Jeremiahchapter 21
14 verses · Jeremiah, written by Baruch · 7th to 6th century BC · The Prophets
Furthermore, you are to tell this people that this is what the LORD says: ‘Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.
Introduction
Jeremiah, written by Baruch, The Prophets, Jeremiah Overview.
Jeremiah had preached against Jerusalem for about forty years when this word came, and the city he warned was now surrounded. The book sets it out of time order, placing the last days of the kingdom beside its early oracles on the kings. Its first hearers remembered how an Assyrian army had once left these same walls in a single night. This chapter answers a king who hopes for that story again. Listen for who is said to be fighting whom, and for the two roads set in front of the people. Read it as the word that later got its speaker arrested for treason.
Context
- Who
- A king and a city hoping for one more last-minute rescue like Hezekiah's
- What
- An answer sent to King Zedekiah when his officials asked Jeremiah whether the LORD would turn back the Babylonian army.
- Where
- Jerusalem, with the Babylonian army camped around its walls.
- When
- The reign of Zedekiah, about 588 BC, at the start of the final siege.
- Why
- To tell the king and the city that the siege would end in defeat and that surrender was the way to stay alive.
Historical context
Zedekiah sends two men: Pashhur son of Malchiah, a different man from the temple officer of chapter 20, and one who will appear again among the officials who try to have Jeremiah killed, and Zephaniah the priest. Sending a formal delegation to enquire of a prophet was the recognised way a king asked for an oracle before a battle.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
What they are hoping for is a repeat. A little over a century earlier Sennacherib's Assyrian army had surrounded this same city, Hezekiah had sent to Isaiah, and the siege had broken. Everyone in the delegation knew that story.
The answer describes what a besieged city actually died of. Not usually the assault, the sword outside, and inside, plague and starvation as sanitation collapsed and the food ran out. Ancient sieges were won by waiting.
Then comes the most shocking military advice in the Bible: God sets before the people the way of life and the way of death, and the way of life is to go out and surrender to the besiegers. A defector kept his life as his prize of war. Advising desertion during a siege was, by any normal reckoning, treason, and it is what gets him arrested in chapter 37.
Significance
For the first hearers the terrible sentence is the one about who is fighting on which side. God says he himself will fight against this city with an outstretched hand, the same phrase used of the rescue from Egypt, now aimed the other way.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
The word to the royal house is not fatalism, though. It is a standing offer: administer justice every morning, deliver the robbed from the oppressor, and the fire need not be kindled. Even at the walls, the terms are still open.
This chapter in Jewish lifeWhat this chapter is in Jewish life and reading.
What is done
No part of this chapter is read in the synagogue. Probed for this lane, the site's own table in src/lib/hebraic/readings.ts printed parashot 0 and haftarah uses 0 for Jeremiah 21, and no festival reading for the book. Across chapters 1 to 26 of Jeremiah the same probe found a Haftarah only in chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 16 and 17.
How it is read
Rashi is the one commentator on this chapter whose English the corpus carries, quoted here from The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg, which Sefaria reports as CC-BY.
Rashi reads the turning back of the weapons of war as a turning of heavenly powers. Some in the city claimed to adjure the princes in charge of retribution, and God will move one's authority to another, "and you will not know whom to adjure" (Rashi on Jeremiah 21:4:1). The pestilence he reads as the angel of death (Rashi on Jeremiah 21:4:2). He reads the life given as a prey as life snatched from death like plunder (Rashi on Jeremiah 21:9:1).
The corpus carries sixteen further notes on this chapter without an English text, each marked linked because Sefaria holds no English version of the ref. They stand cited and unquoted at Metzudat David on Jeremiah 21:2:1, 21:5:1, 21:6:1, 21:8:1, 21:10:1, 21:11:1 and 21:14:1. The same holds for Radak on Jeremiah 21:2:1, 21:3:1, 21:4:1, 21:5:1, 21:7:1, 21:9:1, 21:11:1 and 21:14:1. The same holds for Malbim on Jeremiah 21:7:1.
What the rabbis say
The corpus carries 25 rabbinic locators on the verses of this chapter, 4 in the Talmud and 21 in the Midrash. It carries the text of none, so each is cited by ref here and never quoted or paraphrased. The verse numbers are the Hebrew ones the corpus prints.
On verse 4 it holds Midrash Tehillim 36:5. On verse 5 it holds Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Bamidbar 2:1. On verse 8 it holds Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Re'eh 1:1, Midrash Tanchuma, Ha'Azinu 1:1, Midrash Tanchuma, Re'eh 1:1 and Sanhedrin 37b:13. On verse 9 it holds Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Sanhedrin 4:10. On verse 12 it holds Bamidbar Rabbah 10:4, Bamidbar Rabbah 3:6, Bereshit Rabbati, Parashat Bereshit 17, Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Sanhedrin 1:9 and Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Sanhedrin 2:1.
It also holds Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Shabbat 5:3, Ein Yaakov, Sanhedrin 1:11, Ein Yaakov, Sanhedrin 2:3, Ein Yaakov, Shabbat 5:6, Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, Tractate Vayassa 6:9 and Midrash Tanchuma, Mishpatim 6:12 there. It also holds Sanhedrin 19a:15, Sanhedrin 7b:2, Shabbat 55a:3, Tanna DeBei Eliyahu Rabbah 10:1, Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 261:9 and Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 735:3 there. On verse 14 it holds Midrash Tehillim 121:1.
The corpus also files Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Chullin 1:2 under Jeremiah 21:27, a verse this chapter does not have. It is left out of the list above rather than cited on a verse that is not there.
Sources: Rashi, Rashi on Jeremiah 21:4:1 to 21:13:2, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg, reported CC-BY; Malbim, Malbim on Jeremiah 21:7:1, cited by ref because the corpus carries no English text; Metzudat David, Metzudat David on Jeremiah 21:2:1, 21:5:1, 21:6:1, 21:8:1, 21:10:1, 21:11:1 and 21:14:1, cited by ref because the corpus carries no English text; Radak, Radak on Jeremiah 21:2:1, 21:3:1, 21:4:1, 21:5:1, 21:7:1, 21:9:1, 21:11:1 and 21:14:1, cited by ref because the corpus carries no English text; The Sefaria corpus, scripts/data/sources/sefaria/jeremiah/21.json, the 25 Talmud and Midrash locators on the verses of this chapter; The site's own files, src/lib/hebraic/readings.ts, probed for Jeremiah 21: parashot 0, haftarah uses 0, and no festival reading for the book.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
Zedekiah Inquires: I Myself Will Fight Against You
Jeremiah 21:1-2
This is the word that came: King Zedekiah sends “Pashhur son of Malchijah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah,” a different Pashhur, to ask Jeremiah to “inquire of the LORD”. Their hope is plain: “Perhaps the LORD will perform for us something like all His past wonders, so that Nebuchadnezzar will withdraw from us.”
Jeremiah 21:1
“By sending this embassy Zedekiah acknowledged that Jeremiah held the same position in the kingdom which Isaiah had held under Hezekiah 2Ki 19:2. Pashur and Zephaniah belonged to the party who were for resisting Nebuchadnezzar by force of arms.”
1 more voice on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
Jeremiah 21:1
“Pashur--son of Melchiah, of the fifth order of priests, distinct from Pashur, son of Immer (Jer 20:1), of the sixteenth order (1Ch 24:9, 14). Zephaniah--of the twenty-fourth order. They are designated, not by their father, but by their family (1Ch 24:18).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Barnes hears in the request the answer Isaiah once gave Hezekiah, when the Assyrian king went home without taking the city (Isaiah 37:6). Wesley calls Zedekiah neither the best nor the worst of Judah's kings, with enough fear of God to send to the prophet.
Jeremiah 21:2
“Inquire - Zedekiah, as he was none of the best, so he was none of the worst of the kings of Judah. Having some reverence of God, he sends the prophet to inquire of the Lord.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Jeremiah 21:2
“Nebuchadrezzar - A more correct way of spelling the name than Nebuchadnezzar. According to all his wondrous works - The king and his envoys expected some such answer as Isaiah had given on a former occasion Isa 37:6.”
Jeremiah 21:3-7
But Jeremiah answered, “You are to: The answer reverses the delegation’s hope: “I will turn against you the weapons of war in your hands”. Verse 5 takes the words of Israel’s rescue at Exodus 6:6 and turns them on Jerusalem. “I Myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm.”
Jeremiah 21:3
“Then said Jeremiah unto them,.... The two priests, Pashur and Zephaniah, after he had sought the Lord, and knew his mind and will: thus shall ye say to Zedekiah; by whom they were sent.”
the weapons of war in your hands: The weapons Judah fights with are turned back on the city, and the army outside the wall is gathered into its center. Henry notes that the place meant for worship had become a place of evil. So God makes it the meeting place of its destroyers.
Jeremiah 21:4
“That the besiegers shall in a little time make themselves masters of Jerusalem, and of all its wealth and strength: I will assemble those in the midst of this city who are now surrounding it. Note, If that place which should have been a centre of devotion be made a centre of wickedness, it is not strange if God make it a rendezvous of destroyers.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 more voice on this verse
Jeremiah 21:4
“God of Israel--Those "wondrous works" (Jer 21:2) do not belong to you; God is faithful; it is you who forfeit the privileges of the covenant by unfaithfulness.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
with an outstretched hand and a mighty: The outstretched hand and mighty arm are the words of the exodus, when the LORD fought for Israel against Egypt. Now that same arm is raised against Jerusalem. Henry calls this an execution in anger and fury, with no correction in love left in it.
both man and beast: Man and beast die together, as they would in a city shut in by a long siege. Clarke notes that the sword could look like the work of the Chaldeans. The plague would show itself as the direct act of God.
Jeremiah 21:6
“They shall die of a great pestilence - The sword may appear to be that of man, though I have given the Chaldeans their commission; but the pestilence shall appear to be the immediate act of God.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
The king, his officers and the people left after plague, sword and famine are all handed to Babylon. It came true when Zedekiah fled and was caught (Jeremiah 39). Clarke notes that the Hebrew spells the king's name two ways in this book, both for the same man.
Jeremiah 21:7
“Nebuchadrezzar - This name is spelt as above in twenty-six places of this book; and in ten places it is spelt Nebuchadnezzar, which is the common orthography. The difference is only a ר resh for a נ nun; but the MSS. are various on this point. It is the same person who is intended by both names; and here all the Versions, except the Arabic, which omits the name, have it in the usual form.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
The Way of Life and the Way of Death Set Before You
Jeremiah 21:8-10
Furthermore, you are to tell this: The LORD sets “before you the way of life and the way of death,” the choice of Deuteronomy 30:19 with its terms reversed. “Whoever stays in this city will die by sword and famine and plague,” but whoever “surrenders to the Chaldeans who besiege you will live.”
Jeremiah 21:8
“They thought to make a prey of the camp of the Chaldeans, as their ancestors did that of the Assyrians ( Isa. xxxiii. 23 ), but they will be sadly disappointed; if by yielding at discretion they can but save their lives, that is all the prey they must promise themselves.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
whoever goes out and surrenders: Surrender meant leaving the city and going over to the enemy. Barnes notes such advice would be treason from anyone else, and Jeremiah later suffers for giving it (Jeremiah 38:2-4). Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read a life kept like a spoil of war as a saying for a narrow escape.
I have set My face against: A face set against the city means a fixed mind. Fire is named as the end, and the book records the city burned when it fell (Jeremiah 39:8). Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note on verse 12 that the decree against the city had already gone out.
Jeremiah 21:10
“He shall burn it with fire - What a heavy message to all; and especially to them who had any fear of God, or reverence for the temple and its sacred services!”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Jeremiah 21:11-12
Moreover, tell the house of the: The word turns to the royal house, addressed by its founder’s name, “O house of David.” Its command is the demand the earlier prophets made: “Administer justice every morning, and rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor.”
Jeremiah 21:11
“Rather, And as to the royal house of Judah, Hear ye. Omit say. The words are no command to the prophet, but form his introduction to the discourse which extends to the end of Jer 23:8. The king and his officers are to hear the gist of all the messages sent to the royal house since the accession of Jehoiakim.”
1 more voice on this verse
Jeremiah 21:11
“This intimates that it was their neglect to do their duty that brought all this desolation upon the people. It was the evil of their doings that kindled the fire of God's wrath. Thus plainly does he deal even with the house of the king; for those that would have the benefit of a prophet's prayers must thankfully take a prophet's reproofs.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Kings heard cases in the morning, before the day's work began. Clarke also reads the charge as a call to do justice at once, with no delay. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note the fire was already lit, yet the house of David could still lessen it by turning to justice.
Jeremiah 21:12
“MAURER translates, "every morning." lest my fury . . . like fire--Already it was kindled, and the decree of God gone forth against the city (Jer 21:4, 5), but the king and his house may yet be preserved by repentance and reformation. God urges to righteousness, not as if they can thereby escape punishment wholly, but as the condition of a mitigation of it.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verse
Jeremiah 21:12
“Execute judgment in the morning - Probably the time for dispensing judgment was the morning, when the people were going to their work; but the words may mean, Do justice promptly, do not delay. Let justice be administered as soon as required.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Jeremiah 21:13-14
Behold, I am against you who: The LORD addresses Jerusalem, “you who dwell above the valley, atop the rocky plateau,” a city that boasted, “Who can come against us?” He answers the boast with “I will kindle a fire in your forest.” The older commentators take the forest as the cedar-built palace and temple.
Jeremiah 21:13
“Of the valley - The inhabitants of the city of Jerusalem are here intended. Jerusalem itself was built in part upon the rocky mountain of Zion, but a great part was in the valley, and the higher mountains, about Mount Zion, made that mountain itself, in comparison with them, as a valley.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Jeremiah 21:13
“Inhabitant - is feminine, the population of Jerusalem being always personified as a woman, the daughter of Zion. Omit and. Jerusalem is at once a valley and a rock Jer 17:3. The people are described as priding themselves on the impregnability of their city.”
I will kindle a fire in your: Wesley reads the forest as houses built of Lebanon wood. The next chapter uses the same picture, calling the king's house the summit of Lebanon and its cedars fuel for the fire (22:6-7). Clarke sees a fire lit at the center that spreads until everything around is burned.
Jeremiah 21:14
“I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof - I will send destruction into its center, that shall spread to every part of the circumference, and so consume the whole. The beginning of the thirty-fourth chapter should follow here. See the arrangement on Jer 34:1 (note).”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Jeremiah 21:14
“The forest - By the forest he either means the forest of Lebanon or their houses, made of wood cut out of that forest. And it - And this fire shall not end in the destruction of this city, but in the total destruction of all the country round Jerusalem.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
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Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on Jeremiah and Lamentations; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.