Jer 4:16 | NET2full | STEP | They are saying, “ Announce to the surrounding nations , ‘The enemy is coming !’ Proclaim this message to Jerusalem : ‘Those who besiege cities are coming from a distant land . They are ready to raise the battle cry against the towns in Judah .’

Jeremiah 4:16

16 They are saying, ^{▼▼tn The words “They are saying” are not in the text but are implicit in the connection and are supplied in the translation for clarification.}
“Announce to the surrounding nations, ^{▼▼tn The word “surrounding” is not in the text but is implicit and is supplied in the translation for clarification.}
‘The enemy is coming!’ ^{▼▼tc Or “Here they come!” Heb “Look!” or “Behold!” Or “Announce to the surrounding nations, indeed [or yes], proclaim to Jerusalem, ‘Besiegers…’” The text is very elliptical here. Some of the modern English versions appear to be emending the text from הִנֵּה (hinneh, “behold”) to either הֵנָּה (hennah, “these things”; so NEB), or הַזֶּה (hazzeh, “this”; so NIV). The solution proposed here is as old as the LXX, which reads, “Behold, they have come.”}
Proclaim this message ^{▼▼tn The words, “this message,” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to make the introduction of the quote easier.} to Jerusalem:
‘Those who besiege cities ^{▼▼tn Heb “Besiegers.” For the use of this verb to refer to besieging a city, compare Isa 1:8.} are coming from a distant land.
They are ready to raise the battle cry against ^{▼▼tn Heb “They have raised their voices against.” The verb here, a vav (ו) consecutive with an imperfect, continues the nuance of the preceding participle “are coming.”} the towns in Judah.’