Jeremiah 32 · Verse 4

Jeremiah 32:4

And Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes;
Jeremiah 32:4, King James Version

Jeremiah 32:4 in other translations

BSBZedekiah king of Judah will not escape from the hands of the Chaldeans, but he will surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and will speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye.
WEBand Zedekiah king of Judah won’t escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but will surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and will speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes will see his eyes;
ASVand Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes;
YLTAnd Zedekiah king of Judah doth not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but is certainly given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and his mouth hath spoken with his mouth, and his eyes see his eyes,
DARBYand Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans; for he shall certainly be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes;
BBEAnd Zedekiah, king of Judah, will not get away from the hands of the Chaldaeans, but will certainly be given up into the hands of the king of Babylon, and will have talk with him, mouth to mouth, and see him, eye to eye.
WebsterAnd Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape from the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes;

What does Jeremiah 32:4 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
4. his eyes shall behold his eyes--that is, only before reaching Babylon, which he was not to see. Jr 39:6, 7 harmonizes this prophecy (Jr 32:4) with the seemingly opposite prophecy, Eze 12:13, "He shall not see."

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 4 And shall speak with him mouth to mouth - He shall be reduced to a state of the most abject servitude. The slave was obliged to fix his eyes on every motion of the master whilst giving his orders, who often condescended to give them only by dumb signs.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Jeremiah 32:1-15

Jeremiah buys a field. (Jr 32:1-15) The prophet's prayer. (Jr 32:16-25) God declares that he will give up his people, but promises to restore them. (Jr 32:26-44) Verses 1-15 Jeremiah, being in prison for his prophecy, purchased a piece of ground. This was to signify, that though Jerusalem was besieged, and the whole country likely to be laid waste, yet the time would come, when houses, and fields, and vineyards…

Read the full comment on Jeremiah 32:1-15 →

Jeremiah 32:4 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.

וְצִדְקִיָּ֙הוּ֙ve.tzid.ki.Ya.huand ZedekiahH6667
מֶ֣לֶךְMe.lekh[the] king ofH4428
יְהוּדָ֔הye.hu.DahJudahH3063
לֹ֥אlo'notH3808
יִמָּלֵ֖טyi.ma.Lethe will escapeH4422
מִיַּ֣דmi.Yadfrom [the] hand ofH3027
הַכַּשְׂדִּ֑יםha.kas.Dimthe ChaldeansH3778
כִּ֣יkiforH3588
הִנָּתֹ֤ןhi.na.Toncertainly <to be given>H5414
יִנָּתֵן֙yi.na.Tenhe will be givenH5414
בְּיַ֣דbe.Yadin [the] hand ofH3027
מֶֽלֶךְ\־Me.lekh-[the] king ofH4428
בָּבֶ֔לba.VelBabylonH894
וְדִבֶּר\־ve.di.ber-and it will speakH1696
פִּ֣יוpivmouth hisH6310
עִם\־'im-withH5973
פִּ֔יוPivmouth hisH6310
וְעֵינָ֖יוve.'ei.Navand eyes hisH5869
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
עֵינָ֥יוei.noveyes hisH5869
תִּרְאֶֽינָה\׃tir.'Ei.nahthey will seeH7200

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

Cross references for Jeremiah 32:4

  • 2 Kings 25:4-7

    And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king’s garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the king went the way toward the plain. 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.

  • Jeremiah 38:18

    But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand.

  • 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.

  • 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 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.

  • Ezekiel 12:12-13

    And the prince that is among them shall bear upon his shoulder in the twilight, and shall go forth: they shall dig through the wall to carry out thereby: he shall cover his face, that he see not the ground with his eyes. My net also will I spread upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare: and I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; yet shall he not see it, though he shall die there.

  • 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.

  • Ezekiel 17:13-21

    And hath taken of the king’s seed, and made a covenant with him, and hath taken an oath of him: he hath also taken the mighty of the land: That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand. But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall he escape that doeth such things? or shall he break the covenant, and be delivered? As I live, saith the Lord God, surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he brake, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die. …

  • Ezekiel 21:25-26

    And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, Thus saith the Lord God; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
37:17; 38:18,23; 39:4-7; 52:8-11; 2Ki 25:4-7; Eze 12:12,13
Eze 17:13-21; 21:25,26

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

Context

  • Jeremiah 32:3

    For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Wherefore dost thou prophesy, and say, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it;

  • Jeremiah 32:4

    And Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes;

  • Jeremiah 32:5

    And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, saith the Lord: though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper.

Read all of Jeremiah 32

Jeremiah 32:4 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y Sedechîas rey de Judá no escapará de la mano de los Caldeos, sino que de cierto será entregado en mano del rey de Babilonia, y hablará con él boca á boca, y sus ojos verán sus ojos;
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
et Sédécias, roi de Juda, ne sera pas délivré de la main des Chaldéens, car certainement il sera livré en la main du roi de Babylone, et il lui parlera bouche à bouche, et ses yeux verront ses yeux;
German
Elberfelder 1871
und Zedekia, der König von Juda, wird der Hand der Chaldäer nicht entrinnen, sondern gewißlich in die Hand des Königs von Babel gegeben werden; und sein Mund wird mit dessen Munde reden, und seine Augen werden dessen Augen sehen;
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
et Sedecias rex Juda non effugiet de manu Chaldæorum, sed tradetur in manus regis Babylonis: et loquetur os ejus cum ore illius, et oculi ejus oculos illius videbunt: