Jeremiah 14:17 - Exposition

Therefore thou shalt say, etc. There is something strange and contrary to verisimilitude in the prefixing of this formula, not to a Divine revelation, but to a mere expression of the pained human feelings of the prophet. It is possible that the editor of Jeremiah's prophecies thought the paragraph which begins here needed something to link it with the preceding passage, and selected his formula rather unsuitably. Let mine eyes run down , etc. (comp. Jeremiah 13:27 ). Jeremiah's tender compassion shows itself in his choice of the expression, the virgin daughter of my people , just as we feel an added bitterness in the premature death of a cherished maiden.