Jeremiah 23:9-11

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Jeremiah 23:9 sn Jeremiah has already had a good deal to say about the false prophets and their fate. See 2:8, 26; 5:13, 31; 14:13-15. Here he parallels the condemnation of the wicked prophets and their fate (23:9-40) with that of the wicked kings (21:11-22:30).
2. Jeremiah 23:9 tn The word “false” is not in the text, but it is clear from the context that false prophets are the target of the sayings. The words “Here is what the Lord says” are also not in the text. But comparison with 46:2; 48:1; 49:1, 7, 23, 28; and 21:11 will show that “concerning the prophets” is a heading. The other words are supplied in the translation for clarity.
3. Jeremiah 23:9 tn Heb “My heart is crushed within me. My bones tremble.” It has already been noted several times that in ancient Hebrew psychology the “heart” was the intellectual and volitional center of the person, the kidneys were the emotional center, and the bones were the locus of strength and also a subject of joy, distress, and sorrow. Here Jeremiah is speaking of what modern psychology would call his distress of heart and mind, a distress leading to bodily trembling, which he compares to that of a drunken person staggering around under the influence of wine.
4. Jeremiah 23:9 tn Heb “wine has passed over him.”
5. Jeremiah 23:9 tn Heb “wine because of the Lord and because of his holy word.” The words that are supplied in the translation are implicit from the context and are added for clarity.sn The way the Lord and his word are being treated is clarified in the verses that follow.
6. Jeremiah 23:10 tn Heb “adulterers.” But spiritual adultery is clearly meant, as also in 3:8-9; 9:2, and probably 5:7.
7. Jeremiah 23:10 tn For the word translated “They live…lives,” see usage in Jer 8:6. For the idea of “misusing” their power (Heb “their power is not right,” i.e., used in the wrong way), see 2 Kgs 7:9 and 17:9. In the original text this line (really two lines in the Hebrew poetry) are at the end of the verse. However, this places the antecedent too far away and could lead to confusion. The lines have been rearranged to avoid such confusion.
8. Jeremiah 23:10 tn For the use of this verb see 12:4 and the note there.
9. Jeremiah 23:10 tc The translation follows the majority of Hebrew mss (מֵאָלָה, meʾalah) rather than the Greek and Syriac version and a few Hebrew mss, which read “because of these” (מֵאֵלֶּה [meʾelleh], referring to the people unfaithful to him).sn The curse is, of course, the covenant curse. See Deut 29:20-21 (29:19-20 HT), and for the specific curse see Deut 28:23-24. The curse is appropriate since their “adultery” lay in attributing their fertility to the god Baal (see Hos 2:9-13 (2:11-15 HT) and violating the covenant (see Hos 4:1-3).
10. Jeremiah 23:11 tn The particle כִּי (ki) that begins this verse is parallel to the one at the beginning of the preceding verse. However, the connection is too distant to render it “for.” “Moreover” is intended to draw the parallel. The words “the Lord says” (Heb “Oracle of the Lord”) have been drawn up to the front to introduce the shift in speaker from Jeremiah, who describes his agitated state, to God, who describes the sins of the prophets and priests and his consequent judgment on them.
11. Jeremiah 23:11 tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”