The Prophet largely dwells on the grievousness of the calamity which had happened. He compares here the anxieties into which the people had been brought, to a pitfall and dread. There is a striking alliteration in the words phchd and phcht, pechet and peched. But the meaning is, that the people had been reduced to such straits, that there was no outlet for them; as the case is with us, when we are filled with dread, and look here and there, and see nothing but pitfalls on every side; then we are at our wits' end. Such then was the state of the people, as Jeremiah shews: filled with dread, they sought refuge, but saw pitfalls on every side. He afterwards mentions desolation or destruction, and sorrow. It is probably a mistake in Jerome's version, where the first; word is rendered "prophesying." Some think that he was led astray by the letter s, shin, which he seems to have read with a point on the left side; and he took the word as coming from ns' nusha. But another conjecture seems more correct, that the transcribers have committed a mistake; for what I have said is most appropriate to the passage, even that the people were overwhelmed with all kinds of evils, because there was nothing to be seen but desolation and sorrow, or bruising, or breach, svr, shaber. It now follows, --

Desolation - Or, devastation.

Fear and a snare - See on Jeremiah 48:13 (note).

Fear and a snare is come upon us,.... Or, "fear and a pit" (m); the fear of failing into the pit of ruin and destruction, on the brink of which they saw themselves; or fear seized us, and caused us to flee; and a snare or pit was prepared for us to fall into; so that there was no escaping hence:
desolation and destruction; desolation or devastation of their land; and destruction of their city and temple; and of multitudes of them by the sword, famine, and pestilence; and the rest carried into captivity, excepting a few left desolate in the land.
(m) "pavor et fovea", Calvin, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius, Michaelis.

Like animals fleeing in fear, we fall into the snare laid for us.