Behold, the noise of the bruit is come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, and a den of dragons.

The voice of tidings, behold, it cometh, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah a desolation, a dwelling-place of jackals.

Behold the sound of a noise cometh, a great commotion out of the land of the north: to make the cities of Juda a desert, and a dwelling for dragons.

The voice of a rumour! Behold, it cometh, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah a desolation, a dwelling-place of jackals.

Behold, the sound of the noise is come, and a great commotion from the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, and a den of dragons.

A voice of a report, lo, it hath come, Even a great shaking from the north country, To make the cities of Judah a desolation, A habitation of dragons.

News is going about, see, it is coming, a great shaking is coming from the north country, so that the towns of Judah may be made waste and become the living-place of jackals.

Hark! a report, behold, it cometh, And a great commotion out of the north country, To make the cities of Judah desolate, A dwelling-place of jackals.

Behold, the sound of a voice approaches, a great commotion from the land of the north: so that he may make the cities of Judah into a wilderness and into a dwelling place for serpents.

Vox rumoris, ecce venit, et strepitus (vel, tumultus) magnus (commotio, alii vertunt) e terra Aquilonis, ad ponendas urbes Jehudah in vastationem, domicilium draconum.

Jeremiah shews in this verse that prophetic doctrine was useless to an obstinate people; for there is a contrast, no doubt, to be understood betweenthe voice of God, which had constantly resounded in Judea, and the tumultuous clamours of enemies; for the prophets, one after another, had reproved the people, but without effect. Now, then, as they were deaf to God's voice, the Prophet declares that new teachers were now come who would address them in another way, and in an unusual manner. The voice then of rumor is heard; "ye would not hear me and other servants of God; but a voice of rumor comes from the north: the Chaldeans shall be your teachers; I send you to their school, since I have spent my labor for many years in vain, as all those have done who before me diligently sought to lead you to the right way, whom God employed, and who faithfully endeavored to secure your safety; but they were no more attended to than I am, and therefore they ceased to teach you. I now turn you over to the Chaldeans; they shall teach you." This is the simple meaning. The voice of rumor, he says, or literally, of hearing, smvh, shimuoe, comes; that is, the voice which shall be heard, for they had closed their ears to the prophetic warnings; and a great tumult or commotion from the land of the north We now then see that the Chaldeans are set in opposition to the prophets, who had labored in vain among the Jews; as though Jeremiah had said that the Jews would, willing or unwilling, be made to attend to this tumultuous noise; and he says that it would be for the purpose of turning the cities of Judah to desolation and an habitation of dragons [1] It follows --

Footnotes

1 - The verse may be thus rendered, -- A sound is heard! -- behold it comes, Even a great commotion, from the land of the North, To make the cities of Judah a desolation, The habitation of dragons. Blayney is right in taking the first words by themselves, but, "Hark, a voice!" is not a true version, smvh is here a passive participle. -- Ed

The "great commotion" is the confused noise of the army on its march (see Jeremiah 8:16).
Dragons - i. e., jackals; see the marginal reference.

The noise of the bruit is come - How this silly French word bruit, which signifies noise, got in here, I cannot imagine. The simple translation is this: "The voice of the report! behold, it is come; yea, great commotion from the land of the north; (Chaldea); to make the cities of Judea a desolation, a habitation of wild beasts." That is, the report we had heard of the projected invasion of Judea by Nebuchadnezzar is confirmed. He has entered the land; the Chaldeans are at the doors, and the total desolation of Judea is their sole object.

Behold, the sound of a rumour is come, and a great commotion from the (o) north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, [and] a den of dragons.
(o) Read (Jeremiah 4:15).

Behold the noise of the bruit is come,.... Or, "the voice of hearing" (c); that is, the voice heard; the report that was made that the king of Babylon had invaded the land, and was coming up to besiege Jerusalem: "and a great commotion out of the north country"; a large army from Babylon, which lay north of Judea, which came with great noise, and caused a great trembling and shaking among the inhabitants of the land whither they were coming:
to make the cities of Judah desolate, and a den of dragons; this shows that the whole paragraph is to be understood of the Jewish nation, and of their destruction. See Gill on Jeremiah 9:11.
(c) "vox auditionis", Pagninus, Montanus; "vox auditus", Vatablus, Calvin; "vox famae", Schmidt.

bruit--rumor of invasion. The antithesis is between the voice of God in His prophets to whom they turned a deaf ear, and the cry of the enemy, a new teacher, whom they must hear [CALVIN].
north country--Babylon (Jeremiah 1:15).

Noise - Rumour, report.