Jeremiah 21 · Verse 13

Jeremiah 21:13

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?

Jeremiah 21:13, King James Version

Jeremiah 21:13 in other translations

BSB	Behold, I am against you who dwell above the valley, atop the rocky plateau— declares the LORD— you who say, “Who can come against us? Who can enter our dwellings?”
WEB	Behold, I am against you, O inhabitant of the valley, and of the rock of the plain,’ says the LORD. ‘You that say, “Who would come down against us?” or, “Who would enter into our homes?”
ASV	Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley, and of the rock of the plain, saith Jehovah; you that say, Who shall come down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations?
YLT	Lo, I am against thee--an affirmation of Jehovah, O inhabitant of the valley, rock of the plain, Who are saying, Who cometh down against us? And who cometh into our habitations?
DARBY	Behold, I am against thee, inhabitress of the valley, the rock of the plain, saith Jehovah; ye that say, Who shall come down against us, or who shall enter into our dwellings?
BBE	See, I am against you, you who are living on the rock of the valley, says the Lord; you who say, Who will come down against us? or who will get into our houses?
Webster	Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley, and rock of the plain, saith the LORD; who say, Who shall come down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations?

What does Jeremiah 21:13 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

13. inhabitant of the valley, and rock of the plain--Jerusalem personified; situated for the most part on hills, with valleys at the bottom of them, as the valley of Hinnom, &c.; and beyond the valleys and mountains again, a position most fortified by nature, whence the inhabitants fancied themselves beyond the reach of enemies; but since God is "against" them, their position will avail nothing for them. The "valley" between Mount Zion and Moriah is called Tyropoeon. Robinson takes, "rock of the plain" as Mount Zion, on which is a level tract of some extent. It is appropriately here referred to, being the site of the royal residence of the "house of David," addressed (Jr 21:12).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 13 O inhabitant of the valley, and rock of the plain - Dr. Blayney translates: "O thou inhabitant of the levelled hollow of a rock." With all his explanation I cannot see the good sense of this translation. Jerusalem itself, though partly on two hills, was also extended in the valley; and Zion, the city of David, was properly a rock, strongly fortified both by nature and art; and by its ancient possessors, the Jebusites, was deemed impregnable. Who shall come down against us? - Probably the words of those courtiers who had persuaded Zedekiah to rebel against the king of Babylon.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Jeremiah 21:11-14

The wickedness of the king and his family was the worse because of their relation to David. They were urged to act with justice, at once, lest the Lord's anger should be unquenchable. If God be for us, who can be against us? But if he be against us, who can do any thing for us?

Read the full comment on Jeremiah 21:11-14 →

Jeremiah 21:13 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

הִנְנִ֨יhi.Nihere IH2005

אֵלַ֜יִךְ'e.La.yikh[am] against youH413

יֹשֶׁ֧בֶתyo.She.vetO inhabitant ofH3427

הָעֵ֛מֶקha.'E.mekthe valleyH6010

צ֥וּרtzurO rock ofH6697

הַמִּישֹׁ֖רha.mi.Shorthe plainH4334

נְאֻם\־ne.'um-[the] utterance ofH5002

יְהוָ֑הYah.wehYahwehH3068

הָאֹֽמְרִים֙ha.'o.me.RimO those [who] sayH559

מִֽי\־mi-who?H4310

יֵחַ֣תye.Chatwill he come downH5181

עָלֵ֔ינוּ'a.Lei.nuon usH5921

וּמִ֥יu.Miand who?H4310

יָב֖וֹאya.Vo'will he comeH935

בִּמְעוֹנוֹתֵֽינוּ\׃bim.'o.no.Tei.nuin hiding places ourH4585

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Jeremiah 21:13

Lamentations 4:12
The kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world, would not have believed that the adversary and the enemy should have entered into the gates of Jerusalem.
Obadiah 1:3-4
The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord.
Ezekiel 13:8
Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord God.
Psalms 125:2
As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth even for ever.
Jeremiah 49:4-5
Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? that trusted in her treasures, saying, Who shall come unto me? Behold, I will bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord God of hosts, from all those that be about thee; and ye shall be driven out every man right forth; and none shall gather up him that wandereth.
Jeremiah 50:31
Behold, I am against thee, O thou most proud, saith the Lord God of hosts: for thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee.
Jeremiah 23:30-32
Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that steal my words every one from his neighbour. Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that use their tongues, and say, He saith. Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord.
Micah 3:11
The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among us? none evil can come upon us.
Isaiah 22:1
The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops?
2 Samuel 5:6-7
And the king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land: which spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither: thinking, David cannot come in hither. Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David.
Jeremiah 49:16
Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the Lord.
Jeremiah 21:5
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.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

I am.
5; 23:30-32; 50:31; 51:25; Ex 13:8,20
inhabitant. Heb. inhabitress. of the valley.
Ps 125:2; Isa 22:1
Who.
7:4; 49:4,5,16; 2Sa 5:6,7; La 4:12; Ob 1:3,4; Mic 3:11

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Jeremiah 21:12
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.
Jeremiah 21:13
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?
Jeremiah 21:14
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.

Read all of Jeremiah 21

Jeremiah 21:13 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	He aquí yo contra ti, moradora del valle de la piedra de la llanura, dice Jehová: los que decís: ¿Quién subirá contra nosotros? ¿y quién entrará en nuestras moradas?
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Voici, je suis contre toi, qui habites la vallée, le rocher de la plaine, dit l’ Éternel; contre vous qui dites: Qui descendra contre nous, et qui viendra dans nos habitations?
German Elberfelder 1871	Siehe, ich will an dich, du Bewohnerin des Tales, des Felsens der Ebene, spricht Jehova; die ihr sprechet: Wer wird wider uns herabsteigen, und wer wird in unsere Wohnungen kommen?
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Ecce ego ad te, habitatricem vallis solidæ atque campestris, ait Dominus: qui dicitis: Quis percutiet nos? et quis ingredietur domos nostras?