Jeremiah 4:10

10 And I said, Alas! alas! alas! Lord God; therefore whether thou hast deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Peace shall be to you, and lo! a sword is come unto the soul? (and lo! a sword is come unto our souls?)

Jeremiah 4:10 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 4:10

Then said I, ah, Lord God!
&c.] Expressing great sorrow and concern: this "ah" is by way of lamentation. The Targum interprets it as a petition,

``and I said, receive my prayer, O Lord God:''

surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem:
what the false prophets did, that God is said to do, because he suffered them to deceive the people; see ( 1 Kings 22:20-23 ) . The Targum ascribes the deception to the false prophets, and not to God,

``surely behold the false prophets deceive this people, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem;''

or this may be ironically said, because the false prophets pretended to speak in the name of the Lord; wherefore Jeremiah says, "surely thou hast greatly deceived" "saying, ye shall have peace"; as the false prophets did, ( Jeremiah 6:14 ) : whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul;
takes away the life, many are slain by it; so the Targum,

``and now behold the sword killeth among the people;''

great slaughter is made by it. L'Empereur ^F23 observes that the word here used signifies, in the Arabic language, to educate or bring up; and then the sense is,

``ah, Lord, thou hast brought up this people with great tenderness, and promised them all manner of happiness; but now thou thunderest out threatenings of calamities of all sorts, and death itself; and assigned a place for the sword to enter into their very souls;''

so the Arabic word <arabic> used in the version of ( Acts 22:2 ) ( 1 Timothy 4:6 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F23 Not. ad Mosis Kimchi, (odoiporia) , p. 186.

Jeremiah 4:10 In-Context

8 On this thing gird you(rselves) with hair-shirts; wail ye, and yell, for the wrath of the strong vengeance of the Lord is not turned away from you.

9 And it shall be, in that day, saith the Lord, the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of princes; and the priests shall wonder, and the prophets shall be astonied. (And it shall be, on that day, saith the Lord, the heart of the king, and the hearts of the princes, or of the leaders, shall perish, or shall fail them; and the priests shall wonder, and the prophets shall be astonished.)

10 And I said, Alas! alas! alas! Lord God; therefore whether thou hast deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Peace shall be to you, and lo! a sword is come unto the soul? (and lo! a sword is come unto our souls?)

11 In that time it shall be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A burning wind in the ways that be in desert, be the ways of the daughter of my people, not to winnow, and not to purge. (At that time it shall be said to this people and to Jerusalem, Like a burning wind on the ways that be in the wilderness, be the ways of the daughter of my people, not to winnow, and not to purge.)

12 A spirit full of them shall come to me; and now I, but I shall speak my dooms with them. (A strong wind shall come to them at my command; and now I shall tell out my judgement against them.)