Jeremiah 3:9

3:9 Because she took her prostitution so lightly, she defiled the land through her adulterous worship of gods made of wood and stone.

Jeremiah 29:13

29:13 When you seek me in prayer and worship, you will find me available to you. If you seek me with all your heart and soul,

Jeremiah 31:6

31:6 Yes, a time is coming

when watchmen will call out on the mountains of Ephraim,

“Come! Let us go to Zion

to worship the Lord our God!”’”

Jeremiah 48:46

48:46 Moab, you are doomed!

You people who worship Chemosh will be destroyed.

Your sons will be taken away captive.

Your daughters will be carried away into exile.


tc The translation reads the form as a causative (Hiphil, תַּהֲנֵף, tahanef) with some of the versions in place of the simple stative (Qal, תֶּחֱנַף, tekhenaf) in the MT.

tn Heb “because of the lightness of her prostitution, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood.”

tn Or “If you wholeheartedly seek me”; Heb “You will seek me and find [me] because you will seek me with all your heart.” The translation attempts to reflect the theological nuances of “seeking” and “finding” and the psychological significance of “heart” which refers more to intellectual and volitional concerns in the OT than to emotional ones.

sn Watchmen were stationed at vantage points to pass on warning of coming attack (Jer 6:17; Ezek 33:2, 6) or to spread the news of victory (Isa 52:8). Here reference is made to the watchmen who signaled the special times of the year such as the new moon and festival times when Israel was to go to Jerusalem to worship. Reference is not made to these in the Hebrew Bible but there is a good deal of instruction regarding them in the later Babylonian Talmud.

sn Not only will Israel and Judah be reunited under one ruler (cf. 23:5-6), but they will share a unified place and practice of worship once again in contrast to Israel using the illicit places of worship, illicit priesthood, and illicit feasts instituted by Jeroboam (1 Kgs 12:26-31) and continued until the downfall of Samaria in 722 b.c.

tn Heb “Woe to you, Moab.” For the usage of this expression see 4:13, 31; 13:17 and the translator’s note on 4:13 and 10:19.

tn Heb “Your sons will be taken away into captivity, your daughters into exile.”