Therefore deliver up their children to famine, and bring them into the hands of the sword: let their wives be bereaved of children and widows: and let their husbands be slain by death: let their young men be stabbed with the sword in battle.
לָכֵן֩ תֵּ֨ן אֶת־בְּנֵיהֶ֜ם לָרָעָ֗ב וְהַגִּרֵם֮ עַל־יְדֵי־חֶרֶב֒ וְתִֽהְיֶ֨נָה נְשֵׁיהֶ֤ם שַׁכֻּלוֹת֙ וְאַלְמָנ֔וֹת וְאַ֨נְשֵׁיהֶ֔ם יִֽהְי֖וּ הֲרֻ֣גֵי מָ֑וֶת בַּח֣וּרֵיהֶ֔ם מֻכֵּי־חֶ֖רֶב בַּמִּלְחָמָֽה׃
3 Church Fathers comment on this verse
For this reason, they offer their children. He fervently beseeches for their harsh judgment, as they are destined for destruction. Even while facing constant plots, he persisted in his calls for repentance but found no success. Let there be spouses... He implores for the complete eradication of certain individuals, hoping that those who remain will not inflict harm on others; he also requests that a cry be raised to make the calamity clear.
For this reason, you will deliver their sons into retribution. These statements should be interpreted as prophetic declarations rather than a reflection of the prophet’s personal desire for revenge, which stems from a fallen nature. Instead, through divine revelation, the prophet either predicts a judgment that is fitting for the wicked or issues a warning. This interpretation aligns with similar prophecies that Jeremiah repeatedly proclaimed to a rebellious and obstinate nation.
Lord, listen to my plea and heed the cries of my enemies. Is it just for goodness to be met with evil? They have prepared a snare for my spirit. Remember that I have come into Your presence to advocate for them and to divert Your anger from them. Therefore, let their children suffer from hunger, and let them fall by the sword. May their wives be left bereaved and without children, and may their husbands face death, their young men fall in battle, and may the wails echo from their homes.
Jeremiah bears all this as a reflection of the Saviour, stemming from the Jews who later faced devastation at the hands of the Babylonians; yet this will find its fullest fulfillment in Christ, when, after the city's demise, they were slain by the Romans—not for their idolatry, which was absent at that time, but for the murder of the Son of God, as the multitude collectively cried: "Take Him, take Him, crucify Him; we have no king but Caesar" (John 19:15), and their blasphemy, "His blood be upon us and upon our children" (Matt. 27:25), resonates in their everlasting judgment. They sought to entrap Christ, proclaiming, "Let us erase Him from the land of the living" (Is. 58:8); yet He, in His boundless compassion, stood before the Father, interceding on their behalf to avert divine wrath, saying, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do" (Lk. 23:34). We often overshadow the evident truths with speculation and neglect the erratic musings regarding the captivity of the heavenly Jerusalem. Instead, we ground our understanding in the clear narratives and unmistakable prophecies.
Passages read together with this verse.
THEOSIS