Jeremiah 4:11-13

A dry wind, &c.— The prophet here describes the Chaldean army coming up for the destruction of Judaea, under the metaphor of a hot pestilential wind, which sweeps away multitudes in a moment, blasts the fruits of the earth, and spreads desolation every where around. The passage, like that in the preceding verses, is spirited and sublime; but it loses a good deal of elegance in our version. Houbigant renders it thus, Behold, a wind hangs over the mountains of the desarts; behold, it a shall come upon the daughter of my people, but not to fan, or to cleanse: Jeremiah 4:12. A mighty wind shall thence come upon her, and then at length will I declare my judgment concerning them, or her: Jeremiah 4:13. Behold, as clouds it shall hang over; its chariots shall be as a whirlwind; its horses swifter than eagles, &c. Of the malignancy of the south wind blowing over the desarts of Arabia, travellers have given dreadful accounts. The effect of this wind is, not only to render the air extremely hot and scorching, but to fill it with poisonous and suffocating vapours. It sometimes becomes a whirlwinds raising up large quantities of land, so as to darken the air, and not seldom to bury underneath the unfortunate traveller. The most violent storms that Judaea was subject to came from that quarter. See Bishop's Lowth's note on Isaiah 21:1 and Mr. Harmer's citation from Maillet's Memoirs; ch. i. obs. 16.