New English Translation
Jeremiah 4:17
17They will surround Jerusalem like men guarding a field because they have rebelled against me,” says the Lord.
Jeremiah 4:17 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)As keepers of a field, are they against her round about; because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the Lord.
- New International Version (NIV)They surround her like men guarding a field, because she has rebelled against me,’ ” declares the Lord.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Like keepers of a field are they against her all around, because she has rebelled against me, declares the Lord.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Like keepers of a field they are against her all around, Because she has been rebellious against Me,” says the Lord.
Context of Jeremiah 4:17
15For messengers are coming, heralding disaster, from the city of Dan and from the hills of Ephraim. 16They are saying, ‘Announce to the surrounding nations, “The enemy is coming!” Proclaim this message to Jerusalem: “Those who besiege cities are coming from a distant land. They are ready to raise the battle cry against the towns in Judah.”’ They will surround Jerusalem like men guarding a field because they have rebelled against me,” says the Lord. 18“The way you have lived and the things you have done will bring this on you. This is the punishment you deserve, and it will be painful indeed. The pain will be so bad it will pierce your heart.” 19I said, “Oh, the feeling in the pit of my stomach! I writhe in anguish. Oh, the pain in my heart! My heart pounds within me. I cannot keep silent. For I hear the sound of the trumpet; the sound of the battle cry pierces my soul!
Read all of Jeremiah 4Jeremiah 4:17 word by word
כְּשֹׁמְרֵ֣י שָׂדַ֔י הָי֥וּ עָלֶ֖יהָ מִסָּבִ֑יב כִּי־אֹתִ֥י מָרָ֖תָה נְאֻם־יְהוָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Jeremiah 4:17
- Jeremiah 6:2I will destroy Daughter Zion, who is as delicate and defenseless as a young maiden.
- 2 Kings 25:1So King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem with his whole army and set up camp outside it. They built siege ramps all around it. He arrived on the tenth day of the tenth month in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign.
- Isaiah 1:8Daughter Zion is left isolated, like a hut in a vineyard, or a shelter in a cucumber field; she is a besieged city.
- Luke 19:43For the days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and surround you and close in on you from every side.
- Luke 21:29Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the other trees.
- Jeremiah 5:23But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts. They have turned aside and gone their own way.
- Nehemiah 9:26“Nonetheless they grew disobedient and rebelled against you; they disregarded your law. They killed your prophets who had solemnly admonished them in order to cause them to return to you. They committed atrocious blasphemies.
- Isaiah 1:20But if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” Know for certain that the Lord has spoken.
- Isaiah 30:9For these are rebellious people – they are lying children, children unwilling to obey the Lord’s law.
- Lamentations 1:8Jerusalem committed terrible sin; therefore she became an object of scorn. All who admired her have despised her because they have seen her nakedness. She groans aloud and turns away in shame. ט (Tet)
- Ezekiel 2:3He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the house of Israel, to rebellious nations who have rebelled against me; both they and their fathers have revolted against me to this very day.
- Daniel 9:7“You are righteous, O Lord, but we are humiliated this day – the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far away in all the countries in which you have scattered them, because they have behaved unfaithfully toward you.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 4:17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17As keepers of a field - In the eastern countries grain is often sown in the open country; and, when nearly ripe, guards are placed at different distances round about it to preserve it from being plundered. Jerusalem was watched, like one of these fields, by guards all round about it; so that none could enter to give assistance, and none who wished to escape were permitted to go out.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17Jeremiah compares the tents of the besiegers on guard round Jerusalem to the booths erected by shepherds or farmers for the protection of their flocks or produce.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. 17-18Foreign armies had already surrounded the capital city. The attack was coming because the people rebelled against the Lord.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. keepers of a field--metaphor from those who watch a field, to frighten away the wild beasts.Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 4:17
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
New English Translation — © 1996-2016 Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.
Commentaries