Jeremiah 49:5

5 Look, I [am] going to bring dread on you," {declares} Lord Yahweh of hosts, "from all your surrounding [neighbors]. And you will be scattered, each one {before it}, and there is no [one who] gathers the fugitives.

Jeremiah 49:5 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 49:5

Behold, I will bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord God of
hosts
The terrible army of the Chaldeans, which should strike them with a panic; who thought themselves so secure in their fortresses, trusting in their riches: from all those that be about thee;
meaning either from the Chaldeans, and the neighbouring nations, that should join and surround the Ammonites on all sides; or from all the borders of Ammon round about, where they should come; they would be a "magormissabib", "a fear all round", ( Jeremiah 20:3 ) : and ye shall be driven out every man right forth;
driven out of their houses, and cities, and villages, and steer their course right forward, and never look behind to see what were become of their families and their friends; everyone having enough to do to provide for his own safety: and none shall gather up him that wandereth;
that is straggling about, and knows not which way to take, and whither to flee for safety; all will be so intent on their own safety, that they will not concern themselves for others, to take them under their care; to take those that are on foot upon their horses or carriages, whom they overtake; or into their houses, as they pass by.

Jeremiah 49:5 In-Context

3 "Wail, Heshbon, for Ai is devastated. Cry out, O daughters of Rabbah, put on sackcloth. Lament and run back and forth among the walls. For Milcom will go into exile, his priests and his officials together.

4 Why do you boast in [your] valleys? Your valleys [are] ebbing. O unfaithful daughter, who trusted in her treasures, [who said], 'Who will come against me?'

5 Look, I [am] going to bring dread on you," {declares} Lord Yahweh of hosts, "from all your surrounding [neighbors]. And you will be scattered, each one {before it}, and there is no [one who] gathers the fugitives.

6 Yet {afterward} I will restore the fortunes of the {Ammonites}," {declares} Yahweh.

7 Concerning Edom, thus says Yahweh of hosts: "Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Has counsel become lost from [those who] understand? Is their wisdom rotting?

Footnotes

• [a] Literally "a declaration of"
• [b] Literally "to the face of it"
• [c] Hebrew "fugitive"