1 2 3 4 5 6 7 sn For the title “the 8 9 sn The actions of the prophet would undoubtedly elicit questions about his behavior and he would have occasion to explain the reason. 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 sn The picture of rounding up the population for destruction and exile is also seen in Amos 4:2 and Hab 1:14-17. 21 22 23 24 sn For earlier references to the term used here see Jer 2:7 where it applies as here to the land, Jer 10:16; 12:8-9 where it applies to the people, and Jer 12:7 where it applies to the temple. 25 26 sn The shift here is consistent with the interruptions that have taken place in chapters 14 and 15 and in Jeremiah’s response to God’s condemnation of the people of Judah’s idolatry in chapter 10 (note especially vv. 6-16). 27 28 sn This passage offers some rather forceful contrasts. The 29 30 31 tn There is a decided ambiguity in this text about the identity of the pronoun “them.” Is it his wicked people he has been predicting judgment upon or the nations that have come to recognize the folly of idolatry? The nearer antecedent would argue for that. However, usage of “hand” (translated here “power”) in 6:12; 15:6 and later 21:5 and especially the threatening motif of “at this time” (or “now”) in 10:18 suggest that the “So” goes back logically to vv. 16-18, following a grounds of judgment with the threatened consequence as it has in at least 16 out of 18 occurrences thus far. Moreover it makes decidedly more sense that the Jews will know that his name is the