Say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither? it shall wither in all the leaves of her spring, even without great power or many people to pluck it up by the roots thereof.
Ver. 9. Shall it prosper?] How should it? say. "Hath ever any waxed fierce against God (or his substitute) and prospered?" Job 9:4 Is perfidy and perjury the right way to prosperity? I trow not.
Shall he not pull up?] He that is the great eagle, Eze 17:3 who would be upon them before they were aware.
Without great power, or many people,] i.e., For any great need there shall be of them, since the work shall be done with little ado. If the Chaldeans were but a few, and they all wounded men, they should yet rise up and burn this city, saith Jeremiah. See 2 Chronicles 24:23,24. It is no hard matter, we know, to pluck up a vine, root and branch; God telleth us in the next verse that he can do it with a wind - with a wet finger, as we say.