Jeremiah 6:26

26 My people, put on funeral clothes and roll in ashes; weep and wail as for an only child, because the destroyer will suddenly descend upon us.

Jeremiah 6:26 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 6:26

O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth
Either as a token of repentance for sin; so the king of Nineveh and his subjects did, to show their repentance, ( Jonah 3:6 Jonah 3:8 ) or as a sign of mourning, for the calamities coming on them, ( Genesis 37:34 ) and wallow thyself in ashes;
or roll thyself in them, as a token of the same. The Targum is,

``cover your heads with ashes.''

Make thee mourning as for an only son;
which of all is the most bitter: and therefore it is added, most bitter lamentation;
see ( Zechariah 12:10 ) . For the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us;
namely, Nebuchadnezzar, that would spoil their cities, towns, villages, and houses, and them of all their wealth and substance, and carry it away.

Jeremiah 6:26 In-Context

24 We have heard reports of them and are panic-stricken; distress overwhelms us, pain like that of a woman in labor.

25 Don't go out into the field! Don't walk on the road! The enemies' sword terrorizes at every turn.

26 My people, put on funeral clothes and roll in ashes; weep and wail as for an only child, because the destroyer will suddenly descend upon us.

27 I have made you a tester of metals, to examine my people to know and prove their ways.

28 They are tin and iron; they are headstrong and rebellious. They live to slander. They act corruptly—every last one!