Jeremiah 27 · Verse 17

Jeremiah 27:17

Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city be laid waste?
Jeremiah 27:17, King James Version

Jeremiah 27:17 in other translations

BSBDo not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon and live! Why should this city become a ruin?
WEBDon’t listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon, and live. Why should this city become a desolation?
ASVHearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city become a desolation?
YLTYe do not hearken unto them, serve the king of Babylon, and live. Why is this city a waste?
DARBYHearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city become a waste?
BBEGive no attention to them; become servants of the king of Babylon and keep yourselves from death: why let this town become a waste?
WebsterHearken not to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: why should this city be laid waste?

What does Jeremiah 27:17 mean?

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Jeremiah 27:12-18

Jeremiah persuades the king of Judah to surrender to the king of Babylon. Is it their wisdom to submit to the heavy iron yoke of a cruel tyrant, that they may secure their lives; and is it not much more our wisdom to submit to the pleasant and easy yoke of our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, that we may secure our souls? It were well if sinners would be afraid of the destruction threatened against all who will not…

Read the full comment on Jeremiah 27:12-18 →

Jeremiah 27:17 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.

אַל\־'al-may notH408
תִּשְׁמְע֣וּtish.me.'Uyou listenH8085
אֲלֵיהֶ֔ם'a.lei.Hemto themH413
עִבְד֥וּ'iv.DuserveH5647
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
מֶֽלֶךְ\־Me.lekh-[the] king ofH4428
בָּבֶ֖לba.VelBabylonH894
וִֽחְי֑וּvich.Yuand liveH2421
לָ֧מָּהLa.mah<to> why?H4100
תִֽהְיֶ֛הtih.Yehwill it becomeH1961
הָעִ֥ירha.'Irthe cityH5892
הַזֹּ֖אתha.Zot<the> thisH2063
חָרְבָּֽה\׃cha.re.Baha ruinH2723

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

Cross references for Jeremiah 27:17

  • Jeremiah 38:23

    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 38:17

    Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon’s princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house:

  • Jeremiah 27:11-13

    But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the Lord; and they shall till it, and dwell therein. I spake also to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live. Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the Lord hath spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?

  • Jeremiah 7:34

    Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: for the land shall be desolate.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
serve.
11,12
wherefore.
13; 38:17,23

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

Context

  • Jeremiah 27:16

    Also I spake to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus saith the Lord; Hearken not to the words of your prophets that prophesy unto you, saying, Behold, the vessels of the Lord’s house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you.

  • Jeremiah 27:17

    Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city be laid waste?

  • Jeremiah 27:18

    But if they be prophets, and if the word of the Lord be with them, let them now make intercession to the Lord of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, go not to Babylon.

Read all of Jeremiah 27

Jeremiah 27:17 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
No los oigáis; servid al rey de Babilonia, y vivid: ¿por qué ha de ser desierta esta ciudad?
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Ne les écoutez pas; servez le roi de Babylone, et vivez. Pourquoi cette ville serait-elle un désert?
German
Elberfelder 1871
Höret nicht auf sie; dienet dem König von Babel, so werdet ihr leben; warum sollte diese Stadt zur Einöde werden?
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Nolite ergo audire eos: sed servite regi Babylonis, ut vivatis: quare datur hæc civitas in solitudinem?