Discovery BoxJeremiah 3:12 
Context3:12 “Go and shout this message to my people in the countries in the north. 1 Tell them,
‘Come back to me, wayward Israel,’ says the Lord.
‘I will not continue to look on you with displeasure. 2
For I am merciful,’ says the Lord.
‘I will not be angry with you forever.
Jeremiah 19:3
Context19:3 Say, ‘Listen to what the Lord says, you kings of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem! 3 The Lord God of Israel who rules over all 4 says, “I will bring a disaster on this place 5 that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it ring! 6
Jeremiah 29:14
Context29:14 I will make myself available to you,’ 7 says the Lord. 8 ‘Then I will reverse your plight 9 and will regather you from all the nations and all the places where I have exiled you,’ says the Lord. 10 ‘I will bring you back to the place from which I exiled you.’
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,’ 11 says the Lord. 12 ‘And you exiles 13 have not paid any attention to them either,’ says the Lord. 14
Jeremiah 31:37
Context31:37 The Lord says, “I will not reject all the descendants of Israel
because of all that they have done. 15
That could only happen if the heavens above could be measured
or the foundations of the earth below could all be explored,” 16
says the Lord. 17
Jeremiah 42:15
Context42:15 If you people who remain in Judah do that, then listen to what the Lord says. The Lord God of Israel who rules over all 18 says, ‘If you are so determined 19 to go to Egypt that you go and settle there,
1 tn Heb “Go and proclaim these words to the north.” The translation assumes that the message is directed toward the exiles of northern Israel who have been scattered in the provinces of Assyria to the north.
2 tn Heb “I will not cause my face to fall on you.”
3 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
4 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.”
sn See the study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for explanation of this title.
5 sn Careful comparison of the use of this term throughout this passage and comparison with 7:31-33 which is parallel to several verses in this passage will show that the reference is to the Valley of Ben Hinnom which will become a Valley of Slaughter (see v. 6 and 7:32).
6 tn Heb “which everyone who hears it [or about it] his ears will ring.” This is proverbial for a tremendous disaster. See 1 Sam 3:11; 2 Kgs 21:12 for similar prophecies.
7 tn Heb “I will let myself be found by you.” For this nuance of the verb see BDB 594 s.v. מָצָא Niph.1.f and compare the usage in Isa 65:1; 2 Chr 15:2. The Greek version already noted that nuance when it translated the phrase “I will manifest myself to you.”
8 tn Heb “Oracle of the
9 tn Heb “restore your fortune.” Alternately, “I will bring you back from exile.” This idiom occurs twenty-six times in the OT and in several cases it is clearly not referring to return from exile but restoration of fortunes (e.g., Job 42:10; Hos 6:11–7:1; Jer 33:11). It is often followed as here by “regather” or “bring back” (e.g., Jer 30:3; Ezek 29:14) so it is often misunderstood as “bringing back the exiles.” The versions (LXX, Vulg., Tg., Pesh.) often translate the idiom as “to go away into captivity,” deriving the noun from שְׁבִי (shÿvi, “captivity”). However, the use of this expression in Old Aramaic documents of Sefire parallels the biblical idiom: “the gods restored the fortunes of the house of my father again” (J. A. Fitzmyer, The Aramaic Inscriptions of Sefire [BibOr], 100-101, 119-20). The idiom means “to turn someone's fortune, bring about change” or “to reestablish as it was” (HALOT 1386 s.v. 3.c). In Ezek 16:53 it is paralleled by the expression “to restore the situation which prevailed earlier.” This amounts to restitutio in integrum, which is applicable to the circumstances surrounding the return of the exiles.
10 tn Heb “Oracle of the
11 tn See the translator’s note on 7:13 for an explanation of this idiom.
12 tn Heb “Oracle of the
13 tn The word “exiles” is not in the text. It is supplied in the translation to clarify the referent of “you.”
14 tn Heb “Oracle of the
15 sn This answers Jeremiah’s question in 14:19.
16 tn Heb “If the heavens above could be measured or the foundations of the earth below be explored, then also I could reject all the seed of Israel for all they have done.”
17 tn Heb “Oracle of the
18 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” See the study note on 2:19 for the translation and significance of this title.
19 tn Heb “set your face to.” See Jer 42:17; 44:11; Dan 11:17; 2 Kgs 12:17 (12:18 HT) for parallel usage.
