Jeremiah 5:15-17
New English Translation
15 The Lord says,[a] “Listen,[b] nation of Israel![c]
I am about to bring a nation from far away to attack you.
It will be a nation that was founded long ago
and has lasted for a long time.
It will be a nation whose language you will not know.
Its people will speak words that you will not be able to understand.
16 All its soldiers are strong and mighty.[d]
Their arrows will send you to your grave.[e]
17 They will eat up your crops and your food.
They will kill off[f] your sons and your daughters.
They will eat up your sheep and your cattle.
They will destroy your vines and your fig trees.[g]
Their weapons will batter down[h]
the fortified cities you trust in.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 5:15 tn Heb “oracle of the Lord.”
- Jeremiah 5:15 tn Heb “Behold!”
- Jeremiah 5:15 tn Heb “house of Israel.”
- Jeremiah 5:16 tn Heb “All of them are mighty warriors.”
- Jeremiah 5:16 tn Heb “his quiver [is] an open grave.” The order of the lines has been reversed to make the transition from “nation” to “their arrows” easier.
- Jeremiah 5:17 tn Heb “eat up.”
- Jeremiah 5:17 tn Or “eat up your grapes and figs”; Heb “eat up your vines and your fig trees.”sn It was typical for an army in time of war in the ancient Near East not only to eat up the crops but to destroy the means of further production.
- Jeremiah 5:17 tn Heb “They will beat down with the sword.” The term “sword” is a figure of speech (synecdoche) for military weapons in general. Siege ramps, not swords, beat down city walls; swords kill people, not city walls.
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