Jeremiah 21:3
in Jeremiah 21But Jeremiah answered, “You are to tell Zedekiah that
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah:
KJV
Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah:
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This verse in Jeremiah 21
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Then said Jeremiah unto them
on Jeremiah 21:3-7
The answer reverses everything the delegation hoped for, the Lord turning back the very weapons in the defenders' hands and gathering the Chaldean army into the middle of the city rather than driving it away. Verse 5 takes the exodus language of an outstretched hand and a strong arm, the formula of Israel's deliverance at Exodus 6:6, and turns it against Jerusalem itself, the Lord now fighting as the enemy rather than the rescuer. Zedekiah and whoever survives the pestilence, sword and famine are handed to Nebuchadrezzar with no pity and no mercy promised, the harshest terms given to any king in the book.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Vers. 3 seqq.) And Jeremiah said to them: Thus shall you say to Zedekiah: Thus saith the Lord God of Israel: Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war (or the weapons of warfare) which are in your hands, wherewith you fight against the king of Babylon, and the Chaldeans that besiege you round about the walls: and I will gather them (or it) together in the midst of this city, and I will fight against you with stretched-out hand, and with a strong arm (or an exalted one), and in fury, and in wrath, and in great indignation.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
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 words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֥אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יִרְמְיָ֖הוּ | yirmeyahu | Jeremiah | H3414 → | 147 times |
| אֲלֵיהֶ֑ם | ʾaleihem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| כֹּ֥ה | koh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| תֹאמְרֻ֖ן | tomrun | you will say ! | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| צִדְקִיָּֽהוּ׃ | tzidkiyahu | Zedekiah | H6667 → | 63 times |
וַיֹּ֥אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יִרְמְיָ֖הוּJeremiah
yirmeyahuH3414 →147 times
אֲלֵיהֶ֑םto them
ʾaleihemH413 →5510 times
כֹּ֥הthus
kohH3541 →577 times
תֹאמְרֻ֖ןyou will say !
tomrunH559 →5305 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
צִדְקִיָּֽהוּ׃Zedekiah
tzidkiyahuH6667 →63 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
About Jeremiah
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonLate monarchy / ExileJeremiahPriest of Anathoth called before birth to uproot and to plant; the weeping prophet of Jerusalem's fall who bought a field in the s…
- PersonExileZedekiahJudah's last king, who broke his oath to Babylon against Jeremiah's word; his sons slain before his eyes at Riblah, and the city a…
This page draws on Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Calvin, Commentary on Jeremiah and Lamentations and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).