Jeremiah 29 · Verse 17

Jeremiah 29:17

Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.
Jeremiah 29:17, King James Version

Jeremiah 29:17 in other translations

BSBthis is what the LORD of Hosts says: “I will send against them sword and famine and plague, and I will make them like rotten figs, so bad they cannot be eaten.
WEBthe LORD of Armies says: “Behold, I will send on them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like rotten figs that can’t be eaten, they are so bad.
ASVthus saith Jehovah of hosts: Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so bad.
YLTThus said Jehovah of Hosts, Lo, I am sending among them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and I have given them up as figs that are vile, that are not eaten for badness.
DARBYthus saith Jehovah of hosts: Behold, I will send against them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like the vile figs, that cannot be eaten for badness.
BBEThis is what the Lord of armies has said: See, I will send on them the sword and need of food and disease, and will make them like bad figs, which are of no use for food, they are so bad.
WebsterThus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so bad.

What does Jeremiah 29:17 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
17. vile figs--Hebrew, "horrible," or nauseous, from a root, "to regard with loathing" (see Jr 24:8, 10).

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 17 Behold, I will send upon them the sword - Do not envy the state of Zedekiah who sits on the throne of David, nor that of the people who are now in the land whence ye have been carried captive, (Jer 29:16), for "I will send the sword, the pestilence, and the famine upon them;" and afterwards shall cause them to be carried into a miserable captivity in all nations, (Jer 29:18); but ye see the worst of your own case, and you have God's promise of enlargement when the proper time is come. The reader will not forget that the prophet is addressing the captives in Babylon.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Jeremiah 29:8-19

Let men beware how they call those prophets whom they choose after their own fancies, and how they consider their fancies and dreams to be revelations from God. False prophets flatter people in their sins, because they love to be flattered; and they speak smoothly to their prophets, that their prophets may speak smoothly to them. God promises that they should return after seventy years were accomplished. By this it…

Read the full comment on Jeremiah 29:8-19 →

Jeremiah 29:17 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.

כֹּ֤הkohthusH3541
אָמַר֙'a.Marhe saysH559
יְהוָ֣הYah.wehYahwehH3068
צְבָא֔וֹתtze.va.'otof hostsH6635
הִנְנִי֙hi.Nihere IH2005
מְשַׁלֵּ֣חַme.sha.Le.ach[am] about to sendH7971
בָּ֔םBamon <the> them
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הַחֶ֖רֶבha.Che.revthe swordH2719
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הָרָעָ֣בha.ra.'Av<the> famineH7458
וְאֶת\־ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
הַדָּ֑בֶרha.Da.ver<the> pestilenceH1698
וְנָתַתִּ֣יve.na.ta.Tiand I will makeH5414
אוֹתָ֗ם'o.Tam<obj.> themH853
כַּתְּאֵנִים֙ka.te.'e.Nimlike <the> figsH8384
הַשֹּׁ֣עָרִ֔יםha.Sho.'a.Rim<the> rottenH8182
אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.SherwhichH834
לֹא\־lo'-notH3808
תֵאָכַ֖לְנָהte.'a.Khal.nahthey will be eatenH398
מֵרֹֽעַ\׃me.Ro.a'from badnessH7455

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

Cross references for Jeremiah 29:17

  • Jeremiah 24:8-10

    And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the Lord, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt: And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them. And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.

  • Jeremiah 29:18

    And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an astonishment, and an hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them:

  • Jeremiah 27:8

    And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the Lord, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.

  • Luke 21:23

    But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.

  • Jeremiah 43:11

    And when he cometh, he shall smite the land of Egypt, and deliver such as are for death to death; and such as are for captivity to captivity; and such as are for the sword to the sword.

  • Jeremiah 34:17-22

    Therefore thus saith the Lord; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the Lord, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth. And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, which have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before me, when they cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof, The princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land, which passed between the parts of the calf; I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life: and their dead bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of the earth. …

  • Luke 21:11

    And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

  • Jeremiah 52:6

    And in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land.

  • Jeremiah 15:2-3

    And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the Lord; Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity. And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the Lord: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy.

  • Ezekiel 14:12-21

    The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it: Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God. If I cause noisome beasts to pass through the land, and they spoil it, so that it be desolate, that no man may pass through because of the beasts: …

  • Jeremiah 24:1-3

    The Lord shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the Lord, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon. One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad. Then said the Lord unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.

  • Ezekiel 5:12-17

    A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them. Thus shall mine anger be accomplished, and I will cause my fury to rest upon them, and I will be comforted: and they shall know that I the Lord have spoken it in my zeal, when I have accomplished my fury in them. Moreover I will make thee waste, and a reproach among the nations that are round about thee, in the sight of all that pass by. So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment unto the nations that are round about thee, when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I the Lord have spoken it. …

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Behold.
18; 15:2,3; 24:8-10; 34:17-22; 43:11; 52:6; Eze 5:12-17; 14:12-21
Lu 21:11,23
them like.
24:1-3,8

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

Context

  • Jeremiah 29:16

    Know that thus saith the Lord of the king that sitteth upon the throne of David, and of all the people that dwelleth in this city, and of your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity;

  • Jeremiah 29:17

    Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.

  • Jeremiah 29:18

    And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an astonishment, and an hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them:

Read all of Jeremiah 29

Jeremiah 29:17 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Así ha dicho Jehová de los ejércitos: He aquí envío yo contra ellos cuchillo, hambre, y pestilencia, y pondrélos como los malos higos, que de malos no se pueden comer.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
ainsi dit l’ Éternel des armées: Voici, j’envoie contre eux l’épée, la famine, et la peste, et je les ferai devenir comme ces figues affreuses qu’on ne peut manger tant elles sont mauvaises.
German
Elberfelder 1871
so spricht Jehova der Heerscharen: Siehe, ich sende unter sie das Schwert, den Hunger und die Pest, und will sie machen wie die abscheulichen Feigen, die vor Schlechtigkeit nicht gegessen werden können
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
hæc dicit Dominus exercituum: Ecce mittam in eos gladium, et famem, et pestem: et ponam eos quasi ficus malas, quæ comedi non possunt eo quod pessimæ sint: