Jeremiah 40:2
in Jeremiah 40The captain of the guard found Jeremiah and said to him, “The LORD your God decreed this disaster on this place,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah, and said unto him, Jehovah thy God pronounced this evil upon this place;
KJV
And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah, and said unto him, The Lord thy God hath pronounced this evil upon this place.
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This verse in Jeremiah 40
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThe Lord thy God hath pronounced - I know that thou art a true prophet, for what thou hast predicted from thy God is come to pass.
This site's exposition
released him at Ramah
on Jeremiah 40:1-3
Nebuzaradan finds Jeremiah “bound in chains among all the captives.” The captain states the reason in Jeremiah’s terms: “The LORD your God decreed this disaster on this place.” He adds, “Because you people have sinned against the LORD and have not obeyed His voice, this thing has happened to you.”
This site's exposition
The LORD your God decreed this disaster
A Babylonian officer explains the disaster in Jeremiah's terms. Adam Clarke says he owns Jeremiah as a true prophet, whose word has come to pass. Matthew Henry says the people had heard this from their prophets and ignored it, and now they hear it from the captain of the guard.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The people of Israel had been often told this from the pulpit by their prophets, and they would not regard it; now they are told it from the bench by the conqueror, whom they dare not contradict and who will make them regard it. Note, Sooner or later men shall be made sensible that their sin is the cause of all their miseries.
And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah,.... When he mustered his prisoners, to his great surprise he found the prophet among them, whom he took out from them, and set him free; though, before he dismissed him, he had the following conversation with him: and said unto him, the Lord thy God hath pronounced this evil on this place; the city of Jerusalem; from whence the prophet and the rest of the captives were just brought, and which now lay in ruins; the houses burnt; the walls broken down; and the inhabitants spoiled and carried captive.
The great resort of the Jews that remained scattered in the neighbouring countries to Gedaliah, who was made their governor under the king of Babylon; and the good posture they were in for a while under him,
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
“The Lord your God spoke” Why are you troubled about them? Did you not prophesy to them and they did not hearken? As it is stated in Pesikta d’Rav Kahana (p. 113a).
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
The word that came What is stated at the end of the section (42:7): “And it was at the end of ten days that the word of the Lord came etc.,” but he first wrote on account of what it was said to him.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקַּ֥ח | vaiyikach | and he took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| רַב־ | rav- | [the] chief of | H7227 → | 454 times |
| טַבָּחִ֖ים | tabachim | [the] bodyguards | H2876 → | 32 times |
| לְיִרְמְיָ֑הוּ | leyirmeyahu | <to> Jeremiah | H3414 → | 147 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלָ֔יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֗יךָ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| דִּבֶּר֙ | diber | he spoke | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָרָעָ֣ה | haraah | the harm | H7451 → | 662 times |
| הַזֹּ֔את | hazot | <the> this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | against | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַמָּק֖וֹם | hamakom | the place | H4725 → | 401 times |
| הַזֶּֽה׃ | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
וַיִּקַּ֥חand he took
vaiyikachH3947 →966 times
רַב־[the] chief of
rav-H7227 →454 times
טַבָּחִ֖ים[the] bodyguards
tabachimH2876 →32 times
לְיִרְמְיָ֑הוּ<to> Jeremiah
leyirmeyahuH3414 →147 times
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֵלָ֔יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֗יךָGod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
דִּבֶּר֙he spoke
diberH1696 →1141 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָרָעָ֣הthe harm
haraahH7451 →662 times
הַזֹּ֔את<the> this
hazotH2063 →603 times
אֶל־against
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַמָּק֖וֹםthe place
hamakomH4725 →401 times
הַזֶּֽה׃<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.