Jeremiah 30:9-11

30:9 But they will be subject 1  to the Lord their God

and to the Davidic ruler whom I will raise up as king over them. 2 

30:10 So I, the Lord, tell you not to be afraid,

you descendants of Jacob, my servants. 3 

Do not be terrified, people of Israel.

For I will rescue you and your descendants

from a faraway land where you are captives. 4 

The descendants of Jacob will return to their land and enjoy peace.

They will be secure and no one will terrify them. 5 

30:11 For I, the Lord, affirm 6  that

I will be with you and will rescue you.

I will completely destroy all the nations where I scattered you.

But I will not completely destroy you.

I will indeed discipline you, but only in due measure.

I will not allow you to go entirely unpunished.” 7 

1 tn The word “subject” in this verse and “subjugate” are from the same root word in Hebrew. A deliberate contrast is drawn between the two powers that they will serve.

2 tn Heb “and to David their king whom I will raise up for them.”

sn The Davidic ruler which I will raise up as king over them refers to a descendant of David who would be raised up over a regathered and reunited Israel and Judah. He is called “David” in Hos 3:5, Ezek 34:23-24; 37:24-25 and referred to as a shoot or sprig of Jesse in Isa 11:1, 10 and a “righteous branch” springing from David (the Davidic line). He is called “David” because he is from the Davidic line and because David is the type of the ideal king whom the prophets looked forward to. See further the study notes on 23:5 for this ideal king and for his relation to the NT fulfillment in the person of Jesus the Christ.

3 tn Heb “So do not be afraid, my servant Jacob, oracle of the Lord.” Here and elsewhere in the verse the terms Jacob and Israel are poetic for the people of Israel descended from the patriarch Jacob. The terms have been supplied throughout with plural referents for greater clarity.

4 tn Heb “For I will rescue you from far away, your descendants from the land of their captivity.”

5 sn Compare the ideals of the Mosaic covenant in Lev 26:6, the Davidic covenant in 2 Sam 7:10-11, and the new covenant in Ezek 34:25-31.

6 tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

7 tn The translation “entirely unpunished” is intended to reflect the emphatic construction of the infinitive absolute before the finite verb.