(Verse 2, 3.) I have likened the daughter of Zion to a beautiful and delicate woman. And the shepherds and their flocks shall come to her. They have pitched their tents around her and each one shall feed those under his hand. Prepare for battle against her. Arise and let us go up at noon. The beauty of Jerusalem is described, which is the same as Zion, indicating that the whole city and the citadel of the city are one and the same. For Zion means a watchtower and it is compared to a beautiful woman; just as lovers come to her, so the shepherds are said to come to her. And in Hebrew, a word that is written with four letters, Resh, Ayin, Yod, Mem, if read as Reim (), it means lovers, if read as Roim (), it means shepherds, so that either, according to a metaphor, lovers of a beautiful woman, or, according to the overthrow of a city, shepherds may be understood: some of whom hasten to defile a prostitute, others to besiege and overthrow a city. Among these shepherds and their flocks, let us discern the princes and the armies of the Chaldeans. But they shall pitch their tents during the siege of the city all around: and each one shall feed those who are under his hand, that is, his troops and numbers. The leaders, or shepherds, shall say to their flocks: Sanctify war upon Jerusalem: for the Lord has command. Rise up, and let us go up to the south: not by night and ambush; but let us fight in full light: for no one can resist us.
[AD 420] Jerome on Jeremiah 6:2-3