Jeremiah 14:15

14:15 I did not send those prophets, though they claim to be prophesying in my name. They may be saying, ‘No war or famine will happen in this land.’ But I, the Lord, say this about ¹  them: ‘War and starvation will kill those prophets.’ ² 

Jeremiah 34:17

34:17 So I, the Lord, say: “You have not really obeyed me and granted freedom to your neighbor and fellow countryman. ³  Therefore, I will grant you freedom, the freedom ⁴  to die in war, or by starvation or disease. I, the Lord, affirm it! ⁵  I will make all the kingdoms of the earth horrified at what happens to you. ⁶ 

Jeremiah 44:12

44:12 I will see to it that all the Judean remnant that was determined to go ⁷  and live in the land of Egypt will be destroyed. Here in the land of Egypt they will fall in battle ⁸  or perish from starvation. People of every class ⁹  will die in war or from starvation. They will become an object of horror and ridicule, an example of those who have been cursed and that people use in pronouncing a curse. ¹⁰ 

Jeremiah 44:27

44:27 I will indeed ¹¹  see to it that disaster, not prosperity, happens to them. ¹²  All the people of Judah who are in the land of Egypt will die in war or from starvation until not one of them is left.

Ezekiel 5:12

5:12 A third of your people will die of plague or be overcome by the famine within you. ¹³  A third of your people will fall by the sword surrounding you, ¹⁴  and a third I will scatter to the winds. I will unleash a sword behind them.

¹ tn Heb “Thus says the Lord about.” The first person construction has been used in the translation for better English style.

² tn Heb “Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who are prophesying in my name and I did not send them [= whom I did not send] and they are saying [= who are saying], ‘Sword and famine…’, by sword and famine those prophets will be killed.” This sentence has been restructured to conform to contemporary English style.

³ tn The Hebrew text has a compound object, the two terms of which have been synonyms in vv. 14, 15. G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, and T. G. Smothers (Jeremiah 26-52 [WBC], 189) make the interesting observation that these two terms (Heb “brother” and “neighbor”) emphasize the relationships that should have taken precedence over their being viewed as mere slaves.

⁴ sn This is, of course, a metaphorical and ironical use of the term “to grant freedom to.” It is, however, a typical statement of the concept of talionic justice which is quite often operative in God’s judgments in the OT (cf., e.g., Obad 15).

⁵ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

⁶ sn Compare Jer 15:4; 24:9; 29:18.

⁷ tn Heb “they set their face to go.” Compare 44:11 and 42:14 and see the translator’s note at 42:15.

⁸ tn Heb “fall by the sword.”

⁹ tn Or “All of them without distinction,” or “All of them from the least important to the most important”; Heb “From the least to the greatest.” See the translator’s note on 42:1 for the meaning of this idiom.

¹⁰ tn See the study note on 24:9 and the usage in 29:22 for the meaning and significance of this last phrase.

¹¹ tn Heb “Behold I.” For the use of this particle see the translator’s note on 1:6. Here it announces the reality of a fact.

¹² tn Heb “Behold, I am watching over them for evil/disaster/harm not for good/prosperity/ blessing.” See a parallel usage in 31:28.

¹³ sn The judgment of plague and famine comes from the covenant curse (Lev 26:25-26). As in v. 10, the city of Jerusalem is figuratively addressed here.

¹⁴ sn Judgment by plague, famine, and sword occurs in Jer 21:9; 27:13; Ezek 6:11, 12; 7:15.