Jeremiah 49:9

9 When harvesters work your fields, don't they leave gleanings? When burglars break into your house, don't they take only what they want?

Jeremiah 49:9 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 49:9

If grape gatherers come to thee, would they not leave [some]
gleaning grapes?
&c.] If gatherers of grapes, at the time of the vintage, should come into thy fields to gather the grapes, being ripe, would not they leave some for the poor to glean? certainly they would, and not take every cluster. The Targum renders it,

``if thy spoilers, as grape gatherers, should come to thee,'' &c.

if thieves by night, they will destroy till they have enough;
who break into houses by night, these will eat and drink as much as is sufficient, and carry off what serves their turn; but they seldom take away everything they find in a house; they leave some things behind them; but it is suggested that the Chaldeans should take away all from the Edomites, and leave them nothing; see ( Obadiah 1:5 Obadiah 1:6 ) .

Jeremiah 49:9 In-Context

7 The Message of God-of-the-Angel-Armies on Edom: "Is there nobody wise left in famous Teman? no one with a sense of reality? Has their wisdom gone wormy and rotten?

8 Run for your lives! Get out while you can! Find a good place to hide, you who live in Dedan! I'm bringing doom to Esau. It's time to settle accounts.

9 When harvesters work your fields, don't they leave gleanings? When burglars break into your house, don't they take only what they want?

10 But I'll strip Esau clean. I'll search out every nook and cranny. I'll destroy everything connected with him, children and relatives and neighbors. There'll be no one left who will be able to say,

11 'I'll take care of your orphans. Your widows can depend on me.'"