Withhold thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from thirst: but thou saidst, There is no hope: no; for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go.
Withhold ... - i:e., Abstain from incontinence; figurative for idolatry (Houbigant).
Unshod ... - do not run so violently in pursuing lovers as to wear out thy shoes: do not 'thirst' so incontinently after sexual intercourse. Hitzig thinks the reference is to penances performed barefoot to idols, and the thirst occasioned by loud and continued invocations to them. I prefer taking the language as figurative of eager desire for idols. Contrast "My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?" (Psalms 42:2.)
No hope - (Jeremiah 18:12). Though thus giving up all hope as to the true God, yet Judah would not give up hope of help from vain idols, which had so often disappointed their expectations with all their pains to serve them. "Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way (in the tedious journeys thou hast had after strange gods); yet saidst thou not, There is no hope!" (Isaiah 57:10.) Here Judah says, as to all invitations to return to Yahweh, 'It is hopeless' - i:e., I am desperately resolved to go on in my own course.
Strangers - i:e., laying aside the metaphor, strange gods (Jeremiah 3:13; Deuteronomy 32:16).