The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the LORD, was taken in their pits, of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among the nations.
All Commentaries on Lamentations 4:20 Go To Lamentations 4
Irenaeus of Lyons
AD 202
Jeremiah says, “The Spirit of our face is Christ the Lord; and how was he taken into their nets of whom we said, under his shadow we shall live among the nations.” The Scripture announces that, being Spirit of God, Christ was going to become a passible man, also, as if astonished and amazed at his passion, that he was going to endure the passion in this way, under whose shadow it was said we would live. And it calls his body a “shadow,” for just as a shadow derives from a body, so the body of Christ derives from his Spirit. But by “shadow” it also signifies the abasement and contemptibleness of his body. Just as the shadow from straight and upright bodies is on the ground and trodden under foot, so also was the body of Christ thrown to the ground and trampled under foot at his passion. Perhaps he also named the body of Christ a “shadow” as having become a shade for the glory of the Spirit and covering it. And also, many times, when the Lord passed by, they placed those in the grip of different diseases beside the way, and those on whom his shadow fell were delivered.
