Just as prayer for Judah will no longer bring them back from inevitable judgment (Jeremiah 14:11), so too will their empty religious acts of fasting and offering sacrifices not be accepted, says the Lord. The Lord is not fooled by religious acts; he sees and knows the hearts of the people and they show no signs of repentance or of genuine love for him. Instead, in judgment, he will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.
The three words are used throughout Jeremiah to speak of the devastation that will come with foreign invasion (see Jeremiah 21:7, Jeremiah 21:9; Jeremiah 24:10; Jeremiah 27:8, Jeremiah 27:13; Jeremiah 29:17, Jeremiah 29:18; Jeremiah 32:24, Jeremiah 32:36; Jeremiah 34:17, Jeremiah 34:22; Jeremiah 44:13). Sword
refers to loss of life in battle, famine
to the lack of food because crops have been destroyed by the enemy, and pestilence
refers to the outbreak of disease because of poor living conditions.1
12 S'ils jeûnent, je n'écouterai pas leurs supplications; S'ils offrent des holocaustes et des offrandes, je ne les agréerai pas; Car je veux les détruire par l'épée, par la famine et par la peste.