Jeremiah 15:2
And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the Lord; Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity.
Study Note
Study Note
God's instruction to respond 'whither shall we go forth? '… Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity' presents four modes of judgment as fixed destinations — there is no exit from the consequences of persistent rebellion. The verse is part of Jeremiah's 'Four Destroyers' oracle (15:3-4), which echoes Leviticus 26's covenant curse-catalogue and Deuteronomy 28's blessings-turned-curses at covenant breach. The fatalistic tone reflects a specific historical moment — Manasseh's sin (15:4) has accumulated such moral debt that even Jeremiah's intercession is refused (15:1) — representing the prophetic equivalent of Romans 1:24's 'God gave them up.' Revelation 6:8 draws on this same four-fold pattern (sword, famine, death, wild beasts) for the four horsemen, confirming the Jeremianic judgment-taxonomy's canonical reach.
Other Translations
And it shall come to pass, when they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith Jehovah: Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for captivity, to captivity.
And it hath come to pass, when they say to thee, Whither do we go out? that thou hast said unto them, Thus said Jehovah: Those who <FI>are<Fi> for death--to death, And those who are for the sword, to the sword, And those who are for famine, to famine, And those who are for captivity, to captivity.
And it will be, when they say to you, Where are we to go? then you are to say to them, The Lord has said, Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are to be in need of food, to need of food; and such as are to be taken away prisoners, to be taken away.
Cross References
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When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will …
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And when he cometh, he shall smite the land of Egypt, and deliver such as are for death to death; …
As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and …
And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.
And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed …
He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the …
Thou shalt burn with fire a third part in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege …