Discovery BoxJeremiah 5:27 
Context5:27 Like a cage filled with the birds that have been caught, 1
their houses are filled with the gains of their fraud and deceit. 2
That is how they have gotten so rich and powerful. 3
Jeremiah 6:12
Context6:12 Their houses will be turned over to others
as will their fields and their wives.
For I will unleash my power 4
against those who live in this land,”
says the Lord.
Jeremiah 9:19
Context9:19 For the sound of wailing is soon to be heard in Zion.
They will wail, 5 ‘We are utterly ruined! 6 We are completely disgraced!
For our houses have been torn down
and we must leave our land.’” 7
Jeremiah 9:21
Context9:21 ‘Death has climbed in 8 through our windows.
It has entered into our fortified houses.
It has taken away our children who play in the streets.
It has taken away our young men who gather in the city squares.’
Jeremiah 17:22
Context17:22 Do not carry any loads out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath day. 9 But observe the Sabbath day as a day set apart to the Lord, 10 as I commanded your ancestors. 11
Jeremiah 18:22
Context18:22 Let cries of terror be heard in their houses
when you send bands of raiders unexpectedly to plunder them. 12
For they have virtually dug a pit to capture me
and have hidden traps for me to step into.
Jeremiah 29:28
Context29:28 For he has even sent a message to us here in Babylon. He wrote and told us, 13 “You will be there a long time. Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat what they produce.”’” 14
Jeremiah 30:18
Context30:18 The Lord says,
“I will restore the ruined houses of the descendants of Jacob.
I will show compassion on their ruined homes. 15
Every city will be rebuilt on its former ruins. 16
Every fortified dwelling will occupy its traditional site. 17
Jeremiah 33:4
Context33:4 For I, the Lord God of Israel, have something more to say about the houses in this city and the royal buildings which have been torn down for defenses against the siege ramps and military incursions of the Babylonians: 18
1 tn The words, “that have been caught” are not in the text but are implicit in the comparison.
2 tn Heb “are filled with deceit.” The translation assumes a figure of speech of cause for effect (metonymy). Compare the same word in the same figure in Zeph 1:9.
3 tn Heb “therefore they have gotten great and rich.”
4 tn Heb “I will reach out my hand.” This figure involves both comparing God to a person (anthropomorphism) and substitution (metonymy) where hand is put for the actions or exertions of the hand. A common use of “hand” is for the exertion of power or strength (cf. BDB 290 s.v. יָד 2 and 289-90 s.v. יָד 1.e(2); cf. Deut 34:12; Ps 78:42; Jer 16:21).
5 tn The words “They will wail” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation to make clear that this is the wailing that will be heard.
sn The destruction is still in the future, but it is presented graphically as though it had already taken place.
6 tn Heb “How we are ruined!”
7 tn The order of these two lines has been reversed for English stylistic reasons. The text reads in Hebrew “because we have left our land because they have thrown down our dwellings.” The two clauses offer parallel reasons for the cries “How ruined we are! [How] we are greatly disgraced!” But the first line must contain a prophetic perfect (because the lament comes from Jerusalem) and the second a perfect referring to a destruction that is itself future. This seems the only way to render the verse that would not be misleading.
8 sn Here Death is personified (treated as though it were a person). Some have seen as possible background to this lament an allusion to Mesopotamian mythology where the demon Lamastu climbs in through the windows of houses and over their walls to kill children and babies.
9 tn Heb “Do not carry any loads out of your houses on the Sabbath day and do not do any work.” Translating literally might give the wrong impression that they were not to work at all. The phrase “on the Sabbath day” is, of course, intended to qualify both prohibitions.
10 tn Heb “But sanctify [or set apart as sacred] the Sabbath day.” The idea of setting it apart as something sacred to the
11 tn Heb “fathers.”
12 tn Heb “when you bring marauders in against them.” For the use of the noun translated here “bands of raiders to plunder them” see 1 Sam 30:3, 15, 23 and BDB 151 s.v. גְּדוּד 1.
13 tn Heb “For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying….” The quote, however, is part of the earlier letter.
15 tn Heb “I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob and will have compassion on his habitations.” For the meaning of the idiom “restore the fortunes of” see the translator’s note on 29:14. The “tents of Jacob” refers to their homes or houses (see BDB 14 s.v. אֹהֶל 2 and compare usage in Judg 19:9; Mal 2:12). The word “ruined” has been supplied in the translation to show more clearly the idea of restoration of their houses on their former sites in conformity to the concepts in the latter half of the verse.
16 sn Heb “on its tel.” A tel is a site where successive layers of occupation are built upon one another after the destruction or decay of the former city. The original site was not abandoned because it had been chosen for strategic purposes, such as proximity to water or ease of defense. Many modern archaeological sites have the designation “Tel” as a component of their name because of this practice.
17 tn Heb “according to its custom [or plan].” Cf. BDB 1049 s.v. מִשְׁפָּט 6.d and compare usage in 1 Sam 27:11.
18 tn Heb “the sword.” The figure has been interpreted for the sake of clarity.
