Jeremiah 21:13
in Jeremiah 21Behold, I am against you who dwell above the valley, atop the rocky plateau—declares the LORD—you who say, “Who can come against us? Who can enter our dwellings?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley, and of the rock of the plain, saith Jehovah; you that say, Who shall come down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations?
KJV
Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley, and rock of the plain, saith the Lord; which say, Who shall come down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations?
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This verse in Jeremiah 21
Commentary
9 notes on this verse(Verse 13, 14.) Behold, I am against you, O inhabitants of the solid and level valley, says the Lord, those who say, who will strike (or terrify) us? And who will enter our houses? And I will visit upon you; and what follows, according to the fruit of your endeavors, says the Lord, is not found in the Septuagint. And I will set fire to its forest, and it will consume all around it.
This site's exposition
Behold, I am against you who
on Jeremiah 21:13-14
The LORD addresses Jerusalem, “you who dwell above the valley, atop the rocky plateau,” a city that boasted, “Who can come against us?” He answers the boast with “I will kindle a fire in your forest.” The older commentators take the forest as the cedar-built palace and temple.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Of the valley - The inhabitants of the city of Jerusalem are here intended. Jerusalem itself was built in part upon the rocky mountain of Zion, but a great part was in the valley, and the higher mountains, about Mount Zion, made that mountain itself, in comparison with them, as a valley.
It is a rock of the plain, which made it difficult for an enemy to undermine them. These advantages of their situation they trusted to more than to the power and promise of God; and, thinking their city by these means to be impregnable, they set the judgments of God at defiance, saying, " Who shall come down against us?
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
Behold, I am against thee,.... Or, "behold, I unto thee" (s); to be supplied either thus, "behold, I say unto thee" (t); what follows; and therefore take notice of it, attend unto it: or, "behold, I come unto thee" (u); who bid defiance to all their enemies to come near them, as in the latter part of the verse.
Note, It is folly to say, when things are bad with us, "They will always be so." It is possible that those who are despised may come to be respected; and it is promised that those who honour God he will honour, and that those who have afflicted his people shall bow to them, Isa. lx.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Inhabitant - is feminine, the population of Jerusalem being always personified as a woman, the daughter of Zion. Omit and. Jerusalem is at once a valley and a rock Jer 17:3. The people are described as priding themselves on the impregnability of their city.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The "valley" between Mount Zion and Moriah is called Tyropœon. ROBINSON takes, "rock of the plain" as Mount Zion, on which is a level tract of some extent. It is appropriately here referred to, being the site of the royal residence of the "house of David," addressed (Jer 21:12).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-curly-quotes
O inhabitant of the valley, and rock of the plain - Dr. Blayney translates: “O thou inhabitant of the levelled hollow of a rock.” With all his explanation I cannot see the good sense of this translation. Jerusalem itself, though partly on two hills, was also extended in the valley; and Zion, the city of David, was properly a rock, strongly fortified both by nature and art; and by its ancient possessors, the Jebusites, was deemed impregnable. Who shall come down against us? - Probably the words of those courtiers who had persuaded Zedekiah to rebel against the king of Babylon.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
O dweller of the valley Jerusalem is in the midst of a valley. Another explanation. That the Holy One, blessed be He, devised a deep plot against you to destroy you.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
from the hand of the robber Its accent is below for it is not a noun but a noun denoting the robber who robs others.
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. 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הִנְנִ֨י | hini | here I | H2005 → | 316 times |
| אֵלַ֜יִךְ | ʾelayikh | [am] against you | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יֹשֶׁ֧בֶת | yoshevet | O inhabitant of | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| הָעֵ֛מֶק | haemek | the valley | H6010 → | 69 times |
| צ֥וּר | tzur | O rock of | H6697 → | |
| הַמִּישֹׁ֖ר | hamishor | the plain | H4334 → | 23 times |
| נְאֻם־ | neum- | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| הָאֹֽמְרִים֙ | haomerim | O those[who] say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מִֽי־ | mi- | who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| יֵחַ֣ת | yechat | will he come down | H5181 → | |
| עָלֵ֔ינוּ | ʾaleinu | on us | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| וּמִ֥י | umi | and who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| יָב֖וֹא | yavo' | will he come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| בִּמְעוֹנוֹתֵֽינוּ׃ | bimonoteinu | in hiding places our | H4585 → |
הִנְנִ֨יhere I
hiniH2005 →316 times
אֵלַ֜יִךְ[am] against you
ʾelayikhH413 →5510 times
יֹשֶׁ֧בֶתO inhabitant of
yoshevetH3427 →1079 times
הָעֵ֛מֶקthe valley
haemekH6010 →69 times
צ֥וּרO rock of
tzurH6697 →
הַמִּישֹׁ֖רthe plain
hamishorH4334 →23 times
נְאֻם־[the] utterance of
neum-H5002 →376 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
הָאֹֽמְרִים֙O those[who] say
haomerimH559 →5305 times
מִֽי־who?
mi-H4310 →423 times
יֵחַ֣תwill he come down
yechatH5181 →
עָלֵ֔ינוּon us
ʾaleinuH5921 →5755 times
וּמִ֥יand who?
umiH4310 →423 times
יָב֖וֹאwill he come
yavo'H935 →2568 times
בִּמְעוֹנוֹתֵֽינוּ׃in hiding places our
bimonoteinuH4585 →
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
Psalms 125:2As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds His people, both now and forevermore.
it leads to
- Zechariah 2:5
For I will be a wall of fire around it, declares the LORD, and I will be the glory within it.’”
- Psalms 121:8
The LORD will watch over your coming and going, both now and forevermore.
- Isaiah 4:5
Then the LORD will create over all of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud of smoke by day and a glowing flame of fire by night. For over all the glory there…
- Psalms 34:7
The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, and he delivers them.
- John 10:28–29
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand.
- Zechariah 2:5
Through
Ezekiel 13:8Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Because you have uttered vain words and seen false visions, I am against you, declares the Lord GOD.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 21:3
and tell her that this is what the LORD says: ‘I am against you, and I will draw My sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked.
- Ezekiel 5:8
Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I Myself am against you, Jerusalem, and I will execute judgments among you in the sight of the nations.
- Ezekiel 21:3
Through
Lamentations 4:12The kings of the earth did not believe, nor any people of the world, that an enemy or a foe could enter the gates of Jerusalem.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 29:24–28
So all the nations will ask, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land? Why this great outburst of anger?’
- Deuteronomy 29:24–28
About Jeremiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; 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.