Jeremiah 2:36 - Exposition

Why gaddest thou about so much —many render, Why runnest thou so quickly ; but the verb simply means to go, and it is enough to refer to foreign embassies, such as are alluded to in this very chapter ( Jeremiah 2:18 )— to change thy way ? The "way" or policy of Judah was "changed," according as the party in power favored an Egyptian or an Assyrian alliance. Thou also shalt be ashamed of ; rather, thou shalt also be brought to shame through . As thou art ashamed of Assyria (correct rendering as before). This is certainly difficult, for in the reign of Josiah it would appear that the political connection with Assyria still continued, Is it possible that Jeremiah, in these words, has in view rather the circumstances of Jehoiakim than those of Josiah? Does he not appear to look back upon Judah's final "putting to shame through Assyria" as a thing of the past? And to what event can this expression refer but to the overthrow of Josiah at Megiddo (so Graf)?