Jeremiah 2:15

2:15 Like lions his enemies roar victoriously over him;

they raise their voices in triumph.

They have laid his land waste;

his cities have been burned down and deserted.

Jeremiah 46:19

46:19 Pack your bags for exile,

you inhabitants of poor dear Egypt.

For Memphis will be laid waste.

It will lie in ruins and be uninhabited.


tn Heb “Lions shout over him, they give out [raise] their voices.”

sn The reference to lions is here a metaphor for the Assyrians (and later the Babylonians, see Jer 50:17). The statement about lions roaring over their prey implies that the prey has been vanquished.

tn Heb “without inhabitant.”

tn Heb “inhabitants of daughter Egypt.” Like the phrase “daughter Zion,” “daughter Egypt” is a poetic personification of the land, here perhaps to stress the idea of defenselessness.

tn For the verb here see HALOT 675 s.v. II נָצָה Nif and compare the usage in Jer 4:7; 9:11 and 2 Kgs 19:25. BDB derives the verb from יָצַת (so BDB 428 s.v. יָצַת Niph meaning “kindle, burn”) but still give it the meaning “desolate” here and in 2:15 and 9:11.