Discovery BoxJeremiah 4:16-17 
Context‘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.”’
4:17 They will surround Jerusalem 7
like men guarding a field 8
because they have rebelled against me,”
says the Lord.
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 Heb “will surround her.” The antecedent is Jerusalem in the preceding verse. The referent is again made explicit in the translation to avoid any possible lack of clarity. The verb form here is a form of the verb that emphasizes the fact as being as good as done (i.e., it is a prophetic perfect).
8 sn There is some irony involved in the choice of the simile since the men guarding a field were there to keep thieves from getting in and stealing the crops. Here the besiegers are guarding the city to keep people from getting out.
