Jeremiah 38 23

Jeremiah 38:23 kjv

So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans: and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire.

Jeremiah 38:23 nkjv

'So they shall surrender all your wives and children to the Chaldeans. You shall not escape from their hand, but shall be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon. And you shall cause this city to be burned with fire.' "

Jeremiah 38:23 niv

"All your wives and children will be brought out to the Babylonians. You yourself will not escape from their hands but will be captured by the king of Babylon; and this city will be burned down."

Jeremiah 38:23 esv

All your wives and your sons shall be led out to the Chaldeans, and you yourself shall not escape from their hand, but shall be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city shall be burned with fire."

Jeremiah 38:23 nlt

All your wives and children will be led out to the Babylonians, and you will not escape. You will be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city will be burned down."

Jeremiah 38 verses

Jeremiah 38 23 meaning

Jeremiah 38:23 delivers a stark prophetic warning to King Zedekiah of Judah, detailing the inevitable and severe consequences of his continued defiance against Babylon, which Jeremiah reveals to be God's chosen instrument of judgment. The verse foretells the capture and public humiliation of Zedekiah's entire household – his wives and children – who will be taken into exile by the Chaldeans. It specifically states that Zedekiah himself will have no means of escape and will certainly fall into the hands of the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar. Furthermore, the verse prophesies the ultimate destruction of Jerusalem itself, consumed by fire. This prophecy emphasizes a complete and inescapable ruin for Zedekiah and his city, directly linking it to his refusal to heed God's instruction through Jeremiah to surrender.

Jeremiah 38 23 Context

Jeremiah 38:23 is set during the final, intense siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonian army, specifically within a private conversation between King Zedekiah and the prophet Jeremiah. The city is facing imminent destruction. Earlier in the chapter, Jeremiah was imprisoned in a cistern by hostile officials who despised his message of surrender, but was rescued by an Ethiopian eunuch, Ebed-melech, on Zedekiah's command. This verse is part of Jeremiah's desperate, last-ditch plea to Zedekiah, urging him to surrender to the Chaldeans as per God's command. Jeremiah has repeatedly conveyed that defying Babylon, which God is using to discipline Judah, will lead to the complete devastation of Jerusalem and the brutal capture of the king and his household. Zedekiah, despite understanding the truth of Jeremiah's words and fearing the Babylonian outcome, is too afraid of his own officials and the remaining pro-Egyptian party to surrender, leading him to procrastinate and ultimately sealing his and Jerusalem's catastrophic fate. The immediate context is Jeremiah presenting Zedekiah with a choice that will determine the absolute destiny of the kingdom.

Jeremiah 38 23 Word analysis

• All your wives and your children (כָּל־ נָשֶׁיךָ וּבָנֶיךָ - kol nashikha uvaneikha)

  • "All" (כָּל־ - kol): Hebrew kol signifies totality, encompassing everyone without exception. It underscores the completeness of the family's captivity, signaling no reprieve. For an ancient king, the safety and honor of his household were paramount to his power and legacy; this prophecy strikes at the core of his future.
  • "your wives and your children": Refers specifically to Zedekiah's royal family, including his concubines. In ancient Near Eastern conquest, royal women and children were spoils of war, often subjected to great indignity, enslavement, or violence. This public disgrace of his women was the ultimate symbol of a king's humiliation and the stripping of his dynastic future, a clear echo of earlier warnings like those in Deuteronomy 28 and Isaiah 39.

• will be led out (יוֹצִיאּוּ - yotzi'u) to the Chaldeans (אֶל־ כַּשְׂדִּים - el Kasdim)

  • "will be led out": Implies forced removal, taken as captives or spoils of war. It's not a voluntary exodus but a coerced expulsion, emphasizing loss of freedom and status.
  • "Chaldeans": A precise historical term for the Babylonians, referring to the dominant ruling dynasty and empire of Nebuchadnezzar. It's an unambiguous identification of the instrument of God's impending judgment against Judah.

• and you yourself (וְאַתָּה - ve'attah) will not escape (לֹא תִּמָּלֵט - lo timmalet) from their hand (מִיָּדָם - miyadām)

  • "you yourself": The Hebrew ve'attah adds emphatic personal address, isolating Zedekiah in his fate. It distinguishes his specific capture from the general captivity of his family, yet affirms his individual, inescapable doom.
  • "will not escape": This is a strong, definitive negation using lo before timmalet (from the root malat - to escape, slip away). It declares that all personal efforts to flee or evade capture will unequivocally fail, removing any lingering hope of personal survival. This concept of inescapable divine judgment is a recurring biblical theme (e.g., Amos 9).
  • "from their hand": Yad (hand) represents power, control, and authority. To be unable to escape "from their hand" signifies being entirely under their domination, utterly subject to their will, and experiencing a complete lack of autonomy.

• but will be seized (כִּי אִם־ בְּיַד - ki im b'yad) by the king of Babylon (מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל - melech Bavel)

  • "but will be seized by": The phrase ki im b'yad forms a sharp contrast to "will not escape," providing the certain alternative outcome. Instead of finding freedom, Zedekiah will be directly apprehended and brought before his captor.
  • "the king of Babylon": Explicitly names Nebuchadnezzar, indicating the direct personal defeat at the hands of the empire's ultimate ruler. This reinforces the severity and political significance of Zedekiah's capture, hinting at the brutal, special judgment he would personally face (compare Jer 39 and 2 Kgs 25 regarding his blinding).

• and this city (וְהָעִיר הַזֹּאת - veha'ir hazot) will be burned with fire (תִּשָּׂרֵף בָּאֵשׁ - tissaref ba'esh)

  • "this city": Refers to Jerusalem, the capital, the traditional seat of the Davidic covenant, and the site of God's temple. The demonstrative "this city" (rather than "the city") in the immediate context makes the threat very personal and present for Zedekiah, who held the final responsibility for its fate.
  • "will be burned with fire": Tissaref (from saraph - to burn). Fire symbolized ultimate destruction, purification, and divine judgment in the ancient world. The city's complete fiery devastation, especially the temple, marked the end of an era, a severe covenant breaking, and a national catastrophe of immense scale, eloquently mourned in Lamentations. This prophecy was historically fulfilled, leaving a deep and lasting trauma that shaped Jewish identity and theology for centuries.

Jeremiah 38 23 Bonus section

The designation "Chaldeans" (Kasdim) refers specifically to the dominant Neo-Babylonian dynasty during this historical period, emphasizing the precise instrument of God's judgment, rather than a generalized term for Mesopotamians. Zedekiah's crucial flaw, evident throughout the narrative leading to this verse, was his greater fear of humiliation by his own Jewish defectors (as expressed in Jer 38:19) than his fear of defying the Lord's clear command. This internal conflict between human opinion and divine mandate tragically sealed his fate. The sequential description of the judgment in the verse – family's exile, Zedekiah's capture, then the city's burning – presents a systematic breakdown of national identity and royal authority. This progression of calamity was carefully chosen by Jeremiah to underscore the totality of the coming judgment, depicting a comprehensive defeat for Zedekiah's reign and legacy.

Jeremiah 38 23 Commentary

Jeremiah 38:23 stands as a pivotal and harrowing summation of God's final warning to Zedekiah and Judah, delivered through His faithful prophet. It outlines an uncompromising divine decree for the consequences of non-surrender: utter and inescapable destruction. The specificity regarding the king's household (wives and children led into captivity), Zedekiah's personal capture, and Jerusalem's fiery demise leaves no room for ambiguity or alternative outcomes. This prophecy fundamentally highlights the principle that rejecting God's direct word, even when it demands humility and sacrifice, inevitably leads to a far greater catastrophe than what was initially feared. Zedekiah's tragic inability to choose obedience, swayed by the fear of men (his officials) rather than the fear of the Lord, solidified his personal and national doom. The verse thus serves as a powerful testament to the certainty of God's word and the severity of His judgment, showcasing His sovereign hand using an oppressive foreign power as an instrument for righteous judgment against a rebellious people, even when that judgment involves the dismantling of what was once sacred and promised.