Jeremiah 8

11. ( Ezekiel 13:10 ).

13. surely consume--literally, "gathering I will gather," or "consuming I will consume."
no grapes . . . nor figs--( Joel 1:7 , Matthew 21:19 ).
things that I have given . . . shall pass away--rather, "I will appoint to them those who shall overwhelm (pass over) them," that is, I will send the enemy upon them [MAURER]. English Version accords well with the context; Though their grapes and figs ripen, they shall not be allowed to enjoy them.

14. assemble--for defense.
let us be silent--not assault the enemy, but merely defend ourselves in quiet, until the storm blow over.
put us to silence--brought us to that state that we can no longer resist the foe; implying silent despair.
water of gall--literally, "water of the poisonous plant," perhaps the poppy ( Jeremiah 9:15 , 23:15 ).

15. Repeated ( Jeremiah 14:19 ).
We looked for--owing to the expectations held out by the false prophets.
health--healing; that is, restoration from adversity.

16. his horses--the Chaldean's.
was heard--the prophetical past for the future.
from Dan--bordering on Phoenicia. This was to be Nebuchadnezzar's route in invading Israel; the cavalry in advance of the infantry would scour the country.
strong ones--a poetical phrase for steeds, peculiar to Jeremiah ( Jeremiah 47:3 ; compare Jeremiah 4:13 Jeremiah 4:29 , 6:23 ).

17. I--Jehovah.
cockatrices--basilisks ( Isaiah 11:8 ), that is, enemies whose destructive power no means, by persuasion or otherwise, can counteract. Serpent-charmers in the East entice serpents by music, and by a particular pressure on the neck render them incapable of darting ( Psalms 58:4 Psalms 58:5 ).

18. ( Isaiah 22:4 ). The lamentation of the prophet for the impending calamity of his country.
against sorrow--or, with respect to sorrow. MAURER translates, "Oh, my exhilaration as to sorrow!" that is, "Oh, that exhilaration ('comfort', from an Arabic root, to shine as the rising sun) would shine upon me as to my sorrow!"
in me--within me.

19. The prophet in vision hears the cry of the exiled Jews, wondering that God should have delivered them up to the enemy, seeing that He is Zion's king, dwelling in her ( Micah 3:11 ). In the latter half of the verse God replies that their own idolatry, not want of faithfulness on His part, is the cause.
because of them that dwell in a far country--rather, "from a land of distances," that is, a distant land ( Isaiah 39:3 ). English Version understands the cry to be of the Jews in their own land, because of the enemy coming from their far-off country.
strange vanities--foreign gods.

20. Proverbial. Meaning: One season of hope after another has passed, but the looked-for deliverance never came, and now all hope is gone.

21. black--sad in visage with grief ( Joel 2:6 ).

22. balm--balsam; to be applied to the wounds of my people. Brought into Judea first from Arabia Felix, by the queen of Sheba, in Solomon's time [JOSEPHUS, Antiquities, 8.2]. The opobalsamum of PLINY; or else [BOCHART] the resin drawn from the terebinth. It abounded in Gilead, east of Jordan, where, in consequence, many "physicians" established themselves ( Jeremiah 46:11 , 51:8 , Genesis 37:25 , 43:11 ).
health . . . recovered--The Hebrew is literally, "lengthening out . . . gone up"; hence, the long bandage applied to bind up a wound. So the Arabic also [GESENIUS].