17 They have compassed her about as the watchmen of the [a]field, because it hath provoked me unto wrath, saith the Lord.

18 Thy ways and thine inventions have procured thee these things, such is thy wickedness: therefore it shall be bitter, therefore it shall pierce unto thine heart.

19 My belly, my [b]belly, I am pained, even at the very heart: mine heart is troubled within me: I cannot be still: for my soul hath heard the sound of the trumpet, and the alarm of the battle.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 4:17 Which keep the fruits so straightly, that nothing can come in nor out: so should the Babylonians compass Judah.
  2. Jeremiah 4:19 He showeth that the true ministers are lively touched with the calamities of the Church, so that all the parts of their body feel the grief of their heart, albeit with zeal to God’s glory they pronounce his judgments against the people.

17 They surround(A) her like men guarding a field,
    because she has rebelled(B) against me,’”
declares the Lord.
18 “Your own conduct and actions(C)
    have brought this on you.(D)
This is your punishment.
    How bitter(E) it is!
    How it pierces to the heart!”

19 Oh, my anguish, my anguish!(F)
    I writhe in pain.(G)
Oh, the agony of my heart!
    My heart pounds(H) within me,
    I cannot keep silent.(I)
For I have heard the sound of the trumpet;(J)
    I have heard the battle cry.(K)

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