Jeremiah 32:5
in Jeremiah 32He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, where he will stay until I attend to him, declares the LORD. If you fight against the Chaldeans, you will not succeed.’”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and he shall bring Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, saith Jehovah: though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper?
KJV
And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, saith the Lord: though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper.
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This verse in Jeremiah 32
Commentary
8 notes on this verseUntil I visit him - Perhaps in mercy; it is certain Zedekiah was not put to death, only carried to Babylon, where some think he afterward found favour with the king of Babylon.
This site's exposition
in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah
on Jeremiah 32:1-5
The date is exact, “the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.” His offense is the message that the city will fall, and the king confines the messenger. The chapter's sign of hope takes place in this same prison yard.
This site's exposition
until I attend to him
Readers divide over what this attending means. Wesley and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown take it as mercy, pointing to the peaceful death and burial promised at Jeremiah 34:4-5. Barnes takes it as punishment and cites Jeremiah 52:11, where the blinded king stays in prison until his death.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verses 4, 5) Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it. And King Zedekiah of Judah will not escape from the hand of the Chaldeans, but he will be handed over to the king of Babylon, and they will speak face to face and his eyes will see his eyes. And Zedekiah will be taken to Babylon, and he will stay there until I visit him, says the Lord. But if you fight against the Chaldeans, you will not have success.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He prays with admiration of God's majesty and works; and represents his own conflict, ver. 16-25. God confirms the captivity for their sins, ver. 26-35. but promises a gracious return, ver. 36-44.
quarantine:anchor (2026-07-29) — cites-ver-26/36-anchored-1-15
And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
visit him--in a good sense (Jer 27:22); referring to the honor paid Zedekiah at his death and burial (Jer 34:4, 5). Perhaps, too, before his death he was treated by Nebuchadnezzar with some favor. though ye fight . . . shall not prosper-- (Jer 21:4).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
I visit - In the sense of punishment. See Jer 39:6-7; Jer 52:11.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבָבֶ֞ל | uvavel | and Babylon | H894 → | 262 times |
| יוֹלִ֤ךְ | yolikh | he will take | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| צִדְקִיָּ֙הוּ֙ | tzidkiyahu | Zedekiah | H6667 → | 63 times |
| וְשָׁ֣ם | vesham | and there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| יִֽהְיֶ֔ה | yihyeh | he will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| פָּקְדִ֥י | pakedi | give attention to I | H6485 → | 303 times |
| אֹת֖וֹ | ʾoto | <obj.> him | H853 → | 10935 times |
| נְאֻם־ | neum- | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| כִּ֧י | ki | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| תִֽלָּחֲמ֛וּ | tilachamu | you will fight | H3898 → | 177 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | with | H854 → | 929 times |
| הַכַּשְׂדִּ֖ים | hakasdim | the Chaldeans | H3778 → | 80 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תַצְלִֽיחוּ׃ פ | tatzlichu | you will succeed | H6743 → | 65 times |
וּבָבֶ֞לand Babylon
uvavelH894 →262 times
יוֹלִ֤ךְhe will take
yolikhH1980 →1546 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
צִדְקִיָּ֙הוּ֙Zedekiah
tzidkiyahuH6667 →63 times
וְשָׁ֣םand there
veshamH8033 →834 times
יִֽהְיֶ֔הhe will be
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
פָּקְדִ֥יgive attention to I
pakediH6485 →303 times
אֹת֖וֹ<obj.> him
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
נְאֻם־[the] utterance of
neum-H5002 →376 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
כִּ֧יif
kiH3588 →4482 times
תִֽלָּחֲמ֛וּyou will fight
tilachamuH3898 →177 times
אֶת־with
ʾet-H854 →929 times
הַכַּשְׂדִּ֖יםthe Chaldeans
hakasdimH3778 →80 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תַצְלִֽיחוּ׃ פyou will succeed
tatzlichuH6743 →65 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 27:22‘They will be carried to Babylon and will remain there until the day I attend to them again,’ declares the LORD. ‘Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.’”
it leads to
- Jeremiah 29:10
For this is what the LORD says: “When Babylon’s seventy years are complete, I will attend to you and confirm My promise to restore you to this place.
- Ezra 7:19
You must deliver to the God of Jerusalem all the articles given to you for the service of the house of your God.
- Jeremiah 29:10
Through
Jeremiah 39:7Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him with bronze chains to take him to Babylon.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 12:13
But I will spread My net over him, and he will be caught in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans; yet he will not see it, and…
- Ezekiel 12:13
Through
Jeremiah 33:5The Chaldeans are coming to fight and to fill those places with the corpses of the men I will strike down in My anger and in My wrath. I have hidden My face from…
it leads to
- Isaiah 8:17
I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob. I will put my trust in Him.
- Jeremiah 21:10
For I have set My face against this city to bring disaster and not good, declares the LORD. It will be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, who will destroy it…
- Isaiah 8:17
Through
Ezekiel 17:15But this king rebelled against Babylon by sending his envoys to Egypt to ask for horses and a large army. Will he flourish? Will the one who does such things escape? Can he break…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 52:3
For because of the anger of the LORD, all this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, until He finally banished them from His presence. And Zedekiah also rebelled against the king of Babylon.
- Ezekiel 17:7
But there was another great eagle with great wings and many feathers. And behold, this vine bent its roots toward him. It stretched out its branches to him from its planting bed, so that…
- Jeremiah 38:18
But if you do not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city will be delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans. They will burn it down, and you yourself…
- Jeremiah 52:3
Where this verse is studied
About Jeremiah

Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- 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…
- PlaceBabil Governorate (archaeological site)BabylonAncient Mesopotamian city and imperial capital; site of the Israelite exile and a recurring biblical symbol of worldly power.
This page draws on 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 Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
