God’s Word Translation
Jeremiah 5:17
17They will devour your harvest and your food. They will devour your sons and your daughters. They will devour your flocks and your cattle. They will devour your grapevines and your fig trees. With their swords they will destroy the fortified cities you trust.
Jeremiah 5:17 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword.
- New International Version (NIV)They will devour your harvests and food, devour your sons and daughters; they will devour your flocks and herds, devour your vines and fig trees. With the sword they will destroy the fortified cities in which you trust.
- English Standard Version (ESV)They shall eat up your harvest and your food; they shall eat up your sons and your daughters; they shall eat up your flocks and your herds; they shall eat up your vines and your fig trees; your fortified cities in which you trust they shall beat down with the sword."
- New King James Version (NKJV)And they shall eat up your harvest and your bread, Which your sons and daughters should eat. They shall eat up your flocks and your herds; They shall eat up your vines and your fig trees; They shall destroy your fortified cities, In which you trust, with the sword.
Context of Jeremiah 5:17
15Nation of Israel, I’m going to bring a nation from far away to attack you, declares the Lord. It is a nation that has lasted a long time. It is an ancient nation. You don’t know the language of this nation. You can’t understand what its people say. 16Their arrow quivers are like open graves. They are all mighty warriors. They will devour your harvest and your food. They will devour your sons and your daughters. They will devour your flocks and your cattle. They will devour your grapevines and your fig trees. With their swords they will destroy the fortified cities you trust. 18Yet, even in those days, declares the Lord, I won’t destroy all of you. 19They will ask, “Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?” Answer them, “You have abandoned me and served foreign gods in your land. So you will serve foreigners in a land that isn’t yours.”
Read all of Jeremiah 5Jeremiah 5:17 word by word
וְאָכַ֨ל קְצִֽירְךָ֜ וְלַחְמֶ֗ךָ יֹאכְלוּ֙ בָּנֶ֣יךָ וּבְנוֹתֶ֔יךָ יֹאכַ֤ל צֹאנְךָ֙ וּבְקָרֶ֔ךָ יֹאכַ֥ל גַּפְנְךָ֖ וּתְאֵנָתֶ֑ךָ יְרֹשֵׁ֞שׁ עָרֵ֣י מִבְצָרֶ֗יךָ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַתָּ֛ה בּוֹטֵ֥חַ בָּהֵ֖נָּה בֶּחָֽרֶב׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And they shall eat upאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
- thine harvestקָצִירqâtsîyr · harvestH7105
- and thy breadלֶ֫חֶםlechem · foodH3899
- thy sonsבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- and thy daughtersבַּתbath · daughterH1323
- thy flocksצֹאןtsô'n tse'ôn · flockH6629
- and thine herdsבָּקָרbâqâr · cattleH1241
- thy vinesגֶּ֫פֶןgephen · vineH1612
- and thy fig treesתְּאֵנָהte'ên te'ênâh · figH8384
- they shall impoverishרָשַׁשׁrâshash · to beatH7567
- thy fencedמִבְצָרmibtsâr mibtsârâh · fortificationH4013
- citiesעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
- wherein thouהֵנָּהhênnâh · they(fem.)H2007
- trustedstבָּטַחbâţach · to trustH982
- with the swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719
Cross-references for Jeremiah 5:17
- Leviticus 26:16then this is what I will do to you: I will terrorize you with disease and fever. You will suffer from eye problems and depression. You will plant your crops and get nothing because your enemies will eat them.
- Deuteronomy 28:30You will be engaged to a woman, but another man will have sex with her. You will build a house, but you won’t live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you won’t enjoy the grapes.
- Judges 6:3Whenever Israel planted crops, Midian, Amalek, and Kedem came and damaged the crops.
- Isaiah 62:9Those who harvest grain will eat it and praise the Lord. Those who gather grapes will drink wine in my holy courtyards.
- Isaiah 65:22They will not build homes and have others live there. They will not plant and have others eat from it. My people will live as long as trees, and my chosen ones will enjoy what they’ve done.
- Habakkuk 3:17Even if the fig tree does not bloom and the vines have no grapes, even if the olive tree fails to produce and the fields yield no food, even if the sheep pen is empty and the stalls have no cattle—
- Jeremiah 1:15I am going to call every family and kingdom from the north,” declares the Lord. “They will come, and they will set up their thrones at the entrance of Jerusalem’s gates. They will attack all the walls around the city and all the cities of Judah.
- Jeremiah 4:7A lion has come out of its lair. A destroyer of nations has set out. He has left his place to destroy your land. Your cities will be ruined, and no one will live in them.
- Lamentations 2:2The Lord swallowed up all of Jacob’s pastures without any pity. He tore down the fortified cities of Judah in his fury. He brought the kingdom ⌞of Judah⌟ and its leaders down to the ground in dishonor.
- Ezekiel 36:4“ ‘Mountains of Israel, listen to the Almighty Lord’s word. This is what the Almighty Lord says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, and to the empty ruins and abandoned cities that have become prey and are mocked by the rest of the surrounding nations:
- Zephaniah 3:6“I will cut off the nations. Their towers will be destroyed. I will demolish their streets. No one will walk through them. Their cities will be completely destroyed. Not a single person will be left. No one will be living there.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 5:17
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17Or, It shall eat “thine harvest and thy bread:” They shall eat “thy sons and thy daughters.” It shall eat thy sheep and thy cattle: It shall eat “thy vines and thy fig-trees.” They shall impoverish - Or, It shall batter thy “fortified cities, wherein thou” trustest, with weapons of war. There is probably reference here to an instrument like a battering-ram, with which the Assyrians beat down the walls of their enemies.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-18Verses 10-18 Multitudes are ruined by believing that God will not be so strict as his word says he will; by this artifice Satan undid mankind. Sinners are not willing to own any thing to be God's word, that tends to part them from, or to disquiet them in, their sins. Mocking and misusing the Lord's messengers, filled the measure of their iniquity. God can bring trouble upon us from places and causes very remote. He has mercy in store for his people…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16-17The well-trained and well-equipped Babylonian army treated their victims cruelly and destroyed everything valuable in the lands they conquered (see Habakkuk 1:6–10).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. (Le 26:16).Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 5:17
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jeremiah 5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries