Jeremiah 9:15-17

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Jeremiah 9:15 tn Heb “Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel.”sn See the study notes on 2:9 and 7:3.
2. Jeremiah 9:15 tn Heb “Therefore, thus says the Lord…” The person is shifted from third to first to better conform with English style.
3. Jeremiah 9:15 tn Heb “I will feed this people wormwood and make them drink poison water.” “Wormwood” and “poison water” are not to be understood literally here but are symbolic of judgment and suffering. See, e.g., BDB 542 s.v. לַעֲנָה.
4. Jeremiah 9:16 tn Heb “fathers.”
5. Jeremiah 9:16 tn Heb “I will send the sword after them.” The sword here is probably not completely literal but refers to death by violent means, including death by the sword.
6. Jeremiah 9:16 sn He will destroy them but not completely. See Jer 5:18; 30:11; 46:28.
7. Jeremiah 9:17 tn Heb “Yahweh of Armies.”sn For the significance of this title see the notes at 2:19 and 7:3.
8. Jeremiah 9:17 tn Heb “Thus says Yahweh of Armies.” However, without some addition it is not clear to whom the command is addressed. The words are supplied in the translation for clarity and to help resolve a rather confusing issue of who is speaking throughout vv. 16-21. As has been evident throughout the translation, the speaker is not always indicated. Sometimes it is not even clear who the speaker is. In general the translation and the notes have reflected the general consensus in identifying who it is. Here, however, there is a good deal of confusion about who is speaking in vv. 18, 20-21. The Greek translation has the Lord speaking throughout with second plural pronouns in vv. 18, 21 and the absence of the first line in v. 22. It would be hard to explain how the MT arose if the Greek reflected the original text. Critical commentators such as J. Bright, W. Holladay, and W. McKane resolve the issue by dropping out the introductory formula in v. 17 and the first line of v. 22 and assigning the whole lament to Jeremiah. It seems obvious from the first plural pronouns and the content of v. 18 (and probably v. 21 as well), and from the fact that the Lord is referred to in other than the first person in v. 20, that he is not the speaker of those verses. The translation attempts to resolve the issue by having Jeremiah report the Lord’s command in v. 17 and letting the rest of the speech be essentially that of Jeremiah. It should be admitted, however, that the issue is far from resolved. Most English versions simply ignore the problem. The GNB (= TEV) is a rare exception.
9. Jeremiah 9:17 tn Heb “Consider!”
10. Jeremiah 9:17 tn Heb “Call for the mourning women that they may come and send for the wise/skilled women that they may come.” The verbs here are masculine plural, addressed to the people.