Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord God,.... The form of an oath; the Lord swears by himself, because he could swear by no greater; and which he never does but in matters of importance, and for the confirmation of them, as the following is:I will prepare thee unto blood; prepare them for war, which will issue in slaughter and blood, such as the battle at Armageddon, Re 16:14: or, "I will make thee blood" ; nothing else but blood; a mere "Aceldama", a field of blood; turn thee into blood, as the sea, rivers, and fountains will be, at the pouring out the second and third vials, Re 16:3:and blood shall pursue thee; the guilt and vengeance of blood; or the avengers of the blood of the saints; the angels that shall pour out the vials of wrath on Rome; the ten kings that shall hate the whore.
So the Targum;"they that slay with the sword shall pursue thee;''or the shedders of blood, as Ben Melech:saith thou hast not hated blood; Jarchi reads it; "hast hated blood": which he interprets of the blood of the sacrifices; as others, mentioned by him, of the blood of circumcision; and others, of his brother, who was his flesh and blood, and hated by him; but it is a figurative phrase, by which less is expressed than is intended.
The sense is, thou hast loved blood; thou hast delighted in shedding blood; hast thirsted after it, and drank plentifully of it, and even been drunk with it, as the whore of Rome is said to be, Re 17:5:even blood shall pursue thee; this is repeated for the confirmation of it; and this was measure for measure; a just retaliation; having shed blood, it was but right that blood should pursue, and be given, Re 16:5.