The Meaning of Jeremiah 15:3 Explained

Jeremiah 15:3

KJV: And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the LORD: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy.

YLT: And I have appointed over them four kinds, an affirmation of Jehovah, The sword to slay, and the dogs to drag, And the fowl of the heavens, And the beast of the earth, to consume and to devour.

Darby: For I will visit them with four kinds of punishments, saith Jehovah: the sword to slay, and dogs to tear, and the fowl of the heavens, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and to destroy.

ASV: 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.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And I will appoint  over them four  kinds,  saith  the LORD:  the sword  to slay,  and the dogs  to tear,  and the fowls  of the heaven,  and the beasts  of the earth,  to devour  and destroy. 

What does Jeremiah 15:3 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Lord would assign four destroyers of His people: human warriors, dogs, birds, and beasts. These would be His agents in carrying out His sentence. The prospect of dying without burial was a horrible one for ancient Near Easterners, and being consumed by animals was even worse (cf. Jeremiah 15:16).

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 15

1  The utter rejection and manifold judgments of the people
10  Jeremiah, complaining of their spite, receives a promise for himself;
12  and a threatening for them
15  He prays;
19  and receives a gracious promise

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 15:3 mean?

And I will appoint over them four forms [of destruction] says Yahweh - the sword to slay and the dogs to drag the birds of the heavens the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy
וּפָקַדְתִּ֨י עֲלֵיהֶ֜ם אַרְבַּ֤ע מִשְׁפָּחוֹת֙ נְאֻם־ יְהוָ֔ה אֶת־ הַחֶ֣רֶב לַֽהֲרֹ֔ג וְאֶת־ הַכְּלָבִ֖ים לִסְחֹ֑ב ע֧וֹף הַשָּׁמַ֛יִם בֶּהֱמַ֥ת הָאָ֖רֶץ לֶאֱכֹ֥ל וּלְהַשְׁחִֽית

וּפָקַדְתִּ֨י  And  I  will  appoint 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular
Root: פָּקַד 
Sense: to attend to, muster, number, reckon, visit, punish, appoint, look after, care for.
עֲלֵיהֶ֜ם  over  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
אַרְבַּ֤ע  four 
Parse: Number, feminine singular
Root: אַרְבַּע  
Sense: four.
מִשְׁפָּחוֹת֙  forms  [of  destruction] 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural
Root: מִשְׁפָּחָה  
Sense: clan, family.
נְאֻם־  says 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: נְאֻם  
Sense: (Qal) utterance, declaration (of prophet).
יְהוָ֔ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
הַחֶ֣רֶב  the  sword 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: חֶרֶב  
Sense: sword, knife.
לַֽהֲרֹ֔ג  to  slay 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: הָרַג  
Sense: to kill, slay, murder, destroy, murderer, slayer, out of hand.
הַכְּלָבִ֖ים  the  dogs 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: כֶּלֶב  
Sense: dog.
לִסְחֹ֑ב  to  drag 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: סָחַב  
Sense: (Qal) to drag.
ע֧וֹף  the  birds 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: עֹוף  
Sense: flying creatures, fowl, insects, birds.
הַשָּׁמַ֛יִם  of  the  heavens 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: שָׁמַיִם  
Sense: heaven, heavens, sky.
בֶּהֱמַ֥ת  the  beasts 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: בְּהֵמָה  
Sense: beast, cattle, animal.
הָאָ֖רֶץ  of  the  earth 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
לֶאֱכֹ֥ל  to  devour 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: אָכַל  
Sense: to eat, devour, burn up, feed.
וּלְהַשְׁחִֽית  and  destroy 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l, Verb, Hifil, Infinitive construct
Root: שָׁחַת  
Sense: to destroy, corrupt, go to ruin, decay.