Discovery BoxJeremiah 2:13 
Context2:13 “Do so because my people have committed a double wrong:
they have rejected me,
the fountain of life-giving water, 1
and they have dug cisterns for themselves,
cracked cisterns which cannot even hold water.”
Jeremiah 21:8
Context21:8 “But 2 tell the people of Jerusalem 3 that the Lord says, ‘I will give you a choice between two courses of action. One will result in life; the other will result in death. 4
Jeremiah 22:25
Context22:25 I will hand you over to those who want to take your life and of whom you are afraid. I will hand you over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his Babylonian 5 soldiers.
Jeremiah 38:20
Context38:20 Then Jeremiah answered, “You will not be handed over to them. Please obey the Lord by doing what I have been telling you. 6 Then all will go well with you and your life will be spared. 7
1 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
2 tn Heb “And/But unto this people you shall say…” “But” is suggested here by the unusual word order which offsets what they are to say to Zedekiah (v. 3).
3 tn Heb “these people.”
4 tn Heb “Behold I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death.”
5 tn Heb “the Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4.
6 tn Heb “Please listen to the voice of the
7 tn Heb “your life [or you yourself] will live.” Compare v. 17 and the translator’s note there for the idiom.
