Jeremiah 10:17

17 Grab your bags, all you who are under attack.

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 deadwood gods, tasteless jokes. When the fires of judgment come, they'll be ashes.
16 But the Portion-of-Jacob is the real thing. He put the whole universe together And pays special attention to Israel. His name? God-of-the-Angel-Armies!
17 Grab your bags, all you who are under attack.
18 God has given notice: "Attention! I'm evicting Everyone who lives here, And right now - yes, right now! I'm going to press them to the limit, squeeze the life right out of them."
19 But it's a black day for me! Hopelessly wounded, I said, "Why, oh why did I think I could bear it?"
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.