Jeremiah 5:15

15 ¹Behold, I am bringing against you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, declares the Lord. It is an enduring nation; it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know, ²nor can you understand what they say.

Jeremiah 5:15 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 5:15

Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far
From Babylon, as in ( Jeremiah 4:16 ) : O house of Israel, saith the Lord;
though the house of Israel is generally taken for the ten tribes, especially when distinguished from the house of Judah; yet here it seems to design the Jews, the posterity of Jacob, or Israel in the land of Judea; for Israel, or the ten tribes, were carried captive into Assyria before this time: it is a mighty nation;
strong and powerful; so mighty that they would not be able to oppose them, and stand before them: "it is an ancient nation"; the Babylonish monarchy was the most ancient; it began in the times of Nimrod, ( Genesis 10:10 ) and therefore must be a nation of great power and experience that had so long subsisted, and consequently must be formidable to others: a nation whose language thou knowest not;
which was the Syriac language: this, it is plain, was not known by the common people among the Jews in Hezekiah's time, though some of the chief men understood it; wherefore Rabshakeh, the king of Assyria's general, would not deliver his railing speech in the Syriac language, which only the princes understood; but in the Hebrew language, the language of the common people, ( 2 Kings 18:26 2 Kings 18:28 ) , though, after the captivity, this language was understood by the Jews, and was commonly spoken by them, as it was in our Lord's time: neither understandest what they say;
so would be barbarians to each other; nor could they expect any mercy from them, or that quarters would be given them, when their petitions for favour and life could not be understood.

Jeremiah 5:15 In-Context

13 The prophets will become wind; the word is not in them. Thus shall it be done to them! ’”

14 Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts: “Because you have spoken this word, behold, I am making my words in your mouth a fire, and this people wood, and the fire shall consume them.

15 Behold, I am bringing against you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, declares the Lord. It is an enduring nation; it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know, nor can you understand what they say.

16 Their quiver is like an open tomb; they are all mighty warriors.

17 They shall eat up your harvest and your food; they shall eat up your sons and your daughters; they shall eat up your flocks and your herds; they shall eat up your vines and your fig trees; your fortified cities in which you trust they shall beat down with the sword. ”

Cross References

• 1. 5:15 ch. 34:21, 22; Deut. 28:49; [ch. 1:15; Amos 6:14]
• 2. 5:15 Isa. 33:19