Jeremiah 2:34

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 

Jeremiah 5:4

5:4 I thought, “Surely it is only the ignorant poor who act this way. ³ 

They act like fools because they do not know what the Lord demands. ⁴ 

They do not know what their God requires of them. ⁵ 

Jeremiah 16:6

16:6 Rich and poor alike will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned. People will not cut their bodies or shave off their hair to show their grief for them. ⁶ 

Jeremiah 22:16

22:16 He upheld the cause of the poor and needy.

So things went well for Judah.’ ⁷ 

The Lord says,

‘That is a good example of what it means to know me.’ ⁸ 

Jeremiah 46:11

46:11 Go up to Gilead and get medicinal ointment, ⁹ 

you dear poor people of Egypt. ¹⁰ 

But it will prove useless no matter how much medicine you use; ¹¹ 

there will be no healing for you.

Jeremiah 52:15

52:15 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, took into exile some of the poor, ¹²  the rest of the people who remained in the city, those who had deserted to him, and the rest of the craftsmen.

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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 Heb “Surely they are poor.” The translation is intended to make clear the explicit contrasts and qualifications drawn in this verse and the next.

⁴ tn Heb “the way of the Lord.”

⁵ tn Heb “the judgment [or ordinance] of their God.”

⁶ sn These were apparently pagan customs associated with mourning (Isa 15:2; Jer 47:5) which were forbidden in Israel (Lev 19:8; 21:5) but apparently practiced anyway (Jer 41:5).

⁷ tn The words “for Judah” are not in the text, but the absence of the preposition plus object as in the preceding verse suggests that this is a more general statement, i.e., “things went well for everyone.”

⁸ tn Heb “Is that not what it means to know me.” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer. It is translated in the light of the context.

sn Comparison of the usage of the words “know me” in their context in Jer 2:8; 9:3, 6, 24 and here will show that more than mere intellectual knowledge is involved. It involves also personal commitment to God and obedience to the demands of the agreements with him. The word “know” is used in ancient Near Eastern treaty contexts of submission to the will of the overlord. See further the notes on 9:3.

⁹ tn Heb “balm.” See 8:22 and the notes on this phrase there.

¹⁰ sn Heb “Virgin Daughter of Egypt.” See the study note on Jer 14:17 for the significance of the use of this figure. The use of the figure here perhaps refers to the fact that Egypt’s geographical isolation allowed her safety and protection that a virgin living at home would enjoy under her father’s protection (so F. B. Huey, Jeremiah, Lamentations [NAC], 379). By her involvement in the politics of Palestine she had forfeited that safety and protection and was now suffering for it.

¹¹ tn Heb “In vain you multiply [= make use of many] medicines.”

¹² tn Heb “poor of the people.”