Jeremiah 19 Footnotes

19:8-9 God does not condone cannibalism. The extreme situation described here would be the result of a prolonged siege of Jerusalem, the judgment to come because of Judah’s faithlessness. Under such conditions the people would be forced to choose among options that are equally repugnant—in this case, cannibalism or slow death by starvation (2Kg 6:28-30; Is 9:20; Lm 4:9-10; Ezk 5:10). The state into which Jerusalem will fall reflected the curses taking effect: The city will be an object of scorn (Dt 28:37) and its inhabitants reduced to eating their own young (Lv 26:29; Dt 28:53-55).