Jeremias 4:18

18 Thy ways and thy devices have brought these things upon thee; this is thy wickedness, for bitter, for it has reached to thy heart.

Jeremias 4:18 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 4:18

Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee,
&c.] The way in which they walked, which was an evil one; and the actions which they committed; their idolatries, backslidings, and rebellions, before spoken of in this and the preceding chapter, were the cause of this siege, and those calamities coming upon them; they had none to blame but themselves; it was their own sinful ways and works which brought this ruin and destruction on them: this is thy wickedness;
the fruit of thy wickedness; or, "this thy calamity"; that is, is owing to these things; so the word is rendered in ( Psalms 141:5 ) : because it is bitter;
not sin, as in ( Jeremiah 2:19 ) , but the punishment of it; the calamity before mentioned; which was hard and heavy, and grievous to be borne, and yet very just; it was by way of retaliation; "they had bitterly provoked the Lord", as the word may be rendered in the preceding verse; and now he sends them a bitter calamity, and a heavy judgment: because it reacheth unto thine heart;
into the midst of them, and utterly destroyed them. The two last clauses may be rendered, "though it is bitter, though it reacheth unto thine heart" F4; though it is such a sore distress, and such an utter destruction, yet it was to be ascribed to nothing else but their own sins and transgressions.


FOOTNOTES:

F4 (egn yk rm yk) "quamvis amarum sit, quamvis pertigerit", Calvin.

Jeremias 4:18 In-Context

16 Remind ye the nations; behold, they are come: proclaim in Jerusalem, that bands are approaching from a land afar off, and have uttered their voice against the cities of Juda.
17 As keepers of a field, they have surrounded her; because thou, saith the Lord, has neglected me.
18 Thy ways and thy devices have brought these things upon thee; this is thy wickedness, for bitter, for it has reached to thy heart.
19 I am pained in my bowels, my bowels, and the sensitive powers of my heart; my soul is in great commotion, my heart is torn: I will not be silent, for my soul has heard the sound of a trumpet, the cry of war, and of distress: it calls on destruction;
20 for all the land is distressed: suddenly tabernacle is distressed, my curtains have been rent asunder.

The Brenton translation of the Septuagint is in the public domain.