Jeremiah 4:10

10 Then I said, “Alas, Sovereign LORD! How completely you have deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’ when the sword is at our throats!”

Jeremiah 4:10 in Other Translations

10 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul.

10 Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD, surely you have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, 'It shall be well with you,' whereas the sword has reached their very life."

10 Then I said, “O Sovereign LORD, the people have been deceived by what you said, for you promised peace for Jerusalem. But the sword is held at their throats!”

10 Then I said, "Alas, Master God! You've fed lies to this people, this Jerusalem. You assured them, 'All is well, don't worry,' at the very moment when the sword was at their throats."

10 I said, "Oh no, Lord God , You have certainly deceived this people and Jerusalem, by announcing, 'You will have peace,' while a sword is at our throats."

Jeremiah 4:10 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 4:10

Then said I, ah, Lord God!
&c.] Expressing great sorrow and concern: this "ah" is by way of lamentation. The Targum interprets it as a petition,

``and I said, receive my prayer, O Lord God:''

surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem:
what the false prophets did, that God is said to do, because he suffered them to deceive the people; see ( 1 Kings 22:20-23 ) . The Targum ascribes the deception to the false prophets, and not to God,

``surely behold the false prophets deceive this people, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem;''

or this may be ironically said, because the false prophets pretended to speak in the name of the Lord; wherefore Jeremiah says, "surely thou hast greatly deceived" "saying, ye shall have peace"; as the false prophets did, ( Jeremiah 6:14 ) : whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul;
takes away the life, many are slain by it; so the Targum,

``and now behold the sword killeth among the people;''

great slaughter is made by it. L'Empereur ^F23 observes that the word here used signifies, in the Arabic language, to educate or bring up; and then the sense is,

``ah, Lord, thou hast brought up this people with great tenderness, and promised them all manner of happiness; but now thou thunderest out threatenings of calamities of all sorts, and death itself; and assigned a place for the sword to enter into their very souls;''

so the Arabic word <arabic> used in the version of ( Acts 22:2 ) ( 1 Timothy 4:6 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F23 Not. ad Mosis Kimchi, (odoiporia) , p. 186.

Jeremiah 4:10 In-Context

8 So put on sackcloth, lament and wail, for the fierce anger of the LORDhas not turned away from us.

9 “In that day,” declares the LORD, “the king and the officials will lose heart, the priests will be horrified, and the prophets will be appalled.”

10 Then I said, “Alas, Sovereign LORD! How completely you have deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’ when the sword is at our throats!”

11 At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, “A scorching wind from the barren heights in the desert blows toward my people, but not to winnow or cleanse;

12 a wind too strong for that comes from me. Now I pronounce my judgments against them.”

Cross References

• 1. S Exodus 5:23; 2 Thessalonians 2:11
• 2. Isaiah 30:10; Jeremiah 6:14; Jeremiah 8:11; Jeremiah 14:13; Jeremiah 23:17; Ezekiel 13:10; Micah 3:5; 1 Thessalonians 5:3