Jeremiah 6:11

6:11 I am as full of anger as you are, Lord, ¹ 

I am tired of trying to hold it in.”

The Lord answered, ² 

“Vent it, then, ³  on the children who play in the street

and on the young men who are gathered together.

Husbands and wives are to be included, ⁴ 

as well as the old and those who are advanced in years.

Jeremiah 6:16

6:16 The Lord said to his people: ⁵ 

“You are standing at the crossroads. So consider your path. ⁶ 

Ask where the old, reliable paths ⁷  are.

Ask where the path is that leads to blessing ⁸  and follow it.

If you do, you will find rest for your souls.”

But they said, “We will not follow it!”

Jeremiah 11:10

11:10 They have gone back to the evil ways ⁹  of their ancestors of old who refused to obey what I told them. They, too, have paid allegiance to ¹⁰  other gods and worshiped them. Both the nation of Israel and the nation of Judah ¹¹  have violated the covenant I made with their ancestors.

Jeremiah 18:15

18:15 Yet my people have forgotten me

and offered sacrifices to worthless idols!

This makes them stumble along in the way they live

and leave the old reliable path of their fathers. ¹² 

They have left them to walk in bypaths,

in roads that are not smooth and level. ¹³ 

Jeremiah 38:11

38:11 So Ebed Melech took the men with him and went to a room under the treasure room in the palace. ¹⁴  He got some worn-out clothes and old rags ¹⁵  from there and let them down by ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern.

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¹ tn Heb “I am full of the wrath of the Lord.”

² tn These words are not in the text but are implicit from the words that follow. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

³ tn Heb “Pour it out.”

⁴ tn Heb “are to be captured.”

⁵ tn The words, “to his people” are not in the text but are implicit in the interchange of pronouns in the Hebrew of vv. 16-17. They are supplied in the translation here for clarity.

⁶ tn Heb “Stand at the crossroads and look.”

⁷ tn Heb “the ancient path,” i.e., the path the Lord set out in ancient times (cf. Deut 32:7).

⁸ tn Heb “the way of/to the good.”

⁹ tn Or “They have repeated the evil actions of….”

¹⁰ tn Heb “have walked/followed after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for the idiom.

¹¹ tn Heb “house of Israel and house of Judah.”

¹² sn Heb “the ancient path.” This has already been referred to in Jer 6:16. There is another “old way” but it is the path trod by the wicked (cf. Job 22:15).

¹³ sn Heb “ways that are not built up.” This refers to the built-up highways. See Isa 40:4 for the figure. The terms “way,” “by-paths,” “roads” are, of course, being used here in the sense of moral behavior or action.

¹⁴ tn Heb “went into the palace in under the treasury.” Several of the commentaries (e.g., J. Bright, Jeremiah [AB], 227; J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah [NICOT], 639, n. 6) emend the prepositional phrase “in under” (אֶל־תַּחַת, ’el-takhat) to the noun “wardrobe” plus the preposition “to” (אֶל־מֶלְתַחַת, ’el-meltakhat). This is a plausible emendation which would involve dropping out מֶל (mel) due to its similarity with the אֶל (’el) which precedes it. However, there is no textual or versional evidence for such a reading and the compound preposition is not in itself objectionable (cf. BDB 1066 s.v. תַּחַת III.1.a). The Greek version reads “the part underground” (representing a Hebrew Vorlage of אֶל תַּחַת הָאָרֶץ, ’el takhat ha’arets) in place of אֶל תַּחַת הָאוֹצָר (’el takhat ha’otsar). The translation follows the Hebrew text but adds the word “room” for the sake of English style.

¹⁵ tn Heb “worn-out clothes and worn-out rags.”