The Meaning of Jeremiah 4:5 Explained

Jeremiah 4:5

KJV: 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.

YLT: Declare in Judah, and in Jerusalem sound, And say ye, 'Blow a trumpet in the land,' Call ye fully, and say ye: 'Be gathered, and we go in to the fenced city.'

Darby: Declare ye in Judah, and cause it to be heard in Jerusalem, and say, ... and blow the trumpet in the land, cry aloud and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the fenced cities.

ASV: Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry aloud and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the fortified cities.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Jeremiah 4:5 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Lord instructed Jeremiah to call for the people of Judah to assemble in the main cities. Blowing the trumpet in Israel"s history and in the ancient Near East was a call to assemble and take cover in fortified cities, similar to the sounding of an air raid siren today (cf. Hosea 5:8; Joel 2:1; Amos 3:6).

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 4

1  God calls Israel by his promise
3  He exhorts Judah to repentance by fearful judgments
19  A grievous lamentation for Judah

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 4:5 mean?

Declare in Judah and in Jerusalem proclaim and say - Blow the trumpet in the land Cry Gather together and say Assemble yourselves and let us go into cities the fortified
הַגִּ֣ידוּ בִֽיהוּדָ֗ה וּבִירוּשָׁלִַ֙ם֙ הַשְׁמִ֔יעוּ וְאִמְר֕וּ [ותקעו] (תִּקְע֥וּ) שׁוֹפָ֖ר בָּאָ֑רֶץ קִרְא֤וּ מַלְאוּ֙ וְאִמְר֔וּ הֵאָסְפ֥וּ וְנָב֖וֹאָה אֶל־ עָרֵ֥י הַמִּבְצָֽר

הַגִּ֣ידוּ  Declare 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: נָגַד  
Sense: to be conspicuous, tell, make known.
בִֽיהוּדָ֗ה  in  Judah 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יְהוּדָה  
Sense: the son of Jacob by Leah.
וּבִירוּשָׁלִַ֙ם֙  and  in  Jerusalem 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: יְרוּשָׁלַםִ  
Sense: the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split.
הַשְׁמִ֔יעוּ  proclaim 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: שָׁמַע 
Sense: to hear, listen to, obey.
וְאִמְר֕וּ  and  say 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
[ותקעו]  - 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
(תִּקְע֥וּ)  Blow 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: תֹּוקְעִים 
Sense: to blow, clap, strike, sound, thrust, give a blow, blast.
שׁוֹפָ֖ר  the  trumpet 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: שֹׁופָר  
Sense: horn, ram’s horn.
בָּאָ֑רֶץ  in  the  land 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
קִרְא֤וּ  Cry 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: קָרָא  
Sense: to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim.
מַלְאוּ֙  Gather  together 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: מָלֵא 
Sense: to fill, be full.
וְאִמְר֔וּ  and  say 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
הֵאָסְפ֥וּ  Assemble  yourselves 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: אָסַף 
Sense: to gather, receive, remove, gather in.
וְנָב֖וֹאָה  and  let  us  go 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect Cohortative, first person common plural
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
אֶל־  into 
Parse: Preposition
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
עָרֵ֥י  cities 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: עִיר 
Sense: excitement, anguish.
הַמִּבְצָֽר  the  fortified 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מִבְצָר 
Sense: fortification, fortress, fortified city, stronghold.