Jeremiah 29:17

this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “I will send against them sword and famine and plague, and I will make them like rotten figs, so bad they cannot be eaten.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The LORD of Hosts addresses the exiles in Babylon regarding Zedekiah and the population remaining in Jerusalem, declaring imminent judgment on those who refused deportation.

The words — The declaration begins with כֹּ֤ה (koh) "thus" and אָמַר֙ ('a.Mar) "he says," identifying the speaker as יְהוָ֣ה (Yah.weh) צְבָא֔וֹת (tze.va.'ot) "Yahweh of hosts." It then states הִנְ/נִי֙ (hi./Ni) מְשַׁלֵּ֣חַ (me.sha.Le.ach) "here I am about to send" אֶת\־ (')et-) הַ/חֶ֖רֶב (ha./Che.rev) "the sword" alongside famine and plague.

The thread — The triad of sword, famine, and plague continues directly in Jeremiah 29:18 and mirrors the death and pestilence warnings of Jeremiah 15:2. The inedible figs metaphor for a ruined people appears in Jeremiah 24:8.

Why it lands — The text requires acknowledgment that God’s spoken judgment executes what it announces, removing any basis for political or prophetic false security. It demands acceptance that divine declaration precedes irreversible consequence.

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

Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.

Cross-references

Jeremiah 24:8 But like the bad figs, so bad they cannot be eaten,’ says the LORD, ‘so will I deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem—those remaining in this land and those living in the land of Egypt.
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.
Jeremiah 15:2 If they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ you are to tell them that this is what the LORD says: ‘Those destined for death, to death; those destined for the sword, to the sword; those destined for famine, to famine; and those destined for captivity, to captivity.’
Jeremiah 24:1 After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, as well as the officials of Judah and the craftsmen and metalsmiths from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon, the LORD showed me two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of the LORD.
Jeremiah 27:8 As for the nation or kingdom that does not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and does not place its neck under his yoke, I will punish that nation by sword and famine and plague, declares the LORD, until I have destroyed it by his hand.
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.
Jeremiah 43:11 He will come and strike down the land of Egypt, bringing death to those destined for death, captivity to those destined for captivity, and the sword to those destined for the sword.
Jeremiah 52:6 By the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine in the city was so severe that the people of the land had no food.
Ezekiel 5:12 A third of your people will die by plague or be consumed by famine within you, a third will fall by the sword outside your walls, and a third I will scatter to every wind and unleash a sword behind them.
Ezekiel 14:12 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,