The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; (Deuteronomy 28:49)
See Jer. 5:15. The same expression is used by the prophet Isaiah in speaking of the Assyrians (Isa. 28:11; 33:19). Many Christian, and the majority of Jewish commentators see these words fulfilled in the Roman armies. The Assyrian and Chaldean peoples spoke languages closely related to the language of the Hebrews. The Latin tongue was entirely strange to the Jews, in that it was different from theirs, and in that they had had no contact with the Romans.
As the eagle flieth.
Literally, “as the vulture swoopeth down.” Compare a similar figure in Job 9:26; 39:27-29; Matt. 24:28. The swift swoop of the vulture down from the sky to its prey is noted in Hosea 8:1, and is likened to the attacks of the ancient Assyrian armies and of the forces of the Chaldeans (Jer. 48:40; 49:22; Hab. 1:8).
A nation.
Commentators have applied this prophecy to various nations—usually to Assyria (Isa. 10:5) and Babylon (Jer. 5:15). Others insist upon the Romans, pointing to the eagle of the Roman standards. Jewish commentators speak of the attack of the Roman forces led by Vespasian and Titus, who captured Jerusalem in A.D. 70.