Jer 4:23-31 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Jer 4:23-26: 4:23-26 In Jeremiah’s vision, the Lord ’s fierce anger took precedence over his creative love (10:10 ; 12:4 ; Isa 5:25 ; 24:19 ; Ezek 38:20 ; Zeph 1:3 ). He was undoing the order of creation (see Gen 1:2-3 ).

Summary for Jer 4:23-26: 4:23-26 ^a In Jeremiah’s vision, the Lord’s fierce anger took precedence over his creative love (10:10 ^b; 12:4 ^c; Isa 5:25 ^d; 24:19 ^e; Ezek 38:20 ^f; Zeph 1:3 ^g). He was undoing the order of creation (see Gen 1:2-3 ^h).
4:28 ⁱ At funerals in Hebrew society, it was customary for people to mourn and be draped in black (cp. Isa 5:30 ^j; 50:3 ^k). The Lord had determined the people’s guilt, and he promised to be true to his word (Jer 5:10 ^l; 30:11 ^m, 24 ⁿ; Isa 5:30 ^o; 46:10-11 ^p).
4:29 ^q flee ... hide ... run: Panic gripped the people of Judah in reaction to the horrors of war. Their arrogance and smug confidence disappeared (see 6:23-24 ^r).
4:30 ^s Strangely, some people acted as if nothing serious were happening. They tried to ignore the enemy, but their future was bleak. The enemy would kill them (22:20 ^t, 22 ^u; 2 Kgs 9:30 ^v; Isa 22:13 ^w; Lam 1:2 ^x, 19 ^y; Ezek 23:9-10 ^z, 22 ^aa, 40-42 ^ab).
4:31 ^ac The people in Jerusalem felt such intense anguish that Jeremiah likened their pain to the agony of a woman giving birth to her first child. Like such women, beautiful Jerusalem was desperate (13:21 ^ad; 23:23 ^ae; 30:6 ^af; Isa 1:15 ^ag; 42:14 ^ah; Lam 1:17 ^ai).