Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy a lie to you in my name: “Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he will kill them before your eyes. A curse will be taken up about them by all the captives of Judah who are in Babylon, saying, ‘Yahweh make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire;’ because they have done foolish things in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and have spoken words in my name falsely, which I didn’t command them. I am he who knows, and am witness,” says Yahweh.
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Jeremiah 29:21-23 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Hear therefore Yahweh’s word, all you captives, whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon. Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy a lie to you in my name: “Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he will kill them before your eyes. A curse will be taken up about them by all the captives of Judah who are in Babylon, saying, ‘Yahweh make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire;’ because they have done foolish things in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and have spoken words in my name falsely, which I didn’t command them. I am he who knows, and am witness,” says Yahweh.
Parallel Translations
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Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy a lie to you in my name: “Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he will kill them before your eyes.
A curse will be taken up about them by all the captives of Judah who are in Babylon, saying, ‘Yahweh make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire;’
because they have done foolish things in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and have spoken words in my name falsely, which I didn’t command them. I am he who knows, and am witness,” says Yahweh.
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Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, of Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, which prophesy a lie unto you in my name; Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your eyes;
And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah which are in Babylon, saying, The LORD make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire;
Because they have committed villany in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours’ wives, and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them; even I know, and am a witness, saith the LORD.
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Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy a lie unto you in My name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your eyes;
and of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah that are in Babylon, saying: 'The LORD make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire';
because they have wrought vile deeds in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours' wives, and have spoken words in My name falsely, which I commanded them not; but I am He that knoweth, and am witness, saith the LORD.
Cross-references (27)
- Isaiah 65:15 (v22) You will leave your name for a curse to my chosen; and the Lord Yahweh will kill you. He will call his servants by another name,
- Daniel 3:6 (v22) Whoever doesn’t fall down and worship shall be cast into the middle of a burning fiery furnace the same hour.”
- Genesis 48:20 (v22) He blessed them that day, saying, “Israel will bless in you, saying, ‘God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh’ ” He set Ephraim before…
- Jeremiah 23:14 (v23) In the prophets of Jerusalem I have also seen a horrible thing: they commit adultery and walk in lies. They strengthen the hands of…
- Daniel 3:21 (v22) Then these men were bound in their pants, their tunics, and their mantles, and their other clothes, and were cast into the middle of the…
Show all 26 cross-references
- Malachi 3:5 (v23) I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the…
- Hebrews 4:13 (v23) There is no creature that is hidden from his sight, but all things are naked and laid open before the eyes of him to whom we must give an…
- Jeremiah 29:8-9 (vv21, 23) For Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel says: “Don’t let your prophets who are among you and your diviners deceive you. Don’t listen to…
- Ruth 4:11 (v22) All the people who were in the gate, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May Yahweh make the woman who has come into your house like…
- Proverbs 5:21 (v23) For the ways of man are before Yahweh’s eyes. He examines all his paths.
- Jeremiah 14:14-15 (v21) Then Yahweh said to me, “The prophets prophesy lies in my name. I didn’t send them. I didn’t command them. I didn’t speak to them. They…
- Jeremiah 16:17 (v23) For my eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from my face. Their iniquity isn’t concealed from my eyes.
- Jeremiah 29:21 (v23) Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy a…
- Lamentations 2:14 (v21) Your prophets have seen false and foolish visions for you. They have not uncovered your iniquity, to reverse your captivity, but have seen…
- 1 Corinthians 16:22 (v22) If any man doesn’t love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be cursed. Come, Lord!
- Psalms 50:16-18 (v23) But to the wicked God says, “What right do you have to declare my statutes, that you have taken my covenant on your lips, since you hate…
- Jeremiah 7:9-10 (v23) Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods that you have not known, then come…
- Jeremiah 13:27 (v23) I have seen your abominations, even your adulteries, and your neighing, the lewdness of your prostitution, on the hills in the field. Woe…
- Jeremiah 23:21 (v23) I didn’t send these prophets, yet they ran. I didn’t speak to them, yet they prophesied.
- Jeremiah 23:23-24 (v23) “Am I a God at hand,” says Yahweh, “and not a God afar off? Can anyone hide himself in secret places so that I can’t see him?” says Yahweh.…
- Zephaniah 3:4 (v23) Her prophets are arrogant and treacherous people. Her priests have profaned the sanctuary. They have done violence to the law.
- Malachi 2:14 (v23) Yet you say, ‘Why?’ Because Yahweh has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously,…
- 2 Peter 2:10-19 (v23) but chiefly those who walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they are not afraid to…
- Jude 1:8-11 (v23) Yet in the same way, these also in their dreaming defile the flesh, despise authority, and slander celestial beings. But Michael, the…
- Revelation 3:14 (v23) “To the angel of the assembly in Laodicea write: “The Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of God’s creation, says these…
- Revelation 1:5 (v23) and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us, and…
26 distinct cross-references across this passage (27 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (14 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv21–23 By saying, I will give (or deliver) them into…
By saying, I will give (or deliver) them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the Prophet still more clearly expresses what I have just said, that they would be thus slain by the order of the king, because God had determined what was to be done to them. And he assigns the cause of their death or mentions its author, that the Jews might not fix their eyes on the king of Babylon. What had Nebuchadnezzar in view? to preserve a peaceable kingdom; he saw the danger of a tumult if he pardoned these two men, who had disturbed the people. Lest, then, the Jews should look only on the design of the king, God here sets before them another and a higher reason, even because they prophesied falsely in his name. A clearer explanation follows, —
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv22–23 Because they gave the people hope of speedy returning.
Because they gave the people hope of speedy returning.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv21–23 Jer 29:21 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the…
Jer 29:21 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, of Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, which prophesy a lie unto you in my name; Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your eyes;
Ver. 21. Thus saith the Lord … of Ahab the son of Kolaiah.] These two - though not the two elders that assaulted Susanna, as some have fabled - are singled out, as arch-imposters and filthy adulterers, to be exemplarily punished; to whom also is added Shemaiah the Nehelamite. {Jer 29:24}
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And he shall slay them before your eyes.] Vide autem iustam poenam martyrum diaboli, saith Oecolampadius. See here the just punishment of the devil’s martyrs: this evil couple had prophesied, like, the destruction of Babylon, bade the Jews put themselves in a posture to return home, promised to conduct them to Jerusalem, played many lewd pranks besides, and were therefore worthily put to a cruel death by Nebuchadnezzar, in the presence of their friends and followers.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv21–23 Of these two persons we read no more in…
Of these two persons we read no more in holy writ: that they pretended to be prophets, that they abused the name of God, pretending to reveal his will, wheras what they said was not the will of God, but a falsehood, we learn out of this verse; and that they were both of them burnt by the king of Babylon we find in Jer 29:22. What the falsehoods they published were is not expressed, but it is most probable they were some of those that pretended that God had revealed to them, that within two years, or a short time, the captives carried away with Jehoiakim should return out of Babylon. God here tells those that were of the captivity, that those two wretches should themselves be slain by the king of Babylon.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv21–23 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of…
Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,.... See Gill on Jer 29:4;
of Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, which prophesy a lie unto you: two false prophets, of whom we have no account any where else but here; and are, no doubt, the prophets, or however two of them, that they of the captivity boasted of that God had raised unto them in Babylon, Jer 29:15. The Jews (c) say, and so Jerom relates, that these are the two elders that attempted the chastity of Susannah:
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behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon: they should be suffered to commit some crime against the state, of which notice should be given, and they should be seized as seditious persons; which was so permitted in providence, that they might be brought to punishment for other sins they were guilty of:
and he shall slay them before your eyes; by roasting them with fire: as follows:
(c) R. Gedaliah Shalshelet Hakabala, fol. 80. 1.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv21, 23 Verse 21. He shall slay them before your eyes.]…
Verse 21. He shall slay them before your eyes.] Nebuchadnezzar would be led by political reasons to punish these pretended prophets, as their predictions tended to make his Israelitish subjects uneasy and disaffected, and might excite them to rebellion. He therefore slew them; two of them, it appears, he burnt alive, viz., Ahab and Zedekiah, who are supposed by the rabbins to be the two elders who endeavoured to seduce Susanna, see Jer 29:23. Burning alive was a Chaldean punishment, Da 3:6, and Am 2:1. From them other nations borrowed it.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv22–23 A curse - There is a play here of…
A curse - There is a play here of words. which probably was the cause why the death of these men passed into a proverb. One of them was named ben-Kolaiah; and they are to be made a curse (קללה qelâlâh), because Nebuchadnezzar had roasted (קלה qâlâh) them. Compare the marginal reference note.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv22–23 Curse. Ver. 18. The malediction which has befallen the…
Curse. Ver. 18. The malediction which has befallen the Jews, "overtake thee." (Worthington) --- Fire, in frying-pans, (see 2 Machabees vii. 5.) or cauldrons of boiling oil. This death shews that these were not the infamous judges who tempted Susanna, (Calmet) as the Jews quoted by (Haydock) St. Jerome, Salien, &c., would infer from ver. 23., and Daniel xiii. 57. They were stoned to death by the people, ibid. lxii.[Daniel xiii. 62.] (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv21–23 Zedekiah--brother of Zephaniah (Jer 29:25), both being sons of…
Zedekiah--brother of Zephaniah (Jer 29:25), both being sons of Maaseiah; probably of the same family as the false prophet under Ahab in Israel (Kg1 22:11, Kg1 22:24).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On v21 21. Ahab… Zedekiah — Of these men we have…
21. Ahab… Zedekiah — Of these men we have no knowledge outside of this passage. But the manner in which they are mentioned here attests their influence and their infamy. For two crimes, adultery and false prophesying, they would be roasted in the fire by the king of Babylon. The mention of prophesying a lie as one of the crimes for which they suffered may be explained by reference to Jehovah. The king of Babylon punished them for crimes against society; God, for rebellion and sacrilege. But it may be that even the king punished them for speaking lying words, because these words tended to produce uneasiness and incite to revolt.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv21, 23 21. Of these two prophets nothing further is known.…
21. Of these two prophets nothing further is known. The LXX omit the fathers’ names, and the words “which prophesy … name.” Co. denies, while Du. and Gi. admit, the historical accuracy of the story, Du. pointing out that, had the prediction not been fulfilled, the passage would not have appeared in the Book.
Kolaiah, curse (kĕlâlâh) and roasted (kâlâh) are three such similar words that a play on them as used in these verses seems intended. The son of Kolaiah was to be called Kĕlâlâh (a curse) because the king of Babylon kâlâh (roasted) him in the fire. It may have been for sedition or for an attack on Babylonian worship that the two met their end.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv21–23 (21, 22) Ahab the son of Kolaiah . .…
(21, 22) Ahab the son of Kolaiah . . .—We know nothing, beyond what is here recorded, of either of these prophets. They would seem to have been the leaders of the party of revolt, and to have been conspicuous, like their brethren at Jerusalem (Jer_23:14), for base and profligate lives. The record of the prediction of their fate implies its fulfilment. They were punished by the Chaldæan king as traitors and rebels, and were burnt alive. The history of the “three children” in Dan_3:6; Dan_3:20, shows that this was a sufficiently familiar punishment. A strange legend in the Targum of Rabbi Joseph on 2Ch_28:3 records that the future high-priest Joshua, the son of Jozedek, was thrown into the furnace with them, and came out uninjured (Smith’s Dict, of the Bible, Art. “Zedekiah”). We may, perhaps, trace the source of the legend in the figurative language of Zec_3:2, “Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?” The name Kolaiah (which admits of being derived from a verb meaning “roasting”) possibly suggested the cruel mockery of a punishment which turned it into an omen of the false prophet’s fate.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv21–23 Zedekiah. The name is into-resting; it shows that this…
Zedekiah. The name is into-resting; it shows that this prophet belonged to a family which took pleasure in the thought of Jehovah and his righteousness. Doubtless, too, he did so himself; but he under-estimated the demands of that righteousness, which extended to the heart as well as to the outward conduct.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v22 a curse will be spoken about these persons by…
a curse will be spoken about these persons by all the captives of Judah in Babylon
This can be stated in active form. AT: "the captives of Judah in Babylon will say a curse about these persons" (See: Active or Passive)
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roasted
This word usually refers to cooking food over an open fire or in a pan, not to burning completely. Possible meanings are 1) this is a euphemism. AT: "burned to death" or 2) the king's men attached them to poles over the fire close enough that the fire would slowly kill them but far enough away that it would not totally consume their bodies. (See: Euphemism)
I am the one who knows; I am the witness
These two clauses mean the same thing, and Yahweh repeats them for emphasis. (See: Parallelism)
this is Yahweh's declaration
Yahweh speaks of himself by name to express the certainty of what he is declaring. See how you translated this in Jeremiah 1:8. AT: "this is what Yahweh has declared" or "this is what I, Yahweh, have declared" (See: First, Second, or Third Person)
translationWords
curse
fire
kingdom of Israel
adultery
neighbor
command
know
testimony
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.