Jeremiah 4:3

4:3 Yes, 1  the Lord has this to say

to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:

“Like a farmer breaking up hard unplowed ground,

you must break your rebellious will and make a new beginning;

just as a farmer must clear away thorns lest the seed is wasted,

you must get rid of the sin that is ruining your lives. 2 

Jeremiah 25:29

25:29 For take note, I am already beginning to bring disaster on the city that I call my own. 3  So how can you possibly avoid being punished? 4  You will not go unpunished! For I am proclaiming war against all who live on the earth. I, the Lord who rules over all, 5  affirm it!’ 6 

1 tn The Hebrew particle is obviously asseverative here since a causal connection appears to make little sense.

2 tn Heb “Plow up your unplowed ground and do not sow among the thorns.” The translation is an attempt to bring out the force of a metaphor. The idea seems to be that they are to plow over the thorns and make the ground ready for the seeds which will produce a new crop where none had been produced before.

3 tn Heb “which is called by my name.” See translator’s note on 7:10 for support.

4 tn This is an example of a question without the formal introductory particle following a conjunctive vav introducing an opposition. (See Joüon 2:609 §161.a.) It is also an example of the use of the infinitive before the finite verb in a rhetorical question involving doubt or denial. (See Joüon 2:422-23 §123.f, and compare usage in Gen 37:8.)

5 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

sn See the study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for explanation of this extended title.

6 tn Heb “Oracle of Yahweh of armies.”