Jeremiah 2:2

2:2 “Go and declare in the hearing of the people of Jerusalem: ¹  ‘This is what the Lord says: “I have fond memories of you, ²  how devoted you were to me in your early years. ³  I remember how you loved me like a new bride; you followed me through the wilderness, through a land that had never been planted.

Jeremiah 2:27

2:27 They say to a wooden idol, ⁴  ‘You are my father.’

They say to a stone image, ‘You gave birth to me.’ ⁵ 

Yes, they have turned away from me instead of turning to me. ⁶ 

Yet when they are in trouble, they say, ‘Come and save us!’

Jeremiah 6:20

6:20 I take no delight ⁷  when they offer up to me ⁸ 

frankincense that comes from Sheba

or sweet-smelling cane imported from a faraway land.

I cannot accept the burnt offerings they bring me.

I get no pleasure from the sacrifices they offer to me.’ ⁹ 

Jeremiah 7:16

7:16 Then the Lord said, ¹⁰  “As for you, Jeremiah, ¹¹  do not pray for these people! Do not cry out to me or petition me on their behalf! Do not plead with me to save them, ¹²  because I will not listen to you.

Jeremiah 13:11

13:11 For,’ I say, ¹³  ‘just as shorts cling tightly to a person’s body, so I bound the whole nation of Israel and the whole nation of Judah ¹⁴  tightly ¹⁵  to me.’ I intended for them to be my special people and to bring me fame, honor, and praise. ¹⁶  But they would not obey me.

---

¹ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

² tn Heb “I remember to/for you.”

³ tn Heb “the loyal love of your youth.”

sn The Hebrew word translated “how devoted you were” (חֶסֶד, khesed) refers metaphorically to the devotion of a new bride to her husband. In typical Hebraic fashion, contemporary Israel is identified with early Israel after she first entered into covenant with (= married) the Lord. The reference to her earlier devotion is not absolute but relative. Compared to her unfaithfulness in worshiping other gods after she got into the land, the murmuring and complaining in the wilderness are ignored.

⁴ tn Heb “wood…stone…”

⁵ sn The reference to wood and stone is, of course, a pejorative reference to idols made by human hands. See the next verse where reference is made to “the gods you have made.”

⁶ tn Heb “they have turned [their] backs to me, not [their] faces.”

⁷ tn Heb “To what purpose is it to me?” The question is rhetorical and expects a negative answer.

⁸ tn The words “when they offer up to me” are not in the text but are implicit from the following context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

⁹ tn Heb “Your burnt offerings are not acceptable and your sacrifices are not pleasing to me.” “The shift from “your” to “their” is an example of the figure of speech (apostrophe) where the speaker turns from talking about someone to addressing him/her directly. Though common in Hebrew style, it is not common in English. The shift to the third person in the translation is an accommodation to English style.

¹⁰ tn The words “Then the Lord said” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

¹¹ tn Heb “As for you.” The personal name Jeremiah is supplied in the translation for clarity.

¹² tn The words “to save them” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

¹³ tn The words “I say” are “Oracle of the Lord” in Hebrew, and are located at the end of this statement in the Hebrew text rather than the beginning. However, they are rendered in the first person and placed at the beginning for smoother English style.

¹⁴ tn Heb “all the house of Israel and all the house of Judah.”

¹⁵ tn It would be somewhat unnatural in English to render the play on the word translated here “cling tightly” and “bound tightly” in a literal way. They are from the same root word in Hebrew (דָּבַק, davaq), a word that emphasizes the closest of personal relationships and the loyalty connected with them. It is used, for example, of the relationship of a husband and a wife and the loyalty expected of them (cf. Gen 2:24; for other similar uses see Ruth 1:14; 2 Sam 20:2; Deut 11:22).

¹⁶ tn Heb “I bound them…in order that they might be to me for a people and for a name and for praise and for honor.” The sentence has been separated from the preceding and an equivalent idea expressed which is more in keeping with contemporary English style.