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Jeremiah 2:13-15
New English Translation
Jeremiah 2:13-15
New English Translation
13 “Do so because my people have committed a double wrong:
They have rejected me,
the fountain of life-giving water,[a]
and they have dug cisterns for themselves,
cracked cisterns that cannot even hold water.
Israel’s Reliance on Foreign Alliances (not on God)
14 “Israel is not a slave, is he?
He was not born into slavery, was he?[b]
If not, why then is he being carried off?
15 Like lions his enemies roar victoriously over him;
they raise their voices in triumph.[c]
They have laid his land waste;
his cities have been burned down and deserted.[d]
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 2:13 tn It is difficult to decide whether to translate “fresh, running water” which the Hebrew term for “living water” often refers to (e.g., Gen 26:19; Lev 14:5), or “life-giving water” which the idiom “fountain of life” as source of life and vitality often refers to (e.g., Ps 36:9; Prov 13:14; 14:27). The contrast with cisterns, which collected and held rain water, suggests “fresh, running water,” but the reality underlying the metaphor contrasts the Lord, the source of life, health, and vitality, with useless idols that cannot do anything.
- Jeremiah 2:14 tn Heb “Is Israel a slave? Or is he a house-born slave?” The questions are rhetorical, expecting a negative answer.sn The Lord is here contrasting Israel’s lofty status as the Lord’s bride and special possession, which he had earlier reminded her of (see 2:2-3), with her current status of servitude to Egypt and Assyria.
- Jeremiah 2:15 tn Heb “Lions shout over him; they give out [raise] their voices.”sn The reference to lions is here a metaphor for the Assyrians (and later the Babylonians; see Jer 50:17). The statement about lions roaring over their prey implies that the prey has been vanquished.
- Jeremiah 2:15 tn Heb “without inhabitant.”
New English Translation (NET)
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