Jeremiah 4:27

4:27 All this will happen because the Lord said, ¹ 

“The whole land will be desolate;

however, I will not completely destroy it.

Jeremiah 5:13

5:13 The prophets will prove to be full of wind. ² 

The Lord has not spoken through them. ³ 

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

Jeremiah 10:23

10:23 Lord, we know that people do not control their own destiny. ⁴ 

It is not in their power to determine what will happen to them. ⁵ 

Jeremiah 17:15

17:15 Listen to what they are saying to me. ⁶ 

They are saying, “Where are the things the Lord threatens us with?

Come on! Let’s see them happen!” ⁷ 

Jeremiah 38:21

38:21 But if you refuse to surrender, the Lord has shown me a vision of what will happen. Here is what I saw:

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¹ tn Heb “For this is what the Lord said,”

² 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.

³ 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).

⁴ tn Heb “Not to the man his way.” For the nuance of “fate, destiny, or the way things turn out” for the Hebrew word “way” see Hag 1:5, Isa 40:27 and probably Ps 49:13 (cf. KBL 218 s.v. דֶּרֶךְ 5). For the idea of “control” or “hold in one’s power” for the preposition “to” see Ps 3:8 (cf. BDB 513 s.v. לְ 5.b[a]).

⁵ tn Heb “Not to a man the walking and the establishing his step.”

⁶ tn Heb “Behold, they are saying to me.”

⁷ tn Heb “Where is the word of the Lord. Let it come [or come to pass] please.”