Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 18:21
Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and pour out their [blood] by the force of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and [be] widows; and let their men be put to death; [let] their young men [be] slain by the sword in battle.
21 23. See on Jer 17:18. Here also we may be permitted to consider the passage to be an editorial addition. Erbt retains 22 b and 23 as genuine, Gi. all but “and their battle” ( Jer 18:21), while Du. and Co. reject the passage, which in its bitter imprecations indeed forms a harsh contrast to the prophet’s expressions elsewhere of affectionate mourning for the attitude taken up by his countrymen, as well as to the teaching of the N.T. (Mat 5:44).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Pour out … sword – literally, pour them out upon the hands of the sword, i. e., give them up to the sword.
Put to death – Rather, slain of death. The prophets phrase leaves it entirely indefinite in what way the men are to die.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 21. Therefore deliver up their children] The execrations in these verses should be considered as simply prophetic declarations of the judgments which God was about to pour out on them.
If we consider them in their grammatical meaning, then they are not directions to us, to whom our Lawgiver has said, “Love your enemies.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Deliver up their children to the famine; a dreadful imprecation; we meet with more of the same nature, Jer 11:20; 15:15; 17:18. We find also several such imprecation in the Psalms, Psa 35:4; 40:14; 69:22-25,27,28; 109:6-10, &c. Hence a question is raised, whether it be lawful for Gods servants to pray for evil against their enemies. That which makes the doubt is, Christs command to us to pray for them that persecute us, Mat 5:43,44, his own example, and Stephens, Act 7:60. See the notes upon the aforementioned texts. It is doubtless our duty to pray for the conversion, forgiveness, and eternal salvation of our worst enemies; so Christ prayed, and Stephen, but neither of them prayed for their outward prosperity in their persecution and rage; and without doubt we may pray against Gods enemies, that God would tie their hands, weaken their power, confound their devices. For such other particulars as are mentioned in this verse, and the beginning of the following verse, and such as David mentions, Psa 69, we must know they were both prophets, and did but pray to God to do that thing which God had revealed to them he would do.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
21. pour out their blood by theforce of the swordliterally, “by the hands of the sword.”So Eze 35:5. MAURERwith JEROME translates,”deliver them over to the power of the sword.” Butcompare Ps 63:10, Margin;Isa 53:12. In this prayer hedoes not indulge in personal revenge, as if it were his own causethat was at stake; but he speaks under the dictation of the Spirit,ceasing to intercede, and speaking prophetically, knowing they weredoomed to destruction as reprobates; for those not so, he doubtlessceased not to intercede. We are not to draw an example fromthis, which is a special case.
put to deathor, as inJer 15:2, “perish by thedeath plague” [MAURER].
men . . . young menHORSLEYdistinguishes the former as married men past middle age; thelatter, the flower of unmarried youth.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Therefore deliver up their children to the famine,…. To be starved, and perish by it, as they were in the siege of Jerusalem, both by the Chaldeans, and the Romans:
and pour out their [blood] by the force of the sword: or, “upon the hands of the sword” f; by means of it; that is, the blood of the parents of the children; let the one perish by famine, and the other by the sword; which, when thrust into a man, blood gushes out, and runs upon the sword to the handle of it:
and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and [be] widows; let them have neither husbands nor children; which latter might be a comfort to them, when they had lost their husbands; but being stripped of these also, the affliction and distress must be the greater:
and let their men be put to death; or “slain with death” g; with the pestilence, as Kimchi rightly interprets it; see Re 6:8; Jarchi understands it of the angel of death; see Heb 2:14;
[let] their young men [be] slain by the sword in battle; such being commonly employed in military service, as being the most proper persons for it.
f “super manus gladii”, Montanus, Schmidt. g “occisi morte”, Pagninus, Montanus, “i.e. peste” Schmidt; “occisi mortis”, Cocceius.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The Prophet seems here to have been driven through indignation to utter imprecations which are not consistent with a right feeling; for even if Christ had not said with his own mouth, that we are to pray for those who curse us, the very law of God, ever known to the holy fathers, was sufficient. Jeremiah then ought not to have uttered these curses, and to have imprecated final destruction on his enemies, thouglt they fully deserved it. But it must be observed, that he was moved not otherwise than by the Holy Spirit, to become thus indignant against his enemies; for he could not have been excused on the ground that indignation often transgresses the bounds of patience, for the children of God ought to bear all injuries to the utmost; but, as I have said, the Prophet here has announced nothing rashly, nor did he allow himself to wish anything as of himself, but obediently proclaimed what the Holy Spirit dictated, as his faithful instrument.
We have said elsewhere, that the first thing to be noticed is, that when we pray for any evil on the wicked, we ought not to act on private grounds; for he who has a regard to himself, will ever be led away by too strong an impulse; and even when our prayers are calmly and rightly formed, we are yet ever wrong, when we consult our private advantages or redress our own injuries. That is one thing. And secondly, we ought to have that wisdom which distinguishes between the elect and the reprobate. But as God bids us to suspend our judgment, inasmuch as we cannot surely know what will take place to-morrow, we ought not to imitate indiscriminately the Prophet in praying God to destroy and scatter ungodly men of whom we despair; for, as it has been stated, we are not certain what has been decreed in heaven. In short, whosoever is disposed, after the example of Jeremiah, to pray for a curse on his enemies, must be ruled by the same spirit, according to what Christ said to his disciples; for as God destroyed the wicked at the request of Elijah, the Apostles wished Christ to do the same by fire from heaven; but he said,
“
Ye know not by what spirit ye are, ruled.” (Luk 9:55)
They were unlike Elijah, and yet; wished like apes to imitate what he did.
But, as I have said, let first all regard to our own benefit or loss be dismissed, when we would shew ourselves indignant against the wicked; and secondly, let us have the spirit of wisdom and discretion; and lastly, let all the turbulent feelings of the flesh be checked, for as soon as anything human be mixed with our prayers, some confusion will ever be found. There was nothing turbulent in this imprecation of Jeremiah, for the Spirit of God ruled his heart and his tongue, and then he forgot himself; and lastly, he knew that they were reprobate and already doomed to final ruin. He therefore hesitated not, through the prophetic spirit, to imprecate on them what we here read. And there is no doubt but that he was ever solicitous for the remnant, for he knew that there were some faithful; and though they were unknown, he yet prayed God for them. But he fulminates here against the reprobate who were already given up to ruin. This is the reason why he hesitated not to pray that they might be delivered up to famine and given to the sword, (208) so that their women might be bereaved and become widows, and their men put to death, (209) and their youth smitten by the sword. It now follows —
(208) The rendering of this line is various: our version, “pour out,” etc., cannot be sustained; nor “drain them,” etc., by Blayney. The idea generally given by the versions and the Targum to the verb, is that of giving up, delivering, committing. The Syriac seems to give the original correctly, “deliver them into the hands of the sword;” only the verb גדה, signifies to draw or drive rather than to deliver. Perhaps the literal rendering would be, “drive them on the hands of the sword,” as though the sword was a person with hands stretched cut to receive what might come in its way: but “hands” in this instance mean power; so that the best version would be,
And deliver them into the power of the sword.
(209) Literally, “the slain of death,” as in the next line, “the smitten of the sword.” The two lines are literally thus, —
And let their men be the slain of death; Their youths the smitten of the sword in battle.
“
Death” here, notwithstanding what Horsley has said, evidently means pestilence. See Jer 15:2. The “men” were those past the time of ervice, and “youths” or young men were those fit for war. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(21) Therefore deliver up their children . . .The bitter words that follow startle and pain us, like the imprecations of Psalms 35, 69, 109. To what extent they were the utterances of a righteous indignation, a true zeal for God, which had not yet learnt the higher lesson of patience and forgiveness, or embodied an element of personal vindictiveness, we are not called on to inquire, and could not, in any case, decide. It is not ours to judge another mans servant. In all like cases we have to remember that the very truthfulness with which the prayer is recorded is at least a proof that the prophet felt, like Jonah, that he did well to be angry (Jon. 4:9), that a righteous anger is at least one step towards a righteous love, and that we, as disciples of Christ, have passed, or ought to have passed, beyond that earlier stage.
Pour out their blood by the force of the sword.Literally, with a bolder metaphor, pour them out into the hands of the sword.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
21. Pour out their blood, etc. Literally, pour them out upon thee hands of the sword; that is, give them up to its power.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jer 18:21 Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and pour out their [blood] by the force of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and [be] widows; and let their men be put to death; [let] their young men [be] slain by the sword in battle.
Ver. 21. Therefore deliver up their children to the famine. ] He who had prayed so hard for them, could and did pray here as earnestly against them; yet not out of private revenge, but by a prophetic spirit, whereby he foretelleth their calamities auxesi verborum per hypotyposin. This is usual with the psalmist and other prophets.
And let their men be put to death.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
children = sons.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
deliver: Jer 11:20-23, Jer 12:3, Jer 20:1-6, Jer 20:11, Jer 20:12, Psa 109:9-20, 2Ti 4:14
pour out their blood: Heb. pour them out
let their wives: Jer 15:2, Jer 15:3, Jer 15:8, Jer 16:3, Jer 16:4, Exo 22:24, Deu 32:25, Lam 5:3
let their young: Jer 9:21, Jer 11:22, 2Ch 36:17, Amo 4:10
Reciprocal: Est 9:5 – the stroke Psa 7:4 – If I Psa 28:4 – Give Psa 63:10 – They shall fall Pro 17:13 – General Isa 3:25 – Thy men Isa 9:17 – have no joy Isa 65:12 – will I Jer 4:31 – because Jer 6:11 – I will Jer 6:21 – fathers Jer 14:16 – be cast Jer 15:7 – bereave Jer 19:7 – I will cause Jer 50:30 – her young Lam 2:21 – my virgins Eze 6:7 – slain Eze 16:38 – shed Eze 35:5 – force Zep 1:17 – and their blood
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 18:21. This verse is another of the passages that seem to show a cruel spirit in Jeremiah. But we should keep in mind that he was a true prophet of God and that such a wish as was here expressed was really an inspired prediction that such experiences were destined to come upon that wicked generation. Jeremiah was naturally a tender-hearted man and personally would not he inclined to be harsh. Yet he was always a faithful prophet and was always obedient when called upon to make severe predictions in spite of his personal feelings of pity.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
18:21 Therefore {i} deliver their children to the famine, and pour out their [blood] by the force of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and [be] widows; and let their men be put to death; [let] their young men [be] slain by the sword in battle.
(i) Seeing the obstinate malice of the adversaries, who grew daily more and more, the prophet being moved with God’s Spirit, without any carnal affection prays for their destruction because he knew that it would be to God’s glory, and profit of his Church.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The prophet asked the Lord to bring calamity on them for the calamity they planned to bring on him. Since they refused to repent and had tried to kill Yahweh’s messenger, let the invasion and all its horrors overtake them. Jeremiah was not requesting some special visitation of judgment on the people. He was asking the Lord to allow the threatened judgment, which he had been urging the people to avoid by repenting, to descend. They refused to repent. His strong request probably did not spring from wounded pride as much as from his identification with Yahweh and the demands of the covenant (cf. Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28). The Judahites had rejected God, and for this they deserved judgment. [Note: See Keil, 1:304-5, for further explanation of these and similar imprecations in the Old Testament.]