Jeremiah 4:17

17 It will surround them like people who guard a field. Judah has refused to obey me,' " announces the Lord.

Jeremiah 4:17 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 4:17

As keepers of a field, are they against her round about
As those that are set to watch a field, in which are fruit and corn of any sort, that thieves and robbers, and wild beasts, may not enter to waste and destroy, and are placed on all sides for that purpose; so the Chaldeans were round about Jerusalem, that none could make their escape out of it; see ( 2 Kings 25:4 ) : because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the Lord;
it was not without reason that the Lord suffered the Chaldeans to come against Jerusalem, besiege, and take it; the inhabitants of it had rebelled against him, their King and their God; and therefore he delivers them up into the hands of another lord, and a cruel one; they had provoked him to anger with their sins, and caused him to stir up his wrath against them in this way: rebellion against a prince, or against a parent, is a provoking sin; see ( 1 Samuel 15:23 ) ( Isaiah 1:2 ) .

Jeremiah 4:17 In-Context

15 A voice is speaking all the way from the city of Dan. From the hills of Ephraim it announces that trouble is coming.
16 "Tell the nations. Warn Jerusalem. Say, 'An army will attack you. It is coming from a land far away. It will shout a war cry against the cities of Judah.
17 It will surround them like people who guard a field. Judah has refused to obey me,' " announces the Lord.
18 "The army will attack you because of your conduct and actions. That is how you will be punished. It will be so bitter! It will cut deep down into your hearts!"
19 I'm suffering! I'm really suffering! I'm hurting badly. My heart is suffering so much! It's pounding inside me. I can't keep silent. I've heard the sound of trumpets. I've heard the battle cry.
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