Discovery BoxJeremiah 3:1 
Context3:1 “If a man divorces his wife
and she leaves him and becomes another man’s wife,
he may not take her back again. 1
Doing that would utterly defile the land. 2
But you, Israel, have given yourself as a prostitute to many gods. 3
So what makes you think you can return to me?” 4
says the Lord.
Jeremiah 6:9
Context6:9 This is what the Lord who rules over all 5 said to me: 6
“Those who remain in Israel will be
like the grapes thoroughly gleaned 7 from a vine.
So go over them again, as though you were a grape harvester
passing your hand over the branches one last time.” 8
Jeremiah 15:19
Context15:19 Because of this, the Lord said, 9
“You must repent of such words and thoughts!
If you do, I will restore you to the privilege of serving me. 10
If you say what is worthwhile instead of what is worthless,
I will again allow you to be my spokesman. 11
They must become as you have been.
You must not become like them. 12
Jeremiah 25:3
Context25:3 “For the last twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amon was ruling in Judah 13 until now, the Lord has been speaking to me. I told you over and over again 14 what he said. 15 But you would not listen.
Jeremiah 27:22
Context27:22 He has said, ‘They will be carried off to Babylon. They will remain there until it is time for me to show consideration for them again. 16 Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.’ I, the Lord, affirm this!” 17
Jeremiah 29:19
Context29:19 For they have not paid attention to what I said to them through my servants the prophets whom I sent to them over and over again,’ 18 says the Lord. 19 ‘And you exiles 20 have not paid any attention to them either,’ says the Lord. 21
Jeremiah 30:3
Context30:3 For I, the Lord, affirm 22 that the time will come when I will reverse the plight 23 of my people, Israel and Judah,’ says the Lord. ‘I will bring them back to the land I gave their ancestors 24 and they will take possession of it once again.’” 25
Jeremiah 31:23
Context31:23 The Lord God of Israel who rules over all 26 says,
“I will restore the people of Judah to their land and to their towns.
When I do, they will again say 27 of Jerusalem, 28
‘May the Lord bless you, you holy mountain,
the place where righteousness dwells.’ 29
Jeremiah 31:40
Context31:40 The whole valley where dead bodies and sacrificial ashes are thrown 30 and all the terraced fields 31 out to the Kidron Valley 32 on the east as far north 33 as the Horse Gate 34 will be included within this city that is sacred to the Lord. 35 The city will never again be torn down or destroyed.”
Jeremiah 32:44
Context32:44 Fields will again be bought with silver, and deeds of purchase signed, sealed, and witnessed. This will happen in the territory of Benjamin, the villages surrounding Jerusalem, the towns in Judah, the southern hill country, the western foothills, and southern Judah. 36 For I will restore them to their land. 37 I, the Lord, affirm it!’” 38
Jeremiah 33:10
Context33:10 “I, the Lord, say: 39 ‘You and your people are saying 40 about this place, “It lies in ruins. There are no people or animals in it.” That is true. The towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem 41 will soon be desolate, uninhabited either by people or by animals. But happy sounds will again be heard in these places.
Jeremiah 33:12-13
Context33:12 “I, the Lord who rules over all, say: 42 ‘This place will indeed lie in ruins. There will be no people or animals in it. But there will again be in it and in its towns sheepfolds where shepherds can rest their sheep. 33:13 I, the Lord, say that shepherds will once again count their sheep as they pass into the fold. 43 They will do this in all the towns in the southern hill country, the western foothills, the southern hill country, the territory of Benjamin, the villages surrounding Jerusalem, and the towns of Judah.’ 44
Jeremiah 33:24
Context33:24 “You have surely noticed what these people are saying, haven’t you? They are saying, 45 ‘The Lord has rejected the two families of Israel and Judah 46 that he chose.’ So they have little regard that my people will ever again be a nation. 47
Jeremiah 35:14
Context35:14 Jonadab son of Rechab ordered his descendants not to drink wine. His orders have been carried out. 48 To this day his descendants have drunk no wine because they have obeyed what their ancestor commanded them. But I 49 have spoken to you over and over again, 50 but you have not obeyed me!
1 tn Heb “May he go back to her again?” The question is rhetorical and expects a negative answer.
sn For the legal background for the illustration that is used here see Deut 24:1-4.
2 tn Heb “Would the land not be utterly defiled?” The stative is here rendered actively to connect better with the preceding. The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.
3 tn Heb “But you have played the prostitute with many lovers.”
4 tn Heb “Returning to me.” The form is the bare infinitive which the KJV and ASV have interpreted as an imperative “Yet, return to me!” However, it is more likely that a question is intended, expressing surprise in the light of the law alluded to and the facts cited. For the use of the infinitive absolute in the place of a finite verb, cf. GKC 346 §113.ee. For the introduction of a question without a question marker, cf. GKC 473 §150.a.
5 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
sn For an explanation of the significance of this title see the study note on 2:19.
6 tn The words “to me” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
7 tn Heb “They will thoroughly glean those who are left in Israel like a vine.” That is, they will be carried off by judgment. It is not necessary to read the verb forms here as two imperatives or an infinitive absolute followed by an imperative as some English versions and commentaries do. This is an example of a third plural verb used impersonally and translated as a passive (cf. GKC 460 §144.g).
8 tn Heb “Pass your hand back over the branches like a grape harvester.” The translation is intended to clarify the metaphor that Jeremiah should try to rescue some from the coming destruction.
9 tn Heb “So the
10 tn Heb “If you return [ = repent], I will restore [more literally, ‘cause you to return’] that you may stand before me.” For the idiom of “standing before” in the sense of serving see BDB 764 s.v. עָמַד Qal.1.e and compare the usage in 1 Kgs 10:8; 12:8; 17:1; Deut 10:8.
11 tn Heb “you shall be as my mouth.”
sn For the classic statement of the prophet as God’s “mouth/mouthpiece,” = “spokesman,” see Exod 4:15-16; 7:1-2.
12 tn Heb “They must turn/return to you and you must not turn/return to them.”
sn Once again the root “return” (שׁוּב, shuv) is being played on as in 3:1–4:4. See the threefold call to repentance in 3:12, 14, 22. The verb is used here four times “repent,” “restore,” and “become” twice. He is to serve as a model of repentance, not an imitator of their apostasy. In accusing God of being unreliable he was coming dangerously close to their kind of behavior.
13 sn The year referred to would be 627
14 tn For the idiom involved here see the notes at 7:13 and 11:7.
15 tn The words “what he said” are not in the text but are implicit. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
16 tn This verb is a little difficult to render here. The word is used in the sense of taking note of something and acting according to what is noticed. It is the word that has been translated several times throughout Jeremiah as “punish [someone].” It is also used in the opposite of sense of taking note and “show consideration for” (or “care for;” see, e.g., Ruth 1:6). Here the nuance is positive and is further clarified by the actions that follow, bringing them back and restoring them.
17 tn Heb “oracle of the
18 tn See the translator’s note on 7:13 for an explanation of this idiom.
19 tn Heb “Oracle of the
20 tn The word “exiles” is not in the text. It is supplied in the translation to clarify the referent of “you.”
21 tn Heb “Oracle of the
22 tn Heb “Oracle of the
23 tn Heb “restore the fortune.” For the translation and meaning of this idiom see the note at 29:14.
24 tn Heb “fathers.”
25 sn As the nations of Israel and Judah were united in their sin and suffered the same fate – that of exile and dispersion – (cf. Jer 3:8; 5:11; 11:10, 17) so they will ultimately be regathered from the nations and rejoined under one king, a descendant of David, and regain possession of their ancestral lands. The prophets of both the eighth and seventh century looked forward to this ideal (see, e.g., Hos 1:11 (2:2 HT); Isa 11:11-13; Jer 23:5-6; 30:3; 33:7; Ezek 37:15-22). This has already been anticipated in Jer 3:18.
26 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” See 7:3 and the study note of 2:19 for the rendering of this title and an explanation of its significance.
27 tn Heb “They [i.e., people (the indefinite plural, GKC 460 §144.g)] will again say in the land of Judah and in its cities when I restore their fortunes.” For the meaning of the idiom “to restore the fortunes” see the translator’s note on 29:14.
28 tn The words “of Jerusalem” are not in the text but it is implicit in the titles that follow. They have been supplied in the translation for clarity to aid in identifying the referent.
map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
29 sn The blessing pronounced on the city of Zion/Jerusalem by the restored exiles looks at the restoration of its once exalted state as the city known for its sanctity and its just dealing (see Isa 1:21 and Ps 122). This was a reversal of the state of Jerusalem in the time of Isaiah and Jeremiah where wickedness not righteousness characterized the inhabitants of the city (cf. Isa 1:21; Jer 4:14; 5:1; 13:27). The blessing here presupposes the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem and the temple which gave the city its sanctity.
30 sn It is generally agreed that this refers to the Hinnom Valley which was on the southwestern and southern side of the city. It was here where the people of Jerusalem had burned their children as sacrifices and where the
31 tc The translation here follows the Qere and a number of Hebrew
32 sn The Kidron Valley is the valley that joins the Hinnom Valley in the southeastern corner of the city and runs northward on the east side of the city.
33 tn The words “on the east” and “north” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to give orientation.
34 sn The Horse Gate is mentioned in Neh 3:28 and is generally considered to have been located midway along the eastern wall just south of the temple area.
35 tn The words “will be included within this city that is” are not in the text. The text merely says that “The whole valley…will be sacred to the
sn The area that is here delimited is larger than any of the known boundaries of Jerusalem during the OT period. Again, this refers to the increase in population of the restored community (cf. 31:27).
36 tn Heb “They will buy fields with silver and write in the deed and seal [it] and have witnesses witness [it] in the land of Benjamin, in the environs of Jerusalem, in the towns in Judah, in the towns in the hill country, in the towns in the Shephelah, and in the towns in the Negev.” The long Hebrew sentence has again been restructured to better conform to contemporary English style. The indefinite “they will buy” is treated as a passive. It is followed by three infinitive absolutes which substitute for the finite verb (cf. GKC 345 §113.y) which is a common feature of the style of the book of Jeremiah.
sn For the geographical districts mentioned here compare Jer 17:26.
37 tn Or “I will reverse their fortunes.” For this idiom see the translator’s note on 29:14 and compare the usage in 29:14; 30:3, 18; 31:23.
38 tn Heb “Oracle of the
39 tn Heb “Thus says the
sn The phrase here is parallel to that in v. 4 and introduces a further amplification of the “great and mysterious things” of v. 3.
40 tn Heb “You.” However, the pronoun is plural as in 32:36, 43. See the translator’s note on 32:36.
41 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
42 tn Heb “Thus says Yahweh of armies.” For the explanation for the first person introduction see the translator’s notes on 33:2, 10. Verses 4, 10, 12 introduce three oracles, all under the answer to the
43 sn Heb “Sheep will again pass under the hands of the counter.” This appears to be a reference to counting the sheep to make sure that none was missing as they returned to the fold. See the same idiom in Lev 27:52 and in the metaphor in Ezek 20:37.
45 tn Heb “Have you not seen what this people have said, saying.” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer. The sentence has been broken in two to better conform with contemporary English style.
46 tn Heb “The two families which the
47 tn Heb “and my people [i.e., Israel and Judah] they disdain [or look down on] from being again a nation before them.” The phrase “before them” refers to their estimation, their mental view (cf. BDB s.v. פָּנֶה II.4.a[g]). Hence it means they look with disdain on the people being a nation again (cf. BDB s.v. עוֹד 1.a[b] for the usage of עוֹד [’od] here).
48 tn Heb “The words of Jonadab son of Rechab which he commanded his descendants not to drink wine have been carried out.” (For the construction of the accusative of subject after a passive verb illustrated here see GKC 388 §121.b.) The sentence has been broken down and made more direct to better conform to contemporary English style.
49 tn The vav (ו) plus the independent pronoun before the verb is intended to mark a sharp contrast. It is difficult, if not impossible to mark this in English other than “But I.”
50 tn On this idiom (which occurs again in the following verse) see the translator’s note on 7:13 for this idiom and compare its use in 7:13, 25; 11:7; 25:3, 4; 26:5; 29:19; 32:33; 35:14, 15; 44:9.
