Jeremiah 20:6
Context20:6 You, Pashhur, and all your household 1 will go into exile in Babylon. You will die there and you will be buried there. The same thing will happen to all your friends to whom you have prophesied lies.’” 2
Jeremiah 21:2
Context21:2 “Please ask the Lord to come and help us, 3 because King Nebuchadnezzar 4 of Babylon is attacking us. Maybe the Lord will perform one of his miracles as in times past and make him stop attacking us and leave.” 5
Jeremiah 21:10
Context21:10 For I, the Lord, say that 6 I am determined not to deliver this city but to bring disaster on it. 7 It will be handed over to the king of Babylon and he will destroy it with fire.’” 8
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 9 soldiers.
Jeremiah 24:5
Context24:5 “I, the Lord, the God of Israel, say: ‘The exiles whom I sent away from here to the land of Babylon 10 are like those good figs. I consider them to be good.
Jeremiah 25:1
Context25:1 In the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord spoke to Jeremiah 11 concerning all the people of Judah. (That was the same as the first year that Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon.) 12
Jeremiah 27:6-7
Context27:6 I have at this time placed all these nations of yours under the power 13 of my servant, 14 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I have even made all the wild animals subject to him. 15 27:7 All nations must serve him and his son and grandson 16 until the time comes for his own nation to fall. 17 Then many nations and great kings will in turn subjugate Babylon. 18
Jeremiah 27:12-13
Context27:12 I told King Zedekiah of Judah the same thing. I said, 19 “Submit 20 to the yoke of servitude to 21 the king of Babylon. Be subject to him and his people. Then you will continue to live. 27:13 There is no reason why you and your people should die in war 22 or from starvation or disease! 23 That’s what the Lord says will happen to any nation 24 that will not be subject to the king of Babylon.
Jeremiah 27:20
Context27:20 He has already spoken about these things that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon did not take away when he carried Jehoiakim’s son King Jeconiah of Judah and the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem away as captives. 25
Jeremiah 29:28
Context29:28 For he has even sent a message to us here in Babylon. He wrote and told us, 26 “You will be there a long time. Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat what they produce.”’” 27
Jeremiah 32:2
Context32:2 Now at that time, 28 the armies of the king of Babylon were besieging Jerusalem. 29 The prophet Jeremiah was confined in the courtyard of the guardhouse 30 attached to the royal palace of Judah.
Jeremiah 32:5
Context32:5 Zedekiah will be carried off to Babylon and will remain there until I have fully dealt with him. 31 I, the Lord, affirm it! 32 Even if you 33 continue to fight against the Babylonians, 34 you cannot win.’”
Jeremiah 34:7
Context34:7 He did this while the army of the king of Babylon was attacking Jerusalem and the cities of Lachish and Azekah. He was attacking these cities because they were the only fortified cities of Judah which were still holding out. 35
Jeremiah 35:11
Context35:11 But when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded the land we said, ‘Let’s get up and go to Jerusalem 36 to get away from the Babylonian 37 and Aramean armies.’ That is why we are staying here in Jerusalem.”
Jeremiah 38:18
Context38:18 But if you do not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, this city will be handed over to the Babylonians 38 and they will burn it down. You yourself will not escape from them.’” 39
Jeremiah 38:23
Context38:23 “All your wives and your children will be turned over to the Babylonians. 40 You yourself will not escape from them but will be captured by the 41 king of Babylon. This city will be burned down.” 42
Jeremiah 39:1
Context39:1 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem with his whole army and laid siege to it. The siege began in the tenth month of the ninth year that Zedekiah ruled over Judah. 43
Jeremiah 39:9
Context39:9 Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, 44 took captive the rest of the people who were left in the city. He carried them off to Babylon along with the people who had deserted to him. 45
Jeremiah 39:13
Context39:13 So Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, Nebushazban, who was a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer, who was a high official, 46 and all the other officers of the king of Babylon
Jeremiah 41:18
Context41:18 They were afraid of what the Babylonians might do 47 because Ishmael son of Nethaniah had killed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed to govern the country.
Jeremiah 42:11
Context42:11 Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon whom you now fear. 48 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! 49
Jeremiah 43:3
Context43:3 But Baruch son of Neriah is stirring you up against us. 50 He wants to hand us over 51 to the Babylonians 52 so that they will kill us or carry us off into exile in Babylon.”
Jeremiah 49:30-31
Context49:30 The Lord says, 53 “Flee quickly, you who live in Hazor. 54
Take up refuge in remote places. 55
For King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has laid out plans to attack you.
He has formed his strategy on how to defeat you.” 56
49:31 The Lord says, 57 “Army of Babylon, 58 go and attack
a nation that lives in peace and security.
They have no gates or walls to protect them. 59
They live all alone.
Jeremiah 50:14
Context50:14 “Take up your battle positions all around Babylon,
all you soldiers who are armed with bows. 60
Shoot 61 all your arrows at her! Do not hold any back! 62
For she has sinned against the Lord.
Jeremiah 50:17-18
Context50:17 “The people of Israel are like scattered sheep
which lions have chased away.
First the king of Assyria devoured them. 63
Now last of all King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has gnawed their bones. 64
50:18 So I, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all, say: 65
‘I will punish the king of Babylon and his land
just as I punished the king of Assyria.
Jeremiah 50:28
Context50:28 Listen! Fugitives and refugees are coming from the land of Babylon.
They are coming to Zion to declare there
how the Lord our God is getting revenge,
getting revenge for what they have done to his temple. 66
Jeremiah 50:43
Context50:43 The king of Babylon will become paralyzed with fear 67
when he hears news of their coming. 68
Anguish will grip him,
agony like that of a woman giving birth to a baby. 69
Jeremiah 51:13
Context51:13 “You who live along the rivers of Babylon, 70
the time of your end has come.
You who are rich in plundered treasure,
it is time for your lives to be cut off. 71
Jeremiah 51:24
Context51:24 “But I will repay Babylon
and all who live in Babylonia
for all the wicked things they did in Zion
right before the eyes of you Judeans,” 72
says the Lord. 73
Jeremiah 51:33-35
Context51:33 For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says,
‘Fair Babylon 74 will be like a threshing floor
which has been trampled flat for harvest.
The time for her to be cut down and harvested
will come very soon.’ 75
51:34 “King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon
devoured me and drove my people out.
Like a monster from the deep he swallowed me.
He filled his belly with my riches.
He made me an empty dish.
He completely cleaned me out.” 76
51:35 The person who lives in Zion says,
“May Babylon pay for the violence done to me and to my relatives.”
Jerusalem says,
“May those living in Babylonia pay for the bloodshed of my people.” 77
Jeremiah 51:37
Context51:37 Babylon will become a heap of ruins.
Jackals will make their home there. 78
It will become an object of horror and of hissing scorn,
a place where no one lives. 79
Jeremiah 51:47
Context51:47 “So the time will certainly come 80
when I will punish the idols of Babylon.
Her whole land will be put to shame.
All her mortally wounded will collapse in her midst. 81
Jeremiah 51:55-56
Context51:55 For the Lord is ready to destroy Babylon,
and put an end to her loud noise.
Their waves 82 will roar like turbulent 83 waters.
They will make a deafening noise. 84
51:56 For a destroyer is attacking Babylon. 85
Her warriors will be captured;
their bows will be broken. 86
For the Lord is a God who punishes; 87
he pays back in full. 88
Jeremiah 51:59
Context51:59 This is the order Jeremiah the prophet gave to Seraiah son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, when he went to King Zedekiah of Judah in Babylon during the fourth year of his reign. 89 (Seraiah was a quartermaster.) 90
Jeremiah 51:64
Context51:64 Then say, ‘In the same way Babylon will sink and never rise again because of the judgments 91 I am ready to bring upon her; they will grow faint.’”
The prophecies of Jeremiah end here. 92
Jeremiah 52:3
Context52:3 What follows is a record of what happened to Jerusalem and Judah because of the Lord’s anger when he drove them out of his sight. 93 Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
Jeremiah 52:10
Context52:10 The king of Babylon had Zedekiah’s sons put to death while Zedekiah was forced to watch. He also had all the nobles of Judah put to death there at Riblah.
Jeremiah 52:17
Context52:17 The Babylonians broke the two bronze pillars in the temple of the Lord, as well as the movable stands and the large bronze basin called the “The Sea.” 94 They took all the bronze to Babylon.
1 tn Heb “all who live in your house.” This included his family and his servants.
2 sn As a member of the priesthood and the protector of order in the temple, Pashhur was undoubtedly one of those who promulgated the deceptive belief that the
3 tn The verb used here is often used of seeking information through a prophet (e.g., 2 Kgs 1:16; 8:8) and hence many translate “inquire of the
4 tn The dominant spelling of this name is actually Nebuchadrezzar which is closer to his Babylonian name Nebu kudduri uzzur. An alternate spelling which is found 6 times in the book of Jeremiah and 17 times elsewhere is Nebuchadnezzar which is the form of the name that is usually used in English versions.
sn Nebuchadnezzar was the second and greatest king of Babylon. He is known in the Bible both for his two conquests of Jerusalem in 597
5 tn Heb “Perhaps the
sn The miracles that they may have had in mind would have included the Exodus, the conquest of Jericho, the deliverance of Jehoshaphat (2 Chr 20:1-30), etc., but predominant in their minds was probably the deliverance of Jerusalem from Sennacherib in the times of Hezekiah (Isa 37:33-38).
6 tn Heb “oracle of the
7 tn Heb “I have set my face against this city for evil [i.e., disaster] and not for good [i.e., well-being].” For the use of the idiom “set one’s face against/toward” see, e.g., usage in 1 Kgs 2:15; 2 Kgs 2:17; Jer 42:15, 17 and note the interesting interplay of usage in Jer 44:11-12.
8 tn Heb “he will burn it with fire.”
9 tn Heb “the Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4.
10 tn Heb “the land of the Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4.
11 tn Heb “The word was to Jeremiah.” It is implicit from the context that it was the
12 sn The year referred to would be 605
13 tn Heb “have given…into the hand of.”
14 sn See the study note on 25:9 for the significance of the application of this term to Nebuchadnezzar.
15 tn Heb “I have given…to him to serve him.” The verb “give” in this syntactical situation is functioning like the Hiphil stem, i.e., as a causative. See Dan 1:9 for parallel usage. For the usage of “serve” meaning “be subject to” compare 2 Sam 22:44 and BDB 713 s.v. עָבַד 3.
sn This statement is rhetorical, emphasizing the totality of Nebuchadnezzar’s dominion. Neither here nor in Dan 2:38 is it to be understood literally.
16 sn This is a figure that emphasizes that they will serve for a long time but not for an unlimited duration. The kingdom of Babylon lasted a relatively short time by ancient standards. It lasted from 605
17 tn Heb “until the time of his land, even his, comes.” The independent pronoun is placed here for emphasis on the possessive pronoun. The word “time” is used by substitution for the things that are done in it (compare in the NT John 2:4; 7:30; 8:20 “his hour had not yet come”).
sn See Jer 25:12-14, 16.
18 tn Heb “him.” This is a good example of the figure of substitution where the person is put for his descendants or the nation or subject he rules. (See Gen 28:13-14 for another good example and Acts 22:7 in the NT.)
19 tn Heb “I spoke to Zedekiah…according to all these words, saying.”
20 sn The verbs in this verse are all plural. They are addressed to Zedekiah and his royal advisers (compare 22:2).
21 tn Heb “put their necks in the yoke of.” See the study note on v. 2 for the figure.
22 tn Heb “with/by the sword.”
23 tn Heb “Why should you and your people die…?” The rhetorical question expects the answer made explicit in the translation, “There is no reason!”
24 tn Heb “…disease according to what the
25 tn 27:19-20 are all one long sentence in Hebrew. It has been broken up for the sake of English style. Some of the sentences still violate contemporary English style (e.g., v. 20) but breaking them down any further would lose the focus. For further discussion see the study note on v. 21.
26 tn Heb “For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying….” The quote, however, is part of the earlier letter.
28 sn Jer 32:2-5 are parenthetical, giving the background for the actual report of what the
29 sn According to Jer 39:1 the siege began in Zedekiah’s ninth year (i.e., in 589/88
map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
30 tn Heb “the courtyard of the guarding” or “place of guarding.” This expression occurs only in the book of Jeremiah (32:2, 8, 12; 33:1; 37:21; 38:6, 12, 28; 39:14, 15) and in Neh 3:25. It is not the same as an enclosed prison which is where Jeremiah was initially confined (37:15-16; literally a “house of imprisoning” [בֵּית הָאֵסוּר, bet ha’esur] or “house of confining” [בֵּית הַכֶּלֶא, bet hakkele’]). It is said to have been in the palace compound (32:2) near the citadel or upper palace (Neh 3:25). Though it was a place of confinement (32:2; 33:1; 39:15) Jeremiah was able to receive visitors, e.g., his cousin Hanamel (32:8) and the scribe Baruch (32:12), and conduct business there (32:12). According to 32:12 other Judeans were also housed there. A cistern of one of the royal princes, Malkijah, was located in this courtyard, so this is probably not a “prison compound” as NJPS interpret but a courtyard adjacent to a guardhouse or guard post (so G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, T. G. Smothers, Jeremiah 26-52 [WBC], 151, and compare Neh 12:39 where reference is made to a Gate of the Guard/Guardhouse) used here for housing political prisoners who did not deserve death or solitary confinement as some of the officials though Jeremiah did.
31 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.
32 tn Heb “Oracle of the
33 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).
34 tn Heb “The Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for further explanation.
35 tn Heb “And the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the cities of Judah which were left, [namely] against Lachish and Azekah for they alone were left of the cities of Judah as fortified cities.” The intent of this sentence is to serve as a circumstantial sentence to v. 6 (= “while the army…”). That thought is picked up by “he did this while….” The long complex sentence in v. 7 has been broken down and qualifying material placed in the proper places to convey the same information in shorter English sentences in conformity with contemporary English style.
36 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
37 tn Heb “Chaldean.” For explanation see the study note on 21:4.
38 tn Heb “Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for explanation.
39 tn Heb “will not escape from their hand.”
sn Zedekiah held out this hope of escape until the end and attempted to do so but was unsuccessful (cf. 39:4-5).
40 tn Heb “Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for explanation.
41 tn Heb “you yourself will not escape from their hand but will be seized by [caught in] the hand of the king of Babylon.” Neither use of “hand” is natural to the English idiom.
42 tc This translation follows the reading of the Greek version and a few Hebrew
43 sn 2 Kgs 25:1 and Jer 52:4 give the more precise date of the tenth day of the tenth month of the ninth year which would have been Jan 15, 588
44 tn For the meaning of this phrase see BDB 371 s.v. טַבָּח 2 and compare the usage in Gen 39:1.
45 tc The translation is based on an emendation of the text which leaves out “the rest of the people who were left” as a double writing of the same phrase at the beginning of the verse. Some commentators emend the phrase “the rest of the people who were left” (הַנִּשְׁאָרִים וְאֶת יֶתֶר הָעָם, hannish’arim vÿ’et yeter ha’am) to read “the rest of the craftsmen who were left” (וְאֶת יֶתֶר הָאָמוֹן הַנִּשְׁאָרִים, vÿ’et yeter ha’amon hannish’arim) on the basis of the parallel in Jer 52:15 (which does not have הַנִּשְׁאָרִים, hannish’arim). However, it is easier to explain the phrase as a dittography of the phrase at the beginning (which is exactly the same except הָעִיר [ha’ir] follows it). The text is redundant because it refers twice to the same group of people. The Hebrew text reads: “And the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to him and the rest of the people Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, carried into exile to Babylon.” The text has also been divided up to create two shorter sentences to better conform with contemporary English style.
46 tn See the translator’s notes on 39:3, 9 for the names and titles here.
47 tn Verses 16-18a are a long complex sentence in the Hebrew text with some rather awkward placement of qualifying terms. In the Hebrew text these verses read: “41:16 And he took, Johanan…and all the army officers with him, all the people who were left alive which he [Johanan] had taken back from Ishmael son of Nethaniah from Mizpah after he [Ishmael] had killed Gedaliah…men, men of war, and women and children and court officials which he [Johanan] had brought back from Gibeon 41:17 and they went and they stayed at Geruth Kimham…to go to enter Egypt 41:18 because of the Chaldean because they were afraid of them because Ishmael…” The sentence has been broken down and restructured to reflect all the relevant data in shorter sentences which better conform with contemporary English style. There are a couple of places where the text and syntax are debated. Many modern English versions and commentaries read “They led off/took control of/took all survivors of the people whom Ishmael…had taken captive [reading שָׁבָה ֹאתָם (shavah ’otam) in place of הֵשִׁיב מֵאֵת (heshiv me’et), “whom he (Johanan) had taken back/rescued from Ishmael] from Mizpah after he had…” This is a decidedly smoother text but there is no manuscript or versional evidence for it and so it has been rejected here. Some commentators and English versions see the words “men of war” (“soldiers”) following the word “men” as appositional to that word and hence see only one category. However, there are no parallels to these words used in this kind of apposition. So the translation reflects two categories.
48 sn See Jer 41:18 for their reason for fear.
49 tn Heb “oracle of the
50 tn Or “is inciting you against us.”
51 tn Heb “in order to give us into the hands of the Chaldeans.” The substitution “he wants to” as the equivalent of the purpose clause has been chosen to shorten the sentence to better conform with contemporary English style.
52 tn Heb “Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for explanation.
53 tn Heb “Oracle of the
54 map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 D3; Map3 A2; Map4 C1.
55 tn Heb “Make deep to dwell.” See Jer 49:8 and the translator’s note there. The use of this same phrase here argues against the alternative there of going down from a height and going back home.
56 tn Heb “has counseled a counsel against you, has planned a plan against you.”
57 tn Heb “Oracle of the
58 tn The words “Army of Babylon” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
59 tn Heb “no gates and no bar,” i.e., “that lives securely without gates or bars.” The phrase is used by the figure of species for genus (synecdoche) to refer to the fact that they have no defenses, i.e., no walls, gates, or bars on the gates. The figure has been interpreted in the translation for the benefit of the average reader.
60 tn Heb “all you who draw the bow.”
61 tc The verb here should probably be read as a Qal imperative יְרוּ (yÿru) from יָרָה (yarah) with a few Hebrew
62 tn Heb “Shoot at her! Don’t save any arrows!”
63 sn The king of Assyria devoured them. This refers to the devastation wrought on northern Israel by the kings of Assyria beginning in 738
64 tn The verb used here only occurs this one time in the Hebrew Bible. It is a denominative from the Hebrew word for “bones” (עֶצֶם, ’etsem). BDB 1126 s.v. עֶָצַם, denom Pi, define it as “break his bones.” HALOT 822 s.v. II עָצַם Pi defines it as “gnaw on his bones.”
sn If the prophecies which are referred to in Jer 51:59-64 refer to all that is contained in Jer 50–51 (as some believe), this would have referred to the disasters of 605
65 tn Heb “Therefore thus says Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” The first person is again adopted because the
66 tn Heb “Hark! Fugitives and refugees from the land of Babylon to declare in Zion the vengeance of the
sn This verse appears to be a parenthetical exclamation of the prophet in the midst of his report of what the
67 tn Heb “his hands will drop/hang limp.” For the meaning of this idiom see the translator’s note on 6:24.
68 tn Heb “The king of Babylon hears report of them and his hands hang limp.” The verbs are translated as future because the passage is prophetic and the verbs may be interpreted as prophetic perfects (the action viewed as if it were as good as done). In the parallel passage in 6:24 the verbs could be understood as present perfects because the passage could be viewed as in the present. Here it is future.
69 sn Compare Jer 6:22-24 where almost the same exact words as 50:41-43 are applied to the people of Judah. The repetition of prophecies here and in the following verses emphasizes the talionic nature of God’s punishment of Babylon; as they have done to others, so it will be done to them (cf. 25:14; 50:15).
70 sn Babylon was situated on the Euphrates River and was surrounded by canals (also called “rivers”).
71 tn Heb “You who live upon [or beside] many waters, rich in treasures, your end has come, the cubit of your cutting off.” The sentence has been restructured and paraphrased to provide clarity for the average reader. The meaning of the last phrase is debated. For a discussion of the two options see W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 2:423. Most modern commentaries and English versions see an allusion to the figure in Isa 38:12 where the reference is to the end of life compared to a tapestry which is suddenly cut off from the loom. Hence, NRSV renders the last line as “the thread of your life is cut” and TEV renders “its thread of life is cut.” That idea is accepted also in HALOT 141 s.v. בצע Qal.1.
72 tn Or “Media, you are my war club…I will use you to smash…leaders. So before your very eyes I will repay…for all the wicked things they did in Zion.” For explanation see the translator’s note on v. 20. The position of the phrase “before your eyes” at the end of the verse after “which they did in Zion” and the change in person from second masculine singular in vv. 20b-23 (“I used you to smite”) to second masculine plural in “before your eyes” argue that a change in referent/addressee occurs in this verse. To maintain that the referent in vv. 20-23 is Media/Cyrus requires that this position and change in person be ignored; “before your eyes” then is attached to “I will repay.” The present translation follows J. A. Thompson (Jeremiah [NICOT], 757) and F. B. Huey (Jeremiah, Lamentations [NAC], 423) in seeing the referent as the Judeans who had witnessed the destruction of Zion/Jerusalem. The word “Judean” has been supplied for the sake of identifying the referent for the modern reader.
73 tn Heb “Oracle of the
74 sn Heb “Daughter Babylon.” See the study note at 50:42 for explanation.
75 tn Heb “Daughter Babylon will be [or is; there is no verb and the tense has to be supplied from the context] like a threshing floor at the time one tramples it. Yet a little while and the time of the harvest will come for her.” It is generally agreed that there are two figures here: one of leveling the threshing floor and stamping it into a smooth, hard surface and the other of the harvest where the grain is cut, taken to the threshing floor, and threshed by trampling the sheaves of grain to loosen the grain from the straw, and finally winnowed by throwing the mixture into the air (cf., e.g., J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah [NICOT], 760). The translation has sought to convey those ideas as clearly as possible without digressing too far from the literal.
sn There are two figures involved here: one of the threshing floor being leveled and stamped down hard and smooth and the other of the harvest. At harvest time the stalks of grain were cut down, gathered in sheaves, taken to the harvest floor where the grain was loosened from the husk by driving oxen and threshing sleds over them. The grain was then separated from the mixture of grain, straw and husks by repeatedly throwing it in the air and letting the wind blow away the lighter husks and ground-up straw. The figure of harvest is often used of judgment in the OT. See, e.g., Joel 3:13 (4:13 Hebrew text) and Hos 6:11 and compare also Mic 4:12-13 and Jer 51:2 where different steps in this process are also used figuratively in connection with judgment. Babylon will be leveled to the ground and its people cut down in judgment.
76 tn This verse is extremely difficult to translate because of the shifting imagery, the confusion over the meaning of one of the verbs, and the apparent inconsistency of the pronominal suffixes here with those in the following verse which everyone agrees is connected with it. The pronominal suffixes are first common plural but the versions all read them as first common singular which the Masoretes also do in the Qere. That reading has been followed here for consistency with the next verse which identifies the speaker as the person living in Zion and the personified city of Jerusalem. The Hebrew text reads: “Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon devoured me [cf. 50:7, 17] and threw me into confusion. He set me down an empty dish. He swallowed me like a monster from the deep [cf. BDB 1072 s.v. תַּנִּין 3 and compare usage in Isa 27:1; Ezek 29:3; 32:2]. He filled his belly with my dainties. He rinsed me out [cf. BDB s.v. דּוּח Hiph.2 and compare the usage in Isa 4:4].” The verb “throw into confusion” has proved troublesome because its normal meaning does not seem appropriate. Hence various proposals have been made to understand it in a different sense. The present translation has followed W. L. Holladay (Jeremiah [Hermeneia], 2:428) in understanding the verb to mean “disperse” or “route” (see NAB). The last line has seemed out of place and has often been emended to read “he has spewed me out” (so NIV, NRSV, a reading that presupposes הִדִּיחָנִי [hiddikhani] for הֱדִיחָנִי [hedikhani]). The reading of the MT is not inappropriate if it is combined with the imagery of an empty jar and hence is retained here (see F. B. Huey, Jeremiah, Lamentations [NAC], 425, n. 59; H. Freedman, Jeremiah [SoBB], 344; NJPS). The lines have been combined to keep the imagery together.
sn The speaker in this verse and the next is the personified city of Jerusalem. She laments her fate at the hands of the king of Babylon and calls down a curse on Babylon and the people who live in Babylonia. Here Nebuchadnezzar is depicted as a monster of the deep who has devoured Jerusalem, swallowed her down, and filled its belly with her riches, leaving her an empty dish, which has been rinsed clean.
77 tn Heb “‘The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon,’ says the one living in Zion. ‘My blood be upon those living in Chaldea,’ says Jerusalem.” For the usage of the genitive here in the phrase “violence done to me and my relatives” see GKC 414 §128.a (a construct governing two objects) and IBHS 303 §16.4d (an objective genitive). For the nuance of “pay” in the sense of retribution see BDB 756 s.v. עַל 7.a(b) and compare the usage in Judg 9:24. For the use of שְׁאֵר (shÿ’er) in the sense of “relatives” see BDB 985 s.v. שְׁאֵר 2 and compare NJPS. For the use of “blood” in this idiom see BDB 197 s.v. דָּם 2.k and compare the usage in 2 Sam 4:11; Ezek 3:18, 20. The lines have been reversed for better English style.
78 tn Heb “a heap of ruins, a haunt for jackals.” Compare 9:11.
79 tn Heb “without an inhabitant.”
80 tn Heb “That being so, look, days are approaching.” לָכֵן (lakhen) often introduces the effect of an action. That may be the case here, the turmoil outlined in v. 46 serving as the catalyst for the culminating divine judgment described in v. 47. Another possibility is that לָכֵן here has an asseverative force (“certainly”), as in Isa 26:14 and perhaps Jer 5:2 (see the note there). In this case the word almost has the force of “for, since,” because it presents a cause for an accompanying effect. See Judg 8:7 and the discussion of Isa 26:14 in BDB 486-87 s.v. כֵּן 3.d.
81 tn Or “all her slain will fall in her midst.” In other words, her people will be overtaken by judgment and be unable to escape. The dead will lie in heaps in the very heart of the city and land.
82 tn The antecedent of the third masculine plural pronominal suffix is not entirely clear. It probably refers back to the “destroyers” mentioned in v. 53 as the agents of God’s judgment on Babylon.
83 tn Or “mighty waters.”
84 tn Heb “and the noise of their sound will be given,”
85 tn Heb “for a destroyer is coming against her, against Babylon.”
86 tn The Piel form (which would be intransitive here, see GKC 142 §52.k) should probably be emended to Qal.
87 tn Or “God of retribution.”
88 tn The infinitive absolute emphasizes the following finite verb. Another option is to translate, “he certainly pays one back.” The translation assumes that the imperfect verbal form here describes the
89 sn This would be 582
90 tn Heb “an officer of rest.”
91 tn Or “disaster”; or “calamity.”
92 sn The final chapter of the book of Jeremiah does not mention Jeremiah or record any of his prophecies.
93 tn Heb “Surely (or “for”) because of the anger of the
94 sn For discussion of the items listed here, see the study notes at Jer 27:19.