Lamentaciones 4:19

Qof

19 Nuestros perseguidores resultaronmás veloces que las águilas del cielo;nos persiguieron por las montañas,nos acecharon en el desierto.

Lamentaciones 4:19 Meaning and Commentary

Lamentations 4:19

Our persecutors are swifter than the eagles of the heavens,
&c.] That fly in the heavens; and which, as they have a quick sight to discern their prey afar off, are very swift to pursue it; they are the swiftest of birds, and are so to a proverb. Apuleius ^F9 represents the swift pursuit of their prey, and sudden falling upon it, to be like thunder and lightning. Cicero ^F11 relates of a certain racer, that came to an interpreter of dreams, and told him, that in his dream he seemed to become an eagle; upon which, says the interpreter, thou wilt be the conqueror; for no bird flies with such force and swiftness as that. And this bird is also remarkable for its constancy in flying: it is never weary, but keeps on flying to places the most remote. The poets have a fiction, that Jupiter, being desirous of knowing which was the middle of the world, sent out two eagles of equal swiftness, the one from the east, and the other from the west, at the same moment; which stopped not till they came to Delphos, where they met, which showed that to be the spot; in memory of which, two golden eagles were placed in the temple there ^F12. The swiftness and constancy of these creatures in flying are here intended to set forth the speed and assiduity of the enemies of the Jews, in their pursuit after them; who followed them closely, and never ceased till they had overtaken them. The Chaldeans are designed, who pursued the Jews very hotly and eagerly, such as fled when the city was broken up; though not so much they themselves, as being thus swift of foot, as their horses on which they rode; see ( Jeremiah 4:13 ) . they pursued us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the
wilderness:
or "plain" ^F13; there was no safety in either; such as fled to the mountains were pursued and overtaken there; and such who attempted to make their escape through the valleys were intercepted there: the reference is to the flight of Zedekiah, his nobles, and his army with him, who were pursued by the Chaldeans, and taken in the plains of Jericho, ( Jeremiah 52:7-9 ) ; hence it follows:

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FOOTNOTES:

F9 Florida, l. 2.
F11 De Divinatione, l. 2. p. 2001.
F12 Vid. Strabo Geograph. l. 9. p. 289. & Pindar. Pythia, Ode 4. l. 7, 8. & Schmidt in ib. p. 174, 175.
F13 (rbdmb) "in plano", Gataker.

Lamentaciones 4:19 In-Context

17 Para colmo, desfallecen nuestros ojosesperando en vano que alguien nos ayude.Desde nuestras torres estamos en esperade una nación que no puede salvarnos.

18 A cada paso nos acechan;no podemos ya andar por las calles.Nuestro fin se acerca, nos ha llegado la hora;¡nuestros días están contados!

19 Nuestros perseguidores resultaronmás veloces que las águilas del cielo;nos persiguieron por las montañas,nos acecharon en el desierto.

20 También cayó en sus redes el ungido del SEÑOR,que era nuestra razón de vivir.Era él de quien decíamos:¡Viviremos bajo su sombra entre las naciones!

21 ¡Regocíjate y alégrate, capital de Edom,que vives como reina en la tierra de Uz!¡Pero ya tendrás que beber de esta copa,y quedarás embriagada y desnuda!