4:16 They are saying, 1
‘Announce to the surrounding nations, 2
“The enemy is coming!” 3
Proclaim this message 4 to Jerusalem:
“Those who besiege cities 5 are coming from a distant land.
They are ready to raise the battle cry against 6 the towns in Judah.”’
6:17 The Lord said, 7
“I appointed prophets as watchmen to warn you, 8 saying:
‘Pay attention to the warning sound of the trumpet!’” 9
But they said, “We will not pay attention!”
1 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.
2 tn The word “surrounding” is not in the text but is implicit and is supplied in the translation for clarification.
3 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 tn The words, “this message,” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to make the introduction of the quote easier.
5 tn Heb “Besiegers.” For the use of this verb to refer to besieging a city compare Isa 1:8.
6 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.”
7 tn These words are not in the text but are implicit in the interchange of pronouns in the Hebrew of vv. 16-17. They are supplied in the translation here for clarity.
8 tn Heb “I appointed watchmen over you.”
9 tn Heb “Pay attention to the sound of the trumpet.” The word “warning” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.
10 tn The translation again represents an attempt to break up a long complex Hebrew sentence into equivalent English ones that conform more to contemporary English style: Heb “And as soon as Jeremiah finished saying all that…the priests…grabbed him and said…” The word “some” has been supplied in the translation, because obviously it was not all the priests, the prophets, and all the people, but only some of them. There is, of course, rhetorical intent here to show that all were implicated, although all may not have actually participated. (This is a common figure called synecdoche where all is put for a part – all for all kinds or representatives of all kinds. See E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 614-19, and compare usage in Acts 10:12; Matt 3:5.)
11 tn Or “You must certainly die!” The construction here is again emphatic with the infinitive preceding the finite verb (cf. Joüon 2:423 §123.h, and compare usage in Exod 21:28).