Bible Strands
Jeremiah 21:1
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur son of Malchijah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah. They said,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — King Zedekiah dispatches Pashhur son of Malchijah and priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah to the prophet Jeremiah during the Babylonian siege to request a divine inquiry.
The words — דָּבָר (da.Var) = word, and שָׁלַח (sha.La.ach) = sent, framing the encounter as a formal royal commission rather than a casual consultation.
The thread — Parallel royal inquiries appear in Jeremiah 37:3 with different envoys, while Jeremiah 38:1 records Pashhur among the officials who later hear Jeremiah’s unflattering prophecies.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that divine messages arrive through institutional channels regardless of the sender’s political desperation, requiring the reader to weigh the messenger’s words against the messenger’s agenda.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, when king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying,
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 29:25 this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “In your own name you have sent out letters to all the people of Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests. You said to Zephaniah:
- Jeremiah 37:3 Yet King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet with the message, “Please pray to the LORD our God for us!”
- Jeremiah 38:1 Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchijah heard that Jeremiah had been telling all the people:
- Jeremiah 52:24 The captain of the guard also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of second rank, and the three doorkeepers.
- 2 Kings 24:17 Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.
- 2 Kings 25:18 The captain of the guard also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of second rank, and the three doorkeepers.
- 1 Chronicles 9:12 Adaiah son of Jeroham, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah; Maasai son of Adiel, the son of Jahzerah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Meshillemith, the son of Immer;
- Jeremiah 32:1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.
- Jeremiah 37:1 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made Zedekiah son of Josiah the king of Judah, and he reigned in place of Coniah son of Jehoiakim.
- Jeremiah 52:1 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah.