6:16 The Lord said to his people: 1
“You are standing at the crossroads. So consider your path. 2
Ask where the old, reliable paths 3 are.
Ask where the path is that leads to blessing 4 and follow it.
If you do, you will find rest for your souls.”
But they said, “We will not follow it!”
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. 5
They have left them to walk in bypaths,
in roads that are not smooth and level. 6
1 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.
2 tn Heb “Stand at the crossroads and look.”
3 tn Heb “the ancient path,” i.e., the path the
4 tn Heb “the way of/to the good.”
5 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).
6 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.