Bible Strands
Jeremiah 22:25
In fact, I will hand you over to those you dread, who want to take your life—to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to the Chaldeans.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Lord speaks through Jeremiah to King Jehoiachin (Coniah), pronouncing judgment at the moment of Babylonian siege and impending exile.
The words — The Hebrew phrase בְּיַד מְבַקְשֵׁי נַפְשֶׁךָ (be./Yad me.vak.Shei naf.She./kha) literally renders "in the hand of those seeking your life," while אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה יָגוֹר ('a.Sher 'a.Tah ya.Gor) translates to "whom you fear."
The thread — This pattern of divine surrender to hostile pursuers appears in Jeremiah 21:7 regarding Zedekiah, Jeremiah 34:20 concerning enemies seeking lives, and 2 Kings 24:15 where Nebuchadnezzar captures Jehoiachin.
Why it lands — The text demands acknowledgment that royal status cannot override sovereign judgment, requiring the reader to accept exile as a direct consequence of covenant failure.
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
And I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them whose face thou fearest, even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 21:7 ‘After that,’ declares the LORD, ‘I will hand over Zedekiah king of Judah, his officers, and the people in this city who survive the plague and sword and famine, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to their enemies who seek their lives. He will put them to the sword; he will not spare them or show pity or compassion.’
- Jeremiah 34:20 I will deliver into the hands of their enemies who seek their lives. Their corpses will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.
- 2 Kings 24:15 Nebuchadnezzar carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, as well as the king’s mother, his wives, his officials, and the leading men of the land. He took them into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.
- Proverbs 10:24 What the wicked man dreads will overtake him, but the desire of the righteous will be granted.
- Jeremiah 22:28 Is this man Coniah a despised and shattered pot, a jar that no one wants? Why are he and his descendants hurled out and cast into a land they do not know?
- Jeremiah 38:16 But King Zedekiah swore secretly to Jeremiah, “As surely as the LORD lives, who has given us this life, I will not kill you, nor will I deliver you into the hands of these men who are seeking your life.”