“I will scatter
To every wind
All who are around him,
His helpers,
All his troops.
I will unsheathe
The sword
Behind them.
They shall know
That I am Yahweh.
When I disperse them
Among the nations
I will scatter them
Through the countries.
But I will let
A few of them escape
From the sword,
From famine,
From pestilence.
Thus they may tell
Of all their abominations
Among the nations
Where they go.
Then they may know
That I am Yahweh.”
In this exile, not everyone will go to the same place. Yahweh indicated that he was going to scatter the helpers and the soldiers of the king to the wind. He certainly was going to make sure that some died by the sword. They should know that he was Yahweh. He was going to disperse them among the various nations and scatter them among different countries. He was going to let a few of them escape from the 3 ways of dying, the sword, famine, or pestilence. Those who survived would talk about all their abominations among the diverse nations, wherever they went. Thus everyone would know that Yahweh was the God of Israel.