Jeremiah 15:2

Jer 15:2 And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the LORD; Such as [are] for death, to death; and such as [are] for the sword, to the sword; and such as [are] for the famine, to the famine; and such as [are] for the captivity, to the captivity.

Ver. 2. If they say unto thee.] As they will be apt enough to do in a jeer.

Such as are for death,] i.e., For the pestilence commonly called mortality, because it is so deadly a disease. Those at Genoa have lately found it so. And yet it is here reckoned first, as the least and tightest of all the four threatened judgments, which must needs be bad enough when the pest is the best of them all. The Turks shun not the company of those that have the plague, but pointing upon their foreheads, say it was written there at their birth when they should die, and of what disease. These in the text could as little avoid the deaths they were assigned to, as Aeschylus the tragedian could his being knocked on the head. For whenas he was foretold that he should die with a stroke coming from above, he shunned houses, and was wont to remain in the open air, but he was killed by a tortoise falling from the mouth of an eagle upon his bald head, mistaken for a stone. {a}

{a} Aelian, l. 1. c. 5. s. 19. 1:225,227; Valerius Maximus, l. 9. ext. c. 12. 1:375

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jer 15:2-5. If they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? — If they ask thee what thou meanest by going forth, and whither they shall go: thou shalt tell them, Such as are for death to death, &c. — In general, You shall go forth, saith God, to ruin and destruction; but shall not be all destroyed in one and the same way, but every one shall perish in that way which God hath appointed: some shall be destroyed by the pestilence, (for that is here to be understood by death, Rev 6:8, it being death without visible means,) others shall be destroyed by famine, others by the sword of the enemy, others shall go into captivity; but one way or other the greatest part of you shall be consumed. And I will appoint over them four kinds — Namely, of destroyers. The sword to slay — And those that are slain by it shall not enjoy the common rites of burial, but their carcasses shall be left a prey to the dogs, the birds, and the wild beasts, which last shall both tear their living bodies and their dead carcasses. And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms, &c. — Though the body of the people were removed into Babylon, yet it is more than probable that many of them became voluntary exiles to avoid the miseries which they saw coming upon their country. And, without doubt, the king of Babylon removed them into several kingdoms belonging to his large empire. These, it must be observed, are the very words of Moses, (Deu 28:25,) where he threatens the Israelites with a general dispersion over the world, which threatening received its completion, in part, by the Babylonish captivity, but more perfectly after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. Because of Manasseh — In idolatry and other abominations he exceeded all the kings that preceded him: see 2Ki 21:7-11. In his time the public worship of God was wholly suppressed, and idolatry introduced into the very temple; the law of God was likewise quite laid aside, and, in a manner, forgotten, as appears by the surprise Hilkiah was in when he found the original copy of the law in the house of the Lord. So that his sins filled up the measure of the Jews’ iniquities; and therefore, notwithstanding the reformation wrought afterward by Josiah, the Lord turned not from the fierceness of his wrath kindled against Judah: see 2Ki 23:26 and 2Ki 24:3-4. It must be observed, however, that it was not merely for his sins, or the sins of his times, that God so dreadfully punished the Jews in the days of Jehoiakim and Zedekiah; but it was also, and especially because they imitated the wicked example which Manasseh had set them, the reformation effected by Josiah being only partial, and of not long continuance. For who shall, or, who will, have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem — Thy sins render thee unworthy of pity, and all that see the calamities brought upon thee will acknowledge them to be just. Who will go aside, &c. — Who will be so much concerned for thee as to step a little out of his way to inquire after thee; a common instance of respect between persons in any degree acquainted. Rather they that pass by will insult over thy calamities.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15:2 The people had no place to go to escape death . . . war . . . famine, and captivity.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

death--deadly plague (Jer 18:21; Jer 43:11; Eze 5:2, Eze 5:12; Zac 11:9).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 2. Whither shall we go forth? - Such as are for death, to death] Some shall be destroyed by the pestilence, here termed death. See Jer 18:21. Others shall be slain by the sword in battle, and in the sackage of cities. Others shall perish by famine, shall be starved to death through the mere want of the necessaries of life; and the rest shall go into captivity. There shall be different sorts of punishments inflicted on them according to the nature of their transgressions. Some shall be punished in one way, and some in another.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

He now confirms the previous sentence, If they shall say, Whither shall we go forth? then shalt thou say to them, Those for death, to death; those for the sword, to the sword; those for the famine, to the famine; those for exile, to exile; as though he had said, “In vain do they complain of their own miseries.” For God, no doubt, had in view the clamorous complaints which prevailed everywhere among the people on account of their very heavy calamities. Thus indeed were hypocrites wont to do; for whenever God spared them, they haughtily insulted the prophets, and boastingly alleged their subsidies and fortresses; but when God’s hand pressed hard on them, they became very eloquent in their complaints: “Alas! how far will God go at length? is there to be never an end? and what does all this mean? why does he so severely afflict us? and why does he not at least relieve us in some measure from our ntiseries?” As then the hypocrites were so querulous in their calamities, God anticipates all these expostulations, and says, “If they say to thee, ‘Where shall we flee?’ say to them, ‘Either to death, or to famine, or to the sword, or to exile;’ it is all one with God, and it matters not; for there is no hope of mercy for you any longer, since God has rejected you: know then that it is all over with you, for there is no deliverance for you from God: either the sword, or famine, or some other kind of death will overtake you; ye are in every way past hope.”

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(2) Such as are for death . . .—The difference between the first two forms of punishment is that the first points possibly to being led out to execution as criminals, as in Deu_19:6, but more probably to death from pestilence, as in Job_27:15; the second, to falling in a vain and hopeless conflict.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. Whither shall we go forth?] If we are driven unpardoned from the presence of the Lord, to what shall we betake ourselves? The reply is a stern and even ironical one.

death] by pestilence. Cp. Jer_43:11; Eze_14:21; Eze_33:27, and in English “the Black Death.”

2–9. See introd. summary to section.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee,.... As doubtless they will, when this message is brought to them:

whither shall we go forth? in a jeering scornful manner, not believing that this would be their case:

then thou shall tell them, thus saith the Lord, such as are for death, to death; such as were appointed to death, or to die by the pestilence, which is often signified by death; they shall go forth unto it; or it shall meet them, and seize upon them, and take them away:

and such as are for the sword, to the sword; who are appointed to die by the sword of the enemy, into whose hands they should fall by attempting to escape out of the city, shall perish by it:

and such as are for the famine, to the famine; such as are appointed to die by that, shall die of it in the city, where they shall be besieged, and not be able to get out to fetch in any provisions, and where none can be brought, because of the enemy:

and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity; such as are spared from the pestilence, sword, and famine, and are designed to be carried captive into a strange land, shall be taken and carried thither; nor will it be in their power, or in any other's, to hinder any of the above things, to which they are appointed of God. According to the Jews, the latter of these is more grievous than the former; as the sword than death, and famine than the sword, so captivity than them all (w).

(w) T. Bab Bava Bathra, fol. 8. 2.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Death. This Hebrew phrase intimates that some should die by sickness, &c. (Worthington)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

If they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? if they ask thee what thou meanest by going forth; which being a term of motion, implieth a term to which the motion should be. Saith God, In the general, it is to ruin and destruction, but they shall not all be destroyed one and the same way; some shall be destroyed by the pestilence, (for that is here to be understood by

death, ) others shall be destroyed by the

famine, others by the sword of enemies, others shall go into

captivity, but one way or other the land shall be quitted of the most of you.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2. If they ask where they are to go, Jeremiah is to say: To their fate. And the choice will be, indeed, among grim alternatives — death, sword, famine, and captivity.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Such as are for death, etc.; a sternly ironical answer. Death, sword, famine, captivity, lie in wait for them in every possible road. "Death" here means "pestilence" (comp. "the black death" in the Middle Ages), as in Jer_18:21Jo Jer_27:15. Similar combinations of evils occur in Jer_43:11 Eze_14:21 Eze_33:27.

Ver. 2. Various destinies of punishment.

I PUNISHMENT WILL BE ASSIGNED AS A DEFINITE DESTINY. It is not casual. It cannot be evaded. It is decidedly appointed and inflexibly executed. The destiny it involves, though not original but a consequence of voluntary actions, is as certain as if it were in accordance with a primary law of nature. (Gal_6:7, Gal_6:8)

II PUNISHMENT WILL BE ASSIGNED IN A VARIETY OF DESTINIES. All the wicked will not suffer alike. There will be various forms of penalty and various degrees of suffering. Some are appointed to the painful death of the plague, some to the sudden death of the sword, some not to death at all but to exile. Punishment will be various,

(1) because men"s constitutions, capacities, and susceptibilities are various, so that the form of suffering which is suitable for one may not be suitable for another; and

(2) because guilt varies in degree. (Luk_12:47, Luk_12:48)

III PUNISHMENT WILL BE ASSIGNED TO ALL THE GUILTY WITHOUT EXCEPTION. They may be numerous, yet some penalty will be found for all. The variety of destinies might suggest that among them some would find a way of escape, but, alas! they are all penal. This variety will ever secure the punishment of all. They who escape one form of punishment will only fall into another. Some hope to elude justice because their case is very exceptional. But exceptional punishment is found for exceptional crime.

IV PUNISHMENT WILL BE SEVERE IN ALL CASES. There is a choice of destinies, but the list is given with somewhat of irony. How terrible is the mildest fate! All future punishment must be inexpressibly. (Heb_10:31) Therefore let us not delude ourselves with hoping that ours will be of the milder kind, but seek deliverance from the certain fearful doom of sin in the forgiving mercy of God in Christ.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Such as are for death, to death Each calamity mentioned later in this verse is harsher than the one preceding it. The sword is harsher than death. Death by the sword is defacing, whereas death in bed is not defacing. And so he says (Psalms 116:15): “Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of His Saints.” Famine is harsher than the sword, for this one is agonizing whereas the other is not agonizing. And so Scripture states (Lam. 4:9): “Better are those who die from the sword than those who die from famine.” Captivity - all sorts of death are in it.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.