That shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant. — Better, that shall avenge my covenant, that is, the sword, which shall avenge the breach of the Divine covenant; a war, which will devastate them because of their rebellion against the covenant God. Hence the Chaldee Versions render it, “that shall avenge on you the vengeance for that ye have transgressed against the words of the law.”
And when ye are gathered together within your cities. — When, completely defeated in the battlefield, the Israelites escape from the avenging sword into their fortified cities, they will then become a prey to pestilence, so that the surviving remnant will prefer to deliver themselves over into the hands of the relentless enemy. (Comp. Jeremiah 21:6-9; Ezekiel 5:12; Ezekiel 7:15.)