Jeremiah 4:5

Warning of Coming Judgment

4:5 The Lord said, ¹ 

“Announce ²  this in Judah and proclaim it in Jerusalem: ³ 

‘Sound the trumpet ⁴  throughout the land!’

Shout out loudly,

‘Gather together! Let us flee into the fortified cities!’

Jeremiah 4:21

4:21 “How long must I see the enemy’s battle flags

and hear the military signals of their bugles?” ⁵ 

Amos 3:6

3:6 If an alarm sounds ⁶  in a city, do people not fear? ⁷ 

If disaster overtakes a ⁸  city, is the Lord not responsible? ⁹ 

Zephaniah 1:15-16

1:15 That day will be a day of God’s anger, ¹⁰ 

a day of distress and hardship,

a day of devastation and ruin,

a day of darkness and gloom,

a day of clouds and dark skies,

1:16 a day of trumpet blasts ¹¹  and battle cries. ¹² 

Judgment will fall on ¹³  the fortified cities and the high corner towers.

¹ tn The words “The Lord said” are not in the text, but it is obvious from v. 6 and v. 9 that he is the speaker. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

² tn It is unclear who the addressees of the masculine plural imperatives are here. They may be the citizens of Jerusalem and Judah who are sounding the alarm to others. However, the first person reference to the Lord in v. 6 and Jeremiah’s response in v. 10 suggest that this is a word from the Lord that he is commanded to pass on to the citizens of Jerusalem and Judah. If the imperatives are not merely rhetorical plurals they may reflect the practice referred to in Jer 23:18, 22; Amos 3:7. A similar phenomenon also occurs in Jer 5:1 and also in Isa 40:1-2. This may also be the explanation for the plural imperatives in Jer 31:6. For further discussion see the translator’s note on Jer 5:1.

³ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁴ tn Heb “ram’s horn,” but the modern equivalent is “trumpet” and is more readily understandable.

⁵ tn Heb “the sound of ram’s horns,” but the modern equivalent is “bugles” and is more readily understandable.

⁶ tn Heb “If the ram’s horn is blown.”

⁷ tn Or “tremble” (NASB, NIV, NCV); or “shake.”

⁸ tn Heb “is in”; NIV, NCV, NLT “comes to.”

⁹ tn Heb “has the Lord not acted?”

¹⁰ tn Heb “a day of wrath.” The word “God’s” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

¹¹ tn Heb “a ram’s horn.” By metonymy the Hebrew text mentions the trumpet (“ram’s horn”) in place of the sound it produces (“trumpet blasts”).

¹² sn This description of the day of the Lord consists of an initial reference to anger, followed by four pairs of synonyms. The joining of synonyms in this way emphasizes the degree of the characteristic being described. The first two pairs focus on the distress and ruin that judgment will bring; the second two pairs picture this day of judgment as being very dark (darkness) and exceedingly overcast (gloom). The description concludes with the pairing of two familiar battle sounds, the blast on the ram’s horn (trumpet blasts) and the war cries of the warriors (battle cries).

¹³ tn Heb “against.” The words “judgment will fall” are supplied in the translation for clarification.