Jeremiah 29:18
in Jeremiah 29I 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 all the nations to which I banish them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I will pursue after them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be tossed to and fro among all the kingdoms of the earth, to be an execration, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them;
KJV
And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an astonishment, and an hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them:
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This verse in Jeremiah 29
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThis 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.
This site's exposition
a horror to all the kingdoms
Those left in Jerusalem will face the same exile they thought they had escaped, scattered among all the nations. The words curse, desolation, scorn and reproach repeat the threat of 24:9, spoken over the bad figs. Adam Clarke reads it as a warning against envy.
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
And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence,....
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְרָֽדַפְתִּי֙ | veradafti | and I will pursue | H7291 → | 143 times |
| אַֽחֲרֵיהֶ֔ם | ʾachareihem | after them | H310 → | 715 times |
| בַּחֶ֖רֶב | bacherev | with the sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| בָּרָעָ֣ב | baraav | with <the> famine | H7458 → | 101 times |
| וּבַדָּ֑בֶר | uvadaver | and with <the> pestilence | H1698 → | 49 times |
| וּנְתַתִּ֨ים | unetatim | and I will make them | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לְזַעֲוָ֜ה | lizvaah | into a terror | H2189 → | 7 times |
| לְכֹ֣ל׀ | lekhol | to all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מַמְלְכ֣וֹת | mamlekhot | [the] kingdoms of | H4467 → | 117 times |
| הָאָ֗רֶץ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| לְאָלָ֤ה | lealah | into a curse | H423 → | 35 times |
| וּלְשַׁמָּה֙ | uleshamah | and into a waste | H8047 → | 39 times |
| וְלִשְׁרֵקָ֣ה | velishrekah | and into a hissing | H8322 → | 7 times |
| וּלְחֶרְפָּ֔ה | ulecherpah | and into a reproach | H2781 → | 73 times |
| בְּכָל־ | bekhol | among all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַגּוֹיִ֖ם | hagoyim | the nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | where | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הִדַּחְתִּ֥ים | hidachtim | I have banished them | H5080 → | 55 times |
| שָֽׁם׃ | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
וְרָֽדַפְתִּי֙and I will pursue
veradaftiH7291 →143 times
אַֽחֲרֵיהֶ֔םafter them
ʾachareihemH310 →715 times
בַּחֶ֖רֶבwith the sword
bacherevH2719 →413 times
בָּרָעָ֣בwith <the> famine
baraavH7458 →101 times
וּבַדָּ֑בֶרand with <the> pestilence
uvadaverH1698 →49 times
וּנְתַתִּ֨יםand I will make them
unetatimH5414 →2011 times
לְזַעֲוָ֜הinto a terror
lizvaahH2189 →7 times
לְכֹ֣ל׀to all
lekholH3605 →5413 times
מַמְלְכ֣וֹת[the] kingdoms of
mamlekhotH4467 →117 times
הָאָ֗רֶץthe earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
לְאָלָ֤הinto a curse
lealahH423 →35 times
וּלְשַׁמָּה֙and into a waste
uleshamahH8047 →39 times
וְלִשְׁרֵקָ֣הand into a hissing
velishrekahH8322 →7 times
וּלְחֶרְפָּ֔הand into a reproach
ulecherpahH2781 →73 times
בְּכָל־among all
bekholH3605 →5413 times
הַגּוֹיִ֖םthe nations
hagoyimH1471 →561 times
אֲשֶׁר־where
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
הִדַּחְתִּ֥יםI have banished them
hidachtimH5080 →55 times
שָֽׁם׃there
shamH8033 →834 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
2 Chronicles 29:8Therefore, 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.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 25:18
to make them a ruin, an object of horror and contempt and cursing, as they are to this day—Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and officials;
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 25:9
behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents,…
- Jeremiah 25:18
Through
Jeremiah 34:17Therefore this is what the LORD says: You have not obeyed Me; you have not proclaimed freedom, each man for his brother and for his neighbor. So now I proclaim freedom for you, declares…
it leads to
- 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…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 7:2
For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
- Deuteronomy 28:25
Through
Jeremiah 24:9I 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.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 28:37
You will become an object of horror, scorn, and ridicule among all the nations to which the LORD will drive you.
- 1 Kings 9:7
then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, and I will banish from My presence this temple I have sanctified for My Name. Then Israel will become an…
- Deuteronomy 28:37
Through
Jeremiah 15:4I 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.
it leads to
- 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.
- Jeremiah 24:9
Through
Jeremiah 42:18For 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…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 7:20
Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, My anger and My fury will be poured out on this place, on man and beast, on the trees of the field and the produce…
- Jeremiah 7:20
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.