Jeremiah 4:20-21

4:20 I see ¹  one destruction after another taking place,

so that the whole land lies in ruins.

I see our ²  tents suddenly destroyed,

their ³  curtains torn down in a mere instant. ⁴ 

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

and hear the military signals of their bugles?” ⁵ 

Jeremiah 47:2

47:2 “Look! Enemies are gathering in the north like water rising in a river. ⁶ 

They will be like an overflowing stream.

They will overwhelm the whole country and everything in it like a flood.

They will overwhelm the cities and their inhabitants.

People will cry out in alarm.

Everyone living in the country will cry out in pain.

Isaiah 15:2

15:2 They went up to the temple, ⁷ 

the people of Dibon went up to the high places to lament. ⁸ 

Because of what happened to Nebo and Medeba, ⁹  Moab wails.

Every head is shaved bare,

every beard is trimmed off. ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 15:8

15:8 Indeed, the cries of distress echo throughout Moabite territory;

their wailing can be heard in Eglaim and Beer Elim. ¹¹ 

Isaiah 16:7-11

16:7 So Moab wails over its demise ¹²  –

they all wail!

Completely devastated, they moan

about what has happened to the raisin cakes of Kir Hareseth. ¹³ 

16:8 For the fields of Heshbon are dried up,

as well as the vines of Sibmah.

The rulers of the nations trample all over its vines,

which reach Jazer and spread to the desert;

their shoots spread out and cross the sea.

16:9 So I weep along with Jazer ¹⁴ 

over the vines of Sibmah.

I will saturate you ¹⁵  with my tears, Heshbon and Elealeh,

for the conquering invaders shout triumphantly

over your fruit and crops. ¹⁶ 

16:10 Joy and happiness disappear from the orchards,

and in the vineyards no one rejoices or shouts;

no one treads out juice in the wine vats ¹⁷  –

I have brought the joyful shouts to an end. ¹⁸ 

16:11 So my heart constantly sighs for Moab, like the strumming of a harp, ¹⁹ 

my inner being sighs ²⁰  for Kir Hareseth. ²¹ 

Isaiah 22:4

22:4 So I say:

“Don’t look at me! ²² 

I am weeping bitterly.

Don’t try ²³  to console me

concerning the destruction of my defenseless people.” ²⁴ 

[4:20]  ¹ tn The words, “I see” are not in the text here or at the beginning of the third line. They are supplied in the translation to show that this is Jeremiah’s vision of what will happen as a result of the invasion announced in 4:5-9, 11-17a.

[4:20]  ² tn Heb “my.” This is probably not a reference to Jeremiah’s own tents since he foresees the destruction of the whole land. Jeremiah so identifies with the plight of his people that he sees the destruction of their tents as though they were his very own. It would probably lead to confusion to translate literally and it is not uncommon in Hebrew laments for the community or its representative to speak of the community as an “I.” See for example the interchange between first singular and first plural pronouns in Ps 44:4-8.

[4:20]  ³ tn Heb “my.”

[4:20]  ⁴ tn It is not altogether clear what Jeremiah intends by the use of this metaphor. In all likelihood he means that the defenses of Israel’s cities and towns have offered no more resistance than nomads’ tents. However, in light of the fact that the word “tent” came to be used generically for a person’s home (cf. 1 Kgs 8:66; 12:16), it is possible that Jeremiah is here referring to the destruction of their homes and the resultant feeling of homelessness and loss of even elementary protection. Given the lack of certainty the present translation is rather literal here.

[4:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “the sound of ram’s horns,” but the modern equivalent is “bugles” and is more readily understandable.

[47:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “Behold! Waters are rising from the north.” The metaphor of enemy armies compared to overflowing water is seen also in Isa 8:8-9 (Assyria) and 46:7-8 (Egypt). Here it refers to the foe from the north (Jer 1:14; 4:6; etc) which is specifically identified with Babylon in Jer 25. The metaphor has been turned into a simile in the translation to help the average reader identify that a figure is involved and to hint at the referent.

[15:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “house.”

[15:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “even Dibon [to] the high places to weep.” The verb “went up” does double duty in the parallel structure.

[15:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “over [or “for”] Nebo and over [or “for”] Medeba.”

[15:2]  ¹⁰ sn Shaving the head and beard were outward signs of mourning and grief.

[15:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “to Eglaim [is] her wailing, and [to] Beer Elim [is] her wailing.”

[16:7]  ¹² tn Heb “So Moab wails for Moab.”

[16:7]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew text has, “for the raisin cakes of Kir Hareseth you [masculine plural] moan, surely destroyed.” The “raisin cakes” could have cultic significance (see Hos 3:1), but the next verse focuses on agricultural disaster, so here the raisin cakes are mentioned as an example of the fine foods that are no longer available (see 2 Sam 6:19; Song 2:5) because the vines have been destroyed by the invader (see v. 8). Some prefer to take אֲשִׁישֵׁי (’ashishe, “raisin cakes of”) as “men of” (see HALOT 95 s.v. *אָשִׁישׁ; cf. NIV). The verb form תֶהְגּוּ (tehgu, “you moan”) is probably the result of dittography (note that the preceding word ends in tav [ת]) and should be emended to הגו (a perfect, third plural form), “they moan.”

[16:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “So I weep with the weeping of Jazer.” Once more the speaker (the Lord? – see v. 10b) plays the role of a mourner (see 15:5).

[16:9]  ¹⁵ tc The form אֲרַיָּוֶךְ (’arayyavekh) should be emended to אֲרַוָּיֶךְ (’aravvayekh; the vav [ו] and yod [י] have been accidentally transposed) from רָוָה (ravah, “be saturated”).

[16:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “for over your fruit and over your harvest shouting has fallen.” The translation assumes that the shouting is that of the conqueror (Jer 51:14). Another possibility is that the shouting is that of the harvesters (see v. 10b, as well as Jer 25:30), in which case one might translate, “for the joyful shouting over the fruit and crops has fallen silent.”

[16:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “wine in the vats the treader does not tread.”

[16:10]  ¹⁸ sn The Lord appears to be the speaker here. See 15:9.

[16:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “so my intestines sigh for Moab like a harp.” The word מֵעַי (me’ay, “intestines”) is used here of the seat of the emotions. English idiom requires the word “heart.” The point of the comparison to a harp is not entirely clear. Perhaps his sighs of mourning resemble a harp in sound, or his constant sighing is like the repetitive strumming of a harp.

[16:11]  ²⁰ tn The verb is supplied in the translation; “sighs” in the preceding line does double duty in the parallel structure.

[16:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “Kir Heres” (so ASV, NRSV, TEV, CEV), a variant name for “Kir Hareseth” (see v. 7).

[22:4]  ²² tn Heb “look away from me” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV).

[22:4]  ²³ tn Heb “don’t hurry” (so NCV).

[22:4]  ²⁴ tn Heb “the daughter of my people.” “Daughter” is here used metaphorically to express the speaker’s emotional attachment to his people, as well as their vulnerability and weakness.