Jeremiah 5:14-17
New English Translation
14 Because of that,[a] the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies[b] said to me:[c]
“Because these people have spoken[d] like this,[e]
I will make the words that I put in your mouth like fire.
And I will make this people like wood,
which the fiery judgments you speak will burn up.”[f]
15 The Lord says,[g] “Listen,[h] nation of Israel![i]
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.[j]
Their arrows will send you to your grave.[k]
17 They will eat up your crops and your food.
They will kill off[l] your sons and your daughters.
They will eat up your sheep and your cattle.
They will destroy your vines and your fig trees.[m]
Their weapons will batter down[n]
the fortified cities you trust in.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 5:14 tn Heb “Therefore.”
- Jeremiah 5:14 tn Heb “The Lord God of Armies.” See the translator’s note at 2:19.sn Here the emphasis appears to be on the fact that the Lord is in charge of the enemy armies whom he will use to punish Israel for their denial of his prior warnings through the prophets.
- Jeremiah 5:14 tn The words, “to me” are not in the text but are implicit in the connection. They are supplied in the translation for clarification.
- Jeremiah 5:14 tn Heb “you have spoken.” The text here דַּבֶּרְכֶם (dabberekhem, “you have spoken”) is either a case of a scribal error for דַּבֶּרָם (dabberam, “their speaking”; preceding יַעַן [ya‘an] would function as a preposition meaning “because of”) or an example of the rapid shift in addressee which is common in Jeremiah.
- Jeremiah 5:14 tn Heb “this word.”
- Jeremiah 5:14 tn Heb “like wood and it [i.e., the fire I put in your mouth] will consume them.”
- 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.
Jeremiah 5:14-17
International Standard Version
14 Therefore, this is what the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies says:
“Because you people[a] have said this,
my words in your[b] mouth will become a fire
and these people the wood.
The fire[c] will destroy them.
15 People of Israel, I’m now bringing
a nation from far away to attack you,”
declares the Lord.
“It is an enduring nation,
an ancient nation,
a nation whose language you don’t know.
And you won’t understand what they say.
16 Their quiver is like an open grave,
and all of them are powerful warriors.
17 “They’ll devour your harvest and your food.
They’ll devour your sons and your daughters.
They’ll devour your vines and your fig trees.
With their swords they’ll batter down
your fortified cities in which you trust.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 5:14 Heb. you (pl.)
- Jeremiah 5:14 Heb. your (masculine sing.); i.e. in Jeremiah’s mouth
- Jeremiah 5:14 Lit. It
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