Jeremiah 18 21

Jeremiah 18:21 kjv

Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and pour out their blood by the force of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and be widows; and let their men be put to death; let their young men be slain by the sword in battle.

Jeremiah 18:21 nkjv

Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, And pour out their blood By the force of the sword; Let their wives become widows And bereaved of their children. Let their men be put to death, Their young men be slain By the sword in battle.

Jeremiah 18:21 niv

So give their children over to famine; hand them over to the power of the sword. Let their wives be made childless and widows; let their men be put to death, their young men slain by the sword in battle.

Jeremiah 18:21 esv

Therefore deliver up their children to famine; give them over to the power of the sword; let their wives become childless and widowed. May their men meet death by pestilence, their youths be struck down by the sword in battle.

Jeremiah 18:21 nlt

So let their children starve!
Let them die by the sword!
Let their wives become childless widows.
Let their old men die in a plague,
and let their young men be killed in battle!

Jeremiah 18 verses

Jeremiah 18 21 Meaning

Jeremiah 18:21 is a fervent petition by the prophet Jeremiah, entreating God to deliver harsh divine judgment upon his enemies who plotted to silence and destroy him. The verse details a series of calamitous punishments: their children facing famine and violent death, their wives being widowed and losing their children, and their men succumbing to plague and violent military defeat. It reflects the intense emotional and spiritual anguish of the prophet in response to severe persecution, appealing to God's justice to deal with those who oppose His divine message and messenger.

Jeremiah 18 21 Context

Jeremiah 18 is primarily known for the "potter's house" analogy, where God illustrates His sovereign right to mold and remold nations, much like a potter with clay (Jer 18:1-12). He offers a path of repentance, but warns of destruction if the people persist in wickedness. This general warning for Judah then intensifies as Jeremiah points to their specific spiritual rebellion, choosing "idols" and rejecting God's way (Jer 18:13-17).

Verses 18-20 provide the immediate background to Jeremiah's prayer in verse 21. His enemies—likely influential figures like priests, false prophets, or officials—conspire against him, devising plans to trap him with words and to harm him physically, despite Jeremiah having interceded for them before God. This plot (Jer 18:18) fills Jeremiah with profound grief and righteous indignation. The prayer in verse 21 is a raw, emotional, yet divinely inspired response, not out of personal malice in the sense of taking personal revenge, but an appeal to God, the righteous judge, to intervene and exact covenant justice against those who rejected His words and persecuted His messenger. It expresses the prophet's identification with God's honor, as these enemies are not just harming Jeremiah, but the divine message itself.

Jeremiah 18 21 Word analysis

• Therefore (לָכֵן - lāḵēn): This conjunction indicates a direct consequence or result. It explicitly links the severe judgment requested to the preceding events—the enemies' plot and Jeremiah's intercession being rejected (Jer 18:18-20). It marks this prayer as a judicial response rather than an isolated outburst.
• deliver up (תֵּן - tēn): An imperative form of the verb "to give." Jeremiah is not inflicting the judgment himself but earnestly petitioning God to execute it. It underscores God's role as the ultimate arbiter of justice.
• their children (יַלְדֵיהֶם - yaldeihem): Refers to their offspring. In ancient Near Eastern understanding and Old Testament curses, the suffering of children (even if not individually culpable in the same way as adults) was often a direct, tragic consequence of the parents' corporate sin and rebellion, especially leadership. It emphasized the thoroughness and devastating impact of judgment upon a household and future generations.
• to the famine (לָרָעָב - lārāʿāv): Famine, along with sword and pestilence, formed a common triad of divine judgments in the Old Testament, particularly in besieged cities (cf. Jer 14:12, Ezek 5:12). It signifies prolonged, agonizing suffering.
• and pour out their blood (וְהַגִּרֵם דָּמָם - wəhaggirem dammām): This phrase describes violent slaughter, indicating execution or battlefield deaths rather than natural causes. It reflects a desire for visible, brutal justice.
• by the force of the sword (בְּיַד חֶרֶב - bəyad ḥerev): Literally "by the hand of the sword," signifying violent death inflicted by human agents, likely in battle or through execution. The sword represents war and capital punishment.
• and let their wives be bereaved of their children (וְתִהְיֶינָה נָשֵׁיהֶם שַׁכֻּלוֹת - wətihyeynâ nāšêhem šakkulôt): A specific, poignant tragedy for wives—the loss of their children. Shakkulot describes a woman made childless, often through violent means, signifying profound grief and a severed lineage.
• and be widows (וְאַלְמָנוֹת - wəʾalmānôt): Women whose husbands have died. In ancient society, widows were particularly vulnerable and dependent. This highlights utter societal collapse and loss of provision.
• and let their men be put to death (וְיִהְיוּ מֵתֶיהֶם מֻכֵּי דֶבֶר - wəyihyû metêhem mukkê devar): Metêhem means "their dead ones." This clause transitions to men. The KJV/NKJV renders "be put to death" and "slain by pestilence."
• by pestilence (מֻכֵּי דֶבֶר - mukkê dever): Struck by disease or plague. Another major covenant curse and form of divine judgment, often associated with siege conditions or divine wrath (cf. Exod 9:15, Amos 4:10).
• let their young men be slain by the sword in battle (וּבַחֻרֵיהֶם מֻכֵּי חֶרֶב בַּמִּלְחָמָה - uvachurêhem mukkê ḥerev bammilḥāmāh): The strongest, most able-bodied men, those who would defend the community, falling in armed conflict. This ensures the comprehensive devastation of their male population.

Words-group analysis:

• "deliver up their children to the famine; and pour out their blood by the force of the sword": This pairing immediately signals extreme violence and deprivation, affecting the most vulnerable first (children), a harsh blow against family lineage and community future. It indicates that the judgment will be total.
• "let their wives be bereaved of their children, and be widows": This emphasizes the plight of women, combining the deep sorrow of child loss with the social and economic vulnerability of widowhood. It speaks of a desolate household and profound personal suffering.
• "let their men be put to death by pestilence; let their young men be slain by the sword in battle": These lines focus on the male population, addressing two key age groups. The "men" (older or adult males) dying by pestilence signifies an uncontrollable, pervasive doom. The "young men" (able-bodied soldiers) falling by the sword in battle points to utter military defeat and the eradication of their defensive capabilities and potential for new generations. The cumulative effect is the total dismantling of their community through multiple, severe means of judgment.

Jeremiah 18 21 Bonus section

The intense language of Jeremiah 18:21, like many imprecatory psalms, raises important ethical and theological questions for modern readers. It underscores a fundamental difference in expression between Old Covenant divine justice and New Covenant grace. While believers in Christ are called to love their enemies, this does not nullify the biblical teaching of God's ultimate justice. Rather, it redirects the impulse for vengeance from the individual to God, who alone possesses perfect righteousness and will judge perfectly.

From a deeper spiritual perspective, Jeremiah’s imprecatory prayer can also be understood as a prophetic announcement of the consequences of rejecting God’s word and His messengers. The prophet is not just venting; he is pronouncing a future reality based on God’s revealed character and covenant stipulations. When a people consistently turns from the Lord, judgment, in the forms described, will inevitably follow. Therefore, this verse functions as a stark warning, confirming the severity of God's response to hardened rebellion and deliberate malice against His truth.

Jeremiah 18 21 Commentary

Jeremiah 18:21 stands as a powerful, albeit ethically challenging, imprecatory prayer within the prophetic tradition. It is not an act of personal vindictiveness for Jeremiah to execute, but an impassioned appeal to God, the divine Judge, to enact covenant curses upon those who relentlessly sought to destroy His prophet and his message. Jeremiah’s plea arises from a deep conviction of divine justice being required in response to flagrant evil and rejection of God’s covenant. The prophet, intimately identified with God's cause, sees the malicious plotting against himself (Jer 18:18-20) as an assault on God's word and honor. The comprehensive nature of the desired judgments—famine, sword, pestilence, impacting children, wives, men, and young men—reflects the severity of the spiritual rebellion and the ancient Israelite understanding of corporate consequence for grave sin, particularly in a context of covenant loyalty and disloyalty.

This prayer highlights the prophet's struggle to uphold God's truth in a hostile environment, asking God to intervene where human intervention has failed or been refused. While the New Testament emphasizes loving enemies (Matt 5:44) and leaving vengeance to God (Rom 12:19), it is important to understand these Old Testament imprecations within their original covenantal and historical context. They are not examples for personal revenge in the New Covenant, but appeals to God's holy justice against systemic evil, often spoken through prophets who represented God directly. They foreshadow the ultimate righteous judgment God will bring upon all wickedness, a theme echoed in Revelation's pleas for justice (Rev 6:10). The prayer demonstrates Jeremiah’s profound pain and his complete trust that God, not Jeremiah, would ultimately defend His righteous cause and His messenger.