Jeremiah 49:36
And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come. And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.
Jeremiah 49:36 belongs to Jeremiah's pronouncements of doom upon the kingdoms surrounding Israel. It is part of the prophecy concerning Elam as one of the powers destined to fall before Nebuchadnezzar. The prophecy against Elam was spoken at the beginning of Zedekiah's reign. The verse contains the Hebrew word roo-agh twice, both times translated wind, and it is one of 97 Old Testament places where roo-agh is rendered wind, the same word underlying the word spirit in the Old Testament in every instance except Job 26:4 and Proverbs 20:27.
The four winds are a prophetic figure for strife, commotion, war and upheaval between nations. The Lord brings conflict upon Elam from every direction and scatters its people toward all those winds, dispersing its outcasts so widely that no nation remains untouched by them and leaving Elam dismayed before its enemies.
The judgment shows that a nation's destiny does not rest on its rulers' wisdom or military strength, for the Lord broke Elam's bow, the chief of its might, and brought its enemies against it from all sides. The verse shows that God can put fear into a people and undo their courage and preparations for war. The symbolism of the winds applies to the forces of war held back from the nations while the final message of mercy is being proclaimed.