Jeremiah 6:6

THE SIEGE, Jeremiah 6:6-8.

6. Hew ye down trees In Deuteronomy 20:19, the Israelites were forbidden to cut down fruit trees in the siege, but here the enemies of Jerusalem are commanded to hew down her trees without reservation. Some think they were to be used in the construction of a rampart and for battering rams; but there is no proof that the orientals prosecuted their sieges by walls of circumvallation. On the contrary, this plan of warfare seems to have been confined to the Greeks and Romans. It would seem, then, that the trees were to be cut down simply to clear the approaches to the city.

Cast Literally, pour out. It refers to the carrying of the earth in baskets, and pouring it out to make the mount. When this “mount” was carried up to the top of the walls the assault was made.