Jeremiah 8:20

8:20 “They cry, ¹  ‘Harvest time has come and gone, and the summer is over, ² 

and still we have not been delivered.’

Jeremiah 4:31

4:31 In fact, ³  I hear a cry like that of a woman in labor,

a cry of anguish like that of a woman giving birth to her first baby.

It is the cry of Daughter Zion ⁴  gasping for breath,

reaching out for help, ⁵  saying, “I am done in! ⁶ 

My life is ebbing away before these murderers!”

---

¹ tn The words “They say” are not in the text; they are supplied in the translation to make clear that the lament of the people begun in v. 19b is continued here after the interruption of the Lord’s words in v. 19c.

² tn Heb “Harvest time has passed, the summer is over.”

sn This appears to be a proverbial statement for “time marches on.” The people appear to be expressing their frustration that the Lord has not gone about his business of rescuing them as they expected. For a similar misguided feeling based on the offering of shallow repentance see Hos 6:1-3 (and note the Lord’s reply in 6:4-6).

³ tn The particle כִּי (ki) is more likely asseverative here than causal.

⁴ sn Jerusalem is personified as a helpless maiden.

⁵ tn Heb “spreading out her hands.” The idea of asking or pleading for help is implicit in the figure.

⁶ tn Heb “Woe, now to me!” See the translator’s note on 4:13 for the usage of “Woe to…”