Bible Strands
Jeremiah 40:2
The captain of the guard found Jeremiah and said to him, “The LORD your God decreed this disaster on this place,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, speaks to Jeremiah immediately after finding him bound among the exiles at Ramah. The declaration occurs in the immediate aftermath of Jerusalem’s fall, as the military commander explains the city’s destruction.
The words — The Hebrew phrase רַב טַבָּחִים (rav tabbachim) literally means “chief of the executioners” or “captain of the guard,” establishing the speaker’s official role. The verb וַיֹּאמֶר (vayomer) introduces the direct statement that follows the physical act of locating Jeremiah.
The thread — The pattern of nations questioning divine judgment on Jerusalem runs through Deuteronomy 29:24, Jeremiah 22:8, and 1 Kings 9:8. These texts collectively tie the city’s ruin to covenant failure and the LORD’s consistent execution of warning.
Why it lands — The text states plainly that the disaster is a direct decree of God, not a historical accident. It requires the reader to acknowledge the cause-and-effect relationship between covenant disobedience and divine judgment without evasion.
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 captain of the guard took Jeremiah, and said unto him, The Lord thy God hath pronounced this evil upon this place.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 29:24 So all the nations will ask, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land? Why this great outburst of anger?’
- Jeremiah 22:8 And many nations will pass by this city and ask one another, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this great city?’
- 1 Kings 9:8 And when this temple has become a heap of rubble, all who pass by it will be appalled and will hiss and say, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’
- 2 Chronicles 7:20 then I will uproot Israel from the soil I have given them, and I will banish from My presence this temple I have sanctified for My Name. I will make it an object of scorn and ridicule among all the peoples.
- Lamentations 2:15 All who pass by clap their hands at you in scorn. They hiss and shake their heads at the Daughter of Jerusalem: “Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of all the earth?”