John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 44:11-12

"Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will set my face against you for evil, even to cut off all Judah. And I will take the remnant of Judah, that have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, and they shall all be consumed; in the land of Egypt shall they fall; they shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine; they shall die, from the least even unto the greatest, by the sword and by the famine; and they shall be an execration, [and] an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach." — Jeremiah 44:11-12 (ASV)

He again denounces punishment on the obstinate; nor is it a wonder that these threats were so often repeated, since he had to deal with men so ferocious and rebellious. The reason, then, why he pronounced God’s judgment on them was because they boldly derided him; and it will become more evident from what follows how necessary such vehemence was.

And first, indeed, the Prophet briefly shows that all those would perish who had until then falsely imagined that they could not otherwise be safe than by fleeing into Egypt. Then Jeremiah here reproves and condemns their false and vain confidence. And then he explains the manner when he says, I will take away all the remnant of Judah, who have set their face to come to Egypt, etc. By these words and the following, God intimates that the Jews had in vain sought hiding-places in Egypt, because there he would inflict on them the punishment which they had deserved.

He names the sword and the famine; the third kind he omits here, but he will mention it soon. Then he says that they were to perish, partly by the sword and partly by famine, and in order to speak more emphatically, he uses different words, They shall be consumed by famine, they shall fall by the sword, they shall all be consumed, and then he says, from the least to the greatest.

Finally he adds, And they shall be a curse. We have said elsewhere that the word אלה, ale, sometimes means a curse, though it properly signifies an oath; and the reason is, because men in swearing often introduce a curse, “Let God curse me,” — “Let me perish.” Then he says, that the Jews would become an example of a curse; for in making an oath this would be the common form, “Let God destroy me as he destroyed the Jews.” He afterwards adds, an astonishment, because all would be horrified at the very sight of their calamity. It follows lastly, a curse and a reproach, of which we have spoken before. Let us now proceed, —