Bible Strands
Jeremiah 4:16
Warn the nations now! Proclaim to Jerusalem: “A besieging army comes from a distant land; they raise their voices against the cities of Judah.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD commands Jeremiah to issue a public warning to the nations and to Jerusalem, announcing an imminent military invasion during a period of national rebellion.
The words — The passage centers on הַזְכִּירוּ (haz.Ki.ru) = make known and הִשְׁמִיעוּ (hash.Mi.'u) = proclaim, structuring the message as an urgent, widespread declaration rather than a private revelation.
The thread — The pattern of a distant army advancing on Jerusalem appears in Jeremiah 5:15, Ezekiel 21:22, and Isaiah 39:3, consistently linking foreign conquest to divine judgment.
Why it lands — The text requires readers to acknowledge the direct correlation between covenant rebellion and tangible historical consequences, demanding sober attention to the warning before it executes.
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.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem, that watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 5:15 Behold, I am bringing a distant nation against you, O house of Israel,” declares the LORD. “It is an established nation, an ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know and whose speech you do not understand.
- Ezekiel 21:22 In his right hand appears the portent for Jerusalem, where he is to set up battering rams, to call for the slaughter, to lift a battle cry, to direct the battering rams against the gates, to build a ramp, and to erect a siege wall.
- Isaiah 39:3 Then the prophet Isaiah went to King Hezekiah and asked, “Where did those men come from, and what did they say to you?” “They came to me from a distant land,” Hezekiah replied, “from Babylon.”
- Deuteronomy 28:49 The LORD will bring a nation from afar, from the ends of the earth, to swoop down upon you like an eagle—a nation whose language you will not understand,
- Isaiah 34:1 Come near, O nations, to listen; pay attention, O peoples. Let the earth hear, and all that fills it, the world and all that springs from it.
- Jeremiah 2:15 The young lions have roared at him; they have sounded their voices. They have laid waste his land; his cities lie in ruins, without inhabitant.
- Jeremiah 4:17 They surround her like men guarding a field, because she has rebelled against Me,” declares the LORD.
- Jeremiah 5:6 Therefore a lion from the forest will strike them down, a wolf from the desert will ravage them. A leopard will lie in wait near their cities, and everyone who ventures out will be torn to pieces. For their rebellious acts are many, and their unfaithful deeds are numerous.
- Jeremiah 6:18 Therefore hear, O nations, and learn, O congregations, what will happen to them.
- Jeremiah 16:6 “Both great and small will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned, nor will anyone cut himself or shave his head for them.