Jeremiah 42:18-20

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Jeremiah 42:18 tn Or “Indeed.”
2. Jeremiah 42:18 tn Heb “Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel.” See the study note on 2:19 for the translation and significance of this title.
3. Jeremiah 42:18 tn See the study note on 24:9 and the usage in 29:22 for the meaning and significance of this last phrase.
4. Jeremiah 42:18 tn Or “land.” The reference is, of course, to the land of Judah.
5. Jeremiah 42:19 tn Heb “Know for certain that I warn you…” The idea of “for certain” is intended to reflect the emphatic use of the infinitive absolute before the volitive use of the imperfect (see IBHS 587-88 §35.3.1h and 509 §31.5b). The substitution “of this:” for “that” has been made to shorten the sentence in conformity with contemporary English style.
6. Jeremiah 42:19 tn Heb “today.”
7. Jeremiah 42:20 tn Heb “you are erring at the cost of your own lives” (BDB 1073 s.v. תָּעָה Hiph.3 and HALOT 1626 s.v. תָּעָה Hif 4; cf. BDB 90 s.v. בְּ 3 and see parallels in 1 Kgs 2:23 and 2 Sam 23:17 for the nuance of “at the cost of your lives”). This fits the context better than “you are deceiving yourselves” (KBL 1035 s.v. תָּעָה Hif 4). The reading here follows the Qere הִתְעֵיתֶם (hitʿetem) rather than the Kethib, which has a metathesis of י (yod) and ת (tav), i.e., הִתְעֵתֶים. The Greek text presupposes הֲרֵעֹתֶם (hareʿotem, “you have done evil”), but that reading is generally rejected as secondary.
8. Jeremiah 42:20 tn Heb “And according to all that the Lord our God says, thus declare to us, and we will act.” The restructuring of the sentence is intended to better reflect contemporary English style.