Jeremiah 2:19
Context2:19 Your own wickedness will bring about your punishment.
Your unfaithful acts will bring down discipline on you. 1
Know, then, and realize how utterly harmful 2
it was for you to reject me, the Lord your God, 3
to show no respect for me,” 4
says the Lord God who rules over all. 5
Jeremiah 3:8
Context3:8 She also saw 6 that I gave wayward Israel her divorce papers and sent her away because of her adulterous worship of other gods. 7 Even after her unfaithful sister Judah had seen this, 8 she still was not afraid, and she too went and gave herself like a prostitute to other gods. 9
Jeremiah 5:6-7
Context5:6 So like a lion from the thicket their enemies will kill them.
Like a wolf from the desert they will destroy them.
Like a leopard they will lie in wait outside their cities
and totally destroy anyone who ventures out. 10
For they have rebelled so much
and done so many unfaithful things. 11
“How can I leave you unpunished, Jerusalem? 13
Your people 14 have rejected me
and have worshiped gods that are not gods at all. 15
Even though I supplied all their needs, 16 they were like an unfaithful wife to me. 17
They went flocking 18 to the houses of prostitutes. 19
Jeremiah 9:2
Context9:2 (9:1) I wish I had a lodging place in the desert
where I could spend some time like a weary traveler. 20
Then I would desert my people
and walk away from them
because they are all unfaithful to God,
a congregation 21 of people that has been disloyal to him. 22
1 tn Or “teach you a lesson”; Heb “rebuke/chide you.”
2 tn Heb “how evil and bitter.” The reference is to the consequences of their acts. This is a figure of speech (hendiadys) where two nouns or adjectives joined by “and” introduce a main concept modified by the other noun or adjective.
3 tn Heb “to leave the
4 tn Heb “and no fear of me was on you.”
5 tn Heb “the Lord Yahweh, [the God of] hosts.” For the title Lord
6 tc Heb “she [‘her sister, unfaithful Judah’ from the preceding verse] saw” with one Hebrew
7 tn Heb “because she committed adultery.” The translation is intended to spell out the significance of the metaphor.
8 tn The words “Even after her unfaithful sister, Judah, had seen this” are not in the Hebrew text but are implicit in the connection and are supplied for clarification.
9 tn Heb “she played the prostitute there.” This is a metaphor for Israel’s worship; she gave herself to the worship of other gods like a prostitute gives herself to her lovers. There seems no clear way to completely spell out the metaphor in the translation.
10 tn Heb “So a lion from the thicket will kill them. A wolf from the desert will destroy them. A leopard will watch outside their cities. Anyone who goes out from them will be torn in pieces.” However, it is unlikely that, in the context of judgment that Jeremiah has previously been describing, literal lions are meant. The animals are metaphorical for their enemies. Compare Jer 4:7.
11 tn Heb “their rebellions are so many and their unfaithful acts so numerous.”
12 tn These words are not in the text, but are supplied in the translation to make clear who is speaking.
13 tn Heb “How can I forgive [or pardon] you.” The pronoun “you” is second feminine singular, referring to the city. See v. 1.
14 tn Heb “your children.”
15 tn Heb “and they have sworn [oaths] by not-gods.”
16 tn Heb “I satisfied them to the full.”
17 tn Heb “they committed adultery.” It is difficult to decide whether literal adultery with other women or spiritual adultery with other gods is meant. The word for adultery is used for both in the book of Jeremiah. For examples of its use for spiritual adultery see 3:8, 9; 9:2. For examples of its use for literal adultery see 7:9; 23:14. The context here could argue for either. The swearing by other gods and the implicit contradiction in their actions in contrast to the expected gratitude for supplying their needs argues for spiritual adultery. However, the reference to prostitution in the next line and the reference to chasing after their neighbor’s wives argues for literal adultery. The translation opts for spiritual adultery because of the contrast implicit in the concessive clause.
18 tn There is a great deal of debate about the meaning of this word. Most of the modern English versions follow the lead of lexicographers who relate this word to a noun meaning “troop” and understand it to mean “they trooped together” (cf. BDB 151 s.v. גָּדַד Hithpo.2 and compare the usage in Mic 5:1 [4:14 HT]). A few of the modern English versions and commentaries follow the reading of the Greek and read a word meaning “they lodged” (reading ִיתְגּוֹרְרוּ [yitggorÿru] from I גּוּר [gur; cf. HALOT 177 s.v. Hithpo. and compare the usage in 1 Kgs 17:20] instead of יִתְגֹּדָדוּ [yitggodadu]). W. L. Holladay (Jeremiah [Hermeneia], 1:180) sees a reference here to the cultic practice of cutting oneself in supplication to pagan gods (cf. BDB 151 s.v. גָּדַד Hithpo.1 and compare the usage in 1 Kgs 18:28). The houses of prostitutes would then be a reference to ritual prostitutes at the pagan shrines. The translation follows BDB and the majority of modern English versions.
19 tn Heb “to a house of a prostitute.”
sn This could be a reference to cultic temple prostitution connected with the pagan shrines. For allusion to this in the OT, see, e.g., Deut 23:17 and 2 Kgs 23:7.
20 tn Heb “I wish I had in the desert a lodging place [inn, or place to spend the night] for travelers.”
21 tn Or “bunch,” but this loses the irony; the word is used for the solemn assemblies at the religious feasts.
22 tn Heb “they are all adulterers, a congregation of unfaithful people.” However, spiritual adultery is, of course, meant, not literal adultery. So the literal translation would be misleading.