“They have blown
The horn.
They have made
Everything ready.
But no one goes
To battle.
My wrath is
Upon all their multitude.
The sword is
Outside.
Pestilence is within.
Famine is within.
Those in the field
Die by the sword.
Those in the city
Have famine
With pestilence
Devour them.”
This picks up on a theme of the last chapter about how people die, repeating the three ways to die. The Israelites blew the horn to get ready for the battle, but no one showed up. Thus Yahweh’s wrath was on everybody. Those outside the city in the fields would die by the sword. However, those in the city would die from a pestilence or a famine that would devour them.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 