Jeremiah 21
New King James Version
Jerusalem’s Doom Is Sealed
21 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord when (A)King Zedekiah sent to him (B)Pashhur the son of Melchiah, and (C)Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, saying, 2 (D)“Please inquire of the Lord for us, for [a]Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon makes war against us. Perhaps the Lord will deal with us according to all His wonderful works, that the king may go away from us.”
3 Then Jeremiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to Zedekiah, 4 ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: “Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which you fight against the king of Babylon and the [b]Chaldeans who besiege you outside the walls; and (E)I will assemble them in the midst of this city. 5 I (F)Myself will fight against you with an (G)outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger and fury and great wrath. 6 I will strike the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; they shall die of a great pestilence. 7 And afterward,” says the Lord, (H)“I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, his servants and the people, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence and the sword and the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their life; and he shall strike them with the edge of the sword. (I)He shall not spare them, or have pity or mercy.” ’
8 “Now you shall say to this people, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, (J)I set before you the way of life and the way of death. 9 He who (K)remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes out and [c]defects to the Chaldeans who besiege you, he shall (L)live, and his life shall be as a prize to him. 10 For I have (M)set My face against this city for adversity and not for good,” says the Lord. (N)“It shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall (O)burn it with fire.” ’
Message to the House of David
11 “And concerning the house of the king of Judah, say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, 12 O house of David! Thus says the Lord:
(P)“Execute[d] judgment (Q)in the morning;
And deliver him who is plundered
Out of the hand of the oppressor,
Lest My fury go forth like fire
And burn so that no one can quench it,
Because of the evil of your doings.
13 “Behold, (R)I am against you, O [e]inhabitant of the valley,
And rock of the plain,” says the Lord,
“Who say, (S)‘Who shall come down against us?
Or who shall enter our dwellings?’
14 But I will punish you according to the (T)fruit of your [f]doings,” says the Lord;
“I will kindle a fire in its forest,
And (U)it shall devour all things around it.” ’ ”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 21:2 Heb. Nebuchadrezzar, and so elsewhere in the book
- Jeremiah 21:4 Or Babylonians, and so elsewhere in the book
- Jeremiah 21:9 Lit. falls away to
- Jeremiah 21:12 Dispense justice
- Jeremiah 21:13 dweller
- Jeremiah 21:14 deeds
Jeremiah 21
Lexham English Bible
A Message for Zedekiah
21 The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur, the son of Malchiah, and Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah, the priest, saying,[a] 2 “Please inquire of Yahweh on behalf of us, for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon is fighting against us. Perhaps Yahweh will do with us according to all his miraculous acts, so that he may go up from against us.”
3 Then Jeremiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to Zedekiah: 4 ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel: “Look, I am about to turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands,[b] with which you are fighting against them, the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are laying siege to you from outside the wall, and I will gather them into the center of this city. 5 And I myself will fight against you with outstretched hand, and with strong arm, and in anger,[c] and in fury, and in great wrath. 6 And I will strike the inhabitants of this city, both humankind and animal; by a great plague they will die. 7 And afterward,”[d] declares[e] Yahweh, “I will give Zedekiah, the king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and those who remain in this city from the plague, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their lives, and he will strike them with the edge[f] of the sword. He will not take pity on them, and he will not have compassion, nor will he show compassion.”’
The Way of Life and the Way of Death
8 “And to this people you shall say, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Look, I am setting before you[g] the way of life and the way of death. 9 He who stays in this city will die by the sword, or by the famine, or by the plague. And he who goes out and goes over to the Chaldeans who are laying siege to you will live, and his life will be to him as booty. 10 For I have set my face against this city for evil and not for good,” declares[h] Yahweh. It will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire.”’
A Series of Messages for the House of the King of Judah
11 “And to the house of the king of Judah, ‘Hear the word of Yahweh, 12 O house of David, thus says Yahweh,
“Execute judgment in the morning, justice,
and deliver the one who has been seized
from the hand of the oppressor,
lest my wrath goes forth like the fire and it burns,
and there is no one who quenches it[i]
because of the evil of your deeds.
13 Look, I am against you,
O inhabitants[j] of the valley,
O rock of the plain,” declares[k] Yahweh;
“you who say, ‘Who can descend against us,
or who can enter into our hiding place?’
14 And I will punish you
according to the fruit of your deeds,” declares[l] Yahweh,
“And I will kindle a fire in its forest,
and it will devour all its surroundings.”’”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 21:1 Literally “to say”
- Jeremiah 21:4 Hebrew “hand”
- Jeremiah 21:5 Literally “nose”
- Jeremiah 21:7 Literally “after thus”
- Jeremiah 21:7 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 21:7 Literally “mouth”
- Jeremiah 21:8 Literally “to the face of you”
- Jeremiah 21:10 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 21:12 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Jeremiah 21:13 Hebrew “inhabitant”
- Jeremiah 21:13 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 21:14 Literally “a declaration of”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software