Jeremiah 6:4

6:4 They will say, ¹  ‘Prepare to do battle ²  against it!

Come on! Let’s attack it at noon!’

But later they will say, ³  ‘Oh, oh! Too bad! ⁴ 

The day is almost over

and the shadows of evening are getting long.

[6:4]  ¹ tn These words are not in the text but are implicit in the connection. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:4]  ² tn Heb “Sanctify war.” This is probably an idiom from early Israel’s holy wars in which religious rites were to precede the battle.

[6:4]  ³ tn These words are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity. Some commentaries and English versions see these not as the words of the enemy but as those of the Israelites expressing their fear that the enemy will launch a night attack against them and further destroy them. The connection with the next verse, however, fits better with them if they are the words of the enemy.

[6:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “Woe to us!” For the usage of this phrase see the translator’s note on 4:13. The usage of this particle here is a little exaggerated. They have lost the most advantageous time for attack but they are scarcely in a hopeless or doomed situation. The equivalent in English slang is “Bad news!”