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. I WILL DELIVER ZEDEKIAH ... AND ... THE PEOPLE, AND SUCH - rather, explanatory, 'the people, namely, such as are left,' etc. INTO THE HAND OF THOSE THAT SEEK THEIR LIFE - content with nothing short of their death; not content with plundering and enslaving them. HE SHALL SMITE ... WITH THE EDGE OF THE 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 gri...

He then adds, _And afterwards, _that is, when the pestilence had in a great measure consumed them; _I will give, _or _deliver_, he says, _Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his servants, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzer _He intimates that though they might suffer with courage their wants, it, would be of no avail to them. It often happens that a siege is raised, when the obstinacy of the besieged is so great, that they overcome famine and thirst, and struggle against extreme want; for they who besiege them are led to think that they contend with furious wild beasts, and so depart from them. But God declares here that the event would be different as to the Jews, for after having been nearly consumed, they would still be delivered up into the power of their enemies. Thus he shows that, their endurance would be useless. It is indeed, a most deplorable thing, that when we have endured many griev...

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 professors continue in disobedience, presuming upon outward privileges, let them be told that the Lord will prosper his open enemies against them. As the king and his princes would not surrender, the people are exhorted to do so. No sinner on earth is left without a Refuge, who really desires one; but the way of life is humbling, it requires self-denial, and exposes to difficulties....

Verse Jeremiah 21:7. _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....

EXPOSITION The chapter falls into three parts, two of which seem to be in some sort of connection, while the third is isolated. First comes a warning to the messengers of Zedekiah of the unfortunate issue of the rebellion against Babylon; this is followed by a counsel to the people to give up their futile resistance, and "fall away" to the Chaldeans. The last four verses contain an exhortation to the "house of David" to fulfill their high duties with greater conscientiousness, for fear of the judgment which had already begun to take effect when the former part of this chapter was written. Compare Zedekiah's embassy to Jeremiah with that of Hezekiah to Isaiah on a similar emergency (Isaiah 37:2). JEREMIAH 21:1 PASHUR. A different Pashur from the one

AND AFTERWARDS, SAITH THE LORD GOD,.... After there should be so great a mortality among men and beasts: I WILL DELIVER ZEDEKIAH KING OF JUDAH, AND HIS SERVANTS; the king himself shall not escape; though he shall not die by the pestilence, or famine, or sword, yet he shall fall into the hands of the Chaldeans, and also "his servants", his courtiers, and counsellors: AND THE PEOPLE, AND SUCH AS ARE LEFT IN THIS CITY FROM THE PESTILENCE, FROM THE SWORD, AND FROM THE FAMINE; such of the inhabitants of the city, as well as those at court, that died not by the sword, famine, and pestilence: these should be delivered INTO THE HAND OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR KING OF BABYLON; who was now with his army without the walls of the city besieging it: AND INTO THE HAND OF THEIR ENEMIES, AND INTO THE HAND OF THOSE THAT SEEK THEIR LIFE; the Chaldeans, who were their implacable enemies, and cruel, and wh

CHAPTER 21 The Prophetic Warning _ 1. Zedekiah's inquiry (Jeremiah 21:1) _ 2. Jehovah's answer through Jeremiah (Jeremiah 21:3) Jeremiah 21:1. It has been said that this chapter is historically misplaced and therefore must be considered an evidence of the composite authorship of this book. The Spirit of God for some reason unknown to us has put it in this place. Zedekiah sent unto Jeremiah Pashur (a different one from the Pashur in the preceding chapter) to inquire as to Nebuchadrezzar, the King of Babylon. This is of course Nebuchadnezzar. The form of his name found in Jeremiah is derived more correctly from the Babylonian, which is “Nabukudurri-usur.” Here the great king is mentio

THE OUTCOME OF THE SIEGE (588 B.C.). Zedekiah, apparently at an early stage of the siege of Jerusalem (whilst Jeremiah 37:3 refers to a similar, but later, incident) sends envoys, Pashhur (not the same as in Jeremiah 20:1) and Zephaniah (Jeremiah 29:25; Jeremiah 37:3; Jeremiah 52:24), to ask the prophet if Yahweh will cause the besiegers to withdraw (go up, Jeremiah 34:21). Jeremiah replies that Yahweh is against Jerusalem, and will deliver king and pe

SAITH THE LORD. [is] Jehovah's oracle. FROM. Some codices, with Aramaean, Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate, read "and from", thus forming the Figure of speech _Polysyndeton._ App-6. LIFE. soul. Hebrew. _nephesh._ App-13. HE SHALL NOT SPARE. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 28:50)....

The Hebrew form of the _v_. is evidently an expansion. The LXX read "from the famine into the hand of those that seek, etc.," omitting the intermediate words. _the pestilence_ This would be a natural consequence of the overcrowding of the city on account of the siege. _with the edge of the sword_ lit. _according to the mouth of the sword_, i.e. relentlessly, without quarter....