God brings a series of heavy disasters upon the people, hoping they will finally learn from their mistakes, yet they remain deeply entrenched in their stubbornness. Driven by severe famine and distress in Israel, the people sent their young men on a journey to Egypt to buy grain. Rather than turning to God to relieve their hunger, they placed their trust entirely in Egypt. Because of this misplaced reliance, God struck them down on the roads with disease and the swords of their enemies [רד״ק, מצודת דוד, אברבנאל, מלבי״ם]. Alternatively, this disaster is understood not as a literal journey to Egypt, but as a plague mirroring the one God brought upon the people in the desert shortly after the original exodus [רש״י].
During these travels, the young men dispatched on the mission faced absolute devastation. Many died from disease, while those who survived were ambushed and killed by robbers or enemy armies. During these attacks, the enemies slaughtered the young riders and took their horses as spoils of war [רד״ק, שטיינזלץ, אברבנאל]. Another perspective suggests that the destruction was even more complete, with both the young men and their horses being killed outright [רש״י].
The aftermath of this massive slaughter was a terrible stench rising from the traveling groups and military camps [מצודת ציון, מלבי״ם, שטיינזלץ]. The rotting corpses of men and horses left scattered across the fields created an unbearable smell. The commentators offer various explanations for how this foul odor reached the people. Because they traveled to Egypt in successive groups, the later caravans stumbled upon the bodies of those who went before them and were met with the horrific scent [רד״ק, אברבנאל]. Others explain that the smell simply overpowered the surviving individuals and any travelers passing by [אבן עזרא]. A broader view suggests that the stench from the battlefield carried all the way to the populated cities, bringing with it a secondary outbreak of disease among the residents [מלבי״ם].
Despite witnessing these horrific sights and enduring the overwhelming smell, the people still refused to surrender or beg God to turn away His anger [אברבנאל]. Although their failure to repent is described as a past event, it carries the weight of absolute prophetic certainty. God knows that the people will never accept moral correction and will never choose to return to Him [מצודת דוד].