For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith
the Lord
Or spare them; but cause his wrath to come upon them to the uttermost, as it did at the time of Jerusalem's destruction by the Romans; but, lo, I will deliver the men everyone into his neighbour's
hand;
this seems to refer to the factions and divisions among themselves during the siege of Jerusalem, when multitudes fell into the hands of the zealots, and heads of parties, and perished by them: and into the hand of his king;
Vespasian the Roman emperor; the Jews having declared, long before this time, that they had no king but Caesar, ( John 19:15 ) and now into his hands they were delivered up: and they shall smite the land;
that is, the Romans shall lay waste the land of Judea: and out of their hand I will not deliver [them];
as formerly out of the hands of their neighbours, the Philistines, Ammonites and out of the captivity of Babylon. It denotes that their destruction would be an utter one; nor have they been delivered yet, though it has been over 1900 years ago.