New English Translation
Jeremiah 18:21
21So let their children die of starvation. Let them be cut down by the sword. Let their wives lose their husbands and children. Let the older men die of disease and the younger men die by the sword in battle.
Jeremiah 18:21 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and pour out their blood by the force of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and be widows; and let their men be put to death; let their young men be slain by the sword in battle.
- New International Version (NIV)So give their children over to famine; hand them over to the power of the sword. Let their wives be made childless and widows; let their men be put to death, their young men slain by the sword in battle.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Therefore deliver up their children to famine; give them over to the power of the sword; let their wives become childless and widowed. May their men meet death by pestilence, their youths be struck down by the sword in battle.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, And pour out their blood By the force of the sword; Let their wives become widows And bereaved of their children. Let their men be put to death, Their young men be slain By the sword in battle.
Context of Jeremiah 18:21
19Then I said, “Lord, pay attention to me. Listen to what my enemies are saying. 20Should good be paid back with evil? Yet they are virtually digging a pit to kill me. Just remember how I stood before you pleading on their behalf to keep you from venting your anger on them. So let their children die of starvation. Let them be cut down by the sword. Let their wives lose their husbands and children. Let the older men die of disease and the younger men die by the sword in battle. 22Let cries of terror be heard in their houses when you send bands of raiders unexpectedly to plunder them. For they have virtually dug a pit to capture me and have hidden traps for me to step into. 23But you, Lord, know all their plots to kill me. Do not pardon their crimes! Do not ignore their sins as though you had erased them! Let them be brought down in defeat before you! Deal with them while you are still angry!
Read all of Jeremiah 18Jeremiah 18:21 word by word
לָכֵן֩ תֵּ֨ן אֶת־בְּנֵיהֶ֜ם לָרָעָ֗ב וְהַגִּרֵם֮ עַל־יְדֵי־חֶרֶב֒ וְתִֽהְיֶ֨נָה נְשֵׁיהֶ֤ם שַׁכֻּלוֹת֙ וְאַלְמָנ֔וֹת וְאַ֨נְשֵׁיהֶ֔ם יִֽהְי֖וּ הֲרֻ֣גֵי מָ֑וֶת בַּח֣וּרֵיהֶ֔ם מֻכֵּי־חֶ֖רֶב בַּמִּלְחָמָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Therefore deliver upנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
- their childrenבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- to the famineרָעָבrâ‛âb · famineH7458
- and pour outנָגַרnâgar · to pourH5064
- by the forceיָדyâd · hand: powerH3027
- of the swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719
- and let their wivesאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · woman: wifeH802
- be bereavedשַׁכּוּלshakkûl shakkûl · childlessH7909
- widowsאַלְמָנָה'almânâh · widowH490
- and let their menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
- be putהָרַגhârag · to killH2026
- to deathמָ֫וֶתmâveth · deathH4194
- their young menבָּחוּרbâchûr bâchûr · youthH970
- slainנָכָהnâkâh · to smiteH5221
- in battleמִלְחָמָהmilchâmâh · battleH4421
Cross-references for Jeremiah 18:21
- Jeremiah 11:20So I said to the Lord, “O Lord who rules over all, you are a just judge! You examine people’s hearts and minds. I want to see you pay them back for what they have done because I trust you to vindicate my cause.”
- Jeremiah 12:3But you, Lord, know all about me. You watch me and test my devotion to you. Drag these wicked men away like sheep to be slaughtered! Appoint a time when they will be killed!
- Jeremiah 20:1Now Pashhur son of Immer heard Jeremiah prophesy these things. He was the priest who was chief of security in the Lord’s temple.
- Psalms 109:9May his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow!
- 2 Timothy 4:14Alexander the coppersmith did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him in keeping with his deeds.
- Jeremiah 15:2If they ask you, ‘Where should we go?’ tell them the Lord says this: “Those who are destined to die of disease will go to death by disease. Those who are destined to die in war will go to death in war. Those who are destined to die of starvation will go to death by starvation. Those who are destined to go into exile will go into exile.”
- Jeremiah 16:3For I, the Lord, tell you what will happen to the children who are born here in this land and to the men and women who are their mothers and fathers.
- Exodus 22:24and my anger will burn and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives will be widows and your children will be fatherless.
- Deuteronomy 32:25The sword will make people childless outside, and terror will do so inside; they will destroy both the young man and the virgin, the infant and the gray-haired man.
- Lamentations 5:3We have become fatherless orphans; our mothers have become widows.
- Jeremiah 9:21‘Death has climbed in through our windows. It has entered into our fortified houses. It has taken away our children who play in the streets. It has taken away our young men who gather in the city squares.’
- Jeremiah 11:22So the Lord who rules over all said, “I will surely punish them! Their young men will be killed in battle. Their sons and daughters will die of starvation.
- 2 Chronicles 36:17He brought against them the king of the Babylonians, who slaughtered their young men in their temple. He did not spare young men or women, or even the old and aging. God handed everyone over to him.
- Amos 4:10“I sent against you a plague like one of the Egyptian plagues. I killed your young men with the sword, along with the horses you had captured. I made the stench from the corpses rise up into your nostrils. Still you did not come back to me.” The Lord is speaking!
Commentaries on Jeremiah 18:21
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21Therefore deliver up their children - The execrations in these verses should be considered as simply prophetic declarations of the judgments which God was about to pour out on them. If we consider them in their grammatical meaning, then they are not directions to us to whom our Lawgiver has said, "Love your enemies."Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21Pour out sword - literally, “pour them out upon the hands of the sword, i. e., give them up to the sword.” Put to death - Rather, slain of death. The prophet‘s phrase leaves it entirely indefinite in what way the men are to die.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-23Verses 18-23 When the prophet called to repentance, instead of obeying the call, the people devised devices against him. Thus do sinners deal with the great Intercessor, crucifying him afresh, and speaking against him on earth, while his blood is speaking for them in heaven. But the prophet had done his duty to them; and the same will be our rejoicing in a day of evil.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21-23In his prayer for vengeance, Jeremiah asked God to carry out the promised curses on those who broke his covenant (compare Deuteronomy 27:11–26; 28:15–68; see also the “Prayers for Vengeance” Theme Note).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. pour out their blood by the force of the sword--literally, "by the hands of the sword." So Eze 35:5. Maurer with Jerome translates, "deliver them over to the power of the sword." But compare Psa 63:10, Margin; Is 53:12. In this prayer he does not indulge in personal revenge, as if it were his own cause that was at stake; but he speaks under the dictation of the Spirit, ceasing to intercede, and speaking prophetically, knowing they were doomed to…Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 18:21
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jeremiah 18
- 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
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