King James Version
Jeremiah 21
14 verses with commentary
Jerusalem's Doom
The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, when king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>When king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest</strong>—this verse introduces a critical historical moment during Jerusalem's final siege (588-586 BC). King Zedekiah, Judah's last monarch, sends official delegates to inquire of Jeremiah. Note this is a different Pashur from the one who imprisoned Jeremiah (20:1-6). The delegation i...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
XXI.
(1) **The word which came unto Jeremiah . . .**—There is obviously a great gap at this point in the collection of the prophet’s utterances, and we enter on a new body or group of prophecies which extends to the close of Jeremiah 33. Thus far we have had his ministry under Jehoiakim, the roll which was read before that king, and formed the first part of his work. Now we pass to the later stage...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
13. (Is 40:12, 26, 28), the same argument of comfort drawn from the omnipotence of the Creator.
**as if ... ready, &c.--**literally, "when he directs," namely, his arrow, to destroy (Psa 21:12; 7:13; 11:2) [Maurer].
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
The only way of deliverance is to be surrendering to the Babylonians. (Jr 21:1-10) The wickedness of the king and his household. (Jr 21:11-14)
**Verses 1-10** When the siege had begun, Zedekiah sent to ask of Jeremiah respecting the event. In times of distress and danger, men often seek those to counsel and pray for them, whom, at other times, they despise and oppose; but they onl...
Read full commentary →Enquire, I pray thee, of the LORD for us; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon maketh war against us; if so be that the LORD will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may go up from us.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Enquire, I pray thee, of the LORD for us</strong>—Zedekiah's request uses <em>darash</em> (דָּרַשׁ, to seek, inquire, consult), the technical term for seeking prophetic revelation. <strong>For Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon maketh war against us</strong>—the spelling 'Nebuchadrezzar' (instead of Nebuchadnezzar) reflects the Babylonian pronunciation <em>Nabu-kudurri-usur</em>. The present t...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **Nebuchadrezzar.**—This form of the name, as might be expected in the writings of one who was personally brought into contact with the king and his officers, is more correct than that of Nebuchadnezzar, which we find elsewhere, and even in Jeremiah’s own writings (Jeremiah 34:1; Jeremiah 39:5).
The name has been variously interpreted by scholars as “Nebo protects against misfortune,” “Nebo pr...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14. captive exile--**literally, one bowed down as a captive (Is 10:4) [Maurer]. The scene is primarily Babylon, and the time near the close of the captivity. Secondarily, and antitypically, the mystical Babylon, the last enemy of Israel and the Church, in which they have long suffered, but from which they are to be gloriously delivered.
**pit--**such as were many of the ancient dungeons (compa...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
The only way of deliverance is to be surrendering to the Babylonians. (Jr 21:1-10) The wickedness of the king and his household. (Jr 21:11-14)
**Verses 1-10** When the siege had begun, Zedekiah sent to ask of Jeremiah respecting the event. In times of distress and danger, men often seek those to counsel and pray for them, whom, at other times, they despise and oppose; but they onl...
Read full commentary →Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah</strong>—this brief verse serves as a transition from the king's desperate plea to God's devastating answer. The formula 'Thus shall ye say' (<em>koh tomrun</em>, כֹּה־תֹאמְרוּן) introduces prophetic pronouncement, authorizing the messengers to speak God's word to the king. Jeremiah functions here as mediator between God and king,...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15. divided ... sea--**the Red Sea. The same Hebrew word as "make to rest" (Is 51:4). Rather, "that terrify the sea," that is, restrain it by My rebuke, "when its waves roar" [Gesenius]. The Hebrew favors Maurer, "that terrify the sea so that the waves roar." The sense favors Gesenius (Jr 5:22; 31:35), or English Version (Is 51:9, 10, which favors the special reference to the exodus from Egypt).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
The only way of deliverance is to be surrendering to the Babylonians. (Jr 21:1-10) The wickedness of the king and his household. (Jr 21:11-14)
**Verses 1-10** When the siege had begun, Zedekiah sent to ask of Jeremiah respecting the event. In times of distress and danger, men often seek those to counsel and pray for them, whom, at other times, they despise and oppose; but they onl...
Read full commentary →Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands</strong>—God's answer begins with the covenant formula identifying Yahweh as 'the LORD God of Israel,' emphasizing His covenant relationship even as He pronounces judgment. The phrase <em>hineni mesev</em> (הִנְנִי מֵסֵב, 'Behold, I will turn back') uses <em>savav</em> (סָבַב), meaning to ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **Behold, I will** **turn back . . .**—Jeremiah’s answer is far other than they looked for, and had even ventured to suggest. The judgment could no longer be averted. The hand of Jehovah was against them, and would bring the Chaldæans that were now outside the walls nearer and nearer, till they came within them. In the structure of the sentence, however, “without the walls “belongs to “wherewi...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
16. Addressed to Israel, embodied in "the servant of Jehovah" (Is 42:1), Messiah, its ideal and representative Head, through whom the elect remnant is to be restored.
**put my words in thy mouth--**true of Israel, the depository of true religion, but fully realized only in Israel's Head and antitype, Messiah (Is 49:2; 50:4, 5; 59:21; De 18:18; Joh 3:34).
**covered ... in ... shadow of ... hand...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
The only way of deliverance is to be surrendering to the Babylonians. (Jr 21:1-10) The wickedness of the king and his household. (Jr 21:11-14)
**Verses 1-10** When the siege had begun, Zedekiah sent to ask of Jeremiah respecting the event. In times of distress and danger, men often seek those to counsel and pray for them, whom, at other times, they despise and oppose; but they onl...
Read full commentary →And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath.
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KJV Study Commentary
God declares He will personally fight against Jerusalem with 'an outstretched hand and with a strong arm' - language typically describing His deliverance of Israel from Egypt (Deut 4:34). Now those same redemptive hands work in judgment. God's 'anger, and fury, and great wrath' emphasize the intensity of deserved judgment when His people persistently reject Him.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**17. Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, &c.--**(Is 52:1).
**drunk--**Jehovah's wrath is compared to an intoxicating draught because it confounds the sufferer under it, and makes him fall (Job 21:20; Psa 60:3; 75:8; Jr 25:15, 16; 49:12; Zec 12:2; Re 14:10); ("poured out without mixture"; rather, "the pure wine juice mixed with intoxicating drugs").
**of trembling--**which produced trembl...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
The only way of deliverance is to be surrendering to the Babylonians. (Jr 21:1-10) The wickedness of the king and his household. (Jr 21:11-14)
**Verses 1-10** When the siege had begun, Zedekiah sent to ask of Jeremiah respecting the event. In times of distress and danger, men often seek those to counsel and pray for them, whom, at other times, they despise and oppose; but they onl...
Read full commentary →And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence</strong>—God declares He will personally strike (<em>hikketi</em>, הִכֵּיתִי, from <em>nakah</em>, נָכָה) Jerusalem's population. The comprehensive nature ('both man and beast,' <em>me'adam ve'ad behemah</em>, מֵאָדָם וְעַד־בְּהֵמָה) echoes the plague language of Exodus, but now directed...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **They shall die of a great pestilence.**—This was doubtless, as in other instances (Thuc. ii. 52), the natural consequence of the siege, but it came before the people as another proof that Jehovah had stretched out his arm against them, that they were fighting against that arm as well as against the host of the invaders. The “outstretched hand” may be noted as another Deuteronomic phrase (Deu...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
18. Following up the image in Is 51:17, intoxicated and confused by the cup of God's anger, she has none to guide her in her helpless state; she has not yet awakened out of the sleep caused by that draught. This cannot apply to the Babylonish captivity; for in it they had Ezekiel and Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah, as "guides," and soon awoke out of that sleep; but it applies to the Jews now, and will ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
The only way of deliverance is to be surrendering to the Babylonians. (Jr 21:1-10) The wickedness of the king and his household. (Jr 21:11-14)
**Verses 1-10** When the siege had begun, Zedekiah sent to ask of Jeremiah respecting the event. In times of distress and danger, men often seek those to counsel and pray for them, whom, at other times, they despise and oppose; but they onl...
Read full commentary →And afterward, saith the LORD, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life: and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword; he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have mercy.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And afterward, saith the LORD, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine</strong>—the phrase 'and afterward' (<em>ve'acharei-chen</em>, וְאַחֲרֵי־כֵן) indicates sequential judgment: first pestilence will devastate the population (v. 6), then survivors will face captivit...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **He shall smite them with the edge of the sword.**—The words were bold words for the prophet to utter while the king was still on the throne, and urged on by his princes to defy the power of the Chaldæan king. In Jeremiah 52:10; Jeremiah 52:24-27 we find their literal fulfilment.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**19. two--**classes of evils, for he enumerates four, namely, desolation and destruction to the land and state; famine and the sword to the people.
**who shall be sorry for thee--**so as to give thee effectual relief: as the parallel clause, "By whom shall I comfort thee?" shows (La 2:11-13).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
The only way of deliverance is to be surrendering to the Babylonians. (Jr 21:1-10) The wickedness of the king and his household. (Jr 21:11-14)
**Verses 1-10** When the siege had begun, Zedekiah sent to ask of Jeremiah respecting the event. In times of distress and danger, men often seek those to counsel and pray for them, whom, at other times, they despise and oppose; but they onl...
Read full commentary →And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death.
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KJV Study Commentary
The 'way of life' and 'way of death' recalls Moses' final sermon (Deut 30:15-19). God's covenant faithfulness includes both blessing and curse; here Jeremiah presents a stark choice - surrender to Babylon (life) or resist (death). This counter-intuitive counsel tested whether Judah trusted God's word over nationalistic pride. Christ later uses similar language about narrow and wide ways (Matt 7:13...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **The way of life, and the way of death.**—The words are not unlike those of Deuteronomy 11:26-27; Deuteronomy 30:15; Deuteronomy 30:19, but there is something like a solemn irony in their application here. They obviously present themselves, not with the wide spiritual application with which they meet us there, but are to be taken in their lowest and most literal sense. The “way of life” is no...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**20. head of all ... streets--**(La 2:19; 4:1).
**wild bull--**rather, "oryx" [Jerome], or gazelle [Gesenius], or wild goat [Bochart]; commonly in the East taken in a net, of a wide sweep, into which the beasts were hunted together. The streets of cities in the East often have gates, which are closed at night; a person wishing to escape would be stopped by them and caught, as a wild animal in a...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
The only way of deliverance is to be surrendering to the Babylonians. (Jr 21:1-10) The wickedness of the king and his household. (Jr 21:11-14)
**Verses 1-10** When the siege had begun, Zedekiah sent to ask of Jeremiah respecting the event. In times of distress and danger, men often seek those to counsel and pray for them, whom, at other times, they despise and oppose; but they onl...
Read full commentary →He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live , and his life shall be unto him for a prey.
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KJV Study Commentary
God offers the besieged inhabitants of Jerusalem a stark choice: 'He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans...shall live.' This counsel was deeply controversial, viewed as treason by Jerusalem's leaders. Surrender to Babylon seemed like abandoning God's promises to defend Jerusalem. Yet Jeremia...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **And falleth to the Chaldeans.**—The words must have seemed to the messengers to counsel treachery and desertion, and were remembered against the prophet in the taunt of Jeremiah 37:13. They were, however, acted on by not a few (Jeremiah 39:9; Jeremiah 52:15).
**His life shall be unto him for a prey.**—The phrase is characteristic of Jeremiah, and forcibly illustrates the misery of the time. ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**21. drunken ... not with wine--**(Is 29:9; compare Is 51:17, 20, here; La 3:15).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
The only way of deliverance is to be surrendering to the Babylonians. (Jr 21:1-10) The wickedness of the king and his household. (Jr 21:11-14)
**Verses 1-10** When the siege had begun, Zedekiah sent to ask of Jeremiah respecting the event. In times of distress and danger, men often seek those to counsel and pray for them, whom, at other times, they despise and oppose; but they onl...
Read full commentary →For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the LORD: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.
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KJV Study Commentary
God declares He has 'set my face against this city for evil, and not for good.' The phrase 'set my face' indicates determined purpose - God's active opposition rather than passive withdrawal. This city will be given into Babylon's hand to be burned with fire. When God's patience exhausts, His opposition to sin becomes active judgment. There is no neutrality with God - blessing or curse, life or de...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **He shall burn it with fire.**—Another detail of prediction fulfilled literally in Jeremiah 52:13. Such a destruction was, of course, common enough as an incident of the capture of besieged cities, but it was not universal. Often, indeed, the conquerors sought to preserve the city and to occupy its palaces. The actual answer to Zedekiah’s messengers possibly ended with this verse.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**22. pleadeth ... cause--**(Psa 35:1; Jr 50:34; Mi 7:9).
**no more drink it--**(Is 54:7-9). This cannot apply to Israel after the return from Babylon, but only to them after their final restoration.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
The only way of deliverance is to be surrendering to the Babylonians. (Jr 21:1-10) The wickedness of the king and his household. (Jr 21:11-14)
**Verses 1-10** When the siege had begun, Zedekiah sent to ask of Jeremiah respecting the event. In times of distress and danger, men often seek those to counsel and pray for them, whom, at other times, they despise and oppose; but they onl...
Read full commentary →And touching the house of the king of Judah, say, Hear ye the word of the LORD;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And touching the house of the king of Judah, say, Hear ye the word of the LORD</strong>—this verse introduces a distinct oracle directed at the royal house ('house of the king of Judah,' <em>beyt melech yehudah</em>, בֵּית מֶלֶךְ־יְהוּדָה). The phrase 'touching' (<em>le-</em>, לְ) means 'concerning' or 'regarding.' The imperative 'Hear ye' (<em>shim'u</em>, שִׁמְעוּ) is the covenantal call...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **Say, Hear ye the word of the Lord.**—The interpolated “say” is not wanted, and tends to convey the probably wrong impression that we are dealing with a new message rather than a continuation of the former one. The question whether it is such a continuation has been variously answered by different commentators. On the one hand, the conditional threatenings are said to imply an earlier stage ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
23. (Is 49:26; Jr 25:15-29; Zec 12:2).
**Bow down that ... go over--**Conquerors often literally trod on the necks of conquered kings, as Sapor of Persia did to the Roman emperor Valerian (Jos 10:24; Psa 18:40; 66:11, 12).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-14** The wickedness of the king and his family was the worse because of their relation to David. They were urged to act with justice, at once, lest the Lord's anger should be unquenchable. If God be for us, who can be against us? But if he be against us, who can do any thing for us?
O house of David, thus saith the LORD; Execute judgment in the morning, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings. Execute: Heb. Judge
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KJV Study Commentary
The 'morning by morning' repetition emphasizes the daily, consistent requirement for justice - not sporadic reforms but sustained righteousness. The Hebrew 'mishpat' (judgment) encompasses both legal justice and covenant faithfulness. Kings were God's vice-regents, accountable to execute His justice. Their failure brought 'the fire of mine wrath' - God's holy opposition to injustice cannot be appe...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **Execute judgment in the morning.**—The words point to one of the chief duties of the ideal Eastern king. To rise at dawn of day, to sit in the gate and listen to the complaints of those who had been wronged, was the surest way to gain the affection of his people. It was David’s neglect of this that gave an opening for the rebellion of Absalom (2Samuel 15:2). Solomon’s early fame for wisdom ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-14** The wickedness of the king and his family was the worse because of their relation to David. They were urged to act with justice, at once, lest the Lord's anger should be unquenchable. If God be for us, who can be against us? But if he be against us, who can do any thing for us?
Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley, and rock of the plain, saith the LORD; which say, Who shall come down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations? inhabitant: Heb. inhabitress
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley, and rock of the plain, saith the LORD</strong>—God declares Himself Jerusalem's enemy using the confrontational formula <em>hineni elayikh</em> (הִנְנִי אֵלַיִךְ, 'Behold, I am against you'). This phrase appears repeatedly in prophetic literature announcing divine judgment (Jeremiah 50:31, 51:25, Ezekiel 5:8). The address 'O inhabitant...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **O inhabitant of the valley . . .**—The noun, as the marginal “inhabitress” shows, is feminine; and, as in “the daughter of Zion” for Zion itself, describes the lower city of Jerusalem, Isaiah’s “valley of vision” (Isaiah 22:1; Isaiah 22:5), the Tyropœon of Josephus. The “rock of the plain” (comp. Notes on Jeremiah 17:3; Jeremiah 18:14) is, in like manner, the higher city built on the hill o...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 52 Is 52:1-15. First through Thirteen Verses Connected with Fifty-first Chapter.
Zion long in bondage (Is 51:17-20) is called to put on beautiful garments appropriate to its future prosperity.
**1. strength--**as thy adornment; answering to "beautiful garments" in the parallel clause. Arouse thyself from dejection and assume confidence.
**the holy city--**(Ne 11:1; Re 21:2).
**no m...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-14** The wickedness of the king and his family was the worse because of their relation to David. They were urged to act with justice, at once, lest the Lord's anger should be unquenchable. If God be for us, who can be against us? But if he be against us, who can do any thing for us?
But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, saith the LORD: and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things round about it. punish: Heb. visit upon
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KJV Study Commentary
God will kindle fire in Jerusalem's 'forest' (likely referring to Solomon's 'house of the forest of Lebanon' - 1 Kings 7:2) that will 'devour all things round about it.' Fire frequently symbolizes God's judgment (Deut 32:22). This comprehensive destruction spares nothing - a complete purging of sin's effects. The warning fulfills Moses' prophecy of covenant curses.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof.**—The “forest” thus referred to may be either literally the woods, then covering a larger surface than in later times, at Kirjath-jearim (Psalm 132:6; 1Samuel 7:2), or the wood of the lone wilderness of Ziph (1Samuel 23:15), or the valley of Rephaim (2Samuel 5:22), or, figuratively, the royal palace, which, from its cedar columns (1Kings 7:2; 1Kin...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. from the dust--**the seat of mourners (Job 2:12, 13).
**arise, and sit--**namely, in a more dignified place: on a divan or a throne [Lowth], after having shaken off the dust gathered up by the flowing dress when seated on the ground; or simply, "Arise, and sit erect" [Maurer].
**bands of ... neck--**the yoke of thy captivity.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-14** The wickedness of the king and his family was the worse because of their relation to David. They were urged to act with justice, at once, lest the Lord's anger should be unquenchable. If God be for us, who can be against us? But if he be against us, who can do any thing for us?