Jeremiah 44:2-5

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Jeremiah 44:2 tn Heb “Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel.” Cf. 7:3 and see the study note on 2:19 for explanation and translation of this title.
2. Jeremiah 44:2 tn Heb “Behold, they are in ruins this day, and there is no one living in them.”
3. Jeremiah 44:3 tn Heb “they.” The referent must be supplied from the preceding, i.e., Jerusalem and all the towns of Judah. “They” are those who have experienced the disaster and are distinct from those being addressed and their ancestors (44:3b).
4. Jeremiah 44:3 tn Heb “thus making me angry.” However, this is a good place to break the sentence to create a shorter sentence that is more in keeping with contemporary English style.
5. Jeremiah 44:3 tn Heb “by going to offer sacrifice in serving/worshiping.” The second ל (lamed) + infinitive is epexegetical of the first (cf. IBHS 608-9 §36.2.3e).
6. Jeremiah 44:3 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 44:9, 10, 17, 21).
7. Jeremiah 44:3 sn Cf. Jer 19:4 for the same thought and see also 7:9.
8. Jeremiah 44:4 tn See 7:13 for an explanation of this idiom and compare 7:25; 25:4; 26:5; 29:19; 35:15 for similar references to the persistent warnings of the prophets.
9. Jeremiah 44:4 tn Heb “sent…over again, saying, ‘Do not do this terrible thing that I hate.’” The indirect quote has been used to shorten the sentence and eliminate one level of embedded quotes.sn This refers to the worship of other gods mentioned in the previous verse.
10. Jeremiah 44:5 tn There appears to be a deliberate shift in the pronouns used in vv. 2-5. “You” refers to the people living in Egypt who are being addressed (v. 2) and to the people of present and past generations to whom the Lord persistently sent the prophets (v. 4). “They” refers to the people of Jerusalem and the towns of Judah who have suffered disaster (v. 2) because of the wickedness of sacrificing to other gods (vv. 3, 5). The referents have been explicitly identified in the translation for the sake of clarity.
11. Jeremiah 44:5 tn Heb “They did not listen or incline their ear [= pay attention] by turning from their wickedness by not sacrificing to other gods.” The ל (lamed) + the negative + the infinitive is again epexegetical. The sentence has been restructured, and more idiomatic English expressions have been used, to better conform with contemporary English style, but an attempt has been made to retain the basic relationships of subordination.