Charles Ellicott Commentary Jeremiah 5:17

"And they shall eat up thy harvest, and thy bread, [which] thy sons and thy daughters should eat; they shall eat up thy flocks and thy herds; they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig-trees; they shall beat down thy fortified cities, wherein thou trustest, with the sword." — Jeremiah 5:17 (ASV)

Which your sons and your daughters should eat. —There is no relative pronoun in the Hebrew, and the clause stands parallel with the others, they shall eat (i.e., destroy) your sons and your daughters, and is so translated in all the older versions. In the other clauses the verb is in the singular, “ it (i.e., the invading army) shall eat.”

Impoverish. —Better, break down, or shatter. The “sword” is used, as in Ezekiel 26:9, for “battle-axes” and other weapons used in attacking cities.