Jeremiah 43:3 meaning summary explained with word-by-word analysis enriched with context, commentary and Cross References from KJV, NIV, ESV and NLT.
Jeremiah 43:3 kjv
But Baruch the son of Neriah setteth thee on against us, for to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they might put us to death, and carry us away captives into Babylon.
Jeremiah 43:3 nkjv
But Baruch the son of Neriah has set you against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may put us to death or carry us away captive to Babylon."
Jeremiah 43:3 niv
But Baruch son of Neriah is inciting you against us to hand us over to the Babylonians, so they may kill us or carry us into exile to Babylon."
Jeremiah 43:3 esv
but Baruch the son of Neriah has set you against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may kill us or take us into exile in Babylon."
Jeremiah 43:3 nlt
Baruch son of Neriah has convinced you to say this, because he wants us to stay here and be killed by the Babylonians or be carried off into exile."
Jeremiah 43 3 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Deut 13:5 (13:6 MT) | If your brother...entices you secretly, saying, "Let us go and serve other gods..." | Inciting to turn away from God's way |
| Deut 1:26-28 | "Yet you would not go up... grumbled in your tents... 'The Lord hated us..." | Grumbling, refusing to obey God, fearing man |
| Num 14:1-4 | "Then all the congregation raised a loud cry... would that we had died... let us make a leader and return to Egypt." | Rejection of God's plan, desire to return to Egypt |
| 1 Sam 8:7-8 | "they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them." | Rejecting God by rejecting His messenger |
| Isa 30:9-11 | "who say to the seers, 'Do not see visions!' and to the prophets, 'Do not prophesy to us what is right; speak to us smooth things...'" | Desire for palatable, not true, prophecy |
| Jer 5:12-13 | "They have denied the LORD and said, 'He will do nothing'... 'The prophets are only wind; the word is not in them.'" | Denying God's word, dismissing prophets |
| Jer 7:23-24 | "But this command I gave them... they did not listen or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels..." | Refusal to listen, following own counsel |
| Jer 26:8-9 | "And when Jeremiah had finished speaking... the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, 'You must surely die!'" | Accusation against a true prophet leading to threat |
| Jer 29:8-9 | "Let not your prophets and your diviners among you deceive you... they are prophesying falsely to you in My name." | Distinguishing true prophecy from false, the fear of deception |
| Ezek 12:2 | "Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see but see not..." | Spiritual blindness and rebellion |
| Prov 14:12 | "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death." | Following human wisdom leads to destruction |
| Ps 2:2-3 | "The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against His Anointed..." | Conspiring against God and His appointed ones |
| Ps 10:4 | "In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek Him; all his thoughts are, 'There is no God.'" | Arrogance leading to rejection of God |
| Matt 26:59-60 | "Now the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were seeking false testimony against Jesus... but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward." | False accusations against righteous ones |
| Luke 11:49-51 | "Therefore the wisdom of God said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute'..." | Persecution of God's messengers |
| John 15:20 | "If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also." | Persecution of those bearing God's word |
| Acts 7:51-52 | "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart... you always resist the Holy Spirit. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?" | Resisting God's Spirit through His prophets |
| Rom 1:28 | "And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done." | Given over to one's own twisted desires |
| 2 Tim 4:3-4 | "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears... they will turn away from listening to the truth..." | Rejection of sound doctrine, turning to myths |
| Heb 3:7-12 | "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion..." | Warning against hardened hearts and unbelief |
Jeremiah 43 verses
Jeremiah 43 3 meaning
Jeremiah 43:3 conveys the explicit accusation made by the Jewish remnant, specifically Johanan and other leaders, against Baruch, Jeremiah's scribe. They falsely claim Baruch is manipulating Jeremiah to turn them against themselves and their desired path to Egypt. Their core accusation is that Baruch is deliberately inciting them to stay in Judah, not for their good, but so that the Chaldeans (Babylonians) might easily find and destroy them through death or forced captivity in Babylon. This accusation is a transparent excuse to reject God's clear command delivered through Jeremiah to remain in Judah and not go to Egypt.
Jeremiah 43 3 Context
Jeremiah 43:3 follows a critical turning point for the remnant of Judah left in the land after Jerusalem's destruction. Gedaliah, the Babylonian-appointed governor, had been assassinated (Jer 40-41). The remaining Jewish leaders, including Johanan, feared Babylonian retaliation and decided to flee to Egypt. Before doing so, however, they approached Jeremiah, requesting him to inquire of the LORD for them regarding their path, vowing to obey whatever God commanded (Jer 42:1-6). After ten days, Jeremiah delivered God's explicit message: Do not go to Egypt. If they stayed in Judah, God would protect and build them up, not pluck them up. But if they defied God and went to Egypt, the very sword, famine, and pestilence they feared in Judah would follow them there, and they would perish (Jer 42:7-22). Verse 3 is Johanan's immediate, rebellious response to this clear divine instruction. Their accusation against Baruch serves as a justification for rejecting God's direct command, indicating their hearts were already set on Egypt.
Jeremiah 43 3 Word analysis
But Baruch: Hebrew: וּבָרוּךְ (u'Varukh) - "And Baruch." The particle u' (and) here introduces a strong conjunction, pivoting from the stated promise of obedience in chapter 42. "Baruch" (בָּרוּךְ) means "blessed." He was Jeremiah's faithful scribe and close confidant, who recorded Jeremiah's prophecies (Jer 36). Accusing Baruch was a way to implicitly accuse Jeremiah, undermining the source of the message, without directly accusing the prophet himself.
the son of Neriah: Hebrew: בֶּן־נֵרִיָּה (ben-Neriyah) - identifying Baruch by his respected lineage. Neriah means "my lamp is Yahweh," reflecting a heritage connected to God. This highlights the weight and identity of the man they are slandering.
incites you against us: Hebrew: מְסִית אֹתָנוּ (mesit otanu) - The verb סוּת (sut), 'to incite, entice, instigate, seduce,' is often used in the Old Testament for leading someone astray, particularly into idolatry or rebellion against God (e.g., Deut 13:6; 1 Sam 26:19). Here, Johanan accuses Baruch of maliciously influencing Jeremiah (implied "you," Jeremiah, whose word they attribute to Baruch's influence) to deliver a message harmful "to us" (the remnant). This reveals their deep distrust and their refusal to accept that the message originated from God.
to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans: Hebrew: לָתֵת אֹתָנוּ בְיַד־הַכַּשְׂדִּים (latet otanu b'yad ha-Kasdim) - 'to give us into the hand of the Chaldeans'. The "Chaldeans" are the Babylonians. "Into the hand of" (בְיַד) is an idiom signifying power or control. This phrase expresses their underlying fear and the perceived danger. They misinterpret God's command to stay as a trap set by Baruch, ignoring God's promise of protection (Jer 42:10-12).
that they may put us to death: Hebrew: לְהָמִית אֹתָנוּ (lehamit otanu) - 'to cause us to die'. This is one of the specific consequences they fear from staying. It underlines their desperation and sense of imminent peril if they do not flee.
and carry us away captive to Babylon: Hebrew: וּלְהַגְלוֹת אֹתָנוּ בָּבֶלָה (ul'haglot otanu Bavela) - 'and to make us go into exile to Babylon'. The second feared outcome, the continuation of the exile, which had already seen their families and leaders taken. They associate obedience to Jeremiah's message with these catastrophic events, instead of understanding them as potential consequences of disobedience.
"But Baruch the son of Neriah incites you against us": This phrase marks a deliberate attempt to deflect responsibility and undermine the prophet's authority. By accusing Baruch, they aim to invalidate God's word, suggesting it is a product of human malice, not divine instruction. They assume a conspiracy where Baruch is acting as an adversary to their desired course of action, framing God's messenger as their enemy. This highlights their profound rejection of God's counsel through Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 43 3 Bonus section
The accusation against Baruch is significant for several reasons. Firstly, it's an ad hominem attack, seeking to discredit the messenger (Baruch and implicitly Jeremiah) rather than address the message itself. This is a common tactic when people are unwilling to face an uncomfortable truth. Secondly, it displays a complete lack of faith and discernment. The remnant had just seen all of Jeremiah's prophecies against Jerusalem fulfilled, yet they still distrusted God's direct word through him. Their fear of man outweighed their fear of God. Thirdly, it carries a deep dramatic irony: their act of disobedience by going to Egypt will indeed lead to the very death and destruction they attributed to Baruch's supposed machinations (Jer 44). Their chosen 'escape' becomes their undoing, fulfilling God's judgment not through Baruch's incitement, but through their own self-willed rebellion against Him. The faithful character of Baruch (Jer 45) stands in stark contrast to the deceitful and rebellious hearts of these leaders.
Jeremiah 43 3 Commentary
Jeremiah 43:3 encapsulates the profound spiritual blindness and hardened rebellion of the Jewish remnant. Despite soliciting God's word and solemnly promising obedience, their response to God's clear instruction (to stay in Judah) is a baseless, malevolent accusation. They project their own fears and intentions onto Baruch, falsely alleging that he is inciting Jeremiah to condemn them to death or captivity at the hands of the Babylonians. This scapegoating of Baruch (and by extension, Jeremiah) serves as a desperate, irrational justification for their predetermined plan to flee to Egypt. Their statement reveals a group so consumed by fear of man (Babylon) and a lack of trust in God that they prefer a fabricated conspiracy over divine truth. This pivotal rejection signals their irrevocable course toward further judgment, for the very calamities they feared in Judah, and which they sought to escape by going to Egypt, would indeed pursue and consume them there, fulfilling God's alternate decree for disobedience (Jer 42:15-18). It’s a tragic illustration of how an unwilling heart will find any excuse to resist God’s clear path.