Jeremiah 50:4-10
New English Translation
4 “When that time comes,” says the Lord,[a]
“the people of Israel and Judah will return to the land together.
They will come back with tears of repentance
as they seek the Lord their God.[b]
5 They will ask the way to Zion;
they will turn their faces toward it.
They will come[c] and bind themselves to the Lord
in a lasting covenant that will never be forgotten.[d]
6 “My people have been lost sheep.
Their shepherds[e] have allowed them to go astray.
They have wandered around in the mountains.
They have roamed from one mountain and hill to another.[f]
They have forgotten their resting place.
7 All who encountered them devoured them.
Their enemies who did this said, ‘We are not liable for punishment!
For those people have sinned against the Lord, their true pasture.[g]
They have sinned against the Lord in whom their ancestors[h] trusted.’[i]
8 “People of Judah,[j] get out of Babylon quickly!
Leave the land of Babylonia![k]
Be the first to depart.[l]
Be like the male goats that lead the herd.
9 For I will rouse into action and bring against Babylon
a host of mighty nations[m] from the land of the north.
They will set up their battle lines against her.
They will come from the north and capture her.[n]
Their arrows will be like a skilled soldier[o]
who does not return from the battle empty-handed.[p]
10 Babylonia[q] will be plundered.
Those who plunder it will take all they want,”
says the Lord.[r]
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 50:4 tn Heb “oracle of the Lord.”
- Jeremiah 50:4 tn Heb “and the children of Israel will come, they and the children of Judah together. They shall go, weeping as they go, and they will seek the Lord their God.” The concept of “seeking” the Lord often has to do with seeking the Lord in worship (by sacrifice [Hos 5:6; 2 Chr 11:16]; by prayer [Zech 8:21, 22; 2 Sam 12:16; Isa 65:1; 2 Chr 15:4]). In Hos 7:10 it is in parallel with returning to the Lord. In Ps 69:6 it is in parallel with hoping in or trusting in the Lord. Perhaps the most helpful parallels here, however, are Hos 3:5 (in comparison with Jer 30:9) and 2 Chr 15:15, where it is in the context of a covenant commitment to be loyal to the Lord, which is similar to the context here (see the next verse). The translation is admittedly paraphrastic, but “seeking the Lord” here does not mean looking for God as though he were merely a person to be found.
- Jeremiah 50:5 tc The translation here assumes that the Hebrew בֹּאוּ (boʾu; a Qal imperative masculine plural) should be read בָּאוּ (baʾu; a Qal perfect third plural). This reading is presupposed by the Greek version of Aquila, the Latin version, and the Targum (see BHS note a, which mistakenly assumes that the form must be imperfect).
- Jeremiah 50:5 sn See Jer 32:40 and the study note there for the nature of this lasting agreement.
- Jeremiah 50:6 sn The shepherds are the priests, prophets, and leaders who have led Israel into idolatry (2:8).
- Jeremiah 50:6 sn The allusion here, if it is not merely a part of the metaphor of the wandering sheep, is to the worship of the false gods on the high hills (2:20; 3:2).
- Jeremiah 50:7 tn This same Hebrew phrase, “the habitation of righteousness,” is found in Jer 31:23 in relation to Jerusalem in the future as “the place where righteousness dwells.” Here, however, it refers to the same entity as “their resting place” in v. 6 and means “true pasture.” For the meaning of “pasture” for the word נָוֶה (naveh), see 2 Sam 7:8 and especially Isa 65:10, where it is parallel with “resting place” for the flocks. For the meaning of “true” for צֶדֶק (tsedeq), see BDB 841 s.v. צֶדֶק 1. For the interpretation adopted here see G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, T. G. Smothers, Jeremiah 26-52 (WBC), 365. The same basic interpretation is reflected in NRSV, NJPS, and God’s Word.
- Jeremiah 50:7 tn Heb “fathers.”
- Jeremiah 50:7 sn These two verses appear to be a poetical summary of the argument of Jer 2, where the nation is accused of abandoning its loyalty to God and worshiping idols. Whereas those who tried to devour Israel were liable for punishment when Israel was loyal to God (2:3), the enemies of Israel who destroyed them (i.e., the Babylonians [but also the Assyrians], 50:17) argue that they are not liable for punishment because the Israelites have sinned against the Lord and thus deserve their fate.
- Jeremiah 50:8 tn The words “People of Judah” are not in the Hebrew text but are implicit from the context. They have been supplied in the translation to clarify the subject of the address.
- Jeremiah 50:8 tn Heb “the land of the Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for explanation.
- Jeremiah 50:8 tn The words “Be the first to leave” are not in the text but spell out the significance of the simile that follows. They have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
- Jeremiah 50:9 sn Some of these are named in Jer 51:27-28.
- Jeremiah 50:9 tn Heb “She will be captured from there (i.e., from the north).”
- Jeremiah 50:9 tc Read Heb מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil), with a number of Hebrew mss and some of the versions, in place of מַשְׁכִּיל (mashkil, “one who kills children”), with the majority of Hebrew mss and some of the versions. See BHS note d for the details.
- Jeremiah 50:9 tn Or more freely, “Their arrows will be as successful at hitting their mark // as a skilled soldier—he always returns from battle with plunder.”sn That is, none of the arrows misses its mark.
- Jeremiah 50:10 tn Heb “The land of the Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for explanation.
- Jeremiah 50:10 tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”
Jeremiah 50:4-10
Common English Bible
4 In those days and at that time,
declares the Lord,
the people of Israel and Judah
will come out of Babylon[a] together;
with weeping they will leave
as they seek the Lord their God.
5 They will search for Zion,
turning their faces toward it.
They will come[b] and
unite with the Lord,
in an everlasting covenant
that will never be forgotten.
6 My people were lost sheep;
their shepherds led them astray;
they deserted them on the mountains,
where they wandered off among the hills,
forgetting their resting place.
7 All who found them devoured them;
and their attackers said,
“It’s not our fault,
because they have sinned against the Lord,
the true pasture,[c]
the hope of their ancestors—the Lord.”
8 Now wander far from Babylon.
Get out of that country.
Like rams of the flock,
lead the way home.
9 I’m stirring up against Babylon
a coalition of mighty nations.
It will mobilize in the north,
and from there she will be captured.
Their arrows are like those of an expert archer
who does not return empty-handed.
10 Babylon will be defeated;
its attackers will carry off all that they want,
declares the Lord.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 50:4 Heb lacks of Babylon.
- Jeremiah 50:5 Heb uncertain
- Jeremiah 50:7 Or righteous dwelling place
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