All thy rulers are fled together, they are bound by the archers: all that are found in thee are bound together, which have fled from far.

All thy rulers fled away together, they were bound by the archers; all that were found of thee were bound together; they fled afar off.

All the princes are fled together, and are bound hard: all that were found, are bound together, they are fled far off.

All thy rulers have fled together, they are taken prisoners without the bow: all that are found of thee are made prisoners together; they were fleeing far off.

All thy rulers fled together from the bow, Bound have been all found of thee, They have been kept bound together, Afar off they have fled.

All thy rulers are fled together, Without the bow they are bound; All that are found of thee are bound together, they are fled afar off.

All your leaders have fled together, and they have been bound by hardship. All who were found were chained together. They have fled far away.

Cuncti principes tui profugerunt parita ab arcu; vincti sunt. Omnes, inquam, in te reperti vincti sunt pariter, qui a longinquo fugerunt.

All thy rulers are fled together. This verse has been interpreted in various ways. The fact is abundantly plain, but there is some difficulty about the words. As m (mem) signifies before and more than, some explain mrchvq (mErachOk) [1] to mean, "They fled before others, though they were situated in the most distant parts of the country, and were in greater danger." Others render it, "Although they were at a great distance from Jerusalem, still they did not cease to flee like men who are seized with terror, and never stop in their flight, because they continually think that the enemy is at their heels." But a more natural interpretation appears to me to be. They have fled from afar; that is, "they who have resorted to Jerusalem as a safe retreat will be seized by enemies and vanquished;" for Jerusalem might be regarded as the general protection of the whole of Judea, and therefore, when a war broke out, the inhabitants rushed to it from every quarter. While they looked upon their habitation in Jerusalem as safe, they were taken prisoners. Others suppose it to refer to the siege of Sennacherib. (2 Kings 18:13; 2 Chronicles 32:1.) But I cannot be persuaded to expound the passage in this manner, for he speaks of the destruction of Jerusalem. When it was besieged by Sennacherib, the Lord immediately delivered it; none were taken or made prisoners, and there was no slaughter of men. These events therefore happened long after the death of the Prophet, and sacred history relates them, and informs us that in that destruction even the rulers betook themselves to flight; but they derived no advantage from their flight, nor did Jerusalem afford them any defense, for they fell into the hands of their enemies. When he expressly mentions the rulers, this shews more strongly the shamefulness of the transaction, for they ought to have been the first to expose their persons for the safety of the people. They might be viewed as the shields which ought to have guarded and defended the common people. So long as Jerusalem kept its ground and was in a prosperous condition, these statements might be thought incredible, for it was a very strong and powerfully fortified city. But they chiefly boasted of the protection of God, for they thought that in some way God was bound to his "Temple;" and their pride swelled them with the confident hope that, though all should be leagued against it, no power and no armies could bring it down. (Jeremiah 7:4.) This prophecy might therefore be thought very strange, that they would have no courage, that they would betake themselves to flight, and that even in that manner they could not escape.

Footnotes

1 - Rendered in the English version, "from afar."

All thy rulers are fled together - The general idea in this verse is plain. It is designed to describe the consternation which would take place on the approach of the invader, and especially the timidity and flight of those on whom the city relied for protection and defense. Hence, instead of entering calmly and firmly on the work of defense, no inconsiderable part of the rulers of the city are represented as fleeing from the city, and refusing to remain to protect the capital. The word rendered 'thy rulers' (קציניך qitsiynayik) denotes either the civil rulers of the city, or military leaders. It is most usually applied to the latter Joshua 10:24; Judges 11:6, Judges 11:11; Daniel 11:18, and probably refers here to military commanders.
They are bound by the archers - Hebrew as in the margin, 'Of the bow.' There has been a great variety in the interpretation of this passage. The Septuagint reads it, Σκληρῶς δεδεμένοι εἰσί sklērōs dedemenoi eisi - 'And the captives are bound with severity.' The Chaldee, 'And the captives migrate from before the extending of the bow.' Jarchi renders it, 'Who from the fear of arrows were bound so that they shut themselves up in the city.' Houbigant and Lowth render it, 'They are fled from the bow,' reading it הסרוּ hâserû instead of the present Hebrew text אסרוּ 'usrû, but without the slightest authority. Vitringa renders it, 'They were bound from treading, that is, extending, or using the bow;' or 'They were bound by those who tread, that is, use the bow;' indicating that they were so bound that they could not use the bow in defense of the city. I think that the "connection" here requires that the word אסרוּ 'usrû should be used in the sense of being "bound" or influenced by fear - they were so intimidated, so much under the influence of terror, so entirely unmanned and disabled by alarm, that they could not use the bow; or this was caused "by" the bow, that is, by the bowmen or archers who came to attack the city. It is true that no other instance occurs in which the word is used in precisely this sense, but instances in abundance occur where strong passion is represented as having a controlling or disabling influence over the mind and body; where it takes away the energy of the soul, and makes one timid, feeble, helpless, as if bound with cords, or made captive. The word אסר 'âsar commonly means to bind with cords, or to fetter; to imprison Genesis 42:24; Judges 16:5; 2-Kings 17:4 : to yoke 1-Samuel 6:7, 1-Samuel 6:10; and then to bind with a vow Numbers 30:3. Hence, it may mean to "bind" with fear or consternation.
Which have fled from far - That is, either they have fled far away; or they had fled from far in order to reach Jerusalem as a place of safety. Probably the latter is the sense.

All thy rulers - are bound by the archers "All thy leaders - are fled from the bow" - There seems to be somewhat of an inconsistency in the sense according to the present reading. If the leaders were bound, אסרו usseru, how could they flee away? for their being bound, according to the obvious construction and course of the sentence, is a circumstance prior to their flight. I therefore follow Houbigant, who reads הסרו huseru, remoti sunt, "they are gone off." גלו galu, transmigraverunt, Chaldee; which seems to confirm this emendation.

All thy rulers have fled together, they are (e) bound by the archers: all that are found in thee are bound together, [who] have fled from (f) far.
(e) And led into captivity.
(f) Who have fled from other places to Jerusalem for comfort.

All thy rulers are fled together,.... Either the rulers of Jerusalem, civil and ecclesiastical, that should have been at the head of the people, and have encouraged them, fled together to the housetops, or to the temple and strongholds; or the generals and officers of their militia, one and all of them fled, as if they had done it by joint consultation and consent; or the rulers of the several cities of Judea, which, when invaded by Sennacherib, stayed not to defend them, but left them and fled:
they are bound by the archers; or, "from the bow" (m); from using it; were in such a consternation, and under such a panic, that they had no strength nor heart to draw the bow, but were as if they were bound, and held from it: or for fear of the bow, or the archers in the Assyrian army, and therefore fled from them, as the Tigurine version renders it, joining it to the preceding clause, "they fled from the bow, they are bound"; or, as Ben Melech, for fear of the bow, they delivered themselves up, and were bound; so Aben Ezra:
all that are found in thee are bound together; that is, from the bow, as before; not only the princes, but the common people. These clauses have led many interpreters to conclude that this must be understood of the taking of the city by Nebuchadnezzar, when Zedekiah was bound in chains, and carried to Babylon, Jeremiah 52:11,
which have fled from far; from the furthest part of the land of Judea to Jerusalem, for shelter and safety.
(m) "ab arcu", Vatablus.

rulers--rather, "generals" (Joshua 10:24; Judges 11:6, Judges 11:11).
bound--rather, "are taken."
by the archers--literally, "by the bow"; so Isaiah 21:17. Bowmen were the light troops, whose province it was to skirmish in front and (2-Kings 6:22) pursue fugitives (2-Kings 25:5); this verse applies better to the attack of Nebuchadnezzar than that of Sennacherib.
all . . . in thee--all found in the city (Isaiah 13:15), not merely the "rulers" or generals.
fled from far--those who had fled from distant parts to Jerusalem as a place of safety; rather, fled afar.

Rulers - Zedekiah and his chief commanders, whose flight he foretells. Found - That remain there with Zedekiah in the siege; for those who had fled to the Chaldeans saved their lives and liberties. Bound - In fetters, Jeremiah 52:11. Fled - Who fled from Jerusalem, but were pursued and overtaken by their enemies, and bound, as others had been.