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Jeremiah 4:8

Old Testament Major Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Jeremiah 4:8 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and wail; for the fierce anger of Jehovah is not turned back from us.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and wail; for the fierce anger of Jehovah is not turned back from us.
Jeremiah 4:8 — American Standard Version

Context — Jeremiah 4

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
5Declare 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.
6Set up a standard toward Zion: flee for safety, stay not; for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.
7A lion is gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations; he is on his way, he is gone forth from his place, to make thy land desolate, that thy cities be laid waste, without inhabitant.
8For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and wail; for the fierce anger of Jehovah is not turned back from us.
9And it shall come to pass at that day, saith Jehovah, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder.
10Then said I, Ah, Lord Jehovah! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the life.
11At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A hot wind from the bare heights in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to winnow, nor to cleanse;
← Jeremiah 4:7Jeremiah 4:9 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl, etc.] That is, because of this destruction threatened, which was so near at hand, and so sure and certain: for the fierce anger of the Lord is not turned back from us. The Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, render it “from you” and some render it “from it”f92; from his purpose and design to destroy the Jews. Jarchi interprets this of Josiah, and his times, who, though he turned to the Lord with all his heart, yet the Lord turned not from the fierceness of his wrath and anger against Judah, (<122325>2 Kings 23:25,26).”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Nothing is left to the Jews but to bewail their desperate condition. anger . . . not turned back-- (Isa 9:12, Isa 9:17, Isa 9:21).”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Is not turned ... - As long as their sins are unrepented of, so long must their punishment continue. return to 'Top of Page'”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“4:8 The Israelites were in trouble with the Lord and needed to make things right with him. Putting an army in the field or organizing guerrilla bands would be futile. Instead, Jeremiah called for the people to repent by mourning and by weeping with broken hearts (Isa 22:12). By using the pronoun us, the prophet seems to include himself in the need for repentance (see Jer 10:24).”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“gird: Jer 6:26; Isa 15:3, Isa 22:12, Isa 32:11; Joe 2:12, Joe 2:13; Amo 8:10 howl: Jer 48:20; Isa 13:6, Isa 15:2, Isa 15:3; Eze 21:12, Eze 30:2 the: Isa 5:25, Isa 9:12, Isa 9:17, Isa 9:21, Isa 10:4 Jeremiah 4:9”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“For this calamity the people was to mourn deeply. For the description of the mourning, cf. Joe 1:13; Mic 1:8. For the wrath of the Lord has not turned from us, as in blind self-delusion ye imagine, Jer 2:35. The heath of Jahveh's anger is the burning wrath on account of the sins of Manasseh, with which the people has been threatened by the prophets. This wrath has not turned itself away, because even under Josiah the people has not sincerely returned to its God. Jeremiah 4:9”
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Related study paths

Read Jeremiah 4 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification