Of the way of the nations you shall not learn Of the way of the nations you shall not learnand then, from the signs of the heavens you will not be dismayed, from the eclipse of the sun or the eclipse of the luminaries.

a carpenter Heb. חרש, a craftsman.

a small axe Dolodojjre in O.F.

with nails clous in French.

and with sledge hammers A hammer, marteau in French.

it does not bend Heb. יפיק, it does not kneel with its knees. Comp. (I Sam. 25:31) “a stumbling block (פוקה)”; (Nahum 2:11) “and tottering (ופיק) of the knees.”

Like a palm tree they are beaten He hammers them with a hammer until it has an upright stature like a palm tree.

fear them not if you separate from them for they will not harm you.

neither is it in them to do good If you worship them. היטיב is like להיטיב to do good.

for it befits You It is proper for you.

But with one thing they are brutish i.e., the heathens, and what is that one thing? Their vanities of wood for which they will be punished, and they will be punished for it. יבערו is an expression of foolishness, so is ויכסלו.

Silver beaten into plates Heb. מרקע.

But the Lord God is true Why? Because He is a living God and the King of the world. Therefore, He can make His words come true. A mortal person, however, plans to do something and dies or becomes weak or loses his property, and has no ability to execute his plans.

So shall you say to them This is a letter that Jeremiah sent to Jeconiah and those exiled with him in exile, to reply to the Chaldees in Aramaic, a reply if they tell them to worship idols.

He stretched out Tendre in French.

At the sound of His giving At the time the sound comes that He is giving a multitude of water in the heavens.

clouds Heb. נשאים, clouds.

lightning plaindres in old French.

brutish Heb. נבער. Comp. (Psalms 92:7) “a brutish (בער) man”; also here (infra 10:21), “the shepherds have become brutish (נבערו).”

his molten images Heb. נסכו. An expression of מסכה, a molten image.

at the time of their visitation When I will visit retribution upon them.

Gather in from the land your merchandise Heb. כנעתך. Hide, gather in from the land your merchandise. Comp. (Hos. 12:8) “The trafficker (כּנען) in his hand are deceitful scales.” Menahem explains כנעתך as an expression of humility (הכנעה) and lowliness. And אספי is an expression of bending down. Bend down and humble yourself more than the lowliness of the earth, you Jerusalem, that dwells now in a fortified city (Machbereth p. 107).

sling as one slings a stone with a slingshot.

that they may find their just deserts.

grievous Heb. נחלה, an expression of sickness (חלי).

and I will bear it Heb. ואשאנו. Jonathan renders. And I will bear it ([a]souffrir lui in O.F.).

have left me Heb. יצאוני, have left me, Jerusalem says this.

For the shepherds The kings.

they have not prospered They have not prospered in their kingdom. Comp. (Prov. 17:8) “To all that he turns, he will prosper (ישכיל).

their flocks Heb. מרעיתם, lit. their pasture, the flocks of their pasture.

man’s way is not his For the evil inclination that You created in him leads him astray from the way. Another explanation is: I know, O Lord, that man’s way is not his; not every man has the power to make his way prosper, and if it were not for Your command, the enemy would have no power to destroy Your Temple.

but with justice With chastisements.

with justice (justice in French).

but with justice Jonathan renders: but with mild judgment.

not with Your wrath lest there be complete destruction.

they have devoured (devorerent in French). The same applies to “and consumed him” (ואכלהוּ).