Jeremiah 4:5-7

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 

4:7 Like a lion that has come up from its lair ⁷ 

the one who destroys nations has set out from his home base. ⁸ 

He is coming out to lay your land waste.

Your cities will become ruins and lie uninhabited.

Jeremiah 8:14

Jeremiah Laments over the Coming Destruction

8:14 The people say, ⁹ 

“Why are we just sitting here?

Let us gather together inside the fortified cities. ¹⁰ 

Let us at least die there fighting, ¹¹ 

since the Lord our God has condemned us to die.

He has condemned us to drink the poison waters of judgment ¹² 

because we have sinned against him. ¹³ 

Mark 13:14

The Abomination of Desolation

13:14 “But when you see the abomination of desolation ¹⁴  standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee ¹⁵  to the mountains.

Luke 21:20-21

The Desolation of Jerusalem

21:20 “But when you see Jerusalem ¹⁶  surrounded ¹⁷  by armies, then know that its ¹⁸  desolation ¹⁹  has come near. 21:21 Then those who are in Judea must flee ²⁰  to the mountains. Those ²¹  who are inside the city must depart. Those ²²  who are out in the country must not enter it,

[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.

[4:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “Raise up a signal toward Zion.”

[4:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “out of the north, even great destruction.”

[4:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “A lion has left its lair.” The metaphor is turned into a simile for clarification. The word translated “lair” has also been understood to refer to a hiding place. However, it appears to be cognate in meaning to the word translated “lair” in Ps 10:9; Jer 25:38, a word which also refers to the abode of the Lord in Ps 76:3.

[4:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “his place.”

[8:14]  ⁹ tn The words “The people say” are not in the text but are implicit in the shift of speakers between vv. 4-13 and vv. 14-16. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[8:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Gather together and let us enter into the fortified cities.”

[8:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Let us die there.” The words “at least” and “fighting” are intended to bring out the contrast of passive surrender to death in the open country and active resistance to the death implicit in the context.

[8:14]  ¹² tn The words “of judgment” are not in the text but are intended to show that “poison water” is not literal but figurative of judgment at the hands of God through the agency of the enemy mentioned in v. 16.

[8:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “against the Lord.” The switch is for the sake of smoothness in English.

[13:14]  ¹⁴ sn The reference to the abomination of desolation is an allusion to Dan 9:27. Though some have seen the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy in the actions of Antiochus IV (or a representative of his) in 167 b.c., the words of Jesus seem to indicate that Antiochus was not the final fulfillment, but that there was (from Jesus’ perspective) still another fulfillment yet to come. Some argue that this was realized in a.d. 70, while others claim that it refers specifically to Antichrist and will not be fully realized until the period of the great tribulation at the end of the age (cf. Mark 13:19, 24; Matt 24:21; Rev 3:10).

[13:14]  ¹⁵ sn Fleeing to the mountains is a key OT image: Gen 19:17; Judg 6:2; Isa 15:5; Jer 16:16; Zech 14:5.

[21:20]  ¹⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[21:20]  ¹⁷ sn See Luke 19:41-44. This passage refers to the events associated with the fall of Jerusalem, when the city is surrounded by armies.

[21:20]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “her,” referring to the city of Jerusalem (the name “Jerusalem” in Greek is a feminine noun).

[21:20]  ¹⁹ sn The phrase its desolation is a reference to the fall of the city, which is the only antecedent present in Luke’s account. The parallels to this in Matt 24:15 and Mark 13:14 refer to the temple’s desolation, though Matthew’s allusion is clearer. They focus on the parallel events of the end, not on the short term realization in a.d. 70. The entire passage has a prophetic “two events in one” typology, where the near term destruction (a.d. 70) is like the end. So the evangelists could choose to focus on the near time realization (Luke) or on its long term fulfillment, which mirrors it (Matthew, Mark).

[21:21]  ²⁰ sn Fleeing to the mountains is a key OT image: Gen 19:17; Judg 6:2; Isa 15:5; Jer 16:16; Zech 14:5.

[21:21]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[21:21]  ²² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.