Jeremiah 27:13
in Jeremiah 27Why should you and your people die by sword and famine and plague, as the LORD has decreed against any nation that does not serve the king of Babylon?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as Jehovah hath spoken concerning the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?
KJV
Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the Lord hath spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?
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This verse in Jeremiah 27
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Zedekiah was restless under the Babylonian yoke, and the false prophets found only too ready a hearing from him. He is addressed in the plural because his feelings were fully shared by the mass of the officers of state and by the people.
This site's exposition
And to Zedekiah king of Judah
on Jeremiah 27:12-13
Zedekiah hears in person the offer: “Put your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and live!” Verse 13 asks, “Why should you and your people die by sword and famine and plague,” so his refusal is a choice against a warning.
This site's exposition
Why should you and your people die
Barnes notes that Zedekiah chafed under the yoke of Babylon and gave the false prophets a ready hearing. The plural you takes in his officials and his people, who shared his mood. The question asks why they would choose death.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 12, 13.) And to King Zedekiah of Judah I spoke according to all these words, saying: Submit your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and you shall live. Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, as the Lord has spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? Do not listen to the words of the prophets who say to you, 'You shall not serve the king of Babylon,' for they prophesy a lie to you.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Why will ye die, thou and thy people, the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence,.... Through a blockade of the Chaldean army, which would invade their land, and besiege their city, upon a refusal to be subject to their yoke: as the Lord hath spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? as the Lord has threatened shall be the case of any and everyone of the above nations that should refuse to be tributary to him; of which, no doubt, Zedekiah and his court had been apprized; see Jer 27:8.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Why will ye die - If ye resist the king of Babylon, to whom I have given a commission against you, ye shall be destroyed by the sword and by famine; but if ye submit, ye shall escape all these evils.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And to Zedekiah the king of Judah have I spoken, etc. All this Jeremiah said to the ambassadors of the kings.
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. 4 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
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לָ֤מָּה | lamah | <to> why? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| תָמ֙וּתוּ֙ | tamutu | will you die | H4191 → | 839 times |
| אַתָּ֣ה | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| וְעַמֶּ֔ךָ | veamekha | and people your | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| בַּחֶ֖רֶב | bacherev | by the sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| בָּרָעָ֣ב | baraav | by <the> famine | H7458 → | 101 times |
| וּבַדָּ֑בֶר֙ | uvadaver | and by <the> pestilence | H1698 → | 49 times |
| כַּֽאֲשֶׁר֙ | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| דִּבֶּ֣ר | diber | he has spoken | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַגּ֕וֹי | hagoy | the nation | H1471 → | 561 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יַעֲבֹ֖ד | yaavod | it will serve | H5647 → | 288 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מֶ֥לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| בָּבֶֽל׃ | bavel | Babylon | H894 → | 262 times |
לָ֤מָּה<to> why?
lamahH4100 →752 times
תָמ֙וּתוּ֙will you die
tamutuH4191 →839 times
אַתָּ֣הyou
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
וְעַמֶּ֔ךָand people your
veamekhaH5971 →1873 times
בַּחֶ֖רֶבby the sword
bacherevH2719 →413 times
בָּרָעָ֣בby <the> famine
baraavH7458 →101 times
וּבַדָּ֑בֶר֙and by <the> pestilence
uvadaverH1698 →49 times
כַּֽאֲשֶׁר֙just as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
דִּבֶּ֣רhe has spoken
diberH1696 →1141 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַגּ֕וֹיthe nation
hagoyH1471 →561 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יַעֲבֹ֖דit will serve
yaavodH5647 →288 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מֶ֥לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
בָּבֶֽל׃Babylon
bavelH894 →262 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
Ezekiel 18:31Cast away from yourselves all the transgressions you have committed, and fashion for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, O house of Israel?
it leads to
- Psalms 51:10
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
- Ezekiel 36:26
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
- Romans 8:13
For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
- Ezekiel 11:19
And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh,
- Psalms 51:10
Through
Proverbs 8:36But he who fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death.”
it leads to
- Proverbs 15:32
He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding.
- Proverbs 1:31
So they will eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
- John 15:23–24
Whoever hates Me hates My Father as well.
- 1 Corinthians 16:22
If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be under a curse. Come, O Lord!
- Proverbs 15:32
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
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, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Jerome, Commentary on 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.