² tn Heb “an earthenware jar of the potter.”

² tn Heb “I am like a broken jar.” One throws away a broken jar without a second thought because it is considered worthless and useless.

² tn Heb “Every wine jar is supposed to be filled with wine.”

³ sn Like a potter’s jar. Before the Davidic king’s awesome power, the rebellious nations are like fragile pottery.

² tn Heb “the jars.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“them”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

² sn Since women usually carried these jars, it would have been no problem for Peter and John to recognize the man Jesus was referring to.

² sn They hid the torches inside the earthenware jars to disguise their approach and to keep the torches from being extinguished by the breeze.

⁴ tn The Hebrew term translated “container” may denote either a clay storage jar (cf. CEV “a clay jar full of wine”) or a leather container (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV “a skin of wine”; NCV “a leather bag filled with [full of TEV] wine”).

¹ sn There is perhaps a twofold wordplay in the use of this verb. One involves the sound play with the word for “jar,” which has been explained as a water decanter. The word here is בַקֹּתִי (vaqqoti). The word for jar in v. 1 is בַקְבֻּק (vaqbuq). There may also be a play on the literal use of this word to refer to the laying waste or destruction of a land (see Isa 24:3; Nah 2:3). Many modern commentaries think that at this point Jeremiah emptied out the contents of the jar, symbolizing the “emptying” out of their plans.

³ sn Jesus is portrayed throughout Luke 22-23 as very aware of what will happen, almost directing events. Here this is indicated by his prediction that a man carrying a jar of water will meet you.

⁴ sn A jar made of alabaster stone was normally used for very precious substances like perfumes. It normally had a long neck which was sealed and had to be broken off so the contents could be used.

¹ sn Since women usually carried these jars, it would have been no problem for the two disciples (Luke 22:8 states that they were Peter and John) to recognize the man Jesus was referring to.

⁵ sn A jar made of alabaster stone was normally used for very precious substances like perfumes. It normally had a long neck which was sealed and had to be broken off so the contents could be used.

¹ sn A jar made of alabaster stone was normally used for very precious substances like perfumes. It normally had a long neck which was sealed and had to be broken off so the contents could be used.

² tn The word “containers” is a generic word in Hebrew meaning “vessels.” It would probably in this case involve water “jars” or “jugs.” But since in contemporary English one would normally associate those terms with smaller vessels, “containers” may be safer.

³ tn Heb “all the small vessels, from the vessels that are bowls to all the vessels that are jars.” The picture is that of a single peg holding the weight of all kinds of containers hung from it.

¹ tn Heb “Therefore, behold, the days are coming, oracle of Yahweh, when I will send against him decanters [those who pour from one vessel to another], and they will decant him [pour him out], and they will empty his vessels and break their jars in pieces.” The verse continues the metaphor from the preceding verse, where Moab/the people of Moab are like wine left undisturbed in a jar, i.e., in their native land. In this verse the picture is that of the decanter emptying the wine from the vessels and then breaking the jars. The wine represents the people and the vessels the cities and towns where the people lived. The verse speaks of the exile of the people and the devastation of the land. The metaphor has been interpreted so it conveys meaning to the average reader.

² tn Grk “holding two or three metretes” (about 75 to 115 liters). Each of the pots held 2 or 3 μετρηταί (metrētai). A μετρητῆς (metrētēs) was about 9 gallons (40 liters); thus each jar held 18-27 gallons (80-120 liters) and the total volume of liquid involved was 108-162 gallons (480-720 liters).

² tn Heb “And let the young woman to whom I say, ‘Lower your jar that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink and I will also give your camels water,’—her you have appointed for your servant, for Isaac, and by it I will know that you have acted in faithfulness with my master.”

² sn The word translated “clay” here refers to a clay that has been baked or fired in a kiln. In Jer 18 the clay was still soft and pliable, capable of being formed into different kinds of vessels. Here the clay is set, just as Israel is set in its ways. The word for jar probably refers to a water jug or decanter and is onomatopoeic, vaqbuq, referring to the gurgling sound made by pouring out the water.