Jeremiah 3:14

3:14 “Come back to me, my wayward sons,” says the Lord, “for I am your true master. 1  If you do, 2  I will take one of you from each town and two of you from each family group, and I will bring you back to Zion.

Jeremiah 34:5

34:5 You will die a peaceful death. They will burn incense at your burial just as they did at the burial of your ancestors, the former kings who preceded you. 3  They will mourn for you, saying, “Poor, poor master!” 4  Indeed, you have my own word on this. 5  I, the Lord, affirm it!’” 6 

1 tn Or “I am your true husband.”

sn There is a wordplay between the term “true master” and the name of the pagan god Baal. The pronoun “I” is emphatic, creating a contrast between the Lord as Israel’s true master/husband versus Baal as Israel’s illegitimate lover/master. See 2:23-25.

2 tn The words, “If you do” are not in the text but are implicit in the connection of the Hebrew verb with the preceding.

3 tn Heb “And like the burning [of incense] for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so will they burn [incense] for you.” The sentence has been reversed for easier style and the technical use of the terms interpreted.

sn For the custom referred to compare 2 Chr 16:14; 21:19.

4 sn The intent of this oracle may have been to contrast the fate of Zedekiah with that of Jehoiakim who was apparently executed, went unmourned, and was left unburied (contrast Jer 22:18-19).

5 tn Heb “For [or Indeed] I myself have spoken [this] word.”

6 tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”