Jeremiah 30:4

Study note

Setting — Jeremiah 30:4 functions as a formal header for a prophetic oracle delivered by Yahweh to the combined communities of Israel and Judah. It appears immediately after the restoration promise in Jeremiah 30:3 and directly introduces the distress description in Jeremiah 30:5.

The words — The opening phrase וְאֵלֶּה הַדְּבָרִים (ve'elleh ha-devarim) literally translates to "and these are the words." The verb דִּבֶּר (dibber) "he spoke" and the preposition אֶל־ (el) "concerning" explicitly identify the divine speaker and the two covenant groups receiving the message.

The thread — This verse introduces a discrete block of oracles that continues through Jeremiah 31, consistently addressing Israel and Judah as a single entity. The structural marker "these are the words" signals a shift into direct divine speech that will later intersect with similar oracle collections in Jeremiah 33.

Why it lands — The text requires the reader to attribute the upcoming promises and warnings directly to Yahweh rather than to human interpretation. It prepares the audience to receive a unified address that will confront both northern and southern covenant members with their shared historical and prophetic reality.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.