John Gill Commentary Jeremiah 15:3

"And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith Jehovah: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the birds of the heavens, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and to destroy." — Jeremiah 15:3 (ASV)

And I will appoint over them four kinds, says the Lord
Or four families ^F24 , and these very devouring ones; that is, four sorts of punishment; and so the Targum, ``four evil punishments;'' which are after mentioned.

These are represented as under God, and at his beck and command; servants of his, that go and come at his pleasure, and do his will; and as being over men, and having power and authority to kill and to destroy by a divine commission: the sword to slay :
the first and chief of the four families or punishments, which had a commission from the Lord to sheath itself in his people, the Jews; even the sword of the enemy, the Chaldeans, drawn against them by a divine order and appointment.

and the dogs to tear ;
the carcasses of those that are slain with the sword: or "to draw" ^F25 ; as the word signifies; it being the usual way of dogs to draw and drag the flesh about they are feeding on; this is another of the four families, and a very voracious one it is.

and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and
destroy ;
or "to eat, and to corrupt", the bodies of those that are slain by the sword. The meaning is, that such should not have a burial, but should be the food of fowls and wild beasts: these are the other two destroying families, which have their commission from the Lord for such service.

---

FOOTNOTES:

• F24: (twxpvm ebra) "quatuor familias, [sive] cognationes", Vatablus, Tigurine version, Calvin.
• F25: (bwxol) "ad trahendum", Calvin, Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Schmidt; so Ben Melech,