John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 21:6-7

"And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence. And afterward, saith Jehovah, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, even such as are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life: and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword; he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have mercy." — Jeremiah 21:6-7 (ASV)

Jeremiah continues with the same message: that God had resolved to destroy Jerusalem and the people, at least for a time. But he points out here what He intended to do: He would consume them by pestilence and famine as long as they remained in the city. It is as if he were saying, “Though these Chaldeans might not immediately take the city through a siege, yet its destruction will be worse, for famine will rage within and consume them.” We now understand the Prophet's intention.

But we must keep in mind what I reminded you of yesterday—that God attributes to Himself what might have been ascribed to the Chaldeans, for He makes Himself the author of all these calamities. He says, I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence. This was the first kind of punishment. Before the enemy rushed into the city, the pestilence had consumed many of the people.

Now a circumstance is mentioned that shows how dreadful their state would be, for not only people would perish, but even animals. It was no wonder that God’s vengeance extended to horses, oxen, and donkeys, for we know that all these were created for human use.

Therefore, when God manifested His wrath toward these animals, His purpose was to fill people with greater terror. They then saw oxen and donkeys, though innocent, involved in the same punishment as themselves. For how can we imagine that horses and donkeys deserved to perish by diseases or through lack of daily food?

But God presents such a spectacle as this so that He may more effectively affect people, for they then see that the whole world is exposed to a curse through their sins. They are indeed forced to recognize how great their sinfulness is. Because of this, the earth becomes dry and barren, and the elements above and below do not perform their functions, so that the barrenness of the ground deprives animals of their food, and the infection of the air kills them. But we have spoken on this subject elsewhere.

He then adds, And afterwards—that is, when the pestilence had largely consumed them—He says, I will give, or deliver, Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his servants, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzer. He indicates that even if they courageously endured their hardships, it would be of no use to them.

It often happens that a siege is lifted when the stubbornness of the besieged is so great that they overcome famine and thirst and struggle against extreme hardship. For those who besiege them are led to think that they are contending with ferocious wild animals, and so they leave them. But God declares here that the outcome would be different for the Jews, for after being nearly consumed, they would still be delivered into the power of their enemies.

Thus He shows that their endurance would be useless. It is indeed a most deplorable thing that when we have endured many grievous and distressing evils, the enemy should at last gain dominance and possess the power of life and death over us.

But God shows here that such a calamity awaited the Jews. He says, I will deliver Zedekiah the king of Judah, etc. He doubtless intended to show how foolish their confidence was when they thought they were safe under the protection of their king. “The king himself,” He says, “will not free himself from danger. What good then will it do you to have a king?” The king is expressly mentioned so that the Jews might not deceive themselves with the foolish idea that they had a sufficient safeguard in their king.

He then adds, And his servants—that is, his counselors or courtiers. For those who were the chief men and ministers of the king were called “servants” or “his ministers.” There was a great deal of pride in these courtiers, and they were very hostile to the Prophets. For, being blinded by their own foolish wisdom, they despised what the Prophets taught and all their warnings. For this reason, the Prophet says that they would be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.

It is further said, And the people. The last connecting word should be understood in an explanatory sense as even—veat enesharim, meaning “even the residue.” For He refers only to the people but indicates what the people would be: a small number, a remnant. Then the words are to be rendered this way: “even those who shall remain in the city.”

But Jerusalem, when this message was delivered, was in a prosperous condition and had a large number of inhabitants. He therefore shows that after God diminished and reduced the people to a small number, there would not yet be an end to their evils. Instead, a worse thing would still happen to them, for their lives would be put in the power of their enemies. He therefore says, even those who shall remain in the city.

And He alludes to the previous verse, for He had said that many would perish through hardship. Nor does He refer only to famine, but also to the sword and to pestilence, for He says, even those who shall remain from the pestilence, and from the sword, and from the famine. The famine, as is usual, produced pestilence. Then, when their enemies attacked the city with their weapons of war, many must have been killed, as they could not drive back their enemies from the walls without a conflict. Then God shows that the Jews would have to contend with hardship, pestilence, and the sword until they were overcome and the city was taken by the Chaldeans.

It is afterwards added, into the hands of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their life. This repetition is not unnecessary, for God indicates what Isaiah expresses more fully and clearly: that the Chaldeans would not be satisfied with plunder and would disregard silver and gold, because they would burn with rage, and their object would be to shed blood (Isaiah 13:17).

So the meaning here, when He mentions those who would seek their life, is that they would be driven by deadly hatred, so that their anger and cruelty would not be satisfied until they destroyed them. Thus He shows that it would be a bloody victory. The Jews would not merely be led captive—because their conquerors would not consider it worth the effort to drag them away as worthless slaves—but their objective would be to destroy them completely.

Hence He says, He will smite them. There is a change of number here: the reference is to the king, and yet the whole army is included. He will smite them with the mouth of the sword, he will not spare, he will not forgive, (these words are synonymous) and will show no mercy.

God thus transferred His own relentless anger to the Chaldeans, who were His agents, as if He had said, “Your enemies will be implacable; they will not be turned to mercy, for I have so commanded, and I will stir them up to execute My judgment.” Nor can this be considered strange, because God had resolved in His relentless anger to annihilate the people, for we know how great their stubborn wickedness was in their sins.

Since, then, they had so often rejected the mercy of God, they had, in a way, closed the door to pardon. Therefore, God resolved that the Chaldeans should rage against them in this way without any human compassion.