Jeremiah 13:24

“The Lord says, ¹  ‘That is why I will scatter your people ²  like chaff that is blown away by a desert wind. ³ 

Le 26:33; De 4:27; De 28:64; De 32:26; Ps 1:4; Ps 83:13-15; Isa 17:13; Isa 41:16; Jer 4:11,12; Eze 5:2,12; Eze 6:8; Eze 17:21; Ho 13:3; Zep 2:2; Lu 21:24

¹ tn The words, “The Lord says” are not in the text at this point. The words “an oracle of the Lord” does, however, occur in the middle of the next verse and it is obvious the Lord is the speaker. The words have been moved up from the next verse to enhance clarity.

² tn Heb “them.” This is another example of the rapid shift in pronouns seen several times in the book of Jeremiah. The pronouns in the preceding and the following are second feminine singular. It might be argued that “them” goes back to the “flock”/“sheep” in v. 20, but the next verse refers the fate described here to “you” (feminine singular). This may be another example of the kind of metaphoric shifts in referents discussed in the notes on 13:20 above. Besides, it would sound a little odd in the translation to speak of scattering one person like chaff.

³ sn Compare the threat using the same metaphor in Jer 4:11-12.