Jeremiah 18:17

17 Like a strong east wind, I will scatter them before their enemies. At that awful time they will not see me coming to help them; they will see me leaving."

Jeremiah 18:17 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 18:17

I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy,
&c.] As the east wind, which is generally strong and boisterous, drives the chaff and stubble, and anything that is light, before it, and scatters it here and there; so the Lord threatens to scatter the people of the Jews over the face of the earth, before their enemies, whom they should not be able to withstand. It denotes the power of the enemy God would make use of; the ease with which this should be done; and the utter dispersion of them; and is their present case: I will show them the back, and not the face, in the day of their
calamity;
that is, will not look upon them in a favourable way, nor with any pity and compassion for them, nor hear their cries; but turn his back upon them, and a deaf ear unto them, and give them no help and relief, or deliver them out of their calamities; but suffer them to continue upon them, and them to sink under them; see ( Proverbs 1:26-28 ) ; which refers to the same time of calamity as here.

Jeremiah 18:17 In-Context

15 But my people have forgotten me. They burn incense to worthless idols and have stumbled in what they do and in the old ways of their ancestors. They walk along back roads and on poor highways.

16 So Judah's country will become an empty desert. People will not stop making fun of it. They will shake their heads as they pass by; they will be shocked at how the country was destroyed.

17 Like a strong east wind, I will scatter them before their enemies. At that awful time they will not see me coming to help them; they will see me leaving."

18 Then the people said, "Come, let's make plans against Jeremiah. Surely the teaching of the law by the priest will not be lost. We will still have the advice from the wise men and the words of the prophets. So let's ruin him by telling lies about him. We won't pay attention to anything he says."

19 Lord, listen to me. Listen to what my accusers are saying!