Jeremiah 29:17
in Jeremiah 29this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “I will send against them sword and famine and plague, and I will make them like rotten figs, so bad they cannot be eaten.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so bad.
KJV
Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.
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This verse in Jeremiah 29
Commentary
6 notes on this verseBehold, I will send upon them the sword - Do not envy the state of Zedekiah who sits on the throne of David, nor that of the people who are now in the land whence ye have been carried captive, (Jer 29:16), for “I will send the sword, the pestilence, and the famine upon them;” and afterwards shall cause them to be carried into a miserable captivity in all nations, (Jer 29:18); but ye see the worst of your own case, and you have God’s promise of enlargement when the proper time is come.
This site's exposition
this is what the LORD of
on Jeremiah 29:17-19
Those left in Jerusalem face “sword and famine and plague,” made “like rotten figs, so bad they cannot be eaten,” the image in chapter 24. The letter leans on that vision, where the exiles are the good figs and those left under Zedekiah the bad.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 14 and following) And I will restore your captivity, and gather you from all the nations and from all the places to which I have driven you, declares the Lord. And I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile. For you have said, 'The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon.' Thus says the Lord concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who live in this city, your fellow countrymen who did not go with you into exile.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
He prophesies the destruction of two of their false prophets that they had in Babylon, that both soothed them up in their sins and set them bad examples (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
This refers to the vision and the prophecy upon it which we had ch. xxiv. And the reason given for these proceedings against them is the same that has often been given and will justify God in the eternal ruin of impenitent sinners (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Thus saith the Lord of hosts, behold, I will send upon them the sword,.... The sword of the Chaldeans, by which many of them should fall, as they did.
The words behind it
21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כֹּ֤ה | koh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַר֙ | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| צְבָא֔וֹת | tzevaot | of hosts | H6635 → | 485 times |
| הִנְנִי֙ | hini | here I | H2005 → | 316 times |
| מְשַׁלֵּ֣חַ | meshaleach | [am] about to send | H7971 → | 845 times |
| בָּ֔ם | bam | on <the> them | ||
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַחֶ֖רֶב | hacherev | the sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָרָעָ֣ב | haraav | <the> famine | H7458 → | 101 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַדָּ֑בֶר | hadaver | <the> pestilence | H1698 → | 49 times |
| וְנָתַתִּ֣י | venatati | and I will make | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אוֹתָ֗ם | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כַּתְּאֵנִים֙ | kateenim | like <the> figs | H8384 → | 39 times |
| הַשֹּׁ֣עָרִ֔ים | hashoarim | <the> rotten | H8182 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תֵאָכַ֖לְנָה | teakhalnah | they will be eaten | H398 → | 810 times |
| מֵרֹֽעַ׃ | meroa' | from badness | H7455 → | 19 times |
כֹּ֤הthus
kohH3541 →577 times
אָמַר֙he says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
צְבָא֔וֹתof hosts
tzevaotH6635 →485 times
הִנְנִי֙here I
hiniH2005 →316 times
מְשַׁלֵּ֣חַ[am] about to send
meshaleachH7971 →845 times
בָּ֔םon <the> them
bam
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַחֶ֖רֶבthe sword
hacherevH2719 →413 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָרָעָ֣ב<the> famine
haraavH7458 →101 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הַדָּ֑בֶר<the> pestilence
hadaverH1698 →49 times
וְנָתַתִּ֣יand I will make
venatatiH5414 →2011 times
אוֹתָ֗ם<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
כַּתְּאֵנִים֙like <the> figs
kateenimH8384 →39 times
הַשֹּׁ֣עָרִ֔ים<the> rotten
hashoarimH8182 →
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
תֵאָכַ֖לְנָהthey will be eaten
teakhalnahH398 →810 times
מֵרֹֽעַ׃from badness
meroa'H7455 →19 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 29:18I will pursue them with sword and famine and plague. I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth—a curse, a desolation, and an object of scorn and reproach among…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 15:4
I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Manasseh son of Hezekiah king of Judah did in Jerusalem.
- 2 Chronicles 29:8
Therefore, the wrath of the LORD has fallen upon Judah and Jerusalem, and He has made them an object of terror, horror, and mockery, as you can see with your own eyes.
- Jeremiah 42:18
For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Just as My anger and wrath were poured out on the residents of Jerusalem, so will My wrath be poured out…
- Jeremiah 24:9
I will make them a horror and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a disgrace and an object of scorn, ridicule, and cursing wherever I have banished them.
- Deuteronomy 28:25
The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them in one direction but flee from them in seven. You will be an object of horror to…
- Jeremiah 15:4
Through
Luke 21:11There will be great earthquakes, famines, and pestilences in various places, along with fearful sights and great signs from heaven.
it leads to
- Matthew 24:29–30
Immediately after the tribulation of those days: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will…
- Matthew 24:29–30
Through
Luke 21:23How miserable those days will be for pregnant and nursing mothers! For there will be great distress upon the land and wrath against this people.
it leads to
- Matthew 24:19
How miserable those days will be for pregnant and nursing mothers!
- Luke 23:29
Look, the days are coming when people will say, ‘Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore, and breasts that never nursed!’
- Matthew 24:19
Where this verse is studied
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.