Jeremiah 8:6
Context8:6 I have listened to them very carefully, 1
but they do not speak honestly.
None of them regrets the evil he has done.
None of them says, “I have done wrong!” 2
All of them persist in their own wayward course 3
like a horse charging recklessly into battle.
Jeremiah 31:40
Context31:40 The whole valley where dead bodies and sacrificial ashes are thrown 4 and all the terraced fields 5 out to the Kidron Valley 6 on the east as far north 7 as the Horse Gate 8 will be included within this city that is sacred to the Lord. 9 The city will never again be torn down or destroyed.”
1 tn Heb “I have paid attention and I have listened.” This is another case of two concepts being joined by “and” where one expresses the main idea and the other acts as an adverbial or adjectival modifier (a figure called hendiadys).
2 tn Heb “What have I done?” The addition of the word “wrong” is implicit in the context and is supplied in the translation for clarity. The rhetorical question does not function as a denial of wrongdoing, but rather as contrite shock at one’s own wrongdoing. It is translated as a declaration for the sake of clarity.
3 tn Heb “each one of them turns aside into their own running course.”
sn The wordplay begun in v. 4 is continued here. The word translated “turns aside” in the literal translation and “wayward” in the translation is from the same root as “go the wrong way,” “turn around,” “turn away from me,” “apostasy,” “turn back to me.” What God hoped for were confessions of repentance and change of behavior; what he got was denial of wrongdoing and continued turning away from him.
4 sn It is generally agreed that this refers to the Hinnom Valley which was on the southwestern and southern side of the city. It was here where the people of Jerusalem had burned their children as sacrifices and where the
5 tc The translation here follows the Qere and a number of Hebrew
6 sn The Kidron Valley is the valley that joins the Hinnom Valley in the southeastern corner of the city and runs northward on the east side of the city.
7 tn The words “on the east” and “north” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to give orientation.
8 sn The Horse Gate is mentioned in Neh 3:28 and is generally considered to have been located midway along the eastern wall just south of the temple area.
9 tn The words “will be included within this city that is” are not in the text. The text merely says that “The whole valley…will be sacred to the
sn The area that is here delimited is larger than any of the known boundaries of Jerusalem during the OT period. Again, this refers to the increase in population of the restored community (cf. 31:27).