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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Jeremiah 25:30 - 25:38
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The Judgment upon the World
v. 30. Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, all nations being included in this address, and say unto them, The Lord shall roar from on high, with an angry voice, and utter His voice from His holy habitation, heaven being regarded as His dwelling-place. He shall mightily roar upon His habitation, or "against His pasturage," the picture of a lion roaring against the flock in the pasture being continued. He shall give a shout, a clear cry of exultation, as they that tread the grapes, to the accompaniment of a regular shout enabling them to keep time, against all the inhabitants of the earth, that is, of the land of Judah as beginning the judgment upon the whole world.
v. 31. A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth, that is, the tumult of enormous armies; for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations, a cause at issue before the tribunal of His justice; He will plead with all flesh, Cf Isa_66:16; He will, as the result of this just trial, give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the Lord, to be executed in battle at His command.
v. 32. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the Commander of the heavenly armies. Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, in a continual progress, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth, a storm arising at its extremities, which gradually expands to cover the whole world and to sweep through all nations.
v. 33. And the slain of the Lord, those who have become the victims of His sword in the war brought upon them, shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth, their corpses lying everywhere; they shall not be lamented, neither gathered nor burled, Cf. Jer_16:4-6; they shall be dung upon the ground, their decaying bodies acting as fertilizer. Since neither rank nor station escapes the fury of the Lord, the prophet now addresses himself to the leaders of the people, bidding them mourn.
v. 34. Howl, ye shepherds, the kings and rulers of the earth, and cry, and wallow yourselves in the ashes, as a token of great sorrow, ye principal of the flock, the strong ones, the nobles, the wealthy among the people; for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersion are accomplished, rather, "And I scatter you, so that one part of the flock is dispersed, the other part slaughtered"; and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel, like a dainty piece of pottery, to be utterly shattered.
v. 35. And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, literally, "And there vanishes the refuge away from the shepherds," so that they cannot depend upon it, nor the principal of the flock to escape, the flock being destroyed together with its leaders.
v. 36. A voice of the cry of the shepherds and an howling of the principal of the flock shall be heard; for the Lord hath spoiled their pasture, utterly destroying the meadows which they thought inexhaustible by the blast of His burning wrath.
v. 37. And the peaceable habitations are cut down because of the fierce anger of the Lord, rendered desolate as He gave vent to His fury. The description once more returns to the picture of a lion.
v. 38. He hath forsaken His covert as the lion, leaving the thicknesses where his den is located; for their land is desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor, before the fury of the destroyer sent by God, and because of His fierce anger, the Lord Himself having gone forth to punish His enemies.