Jeremiah 3:24

24 And the shameful thing hath devoured The labour of our fathers from our youth, Their flock and their herd, Their sons and their daughters.

Jeremiah 3:24 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 3:24

For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our
youth
That is, sin, which is the cause of shame, and of which sinners ought to be ashamed, and will be sooner or later; so the Targum renders it, "the confusion of sins"; and the Jewish writers generally interpret it of idolatry, and of the idol Baal, as Kimchi and others, called "shame", or that "shameful thing", ( Jeremiah 11:13 ) ( Hosea 9:10 ) , this idol, because of the multitude of the sacrifices offered to it, consumed what their fathers laboured for, ever since they had known them; or, for their worshipping of this idol, such judgments came upon them as consumed all they got by hard labour; or rather it may regard their shameful sin of rejecting the Messiah, and crucifying him; which they will be ashamed of at the time of their conversion, when they shall look on him whom they have pierced, and on account of which they suffer the many calamities they now do: their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters;
whatever evils have befallen them in their persons, families, and estates, they will confess are owing to sin they have committed, of which they will now be ashamed; hence it follows:

Jeremiah 3:24 In-Context

22 Turn back, O backsliding sons, I cause your backslidings to cease. -- Behold us, we have come to Thee, For Thou [art] Jehovah our God.

23 Surely in vain from the heights, The multitude of mountains -- Surely in Jehovah our God [is] the salvation of Israel.

24 And the shameful thing hath devoured The labour of our fathers from our youth, Their flock and their herd, Their sons and their daughters.

25 We have lain down in our shame, and cover us doth our confusion, For against Jehovah our God we have sinned, We, and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, Nor have we hearkened to the voice of Jehovah our God!