Discovery BoxJeremiah 3:14-18 
Context3:14 “Come back to me, my wayward sons,” says the Lord, “for I am your true master. 1 If you do, 2 I will take one of you from each town and two of you from each family group, and I will bring you back to Zion. 3:15 I will give you leaders 3 who will be faithful to me. 4 They will lead you with knowledge and insight. 3:16 In those days, your population will greatly increase 5 in the land. At that time,” says the Lord, “people will no longer talk about having the ark 6 that contains the Lord’s covenant with us. 7 They will not call it to mind, remember it, or miss it. No, that will not be done any more! 8 3:17 At that time the city of Jerusalem 9 will be called the Lord’s throne. All nations will gather there in Jerusalem to honor the Lord’s name. 10 They will no longer follow the stubborn inclinations of their own evil hearts. 11 3:18 At that time 12 the nation of Judah and the nation of Israel will be reunited. 13 Together they will come back from a land in the north to the land that I gave to your ancestors as a permanent possession. ” 14
Jeremiah 16:14-15
Context16:14 Yet 15 I, the Lord, say: 16 “A new time will certainly come. 17 People now affirm their oaths with ‘I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the people of Israel out of Egypt.’ 16:15 But in that time they will affirm them with ‘I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the people of Israel from the land of the north and from all the other lands where he had banished them.’ At that time I will bring them back to the land I gave their ancestors.” 18
Jeremiah 23:3-8
Context23:3 Then I myself will regather those of my people 19 who are still alive from all the countries where I have driven them. I will bring them back to their homeland. 20 They will greatly increase in number. 23:4 I will install rulers 21 over them who will care for them. Then they will no longer need to fear or be terrified. None of them will turn up missing. 22 I, the Lord, promise it! 23
23:5 “I, the Lord, promise 24 that a new time will certainly come 25
when I will raise up for them a righteous branch, 26 a descendant of David.
He will rule over them with wisdom and understanding 27
and will do what is just and right in the land. 28
23:6 Under his rule 29 Judah will enjoy safety 30
and Israel will live in security. 31
This is the name he will go by:
‘The Lord has provided us with justice.’ 32
23:7 “So I, the Lord, say: 33 ‘A new time will certainly come. 34 People now affirm their oaths with “I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the people of Israel out of Egypt.” 23:8 But at that time they will affirm them with “I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the descendants of the former nation of Israel 35 from the land of the north and from all the other lands where he had banished 36 them.” 37 At that time they will live in their own land.’”
Jeremiah 24:4-7
Context24:4 The Lord said to me, 38 24:5 “I, the Lord, the God of Israel, say: ‘The exiles whom I sent away from here to the land of Babylon 39 are like those good figs. I consider them to be good. 24:6 I will look after their welfare 40 and will restore them to this land. There I will build them up and will not tear them down. I will plant them firmly in the land 41 and will not uproot them. 42 24:7 I will give them the desire to acknowledge that I 43 am the Lord. I will be their God and they will be my people. For they will wholeheartedly 44 return to me.’
Jeremiah 29:10-14
Context29:10 “For the Lord says, ‘Only when the seventy years of Babylonian rule 45 are over will I again take up consideration for you. 46 Then I will fulfill my gracious promise to you and restore 47 you to your homeland. 48 29:11 For I know what I have planned for you,’ says the Lord. 49 ‘I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you 50 a future filled with hope. 51 29:12 When you call out to me and come to me in prayer, 52 I will hear your prayers. 53 29:13 When you seek me in prayer and worship, you will find me available to you. If you seek me with all your heart and soul, 54 29:14 I will make myself available to you,’ 55 says the Lord. 56 ‘Then I will reverse your plight 57 and will regather you from all the nations and all the places where I have exiled you,’ says the Lord. 58 ‘I will bring you back to the place from which I exiled you.’
Jeremiah 29:32
Context29:32 Because he has done this,” 59 the Lord says, “I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his whole family. There will not be any of them left to experience the good things that I will do for my people. I, the Lord, affirm it! For he counseled rebellion against the Lord.”’” 60
1 tn Or “I am your true husband.”
sn There is a wordplay between the term “true master” and the name of the pagan god Baal. The pronoun “I” is emphatic, creating a contrast between the
2 tn The words, “If you do” are not in the text but are implicit in the connection of the Hebrew verb with the preceding.
3 tn Heb “shepherds.”
4 tn Heb “after/according to my [own] heart.”
5 tn Heb “you will become numerous and fruitful.”
6 tn Or “chest.”
7 tn Heb “the ark of the covenant.” It is called this because it contained the tables of the law which in abbreviated form constituted their covenant obligations to the
8 tn Or “Nor will another one be made”; Heb “one will not do/make [it?] again.”
9 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
10 tn Heb “will gather to the name of the
11 tn Heb “the stubbornness of their evil hearts.”
12 tn Heb “In those days.”
13 tn Heb “the house of Judah will walk together with the house of Israel.”
14 tn Heb “the land that I gave your [fore]fathers as an inheritance.”
15 tn The particle translated here “Yet” (לָכֵן, lakhen) is regularly translated “So” or “Therefore” and introduces a consequence. However, in a few cases it introduces a contrasting set of conditions. Compare its use in Judg 11:8; Jer 48:12; 49:2; 51:52; and Hos 2:14 (2:16 HT).
16 tn Heb “Oracle of the
17 tn Heb “Behold the days are coming.”
18 tn These two verses which constitute one long sentence with compound, complex subordinations has been broken up for sake of English style. It reads, “Therefore, behold the days are coming, says the
19 tn Heb “my sheep.”
20 tn Heb “their fold.”
21 tn Heb “shepherds.”
22 tn There are various nuances of the word פָּקַד (paqad) represented in vv. 2, 4. See Ps 8:4 (8:5 HT) and Zech 10:3 for “care for/take care of” (cf. BDB 823 s.v. פָּקַד Qal.A.1.a). See Exod 20:5; Amos 3:2; Jer 9:24; 11:22 for “punish” (cf. BDB 823 s.v. פָּקַד Qal.A.3). See 1 Kgs 20:39 and 2 Kgs 10:19 for “be missing” (cf. BDB 823 s.v. פָּקַד Niph.1).
sn There is an extended play on the Hebrew word פָּקַד which is a word with rather broad English equivalents. Here the word refers to the fault of the shepherds/rulers who have not “taken care” of the sheep/people (v. 2), the “punishment” for the evil they have done in not taking care of them (v. 2), and the fact that after the
23 tn Heb “Oracle of the
24 tn Heb “Oracle of the
25 tn Heb “Behold the days are coming.”
26 tn Heb “a righteous sprig to David” or “a righteous shoot” (NAB).
sn This passage and the parallel in Jer 33:15 are part of a growing number of prayers and prophecies regarding an ideal ruler to come forth from the Davidic line who will bring the justice, security, and well-being that the continuing line of Davidic rulers did not. Though there were periodic kings like Josiah who did fulfill the ideals set forth in Jer 22:3 (see Jer 22:15), by and large they were more like Jehoiakim who did not (see Jer 22:13). Hence the
27 tn Heb “he will reign as king and act wisely.” This is another example of the use of two verbs joined by “and” where one becomes the adverbial modifier of the other (hendiadys). For the nuance of the verb “act wisely” rather than “prosper” see Amos 5:13; Ps 2:10 (cf. BDB 968 s.v. שָׂכַל Hiph.5).
28 sn This has been the constant emphasis in this section. See 22:3 for the demand, 22:15 for its fulfillment, and 22:13 for its abuse. The ideal king would follow in the footsteps of his illustrious ancestor David (2 Sam 8:15) who set this forth as an ideal for his dynasty (2 Sam 23:3) and prayed for it to be true of his son Solomon (Ps 72:1-2).
29 tn Heb “In his days [= during the time he rules].”
30 tn Parallelism and context (cf. v. 4) suggest this nuance for the word often translated “be saved.” For this nuance elsewhere see Ps 119:117; Prov 28:18 for the verb (יָשַׁע [yasha’] in the Niphal); and Ps 12:6; Job 5:4, 11 for the related noun (יֶשַׁע, yesha’).
31 sn It should be noted that this brief oracle of deliverance implies the reunification of Israel and Judah under the future Davidic ruler. Jeremiah has already spoken about this reunification earlier in 3:18 and will have more to say about it in 30:3; 31:27, 31. This same ideal was espoused in the prophecies of Hosea (1:10-11 [2:1-2 HT]), Isaiah (11:1-4, 10-12), and Ezekiel (37:15-28) all of which have messianic and eschatological significance.
32 tn Heb “his name will be called ‘The
sn The Hebrew word translated “justice” here is very broad in its usage, and it is hard to catch all the relevant nuances for this word in this context. It is used for “vindication” in legal contexts (see, e.g., Job 6:29), for “deliverance” or “salvation” in exilic contexts (see, e.g., Isa 58:8), and in the sense of ruling, judging with “justice” (see, e.g., Lev 19:15; Isa 32:1). Here it probably sums up the justice that the
33 tn Heb “Oracle of the
34 tn Heb “Behold the days are coming.”
35 tn Heb “descendants of the house of Israel.”
36 tc It is probably preferable to read the third masculine singular plus suffix (הִדִּיחָם, hiddikham) here with the Greek version and the parallel passage in 16:15 rather than the first singular plus suffix in the MT (הִדַּחְתִּים, hiddakhtim). If this is not a case of mere graphic confusion, the MT could have arisen under the influence of the first person in v. 3. Though sudden shifts in person have been common in the book of Jeremiah, that is unlikely in a context reporting an oath.
37 tn This passage is the same as 16:14-15 with a few minor variations in Hebrew wording. The notes on that passage should be consulted for the rendering here. This passage has the Niphal of the verb “to say” rather than the impersonal use of the Qal. It adds the idea of “bringing out” to the idea of “bringing up out” and (Heb “who brought up and who brought out,” probably a case of hendiadys) before “the people [here “seed” rather than “children”] of Israel [here “house of Israel”] from the land of the north.” These are minor variations and do not affect the sense in any way. So the passage is rendered in much the same way.
sn This passage looks forward to a new and greater Exodus, one that so outstrips the earlier one that the earlier will not serve as the model of deliverance any longer. This same ideal was the subject of Isaiah’s earlier prophecies in Isa 11:11-12, 15-16; 43:16-21; 49:8-13; 51: 1-11.
38 tn Heb “The word of the
39 tn Heb “the land of the Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4.
40 tn Heb “I will set my eyes upon them for good.” For the nuance of “good” see Jer 21:10; Amos 9:4 (in these cases the opposite of harm; see BDB 375 s.v. טוֹבָה 1).
41 tn The words “There” and “firmly in the land” are not in the text but are implicit from the connection and the metaphor. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
42 sn For these terms see Jer 1:10.
43 tn Heb “I will give them a heart to know me that I am the
44 tn Heb “with all their heart.”
45 sn See the study note on Jer 25:11 for the reckoning of the seventy years.
46 tn See the translator’s note on Jer 27:22 for this term.
47 tn Verse 10 is all one long sentence in the Hebrew original: “According to the fullness of Babylon seventy years I will take thought of you and I will establish my gracious word to you by bringing you back to this place.” The sentence has been broken up to conform better to contemporary English style.
48 tn Heb “this place.” The text has probably been influenced by the parallel passage in 27:22. The term appears fifteen times in Jeremiah and is invariably a reference to Jerusalem or Judah.
sn See Jer 27:22 for this promise.
49 tn Heb “Oracle of the
50 tn Heb “I know the plans that I am planning for you, oracle of the
51 tn Or “the future you hope for”; Heb “a future and a hope.” This is a good example of hendiadys where two formally coordinated nouns (adjectives, verbs) convey a single idea where one of the terms functions as a qualifier of the other. For this figure see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 658-72. This example is discussed on p. 661.
52 tn Heb “come and pray to me.” This is an example of verbal hendiadys where two verb formally joined by “and” convey a main concept with the second verb functioning as an adverbial qualifier.
53 tn Or “You will call out to me and come to me in prayer and I will hear your prayers.” The verbs are vav consecutive perfects and can be taken either as unconditional futures or as contingent futures. See GKC 337 §112.kk and 494 §159.g and compare the usage in Gen 44:22 for the use of the vav consecutive perfects in contingent futures. The conditional clause in the middle of 29:13 and the deuteronomic theology reflected in both Deut 30:1-5 and 1 Kgs 8:46-48 suggest that the verbs are continent futures here. For the same demand for wholehearted seeking in these contexts which presuppose exile see especially Deut 30:2, 1 Kgs 8:48.
54 tn Or “If you wholeheartedly seek me”; Heb “You will seek me and find [me] because you will seek me with all your heart.” The translation attempts to reflect the theological nuances of “seeking” and “finding” and the psychological significance of “heart” which refers more to intellectual and volitional concerns in the OT than to emotional ones.
55 tn Heb “I will let myself be found by you.” For this nuance of the verb see BDB 594 s.v. מָצָא Niph.1.f and compare the usage in Isa 65:1; 2 Chr 15:2. The Greek version already noted that nuance when it translated the phrase “I will manifest myself to you.”
56 tn Heb “Oracle of the
57 tn Heb “restore your fortune.” Alternately, “I will bring you back from exile.” This idiom occurs twenty-six times in the OT and in several cases it is clearly not referring to return from exile but restoration of fortunes (e.g., Job 42:10; Hos 6:11–7:1; Jer 33:11). It is often followed as here by “regather” or “bring back” (e.g., Jer 30:3; Ezek 29:14) so it is often misunderstood as “bringing back the exiles.” The versions (LXX, Vulg., Tg., Pesh.) often translate the idiom as “to go away into captivity,” deriving the noun from שְׁבִי (shÿvi, “captivity”). However, the use of this expression in Old Aramaic documents of Sefire parallels the biblical idiom: “the gods restored the fortunes of the house of my father again” (J. A. Fitzmyer, The Aramaic Inscriptions of Sefire [BibOr], 100-101, 119-20). The idiom means “to turn someone's fortune, bring about change” or “to reestablish as it was” (HALOT 1386 s.v. 3.c). In Ezek 16:53 it is paralleled by the expression “to restore the situation which prevailed earlier.” This amounts to restitutio in integrum, which is applicable to the circumstances surrounding the return of the exiles.
58 tn Heb “Oracle of the
59 tn Heb “Therefore.”
60 sn Compare the same charge against Hananiah in Jer 28:16 and see the note there. In this case, the false prophesy of Shemaiah is not given but it likely had the same tenor since he wants Jeremiah reprimanded for saying that the exile will be long and the people are to settle down in Babylon.
