Charles Ellicott Commentary Jeremiah 16:14-15

"Therefore, behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that it shall no more be said, As Jehovah liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but, As Jehovah liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the countries whither he had driven them. And I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers." — Jeremiah 16:14-15 (ASV)

Behold, the days come ... — Judgment and mercy are tempered in the promise. Here the former is predominant. Afterwards, in Jeremiah 23:5-8, where it is connected with the hope of a personal Deliverer, the latter gains the ascendant.

For now, the main thought is that the Egyptian bondage will be considered a light thing compared with what the people will endure in the “land of the north,” i.e., in that of the Chaldeans, so that when they return, their minds will turn to their deliverance from it, rather than to the Exodus from Egypt, as an example of the mercy and might of Jehovah. Then once again, and in an even higher degree, it will be seen that man’s extremity is God’s opportunity.