Jeremiah 15:5–11

Footnotes

1. 7 The words “The Lord cried out” are not in the text. However, they are necessary to show the shift in address between speaking to Jeremiah in vv. 1–4 about the people and addressing Jerusalem in vv. 5–6 and the shift back to the address to Jeremiah in vv. 7–9. The words “oracle of the Lord” are, moreover, found at the beginning of v. 6.
2. 8 The words, “in the world” are not in the text but are the translator’s way of trying to indicate that this rhetorical question expects a negative answer.
3. 9 Heb “turn aside.”
4. 10 Or “about your well-being”; Heb “about your welfare” (שָׁלוֹם, shalom).
5. 11 Heb “oracle of the Lord.” In the original text this phrase is found between “you have deserted me” and “you keep turning your back on me.” It is put at the beginning and converted to first person for sake of English style and clarity.
6. 12 Heb “you are going backward.” This is the only occurrence of this adverb with this verb. It is often used with another verb meaning “turn backward” (= abandon; Heb סוּג [sug] in the Niphal). For examples see Jer 38:22; 46:5. The only other occurrence in Jeremiah has been in the unusual idiom in 7:24 where it was translated “they got worse and worse instead of better.” That is how J. Bright (Jeremiah [], 109) translates it here. However it is translated, it has connotations of apostasy.
7. 13 Heb “stretched out my hand against you.” For this idiom see notes on .
8. 14 There is a difference of opinion on how the verbs here and in the following verses are to be rendered, whether past or future. , , for example render them as future. , , render them as past. has past here and future in vv. 7–9. This is perhaps the best solution. The imperfect + vav consecutive here responds to the perfect in the first line. The imperfects + vav consecutives followed by perfects in vv. 7–9 and concluded by an imperfect in v. 9 pick up the perfects + vav (ו) consecutives in vv. 3–4. Verses 7–9 are further development of the theme in vv. 1–4. Verses 5–6 have been an apostrophe or a turning aside to address Jerusalem directly. For a somewhat similar alternation of the tenses see Isa 5:14–17 and consult §111.w. One could of course argue that the imperfects + vav consecutive in vv. 7–9 continue the imperfect + vav consecutive here. In this case, vv. 7–9 are not a continuation of the oracle of doom but another lament by God (cf. 14:1–6, 17–18).
9. 15 It is difficult to be sure what intertextual connections are intended by the author in his use of vocabulary. The Hebrew word translated “grown tired” is not very common. It has been used twice before. In 9:5–6b where it refers to the people being unable to repent and in 6:11 where it refers to Jeremiah being tired or unable to hold back his anger because of that inability. Now God too has worn out his patience with them (cf. Isa 7:13).
10. 16 The words “The Lord continued” are not in the text. They have been supplied in the translation to show the shift back to talking about the people instead of addressing them. The obvious speaker is the Lord; the likely listener is Jeremiah as in vv. 1–4.
11. 17 Heb “I have winnowed them with a winnowing fork in the gates of the land.” The word “gates” is here being used figuratively for the cities, the part for the whole. See 14:2 and the notes there. Like straw blown away by the wind. A figurative use of the process of winnowing is referred to here. Winnowing was the process whereby a mixture of grain and straw was thrown up into the wind to separate the grain from the straw and the husks. The best description of the major steps in threshing and winnowing grain in the Bible is seen in another figurative passage in Isa 41:15–16.
12. 18 Or “did not repent of their wicked ways”; Heb “They did not turn back from their ways.” There is no casual particle here (either כִּי [ki], which is more formally casual, or וְ [vé], which sometimes introduces casual circumstantial clauses). The causal idea is furnished by the connection of ideas. If the verbs throughout this section are treated as pasts and this section seen as a lament, then the clause could be sequential: “but they still did not turn …”
13. 19 Heb “to me.” 513 ל 5.a(d) compares the usage of the preposition “to” here to that in Jonah 3:3, “Nineveh was a very great city to God [in God’s estimation].” The / interpret as though it were the agent after a passive verb, “I have made widows more numerous.” Most English versions ignore it. The present translation follows though the emphasis on God’s agency has been strong in the passage.
14. 20 The translation of this line is a little uncertain because of the double prepositional phrase which is not represented in this translation or most of the others. The Hebrew text reads: “I will bring in to them, against mother of young men, a destroyer at noon time.” Many commentaries delete the phrase with the Greek text. If the preposition read “against” like the following one this would be a case of apposition of nearer definition. There is some evidence of that in the and the according to . Both nouns “mothers” and “young men” are translated as plural here though they are singular; they are treated by most as collectives. It would be tempting to translate these two lines “In broad daylight I have brought destroyers against the mothers of her fallen young men.” But this may be too interpretive. In the light of 6:4, noontime was a good time to attack. has “I will bring against them—young men and mothers together—.” In this case “mother” and “young men” would be a case of asyndetic coordination.
15. 21 This word is used only here and in Hos 11:9. It is related to the root meaning “to rouse” (so 735 I עִיר). Here it refers to the excitement or agitation caused by terror. In Hos 11:9 it refers to the excitement or arousal of anger.
16. 22 The “them” in the Hebrew text is feminine referring to the mothers.
17. 23 Heb “who gave birth to seven.” To have seven children was considered a blessing and a source of pride and honor (Ruth 4:15; 1 Sam 2:5).
18. 24 The meaning of this line is debated. Some understand this line to mean “she has breathed out her life” (cf., e.g., 656 נָפַח and 656 ֶנפֶשׁ 1.c). However, as several commentaries have noted (e.g., W. McKane, Jeremiah [], 1:; J. Bright, Jeremiah [], 109) it makes little sense to talk about her suffering shame and embarrassment if she has breathed her last. Both the Greek and Latin versions understand “soul” not as the object but as the subject and the idea being one of fainting under despair. This idea seems likely in light of the parallelism. Bright suggests the phrase means either “she gasped out her breath” or “her throat gasped.” The former is more likely. One might also render “she fainted dead away,” but that idiom might not be familiar to all readers.
19. 25 Heb “Her sun went down while it was still day.” The sun was the source of light and hence has associations with life, prosperity, health, and blessing. The premature setting of the sun which brought these seems apropos as metaphor for the loss of her children which were not only a source of joy, help, and honor. Two references where “sun” is used figuratively, Ps 84:11 (84:12 ) and Mal 4:2, may be helpful here.
20. 26 She has lost her position of honor and the source of her pride. For the concepts here see 1 Sam 2:5.
21. 27 Heb “I will deliver those of them that survive to the sword before their enemies.” The referent of “them” is ambiguous. Does it refer to the children of the widow (nearer context) or the people themselves (more remote context, v. 7)? Perhaps it was meant to include both. Verse seven spoke of the destruction of the people and the killing off of the children.
22. 28 The words “I said” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity to mark a shift in the speaker.
23. 29 Heb “Woe to me, my mother.” See the comments on 4:13 and 10:19.
24. 30 Heb “A man of strife and a man of contention with all the land.” The “of” relationship (Hebrew and Greek genitive) can convey either subjective or objective relationships, i.e., he instigates strife and contention or he is the object of it. A study of usage elsewhere, e.g., Isa 41:11; Job 31:35; Prov 12:19; 25:24; 26:21; 27:15, is convincing that it is subjective. In his role as God’s covenant messenger charging people with wrong doing he has instigated counterarguments and stirred about strife and contention against him.
25. 31 The translation follows the almost universally agreed upon correction of the . Instead of reading כֻּלֹּה מְקַלְלַונִי (kulloh méqallavni, “all of him is cursing me”) as the Masoretes proposed (Qere) one should read קִלְלוּנִי (qilluni) with the written text (Kethib) and redivide and repoint with the suggestion in כֻּלְּהֶם (qulléhem, “all of them are cursing me”).
26. 32 The word “Jerusalem” is not in the text. It is supplied in the translation for clarity to identify the referent of “you.” A comparison of three or four English versions will show how difficult this verse is to interpret. The primary difficulty is with the meaning of the verb rendered here as “I will surely send you out [שֵׁרִותִךָ, sherivtikha].” The text and the meaning of the word are debated (for a rather full discussion see W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah [Hermeneia], 1:, n. b-b). Tied up with that is the meaning of the verb in the second line and the identification of who the speaker and addressee are. One of two approaches are usually followed. Some follow the Greek version which has Jeremiah speaking and supporting his complaint that he has been faithful. In this case the word “said” is left out, the difficult verb is taken to mean “I have served you” (שֵׁרַתִּיךָ [sheratikha] from שָׁרַת [sharat; 1058 שָׁרַת]) and the parallel verb means “I have made intercession for my enemies.” The second tack is to suppose that God is speaking and is promising Jeremiah deliverance from his detractors. In this case the troublesome word is taken to mean “deliver” (cf. 1056 I שָׁרָה), “strengthen” (see ’s discussion) or read as a noun “remnant” (שֵׁרִיתְךָ = שְׁאֵרִיתְךָ [sheritekha = shé’eritekha]; again see ’s discussion). In this case the parallel verb is taken to mean “I will cause your enemies to entreat you,” a meaning it has nowhere else. Both of these approaches are probably wrong. The Greek text is the only evidence for leaving out “said.” The problem with making Jeremiah the addressee is twofold. First, the word “enemy” is never used in the book of Jeremiah’s foes, always of political enemies. Second, and more troublesome, one must assume a shift in the addressee between v. 11 and vv. 13–14 or assume that the whole is addressed. The latter would be odd if he is promised deliverance from his detractors only to be delivered to captivity. If, however, one assumes that the whole is addressed to Jerusalem, there is no such problem. A check of earlier chapters will show that the second masculine pronoun is used for Judah/Jerusalem in 2:28–29; 4:1–2; 5:17–18; 11:13. In 2:28–37 and 4:1–2 the same shift from second singular to second plural takes place as does here in vv. 13–14. Moreover, vv. 13–14 continue much of the same vocabulary and is addressed to Jerusalem. The approach followed here is similar to that taken in except “for good” is taken in the way it is always used rather to mean “utterly.” The nuance suggested by 1056 I שָׁרָה is assumed and the meaning of the parallel verb is assumed to be similar to that in Isa 53:6 (see 803 פָּגַע Hiph.1). The is retained with demonstrable meanings. For the concept of “for good” see Jer 24:5–6. This assumes that the ultimate goal of God’s discipline is here announced. The Lord interrupts Jeremiah’s complaint with a word for Jerusalem. Compare a similar interruption in discussion with Jeremiah in vv. 5–6.
27. 33 “Surely” represents a construct in Hebrew that indicates a strong oath of affirmation. Cf. 50 אִם 1.b(2) and compare usage in 2 Kgs 9:26.