Jeremiah 4:10

10 Then I said, "Alas, Master God! You've fed lies to this people, this Jerusalem. You assured them, 'All is well, don't worry,' at the very moment when the sword was at their throats."

Jeremiah 4:10 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 4:10

Then said I, ah, Lord God!
&c.] Expressing great sorrow and concern: this "ah" is by way of lamentation. The Targum interprets it as a petition,

``and I said, receive my prayer, O Lord God:''
surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem:
what the false prophets did, that God is said to do, because he suffered them to deceive the people; see ( 1 Kings 22:20-23 ) . The Targum ascribes the deception to the false prophets, and not to God,
``surely behold the false prophets deceive this people, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem;''
or this may be ironically said, because the false prophets pretended to speak in the name of the Lord; wherefore Jeremiah says, "surely thou hast greatly deceived" "saying, ye shall have peace"; as the false prophets did, ( Jeremiah 6:14 ) : whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul;
takes away the life, many are slain by it; so the Targum,
``and now behold the sword killeth among the people;''
great slaughter is made by it. L'Empereur F23 observes that the word here used signifies, in the Arabic language, to educate or bring up; and then the sense is,
``ah, Lord, thou hast brought up this people with great tenderness, and promised them all manner of happiness; but now thou thunderest out threatenings of calamities of all sorts, and death itself; and assigned a place for the sword to enter into their very souls;''
so the Arabic word <arabic> used in the version of ( Acts 22:2 ) ( 1 Timothy 4:6 ) .
FOOTNOTES:

F23 Not. ad Mosis Kimchi, (odoiporia) , p. 186.

Jeremiah 4:10 In-Context

8 Dress in funereal black. Weep and wail, For God's sledgehammer anger has slammed into us head-on.
9 "When this happens" - God's Decree - "King and princes will lose heart; priests will be baffled and prophets stand dumbfounded."
10 Then I said, "Alas, Master God! You've fed lies to this people, this Jerusalem. You assured them, 'All is well, don't worry,' at the very moment when the sword was at their throats."
11 At that time, this people, yes, this very Jerusalem, will be told in plain words: "The northern hordes are sweeping in from the desert steppes -
12 a gale-force wind. I ordered this wind. I'm pronouncing my hurricane judgment on my people." Your Evil Life Is Piercing Your Heart
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.