That is, that will not, upon Nebuchadnezzars coming against them, freely submit to his power, and yield themselves to his subjection. I will humble them by my sore judgments of sword, pestilence, and famine, and make them yield; and they shall not avoid what through their stubbornness they study to avoid, but shall at last be brought under by his power.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

8. until I have consumed them by hishanduntil by these consuming visitations I have brought themunder his power.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

And it shall come to pass, [that] the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon,…. Will not, upon his approaching to them, invading and besieging them, submit and become tributary to him, as is more fully expressed in the next clause:

and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon; or voluntarily become subject to him, and pay a tax he shall impose upon them. This refers to, and explains the symbol of, Jeremiah’s making and wearing yokes, Jer 27:2;

that nation will I punish, saith the Lord, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence; with one judgment after another; some will perish by the sword of the enemy, sallying out upon them, or endeavouring to make their escape; others by famine their provisions being spent through the length of the siege; and others by pestilence, or the plague, by the immediate hand of God:

until I have consumed them by his hand; Nebuchadnezzar’s; by means of him; by his sword, and strait besieging them; or, “into his hand”; and so the Targum,

“until I have delivered them into his hand;”

having consumed multitudes by the sword, famine, and pestilence, will deliver the rest into his hands to be carried captive by him.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

After having promulgated his decree by the mouth of Jeremiah, God now adds a threatening, in order that the Jews as well as others might willingly, and with resigned and humble minds, undertake the yoke laid on them. The Prophet, indeed, as we have said, had the Jews more especially in view; but he extended, as it were by accident, his prediction to aliens. We hence see why this denunciation of punishment was added. It ought, indeed, to have been enough to say, that Nebuchadnezzar was God’s servant to subdue Judea; but as it was a hard thing for the Jews to receive that enemy, nor could they be induced to submit to him, it became necessary to add this threatening, “See what ye do, for ye cannot be stronger than God.” This threatening is indeed included in the former verse; but we know how tardy men are to learn, especially when any false impression has preoccupied their minds. As, then, the Jews refused the authority of Nebuchadnezzar, though the Prophet had testified to them that he was God’s servant, they would not have hesitated still to evade and to be refractory, had not their hardness and obduracy been broken by this commination.

And it shall be, that the nation and kingdom, which will not serve him, even Nebuchadnezzar, and not put their neck under his yoke, it shall be, that I shall visit that nation, etc. God speaks without distinction of all nations; but the Jews ought to have reasoned from the less to the greater; for if God would so severely punish the pride of the Gentiles, in case they withdrew themselves from under the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, how much heavier and more dreadful vengeance ought the Jews to have dreaded, who had been warned by the Prophet, and who doubtless knew that this happened not to them by chance, but that it was God’s righteous judgment, by which their sins were punished? Were they obstinately to attempt to shake off the yoke from their neck, would not this have been to fight against God? We now, then, perceive that the Prophet spoke thus indiscriminately of all nations, that he might sharply rebuke the Jews; and he showed that their ferocity would be inexcusable were they not willingly to humble themselves.

By mentioning twice, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, he seems to imply something important; for they might have objected and said, “What have we to do with a king so distant? and by what right does he now invade our countries? why is he not content with his own burdens? why does he not abide in his own city and in his own land?” And the name of Babylon was at the same time hateful, for they had carried on war with many nations, and reduced the Assyrians under their yoke, who were neighbors to the Jews, and the Assyrians were also in a manner connected with them; and their name was no doubt abhorred by the Jews, on account of the wars perpetually carried on by them. Hence God meets here these objections, and shows that however odious Babylon might be to the Jews, and that however remote Nebuchadnezzar might be from Judea, yet his yoke was to be borne, as it had been so appointed by God. This seems to me to be the reason why Jeremiah repeated the words, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon

There is also a denunciation of punishment, that God would visit with pestilence, famine, and the sword We know that these words are commonly mentioned in Scripture, when it is God’s purpose to set forth the signs of his wrath. He has indeed various and innumerable ways by which he chastises us; but these are his most remarkable and most known scourges, the pestilence, the sword, and the famine. He then says, that he would visit the nations who would not obey King Nebuchadnezzar with these three scourges; and at the same time he shews what the end would be, until I slay, or consume them by his hand He not only threatens them with pestilence, famine, and the sword, but he also shows that the end would be such, that the nations who might at first obstinately resist, would yet be constrained to undertake the yoke, and to acknowledge Nebuchadnezzar as their king and master. This is the reason why he says, by his hand

Death might have seemed lighter, if only they could have escaped the tyranny of Nebuchadnezzar; but since both would happen to them, even to be consumed by famine, the sword, and the pestilence, and yet not to be able to escape bondage, it was a miserable prospect indeed. We now then perceive why God speaks of the hand of the King Nebuchadnezzar; it was, that the Jews might know that they could effect nothing by seeking means to escape, for they would at length, willing or unwilling, be brought under the hand and under the yoke of this king.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(8) That nation will I punish.Better, I will visit. The three forms of punishment go naturally together. In Eze. 14:21 they appear, with the addition of the noisome beast, as the four sore judgments of God.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

Jer 27:8 And it shall come to pass, [that] the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the LORD, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.

Ver. 8. And it shall come to pass that the nation, &c. ] It is better, then, to serve a foreign prince than to perish by the sword, famine, or pestilence. It should not be grievous to any man to sacrifice all his outward comforts to the service of his life.

And that will not put their neck under the yoke. ] The Lord disposeth of the kingdoms of the heathens also, though in such a way as may seem to us to be mere hap hazard.

That nation will I punish. ] By seeking to shun a less mischief, they shall fall into a greater; if they escape frost, they shall meet with snow.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jer 27:8-11

8It will be, that the nation or the kingdom which will not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and which will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the sword, with famine and with pestilence, declares the LORD, until I have destroyed it by his hand. 9But as for you, do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers or your sorcerers who speak to you, saying, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’ 10For they prophesy a lie to you in order to remove you far from your land; and I will drive you out and you will perish. 11But the nation which will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let remain on its land, declares the LORD, and they will till it and dwell in it.’

Jer 27:8 the nation or the kingdom which will not serve him A good example of this is Jeremiah’s words to Zedekiah in Jer 38:17-23.

sword. . .famine. . .pestilence This is a common trio used to describe a military takeover and its consequences. See note at Jer 14:12.

Jer 27:9 do not listen This VERB (BDB 1033, KB 1570, Qal IMPERFECT used in a JUSSIVE sense) is repeated in Jer 27:14; Jer 27:16-17! We have a choice who we listen to!

There is a series of forbidden ways to know God’s will and manipulate future events (cf. Deu 18:9-14).

1. your prophets (BDB 611) – false prophets (cf. Jer 27:9; Jer 2:8; Jer 23:13-15; Jer 23:26; Jer 29:9)

2. your diviners (BDB 890) – This is from the Hebrew root for divine (BDB 890, cf. Num 22:7; Num 23:23; Eze 21:21; 2Ki 17:17). It is the general term describing several different methods, but all intent on determining the will of a deity by mechanical or natural means (such as examining the livers of sheep or casting arrows). It is based on the pagan worldview that there is information about the future hidden in natural events and that gifted humans (i.e., false prophets, e.g., Jer 27:9; Jer 29:8; Eze 13:9; Eze 22:28) know it and influence this future.

3. your dreamers (BDB 321) – false revelations (cf. Jer 23:25-28; Jer 29:8; Deu 13:1-3; see good brief article in John Walton, ANE Thought and the OT, p. 243). The REB changes the vowels and translates this as your women dreamers. NEB has wise women.

4. your soothsayers (BDB 778) – This term (BDB 778 II, KB 857) is related to the term cloud (BDB 777). Linguists think the term is related to sound:

a. the hum of insects

b. sound of wind in the trees

c. unknown etymology (if cloud, then related to sight)

The parallel passage in Moses’ writings which prohibits these same pagan practices is in Lev 19:26 to Lev 20:8 (see esp. Lev 19:26). This same term is also found in Jdg 9:37; 2Ki 21:6; 2Ch 33:6; Isa 2:6; Isa 57:3; Jer 27:9; Mic 5:12.

5. your sorcerers (BDB 506, the NOUN occurs only here) – This term (BDB 506, KB 503) basically means to cut up (1) as in the shredding of ingredients for a magical potion or (2) cutting oneself as a way of getting the deity’s attention (i.e., Syrian usage, cf. 1Ki 18:28). This term was used to describe Pharaoh’s wise men in Exo 7:11 and Nebuchadnezzar’s wise men in Dan 2:2.

Jer 27:10 lie This (BDB 1055) is placed first for emphasis.

Jer 27:11 This verse is illustrated in Jer 40:9-12 and alluded to in Jer 21:9; Jer 38:2. YHWH is true to His promises. Even in judgment, obedience to His word brings its own reward (cf. Num 21:4-9 [cf. Joh 3:14-15])!

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

the same = him.

saith the LORD = [is] Jehovah’s oracle.

sword . . . famine . . . pestilence. Reference to Pentateuch (Lev 26:25, Lev 26:26. Deu 28:21-24). App-92.

and. Note the Figure of speech Polysyndeton. App-6.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

And it: There is a peculiar grandeur, as well as propriety, in this method of predicting Nebuchadnezzar’s rapid successes. The God of Israel, declaring himself to be the Lord of armies, and the Creator and Owner of the whole earth, with all its inhabitants and productions, and claiming full sovereignty over his creatures, avows his determination, for reasons he does not deign to assign, to give all the countries of the world to the king of Babylon, whom he calls his servant, because he would accomplish an important part of his most righteous designs. They, therefore, who would escape the most dreadful judgments, must submit to the God of Israel, by submitting to Nebuchadnezzar; they must hearken to the prophets of Israel, and not to their own diviners; and they must observe, that Nebuchadnezzar, his son, and his grandson, would whatever opposition should be made, possess the full dominion of all these countries, till the appointed time was expired; and then, these haughty conquerors would in their turn become the prey of other powerful conquerors; all of which was most exactly fulfilled.

that nation: Jer 25:28, Jer 25:29, Jer 38:17-19, Jer 40:9, Jer 42:10-18, Jer 52:3-6, Eze 17:19-21

with the sword: Jer 24:10, Eze 14:21

Reciprocal: Deu 2:21 – but the Lord 2Ki 10:5 – We are thy servants 2Ki 25:1 – Nebuchadnezzar Neh 3:5 – put not Job 34:29 – whether Jer 4:7 – destroyer Jer 27:11 – General Jer 27:12 – Bring Jer 27:13 – by the sword Jer 32:3 – Behold Jer 32:29 – and set Lam 1:14 – yoke Lam 5:5 – Our necks are under persecution

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Jer 27:8. Since this rule of the king of Babylon was to be by the decree of God it would be folly for any other nation to resist it. The best thing for them would be to accept the yoke of his government (symbolized by the literal yoke that Jeremiah showed them) and submit peaceably. To resist Nebuchadnezzar In this case would be the same as resisting God which no king could do and succeed. Such a nation was destined to be punished with the threefold rod of sword, famine, and pestilence. The manner in which this kind of chastisement was accomplished is described at Jer 14:12.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

If any of the nations Jeremiah was addressing failed to submit to Nebuchadnezzar, the Lord would destroy that nation using Nebuchadnezzar as His instrument. War, famine, and disease would follow resistance to the Babylonian invader.

"To resist the known will of God is always spiritual suicide." [Note: Feinberg, p. 544.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)