Jeremiah 6:26

26 O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth and wallow thyself in ashes; make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; for the destroyer shall suddenly come 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 the fame thereof; our hands wax feeble; anguish has taken hold of us, and pain as of a woman in travail.

25 Do not go forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every side.

26 O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth and wallow thyself in ashes; make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; for the destroyer shall suddenly come upon us.

27 I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people; thou shalt know and examine their way.

28 They are all rebellious princes; they walk with deception: they are brass and iron; they are all corrupters.