ירמיהו, פרק ח׳, פסוק ג׳

The aftermath of total destruction leaves a reality so harsh that the most basic human instinct—the will to survive—is completely overturned. The primary approach among commentators is that the suffering of the survivors will become so overwhelming that they will actively choose death over life. This choice is especially striking given their surroundings. They are forced to witness the horrifying disgrace of the dead left exposed and unburied. Yet, the agony of living as slaves under a cruel and merciless nation is viewed as far worse than suffering such an undignified end [רש״י, רד״ק, מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. In their deep despair, the survivors will drag themselves through the fields to bury the disgraced bodies of the fallen, all the while begging God to end their own lives to escape their endless miseries [צאינה וראינה].

This grim fate is directed at a specific group, identified as an evil family, which refers directly to those who engaged in idol worship, such as the worship of Baal [מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם]. The decree is absolute and inescapable, applying to the entire surviving population without exception. God has pushed them away and scattered them, and this profound despair will follow them wherever they go. The punishment will strike both those who managed to remain in the land of Israel and those who were driven away into exile in foreign lands [מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ, צאינה וראינה, מצודת דוד, רד״ק, מצודת ציון].