Bible Strands

Jeremiah 44:14

so that none of the remnant of Judah who have gone to reside in Egypt will escape or survive to return to the land of Judah, where they long to return and live; for none will return except a few fugitives.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jeremiah delivers this oracle to Jewish exiles who have fled to Egypt following Jerusalem's destruction. The statement concludes a divine warning detailing the inevitable consequences of their idolatry and refusal to heed prophetic counsel.

The words — פָּלִיט (pālit) translates literally as “escapee” or “fugitive,” while שָׂרִיד (śārîd) means “survivor” or “remnant.” The text uses these terms to specify that only a handful will avoid total destruction, explicitly contrasting their limited survival with the complete failure of the majority to return.

The thread — The survival of a minority remnant resurfaces in Romans 9:27, where Paul cites Isaiah to demonstrate that God’s preservation of a small group fulfills established prophetic patterns. Jeremiah 44:14 frames this remnant not as a reward, but as the direct result of divine judgment operating through history.

Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to acknowledge that human strategies for self-preservation cannot nullify declared divine consequences. It presents a clear boundary: religious rebellion produces irreversible outcomes, leaving only a small, unglamorous remnant to bear witness to the decree.

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

וְלֹ֨אve./Lo'and/ notיִהְיֶ֜הyih.Yehhe will belongפָּלִ֤יטpa.Litan escapeeוְשָׂרִיד֙ve./sa.Ridand/ a survivorלִשְׁאֵרִ֣יתli/sh.'e.Ritto/ [the] remnant ofיְהוּדָ֔הye.hu.DahJudahהַבָּאִ֥יםha./ba.'Imwho/ wentלָגֽוּר־la./gur-to/ sojournשָׁ֖םshamthereבְּאֶ֣רֶץbe./'E.retzin/ [the] land ofמִצְרָ֑יִםmitz.Ra.yimEgyptוְלָשׁ֣וּב׀ve./la./Shuvand/ to/ returnאֶ֣רֶץ'E.retz[the] land ofיְהוּדָ֗הye.hu.DahJudahאֲשֶׁר־'a.Sher-whereהֵ֜מָּהHe.mahtheyמְנַשְּׂאִ֤יםme.na.se.'Im[are] lifting upאֶת־'et-<obj.>נַפְשָׁם֙naf.Sha/mdesire/ theirלָשׁוּב֙la./Shuvto/ returnלָשֶׁ֣בֶתla./She.vetto/ dwellשָׁ֔םShamthereכִּ֥יkiforלֹֽא־lo'-notיָשׁ֖וּבוּya.Shu.vuthey will returnכִּ֥יkithatאִם־'im-exceptפְּלֵטִֽים׃ סpe.le.Timfugitives

King James Version

So that none of the remnant of Judah, which are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall escape or remain, that they should return into the land of Judah, to the which they have a desire to return to dwell there: for none shall return but such as shall escape.

Cross-references