Jeremiah 2:34-35

2:34 Even your clothes are stained with

the lifeblood of the poor who had not done anything wrong;

you did not catch them breaking into your homes. ¹ 

Yet, in spite of all these things you have done, ² 

2:35 you say, ‘I have not done anything wrong,

so the Lord cannot really be angry with me any more.’

But, watch out! ³  I will bring down judgment on you

because you say, ‘I have not committed any sin.’

Jeremiah 9:16

9:16 I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors ⁴  have known anything about. I will send people chasing after them with swords ⁵  until I have destroyed them.’” ⁶ 

Jeremiah 18:13

18:13 Therefore, the Lord says,

“Ask the people of other nations

whether they have heard of anything like this.

Israel should have been like a virgin.

But she has done something utterly revolting!

Jeremiah 42:4

42:4 The prophet Jeremiah answered them, “Agreed! ⁷  I will indeed pray to the Lord your God as you have asked. I will tell you everything the Lord replies in response to you. ⁸  I will not keep anything back from you.”

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¹ tn The words “for example” are implicit and are supplied in the translation for clarification. This is only one example of why their death was not legitimate.

sn Killing a thief caught in the act of breaking and entering into a person’s home was pardonable under the law of Moses, cf. Exod 22:2.

² tn KJV and ASV read this line with 2:34. The ASV makes little sense and the KJV again erroneously reads the archaic second person feminine singular perfect as first person common singular. All the modern English versions and commentaries take this line with 2:35.

³ tn This is an attempt to render the Hebrew particle often translated “behold” (הִנֵּה, hinneh) in a meaningful way in this context. See further the translator’s note on the word “really” in 1:6.

⁴ tn Heb “fathers.”

⁵ tn Heb “I will send the sword after them.” The sword here is probably not completely literal but refers to death by violent means, including death by the sword.

⁶ sn He will destroy them but not completely. See Jer 5:18; 30:11; 46:28.

⁷ tn Heb “I have heard” = “I agree.” For this nuance of the verb see BDB 1034 s.v. שָׁמַע Qal.1.j and compare the usage in Gen 37:27 and Judg 11:17 listed there.

⁸ tn Heb “all the word which the Lord will answer you.