Having exposed the stubborn foolishness of Judah’s idolatry in Jeremiah 10:1–16 as the reason for the Lord’s judgment, Jeremiah now returns to the judgment itself in this passage (Jeremiah 10:17–25). The passage has two main parts: First, there is the announcement of the impending judgement in the form of the enemy from the north (Jeremiah 10:17–18). Secondly, Jeremiah intercedes on behalf of the people (Jeremiah 10:19–25).1
The passage starts with a command for those who are under siege to gather up their bundles from the ground. As he typically does in his writings, Jeremiah prophetically warns the people of a coming invasion by speaking as if the invasion were busy happening.2 The siege referred to here is probably the siege of Jerusalem just before the city fell to the Babylonian army in 597 BC.3 The people in the besieged city must gather whatever of their possessions they can carry and prepare to leave. It is a situation of utter despair when your only choice is to take what you can carry and flee your last place of safety.
17 Gather up your bundle from the ground, O you who dwell under siege!