Jeremiah 11:20-22

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Jeremiah 11:20 tn The words “So I said” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity to show the shift in address.
2. Jeremiah 11:20 tn Heb “Yahweh of Armies.”sn For the significance of the term see the notes at 2:19 and 7:3.
3. Jeremiah 11:20 tn Heb “Lord of armies, just judge, tester of kidneys and heart.” The sentence has been broken up to avoid a long and complex English sentence. The translation is more in keeping with contemporary English style. In Hebrew thought the “kidneys” were thought of as the seat of the emotions and passions, and the “heart” was viewed as the seat of intellect, conscience, and will. The “heart” and the “kidneys” were often used figuratively for the thoughts, emotions, motives, and drives believed to be seated in them.
4. Jeremiah 11:20 tn Heb “Let me see your retribution [i.e., see you exact retribution] from them because I reveal my cause [i.e., plea for justice] to you.”
5. Jeremiah 11:21 tn Heb “Therefore thus says the Lord.” This phrase anticipates the same phrase at the beginning of v. 22 and introduces what the Lord says about them. The translation seeks to show the connection of the “therefore,” which is sometimes rather loose (cf. BDB 487 s.v. כֵּן 3.d[b]), with the actual response, which is not given until v. 22.
6. Jeremiah 11:21 tn Heb “the men of Anathoth.” However, this does not involve all of the people, only the conspirators. The literal rendering might lead to confusion later since v. 21 mentions that there will not be any of them left alive. However, it is known from Ezra 2:23 that there were survivors.
7. Jeremiah 11:21 tc The MT reads the second person masculine singular suffix “your life,” but LXX reflects an alternative reading of the first person common singular suffix “my life.”
8. Jeremiah 11:21 tn Heb “who were seeking my life, saying…” The sentence is broken up in conformity with contemporary English style.
9. Jeremiah 11:21 tn Heb “or you will die by our hand.”
10. Jeremiah 11:22 tn Heb “Yahweh of Armies.”sn For the significance of the term see the notes at 2:19 and 7:3.
11. Jeremiah 11:22 tn Heb “Behold I will.” For the function of this particle see the translator’s note on 1:6.
12. Jeremiah 11:22 tn Heb “will die by the sword.” Here “sword” stands contextually for “battle,” while “starvation” stands for death by starvation during siege.