This is an explanation of the words, that pride had budded: now he adds violence to pride, which is its fruit: for contempt of God always begets cruelty and savagery, and rapine, and all injustice. But he speaks, as I have said, concerning the Israelites. He says that violence had risen up into a rod of wickedness Thus he confirms what he had touched upon, that the rod of God’s vengeance was not to be sought elsewhere than among the Israelites. God indeed had stirred up the king of Babylon to punish them: but the rod had grown up from the root of their wickedness by which the Israelites had provoked God’s anger: and so he adds, that nothing should be left of them: nothing, says he, should remain safe, either of themselves or of their opulence: for so I interpret המון, hemon: then, of their noise or multitude; either will do moderately well; and there shall not be wailing for them Jerome reads, נה, neh, and hence translates — there shall not be rest among them: but the Prophet means that there shall be neither sorrow nor lament, because the slaughter of all would be promiscuous. And we saw the same in Jeremiah: when one family has perished, friends and acquaintances assemble, and celebrate the funeral of the deceased; but when a pestilence pervades the whole city, and no house is free from death: nay when fathers are mingled with sons, so that their carcases can scarcely be drawn out for multitude, all sorrow ceases. With this intention then the Prophet says, there shall be no grief nor lamentation. For נהה, neheh, means lamentation. But we have already explained its meaning, namely, that all the Israelites were so destined to destruction that there should be, no survivors to lament the dead, and even should there be any, they should be so astonished amidst the multitude of the dead, that every duty of humanity towards them would perish. Now it follows —