Footnotes

1. Jeremiah 25:1 tn Heb “The word was to Jeremiah.” It is implicit from the context that it was the Lord’s word. The verbal expression is more in keeping with contemporary English style.
2. Jeremiah 25:1 sn The year referred to would be 605 b.c. Jehoiakim had been placed on the throne of Judah as a puppet king by Pharaoh Necho after the defeat of Josiah at Megiddo in 609 b.c. (2 Kgs 23:34-35). According to Jer 46:2 Nebuchadnezzar defeated Necho at Carchemish in that same year. After defeating Necho, Nebuchadnezzar had hurried back to Babylon, where he was made king. After being made king, he then returned to Judah and attacked Jerusalem (Dan 1:1. The date given there is the third year of Jehoiakim but scholars are generally agreed that the dating there is based on a different system than the one here. It did not count the part of the year before New Year’s day as an official part of the king’s official rule. Hence, the third year there is the fourth year here.) The identity of the foe from the north referred to in general terms (4:6; 6:1; 15:12) now becomes clear.
3. Jeremiah 25:3 sn The year referred to would be 627 b.c. The same year is referred to in 1:2 in reference to his call to be a prophet.
4. Jeremiah 25:3 tn For the idiom involved here see the notes at 7:13 and 11:7.
5. Jeremiah 25:4 tn For the idiom involved here see the notes at 7:13 and 11:7.
6. Jeremiah 25:4 tn The vav consecutive with the perfect in a past narrative is a little unusual. Here it is probably indicating repeated action in past time in keeping with the idiom that precedes and follows it. See GKC 332 §112.f for other possible examples.
7. Jeremiah 25:4 tn Heb “inclined your ear to hear.” This is idiomatic for “paying attention.” It is often parallel with “listen,” as here, or with “pay attention” (see, e.g., Prov 4:20; 5:1).
8. Jeremiah 25:5 tn Heb “saying.” The infinitive goes back to “he sent”; i.e., “he sent, saying.”
9. Jeremiah 25:5 tn Heb “Turn [masc. pl.] each person from his wicked way and from the evil of your [masc. pl.] doings.” See the same demand in 23:22.
10. Jeremiah 25:5 tn Heb “gave to you and your fathers with reference to from ancient times even unto forever.” See the same idiom in 7:7.
11. Jeremiah 25:6 tn Heb “follow after.” See the translator’s note on 2:5 for this idiom.
12. Jeremiah 25:6 tn Heb “make me angry with the work of your hands.” The phrase “work of your hands” is often interpreted as a reference to idolatry, as is clearly the case in Isa 2:8 and 37:19. However, the parallelism in 25:14 and the context in 32:30 show that it is more general and refers to what they have done. That is likely the meaning here as well.
13. Jeremiah 25:7 tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”
14. Jeremiah 25:7 tn This is a rather clear case where the Hebrew particle לְמַעַן (l^emaʿan) introduces a consequence and not a purpose, contrary to the dictum of BDB 775 s.v. מַעַן note 1. They have failed to listen to him not in order to make him angry but with the result that they have made him angry by going their own way. Jeremiah appears to use this particle for result rather than purpose on several other occasions (see, e.g., 7:18, 19; 27:10, 15; 32:29).
15. Jeremiah 25:7 tn Heb “make me angry with the work of your hands.” The phrase “work of your own hands” is often interpreted as a reference to idolatry, as is clearly the case in Isa 2:8 and 37:19. However, the parallelism in 25:14 and the context in 32:30 show that it is more general and refers to what they have done. That is likely the meaning here as well.