Jeremiah 4:11

11 At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, “A scorching wind from the barren heights in the desert blows toward my people, but not to winnow or cleanse;

Jeremiah 4:11 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
11 At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse,
English Standard Version (ESV)
11 At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, "A hot wind from the bare heights in the desert toward the daughter of my people, not to winnow or cleanse,
New Living Translation (NLT)
11 The time is coming when the LORD will say to the people of Jerusalem, “My dear people, a burning wind is blowing in from the desert, and it’s not a gentle breeze useful for winnowing grain.
The Message Bible (MSG)
11 At that time, this people, yes, this very Jerusalem, will be told in plain words: "The northern hordes are sweeping in from the desert steppes -
American Standard Version (ASV)
11 At 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;
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
11 At that time it will be said to these people and to Jerusalem: "A hot wind from the heights will blow in the desert on the tracks of my people. It will not be a wind that winnows or cleanses.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
11 At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, "A searing wind [blows] from the barren heights in the wilderness on the way to My dear people. [It comes] not to winnow or to sift;
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
11 At that time the people of Judah and Jerusalem will be warned. They will be told, "A hot and dry wind is coming, my people. It is blowing toward you from the bare hilltops in the desert. But it does not separate straw from grain.

Jeremiah 4:11 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 4:11

At that time shall it be said to this people, and to
Jerusalem
The inhabitants of Judea and Jerusalem, the people of the Jews; or "concerning" F24 them, as Jarchi interprets it: a dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of
my people.
The Targum is,

``as the south wind upon the heads of floods of water in the wilderness, so is the way of the congregation of my people;''
but rather the north wind is designed, since that is a dry one, and the south wind a moist one; and the rather, since this wind intends Nebuchadnezzar and his army, which should come from Babylon, from the north. Some render it, "a neat clean wind" F25; which strips the trees, lays bare rocks and mountains, carries away the earth and dust before it, and makes the stones look white and clean: it denotes a very strong, rushing, stormy, and boisterous wind. The Vulgate Latin version renders it, "a burning one"; and it represents the force and power with which the enemy should come, without any opposition or resistance to him; for a wind on high places, hills, and mountains, and which comes through deserts and wildernesses, has nothing to hinder it, as Kimchi observes; whereas, when it blows in habitable places, there are houses, walls, hedges, and fences, which resist it; and it is observed, that in the way from Babylon to Judea, which the prophet calls "the daughter of my people", were many desert places. The Septuagint version is, "the spirit of error in the desert, the way of the daughter of my people"; which the Syriac and Arabic versions seem to follow; the former rendering it, "as the wind that wanders through the paths of the desert, so is the way of the daughter of my people"; and the latter thus, "there is a spirit of error in the desert, in the way of the daughter of my people"; not to purity, nor to holiness,
as it with the Septuagint renders the next clause: "not to fan, nor to cleanse"; of which use a more moderate wind is in winnowing and cleansing the corn from chaff, and light and useless grain.
FOOTNOTES:

F24 (hzh Mel) "de hoc populo", Calvin, Vatablus.
F25 (xu xwr) "ventus nitidus", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

Jeremiah 4:11 In-Context

9 “In that day,” declares the LORD, “the king and the officials will lose heart, the priests will be horrified, and the prophets will be appalled.”
10 Then I said, “Alas, Sovereign LORD! How completely you have deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’ when the sword is at our throats!”
11 At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, “A scorching wind from the barren heights in the desert blows toward my people, but not to winnow or cleanse;
12 a wind too strong for that comes from me. Now I pronounce my judgments against them.”
13 Look! He advances like the clouds, his chariots come like a whirlwind, his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us! We are ruined!

Cross References 1

  • 1. S Genesis 41:6; S Leviticus 26:33; S Job 1:19; Ezekiel 17:10; Hosea 13:15
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