Jeremiah 21 7

Jeremiah 21:7 kjv

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.

Jeremiah 21:7 nkjv

And afterward," says the LORD, "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. He shall not spare them, or have pity or mercy." '

Jeremiah 21:7 niv

After that, declares the LORD, I will give Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials and the people in this city who survive the plague, sword and famine, into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to their enemies who want to kill them. He will put them to the sword; he will show them no mercy or pity or compassion.'

Jeremiah 21:7 esv

Afterward, declares the LORD, I will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people in this city who survive the pestilence, sword, and famine into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their lives. He shall strike them down with the edge of the sword. He shall not pity them or spare them or have compassion.'

Jeremiah 21:7 nlt

And after all that, says the LORD, I will hand over King Zedekiah, his staff, and everyone else in the city who survives the disease, war, and famine. I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and to their other enemies. He will slaughter them and show them no mercy, pity, or compassion.'

Jeremiah 21 verses

Jeremiah 21 7 meaning

Jeremiah 21:7 pronounces a divine judgment against King Zedekiah, his officials, and any Jerusalem residents who might survive the initial onslaught of plague, sword, and famine during the Babylonian siege. The LORD declares that these survivors will be delivered entirely into the power of King Nebuchadnezzar and his forces, including those Babylonians intent on taking their lives. The verse underscores the complete and merciless nature of the impending judgment, stating explicitly that the Babylonians will show no pity, mercy, or compassion, striking them down without restraint. It is a pronouncement of inevitable and severe doom for the rebellious kingdom.

Jeremiah 21 7 Context

Jeremiah chapter 21 opens with King Zedekiah, during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem, sending a delegation to Jeremiah to inquire of the LORD. Zedekiah hopes that the LORD might perform a miracle, as He had in the past, to deliver them from Nebuchadnezzar. The people still harbored a false hope in their divine protection, believing God would always defend His temple and chosen city, despite their deep-seated unfaithfulness and rebellion against His covenant.

Jeremiah's message, however, is a direct, harsh rebuke and a definitive pronouncement of impending doom. He declares that the LORD Himself will fight against the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Instead of fighting for Judah, God will deliver the city, its king, and its people into Babylonian hands. Verses 3-6 detail God's active opposition against Jerusalem, causing them to be struck by plague, sword, and famine. Verse 7, therefore, follows as the chilling climax: even for those who manage to survive these immediate devastations within the city, there is no escape. They are specifically earmarked for a yet more brutal fate, directly into the unmerciful grip of Babylon. This context reveals God's unyielding justice when His people persistently disregard His warnings and commandments.

Jeremiah 21 7 Word analysis

• Afterward (ʾaḥar-kēn, אַֽחֲרֵי־כֵן): Signals a sequential consequence. It emphasizes that this is the final, ultimate judgment for those who might escape the initial horrors within the besieged city. It marks a shift from the internal destruction to external, total subjugation.
• declares the LORD (nəʾum Yahweh, נְאֻם־יְהוָה): This is a prophetic formula, authenticating the message as a direct divine utterance. It underscores the absolute authority and certainty of the pronouncement. God's own character stands behind this severe word.
• I will give (natatti, נָתַתִּֽי): The Hebrew verb emphasizes direct, intentional action by God. It’s not just allowing but actively handing over Zedekiah, his servants, and the survivors. This highlights God's sovereignty over nations and their fates, using Nebuchadnezzar as His instrument.
• Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people in this city who survive the plague, sword, and famine: This meticulously lists the targets of the judgment, showing no exemption based on status (king, officials) or mere survival of earlier calamities. It signifies a total judgment on all elements of the rebellious kingdom still present.
• into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of his servants (bĕyad Nĕḇuḵaḏneʾṣṣar melek Bāvel ūḇĕyad ʿăḇādāw): This repetition and specific naming emphasizes the complete and inescapable subjugation. "Into the hand of" (בְיַד) is a powerful idiom meaning under the total control, power, and authority of.
• even into the hand of those who seek their lives: This adds a layer of dread. It's not just a general capture by an army, but by those specifically motivated to inflict death, showing the deep-seated animosity and cruelty that awaited them, making their fate particularly grim.
• He shall strike them with the edge of the sword (wĕhikām lĕpi-ḥereḇ, וְהִכָּם֙ לְפִי־חָ֔רֶב): Describes a decisive, mortal blow. "Edge of the sword" indicates a full military execution, an absolute, unsparing slaughter.
• he shall not spare them (lō yāḥus ʿălêhem, לֹֽא־יָח֖וּס עֲלֵיהֶ֑ם): "To spare" (חוס ḥūs) implies to show pity, to withhold harm out of compassion. The negation signals a complete absence of such a response.
• or have pity (wĕlōʾ yakhmoš, וְלֹא־יַחְמ֣וֹל): This word (ḥāmal) further emphasizes withholding injury or destruction, especially for the weak or vulnerable. Its negation reinforces the severity.
• or mercy (wĕlōʾ yeraḥem, וְלֹ֥א יְרַחֵֽם): "To show mercy" (רחם raḥam) often implies a deep, gut-level compassion, a motherly love. The threefold negation ("not spare," "not pity," "not mercy") is a strong rhetorical device (hendiatris), underscoring the absolute, brutal, and utterly uncompromising nature of the impending judgment, leaving no room for clemency from their captors or divine intervention to soften their fate.

Jeremiah 21 7 Bonus section

The intense severity described in Jeremiah 21:7 is often understood by scholars as reflecting God's commitment to justice even for the most stubborn defiance. The withholding of pity and mercy by the Babylonians directly parallels God's earlier statements about withholding His own compassion from Judah due to their prolonged sin. In a profound way, the Babylonians act out God's judgment against those who themselves withheld justice and mercy from the vulnerable within their own society, a frequent complaint of Jeremiah. The cumulative weight of "plague, sword, and famine," followed by being handed over to those "who seek their lives," reveals a judgment that escalates in severity, designed to reflect the escalating nature of Judah's apostasy and stubborn resistance to prophetic warnings. It serves as a reminder of the ultimate consequences of national and individual rebellion against divine covenant.

Jeremiah 21 7 Commentary

Jeremiah 21:7 presents an uncompromising picture of divine wrath, manifesting as an inescapable, brutal judgment. It's a pivotal statement within a larger prophecy that dismantled false security and self-deception in Judah. The message is clear: when covenant faithfulness is abandoned for idolatry and injustice, God Himself turns against His people, even using foreign nations as His instruments. The detailed specification of "Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people in this city who survive" emphasizes that this judgment spares no one, irrespective of social status or the hardship they may have already endured. Survival from one disaster merely means facing another, even more direct, act of divine condemnation.

The explicit naming of "Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his servants" leaves no ambiguity about the agent of this judgment, reinforcing that God’s sovereignty extends to all nations, even pagan ones, to execute His will. The triple negation "He shall not spare them or have pity or mercy" is a literary and theological punch, leaving no doubt that this is a total, unmitigated end to Judah's rebellion and an irreversible consequence for their unfaithfulness. It illustrates the solemn truth that there are points in human history when divine patience reaches its end, and judgment, stripped of all tempering influence, must fall. This passage is a stark warning that outward religious observances or presumed status as God's chosen people offer no shield against deserved judgment when the heart remains stubbornly unrepentant.