Yeremia 4:9-17
Konteks4:9 “When this happens,” 1 says the Lord,
“the king and his officials will lose their courage.
The priests will be struck with horror,
and the prophets will be speechless in astonishment.”
4:10 In response to all this 2 I said, “Ah, Lord God, 3 you have surely allowed 4 the people of Judah and Jerusalem 5 to be deceived by those who say, ‘You will be safe!’ 6 But in fact a sword is already at our throats.” 7
4:11 “At that time the people of Judah and Jerusalem 8 will be told,
‘A scorching wind will sweep down
from the hilltops in the desert on 9 my dear people. 10
It will not be a gentle breeze
for winnowing the grain and blowing away the chaff. 11
4:12 No, 12 a wind too strong for that will come at my bidding.
Yes, even now I, myself, am calling down judgment on them.’ 13
4:13 Look! The enemy is approaching like gathering clouds. 14
The roar of his chariots is like that of a whirlwind. 15
His horses move more swiftly than eagles.”
I cry out, 16 “We are doomed, 17 for we will be destroyed!”
4:14 “Oh people of Jerusalem, purify your hearts from evil 18
so that you may yet be delivered.
How long will you continue to harbor up
wicked schemes within you?
4:15 For messengers are coming, heralding disaster,
from the city of Dan and from the hills of Ephraim. 19
‘Announce to the surrounding nations, 21
“The enemy is coming!” 22
Proclaim this message 23 to Jerusalem:
“Those who besiege cities 24 are coming from a distant land.
They are ready to raise the battle cry against 25 the towns in Judah.”’
4:17 They will surround Jerusalem 26
like men guarding a field 27
because they have rebelled against me,”
says the Lord.
[4:10] 2 tn The words “In response to all this” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to clarify the connection.
[4:10] 3 tn Heb “Lord Yahweh.” The translation follows the ancient Jewish tradition of substituting the Hebrew word for God for the proper name Yahweh.
[4:10] 4 tn Or “You have deceived.” The Hiphil of נָשָׁא (nasha’, “to deceive”) is understood in a tolerative sense here: “to allow [someone] to be deceived.” IBHS 446 §27.5c notes that this function of the hiphil describes caused activity that is welcome to the undersubject, but unacceptable or disagreeable to a third party. Jerusalem and Judah welcomed the assurances of false prophets who deceived them. Although this was detestable to God, he allowed it.
[4:10] 5 tn Heb “this people and Jerusalem.”
[4:10] 6 tn Heb “Jerusalem, saying, ‘You will have peace’”; or “You have deceived the people of Judah and Jerusalem, saying, ‘You will have peace.’” The words “you will be safe” are, of course, those of the false prophets (cf., Jer 6:14; 8:11; 14:13; 23:16-17). It is difficult to tell whether the charge here is meant literally as the emotional outburst of the prophet (compare for example, Jer 15:18) or whether it is to be understood as a figure of speech in which a verb of direct causation is to be understood as permissive or tolerative, i.e., God did not command the prophets to say this but allowed them to do so. While it is not beyond God to use false prophets to accomplish his will (cf., e.g., 1 Kgs 22:19-23), he elsewhere in the book of Jeremiah directly denies having sent the false prophets to say such things as this (cf., e.g., Jer 14:14-15; 23:21, 32). For examples of the use of this figure of speech, see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 571, 823 and compare Ezek 20:25. The translation given attempts to resolve the issue.
[4:10] 7 tn Heb “touches the throat/soul.” For this use of the word usually translated “soul” or “life” cf. HALOT 672 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 1, 2 and compare the use in Ps 105:18.
[4:11] 8 tn Heb “this people and Jerusalem.”
[4:11] 9 tn Heb “A scorching wind from the hilltops in the desert toward…”
[4:11] sn The allusion is, of course, to the destructive forces of the enemy armies of Babylon compared above in 4:7 to a destructive lion and here to the destructive desert winds of the Near Eastern sirocco.
[4:11] 10 tn Heb “daughter of my people.” The term “daughter of” is appositional to “my people” and is supplied in the translation as a term of sympathy and endearment. Compare the common expression “daughter of Zion.”
[4:11] 11 tn Heb “not for winnowing and not for cleansing.” The words “It will not be a gentle breeze” are not in the text but are implicit in the connection. They are supplied in the translation here for clarification.
[4:12] 12 tn The word “No” is not in the text but is carried over from the connection with the preceding line “not for…”
[4:12] 13 tn Heb “will speak judgments against them.”
[4:13] 14 tn Heb “he is coming up like clouds.” The words “The enemy” are supplied in the translation to identify the referent and the word “gathering” is supplied to try to convey the significance of the simile, i.e., that of quantity and of an approaching storm.
[4:13] 15 tn Heb “his chariots [are] like a whirlwind.” The words “roar” and “sound” are supplied in the translation to clarify the significance of the simile.
[4:13] 16 tn The words “I cry out” are not in the text, but the words that follow are obviously not the
[4:13] 17 tn Heb “Woe to us!” The words “woe to” are common in funeral laments and at the beginning of oracles of judgment. In many contexts they carry the connotation of hopelessness or apprehensiveness of inevitable doom.
[4:14] 18 tn Heb “Oh, Jerusalem, wash your heart from evil.”
[4:15] 19 tn Heb “For a voice declaring from Dan and making heard disaster from the hills of Ephraim.”
[4:16] 20 tn The words “They are saying” are not in the text but are implicit in the connection and are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[4:16] 21 tn The word “surrounding” is not in the text but is implicit and is supplied in the translation for clarification.
[4:16] 22 tc Or “Here they come!” Heb “Look!” or “Behold!” Or “Announce to the surrounding nations, indeed [or yes] proclaim to Jerusalem, ‘Besiegers…’” The text is very elliptical here. Some of the modern English versions appear to be emending the text from הִנֵּה (hinneh, “behold”) to either הֵנָּה (hennah, “these things”; so NEB), or הַזֶּה (hazzeh, “this”; so NIV). The solution proposed here is as old as the LXX which reads, “Behold, they have come.”
[4:16] 23 tn The words, “this message,” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to make the introduction of the quote easier.
[4:16] 24 tn Heb “Besiegers.” For the use of this verb to refer to besieging a city compare Isa 1:8.
[4:16] 25 tn Heb “They have raised their voices against.” The verb here, a vav (ו) consecutive with an imperfect, continues the nuance of the preceding participle “are coming.”
[4:17] 26 tn Heb “will surround her.” The antecedent is Jerusalem in the preceding verse. The referent is again made explicit in the translation to avoid any possible lack of clarity. The verb form here is a form of the verb that emphasizes the fact as being as good as done (i.e., it is a prophetic perfect).
[4:17] 27 sn There is some irony involved in the choice of the simile since the men guarding a field were there to keep thieves from getting in and stealing the crops. Here the besiegers are guarding the city to keep people from getting out.
