Bible Strands
Jeremiah 29:16
this is what the LORD says about the king who sits on David’s throne and all the people who remain in this city, your brothers who did not go with you into exile—
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jeremiah delivers this declaration to the exiled community in Babylon, specifically addressing the royal line and the remaining population of Jerusalem who stayed behind. The message follows a warning against trusting false prophets who claim God has blessed the Babylonian settlement.
The words — The Hebrew phrase כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה (koh amar YHWH) translates literally as "thus says Yahweh," a standard prophetic formula introducing divine authority. The text immediately specifies the addressees as the king seated on David’s throne and the people remaining in the city.
The thread — This warning against remaining in the city echoes Jeremiah 38:2, which declares that staying will bring death by sword, famine, and plague. The imagery of inedible figs in Jeremiah 24:2 parallels the coming judgment but describes the figs as spoiled by poor quality rather than symbolizing spiritual rejection.
Why it lands — The verse demands a clear assessment of where God’s presence and judgment operate, rejecting the assumption that exile guarantees divine favor. It requires the reader to align with the stated consequences of remaining in the city rather than relying on unverified prophetic claims.
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
Know that thus saith the Lord of the king that sitteth upon the throne of David, and of all the people that dwelleth in this city, and of your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity;
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 38:2 “This is what the LORD says: Whoever stays in this city will die by sword and famine and plague, but whoever surrenders to the Chaldeans will live; he will retain his life like a spoil of war, and he will live.
- Jeremiah 38:17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you indeed surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then you will live, this city will not be burned down, and you and your household will survive.
- Jeremiah 24:2 One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early, but the other basket contained very poor figs, so bad they could not be eaten.
- Jeremiah 29:3 The letter was entrusted to Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It stated:
- Ezekiel 6:1 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
- Ezekiel 17:12 “Now say to this rebellious house: ‘Do you not know what these things mean?’ Tell them, ‘Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, carried off its king and officials, and brought them back with him to Babylon.
- Ezekiel 21:9 “Son of man, prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord says: ‘A sword, a sword, sharpened and polished—
- Ezekiel 22:31 So I have poured out My indignation upon them and consumed them with the fire of My fury. I have brought their ways down upon their own heads, declares the Lord GOD.”
- Ezekiel 24:1 In the ninth year, on the tenth day of the tenth month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,