Jeremiah 34:22
in Jeremiah 34Behold, I am going to give the command, declares the LORD, and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, capture it, and burn it down. And I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Behold, I will command, saith Jehovah, and cause them to return to this city; and they shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire: and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.
KJV
Behold, I will command, saith the Lord, and cause them to return to this city; and they shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire: and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without an inhabitant.
⋯
This verse in Jeremiah 34
Commentary
4 notes on this verseI will - cause them to return - They did return; re-invested the city; and, after an obstinate defense, took it, plundered it, and burned it to the ground, taking Zedekiah and his princes captive.
This site's exposition
which are gone up from you
on Jeremiah 34:21-22
The sentence reaches the king himself: Zedekiah and his princes handed to the very army now gone up from you, the temporary lifting of the siege named for the reprieve it was and not a rescue. The Lord commands their return, to fight the city, take it, and burn it, and to leave the cities of Judah a desolation without an inhabitant, the sentence Jeremiah had been carrying since chapter one now given its final order. Barnes and Henry both connect the withdrawal named here to the moment chapter 37 will describe from the other side, an Egyptian relief force drawing Babylon off just long enough for false hope to rise before the siege closes again.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
(3.) It is just with God to disappoint those expectations of mercy which his providence had given cause for when we disappoint those expectations of duty which our professions, pretensions, and fair promises, had given cause for.
on Jeremiah 34:12-22
This prophecy concerning Zedekiah was delivered to Jeremiah, and by him to the parties concerned, before he was shut up in the prison, for we find this prediction here made the ground of his commitment, as appears by the recital of some passages out of it, ch. xxxii.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Behold I command that Pharaoh’s army return to his land, and the Chaldeans return upon you.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
who have gone up away from you because of the army of Pharaoh that came out of Egypt, as is explained in this Book (37:5).
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. 5 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
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הִנְנִ֨י | hini | here I | H2005 → | 316 times |
| מְצַוֶּ֜ה | metzaveh | [am] about to give command | H6680 → | 494 times |
| נְאֻם־ | neum- | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| יְהוָ֗ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַהֲשִׁ֨בֹתִ֜ים | vahashivotim | and I will bring back them | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הָעִ֤יר | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| הַזֹּאת֙ | hazot | <the> this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| וְנִלְחֲמ֣וּ | venilchamu | and they will fight | H3898 → | 177 times |
| עָלֶ֔יהָ | ʾaleiha | on it | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| וּלְכָד֖וּהָ | ulekhaduha | and they will capture it | H3920 → | 121 times |
| וּשְׂרָפֻ֣הָ | userafuha | and they will burn it | H8313 → | 117 times |
| בָאֵ֑שׁ | vaesh | with <the> fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עָרֵ֧י | ʾarei | [the] cities of | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| יְהוּדָ֛ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| אֶתֵּ֥ן | ʾeten | I will make | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| שְׁמָמָ֖ה | shemamah | a waste | H8077 → | 57 times |
| מֵאֵ֥ין | meein | from not | H369 → | 789 times |
| יֹשֵֽׁב׃ פ | yoshev | inhabitant | H3427 → | 1079 times |
הִנְנִ֨יhere I
hiniH2005 →316 times
מְצַוֶּ֜ה[am] about to give command
metzavehH6680 →494 times
נְאֻם־[the] utterance of
neum-H5002 →376 times
יְהוָ֗הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַהֲשִׁ֨בֹתִ֜יםand I will bring back them
vahashivotimH7725 →1056 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הָעִ֤ירthe city
hairH5892 →1090 times
הַזֹּאת֙<the> this
hazotH2063 →603 times
וְנִלְחֲמ֣וּand they will fight
venilchamuH3898 →177 times
עָלֶ֔יהָon it
ʾaleihaH5921 →5755 times
וּלְכָד֖וּהָand they will capture it
ulekhaduhaH3920 →121 times
וּשְׂרָפֻ֣הָand they will burn it
userafuhaH8313 →117 times
בָאֵ֑שׁwith <the> fire
vaeshH784 →378 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
עָרֵ֧י[the] cities of
ʾareiH5892 →1090 times
יְהוּדָ֛הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
אֶתֵּ֥ןI will make
ʾetenH5414 →2011 times
שְׁמָמָ֖הa waste
shemamahH8077 →57 times
מֵאֵ֥יןfrom not
meeinH369 →789 times
יֹשֵֽׁב׃ פinhabitant
yoshevH3427 →1079 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 52:13He burned down the house of the LORD, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem—every significant building.
it leads to
- Micah 3:12
Therefore, because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, and the temple mount a wooded ridge.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Chronicles 36:19
Then the Chaldeans set fire to the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem. They burned down all the palaces and destroyed every article of value.
- Psalms 79:1
The nations, O God, have invaded Your inheritance; they have defiled Your holy temple and reduced Jerusalem to rubble.
- Micah 3:12
Through
Jeremiah 9:11“And I will make Jerusalem a heap of rubble, a haunt for jackals; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 25:2
Indeed, You have made the city a heap of rubble, the fortified town a ruin. The fortress of strangers is a city no more; it will never be rebuilt.
- Isaiah 13:22
Hyenas will howl in her fortresses and jackals in her luxurious palaces. Babylon’s time is at hand, and her days will not be prolonged.
- Isaiah 25:2
Through
Jeremiah 39:8The Chaldeans set fire to the palace of the king and to the houses of the people, and they broke down the walls of Jerusalem.
it leads to
- Nehemiah 1:3
And they told me, “The remnant who survived the exile are there in the province, in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.”
- Nehemiah 1:3
Through
Jeremiah 33:10This is what the LORD says: In this place you say is a wasteland without man or beast, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted—inhabited by neither…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 32:43
And fields will be bought in this land about which you are saying, ‘It is a desolation, without man or beast; it has been delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans.’
- Ezekiel 37:11
Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Look, they are saying, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope has perished; we are cut off.’
- Jeremiah 32:43
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
About Jeremiah

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
