Jeremiah 4:10

10 Then I said, "Ah, Lord Yahweh, surely you have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, 'It will be peace for you,' while the sword reaches up to the throat."

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 Because of this gird yourselves [with] sackcloth, lament and wail, for {the burning anger} of Yahweh has not turned back from us.

9 And then on that day," {declares} Yahweh, "the heart of the king and the heart of the officials will be destroyed, and the priests will be appalled, and the prophets will be astonished."

10 Then I said, "Ah, Lord Yahweh, surely you have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, 'It will be peace for you,' while the sword reaches up to the throat."

11 At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, "{A hot wind from the barren heights} in the desert, {in the direction of} the daughter of my people, not to winnow and not to cleanse,

12 {a wind too strong for} these will come for me, now also I speak judgments against them."