Jeremiah 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 7:23
Context7:23 I also explicitly commanded them: 4 “Obey me. If you do, I 5 will be your God and you will be my people. Live exactly the way I tell you 6 and things will go well with you.”
Jeremiah 9:1
Context9:1 (8:23) 7 I wish that my head were a well full of water 8
and my eyes were a fountain full of tears!
If they were, I could cry day and night
for those of my dear people 9 who have been killed.
Jeremiah 22:16
Context22:16 He upheld the cause of the poor and needy.
So things went well for Judah.’ 10
The Lord says,
‘That is a good example of what it means to know me.’ 11
Jeremiah 23:17
Context23:17 They continually say 12 to those who reject what the Lord has said, 13
‘Things will go well for you!’ 14
They say to all those who follow the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts,
‘Nothing bad will happen to you!’
Jeremiah 38:20
Context38:20 Then Jeremiah answered, “You will not be handed over to them. Please obey the Lord by doing what I have been telling you. 15 Then all will go well with you and your life will be spared. 16
Jeremiah 52:17
Context52:17 The Babylonians broke the two bronze pillars in the temple of the Lord, as well as the movable stands and the large bronze basin called the “The Sea.” 17 They took all the bronze to Babylon.
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 Verses 22-23a read in Hebrew, “I did not speak with your ancestors and I did not command them when I brought them out of Egypt about words/matters concerning burnt offering and sacrifice, but I commanded them this word:” Some modern commentators have explained this passage as an evidence for the lateness of the Pentateuchal instruction regarding sacrifice or a denial that sacrifice was practiced during the period of the wilderness wandering. However, it is better explained as an example of what R. de Vaux calls a dialectical negative, i.e., “not so much this as that” or “not this without that” (Ancient Israel, 454-56). For other examples of this same argument see Isa 1:10-17; Hos 6:4-6; Amos 5:21-25.
5 tn Heb “Obey me and I will be.” The translation is equivalent syntactically but brings out the emphasis in the command.
6 tn Heb “Walk in all the way that I command you.”
7 sn Beginning with 9:1, the verse numbers through 9:26 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 9:1 ET = 8:23 HT, 9:2 ET = 9:1 HT, 9:3 ET = 9:2 HT, etc., through 9:26 ET = 9:25 HT. Beginning with 10:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
8 tn Heb “I wish that my head were water.”
9 tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.
10 tn The words “for Judah” are not in the text, but the absence of the preposition plus object as in the preceding verse suggests that this is a more general statement, i.e., “things went well for everyone.”
11 tn Heb “Is that not what it means to know me.” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer. It is translated in the light of the context.
sn Comparison of the usage of the words “know me” in their context in Jer 2:8; 9:3, 6, 24 and here will show that more than mere intellectual knowledge is involved. It involves also personal commitment to God and obedience to the demands of the agreements with him. The word “know” is used in ancient Near Eastern treaty contexts of submission to the will of the overlord. See further the notes on 9:3.
12 tn The translation reflects an emphatic construction where the infinitive absolute follows a participle (cf. GKC 343 §113.r).
13 tc The translation follows the Greek version. The Hebrew text reads, “who reject me, ‘The
14 tn Heb “You will have peace.” But see the note on 14:13. See also 6:14 and 8:11.
15 tn Heb “Please listen to the voice of the
16 tn Heb “your life [or you yourself] will live.” Compare v. 17 and the translator’s note there for the idiom.
17 sn For discussion of the items listed here, see the study notes at Jer 27:19.