7 A lion has gone up from his secret place in the woods, and one who makes waste the nations is on his way; he has gone out from his place, to make your land unpeopled, so that your towns will be made waste, with no man living in them.
And so a lion from the woods will put them to death, a wolf of the waste land will make them waste, a leopard will keep watch on their towns, and everyone who goes out from them will be food for the beasts; because of the great number of their sins and the increase of their wrongdoing.
The young lions have made an outcry against him with a loud voice: they have made his land waste; his towns are burned up, with no one living in them.
For this is what the Lord has said: See, I will send up from the north Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, king of kings, against Tyre, with horses and war-carriages and with an army and great numbers of people. He will put to the sword your daughters in the open country: he will make strong walls against you and put up an earthwork against you, arming himself for war against you. He will put up his engines of war against your walls, and your towers will be broken down by his axes. Because of the number of his horses you will be covered with their dust: your walls will be shaking at the noise of the horsemen and of the wheels and of the war-carriages, when he comes through your doorways, as into a town which has been broken open.
See, I will send and take all the families of the north, says the Lord, and Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, my servant, and make them come against this land, and against its people, and against all these nations on every side; and I will give them up to complete destruction, and make them a cause of fear and surprise and a waste place for ever.
Then I said, Lord, how long? And he said in answer, Till the towns are waste and unpeopled, and the houses have no men, and the land becomes completely waste,
The lion has come out of his secret place, for the land has become a waste because of the cruel sword, and because of the heat of his wrath.
Israel is a wandering sheep; the lions have been driving him away: first he was attacked by the king of Assyria, and now his bones have been broken by Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon.
See, he will come up like a lion from the thick growth of Jordan against the resting-place of Teman: but I will suddenly make him go in flight from her; and I will put over her the man of my selection: for who is like me? and who will put forward his cause against me? and what keeper of sheep will be able to keep his place before me?
See, I will give orders, says the Lord, and make them come back to this town; and they will make war on it and take it and have it burned with fire: and I will make the towns of Judah waste and unpeopled.
This is what the Lord has said: There will again be sounding in this place, of which you say, It is a waste, without man and without beast; even in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem which are waste and unpeopled, without man and without beast,
In his days, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came up and Jehoiakim was his servant for three years; then he took up arms against him.
Now in the ninth year of his rule, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came against Jerusalem with all his army and took up his position before it, building earthworks all round the town.
And because of the great power he gave him, all peoples and nations and languages were shaking in fear before him: some he put to death and others he kept living, at his pleasure, lifting up some and putting others down as it pleased him.
This is what the Lord has said: I will put an end to great numbers of the people of Egypt by the hand of Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon. He and the people with him, causing fear among the nations, will be sent for the destruction of the land; their swords will be let loose against Egypt and the land will be full of dead.
And you, son of man, have two ways marked out, so that the sword of the king of Babylon may come; let the two of them come out of one land: and let there be a pillar at the top of the road: Put a pillar at the top of the road for the sword to come to Rabbah in the land of the children of Ammon, and to Judah and to Jerusalem in the middle of her. For the king of Babylon took his place at the parting of the ways, at the top of the two roads, to make use of secret arts: shaking the arrows this way and that, he put questions to the images of his gods, he took note of the inner parts of dead beasts.
See, he will come up like a lion from the thick growth of Jordan against the resting-place of Teman: but I will suddenly make them go in flight from her; and I will put over her the man of my selection: for who is like me? and who will put forward his cause against me? and what keeper of sheep will keep his place before me?
And it will come about, that if any nation does not become a servant to this same Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and does not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, then I will send punishment on that nation, says the Lord, by the sword and need of food and by disease, till I have given them into his hands.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Jeremiah 4
Commentary on Jeremiah 4 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 4
Jer 4:1-31. Continuation of Address to the Ten Tribes of Israel. (Jer 4:1, 2). The Prophet Turns Again to Judah, to Whom He Had Originally Been Sent (Jer 4:3-31).
1. return … return—play on words. "If thou wouldest return to thy land (thou must first), return (by conversion and repentance) to Me."
not remove—no longer be an unsettled wanderer in a strange land. So Cain (Ge 4:12, 14).
2. And thou—rather, "And if (carried on from Jer 4:1) thou shalt swear, 'Jehovah liveth,' in truth, &c.", that is, if thou shalt worship Him (for we swear by the God whom we worship; compare De 6:13; 10:20; Isa 19:18; Am 8:14) in sincerity, &c.
and the nations—Rather, this is apodosis to the "if"; then shall the nations bless themselves in (by) Him" (Isa 65:16). The conversion of the nations will be the consequence of Israel's conversion (Ps 102:13, 15; Ro 11:12, 15).
3. Transition to Judah. Supply mentally. All which (the foregoing declaration as to Israel) applies to Judah.
and Jerusalem—that is, and especially the men of Jerusalem, as being the most prominent in Judea.
Break … fallow ground—that is, Repent of your idolatry, and so be prepared to serve the Lord in truth (Ho 10:12; Mt 13:7). The unhumbled heart is like ground which may be improved, being let out to us for that purpose, but which is as yet fallow, overgrown with weeds, its natural product.
4. Remove your natural corruption of heart (De 10:16; 30:6; Ro 2:29; Col 2:11).
5. cry, gather together—rather, "cry fully" that is, loudly. The Jews are warned to take measures against the impending Chaldean invasion (compare Jer 8:14).
6. Zion—The standard toward Zion intimated that the people of the surrounding country were to fly to it, as being the strongest of their fortresses.
7. lion—Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans (Jer 2:15; 5:6; Da 7:14).
his thicket—lair; Babylon.
destroyer of the Gentiles—rather, "the nations" (Jer 25:9).
8. Nothing is left to the Jews but to bewail their desperate condition.
anger … not turned back—(Isa 9:12, 17, 21).
9. heart—The wisdom of the most leading men will be utterly at a loss to devise means of relief.
10. thou hast … deceived—God, having even the false prophets in His hands, is here said to do that which for inscrutable purposes He permits them to do (Ex 9:12; 2Th 2:11; compare Jer 8:15; which passage shows that the dupes of error were self-prepared for it, and that God's predestination did not destroy their moral freedom as voluntary agents). The false prophets foretold "peace," and the Jews believed them; God overruled this to His purposes (Jer 5:12; 14:13; Eze 14:9).
soul—rather, "reacheth to the life."
11. dry wind—the simoom, terrific and destructive, blowing from the southeast across the sandy deserts east of Palestine. Image of the invading Babylonian army (Ho 13:15). Babylon in its turn shall be visited by a similar "destroying wind" (Jer 51:1).
of … high places—that is, that sweeps over the high places.
daughter—that is, the children of my people.
not to fan—a very different wind from those ordinary winds employed for fanning the grain in the open air.
12. full … from those places—rather, "a wind fuller (that is, more impetuous) than those winds" (which fan the corn) (Jer 4:11) [Rosenmuller].
unto me—"for Me," as My instrument for executing My purpose.
sentence—judgments against them (Jer 1:16).
13. clouds—continuing the metaphor in Jer 4:11:12. Clouds of sand and dust accompany the simoom, and after rapid gyrations ascend like a pillar.
eagles—(De 28:49; Hab 1:8).
Woe unto us—The people are graphically presented before us, without it being formally so stated, bursting out in these exclamations.
14. Only one means of deliverance is left to the Jews—a thorough repentance.
vain thoughts—namely, projects for deliverance, such as enlisting the Egyptians on their side. Gesenius translates, "How long wilt thou harbor vain thoughts?"
15. For … from Dan—The connection is: There is danger in delay; for the voice of a messenger announces the approach of the Chaldean enemy from Dan, the northern frontier of Palestine (Jer 8:16; compare Jer 4:6; Jer 1:14).
Mount Ephraim—which borders closely on Judah; so that the foe is coming nearer and nearer. Dan and Beth-el in Ephraim were the two places where Jeroboam set up the idolatrous calves (1Ki 12:29); just retribution.
16. The neighboring foreign "nations" are summoned to witness Jehovah's judgments on His rebel people (Jer 6:18, 19).
watchers—that is, besiegers (compare 2Sa 11:16); observed or watched, that is, besieged.
their voice—the war shout.
17. keepers of a field—metaphor from those who watch a field, to frighten away the wild beasts.
18. (Jer 2:17, 19; Ps 107:17).
this is thy wickedness—that is, the fruit of thy wickedness.
19. The prophet suddenly assumes the language of the Jewish state personified, lamenting its affliction (Jer 10:19, 20; 9:1, 10; Isa 15:5; compare Lu 19:41).
at my very heart—Hebrew, "at the walls of my heart"; the muscles round the heart. There is a climax, the "bowels," the pericardium, the "heart" itself.
maketh … noise—moaneth [Henderson].
alarm—the battle shout.
20. Destruction … cried—Breach upon breach is announced (Ps 42:7; Eze 7:26). The war "trumpet" … the battle shout … the "destructions" … the havoc throughout "the whole land" … the spoiling of the shepherds' "tents" (Jer 10:20; or, "tents" means cities, which should be overthrown as easily as tents [Calvin]), form a gradation.
21. Judah in perplexity asks, How long is this state of things to continue?
22. Jehovah's reply; they cannot be otherwise than miserable, since they persevere in sin. The repetition of clauses gives greater force to the sentiment.
wise … evil … to do good … no knowledge—reversing the rule (Ro 16:19) "wise unto … good, simple concerning evil."
23. Graphic picture of the utter desolation about to visit Palestine. "I beheld, and lo!" four times solemnly repeated, heightens the awful effect of the scene (compare Isa 24:19; 34:11).
without form and void—reduced to the primeval chaos (Ge 1:2).
24. mountains—(Isa 5:25).
moved lightly—shook vehemently.
25. no man … birds—No vestige of the human, or of the feathered creation, is to be seen (Eze 38:20; Zep 1:3).
26. fruitful place—Hebrew, Carmel.
a wilderness—Hebrew, "the wilderness," in contrast to "the fruitful place"; the great desert, where Carmel was, there is now the desert of Arabia [Maurer].
cities—in contrast to the fruitful place or field.
27. full end—utter destruction: I will leave some hope of restoration (Jer 5:10, 18; 30:11; 46:28; compare Le 26:44).
28. For this—on account of the desolations just described (Isa 5:30; Ho 4:3).
not repent—(Nu 23:19).
29. whole city—Jerusalem: to it the inhabitants of the country had fled for refuge; but when it, too, is likely to fall, they flee out of it to hide in the "thickets." Henderson translates, "every city."
noise—The mere noise of the hostile horsemen shall put you to flight.
30. when thou art spoiled—rather, "thou, O destroyed one" [Maurer].
rentest … face with painting—Oriental women paint their eyes with stibium, or antimony, to make them look full and sparkling, the black margin causing the white of the eyes to appear the brighter by contrast (2Ki 9:30). He uses the term "distendest" in derision of their effort to make their eyes look large [Maurer]; or else, "rentest," that is, dost lacerate by puncturing the eyelid in order to make the antimony adhere [Rosenmuller]. So the Jews use every artifice to secure the aid of Egypt against Babylon.
face—rather, thy eyes (Eze 23:40).
31. anguish—namely, occasioned by the attack of the enemy.
daughter of Zion—There is peculiar beauty in suppressing the name of the person in trouble, until that trouble had been fully described [Henderson].
bewaileth herself—rather, "draweth her breath short" [Horsley]; "panteth."
spreadeth … hands—(La 1:17).