Jeremiah 49:13
in Jeremiah 49For by Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, that Bozrah will become a desolation, a disgrace, a ruin, and a curse, and all her cities will be in ruins forever.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For I have sworn by myself, saith Jehovah, that Bozrah shall become an astonishment, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes.
KJV
For I have sworn by myself, saith the Lord, that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes.
⋯
This verse in Jeremiah 49
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Behold, they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken
on Jeremiah 49:12-18
The cup of wrath poured out on nations who had done nothing to deserve it in 25:15-29 now overtakes guilty Edom by the same logic run from the lesser case to the greater, art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished. Bozrah is sworn to become a perpetual waste, and verse 18 compares the coming desolation to Sodom and Gomorrah in wording close enough to Obadiah's own oracle against Edom that the two prophets are read as carrying overlapping material, much as Jeremiah 48 and Isaiah 15 to 16 share language on Moab. No man shall abide there, the same sentence Jeremiah later gives Hazor and Babylon in this same block of oracles.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
), that their cities shall be wasted, nay, they shall be perpetual wastes, they shall be made mean and despicable; they had made a mighty figure, but God will make them small among the heathen; and those that despised God's people shall themselves be despised among men (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
For I have sworn by myself, saith the Lord,....
No; they shall surely drink of it. Note, When God punishes the less guilty it is folly for the more guilty to promise themselves impunity; and when judgment begins at God's house it will reach the strangers.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Bozrah shall become a desolation - Bozrah, a city of Idumea, is here put for the whole country.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
that Bozrah shall become desolation, reproach, waste, and a curse Bozrah was one of the cities of Moab, but because it raised up a king for Edom, as the matter is stated, “And Jobab the son of Zerah from Bozrah” (Gen.:33), it will suffer with them.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
those who do not deserve to drink For they were not brothers to Israel, and if they harmed them, they do not deserve the death sentence like you.
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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| בִ֤י | vi | by <the> myself | ||
| נִשְׁבַּ֙עְתִּי֙ | nishba'ti | I swear | H7650 → | 186 times |
| נְאֻם־ | neum- | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לְשַׁמָּ֧ה | leshamah | <into> a waste | H8047 → | 39 times |
| לְחֶרְפָּ֛ה | lecherpah | <into> a reproach | H2781 → | 73 times |
| לְחֹ֥רֶב | lechorev | <into> a desolation | H2721 → | 16 times |
| וְלִקְלָלָ֖ה | veliklalah | and <into> a curse | H7045 → | 33 times |
| תִּֽהְיֶ֣ה | tihyeh | it will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בָצְרָ֑ה | vatzerah | Bozrah | H1224 → | 8 times |
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| עָרֶ֥יהָ | ʾareiha | cities its | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| תִהְיֶ֖ינָה | tihyeinah | they will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְחָרְב֥וֹת | lecharevot | <into> ruins of | H2723 → | 42 times |
| עוֹלָֽם׃ | olam | perpetuity | H5769 → | 438 times |
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
בִ֤יby <the> myself
vi
נִשְׁבַּ֙עְתִּי֙I swear
nishba'tiH7650 →186 times
נְאֻם־[the] utterance of
neum-H5002 →376 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
לְשַׁמָּ֧ה<into> a waste
leshamahH8047 →39 times
לְחֶרְפָּ֛ה<into> a reproach
lecherpahH2781 →73 times
לְחֹ֥רֶב<into> a desolation
lechorevH2721 →16 times
וְלִקְלָלָ֖הand <into> a curse
veliklalahH7045 →33 times
תִּֽהְיֶ֣הit will become
tihyehH1961 →3559 times
בָצְרָ֑הBozrah
vatzerahH1224 →8 times
וְכָל־and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
עָרֶ֥יהָcities its
ʾareihaH5892 →1090 times
תִהְיֶ֖ינָהthey will become
tihyeinahH1961 →3559 times
לְחָרְב֥וֹת<into> ruins of
lecharevotH2723 →42 times
עוֹלָֽם׃perpetuity
olamH5769 →438 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
Isaiah 45:23By Myself I have sworn; truth has gone out from My mouth, a word that will not be revoked: Every knee will bow before Me, every tongue will swear allegiance.
it leads to
- Philippians 2:10
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
- Romans 14:10–12
Why, then, do you judge your brother? Or why do you belittle your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.
- Isaiah 55:11
so My word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please, and it will prosper where I send it.
- Hebrews 6:13–18
When God made His promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater to swear by, He swore by Himself,
- Philippians 2:10
Through
Isaiah 34:6The sword of the LORD is bathed in blood. It drips with fat—with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in…
it leads to
- Isaiah 63:1
Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah with crimson-stained garments? Who is this robed in splendor, marching in the greatness of His strength? “It is I, proclaiming vindication, mighty to save.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 63:1
Through
Genesis 22:16saying, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your only son,
it leads to
- Luke 1:73
the oath He swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
- Hebrews 6:13–14
When God made His promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater to swear by, He swore by Himself,
- Psalms 105:9
the covenant He made with Abraham, and the oath He swore to Isaac.
- Luke 1:73
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; Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of 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.