Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it? Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? When the sound of alarm is trumpeted by the watchman in the city, the people are sure to run to and fro in alarm, (Hebrew, literally.) Yet Israel is not alarmed though God threatens judgments.
Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it? This is the explanation of the preceding similes: God is the Author of all the calamities which are about to happen you, and which are foretold by His prophets. The evil of sin is from ourselves; the evil of trouble is from God, whoever be the instruments.