Jeremiah 9:7-9 New English Translation
7 Therefore the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says:[a]
“I will now purify them in the fires of affliction[b] and test them.
The wickedness of my dear people[c] has left me no choice.
What else can I do?[d]
8 Their tongues are like deadly arrows.[e]
They are always telling lies.[f]
Friendly words for their neighbors come from their mouths,
but their minds are thinking up ways to trap them.[g]
9 I will certainly punish them for doing such things!” says the Lord.
“I will certainly bring retribution on such a nation as this!”[h]
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 9:7 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”sn For the significance of this title see the notes at 2:19 and 7:3.
- Jeremiah 9:7 tn Heb “I will refine/purify them.” The words “in the fires of affliction” are supplied in the translation to give clarity to the metaphor.
- Jeremiah 9:7 tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.
- Jeremiah 9:7 tc Heb “For how else shall I deal because of the wickedness of the daughter of my people.” The MT does not have the word “wickedness.” The word, however, is read in the Greek version. This is probably a case of a word dropping out because of its similarities to the consonants preceding or following it (i.e., haplography). The word “wickedness” (רַעַת, raʿat) has dropped out before the words “my dear people” (בַּת־עַמִּי, bat-ʿammi). The causal nuance which is normal for מִפְּנֵי (mippene) does not make sense without some word like this, and the combination of רַעַת מִפְּנֵי (mippene raʿat) does occur in Jer 7:12 and one very like it occurs in Jer 26:3.
- Jeremiah 9:8 tc This reading follows the Masoretic consonants (the Kethib, a Qal active participle from שָׁחַט, shakhat). The Masoretes preferred to read “a sharpened arrow” (the Qere, a Qal passive participle from the same root or a homonym, meaning “hammered, beaten”). See HALOT 1354 s.v. II שָׁחַט for discussion. The exact meaning of the word makes little difference to the meaning of the metaphor itself.
- Jeremiah 9:8 tn Heb “They speak deceit.”
- Jeremiah 9:8 tn Heb “With his mouth a person speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets an ambush for him.”
- Jeremiah 9:9 tn Heb “Should I not punish them…? Should I not bring retribution…?” The rhetorical questions function as emphatic declarations.sn See 5:9, 29. This is somewhat of a refrain at the end of a catalog of Judah’s sins.
New English Translation (NET)
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