TRV
Translation
King James Version
But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, saith the LORD: and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things round about it.
Complete Jewish Bible
I will punish you," says ADONAI, "as your deeds deserve. I will set its forest on fire, and it will devour everything around it."'"
Berean Standard Bible
I will punish you as your deeds deserve, declares the LORD. I will kindle a fire in your forest that will consume everything around you.’”
American Standard Version
And I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, saith Jehovah; and I will kindle a fire in her forest, and it shall devour all that is round about her.
World English Bible Messianic
I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, says the LORD; and I will kindle a fire in her forest, and it shall devour all that is around her.
Geneva Bible (1599)
But I will visite you according to the fruite of your workes, saith the Lord, and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof, and it shall deuoure rounde about it.
Young's Literal Translation
And I have laid a charge against you, According to the fruit of your doings, An affirmation of Jehovah, And I have kindled a fire in its forest, And it hath consumed--all its suburbs!
See also
In the KJVVerse 19,455 of 31,102
Study This Verse
Commentary on Jeremiah 21 verses 8–14
8 ¶ And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death.
9 He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey.
10 For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the LORD: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.
11 And touching the house of the king of Judah, say, Hear ye the word of the LORD;
12 O house of David, thus saith the LORD; Execute judgment in the morning, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
13 Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley, and rock of the plain, saith the LORD; which say, Who shall come down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations?
14 But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, saith the LORD: and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things round about it.
By the civil message which the king sent to Jeremiah it appeared that both he and the people began to have a respect for him, which it would have been Jeremiah's policy to make some advantage of for himself; but the reply which God obliges him to make is enough to crush the little respect they begin to have for him, and to exasperate them against him more than ever. Not only the predictions in the foregoing verses, but the prescriptions in these, were provoking; for here,
I. He advises the people to surrender and ??desert to the Chaldeans, as the only means left them to save their lives, Jer 21:8-10. This counsel was very displeasing to those who were flattered by their false prophets into a desperate resolution to hold out to the last extremity, trusting to the strength of their walls and the courage of their soldiery to keep out the enemy, or to their foreign aids to raise the siege. The prophet assures them, "The city shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall not only plunder it, but burn it with fire, for God himself hath set his face against this city for evil and not for good, to lay it waste and not to protect it, for evil which shall have no good mixed with it, no mitigation or merciful allay; and therefore, if you would make the best of bad, you must beg quarter of the Chaldeans, and surrender prisoners of war." In vain did Rabshakeh persuade the Jews to do this while they had God for them (Isa 36:16), but it was the best course they could take now that God was against them. Both the law and the prophets had often set before them life and death in another sense - life if they obey the voice of God, death if they persist in disobedience, Deu 30:19. But they had slighted that life which would have made them truly happy, to upbraid them with which the prophet here uses the same expression (Jer 21:8): Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death, which denotes not, as that, a fair proposal, but a melancholy dilemma, advising them of two evils to choose the less; and that less evil, a shameful and wretched captivity, is all the life now left for them to propose to themselves. He that abides in the city, and trusts to that to secure him, shall certainly die either by the sword without the walls or famine or pestilence within. But he that can so far bring down his spirit, and quit his vain hopes, as to go out, and fall to the Chaldeans, his life shall be given him for a prey; he shall save his life, but with much difficulty and hazard, as a prey is taken from the mighty. It is an expression like that, He shall be saved, yet so as by fire. He shall escape but very narrowly, or he shall have such surprising joy and satisfaction in escaping with his life from such a universal destruction as shall equal theirs that divide the spoil. They thought to make a prey of the camp of the Chaldeans, as their ancestors did that of the Assyrians (Isa 33:23), but they will be sadly disappointed; if by yielding at discretion they can but save their lives, that is all the prey they must promise themselves. Now one would think this advice from a prophet, in God's name, should have gained some credit with them and been universally followed; but, for aught that appears, there were few or none that took it; so wretchedly were their hearts hardened, to their destruction.
II. He advises the king and princes to reform, and make conscience of the duty of their place. Because it was the king that sent the message to him, in the reply there shall be a particular word for the house of the king, not to compliment or court them (that was no part of the prophet's business, no, not when they did him the honour to send to him), but to give them wholesome counsel (Jer 21:11, Jer 21:12): "Execute judgment in the morning; do it carefully and diligently. Those magistrates that would fill up their place with duty had need rise betimes. Do it quickly, and do not delay to do justice upon appeals made to you, and tire out poor petitioners as you have done. Do not lie in your beds in a morning to sleep away the debauch of the night before, nor spend the morning in pampering the body (as those princes, Ecc 10:16), but spend it in the despatch of business. You would be delivered out of the hand of those that distress you, and expect that therein God should do you justice; see then that you do justice to those that apply to you, and deliver them out of the hand of their oppressors, lest my fury go out like fire against you in a particular manner, and you fare worst who think to escape best, because of the evil of your doings." Now, 1. This intimates that it was their neglect to do their duty that brought all this desolation upon the people. It was the evil of their doings that kindled the fire of God's wrath. Thus plainly does he deal even with the house of the king; for those that would have the benefit of a prophet's prayers must thankfully take a prophet's reproofs. 2. This directs them to take the right method for a national reformation. The princes must begin, and set a good example, and then the people will be invited to reform. They must use their power for the punishment of wrong, and then the people will be obliged to reform. He reminds them that they are the house of David, and therefore should tread in his steps, who executed judgment and justice to his people. 3. This gives them some encouragement to hope that there may yet be a lengthening of their tranquillity, Dan 4:27. If any thing will recover their state from the brink of ruin, this will.
III. He shows them the vanity of all their hopes so long as they continued unreformed, Jer 21:13, Jer 21:14. Jerusalem is an inhabitant of the valley, guarded with mountains on all sides, which were their natural fortifications, making it difficult for an army to approach them. It is a rock of the plain, which made it difficult for an enemy to undermine them. These advantages of their situation they trusted to more than to the power and promise of God; and, thinking their city by these means to be impregnable, they set the judgments of God at defiance, saying, "Who shall come down against us? None of our neighbours dare make a descent upon us, or, if they do, who shall enter into our habitations?" They had some colour for this confidence; for it appears to have been the sense of all their neighbours that no enemy could force his way into Jerusalem, Lam 4:12. But those are least safe that are most secure. God soon shows the vanity of that challenge, Who shall come down against us? when he says (Jer 21:13), Behold, I am against thee. They had indeed by the wickedness driven God out of their city when he would have tarried with them as a friend; but they could not by their bulwarks keep them out of their city when he came against them as an enemy. If God be for us, who can be against us? But, if he be against us, who can be for us, to stand us in any stead? Nay, he comes against them not as an enemy that may lawfully and with some hope of success be resisted, but as a judge that cannot be resisted; for he says (Jer 21:14), I will punish you, by due course of law, according to the fruit of your doings, that is, according to the merit of them and the direct tendency of them. That shall be brought upon you which is the natural product of sin. Nay, he will not only come with the anger of an enemy and the justice of a judge, but with the force of a consuming fire, which has no compassion, as a judge sometimes has, nor spares any thing combustible that comes in its way. Jerusalem has become a forest, in which God will kindle a fire that shall consume all before it; for our God is himself a consuming fire; and who is able to stand in his sight when once he is angry?
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 8–14. Public domain.
Copy as
JeromeAD 420
Commentary on Jeremiah
(Verse 13, 14.) Behold, I am against you, O inhabitants of the solid and level valley, says the Lord, those who say, who will strike (or terrify) us? And who will enter our houses? And I will visit upon you; and what follows, according to the fruit of your endeavors, says the Lord, is not found in the Septuagint. And I will set fire to its forest, and it will consume all around it. For the inhabitants of the solid and level valley, the Septuagint translated, Behold, I am against you, who dwell in the valley of Sor () the level, for which Symmachus interpreted as a rock besieged, Theodotius as a fortified place; in the first edition of Aquila it is solid, in the second Tyre. For Tyre speaks its language, and the land of the Hebrews, and the area around it, and it sounds like a restricted place. However, it speaks against Jerusalem, which is surrounded by siege, or in the likeness of Tyre, like a vast sea, it is encircled by the Babylonian army and cannot escape. Or certainly, it sees itself as an impregnable and robust rock due to the strength of its walls and their size, and it says: Who can frighten us? And who will enter our house? When God speaks in the opposite way: I will visit you; you will not be able to escape my eye. But I will visit you for destruction, and I will repay you the fruit of your wickedness. And I will kindle a fire in your forest. Not the Babylonians, as you think, not the king of the Chaldeans; but my anger will accomplish all these things. But he calls the forest Jerusalem, and all the surrounding region, which does not have the fruitful trees of good works, because it is prepared for burning. He calls the valley beautiful because it is easily passable by enemies, and not a high mountain that can be difficult to climb, next to which it is also said in Isaiah: The vision of the Valley of Zion (Isa. 22:1). Let us refer whatever is prophesied about the royal house and the metropolis city to the ecclesiastical order and the leaders of the Churches, only those who have surrendered to pride, riches, and indulgence. Not immediately because it is the royal house, it will be saved from destruction, just as those who are of the Davidic lineage, very few have been found who pleased the Lord like David himself, Hezekiah and Josiah, and a great part of the leaders and the royal lineage as a whole provoked the wrath of the Lord against the people.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
Copy as
Continue studying Jeremiah 21:14 across the web’s major study libraries — every link below opens this exact verse, chapter, or book on the destination site.
Read & Compare
BibleGatewayThis verse in more than 200 translations and 70 languages.
Bible.comThe YouVersion reader — hundreds of translations, reading plans, and highlights.
ESV.orgCrossway's official English Standard Version reader.
NET BibleThe NET translation with 60,000+ translators' notes on every rendering decision.
STEP BibleTyndale House's free study tool — original text, vocabulary, and scholarly resources.
BibliaLogos Bible Software's free web reader.
USCCBThe New American Bible (Revised Edition) with the U.S. bishops' study notes.
Commentaries
BibleHub CommentariesDozens of classic commentaries on this verse, gathered on one page.
StudyLightMore than 100 commentary sets — the largest collection on the web.
BibleRefPlain-English commentary on what this verse means, verse by verse.
Enduring WordDavid Guzik's free commentary on this chapter, widely used by Bible teachers.
Bible Study ToolsVerse commentary alongside Greek and Hebrew study aids.
Original Language & Research
- BibleHub InterlinearThe verse word by word — original language, transliteration, and English.
- BibleHub LexiconEvery word's original-language definition and Strong's entry.
Blue Letter BibleDeep-study tools — Strong's numbers, concordance, and word studies.
SefariaThe Hebrew text with Rashi and centuries of Jewish commentary.
Sermons, Hymns & Audio
TrulyRandomVerse is not affiliated with these sites and doesn’t control their content. They’re linked because they’re genuinely useful.
SUMMARY
Jeremiah 21:14 delivers a profound declaration of divine judgment against Judah and Jerusalem, revealing God's unwavering justice in response to His people's persistent disobedience and covenant unfaithfulness. The verse unequivocally states that the impending destruction, orchestrated by the Babylonians, is a direct and just consequence of their actions, vividly depicted as a consuming fire that will utterly devastate the "forest" of the city and everything within its bounds, signifying a comprehensive, inescapable, and divinely ordained retribution.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Jeremiah 21:14 is profoundly rich in Metaphor and Symbolism. The central metaphor is that of a "fire in the forest," which powerfully symbolizes the overwhelming, uncontrollable, and destructive nature of God's judgment unleashed through the Babylonian army. The "forest" itself is highly symbolic, representing Jerusalem—its people, its structures, its perceived strength, and its very existence. A forest fire, by its nature, is uncontrollable and consumes everything in its path, thus symbolizing the comprehensive and inescapable devastation that would be wrought by the invading army, acting as God's instrument. The phrase "fruit of your doings" is an instance of Figurative Language, specifically a Metonymy or Synecdoche, where "fruit" represents the inevitable consequences or outcomes of their actions. This connects directly to the biblical principle of Retribution, where actions inevitably lead to corresponding results. The entire verse functions as a Prophetic Declaration, a direct, authoritative, and unalterable pronouncement from God through His prophet, emphasizing divine sovereignty and the certainty of His word.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Jeremiah 21:14 powerfully articulates the biblical principle of divine retribution, where God's justice ensures that actions have consequences. This is not a vengeful act but a righteous response to a people who have persistently rejected His covenant and engaged in widespread sin. The "fruit of your doings" underscores that the impending judgment is a just recompense for their unfaithfulness, highlighting God's moral governance of the world. While God is merciful and patient, His holiness demands accountability, and His warnings through His prophets are not idle threats. This verse serves as a stark reminder that persistent rebellion against God's will ultimately leads to severe consequences, demonstrating that God is both loving and just, upholding His own righteous character and the integrity of His covenant.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Jeremiah 21:14 stands as a timeless and sobering reminder of spiritual accountability. It challenges us to consider the "fruit of our doings" in our own lives, urging a deep introspection into our actions, words, and intentions. This verse teaches us that God is not indifferent to our choices; there is a divine principle of sowing and reaping that operates in the moral universe. While believers live under God's grace through Christ, the New Testament also affirms that our deeds have consequences, both in this life and in the life to come. This truth should motivate us not out of a paralyzing fear, but out of a profound reverence for a holy God who desires our obedience and flourishing. It calls us to live intentionally, aligning our lives with God's commands, seeking justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with Him. When we stray, this verse underscores the urgency of genuine repentance, reminding us that God's justice, though certain, is always tempered by His boundless offer of forgiveness and restoration to those who turn to Him in humility and faith.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Was God being unfair by punishing Jerusalem so severely?
Answer: No, the Bible consistently portrays God's judgment as just and righteous, never arbitrary or capricious. Jeremiah 21:14 explicitly states that the punishment was "according to the fruit of your doings," meaning it was a direct and deserved consequence of their actions. For centuries, God had patiently warned His people through numerous prophets, including Jeremiah, about their rampant idolatry, pervasive social injustice, and persistent covenant unfaithfulness. The book of Jeremiah details their chronic rebellion and rejection of God's long-suffering appeals. The destruction of Jerusalem was not a sudden, arbitrary act but the culmination of generations of rejecting God's commands and warnings. It demonstrated God's unwavering commitment to His covenant, which included both blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience (see Deuteronomy 28). God's justice is an essential and unchangeable aspect of His holy character, ensuring that sin does not go unaddressed.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
While Jeremiah 21:14 speaks of a fiery judgment against a rebellious people, its ultimate Christ-centered fulfillment lies not in a similar earthly destruction, but in how Christ Himself fully absorbed and transformed the "fruit of our doings." Humanity, like ancient Judah, continually produces the "fruit" of sin and rebellion, deserving of divine judgment. Yet, Jesus Christ, the perfect Lamb of God, willingly took upon Himself the full weight of humanity's "doings" and their just punishment. On the cross, He became sin for us, enduring the consuming fire of God's wrath that we deserved, as foretold in passages like Isaiah 53:5. Through His atoning sacrifice, Christ provides a way for us to escape the judgment "according to the fruit of our doings" and instead receive the "fruit" of His righteousness. His resurrection demonstrates His victory over sin and death, offering new life to all who believe. Thus, while Jeremiah 21:14 highlights the certainty of judgment for sin, the New Testament reveals that in Christ, God has provided the ultimate means of salvation from that judgment, fulfilling divine justice while extending boundless mercy (see Romans 5:8 and 2 Corinthians 5:21). The fire of judgment that consumed Jerusalem ultimately points to the greater, redemptive fire of God's love and justice satisfied in Christ, allowing believers to now bear the good "fruit of the Spirit" (see Galatians 5:22-23) as evidence of their new life in Him.