Jeremiah 2:20
New English Translation
The Lord Expresses His Exasperation at Judah’s Persistent Idolatry
20 “Indeed,[a] long ago you threw off my authority
and refused to be subject to me.[b]
You said, ‘I will not serve you.’[c]
Instead, you gave yourself to other gods on every high hill
and under every green tree,
like a prostitute sprawls out before her lovers.[d]
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 2:20 tn Or “For.” The Hebrew particle (כִּי, ki) here introduces the evidence that they had no respect for him.
- Jeremiah 2:20 tn Heb “you broke your yoke…tore off your yoke ropes.” The metaphor is that of a recalcitrant ox or heifer which has broken free from its master.
- Jeremiah 2:20 tc The MT of this verse has two examples of the old second feminine singular perfect, שָׁבַרְתִּי (shavarti) and נִתַּקְתִּי (nittaqti), which the Masoretes mistook for first singulars leading to the proposal to read אֶעֱבוֹר (ʾeʿevor, “I will not transgress”) for אֶעֱבֹד (ʾeʿevod, “I will not serve”). The latter understanding of the forms is accepted in KJV but rejected by almost all modern English versions as being less appropriate to the context than the reading accepted in the translation given here.
- Jeremiah 2:20 tn Heb “you sprawled as a prostitute on….” The translation reflects the meaning of the metaphor.
Jeremiah 3:6
New English Translation
6 When Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, you have no doubt seen what wayward Israel has done.[a] You have seen how she went up to every high hill and under every green tree to give herself like a prostitute to other gods.[b]
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- Jeremiah 3:6 tn “Have you seen…” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.
- Jeremiah 3:6 tn Heb “she played the prostitute there.” This is a metaphor for Israel’s worship; she gave herself to the worship of other gods like a prostitute gives herself to her lovers. There seems no clear way to completely spell out the metaphor in the translation.
Jeremiah 3:13
New English Translation
13 However, you must confess that you have done wrong[a]
and that you have rebelled against the Lord your God.
You must confess[b] that you have given yourself to[c] foreign gods under every green tree
and have not obeyed my commands,’ says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 3:13 tn Heb “Only acknowledge your iniquity.”
- Jeremiah 3:13 tn The words “You must confess” are repeated to convey the connection. The Hebrew text has an introductory “that” in front of the second line and a coordinative “and” in front of the next two lines.
- Jeremiah 3:13 tc MT reads דְּרָכַיִךְ (derakhayikh, “your ways”), but the BHS editors suggest דּוֹדַיִךְ (dodayikh, “your breasts”) as an example of orthographic confusion. While the proposal makes sense, it remains a conjectural emendation since it is not supported by any actual manuscripts or ancient versions.tn Heb “scattered your ways with foreign [gods]” or “spread out your breasts to strangers.”
Jeremiah 17:2
New English Translation
2 Their children are always thinking about[a] their[b] altars
and their sacred poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah,[c]
set up beside the green trees on the high hills
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 17:2 tn It is difficult to convey in good English style the connection between this verse and the preceding. The text does not have a finite verb but a temporal preposition with an infinitive: Heb “while their children remember their altars…” It is also difficult to translate the verb “literally” (i.e., what does “remember” their altars mean?). Hence it has been rendered “always think about.” Another possibility would be “have their altars…on their minds.”sn There is possibly a sarcastic irony involved here as well. The Israelites were to remember the Lord and what he had done and were to commemorate certain days, e.g., the Passover and the Sabbath, that recalled their deliverance. Instead they resorted to the pagan altars and kept them in mind.
- Jeremiah 17:2 tc This reading follows many Hebrew mss and ancient versions. Many other Hebrew mss read “your” [masc. pl.].
- Jeremiah 17:2 sn Sacred poles dedicated to…Asherah. A leading deity of the Canaanite pantheon was Asherah, wife/sister of El and goddess of fertility. She was commonly worshiped at shrines in or near groves of evergreen trees, or, failing that, at places marked by wooden poles (Hebrew אֲשֵׁרִים [ʾasherim], plural). They were to be burned or cut down (Deut 7:5; 12:3; 16:21; Judg 6:25, 28, 30; 2 Kgs 18:4).
Ezekiel 6:13
New English Translation
13 Then you will know that I am the Lord when their dead lie among their idols around their altars, on every high hill and on all the mountaintops, under every green tree and every leafy oak[a]—the places where they have offered fragrant incense to all their idols.
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- Ezekiel 6:13 sn By referring to every high hill…all the mountaintops…under every green tree and every leafy oak Ezekiel may be expanding on the phraseology of Deut 12:2 (see 1 Kgs 14:23; 2 Kgs 16:4; 17:10; Jer 2:20; 3:6, 13; 2 Chr 28:4).
Ezekiel 20:28
New English Translation
28 I brought them to the land that I swore[a] to give them, but whenever they saw any high hill or leafy tree, they offered their sacrifices there and presented the offerings that provoked me to anger. They offered their soothing aroma there and poured out their drink offerings.
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- Ezekiel 20:28 tn Heb “that I lifted up my hand.”
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