Jeremiah 4:26

26 I looked and behold, the fruitful land [was] a desert, and all of its cities were ruined before Yahweh, before the face of {his burning anger}.

Jeremiah 4:26 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 4:26

I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness
Or, "I beheld, and, lo, Carmel was a wilderness"; which was a particular part of the land of Israel, and was very fertile, and abounded in pastures and fruit trees, and yet this, as the rest, became desolate as a wilderness; see ( Isaiah 32:15 ) ( 35:2 ) though it may be put for the whole land, which was very fruitful; and so the Targum,

``I saw, and, lo, the land of Israel, which was planted as Carmel, was turned to be as a wilderness:''

and all the cities thereof;
not of Carmel only, but of the whole land: were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce anger;
for though this was done by the Chaldeans, yet it was by the will and appointment of God, and as a token of his fierce anger against the people of the Jews, for their sins and transgressions. Jarchi cites a Midrash Agadah, or an allegorical exposition of this place, which interprets the "mountains", the Jewish fathers; the "hills", the mothers, and their merits; "no man", the worthiness of Moses, who was meeker than any man; and "Carmel", Elijah; without any manner of foundation.

Jeremiah 4:26 In-Context

24 I looked at the mountains, and behold, they were quaking, and all of the hills were jolted to and fro.

25 I looked and behold, there was no person, and all of the birds of the sky had fled.

26 I looked and behold, the fruitful land [was] a desert, and all of its cities were ruined before Yahweh, before the face of {his burning anger}.

27 For thus says Yahweh, "All of the land will be a desolation, yet I will not make a complete desolation.

28 Because of this the earth will mourn, and the heavens above will become dark. Because I have spoken, I have planned, and I have not relented, and I will not turn back from it."

Footnotes

• [a] Or "wilderness"
• [b] Literally "the blaze of his nose"