John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 14:5-6

"Yea, the hind also in the field calveth, and forsaketh [her young], because there is no grass. And the wild asses stand on the bare heights, they pant for air like jackals; their eyes fail, because there is no herbage." — Jeremiah 14:5-6 (ASV)

Jeremiah now turns to animals. He previously said that men would be afflicted by thirst, and then that the ground would become so dry that farmers would be ashamed. He now says that the wild asses and the hinds would also share in this scarcity. The hind, he says, has brought forth in the field, which was not usual; but he says that the drought would be so severe that the hinds would come out to the plains.

Hinds, as we know, wander in solitary places and seek their food there, and so they do not expose themselves, for they have a natural timidity that keeps them from encountering danger. But he says that hinds, heavy with young, will be forced by famine to come to the fields and give birth there, and then flee, even though they prefer their young to their own lives. The Prophet here shows that there would be something extraordinary in God’s vengeance, which was near the Jews, so that they might know that God had armed the heavens, the earth, and all the elements against them, because they had so deserved it. But he says, Bring forth shall the hind, and then he adds, and will forsake its young. But why will it give birth in the field? Simply because it will not find grass in the mountains, in the woods, or in the usual places.

The same thing is said of the wild asses: And the wild asses, he says, stood on the rocks. Yet this animal, as we know, can endure hardship for a long time. But the Prophet, as I have said, intended to show that this scarcity would contain some remarkable evidence of God’s vengeance. Stood then did the wild asses on the rocks, and from there drew in wind like serpents. For the heat of serpents is great; because of internal burning, they are forced to draw in wind to lessen the heat within. The Prophet says that wild asses were like serpents, for they were burning from long famine, so that they were seeking sustenance even in the wind itself, or by breathing. He then adds, Failed have their eyes, for there was no grass.

We now understand the purpose of this prediction: God’s purpose was not only to foretell to the Jews what was soon to happen, but also to point out His vengeance, as it were, with a finger, so that they might not resort, as usual, to secondary causes, but might instead know that they suffered punishment for their sins. For the scarcity would be so extraordinary that it would far exceed what was usual.