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!’
4:16 They are saying, 5
‘Announce to the surrounding nations, 6
“The enemy is coming!” 7
Proclaim this message 8 to Jerusalem:
“Those who besiege cities 9 are coming from a distant land.
They are ready to raise the battle cry against 10 the towns in Judah.”’
31:10 Hear what the Lord has to say, O nations.
Proclaim it in the faraway lands along the sea.
Say, “The one who scattered Israel will regather them.
He will watch over his people like a shepherd watches over his flock.”
46:14 “Make an announcement throughout Egypt.
Proclaim it in Migdol, Memphis, and Tahpanhes. 13
‘Take your positions and prepare to do battle.
For the enemy army is destroying all the nations around you.’ 14
51:10 The exiles from Judah will say, 15
‘The Lord has brought about a great deliverance for us! 16
Come on, let’s go and proclaim in Zion
what the Lord our God has done!’
1 tn The words “The
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
3 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
4 tn Heb “ram’s horn,” but the modern equivalent is “trumpet” and is more readily understandable.
5 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.
6 tn The word “surrounding” is not in the text but is implicit and is supplied in the translation for clarification.
7 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.”
8 tn The words, “this message,” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to make the introduction of the quote easier.
9 tn Heb “Besiegers.” For the use of this verb to refer to besieging a city compare Isa 1:8.
10 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.”
11 tn Heb “Proclaim there…” The adverb is unnecessary in English style.
12 sn That is, all those who have passed through the gates of the outer court and are standing in the courtyard of the temple.
13 tn Heb “Declare in Egypt and announce in Migdol and announce in Noph [= Memphis] and in Tahpanhes.” The sentence has been restructured to reflect the fact that the first command is a general one, followed by announcements in specific (representative?) cities.
sn For the location of the cities of Migdol, Memphis, and Tahpanhes see the note on Jer 44:1. These were all cities in Lower or northern Egypt that would have been the first affected by an invasion.
14 tn Heb “For the sword devours those who surround you.” The “sword” is again figurative of destructive forces. Here it is a reference to the forces of Nebuchadnezzar which have already destroyed the Egyptian forces at Carchemish and have made victorious forays into the Philistine plain.
15 tn The words “The exiles from Judah will say” are not in the text but are implicit from the words that follow. They are supplied in the translation to clearly identify for the reader the referent of “us.”
16 tn There is some difference of opinion as to the best way to render the Hebrew expression here. Literally it means “brought forth our righteousnesses.” BDB 842 s.v. צְדָקָה 7.b interprets this of the “righteous acts” of the people of Judah and compares the usage in Isa 64:6; Ezek 3:20; 18:24; 33:13. However, Judah’s acts of righteousness (or more simply, their righteousness) was scarcely revealed in their deliverance. Most of the English versions and commentaries refer to “vindication” i.e., that the