Their widows are increased to me above the sand of the seas: I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a spoiler at noonday: I have caused him to fall upon it suddenly, and terrors upon the city.
Their widows - my peoples (Jeremiah 15:7). I have brought-prophetic past: I will bring.
Against the mother of the young men - "mother" is collective; after the "widows," he naturally mentions bereavement of their sons ("young men"), brought on the 'mothers' by "the spoiler;" it was owing to the number of men slain that the "widows" were so many (Calvin). Others take "mother" as in 2 Samuel 20:19 ("a city and a mother in Israel"), of Jerusalem the metropolis; 'I have brought on them, against the "mother," a young spoiler'-namely, Nebuchadnezzar, sent by his father, Nabopolassar, to repulse Pharaoh-nechoh and the Egyptian invaders (2 Kin. 33:29; 24:1), and occupy Judea. But Jeremiah 15:7 shows the future, not the past, is referred to; and "widows" being literal, "mother" is probably so too.
A spoiler at noon-day - the hottest part of the day, when military operations were usually suspended: thus it means unexpectedly, answering to the parallel, "suddenly;" openly, as others explain it, will not suit the parallelism (cf. Psalms 91:6).
It. The English version seems to understand by "it" the mother city, and by "him" the "spoiler;" thus "it" will be parallel to "the city." Rather, 'I will cause to fall upon them (the 'mothers' about to be bereft of their sons) suddenly anguish and terrors.'
The city, х `iyr (H5892) - rather, from a root 'heat,' anguish, or consternation [akin to `uwr (H5782), to excite]. So Septuagint.