Amplified Bible
Jeremiah 4:6
6Raise a banner toward Zion [to mark the way for those seeking safety inside Jerusalem’s walls]! Seek refuge, do not stand [immobile], For I am bringing evil from the north (the army of Babylon), And great destruction.
Jeremiah 4:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.
- New International Version (NIV)Raise the signal to go to Zion! Flee for safety without delay! For I am bringing disaster from the north, even terrible destruction.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Raise a standard toward Zion, flee for safety, stay not, for I bring disaster from the north, and great destruction.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Set up the standard toward Zion. Take refuge! Do not delay! For I will bring disaster from the north, And great destruction.”
Context of Jeremiah 4:6
4Circumcise (dedicate, sanctify) yourselves to the Lord And remove the foreskin [sins] of your heart, Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Or else My wrath will go forth like fire [consuming all that gets in its way] And burn and there will be no one to quench it, Because of the evil of your acts.” 5Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say, “Blow the trumpet in the land; Cry aloud and say, ‘Assemble yourselves, and let us go Into the fortified cities.’ Raise a banner toward Zion [to mark the way for those seeking safety inside Jerusalem’s walls]! Seek refuge, do not stand [immobile], For I am bringing evil from the north (the army of Babylon), And great destruction. 7A lion has left his lair, And a destroyer of nations is on his way. He has gone out from his place To desolate your land; Your cities will be in ruins Without an inhabitant. 8For this reason, put on sackcloth [for mourning], Lament (mourn with expressions of grief for the dead) and wail, For the fierce anger of the Lord Has not turned back from us.”
Read all of Jeremiah 4Jeremiah 4:6 word by word
שְׂאוּ־נֵ֣ס צִיּ֔וֹנָה הָעִ֖יזוּ אַֽל־תַּעֲמֹ֑דוּ כִּ֣י רָעָ֗ה אָנֹכִ֛י מֵבִ֥יא מִצָּפ֖וֹן וְשֶׁ֥בֶר גָּדֽוֹל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Set upנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: raiseH5375
- the standardנֵסnês · ensignH5251
- toward Zionצִיּוֹןtsîyôn · ZionH6726
- retireעוּז‛ûz · to seek refugeH5756
- stayעָמַד‛âmad · to stand: standH5975
- not: for I will bringבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): bringH935
- evilרָעָהra‛ râ‛âh · distress: harmH7451
- from the northצָפוֹןtsâphôn tsâphôn · northH6828
- and a greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
- destructionשֶׁ֫בֶרsheber shêber · breakingH7667
Cross-references for Jeremiah 4:6
- Jeremiah 4:21How long [O Lord] must I see the banner [marking the way for flight] And hear the sound of the trumpet [urging the people to run for safety]?
- Jeremiah 50:2“Declare among the nations. Lift up a signal [to spread the news]—publish and proclaim it, Do not conceal it; say, ‘Babylon has been taken, Bel [the patron god] has been shamed, Marduk (Bel) has been shattered. Babylon’s images have been shamed, her [worthless] idols have been thrown down.’
- Jeremiah 51:12Set up a signal on the walls of Babylon [to spread the news]; Post a strong blockade, Station the guards, Prepare the men for ambush! For the Lord has both purposed and done That which He spoke against the people of Babylon.
- Isaiah 62:10Go through, go through the gates, Clear the way for the people; Build up, build up the highway, Remove the stones, lift up a banner over the peoples.
- Jeremiah 1:13The word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, tilting away from the north [its mouth about to pour out on the south, on Judea].”
- Jeremiah 6:1“Run for safety, you children of Benjamin, Out of the midst of Jerusalem! And blow a trumpet in Tekoa [in Judah] And raise a signal-fire in Beth-haccherem [near Jerusalem]; For evil is looking down [with eager anticipation] from the north, And great destruction.
- Jeremiah 21:7Then afterward,” says the Lord, “I will hand over Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people in this city who survive the virulent disease, the sword, and the famine, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemy, into the hand of those who seek their lives. And he will strike them with the edge of the sword; he will not spare them nor have mercy and compassion on them.” ’
- Jeremiah 25:9behold (hear this), I will send for all the families of the north,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will send for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant [to enact My plan], and I will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these surrounding nations; and I will utterly destroy them and make them a horror and a hissing [that is, an object of warning and ridicule] and an everlasting desolation.
- Jeremiah 50:22“The noise of battle is in the land, And [the noise of] great destruction.
- Jeremiah 51:54The sound of an outcry [comes] from Babylon, And [the sound] of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!
- Zephaniah 1:10On that day,” declares the Lord, “There will be the sound of crying from the Fish (Damascus) Gate [in the northern wall of Jerusalem where invaders enter] And wailing from the Second Quarter [of the city], And a loud crash from the hills.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 4:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6I will bring evil from the north - From the land of Chaldea.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6The standard - A flag or signal, to which the people were to rally. d Retire, stay not - Rather, gather your goods together: linger not; “for I” (emphatic, Yahweh) am bringing at this very time etc.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-18Verses 5-18 The fierce conqueror of the neighbouring nations was to make Judah desolate. The prophet was afflicted to see the people lulled into security by false prophets. The approach of the enemy is described. Some attention was paid in Jerusalem to outward reformation; but it was necessary that their hearts should be washed, in the exercise of true repentance and faith, from the love and pollution of sin. When lesser calamities do not rouse sinners…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5-6God was unleashing a fierce army upon the people, like pouring boiling water (see Jeremiah 1:13–14; 8:14; 50:2; Joshua 10:20; Isaiah 62:10).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. Zion--The standard toward Zion intimated that the people of the surrounding country were to fly to it, as being the strongest of their fortresses.Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 4:6
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jeremiah 4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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