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Jeremiah 27:13

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Why should you and your people die by sword and famine and plague, as the LORD has decreed against any nation that does not serve the king of Babylon?

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Commentaries

Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.

Matthew Henry Bible Commentaryv. 13

Jeremiah the prophet, since he cannot persuade people to submit to God's precept, and so to prevent the destruction of their country by the king of Babylon, is here persuading them to submit to God's providence, by yielding tamely to the king of Babylon, and becoming tributaries to him, which was the wisest course they could now take, and would be a mitigation of the calamity, and prevent the laying of their country waste by fire and sword; the sacrificing of their liberties would be the saving of their lives. I. He gives this counsel, in God's name, to the kings of the neighbouring nations, that they might make the best of bad, assuring them that there was no remedy, but they must serve the king of Babylon; and yet in time there should be relief, for his dominion should last but 70 years (Jer 27:1-11). II. He gives this counsel to Zedekiah king of Judah particularly (Jer 27:12-15) and to the priests and people, assuring them that the king of Babylon should still proceed against them till things were brought to the last extremity, and a patient submission would be the only way to mitigate the calamity and make it easy (Jer 27:16-22). Thus the prophet, if they would but have hearkened to him, would have directed them in the paths of true policy as well as of true piety.

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Original language

The Hebrew and Greek words behind this passage, with Strong's numbers — from openscriptures (CC BY-SA).

Strong's Concordancev. 13

מוּת (mûwth, H4191) — to die (literally or figuratively); causatively, to kill עַם (ʻam, H5971) — a people (as a congregated unit); specifically, a tribe (as those of Israel); hence… חֶרֶב (chereb, H2719) — drought; also a cutting instrument (from its destructive effect), as a knife, sword, or… רָעָב (râʻâb, H7458) — hunger (more or less extensive) דֶּבֶר (deber, H1698) — a pestilence יְהֹוָה (Yᵉhôvâh, H3068) — Jehovah, Jewish national name of God דָבַר (dâbar, H1696) — perhaps properly, to arrange; but used figuratively (of words), to speak; rarely (in a… גּוֹי (gôwy, H1471) — a foreign nation; hence, a Gentile; also (figuratively) a troop of animals, or a flight… עָבַד (ʻâbad, H5647) — to work (in any sense); by implication, to serve, till, (causatively) enslave, etc. מֶלֶךְ (melek, H4428) — a king בָּבֶל (Bâbel, H894) — Babel (i.e. Babylon), including Babylonia and the Babylonian empire

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Cross-references

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Ezekiel 18:31rank 5

Cast away from yourselves all the transgressions you have committed, and fashion for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, O house of Israel?

Jeremiah 27:8rank 4

As for the nation or kingdom that does not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and does not place its neck under his yoke, I will punish that nation by sword and famine and plague, declares the LORD, until I have destroyed it by his hand.

Proverbs 8:36rank 3

But he who fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death.”

Jeremiah 38:20rank 3

“They will not hand you over,” Jeremiah replied. “Obey the voice of the LORD in what I am telling you, that it may go well with you and you may live.

Jeremiah 38:2rank 2

“This is what the LORD says: Whoever stays in this city will die by sword and famine and plague, but whoever surrenders to the Chaldeans will live; he will retain his life like a spoil of war, and he will live.

Jeremiah 24:9rank 2

I will make them a horror and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a disgrace and an object of scorn, ridicule, and cursing wherever I have banished them.

Ezekiel 18:24rank 2

But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, committing the same abominations as the wicked, will he live? None of the righteous acts he did will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness and sin he has committed, he will die.

Ezekiel 14:21rank 2

For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘How much worse will it be when I send against Jerusalem My four dire judgments—sword, famine, wild beasts, and plague—in order to cut off from it both man and beast?

Ezekiel 33:11rank 2

Say to them: ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’

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