Bible Strands
Jeremiah 24:9
I will make them a horror and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a disgrace and an object of scorn, ridicule, and cursing wherever I have banished them.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — YHWH addresses Jeremiah regarding Zedekiah, his officials, and the remnant remaining in Judah and Egypt. The declaration follows the bad figs metaphor, identifying this group as the direct recipients of impending judgment.
The words — The Hebrew זַעֲוָה (z.va.'ah) translates literally to "terror" or "horror," and מָשָׁל (ma.Shal) means "byword" or "object of scorn." These terms structurally frame the exiled population as a deliberate warning rather than a pitied remnant.
The thread — This formula of national humiliation appears in Deuteronomy 28:37, Jeremiah 29:18, and 1 Kings 9:7. Each reference ties covenant breach to public disgrace and territorial displacement.
Why it lands — The text states that banishment will produce lasting shame across nations, requiring the audience to acknowledge YHWH's active role in their downfall. It demands the reader accept that divine judgment manifests through concrete historical consequences, not theological abstraction.
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 deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 28:37 You will become an object of horror, scorn, and ridicule among all the nations to which the LORD will drive you.
- Jeremiah 29:18 I will pursue them with sword and famine and plague. I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth—a curse, a desolation, and an object of scorn and reproach among all the nations to which I banish them.
- 1 Kings 9:7 then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, and I will banish from My presence this temple I have sanctified for My Name. Then Israel will become an object of scorn and ridicule among all peoples.
- Jeremiah 15:4 I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Manasseh son of Hezekiah king of Judah did in Jerusalem.
- Jeremiah 25:18 to make them a ruin, an object of horror and contempt and cursing, as they are to this day—Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and officials;
- Jeremiah 34:17 Therefore this is what the LORD says: You have not obeyed Me; you have not proclaimed freedom, each man for his brother and for his neighbor. So now I proclaim freedom for you, declares the LORD—freedom to fall by sword, by plague, and by famine! I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
- Deuteronomy 28:25 The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them in one direction but flee from them in seven. You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
- 2 Chronicles 7:20 then I will uproot Israel from the soil I have given them, and I will banish from My presence this temple I have sanctified for My Name. I will make it an object of scorn and ridicule among all the peoples.
- Psalms 44:13 You have made us a reproach to our neighbors, a mockery and derision to those around us.
- Isaiah 65:15 You will leave behind your name as a curse for My chosen ones, and the Lord GOD will slay you; but to His servants He will give another name.