50:4 “When that time comes,” says the Lord, 1
“the people of Israel and Judah will return to the land together.
They will come back with tears of repentance
as they seek the Lord their God. 2
50:5 They will ask the way to Zion;
they will turn their faces toward it.
They will come 3 and bind themselves to the Lord
in a lasting covenant that will never be forgotten. 4
50:19 But I will restore the flock of Israel to their own pasture.
They will graze on Mount Carmel and the land of Bashan.
They will eat until they are full 5
on the hills of Ephraim and the land of Gilead. 6
50:20 When that time comes,
no guilt will be found in Israel.
No sin will be found in Judah. 7
For I will forgive those of them I have allowed to survive. 8
I, the Lord, affirm it!’” 9
50:33 The Lord who rules over all 10 says,
“The people of Israel are oppressed.
So too are the people of Judah. 11
All those who took them captive are holding them prisoners.
They refuse to set them free.
50:34 But the one who will rescue them 12 is strong.
He is known as the Lord who rules over all. 13
He will strongly 14 champion their cause.
As a result 15 he will bring peace and rest to the earth,
but trouble and turmoil 16 to the people who inhabit Babylonia. 17
1 tn Heb “oracle of the
2 tn Heb “and the children of Israel will come, they and the children of Judah together. They shall go, weeping as they go, and they will seek the
3 tc The translation here assumes that the Hebrew בֹּאוּ (bo’u; a Qal imperative masculine plural) should be read בָּאוּ (ba’u; a Qal perfect third plural). This reading is presupposed by the Greek version of Aquila, the Latin version, and the Targum (see BHS note a, which mistakenly assumes that the form must be imperfect).
4 sn See Jer 32:40 and the study note there for the nature of this lasting agreement.
5 tn Heb “their soul [or hunger/appetite] will be satisfied.”
6 sn The metaphor of Israel as a flock of sheep (v. 17) is continued here. The places named were all in Northern Israel and in the Transjordan, lands that were lost to the Assyrians in the period 738-722
7 tn Heb “In those days and at that time, oracle of the
8 sn Compare Jer 31:34 and 33:8.
9 tn Heb “Oracle of the
10 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.” For an explanation of this title see the study note on 2:19.
11 tn Heb “Oppressed are the people of Israel and the people of Judah together,” i.e., both the people of Israel and Judah are oppressed. However, neither of these renderings is very poetic. The translation seeks to achieve the same meaning with better poetic expression.
12 sn Heb “their redeemer.” The Hebrew term “redeemer” referred in Israelite family law to the nearest male relative who was responsible for securing the freedom of a relative who had been sold into slavery. For further discussion of this term as well as its metaphorical use to refer to God as the one who frees Israel from bondage in Egypt and from exile in Assyria and Babylonia see the study note on 31:11.
13 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies is his name.” For the rendering of this title see the study note on 2:19.
14 tn Or “he will certainly champion.” The infinitive absolute before the finite verb here is probably functioning to intensify the verb rather than to express the certainty of the action (cf. GKC 333 §112.n and compare usage in Gen 43:3 and 1 Sam 20:6 listed there).
15 tn This appears to be another case where the particle לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) introduces a result rather than giving the purpose or goal. See the translator’s note on 25:7 for a listing of other examples in the book of Jeremiah and also the translator’s note on 27:10.
16 tn Heb “he will bring rest to the earth and will cause unrest to.” The terms “rest” and “unrest” have been doubly translated to give more of the idea underlying these two concepts.
17 tn This translation again reflects the problem often encountered in these prophecies where the