Jeremiah 10:17

17 People of Jerusalem, you are under siege! Gather up your belongings.

Jeremiah 10:17 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 10:17

Gather up thy wares out of the land
Or thy merchandise, as the Targum; or thy substance, as the Septuagint; all valuable effects and goods that are movable, which might be carried from place to place. The meaning is, that the Jews would gather up their riches from the several parts of the land of Judea, and bring them to Jerusalem, a fortified place; or they would be in danger of falling into the hands of the enemy. Kimchi interprets the words as if spoken of Babylon, and directed to the Chaldeans, not to be elated with the captivity of Israel; and because the word (enk) signifies "to humble and subdue" he takes the sense to be,

``gather in or contract thine humiliation or subjection;''
that is, of other nations; refrain thyself, or cease from subduing kingdoms; that is now at an end, it shall be no more so; but the words manifestly respect the people of the Jews, as is clear from the next verse. O inhabitant of the fortress;
of the fortress of Zion, or the fortified city, Jerusalem. The Targum is,
``O thou that dwellest in the strong place, in the fortified cities.''
It may be rendered, "that dwellest in the siege" F25; in the besieged city, Jerusalem.
FOOTNOTES:

F25 (rwumb ytbvwy) "quae habitas in obsidione", V. L. Cocceius, Schmidt.

Jeremiah 10:17 In-Context

15 They are worthless and should be despised; they will be destroyed when the Lord comes to deal with them.
16 The God of Jacob is not like them; he is the one who made everything, and he has chosen Israel to be his very own people. The Lord Almighty is his name.
17 People of Jerusalem, you are under siege! Gather up your belongings.
18 The Lord is going to throw you out of this land; he is going to crush you until not one of you is left. The Lord has spoken.
19 The people of Jerusalem cried out, "How badly we are hurt! Our wounds will not heal. And we thought this was something we could endure!
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.