Jeremiah 49:34

Prophecies against Elam

34 [This is] the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet about Elam^[a] at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah.^[b]

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 will become plunder, and their massive herds of cattle will become spoil. I will scatter them to the wind in every direction, those who shave their temples; I will bring calamity on them across all their borders. [This is]*The bracketed text has been added for clarity. the Lord's declaration.

33 Hazor will become a jackals' den, a desolation forever. No one will live there; no human being will even stay in it as a resident alien.

34 [This is] the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet about Elam at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah.

35 This is what the Lord of Hosts says: I am about to shatter Elam's bow, the source of their might.

36 I will bring the four winds against Elam from the four corners of the heavens, and I will scatter them to all these winds. There will not be a nation to which Elam's banished ones will not go.

Footnotes

• [a]. modern Iran; Ezr 4:9; Dn 8:2; Ac 2:9
• [b]. Jr 27:12; 28:1; 29:3