Jeremiah 18:19-23
New English Translation
19 Then I said,[a]
“Lord, pay attention to me.
Listen to what my enemies are saying.[b]
20 Should good be paid back with evil?
Yet they are virtually digging a pit to kill me.[c]
Just remember how I stood before you
pleading on their behalf[d]
to keep you from venting your anger on them.[e]
21 So let their children die of starvation.
Let them be cut down by the sword.[f]
Let their wives lose their husbands and children.
Let the older men die of disease[g]
and the younger men die by the sword in battle.
22 Let cries of terror be heard in their houses
when you send bands of raiders unexpectedly to plunder them.[h]
For they have virtually dug a pit to capture me
and have hidden traps for me to step into.
23 But you, Lord, know
all their plots to kill me.
Do not pardon their crimes!
Do not ignore their sins as though you had erased them.[i]
Let them be brought down in defeat before you.
Deal with them while you are still angry![j]
Notas al pie
- Jeremiah 18:19 tn The words “Then I said” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity to show that Jeremiah turns from describing the peoples’ plots to imploring God to deal with the plotters.
- Jeremiah 18:19 tn Heb “the voice of my adversaries.”sn Jeremiah’s prayers against the unjust treatment of his enemies here and elsewhere (see 11:18-20; 12:1-4; 15:15-18; 17:14-18) have many elements of prayers by the innocent in the book of Psalms: an invocation of the Lord as just judge, a lament about unjust attacks, an appeal to innocence, and a cry for vindication that often calls for the Lord to pay back in kind those who unjustly attack the petitioner. See for examples Pss 5, 7, 17, and 54, among many others.
- Jeremiah 18:20 tn Or “They are plotting to kill me”; Heb “They have dug a pit for my soul.” This is a common metaphor for plotting against someone. See BDB 500 s.v. כָּרָה Qal and for an example see Pss 7:16 (7:15 HT) in its context.
- Jeremiah 18:20 tn Heb “to speak good concerning them,” which goes back to the concept of “good” being paid back with evil.
- Jeremiah 18:20 tn Heb “to turn back your anger from them.”sn See Jer 14:7-9, 19-21 and 15:1-4 for the idea.
- Jeremiah 18:21 tn Heb “be poured out to the hand [= power] of the sword.” For this same expression see Ezek 35:5 and Ps 63:10 (63:11 HT). Comparison with those two passages shows that it involved death by violent means, perhaps death in battle.
- Jeremiah 18:21 tn Heb “be slain by death.” The commentaries are generally agreed that this refers to death by disease or plague as in 15:2. Hence, the reference is to the deadly trio of sword, starvation, and disease, which were often connected with war. See the notes on 15:2.
- Jeremiah 18:22 tn Heb “when you bring marauders in against them.” For the use of the noun translated here “bands of raiders to plunder them,” see 1 Sam 30:3, 15, 23 and BDB 151 s.v. גְּדוּד 1.
- Jeremiah 18:23 sn Heb “Do not blot out their sins from before you.” For this anthropomorphic figure that looks at God’s actions as though connected with record books, i.e., a book of wrongdoings to be punished and a book of life for those who are to live, see, e.g., Exod 32:32, 33, Pss 51:1 (51:3 HT); and 69:28 (69:29 HT).
- Jeremiah 18:23 tn Heb “in the time of your anger.”
Jeremiah 18:19-23
International Standard Version
19 Lord, pay attention to me.
Listen to the voice of my accusers!
20 Should good be repaid with evil?
Yet they have dug a pit to take my life.[a]
Remember! I stood before you
and spoke good on their behalf
in order to turn your wrath away from them.
21 Therefore, make their children undergo famine,
and deliver them over to death in time of war.[b]
May their women be childless widows!
May their men be slaughtered![c]
May their young men be slain
by the sword in battle!
22 Let a cry be heard from their houses because you
have brought a raiding party against them suddenly.
For they have dug a pit to capture me
and have set[d] traps for my feet.
23 But you, Lord, know all their plots to kill me.
Don’t forgive their iniquity,
and don’t erase their sin from your sight.
Let them stumble before you.
When it’s time for you to be angry, act against them!
Notas al pie
- Jeremiah 18:20 Or a pit for me
- Jeremiah 18:21 Lit. to the power of the sword.
- Jeremiah 18:21 Lit. killed dead
- Jeremiah 18:22 Or hidden
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