How long must I see the flag And hear the sound of the trumpet?
Parallel translations
- WEB How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?
- KJV How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?
- BSB How long must I see the signal flag and hear the sound of the horn?
- NKJV How long will I see the standard, And hear the sound of the trumpet?
- NLT How long must I see the battle flags and hear the trumpets of war?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The prophet asks how long he must witness the battle standard and hear the war trumpet. It matters because it voices the weariness of enduring relentless judgment.
Overview
Jeremiah cries out under the unending vision of war, longing for the alarm to cease. His question expresses the exhaustion of living amid prolonged calamity for the people's sin. It echoes the laments of the faithful who wait for God to bring an end to suffering and establish peace (Psalm 13:1-2).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 2 Chr 36:10At the return of the year, king Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon, with the valuable vessels of Yahweh’s house, and made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem.
- 2 Chr 35:25Jeremiah lamented for Josiah, and all the singing men and singing women spoke of Josiah in their lamentations to this day; and they made them an ordinance in Israel. Behold, they are written in the lamentations.
- 2 Chr 36:6–7Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against him, and bound him in fetters to carry him to Babylon.
- Jer 4:5–6Declare in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, ‘Blow the trumpet in the land!’ Cry aloud and say, ‘Assemble yourselves! Let us go into the fortified cities!’
- 2 Chr 36:17Therefore he brought on them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or gray-headed. He gave them all into his hand.
- Jer 6:1“Flee for safety, you children of Benjamin, out of the middle of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and raise up a signal on Beth Haccherem; for evil looks out from the north, and a great destruction.
- 2 Chr 36:3The king of Egypt removed him from office at Jerusalem, and fined the land one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.
- Jer 4:19My anguish, my anguish! I am pained at my very heart; my heart is disquieted in me; I can’t hold my peace; because you have heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 4:21 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.