This poem is a triple acrostic in the Hebrew Bible; that is, each letter of the Hebrew alphabet is the initial letter of three successive verses, in alphabetical order (see on ch. 1:1). For a discussion of Hebrew poetry, see Vol. III, pp. 17-28.
The man.
Two opinions have been generally advanced as to the identity of the speaker in this chapter:
(1) that it is Jeremiah recounting his own tribulations, or
(2) that the prophet here couches a general picture of the sufferings of Judah in the form of a recital of personal experience.
If this poem does set forth Jeremiah’s own experience, it is certainly typical of that of the people of Judah. However, there is much to lead to the conclusion that the chapter refers to the general experience of the Jews in the downfall of their kingdom. Chapters 1 and 2 both establish a pattern of personifying the city and nation. It would appear that this device is continued here, as vs. 40-47 suddenly shift to the first person plural, and v. 48 begins a section in the first person singular.
The rod of his wrath.
Verses 1-18 portray in general poetic terms the severity of the judgments of God. The term “rod” is used repeatedly in the OT in the sense of an instrument of punishment (Job 21:9; Isa. 10:5). So, here, according to Jeremiah God’s punishments are corrections, manifestations of His loving care, visited upon His people that they may turn to Him with sincere hearts (Lam. 3:32, 33, 39, 40).