Jeremiah 4

Jeremiah 4 is the fourth chapter of the Book of Jeremiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains prophecies attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets. Chapters 2 to 6 contain the earliest preaching of Jeremiah on the apostasy of Israel.

Text

The original text of this chapter, as with the rest of the Book of Jeremiah, was written in Hebrew language. Since the division of the Bible into chapters and verses in the late medieval period, this chapter is divided into 31 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis, the Petersburg Codex of the Prophets, Aleppo Codex, Codex Leningradensis. Some fragments containing parts of this chapter were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, i.e., 4QJer^c, with extant verses 4:5, 13‑16.
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus, Codex Sinaiticus, Codex Alexandrinus and Codex Marchalianus. Among the Chester Beatty Papyri are the fragments of Jeremiah, dated from the late second century or early third century AD, containing Jeremiah 4:30–5:1; 5:9–13; 5:13–14; 5:23–24.

Parashot

The parashah sections listed here are based on the Aleppo Codex. Jeremiah 4 is a part of the Third prophecy in the section of Prophecies of Destruction . : open parashah; : closed parashah.

Jeremiah laments over Judah (verses 1–18)

Verse 2

The word "him" is capitalised in the New [King James Version]: "Him", i.e. God. The Jerusalem Bible reads:

Verses 3–4

Several metaphors here relate to repentance and reformation:

Break up your fallow ground: prescribed that the people of Israel could work the fields for six years, but in the seventh year, the land was to remain fallow.
Do not sow among thorns
Circumcise yourselves to the Lord.

Sorrow for the doomed nation (verses 19–31)

Verse 23

"Without form and void" is translated from the Hebrew phrase תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ, tohu wa vohu, "formless and empty", a form of hendiadys, which alludes to Genesis 1:2.

In popular culture

Godspeed You! Black Emperor's Slow Riot for New Zero Kanada EP contains a copy of verses 23-27 in its liner notes in both the original Hebrew and the Jewish [Publication Society of America Version|JPS 1917] translation.

Jewish

Christian

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