Yeremia 4:19-22

4:19 I said, ¹ 

“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 

4:20 I see ⁶  one destruction after another taking place,

so that the whole land lies in ruins.

I see our ⁷  tents suddenly destroyed,

their ⁸  curtains torn down in a mere instant. ⁹ 

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

and hear the military signals of their bugles?” ¹⁰ 

4:22 The Lord answered, ¹¹ 

“This will happen ¹²  because my people are foolish.

They do not know me.

They are like children who have no sense. ¹³ 

They have no understanding.

They are skilled at doing evil.

They do not know how to do good.”

Yeremia 6:22-24

6:22 “This is what the Lord says:

‘Beware! An army ¹⁴  is coming from a land in the north.

A mighty nation is stirring into action in faraway parts of the earth.

6:23 Its soldiers are armed with bows and spears.

They are cruel and show no mercy.

They sound like the roaring sea

as they ride forth on their horses.

Lined up in formation like men going into battle

to attack you, Daughter Zion.’” ¹⁵ 

6:24 The people cry out, ¹⁶  “We have heard reports about them!

We have become helpless with fear! ¹⁷ 

Anguish grips us,

agony like that of a woman giving birth to a baby!

Yeremia 8:15-16

8:15 We hoped for good fortune, but nothing good has come of it.

We hoped for a time of relief, but instead we experience terror. ¹⁸ 

8:16 The snorting of the enemy’s horses

is already being heard in the city of Dan.

The sound of the neighing of their stallions ¹⁹ 

causes the whole land to tremble with fear.

They are coming to destroy the land and everything in it!

They are coming to destroy ²⁰  the cities and everyone who lives in them!”

Yeremia 47:6

47:6 How long will you cry out, ²¹  ‘Oh, sword of the Lord,

how long will it be before you stop killing? ²² 

Go back into your sheath!

Stay there and rest!’ ²³ 

[4:19]  ¹ 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]  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”).

[4:20]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “my.”

[4:20]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the sound of ram’s horns,” but the modern equivalent is “bugles” and is more readily understandable.

[4:22]  ¹¹ tn These words are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to show clearly the shift in speaker. Jeremiah has been speaking; now the Lord answers, giving the reason for the devastation Jeremiah foresees.

[4:22]  ¹² tn Heb “For….” This gives the explanation for the destruction envisaged in 4:20 to which Jeremiah responds in 4:19, 21.

[4:22]  ¹³ tn Heb “They are senseless children.”

[6:22]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “people.”

[6:23]  ¹⁵ sn Jerualem is personified as a young maiden helpless before enemy attackers.

[6:24]  ¹⁶ tn These words are not in the text, but, from the context, someone other than God is speaking and is speaking for and to the people (either Jeremiah or the people themselves). These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:24]  ¹⁷ tn Or “We have lost our strength to do battle”; Heb “Our hands hang limp [or helpless at our sides].” According to BDB 951 s.v. רָפָה Qal.2, this idiom is used figuratively for losing heart or energy. The best example of its figurative use of loss of strength or the feeling of helplessness is in Ezek 21:12 where it appears in the context of the heart (courage) melting, the spirit sinking, and the knees becoming like water. For other examples compare 2 Sam 4:1; Zeph 3:16. In Neh 6:9 it is used literally of the builders “dropping their hands from the work” out of fear. The words “with fear” are supplied in the translation because they are implicit in the context.

[8:15]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “[We hoped] for a time of healing but behold terror.”

[8:16]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “his stallions.”

[8:16]  ²⁰ tn The words “They are coming to destroy” are not in the text. They are inserted to break up a long sentence in conformity with contemporary English style.

[47:6]  ²¹ tn The words “How long will you cry out” are not in the text but some such introduction seems necessary because the rest of the speech assumes a personal subject.

[47:6]  ²² tn Heb “before you are quiet/at rest.”

[47:6]  ²³ sn The passage is highly figurative. The sword of the Lord, which is itself a figure of the destructive agency of the enemy armies, is here addressed as a person and is encouraged in rhetorical questions (the questions are designed to dissuade) to “be quiet,” “be at rest,” “be silent,” all of which is designed to get the Lord to call off the destruction against the Philistines.