Discovery BoxJeremiah 2:28 
Context2:28 But where are the gods you made for yourselves?
Let them save you when you are in trouble.
The sad fact is that 1 you have as many gods
as you have towns, Judah.
Jeremiah 14:9
Context14:9 Why should you be like someone who is helpless, 2
like a champion 3 who cannot save anyone?
You are indeed with us, 4
and we belong to you. 5
Do not abandon us!”
Jeremiah 42:11
Context42:11 Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon whom you now fear. 6 Do not be afraid of him because I will be with you to save you and to rescue you from his power. I, the Lord, affirm it! 7
Jeremiah 47:3
Context47:3 Fathers will hear the hoofbeats of the enemies’ horses,
the clatter of their chariots and the rumbling of their wheels.
They will not turn back to save their children
because they will be paralyzed with fear. 8
1 tn This is an attempt to render the Hebrew particle כִּי (ki, “for, indeed”) contextually.
2 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.
3 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.
4 tn Heb “in our midst.”
5 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.
6 sn See Jer 41:18 for their reason for fear.
7 tn Heb “oracle of the
8 tn Heb “From the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his stallions, from the rattling of his chariots at the rumbling of their wheels, fathers will not turn to their children from sinking of hands.” According to BDB 952 s.v. רִפָּיוֹן the “sinking of the hands” is figurative of helplessness caused by terror. A very similar figure is seen with a related expression in Isa 35:3-4. The sentence has been restructured to put the subject up front and to suggest through shorter sentences more in keeping with contemporary English style the same causal connections. The figures have been interpreted for the sake of clarity for the average reader.
