The fourth year of Jehoiakim was 605 B.C. (see 1.2). As elsewhere, the fourth year refers to the fourth year of Jehoiakim’s reign. For Jehoiakim see 1.3.
This word came to Jeremiah from the LORD: See 1.4.
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Jeremiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2003. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .