Discovery BoxJeremiah 2:11 
Context2:11 Has a nation ever changed its gods
(even though they are not really gods at all)?
But my people have exchanged me, their glorious God, 1
for a god that cannot help them at all! 2
Jeremiah 2:13
Context2:13 “Do so because my people have committed a double wrong:
they have rejected me,
the fountain of life-giving water, 3
and they have dug cisterns for themselves,
cracked cisterns which cannot even hold water.”
Jeremiah 2:35
Context2:35 you say, ‘I have not done anything wrong,
so the Lord cannot really be angry with me any more.’
But, watch out! 4 I will bring down judgment on you
because you say, ‘I have not committed any sin.’
Jeremiah 6:10
Context“Who would listen
if I spoke to them and warned them? 6
Their ears are so closed 7
that they cannot hear!
Indeed, 8 what the Lord says is offensive to them.
They do not like it at all. 9
Jeremiah 7:20
Context7:20 So,” the Lord God 10 says, “my raging fury will be poured out on this land. 11 It will be poured out on human beings and animals, on trees and crops. 12 And it will burn like a fire which cannot be extinguished.”
Jeremiah 8:17
Context“Yes indeed, 14 I am sending an enemy against you
that will be like poisonous snakes which cannot be charmed away. 15
And they will inflict fatal wounds on you.” 16
Jeremiah 14:9
Context14:9 Why should you be like someone who is helpless, 17
like a champion 18 who cannot save anyone?
You are indeed with us, 19
and we belong to you. 20
Do not abandon us!”
Jeremiah 24:3
Context24:3 The Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I answered, “I see figs. The good ones look very good. But the bad ones look very bad, so bad that they cannot be eaten.”
Jeremiah 29:17
Context29:17 The Lord who rules over all 21 says, ‘I will bring war, 22 starvation, and disease on them. I will treat them like figs that are so rotten 23 they cannot be eaten.
Jeremiah 32:5
Context32:5 Zedekiah will be carried off to Babylon and will remain there until I have fully dealt with him. 24 I, the Lord, affirm it! 25 Even if you 26 continue to fight against the Babylonians, 27 you cannot win.’”
Jeremiah 49:10
Context49:10 But I will strip everything away from Esau’s descendants.
I will uncover their hiding places so they cannot hide.
Their children, relatives, and neighbors will all be destroyed.
Not one of them will be left!
1 tn Heb “have exchanged their glory [i.e., the God in whom they glory].” This is a case of a figure of speech where the attribute of a person or thing is put for the person or thing. Compare the common phrase in Isaiah, the Holy One of Israel, obviously referring to the
2 tn Heb “what cannot profit.” The verb is singular and the allusion is likely to Baal. See the translator’s note on 2:8 for the likely pun or wordplay.
3 tn It is difficult to decide whether to translate “fresh, running water” which the Hebrew term for “living water” often refers to (e.g., Gen 26:19; Lev 14:5), or “life-giving water” which the idiom “fountain of life” as source of life and vitality often refers to (e.g., Ps 36:9; Prov 13:14; 14:27). The contrast with cisterns, which collected and held rain water, suggests “fresh, running water,” but the reality underlying the metaphor contrasts the
4 tn This is an attempt to render the Hebrew particle often translated “behold” (הִנֵּה, hinneh) in a meaningful way in this context. See further the translator’s note on the word “really” in 1:6.
5 tn These words are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
6 tn Or “To whom shall I speak? To whom shall I give warning? Who will listen?” Heb “Unto whom shall I speak and give warning that they may listen?”
7 tn Heb “are uncircumcised.”
8 tn Heb “Behold!”
9 tn Heb “They do not take pleasure in it.”
10 tn Heb “Lord Yahweh.” The translation follows the ancient Jewish tradition of substituting the Hebrew word for God for the proper name Yahweh.
11 tn Heb “this place.” Some see this as a reference to the temple but the context has been talking about what goes on in the towns of Judah and Jerusalem and the words that follow, meant as a further explanation, are applied to the whole land.
12 tn Heb “the trees of/in the field and the fruit of/in the ground.”
13 tn These words which are at the end of the Hebrew verse are brought forward to show at the outset the shift in speaker.
14 tn Heb “Indeed [or For] behold!” The translation is intended to convey some of the connection that is suggested by the Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) at the beginning of the verse.
15 tn Heb “I am sending against you snakes, poisonous ones which cannot be charmed.” In the light of the context literal snakes are scarcely meant. So the metaphor is turned into a simile to prevent possible confusion. For a similar metaphorical use of animals for enemies see 5:6.
16 tn Heb “they will bite you.” There does not appear to be any way to avoid the possible confusion that literal snakes are meant here except to paraphrase. Possibly one could say “And they will attack you and ‘bite’ you,” but the enclosing of the word “bite” in quotations might lead to even further confusion.
17 tn This is the only time this word occurs in the Hebrew Bible. The lexicons generally take it to mean “confused” or “surprised” (cf., e.g., BDB 187 s.v. דָּהַם). However, the word has been found in a letter from the seventh century in a passage where it must mean something like “be helpless”; see W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:433, for discussion and bibliography of an article where this letter is dealt with.
18 tn Heb “mighty man, warrior.” For this nuance see 1 Sam 17:51 where it parallels a technical term used of Goliath used earlier in 17:4, 23.
19 tn Heb “in our midst.”
20 tn Heb “Your name is called upon us.” See Jer 7:10, 11, 14, 30 for this idiom with respect to the temple and see the notes on Jer 7:10.
21 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.” See the study note on 2:19 for explanation of this title.
22 tn Heb “the sword.”
23 tn The meaning of this word is somewhat uncertain. It occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible. BDB 1045 s.v. שֹׁעָר relates it to the noun “horrible thing” (translated “something shocking”) in Jer 5:30; 23:14 and defines it as “horrid, disgusting.” HALOT 1495 s.v. שֹׁעָר relates it to the same noun and define it as “rotten; corrupt.” That nuance is accepted here.
sn Compare Jer 24:8-10 in its context for the figure here.
24 tn This is the verb (פָּקַד, paqad) that has been met with several times in the book of Jeremiah, most often in the ominous sense of “punish” (e.g., 6:15; 11:22; 23:24) but also in the good sense of “resume concern for” (e.g., 27:22; 29:10). Here it is obviously in the ominous sense referring to his imprisonment and ultimate death (52:11).
sn Compare Jer 34:2-3 for this same prophecy. The incident in Jer 34:1-7 appears to be earlier than this one. Here Jeremiah is confined to the courtyard of the guardhouse; there he appears to have freedom of movement.
25 tn Heb “Oracle of the
26 sn The pronouns are plural here, referring to the people of Judah and Jerusalem. Jeremiah had counseled that they surrender (cf. 27:12; 21:8-10) because they couldn’t succeed against the Babylonian army even under the most favorable circumstances (37:3-10).
27 tn Heb “The Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for further explanation.
