Jeremiah 22:27

You will never return to the land for which you long.”

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The prophet Jeremiah pronounces this judgment on King Jehoiachin, identified as Coniah, after declaring that he and his mother will be cast into a foreign land to die. The declaration occurs within a sequence of oracles against Judah’s kings, specifically addressing the exile of the royal line.

The words — The Hebrew phrase מְנַשּׂאִים נַפְשָׁם (menass’im nafsham) literally means "lifting their soul" or "desiring intensely." It pairs with לָשׁוּב (lashuv, "to return") to describe the longing for the land of Israel.

The thread — This theme of irreversible exile appears in Jeremiah 44:14, which states that none of the remnant in Egypt will escape or survive to return to Judah. It contrasts with the brief reprieve noted in 2 Kings 25:27, where Jehoiachin is released from prison after thirty-seven years in Babylon.

Why it lands — The text demands acknowledgment that political rebellion and covenant rejection result in permanent displacement, regardless of royal status or personal longing. It asks the reader to accept that divine judgment on leadership can override human hope and historical precedent.

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

וְעַל־ve./'al-and/ to הָאָ֗רֶץha./'A.retzthe/ land אֲשֶׁר־'a.Sher-where הֵ֛םhemthey מְנַשְּׂאִ֥יםme.na.se.'Im[will be] lifting אֶת־'et-<obj.>נַפְשָׁ֖םnaf.Sha/mdesire/ their לָשׁ֣וּבla./Shuvto/ return שָׁ֑םShamthere שָׁ֖מָּהSha.ma/hthere/ towards לֹ֥אlo'not יָשֽׁוּבוּ׃ סya.Shu.vuthey will return

King James Version

But to the land whereunto they desire to return, thither shall they not return.

Cross-references

Jeremiah 44:14 so that none of the remnant of Judah who have gone to reside in Egypt will escape or survive to return to the land of Judah, where they long to return and live; for none will return except a few fugitives.”
2 Kings 25:27 On the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Judah’s King Jehoiachin, in the year Evil-merodach became king of Babylon, he released King Jehoiachin of Judah from prison.
Jeremiah 22:11 For this is what the LORD says concerning Shallum son of Josiah, king of Judah, who succeeded his father Josiah but has gone forth from this place: “He will never return,
Jeremiah 52:31 On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the first year of the reign of Evil-merodach king of Babylon, he pardoned Jehoiachin king of Judah and released him from prison.
Psalms 86:4 Bring joy to Your servant, for to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.