21 Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and give them over to the power of the sword; and let their wives become childless, and widows; and let their men be slain of death, (and) their young men struck of the sword in battle.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
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." (Luke 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, [1] so that their women might be bereaved and become widows, and their men put to death, [2] and their youth smitten by the sword. It now follows --
1 - 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 gdh, 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.
2 - 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 Jeremiah 15:2. The "men" were those past the time of ervice, and "youths" or young men were those fit for war. -- Ed.
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 prophet's phrase leaves it entirely indefinite in what way the men are to die.
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."
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.
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 Revelation 6:8; Jarchi understands it of the angel of death; see Hebrews 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.
pour out their blood by the force of the sword--literally, "by the hands of the sword." So Ezekiel 35:5. MAURER with JEROME translates, "deliver them over to the power of the sword." But compare Psalm 63:10, Margin; Isaiah 53:12. In this prayer he does not indulge in personal revenge, as if it were his own cause that was at stake; but he speaks under the dictation of the Spirit, ceasing to intercede, and speaking prophetically, knowing they were doomed to destruction as reprobates; for those not so, he doubtless ceased not to intercede. We are not to draw an example from this, which is a special case.
put to death--or, as in Jeremiah 15:2, "perish by the death plague" [MAURER].
men . . . young men--HORSLEY distinguishes the former as married men past middle age; the latter, the flower of unmarried youth.
Therefore - But is it lawful for God's servants to pray for evil against their enemies? It is not lawful for Christians. It is doubtless our duty, to pray for the conversion, forgiveness, and eternal salvation of our worst enemies.
*More commentary available at chapter level.