² tn Heb “thus for six branches….”

¹ tn Heb “the three branches [are].”

⁵ tn Or “branches”; Heb “heads.” Cf. NEB “streams”; NASB “rivers.”

⁶ tn Heb “their vine-branches.” The term “vine-branches” is a figurative expression (synecdoche of part for the whole) representing the agricultural fields as a whole.

² tn Heb “and it was seen by its height and by the abundance of its branches.”

³ tn Now, in the second half of the verse, the metaphor of a tree with branches begins.

¹ tn The words “the branches” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

² tn Or “a [piece of] wood” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, TEV, CEV); NLT “a branch.”

¹ sn The Shihor River was a river on the border of Egypt, probably the eastern branch of the Nile.

² tn Heb “all the טַרְפֵּי (tarpe) of branches.” The word טַרְפֵּי occurs only here in the Bible; its precise meaning is uncertain.

² tn Heb “women come [and] light it.” The city is likened to a dead tree with dried-up branches that is only good for firewood.

² tn Heb “seed of Shihor.” “Shihor” probably refers to the east branch of the Nile. See Jer 2:18 and BDB 1009 s.v. שִׁיחוֹר.

² tn Heb “the exalted of the height.” This could refer to the highest branches (cf. TEV) or the tallest trees (cf. NIV, NRSV).

¹ tn Heb “the one branch.” But the repetition of “one…one” means here one after another, or the “first” and then the “next.”

² sn The cupbearer’s dream is dominated by sets of three: three branches, three stages of growth, and three actions of the cupbearer.

¹ tn Heb “he did not put [them] in.” The referent of the [understood] direct object, “them,” has been specified as “the branches” in the translation for clarity.

² sn Ashkenaz was the ancestor of a northern branch of Indo-Germanic tribes, possibly Scythians. For discussion see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 63.

¹ sn Clearly the point here is to provide light in the tent for access to God. He provided for his worshipers a light for the way to God, but he also wanted them to provide oil for the lamp to ensure that the light would not go out. Verses 31-36 describe the piece. It was essentially one central shaft, with three branches on either side turned out and upward. The stem and the branches were ornamented every so often with gold that was formed into the shape of the calyx and corolla of the almond flower. On top of the central shaft and the six branches were the lamps.

² sn A sycamore tree would have large branches near the ground like an oak tree and would be fairly easy to climb. These trees reach a height of some 50 ft (about 15 m).

⁴ tn Heb “Pass your hand back over the branches like a grape harvester.” The translation is intended to clarify the metaphor that Jeremiah should try to rescue some from the coming destruction.