Bible Strands
Jeremiah 4:5
Announce in Judah, proclaim in Jerusalem, and say: “Blow the ram’s horn throughout the land. Cry aloud and say, ‘Assemble yourselves and let us flee to the fortified cities.’
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God speaks through the prophet to the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem, issuing this command immediately after warning that His wrath will consume them because of their evil deeds (Jeremiah 4:4).
The words — The text commands תִּקְעוּ (tik.'u), meaning "blow," upon a שׁוֹפָר (sho.Far), which the supplied lexical data defines literally as "a trumpet," not a ram’s horn.
The thread — The directive to flee to fortified cities reappears in Jeremiah 8:14, while Jeremiah 6:1 parallels the horn-blowing and signal-raising but explicitly commands fleeing from Jerusalem rather than to fortified cities.
Why it lands — The text demands immediate public warning and mass movement to defensive strongholds, leaving the reader to confront the urgency of heeding divine alerts before disaster arrives.
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
Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defenced cities.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 8:14 Why are we just sitting here? Gather together, let us flee to the fortified cities and perish there, for the LORD our God has doomed us. He has given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD.
- Joshua 10:20 So Joshua and the Israelites continued to inflict a terrible slaughter until they had finished them off, and the remaining survivors retreated to the fortified cities.
- Jeremiah 6:1 “Run for cover, O sons of Benjamin; flee from Jerusalem! Sound the ram’s horn in Tekoa; send up a signal over Beth-haccherem, for disaster looms from the north, even great destruction.
- Hosea 8:1 Put the ram’s horn to your lips! An eagle looms over the house of the LORD, because the people have transgressed My covenant and rebelled against My law.
- Jeremiah 5:20 Declare this in the house of Jacob and proclaim it in Judah:
- Jeremiah 9:12 Who is the man wise enough to understand this? To whom has the mouth of the LORD spoken, that he may explain it? Why is the land destroyed and scorched like a desert, so no one can pass through it?
- Jeremiah 11:2 “Listen to the words of this covenant and tell them to the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem.
- Jeremiah 35:11 So when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched into the land, we said: ‘Come, let us go into Jerusalem to escape the armies of the Chaldeans and the Arameans.’ So we have remained in Jerusalem.”
- Ezekiel 33:2 “Son of man, speak to your people and tell them: ‘Suppose I bring the sword against a land, and the people of that land choose a man from among them, appointing him as their watchman,
- Amos 3:6 If a ram’s horn sounds in a city, do the people not tremble? If calamity comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it?