Jeremiah 21:2
in Jeremiah 21“Please inquire of the LORD on our behalf, since Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is waging war against us. Perhaps the LORD will perform for us something like all His past wonders, so that Nebuchadnezzar will withdraw from us.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Inquire, I pray thee, of Jehovah for us; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon maketh war against us: peradventure Jehovah will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may go up from us.
KJV
Enquire, I pray thee, of the Lord for us; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon maketh war against us; if so be that the Lord will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may go up from us.
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This verse in Jeremiah 21
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Nebuchadrezzar - A more correct way of spelling the name than Nebuchadnezzar. According to all his wondrous works - The king and his envoys expected some such answer as Isaiah had given on a former occasion Isa 37:6.
This site's exposition
This is the word that came
on Jeremiah 21:1-2
King Zedekiah sends “Pashhur son of Malchijah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah,” a different Pashhur, to ask Jeremiah to “inquire of the LORD”. Their hope is plain: “Perhaps the LORD will perform for us something like all His past wonders, so that Nebuchadnezzar will withdraw from us.”
This site's exposition
Please inquire of the LORD
Barnes hears in the request the answer Isaiah once gave Hezekiah, when the Assyrian king went home without taking the city (Isaiah 37:6). Wesley calls Zedekiah neither the best nor the worst of Judah's kings, with enough fear of God to send to the prophet.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 21, verses 1 and following) The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchiah and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, saying, 'Inquire of the Lord for us, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the Lord will deal with us according to all his wonderful deeds and will make him withdraw from us.' Pashhur the priest, the son of Immer, who struck Jeremiah, had a son named Pashhur. But Phasur is the son of Melchiah.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Inquire - Zedekiah, as he was none of the best, so he was none of the worst of the kings of Judah. Having some reverence of God, he sends the prophet to inquire of the Lord.
17 ): Entreat the Lord that he may take away this death. [2.] All their hope is that God had done wondrous works formerly in the deliverance of Jerusalem when Sennacherib besieged it, at the prayer of Isaiah (so we are told, 2 Chron. xxxii. 20, 21 ), and who can tell but he may destroy these besiegers (as he did those) at the prayer of Jeremiah?
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
Inquire, I pray thee, of the Lord for us,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Inquire, I pray thee - See whether God intends to deliver us into or out of the hand of the Chaldeans.
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| דְּרָשׁ־ | derosh- | seek | H1875 → | 164 times |
| נָ֤א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| בַעֲדֵ֙נוּ֙ | vaadenu | for us | H1157 → | 105 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| כִּ֛י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| נְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּ֥ר | nevukhadretzar | Nebuchadnezzar | H5019 → | 60 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| בָּבֶ֖ל | bavel | Babylon | H894 → | 262 times |
| נִלְחָ֣ם | nilcham | [is] waging war | H3898 → | 177 times |
| עָלֵ֑ינוּ | ʾaleinu | on us | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אוּלַי֩ | ʾulai | perhaps | H194 → | 45 times |
| יַעֲשֶׂ֨ה | yaaseh | he will do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| יְהוָ֤ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אוֹתָ֙נוּ֙ | ʾotanu | with <the> us | H854 → | 929 times |
| כְּכָל־ | kekhol- | according to all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| נִפְלְאֹתָ֔יו | nifleotav | wonders his | H6381 → | 71 times |
| וְיַעֲלֶ֖ה | veyaaleh | and he may go up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| מֵעָלֵֽינוּ׃ ס | mealeinu | from on <the> us | H5921 → | 5755 times |
דְּרָשׁ־seek
derosh-H1875 →164 times
נָ֤אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
בַעֲדֵ֙נוּ֙for us
vaadenuH1157 →105 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
כִּ֛יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
נְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּ֥רNebuchadnezzar
nevukhadretzarH5019 →60 times
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
בָּבֶ֖לBabylon
bavelH894 →262 times
נִלְחָ֣ם[is] waging war
nilchamH3898 →177 times
עָלֵ֑ינוּon us
ʾaleinuH5921 →5755 times
אוּלַי֩perhaps
ʾulaiH194 →45 times
יַעֲשֶׂ֨הhe will do
yaasehH6213 →2628 times
יְהוָ֤הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אוֹתָ֙נוּ֙with <the> us
ʾotanuH854 →929 times
כְּכָל־according to all
kekhol-H3605 →5413 times
נִפְלְאֹתָ֔יוwonders his
nifleotavH6381 →71 times
וְיַעֲלֶ֖הand he may go up
veyaalehH5927 →890 times
מֵעָלֵֽינוּ׃ סfrom on <the> us
mealeinuH5921 →5755 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 37:3Yet King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet with the message, “Please pray to the LORD our God for us!”
it leads to
- Jeremiah 21:1–2
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur son of Malchijah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah. They said,
- 1 Kings 13:6
Then the king responded to the man of God, “Intercede with the LORD your God and pray that my hand may be restored.” So the man of God interceded with the LORD, and the…
- Jeremiah 52:24
The captain of the guard also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of second rank, and the three doorkeepers.
- Jeremiah 21:1–2
Through
Jeremiah 37:7“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says that you are to tell the king of Judah, who sent you to Me: Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which has marched out to help you,…
it leads to
- Lamentations 4:17
All the while our eyes were failing as we looked in vain for help. We watched from our towers for a nation that could not save us.
- Isaiah 31:1–3
Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy…
- 2 Kings 22:18
But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, tell him that this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘As for the words that you…
- Ezekiel 17:17
Pharaoh with his mighty army and vast horde will not help him in battle, when ramps are built and siege walls constructed to destroy many lives.
- Jeremiah 37:3
Yet King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet with the message, “Please pray to the LORD our God for us!”
- Lamentations 4:17
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, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; 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.