Discovery BoxJeremiah 50:37 
Context50:37 Destructive forces will come against her horses and her 1 chariots.
Destructive forces will come against all the foreign troops within her; 2
they will be as frightened as women! 3
Destructive forces will come against her treasures;
they will be taken away as plunder!
Jeremiah 40:4
Context40:4 But now, Jeremiah, today I will set you free 4 from the chains on your wrists. If you would like to come to Babylon with me, come along and I will take care of you. 5 But if you prefer not to come to Babylon with me, you are not required to do so. 6 You are free to go anywhere in the land you want to go. 7 Go wherever you choose.” 8
1 tn Hebrew has “his” in both cases here whereas the rest of the possessive pronouns throughout vv. 35-37 are “her.” There is no explanation for this switch unless the third masculine singular refers as a distributive singular to the soldiers mentioned in the preceding verse (cf. GKC 464 §145.l). This is probably the case here, but to refer to “their horses and their chariots” in the midst of all the “her…” might create more confusion than what it is worth to be that pedantic.
2 tn Or “in the country,” or “in her armies”; Heb “in her midst.”
3 tn Heb “A sword against his horses and his chariots and against all the mixed company [or mixed multitude] in her midst and they will become like women.” The sentence had to be split up because it is too long and the continuation of the second half with its consequential statement would not fit together with the first half very well. Hence the subject and verb have been repeated. The Hebrew word translated “foreign troops” (עֶרֶב, ’erev) is the same word that is used in 25:20 to refer to the foreign peoples living in Egypt and in Exod 12:38 for the foreign people that accompanied Israel out of Egypt. Here the word is translated contextually to refer to foreign mercenaries, an identification that most of the commentaries and many of the modern English versions accept (see, e.g., J. Bright, Jeremiah [AB], 355; NRSV; NIV). The significance of the simile “they will become like women” has been spelled out for the sake of clarity.
4 tn The verb here is an example of the perfect of resolve where the speaker announces his intention to do something according to IBHS 488-89 §30.5.1d. The word “Jeremiah” is supplied in the translation to avoid the possible misunderstanding that the you is still plural.
5 tn Or “look out for you.” See 39:12 and the translator’s note there.
6 tn Or “Stay here”; Heb “Forbear.” The imperative is used in a permissive sense; “you may forbear.” See GKC 324 §110.b and compare usage in Gen 50:6.
7 tn Heb “See all the land [or the whole land] is before you.” For this idiom see BDB 817 s.v. פָּנֶה II.4.a(f) and compare the usage in Gen 20:15; 47:6.
8 tn Heb “Unto the good and the right in your eyes to go, go there.”
