Discovery BoxJeremiah 2:18 
Context2:18 What good will it do you 1 then 2 to go down to Egypt
to seek help from the Egyptians? 3
What good will it do you 4 to go over to Assyria
to seek help from the Assyrians? 5
Jeremiah 2:23
Context2:23 “How can you say, ‘I have not made myself unclean.
I have not paid allegiance to 6 the gods called Baal.’
Just look at the way you have behaved in the Valley of Hinnom! 7
Think about the things you have done there!
You are like a flighty, young female camel
that rushes here and there, crisscrossing its path. 8
Jeremiah 2:36
Context2:36 Why do you constantly go about
changing your political allegiances? 9
You will get no help from Egypt
just as you got no help from Assyria. 10
1 tn Heb “What to you to the way.”
2 tn The introductory particle וְעַתָּה (vÿ’attah, “and now”) carries a logical, not temporal, connotation here (cf. BDB 274 s.v. עַתָּה 2.b).
3 tn Heb “to drink water from the Shihor [a branch of the Nile].” The reference is to seeking help through political alliance with Egypt as opposed to trusting in God for help. This is an extension of the figure in 2:13.
4 tn Heb “What to you to the way.”
5 tn Heb “to drink water from the River [a common designation in biblical Hebrew for the Euphrates River].” This refers to seeking help through political alliance. See the preceding note.
6 tn Heb “I have not gone/followed after.” See the translator’s note on 2:5 for the meaning and usage of this idiom.
7 tn Heb “Look at your way in the valley.” The valley is an obvious reference to the Valley of Hinnom where Baal and Molech were worshiped and child sacrifice was practiced.
8 sn The metaphor is intended to depict Israel’s lack of clear direction and purpose without the
9 tn Heb “changing your way.” The translation follows the identification of the Hebrew verb here as a defective writing of a form (תֵּזְלִי [tezÿli] instead of תֵּאזְלִי [te’zÿli]) from a verb meaning “go/go about” (אָזַל [’azal]; cf. BDB 23 s.v. אָזַל). Most modern English versions, commentaries, and lexicons read it from a root meaning “to treat cheaply [or lightly]” (תָּזֵלִּי [tazelli] from the root זָלַל (zalal); cf. HALOT 261 s.v. זָלַל); hence, “Why do you consider it such a small matter to…”
10 tn Heb “You will be ashamed/disappointed by Egypt, just as you were ashamed/ disappointed by Assyria.”
