Jeremiah 21

Chapter context

What is happening in Jeremiah 21?

judgmenttearsnew covenantfalse worship

Jeremiah 21 belongs to the middle movement of the book, especially the section often described as conflict with kings, priests, and prophets. Jeremiah combines fierce warning, autobiographical anguish, symbolic action, the promise of a new covenant, and the trauma of Jerusalem’s fall. Read this chapter with the wider themes of judgment, tears, and new covenant in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.

¹ 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, ² 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. ³ Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah: ⁴ 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. ⁵ 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. ⁶ And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence. ⁷ 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. ⁸ 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. ⁹ 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. ¹⁰ 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. ¹¹ And touching the house of the king of Judah, say, Hear ye the word of the LORD; ¹² 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. ¹³ 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? ¹⁴ 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.

Study helps

Glossary

Jeremiah Person v. 1, 3: Raised up or appointed by Jehovah. (1. ) A Gadite who joined David in the wilderness ( 1 Chr. 12:10 ). (2. ) A Gadite warrior ( 1 Chr. 12:13 ). (3. ) A Benjamite slinger who joined David at Ziklag ( 1 Chr. 12:4 ).
Pashur Person v. 1: Release. (1. ) The son of Immer (probably the same as Amariah, Neh. 10:3 ; 12:2 ), the head of one of the priestly courses, was “chief governor [Heb. paqid nagid, meaning “deputy governor”] of the temple” ( Jer. 20:1 , 2).
Zedekiah Person v. 1, 3, 7: Righteousness of Jehovah. (1. ) The last king of Judah.
Zephaniah Person v. 1: Jehovah has concealed, or Jehovah of darkness. (1. ) The son of Cushi, and great-grandson of Hezekiah, and the ninth in the order of the minor prophets. He prophesied in the days of Josiah, king of Judah.
Babylon Place v. 2, 4, 7, 10: Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Babylon.
Chaldea Place v. 4, 9: Biblical region. Modern identification: Tell el Muqayyar.
City People v. 4, 6-7, 9-10: The earliest mention of city-building is that of Enoch, which was built by Cain ( Gen. 4:17 ). After the confusion of tongues, the descendants of Nimrod founded several cities (10:10-12).
Jerusalem Place v. 6, 8-9, 13: Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Jerusalem.
David Person v. 12: Beloved, the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, a citizen of Bethlehem. His father seems to have been a man in humble life. His mother’s name is not recorded. Some think she was the Nahash of 2 Sam. 17:25 .