And deliver you into the hands of strangers - This seems to refer chiefly to Zedekiah and his family.

And I will bring you out of the midst thereof,.... Jerusalem, the cauldron, as they said it was, and where they thought they should be safe; this is repeated, to express the certainty of it, and to excite their attention to it, and remove their vain confidence:

and deliver you into the hands of strangers; the Chaldeans:

and will execute judgments among you; punishments for sin, such as famine, pestilence, sword, and captivity.

And I will bring you out of the midst of it, and deliver you into {d} the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among you.

(d) That is, of the Chaldeans.

11:9 Deliver you - Defeating all your projects for escape.

9. out of the midst thereof-that is, of the city, as captives led into the open plain for judgment.

11:1-13 Where Satan cannot persuade men to look upon the judgment to come as uncertain, he gains his point by persuading them to look upon it as at a distance. These wretched rulers dare to say, We are as safe in this city as flesh in a boiling pot; the walls of the city shall be to us as walls of brass, we shall receive no more damage from the besiegers than the caldron does from the fire. When sinners flatter themselves to their own ruin, it is time to tell them they shall have no peace if they go on. None shall remain in possession of the city but those who are buried in it. Those are least safe who are most secure. God is often pleased to single out some sinners for warning to others. Whether Pelatiah died at that time in Jerusalem, or when the fulfilment of the prophecy drew near, is uncertain. Like Ezekiel, we ought to be much affected with the sudden death of others, and we should still plead with the Lord to have mercy on those who remain.