8:13 The Lord also declared that He would snatch the Judahites from their land. He had gone forth among His people to gather a harvest of righteousness, but all He found on His vines and fig trees was withered leaves, no grapes or figs (cf. 2:21; 5:10; 6:9; Matt. 21:18-19; Luke 13:6-9; John 15:2). Consequently, He would remove their former blessings.
8:14 Jeremiah called his fellow countrymen to go with him to the walled cities where they could resist the invader for at least a little longer before they perished. He recognized that the coming judgment was from the Lord because the people had sinned so greatly. He compared their judgment to being given poisoned water ("gall"AV) to drink.
8:15 The people had waited for the peace and healing that the false prophet kept promising (v. 11), but it never came. Instead terror had overtaken them.
8:16 The invader could be heard approaching from the north. The people living at Dan, Israel's northernmost city, heard the army coming first. The whole earth shook because of the number and strength of the advancing army. Its purpose was to consume everything in the land including Jerusalem and its citizens.
8:17 The enemy would be like a batch of poisonous snakes that no one could charm that would bite the people fatally (cf. Num. 21:6-9).
