The Book of Jeremiah, or Jeremiah (יִרְמְיָהוּ Yirmiyahu in Hebrew), is a book that is part of the Hebrew Bible, Judaism's Tanakh, and later became a part of Christianity's Old Testament. It was originally written in a complex and poetic Hebrew recording the words and events surrounding the life of the Jewish prophet Jeremiah who lived at the time of the destruction of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem during the fall of the Kingdom of Judah at the hands of Babylonia.

Contents

It consists of twenty-three separate and independent sections, arranged in five sub-sections or "books".

1. The introduction, ch. 1.
2. Reproofs of the sins of the Jews, consisting of seven sections, (1.) ch. 2; (2.) ch. 3-6; (3.) ch. 7-10; (4.) ch. 11-13; (5.) ch. 14-17:18; (6.) ch. 17:19-ch. 20; (7.) ch. 21-24.
3. A general review of all nations, in two sections, (1.) ch. 46-49; (2.) ch. 25; with an historical appendix of three sections, (1.) ch. 26; (2.) ch. 27; (3.) ch. 28, 29.
4. Two sections picturing the hopes of better times, (1.) ch. 30, 31; (2.) ch. 32,33; to which is added an historical appendix in three sections, (1.) ch. 34:1-7; (2.) ch. 34:8-22; (3.) ch. 35.
5. The conclusion, in two sections, (1.) ch. 36; (2.) ch. 45.

In Egypt, after an interval, Jeremiah is supposed to have added three sections, viz., ch. 37-39; 40-43; and 44.

The principal Messianic prophecies are found in 23:1-8; 31:31-40; and 33:14-26.

Jeremiah's prophecies are noted for the frequent repetitions found in them of the same words and phrases and imagery. They cover the period of about 30 years. They are not recorded in the order of time. When and under what circumstances this book assumed its present form we know not.

Septuagint version

The Septuagint version of this book is, in its arrangement and in other particulars, different from others. The septuagint omits 10:6-8; 27:19-22; 29:16-20; 33:14-26; 39:4-13; 52:2, 3, 15, 28-30, etc. About 2,700 words in all of the original are omitted.

Qumran version

The Book of Jeremiah has also been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls in cave 4 in Qumran. One text is the hebrew variant of the Septuagint version. This may shed some light on why the Septaugint version differs from the masoretic version. It was previously thought that the difference was due to poor translation, but it is now thought by many that the masoretic version has been reworked, or that there were two versions of this book.

External links

Online versions and translations of the Book of Jeremiah:

• Original text:
  • ירמיהו Yirmiyahu - Jeremiah (Hebrew - English at Mechon-Mamre.org)

• Jewish translations:
  • Jeremiah at Mechon-Mamre (Jewish Publication Society translation)
  • Yirmiyahu - Jeremiah (Judaica Press) translation with Rashi's commentary at Chabad.org

• Christian translations:
  • Jeremiah at The Great Books (New Revised Standard Version)
  • Jeremiah at Wikisource (Authorised King James Version)

Related articles:

• Book of Jeremiah article (Jewish Encyclopedia)
• The Jeremiah Dilemma