Jeremiah 2:15

15 Lions have roared; they have growled at him. They have laid waste his land; his towns are burned and deserted.

Jeremiah 2:15 in Other Translations

15 The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant.

15 The lions have roared against him; they have roared loudly. They have made his land a waste; his cities are in ruins, without inhabitant.

15 Strong lions have roared against him, and the land has been destroyed. The towns are now in ruins, and no one lives in them anymore.

15 fought over by snarling and roaring lions? There's nothing left of her but a few old bones, her towns trashed and deserted.

15 The young lions have roared upon him, and yelled; and they have made his land waste: his cities are burned up, without inhabitant.

15 Young lions have roared very loudly at them. Young lions have turned the land into a wasteland. The cities have been burned down, and everyone has left.

15 The young lions have roared at him; they have roared loudly. They have laid waste his land. His cities are in ruins, without inhabitants.

15 Lions have roared. They have growled at you. They have destroyed your land. Your towns are burned and deserted.

Jeremiah 2:15 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 2:15

The young lions roared upon him, and yelled
Or, "gave out their voice" ^F5; meaning the kings of the nations, as the Targum, Jarchi, and Kimchi explain it; and are to be understood of the kings of Assyria and Babylon, and particularly of Nebuchadnezzar; see ( Jeremiah 50:17 ) compared to lions for their strength and cruelty; their "roaring" and "yelling design" the bringing forth of their armies against Israel, the noise of the battle, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war, and the voice of the warrior: and they made his land waste;
all this is said as past, when it was yet to come, because of the certainty of it, and the sure accomplishment of these prophecies; for this respects the future desolation of the land of Israel at the Babylonish captivity: his cities are burnt without inhabitant;
not only Jerusalem was burnt with fire, ( Jeremiah 52:13 ) , but other cities in the land of Israel, so that they were not inhabited: or, "they were desolate or destroyed" ^F6 as the Septuagint version, so that none could dwell in them; and so the Targum,

``her cities are desolate, without inhabitant.''

Kimchi's father explains the word by (wxmu) , "budded", or brought forth herbs or plants; for desolate places bring up plants; where there is no inhabitant, grass grows.

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FOOTNOTES:

F5 (Mlwq wntn) "dederunt vocem suam", Montanus, Pagninus; "edunt rocem suam", Schmidt.
F6 (htun) , (kateskafhsan) , "desolatae sunt, [sive] destructae", Vatablus.

Jeremiah 2:15 In-Context

13 “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

14 Is Israel a servant, a slave by birth? Why then has he become plunder?

15 Lions have roared; they have growled at him. They have laid waste his land; his towns are burned and deserted.

16 Also, the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes have cracked your skull.

17 Have you not brought this on yourselves by forsaking the LORD your God when he led you in the way?

Cross References

• 1. Jeremiah 4:7; Jeremiah 50:17
• 2. S Isaiah 1:7
• 3. S 2 Kings 25:9
• 4. S Leviticus 26:43