For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her.
The punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom - (cf. Christ's denunciation of Capernaum, "If the mighty works which have been done in thee had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day," Matthew 11:23). No prophets had been sent to Sodom, as there had been to Judea; therefore the punishment of the latter was heavier than that of the former. Overthrown as in a moment - whereas the Jews had to endure the protracted and manifold hardships of a siege. No hands stayed on her - no hostile force, as the Chaldeans, in the case of Jerusalem, continually pressed on her before her overthrow. Jeremiah thus shows the greater severity of Jerusalem's punishment than that of Sodom. [Zayin (z)]