Discovery BoxJeremiah 4:19
Context“Oh, the feeling in the pit of my stomach! 2
I writhe in anguish.
Oh, the pain in my heart! 3
My heart pounds within me.
I cannot keep silent.
For I hear the sound of the trumpet; 4
the sound of the battle cry pierces my soul! 5
Jeremiah 31:20
Context31:20 Indeed, the people of Israel are my dear children.
They are the children I take delight in. 6
For even though I must often rebuke them,
I still remember them with fondness.
So I am deeply moved with pity for them 7
and will surely have compassion on them.
I, the Lord, affirm it! 8
[4:19] 1 tn The words “I said” are not in the text. They are used to mark the shift from the
[4:19] 2 tn Heb “My bowels! My bowels!”
[4:19] 3 tn Heb “the walls of my heart!”
[4:19] 4 tn Heb “ram’s horn,” but the modern equivalent is “trumpet” and is more readily understandable.
[4:19] 5 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”).
[31:20] 6 tn Heb “Is Ephraim a dear son to me or a child of delight?” For the substitution of Israel for Ephraim and the plural pronouns for the singular see the note on v. 18. According to BDB 210 s.v. הֲ 1.c the question is rhetorical having the force of an impassioned affirmation. See 1 Sam 2:27; Job 41:9 (41:1 HT) for parallel usage.
[31:20] 7 tn Heb “my stomach churns for him.” The parallelism shows that this refers to pity or compassion.
