Discovery BoxJeremiah 4:2 
Context4:2 You must be truthful, honest and upright
when you take an oath saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’ 1
If you do, 2 the nations will pray to be as blessed by him as you are
and will make him the object of their boasting.” 3
Jeremiah 11:5
Context11:5 Then I will keep the promise I swore on oath to your ancestors to give them a land flowing with milk and honey.” 4 That is the very land that you still live in today.’” 5 And I responded, “Amen! Let it be so, 6 Lord!”
Jeremiah 38:16
Context38:16 So King Zedekiah made a secret promise to Jeremiah and sealed it with an oath. He promised, 7 “As surely as the Lord lives who has given us life and breath, 8 I promise you this: I will not kill you or hand you over to those men who want to kill you.” 9
Jeremiah 40:9
Context40:9 Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, took an oath so as to give them and their troops some assurance of safety. 10 “Do not be afraid to submit to the Babylonians. 11 Settle down in the land and submit to the king of Babylon. Then things will go well for you.
1 tn Heb “If you [= you must, see the translator’s note on the word “do” later in this verse] swear/take an oath, ‘As the
2 tn 4:1-2a consists of a number of “if” clauses, two of which are formally introduced by the Hebrew particle אִם (’im) while the others are introduced by the conjunction “and,” followed by a conjunction (“and” = “then”) with a perfect in 4:2b which introduces the consequence. The translation “You must…. If you do,” was chosen to avoid a long and complicated sentence.
3 tn Heb “bless themselves in him and make their boasts in him.”
4 tn The phrase “a land flowing with milk and honey” is very familiar to readers in the Jewish and Christian traditions as a proverbial description of the agricultural and pastoral abundance of the land of Israel. However, it may not mean too much to readers outside those traditions; an equivalent expression would be “a land of fertile fields and fine pastures.” E. W. Bullinger (Figures of Speech, 626) identifies this as a figure of speech called synecdoche where the species is put for the genus, “a region…abounding with pasture and fruits of all kinds.”
5 tn Heb “‘a land flowing with milk and honey,’ as at this day.” However, the literal reading is too elliptical and would lead to confusion.
6 tn The words “Let it be so” are not in the text; they are an explanation of the significance of the term “Amen” for those who may not be part of the Christian or Jewish tradition.
sn The word amen is found at the end of each of the curses in Deut 27 where the people express their agreement with the appropriateness of the curse for the offense mentioned.
7 tn Heb “So King Zedekiah secretly swore an oath to Jeremiah, saying.”
8 tn Heb “who has made this life/soul/ breath [נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh] for us.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ refers to the living, breathing substance of a person which constitutes his very life (cf. BDB 659 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 1; 3).
9 tn Heb “who are seeking your life.”
10 tn The words “so as to give them some assurance of safety” are not in the text but are generally understood by all commentators. This would be a case of substitution of cause for effect, the oath, put for the effect, the assurance of safety (NJPS translates directly “reassured them”).
11 tn Heb “Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for explanation.
