Discovery BoxJeremiah 8:20 
Context8:20 “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
Context4:31 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
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
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…”
