Jeremiah 6:3

The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her; they shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall feed every one in his place. SHEPHERDS - hostile leaders with their armies (; ; ; ; Jeremiah 39:1; ). FEED. They shall consume each one all that is near him; literally, "his hand" - i:e., the place which he occupies (; note,...

But he afterwards adds, _Come shall shepherds_, _etc_. ; that is, there is no ground for the Jews to deceive themselves, because God has hitherto spared them, and restrained the assaults of enemies; for now shall _come shepherds_. He keeps to the same metaphor; “come, “he says, “shall shepherds, “together with their flocks; that is, come shall leaders of armies with their forces. But I have already reminded you, that the Prophet here has a regard to the city where he had been born, and adopts a pastoral language. _Come _then _shall shepherds with their flocks; fix shall they their tents, and feed shall each in his place_, he means that the whole of Jerusalem would be so much in the power of enemies, that each one would freely choose his own part or his own portion; for when there is any fear, then the shepherds gather their flocks, that they may assist one another; but when everything is...

1-8 Whatever methods are used, it is vain to contend with God's judgments. The more we indulge in the pleasures of this life, the more we unfit ourselves for the troubles of this life. The Chaldean army shall break in upon the land of Judah, and in a little time devour all. The day is coming, when those careless and secure in sinful ways will be visited. It is folly to trifle when we have eternal salvation to work out, and the enemies of that salvation to fight against. But they were thus eager, not that they might fulfil God's counsels, but that they might fill their own treasures; yet God thereby served his own purposes. The corrupt heart of man, in its natural state, casts out evil thoughts, just as a fountain casts out her waters. It is always flowing, yet always full. The God of mercy is loth to depart even from a provoking people, and is earnest with them, that by repentance and re...

Verse Jeremiah 6:3. _THE SHEPHERDS WITH THEIR FLOCKS_] The chiefs and their battalions. The invading army is about to spoil and waste all the fertile fields round about the city, while engaged in the siege....

To it shall come “shepherds with their flocks:” They have pitched upon it “their tents round about:” They have pastured each his hand, “i. e., side.” The pasture is so abundant that each feeds his flock, i. e., plunders Jerusalem, at the side of his own tent....

EXPOSITION A prophecy, in five stanzas or strophes, vividly describing the judgment and its causes, and enforcing the necessity of repentance. JEREMIAH 6:1 Arrival of a hostile army from the north, and summons to flee from the doomed city. JEREMIAH 6:1 O YE CHILDREN OF BENJAMIN. The political rank of Jerusalem, as the capital of the kingdom of Judah, makes it difficult to realize that Jerusalem was not locally a city of Judah at all. It belonged, strictly speaking, to the tribe of Benjamin, a tribe whose insignificance, in comparison with Judah, seems to have led to the adoption of a form of expression not literally accurate (see Psa 128:1-6 :68). The true state of the ease is evident from an examination of the two par

THE SHEPHERDS WITH THEIR FLOCKS SHALL COME UNTO HER,.... Kings and their armies, as the Targum paraphrases it; kings and generals are compared to shepherds, and their armies to flocks, who are under their command and direction; here they design Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, with his generals and armies, who should come up against Jerusalem, as to a good pasture: THEY SHALL PITCH THEIR TENTS AGAINST HER ROUND ABOUT; their military tents, in allusion to pastoral ones. The phrase is expressive of the Chaldean army surrounding and besieging Jerusalem: THEY SHALL FEED EVERYONE IN HIS PLACE; where he is ordered and fixed by his head general: or, "everyone shall feed his hand" p: the sheep of his hand; see Psalms 95:7, "them that are under his hand", as the Vulgate Latin version renders it; who are committed to his care and charge. The meaning is, he shall dir

CHAPTER 6 _ 1. The call to the children of Benjamin (Jeremiah 6:1) _ 2. Corruption and the deserved judgment (Jeremiah 6:9) 3. The prophet addressed (Jeremiah 6:27) Jeremiah 6:1. The children of Benjamin are exhorted to flee for safety on account of the evil from the north. There were probably among the Benjamites God-fearing men. Those who heeded the call fled and escaped. It is a warning message which follows: “Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, let my soul depart from thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited.” But they heeded it not....

THE SIEGE OF THE SINFUL CITY. The prophet bids his kinsfolk (Anathoth, his birthplace, being in Benjamin) to abandon the capital, and to gather in the southern mountains; the northern peril is now nearer than ever, and the fair and luxurious city is to be destroyed. Her besiegers are around her, like shepherds with their flocks, ravaging the land. We hear the foe discussing their plans a surprise at noon when men are resting from the heat; then, when they lament the loss of this opportunity (Woe unto us!), a night attack. The trees around the city (Jeremiah 6:6 _mg.; cf._ Deuteronomy 20:19) are cut down, and earthworks are thrown up as part of the enemy's plan of attack. The city is visited, _i.e._ punished, because she keeps fresh ...

SHEPHERDS: i.e. the Chaldean armies. See Jeremiah 3:15,...