the object but as the subject and the idea being one of fainting under despair. This idea seems likely in light of the parallelism. Bright suggests the phrase means either “she gasped out her breath” or “her throat gasped.” The former is more likely. One might also render “she fainted dead away,” but that idiom might not be familiar to all readers.
3 tn Heb “Her sun went down while it was still day.”
sn The sun was the source of light and hence has associations with life, prosperity, health, and blessing. The premature setting of the sun which brought these seems apropos as metaphor for the loss of her children which were not only a source of joy, help, and honor. Two references where “sun” is used figuratively, Ps 84:11 (84:12 HT) and Mal 4:2, may be helpful here.
4 sn She has lost her position of honor and the source of her pride. For the concepts here see 1 Sam 2:5.
5 tn Heb “I will deliver those of them that survive to the sword before their enemies.” The referent of “them” is ambiguous. Does it refer to the children of the widow (nearer context) or the people themselves (more remote context, v. 7)? Perhaps it was meant to include both. Verse seven spoke of the destruction of the people and the killing off of the children.
6 tn Heb “I will make you an object of terror to both you and your friends.”
7 tn Heb “And they will fall by the sword of their enemies and [with] your eyes seeing [it].”
8 tn Heb “the Lord Yahweh of armies.” See the study note at 2:19 for the translation and significance of this title for God.
9 sn Most commentators think that this is a reference to the
10 tn Or more paraphrastically, “he will kill them/ until he has exacted full vengeance”; Heb “The sword will eat and be sated; it will drink its fill of their blood.”
sn This passage is, of course, highly figurative. The
11 tn Heb “the Lord Yahweh of armies.” See the study note at 2:19 for the translation and significance of this title for God.