Discovery BoxJeremiah 6:7 
Context6:7 As a well continually pours out fresh water
so it continually pours out wicked deeds. 1
Sounds of violence and destruction echo throughout it. 2
All I see are sick and wounded people.’ 3
Jeremiah 46:12
Context46:12 The nations will hear of your devastating defeat. 4
your cries of distress will echo throughout the earth.
In the panic of their flight one soldier will trip over another
and both of them will fall down defeated.” 5
1 tc Heb “As a well makes cool/fresh its water, she makes cool/fresh her wickedness.” The translation follows the reading proposed by the Masoretes (Qere) which reads a rare form of the word “well” (בַּיִר [bayir] for בְּאֵר [bÿ’er]) in place of the form written in the text (Kethib, בּוֹר [bor]), which means “cistern.” The latter noun is masculine and the pronoun “its” is feminine. If indeed בַּיִר (bayir) is a byform of בְּאֵר (be’er), which is feminine, it would agree in gender with the pronoun. It also forms a more appropriate comparison since cisterns do not hold fresh water.
2 tn Heb “Violence and destruction are heard in it.”
3 tn Heb “Sickness and wound are continually before my face.”
4 tn Heb “of your shame.” The “shame,” however, applies to the devastating defeat they will suffer.
5 tn The words “In the panic of their flight” and “defeated” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to give clarity to the metaphor for the average reader. The verbs in this verse are all in the tense that emphasizes that the action is viewed as already having been accomplished (i.e., the Hebrew prophetic perfect). This is consistent with the vav consecutive perfects in v. 10 which look to the future.
