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4. Zion's Past and Present

¹ This chapter is an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.How the gold has lost its luster,
the fine gold become dull!
The sacred gems are scattered
at every street corner.

    ² How the precious children of Zion,
   once worth their weight in gold,
are now considered as pots of clay,
   the work of a potter’s hands!

    ³ Even jackals offer their breasts
   to nurse their young,
but my people have become heartless
   like ostriches in the desert.

    ⁴ Because of thirst the infant’s tongue
   sticks to the roof of its mouth;
the children beg for bread,
   but no one gives it to them.

    ⁵ Those who once ate delicacies
   are destitute in the streets.
Those brought up in royal purple
   now lie on ash heaps.

    ⁶ The punishment of my people
   is greater than that of Sodom,
which was overthrown in a moment
   without a hand turned to help her.

    ⁷ Their princes were brighter than snow
   and whiter than milk,
their bodies more ruddy than rubies,
   their appearance like lapis lazuli.

    ⁸ But now they are blacker than soot;
   they are not recognized in the streets.
Their skin has shriveled on their bones;
   it has become as dry as a stick.

    ⁹ Those killed by the sword are better off
   than those who die of famine;
racked with hunger, they waste away
   for lack of food from the field.

    ¹⁰ With their own hands compassionate women
   have cooked their own children,
who became their food
   when my people were destroyed.

    ¹¹ The LORD has given full vent to his wrath;
   he has poured out his fierce anger.
He kindled a fire in Zion
   that consumed her foundations.

    ¹² The kings of the earth did not believe,
   nor did any of the peoples of the world,
that enemies and foes could enter
   the gates of Jerusalem.

    ¹³ But it happened because of the sins of her prophets
   and the iniquities of her priests,
who shed within her
   the blood of the righteous.

    ¹⁴ Now they grope through the streets
   as if they were blind.
They are so defiled with blood
   that no one dares to touch their garments.

    ¹⁵ “Go away! You are unclean!” people cry to them.
   “Away! Away! Don’t touch us!”
When they flee and wander about,
   people among the nations say,
   “They can stay here no longer.”

    ¹⁶ The LORD himself has scattered them;
   he no longer watches over them.
The priests are shown no honor,
   the elders no favor.

    ¹⁷ Moreover, our eyes failed,
   looking in vain for help;
from our towers we watched
   for a nation that could not save us.

    ¹⁸ People stalked us at every step,
   so we could not walk in our streets.
Our end was near, our days were numbered,
   for our end had come.

    ¹⁹ Our pursuers were swifter
   than eagles in the sky;
they chased us over the mountains
   and lay in wait for us in the desert.

    ²⁰ The LORD’s anointed, our very life breath,
   was caught in their traps.
We thought that under his shadow
   we would live among the nations.

    ²¹ Rejoice and be glad, Daughter Edom,
   you who live in the land of Uz.
But to you also the cup will be passed;
   you will be drunk and stripped naked.

    ²² Your punishment will end, Daughter Zion;
   he will not prolong your exile.
But he will punish your sin, Daughter Edom,
   and expose your wickedness.

He at length concludes that nothing was wanting to complete the extreme vengeance of God; for had the Jews been chastised in an ordinary way, they would have still extenuated their sins, as we know that they were not easily led to repentance. Hence the Prophet, to shew that their offenses had not been slight, but that they had been extremely wicked before God, says that the whole of God’s wrath had been executed: Jehovah has completed his wrath The expression is indeed harsh to Latin ears; but the meaning is, that he had executed his extreme judgment.

He afterwards adds, He has poured forth the indignation of his wrath. God is indeed content with moderate punishment, provided men be awakened from their torpor; but when he pours forth his wrath, there is no hope of repentance. It is then a sign of final despair when God’s vengeance overflows like a deluge. But when Jeremiah thus speaks, he does not contend with God, but rather reminds the Jews of what they deserved, as it was stated yesterday. There is, then, no doubt but that he argues, from the grievousness of their punishment, that there was no reason for the Jews to flatter themselves any longer, since God had dealt so severely with them.

He then, in other words, points out the same thing, that God had kindled a fire which devoured or consumed the very foundations. Fire is wont rather to take hold on the roofs of houses, or, when it creeps farther, it does not proceed beyond the surface. It is a very rare thing for it to penetrate into the foundations. Let us at the same time know that the Prophet speaks metaphorically of the destruction of the city, for it was such as left nothing remaining. For when some ruins remain, there is some intimation of a future restoration at least the minds of beholders are inclined to hope that what has fallen is to be restored; but when the buildings are not only pulled down, but also demolished from their foundations, then the destruction seems to be without any hope of restoration. And this is what the Prophet means when he says, that the fire had consumed, not only what was above ground, but the very foundations of Jerusalem. It follows, —