John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 49:37

"And I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life; and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger, saith Jehovah; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them;" — Jeremiah 49:37 (ASV)

This verse especially shows that the Elamites were among those who had inhumanly raged against God’s people, for He did not without reason set forth the severity of His vengeance toward them. We must, then, keep in mind that the Elamites had been among the chief of God’s enemies, or at least had been exceptionally cruel, delighting in slaughters. Therefore He says, I will dismay, or frighten. The verb חתת, chetat, means to tear in pieces, or to break; it may therefore be translated, “I will break.” Those who translate it “I will lay prostrate” do not seem to know the difference between consternere, to lay prostrate, and consternare, to dismay. But the most suitable meaning is that God would terrify the Elamites, for He had spoken before of their flight and exile.

He then mentions the cause of their dread: God would dismay them and frighten them before their enemies, so that they would not be able to stand before them. By these words, He intimates that however warlike the Elamites were, they still would not stand their ground when it seemed good to God to give them their due, for the hearts of men are in His hand. Thus, though the Elamites were brave, the Prophet declares that they would be so faint-hearted at the sight of enemies as to flee away immediately, simply because God would terrify them.

He afterward adds, I will send the sword after them. By this clause, He means that He would not be content merely with terrifying them. Instead, when they began to flee, He would capture them, because He would pursue them—that is, He would urge on their enemies. And it should always be observed that what proceeds from men is ascribed to God, because men, however little they may think of it, nevertheless execute His purpose and are not only the proclaimers of His wrath but also its instruments.

But He mentions the evil of the indignation of his wrath. This way of speaking indeed seems harsh, but we have stated elsewhere that the Prophets did not without reason use this combination of words, which appears somewhat harsh. Now, wrath, in a strict sense, does not belong to God, for no feelings of this kind are characteristic of Him.

But when the heat of wrath or indignation is mentioned, its vehemence is intensified to shake off the lethargy of men, who would otherwise, as I recently said, be completely unfeeling and indifferent. In short, by indignation the Prophet means nothing other than that vengeance is dreadful and should astonish all mortals, so that they should immediately fall down as if lifeless as soon as they hear that God is displeased with them.

Meanwhile, He shows what I have already stated: that God was severely offended with that people whom He threatens with extreme punishment, for He says, until I shall have consumed them. We see what I have said: that this people were not lightly chastised, as has been mentioned of others. It therefore follows that their wickedness had been very atrocious. The two clauses, however, seem inconsistent—that God would scatter the Elamites through all nations, and that He would consume them—for dispersion and consumption differ widely. But consumption here refers to the body of the nation or to its name, as if He had said that no Elamites would survive as a distinct people, because they would be merged into other nations and disappear like chaff.