וְנִבְחַ֥ר מָ֙וֶת֙ מֵֽחַיִּ֔ים לְכֹ֗ל הַשְּׁאֵרִית֙ הַנִּשְׁאָרִ֔ים מִן־הַמִּשְׁפָּחָ֥ה הָֽרָעָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את בְּכָל־הַמְּקֹמ֤וֹת הַנִּשְׁאָרִים֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר הִדַּחְתִּ֣ים שָׁ֔ם נְאֻ֖ם יְהוָ֥ה צְבָאֽוֹת׃ (ס)
И смерть будет избрана, а не жизнь всеми остатками этой злой семьи, которые останутся во всех местах, куда Я изгнал их, говорит Господь Саваоф.
Ramban
AND THE KING OF EGYPT DIED, AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL SIGHED BY REASON OF THE BONDAGE. “He was stricken with leprosy [and hence may be considered as dead], and he was wont to slaughter Israelitic babes and bathe in their blood.” Thus the words of Rashi. This is a Midrash of the Sages.123Shemoth Rabbah 1:41.
In line with the plain meaning of Scripture, [it is to be explained that] the custom of all subjects of a wicked tyrant is to hope for and look forward to the day of his death. But when the Israelites saw that the king died, they wailed bitterly lest a godless man may come to reign,124Job 34:30. who will be more wicked than the preceding king. They said, Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost,125Ezekiel 37:11. and thus they chose death rather than life.126See Jeremiah 8:3. This is the sense of the word na’akatham (their groaning),127Verse 24. for they groaned with the groanings of a mortally-wounded man.128Ezekiel 30:24.
In line with the plain meaning of Scripture, [it is to be explained that] the custom of all subjects of a wicked tyrant is to hope for and look forward to the day of his death. But when the Israelites saw that the king died, they wailed bitterly lest a godless man may come to reign,124Job 34:30. who will be more wicked than the preceding king. They said, Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost,125Ezekiel 37:11. and thus they chose death rather than life.126See Jeremiah 8:3. This is the sense of the word na’akatham (their groaning),127Verse 24. for they groaned with the groanings of a mortally-wounded man.128Ezekiel 30:24.