Bible Strands
Jeremiah 4:17
They surround her like men guarding a field, because she has rebelled against Me,” declares the LORD.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD delivers this oracle through Jeremiah to Judah during a prophetic warning of an approaching besieging army. The declaration addresses Jerusalem’s imminent encirclement as part of a sequential judgment message.
The words — The Hebrew phrase כְּשֹׁמְרֵי שָׂדַי (ke./sho.me.Rei sa.Dai) literally renders as “like [those who] guard a field,” while מָרָתָה (ma.Ra.tah) means “it has been rebellious against.” These terms frame the military encirclement as a deliberate response to covenant rebellion rather than uncalculated violence.
The thread — The motif of rebellion against God appears in Jeremiah 5:23 regarding stubborn hearts and Nehemiah 9:26 concerning the rejection of divine law. The historical fulfillment of the surrounding army is documented in 2 Kings 25:1, which records Nebuchadnezzar’s forces encamping and constructing siege works against Jerusalem.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that collective judgment stems directly from sustained rebellion rather than arbitrary punishment. It requires the reader to trace present consequences back to prior choices without softening the stated cause-and-effect.
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
As keepers of a field, are they against her round about; because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the Lord.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 5:23 But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts. They have turned aside and gone away.
- 2 Kings 25:1 So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his entire army. They encamped outside the city and built a siege wall all around it.
- Nehemiah 9:26 But they were disobedient and rebelled against You; they flung Your law behind their backs. They killed Your prophets, who had admonished them to return to You. They committed terrible blasphemies.
- Nehemiah 9:30 You were patient with them for many years, and Your Spirit admonished them through Your prophets. Yet they would not listen, so You gave them into the hands of the neighboring peoples.
- Isaiah 1:8 And the Daughter of Zion is abandoned like a shelter in a vineyard, like a shack in a cucumber field, like a city besieged.
- Isaiah 1:20 But if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
- Isaiah 30:9 These are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to obey the LORD’s instruction.
- Jeremiah 6:2 Though she is beautiful and delicate, I will destroy the Daughter of Zion.
- Lamentations 1:8 Jerusalem has sinned greatly; therefore she has become an object of scorn. All who honored her now despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; she herself groans and turns away.
- Lamentations 1:18 The LORD is righteous, yet I rebelled against His command. Listen, all you people; look upon my suffering. My young men and maidens have gone into captivity.