Bible Strands
Jeremiah 32:29
And the Chaldeans who are fighting against this city will come in, set it on fire, and burn it, along with the houses of those who provoked Me to anger by burning incense to Baal on their rooftops and by pouring out drink offerings to other gods.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jeremiah conveys the LORD’s declaration to Judah during the active Babylonian siege of Jerusalem. The message announces that the attacking Chaldean forces will enter the city and destroy it.
The words — הַכַּשְׂדִּים (ha.kasdim) literally names "the Chaldeans" as the agents of judgment. וְהִצִּיתוּ (ve.hitsitu) translates as "and they will set on fire," specifying the exact method of destruction.
The thread — The destruction of rooftop idolatry reappears in Jeremiah 19:13 and aligns with the LORD’s declared opposition to Jerusalem in Jeremiah 21:10. The historical execution of this fire is recorded in 2 Chronicles 36:19.
Why it lands — The text states that covenant rebellion through incense and drink offerings triggers concrete military and physical ruin. It requires the reader to acknowledge that divine judgment operates through specific historical agents and measurable consequences rather than abstract warning.
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 the Chaldeans, that fight against this city, shall come and set fire on this city, and burn it with the houses, upon whose roofs they have offered incense unto Baal, and poured out drink offerings unto other gods, to provoke me to anger.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 19:13 The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be defiled like that place, Topheth—all the houses on whose rooftops they burned incense to all the host of heaven and poured out drink offerings to other gods.”
- Jeremiah 21:10 For I have set My face against this city to bring disaster and not good, declares the LORD. It will be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, who will destroy it with fire.’
- 2 Chronicles 36:19 Then the Chaldeans set fire to the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem. They burned down all the palaces and destroyed every article of value.
- Jeremiah 52:13 He burned down the house of the LORD, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem—every significant building.
- Jeremiah 7:18 The sons gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough to make cakes for the Queen of Heaven; they pour out drink offerings to other gods to provoke Me to anger.
- Jeremiah 39:8 The Chaldeans set fire to the palace of the king and to the houses of the people, and they broke down the walls of Jerusalem.
- Jeremiah 44:17 Instead, we will do everything we vowed to do: We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and offer drink offerings to her, just as we, our fathers, our kings, and our officials did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food and good things, and we saw no disaster.
- Jeremiah 44:25 This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: As for you and your wives, you have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled with your hands your words: ‘We will surely perform our vows that we have made to burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and to pour out drink offerings to her.’ Go ahead, then, do what you have promised! Keep your vows!
- 2 Kings 25:9 He burned down the house of the LORD, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem—every significant building.
- Isaiah 64:10 Your holy cities have become a wilderness. Zion has become a wasteland and Jerusalem a desolation.