Bible Strands
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.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The prophet addresses the tribes of Benjamin and the residents of Jerusalem during a period of impending judgment. He commands immediate evacuation as a northern threat approaches.
The words — The text uses הָעִזוּ (ha.'I.zu), meaning flee for refuge, and תִּקְעוּ (tik.'U), meaning blow, to describe the urgent call to escape and sound the ram’s horn.
The thread — The geographic references connect to Jerusalem’s history, where the Benjamites previously failed to displace the Jebusites (Judges 1:21) and to Beth-haccherem, a district noted in Nehemiah 3:14. The northern disaster motif aligns with the impending destruction of Zion declared in Jeremiah 6:2.
Why it lands — The verse demands immediate physical response to a declared divine warning rather than passive observation. It requires the reader to recognize that prophetic declarations of judgment carry actionable consequences that cannot be ignored.
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
O ye children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a sign of fire in Beth–haccerem: for evil appeareth out of the north, and great destruction.
Cross-references
- Nehemiah 3:14 The Dung Gate was repaired by Malchijah son of Rechab, ruler of the district of Beth-haccherem. He rebuilt it and installed its doors, bolts, and bars.
- Joshua 18:21 These were the cities of the clans of the tribe of Benjamin: Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz,
- Judges 1:21 The Benjamites, however, failed to drive out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. So to this day the Jebusites live there among the Benjamites.
- 2 Samuel 14:2 So Joab sent to Tekoa to bring a wise woman from there. He told her, “Please pretend to be a mourner; put on clothes for mourning and do not anoint yourself with oil. Act like a woman who has mourned for the dead a long time.
- 2 Chronicles 11:6 He built up Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,
- 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.’
- 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.
- Joshua 15:63 But the descendants of Judah could not drive out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. So to this day the Jebusites live there among the descendants of Judah.
- Jeremiah 1:14 Then the LORD said to me, “Disaster from the north will be poured out on all who live in the land.
- Jeremiah 4:19 My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh, the pain in my chest! My heart pounds within me; I cannot be silent. For I have heard the sound of the horn, the alarm of battle.