Jeremiah 29:17
What does Jeremiah 29:17 mean?
A plain-English look at Jeremiah 29:17 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Jeremiah 29:17 means
God pronounces a severe judgment upon those remaining in Jerusalem: "Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so bad." This imagery recalls Jeremiah’s previous vision of good and bad figs (Jeremiah 24), symbolizing the wickedness and utter corruption of the people who stayed in Jerusalem, rejecting God's warnings. Their fate would be one of terrible suffering, disease, and death, rendering them utterly worthless and beyond redemption in the eyes of God.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so bad.
KJV
King James Version · 1611Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so bad.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949This is what the Lord of armies has said: See, I will send on them the sword and need of food and disease, and will make them like bad figs, which are of no use for food, they are so bad.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, Lo, I am sending among them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and I have given them up as figs that <FI>are<Fi> vile, that are not eaten for badness.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Behold I will send upon them the sword, and the famine, and the pestilence: and I will make them like bad figs that cannot be eaten, because they are very bad.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Behold, I will send against them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like the vile figs, that cannot be eaten for badness.
Context
Following the identification of Jerusalem's inhabitants as the next target of prophecy, this verse details the specific judgments awaiting them: sword, famine, and pestilence. The vivid imagery of "vile figs" connects back to earlier prophetic warnings, reinforcing the consistency of God's judgment against persistent sin. This grim prognosis starkly contrasts with the hope offered to the exiles.
v.16thus saith Jehovah concerning the king that sitteth upon the throne of David, and concerning all the people that dwell in this city, your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity;
v.17This passage
v.18And I will pursue after them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be tossed to and fro among all the kingdoms of the earth, to be an execration, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them;
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Ezekiel 5:12
A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee; and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and a third part I will scatter unto all the winds, and will draw out a sword after them.
- Jeremiah 43:11
And he shall come, and shall smite the land of Egypt; such as are for death shall be given to death, and such as are for captivity to captivity, and such as are for the sword to the sword.
- Jeremiah 27:8
And it shall come to pass, that the nation and the kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith Jehovah, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.
- Jeremiah 52:6
In the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land.
- Luke 21:23
Woe unto them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days! for there shall be great distress upon the land, and wrath unto this people.
- Jeremiah 34:17
Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Ye have not hearkened unto me, to proclaim liberty, every man to his brother, and every man to his neighbor: behold, I proclaim unto you a liberty, saith Jehovah, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be tossed to and fro among all the kingdoms of the earth.
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