Jeremiah 21

The book of Jeremiah does not present events in chronological order. Chapter 21 concerns a period later than the preceding chapters: the final years of King Zedekiah, when the Babylonian army was besieging Jerusalem. The chapter opens a section of oracles addressed to the kings of Judah (chapters 21–23). In Jeremiah 20, Pashur the son of Immer struck Jeremiah. The Pashur in this chapter is a different man who merely shares the name.

Outline

• Verses 1–2 Zedekiah sends Pashur the son of Melchiah and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest to Jeremiah, asking him to entreat the LORD so that Nebuchadnezzar may withdraw. The Korean Revised Version (Gaeyeok Hangeul) combines these two verses into verse 1.
• Verses 3–7 Jeremiah replies that the LORD will turn back the weapons of Judah's army and will Himself fight against the city. He will deliver the king, his servants, and the people who survive the pestilence, the sword, and the famine into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.
• Verses 8–10 The way of life and the way of death are set before the people. Whoever remains in the city will die, but whoever goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans will live. The city will be burned with fire.
• Verses 11–14 The house of David is commanded to execute judgment every morning. The LORD then declares that He will punish the "inhabitant of the valley, and rock of the plain" according to the fruit of their doings.

Key Verses

• Jeremiah 21:8 "Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death." — The expression recalls the choice between life and death in Deuteronomy 30:15–20. Here, however, surrendering to the enemy becomes the way of life.
• Jeremiah 21:12 "Execute judgment in the morning" — Even while pronouncing judgment, the LORD demands justice from the king.

People and Places

• Zedekiah — the last king of Judah.
• Jeremiah — the prophet who receives the king's request.
• Pashur — the son of Melchiah. He is a different person from the Pashur of chapter 20 and appears again in Jeremiah 38:1.
• Zephaniah — the son of Maaseiah the priest. He also appears as an envoy in Jeremiah 37:3. He is not the prophet of the book of Zephaniah.
• Nebuchadnezzar — the king of Babylon.
• Chaldeans — another name for the Babylonians.
• Jerusalem — the place the text calls "this city." The "rock of the plain" in verse 13 is also commonly understood to refer to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Points for Reflection

• Many interpreters understand the reference to the LORD's "wondrous works" in verse 2 (part of verse 1 in the Korean Revised Version) as expressing hope for a deliverance like the withdrawal of the Assyrian army in the days of Hezekiah (2 Kings 19).
• Jeremiah 37 contains a similar scene in which Zedekiah sends Zephaniah. Scholars differ on whether the two chapters are separate accounts of the same event or describe different events.
• The phrase "with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm" in verse 5 echoes language used to describe the Exodus (Deuteronomy 26:8). Here the same language is turned against Judah.
• The call to surrender in verse 9 reappears in Jeremiah 38, where it leads to Jeremiah's being accused as a traitor.
• The image of the two ways is sometimes read alongside the strait gate and the wide gate of Matthew 7:13–14.