An Object Lesson from Ruined Linen Shorts
13 The Lord said to me, “Go and buy some linen shorts[a] and put them on.[b] Do not put them in water.”[c] 2 So I bought the shorts in keeping with the Lord’s instructions[d] and put them on.[e] 3 Then the Lord’s message came to me again, 4 “Take the shorts that you bought and are wearing[f] and go at once[g] to Perath.[h] Bury the shorts there[i] in a crack in the rocks.” 5 So I went and buried them at Perath[j] as the Lord had ordered me to do. 6 Many days later the Lord said to me, “Go at once to Perath and get[k] the shorts I ordered you to bury there.” 7 So I went to Perath and dug up[l] the shorts from the place where I had buried them. I found[m] that they were ruined; they were good for nothing.
8 Then the Lord’s message came to me, 9 “I, the Lord, say:[n] ‘This shows how[o] I will ruin the highly exalted position[p] in which Judah and Jerusalem take pride. 10 These wicked people refuse to obey what I have said.[q] They follow the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts and pay allegiance[r] to other gods by worshiping and serving them. So[s] they will become just like these linen shorts that are good for nothing. 11 For,’ I say,[t] ‘just as shorts cling tightly to a person’s body, so I bound the whole nation of Israel and the whole nation of Judah[u] tightly[v] to me.’ I intended for them to be my special people and to bring me fame, honor, and praise.[w] But they would not obey me.
12 “So tell them,[x] ‘The Lord, the God of Israel, says: “Every wine jar is made to be filled with wine.”’[y] And they will probably say to you, ‘Do you not think we know[z] that every wine jar is supposed to be filled with wine?’ 13 Then[aa] tell them, ‘The Lord says: “I will soon fill all the people who live in this land with stupor.[ab] I will also fill the kings from David’s dynasty,[ac] the priests, the prophets, and the citizens of Jerusalem with stupor.[ad] 14 And I will smash them like wine bottles against one another, children and parents alike.[ae] I will not show any pity, mercy, or compassion. Nothing will keep me from destroying them,’[af] says the Lord.”
15 Then I said to the people of Judah:[ag]
“Listen and pay attention! Do not be arrogant!
For the Lord has spoken.
16 Show the Lord your God the respect that is due him.[ah]
Do it before he brings the darkness of disaster.[ai]
Do it before you stumble[aj] into distress
like a traveler on the mountains at twilight.[ak]
Do it before he turns the light of deliverance you hope for
into the darkness and gloom of exile.[al]
17 But if you will not pay attention to this warning,[am]
I will weep alone because of your arrogant pride.
I will weep bitterly, and my eyes will overflow with tears[an]
because you, the Lord’s flock,[ao] will be carried into exile.”[ap]
18 The Lord told me:[aq]
“Tell the king and the queen mother,
‘Surrender your thrones,[ar]
for your glorious crowns
will be removed[as] from your heads.[at]
19 The gates of the towns in southern Judah will be shut tight.[au]
No one will be able to go in or out of them.[av]
All Judah will be carried off into exile.
They will be completely carried off into exile.’”[aw]
20 Then I said,[ax]
“Look up, Jerusalem,[ay] and see
the enemy[az] that is coming from the north.
Where now is the flock of people that were entrusted to your care?[ba]
Where now are the ‘sheep’ that you take such pride in?[bb]
21 What will you say[bc] when the Lord[bd] appoints as rulers over you those allies
that you, yourself, had actually prepared as such?[be]
Then anguish and agony will grip you
like that of a woman giving birth to a baby.[bf]
22 You will probably ask yourself,[bg]
‘Why have these things happened to me?
Why have I been treated like a disgraced adulteress
whose skirt has been torn off and her limbs exposed?’[bh]
It is because you have sinned so much.[bi]
23 But there is little hope for you ever doing good,
you who are so accustomed to doing evil.
Can an Ethiopian[bj] change the color of his skin?
Can a leopard remove its spots?[bk]
24 “The Lord says,[bl]
‘That is why I will scatter your people[bm] like chaff
that is blown away by a desert wind.[bn]
25 This is your fate,
the destiny to which I have appointed you,
because you have forgotten me
and have trusted in false gods.
26 So I will pull your skirt up over your face
and expose you to shame like a disgraced adulteress![bo]
27 People of Jerusalem,[bp] I have seen your adulterous worship,
your shameless prostitution to, and your lustful pursuit of, other gods.[bq]
I have seen your disgusting acts of worship[br]
on the hills throughout the countryside.
You are doomed to destruction![bs]
How long will you continue to be unclean?’”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 13:1 tn The term here (אֵזוֹר, ʾezor) has been rendered in various ways: “girdle” (KJV, ASV), “waistband” (NASB), “waistcloth” (RSV), “sash” (NKJV), “belt” (NIV, NCV, NLT), and “loincloth” (NAB, NRSV, NJPS, REB). The latter is most accurate according to J. M. Myers, “Dress and Ornaments,” IDB 1:870, and W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:399. It was a short, skirt-like garment reaching from the waist to the knees and worn next to the body (cf. v. 9). The modern equivalent is “shorts” as in TEV/GNB, CEV.sn The linen shorts (Heb “loincloth”) were representative of Israel and the wearing of them was to illustrate the Lord’s close relation to his people (v. 11). Since the priests’ garments were to be made wholly of linen (cf. Exod 28; Ezek 44:17-18), the fact that the shorts were to be made of linen probably was to symbolize the nature of Israel’s calling: they were to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exod 19:5-6). Just as the linen garments of the priest were to give him special honor and glory (Exod 28:40), so the linen garment was to be a source of praise and glory to the Lord (v. 11).
- Jeremiah 13:1 tn Heb “upon your loins.” The “loins” were the midriff of the body from the waist to the knees. For a further discussion including the figurative uses see, IDB, “Loins,” 3:149.
- Jeremiah 13:1 tn Or “Do not ever put them in water,” i.e., “Do not even wash them.”sn The fact that the garment was not to be put in water is not explained. A possible explanation within the context is that it was to be worn continuously, not even taken off to wash it. That would illustrate that the close relationship that the Lord had with his people was continuous and indissoluble. Other explanations are that it was not to be gotten wet because (1) that would have begun the process of rotting (This assumes that the rotting was done by the water of the Euphrates. But it was buried in a crack in the rocks, not in the river itself); (2) that would have made it softer and easier to wear; or (3) that showed that the garment was new, clean, and fresh from the merchant. For this latter interpretation see J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah (NICOT), 64. For a fuller discussion of most of the issues connected with this acted-out parable see W. McKane, Jeremiah (ICC), 1:285-92. However, the reason is not explained in the text, and there is not enough evidence in the text to come to a firm conclusion, though the most likely possibility is that it was not to be taken off and washed but worn continuously.
- Jeremiah 13:2 tn Heb “word, message.”
- Jeremiah 13:2 tn Heb “on my loins.” The “loins” were the midriff of the body from the waist to the knees. For a further discussion, including the figurative uses, see R. C. Dentan, “Loins,” IDB 3:149-50.
- Jeremiah 13:4 tn Heb “which are upon your loins.” See further the notes on v. 1.
- Jeremiah 13:4 tn Heb “Get up and go.” The first verb is not literal but is idiomatic for the initiation of an action.
- Jeremiah 13:4 tn There has been a great deal of debate about whether the place referred to here is a place (Parah [= Perath] mentioned in Josh 18:23, modern Khirbet Farah, near a spring ʿain Farah) about three-and-a-half miles from Anathoth, which was Jeremiah’s home town, or the Euphrates River. Elsewhere the word “Perath” always refers to the Euphrates, but it is either preceded by the word “river of” or there is contextual indication of reference to the Euphrates. Because a journey to the Euphrates and back would involve a journey of more than 700 miles (1,100 km) and take some months, scholars both ancient and modern have questioned whether “Perath” refers to the Euphrates here and, if it does, whether a real journey was involved. Most of the attempts to identify the place with the Euphrates involve misguided assumptions that this action was a symbolic message to Israel about exile or the corrupting influence of Assyria and Babylon. However, unlike the other symbolic acts in Jeremiah (and in Isaiah and Ezekiel), the symbolism is not part of a message to the people but to Jeremiah; the message is explained to him (vv. 9-11), not the people. In keeping with some of the wordplays that are somewhat common in Jeremiah, it is likely that the reference here is to a place, Parah, which was near Jeremiah’s hometown but whose name would naturally suggest to Jeremiah, later in the Lord’s explanation in vv. 9-11, Assyria-Babylon as a place connected with Judah’s corruption (see the notes on vv. 9-10). For further discussion the reader should consult the commentaries, especially W. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:396, and W. McKane, Jeremiah (ICC), 1:285-92, who take opposite positions on this issue.
- Jeremiah 13:4 sn The significance of this act is explained in vv. 9-10. See the notes there for explanation.
- Jeremiah 13:5 tc The translation reads בִּפְרָתָה (bifratah) with 4QJera as noted in W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:393 instead of בִּפְרָת (bifrat) in the MT.
- Jeremiah 13:6 tn Heb “Get from there.” The words “from there” are not necessary to the English sentence. They would lead to a redundancy later in the verse, i.e., “from there…bury there.”
- Jeremiah 13:7 tn Heb “dug and took.”
- Jeremiah 13:7 tn Heb “And behold.”
- Jeremiah 13:9 tn Heb “Thus says the Lord.”
- Jeremiah 13:9 tn In a sense this phrase, which is literally “according to thus” or simply “thus,” points both backward and forward: backward to the acted-out parable and forward to the explanation which follows.
- Jeremiah 13:9 tn Many of the English versions have erred in rendering this word “pride” or “arrogance,” with the resultant implication that the Lord is going to destroy Israel’s pride, i.e., humble them through the punishment of exile. However, BDB 144-45 s.v. גָּאוֹן 1 is more probably correct when they classify this passage among those that deal with the “‘majesty, excellence’ of nations, their wealth, power, magnificence of buildings….” The closest parallels to the usage here are in Zech 10:11 (parallel to scepter of Egypt); Ps 47:4 (47:5 HT; parallel to “our heritage” = “our land”); Isa 14:11; and Amos 8:7. The term is further defined in v. 11, where it refers to their special relationship and calling. To translate it “pride” or “arrogance” also ruins the wordplay on “ruin” (נִשְׁחַת [nishkhat] in v. 7 and אַשְׁחִית [ʾashkhit] in v. 9).sn Scholars ancient and modern are divided over the significance of the statement I will ruin the highly exalted position in which Judah and Jerusalem take pride (Heb “I will ruin the pride of Judah and Jerusalem”). Some feel that it refers to the corrupting influence of Assyria and Babylon, and others feel that it refers to the threat of Babylonian exile. However, F. B. Huey (Jeremiah, Lamentations [NAC], 144) is correct in observing that the Babylonian exile did not lead to the rottenness of Judah; the corrupting influence of the foreign nations did. In Jeremiah’s day this came through the age-old influences of the Canaanite worship of Baal, but also through the astral worship introduced by Ahaz and Manasseh. For an example of the corrupting influence of Assyria on Judah through Ahaz’s political alliances, see 2 Kgs 16 and also compare the allegory in Ezek 23:14-21. It was while the “linen shorts” were off Jeremiah’s body and buried in the rocks that the linen shorts were ruined. So the Lord “ruined” the privileged status that resulted from Israel’s close relationship to him (cf. v. 11). For the “problem” created by the Lord ruining Israel through corrupting influence, compare the notes on Jer 4:10 and also passages like Isa 63:17 and Isa 6:10. If the parable simply emphasized ruin, though, the exile could be in view.
- Jeremiah 13:10 tn Heb “to listen to my words.”
- Jeremiah 13:10 tn Heb “and [they follow] after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for the idiom.
- Jeremiah 13:10 tn The structure of this verse is a little unusual. It consists of a subject, “this wicked people,” qualified by several “which” clauses preceding a conjunction and a form which would normally be taken as a third person imperative (a Hebrew jussive; וִיהִי, vihi). This construction, called casus pendens by Hebrew grammarians, lays focus on the subject, here calling attention to the nature of Israel’s corruption that makes it rotten and useless to God. See GKC 458 §143.d for other examples of this construction.
- Jeremiah 13:11 tn The words “I say” are “Oracle of the Lord” in Hebrew, and are located at the end of this statement in the Hebrew text rather than the beginning. However, they are rendered in the first person and placed at the beginning for smoother English style.
- Jeremiah 13:11 tn Heb “all the house of Israel and all the house of Judah.”
- Jeremiah 13:11 tn It would be somewhat unnatural in English to render the play on the word translated here “cling tightly” and “bound tightly” in a literal way. They are from the same root word in Hebrew (דָּבַק, davaq), a word that emphasizes the closest of personal relationships and the loyalty connected with them. It is used, for example, of the relationship of a husband and a wife and the loyalty expected of them (cf. Gen 2:24; for other similar uses see Ruth 1:14; 2 Sam 20:2; Deut 11:22).
- Jeremiah 13:11 tn Heb “I bound them…in order that they might be to me for a people and for a name and for praise and for honor.” The sentence has been separated from the preceding and an equivalent idea expressed that is more in keeping with contemporary English style.
- Jeremiah 13:12 tn Heb “So you shall say this word [or message] to them.”
- Jeremiah 13:12 tn Heb “Every wine jar is supposed to be filled with wine.”sn Some scholars understand this as a popular proverb like that in Jer 31:29 and Ezek 18:2. Instead this is probably a truism; the function of wine jars is to be filled with wine. This may relate to the preceding verses where the Lord set forth his intention for Israel. It forms the basis for a ironic threat of judgment because they have failed to fulfill his purpose.
- Jeremiah 13:12 tn This is an attempt to render a construction that involves an infinitive of a verb being added before the same verb in a question that expects a positive answer. There may, by the way, be a pun being passed back and forth here involving the sound play been “fool” (נָבָל, naval) and “wine bottle” (נֶבֶל, nevel).
- Jeremiah 13:13 tn The Greek version is likely right in interpreting the construction of two perfects preceded by the conjunction as contingent or consequential here, i.e., “and when they say…then say.” See GKC 494 §159.g. However, to render literally would create a long sentence. Hence, the words “will probably” have been supplied in v. 12 in the translation to set up the contingency/consequential sequence in the English sentences.
- Jeremiah 13:13 sn It is probably impossible to convey in a simple translation all the subtle nuances that are wrapped up in the words of this judgment speech. The word translated “stupor” here is literally “drunkenness,” but the word has in the context an undoubtedly intended double reference. It refers first to the drunken-like stupor of confusion on the part of leaders and citizens of the land that will cause them to clash with one another. But it also probably refers to the reeling under God’s wrath that results from this (cf. Jer 25:15-29, especially vv. 15-16). Moreover, there is still the subtle little play on wine jars. The people are like the wine jars which were supposed to be filled with wine. They were to be a special people to bring glory to God but they had become corrupt. Hence, like wine jars they would be smashed against one another and broken to pieces (v. 14). All of this, both “fill them with the stupor of confusion” and “make them reel under God’s wrath,” cannot be conveyed in one translation.
- Jeremiah 13:13 tn Heb “who sit on David’s throne.”
- Jeremiah 13:13 tn In Hebrew this is all one long sentence with one verb governing compound objects. It is broken up here in conformity with English style.
- Jeremiah 13:14 tn Or “children along with their parents”; Heb “fathers and children together.”
- Jeremiah 13:14 tn Heb “I will not show…so as not to destroy them.”
- Jeremiah 13:15 tn The words “Then I said to the people of Judah” are not in the text but are implicit from the address in v. 15 and the content of v. 17. They are supplied in the translation for clarity to show the shift from the Lord’s speaking to Jeremiah’s.
- Jeremiah 13:16 tn Heb “Give glory/respect to the Lord your God.” For this nuance of the word “glory” (כָּבוֹד, kavod), see BDB 459 s.v. כָּבוֹד 6.b and compare the usage in Mal 1:6 and Josh 7:19.
- Jeremiah 13:16 tn The words “of disaster” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation to explain the significance of the metaphor to readers who may not be acquainted with the metaphorical use of light and darkness for salvation and joy and distress and sorrow respectively.sn For the metaphorical use of these terms the reader should consult O. A. Piper, “Light, Light and Darkness,” IDB 3:130-32. For the association of darkness with the Day of the Lord, the time when he will bring judgment, see, e.g., Amos 5:18-20. For the association of darkness with exile see Isa 9:1-2 (8:23-9:1 HT).
- Jeremiah 13:16 tn Heb “your feet stumble.”
- Jeremiah 13:16 tn Heb “you stumble on the mountains at twilight.” The added words are again supplied in the translation to help explain the metaphor to the uninitiated reader.
- Jeremiah 13:16 tn Heb “and while you hope for light, he will turn it into deep darkness and make [it] into gloom.” The meaning of the metaphor is again explained through the addition of the “of” phrases for readers who are unacquainted with the metaphorical use of these terms.sn For the meaning and usage of the term “deep darkness” (צַלְמָוֶת, tsalmavet), see the notes on Jer 2:6. For the association of the term with exile, see Isa 9:2 (9:1 HT). For the association of the word gloom with the Day of the Lord, see Isa 60:2; Joel 2:2; Zeph 1:15.
- Jeremiah 13:17 tn Heb “If you will not listen to it.” For the use of the feminine singular pronoun to refer to the idea(s) expressed in the preceding verse(s), see GKC 440-41 §135.p.
- Jeremiah 13:17 tn Heb “Tearing [my eye] will tear and my eye will run down [= flow] with tears.”sn The depth of Jeremiah’s sorrow for the sad plight of his people, if they refuse to repent, is emphasized by the triple repetition of the word “tears,” twice in an emphatic verbal expression (Hebrew infinitive before finite verb) and once in the noun.
- Jeremiah 13:17 tn Heb “because the Lord’s flock will…” The pronoun “you” is supplied in the translation to avoid the shift in English from the second person address at the beginning to the third person affirmation at the end. It also helps explain the metaphor of the people of Israel as God’s flock for some readers who may be unfamiliar with that metaphor.
- Jeremiah 13:17 tn The verb is once again in the form of “as good as done” (the Hebrew prophetic perfect).
- Jeremiah 13:18 tn The words “The Lord told me” are not in the text but are implicit in the shift from second plural pronouns in vv. 15-17 to second singular in the Hebrew text of this verse. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.
- Jeremiah 13:18 tn Or “You will come down from your thrones”; Heb “Make low! Sit!” This is a case of a construction where two forms in the same case, mood, or tense are joined in such a way that one (usually the first) is intended as an adverbial or adjectival modifier of the other (a figure called hendiadys). This is also probably a case where the imperative is used to express a distinct assurance or promise. See GKC 324 §110.b and compare the usage in Isa 37:30 and Ps 110:2.sn The king and queen mother are generally identified as Jehoiachin and his mother, who were taken into captivity with many of the leading people of Jerusalem in 597 b.c. See Jer 22:26; 29:2; 2 Kgs 24:14-16.
- Jeremiah 13:18 tn Heb “have come down.” The verb here and those in the following verses are further examples of the “as good as done” form of the Hebrew verb (the prophetic perfect).
- Jeremiah 13:18 tc The translation follows the common emendation of a word normally meaning “place at the head” (מַרְאֲשׁוֹת [marʾashot] plus pronoun = מַרְאֲשׁוֹתֵיכֶם [marʾashotekhem]) to “from your heads” (מֵרָאשֵׁיכֶם, meraʾshekhem) following the ancient versions. The meaning “tiara” is nowhere else attested for this word.
- Jeremiah 13:19 tn Heb “The towns of the Negev will be shut.”
- Jeremiah 13:19 tn Heb “There is no one to open them.” The translation is based on the parallel in Josh 6:1 where the very expression in the translation is used. Opening the city would have permitted entrance (of relief forces) as well as exit (of fugitives).
- Jeremiah 13:19 sn The statements are poetic exaggerations (hyperbole), as most commentaries note. Even in the exile of 587 b.c. not “all” of the people of Jerusalem or of Judah were exiled (cf. the context of 2 Kgs 24:14-16 again).
- Jeremiah 13:20 tn The words “Then I said” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation to show the shift in speaker from vv. 18-19, where the Lord is speaking to Jeremiah.
- Jeremiah 13:20 tn The word “Jerusalem” is not in the Hebrew text. It is added in the Greek text and is generally considered to be the object of address because of the second feminine singular verbs here and throughout the following verses. The translation follows the consonantal text (Kethib) and the Greek text in reading the second feminine singular here. The verbs and pronouns in vv. 20-22 are all second feminine singular with the exception of the suffix on the word “eyes,” which is not reflected in the translation here (“Look up” = “Lift up your eyes”) and the verb and pronoun in v. 23. The text may reflect the same kind of alternation between singular and plural that takes place in Isa 7, where the pronouns refer to Ahaz as an individual and to his entourage, the contemporary ruling class (cf., e.g., Isa 7:4-5 [singular], 9 [plural], 11 [singular], 13-14 [plural]). Here the connection with the preceding may suggest that it is initially the ruling house (the king and the queen mother), then Jerusalem personified as a woman in her role as a shepherdess (i.e., leader). However, elsewhere in the book the leadership has included the kings, the priests, the prophets, and the citizens as well (cf., e.g., 13:13). In v. 27 Jerusalem is explicitly addressed. It may be asking too much of some readers, who are not familiar with biblical metaphors, to understand an extended metaphor like this. If it is helpful to them, they may substitute plural referents for “I” and “me.”
- Jeremiah 13:20 tn The word “enemy” is not in the text but is implicit. It supplied in the translation for clarity.sn On the phrase the enemy that is coming from the north see Jer 1:14-15; 4:6; 6:1, 22; 10:22.
- Jeremiah 13:20 tn Heb “the flock that was given to you.”
- Jeremiah 13:20 tn Heb “the sheep of your pride.” The words “of people” and the quotes around “sheep” are intended to carry over the metaphor in such a way that readers unfamiliar with the metaphor will understand it.
- Jeremiah 13:21 tn Or what is perhaps more rhetorically equivalent, “Will you not be surprised?”
- Jeremiah 13:21 tn The words “The Lord” are not in the text. Some commentators make the enemy the subject, but they are spoken of as “them.”
- Jeremiah 13:21 tn Or “to be rulers.” The translation of these two lines is somewhat uncertain. Their sentence structure raises problems in translation. The Hebrew text reads, “What will you do when he appoints over you (see BDB 823 s.v. פָּקַד Qal.B.2), and you yourself taught them, over you, friends [or “chiefs” (see BDB 48 s.v. I אַלּוּף 2 and Ps 55:13 for the former and BDB 49 s.v. II אַלּוּף and Exod 15:15 for the latter)] for a head.” The translation assumes that the clause “and you yourself taught them [= made them accustomed, i.e., “prepared”] [to be] over you” is parenthetical, coming between the verb “appoint” and its object and object modifier (i.e., “appointed over you allies for rulers”). A quick check of other English versions will show how varied the translation of these lines has been. Most English versions seem to ignore the second “over you” after “you taught them.” Some rearrange the text to get what they think is a sensible meaning. For a fairly thorough treatment see W. McKane, Jeremiah (ICC), 1:308-10.sn What is being alluded to here is the political policy of vacillating alliances through which Judah brought about her own downfall, allying herself first with Assyria, then Egypt, then Babylon, and then Egypt again. See 2 Kgs 23:29-24:7 for an example of this policy and the disastrous consequences.
- Jeremiah 13:21 tn Heb “Will not pain [here = mental anguish] take hold of you like a woman giving birth.” The question is rhetorical expecting a positive answer.
- Jeremiah 13:22 tn Heb “say in your heart.”
- Jeremiah 13:22 tn Heb “Your skirt has been uncovered, and your heels have been treated with violence.” This is the generally accepted interpretation of these phrases. See, e.g., BDB 784 s.v. עָקֵב a and HALOT 329 s.v. I חָמַס Nif. The significance of the actions here are part of the metaphor (i.e., personification) of Jerusalem as an adulteress having left her husband and have been explained in the translation for the sake of readers unfamiliar with the metaphor.sn The actions here were part of the treatment of an adulteress by her husband, intended to shame her. See Hos 2:3, 10 (2:5, 12 HT); Isa 47:4.
- Jeremiah 13:22 tn The translation has been restructured to break up a long sentence involving a conditional clause and an elliptical consequential clause. It has also been restructured to define more clearly what “these things” are. The Hebrew text reads, “And if you say, ‘Why have these things happened to me?’ Because of the greatness of your iniquity your skirts [= what your skirt covers] have been uncovered, and your heels have been treated with violence.”
- Jeremiah 13:23 tn This is a common proverb in English coming from this biblical passage. For cultures where it is not proverbial, perhaps it would be better to translate “Can black people change the color of their skin?” Strictly speaking these are “Cushites” inhabitants of a region along the upper Nile south of Egypt. The Greek text is responsible for the identification with Ethiopia. The term in Greek is actually an epithet meaning “burnt face.”
- Jeremiah 13:23 tn Heb “Can the Cushite change his skin or the leopard his spots? [Then] you also will be able to do good who are accustomed to do evil.” The English sentence has been restructured and rephrased in an attempt to produce some of the same rhetorical force the Hebrew original has in this context.
- Jeremiah 13:24 tn The words, “The Lord says” are not in the text at this point. The words “an oracle of the Lord” does, however, occur in the middle of the next verse, and it is obvious the Lord is the speaker. The words have been moved up from the next verse to enhance clarity.
- Jeremiah 13:24 tn Heb “them.” This is another example of the rapid shift in pronouns seen several times in the book of Jeremiah. The pronouns in the preceding and the following are second feminine singular. It might be argued that “them” goes back to the “flock”/“sheep” in v. 20, but the next verse refers the fate described here to “you” (feminine singular). This may be another example of the kind of metaphoric shift in referents discussed in the notes on 13:20 above. Besides, it would sound a little odd in the translation to speak of scattering one person like chaff.
- Jeremiah 13:24 sn Compare the threat using the same metaphor in Jer 4:11-12.
- Jeremiah 13:26 tn Heb “over your face and your shame will be seen.” The words “like a disgraced adulteress” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to explain the metaphor. See the notes on 13:22.
- Jeremiah 13:27 tn Heb “Jerusalem.” This word has been pulled up from the end of the verse to help make the transition. The words “people of” have been supplied in the translation here to ease the difficulty mentioned earlier of sustaining the personification throughout.
- Jeremiah 13:27 tn Heb “[I have seen] your adulteries, your neighings, and your shameless prostitution.” The meanings of the metaphorical references have been incorporated in the translation for the sake of clarity for readers of all backgrounds.sn The sentence is rhetorically loaded. It begins with three dangling objects of the verb, all describing their adulterous relationship with the false gods under different figures that are resumed later under the words “your disgusting acts.” The Hebrew sentence reads, “Your adulteries, your neighings, your shameful prostitution, upon the hills in the fields I have seen your disgusting acts.” This sentence drips with explosive disgust at their adulterous betrayal.
- Jeremiah 13:27 tn Heb “your disgusting acts.” This word is almost always used of idolatry or of the idols themselves. See BDB 1055 s.v. שִׁקֻּוּץ and Deut 29:17 and Jer 4:1; 7:30.
- Jeremiah 13:27 tn Heb “Woe to you!”sn See Jer 4:13, 31; 6:4; 10:19 for usage, and the notes on 4:13 and 10:19.