4:6 chastisement. The Hebrew word can be translated “punishment” or “iniquity” according to the context, because the two ideas are so intimately linked. The connection is strong in this chapter, where the intense suffering of Judah is linked repeatedly to her unnatural sin.

Sodom. The prophets often use Sodom as an archetype of divine judgment on sin (Deut. 29:23; Is. 1:10; Jer. 23:14; Ezek. 16:46; Hos. 11:8; Amos 4:11; Luke 17:28–30). The comparison with Sodom holds good both for the sins of the city and the dreadful judgment that fell upon it.