Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the LORD hath spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?
Ver. 13. Why will ye die, thou and thy people?] Ec quae haec pertinacia? If thou hast no mercy on thyself, yet pity the State, which is like to perish by thy pertinace. Josephus highly commendeth Jeconiah for his yielding to go into captivity for the safety of the city. Tertullian giveth this counsel to Scapula the persecutor, If thou wilt not spare us, yet spare thyself; or, if not thyself, yet thy country, Carthage, which is like to smoke for thy cruelty, for "God is the avenger of all such."