Jeremiah 44:11-12

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Jeremiah 44:11 tn Heb “Behold, I am setting my face against you for evil/disaster.” For the meaning of the idiom “to set the face to/against,” see the translator’s note on 42:15 and compare the references listed there.
2. Jeremiah 44:11 tn Heb “and to destroy all Judah.” However, this statement must be understood within the rhetoric of the passage (see vv. 7-8 and the study note on v. 8) and within the broader context of the Lord’s promises to restore the remnant who are in Babylon and those scattered in other lands (23:3; 24:5-6; 29:14; 30:3; 32:27). In this context “all Judah” must refer to all the Judeans living in Egypt, whom Jeremiah is now addressing. This involves the figure of synecdoche where “all” does not extend to all individuals but to all that are further specified or implied (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 616-18, and the comments in H. Freedman, Jeremiah [SoBB], 285). The “and” in front of “to destroy” is to be understood as an example of the epexegetical use of the conjunction ו (vav; see BDB 252 s.v. וַ 1.b and compare the translation of J. Bright, Jeremiah [AB], 260).
3. Jeremiah 44:12 tn Heb “they set their face to go.” Cf. 44:11; 42:14 and see the translator’s note at 42:15.
4. Jeremiah 44:12 tn Heb “fall by the sword.”
5. Jeremiah 44:12 tn Or “All of them without distinction,” or “All of them from the least important to the most important”; Heb “From the least to the greatest.” See the translator’s note on 42:1 for the meaning of this idiom.
6. Jeremiah 44:12 tn See the study note on 24:9 and the usage in 29:22 for the meaning and significance of this last phrase.sn See Jer 42:18 for parallel usage.