Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Lamentations 4:19
Our persecutors are swifter than the eagles of the heaven: they pursued us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the wilderness.
19. swifter than the eagles ] Cp. Deu 28:49, and see on Jer 4:13.
They chased us upon the mountains ] The metaphor in this and the following v. is taken from hunting. The reference is either to the circumstances attendant on the capture of Zedekiah (Jer 39:5 f., Jer 52:8) who is referred to more distinctly in the following v., or in general to the condition of the fugitives at the taking of the city.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 19. They pursued us upon the mountains] They hunted down the poor Jews like wild beasts in every part of the country by their marauding parties, whilst the great army besieged Jerusalem. But this may apply to the pursuit of Zedekiah. See what follows.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Our enemies who pursued us to destroy us were very swift in their pursuit of us, (As swift as an eagle, was a proverbial expression,) we could no where be safe: if we sought refuge in the mountains, they followed us thither; if we fled from them into the wilderness, they laid wait for us there.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
19. The last times just beforethe taking of the city. There was no place of escape; the foeintercepted those wishing to escape from the famine-stricken city,”on the mountains and in the wilderness.”
swifter . . . than . . .eaglesthe Chaldean cavalry (Jer4:13).
pursuedliterally, “tobe hot”; then, “to pursue hotly” (Ge31:36). Thus they pursued and overtook Zedekiah (Jer 52:8;Jer 52:9).
Resh.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Our persecutors are swifter than the eagles of the heavens,…. That fly in the heavens; and which, as they have a quick sight to discern their prey afar off, are very swift to pursue it; they are the swiftest of birds, and are so to a proverb. Apuleius i represents the swift pursuit of their prey, and sudden falling upon it, to be like thunder and lightning. Cicero k relates of a certain racer, that came to an interpreter of dreams, and told him, that in his dream he seemed to become an eagle; upon which, says the interpreter, thou wilt be the conqueror; for no bird flies with such force and swiftness as that. And this bird is also remarkable for its constancy in flying: it is never weary, but keeps on flying to places the most remote. The poets have a fiction, that Jupiter, being desirous of knowing which was the middle of the world, sent out two eagles of equal swiftness, the one from the east, and the other from the west, at the same moment; which stopped not till they came to Delphos, where they met, which showed that to be the spot; in memory of which, two golden eagles were placed in the temple there l. The swiftness and constancy of these creatures in flying are here intended to set forth the speed and assiduity of the enemies of the Jews, in their pursuit after them; who followed them closely, and never ceased till they had overtaken them. The Chaldeans are designed, who pursued the Jews very hotly and eagerly, such as fled when the city was broken up; though not so much they themselves, as being thus swift of foot, as their horses on which they rode; see Jer 4:13.
they pursued us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the wilderness: or “plain” m; there was no safety in either; such as fled to the mountains were pursued and overtaken there; and such who attempted to make their escape through the valleys were intercepted there: the reference is to the flight of Zedekiah, his nobles, and his army with him, who were pursued by the Chaldeans, and taken in the plains of Jericho, Jer 52:7; hence it follows:
i Florida, l. 2. k De Divinatione, l. 2. p. 2001. l Vid. Strabo Geograph. l. 9. p. 289. & Pindar. Pythia, Ode 4. l. 7, 8. & Schmidt in ib. p. 174, 175. m “in plano”, Gataker.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Here, then, the Prophet means, that the Jews were so straitened, that there was no escape for them, because their steps were observed by their enemies, and also because the Chaldeans had recourse to the greatest celerity, that they might take them.
He then, says, first, that their enemies were like hunters, for the Jews could not go even through the streets of their own city. We know that they were reduced to the greatest straits; but how hard the siege was is better expressed by this similitude, even that they dared not walk through the city; for there is an implied comparison, as though he had said, “We had no liberty in the very city, much less were we allowed to go out and ramble through the open fields.” he, in the second place, adds what corresponds with the first clause, Approach did our end, fulfilled were our days; surely come did our end (218) He concludes, that no hope remained since their enemies were thus oppressing them. He, then, infers that the end was at hand, by which he means final ruin or destruction; and he adds, that the days were fulfilled, where, he seems to compare the state of Jerusalem with the life of man; for he is said to have fulfilled his day who leaves the world — for a certain time for cur sojourn has been prefixed. God, when it pleases him, calls us to himself. Hence, our time is then fulfilled, as our course is said to be finished; for, as the life of man is compared in Scripture to a race, so death is like the goal. So now, speaking of the city, the Prophet says that its time was fulfilled, for it was not God’s will that it should remain any longer. In the third place, he says, that the end had come. He said before, that it was nigh, but he says now, that it had come. he, in short, shows that God, having long spared the Jews, when he saw that they made no end of sinning, at length had recourse to rigor, for they had shamefully abused his forbearance; for he had long suspended his judgment, and had often tried whether they were healable. The Prophet, then, reproves now their obstinacy, when he says that their end had come, and that their time was fulfilled.
He afterwards, for the same purpose, adds, that swifter than eagles had been their persecutors or pursuers. The Prophet, no doubt;, continues the same subject. As, then, he had made the Chaldeans to be like hunters, so he says now, that in flying they exceeded the eagles. It is, indeed. a hyperbolical expression, but the Prophet could not otherwise express the incredible celerity with which the Chaldeans hastened in pursuing the Jews. Nor is there a doubt but that he indirectly derided the security of the foolish people; for we know, that whenever the prophets threatened them, this false opinion ever prevailed, that the Chaldeans would not come, because they were far away, the journey was long and difficult, time were many hinderances. The Prophet, then, now taunts them for this confidence, by which they had been deceived, when he says, that swifter titan the eagles of the heavens were their enemies.
He mentions the ways they adopted, Through the mountains they pursued, and laid in wait in the desert. He means that every way of escape was closed up. For when enemies come, many hide themselves on mountains and thus escape; and others, betaking themselves to the desert, find there some hiding-places. But the Prophet says that such was the velocity of the Chaldeans, that the Jews in vain looked to the mountains or to deserts, for snares were everywhere prepared, and they were present everywhere to pursue them. Thus he confirms what he had said, that the time was fulfilled, for the Lord kept them shut up on every side.
Now, though the Prophet speaks here of the ruin of the city, yet we may gather a useful doctrine: When the hand of God is against us, we in vain look around in all directions, for there will be no safety for us on mountains, nor will solitude protect us in the desert. As, then, we see that the Jews were closed up by God’s hand, so when we contend with him, we in vain turn our eyes here and there; for, however we may for a time entertain good hopes, yet God will surely at last disappoint us. It follows, —
(218) He describes throughout what had taken place. Our version is not right in giving the verbs in the present tense. “For” is better than “surely” before “come.”
They hunted our footsteps, That we could not walk in our streets: Near was our end; fulfilled were our days, For come had our end.
Then he describes what happened when the city was taken. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(19) Our persecutors.Better, Our pursuers, the words referring to the Chaldan enemies rather than to persecutors in the modern sense of the word. The comparison with eagles has a parallel in Deu. 28:49. If we take the second clause as referring to the flight of Zedekiah, mentioned in the next verse, the mountains would be the heights east of Jerusalem, beginning with the Mount of Olives, and the wilderness that of the Ghor, or Jordan Valley (Jer. 39:5).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
19. And even those who did succeed in escaping from the city were not materially better off. The enemy pursued us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the wilderness So was Zedekiah captured, Jer 39:5, as the following verse narrates.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Lam 4:19. Our persecutors, &c. The Lord hath brought upon us the judgment that he threatened by Moses, of bringing a nation against us, as swift as the eagle flieth; for such are the Chaldean horsemen. See Jer 4:13; Jer 48:40; Jer 49:22.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Lam 4:19 Our persecutors are swifter than the eagles of the heaven: they pursued us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the wilderness.
Ver. 19. Our persecutors are swifter than the eagles. ] Those swiftest of all fowl, whom Pindarus therefore calleth the queen of birds as the dolphin of fishes, for like swiftness. The Egyptians, their pretended helpers, were slow as snails; the Chaldees swifter than eagles.
They pursued us.
They laid wait for us in the wilderness.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
persecutors = pursuers.
swifter than the eagles. Ref, to Pentateuch (Deu 28:49).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
persecutors: Deu 28:49, Isa 5:26-28, Isa 30:16, Isa 30:17, Jer 4:13, Hos 8:1, Hab 1:8, Mat 24:27, Mat 24:28
the eagles: The eagle, whose wings are of an extraordinary length, darts with amazing rapidity through the voids of heaven.
they pursued: Amo 2:14, Amo 9:1-3
Reciprocal: Lev 11:13 – the eagle 2Sa 1:23 – swifter 2Ki 25:6 – they took Job 9:26 – as the eagle Jer 48:40 – he shall Jer 52:8 – General Lam 1:3 – all Lam 5:5 – Our necks are under persecution Eze 12:13 – My net Eze 17:3 – A great Dan 7:4 – like Hos 8:3 – the enemy
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Lam 4:19. This verse is a complaint of Judah about the treatment which they were receiving from their captors. They represent the attack as being so swift and general that there was no way of eseape.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Judah’s enemies swiftly pursued the Jews around the countryside as well, not allowing any of them to escape. They chased them wherever they sought to hide, on the mountains or in the wilderness, like an eagle pursuing its prey.