Jeremiah 27:1
in Jeremiah 27At the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, came this word unto Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying,
KJV
In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word unto Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,
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This verse in Jeremiah 27
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Of Jehoiakim - Really, of Zedekiah, as the Syriac reads (see Jer 27:3). In the Septuagint the verse is missing. Some scribe has confused the title of this chapter with that of Jer. 26.
This site's exposition
At the beginning of the reign
The Berean heading names Zedekiah, the king the oracle addresses throughout. The Hebrew heading here names Jehoiakim, and the Septuagint omits the verse. The older commentators hold two views: that Jehoiakim is a copyist's slip, or that the sign was given under Jehoiakim and recorded again under Zedekiah.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 27 - Verse 1) In the beginning of the reign of Joachim, son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying. This is not found in the Septuagint edition. And many think that the beginning of the following chapter should be joined to the previous one, so that whatever is said and done in the beginning of Joachim's reign is believed to have happened. Hence, he had the power to send to Egypt, as to a friendly king.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, for which some negligent scribe, having his eye on the title of the foregoing chapter, wrote Jehoiakim. And, if one would admit a mistake any where, it should be here, for Zedekiah is mentioned again (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Jehoiakim--The prophecy that follows was according to this reading given in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, fifteen years before it was published in the reign of Zedekiah to whom it refers; it was thus long deposited in the prophet's bosom, in order that by it he might be supported under trials in his prophetic career in the interim [CALVIN].
In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim - It is most evident that his prophecy was delivered about the fourth year of Zedekiah, and not Jehoiakim, as in the text. See Jer 28:1. Three of Kennicott’s MSS. (one in the text, a second in the margin, and the third upon a rasure) have Zedekiah; so likewise have the Syriac and the Arabic. Houbigant, Lowth, Blayney, Dahler, and others declare for this reading against that in the present text. And it is clear from the third and twelfth verses, where Zedekiah is expressly mentioned, that this is the true reading.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim Three years prior to Nebuchadnezzar’s ascent to the throne, he prophesied about him that he would reign.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
thongs They are the thongs of the yoke that are called kongoijli (cojongles).
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בְּרֵאשִׁ֗ית | bereshit | in [the] beginning of | H7225 → | 51 times |
| מַמְלֶ֛כֶת | mamlekhet | [the] reign of | H4467 → | 117 times |
| יְהוֹיָקִ֥ם | yehoyakim | Jehoiakim | H3079 → | 37 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יֹאושִׁיָּ֖הוּ | yoshiyahu | Josiah | H2977 → | 53 times |
| מֶ֣לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| יְהוּדָ֑ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| הָיָ֞ה | hayah | it came | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| הַדָּבָ֤ר | hadavar | the word | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הַזֶּה֙ | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| אֶֽל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יִרְמְיָ֔ה | yirmeyah | Jeremiah | H3414 → | 147 times |
| מֵאֵ֥ת | meet | from with | H854 → | 929 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לֵאמֹֽר׃ | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
בְּרֵאשִׁ֗יתin [the] beginning of
bereshitH7225 →51 times
מַמְלֶ֛כֶת[the] reign of
mamlekhetH4467 →117 times
יְהוֹיָקִ֥םJehoiakim
yehoyakimH3079 →37 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
יֹאושִׁיָּ֖הוּJosiah
yoshiyahuH2977 →53 times
מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
יְהוּדָ֑הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
הָיָ֞הit came
hayahH1961 →3559 times
הַדָּבָ֤רthe word
hadavarH1697 →1440 times
הַזֶּה֙<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
אֶֽל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יִרְמְיָ֔הJeremiah
yirmeyahH3414 →147 times
מֵאֵ֥תfrom with
meetH854 →929 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לֵאמֹֽר׃<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 27:12And to Zedekiah king of Judah I spoke the same message: “Put your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and live!
it leads to
- Jeremiah 28:1
In the fifth month of that same year, the fourth year, near the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, said to…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 38:17
Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you indeed surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then you will live,…
- 2 Chronicles 36:11–13
Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years.
- Proverbs 1:33
But whoever listens to me will dwell in safety, secure from the fear of evil.”
- Jeremiah 27:2–3
This is what the LORD said to me: “Make for yourself a yoke out of leather straps and put it on your neck.
- Jeremiah 28:1
Through
2 Chronicles 36:11Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 24:18–20
Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah.
- 2 Kings 24:18–20
Through
Jeremiah 28:1In the fifth month of that same year, the fourth year, near the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, said to…
it leads to
- Joshua 9:3
But the people of Gibeon, having heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,
- Joshua 9:3
Through
Jeremiah 27:3Send word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon through the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 36:13
He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God. But Zedekiah stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD, the God of Israel.
- 2 Chronicles 36:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Jeremiah

Who and where
4 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJudahJacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (…
- 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…
- PersonLate monarchyJosiahThe boy-king who found the book of the law in the temple, tore his clothes, and led Judah's last great reformation and Passover be…
- 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 Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Calvin, Commentary on Jeremiah and Lamentations; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
