Bible Strands
Jeremiah 4:6
Raise a signal flag toward Zion. Seek refuge! Do not delay! For I am bringing disaster from the north, and terrible destruction.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet delivers God's command to the people of Judah and Jerusalem during a moment of imminent military threat. The directive follows an earlier proclamation to blow the ram's horn and flee to fortified cities.
The words — The command to "lift up a standard" combines שְׂאוּ־ (se.'u-) and נֵ֣ס (nes), signaling a rallying point directed toward Zion. The urgent prohibition אַֽל־ תַּעֲמֹדוּ ('al- ta.'a.Mo.du) literally means "do not stand still," demanding immediate flight.
The thread — The banner motif reappears in Jeremiah 50:2 and Jeremiah 51:27 as a signal to gather nations against an enemy, while Jeremiah 1:13 introduces a parallel visual warning of impending northern disaster.
Why it lands — The text requires immediate movement rather than hesitation when divine judgment is declared. It asks the reader to treat the warning as a factual report of coming catastrophe that demands urgent flight.
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
Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 1:13 Again the word of the LORD came to me, asking, “What do you see?” “I see a boiling pot,” I replied, “and it is tilting toward us from the north.”
- Jeremiah 50:2 “Announce and declare to the nations; lift up a banner and proclaim it; hold nothing back when you say, ‘Babylon is captured; Bel is put to shame; Marduk is shattered, her images are disgraced, her idols are broken in pieces.’
- Jeremiah 51:27 “Raise a banner in the land! Blow the ram’s horn among the nations! Prepare the nations against her. Summon the kingdoms against her—Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Appoint a captain against her; bring up horses like swarming locusts.
- Jeremiah 4:21 How long must I see the signal flag and hear the sound of the horn?
- 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.
- Jeremiah 6:22 This is what the LORD says: “Behold, an army is coming from the land of the north; a great nation is stirred up from the ends of the earth.
- Jeremiah 51:12 Raise a banner against the walls of Babylon; post the guard; station the watchmen; prepare the ambush. For the LORD has both devised and accomplished what He spoke against the people of Babylon.
- Isaiah 62:10 Go out, go out through the gates; prepare the way for the people! Build it up, build up the highway; clear away the stones; raise a banner for the nations!
- Jeremiah 25:9 behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents, and against all the surrounding nations. So I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of horror and contempt, an everlasting desolation.
- Jeremiah 21:7 ‘After that,’ declares the LORD, ‘I will hand over Zedekiah king of Judah, his officers, and the people in this city who survive the plague and sword and famine, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to their enemies who seek their lives. He will put them to the sword; he will not spare them or show pity or compassion.’