Discovery BoxJeremiah 15:9 
Context15:9 The mother who had seven children 1 will grow faint.
All the breath will go out of her. 2
Her pride and joy will be taken from her in the prime of their life.
It will seem as if the sun had set while it was still day. 3
She will suffer shame and humiliation. 4
I will cause any of them who are still left alive
to be killed in war by the onslaughts of their enemies,” 5
says the Lord.
Jeremiah 44:12
Context44:12 I will see to it that all the Judean remnant that was determined to go 6 and live in the land of Egypt will be destroyed. Here in the land of Egypt they will fall in battle 7 or perish from starvation. People of every class 8 will die in war or from starvation. They will become an object of horror and ridicule, an example of those who have been cursed and that people use in pronouncing a curse. 9
1 tn Heb “who gave birth to seven.”
sn To have seven children was considered a blessing and a source of pride and honor (Ruth 4:15; 1 Sam 2:5).
2 tn The meaning of this line is debated. Some understand this line to mean “she has breathed out her life” (cf., e.g., BDB 656 s.v. נָפַח and 656 s.v. ֶנפֶשׁ 1.c). However, as several commentaries have noted (e.g., W. McKane, Jeremiah [ICC], 1:341; J. Bright, Jeremiah [AB], 109) it makes little sense to talk about her suffering shame and embarrassment if she has breathed her last. Both the Greek and Latin versions understand “soul” not as the object but as the subject and the idea being one of fainting under despair. This idea seems likely in light of the parallelism. Bright suggests the phrase means either “she gasped out her breath” or “her throat gasped.” The former is more likely. One might also render “she fainted dead away,” but that idiom might not be familiar to all readers.
3 tn Heb “Her sun went down while it was still day.”
sn The sun was the source of light and hence has associations with life, prosperity, health, and blessing. The premature setting of the sun which brought these seems apropos as metaphor for the loss of her children which were not only a source of joy, help, and honor. Two references where “sun” is used figuratively, Ps 84:11 (84:12 HT) and Mal 4:2, may be helpful here.
4 sn She has lost her position of honor and the source of her pride. For the concepts here see 1 Sam 2:5.
5 tn Heb “I will deliver those of them that survive to the sword before their enemies.” The referent of “them” is ambiguous. Does it refer to the children of the widow (nearer context) or the people themselves (more remote context, v. 7)? Perhaps it was meant to include both. Verse seven spoke of the destruction of the people and the killing off of the children.
6 tn Heb “they set their face to go.” Compare 44:11 and 42:14 and see the translator’s note at 42:15.
7 tn Heb “fall by the sword.”
8 tn Or “All of them without distinction,” or “All of them from the least important to the most important”; Heb “From the least to the greatest.” See the translator’s note on 42:1 for the meaning of this idiom.
9 tn See the study note on 24:9 and the usage in 29:22 for the meaning and significance of this last phrase.
sn See Jer 42:18 for parallel usage.
