Jeremiah 49:34
in Jeremiah 49This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The word of Jehovah that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,
KJV
The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,
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This verse in Jeremiah 49
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThe Word - Against Elam - Another new head of prophecy. As this was delivered in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, it can have no natural nor historical connection with the other prophecies in this various chapter. Some think that by Elam Persia is always meant; but this is not at all likely. It was a part of the Babylonian empire in the time of Daniel, (Dan 8:2), and is most probably what is called Elymais by the Greeks. This, with Susiana, Nebuchadnezzar subdued, and took from Astyages, king of Media.
This site's exposition
concerning Elam at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah
on Jeremiah 49:34-39
This oracle is dated to “the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah” and reaches Elam. The LORD will “shatter Elam’s bow, the mainstay of their might.” Yet verse 39 closes, “I will restore Elam from captivity,” the promise given to Egypt in 46:26, Moab in 48:47, and Ammon in 49:6.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The Ammonites were next, both in kindred and neighbourhood, to the Moabites, and therefore are next set to the bar. Their country joined to that of the two tribes and a half, on the other side Jordan, and was but a bad neighbour; however, being a neighbour, they shall have a share in these circular predictions.
The word of the Lord that came unto Jeremiah the prophet against Elam,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Elam--part of Susiana, west of Persia proper, but used to designate Persia in general. Elam proper, or Elymais, nearer Judea than Persia, is probably here meant; it had helped Nebuchadnezzar against Judea; hence its punishment. It may have been idolatrous, whereas Persia proper was mainly monotheistic.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Against Elam - Or, concerning Elam. This country, better known as Susiana, is the modern Chuzistan, and lies on the east of Chaldaea, from which it is separated by the Tigris. In the cuneiform inscriptions we find the Elamites on friendly terms with Babylon. The suggestion therefore that they served as auxiliaries in the Chaldaean army in the expedition against Judah is not improbable. It was in the first year of Zedekiah that this prophecy was written, and thus it is a little prior to the prophecies against Babylon Jer 51:59, which immediately follow. The words, “the Elam,” appear in the Septuagint in Jer 25:14, followed by this prophecy, while in Jer 26:1 we find, “In the beginning of the reign of king Zedekiah there was this word about Elam,” followed in Jer 49:2 by the prophecy (Jer. 46 of the Hebrew) against Egypt. This is a proof simply of the confusion which existed in the Egyptian transcripts of the prophecies relating to the nations.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הָיָ֧ה | hayah | it came | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| דְבַר־ | devar- | [the] word of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| יְהוָ֛ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יִרְמְיָ֥הוּ | yirmeyahu | Jeremiah | H3414 → | 147 times |
| הַנָּבִ֖יא | hanavi' | the prophet | H5030 → | 314 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | concerning | H413 → | 5510 times |
| עֵילָ֑ם | ʾeilam | Elam | H5867 → | 28 times |
| בְּרֵאשִׁ֗ית | bereshit | at [the] beginning of | H7225 → | 51 times |
| מַלְכ֛וּת | malkhut | [the] reign of | H4438 → | 91 times |
| צִדְקִיָּ֥ה | tzidkiyah | Zedekiah | H6667 → | 63 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| יְהוּדָ֖ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| לֵאמֹֽר׃ | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
אֲשֶׁ֨רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
הָיָ֧הit came
hayahH1961 →3559 times
דְבַר־[the] word of
devar-H1697 →1440 times
יְהוָ֛הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יִרְמְיָ֥הוּJeremiah
yirmeyahuH3414 →147 times
הַנָּבִ֖יאthe prophet
hanavi'H5030 →314 times
אֶל־concerning
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
עֵילָ֑םElam
ʾeilamH5867 →28 times
בְּרֵאשִׁ֗יתat [the] beginning of
bereshitH7225 →51 times
מַלְכ֛וּת[the] reign of
malkhutH4438 →91 times
צִדְקִיָּ֥הZedekiah
tzidkiyahH6667 →63 times
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
יְהוּדָ֖הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
לֵאמֹֽר׃<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 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 25:25all the kings of Zimri, Elam, and Media;
it leads to
- Isaiah 11:11
On that day the Lord will extend His hand a second time to recover the remnant of His people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and…
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 49:34–39
This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 11:11
Through
Genesis 14:1In those days Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim
it leads to
- Genesis 10:22
The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 10:10
His kingdom began in Babylon, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
- Isaiah 37:12
Did the gods of the nations destroyed by my fathers rescue those nations—the gods of Gozan, Haran, and Rezeph, and of the people of Eden in Telassar?
- Genesis 10:22
Through
Daniel 8:2And in the vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa, in the province of Elam. I saw in the vision that I was beside the Ulai Canal.
it leads to
- Nehemiah 1:1
These are the words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah: In the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa,
- Esther 1:2
In those days King Xerxes sat on his royal throne in the citadel of Susa.
- Nehemiah 1:1
Through
Isaiah 21:2A dire vision is declared to me: “The traitor still betrays, and the destroyer still destroys. Go up, O Elam! Lay siege, O Media! I will put an end to all her groaning.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 33:1
Woe to you, O destroyer never destroyed, O traitor never betrayed! When you have finished destroying, you will be destroyed. When you have finished betraying, you will be betrayed.
- Isaiah 33:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Jeremiah

Who and where
3 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJudahJacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (…
- PersonLate monarchy / ExileJeremiahPriest of Anathoth called before birth to uproot and to plant; the weeping prophet of Jerusalem's fall who bought a field in the s…
- PersonExileZedekiahJudah's last king, who broke his oath to Babylon against Jeremiah's word; his sons slain before his eyes at Riblah, and the city a…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
