Jeremiah 4:21

Amplified Bible

How 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]?

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
How long must I see the signal flagand hear the sound of the ram’s horn?

Hebrew Names Version
How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the shofar?

King James Version
How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?

English Standard Version
How long must I see the standard and hear the sound of the trumpet?

New American Standard Bible
How long must I see the flag And hear the sound of the trumpet?

New Century Version
How long must I look at the war flag? How long must I listen to the war trumpet?

World English Bible
How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?

Geneva Bible (1587)
Howe long shall I see the standert, and heare the sounde of the trumpet?

Legacy Standard Bible
How long must I see the standardAnd hear the sound of the trumpet?

Berean Standard Bible
How long must I see the signal flag and hear the sound of the trumpet?

Contemporary English Version
How long will I see enemy flags and hear their trumpets?

Complete Jewish Bible
How long must I see that signal and hear the shofar sound?

Darby Translation
How long shall I see the standard, [and] hear the sound of the trumpet?

Easy-to-Read Version
How long must I see the war flags? How long must I hear the war trumpets?

George Lamsa Translation
How long shall I see fugitives and hear the sound of the trumpet?

Good News Translation
How long must I see the battle raging and hear the blasts of trumpets?

Lexham English Bible
How long must I see the banner, and hear the sound of a horn?

Literal Translation
Until when must I see the banner and hear the sound of the ram's horn?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
How longe shall I se the tokens of warre, and heare the noyse of the trompettes?

American Standard Version
How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?

Bible in Basic English
How long will I go on seeing the flag and hearing the sound of the war-horn?

JPS Old Testament (1917)
How long shall I see the standard, shall I hear the sound of the horn?

King James Version (1611)
How long shal I see the standard and heare the sound of the Trumpet?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Howe long shall I see the tokens of warre, and heare the noyse of the trumpettes?

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
How long shall I see fugitives, and hear the sound of the trumpet?

English Revised Version
How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Hou longe schal Y se hem that fleen, schal Y here the vois of a clarioun?

Update Bible Version
How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?

Webster's Bible Translation
How long shall I see the standard, [and] hear the sound of the trumpet?

New English Translation
"How long must I see the enemy's battle flags and hear the military signals of their bugles?"

New King James Version
How long will I see the standard, And hear the sound of the trumpet?

New Living Translation
How long must I see the battle flags and hear the trumpets of war?

New Life Bible
How long must I see the flag and hear the sound of the horn?

New Revised Standard
How long must I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
How long shall I keep on seeing a standard, - continue to hear the sound of a horn?

Douay-Rheims Bible
How long shall I see men fleeing away, how long shall I hear the sound of the trumpet?

Revised Standard Version
How long must I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?

Young's Literal Translation
Till when do I see an ensign? Do I hear the voice of a trumpet?

New American Standard Bible (1995)
How long must I see the standard And hear the sound of the trumpet?

Contextual Overview

¹⁹My soul, my soul! I writhe in anguish and pain! Oh, the walls of my heart! My heart is pounding and throbbing within me; I cannot be silent, For you have heard, O my soul, The sound of the trumpet, The alarm of war. ²⁰News of one [terrible] disaster comes close after another, For the whole land is devastated; Suddenly my tents are spoiled and destroyed, My [tent] curtains [ruined] in a moment. 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]?²²"For My people are stupid and foolish," [says the LORD to Jeremiah]; "They do not know Me; They are foolish children And have no understanding. They are shrewd [enough] to do evil, But they do not know [how] to do good." ²³I looked at the earth [in my vision], and behold, it was [as at the time of creation] formless and void; And to the heavens, and they had no light. ²⁴I looked at the mountains, and behold, they were trembling, And all the hills moved back and forth. ²⁵I looked, and behold, there was no man, And all the birds of the air had fled. ²⁶I looked, and behold, the fertile land was a wilderness, And all its cities were pulled down Before the [presence of the] LORD, before His fierce anger. ²⁷Therefore says the LORD, "The whole land shall be a desolation, Yet I will not cause total destruction. ²⁸"For this reason the earth shall mourn And the heavens above shall become dark, Because I have spoken, I have decided, And I will not change my mind (relent), nor will I turn back from it."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

How long: Jeremiah 4:14

shall I: Jeremiah 4:5, Jeremiah 4:6, Jeremiah 4:19, Jeremiah 6:1, 2 Chronicles 35:25, 2 Chronicles 36:3, 2 Chronicles 36:6, 2 Chronicles 36:7, 2 Chronicles 36:10, 2 Chronicles 36:17

Reciprocal: Numbers 10:9 - then ye shall 2 Samuel 2:26 - how long Jeremiah 42:14 - nor hear Jeremiah 47:6 - how long Jeremiah 48:3 - voice Micah 4:9 - why

Cross-References

Genesis 4:11
"And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's [shed] blood from your hand.

Genesis 4:12
"When you cultivate the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength [it will resist producing good crops] for you; you shall be a fugitive and a vagabond [roaming aimlessly] on the earth [in perpetual exile without a home, a degraded outcast]."

Genesis 31:27
"Why did you run away secretly and deceive me and not tell me, so that [otherwise] I might have sent you away with joy and with songs, with [music on the] tambourine and lyre?

Job 21:12
"They lift up their voices and sing to the tambourine and the lyre And rejoice to the sound of the flute.

Isaiah 5:12
They have lyre and harp, tambourine and flute, and wine at their feasts; But they do not regard nor even pay attention to the deeds of the LORD, Nor do they consider the work of His hands.

Amos 6:5
Who improvise to the sound of the harp— Like David they have composed songs for themselves—

Gill's Notes on the Bible

How long shall I see the standard,.... "Ensign" or "banner" displayed; either by the watchmen placed on high hills or towers, who, when they see the enemy approaching, lift up their ensign or banner, and blow with their trumpets, to give the people warning and notice of it, and to call them to battle, and that they might prepare for the same, as Kimchi observes; or else by the Chaldean army, which came with colours flying, trumpets blowing, and set in array for battle, which was very terrible, as an army with banners is, Song of Solomon 6:4:

and hear the sound of the trumpet? either of the watchmen giving notice of danger, and summoning to battle, or of the enemy preparing to attack; see 1 Corinthians 14:8.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The standard - See Jeremiah 4:6. The alarm caused by the invasion is graphically described. The people are dispersed over the land following their usual pursuits, when tidings come of the enemy’s approach. The only chance of escape is a hasty flight. Flags stream from the hills to mark the safest route, while the blasts of the trumpet quicken the steps of the wavering.