Jeremiah 21 Study Notes

21:8 The phrase the way of life and the way of death is reminiscent of Dt 30:19. Here it has the opposite twist of its usage in Deuteronomy.

21:9 The prophet counseled defection for the citizens of Judah. In other circumstances this would have been considered treason, but Jeremiah’s authority was from God. The people were faced with a choice of obeying God or humans. The person who surrendered to Babylon would retain his life like the spoils of war. This is an idiomatic expression meaning literally “his soul will be to him for booty” (38:2; 39:18; 45:5).

21:10 Rather than offering safety, Jerusalem would become a death trap.

21:11-14 The message to the house of the king of Judah in these verses must have come at a time when repentance and righteousness would still reverse the threatened judgment of God. “House” refers to the dynasty of the king.

21:12 The task of the king and his officials was to administer justice every morning, presumably before the heat of the day (2Sm 4:5). This is how the ideal king would operate (Jr 23:5-6). Likewise, the victim of robbery called for action not only against common thieves, but also against all sorts of economic thievery. This included cheating on wages, land-grabbing, and other types of oppression.

Dever is plague (Ex 5:3) or pestilence (Lv 26:25) that strikes animals, people, or both (Ex 9:3,15; Jr 21:6). Some suppose it was specifically bubonic plague and see the Philistines’ outbreak of tumors in the presence of mice as evidence (1Sm 5:9; 6:4). Yet debate exists whether bubonic plague struck the Near East so early. Dever most often pertains to Israel, on whom God threatened to inflict it as a curse for disobedience (Lv 26:25). But it was the subject of prophecies about many lands (Jr 28:8) and is even part of a description characterizing God (Hab 3:5). So others seem correct in regarding dever as applicable to any pestilence that causes death. With few exceptions dever is always a divine judgment. It seems to follow defeat in battle (Jr 21:9) and in twenty-four verses accompanies sword and famine (Jr 14:12). God delivers the godly from it (Ps 91:3,6).

21:13 The phrases you who sit above the valley and you atop the rocky plateau refer to the city of Jerusalem as well as the king. The city, with its palace complex, was surrounded by valleys. There is irony and sarcasm in these designations because the king and the people had a false sense of security. Complacently and proudly the people asked, Who can come down against us? The short answer: God himself.

21:14 The word forest is used here figuratively for the royal palace (1Kg 7:2; 10:21).