Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy delicate children; enlarge thy baldness as the eagle; for they are gone into captivity from thee.
Ver. 16. Make thee bald and poll thee] i.e. Make most bitter lamentation. He alludes to a custom among the Easterlings, of tearing off the hair of their heads and beards in times of great heaviness. See Job 1:20 Isa 15:2 Jer 7:29 Ezra 9:3. In other cases baldness was forbidden Israel (lest they should symbolize with heathens), but in case of sorrow for sin they were called to it, Isaiah 22:12 .
For thy delicate children] To whom thou hast been rather a parricide than a parent; dealing by them, as that false schoolmaster in Italy, that brought forth his scholars to Hannibal.
As the eagle] When he is old, and loseth his feathers; and with them not only his beauty, but also his swiftness and courage.