6:27 The Lord said to me, 1
“I have made you like a metal assayer
to test my people like ore. 2
You are to observe them
and evaluate how they behave.” 3
9:7 Therefore the Lord who rules over all says, 4
“I will now purify them in the fires of affliction 5 and test them.
The wickedness of my dear people 6 has left me no choice.
What else can I do? 7
12:3 But you, Lord, know all about me.
You watch me and test my devotion to you. 8
Drag these wicked men away like sheep to be slaughtered!
Appoint a time when they will be killed! 9
20:12 O Lord who rules over all, 10 you test and prove the righteous.
You see into people’s hearts and minds. 11
Pay them back for what they have done
because I trust you to vindicate my cause.
1 tn These words are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity. Note “I have appointed you.” Compare Jer 1:18.
2 tn Heb “I have made you an assayer of my people, a tester [?].” The meaning of the words translated “assayer” (בָּחוֹן, bakhon) and “tester” (מִבְצָר, mivtsar) is uncertain. The word בָּחוֹן (bakhon) can mean “tower” (cf. BDB 103 s.v. בָּחוֹן; cf. Isa 23:13 for the only other use) or “assayer” (cf. BDB 103 s.v. בָּחוֹן). The latter would be the more expected nuance because of the other uses of nouns and verbs from this root. The word מִבְצָר (mivtsar) normally means “fortress” (cf. BDB 131 s.v. מִבְצָר), but most modern commentaries and lexicons deem that nuance inappropriate here. HALOT follows a proposal that the word is to be repointed to מְבַצֵּר (mÿvatser) and derived from a root בָּצַר (batsar) meaning “to test” (cf. HALOT 143 s.v. IV בָּצַר). That proposal makes the most sense in the context, but the root appears nowhere else in the OT.
3 tn Heb “test their way.”
4 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
sn For the significance of this title see the notes at 2:19 and 7:3.
5 tn Heb “I will refine/purify them.” The words “in the fires of affliction” are supplied in the translation to give clarity to the metaphor.
6 tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.
7 tc Heb “For how else shall I deal because of the wickedness of the daughter of my people.” The MT does not have the word “wickedness.” The word, however, is read in the Greek version. This is probably a case of a word dropping out because of its similarities to the consonants preceding or following it (i.e., haplography). The word “wickedness” (רַעַת, ra’at) has dropped out before the words “my dear people” (בַּת־עַמִּי, bat-’ammi). The causal nuance which is normal for מִפְּנֵי (mippÿne) does not make sense without some word like this, and the combination of רַעַת מִפְּנֵי (mippÿne ra’at) does occur in Jer 7:12 and one very like it occurs in Jer 26:3.
8 tn Heb “You,
sn Jeremiah appears to be complaining like Job that God cares nothing about the prosperity of the wicked, but watches his every move. The reverse ought to be true. Jeremiah shouldn’t be suffering the onslaughts of his fellow countrymen as he is. The wicked who are prospering should be experiencing punishment.
9 tn Heb “set aside for them a day of killing.”
10 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
sn See the study note on 2:19 for explanation of this title for God.
11 tn Heb “
sn This verse is almost an exact duplication of the petition in one of Jeremiah’s earlier prayers and complaints. See Jer 11:20 and notes there for explanation of the Hebrew psychology underlying the use of “kidneys and heart” here. For the thoughts expressed here see Ps 17.