Charles Ellicott Commentary Jeremiah 15:3

Charles Ellicott Commentary

Jeremiah 15:3

1819–1905
Anglican
Charles Ellicott
Charles Ellicott

Charles Ellicott Commentary

Jeremiah 15:3

1819–1905
Anglican
SCRIPTURE

"And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith Jehovah: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the birds of the heavens, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and to destroy." — Jeremiah 15:3 (ASV)

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, Iliad 1.4:

“And many mighty souls of heroes sent
To Hades, and their bodies made a prey
To dogs and to all birds.”