Jeremiah 4:9

9 "When this happens" - God's Decree - "King and princes will lose heart; priests will be baffled and prophets stand dumbfounded."

Jeremiah 4:9 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 4:9

And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the Lord
When Nebuchadnezzar should be come up from Babylon into the land of Judea, and lay waste the cities thereof, and besiege Jerusalem: that the heart of the king shall perish;
meaning Zedekiah king of Judah, who should be in the utmost fright and consternation, not knowing what to do, being devoid both of wisdom and courage; see ( Jeremiah 39:4 ) : and the heart of the princes;
who being seized with the same panic, and at their wits' end, would not be able to give any advice and counsel to the king; so that the people would have no help from the king and his nobles, in whom they put their confidence: and the priests shall be astonished;
which Kimchi interprets of the priests of the high places, the idolatrous priests, whose service would now cease, and whose idols would not save them: and the prophets shall wonder;
which he also interprets of the false prophets; as does the Targum; who prophesied peace, and now they shall see it was a lie they prophesied, since sudden destruction now comes upon them.

Jeremiah 4:9 In-Context

7 Invaders have pounced like a lion from its cover, ready to rip nations to shreds, Leaving your land in wrack and ruin, your cities in rubble, abandoned.

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 -