19. people of the land--the Jews "in the land" of Chaldea who thought
themselves miserable as being exiles and envied the Jews left in
Jerusalem as fortunate.
land of Israel--contrasted with "the people in the land" of Chaldea.
So far from being fortunate as the exiles in Chaldea regarded them, the
Jews in Jerusalem are truly miserable, for the worst is before them,
whereas the exiles have escaped the miseries of the coming siege.
land . . . desolate from all that is
therein--literally, "that the land (namely, Judea) may be despoiled
of the fulness thereof"; emptied of the inhabitants and abundance of
flocks and corn with which it was filled.
because of . . . violence--
(Ps 107:34).
JFB.
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