Jeremiah 15:3

Jer 15:3 And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the LORD: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy.

Ver. 3. And I will appoint over them four kinds.] Heb., Families, or kindreds - i.e., quatuor cognata carnivora, dogs, birds, and beasts being added to the former four evils, {Jer 15:2} quasi per auxesin.

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.

The dogs, birds, and beasts should devour them that were slain.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

appoint-- (Lev 26:16).

kinds--of punishments.

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 3. I will appoint over them four kinds] There shall appear four instruments of my justice.

1. The sword to slay.

2. The dogs to tear what is slain.

3. The fowls of the heaven to feed on the dead carcasses. And,

4. The wild beasts to destroy all that the fowls have left.

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

Jeremiah proceeds with the same subject. He said yesterday that the people were no longer cared for by God, and so that nothing remained for them but in various ways to perish, and that the last punishment would be exile. He now confirms the same thing, and says, that God would prepare against them ravenous birds as well as wild beasts, the sword and dogs as though he had said, that all animals would be hostile to them, and be the executioners of God’s vengeance.

Some render the verb פקד, pekod, to visit, but improperly, as I think; for they must give this version, “I will visit four families upon them;” but there is no sense in this, nor can any sense be elicited from it. The meaning most suitable here is to set over, “I will set over them four kinds;” which he calls “four families.” And there is to be understood here a contrast: as they thought it hard to obey God, they were now to have over them dogs and wild beasts, and the birds of the air, and the sword. The meaning is, that there would be no end to God’s vengeance, and to various punishments, until the Jews were wholly destroyed. He further intimates, that he would have in readiness many to execute his wrath, as he had all creatures under his control. As then he would employ in his service dogs, and birds, and animals, as well as men, it behoved the Jews to feel assured that they in vain had recourse to this or that refuge. We indeed know that men impiously confine the power of God, both with regard to their salvation and the punishment of their sins, for when he passes by any evil they think that they have escaped, and promise themselves impunity, as though God indeed were not able every moment to inflict many and various scourges. This then is the reason why the Prophet speaks here of four kinds of judgments. It follows —

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.

(3) Four kinds.—The sword, as the direct instrument of death, is followed by those that follow up its work, the beasts and birds of prey that feed on the corpses of the slain. The latter feature has naturally been from the earliest stages of human history the crowning horror of defeat. So Homer, Il. i. 4 :—

“And many mighty souls of heroes sent

To Hades, and their bodies made a prey

To dogs and to all birds.”

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

3. kinds] lit. as mg. families. Four sorts of destructive agencies. Similar threats occur chs. Jer_19:7, Jer_34:20.

tear] lit. as mg. drag.

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 I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the Lord,.... Or four families (x), and these very devouring ones; that is, four sorts of punishment; and so the Targum,

"four evil punishments;''

which are after mentioned. These are represented as under God, and at his beck and command; servants of his, that go and come at his pleasure, and do his will; and as being over men, and having power and authority to kill and to destroy by a divine commission:

the sword to slay: the first and chief of the four families or punishments, which had a commission from the Lord to sheath itself in his people, the Jews; even the sword of the enemy, the Chaldeans, drawn against them by a divine order and appointment:

and the dogs to tear; the carcasses of those that are slain with the sword: or "to draw" (y); as the word signifies; it being the usual way of dogs to draw and drag the flesh about they are feeding on; this is another of the four families, and a very voracious one it is:

and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy; or "to eat, and to corrupt", the bodies of those that are slain by the sword. The meaning is, that such should not have a burial, but should be the food of fowls and wild beasts: these are the other two destroying families, which have their commission from the Lord for such service.

(x) "quatuor familias, sive cognationes", Vatablus, Tigurine version, Calvin. (y) "ad trahendum", Calvin, Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Schmidt; so Ben Melech,

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

Kinds - literally, as the margin, i. e., classes of things. The first is to destroy the living, the other three to mutilate and consume the dead.

To tear - literally, “to drag along the ground.” It forcibly expresses the contumely to which the bodies of the slain will be exposed.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Kinds of persecutors, the sword, &c. (Calmet)

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).

Four kinds of destroyers; the enemies’ swords shall slay them, and so make meat for the dogs, who shall tear their carcasses, and for the birds of prey, who shall prey upon their dead bodies that shall lie unburied. And I will also send amongst them wild beasts, who shall both tear their living bodies and their dead carcasses.

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

3. Four kinds — One to kill, the rest to tear and mutilate the dead.

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

Appoint; i.e. give full power to them as my vicegerents. (Jer_1:10) Four kinds; literally, families; i.e. kinds of things. The first-mentioned has reference to the living; the remaining ones to the unburied corpses. (Jer_14:16 Jer_19:7 Jer_34:20) To tear; rather, to drag along.

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

General Information:

Yahweh has just told them he will send some of them to death, some to die by the sword, some to die by famine, and some to be captives.

For I will assign them to four groups

This means that Yahweh will send four groups to work together to get rid of the people. AT: "For I will send four groups to get rid of them" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

this is Yahweh's declaration

Yahweh speaks of himself by name to express the certainty of what he is declaring. See how you translated this in Jeremiah 1:8. AT: "this is what Yahweh has declared" or "this is what I, Yahweh, have declared" (See: First, Second, or Third Person)

the sword

Here the "sword" refers to the enemy soldiers. AT: "the enemy soldiers" (See: Metonymy)

I will make of them

Here the word "them" refers to the people of Judah, not to the four groups listed in the previous verse.

because of what Manasseh ... did in Jerusalem

Manasseh was a very wicked king who did many evil things in Jerusalem. AT: "because of the wicked things that Manasseh ... did in Jerusalem" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

translationWords

slaughter

heaven

earth

consume

kingdom

Manasseh

Hezekiah

king

kingdom of Judah

Jerusalem

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

And I will appoint an expression of appointment and designation.

to drag to drag. Cf. (infra. 49: 20) “If the young of the sheep do not drag them (יִסְחָבוּם).”

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.