Jeremiah 49:34

34 The word of the LORD that came to Yirmeyahu the prophet concerning `Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Tzidkiyahu king of Yehudah, saying,

Jeremiah 49:34 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 49:34

The word of the Lord that came unto Jeremiah the prophet
against Elam
The Persians, as it is commonly understood, who descended from Elam the son of Shem, ( Genesis 10:22 ) ; according to Josephus {w}; but rather the country of Elymais is here designed; which, though in the times of Cyrus, was added to, and made a part of, the Persian empire, yet was a country distinct both from Persia and Media; and as such is spoken of by Pliny ^F24; though as near unto Persia, and bordering on Media; according to Stephanus ^F25, the Elymaites were a country that belonged to the Assyrians; and so Strabo ^F1 places the Elymaeans in Aturia or Assyria; and it seems very manifest that Elam served under Sennacherib, king of Assyria, when he besieged Jerusalem, ( Isaiah 22:6 ) ; and afterwards fell into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and became subject to him, which is the calamity here threatened them; for certain it is, that, in Belshazzar's time, Shushan in Elam was the royal seat of the kings of Babylon, ( Daniel 8:2 ) ; now this prophecy against Elam was delivered out in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah;
perhaps in the first year of his reign, ten or eleven years before the destruction of Jerusalem; how long before it had its accomplishment is not certain: saying:
as follows:

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FOOTNOTES:

F23 Antiqu. l. 1. c. 6. sect. 4.
F24 Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 25, 26, 27.
F25 De urbibus apud Cocceium in loc.
F1 Geograph. l. 16. in principio, 507.

Jeremiah 49:34 In-Context

32 Their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil: and I will scatter to all winds those who have the corners [of their hair] cut off; and I will bring their calamity from every side of them, says the LORD.

33 Hatzor shall be a dwelling-place of jackals, a desolation forever: no man shall dwell there, neither shall any son of man sojourn therein.

34 The word of the LORD that came to Yirmeyahu the prophet concerning `Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Tzidkiyahu king of Yehudah, saying,

35 Thus says the LORD of Hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of `Elam, the chief of their might.

36 On `Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of the sky, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation where the outcasts of `Elam shall not come.