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 4:19

4:19 I said, ⁵ 

“Oh, the feeling in the pit of my stomach! ⁶ 

I writhe in anguish.

Oh, the pain in my heart! ⁷ 

My heart pounds within me.

I cannot keep silent.

For I hear the sound of the trumpet; ⁸ 

the sound of the battle cry pierces my soul! ⁹ 

Jeremiah 6:1

The Destruction of Jerusalem Depicted

6:1 “Run for safety, people of Benjamin!

Get out of Jerusalem! ¹⁰ 

Sound the trumpet ¹¹  in Tekoa!

Light the signal fires at Beth Hakkerem!

For disaster lurks ¹²  out of the north;

it will bring great destruction. ¹³ 

Jeremiah 42:14

42:14 You must not say, ‘No, we will not stay. Instead we will go and live in the land of Egypt where we will not face war, ¹⁴  or hear the enemy’s trumpet calls, ¹⁵  or starve for lack of food.’ ¹⁶ 

[4:5]  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.

[4:5]  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.

[4:5]  ³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[4:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “ram’s horn,” but the modern equivalent is “trumpet” and is more readily understandable.

[4:19]  ⁵ 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.

[4:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “My bowels! My bowels!”

[4:19]  ⁷ tn Heb “the walls of my heart!”

[4:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “ram’s horn,” but the modern equivalent is “trumpet” and is more readily understandable.

[4:19]  ⁹ 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”).

[6:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “Flee for safety, people of Benjamin, out of the midst of Jerusalem.”

[6:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “ram’s horn,” but the modern equivalent is “trumpet” and is more readily understandable.

[6:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “leans down” or “looks down.” This verb personifies destruction leaning/looking down from its window in the sky, ready to attack.

[6:1]  ¹² tn Heb “[It will be] a severe fracture.” The nation is pictured as a limb being fractured.

[42:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “see [or experience] war.”

[42:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “hear the sound of the trumpet.” The trumpet was used to gather the troops and to sound the alarm for battle.

[42:14]  ¹⁵ tn Jer 42:13-14 are a long complex condition (protasis) whose consequence (apodosis) does not begin until v. 15. The Hebrew text of vv. 13-14 reads: 42:13 “But if you say [or continue to say (the form is a participle)], ‘We will not stay in this land’ with the result that you do not obey [or “more literally, do not hearken to the voice of] the Lord your God, 42:14 saying, ‘No, but to the land of Egypt we will go where we…and there we will live,’ 42:15 now therefore hear the word of the Lord…” The sentence has been broken up and restructured to better conform with contemporary English style but an attempt has been made to maintain the contingencies and the qualifiers that are in the longer Hebrew original.