And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them; shall in no wise find it … and death fleeth from them (Revised Version); οἱ ἄνθρωποι, "the men;" that is, the unsealed, who suffer this judgment.
This is a characteristic biblical method of expressing great anguish. Thus Job 3:20, Job 3:21, "The bitter in soul; which long for death, but it cometh not" (cf. also Jeremiah 8:3; Job 7:15; Luke 23:30; and Revelation 6:16).
The description portrays great anguish of mind, and should not be pressed to a literal interpretation, though many have illustrated the passage by pointing to actual occurrences of the kind.