Commentary on Jeremiah and Lamentations - Volume 1

1If thou wilt return, Israel, saith Jehovah, Return to me; Even if thou wilt take away Thine abominations from my sight, And wilt not wander: (1:199)

2And thou shalt swear, “Live does Jehovah, In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness;” Then bless themselves in him shall nations, And in him shall they glory. (1:202)

3For thus saith Jehovah To the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, — Plough again the first ploughing, And sow not among thorns:

4Be ye circumcised to Jehovah, And take away the foreskin of your heart, Ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; Lest my fury go forth like fire, And burn that none may quench it; On account of the evil of your doings.

5Proclaim ye in Judah, And publish in Jerusalem, and say, “Sound the trumpet in the land;” Call, assemble, yea, say, — “Be assembled, and let us enter into fortified cities;”

6Raise the standard in Sion; Flee, stay not, for an evil do I bring From the north, even a great ruin. (1:208)

7Ascended has the lion from his thicket, And the waster of nations is gone forth; He is come forth from his place, To make thy land a waste; Thy cities shall be destroyed, So as to be without an inhabitant.

8For this gird yourselves with sackcloth, Lament and howl; for turned away from us Is not the fury of Jehovah’s wrath.

9And it shall be in that day, saith Jehovah, That perish shall the heart of the king, And the heart of the princes; And amazed shall be the priests, And the prophets shall be astonished. (1:212)

10Then I said, Ah! Lord Jehovah! Surely, deceiving thou hast deceived This people and Jerusalem, by saying, “Peace shall be to you;” Yet reached has the sword to the soul. (1:214)

11At that time it shall be said To this people and to Jerusalem, — A dry wind from the heights of the desert Shall betowards the way of the daughter of my people, Not to fan nor to cleanse;

12A wind stronger than this shall come for me; Now also will I pronounce judgments on them. (1:217)

13Behold as clouds shall he ascend, And as a whirlwind his chariots; Swifter than eagles his horses: Woe to us! for we are lost.

14Cleanse from evil the heart, Jerusalem; That thou mayest be saved: How long will remain within thee The thoughts of vanity! (1:221)

15For a voice proclaims from Dan And publishes ruin from Mount Ephraim.

16Rehearse it to the nations; Behold, publish against Jerusalem, — Besiegers come from a remote land, And raise over the cities of Judah their voice;

17As keepers of the field they shall be over her around; Because she hath provoked me, saith Jehovah.

18Thy way and thy doings have done this for thee; This is thy wickedness, though it be bitter, Though it reaches to thy heart. (1:227)

19My bowels! my bowels! I am in pain; The walls of my heart! My heart is in a tumult within me; I will not be silent, for the sound of the trumpet Has my soul heard, And the clamor of war has it heard. (1:229)

20Calamity on calamity is cried; For destroyed is the whole land; Suddenly destroyed are my tents, In an instant my curtains.

21How long shall I see the standard — Shall I hear the sound of the trumpet?

22Because foolish are my people, Me have they not known; Sottish children are they, And they are not intelligent; Acute are they for evil, But how to do good they know not.

23I beheld the land, and lo, it was waste and without form; And the heavens, and they had no light:

24I beheld the mountains, and lo, they trembled; And all the hills were shaking:

25I beheld, and lo, there was no man, And every bird of the heavens was fled:

26I beheld, and lo, Carmel was a desert; And all its cities were destroyed, At the presence of Jehovah, At the presence of the burning of his wrath.

27For thus saith Jehovah, Laid waste shall be the whole land; But an end will I not make.

28For this mourn shall the land, And black shall become the heavens above; For I have spoken, I have purposed, And will not repent nor be turned from this.

29At the voice of the horseman and of the bowmen, Flee shall the whole city; They shall penetrate into thick clouds, They shall ascend into rocks; Every city shall be forsaken, And no man shall dwell in them. (1:245)

30And thou, wretched one, what wilt thou do? Though thou puttest on crimson, Though thou deckest thyself with ornaments of gold, Though thou adornest with paint thine eyes, In vain wilt thou decorate thyself; Hate thee will thy lovers, Thy life will they seek.

31Surely, the voice of one in travail have I heard, The distress as of one giving birth to a first-begotten, The voice of the daughter of Sion; Who mourns, who spreads her hands, — “Wo to me now! for fainted has my soul On account of murderers.” (1:251)