Jeremiah 6:22-26

5. Description of the foe (Jeremiah 6:22-26)

TRANSLATION

(22) Thus said the LORD: Behold, a people is about to come from a north land, a great nation shall be aroused from the uttermost parts of the earth.
(23) Bow and spear they bear. They are ruthless and have no compassion. Their voices roar like the sea. Upon horses they ride equipped as men for war against you, O daughter of Zion. (24) We have heard the report of them. Our hands are feeble. Anguish has taken hold of us, pain as a woman in childbirth. (25) Do not go out into the field nor walk in the way for the enemy has a sword, terror round about. (26) O daughter of My people, Gird on sackcloth and wallow in the dust; make for your selves the mourning of an only son, most bitter lamentation for suddenly the spoiler shall come upon us.

COMMENTS

In order to impress once again upon the minds of the people what the nation of Judah is up against, Jeremiah describes in terrifying detail the foe from the north. In contrast to tiny Judah the northern foe is a great nation. They come from the uttermost part of the earth (v, 22). In Jeremiah 31:8 this phrase is used of Babylon (cf. Jeremiah 25:32; Isaiah 14:13). The enemy soldiers carry both bow and spear. They are ruthless and have compassion on no one. The cruelty of the Mesopotamian armies in antiquity is well documented in the monuments, They were feared throughout the ancient Near East (cf. Nahum 3:1; Habakkuk 1:6-7). The noise of their countless horsemen and chariotry resembled the roar of the sea. This vast and invincible army will shortly come to make war against the daughter of Zion, the inhabitants of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 6:23).

In Jeremiah 6:24 the prophet again projects himself into the future to describe the reaction of the populace of Jerusalem as this vast host approaches. He identifies himself with his people and expresses the general feeling of anxiety and pain which will prevail in the city at that time. The Jewish soldiers lose their courage; they are too scared to resist. Throughout Jerusalem there is panic and pain which can only be compared to that which a woman experiences in childbirth (Jeremiah 6:24). No one is safe; the enemy is everywhere. No one should venture outside the walls of Jerusalem. Terror surrounds the city (Jeremiah 6:25). In view of the spoiler's rapid descent on Jerusalem, Jeremiah calls his countrymen to bitter lamentation. The bereavement for the loss of an only son was the most severe a Hebrew could suffer (cf. Amos 8:10; Zechariah 12:10). Jeremiah loves his nation as a father loves his daughter and thus he addresses Judah as the daughter of my people. They refused to shed the tears of repentance; they will now be forced to shed the tears of lamentation (Jeremiah 6:26).