Jeremiah 50:4

4 In those days, at that time," says ADONAI, "the people of Isra'el will come, together with the people of Y'hudah. They will weep as they go their way, seeking ADONAI their God.

Jeremiah 50:4 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 50:4

In those days, and at that time, saith the Lord
When Babylon shall be taken and destroyed, then what follows shall be accomplished; which, as it respects the conversion of the Jews, shows that this prophecy is not to be restrained to literal Babylon: the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah
together:
upon the taking of Babylon, in a literal sense, by Cyrus, the children of Israel, or the ten tribes, carried away by the Assyrians, did not return; only the children of Judah, or the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, with the Levites, and a few of the other tribes, that might be mixed among them: but when mystical Babylon is fallen, then the whole body of the Jews will be converted, and return to their own land, Israel and Judah; which is foretold in other prophecies, as here, which speak of their general conversion; see ( Jeremiah 30:3 Jeremiah 30:9 ) ( Ezekiel 37:16-25 ) ( Hosea 1:11 ) ; going and weeping;
which is another circumstance, which shows that this does not respect the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity; for that was attended with joy, and not with tears; see ( Psalms 126:1 Psalms 126:2 ) ; unless it is to be understood of weeping for joy, and of tears of joy, as Kimchi interprets it; but it is better to understand it of that godly sorrow and mourning for sin, which will appear in the Jews at the time of their conversion; particularly for their fathers' ill treatment of the Messiah, their unbelief and rejection of him, and their continued obstinacy and perverseness, and other sins; see ( Jeremiah 31:9 ) ( Zechariah 12:10 ) ; they shall go and seem the Lord their God;
even David their King, the true Messiah, who is Lord and God; to him they shall seek for peace, pardon, righteousness, and eternal life; and acknowledge him to be the Messiah, their Lord, and their God; embrace his Gospel, and submit to his ordinances; see ( Jeremiah 30:9 ) ( Hosea 3:5 ) . The Targum is,

``when they were carried captive, they went weeping; but when they return from the land of their captivity, they shall seek the worship of the Lord their God.''

Jeremiah 50:4 In-Context

2 "Declare it among the nations, proclaim it! Hoist a banner, proclaim it, don't hide it! Say: 'Bavel is captured. Bel is shamed, M'rodakh disgraced, her images shamed, her idols disgraced.'

3 For from the north a nation is marching against her that will desolate her land. No one will live there - both humans and animals have fled and gone.

4 In those days, at that time," says ADONAI, "the people of Isra'el will come, together with the people of Y'hudah. They will weep as they go their way, seeking ADONAI their God.

5 They will ask the way to Tziyon; and, turning their faces toward it, will say, 'Come, join yourselves to ADONAI by an everlasting covenant never to be forgotten.'

6 My people have been lost sheep. My shepherds made them go astray, turning them loose in the mountains. As they wandered from mountain to hill, they lost track of where their home is.