Ye have not gone up into the gaps
Or "breaches" F4; so the Targum. The allusion is to breaches made in the walls of a city when besieged; at which time those within gather together in great numbers to meet the enemy, and prevent his entrance by the breaches. These words are either spoken to the princes of Israel, the civil magistrates; or to the prophets, who seeing the sins of the people, like a mighty torrent, opening a breach for the wrath and judgments of God to pour in upon them, should have called them, and importunately pressed them to repentance and reformation, and to have put up their prayers, and made intercession to God for them; neither of which they did, and therefore are here blamed; see ( Ezekiel 22:30 ) ( Psalms 107:23 ) ; neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel;
or a "fence", a fortification. The Vulgate Latin renders it, "a wall"; a new wall, which is generally made by the besieged within, when a breach is made upon them: it signifies the same as before. Jarchi and Kimchi interpret it of repentance and good works; and so the Targum, which paraphrases the words thus,
``neither have ye done for yourselves good works, to deprecate for the house of Israel, to stand to pray for them:''to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord:
``when warriors come up against them in the day of the wrath of the Lord;''when the Chaldeans came against them by the will of God, he being angry with them.