Bible Strands
Jeremiah 29:32
this is what the LORD says: ‘I will surely punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants. He will have no one left among this people, nor will he see the good that I will bring to My people, declares the LORD, for he has preached rebellion against the LORD.’”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD speaks through Jeremiah to the Jewish exiles in Babylon, delivering a direct judgment against Shemaiah the Nehelamite immediately after commanding the prophet to send a warning message about him.
The words — The Hebrew phrase כֹּֽה־אָמַר יְהוָה (koh-'amar Yahweh) renders as "thus says Yahweh," establishing divine authority for the decree. The verb פֹקֵד (poqed) carries the literal sense of "visiting" or "punishing," indicating God’s imminent judicial action against Shemaiah and his lineage.
The thread — This declaration of divine punishment for false prophecy echoes Jeremiah 28:16, where God threatens removal from the earth for similar unauthorized prophetic claims. The warning that the rebel will not see future prosperity parallels the desolation imagery in Jeremiah 17:6.
Why it lands — The text demands immediate discernment between authorized and unauthorized messengers, requiring exiles to reject any teaching that contradicts the LORD’s direct word. It establishes that preaching rebellion against God results in complete familial and spiritual exclusion from His future blessings.
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
Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed: he shall not have a man to dwell among this people; neither shall he behold the good that I will do for my people, saith the Lord; because he hath taught rebellion against the Lord.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 28:16 Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. You will die this year because you have preached rebellion against the LORD.’”
- 2 Kings 7:19 And the officer had answered the man of God, “Look, even if the LORD were to make windows in heaven, could this really happen?” So Elisha had replied, “You will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it!”
- Jeremiah 17:6 He will be like a shrub in the desert; he will not see when prosperity comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.
- 1 Samuel 2:30 Therefore, the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever. But now the LORD declares: Far be it from Me! For I will honor those who honor Me, but those who despise Me will be disdained.
- 2 Kings 7:2 But the officer on whose arm the king leaned answered the man of God, “Look, even if the LORD were to make windows in heaven, could this really happen?” “You will see it with your own eyes,” replied Elisha, “but you will not eat any of it.”
- Jeremiah 22:30 This is what the LORD says: “Enroll this man as childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime. None of his descendants will prosper to sit on the throne of David or to rule again in Judah.”
- Exodus 20:5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
- Numbers 16:27 So they moved away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Meanwhile, Dathan and Abiram had come out and stood at the entrances to their tents with their wives and children and infants.
- Joshua 7:24 Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the cloak, the bar of gold, his sons and daughters, his oxen and donkeys and sheep, his tent, and everything else he owned, and brought them to the Valley of Achor.
- 2 Kings 5:27 Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman will cling to you and your descendants forever!” And as Gehazi left his presence, he was leprous—as white as snow.