Bible Strands
Jeremiah 49:30
Run! Escape quickly! Lie low, O residents of Hazor,” declares the LORD, “for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has drawn up a plan against you; he has devised a strategy against you.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD speaks through Jeremiah to the inhabitants of Hazor, commanding them to flee and hide as Babylonian forces prepare to strike. This oracle functions as a direct warning within a sequence of judgments against neighboring nations, immediately preceding the summons for Babylon to advance.
The words — The Hebrew imperative הֶעְמִיקוּ (he'Miku) literally means "make deep," combined with the infinitive לָשֶׁבֶת (la/shevet, "to dwell") to form the phrase "make deep to dwell." This grammatical pairing instructs the residents to lie low or conceal themselves rather than prescribing a defensive military maneuver.
The thread — The text identifies Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon as the executing agent, echoing Jeremiah 25:9 where God summons him and Jeremiah 27:6 where God places the nations under his authority. These passages establish the Babylonian campaign as a divinely directed instrument of judgment rather than an independent imperial campaign.
Why it lands — The verse requires readers to acknowledge that human complacency invites decisive historical judgment. It demands a sober recognition that geopolitical movements operate under sovereign direction, compelling alertness and humility instead of false security.
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
Flee, get you far off, dwell deep, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith the Lord; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath conceived a purpose against you.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 10:7 But this is not his intention; this is not his plan. For it is in his heart to destroy and cut off many nations.
- Jeremiah 25:9 behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents, and against all the surrounding nations. So I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of horror and contempt, an everlasting desolation.
- Jeremiah 27:6 So now I have placed all these lands under the authority of My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. I have even made the beasts of the field subject to him.
- Jeremiah 25:24 all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mixed tribes who dwell in the desert;