Jeremiah 4:5-6

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!’

4:6 Raise a signal flag that tells people to go to Zion. ⁵ 

Run for safety! Do not delay!

For I am about to bring disaster out of the north.

It will bring great destruction. ⁶ 

Jeremiah 4:19

4:19 I said, ⁷ 

“Oh, the feeling in the pit of my stomach! ⁸ 

I writhe in anguish.

Oh, the pain in my heart! ⁹ 

My heart pounds within me.

I cannot keep silent.

For I hear the sound of the trumpet; ¹⁰ 

the sound of the battle cry pierces my soul! ¹¹ 

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 “Raise up a signal toward Zion.”

⁶ tn Heb “out of the north, even great destruction.”

⁷ tn The words “I said” are not in the text. They are used to mark the shift from the Lord’s promise of judgment to Jeremiah’s lament concerning it.

⁸ tn Heb “My bowels! My bowels!”

⁹ tn Heb “the walls of my heart!”

¹⁰ tn Heb “ram’s horn,” but the modern equivalent is “trumpet” and is more readily understandable.

¹¹ tc The translation reflects a different division of the last two lines than that suggested by the Masoretes. The written text (the Kethib) reads “for the sound of the ram’s horn I have heard [or “you have heard,” if the form is understood as the old second feminine singular perfect] my soul” followed by “the battle cry” in the last line. The translation is based on taking “my soul” with the last line and understanding an elliptical expression “the battle cry [to] my soul.” Such an elliptical expression is in keeping with the elliptical nature of the exclamations at the beginning of the verse (cf. the literal translations of the first two lines of the verse in the notes on the words “stomach” and “heart”).