Jeremiah 4:21

Easy-to-Read Version

How long must I see the war flags? How long must I hear the war trumpets?

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?

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]?

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?

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

¹⁹ My sadness and worry is making my stomach hurt. I am bent over in pain. I am so afraid. My heart is pounding inside me. I cannot keep quiet, because I have heard the trumpet blow. The trumpet is calling the army to war. ²⁰ Disaster follows disaster. The whole country is destroyed. Suddenly my tents are destroyed. My curtains are torn down! ²¹ How long must I see the war flags? How long must I hear the war trumpets? ²² The Lord said, "My people are foolish. They don't know me. They are stupid children. They don't understand. They are skillful at doing evil, but they don't know how to do good." ²³ I looked at the earth. It was empty; there was nothing on it. I looked at the sky, and its light was gone. ²⁴ I looked at the mountains, and they were shaking. All the hills were trembling. ²⁵ I looked, but there were no people. All the birds of the sky had flown away. ²⁶ I looked, and the good land had become a desert. All the cities in that land were destroyed by the Lord and his great anger. ²⁷ This is what the Lord says: "The whole country will be ruined, but I will not completely destroy the land. ²⁸ So the people in the land will cry for the dead. The sky will grow dark. I have spoken and will not change. I have made a decision, and I will not change my mind."

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 4:12
Now when you work the soil, the ground will not help your plants grow. You will not have a home in this land. You will wander from place to place."

Genesis 31:27
Why did you run away without telling me? If you had told me, I would have given you a party. There would have been singing and dancing with music.

Job 21:12
They sing and dance to the sound of harps and flutes.

Isaiah 5:12
At your parties with your wine, harps, drums, flutes, and other musical instruments, you don't see what the Lord has done. You don't notice what his hands have made.

Amos 6:5
You play your harps, and like David, you practice on your musical instruments.

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.