Jeremiah 4:12

4:12 No, ¹  a wind too strong for that will come at my bidding.

Yes, even now I, myself, am calling down judgment on them.’ ² 

Jeremiah 5:13

5:13 The prophets will prove to be full of wind. ³ 

The Lord has not spoken through them. ⁴ 

So, let what they say happen to them.’”

Jeremiah 13:24

13:24 “The Lord says, ⁵ 

‘That is why I will scatter your people ⁶  like chaff

that is blown away by a desert wind. ⁷ 

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¹ tn The word “No” is not in the text but is carried over from the connection with the preceding line “not for…”

² tn Heb “will speak judgments against them.”

³ tn Heb “will be wind.”

sn There is a wordplay on the Hebrew word translated “wind” (רוּחַ, ruakh) which also means “spirit.” The prophets spoke by inspiration of the Spirit of the Lord (cf., e.g., 2 Chr 20:14); hence the prophet was sometimes called “the man of the spirit” (cf. Hos 9:7). The people were claiming that the prophets were speaking lies and hence were full of wind, not the Spirit.

⁴ tc Heb “the word is not in them.” The MT has a highly unusual form here, the Piel perfect with the definite article (הַדִּבֵּר, haddibber). It is undoubtedly best to read with the LXX (Greek version) and one Hebrew ms the article on the noun (הַדָּבָר, haddavar).

⁵ tn The words, “The Lord says” are not in the text at this point. The words “an oracle of the Lord” does, however, occur in the middle of the next verse and it is obvious the Lord is the speaker. The words have been moved up from the next verse to enhance clarity.

⁶ tn Heb “them.” This is another example of the rapid shift in pronouns seen several times in the book of Jeremiah. The pronouns in the preceding and the following are second feminine singular. It might be argued that “them” goes back to the “flock”/“sheep” in v. 20, but the next verse refers the fate described here to “you” (feminine singular). This may be another example of the kind of metaphoric shifts in referents discussed in the notes on 13:20 above. Besides, it would sound a little odd in the translation to speak of scattering one person like chaff.

⁷ sn Compare the threat using the same metaphor in Jer 4:11-12.