TRV
Translation
King James Version
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.
KJV (with Strong's)
He that abideth H3427 in this city H5892 shall die H4191 by the sword H2719, and by the famine H7458, and by the pestilence H1698: but he that goeth out H3318, and falleth H5307 to the Chaldeans H3778 that besiege H6696 you, he shall live H2421 H2421, and his life H5315 shall be unto him for a prey H7998.
Complete Jewish Bible
Anyone who stays in this city will die by sword, famine and plague. But he who leaves and surrenders to the Kasdim besieging you will stay alive; his own life will be his only 'spoils of war.'
Berean Standard Bible
Whoever stays in this city will die by sword and famine and plague, but whoever goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who besiege you will live; he will retain his life like a spoil of war.
American Standard Version
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 passeth over to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey.
World English Bible Messianic
He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence; but he who goes out, and passes over to the Kasdim who besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be to him for a prey.
Geneva Bible (1599)
He that abideth in this citie, shall dye by the sword and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Caldeans, that besiege you, he shall liue, and his life shalbe vnto him for a pray.
Young's Literal Translation
Whoso is abiding in this city--dieth, By sword, and by famine, and by pestilence, And whoso is going forth, And hath fallen unto the Chaldeans, Who are laying siege against you--liveth, And his life hath been to him for a spoil.
See also
In the KJVVerse 19,450 of 31,102
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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.
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Commentary on Jeremiah
(Verse 8 and following) And to this people you shall say: Thus says the Lord: Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. Whoever remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. But whoever goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you shall live, and shall have his life as a prize of war. For I have set my face against this city for harm and not for good, declares the Lord. It shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon and he shall burn it with fire. Those who were sent by the king and came to the Prophet to plead with him to inquire of the Lord for them, received an answer concerning the king of Judah and what they should report to him. Now he encourages them to respond to the people and advises them to surrender to the Chaldeans against the king's will, which the Prophet knows was dangerous. Therefore, he curses the day of his birth, saying: 'Cursed be the day on which I was born.' (Jeremiah 20:14). And why did I come out from the womb, to see toil and sorrow (Ibid., 18)? Not because it is a trivial matter, nor yet to give advice to those already captured, that they should willingly submit to captivity, as if a shipwreck were ordered on those about to suffer it, so that, before the shipwreck and the ship being dashed to pieces, they should seize the oars and planks and cast themselves into the waves; but because it is more tolerable to live in whatever way, having been captured, than to be consumed by the sword, famine, and pestilence. There are those who have expounded this passage as follows, according to a metaphorical interpretation: the secular disciplines, and especially philosophy, are better than remaining within that Church in which there is hunger for the word of God, and the entire people die from both a scarcity of doctrine and a heretical plague.
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.
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SUMMARY
Jeremiah 21:9 delivers a stark, divinely ordained ultimatum to the inhabitants of Jerusalem during its final, desperate siege by the Babylonian forces. Through the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord declares that those who stubbornly remain within the city's walls will face certain death by the comprehensive instruments of divine judgment: sword, famine, and pestilence. Conversely, a paradoxical path to survival is offered to those who choose to "go out" and surrender to the besieging Chaldeans, promising that their lives will be preserved, albeit as a "prey"—a bare, mercifully snatched existence from the jaws of utter destruction, emphasizing God's grace even amidst severe judgment.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Jeremiah 21:9 employs several powerful literary devices to convey its urgent and uncompromising message. The most prominent is Antithesis or Contrast, which establishes a clear and absolute dichotomy between two opposing choices and their respective, inevitable outcomes: remaining in the city leads to certain death, while going out and surrendering leads to the preservation of life. This stark contrast emphasizes the gravity of the decision and the absolute nature of God's decree. Symbolism is also profoundly evident in the "sword, famine, and pestilence," which are not merely literal threats but potent symbolic instruments of divine judgment, representing the comprehensive and inescapable nature of God's wrath against Judah's persistent sin. Furthermore, the phrase "his life shall be unto him for a prey" is a vivid Metaphor or Simile (depending on the precise nuance of interpretation), comparing the preservation of life to the snatching of valuable spoils from a dangerous situation. This striking imagery underscores the idea that survival is a rescue, a bare escape from destruction, rather than a comfortable existence or a victory earned. The verse functions as a divine Ultimatum, presenting a non-negotiable choice with immediate and severe consequences, powerfully highlighting God's absolute sovereignty and the necessity of immediate, often counter-intuitive, obedience.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Jeremiah 21:9 profoundly illustrates the biblical principle that God's judgments are just and inevitable when His people persist in rebellion and unfaithfulness. Yet, even in the midst of severe judgment, God consistently provides a path for those willing to humble themselves, repent, and obey, even if that path seems paradoxical, humiliating, or costly from a human perspective. This passage underscores God's absolute sovereignty, demonstrating His control not only over the destiny of His chosen people but also over the nations He uses as instruments of His divine will. True life, in this context, is found not in self-preservation through defiant resistance or human strategy, but in humble surrender to God's ordained plan, even when it involves suffering, loss, and the relinquishing of pride. It foreshadows the broader biblical truth that genuine life, both physical and spiritual, often requires a radical reorientation of values and a willingness to relinquish what the world deems secure, honorable, or desirable.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Jeremiah 21:9, while deeply rooted in a specific historical judgment against ancient Judah, offers timeless and profound spiritual lessons for believers today. It challenges us to critically examine where we might be stubbornly "abiding in the city"—clinging to our own plans, comforts, worldly securities, or even our own self-righteousness—when God is, in fact, calling us to "go out" and surrender. This spiritual "going out" often means relinquishing control, letting go of pride, abandoning worldly wisdom for divine wisdom, or stepping into uncomfortable obedience. God's path to true life is frequently counter-intuitive, demanding a radical trust that His ways, however difficult, humiliating, or illogical they may seem, are ultimately for our deepest good and His ultimate glory. The concept of life as "prey" reminds us that salvation, both physical and spiritual, is fundamentally a merciful rescue, a gift snatched from destruction, not an earned right or a comfortable, self-achieved existence. It compels us to cultivate a posture of profound humility and gratitude for the sheer gift of life—our very existence and spiritual vitality—recognizing that it is a spoil snatched from the jaws of sin and death by God's sovereign grace. This passage ultimately calls us to a deeper level of obedience, prompting us to ask if we are truly willing to follow God's commands even when they defy our logic, challenge our comfort zones, or demand a costly, counter-cultural surrender.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Was God truly fighting against His own people, Judah, in this prophecy?
Answer: Yes, Jeremiah 21:9 explicitly states that God Himself would fight against Jerusalem. This was not an act of arbitrary cruelty but a severe, disciplinary judgment for Judah's persistent idolatry, covenant unfaithfulness, and repeated rejection of His prophets and His warnings. Throughout the Old Testament, God warns His people that disobedience and covenant breaking would lead to curses, including defeat by their enemies and exile from the land Deuteronomy 28:15-68. God used the Babylonian empire as His instrument of judgment, demonstrating His absolute sovereignty over all nations and His unwavering commitment to upholding His covenant, even through painful discipline.
Does "his life shall be unto him for a prey" imply a miserable existence for those who surrendered?
Answer: The phrase "his life shall be unto him for a prey" (Hebrew: nephesh l'shalal) signifies that life itself would be salvaged or snatched from destruction, much like valuable plunder is seized from a dangerous situation. It does not necessarily imply a perpetually miserable existence, but rather a bare, humble survival. It highlights that their lives would be preserved by God's mercy and intervention, not by their own strength, cunning, or victory. They would indeed become captives, losing their freedom, land, and possessions, but they would live. It profoundly emphasizes the sheer preciousness of life itself when everything else is lost, standing in stark contrast to the utter annihilation faced by those who remained defiantly in the city.
Why would God command His people to surrender to a pagan enemy like the Chaldeans?
Answer: God commanded surrender as an ultimate act of obedience and a profound acknowledgment of His divine sovereignty and the justice of His judgment. By surrendering to the Chaldeans, the people would be submitting to God's ordained judgment, recognizing that He was using Babylon as His instrument to fulfill His prophetic word. This was the only path to physical preservation in the face of divinely appointed judgment. It was a crucial test of faith, requiring them to trust God's word and His plan above their nationalistic pride, military strategy, or human reason. Prophets like Isaiah also spoke of God using pagan nations, such as Assyria, as His "rod" or "axe" to punish His own people Isaiah 10:5-7.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Jeremiah 21:9, with its stark choice between certain death and a life paradoxically preserved through humiliating surrender, finds its profound Christ-centered fulfillment in the New Testament. Jesus Christ Himself embodies the ultimate "going out" and "surrender" for the sake of true, eternal life. He did not cling to His divine prerogatives, heavenly glory, or earthly security, but "emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men" Philippians 2:7. He ultimately surrendered to the cross, a path that human wisdom would deem foolish, humiliating, and a sign of defeat 1 Corinthians 1:18. Yet, through this ultimate act of humble obedience and surrender to the Father's will, He secured life—eternal life—for all who believe. The call to follow Christ echoes Jeremiah's ancient ultimatum: "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it" Matthew 10:39. Just as the Israelites were called to abandon their false security in Jerusalem, believers are called to abandon their self-reliance, worldly ambitions, sinful desires, and self-made securities, surrendering completely to Christ's Lordship. Our spiritual life is indeed "for a prey," a precious gift "snatched" from the dominion of sin, death, and judgment not by our merit or works, but by God's sovereign grace through faith Ephesians 2:8-9. Our true, eternal life is now "hidden with Christ in God" Colossians 3:3, a life preserved by His sacrificial death and glorious resurrection, a testament to His merciful rescue and the ultimate triumph of His counter-intuitive path.