Discovery BoxJeremiah 4:13 
Context4:13 Look! The enemy is approaching like gathering clouds. 1
The roar of his chariots is like that of a whirlwind. 2
His horses move more swiftly than eagles.”
I cry out, 3 “We are doomed, 4 for we will be destroyed!”
Jeremiah 4:30
Context4:30 And you, Zion, city doomed to destruction, 5
you accomplish nothing 6 by wearing a beautiful dress, 7
decking yourself out in jewels of gold,
and putting on eye shadow! 8
You are making yourself beautiful for nothing.
Your lovers spurn you.
They want to kill you. 9
Jeremiah 13:27
Context13:27 People of Jerusalem, 10 I have seen your adulterous worship,
your shameless prostitution to, and your lustful pursuit of, other gods. 11
I have seen your disgusting acts of worship 12
on the hills throughout the countryside.
You are doomed to destruction! 13
How long will you continue to be unclean?’”
1 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.
2 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.
3 tn The words “I cry out” are not in the text, but the words that follow are obviously not the
4 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.
5 tn Heb “And you that are doomed to destruction.” The referent is supplied from the following context and the fact that Zion/Jerusalem represents the leadership which was continually making overtures to foreign nations for help.
6 tn Heb “What are you accomplishing…?” The rhetorical question assumes a negative answer, made clear by the translation in the indicative.
7 tn Heb “clothing yourself in scarlet.”
8 tn Heb “enlarging your eyes with antimony.” Antimony was a black powder used by women as eyeliner to make their eyes look larger.
9 tn Heb “they seek your life.”
10 tn Heb “Jerusalem.” This word has been pulled up from the end of the verse to help make the transition. The words “people of” have been supplied in the translation here to ease the difficulty mentioned earlier of sustaining the personification throughout.
11 tn Heb “[I have seen] your adulteries, your neighings, and your shameless prostitution.” The meanings of the metaphorical references have been incorporated in the translation for the sake of clarity for readers of all backgrounds.
sn The sentence is rhetorically loaded. It begins with three dangling objects of the verb all describing their adulterous relationship with the false gods under different figures and which are resumed later under the words “your disgusting acts.” The Hebrew sentence reads: “Your adulteries, your neighings, your shameful prostitution, upon the hills in the fields I have seen your disgusting acts.” This sentence drips with explosive disgust at their adulterous betrayal.
12 tn Heb “your disgusting acts.” This word is almost always used of idolatry or of the idols themselves. See BDB 1055 s.v. שִׁקֻּוּץ and Deut 29:17 and Jer 4:1; 7:30.
13 tn Heb “Woe to you!”
sn See Jer 4:13, 31; 6:4; 10:19 for usage, and the notes on 4:13 and 10:19.
