4:22 The Lord answered, 1
“This will happen 2 because my people are foolish.
They do not know me.
They are like children who have no sense. 3
They have no understanding.
They are skilled at doing evil.
They do not know how to do good.”
5:28 That is how 4 they have grown fat and sleek. 5
There is no limit to the evil things they do. 6
They do not plead the cause of the fatherless in such a way as to win it.
They do not defend the rights of the poor.
7:16 Then the Lord said, 7 “As for you, Jeremiah, 8 do not pray for these people! Do not cry out to me or petition me on their behalf! Do not plead with me to save them, 9 because I will not listen to you.
13:16 Show the Lord your God the respect that is due him. 13
Do it before he brings the darkness of disaster. 14
Do it before you stumble 15 into distress
like a traveler on the mountains at twilight. 16
Do it before he turns the light of deliverance you hope for
into the darkness and gloom of exile. 17
14:22 Do any of the worthless idols 18 of the nations cause rain to fall?
Do the skies themselves send showers?
Is it not you, O Lord our God, who does this? 19
So we put our hopes in you 20
because you alone do all this.”
51:12 Give the signal to attack Babylon’s wall! 27
Bring more guards! 28
Post them all around the city! 29
Put men in ambush! 30
For the Lord will do what he has planned.
He will do what he said he would do to the people of Babylon. 31
1 tn These words are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to show clearly the shift in speaker. Jeremiah has been speaking; now the
2 tn Heb “For….” This gives the explanation for the destruction envisaged in 4:20 to which Jeremiah responds in 4:19, 21.
3 tn Heb “They are senseless children.”
4 tn These words are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to show that this line is parallel with the preceding.
5 tn The meaning of this word is uncertain. This verb occurs only here. The lexicons generally relate it to the word translated “plate” in Song 5:14 and understand it to mean “smooth, shiny” (so BDB 799 s.v. I עֶשֶׁת) or “fat” (so HALOT 850 s.v. II עֶשֶׁת). The word in Song 5:14 more likely means “smooth” than “plate” (so TEV). So “sleek” is most likely here.
6 tn Heb “they cross over/transgress with respect to matters of evil.”
sn There is a wordplay in the use of this word which has twice been applied in v. 22 to the sea not crossing the boundary set for it by God.
7 tn The words “Then the
8 tn Heb “As for you.” The personal name Jeremiah is supplied in the translation for clarity.
9 tn The words “to save them” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
10 tn Heb “you.”
11 tn The words “to save them” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
sn Cf. Jer 7:16 where this same command is addressed to Jeremiah.
12 tc The rendering “when disaster strikes them” is based on reading “at the time of” (בְּעֵת, bÿ’et) with a number of Hebrew
13 tn Heb “Give glory/respect to the
14 tn The words “of disaster” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation to explain the significance of the metaphor to readers who may not be acquainted with the metaphorical use of light and darkness for salvation and joy and distress and sorrow respectively.
sn For the metaphorical use of these terms the reader should consult O. A. Piper, “Light, Light and Darkness,” IDB 3:130-32. For the association of darkness with the Day of the
15 tn Heb “your feet stumble.”
16 tn Heb “you stumble on the mountains at twilight.” The added words are again supplied in the translation to help explain the metaphor to the uninitiated reader.
17 tn Heb “and while you hope for light he will turn it into deep darkness and make [it] into gloom.” The meaning of the metaphor is again explained through the addition of the “of” phrases for readers who are unacquainted with the metaphorical use of these terms.
sn For the meaning and usage of the term “deep darkness” (צַלְמָוֶת, tsalmavet), see the notes on Jer 2:6. For the association of the term with exile see Isa 9:2 (9:1 HT). For the association of the word gloom with the Day of the
18 tn The word הֶבֶל (hevel), often translated “vanities”, is a common pejorative epithet for idols or false gods. See already in 8:19 and 10:8.
19 tn Heb “Is it not you, O
20 tn The rhetorical negatives are balanced by a rhetorical positive.
21 tn Heb “from the hand [or power] of.”
22 tn Heb “aliens, orphans, or widows” treating the terms as generic or collective. However, the term “alien” carries faulty connotations and the term “orphan” is not totally appropriate because the Hebrew term does not necessarily mean that both parents have died.
sn These were classes of people who had no one to look out for their rights. The laws of Israel, however, were careful to see that their rights were guarded (cf. Deut 10:18) and that provision was made for meeting their needs (cf. Deut 24:19-21). The
23 tn Heb “Do not shed innocent blood.”
sn Do not kill innocent people. For an example of one of the last kings who did this see Jer 36:20-23. Manasseh was notorious for having done this and the book of 2 Kgs attributes the ultimate destruction of Judah to this crime and his sin of worshiping false gods (2 Kgs 21:16; 24:4).
24 tn Heb “will turn from his wicked way.”
25 tn For the idiom and translation of terms involved here see 18:8 and the translator’s note there.
sn The
26 tn Heb “because of the wickedness of their deeds.”
27 tn Heb “Raise a banner against the walls of Babylon.”
28 tn Heb “Strengthen the watch.”
29 tn Heb “Station the guards.”
30 tn Heb “Prepare ambushes.”
sn The commands are here addressed to the kings of the Medes to fully blockade the city by posting watchmen and setting men in ambush to prevent people from escaping from the city (cf. 2 Kgs 25:4).
31 tn Heb “For the