When covenant leaders seek deliverance without repentance, the Lord exposes false security and sets before them the sober choice between humbled surrender and certain judgment.
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Jeremiah 21
The Last Hope of Zedekiah and the Unavoidable Judgment of Jerusalem
When covenant leaders seek deliverance without repentance, the Lord exposes false security and sets before them the sober choice between humbled surrender and certain judgment.
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Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, prophet to Judah during the final decades before Jerusalem's fall.
King Zedekiah, Jerusalem's royal officials, the house of David, and the inhabitants of Judah facing Babylonian siege pressure.
The chapter is situated during the reign of Zedekiah, when Babylon's military threat had become immediate and Jerusalem's leadership sought prophetic assurance.
Jeremiah 21 begins the Book 3 section of Jeremiah, where Judah's kings, prophets, priests, and people are confronted with the consequences of rejecting the Lord's word.
Chapter Summary
When covenant leaders seek deliverance without repentance, the Lord exposes false security and sets before them the sober choice between humbled surrender and certain judgment.
Overview
Jeremiah 21 argues that divine deliverance cannot be claimed apart from covenant repentance. Judah's leaders appeal to God's former saving acts while refusing his present word, so the Lord reverses their expectation: he will not fight for Jerusalem but against it. The only path of life is humble submission to God's judgment, and the royal house remains accountable for justice even in the hour of collapse.
Context
Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, prophet to Judah during the final decades before Jerusalem's fall.
King Zedekiah, Jerusalem's royal officials, the house of David, and the inhabitants of Judah facing Babylonian siege pressure.
The chapter is situated during the reign of Zedekiah, when Babylon's military threat had become immediate and Jerusalem's leadership sought prophetic assurance.
Key Hebrew Terms
Pastoral Entry
Pastoral Definition
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דָּרַשׁ is a Hebrew verb for seeking, inquiring, consulting, investigating, studying, or requiring an account. The range is held together by directed attention toward a person, answer, authority, text, missing object, or owed response. The object and channel of inquiry are decisive. Rebekah goes to inquire of the Lord in Genesis 25:22. Israel must investigate a reported offense in Deuteronomy 13:14. Deuteronomy 18:11 forbids inquiry of the dead. Ezra sets his heart to study the Law of the Lord in Ezra 7:10. Amos summons Israel to seek the Lord and live. Ezekiel 34 condemns shepherds because no one searches for the scattered flock. Genesis 9:5 uses the verb for God's requiring an accounting for shed blood.
This breadth prevents two opposite errors. The verb should not be reduced to private devotional seeking, because many occurrences concern investigation, consultation, study, care, or accountability. It should not be treated as morally neutral in application either, because Scripture evaluates whom people consult, what they seek, and whether they answer to God. Inquiry of the Lord and inquiry of the dead are not alternative techniques with equal legitimacy. The grammar may be similar while the covenant allegiance is opposite.
H1875 also overlaps with H1245, and the two can occur in the same seeking context. H1245 often emphasizes the object being pursued, requested, desired, or attempted. H1875 frequently foregrounds inquiry, consultation, examination, or an account that is required. These tendencies help readers, but they are not rigid walls. The clause and passage must decide the sense. H2713 is another neighbor that more directly names searching out or examining a matter.
For teaching, דָּרַשׁ opens a covenant question: where do God's people go for truth, life, and accountability? Amos rejects religious substitutes and calls Israel to seek the Lord. Ezra's study moves from a heart set on the Law to practice and teaching. Ezekiel's shepherding failure shows that seeking can also move outward toward the vulnerable and scattered. The verb therefore joins inquiry, allegiance, obedience, care, and answerability without making the word alone prove a complete doctrine of worship.
Form in passage Qal · Sequential imperfect · 2nd Person · Masculine · Singular What is this?
Sense to seek, inquire, consult, resort to
Definition To seek information, guidance, or intervention, often in relation to the LORD or prophetic counsel.
References Jeremiah 21:2
Why it matters Zedekiah asks Jeremiah to inquire of the Lord, but the chapter exposes the danger of seeking divine help without covenant submission.
Pastoral Entry
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H6381 describes what is extraordinary, wonderful, difficult, or beyond ordinary capacity, with the active sense determined by whether the passage concerns divine deeds, human experience, judgment, or a hard case. The verb does not always signal a miracle; it can name something remarkable, incomprehensible, unusually severe, precious, or too difficult for a local decision-maker.
In 1Chr. 16. 12, the worshiping community is commanded to remember the wonders, marvels, and judgments the Lord has performed. In Deut. 17. 8, a legal case too difficult for local judgment must be brought to the appointed covenant tribunal for decision. H6381 opens teaching on wonder that remembers Gods deeds, humility before difficult matters, and gratitude for what exceeds ordinary expectation without chasing spectacle.
It corrects sensational claims that label every unusual event miraculous and dismissive rationalism that refuses the texts testimony to Gods genuinely wondrous acts. H6381 joins remembrance, limits, and affection: worshipers remember the LORDs wonders, local judges refer a case that is too difficult, and David calls Jonathans love extraordinary in a lament shaped by grief.
For H6381, responsible teaching keeps lexical meaning, passage context, canonical synthesis, and present application distinguishable. The verb does not identify the mechanism of every event, prove a private omen, promise constant spectacle, or make difficult questions unfit for careful investigation.
Sense wonders, extraordinary acts, marvelous deeds
Definition Acts that display extraordinary divine power beyond ordinary human ability.
References Jeremiah 21:2
Why it matters Zedekiah hopes for a miraculous intervention like former deliverances, but the Lord refuses to let past wonders become a cloak for present rebellion.
Form in passage Qal · Participle passive What is this?
Sense hand extended in powerful action
Definition A phrase commonly associated with decisive divine intervention.
References Jeremiah 21:5
Why it matters In Jeremiah 21, language associated with God's mighty deliverance is reversed. The Lord's outstretched hand is against Jerusalem, not for it.
Pastoral Entry
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The Hebrew word אַף begins with the body. Its primary sense is the nostril — the flared, breathing organ that the ancients identified with the surge of emotion. From this physical root, the word stretches in two directions: toward the face as a whole (representing the full presence of a person) and toward the hot-breathed passion of anger. This dual range is not coincidence; it reflects the embodied nature of biblical emotion. When Scripture speaks of the אַף of God burning against a people, it is not describing an abstraction. It is describing the full-presence response of a holy God to covenantal betrayal — the divine face turned toward the rebellious with consuming seriousness.
The theology of divine אַף is framed by two truths held in permanent tension. First, God's anger is real. It is not metaphor or accommodation — it is the necessary reaction of infinite holiness encountering human sin. The prophets insist on this. Lamentations opens with the burning אַף of Yahweh over Jerusalem. The Psalms cry out for mercy precisely because divine wrath is genuine and just. Second — and this is the decisive canonical movement — God describes himself as אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם, literally long-nostriled, slow to anger. The image is vivid: God does not flare quickly. Patience is built into the very description of his character as announced at Sinai, repeated at the mercy seat, echoed by Moses in the wilderness, confirmed by the prophets, and quoted in the New Testament's portrait of divine forbearance.
For the preacher, אַף is the word that keeps divine mercy from dissolving into indifference. God is slow to anger — but he does get angry. His patience is real, and so is his holiness. The same word that describes the burning of judgment also describes the nostrils that breathe out life and the face that turns toward the humble in grace. To preach אַף well is to preach a God who takes sin seriously enough to be moved by it, and who loves sinners enough to hold his anger while he calls them back.
Sense anger, wrath, nose as image of burning anger
Definition A term used for intense displeasure, often in divine judgment contexts.
References Jeremiah 21:5
Why it matters The piling up of anger, fury, and great wrath stresses the severity of the Lord's covenant judgment.
Pastoral Entry
Pastoral Definition
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חֵמָה can denote heat, fury, rage, or wrath. It is used for human anger as well as for the Lord’s judicial anger, so the noun itself does not guarantee that the response is righteous, measured, or divine. Context and subject determine whether it describes Haman’s enraged pride, destructive human fury, or God’s announced judgment against covenant rebellion and injustice.
In prophetic judgment texts, חֵמָה communicates the intensity of the Lord’s opposition to sin. Ezekiel 5:15, Isaiah 42:25, and Jeremiah 30:23-24 place the word within announced acts of judgment, while Psalm 78:38 praises God for restraining his fury in compassion. These passages should be read within their covenant settings: divine wrath is neither irritability nor an impersonal force, and its justice is established by the surrounding scriptural claims rather than by the noun’s heat imagery alone.
For teaching, חֵמָה helps resist a sentimental account of God that treats evil as morally inconsequential. It also warns against projecting sinful human rage onto God. The same word can describe Haman’s self-serving anger in Esther 3:5, so teachers must distinguish the creaturely misuse of fury from the Lord’s holy judgment by attending to each narrative and prophetic context.
The New Testament speaks directly of God’s wrath and Christ’s saving work, but those connections should be made from New Testament texts rather than by claiming that the cross literally “absorbs” this Hebrew lexeme.
Sense wrath, heat, fury
Definition Burning indignation or wrath.
References Jeremiah 21:5
Why it matters The term contributes to the fire imagery of divine judgment later in the chapter.
Individual words בְּדֶרֶךְ אֶחָד ... בְּשִׁבְעָה דְרָכִים be-derekh echad ... be-shiv'ah derakhim · חַי אָנֹכִי לְעֹלָם chai anokhi le'olam
Sense path of life, route leading to preservation
Definition A moral and covenantal path that leads to life rather than destruction.
References Jeremiah 21:8
Why it matters The phrase frames surrender to Babylon not merely as political survival but as obedience to God's declared path of life.
Individual words בְּדֶרֶךְ אֶחָד ... בְּשִׁבְעָה דְרָכִים be-derekh echad ... be-shiv'ah derakhim · לִפְנֵי מוֹתוֹ lifne moto
Sense path of death, route leading to destruction
Definition A path whose end is death, ruin, or covenant curse.
References Jeremiah 21:8
Why it matters Remaining in the city contrary to the prophetic word becomes the way of death.
Pastoral Entry
Pastoral Definition
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מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) is a Hebrew noun whose range includes a judicial decision, a legal case, an ordinance, an established procedure, a person’s due, and justice as the ordering of life according to what is right. Exodus 21:1 uses the plural for the ordinances placed before Israel, while Leviticus 19:15 uses the singular in a command not to pervert justice. The same English gloss therefore cannot be pressed onto every occurrence. The actor, setting, grammatical construction, and object at stake show whether the passage emphasizes a rule, a verdict, a process, a claim, or the practice of justice.
Scripture roots mishpat in God’s own righteous government. Deuteronomy 10:18 presents Him as the One who executes justice for the fatherless and widow. Psalm 89:14 places righteousness and justice at the foundation of His throne. Human judges do not invent the moral order they administer; they answer to the God who sees the vulnerable, judges without corruption, and rules faithfully. Yet divine justice and a human court’s limited judgment are not identical in scope. Human authorities remain creatures who require truthful evidence, impartial procedure, and accountability.
The prophets show what happens when mishpat is absent. Isaiah 1:17 joins seeking justice to correcting oppression and pleading the causes of those easily ignored. Amos 5:24 contrasts flowing justice with worship that God rejects, and Micah 6:8 places doing justice beside covenant love and humble walking with God. These passages refuse both private piety without neighbor responsibility and public slogans detached from God’s revealed character. Mishpat does not hand one modern movement a ready-made platform. It summons courts, leaders, households, and worshiping communities to identify the actual wrong, honor the person whose due is threatened, use truthful means, and submit every claim of justice to the whole counsel of Scripture.
Sense justice, judgment, right legal order
Definition The right ordering of judgment, governance, and social responsibility according to God's standard.
References Jeremiah 21:12
Why it matters The house of David is commanded to administer justice. This exposes the ethical failure of Judah's leadership.
Pastoral Entry
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The Hebrew verb נָצַל (nāṣal) often describes rescuing or extracting someone from danger, oppression, an enemy’s hand, a trap, or another controlling power. Rescue is concrete and relational: a threatened person or possession is removed from a named danger by an agent able to intervene. Jacob asks God to deliver his household from Esau’s hand. God announces that He has come down to rescue Israel from the Egyptians and deliver the people from bondage. David remembers being delivered from the lion and bear as he faces Goliath.
The exodus gives nāṣal a major canonical setting. God sees Israel’s affliction, comes down, brings the people out, and leads them toward the land He promised. Exodus 6:6 places deliverance beside redemption and acts of judgment. This rescue is neither an inward feeling nor a vague synonym for every aspect of salvation. It is God’s historical action against oppressive bondage, and later biblical theology can develop its pattern while respecting its covenant setting.
Stem and context prevent a uniformly devotional gloss. Exodus 12:36 uses the verb when Israel plunders the Egyptians. Proverbs 6:5 commands a person to free himself urgently from a dangerous pledge. Ezekiel 14:14 limits the effect of exemplary righteousness during announced judgment: Noah, Daniel, and Job could deliver only themselves. These passages require readers to identify the agent, endangered party, controlling hand, means, and extent of the release.
Pastorally, nāṣal supports prayer for rescue and gratitude for God’s intervention, but it must not be used to guarantee immediate physical escape in every crisis. Psalm 91 is poetry of refuge, not permission to ignore danger or promise immunity from violence, illness, or death. Trust in God’s deliverance can include reporting abuse, leaving an unsafe place, contacting civil authorities, receiving medical treatment, accepting shelter, and asking others to intervene. Delayed rescue does not prove weak faith. The canon finally directs hope toward God’s complete defeat of sin, judgment, and death, while particular texts continue to name the real dangers from which rescue is sought.
Sense deliver, rescue, snatch away
Definition To save or deliver from danger, oppression, or harm.
References Jeremiah 21:12
Why it matters The Davidic house is called to rescue the oppressed from oppressors, revealing God's concern for vulnerable people.
Pastoral Entry
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Gazal describes taking, robbing or stripping away, with the object and setting revealing the act. Abraham complains about a well seized by Abimelech's servants, and the following agreement gives their dispute a concrete witness. Leviticus requires return of what was taken and forbids robbing a neighbor or withholding a worker's wages. Jeremiah calls rulers to rescue the victim of robbery and protect the foreigner, orphan and widow from wrong and violence.
Psalm 69 voices a different position: the speaker must repay despite not having stolen, exposing unjustly imposed responsibility. Judges 21 describes women carried away to provide wives after a devastating conflict; its account is not a divine authorization for abduction or coerced marriage. The verb makes the taking visible without requiring approval of its agent.
Responsible teaching identifies who takes what from whom, preserves the testimony of those harmed and connects repentance with restitution rather than a convenient religious renaming of seizure.
Form in passage Qal · Participle passive What is this?
Sense one who has been robbed, oppressed, or wronged
Definition A person harmed by exploitation, violence, or unjust seizure.
References Jeremiah 21:12
Why it matters The chapter's royal indictment is not abstract. It focuses on concrete injustice done to the vulnerable.
Lexicon data: MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML (CC0) · Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (CC BY 4.0) · Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon (CC BY 4.0) · STEPBible Data (CC BY 4.0) · Full details
Hebrew Verb Morphology
Prophetic Perfect — This chapter may contain prophetic perfect constructions (5 perfective verbs in prophetic context with messianic/eschatological thread signals): Jer 21:1, Jer 21:4, Jer 21:8, Jer 21:10, Jer 21:12. Perfective verbs may declare future events as grammatically completed, expressing divine certainty rather than past time.
| v.1 | H1961הָיָהQal · Perfect · Indicative |
| v.10 | H7760שׂוּםQal · Perfect · IndicativeH5414נָתַןNiphal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussive |
| v.11 | H8085שָׁמַעQal · Imperative · Imperative |
| v.12 | H559אָמַרQal · Perfect · IndicativeH1777דִּיןQal · Imperative · ImperativeH1497גָּזַלQal · Participle passiveH6231עָשַׁקQal · ParticipleH3318יָצָאQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH3518כָּבָהPiel · Participle |
| v.13 | H3427יָשַׁבQal · ParticipleH5181נָחַתQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH935בּוֹאQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussive |
| v.2 | H1875דָּרַשׁQal · Imperative · ImperativeH3898לָחַםNiphal · ParticipleH6213עָשָׂהQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussive |
| v.4 | H559אָמַרQal · Perfect · IndicativeH5437סָבַבHiphil · ParticipleH3898לָחַםNiphal · Participle |
| v.5 | H5186נָטָהQal · Participle passive |
| v.6 | H3427יָשַׁבQal · ParticipleH4191מוּתQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussive |
| v.7 | H5414נָתַןQal · Imperfect · Indicative/cohortativeH1245בָּקַשׁPiel · ParticipleH2347חוּסQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH2550חָמַלQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH7355רָחַםPiel · Imperfect · Indicative/jussive |
| v.8 | H559אָמַרQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH559אָמַרQal · Perfect · IndicativeH5414נָתַןQal · Participle |
| v.9 | H4191מוּתQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH2421חָיָהQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussive |
Aspect in Hebrew is grammatical form, not tense. Perfect = completed action; Imperfect = incomplete/ongoing. Stem modifies action type (Qal=simple, Niphal=passive, Piel=intensive).
Morphology: OSHB WLC (Open Scriptures, CC BY 4.0) · STEPBible TEHMC (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0)
Theological Argument
Jeremiah 21 argues that divine deliverance cannot be claimed apart from covenant repentance. Judah's leaders appeal to God's former saving acts while refusing his present word, so the Lord reverses their expectation: he will not fight for Jerusalem but against it. The only path of life is humble submission to God's judgment, and the royal house remains accountable for justice even in the hour of collapse.
From requested deliverance, to refused deliverance, to offered survival, to royal accountability.
- 1.Seeking God's help in crisis is not the same as submitting to God's word.
- 2.Covenant privilege intensifies accountability.
- 3.The LORD is sovereign over the instrument of judgment.
- 4.Obedience may require surrendering cherished forms of security.
- 5.Leadership is judged by covenant justice, not ceremonial appeal.
Theological Focus
- Divine Sovereignty in Judgment
- False Security
- Covenant Accountability
- Life Through Submission to the Word
- Justice and the House of David
- Divine Sovereignty
- Judgment
- Repentance
- Human Responsibility
- Leadership Accountability
- Christology
- Mercy in Judgment
Covenant Significance
Jeremiah 21 shows Judah standing under covenant curse because covenant leadership has rejected covenant obedience. The chapter echoes the life-and-death choice language of the covenant and applies it to the siege crisis.
Old Testament Connections
- Sword, famine, plague, and defeat reflect the covenant consequences long warned in the Torah.
- The way of life and the way of death recall the covenantal choice set before Israel, now sharpened in Jerusalem's final crisis.
- The house of David is not exempt from the moral demands of the covenant. Royal identity increases responsibility.
- The command to rescue the oppressed demonstrates that covenant faithfulness cannot be reduced to temple identity, royal lineage, or national survival.
Canonical Connections
When covenant leaders seek deliverance without repentance, the Lord exposes false security and sets before them the sober choice between humbled surrender and certain judgment.
Canon-Wide Connections
Cross-reference data: OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Formation Focus
The chapter forms humility under the Word of God, sobriety about sin, courage to obey costly truth, and renewed seriousness about justice.
Practice Response
- Repentant inquiry - Come to the Lord not merely asking for a favorable answer, but ready to obey whatever he says.
- False-security examination - Regularly ask whether confidence is being placed in position, past experience, visible strength, or the Lord himself.
- Justice in the morning - Practice timely, concrete righteousness rather than delayed or symbolic concern for the vulnerable.
- Obedience under humiliation - Learn to obey when God's path feels like surrender rather than triumph.
Warnings and Misreadings
- The chapter warns against seeking God's intervention while refusing God's correction.
- Do not confuse crisis prayer with repentance.
- Do not appeal to past deliverance while rejecting present obedience.
- Do not mistake religious or historical privilege for immunity.
- Do not resist God's humbling word because it feels like defeat.
- Do not separate leadership from justice.
- Jeremiah 21 teaches that God's people should always surrender to hostile powers. - The surrender command is historically specific. It is obedience because the Lord has spoken through Jeremiah concerning Babylon.
- Zedekiah's inquiry is an example of faithful prayer. - The inquiry appears desperate but not repentant. He seeks deliverance from Babylon without submitting to the covenant indictment.
- God's opposition to Jerusalem means he has abandoned his promises. - God's judgment is an expression of covenant faithfulness, not covenant failure. Later promises of restoration and righteous kingship stand on the far side of truthful judgment.
- The way of life and death is merely practical survival advice. - It is a theological choice. To surrender is to believe and obey the Lord's word through Jeremiah.
- The chapter is only political history. - The political crisis is the stage on which covenant theology, divine holiness, leadership accountability, and prophetic truth are displayed.
Discipleship Questions
- Where am I asking God for relief while resisting the correction his Word has already given?
- What forms of false security do I rely on when obedience feels costly?
- Am I willing to obey God when his path of life feels like surrender, loss, or humiliation?
- How does my leadership, in home, church, or ministry, reflect God's concern for justice and the oppressed?
- Do I appeal to God's past mercies while ignoring his present commands?
- How does this chapter deepen my need for Christ as the righteous King?
Pastoral Applications
- Preach this chapter as a warning against seeking divine rescue while refusing divine rule. The sermon should press the difference between desperation and repentance.
- Use the chapter to help people see that consequences are not always enemies to escape. Sometimes God's mercy calls a person to stop fighting the truth and accept a humbling path of obedience.
- Warn leaders that spiritual office, history, and institutional identity do not protect them from accountability. God measures leadership by faithfulness, justice, and submission to his Word.
- Call congregations away from nostalgia-driven confidence. Past blessing must not become an excuse for present disobedience.
- Train believers to discern the difference between worldly survival and obedience-shaped life.
- Emphasize that rescuing the oppressed is not peripheral to covenant faithfulness. It is part of what God demands from his people.
Pastoral Trajectories
Chapter Movement
The chapter moves from desperate royal inquiry, to divine refusal of false hope, to the life-or-death choice placed before Jerusalem, to a final indictment of Davidic leadership.
Discourse Insight
Theological exposition and fulfillment
The chapter forms humility under the Word of God, sobriety about sin, courage to obey costly truth, and renewed seriousness about justice.
Structural Flow
Chapter Outline
- 1-2: Zedekiah desires deliverance but gives no evidence of repentance, reform, or submission to Jeremiah's long-standing prophetic message.
- 3-7: Jerusalem's covenant privilege does not shield it from judgment. The holy God will oppose the city that has opposed his word.
- 8-10: Life now requires surrender to the very instrument of judgment God has appointed. Resistance to Babylon becomes resistance to God's declared word.
- 11-14: The house of David is called to justice, especially for the oppressed, and warned that false confidence will not prevent judgment according to deeds.
Gospel Clarity
Jeremiah 21 clarifies the gospel by showing the seriousness of sin, the futility of seeking rescue without repentance, and the necessity of receiving life on God's terms rather than ours. The chapter does not present the full gospel directly, but it prepares for it by exposing humanity's need for a King who does not merely ask God for deliverance in crisis, but obeys God perfectly and bears judgment for his people.
Primary Emphasis
Jeremiah 21 contributes to the canonical longing for a faithful Davidic King by exposing the failure of Judah's royal house. Zedekiah and the house of David fail to secure justice, rescue the oppressed, or lead the people in covenant faithfulness. This failure prepares the reader for the later promise of a righteous Branch who will reign wisely and do what is just and right.
Chapter Contribution
Jeremiah 21 argues that divine deliverance cannot be claimed apart from covenant repentance. Judah's leaders appeal to God's former saving acts while refusing his present word, so the Lord reverses their expectation: he will not fight for Jerusalem but against it. The only path of life is humble submission to God's judgment, and the royal house remains accountable for justice even in the hour of collapse.
Motifs in This Chapter
Track judgment as covenant accountability, divine justice, and eschatological reckoning.
Trace remnant preservation, covenant continuity, and mercy under judgment across Scripture.
Follow shepherding as divine care, messianic leadership, and pastoral oversight across Scripture.
Doctrines in This Chapter
The curses described in the covenant law unfold when God’s people persist in rebellion.
Leaders entrusted with authority are accountable to God for their governance.
God actively judges covenant rebellion and may oppose those who persist in disobedience.
God requires rulers to practice justice and defend those who suffer oppression.
God directs historical events and determines the outcomes of nations.
Possessing sacred institutions or history does not guarantee divine protection.
Trust in political strength or geographic advantage cannot protect against God’s judgment.
Oppression and corruption provoke divine wrath.
Scripture repeatedly frames human response to God in terms of choosing life or death.
Appealing to God without repentance cannot restore covenant favor.
True wisdom requires recognizing and submitting to God’s declared purposes.
God directs historical events and uses empires as instruments of judgment.
Doctrinal Weight
The Lord rules over nations, kings, armies, plague, famine, and the fate of Jerusalem.
God's judgment is holy, covenantal, and historically enacted through Babylon.
The chapter exposes the inadequacy of seeking help from God without turning to obey God.
The people are called to choose the way of life by responding to God's revealed word.
The house of David is responsible to administer justice and rescue the oppressed.
The failure of the Davidic house contributes to the canonical need for the righteous King fulfilled in Christ.
Even under declared judgment, God provides a path by which some may live.
Reading Lenses
Theological exposition and fulfillment
- The chapter forms humility under the Word of God, sobriety about sin, courage to obey costly truth, and renewed seriousness about justice.
Commentary (Keil & Delitzsch)
C.F. Keil & F. Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–91) — public domain
The Biblical World
Chapter At A Glance
The chapter moves from desperate royal inquiry, to divine refusal of false hope, to the life-or-death choice placed before Jerusalem, to a final indictment of Davidic leadership.
Jeremiah 21 shows Judah standing under covenant curse because covenant leadership has rejected covenant obedience. The chapter echoes the life-and-death choice language of the covenant and applies it to the siege crisis.
Jeremiah 21 clarifies the gospel by showing the seriousness of sin, the futility of seeking rescue without repentance, and the necessity of receiving life on God's terms rather than ours. The chapter does not present the full gospel directly, but it prepares for it by exposing humanity's need for a King who does not merely ask God for deliverance in crisis, but obeys God perfectly and bears judgment for his people.
Focus Points
- Divine Sovereignty in Judgment
- False Security
- Covenant Accountability
- Life Through Submission to the Word
- Justice and the House of David
- Divine Sovereignty
- Judgment
- Repentance
- Human Responsibility
- Leadership Accountability
- Christology
- Mercy in Judgment
Passages
Chapter opening: Jeremiah 21:1-7
Jer 21:3-6 The answer. - Jer 21:3 . "And Jeremiah said to them: Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah: Jer 21:4 . Thus hath Jahveh the God of Israel said: Behold, I turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans, which besiege you without the walls, and gather them together into the midst of this city.
Jer 21:5 . And I fight against you with outstretched hand and strong arm, and with anger and fury and great wrath, Jer 21:6 . And smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; of a great plague they shall die. Jer 21:7 . And afterward, saith Jahveh, I will give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his servants, and the people - namely, such as in this city are left of the plague, of the sword, and of 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 after their life, that he may smite them according to the sharpness of the sword, not spare them, neither have pity nor mercy."
This answer is intended to disabuse the king and his servants of all hope of help from God. So far from saving them from the Chaldeans, God will fight against them, will drive back into the city its defenders that are still holding out without the walls against the enemy; consume the inhabitants by sword, pestilence, famine; deliver the king, with his servants and all that survive inside the lines of the besiegers, into the hand of the latter, and unsparingly cause them to be put to death.
"I make the weapons of war turn back" is carried on and explained by "I gather them into the city." The sense is: I will bring it about that ye, who still fight without the walls against the beleaguerers, must turn back with your weapons and retreat into the city. "Without the walls" is not to be joined to מסב, because this is too remote, and מחוּץ is by usage locative, not ablative.
It should go with "wherewith ye fight," etc. : wherewith ye fight without the walls against the beleaguering enemies. The siege had but just begun, so that the Jews were still trying to hinder the enemy from taking possession of stronger positions and from a closer blockade of the city. In this they will not succeed, but their weapons will be thrust back into the city.
Jer 21:7 The Lord will make known His almighty power not for the rescue but for the chastisement of Judah. The words "with outstretched hand and strong arm" are a standing figure for the miraculous manifestation of God’s power at the release of Israel from Egypt, Deu 4:34; Deu 5:15; Deu 26:8. This power He will now exercise upon Israel, and execute the punishment threatened against apostasy at the renewal of the covenant by Moses in the land of Moab.
The words גּדול... בּאף are from Deu 29:27. The inhabitants of Jerusalem are to perish during the siege by pestilence and disease, and the remainder, including the king and his servants, to be mercilessly massacred. "Great pestilence" alone is mentioned in Jer 21:6, but in Jer 21:7 there are sword and famine along with it. The ואת before הנּשׁארים seems superfluous and unsuitable, since besides the king, his servants and the people, there could be none others left.
The lxx have therefore omitted it, and Hitz. , Ew. , Graf, and others propose to erase it. But the ו may be taken to be explicative: namely, such as are left, in which case ואת serves to extend the participial clause to all the persons before mentioned, while without the ואת the 'הנּשׁארים וגו could be referred only to העם. "Into the hand of their enemies" is rhetorically amplified by "into the hand of those that seek," etc.
, as in Jer 19:7, Jer 19:9; Jer 34:20, etc. ; לפי חרב, according to the sharpness (or edge) of the sword, i. e. , mercilessly (see on Gen 34:26; in Jer. only here), explained by "not spare them," etc. , cf. Jer 13:14.
Jer 21:8-10 The counsel given to the people and royal family how to escape death. - Jer 21:8 . "And unto the people thou shalt say: Thus hath Jahveh said: Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. Jer 21:9 . He that abideth in this city shall die by sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he that goeth out and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and have his soul for a prey.
Jer 21:10. For I have set my face on this city for evil and not for good, saith Jahveh; into the hand of the king of Babylon shall it be given, who shall burn it with fire. Jer 21:11. And to the house of the king of Judah: Hear the word of Jahveh: Jer 21:12. House of David! thus hath Jahveh said: Hold judgment every morning, and save the despoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury break forth as fire, and burn unquenchably, because of the evil of your doings."
What the prophet is here to say to the people and the royal house is not directly addressed to the king’s envoy, but is closely connected with the answer he was to give to the latter, and serves to strengthen the same. We need not be hampered by the assumption that Jeremiah, immediately after that answer, communicated this advice, so that it might be made known to the people and to the royal house.
The counsel given in Jer 21:8-12 to the people was during the siege repeatedly given by Jeremiah both to the king and to the people, cf. Jer 38:1. , Jer 38:17. , and Jer 27:11. , and many of the people acted by his advice, cf. Jer 38:19; Jer 39:9; Jer 52:15. But the defenders of the city, the authorities, saw therein treason, or at least a highly dangerous discouragement to those who were fighting, and accused the prophet as a traitor, Jer 38:4.
, cf. Jer 37:13. Still Jeremiah, holding his duty higher than his life, remained in the city, and gave as his opinion, under conviction attained to only by divine revelation, that all resistance is useless, since God has irrevocably decreed the destruction of Jerusalem as a punishment for their sins. The idea of Jer 21:7 is clothed in words taken from Deu 30:15, cf.
Deu 11:26. ישׁב , Jer 21:9, as opposed to יצא, does not mean: to dwell, but: to sit still, abide. To fall to the Chaldeans, i. e. , to go over to them, cf. Jer 37:14; Jer 39:9; 2Ki 25:11; על is interchanged with אל, Jer 37:13; Jer 38:19; Jer 52:15. The Chet . יחיה is right, corresponding to ימוּת; the Keri וחיה is wrong. His life shall be to him for a prey, i.
e. , he shall carry it thence as a prey, i. e. , preserve it. Jer 21:10 gives the reason for the advice given. For I have set my face, cf. Jer 44:11, recalls Amo 9:4, only there we have עיני for פּני, as in Jer 24:6. To set the face or eye on one means: to pay special heed to him, in good (cf. Jer 39:12) or in evil sense; hence the addition, "for evil," etc.
Jer 21:8-10 The counsel given to the people and royal family how to escape death. - Jer 21:8 . "And unto the people thou shalt say: Thus hath Jahveh said: Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. Jer 21:9 . He that abideth in this city shall die by sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he that goeth out and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and have his soul for a prey.
Jer 21:10. For I have set my face on this city for evil and not for good, saith Jahveh; into the hand of the king of Babylon shall it be given, who shall burn it with fire. Jer 21:11. And to the house of the king of Judah: Hear the word of Jahveh: Jer 21:12. House of David! thus hath Jahveh said: Hold judgment every morning, and save the despoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury break forth as fire, and burn unquenchably, because of the evil of your doings."
What the prophet is here to say to the people and the royal house is not directly addressed to the king’s envoy, but is closely connected with the answer he was to give to the latter, and serves to strengthen the same. We need not be hampered by the assumption that Jeremiah, immediately after that answer, communicated this advice, so that it might be made known to the people and to the royal house.
The counsel given in Jer 21:8-12 to the people was during the siege repeatedly given by Jeremiah both to the king and to the people, cf. Jer 38:1. , Jer 38:17. , and Jer 27:11. , and many of the people acted by his advice, cf. Jer 38:19; Jer 39:9; Jer 52:15. But the defenders of the city, the authorities, saw therein treason, or at least a highly dangerous discouragement to those who were fighting, and accused the prophet as a traitor, Jer 38:4.
, cf. Jer 37:13. Still Jeremiah, holding his duty higher than his life, remained in the city, and gave as his opinion, under conviction attained to only by divine revelation, that all resistance is useless, since God has irrevocably decreed the destruction of Jerusalem as a punishment for their sins. The idea of Jer 21:7 is clothed in words taken from Deu 30:15, cf.
Deu 11:26. ישׁב , Jer 21:9, as opposed to יצא, does not mean: to dwell, but: to sit still, abide. To fall to the Chaldeans, i. e. , to go over to them, cf. Jer 37:14; Jer 39:9; 2Ki 25:11; על is interchanged with אל, Jer 37:13; Jer 38:19; Jer 52:15. The Chet . יחיה is right, corresponding to ימוּת; the Keri וחיה is wrong. His life shall be to him for a prey, i.
e. , he shall carry it thence as a prey, i. e. , preserve it. Jer 21:10 gives the reason for the advice given. For I have set my face, cf. Jer 44:11, recalls Amo 9:4, only there we have עיני for פּני, as in Jer 24:6. To set the face or eye on one means: to pay special heed to him, in good (cf. Jer 39:12) or in evil sense; hence the addition, "for evil," etc.
Jer 21:8-10 The counsel given to the people and royal family how to escape death. - Jer 21:8 . "And unto the people thou shalt say: Thus hath Jahveh said: Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. Jer 21:9 . He that abideth in this city shall die by sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he that goeth out and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and have his soul for a prey.
Jer 21:10. For I have set my face on this city for evil and not for good, saith Jahveh; into the hand of the king of Babylon shall it be given, who shall burn it with fire. Jer 21:11. And to the house of the king of Judah: Hear the word of Jahveh: Jer 21:12. House of David! thus hath Jahveh said: Hold judgment every morning, and save the despoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury break forth as fire, and burn unquenchably, because of the evil of your doings."
What the prophet is here to say to the people and the royal house is not directly addressed to the king’s envoy, but is closely connected with the answer he was to give to the latter, and serves to strengthen the same. We need not be hampered by the assumption that Jeremiah, immediately after that answer, communicated this advice, so that it might be made known to the people and to the royal house.
The counsel given in Jer 21:8-12 to the people was during the siege repeatedly given by Jeremiah both to the king and to the people, cf. Jer 38:1. , Jer 38:17. , and Jer 27:11. , and many of the people acted by his advice, cf. Jer 38:19; Jer 39:9; Jer 52:15. But the defenders of the city, the authorities, saw therein treason, or at least a highly dangerous discouragement to those who were fighting, and accused the prophet as a traitor, Jer 38:4.
, cf. Jer 37:13. Still Jeremiah, holding his duty higher than his life, remained in the city, and gave as his opinion, under conviction attained to only by divine revelation, that all resistance is useless, since God has irrevocably decreed the destruction of Jerusalem as a punishment for their sins. The idea of Jer 21:7 is clothed in words taken from Deu 30:15, cf.
Deu 11:26. ישׁב , Jer 21:9, as opposed to יצא, does not mean: to dwell, but: to sit still, abide. To fall to the Chaldeans, i. e. , to go over to them, cf. Jer 37:14; Jer 39:9; 2Ki 25:11; על is interchanged with אל, Jer 37:13; Jer 38:19; Jer 52:15. The Chet . יחיה is right, corresponding to ימוּת; the Keri וחיה is wrong. His life shall be to him for a prey, i.
e. , he shall carry it thence as a prey, i. e. , preserve it. Jer 21:10 gives the reason for the advice given. For I have set my face, cf. Jer 44:11, recalls Amo 9:4, only there we have עיני for פּני, as in Jer 24:6. To set the face or eye on one means: to pay special heed to him, in good (cf. Jer 39:12) or in evil sense; hence the addition, "for evil," etc.
Jer 21:11-12 The kingly house, i. e. , the king and his family, under which are here comprehended not merely women and children, but also the king’s companions, his servants and councillors; they are counselled to hold judgment every morning. דּין משׁפּט = דּין דּין, Jer 5:28; Jer 22:16, or שׁפט, Lam 3:59; 1Ki 3:28. לבּקר distributively, every morning, as Amo 4:4.
To save the despoiled out of the hand of the oppressor means: to defend his just cause against the oppressor, to defend him from being despoiled; cf. Jer 22:3. The form of address; House of David, which is by a displacement awkwardly separated from שׁמעוּ, is meant to remind the kingly house of its origin, its ancestor David, who walked in the ways of the Lord.
- The second half of the verse, "lest my fury," etc. , runs like Jer 4:4.
Jer 21:11-12 The kingly house, i. e. , the king and his family, under which are here comprehended not merely women and children, but also the king’s companions, his servants and councillors; they are counselled to hold judgment every morning. דּין משׁפּט = דּין דּין, Jer 5:28; Jer 22:16, or שׁפט, Lam 3:59; 1Ki 3:28. לבּקר distributively, every morning, as Amo 4:4.
To save the despoiled out of the hand of the oppressor means: to defend his just cause against the oppressor, to defend him from being despoiled; cf. Jer 22:3. The form of address; House of David, which is by a displacement awkwardly separated from שׁמעוּ, is meant to remind the kingly house of its origin, its ancestor David, who walked in the ways of the Lord.
- The second half of the verse, "lest my fury," etc. , runs like Jer 4:4.
Jer 21:13-14 The chastisement of Jerusalem. - Jer 21:13. "Behold, I am against thee, inhabitress of the valley, of the rock of the plain, saith Jahveh, ye who say: Who shall come down against us, and who shall come into our dwellings? Jer 21:14. And will visit you according to the fruit of your doings, saith Jahveh, and kindle a fire in her forest, that it may devour all her surroundings."
This threatening is levelled against the citizens of Jerusalem, who vaunted the impregnableness of their city. The inhabitress of the valley is the daughter of Zion, the population of Jerusalem personified. The situation of the city is spoken of as עמק, ravine between mountains, in respect that Jerusalem was encircled by mountains of greater height (Psa 125:2); and as rock of the plain, i.
e. , the region regarded as a level from which Mount Zion, the seat of the kingdom, rose, equivalent to rock of the field, Jer 17:3. In the "rock" we think specially of Mount Zion, and in the "valley" of the so-called lower city. The two designations are chosen to indicate the strong situation of Jerusalem. On this the inhabitants pride themselves, who say: Who shall come down against us?
יחת for ינחת, from נחת; cf. Ew. §139, c . Dwellings, cf. Jer 25:30, not cities or refuge or coverts of wild animals; מעון has not this force, but can at most acquire it from the context; see Del. on Psa 26:8. The strength of the city will not shield the inhabitants from the punishment with which God will visit them. "According to the fruit," etc. , cf. Jer 17:10.
I kindle fire in her forest. The city is a forest of houses, and the figure is to be explained by the simile in Jer 22:6, but was not suggested by מעון = lustra ferarum (Hitz.) All her surroundings, how much more then the city itself! Rebuke of the Ungodly Kings Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin, and Promise of a Righteous Branch of David. - This discourse begins with an exhortation to the king, his servants, and the people to do right and justice, and to eschew all unrighteousness, and with the warning, that in case of the contrary the royal palace will be reduced to ruins and Jerusalem destroyed by fire.
After touching briefly on the fate of Jehoahaz, who has been deported to Egypt (Jer 22:10-12), the discourse turns against Jehoiakim, rebukes his tyranny, in that he builds his house with unrighteousness and schemes only bloodshed and violence, and threatens him with ignominious ruin (Jer 22:13-19). Then, after a threatening against Jerusalem (Jer 22:20-23), it deals with Jechoniah, who is told he shall be carried to Babylon never to return, and without any descendant to sit on his throne (Jer 22:24-30).
Next, after an outcry of grief at the wicked shepherds, follows the promise that the Lord will gather the remnant of His flock out of all the lands whither they have been driven, that He will restore them to their fields and multiply them, and that He will raise up to them a good shepherd in the righteous branch of David (Jer 23:1-8). - According to Jer 21:1, Jeremiah spoke these words in the house of the king of Judah; whence we see that in this passage we have not merely ideas and scraps of addresses gathered together, such as had been on various occasions orally delivered by the prophet.
It further appears from Jer 22:10 and Jer 22:13-17, that the portion of the discourse addressed to Jehoiakim was uttered in the first year of his reign; and from Jer 22:24, where Jechoniah is addressed as king, that the utterance concerning him belongs to the short period (only three months long) of his reign. But the utterance concerning Jechoniah is joined with that concerning Jehoiakim on account of the close relationship in matter between them.
The exhortation and warning against injustice, forming the introduction, as regards it contents, fits very well into the time of Jehoiakim (cf. Jer 22:17 with Jer 22:3). The promise with which the discourse concludes was apparently not spoken till the time of Jechoniah, shortly before his being taken to Babylon. So that we have here the discourses of Jeremiah belonging to the times of Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin respectively, joined into one continuous whole.
Jer 21:13-14 The chastisement of Jerusalem. - Jer 21:13. "Behold, I am against thee, inhabitress of the valley, of the rock of the plain, saith Jahveh, ye who say: Who shall come down against us, and who shall come into our dwellings? Jer 21:14. And will visit you according to the fruit of your doings, saith Jahveh, and kindle a fire in her forest, that it may devour all her surroundings."
This threatening is levelled against the citizens of Jerusalem, who vaunted the impregnableness of their city. The inhabitress of the valley is the daughter of Zion, the population of Jerusalem personified. The situation of the city is spoken of as עמק, ravine between mountains, in respect that Jerusalem was encircled by mountains of greater height (Psa 125:2); and as rock of the plain, i.
e. , the region regarded as a level from which Mount Zion, the seat of the kingdom, rose, equivalent to rock of the field, Jer 17:3. In the "rock" we think specially of Mount Zion, and in the "valley" of the so-called lower city. The two designations are chosen to indicate the strong situation of Jerusalem. On this the inhabitants pride themselves, who say: Who shall come down against us?
יחת for ינחת, from נחת; cf. Ew. §139, c . Dwellings, cf. Jer 25:30, not cities or refuge or coverts of wild animals; מעון has not this force, but can at most acquire it from the context; see Del. on Psa 26:8. The strength of the city will not shield the inhabitants from the punishment with which God will visit them. "According to the fruit," etc. , cf. Jer 17:10.
I kindle fire in her forest. The city is a forest of houses, and the figure is to be explained by the simile in Jer 22:6, but was not suggested by מעון = lustra ferarum (Hitz.) All her surroundings, how much more then the city itself! Rebuke of the Ungodly Kings Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin, and Promise of a Righteous Branch of David. - This discourse begins with an exhortation to the king, his servants, and the people to do right and justice, and to eschew all unrighteousness, and with the warning, that in case of the contrary the royal palace will be reduced to ruins and Jerusalem destroyed by fire.
After touching briefly on the fate of Jehoahaz, who has been deported to Egypt (Jer 22:10-12), the discourse turns against Jehoiakim, rebukes his tyranny, in that he builds his house with unrighteousness and schemes only bloodshed and violence, and threatens him with ignominious ruin (Jer 22:13-19). Then, after a threatening against Jerusalem (Jer 22:20-23), it deals with Jechoniah, who is told he shall be carried to Babylon never to return, and without any descendant to sit on his throne (Jer 22:24-30).
Next, after an outcry of grief at the wicked shepherds, follows the promise that the Lord will gather the remnant of His flock out of all the lands whither they have been driven, that He will restore them to their fields and multiply them, and that He will raise up to them a good shepherd in the righteous branch of David (Jer 23:1-8). - According to Jer 21:1, Jeremiah spoke these words in the house of the king of Judah; whence we see that in this passage we have not merely ideas and scraps of addresses gathered together, such as had been on various occasions orally delivered by the prophet.
It further appears from Jer 22:10 and Jer 22:13-17, that the portion of the discourse addressed to Jehoiakim was uttered in the first year of his reign; and from Jer 22:24, where Jechoniah is addressed as king, that the utterance concerning him belongs to the short period (only three months long) of his reign. But the utterance concerning Jechoniah is joined with that concerning Jehoiakim on account of the close relationship in matter between them.
The exhortation and warning against injustice, forming the introduction, as regards it contents, fits very well into the time of Jehoiakim (cf. Jer 22:17 with Jer 22:3). The promise with which the discourse concludes was apparently not spoken till the time of Jechoniah, shortly before his being taken to Babylon. So that we have here the discourses of Jeremiah belonging to the times of Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin respectively, joined into one continuous whole.
Jer 22:1-9 The king is warned against injustice, and the violent oppression of the poor and defenceless. - Jer 22:1 . "Thus said Jahveh: Go down to the house of the king of Judah and speak there this word, Jer 22:2 . And say: Hear the word of Jahveh, thou king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people, that go in by these gates.
Jer 22:3 . Thus hath Jahveh said: Do ye right and justice, and save the despoiled out of the hand of the oppressor; to stranger, orphan, and widow do no wrong, no violence; and innocent blood shed not in this place. Jer 22:4 . For if ye will do this word indeed, then by the gates of this place there shall come in kings that sit upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.
Jer 22:5 . But if ye hearken not to these words, by myself have I sworn, saith Jahve, that this house shall become a desolation. Jer 22:6 . For thus hath Jahveh said concerning the house of the king of Judah: A Gilead art thou to me, a head of Lebanon; surely I will make thee a wilderness, cities uninhabited; Jer 22:7 . And will consecrate against thee destroyers, each with his tools, who shall hew down the choice of thy cedars and cast them into the fire.
Jer 22:8 . And there shall pass may peoples by this city, and one shall say to the other: Wherefore hath Jahveh done thus unto this great city? Jer 22:9 . And they will say: Because they have forsaken the covenant of Jahveh their God, and worshipped other gods and served them." Go down into the house of the king. The prophet could go down only from the temple; cf.
Jer 36:12 and Jer 26:10. Not only the king is to hear the word of the Lord, but his servants too, and the people, who go in by these gates, the gates of the royal castle. The exhortation: to do right and justice, etc. , is only an expansion of the brief counsel at Jer 21:12, and that brought home to the heart of the whole people in Jer 7:6, cf. Eze 22:6. The form עשׁוק for עושׁק, Jer 21:12, occurs only here, but is formed analogously to גּדול, and cannot be objected to.
אל־תּנוּ is strengthened by "do no violence." On "kings riding," etc. , cf. Jer 17:25. - With Jer 22:5 cf. Jer 17:27, where, however, the threatening is otherwise worded. בּי , cf. Gen 22:16. כּי introduces the contents of the oath. "This house" is the royal palace. לחרבּה as in Jer 7:34, cf. Jer 27:17. The threatening is illustrated in Jer 22:6 by further description of the destruction of the palace.
The royal castle is addressed, and, in respect of its lofty situation and magnificence, is called a Gilead and a head of Lebanon. It lay on the north-eastern eminence of Mount Zion (see on 1Ki 7:12, note 1), and contained the so-called forest-house of Lebanon (1Ki 7:2-5) and various other buildings built of cedar, or, at least, faced with cedar planks (cf. Jer 22:14, Jer 22:23); so that the entire building might be compared to a forest of cedars on the summit of Lebanon.
In the comparison to Gilead, Gilead can hardly be adduced in respect of its great fertility as a pasturing land (Num 32:1; Mic 7:14), but in virtue of the thickly wooded covering of the hill-country of Gilead on both sides of the Jabbok. This is still in great measure clothed with oak thickets and, according to Buckingham, the most beautiful forest tracts that can be imagined; cf.
C. v. Raumer, Pal . S. 82. אם לא is a particle of asseveration. This glorious forest of cedar buildings is to become a מדבּר, a treeless steppe, cities uninhabited. "Cities" refers to the thing compared, not to the emblem; and the plural, as being the form for indefinite generality, presents no difficulty. And the attachment thereto of a singular predicate has many analogies in its support, cf.
Ew. §317, a . The Keri נושׁבוּ is an uncalled for emendation of the Chet . נושׁבה, cf. Jer 6:5. - "I consecrate," in respect that the destroyers are warriors whom God sends as the executors of His will, see on Jer 6:4. With "a man and his weapons," cf. Eze 9:2. In keeping with the figure of a forest, the destruction is represented as the hewing down of the choicest cedars; cf.
Isa 10:34. - Thus is to be accomplished in Jerusalem what Moses threatened, Deu 29:23; the destroyed city will become a monument of God’s wrath against the transgressors of His covenant. Jer 22:8 is modelled upon Deu 29:23. , cf. 1Ki 9:8. , and made to bear upon Jerusalem, since, along with the palace, the city too is destroyed by the enemy. From Jer 22:10 onwards the exhortation to the evil shepherds becomes a prophecy concerning the kings of that time, who by their godless courses hurried on the threatened destruction.
The prophecy begins with King Jehoahaz, who, after a reign of three months, had bee discrowned by Pharaoh Necho and carried captive to Egypt; 2Ki 23:30-35; 2Ch 36:1-4.
Jer 22:1-9 The king is warned against injustice, and the violent oppression of the poor and defenceless. - Jer 22:1 . "Thus said Jahveh: Go down to the house of the king of Judah and speak there this word, Jer 22:2 . And say: Hear the word of Jahveh, thou king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people, that go in by these gates.
Jer 22:3 . Thus hath Jahveh said: Do ye right and justice, and save the despoiled out of the hand of the oppressor; to stranger, orphan, and widow do no wrong, no violence; and innocent blood shed not in this place. Jer 22:4 . For if ye will do this word indeed, then by the gates of this place there shall come in kings that sit upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.
Jer 22:5 . But if ye hearken not to these words, by myself have I sworn, saith Jahve, that this house shall become a desolation. Jer 22:6 . For thus hath Jahveh said concerning the house of the king of Judah: A Gilead art thou to me, a head of Lebanon; surely I will make thee a wilderness, cities uninhabited; Jer 22:7 . And will consecrate against thee destroyers, each with his tools, who shall hew down the choice of thy cedars and cast them into the fire.
Jer 22:8 . And there shall pass may peoples by this city, and one shall say to the other: Wherefore hath Jahveh done thus unto this great city? Jer 22:9 . And they will say: Because they have forsaken the covenant of Jahveh their God, and worshipped other gods and served them." Go down into the house of the king. The prophet could go down only from the temple; cf.
Jer 36:12 and Jer 26:10. Not only the king is to hear the word of the Lord, but his servants too, and the people, who go in by these gates, the gates of the royal castle. The exhortation: to do right and justice, etc. , is only an expansion of the brief counsel at Jer 21:12, and that brought home to the heart of the whole people in Jer 7:6, cf. Eze 22:6. The form עשׁוק for עושׁק, Jer 21:12, occurs only here, but is formed analogously to גּדול, and cannot be objected to.
אל־תּנוּ is strengthened by "do no violence." On "kings riding," etc. , cf. Jer 17:25. - With Jer 22:5 cf. Jer 17:27, where, however, the threatening is otherwise worded. בּי , cf. Gen 22:16. כּי introduces the contents of the oath. "This house" is the royal palace. לחרבּה as in Jer 7:34, cf. Jer 27:17. The threatening is illustrated in Jer 22:6 by further description of the destruction of the palace.
The royal castle is addressed, and, in respect of its lofty situation and magnificence, is called a Gilead and a head of Lebanon. It lay on the north-eastern eminence of Mount Zion (see on 1Ki 7:12, note 1), and contained the so-called forest-house of Lebanon (1Ki 7:2-5) and various other buildings built of cedar, or, at least, faced with cedar planks (cf. Jer 22:14, Jer 22:23); so that the entire building might be compared to a forest of cedars on the summit of Lebanon.
In the comparison to Gilead, Gilead can hardly be adduced in respect of its great fertility as a pasturing land (Num 32:1; Mic 7:14), but in virtue of the thickly wooded covering of the hill-country of Gilead on both sides of the Jabbok. This is still in great measure clothed with oak thickets and, according to Buckingham, the most beautiful forest tracts that can be imagined; cf.
C. v. Raumer, Pal . S. 82. אם לא is a particle of asseveration. This glorious forest of cedar buildings is to become a מדבּר, a treeless steppe, cities uninhabited. "Cities" refers to the thing compared, not to the emblem; and the plural, as being the form for indefinite generality, presents no difficulty. And the attachment thereto of a singular predicate has many analogies in its support, cf.
Ew. §317, a . The Keri נושׁבוּ is an uncalled for emendation of the Chet . נושׁבה, cf. Jer 6:5. - "I consecrate," in respect that the destroyers are warriors whom God sends as the executors of His will, see on Jer 6:4. With "a man and his weapons," cf. Eze 9:2. In keeping with the figure of a forest, the destruction is represented as the hewing down of the choicest cedars; cf.
Isa 10:34. - Thus is to be accomplished in Jerusalem what Moses threatened, Deu 29:23; the destroyed city will become a monument of God’s wrath against the transgressors of His covenant. Jer 22:8 is modelled upon Deu 29:23. , cf. 1Ki 9:8. , and made to bear upon Jerusalem, since, along with the palace, the city too is destroyed by the enemy. From Jer 22:10 onwards the exhortation to the evil shepherds becomes a prophecy concerning the kings of that time, who by their godless courses hurried on the threatened destruction.
The prophecy begins with King Jehoahaz, who, after a reign of three months, had bee discrowned by Pharaoh Necho and carried captive to Egypt; 2Ki 23:30-35; 2Ch 36:1-4.
Jer 22:1-9 The king is warned against injustice, and the violent oppression of the poor and defenceless. - Jer 22:1 . "Thus said Jahveh: Go down to the house of the king of Judah and speak there this word, Jer 22:2 . And say: Hear the word of Jahveh, thou king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people, that go in by these gates.
Jer 22:3 . Thus hath Jahveh said: Do ye right and justice, and save the despoiled out of the hand of the oppressor; to stranger, orphan, and widow do no wrong, no violence; and innocent blood shed not in this place. Jer 22:4 . For if ye will do this word indeed, then by the gates of this place there shall come in kings that sit upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.
Jer 22:5 . But if ye hearken not to these words, by myself have I sworn, saith Jahve, that this house shall become a desolation. Jer 22:6 . For thus hath Jahveh said concerning the house of the king of Judah: A Gilead art thou to me, a head of Lebanon; surely I will make thee a wilderness, cities uninhabited; Jer 22:7 . And will consecrate against thee destroyers, each with his tools, who shall hew down the choice of thy cedars and cast them into the fire.
Jer 22:8 . And there shall pass may peoples by this city, and one shall say to the other: Wherefore hath Jahveh done thus unto this great city? Jer 22:9 . And they will say: Because they have forsaken the covenant of Jahveh their God, and worshipped other gods and served them." Go down into the house of the king. The prophet could go down only from the temple; cf.
Jer 36:12 and Jer 26:10. Not only the king is to hear the word of the Lord, but his servants too, and the people, who go in by these gates, the gates of the royal castle. The exhortation: to do right and justice, etc. , is only an expansion of the brief counsel at Jer 21:12, and that brought home to the heart of the whole people in Jer 7:6, cf. Eze 22:6. The form עשׁוק for עושׁק, Jer 21:12, occurs only here, but is formed analogously to גּדול, and cannot be objected to.
אל־תּנוּ is strengthened by "do no violence." On "kings riding," etc. , cf. Jer 17:25. - With Jer 22:5 cf. Jer 17:27, where, however, the threatening is otherwise worded. בּי , cf. Gen 22:16. כּי introduces the contents of the oath. "This house" is the royal palace. לחרבּה as in Jer 7:34, cf. Jer 27:17. The threatening is illustrated in Jer 22:6 by further description of the destruction of the palace.
The royal castle is addressed, and, in respect of its lofty situation and magnificence, is called a Gilead and a head of Lebanon. It lay on the north-eastern eminence of Mount Zion (see on 1Ki 7:12, note 1), and contained the so-called forest-house of Lebanon (1Ki 7:2-5) and various other buildings built of cedar, or, at least, faced with cedar planks (cf. Jer 22:14, Jer 22:23); so that the entire building might be compared to a forest of cedars on the summit of Lebanon.
In the comparison to Gilead, Gilead can hardly be adduced in respect of its great fertility as a pasturing land (Num 32:1; Mic 7:14), but in virtue of the thickly wooded covering of the hill-country of Gilead on both sides of the Jabbok. This is still in great measure clothed with oak thickets and, according to Buckingham, the most beautiful forest tracts that can be imagined; cf.
C. v. Raumer, Pal . S. 82. אם לא is a particle of asseveration. This glorious forest of cedar buildings is to become a מדבּר, a treeless steppe, cities uninhabited. "Cities" refers to the thing compared, not to the emblem; and the plural, as being the form for indefinite generality, presents no difficulty. And the attachment thereto of a singular predicate has many analogies in its support, cf.
Ew. §317, a . The Keri נושׁבוּ is an uncalled for emendation of the Chet . נושׁבה, cf. Jer 6:5. - "I consecrate," in respect that the destroyers are warriors whom God sends as the executors of His will, see on Jer 6:4. With "a man and his weapons," cf. Eze 9:2. In keeping with the figure of a forest, the destruction is represented as the hewing down of the choicest cedars; cf.
Isa 10:34. - Thus is to be accomplished in Jerusalem what Moses threatened, Deu 29:23; the destroyed city will become a monument of God’s wrath against the transgressors of His covenant. Jer 22:8 is modelled upon Deu 29:23. , cf. 1Ki 9:8. , and made to bear upon Jerusalem, since, along with the palace, the city too is destroyed by the enemy. From Jer 22:10 onwards the exhortation to the evil shepherds becomes a prophecy concerning the kings of that time, who by their godless courses hurried on the threatened destruction.
The prophecy begins with King Jehoahaz, who, after a reign of three months, had bee discrowned by Pharaoh Necho and carried captive to Egypt; 2Ki 23:30-35; 2Ch 36:1-4.
Jer 22:1-9 The king is warned against injustice, and the violent oppression of the poor and defenceless. - Jer 22:1 . "Thus said Jahveh: Go down to the house of the king of Judah and speak there this word, Jer 22:2 . And say: Hear the word of Jahveh, thou king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people, that go in by these gates.
Jer 22:3 . Thus hath Jahveh said: Do ye right and justice, and save the despoiled out of the hand of the oppressor; to stranger, orphan, and widow do no wrong, no violence; and innocent blood shed not in this place. Jer 22:4 . For if ye will do this word indeed, then by the gates of this place there shall come in kings that sit upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.
Jer 22:5 . But if ye hearken not to these words, by myself have I sworn, saith Jahve, that this house shall become a desolation. Jer 22:6 . For thus hath Jahveh said concerning the house of the king of Judah: A Gilead art thou to me, a head of Lebanon; surely I will make thee a wilderness, cities uninhabited; Jer 22:7 . And will consecrate against thee destroyers, each with his tools, who shall hew down the choice of thy cedars and cast them into the fire.
Jer 22:8 . And there shall pass may peoples by this city, and one shall say to the other: Wherefore hath Jahveh done thus unto this great city? Jer 22:9 . And they will say: Because they have forsaken the covenant of Jahveh their God, and worshipped other gods and served them." Go down into the house of the king. The prophet could go down only from the temple; cf.
Jer 36:12 and Jer 26:10. Not only the king is to hear the word of the Lord, but his servants too, and the people, who go in by these gates, the gates of the royal castle. The exhortation: to do right and justice, etc. , is only an expansion of the brief counsel at Jer 21:12, and that brought home to the heart of the whole people in Jer 7:6, cf. Eze 22:6. The form עשׁוק for עושׁק, Jer 21:12, occurs only here, but is formed analogously to גּדול, and cannot be objected to.
אל־תּנוּ is strengthened by "do no violence." On "kings riding," etc. , cf. Jer 17:25. - With Jer 22:5 cf. Jer 17:27, where, however, the threatening is otherwise worded. בּי , cf. Gen 22:16. כּי introduces the contents of the oath. "This house" is the royal palace. לחרבּה as in Jer 7:34, cf. Jer 27:17. The threatening is illustrated in Jer 22:6 by further description of the destruction of the palace.
The royal castle is addressed, and, in respect of its lofty situation and magnificence, is called a Gilead and a head of Lebanon. It lay on the north-eastern eminence of Mount Zion (see on 1Ki 7:12, note 1), and contained the so-called forest-house of Lebanon (1Ki 7:2-5) and various other buildings built of cedar, or, at least, faced with cedar planks (cf. Jer 22:14, Jer 22:23); so that the entire building might be compared to a forest of cedars on the summit of Lebanon.
In the comparison to Gilead, Gilead can hardly be adduced in respect of its great fertility as a pasturing land (Num 32:1; Mic 7:14), but in virtue of the thickly wooded covering of the hill-country of Gilead on both sides of the Jabbok. This is still in great measure clothed with oak thickets and, according to Buckingham, the most beautiful forest tracts that can be imagined; cf.
C. v. Raumer, Pal . S. 82. אם לא is a particle of asseveration. This glorious forest of cedar buildings is to become a מדבּר, a treeless steppe, cities uninhabited. "Cities" refers to the thing compared, not to the emblem; and the plural, as being the form for indefinite generality, presents no difficulty. And the attachment thereto of a singular predicate has many analogies in its support, cf.
Ew. §317, a . The Keri נושׁבוּ is an uncalled for emendation of the Chet . נושׁבה, cf. Jer 6:5. - "I consecrate," in respect that the destroyers are warriors whom God sends as the executors of His will, see on Jer 6:4. With "a man and his weapons," cf. Eze 9:2. In keeping with the figure of a forest, the destruction is represented as the hewing down of the choicest cedars; cf.
Isa 10:34. - Thus is to be accomplished in Jerusalem what Moses threatened, Deu 29:23; the destroyed city will become a monument of God’s wrath against the transgressors of His covenant. Jer 22:8 is modelled upon Deu 29:23. , cf. 1Ki 9:8. , and made to bear upon Jerusalem, since, along with the palace, the city too is destroyed by the enemy. From Jer 22:10 onwards the exhortation to the evil shepherds becomes a prophecy concerning the kings of that time, who by their godless courses hurried on the threatened destruction.
The prophecy begins with King Jehoahaz, who, after a reign of three months, had bee discrowned by Pharaoh Necho and carried captive to Egypt; 2Ki 23:30-35; 2Ch 36:1-4.