4:9 Jerusalem, why are you 1 now shouting so loudly? 2
Has your king disappeared? 3
Has your wise leader 4 been destroyed?
Is this why 5 pain grips 6 you as if you were a woman in labor?
1 tn The Hebrew form is feminine singular, indicating that Jerusalem, personified as a young woman, is now addressed (see v. 10). In v. 8 the tower/fortress was addressed with masculine forms, so there is clearly a shift in addressee here. “Jerusalem” has been supplied in the translation at the beginning of v. 9 to make this shift apparent.
2 tn Heb “Now why are you shouting [with] a shout.”
3 tn Heb “Is there no king over you?”
4 tn Traditionally, “counselor” (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). This refers to the king mentioned in the previous line; the title points to the king’s roles as chief strategist and policy maker, both of which required extraordinary wisdom.
5 tn Heb “that.” The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) is used here in a resultative sense; for this use see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 73, §450.
6 tn Heb “grabs hold of, seizes.”