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Jeremiah 51:59

in Jeremiah 51

This is the message that Jeremiah the prophet gave to the quartermaster Seraiah son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went to Babylon with King Zedekiah of Judah in the fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was chief chamberlain.

KJV

The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah into Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And this Seraiah was a quiet prince.

This verse in Jeremiah 51

Commentary

5 notes on this verse
The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah,.... This word is no other than the above prophecy concerning the destruction of Babylon, contained in this and the preceding chapter; or rather the order the prophet gave this prince to take a copy of it with him to Babylon, and there read it, and their cast it into the river Euphrates, with a stone bound it.

This site's exposition

commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah

on Jeremiah 51:59-61

The last of the book's sign-acts is given a named courier, Seraiah, brother to Baruch the scribe by the same father Neriah (32:12), a quiet prince who traveled with Zedekiah to Babylon, a trip the text records though Kings does not. Jeremiah writes in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, the sixty-three preceding verses bound into a single scroll and carried into the very city they condemn. The instruction that follows is precise, when thou comest to Babylon, and shalt see, and shalt read all these words, the prophecy meant to be spoken aloud on the ground it concerns.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

In the fourth year - This circumstance lets us know that this prophecy was many years before Babylon was destroyed; for it was seven years before Jerusalem was taken; so as it must be above sixty years before it was fulfilled in the first degree.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

He went with Zedekiah, or (as the margin reads it) on the behalf of Zedekiah, into Babylon. The character given of him is observable, that this Seraiah was a quiet prince, a prince of rest. He was in honour and power, but not, as most f the princes then were, hot and heady, making parties, and heading factions, and driving things furiously.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Historical appendix. In his fourth year Zedekiah journeyed to Babylon either to obtain some favor from Nebuchadnezzar, or because he was summoned to be present on some state occasion. Jeremiah took the opportunity of sending to the exiles at Babylon this prophecy. Jer 51:59 Seraiah - Brother to Baruch. A quiet prince - literally, “prince of the resting place, i. e., quartermaster.” It was his business to ride forward each day, and select the place where the king would halt and pass the night. Jer 51:60 In a book - literally, in one book, on one scroll of parchment.

The words behind it

23 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • הַדָּבָ֞רthe word

    hadavarH16971440 times

  • אֲשֶׁר־which

    ʾasher-H8345497 times

  • צִוָּ֣ה׀he commanded

    tzivahH6680494 times

  • יִרְמְיָ֣הוּJeremiah

    yirmeyahuH3414147 times

  • הַנָּבִ֗יאthe prophet

    hanavi'H5030314 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H85310935 times

  • שְׂרָיָ֣הSeraiah

    serayahH830420 times

  • בֶן־[the] son of

    ven-H11214930 times

  • נֵרִיָּה֮Neriah

    neriyahH537410 times

  • בֶּן־[the] son of

    ben-H11214930 times

  • מַחְסֵיָה֒Mahseiah

    machseyahH4271

  • בְּלֶכְתּ֞וֹwhen went he

    belekhtoH19801546 times

  • אֶת־with

    ʾet-H854929 times

  • צִדְקִיָּ֤הוּZedekiah

    tzidkiyahuH666763 times

  • מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of

    melekh-H44282525 times

  • יְהוּדָה֙Judah

    yehudahH3063819 times

  • בָּבֶ֔לBabylon

    bavelH894262 times

  • בִּשְׁנַ֥תin [the] year

    bishnatH8141877 times

  • הָרְבִעִ֖ית<the> fourth

    hareviitH724356 times

  • לְמָלְכ֑וֹof reigning his

    lemalekhoH4427348 times

  • וּשְׂרָיָ֖הand Seraiah

    userayahH830420 times

  • שַׂ֥ר[was] an official of

    sarH8269421 times

  • מְנוּחָֽה׃a resting place

    menuchahH4496

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each 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 36:4

    So Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and at the dictation of Jeremiah, Baruch wrote on a scroll all the words that the LORD had spoken to Jeremiah.

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 32:12

      and I gave this deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the sight of my cousin Hanamel and the witnesses who were signing the purchase agreement and all the Jews…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Jeremiah 36:32

      Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah, and at Jeremiah’s dictation he wrote on it all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Ezekiel 2:9

      Then I looked and saw a hand reaching out to me, and in it was a scroll,

  • Through

    Jeremiah 45:1

    This is the word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch son of Neriah when he wrote these words on a scroll at the dictation of Jeremiah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son…

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 36:1

      In the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD:

    • Jeremiah 36:4

      So Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and at the dictation of Jeremiah, Baruch wrote on a scroll all the words that the LORD had spoken to Jeremiah.

  • Through

    Jeremiah 52:1

    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.

    it leads to

    • 2 Kings 24:18

      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.

    • Joshua 10:29

      Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Makkedah to Libnah and fought against Libnah.

  • Through

    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…

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 27:1

      At the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD.

About Jeremiah

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.