Jeremiah 9:2-4

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Jeremiah 9:2 tn Heb “I wish I had in the desert a lodging place [inn, or place to spend the night] for travelers.”
2. Jeremiah 9:2 tn Or “bunch,” but this loses the irony; the word is used for the solemn assemblies at the religious feasts.
3. Jeremiah 9:2 tn Heb “they are all adulterers, a congregation of unfaithful people.” However, spiritual adultery is, of course, meant, not literal adultery. So the literal translation would be misleading.
4. Jeremiah 9:3 tn The words “The Lord says” have been moved up from the end of the verse to make clear that a change in speaker has occurred.
5. Jeremiah 9:3 tn Heb “They have readied [or strung] their tongue as their bow for lies.”
6. Jeremiah 9:3 tn Heb “but not through honesty.”
7. Jeremiah 9:3 tn Heb “they go from evil to evil.”
8. Jeremiah 9:3 tn Or “do not acknowledge me”; Heb “do not know me.” But “knowing” in Hebrew thought often involves more than intellectual knowledge; it involves emotional and volitional commitment as well. For יָדַע (yadaʿ) meaning “acknowledge” see 1 Chr 28:9; Isa 29:21; Hos 2:20; Prov 3:6. This word is also found in ancient Near Eastern treaty contexts where it has the idea of a vassal king acknowledging the sovereignty of a greater king (cf. H. Huffmon, “The Treaty Background of Hebrew yada,” BASOR 181 [1966]: 31-37).
9. Jeremiah 9:4 tn Heb “Be on your guard…Do not trust.” The verbs are second masculine plural of direct address and there seems no way to translate literally and not give the mistaken impression that Jeremiah is being addressed. This is another example of the tendency in Hebrew style to turn from description to direct address (a figure of speech called apostrophe).
10. Jeremiah 9:4 tn Heb “cheating, each of them will cheat.”sn There is perhaps an intentional pun and allusion here to Gen 27:36 and the wordplay on the name Jacob there. The text here reads עָקוֹב יַעְקֹב (ʿaqob yaʿqob).