Jeremiah 4:5
in Jeremiah 4Announce 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.’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
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
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.
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This verse in Jeremiah 4
Commentary
10 notes on this verse(Verse 5, 6.) Announce in Judah, and make it heard in Jerusalem, speak: blow the trumpet in the land, cry aloud, and say: Gather together, and let us enter the fortified cities. Let Judah hear this, let Jerusalem hear this, in which the confession of faith is, and in which the peace of Christ dwells, and to which it was said through Isaiah: Ascend to the high mountain, you who proclaim good news to Zion. Raise your voice, you who proclaim good news to Jerusalem (Isa. 40:9): cry aloud, and thus command: Let us enter the fortified cities.
This site's exposition
Announce in Judah, proclaim in Jerusalem
on Jeremiah 4:5-9
The alarm sounds, and the enemy in a figure: “A lion has gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations has set out”. Panic reaches every office that should steady the people, as “the king and officials will lose their courage”, and priests and prophets tremble.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Declare it in Judah, and let it be heard in Jerusalem; say, declare, signal with a trumpet upon the earth, and cry aloud." These things, he says, which are announced, say in Judah, to those from the tribe of Judah of Christ; "for it is evident that our Savior arose out of Judah." "Signal with a trumpet upon the earth." The lofty word, which rouses the hearer, which prepares him for the war against the passions, for the war against the workings of the adversaries, which prepares him for the heavenly feasts—for it is spoken with reference to both of these—is taken as a trumpet. In Numbers such a word is a trumpet; for instance, the word commands me, and if it is given to anyone else (it is given to the one who wishes and who has sought the meaning of the Scriptures), it commands to make "trumpets of hammered silver." Thus the word says: "Signal with a trumpet upon the earth, and cry aloud; say: Gather together and let us enter into the walled cities." The word of God does not wish us to enter into an unwalled city, but into the church of the living God, walled about by the word of the Lord (for this is the wall)—it stands in the seventeenth Psalm, that God also is a wall.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Those that are able men, and fit for service, must go into the defenced cities, to garrison them; those that are weak, and would lessen their provisions, but not increase their strength, must retire, and not stay. An express arrived with intelligence of the approach of the king of Babylon and his army. It is an evil that God will bring from the north (as he had said, ch. i.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The trumpet - The Lord being now about to bring enemies upon them, speaks in martial language, warning them of the nature of their approaching judgment.
Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem, and say,....
To affect them the more with the greatness of the desolation that was coming, the prophet does himself bitterly lament it, and sympathize with his people in the calamities it brought upon them, and the plunge it brought them to, representing it as a reduction of the world to its first chaos,
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
cry, gather together--rather, "cry fully" that is, loudly. The Jews are warned to take measures against the impending Chaldean invasion (compare Jer 8:14).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
Blow ye the trumpet - Give full information to all parts of the land, that the people may assemble together and defend themselves against their invaders.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Rather, Make proclamation “in Judah, and in Jerusalem” bid them hear, “and say, Blow the trumpet” throughout “the land:” cry aloud “and say etc.” The prophecy begins with a loud alarm of war. The verse sets forth well, in its numerous commands, the excitement and confusion of such a time.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הַגִּ֣ידוּ | hagidu | declare | H5046 → | 370 times |
| בִֽיהוּדָ֗ה | vihudah | in Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| וּבִירוּשָׁלִַ֙ם֙ | uvirushalim | and in Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| הַשְׁמִ֔יעוּ | hashmiu | make a proclamation | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| וְאִמְר֕וּ | veimru | and say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| תִּקְע֥וּ | vtiku | blow | H8628 → | 69 times |
| שׁוֹפָ֖ר | shofar | a trumpet | H7782 → | 72 times |
| בָּאָ֑רֶץ | baaretz | in the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| קִרְא֤וּ | kiru | call out | H7121 → | 733 times |
| מַלְאוּ֙ | malu | fill | H4390 → | 249 times |
| וְאִמְר֔וּ | veimru | and say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הֵאָסְפ֥וּ | heasefu | gather yourselves | H622 → | 200 times |
| וְנָב֖וֹאָה | venavoah | so let us go | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| עָרֵ֥י | ʾarei | [the] cities of | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| הַמִּבְצָֽר׃ | hamivtzar | <the> fortification | H4013 → | 37 times |
הַגִּ֣ידוּdeclare
hagiduH5046 →370 times
בִֽיהוּדָ֗הin Judah
vihudahH3063 →819 times
וּבִירוּשָׁלִַ֙ם֙and in Jerusalem
uvirushalimH3389 →643 times
הַשְׁמִ֔יעוּmake a proclamation
hashmiuH8085 →1159 times
וְאִמְר֕וּand say
veimruH559 →5305 times
תִּקְע֥וּblow
vtikuH8628 →69 times
שׁוֹפָ֖רa trumpet
shofarH7782 →72 times
בָּאָ֑רֶץin the land
baaretzH776 →2504 times
קִרְא֤וּcall out
kiruH7121 →733 times
מַלְאוּ֙fill
maluH4390 →249 times
וְאִמְר֔וּand say
veimruH559 →5305 times
הֵאָסְפ֥וּgather yourselves
heasefuH622 →200 times
וְנָב֖וֹאָהso let us go
venavoahH935 →2568 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
עָרֵ֥י[the] cities of
ʾareiH5892 →1090 times
הַמִּבְצָֽר׃<the> fortification
hamivtzarH4013 →37 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Hosea 8:1Put the ram’s horn to your lips! An eagle looms over the house of the LORD, because the people have transgressed My covenant and rebelled against My law.
it leads to
- Hosea 6:7
But they, like Adam, have transgressed the covenant; there they were unfaithful to Me.
- Deuteronomy 28:49
The LORD will bring a nation from afar, from the ends of the earth, to swoop down upon you like an eagle—a nation whose language you will not understand,
- Jeremiah 4:13
Behold, he advances like the clouds, his chariots like the whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are ruined!
- Hosea 6:7
Through
Amos 3:8The lion has roared—who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken—who will not prophesy?
it leads to
- Jeremiah 20:9
If I say, “I will not mention Him or speak any more in His name,” His message becomes a fire burning in my heart, shut up in my bones, and I become weary of…
- Amos 3:4
Does a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Does a young lion growl in his den if he has caught nothing?
- Acts 4:20
For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
- Jeremiah 20:9
Through
Jeremiah 8:14Why are we just sitting here? Gather together, let us flee to the fortified cities and perish there, for the LORD our God has doomed us. He has given us poisoned water to drink,…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 23:15
Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts says concerning the prophets: “I will feed them wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink, for from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has spread throughout…
- Jeremiah 9:15
Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I will feed this people wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink.
- Jeremiah 23:15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Jeremiah

Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJudahJacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (…
- PlaceJerusalemJerusalemThe city David took from the Jebusites and made his capital, where Solomon built the temple, where Christ was crucified and rose,…
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON JEREMIAH 5.
