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Jeremiah 2:15

15 The lions have roared against him, they have roared loudly. They have made his land a waste; his cities are in ruins, without inhabitant.

Jeremiah 2:15 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 2:15

The young lions roared upon him, and yelled
Or, "gave out their voice" F5; meaning the kings of the nations, as the Targum, Jarchi, and Kimchi explain it; and are to be understood of the kings of Assyria and Babylon, and particularly of Nebuchadnezzar; see ( Jeremiah 50:17 ) compared to lions for their strength and cruelty; their "roaring" and "yelling design" the bringing forth of their armies against Israel, the noise of the battle, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war, and the voice of the warrior: and they made his land waste;
all this is said as past, when it was yet to come, because of the certainty of it, and the sure accomplishment of these prophecies; for this respects the future desolation of the land of Israel at the Babylonish captivity: his cities are burnt without inhabitant;
not only Jerusalem was burnt with fire, ( Jeremiah 52:13 ) , but other cities in the land of Israel, so that they were not inhabited: or, "they were desolate or destroyed" F6 as the Septuagint version, so that none could dwell in them; and so the Targum,

``her cities are desolate, without inhabitant.''
Kimchi's father explains the word by (wxmu) , "budded", or brought forth herbs or plants; for desolate places bring up plants; where there is no inhabitant, grass grows.
FOOTNOTES:

F5 (Mlwq wntn) "dederunt vocem suam", Montanus, Pagninus; "edunt rocem suam", Schmidt.
F6 (htun) , (kateskafhsan) , "desolatae sunt, [sive] destructae", Vatablus.

Jeremiah 2:15 In-Context

13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.
14 Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn servant? Why then has he become plunder?
15 The lions have roared against him, they have roared loudly. They have made his land a waste; his cities are in ruins, without inhabitant.
16 Moreover, the people of Memphis and Tahpanhes have broken the crown of your head.
17 Have you not brought this upon yourself by forsaking the Lord your God, while he led you in the way?
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.