Jeremiah 21 · Verse 7

Jeremiah 21:7

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, King James Version

Jeremiah 21:7 in other translations

BSB‘After that,’ declares the LORD, ‘I will hand over Zedekiah king of Judah, his officers, and the people in this city who survive the plague and sword and famine, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to their enemies who seek their lives. He will put them to the sword; he will not spare them or show pity or compassion.’
WEBAfterward,” says the LORD, “I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, his servants, and the people, even those who are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their life. He will strike them with the edge of the sword. He will not spare them, have pity, or have mercy.”’
ASVAnd afterward, saith Jehovah, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, even 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.
YLTAnd after this--an affirmation of Jehovah, I give Zedekiah king of Judah, And his servants, and the people, And those 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 seeking their life, And he hath smitten them by the mouth of the sword, He hath no pity on them, Nor doth he spare, nor hath he mercy.
DARBYAnd afterwards, saith Jehovah, I will give 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 the 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.
BBEAnd after that, says the Lord, I will give up Zedekiah, king of Judah, and his servants and his people, even those in the town who have not come to their end from the disease and the sword and from need of food, into the hands of Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, and into the hands of their haters, and into the hands of those desiring their death: he will put them to the sword; he will not let anyone get away, he will have no pity or mercy.
WebsterAnd 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 Nebuchadnezzar 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.

What does Jeremiah 21:7 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
7. the people, and such--rather, explanatory, "the people," namely, "such as are left." seek their life--content with nothing short of their death; not content with plundering and enslaving them. smite with ... sword--This was the fate of Zedekiah's sons and many of the Jewish nobles. Zedekiah himself, though not put to a violent death, died of grief. Compare as to the accurate fulfilment, Jr 34:4; Eze 12:13; 2Ki 25:6, 7.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 7 Nebuchadrezzar - This name is spelt as above in twenty-six places of this book; and in ten places it is spelt Nebuchadnezzar, which is the common orthography. The difference is only a ר resh for a נ nun; but the MSS. are various on this point. It is the same person who is intended by both names; and here all the Versions, except the Arabic, which omits the name, have it in the usual form.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Jeremiah 21:1-10

The only way of deliverance is to be surrendering to the Babylonians. (Jr 21:1-10) The wickedness of the king and his household. (Jr 21:11-14) Verses 1-10 When the siege had begun, Zedekiah sent to ask of Jeremiah respecting the event. In times of distress and danger, men often seek those to counsel and pray for them, whom, at other times, they despise and oppose; but they only seek deliverance from punishment. When…

Read the full comment on Jeremiah 21:1-10 →

Jeremiah 21:7 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.

וְאַחֲרֵי\־ve.'a.cha.rei-and afterH310
כֵ֣ןkhenthusH3651
נְאֻם\־ne.'um-[the] utterance ofH5002
יְהוָ֡הYah.wehYahwehH3068
אֶתֵּ֣ן'e.TenI will giveH5414
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
צִדְקִיָּ֣הוּtzid.ki.Ya.huZedekiahH6667
מֶֽלֶךְ\־Me.lekh-[the] king ofH4428
יְהוּדָ֣הye.hu.DahJudahH3063
וְאֶת\־ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
עֲבָדָ֣יו\׀'a.va.Davservants hisH5650
וְאֶת\־ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
הָעָ֡םha.'Amthe peopleH5971
וְאֶת\־ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
הַנִּשְׁאָרִים֩ha.nish.'a.Rimthose [who] remainH7604
בָּעִ֨ירba.'Irin the cityH5892
הַזֹּ֜אתha.Zot<the> thisH2063
מִן\־min-fromH4480
הַדֶּ֣בֶר\׀ha.De.verthe pestilenceH1698
מִן\־min-fromH4480
הַחֶ֣רֶבha.Che.revthe swordH2719
וּמִן\־u.min-and fromH4480
הָרָעָ֗בha.ra.'Avthe famineH7458
בְּיַד֙be.Yadin [the] hand ofH3027
נְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּ֣רne.vu.khad.re.TzarNebuchadnezzarH5019
מֶֽלֶךְ\־Me.lekh-[the] king ofH4428
בָּבֶ֔לba.VelBabylonH894
וּבְיַד֙u.ve.Yadand in [the] hand ofH3027
אֹֽיְבֵיהֶ֔ם'o.ye.vei.Hemenemies theirH341
וּבְיַ֖דu.ve.Yadand in [the] hand ofH3027
מְבַקְשֵׁ֣יme.vak.Shei[those who] seekH1245
נַפְשָׁ֑םnaf.Shamlife theirH5315
וְהִכָּ֣םve.hi.Kamand he will strike down themH5221
לְפִי\־le.fi-to [the] mouth ofH6310
חֶ֔רֶבChe.rev[the] swordH2719
לֹֽא\־lo'-notH3808
יָח֣וּסya.Chushe will have mercyH2347
עֲלֵיהֶ֔ם'a.lei.Hemon themH5921
וְלֹ֥אve.Lo'and notH3808
יַחְמֹ֖לyach.Molhe will show pityH2550
וְלֹ֥אve.Lo'and notH3808
יְרַחֵֽם\׃ye.ra.Chemhe will have compassionH7355

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

Cross references for Jeremiah 21:7

  • Jeremiah 37:17

    Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took him out: and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from the Lord? And Jeremiah said, There is: for, said he, thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.

  • Habakkuk 1:6-10

    For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs. They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves. Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat. They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand. …

  • 2 Kings 25:5-7

    And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from him. So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him. And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.

  • Ezekiel 7:9

    And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will recompense thee according to thy ways and thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am the Lord that smiteth.

  • Ezekiel 17:20-21

    And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will plead with him there for his trespass that he hath trespassed against me. And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward all winds: and ye shall know that I the Lord have spoken it.

  • Jeremiah 13:14

    And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the Lord: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them.

  • 2 Kings 25:18-21

    And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door: And out of the city he took an officer that was set over the men of war, and five men of them that were in the king’s presence, which were found in the city, and the principal scribe of the host, which mustered the people of the land, and threescore men of the people of the land that were found in the city: And Nebuzar–adan captain of the guard took these, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah: And the king of Babylon smote them, and slew them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away out of their land.

  • Jeremiah 52:8-11

    But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him. Then they took the king, and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath; where he gave judgment upon him. And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes: he slew also all the princes of Judah in Riblah. Then he put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him in chains, and carried him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death.

  • Deuteronomy 28:50

    A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young:

  • Isaiah 47:6

    I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine inheritance, and given them into thine hand: thou didst shew them no mercy; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke.

  • Jeremiah 39:4-7

    And it came to pass, that when Zedekiah the king of Judah saw them, and all the men of war, then they fled, and went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the king’s garden, by the gate betwixt the two walls: and he went out the way of the plain. But the Chaldeans’ army pursued after them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho: and when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he gave judgment upon him. Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes: also the king of Babylon slew all the nobles of Judah. Moreover he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, and bound him with chains, to carry him to Babylon.

  • Isaiah 13:17-18

    Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it. Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
I will.
24:8-10; 34:19-22; 37:17; 38:21-23; 39:4-7; 52:8-11,24-27
2Ki 25:5-7,18-21; 2Ch 36:17-20; Eze 12:12-16; 17:20,21; 21:25,26
he shall.
13:14; De 28:50; 2Ch 36:17; Isa 13:17,18; 27:11; 47:6; Eze 7:9
Eze 8:18; 9:5,6,10; Hab 1:6-10

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

Context

  • Jeremiah 21:6

    And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence.

  • Jeremiah 21:7

    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 21:8

    And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death.

Read all of Jeremiah 21

Jeremiah 21:7 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y después, así dice Jehová, entregaré á Sedechîas rey de Judá, y á sus criados, y al pueblo, y á los que quedaren en la ciudad de la pestilencia, y del cuchillo, y del hambre, en mano de Nabucodonosor rey de Babilonia, y en mano de sus enemigos, y en mano de los que buscan sus almas; y él los herirá á filo de espada; no los perdonará, ni los recibirá á merced, ni tendrá de ellos misericordia.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et après cela, dit l’ Éternel, je livrerai Sédécias, roi de Juda, et ses serviteurs, et le peuple, savoir ceux qui, dans cette ville, seront demeurés de reste de la peste, de l’épée et de la famine, en la main de Nebucadretsar, roi de Babylone, et en la main de leurs ennemis, et en la main de ceux qui cherchent leur vie; et il les frappera au tranchant de l’épée; il ne les épargnera pas, et n’en aura pas compassion et n’en aura pas pitié.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und danach, spricht Jehova, werde ich Zedekia, den König von Juda, und seine Knechte und das Volk, und zwar die in dieser Stadt von der Pest, vom Schwerte und vom Hunger Übriggebliebenen, in die Hand Nebukadrezars, des Königs von Babel, geben, und in die Hand ihrer Feinde und in die Hand derer, welche nach ihrem Leben trachten; und er wird sie schlagen mit der Schärfe des Schwertes, er wird ihrer nicht schonen, noch Mitleid haben, noch sich erbarmen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Et post hæc, ait Dominus, dabo Sedeciam regem Juda, et servos ejus, et populum ejus, et qui derelicti sunt in civitate hac a peste, et gladio, et fame, in manu Nabuchodonosor regis Babylonis, et in manu inimicorum eorum, et in manu quærentium animam eorum: et percutiet eos in ore gladii, et non flectetur, neque parcet, nec miserebitur.