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Jeremiah 21

ירמיהו פרק כ״א

Section: נביאים · נביאים אחרונים | Book: Jeremiah | Chapter: 21 of 52 | Day: 234 of 742

Date: October 3, 2026

קלאוד על הנ״ך

Chapter 21 is one of the great structural hinges of Sefer Yirmiyahu, and the reader who has been following the book straight through is likely to feel a jolt. The preceding chapters belong largely to the days of Yehoyakim and earlier; here, without warning or transition, we are suddenly standing inside the final siege of Jerusalem under Tzidkiyahu, perhaps twenty years further on. The book of Yirmiyahu is famously not arranged in chronological order, and this chapter is a clear demonstration of that fact: it has been placed here not because of when it happened but because of what it introduces. From this point the book turns to a sustained collection of oracles concerning the kings of Yehudah (chapters 21-23), and the editor has chosen to open that collection with its endpoint — the last king, the final siege, the moment when all the warnings have come due. A second jolt lies in the name of the royal envoy. Pashchur son of Malkiyah is not the Pashchur son of Immer who struck the prophet and put him in the stocks at the end of chapter 20; but the recurrence of the name across the seam binds the two chapters together, so that the man who was beaten by a Pashchur is now consulted by one.

The chapter opens with a request that is almost poignant in its misjudgment. Nevuchadretzar is besieging the city, and Tzidkiyahu sends Pashchur and Tzefanyah son of Ma’aseyah the priest with the plea, inquire now of the LORD on our behalf (דרש נא בעדנו את ה׳), perhaps the LORD will do with us according to all His wonders and he will go up from us. Metzudat David reads the request as a petition that Yirmiyahu pray on their behalf, and reads according to all His wonders as an appeal to the wonders God has been accustomed to perform from of old. The king is thinking of Chizkiyahu and Sancheriv — of a night when an angel went out and the besieging army melted away. What the delegation does not grasp is that the deliverance from Sancheriv came to a king who tore his garments and went up to the House of the LORD, whereas Tzidkiyahu wants the miracle without the repentance. He asks for the outcome of the covenant while refusing its terms.

The answer Yirmiyahu gives inverts every category of holy war, and it is the theological heart of the chapter. Ordinarily God fights for Israel; here, behold I am turning back the weapons of war that are in your hands (הנני מסב את כלי המלחמה אשר בידכם), and He will gather the Chaldeans into the midst of the city rather than driving them off. Radak explains it plainly: it will be as though the weapons in your hands were in theirs, so that you will have no strength to fight against them. Rashi preserves a striking aggadic reading, that there were men in Jerusalem who knew how to adjure the heavenly princes appointed over each form of retribution, and that God will transfer each prince’s authority to another so that they will no longer know whom to adjure. Then comes the most devastating sentence in the chapter: and I Myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm (ביד נטויה ובזרוע חזקה). That phrase is the signature language of the Exodus, the formula recited at the Seder and woven through Devarim to describe God’s redemption of Israel from Egypt. Here the outstretched arm is turned around and pointed at Israel itself, and it comes with anger and fury and great wrath. Metzudat David takes the image from a warrior who extends his hand toward his enemy; the horror is in who the enemy has become. The consequences follow in order — pestilence striking man and beast, and then the survivors of pestilence, sword and famine handed over to Nevuchadretzar, who will strike them with the sword and will not pity, spare, or have mercy. Radak notes grimly that this was literally fulfilled: he slaughtered the sons of Tzidkiyahu before his eyes, and he had no pity on the officers and elders either.

Verses 8-10 then set before the people what tradition calls the two ways: behold I set before you the way of life and the way of death (דרך החיים ואת דרך המות). The formula deliberately echoes the choice of life and death set before Israel at the end of Devarim, but the content has been turned inside out. There, the way of life was to remain faithful in the land; here, the way of life is to leave the city, go out to the Chaldeans, and surrender. Whoever stays dies by sword, famine and pestilence; whoever goes out and falls to the besiegers will live, and his life will be his as spoil (והיתה לו נפשו לשלל). Rashi captures the force of that last phrase: like a man who plunders booty and snatches it and goes his way, so will his life be snatched as plunder from death at the hands of the killers. It is a bleak kind of mercy — a man escapes with nothing but himself, and that bare self is counted as loot. This is also the counsel that will later be quoted verbatim against the prophet: in chapter 38 the officers cite precisely these words to argue that Yirmiyahu is weakening the hands of the men of war, and on that charge he is lowered into the pit. The prophet who told the people how to survive is nearly killed for it.

The chapter closes by turning from the people to the palace. Beit David, thus said the LORD: render judgment in the morning, and rescue the robbed from the hand of the oppressor (דינו לבקר משפט והצילו גזול מיד עושק), lest My fury go forth like fire and burn with none to quench it. Radak explains why the dynasty is addressed by the name of its founder: David himself executed justice and righteousness for all his people, and his descendants should have learned from his good deeds; and he reads in the morning as meaning literally before you occupy yourselves with eating and drinking and your own affairs, citing Moshe, who sat to judge the people from the morning. The placement of this demand is deliberate and merciless. The siege is already underway, the doom already sealed, and yet the word to the house of David is still a word about courts and about the poor — as if to say that the whole catastrophe reduces to a failure of ordinary justice. The final oracle answers the city’s arrogance in its own idiom. She sits secure, inhabitant of the valley, rock of the plain, saying who will come down against us and who will enter our lairs. Rashi notes that Jerusalem sits within a valley, and adds a wordplay: God has made deep counsel (שהעמיק) against her; while Radak resolves the paradox of a place called both valley and rock by explaining that the city is high and ringed by lowland. The reply is measured in exact justice — I will punish you according to the fruit of your deeds — and it ends in fire, kindled in her forest, consuming everything around. Metzudat David identifies the forest as the cities of Yehudah. The fire that the house of David could have quenched with justice in the morning now burns outward from the city through the whole land.

פרק כ״א · Chapter 21

פסוק א׳ · Verse 1

Hebrew:

הַדָּבָ֛ר אֲשֶׁר־הָיָ֥ה אֶֽל־יִרְמְיָ֖הוּ מֵאֵ֣ת יְהֹוָ֑ה בִּשְׁלֹ֨חַ אֵלָ֜יו הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ צִדְקִיָּ֗הוּ אֶת־פַּשְׁחוּר֙ בֶּן־מַלְכִּיָּ֔ה וְאֶת־צְפַנְיָ֧ה בֶן־מַעֲשֵׂיָ֛ה הַכֹּהֵ֖ן לֵאמֹֽר׃

English:

The word that came to Jeremiah from GOD—when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur son of Malchiah and the priest Zephaniah, son of Maaseiah, to say,

פסוק ב׳ · Verse 2

Hebrew:

דְּרׇשׁ־נָ֤א בַעֲדֵ֙נוּ֙ אֶת־יְהֹוָ֔ה כִּ֛י נְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּ֥ר מֶֽלֶךְ־בָּבֶ֖ל נִלְחָ֣ם עָלֵ֑ינוּ אוּלַי֩ יַעֲשֶׂ֨ה יְהֹוָ֤ה אוֹתָ֙נוּ֙ כְּכׇל־נִפְלְאֹתָ֔יו וְיַעֲלֶ֖ה מֵעָלֵֽינוּ׃

English:

“Please inquire of GOD on our behalf, for King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon is attacking us. Perhaps GOD will act for our sake in accordance with all the prior wonders, so that he will withdraw from us.”

Tzidkiyahu's delegation asks Yirmiyahu to inquire of the LORD on their behalf because Nevuchadretzar is making war against them, hoping God will act according to all His wonders and the Babylonian will withdraw. Metzudat David reads the request as a plea that the prophet pray on their behalf, and understands 'according to all His wonders' as an appeal to the wonders God has been accustomed to perform from of old -- the king is hoping for another Sancheriv, a miracle without repentance. Radak notes the grammatical form of nilcham here, vocalized as a present participle, so the siege is presently underway.

פסוק ג׳ · Verse 3

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֥אמֶר יִרְמְיָ֖הוּ אֲלֵיהֶ֑ם כֹּ֥ה תֹאמְרֻ֖ן אֶל־צִדְקִיָּֽהוּ׃ {ס}         

English:

Jeremiah answered them, “Thus shall you say to Zedekiah:

Yirmiyahu answers the envoys not with a private reply but with a formal prophetic commission, telling them exactly what they must report back to the king. Radak observes that the phrase lacks a connecting vav, a compressed construction that suits the abruptness of the answer -- there is no preamble and no comfort, only 'thus shall you say to Tzidkiyahu.'

פסוק ד׳ · Verse 4

Hebrew:

כֹּה־אָמַ֨ר יְהֹוָ֜ה אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל הִנְנִ֣י מֵסֵב֮ אֶת־כְּלֵ֣י הַמִּלְחָמָה֮ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בְּיֶדְכֶם֒ אֲשֶׁ֨ר אַתֶּ֜ם נִלְחָמִ֣ים בָּ֗ם אֶת־מֶ֤לֶךְ בָּבֶל֙ וְאֶת־הַכַּשְׂדִּ֔ים הַצָּרִ֣ים עֲלֵיכֶ֔ם מִח֖וּץ לַחוֹמָ֑ה וְאָסַפְתִּ֣י אוֹתָ֔ם אֶל־תּ֖וֹךְ הָעִ֥יר הַזֹּֽאת׃

English:

Thus said the ETERNAL, the God of Israel: I am going to turn around the weapons in your hands with which you are battling outside the wall against those who are besieging you—the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans—and I will take them into the midst of this city;

The oracle inverts the entire logic of holy war: instead of fighting for Israel, God will turn back the very weapons in their hands, and rather than driving off the Chaldeans He will gather them into the midst of the city. Radak explains the image plainly -- it will be as though the weapons in your hands were in theirs, so that you will have no strength to stand against them. Rashi preserves a striking aggadic reading, that some in Jerusalem knew how to adjure the heavenly princes appointed over each form of retribution, and that God will transfer each prince's authority to another so they will no longer know whom to adjure.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
הנני מסב את כלי המלחמה. יש בכם היודעי' להשביע את השרים של מעלה הממונים על הפורעניות להציל איש איש מן הרעה שהוא ממונה עליה ובכך אתם בוטחי' הנני מיסב את השררה של זה לזה ולא תדעו על מי תשביעו: ואספתי אותם. כלי מלחמה אל תוך העיר הזאת שאשחית אתכם בדבר ע"י מלאך המות שהוא מן השרים העליונים וכן מפורש בענין בדבר גדול ימותו:
Behold I turn back the weapons of war There are some among you who know how to adjure the heavenly princes in charge of retribution, that each one save them from the evil he is in charge of, and you rely on that. Behold, I will transfer one's authority to another one, and you will not know whom to adjure. and I will gather them i.e., the weapons of war, into this city, that I will destroy you with pestilence through the angel of death, who is one of the heavenly princes. And in this manner it is explained in the chapter (v. 6): "with a great pestilence they shall die."

פסוק ה׳ · Verse 5

Hebrew:

וְנִלְחַמְתִּ֤י אֲנִי֙ אִתְּכֶ֔ם בְּיָ֥ד נְטוּיָ֖ה וּבִזְר֣וֹעַ חֲזָקָ֑ה וּבְאַ֥ף וּבְחֵמָ֖ה וּבְקֶ֥צֶף גָּדֽוֹל׃

English:

and I Myself will battle against you with an outstretched mighty arm, with anger and rage and great wrath.

This is the theological center of the chapter: God Himself will fight against Israel with an outstretched hand and a strong arm (ביד נטויה ובזרוע חזקה) -- the signature language of the redemption from Egypt, now turned around and aimed at His own people, and accompanied by anger, fury and great wrath. Metzudat David explains the phrase as drawn from a warrior who extends his hand toward his enemy, and reads the whole as meaning that God will strengthen the Chaldeans against them as though He Himself were the one fighting. Radak divides the labor: the Chaldeans will fight from outside while God strikes from within by pestilence.

פסוק ו׳ · Verse 6

Hebrew:

וְהִכֵּיתִ֗י אֶת־יֽוֹשְׁבֵי֙ הָעִ֣יר הַזֹּ֔את וְאֶת־הָאָדָ֖ם וְאֶת־הַבְּהֵמָ֑ה בְּדֶ֥בֶר גָּד֖וֹל יָמֻֽתוּ׃

English:

I will strike the inhabitants of this city, both human and animal: they shall die by a terrible pestilence.

The first blow falls not by sword but by plague, striking the city's inhabitants indiscriminately -- human and animal alike will die of a great pestilence. Metzudat David notes that 'the inhabitants of this city' is then unpacked by the phrase that follows, and that the striking itself consists in their dying of a great pestilence.

פסוק ז׳ · Verse 7

Hebrew:

וְאַחֲרֵי־כֵ֣ן נְאֻם־יְהֹוָ֡ה אֶתֵּ֣ן אֶת־צִדְקִיָּ֣הוּ מֶלֶךְ־יְהוּדָ֣ה וְאֶת־עֲבָדָ֣יו ׀ וְאֶת־הָעָ֡ם וְאֶת־הַנִּשְׁאָרִים֩ בָּעִ֨יר הַזֹּ֜את מִן־הַדֶּ֣בֶר ׀ מִן־הַחֶ֣רֶב וּמִן־הָרָעָ֗ב בְּיַד֙ נְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּ֣ר מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶ֔ל וּבְיַד֙ אֹֽיְבֵיהֶ֔ם וּבְיַ֖ד מְבַקְשֵׁ֣י נַפְשָׁ֑ם וְהִכָּ֣ם לְפִי־חֶ֔רֶב לֹא־יָח֣וּס עֲלֵיהֶ֔ם וְלֹ֥א יַחְמֹ֖ל וְלֹ֥א יְרַחֵֽם׃

English:

And then—declares GOD—I will deliver King Zedekiah of Judah and his courtiers and the people—those in this city who survive the pestilence, the sword, and the famine—into the hands of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, into the hands of their enemies, into the hands of those who seek their lives. He will put them to the sword without pity, without compassion, without mercy.

Those who survive plague, sword and famine gain nothing by surviving: Tzidkiyahu, his courtiers and the remnant of the people will be handed over to Nevuchadretzar and to those who seek their lives, and he will strike them with the sword without pity, compassion or mercy. Radak notes that this was fulfilled to the letter -- Nevuchadretzar slaughtered the sons of Tzidkiyahu before his eyes, and showed no pity to the officers and the elders either. He also explains that 'he will strike them with the sword' means the conqueror will kill whom he wishes to kill and exile whom he wishes to exile.

פסוק ח׳ · Verse 8

Hebrew:

וְאֶל־הָעָ֤ם הַזֶּה֙ תֹּאמַ֔ר כֹּ֖ה אָמַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֑ה הִנְנִ֤י נֹתֵן֙ לִפְנֵיכֶ֔ם אֶת־דֶּ֥רֶךְ הַחַיִּ֖ים וְאֶת־דֶּ֥רֶךְ הַמָּֽוֶת׃

English:

“And to this people you shall say: Thus said GOD: I set before you the way of life and the way of death.

Yirmiyahu is now told to address the people directly with the chapter's most famous formula: 'behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death' (דרך החיים ואת דרך המות). The wording deliberately recalls the choice of life and death set before Israel at the end of Devarim, but the content is inverted -- as Metzudat David paraphrases it, the prophet is spelling out in which course they will find life and in which course death will overtake them.

פסוק ט׳ · Verse 9

Hebrew:

הַיֹּשֵׁב֙ בָּעִ֣יר הַזֹּ֔את יָמ֕וּת בַּחֶ֖רֶב וּבָרָעָ֣ב וּבַדָּ֑בֶר וְהַיּוֹצֵא֩ וְנָפַ֨ל עַל־הַכַּשְׂדִּ֜ים הַצָּרִ֤ים עֲלֵיכֶם֙ (יחיה) [וְחָיָ֔ה] וְהָיְתָה־לּ֥וֹ נַפְשׁ֖וֹ לְשָׁלָֽל׃

English:

Whoever remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but whoever leaves and goes over to the Chaldeans who are besieging you shall live; he shall at least gain his life.

The two ways are made concrete: whoever stays in the city dies by sword, famine and pestilence, while whoever goes out and falls to the besieging Chaldeans will live and have his life as spoil (והיתה לו נפשו לשלל). Rashi captures the force of that phrase -- like a man who snatches plunder and goes his way, so will his life be snatched as loot from death at the hands of the killers -- and Metzudat David reads 'falls' as taking up residence among the Chaldeans in submission to them. Radak notes the ketiv-keri variation between yichyeh and vechayah and says the meaning is the same; this counsel to surrender is precisely what will later be quoted against Yirmiyahu as treason.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
והיתה לו נפשו לשלל. כאדם השולל שלל וחוטפו והולך לו כן תהיה לי נפשו שלולה מן המיתה מן ההורגים:
and he will have his life as a prey As a man who plunders booty, and he seizes and goes away, so will his life be plundered from death by the slayers.

פסוק י׳ · Verse 10

Hebrew:

כִּ֣י שַׂ֣מְתִּי פָ֠נַי בָּעִ֨יר הַזֹּ֧את לְרָעָ֛ה וְלֹ֥א לְטוֹבָ֖ה נְאֻם־יְהֹוָ֑ה בְּיַד־מֶ֤לֶךְ בָּבֶל֙ תִּנָּתֵ֔ן וּשְׂרָפָ֖הּ בָּאֵֽשׁ׃ {ס}         

English:

For I have set My face against this city for evil and not for good—declares GOD. It shall be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon, who will destroy it by fire.”

God declares that He has set His face against the city for evil and not for good, and that it will be given into the hand of the king of Bavel and burned with fire -- the verdict is no longer conditional but settled. Rashi glosses 'My face' following the Targum as 'My anger,' and Metzudat David reads it as God having set His intentions upon this city to do it harm.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
פני. כתרגומו רוגזי:
My anger as the Targum, רוּגְזִי My anger.

פסוק י״א · Verse 11

Hebrew:

וּלְבֵית֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ יְהוּדָ֔ה שִׁמְע֖וּ דְּבַר־יְהֹוָֽה׃

English:

To the House of the king of Judah: Hear the word of GOD!

The oracle now pivots from the people to the palace, addressing the royal house of Yehudah with a summons to hear the word of the LORD. Metzudat David and Radak both note that the verb 'you shall say' is elided here and must be supplied from verse 8, a common compression in Scripture that relies on the reader to fill the gap; Radak adds that 'the house of the king' means the king himself together with his sons and officers, the members of his family.

פסוק י״ב · Verse 12

Hebrew:

בֵּ֣ית דָּוִ֗ד כֹּ֚ה אָמַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֔ה דִּ֤ינוּ לַבֹּ֙קֶר֙ מִשְׁפָּ֔ט וְהַצִּ֥ילוּ גָז֖וּל מִיַּ֣ד עוֹשֵׁ֑ק פֶּן־תֵּצֵ֨א כָאֵ֜שׁ חֲמָתִ֗י וּבָֽעֲרָה֙ וְאֵ֣ין מְכַבֶּ֔ה מִפְּנֵ֖י רֹ֥עַ (מעלליהם) [מַעַלְלֵיכֶֽם] ׃

English:

O House of David, thus said GOD: Render just verdicts Morning by morning; Rescue from the defrauder Anyone who is robbed. Else My wrath will break forth like fire And burn, with none to quench it, Because of your wicked acts.

The demand made of the house of David is startling in its ordinariness given that the siege is already underway: render just judgment each morning and rescue the robbed from the hand of the oppressor, lest God's fury go forth like fire and burn with none to quench it. Radak explains that the dynasty is addressed by its founder's name because David himself executed justice and righteousness for all his people and his descendants should have learned from his deeds, and that 'in the morning' means before occupying yourselves with eating and drinking and your own affairs -- as Moshe sat to judge the people from the morning. Rashi notes the accent on 'osheik' marks it as the oppressor himself rather than an abstract noun, and reads 'with none to quench it' as meaning no survivor will escape.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
מיד עושק. טעמו למטה שאינו שם דבר אלא שם הגזלן העושק את אחרים: ואין מכבה. שלא ימלט לכם שריד:
from the hand of the robber Its accent is below for it is not a noun but a noun denoting the robber who robs others. with no one to extinguish [it] that no one of you will escape as a survivor.

פסוק י״ג · Verse 13

Hebrew:

הִנְנִ֨י אֵלַ֜יִךְ יֹשֶׁ֧בֶת הָעֵ֛מֶק צ֥וּר הַמִּישֹׁ֖ר נְאֻם־יְהֹוָ֑ה הָאֹֽמְרִים֙ מִֽי־יֵחַ֣ת עָלֵ֔ינוּ וּמִ֥י יָב֖וֹא בִּמְעוֹנוֹתֵֽינוּ׃

English:

I will deal with you, O inhabitants of the valley, O rock of the plain —declares GOD— You who say, “Who can come down against us? Who can get into our lairs?”

God turns to confront the city in her own arrogant idiom: she is called inhabitant of the valley and rock of the plain, and her people say 'who will come down against us, and who will enter our lairs?' Rashi explains that Jerusalem sits within a valley and adds a wordplay that God has made deep (he'emik) counsel against her, while Radak resolves the paradoxical pairing by noting that the city stands high on rock while the terrain around her is low-lying plain. Metzudat David reads the taunt as the boast of a fortified city -- who would dare approach us for battle, and who could ever capture us?
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
יושבת העמק. ירושלים היא בתוך עמק, ד"א שהעמיק הקב"ה עצה עליך להחריבך: צור המישור הר שכל. סביביו מישור: מי יחת עלינו. מי יחנה עלינו כמו כי שם ארם נחיתים (מלכים ב ו׳:ט׳):
O dweller of the valley Jerusalem is in the midst of a valley. Another explanation. That the Holy One, blessed be He, devised a deep plot against you to destroy you. rock of the plain Mountain, entirely surrounded by plain. Who will encamp upon us who will encamp upon us. Comp. (II Kings 6: 9) "For there the Arameans are encamped (נְחִתִּים)."

פסוק י״ד · Verse 14

Hebrew:

וּפָקַדְתִּ֧י עֲלֵיכֶ֛ם כִּפְרִ֥י מַעַלְלֵיכֶ֖ם נְאֻם־יְהֹוָ֑ה וְהִצַּ֤תִּי אֵשׁ֙ בְּיַעְרָ֔הּ וְאָכְלָ֖ה כׇּל־סְבִיבֶֽיהָ׃

English:

I will punish you according to your deeds —declares GOD. I will set fire to its forest; It shall consume all that is around it.

The verdict is measured out in exact justice -- I will punish you according to the fruit of your deeds -- and it ends in fire kindled in her forest that devours everything around. Metzudat David identifies the forest as the cities of Yehudah, so the burning spreads outward from Jerusalem through the whole land, and Radak explains that the surrounding towns are compared to a forest precisely for the purpose of the fire image, as in the verse 'as fire burns a forest.'

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