Jeremiah 9:15

9:15 So then, listen to what I, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all, 1  say. 2  ‘I will make these people eat the bitter food of suffering and drink the poison water of judgment. 3 

Jeremiah 45:3

45:3 ‘You have said, “I feel so hopeless! 4  For the Lord has added sorrow to my suffering. 5  I am worn out from groaning. I can’t find any rest.”’”

1 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.”

sn See the study notes on 2:9 and 7:3.

2 tn Heb “Therefore, thus says the Lord…” The person is shifted from third to first to better conform with English style.

3 tn Heb “I will feed this people wormwood and make them drink poison water.” “Wormwood” and “poison water” are not to be understood literally here but are symbolic of judgment and suffering. See, e.g., BDB 542 s.v. לַעֲנָה.

4 tn Heb “Woe to me!” See the translator’s note on 4:13 and 10:19 for the rendering of this term.

5 sn From the context it appears that Baruch was feeling sorry for himself (v. 5) as well as feeling anguish for the suffering that the nation would need to undergo according to the predictions of Jeremiah that he was writing down.